Warren sheaf. [volume] (Warren, Marshall County, Minn.) 1880-current, 1922-12-13
THE ORGANISE
BY Cocia Hartog

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lighted, ill-furnished room sat Con-
valid, the musician, gazing abstracted-
! ly into the Pickering fire, brooding
over the past, doubling the future.
His had been brighter life once,
when across the seas he enjoyed a
situation of honor in the world of
music in his native town, He had
left both the leadership Of famous
band and the position Of church or
ganist to: cast his lot with the thous-
ands Of emigrants that annually
crowd our shores. s,z.z
A scheming land agent, enthusiastic
speeches, samples Of full-gr0wn wheat,
grown in the fertile San Luis Valley
in Colorado, United States, the pros
:pect Of d short and easy road to sue
cess had lured Convald onto become
one Of the band that cof0diZed the
valley. The agent had arranged all.
COnvald, who had never done a stroke.
Of manual labor, was' to become the
colony's merchant, while the 'AOthers
titled the soil. He had invested all
he had in his store, and was forced
by sheer humanity to sell on credit
and good promises to the furnishing
emigrants until the return from the
first crop would enable them to pay.
Owing to faulty irrigation there
had been failure of crops, and when
the colony failed and dispersed, leay-
ing their debts behind, then Convald's
downfall, too, was inevitable. On this
Christmas Eve, as he sat meditating
upon the past, one by one the scenes
passed in panoramic view before his
mental vision. the devastating flood,
scarlet fever and the death Of his
little daughter, failure in business, one
vicissitude after another. Finally he
had been forced to leave the pictur-
esque valley, and all its mountain
scenery that so appealed to his artis-
tic soul, that had yielded nothing but
misery. There was no future for Con-
valid. Ignorance of the; English Ian
guage barred him from all coveted po-
sitions. Life had become struggle
with poverty. 10. ~
Now settled upon a small Western
farm, he realized a moderate income,
but oh (! though acute poverty was . a
thing Of the past, how prOsaic life
was now, compared with what it had
been across the waters when music
illumined all. @, to be among his
"band boys" once more, to pour forth
his soul in volume of tones from
noble organ.
All was gone! Among all, his in
struments. Even more than the loss
of his clarinet and cornet he felt that
of his organ, for he had been q mas
terful player. Especially on this night,
he craved for what he had once.
v,1xx, o,,<.o,, x~xoo - ho <9o1;
Gated at the church in town the fol-
lowing day. A wild longing had
seized him to- become organist once
more. He was the last one Of the
three applicants to try his skill. Two
able players had preceded him, who
could be surpassed only by supplying
the emotional 5 touch, so essential to
sacred music which they lacked. For
seven years his fingers had not touch
ed the, keys and keenly he felt that
lack of preparation might cause him
to fail. His longing for an organ
becan4eS more intense. Suddenly his
long reverie was interrupted by the
sound Of an approaching wagon. He
rose hastily, wondering who the: Wis
itor could be who would venture out
into a typical Western snoWstOrm He
opened the door to admit the dray-
man from town and stared in be-
wilderment as he caught the mean
ing of the mans words: II have an
organ on my wagon that am to de-,
liver here" There must be mis-
take; I have not ordered one.'' No,
Mr.. Mattox said this would explain
Convald took the note and read: :
"Dear father, accept my Christmas
gift, which must bring you success;
tomorrow Your daughter, Stella. z
1t was one of those wild nights
when the very elements seem to be at
war with themselves. Thickly the
snow, fell, hurled on by a terrific wind
which threatened to sweep along all
that INSTRUCTED its career. In the
little Western town the mercury had
fallen 80 degrees below. The streets
were forsaken, for. not even Christ
mas shopping could tempt buyers te
go out into this furious, binding
storm. ss
There was one who did not mind
the cold and snow. She was "a young
girl who, with elastic step and light
heart, moved swiftly along, humming.
to herself, Peace on Earth. IS The
very blast Of wind only seemed to her
lit accompaniment to the music in,
her soul. So It ever is with human
nature To the morbid, melancholy
mind sunshine is not bright, while
winds and clouds and storms cannot;
dampen the ardor OF rejoicing, ju--..
bilant spirit. But, whence the girls
buoyancy? Her father was to play;
on the coming day. She had the u11-
wavering assurance Ii her heart that
Peace on Earth as interpreted BY
him must excel even CrOfter and Van
Dyke, who have played before him,
father must be chosen q at means
so much to him. the others 4 -
business, but 70 him Il g g passion
that, has become the very essence Of
his life. The luxury his nselfisll ma
ture has denied itself shall be his
today, s . che SAID e hsrself s. VIZ 3