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: II A BIT OF MELODY 1 It was twelve o'clock that Sunday night when, leaving the lodging-house for a breath of winter air before going to bed, I met the two musicians coming in, carrying under their arms their violins in cases. They belonged to the orchestra at the Theatre, and were returning from a dress rehearsal of the new comic opera that was to be produced there on the following night. Schaaf, who entered the hallway in advance of the professor, responded to my greeting in his customary gruff, almost suspicious manner, and passed on, turning down the collar of his overcoat. His heavily bearded face was as gloomy-looking as ever in the light of the single flickering gaslight. The professor, although by birth a compatriot of the other, was in disposition his opposite. In his courteous,- almost affectionate way, hestopped to have a word with me about the coldness of the weather and the danger of the icy pavements. " I'm t'ankful to be at last home," he said, showing his teeth with a cordial smile, as he removed the muffler from his neck, which I thought nature had sufficiently protected with an ample red beard. " Take my advice, my frient, tempt not de wedder. Stay warm in de house andt I play for you de music of de new opera." 1 Copyrighted by J. Brisbane Walker, and used by the courtesy of the Cosmopolitan Magazine. " Thanks for your solicitude," I said, " but I must have my walk. Play to your sombre friend, Schaaf, and see if you can soften him into geniality. Good night." The professor, with his usual kindliness, deprecated my thrust at the taciturnity of his countryman and confrere, with a gesture and a look of reproach in his soft gray eyes, and we parted. I watched him until he disappeared at the first turn of the dingy stairs. As I passed up t...