The Hays free press. [volume] (Hays, Kan.) 1908-1924, 1911-01-07
81 Y q - @ ~ Nz7 q 80 =
His Assistant Organist
By OLIVE WARNER
Copyright, 1910. by Associated Literary Press

Colonel Aspen was a man who
! could afford to have a hobby and he
/ did not deny himself He was an
amateur organist of considerable abil-
/ ity, but that alone does not define his
( hobby. The peculiar feature of his
/ fad was his unquenchabIe desire to
| play the organ and direct the music
/ In a large and fashionable church.
/ Large and fashionable congrega-
! tons, as a rule, are not addicted to
amateur organists. In fact, anything
! that may be obtained free of cost
does not appeal to them. 1t is as dis
tasteful for them to accept the serv-
Ices of an organist without making
/ the return of a good fat salary as it
would have been for Colonel Aspen to
take the pay of professional.
! Therefore, it was not always an
easy matter for the colonel to indulge
his pretty fancy, and it required man
/ egement. Fortunately for him, he
/ could manage. In the course of long
/ experience, he had evolved a system
! of dealing with those in charge Of
! church musical matters which made
/ it possible for him to expand his
hobby to its most gratifying extent.
His method was to contribute so
/ literally to the support Of the church
/ that no member of the congregation
/ could find the courage to combat his
musical ambition His generosity
| gave him a sort of proprietorship, es-
/ pecial1y when he went to the length
( CT putting in a new organ at his own
expense and was willing TO employ
. e. ii
increase in the annual appropriation.
This is what he had done at ST.
! Judtth's. So it was little wonder that
/ he shared so royalty in the privilege
I Of upbuildfng the plant that he felt
perfectly secure In his position of SUI
Preme arbiter of matters musical. 1t
was a situation which would have
J made the colonel entirely content with
the business of living had other things
/ been equal
/ A most annoying thing had happen
ed quite recently, an episode which,
/ for the time being, took largely from
the sunny side Of the colonels exist
ence and left him disposed to pick
flaws with the whole scheme of crea-
ton. His only child, young fellow
for postgraduate distinction, while
on visit to England, had become
J enamored of the daughter of a strug-
Cling rural vicar and had married her
without consulting either her father
or his own. He had cabIed home for
the parental blessing and announced
his intention of being on hand to re-
ceive it in person at date which, as
yet, he had been unable to fix def
nitely
The new arrangement did not ap-
peal to the father. however He was
altogether too sensible to quarrel
with his son over something which
was beyond recall, but he did not
feel equal to meeting him after his
sudden metamorphOsis into the head
of family. He cabled a sum OF
money which must have gone a LONG
way toward dulling the sting of the
young couples disappointment, and
advised Alec and his bride to remain
in England until further notice.
But it had interfered seriously with
his capacity for enjoyment, and ever
his unquestioned primacy in ST. Ju
dith's organ loft could not make
things seem right. The colonel real
lied, too, that his present mood was
having a very perceptibIe effect OF
the music; that he could not abandon
himself to 1t with his customar,
wholeheartedness. When he made
that discovery he decided to secure ar
assistant
He advertised and arranged for al
applicants-there were dozens-tc
P -
and show their fitness. The coIone
had conceived a plan whereby the
trials might be made SO brief as tr
consume only single evening. He
had theory that any musician who
could play a hymn as it should BIZ
played, from his viewpoint, needed nc
further exploitation. He had. there
fore, selected the grand old choral at
tributed to Martin Luther as a com
mon test. One by one, the numerous
candidates took their turns in. the
competition, but the colonel offered nc
suggestion while the contest was go
Ing on.
At last there remained only one
untried of all the anxious crowd. t
was getting late and most of the 9th
ers had gone. This candidate had as
cended to the loft in obedience to the
colonels reckoning invitation and was
climbing TO the bench. She was {
slight, girlish creature, shy apparent
ly, and not at home in her presen
surroundings. She was dressed yer,
modestly in a dark gown and the col
onel fancied that she might be a for
eigner; she had not spoken and hs
recorded a mental wager that whe1
she did there would be telltale &C
cent. As.he put the open hymnal OF