LOVELY GHOST .sx by STUART JACKSON .sx I am telling the story of Celinski , the pianist , because , it seems , there was a time when he would never have played again , had it not been for a ghost .sx You see , somehow or other we had got on to talking about spiritualism , and from there my conversation had degenerated into the so-called mysteries of what are generally known as " ghosts .sx " Unpleasant things to have about the house , " said I .sx .. " even if I believed in them .sx Horrible apparitions who chill the bones on dark nights in creepy corridors .sx " " Not every ghost is like that , " said Celinski quietly .sx " Have you ever seen a ghost ?sx " I asked , in a challenging tone .sx Celinski looked at me in a peculiar way , and there was the suggestion of a mystic something in his eyes .sx Then he murmured :sx " This one was a very lovely ghost .sx " He did not speak again for several minutes , and I smoked one of his Turkish cigarettes in silence .sx .. for I could see that Celinski was revisualising a mental procession of the years .sx Suddenly he said to me :sx " Listen , my friend .sx .. and I will tell you the story of a musician who only found fame because of a very lovely ghost .sx " Now , Celinski is a man of imagination , whose conversation carries a literary touch , so I shall give his story as he told it to me .sx " The musician's story starts , " began Celinski , " in the days when nobody ever asked him for his autograph .sx World tours , packed concerts in every European capital , were but a wild dream of fame .sx The musician had yet to be 'discovered,' you see .sx " And it was when he was at his most despondent , and at his poorest , that he met Chrystel .sx " You will have heard the platitude that standing behind all really great men is some one woman .sx And such a woman was very necessary to this musician .sx He had lost sight of beauty , and Chrystel could bring it back .sx All that was best in him could be brought out by a love that was given without reservation .sx " I want you to think of the dawn , for Chrystel was fair as the day ; and of eyes that were sea-green and of clustered curls kissed by the sun .sx Too lyrical , you think ?sx Ah , my friend , but this love was lyrical .sx Chrystel was very lovely .sx Her beauty was a poem .sx " She brought sunshine to him , after shadow .sx .. the lilt of laughter , and devotion as deep as the ocean .sx She brought him passion .sx .. and peace .sx The foreign blood she had inherited fired the former , and yet she was sufficiently Saxon to give him the balance his intense nature needed .sx Yes , she brought him many things , more precious than the gift of her body .sx " She loved his music , because it was part of him ; and , knowing his need of her , she left her world and came to him Those two were mated , you understand ?sx " " SHE was one of those rare women who can combine captivation with cooking .sx Of course , they were poor but the wolf at the door can be tamed by two lovers who have learned to laugh .sx " Their flat was only modestly furnished , but it was home , for Chrystel had made it so for the struggling musician .sx " She nursed him when he was sick and darned his socks , and sang while she washed up the dishes , and did other things domestic .sx She sold what little jewellery she had brought with her to help him buy a piano by uneasy instalments , breathed words of encouragement when recognition still seemed so elusive .sx " Do you dispute that their love was lyrical , my friend ?sx With such a woman behind him , what else would he be but inspired ?sx " And his love of her found its way from his soul to his finger-tips , so that there was passion and tenderness , depth and delicacy , grace and grandeur in his playing , for through Chrystel he had learnt the loveliness of life .sx " The inspiration that was apparent in his playing did not pass unnoticed .sx It attracted the attention of ' the people who matter .sx ' He began to get engagements for the restaurants of the rich and from more exclusive circles than the cheap Continental cafes where his music had been lost in the clatter of crockery .sx " So the time came when what is known as Society bade him hand his hat to the butler , and a very illustrious hostess set the seal of approval on his playing .sx And it was known among the cognoscenti that it was but a step across .sx the way from the salon of that illustrious hostess to the Hall of Fame .sx .. in other words , my friend , Monarchy Hall , which , as you know , only offers the finest music in the world to discriminating audiences paying a high price to hear it .sx Can you imagine their mutual joy when , one magical day , the musician conveyed to Chrystel the news that he was to play in a few weeks' time at the Monarchy Hall ?sx No , I do not think that even you can imagine the full ecstasy of that day .sx " A successful debut at the Monarchy Hall means so much .sx Just how much you yourself , whose business it has been to weigh the talents of new ' discoveries ' in the .sx balance , will know .sx " And Chrystel's first thought was that a potential celebrity should be in a state to give of his best , so that he might duly become celebrated .sx She suggested a brief holiday by the sea before her musician gave himself up to the arduous rehearsals preparatory to his debut .sx " So they went away together for a few days in the sunshine by the sea , and held hands on the promenade , like a couple of excursionists down for their annual holiday .sx " For a whole week Chrystel would not allow him to touch a piano .sx They just lazed in the sun and laughed in the surf , and wandered in the lanes of the little villages pushed back from the sea at the foot of grape-bloom hills .sx " Life was very sweet .sx So sweet , that fate