The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1909-12-17
Community Comment.
THE SOLD VIOLIN.
"a Christmas Retrosnect !


The Christmas season recalls an Incl
dent which occurred in the life of a To-
peka boy, when he was about years
old. At that time he was living in
Kansas country town.
He was a reticent. sensitive lad. An
all absorbing fondnesS for music was
his ruling passion. However. save for
an old out-of-tune piano, there were
no musical instruments in his house
This instrument. his mother once told
him, had come over in the Ark.
One September a Kansas City woman
and her daughter visited at the boys
home. The girl was in her twenties,
tall and queenly The boy mentally
compared her with the princess in the
fairy stories he had heard, and to the
establishment of his mother immediate
ly formed a great fancy for her. He
himself could not understand it, for
usually he avoided people, especially
strangers.
However. the first evening Of the
Kansas City peoples visit when they
and other visitors had assembled in
the parlor the little fellow boldly en-
tered the room and sat besides the girl.
Perhaps she understood him better
than others. She was very gracious.
and entertained him with stories OF
city hfe, described the street cars with
their changing bells. the biue-uniform-
eG policemen, anG The big buildings.
Then watching him closely she told OF
the bands and their concerts, of the
chimes and chorus in the great church,
es. She even hummed in an undertone,
some of H." favorite tunes. And the
boy his shyness completely gone sat
entranced.
Before the guests left, the girl was
asked to please play a piece on her
vy-o-lin." The boy heard in wonder
and awe. She had not told him she
could dc this.
And when she played-the little fellow
with a flushed face. sat motion1ess as
a statue. In her music, at first he
seemed to hear the sounds of the city
which she had described. the changing
of the street car bells, the rattle of
carts, the cries of the newsboys with
the FAINT notes of cathedral chimes,
all forming an overture of the city
street
Then the player paused and looked
down at the eager upturTfed face of her
little admirer She noted the excite
ment dancing in his eyes. Haf-srl1il-
ing she changed her theme 1t seem
ed to the boy that ne and the girl were
walking through a beautiful shadoWy
country lane. He fancied he heard the
songs of the birds. the swish of the
wind through the trees. the rustic or
the leaves, the gurgle of near by
brook and the lowing of distant cat
tie. Again. the girl hesitated in her
music The boy had half closed his eyes,
and as in a dream it seemed to him
that the sun had gone behind a cloud
and a rain was falling while the wind
rnoaned a requiem in the grass OF the
dream meadow.
The next morning unohserved by him,
the girl saw the lad enter the parlor
She followed. Softly he opened the vio-
lin case. She started to check him for
fear he might injure the old violin, but
stopped short. The boy only reverently
touched his lips to the red-black wood
and softly stole away.
After that incident the girl played
for the boy often and taught him some
thing about music before she left.
The day before Christmas found the
boz with a few dollars in his pockets,
on his way to the house OF a farmer
The man had a cheat violin for sale.
But when the would-be violinist arrived.
he was told that the instrument had
been sold Returning home he threw
himself on the little cot in his room
and burst into torrent OF weeping.
The next day the Kansas City girl
was surprised to get letter which be-
gan Dear Miss Smith. how are you /
HOPE YOU and your vie-o-lin are all
rite I bot q vie-o-lin this morning
With muney which made running err
r&nds, sweeping snoe. & She did not
know that the message had been mailed
when the boy was on his way to the
house of the farmer
The sequel is that on account of cir
cumstances the boy never bought the
violin. Even tie old piano was sold.
And the girl. after she had attained
considerable local fame. was fatally
burned in fire at a Christmas enter
tainmeat. For in the great medley of
life, it seems there must be some minor
chords.
Atchison Globe: Which would you
rather be: Baldheaded or redheadedf
History and circumstances favor
the latter choice. It is true that
, redheaded man is the target for re-
marks. In his youth his frolicsome
playmates insist in placing their fin
gers in his locks in winter, claiming to
obtain warmth therefron. 1t is true
that a redheaded manor woman
has the reputation of being quick
tempered and some times his or her
matrimonial chances are Iessened
thereby-but yet, the Bible refers to
redheads complimentary, and
The baldheaded mans days are fill