The commercial. (Union City, Tenn.) 190?-193?, 1909-09-24
DAD AND HIS VIOLIN
A TRUE STORY BY W. M. robson.

up all had but my Vlolln, anu unen
pawned it for drink" He picked up
the violin from the table and touched
the strings and said, And here again
after years of sorrow and strife | find
my old friend again. The violin my
father gave me more than fifty years
ago. See the letters on the finger board
inlaid there in gold. My dear, old COM
panion!" and he pressed it to his breast
and then wept like child
"You shall have it again. by George,
if it cost a thousand dollars" said the
COW man.
The crowd all rushed up around the
old man, and the saloon man said,
dad, you can have the old fiddle and
play on it when it suits you. :"
The old man drew the bow again and
the strains were still sweeter, ifpossible,
than at first, and then he sang in a
sweet, low tone, and the violin spoke
with him, Sweet Long Ago. " Tears
stood in many of the boys eyes. He
laid his violin down and said, Boys, be
quiet, the curtain rolls up and am
looking at another scene. Will you
listen?"
Go on, Dad, for course we will lis
ten, give us good one, " the COW man
said
Boys, should weep little as | tell
this story would you care?"
No. Dad, say what you want to. "
'Just after the war there came to my
town to attend school, tall, brown
eyed girl from the country, the very
picture and personifcation of purity and
modestv. She was so beautiful that she
was admired by all. She was devoted
| to her church and her pastor, and l
must confess boys she was the prettiest
woman l ever saw. AT this time she
was about eighteen years old and we
called her Miss Lucy. 1t seemed that
every young man in the town wanted to
pay his respects to her, /, of course, with
| the balance. Some six months had
passed and she had completely won my
heart and l had every reason to believe
| had won hers, but shock came to me
when / learned that very attractive
young man had over persuaded her to
take dancing lessons, and shame to her
pastor who said it would be nice ac-
compIishment, and would make her
more graceful, ifpossible, begged her
to not allow that young man to take
privileges with her on the dancing floor
that he could not take in the parlor, that
the modern round dance would rob her
to great degree of her modesty and
open up an avenue of the animal which
nothing else would. | pied with her on
my knees, boys. But all my entreaties
we're brushed aside with the remark,
"My pastor sees no harm in it. - Soon
after she began taking lessons with this
Young man | could see her modesty was
falling away like the withered leaves OF
the rose. again saw her at her first
public ball. | saw her take wine with
others engaged in the dance, and saw
her set her foot upon chair while con-
versing; indeed, boys, | saw all was lost
to me and to the world of purity. |
broke down and turned away to enter
upon voyage to land, God knows
where; in fact the devious stream of life
seemed to be bearing me down to all
that could mean hell on earth. |
took steamer for all the river ports, |
drank to try to drown the memory of
Lucy"
The old man wept and raised an old
worn handkerchief to his eyes and said,
boys, please excuse me, memory is SO
strong it's bearing me back, back, boys,
to when the last flower bloomed and the
last bird sang to me his song. Back,
boys, when every star of hope fell from
my sky to where my bow of promise
broke and fell in a thousand pieces at
my feet
60 on, Dad, and tell us what be-
came of her., said the COW man.
Silence reigned a moment and the
old man thumped the strings of his old
friend and then went on. Yes, boys,