River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1903-04-02
The rd8edy
OF Toto
BY ELLIS PARKER BUTLER
Observation-Disclosures

IETHEN Kubelefsky had visited
wv every part of the ship and con-
WINGED himself that it had been de-
serted. and that only Toto remained to
keep him company, he seated himself
on one of the steamer chairs that had
not been swept overheard during the
gale and gazed out over the sea.
ut is bad, bad!" he said, more to him
self than to Toto, and then his ire
pressible optimism asserted itself, and
ne added: But things are not as bad
as they might be-"
1T was indeed bad. To be adrift in
rnid-AtIantic on an abandoned steam
er. 1t was terrible. 1t was donner-
blitzlich. And the ship all mussed up
and broken by the storm! But on
the other hand there were endless
Quantities Of food, the ship did not /
seem TO be sinking, there was still
Toto. and there was still his violin.
Things were really not as bad as
they might be.
All the world knew Kubelefsky, the
magician of the violin. All America
remembers his hair, his art, his &C.
centricities, his triumphs, and his
Toto. His tour was one grand ova-
ton, one round Of teams, cheers and
kisses. Musical womanhood knelt in
rapture before his hair, throbbed with
his art, but above all, talked about his
Toto. But every genius has his eccen-
tricities, and Kubelefsky would not be
Kubelefsky without his Toto. Some
T.. TytI f(,1. I,.r. n Var ic-
ing value, but we WHO knew him best
did him no such injustice. He loved
her. He loved her only as those great
souls that are set high above the world
by their surprising genius can love
that which is IowIy and souIless and
animal.
How Kubelefsky and Toto happened
to be overlooked when the ship was
abandoned | cannot pretend to say.
Kubclefsky had been unutterabIy sick;
sick as only the great genius can be,
and as he always was when the sea
was rough, and they may have left
him, thinking him dead. But Toto had
not been seasick. She was a SPLEEN
did sailor. All cats are,
Yes, Toto was a cat; but she was
more than a cat, she was Il friend, a
companion, almost lover, and in the
weary weeks that followed the storm
she was Kubelefsky's refuge from sol
itude. She was his audience, his
pIaudit. his appreciation, and apprecia-
ton is demanded by genius. Genius
lives on appreciation. For weeks, as
the derelict foated on the summer sea,
Kubelefsky lived on Toto's apprecia-
ton and canned goods. 1t is such
occasions as these that bring out the
noblest qualities. They are, as the
advertisements of certain liniments
say, good for man and BEAST
Things were truly not as bad as
they might be. Kubelefsky had his
violin and he had Toto, and he drew
great solace from each. When he
pressed his chin against the vibrant
wood of the violin and drew the living
bow over its speaking strings, he for
got the world in an ecstasy of Joy,
and when he glanced down at Toto,
sitting sedately and watching his eyes
for the smallest token Of love, his soul
was filled with contentment.
They had always been good friends
had Toto and kubclefsky, but they
become more than that as week fol-
lowed week. In all his walkings to
and fro she followed at his heels, and
when he paused she would rub against
his shins and purr with delight. He
talked to her as one would talk to a
sweetheart He fondled her, and held
her i'm his arms, and when he was
weary after playing a difficult rhap-
sody. he would bury his hot face in her
soft fur and gain new strength.
Sometimes he would vainly specu-
late whether he loved his violin or
Toto the better, but he quickly put
such thoughts aside, for why should
he think of distressing possibilities?
He lived for his violin, but Toto lived
for him.
1t was an odd companionship, these
three; Toto, with her dOve-colored
coat, the violin, in it's rich reddish
brown, and Kubelefslly, with long ra-
ven locks. These three alone in the
midst of the boundless, desolate ocean.
1t was the 18th of August that the
first break came to mar the happiness
of the trio, and it was a violin string
that broke. AS the sickening snap"
of the string interrupted the obligato
that Kubelefsky was executing, he
paused and tears rolled down his
cheeks.
Poor thing! Poor thing!" he MUIR
INJURED, as he stroked the mutilated yio-
lin, and Toto, seeing his grief, came
and laid her head gently on his foot.
Thanks, Toto, sweetheart" he said,