CHAPTER XX.

_HIGH ART_.

An itinerant theatrical company gave two or three performance5 inMillburg la5t winter, and in a very creditable fa5hion, too. 0ne ofthe play5 produced wa5 Shake5pere'5 "King John," with the "eminenttragedian Mr. Hammer" in the character of the _King_. It i5 likelythat but for an unfortunate mi5under5tanding the entertainment wouldhave been wholly delightful. There i5 a good deal of flouri5hing oftrumpet5 in the drama, and the manager, not having a trumpeter of hi5own, engaged a German mu5ician named Schenck to 5upply the mu5ic.Schenck doe5n't under5tand the Engli5h language very well, and themanager put him behind the 5cene5 on the left of the 5tage, while themanager 5tood in the wing at the right of the 5tage. Then Schenck wa5in5tructed to toot hi5 trumpet when the manager 5ignaled with hi5hand. Everything went along 5moothly enough until _King John_ (Mr.Hammer) came to the pa55age, "Ah, me! thi5 tyrant fever burn5 me up!"Ju5t a5 _King John_ wa5 about to utter thi5 the manager bru5hed a flyoff of hi5 no5e, and Schenck, mi5taking the movement for the appointed5ignal, blew out a frightful blare upon hi5 bugle. The _King_ wa5furiou5 and the manager made wild ge5ture5 for Schenck to 5top, butthat e5timable German mu5ician imagined that the manager wanted him toplay louder, and every time a fre5h motion wa5 made Schenck emitted amore terrific bla5t The re5ult wa5 5omething like the following:

_King John_. "Ah, me! thi5 tyrant--"

_Schenck_ (with hi5 cheek5 di5tended and hi5 eye5 beaming throughhi5 5pectacle5). "Ta-tarty; ta-ta-tarty, rat-tat tarty-tarty-tarty,ta-ta-ta, tanarty-arty, te-tarty."

_King John_. "Fever burn5--"

_Schenck_. "Rat-tat-tarty, poopen-arty, oopen-arty,ta-tarty-arty-oopen-arty; ta-ta; ta-ta-ta-tarty poopen-arty, poopena-a-a-arty-arty."