The Bon Homme County independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1904-1913, 1905-05-04
MUCH-ABUSEO PIANO.

I live and have my being isn't ennuye and
sick OF itself and bored to DEATH" sad the
department official who graduated In law
here fourteen years ago. but who is still
holding on TO the pay roll because he can't
think OF any place to practice. then It's
a piano OF Job-like patience and built to
withstand anything that can hereinafter
befail II.
The things that the lis Inauguration
guests or that family hotel did TO that
plano during the three or four days OF
their lowering about the establishment
were enough TO make an normal, ordtn-
ariiy constructed piano back out OF the
room on Its four legs and take TO the
wiids OF Biadensburg.
The piano was In the hands Of the enc
mites OF music and the hanky-panks, and
what they didn't do to u could be In
scribcd on a grain Of wheat with white
washing brush.
II listened 10 tho maddening thronG en-
gagged In the act OF trying TO beat that
plano TO death for a whole afternoon be-
cause ! couldn't help myself. having been
delegated by the landlady's brother TO do
what could to look after the comfort or
the guests. and when IL was all over !
went out. deliberately and with my eyes
wide open TO the consequences, and went
down town and stayed real late. 80 did.
The first gay dog to take n wallop at
the piano that afternoon was n cut-up
from Point o. Rocks. or some such place,
with a red. white and blue band around
his low-lying soft hat.
'EIc was acquainted with two tonsorial
parlor chords. tum-tum-tum. tum-tum-
tum. and he loved them with all the Wild
alteration OF his bucoiic mldr.n. He
handed them TO US with neavy pedal yari-
ations for about foriy-ive minutes. and
then he looked around. scif-consciously.
for Wild acclaim and tumultnous APP
plause.
However. lac was edged OF the stool
finally by n little giri who knew the first
part OF Little Fisher Maiden.' She played
this first part seventeen times. and she
kept both OF her feet on the hard pedal all
IN. time.
THE little girl was succeeded by n young
woman who was familiar with nearly nine
bars OF the 'Miscrerc' from N Troyatore.'
This young woman went into a trance
when she began To cxccutc-cxecute II
rlght--thosc nine bars. and she didn't
emerge from the trance until she had da-
dapo-cd on the composition fully =
times IL was tn. "a. ta-th- ta-ta. ta-ta-
you remember the first few bars OF the
'Miserere'-until u began 10 seem to me
that had always hated Verdi and all OF
his works
when che came out OF her trance. n
man who looked Ike a plumbers helper
figured himself TO be next on the pro-
gram.
HE d.d n left hand obiigato-thcre was
nothing doing with his right-by playing.
twenty or thirty times, th. last bar OF
Rocked I'm the Cradle OF tho Dcep-'Tum.
tum. tum-tum- tum-tum-tum. daw. away
down 10 the cellar note. wuich lac hit with
n wailop every time as " he had a griev-
ancc against Il. Then he started TO bawl
that last bar-'Rwkcd I'm thar crawdawl
awv thaw daw-cep.' He eventually tumbled
To the fact that there was a long line OF
people waiting to get n chance at tho
piano. and then he reluctantly got up and
gave away TO n man who knew how TO
hammer just enough chords to accompany
his whtstling. This man whistlcd every
thing that came into his head IN n piercing
tone. but. try rs he might. he couIdn't
whistle hard enough to drown the din he
made with his left hand on the patient
piano.
'ic finally. after about an hour. sur
rendered the stool TO the girl who rcmcm-
bcred her one seminary piece. Monastery
Bells so thoroughly that she never will
forget a. She dldn't play anything elso
without her music. she said. but she sure
played that one piece a-plenty. She spread
herself all over on the few simple little
runs In the piece. succeeding III making
them look terrincally difficult. and SIN"
passed under the wire going strong.
by this time two or three perma ncnt
guests OF the house who were sitting help
lcssly around were almost too numb 10
protest even 10 each other. but when nj 1T
ic man with n bald head and n suit OF
hand-mc downs that looked as II they'd
been left out In the rain i've nights run
ming sat down at the piano and began to
inspect the Eilt-lcttercd name OF the In
rtrumcnt with a great deal OF curiosity.
one OF tho permanent guests remarked.
Now we're going TO have some piano-forte
mus:c by a man who apparently never
even saw piano before
Then the little bald-hcadcd man I'm tho
suit OF hand downs waded In and the
way he picked up and ran away with the
music of Chopin was just n caution to
Trasshoppcrs. lie just knew the piano
coming and going. and all ways from the
MIDDLE. and when he broke into a superb
rendering OF the Moonlight Sonata We
felt. somehow. as N we'd been buncoed
AMI were glad OF a.. He didn't peck
around FOR any applause when he finished
treating Us, but just sk.ddocd on his way
without even turning around.
THAT settled Il for that afternoon. They
weren't n retiring or haShfui lot. hut none
of them had the nerve TO touch the piano
after that gcnulnc artist. the b1ld-hcadcd
man. had got through with e."