【英文原著类】The Fifth String(第五根线).pdf

The Fifth String
The Fifth String
By John Philip Sousa
1
The Fifth String
I
ing of Diotti to America had awakened more than usual
interest in the man and his work. His marvelous ess as violinist in the
leading capitals of Europe, together with many brilliant contributions to
the literature of his instrument, had long been mented on by
the critics of the old world. Many stories of his struggles and his triumphs
had found their way across the ocean and had been read and re-read with
interest.
Therefore, when Mr. Henry Perkins, the well-known impresario,
announced with an air of conscious pride and pardonable enthusiasm that
he had secured Diotti for a ``limited'' number of concerts, Perkins' friends
assured that wide-awake gentleman that his foresight amounted to positive
genius, and they predicted an unparalleled ess for his star. On account
of his wonderful ability as player, Diotti was a favorite at half the courts of
Europe, and the astute Perkins enlarged upon this fact without regard for
the feelings of the courts or the violinist.
On the night preceding Diotti's debut in New York, he was the center
of attraction at a reception given by Mrs. Llewellyn, a social leader, and a
devoted patron of the arts. The violinist made a deep impression on those
fortunate enough to be near him during the even- ing. He won the respect
of the men by his observations on matters of international interest, and the
admiration of the gentler sex by his chivalric estimate of woman's
influence in the world's progress, on which subject he talked with rarest
good humor and delicately implied gallantry.
During one of those sudden and unexplainable lulls that always occur
in general drawing-room conversations, Diotti turned to Mrs. Llewellyn
and whispered: ``Who is the charming young woman just entering?''
``The beauty in white?''
``Yes, the beauty in white,'' softly echoing Mrs. Llewellyn's query. He
leaned forward and with eager eyes gazed in ad