The Violin Part 20

Full of satisfaction at the idea of having made thirty ducats, and the friendly acquaintance of a great man, Mons. Schramm, at the exact hour of five, presented himself at the hotel of St. Petersburg, situated on the Jungfernstieg. With the violin in his hand, and the receipt for 500 ducats in his pocket, he demanded to speak to his Excellency the Baron De Strogonoff, Amba.s.sador from Russia, to the Court of St. James's-such being the address given him in the morning by the gentleman with the equipage. He was informed by the porter that he knew nothing of the said n.o.bleman, inasmuch as he had not come to their hotel. Mons. Schramm hereupon insists and grows warm; the servants gather round, and the dispute at length draws forth the master of the hotel, who pledges his word, in positive terms, that the Amba.s.sador in question is not at his establishment! Enquiry is then made at all the large hotels in the town-and, at all, the Baron De Strogonoff is unknown!

It was now high time for Mons. Schramm to consider himself as having been played upon! As for the rogues, they had so well concerted their measures, that all subsequent efforts to discover them proved abortive.

Mons. Schramm had full leisure for maledictions upon his own credulity and ultra-commercial spirit; nor did he very speedily get rid of the jests and gibes of his fellow-townsmen, at the piquant fact of his having paid so handsome a sum, for a fiddle that was not worth much more than a ducat!

_An apt Quotation._-The felicitous power of allusion which Dean Swift had at his command, was never more pointedly shown, than in his seizure of a line from Virgil, to _fit_ the circ.u.mstances of a certain domestic disaster. Relating from memory, I give but the outline of the story. A lady's gown (or _mantua_) accidentally caught fire, and damaged a gentleman's fiddle, which was lying unfortunately near it. The Dean, either witnessing the accident, or informed of it, exclaimed pathetically,

"_Mantua_, vae! miserae nimium vicina _Cremonae_!"

_The "Leading Instrument" victorious._-Anseaume, a French gentleman, of very limited income, hired a small house at Bagnolet, and invited his friends once or twice a-week to come and amuse themselves there. On these occasions, each brought some provisions: one, wine; another, cold meat; another, patties; another, game. It unluckily happened that Anseaume, as absent in mind as straitened in his finances, had forgotten, for a whole year, to pay his rent. The landlord made a descent upon him, precisely on the day when his friends Colle, Panard, Piron, Gillet, the painter Watteau, the musician Degueville, and other epicures, had a.s.sembled there. These gentlemen, according to custom, had brought plenty of provender, but no money; and the landlord imperiously demanded his rent of two hundred crowns. What was to be done, in order to a.s.sist their friend? They immediately set about cooking the meat and poultry; they levied contributions on the fruit and vegetables of the gardens; Watteau drew a beautiful and inviting sign, and Degueville borrowed a _violin_ of the parish beadle; in short, they got up a _cabaret_ and _fete Champetre_. The appearance of these new cooks, who served their customers in habits of embroidered velvet, with swords by their sides, had a curious effect, and greatly diverted the company, which was so numerous, that the receipts amounted to five hundred crowns! Anseaume paid his landlord, and his distress was converted into joy and gladness. But now a question arose, that was discussed with no small earnestness and interest:-To which of his guests was the host most indebted? Those who played the part of cooks, declared that, without their labours, there would have been nothing for the public to eat; Watteau laid no little stress on the invitation held out by his sign; and Degueville insisted that, without his music, the people's attention would not have been drawn to the sign; and that, even if they had noticed it, and come in, there would have been no mirth and spirit, little eaten, and that little scantily and reluctantly paid for. The dispute began to grow warm, when Degueville seized the violin, played them all into good humour, and was, at length, allowed to be the victor!

_Sending for Time-Keepers._-In treating of the importance of adjusting the time of a composition to the sentiment and intention of the author, it is stated by Kandler, an able German writer, that Haydn was so offended at the rude and hurried manner in which he found his music driven by us English, when he first visited our country, as to send for the family of the Moralts from Vienna, to shew the Londoners the time and expression with which he intended his quartetts to be played.-Kiesewetter also, in leading Beethoven's symphonies at the Philharmonic Concert (although himself a performer who particularly shone in rapid playing), is said to have insisted upon their being executed more slowly than that orchestra had been accustomed to perform them.

