Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-07-15
M u S &c
BY HELEN FETTER.

IA pail of water and a long
handled dipper which was passed
to all those up front" There
was considerable parking OF
chewing gum.
The Metropolitan Opera House
may think 1t is unique in this
country with it's "clacque," but
these mountaineers, whose folk
melodies seemed largely cut on
one pattern. varied by being
sometimes played in reverse
accents. had their corps of ap-
| plauSe generators, too. In the
back of the courtroom were scat
tered groups of the younger men,
coStumed for the most part in
| flannel shirts of large plaid de-
signs. khaki breecheS and putteeS.
AS their particular favorite began
to swing into a tune a group OF
these chaps would start accent
ing the rhythm with heavy-Soled
boots: the more the noise the
more popular the player. Oc-
caSionally an excited voice would
shout out. and at times the
stamping rose to thunderouS pro-
portions. If. as in the case of
THE Balky Mule" the piece
played had some programmatic
values suggested, the audience
would let its imaginationS loose.
get considerably excited, and
laugh uproariouSiy at the slight
est thing it could hang a mental
picture upon to offer cause for
laughter. It was a wonderful
audience. A dominant character
istic was the number of children
present. there being at least three
to five steps in every family and
many tiny babies.
One particularly amusing anec-
dote told about these mountain
folk by a resident of WayneSville
relates how at one of their usual
Sunday night gatherings around
a little reed organ or a melodeon
a relative of one family, who
came from the big city where she
had been cultivating q powerful
and very beautiful voice, Joined
in the circle of those singing the
hymns. At the sound Of her big
rich tones the mountain folk
stopped short in stark surprise
and then burst out into laughter
at what. to them, appeared to be
unSeemly loud singing. Such are
the narrow limitations imposed
in any one group on what is GUS
tomary; all else seeming peculiar
and matter for ridicule.
X X \
TVLJTpE arn or~1oll,, .l,,~o.+ ae
L many people who think they
have discovered the gold mine of
a StradivariuS or GuarneriuS or
Amati violin in some dusty old
instrument rummaged out in the
family attic as there are people
who think they have discovered
the secret of perpetual motion.
The vast majority Of such ex-
cited speculations are usually
falsely based upon the hope
aroused by glimpsing a label in
the instrument bearing one of
those magic names. This means
in most cases that 1t is simply a
comparatively modern manufac-
tured instrument that is designed
after one OF the master models of
the famous sixteenth and seven
tenth century great violin
makers Last week, however, it
was different. A real Stradi-
varius was discovered.
It was in the little town of Rye.
N. Y, where John Francis Dyer,
the hard working parent of a
sizeable family. earned special
policeman funds to exc out living
expenses He had a small daugh-
ter Betty, 10 years old, who de-
cided that she wanted to learn to
play the violin. She was urged to
take piano lessons or cultivate
her voice instead, but Betty in
sisted on the violin. So her father
went, as most violin discoveries
seem to do. to the ancestral trunk
in the attic. There he found an
old fiddle that his father and
grandfather had used. It was
covered with dust and hadn't
been used since his father died IS
years ago, when the present Spe-
cial policeman was 16 months old.
On the inside of the violin. once
1t was busted off, was inscribed
"Antonius StradivariuS," the ini-
tials A. S. printed in a circle. and
the word "Cremolius." A friend
suggested that the fiddle was
valuable. So Mr.. Dyer took it to
be appraised in New York at
$45 600: he sold it for $50, 1000, and,
after she commission was de-
Quoted. put his $50, 900 in several
banks. He resigned from the
special policeman's duties. and Is
expecting to put all his six chill
dren through college now. Also,
Betty will have her violin lessons.