Charles Dickens and Music by James T. Lightwood
page 31 of 210 (14%)
page 31 of 210 (14%)
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well, considering. The unfortunate individual, however,
who had undertaken to play the flute accompaniment 'at sight' found, from fatal experience, the perfect truth of the old adage, 'Out of sight, out of mind'; for being very near-sighted, and being placed at a considerable distance from his music-book, all he had an opportunity of doing was to play a bar now and then in the wrong place, and put the other performers out. It is, however, but justice to Mr. Brown to say that he did this to admiration. The overture, in fact, was not unlike a race between the different instruments; the piano came in first by several bars, and the violoncello next, quite distancing the poor flute; for the deaf gentleman _too-too'd_ away, quite unconscious that he was at all wrong, until apprised, by the applause of the audience, that the overture was concluded. It was probably after this that the pianoforte player fainted away, owing to the heat, and left the music of _Masaniello_ to the other two. There were differences between these remaining musicians and Mr. Harleigh, who played the title rĂ´le, the orchestra complaining that 'Mr. Harleigh put them out, while the hero declared that the orchestra prevented his singing a note.' It was to the strains of a wandering harp and fiddle that Marion and Grace Jeddler danced 'a trifle in the Spanish style,' much to their father's astonishment as he came bustling out to see who 'played music on his property before breakfast.' |
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