Left Alone, Or, the Fortunes of Phillis Maitland (Paperback)

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER VIII. THE CORNISHES. The afternoon band was playing in the Kur-garten at Kreuznach. The conductor, midway through one of the ' Pot-pourris' in which his soul delighted, was leading the forty musicians who composed his orchestra, with a rapturous energy that music can alone inspire?as it stirs the soul of a born musician. Now he modulated the treble-violins with a measured wave of his baton; now he aroused the bass-viols with an imperative nod; and again, with frantic sawings of his left arm, he hurried the wind-instruments into instant and impetuous action, his blue eyes lighting and gleaming fire at some imaginary laggard; till at length, arms, legs, head, and body all assisting, the ' Pot-pourri' was brought to a successful close in a loud and triumphant crash, and the conductor, sitting down, wiped his heated brow. Rapturous applause broke from the listening many, who filled the rows of chairs in front of the Kurhaus; while even the coffee, beer, and ice consumers, who occupied seats at the little tables on the covered ter-.race behind, put down their cups, glasses, and spoons, and joined in the general enthusiasm. ' How I do admire that little man. He conducts all over '1 don, t agree with you. It makes me hot to look at him, and I wish he would take things more quietly. ' Miss Cornish, you have no music in your soul, and you are not moved by concord of sweet sounds.? Shakespeare., ' Music in the soul is all very well, but Hcrr M has too much of it in his body. That is what I complain of., ' Complain of , with cutting scorn. ' Why it is splendid to watch how he compels his orchestra to follow him, and makes them, for the time, as full of music as himself. I could watch him for hours; he is a very king among conductors., Miss Cornish ans...