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IO
in claiming that they are certainly taking the
foremost rank as manufacturers of the instru-
ment. They have erected at their exhibit an
organ suitable for small churches, schools or
private houses, the case being of antique oak
and finished smooth in oil. The firm extend
an invitation to all in any way interested in
pipe organs to call and see them, either at their
stand in the Music Pavilion, or their warerooms,
at 143 Yonge street. I shall probably con-
tribute more on this subject later.
A. W.
TORONTO, September n t h .
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW.
•'THE HIGHEST TYPE."
STUCK
HANDS
situation. I was called upon, introduced for-
mally, and assured Mr. Smith (as I will call
him), that I would run out the following morn-
ing and put the square into such a condition
that would immediately be convincing to Mrs.
Jones. It was then understood that if Mrs.
Jones was satisfied with the square I was to be
paid a deposit of $75 by Mr. Smith, as an earnest
that the sale would be then considered as com-
plete.
I reached Butler the next morning very early
and was met by Smith with the buggy and
driven to his home, delightfully situated on an
upland about four miles from that town.
Mrs. Jones was on hand when I arrived ; Smith
had told her that I was coming to put the square
in apple pie order. She at first eyed me sus-
piciously, but a few moments of conversation
seemed to give her a more favorable impression.
•
MANUFACTURED BY
SOME EXIGENCIES IN PIANO TUNING—TRADING
A PIANO WITH A NEW JERSEY FARMER—
DOCTORING A BAD JOB—HOW " T H E
REVIEWER " HELPED THE SALE.
^p
tuners are frequently called upon to
£& face some peculiar exigencies in out-door
work. I'll relate an instance from personal ex-
perience which occurred some years ago.
A prosperous New Jersey farmer, living near
Butler came one day into the warerooms in New
York, in which I was engaged, and began to
look carelessly over some uprights. He was
accompanied by an elderly lady and a young
lady, whom I later on found out to be his in-
tended wife. They came in "merely to look
around, " they had " a good Weber square, but
were thinking of buying an upright, as it was
in fashion." They were immediately lassoed ;
the salesman, Mr. Brown—as I shall name him
here—straightened himself up, curled his mus-
tache and started in carefully to capture the
lady, keeping a cautious lookout lest he should
excite the jealousy of her burly escort. The
latter, however, was an exceedingly indulgent,
good-natured fellow—a widower by the way, of
about forty—and he allowed the handsome
salesman to freely attitudinize, and pose before
the delighted eyes of the lady. A half an hour
passed, the salesman showed them through the
stock ; the lady was completely under his con-
trol, but he was growing tired.
*
*
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*
*
At length he talked them up to business and
proposed that they trade the Weber square, and
a goodly sum for one of the best style uprights
in the warerooms. The lady was willing, nay
eager to close a deal on the spot, but $400 cash
was too much, even for the generous spirit of
mature and experienced love. They then inci-
dentally disclosed the fact that they were to be
married secretly, and had already almost dis-
posed of the Weber square to Mrs. Jones, a
neighbor, for $300 cash. But—here was the
rub—the square was in a very bad condition,
and until it was repaired Mrs. Jones would not
come to any definite decision. Yet she wanted
it. The salesman was, of course, equal to the
171 AND 173 SO. CANAL STREET,
CHICAGO.
THE
Sterling Company,
MANUFACTURERS OF
Pianos and Organs,
DERBY, CONN.
It is admitted by all that no piano ever put upon the
market has met with such success as THE STERLING
and thousands will testify to their superiority of work-
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just as perfect as a piano can be made.
THE STERLING ORGAN has always taken the lead, and
the improvements made this year puts it far ahead of
all otheis. J0F"Send for Catalogue.
Halleti Davis Pianos
*
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•
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After a little while I proceeded to work. I
opened the square—one of the familiar small
Weber scales—raised the top, ran my hands
over the keyboard, then examined it more
closely. Horror! it was in an awful condition,
the hammer felts had started, some liquid had
been spilled over the keyboard, and the bushing
of the keys had been saturated in front; it
seemed impossible to do anything with it.
Here was a predicament; everything depended
on me, and yet it seemed as if I was almost
powerless to do anything with the instrument
for the time being. And to make things worse
Mrs. Jones had come into the parlor, and was
watching me narrowly. There was nothing left
but to have Mrs. Jones removed from the room
at the outset. After some beating about the
bush I requested all in the room to leave it, and
they obeyed reverently and wonderingly.
Then I attempted to remove the action ; it
would not budge. I tried again and again, and
after an hour of hard work succeeded in dis-
lodging it by a tiresome expedient. Lunch
time arrived and I was invited tojoin Mr. Smith
at table. He was a jolly, pleasant man, and
while dining informed me with a blush that Mrs.
Jones did not suspect that he was to be married
or that he would ever purchase another piano.
The square was to be sold on the plea that he
had no use for it, etc., that Mrs. Jones would
never again have such an opportunity to pur-
chase a Weber, etc. I listened with a gnawing
at my sensitive conscience, but said nothing.
Lunch over, I returned to the parlor with a
heavy heart, and surveyed the wreck of the
action. Properly dealt with, the instrument
should have been sent to the Weber or some
other New York factory for a thorough repair-
ing, but that would forever end Smith's chance
of getting Mrs. Jones to purchase it.
*
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*
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•*
#
I was completely cornered. What was I to
do? At last I rose to the occasion, called in
Smith, told him frankly the condition of the
action, and asked him to drive to Butler for a
roll of some light, strong cord. All the other
repairing necessities were in my satchel. He
consented. While he was absent I had a roaring
wood fire made in the parlor grate—locked the
door and gave the action a thorough good roast-
ing. Then I eased off the hammer centres, where
they clogged, regulated the keys as well as I
could, heated every jack, and when warmth did
not secure repetition, eased them by friction. It
was the worst job I ever tackled, but it had to
be done somehow, and the artistic canons of
piano making had to be thrown to the winds.
GRAND, SQUARE AND UPRICHT.
Indorsed by Liszt, Gottschalk, Wehli, Bendel, Straus, Soro, Abt,
Paulus, Titiens, Heilbron and Germany's Greatest Masters.
Established over Half a Century.
BOSTON, MASS.