The Era-leader. [volume] (Franklinton, La.) 1910-current, 1914-05-14
SUCCESS Of SMITH
Story of How an Apparently Aim
less Boy Became a Great
Composer.
BY D. II. TALMADGE.

Congratulate me, old chap" he
gasped.
I did so, then asked him somewhat
Grossly why.
Haven't you heard it?" he asked
mot word of it," I replied
AS matter of fact, had not seen
Willy for months, he having left the
city early in the autumn to accept a
position in a village mercantile estab-
lishment somewhere in an adjoining
commonwealth. 1t was plain job IN
an ordinary country store that he had
been given by kind-hearted uncle,
but it was WHY'S job and he had a
perfect right to call 1t by any term ne
chose. ! respected the privilege, be-
cause l had accepted position my
self.
Willy had never been famous as
discipline of strenuousness In life, for
which reason he was not considered to
be so well fitted as he might otherwise
have been for taking up the struggle
Of existence. After he left school he
pottered about in an aimless way look
ing for work which was not Wearl-
some. He found several openings,
believe, but the salary attachments
thereof were not to his liking, and he
had given up in disgust, devoting
thereafter many hours Of precious
time to humping the piano in his
mothers parlor-a decrepit old instru-
ment which walled and shrieked pitt
fully under the treatment. He was
still humping, and eating with his
mothers boarders, when the kind
hearted uncle came to the rescue.
! What" he exclaimed, "You haven't
heard Of it,"
Not word Of it," I repeated.
"Then," said he, rising to his feet
and dramatically stabbing the air with
his arm, know that I have achieved
one Of the greatest musical hits of the
day. AS you are aware"-he tossed
his hat to the top of my desk, and
excitedly ran his fingers through his
saffron hair-"I always had penchant
for music Twas so even when I was
a tiny child. loved music. yearned
to be a composer. Twas not mean
ambition. You remember the chap
who said that thing about writing the
songs of a nation? Well, I felt that
way-ever so much. But I never re-
ceived any encouragement, either at
home or at school. You fellows
thought was lazy. It wasn't that; 1t
was"
"Genius?" I suggested.
That's 1t. Thanks. I didn't like to
say it myself, but that was 1t, and I
had 1t pretty bad. Mother got no
ton into her head after / left school
that ought to take lessons, and did
it for time just to please her The
time and money were wasted My in
structor said he wouldn't instruct me
if wouldn't practice, and | wouldn't
practice the idiotic stuff he gave me,
so that ended that Then l went over
yonder and found sympathetic soul
and glory. Just thought, as long as
l was in the city, that I'd drop in and
tell you about it for the sake Of auld
lang syne."
"Glad you did, Willy" said I with
out much enthusiasm. "But you
haven't told me about it yet Get
ahead"
well, it's song-a ripper Coling-
way, up at the Casino, is wild over it.
Says he'll sing 1t Saturday night.
Barr & Co., the music publishers, have
made me a proposition which l am
now considering. It's worth a little
fortune to me whichever way I take
it. They pronounce the piece the
most original composition that has
come to their notice for months. Old
Barr invited me up to dinner today,
but ! couldn't go because of mother.
Naturally, mother expects me to eat
with her when I'm in the city for only
day. I promised uncle I'd be back
tomorrow morning. There's a car Of
-four to be unloaded, and helps scarce.
Id do anything to accommodate uncle;
he's never made fun of me. Besides,
I've got my wife with me, and she's
got some sort of church entertain
ment on for tomorrow night"
"Your wife, Willy! Heavens! Are
you married?"
why, yes. Been married three
weeks. Going to get out some an
nounCements soon as this song bust
ness is settled. Will send you one.
You see, the song and the marriage
are rather mixed together. My wife's
a tecniquy sort. Does the Eighth mu.
sician-one Of the practicy, symphony
Of somebody or other and the Rus.
sian dance and all those things as
painfully as anybody I ever heard.
Plays the most difficult music at sight
-Mendelssohn, List and those tire.
some old humbugs, you know. She's
nothing like me. | can read music to
beat the orchestra; always could. But
she says don't quite catch the motif.
whatever in the deuce that is, in the
high grade stuff. / don't doubt 1t
bit. She knows whatever she asserts
about her kind of music. She knows