The Huttig news., 1911-03-25
HIS ASSISTANT
 ORGANIST
By OLIVE w ARN E R


i
 Colonel Aspen was man who could afford to have hobby and he did not deny himself He was an amateur organst of considerable abil- fly. but that alone does not define his hobby. The peculiar feature of his fad was his unquenchable desire to play the organ and direct the music In large and fashionable church
 Large and fashionable congrega tions, as a rule. are not addicted to amateur organists. In fact. anything that may he obtained free of cost docs not appeal to them It is 9s dis tasteful for them to accept the serv. lees 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 a professional.
 Therefore, it was not always an easy matter for the colonel 10 indulge lis pretty fancy, and it required man egement Fortunately for him, he could manage In the course of long experience, he had evolved system of dealing with those in charge of church musical matters which made it possible for him 10 expand his hobby to its most gratifying extent
 His method was to contribute so lberally to the support of the church that no member of the congregatio could find the courage to combat his musical ambition. His generosity gave him sort of proprietorship, es. pecially when he went to the length Of putting in a new organ at his own expense and was willing to employ the most famous soloists without any fnc~eese in the annual appropriation
 This is what he had done at St Juditi's. So il was little wonder that he shared so royalty in the privilege of urbuildtng the nlant that he felt perfectly secure in his position of SUI lreme afbiter of matters musical It was a situation which would have made the colonel entirely content with the business of living had other things been equal
 4 most annoying thing had happen cd quite recently an episode which. for the time being took largely from the sunny side of the eolonel's exist enee and left him disposed to pick flaws With the whole scheme of crea- ton His only child, young fellow fresh from college and a candidate for postgraduate distinction, while on visit to England had become enamorea Of the daughter of strng- gling rural vicar and had married her without consulting either her father or his own He had eabled home for the parental blessing and announced 1 his intention of being on hand to re. ceive it in person at date which. as yet, lie had been unable to fix def, niteIy.
 The new arrangement did not ap- 1 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 a family. He cabled sum of money which must have gone a long way toward dulling the sting of the young couples disappointment, and duNiStu aftt dsiu UlS LII iut lO ItUldln in England until further notice.
 But It had interfered seriously with his capacity for enjoyment, and even his unquestioned primaey in St Ju- dth's organ loft could not make things seem right The colonel real ized, too that his present mood was i having a very perceptible effect on l.a &l.. t-A himself to it with his customary wholeheartedness When he made that discovery he decided to secure an assistant.
 He advertised and arranged for all pplicants--there were dozens-to come to the church on certain night and show their fitness The colonel had conceived a plan whereby the trials might be made so brief as to consume enly single evening. He had a theory that any musician who could play a hymn as it should be played, from his viewpoint, needed no | further exploitation. He had. there. fore. selected the grand old choral at. tributed to Martin Luther as com. mon test. One by one, the numerous candidates took their turns in the competition. but the colonel offered no suggestion while the contest was go ing on.
 At last there remained only one untried Of all the anxious crowd. It was getting late and most of the oth. CTS had gone. This candidate had as. cended to the loft in obedience to the oolonefs beckoning invitation and was climbing to the bench She was a slight, girlish creature, shy apparent. sy, and not at home in her present surroundings. She was dressed very modestly in dark gown and the col onel fancied' that she might be a for. eigner: she had not spoken and he recorded a mental wager that when she did there would be a ielltale ac. cent. As he put the open hymnal on the rack he said reassuringly:
 Tt isn't at all difficult to read you know"
 T really know 1t so we'll that