| Show M FI VIT c T O N Nc NAND f AND AND MUs MUSIC LEFT WI Of OfA A A TRAIN 0 wi I Ii I JJ n Dy r Jo JOHN JOliN i tN II U. nOSE HOSE EE thundered about her and cries of ot Bravo Dravo rent the tho air of the staid old Mu c chalL halL hail Even through the din Marya Maria could remember the first time Ume the she had heard Louis Louts play It was the day the she had left her music on the train train train-a a brief case filled with sheet music Even then she had known that this day would come the come the day for which she had waited Dut But the she would wait walt no longer She remembered remembered how sho she had gone to their house after church It was the first summer the she stayed in the city to work at Hull house bouse At the social center she ahe had bad met Eleanor Louis Louis' sister They Thoy were such cuch a charming family the Alva Alva- nois Mother and father first lint generation gent gen immigrants from Italy and the children were American as 81 only the tho children of immigrants can rejoice rejoice re re- joice joke in the land of the free As Aa she slipped dipped Into her coat to leave Carnegie hall hail Marya remembered remembered re re- that other day She had taken the train to avenue ave nue flue and then followed the long streetcar ride to the south side The They had Invited her for dinner but they had asked her to bring her music so 10 that she might sin sing for them When she arrived dinner was ready They had been to church early so that they would have bave all allIn allIn allin In readiness for her visit Albert- Albert Mr was was not home borne Albert traveled for a drug company and frequently had to be on the road In fact tact the only time she could remember remember re reo re- re member having seen Albert was at et atthe atthe the concert later But Carmen and nd Eleanor and Louis Louts were th there re And of course Mrs Albert was there Talking Talking and chattering aUthe all aU the time and yet accomplishing aUthe all aU the things necessary on the part of a perfect hostess What a jolly olly wonderful dinner it had been They ate spaghetti and artichokes She especially remembered remembered the artichokes because It was the first time Ume she had eaten them They had to show her how to pull pullout pullout pullout out the little spines and slide sUde the soft loft pulpy white meat off between y your ur teeth And they had served chestnuts for tor dessert Then Adele that Adele that was Mrs Al At was vanio-was was saying I And now Miss Ames Amea now you sing for us Marya Maria had sung for tor them huge dinner notwithstanding She sang Bang the songs she was studying beautiful melodies from the operas of their beloved Italy songs of oi religion re re- ligion love songs all the songs in that brief case Mrs Albert had accompanied her and sang with her They all sang Then a group of noisy young people peo pIe from the settlement house clubs i joined them Carmen played the i cello Eleanor sang aang Marya Maria sang again and end they finally coaxed Louis to play the violin Louis was twenty twenty ty Just Maryas Marya's age but he be was so shy hy Louis played for them resting his round somewhat boyish face tace on the chin rest of the instrument His IUs black sparkling eyes danced with the music as s the Inarticulate strings became the medium of mag mag- ic Ie Ills IUs eyes danced like the tar tar- antelle that he be played And all aU the music of the ages poured from those strings Marya sensed tint this was waa the thereal thereal thereal real Louis Louis LouIl with the laughing black eyes eye and the tight ringlets of raven hair When Louis stopped playing the others ethers were noisy again but Marya sat lat quietly in the chairs chair contemplating the magic artistry of Louts Louis They wanted her ber to aln sing I some somo more but sho she refused How lIow I could anyone sing when such auch genius wa was present Louis Loul had come over to her and sat casually on the arm of the chair Did you like my playing Miss MI Ames he asked politely You have ha a great talent Louis she replied evenly and quietly but buther buther buther her heart was ra racing as II rapidly as the tempo of the tune he had just played The group soon oon surrounded surround ed her ber and they joined in the folk dances of off far lands which they performed with such unleashed fury and excitement When she he left Louis Loul volunteered to wall walk with her to the street car At the door she paused to thank Adelo Adele for the lovely day Smiling wistfully at Louis she he told his hi mother moth er this young man is a great artist he must be encouraged Dut But Mrs Mu only laughed and made some remark about Eleanor Elea nor being the one ono with the talent As they walked to the car line they exchanged but a few brief I sentences but a tacit understanding c 2191 4 W. W Z a s J r 1 A Louis had come over to her and sat casually on the arm of the chair Did you ou like my playing playing- Miss Ames be he asked politely I seemed to have grown between them On the tho way to the suburb where she lived Marya Maria thought about her ber day day and and Louis She be bet became came so 0 engrossed in her thoughts that she left the brief case with the music on the train Early that spring there was a concert at the tho social center with the women's symphony accompanying the young artists Naturally Marya Maria attended the concert All AU the Al Al- were