Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1903-04-10

| ne mink OF Distressing pOSS1DlTleSt
He lived for his violin, but Toto lived
for him
1t was an odd companionship. These
three; Toto, with her dove-co1ored
coat, the violin, in its rich redo1s..
brown. ana huDeieLshs, with long IA,
ven locks. These three alone IN the
midst OF the bOundless, desoIaIe ocean.
1t was the 18th OF August that. the
| first break came to mar the happiness
of the trio, and it was violin string
that broke. As the, sickenlng SNAP
of the string interrupted the obhgalo
that ~kubeieIsky was executing, he
| paused and tears rolled down his
| cheeks.
Poor thing! Poor thingi" he MUIR
INJURED, as he sLroked the mutilated NO.
lin, and Toto, seeing his grief, came
and laad her heao gently on his foot,
Thanks. TOTO, sweetheart he sand,
you teach me to endure to be brave
to be a man." and he dashed aside the
| tears.
1t was soul-trying to play with one
string missing, but Kubeie1sky was a
wizard, and none but he would have
known the loss. SO sweet were the
tones he drew from the remaining
strings. But the loss had taught him a
/ lesson, and he used the violin less and
gave Toto more attention.
But why should L prolong this tale
or render it one anguish long draw
outI 1t IS pleasant. l admit, to tel
OF this trinity OF dependence and love
but my heart is panied as 1 write
for L cannot forget the sadness OF
the Climax and L must hasten on.
One by one the strings of 'Kubei
efsky's violin snapped, and each
catastrophe seemed like swapping
of his heart string. When Blu. one
string was left he confined his v4oEI
exercises to a few short minutes eacf
evening, playing the Carnival O.
Venice" without varia tions, as ar
ranged for one string by Bounod
1t was not much, but it was some
thing, and without his violin kubel
efsky would have been lost.
And then one evening the las
string broke!
The moon was nearing the west
ern horizon, and dark clouds wer,
crowding up from the east, but &
flood of silver light still suffused the
sea and the ship. Kubelefsky wa!
leaning with his back against a fun
mel, and Toto was sitting in the
| steamer chair.
When the last string snapped
Kubelefsky let his hands fall to mis-
side, and and a depth of woe anc
horror passed over his face so great
that Toto, knowing something wa:
amiss, sprang from her chair ane
ran to him, mewing piteously.
As the first paroXysms of his grie:
passed, Kubelefsky burst into tears
and, bending down, seized Toto ant
pressed her to his heart and walked
back and forth.
you are my all now, Toto" h
cried, my last hope, my on.y friend
You will not desert me, sweetheart
You will not fail me. In you I cal
trust"
His cries were mere like those o.
one seeking assurance than OF on'
speaking a fact, and Toto licked hi:
hand and put soft pay against hi:
cheek and sought IN every way a ca
can to reassure him. and this gave
him great comfort. Presently b,
became quieter and seated himself
while Toto lay in her customar,
place ON his lap he ndl d his mute
violin as a mother might fon1l- hel
dead babe.
Occasionally tear would we'll il
his eye, but he would dash it aside
crying:
No! 1 will be bravet 1 have m,
Toto
Again he would sway his body t.
and fro, crying:
My poor violin! My poor Strad
So dead, Sc silent! Oh, am bereft
I am undone!"
Thus he passed the night, with
out sleep, and all the next day h,
walked the deck constantly. II.
would not allow Toto out of his sigh
an instant. AS the evening drew
near he became even more restless
and when the hour arrived at which
he was wont to play his daily car
nival," he fell under a cloud of mel
ancholy. The longing to hear the
voice of his violin rent him in thou
sand ways. He craved it as an opium
eater Graves the drug. as a drinkel
Graves alcohol His nerves were I'M
strung. his hands trembled.
land this!" he cried. "Ail this be
cause I have not one poor little
string, one piece OF cat"
He did not complete the word, fol-
his eye fell upon Toto sitting at hi:
feet gazing up at him with trustful
confding eyes. Did she tremble a:
he began the word, or was it hif
imagination that deceived him? Ht
tried to put aside the thought that
had flashed across his mind. He
struggled with himself. But power
greater than himself seemed to urge
him on. His poor. mute violin seemed