PALM SUNDAY
57
such a man)-who made a terrible impression on me when I was
about Ted's age, and on a good many other boys of my generation,
I later learned. Most of us, I guess, passed through his hands at
one time or another, briefly or for a longer period, depending on
the temperament of the boy, though none of us knew about the
others at the time and never spoke of it or acknowledged it later
when we did know. He was a singer and a musician, a man of real
talent, who was active in all the musical and church affairs of the
town and very much in demand where a good singer was needed or
a man who knew music and could play the piano or organ. Every–
body admired his talents and liked him personally too, and when he
sang, men and women alike were genuinely enraptured with his
voice and considered our town lucky to have such a man for our
very own. My mother used to say that he had as good a voice as
Lambert Murphy or John MacCormack and cquld have gone just
as far, if only he'd had any gumption, and maybe she was right.
But what is true is that life in our community, both public and
private, would have been very different if Ray Verne had not
been there.
His name was Raoul de la Vergne and it really was his name,
but he was always spoken of and even thought of as Ray Verne.
Only
in
the paper and on programs of commencement exercises
and church doings was the fancier name used, like
"LA DoNNA
E
MoBILE
RAouL DE LA VERGNE"
and then people would say (but never with surprise, for it was
always expected), "Look, Ray Verne's in it," or "Ray Verne's
singing tonight." His importance in the town was such that he
worked for both the Episcopal and Methodist churches (he played
the organ in our church and directed the choir for the Methodists)
and nobody thought anything of it. He was prominent in the
Masons, too, and led all their musical activities. He sang at fune–
rals and weddings; was popular with the Italians on the other side
of the canal, with whom he used to congregate on Saturday nights
and drink wine and sing; and of course he had a good part in every
home-talent show that came along, and, if it was a musical show,
he played the lead. When our high school put on "Pinafore," Mr.
Verne sang the role of Ralph Rackstraw inevitably, though he was
old enough to be our father. But that didn't matter: he sang beau–
tifully and he didn't look old. Though he must have been forty at
