Middletown transcript., 1910-06-25

lazy about my music.
The stout boy nodded under.
standingly.
We have de same kind now, he
oracularly remarked.
I am afraid so, laughed the
lady. The teacher did her best
to keep me up in my studies, but
she could not praise me because
| did nothing to deserve praise.
would have liked little praise
now and then, but I was too lazy
to earn it.
The eager eyes of the thin.
faced girl tWinkled responsively.
Eldora Brown is like. it, too,
she said. 1t is a wonder some
times that she will pass, amt it,
teacher?
The little teacher held up her
hand.
I'm afraid it was wonder that
1 passed, said the lady. No
doubt I was saved by my teacher
las several of you are sure to be.
But now lam coming to some
thing that happened-something
that made very great difference
to me. 1t was just a little song
asong that we sang in those days,
in the old room here. / sang it
with the class one day and after
ward the teacher-this teacher,
yours and mine-said to me, Mar
garet, I want you to stay a little
while after SCHOOL, have some
thing to say to you. So I stayed
and when we were quite alone
she said, Now sing the sailor
son g for me. I wasn't afraid of
her, not bit. So l sang the
little song twenty years ago
now I'm going to sing it again.
She went to the piano and let her
Fl ngers ripple along the keys.
Then she sang the simple song.
She sang it in a low voice that
was full of bubbling tenderness,
glad voice that shook with deep
longing, then thrilled with mild
eXultaticn. And the room was
very still when she let the last
trembling throb die away.
Look at teacher, whispered
the thin.faeed girl She is max
ing a cry.
The lady faced them again.
And when l had finished the
little song, she went on with the
story, the teacher said, Margaret,
you have a beautiful voice and
you might be a fine singer if you
would only try. That was the
first time the teacher had praised
me. liked it very much. /
will practice, said. l will try
to be fine singer-and you will
tell me when / do well. So she
kissed me and sent me home and
| told my mother that | wanted
to be a fine singer. And my
mother was glad. She taught
me all she could and hired a
master for me and oftentimes /
would stay after school and sing
for our teacher here-and when
she praised me, as she often did,
| was very happy. So / per-
severed and tried hard and all
the time our teacher helped me
with her kindly words. She
turned suddenly. Do you re.
member this? she asked the little
teacher.
| remember, the little teacher
softly answered
The lady smilingly nodded.
And then my mother took me
to New York. | said goodby to
my teacher-I was very sorry to
go-and my last words were, /
will be fine singer. Then came
years of hard study abroad
across the wide ocean and | sang
better and better and one night
1T was at the great opera house
in Paris-they called me back
and what do you think I sang +?
The little school song-and as
sang it | saw this room again and
my teacher smiling down at me.
And once sang it where the
German emperor listened and
once in the great theatre at Milan |
where the Italian king said |
to me, like your English song |
very much. And every time | |
sang it thought of the old room
and the little teacher. You like
to know this, don't you? You
like to know how much the little
song helped me and how much
the good teacher helped me.
And you will like to know, too,
that / have a little boy who is
now with his father in New York,
a!little boy who loves the school
song, and who can sing it very
sweetly. She paused and looked
around. with glistening eyes. Do
you like the story?
Yes, yes, they cried.
It is Of a fine kind, said the
thin-faced girl. 1t is even SO
good as stories of the kind what
are not of the trueness. 1t made
the teacher to cry and sooner
again to laugh.
The stout boy waved his arm.
Please, lady, he said, haf you
no folk songs to singP
The lady laughed and went to
the piano.