Abbeville progress. (Abbeville, Vermilion Parish, La.) 1913-1944, 1916-12-23
My dagger-points of wrath do melt

Might ooze TO nothingness at summe,
[ noon.
mat other flask, you dog and have
care
Ihou handle it more gently than tn,
first,
Lest l, as thou didst it. thy noodI,
burst"
Although expecting something after
the Shakespearean school. | was not
prepared for this. and in reading il
aloud l actually found myself cndeav-
oring TO initiate the stage manner of
hackett' whom years ago | had seen in
Ming Henry "" at the old Metro
politan, Indianapolis. "Ah" said the
old man, you are more familiar with
that, l see. Tell me, have you ever
seen those lines in Shakespeare? ?"
There was such q look of conscious
triumph In his face. so self-Satisfied an
expression, that although half be-
heVlng was in some way being duped
could but reply that l was most thor
oughly convinced the lines did not Oc-
cur in any of the works of that great
master.
They do not" said the old man
briefly.
But how" said l, sis it possible for
you to initiate his style so perfectly,
not only in language, but theme. ex-
preston, force, character, grotesque-
ness"
stop, my son; stop" he broke In.
Must l again remind you that IL is
not Imitation: l take no credit TO nv
self-hOw dare I, when in writing thus
my individual mind is gone, simple
chaotic? It is not imitation; il is
Shakespeare"
could venture no further comment
without fear Of offending, and he al
ready stood as though hesitating to
depart.
Stay, then" said 1, until see a
further exercise of this marvellous pow
er you possess. Here, sit down, rest |
while; you seem almost exhausted"
am nearly So" he replied, "but |
there is no rest for me until this in |
nuence Is entirely subsidized. No rest
Ior me yet; no rest no restl"
de was again pacing his old walk,
no" IKE a weary sentinel, and l
thought as / gazed upon him, what
riddle OF the human kind is this?"
over and over again came the ques-
tion; and over and over an old rhyme
mad somewhere read, mockingly re-
sponded-
Rain, rain, and sun! rainbow In the
sky!
a young man will be wiser by and by:
An old mans wit may wander ere he
die"
And lulled by the mild monotony of
his, / was fast drifting into q dreamy
rain of thought, when the old man
halted suddenly. and with one elbow
Gaming on the counter and his head
'esting on his hand, he began humming
tune-a strangely sweet and tender
'lr; low, and just little harsh at first
md indistinct, but yelling softly into
adence wonderfully rich and pure
hen quavering again in minor swoons
L melody so delicately beautiful can {
Ut 1ken the effect produced to that |
thereal mystery of sound unrayeled 0
rom the zithern by master hand
A slender thread of song in saddest
tune"
L had leaned forward with NV own
cad resting in my hand that / might
stem the better, and was not aware.
ntll the song abruptly ended, that the j
a man had been writing as he sang.
There" said he, handing me the
rap, you have heard the tune here Ii
'e the words, perhaps"
IL may have been a very foolish k
ing. 1t may have been weak and h,
yet as my eyes bent over II al
ID read. the lines grew curiously In
urred toward the last; nor did I q,
less the cause until tear-a great
pc tear-drop-fell upon my hand. be-
I'D, reader, could l present the song ly
you just as 1t came to me, with all IN
strange surrOundings-thes stranger
perience Of the hour; the solemn ST. on
ice OF the group; the wailing of the ot
nd outside as though the world. an
'ary of itself, could only sigh, sigh. ha
n could / prelude 1t with that low. az
eet murmuring Of melody that mo
UNITS me even now, your own eyes
eds must moisten as you read: no
The Harp Of the Minstrel. l.
e harp of the minstrel has never n all
tone fin
As sad as the song in his bosom to- Pill
night, CHI
the magical touch of his fingers tn;
alone old
cannot waken the echoes that ito
breathe 1t Alright; mi
oh! as the smile Of the moon NAV pc.
impart !
sorrow to one In an alien CLINE. alt
the light Of the melody fall on the "a
heart, the
md cadence his grief into musical los
rhyme. ane
, faces have faded, the eyes have "gr
grown dim JUS
hat once were his passionate love rem
h -