Lexington gazette. [volume] (Lexington, Va.) 1871-1962, 1903-03-25

THE COBBLER
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Notwithstanding the lowliness O.
his station, this disciple of st. Girls
pin burned incense assiduously be
fore the muses.. Like the village
Milton immortalized BY Gray, Herr
Veit had been debarred in youth by
"chill perjury" from the acquisition
of knowledge, but maturer day:
brought him many recompensina
opportunity for glance at the
pages Of wisdom. All was grist that
gravitated to our shoemaker's men
tai millstones, and the stores acquir-
ed thus promiscuously from reading
and hearsay were never lost or suf-
fered to molder for want of express
sion. Indeed his application of
what he CLEANED was frequently SO
inopportune as to excite the hearty
laughter Of his honest but critical
neighbors. Yet he paid little heed
to their merriment and today was
as ready to excuse the shortncss of
their boots with "brevity is the soul
of wit" as to assure them tomorrow
that their old shoes were brought
"never too late to mend"
Siebold was a bachelor from
choice, but often let parts of the
house, a quaint red tiled, low ridged,
many gabled dwelling at the end of
one of the serpentine streets char
acteristic of Salzburg. At the time
we peep into his life we find him
landlord of Gabriel Stoss, a student.
Herr Vets proximity to so animat-
ed a cyclopedia proved such slim
ulant to his love for learning as to
be well nigh inebriating. The mere
creak of the stair as the scholar
went to and fro was sufficient to
make the shoemaker's Imagination
reel in visions of the feast of reason
that the very steps groaned to sup
port
Occasionally in the evenings the
student would drop into his hosts
coy workroom and read him YER
sions of the Greek and Roman writ
ers and, carried along by his listen
er's whole souled attention and I'M
disguised rapture, would not infre-
quently continue the inspiriting
myths away into the night. At
such times the simple toiler's de-
light eliminated in nothing short
of ecstasy. Once when the student
had retired with his little red mar
gined volume of legends his admir-
ing auditor actually stole into the
vacated chair to satisfy himself that
an exchange of seats did not entail,
a priori, a transfer of knowledge
and FASTENED to bed, where before
long he lost sight of sordid and
hampering reality in the blissful-
ness of a dream that brought in its
sequence the attainmcnts Of the
professor of ancient languages in
the very college attended by his
lodger.
One summer evening, having fin
ished his work early, the shoemaker
sauntered out upon his porch to
smoke and mediate the while on a
recent narration of the students. |
The story took his fancy so much
as to incite him to action. During
Herr Vets musings the sun set.
The retired street grew still and
dark. Lights appeared here and
there behind small diamond shaped
panes and emphasized the descent
of night. Suddenly knocking the
ashes from his meerschaum, the
entered his domicile and,
acting upon his cogitations, took
down his time worn fiddle and drew
from it a few strains, a return to
his former mistress, music. Away
back in his youth he could recall the
days when he handled the bow with
no mean skill, but for many year
he had neglected music to delye in
the more alluring field Of letters.
Now again he applied himself to his
instrument with a feryor which
made use of every spare moment
until his old art returned so raw
that the wondering neigh
1ors strayed in to hear him at his
new caprice. But they withdrew
ever with jocund faces, for, try as
hey would to refrain from smiles,
Herr Veit was sure to elicit merri-
nent in the end by some such OBJ
as, "We're never too old
o learn"
1t was on a morning after he had
,een practicing five months that
he shoemaker closed his shop, lock-
d up his rooms and, mounting the
teep, bare steps that led to his
odgcr's quarters, left the key with
iabriel, adding that he was not to
,e looked for until his return.
4eaving the youth at the head of
he stairway, key in hand, gazing
ronderingly after him, our timer
mt musician covered carefully his
iolin with his long gray cloak, drew
lis broad topped wooden cap over
is eyes and passed into the street,
rec at that early hour of pedestri-
Ms. He made his way over a bridge
cross the Salzach to the brown
meadows beyond the town. 1t was
most exhiarating morning. The
,alzach as it foamed between the
eaks sentineling its banks, tree
lad Kannziuerhero 10 the ri"ht
,oomy, rugged Monchsberg on the
1T, seemed to brawl more jubilant- !
|, than ever of its descent from the t
istant Tyrolese Alps. The sun
- 1 80. ,,ot r;oan ohova thn misty