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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW.
WITH THE
TRAVELERS.
*AINT allus fair,"saida typical westerner,
whom a well-known drummer for a New
York music house met in the pretentious inn at
Pine City, Minn., some time ago, "terjedgea
man by the company he keeps. One of the
deares' friens I ever had wus a social outcast."
'' An ex-convict ? '' asked the New York
drummer.
"No; 'twus a snake. Didn't ye ever hear
'bout my pet snake ? ''
" I can't say that I have heard him men-
tioned. You see, I have been here only a short
time,'' was the apologetic reply.
" Ye couldn't hev been here more'n a day or
two. Otherwise ye'd have been sure to hev
heard of him."
The old gentleman looked very pensive and
his eyes moistened a little.
" I wisht," he went on, "thet ye'd do me a
favor. I 'spose thet ye take a good many long
walks. Ef ye ever notice a rattler weth a wart
on the left side of his neck, I'd be mightily
obleeged ter ye ef ye'd bring 'im home."
'' Do—do you mean a rattlesnake ? ''
1
' Yes. You needn 't be scared;'' the assurance
being in response to a look of wild dismay that
crept over the face of the N. Y. D. " You won't
run any risk at all ef ye call him ' Billy ' in a
gentle tone of voice and scratch the top of his
head with yer fore finger. That allus pleased
Billy tremendous."
He was silent with his musings for almost a
minute after his auditor murmured about being
glad to do anything in his power to accomodate
him. At the close of his thoughful silence his
face brightened as if a sudden inspiration had
come.
" Kin you play a mouth-organ ? " he asked.
'' Why, when I was young I could do a little
with ' Home, Sweet Home' on the instru-
ment."
" That's the very tune," he replied, producing
a battered harmonica from his hip pocket.
" Billy liked that better'n anything else except
dance music. I wish you'd take this, an' some-
time when ye feel like restin' set down on a
stump an' play a little bit. Then look around
an' see ef ye can't discover Billy. He'll make
hisself known sure ef he's anywhere in the
neighborhood."
" He must have a remarkable ear for music.''
"Ear fur music! I should say he had. It
THE
\ \
wus through his ear fur music thet we fust got
acquainted. I wus restin' one day at noon an'
the hired man wus playin' the mouth organ.
1
Ta-ra-ra-boom-de-ay' wus then in its prime, an'
thet wus the tune he wus working over. My at-
tention wus attracted by the fac' thet every time
he'd git ter the 'boom' part we'd hear a rattle in
the grass jest behind us. I made a little s'arch,
an' there wus Billy dancin' fit ter kill hisself.
He wus balanced in the middle, head an' tail up
like the letter U. Fust he'd give a little spring
this way ; then h'd jump that; then he'd spin
round an' round, the head part ofhimcontin-
nerly wavin' in the most graceful curves ye ever
see. When the music 'ud git ter the proper
place he'd put in a rattle thet 'ud set off the tune
jes' right. I never expect to see no better dan-
cin' ef I live ter be 1,000 years old. The hired
man followed up with a jig an' then a reel, an'
that snake wus fairly crazy weth delight.
Finally the hired man played a little Spanish
dance, an' Billy jes' took an extra kink in his
tail an' made them rattlers do duty fur castanets
in a way thet would hev made a ballet girl tired.
When it wus all over he wus so played out thet
I picked him up an' carried him to the house
without his offerin' ter git away. He 'predated
my kindness, an' we got ter be the closes' kin'
of frien 's."
' • I should think you would have been careful
not to lose him."
" I done my best. But he wus sech good com-
pany that I liked ter take him out ter my work
weth me. Couldn't anything coax him away
from whur I told 'im ter stay—thet is not
nothin' thet ye could ordinarily think on. He
wus ez loyal ez ye could ask. But one day while
he wus layin' on the top rail of the fence along
came a circus thet wus goin' ter show in a town
ten miles off. A lot o' the musicians was in the
band-wagon an' jes ez they got past us they
Struck up one o' them marches thet the boys
whistle so much. Ye orter hev seen thet snake
wake up. He went about six feet in the air
from whur he wus layin', an' landed in the mid-
dle of the road. I wus at the other side o' the
field an' I made fur 'im the best I could 'cause I
realized that nothin' on earth 'ud keep 'im from
follerin' that band. But he had too much the
start; I couldn't ketch up to 'im."