found them sharing a happiness that makes irony envious .sx " Happy though that holiday was , they had no regrets when they took the train for home .sx There was so much to look forward to .sx " The wheels of the train sang of a triumph to be as they rushed through the night .sx If the whine of the whistle was like an intermittent wail of warning , they did not heed it .sx And it was while they were holding hands , and talking of the triumph to be , that there was an appalling crash .sx Then the train rocked and slithered to sickening silence .sx .. a silence that was shattered by the sounds of ghastly cries , while flames sprang luridly into the hideous night .sx " Perhaps you remember that dreadful railway disaster , when a holiday train came into collision with an express .sx .. when twenty-seven people were killed outright , or burned to death , and scores injured ?sx " Chrystel and the musician .sx .. what of them ?sx They had been travelling in a forward compartment .sx The musician remembers shrieking her name , as the compartment crushed in like a trodden match-box around them .sx He remembers groping blindly for her in a tangle of tortured steel and writhing woodwork , while thick smoke choked his lungs .sx That is all he remembers .sx .. He does not remember how helpers got him out from that hell without his limbs being maimed .sx " But Chrystel .sx .. oh !sx my God !sx .sx .. Chrystel's lovely little body was broken and torn and terribly twisted .sx .. " They took her to the cottage hospital of the wayside market town , the outskirts of which had been the scene of the crash .sx Some semblance of life still beat in her , but the musician knew that there was no hope for his beloved .sx The surgeons told him that .sx She would linger a few weeks at most , and then she must die .sx FOR hours the man who loved her sat at her bedside , waiting for her to give him some sign of sensibility .sx Can you imagine his agony of mind ?sx He had sat in the sun .sx .. and now all was darkness .sx It was two weeks before he felt Chrystel's hand stray weakly into his own .sx ' Your music .sx ..' she murmured , faintly .sx " 'No matter,' he told her , and his voice was broken .sx " 'But it does matter , dearest .sx .. so much,' she whispered .sx ' It means everything to you .sx .. Your debut at the Monarchy Hall .sx ..' " 'Oh !sx my sweet,' he cried .sx .. ' how could I bear the thought of playing while you were lying here like this ?sx ' " 'It is what I would wish you to do,' she told him gently .sx ' You have fought so hard for this chance , and we both have hoped and gone through so much for it .sx Your triumph will be mine .sx .. always .sx You must be ready to give your best on that great night .sx .. and I shall be with you .sx Oh !sx my dear .sx .. we have been so much to each other that always I shall be with you .sx ' " .sx Celinski paused at this point in the story , and I noticed that the hand with which he swept the raven hair from off his fine brow was shaking .sx Presently he continued :sx " So I .sx .. for it will have been obvious .sx that that musician was myself .sx .. flung myself into rehearsals in the .sx tortured days that followed .sx Heaven knows how , but it .sx was what she wished .sx " And at last there came the night of my debut at the Monarchy Hall .sx Strange , my friend , how the hour that one may have anticipated for years may seem so hollow when it comes .sx " I was to play at nine-thirty .sx The place was packed .sx Musical triumph was in my reach .sx Incredible that the Monarchy Hall had been attained at last !sx But how bitterly !sx My thoughts were elsewhere .sx .. in a .sx country cottage hospital , where the woman I loved so well fluttered between life and death .sx In my condition it was doubly difficult to face the ordeal of playing ; you shall see why presently .sx " Before I had left Chrystel that day , she had asked me not to get in touch with the hospital until my recital was over .sx ` I will be with you,' she told me again .sx " But the suspense was unbearable .sx Half-an-hour before I was due to make my debut , I put a trunk call through to the hospital .sx " 'I must know how she is,' I said .sx " And they told me that she was dead .sx " Celinski , most famous of pianists , paused again , and the room in which I talked with him was very silent .sx Then , his deep voice tremulous in tone , he went on .sx " The inward agony of that moment is with me still , though time mutes most minor keys .sx I was beside myself with grief .sx My darkness had deepened .sx I just stood by that telephone while a procession of minutes passed .sx It was as though a part of me had died with her .sx To face the ordeal of playing before a sea of staring faces seemed impossible .sx " Then it was , when my agony of spirit had touched the depths , that there came to me some strange strength .sx " For I was suddenly aware that Chrystel stood by my side .sx I was as certain of it as I am of you here now .sx " They came to me and told me it was time for me to go and face the audience .sx Even as they did so I knew that Chrystel was still with me , that she was telling me to go out to triumph .sx " So I went before that critical audience , at the critical moment of my life , and sat down before the great grand piano , whose heavy lid had been raised high as though in anticipation of what I might wring from its bosom .sx " And I played .sx Ah !sx my friend .sx .. but how I played that night !sx I played of life and of the mysticism of a love that knew no death , and of infinite ecstasy , in contrast with deep despair , for Chrystel was there to guide my hands .sx .. telling me that I had learned a life's lesson out of pain , for only out of pain can come creation , and my music that night was creative .sx