Literature Network » William Congreve

Please don't play it again, Sam

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From: The Topeka Capital-Journal
Date: 19991014
Author:Capital-Journal

NAOMI B. PATTERSON

Second spring

In the beginning, while tracking down a mastodon, some hulking prehistoric man accidentally struck his wooden club on a rock and liked the way it sounded. He hummed a few guttural ughs in time with the beat and thus created music.

That primitive musician had no way of knowing what he started, and to him I remain eternally grateful. Well, at least I used to be grateful. William Congreve and I once agreed that "Music hath charms to soothe a savage breast, to soften rocks, or bend a knotted oak." Lately, however, it's lost some of its charm and, under siege, I've ...

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