" But he probably stopped when the music
did."
" I know it. An' it don't seem reasonable ter
me thet he'd git lost. Between me an' you I
kind o' think he's loafin around in the woods
near here, too much ashamed ter come home.
That's why I give ye the mouth organ. Ef ye
git the chance I want ye ter do something ter re-
mind him of ole times an' make 'im feel thet
they aint no hard feelins an' thet home is the
best place, after all.''
ALBERT G. WIGAND and D. F. Dunbar are
II
Harp, No. 526,630, I,. Lehman.
Music box, No. 526,499, Paillard & Sueur.
Music leaf turner, No. 526,633, C. H. Nadig.
Trombone guage, No. 526,616, J. L. De Good.
STRINGED INSTRUMENT.—John Connery, Long
Island City, N. Y.—This is an instrument of the
mandolin type, and the invention provides such
an instrument having an attachment whereby
the instrument may be played after the manner
of a violin, by drawing a bow back and forth.
The strings are arranged over a convex bridge,
by which they are held concentric with a slotted
convex guide secured to the top of the instru-
ment, the bow being adapted to move on the
guide and having pins or teeth which project
through its slot to engage the strings.—Scientific
American.
BROOKLYN, N. Y.—Members of the Musical
Mutual Protective Union, of this city, have
organized a symphony orchestra with 35 mem-
bers, to be known as the Brooklyn Symphony
Orchestra. Arthur Claassen, musical director.
NEW YORK, N. Y.—The Musical News Co.
has been incorporated to publish the latest
musical news and all information of interest
to the musical world. Capital, $5,000. Direct-
ors, Morris Reno, Leon Margulies, and C. L.
Graff, New York, and Geo. Granthan Bain,
Washington, D. C.
BROOKLYN, N. Y.—Frederick Gretsch, manu
facturer of musical instruments at 108 South 4th
street, complained to the police that two of his
valued dogs, valued at $400, which were allowed
to run in the yard loose, had been poisoned.
The police will make a rigid investigation.
MR. H. C. THEOPOLD, of the Schimmel &
Nelson Piano Company, Faribault, Minn., left
for Europe this week on private and very
important business, namely, to get married.
His bride is an American lady at present resid-
ing in England. He will return in November.
WE have received a very pretty catalogue of
the piano-cased organs, particularly style " K,"
manufactured by the E. P. Carpenter Co.,
Brattleboro, Vt. Their many points of superi-
ority are carefully described.
travelling for Jack Haynes, 20 East 17th street.
MR. GEORGE GRASS, of Geo. Steck & Co., has
They are meeting with much success with the been making a trip through the States of New
Starr and Muehlfeld pianos and Newman Bros.' York and Pennsylvania.
organs.
CHARLES H. DITSON, of Chas. H. Ditson
ALFRED DOLGE & SON filled quite an order
has returned to this city after a vacation
for their celebrated patent blue hammer felt from
ree
months, the greater part of which was
the famous house of S. & P. Erard, Paris. It
on the Pacific coast.
was shipped last week.
MR. A. D. COE, of Cleveland, Ohio, announces
[R. CHANDLER W. SMITH, of Boston, has
that he has leased Nos. 172 and 174 Euclid ave- taken the retail agency for the Brlggs piano. In
nue, that city, and will move there in a short connection with this instrument he handles the
time.
Gildemeester & Kroeger piano.
CELEBRATED
STEGER
PIANOS
PATENTED 1893.
are noted for their fine singing quality of
tone and great durability. The most
profitable Piano for dealers to handle.
STEG-ER & CO., Manufacturers,
Factory, Colombia Heights.
235 WABASH AT&, CHICAGO.