there there even even Albert who wasn't selling drugs for once Eleanor Elea nor was to sing ling and Louis was to play There Thera were three others on the program too Eleanor was the second performer and she sang beautifully her lyric soprano loprano floating float float- floating ing magically above the tho muted violins via vio lins fins of the orchestra During the intermission the people peo pie talked and buzzed and the Al Al- looked toward her and smiled as though to say See we told you Eleanors Eleanor's the theone theone theore one ore I The orchestra returned and the program continued Then Louis Loul played and the angels listened Louis with his soft loft round chin resting resting rest rest- In ing on the violin From the bay of Naples where the feeling for tor song long was born from the hills bills of ot Abruzzi where the shepherds sang the music mu sic Ic welled up to pour from this handsome youth coaxing the tone from the tha Instrument Marya Maria lis Us s spellbound She had thought though to This 1111 Is la herself only young Louis Louts but oh he is an artist She scarcely dared give utterance rance to the other thought And I t love luve him The fiddle strings danced as the magic magie was forced from them by the hands hand of LOuis Louts The hands hand of ot a youth but they were the hands ofa o oa of otla a whole people singing their longdown song long down through the years yearl The audit ence seemed to like Louts and the critics said he was a lad of some promise But Dut they had missed the magic maile After the concert Marya began to see Lows Louts more frequently y They would take long walks through the parks on the south louth side aide their hands hand clasped together Would Louts Lout never speak to h her r of love she wondered And Louis never seeming to emerge from his shyness talked of ot music and life Ufe but never those words word she sho longed to hear Then the war came and Louis was gone gonel Marya Maria joined the Red fled Cross program program pro pro- program gram and worked In several of ot the I large social centers In New York She sang quite a bit for the servicemen service men and always she was searching search ing searching lag searching for tor a shock of black curly hair and those dancing black eyes But no word came of him Each year at Christmas she got tho the card and the sprightly spright spright- ly talking note scrawled across Its back In Adela's Illegible hand Eleanor was at Curtis institute she wrote and Carmen was studying studying study study- ing with Mastroberti But of at Louis Louis nothing nothing Marya tried to put him from her mind but she fought a losing bat tIe tle She worked furiously trying to forget torget Then the war was over and the period of readjustment began She continued to work In New York One day she returned to her desk to find a letter from Louis Ha lIe was to have his debut in Carnegie hall ball and had enclosed a ticket for her Would she sho be so 10 kind as aa to to come WOULD she come An hour before before be bet fore tore concert time she he was w. waiting in her seat She listened with bowed head bead while he played the monumental tal works work of the tho great composers The audience liked him and called for tor an encore Then Louis Louts played the tarantella She looked up pp as sho she listened and h h. h smiled in her ber direction as the tha bow raced across the singing strings Then the dancing laughing melody ceased AU All around her the people stood toed cheering I The cheering and applause echoed through the tha huge hug auditorium but Marya Maria was wu remembering bering another Sunday afternoon She remembered the artichokes and chestnuts she thought about her ber music the music In that brief case Beautiful songs they were love lo songs tragic songs songs song in praise of God Ion songs about mens men's souls louIs songs of ot death and songs song of Ute life Life LIte and songs longs That was it I Life We tta and songs Songs on the strings trIns of a violin As AtI she abe hurried from the auditorium auditori um and walked up the street treet people smiled People smiled at the young cun woman who was wu humming to herselt herself herself her her- self while she Ibe walked up the tho street They ney stopped 1 to stare at a athe a the girl ctrl singing swaine and walking In the snow During that applause she had bad reached her bel decision She thought that Louis Louts like hit her lon songs bad had been lost to her ber but one n never v r lost lot songs and d one never lost lot love These Thee w were ro things thing ot of the tho heart they heart they cou could nevar never nev er ar b be b. lost This time the critics proclaimed Louis the tha finest young oung artist arUt to ap apt appear pear In the city In many years A great discovery they bel labeled him bim She laughed when she be read that they had discovered Louis LoW at attha atthe atthe the tha concert Sh She was wa still diU smiling when the she called the tha hotel where h ha be haws ws WI staying tain She Sha informed the tha clerk Will you tell teU Mr Ur Louis o that Maria Marya Ames Am b is calling Y V. V Yea Ill I'll watt wait Sha bad had waited so 0 long Ion but now pow the tha waiting hid had come coma to an end and h she smiled as II abe h 1 rt- rt meu b red arU artichoke oke and chestnuts chest chet nuts laughing eyes ayes and violins an and music left lest on oa a tram trait |