_Musical Exaction._-A rich, but penurious personage, who somehow aspired to be thought a man of _taste_, was resolved, on one occasion, to make exhibition of this quality, by giving to his friends an entertainment of instrumental music. While the musicians were all at work, he seemed satisfied with the performance-but when the princ.i.p.al Violin came to be engaged upon an incidental solo, he enquired, in a towering pa.s.sion, why the others were remaining _idle_? "It is a _pizzicato_ for one instrument," replied the operator. "I can't help that," exclaimed the virtuoso, who was determined to have the worth of his money-"Let the trumpets _pizzicato_ along with you!"-This hopeful amateur may serve to recall the not unfamiliar anecdote about old Jacob Astley, of "horse-theatre" celebrity, who observed a violinist in his band to be in a state of temporary cessation from playing, during the continued activity of the others, and asked him what he _meant_ by it. "Why, sir, here's a _rest_ marked in my part-a rest of several bars."-"_Rest!_"

shouted Astley (who had always a great horror of being imposed upon), "don't tell me about _rest_, sir. I pay you to come here and _play_, sir, and not to _rest_!"

_A Device for a Dinner._-Doctor Arne once went to Cannons, the seat of the late Duke of Chandos, to a.s.sist at the performance of an oratorio in the Chapel of Whitchurch, but such was the throng of company, that no provisions were to be procured at the Duke's house. On going to the Chandos Arms, in the town of Edgeware, the Doctor made his way into the kitchen, where he found only a leg of mutton on the spit. This, the waiter informed him, was bespoken by a party of gentlemen. The Doctor (rubbing his elbow-his usual habit) exclaimed, "I'll have that mutton-give me a _fiddle-string_." He took the fiddle-string, cut it in pieces, and, privately sprinkling it over the mutton, walked out of the kitchen. Then, waiting very patiently till the waiter had served it up, he heard one of the gentlemen exclaim-"Waiter! this meat is full of _maggots_: take it away!" This was what the Doctor expected.-"Here, give it _me_."-"O, sir," says the waiter, "you can't eat it-'tis full of maggots."-"Nay, never mind," cries the Doctor, "fiddlers have strong stomachs." So, bearing it away, and sc.r.a.ping off the catgut, he got a hearty dinner.

_A "Practising" Coachman._-Too true it is that Nature has not gifted all mortals with a taste for music. Shakspeare tells us that the man who hath not music in his soul is fit for "broils;" and the d.u.c.h.ess of Ragusa appears to have inclined to his opinion, if we may judge from an occurrence in which she was concerned some years since. Finding herself offended that the coachman of a certain Miss Ozenne, her neighbour, should practise the violin too much in the vicinity of her ducal ears, she summoned the lady, the coachman, and the violin, before the _Tribunal de Police_, for making a "tapage injurieux et nocturne." In vain the lady pleaded the right of her domestics to make musicians of themselves, if they could: the d.u.c.h.ess declared it was done solely and purely for her annoyance; the _Commissaire du Quartier_ declared that the noise consisted of "sons aigus, bruyans, et dissonans;" and Miss Ozenne was condemned to be imprisoned one day, and to be fined to the amount of ten s.h.i.+llings.-(_New Monthly Magazine._)

_A Footman, to match._-"The following curiously ill.u.s.trative anecdote may be relied on. A few days since, a footman went into Mori's music-shop to buy a fiddle-string. While he was making his choice, a gentleman entered the shop, and began to examine various compositions for the violin. Among the rest, he found Paganini's celebrated "Merveille-_Duo_ pour un _seul_ Violon," and, perceiving the difficulties in which it abounded, asked the shopman if he thought that Mori himself could play it. The young man, a little perplexed, and unwilling to imply that his master's powers had any limit, replied that he had no doubt he could perform it, _provided_ he practised it for _a week_; upon which the footman, who stood intent on the conversation, broke in on the discourse, and swore that Mori could do no such thing, for that he himself had been practising the piece for _three weeks_, and could not play it yet!"-(_Harmonicon_, _May, 1830_.)

_A Royal "Whereabout."_-Salomon, who gave some lessons on the violin to George the Third, said one day to his august pupil, "Fiddlers may be divided into three cla.s.ses: to the _first_ belong those who cannot play _at all_; to the _second_, those who play _badly_; and to the third, those who play _well_. You, Sire, have already reached the _second_."

_Precocious Performers._-The violin, in the hands of _children_, has been often rendered the theme of astonishment. In the foregoing pages, many instances have been given of eminent players, whose powerful maturity was prefigured, in the display of genius made in their tender youth. Many blossoms there are, however, which _never_ pay their promise afterwards in fruit; and many an "acute juvenal, voluble and full of grace," has made early flourishes on the fiddle, that have led to nothing of value in his fuller years. Apropos of this too commonly observable disproportion, a French writer has the following epigram:-

SUR LES PRODIGES a LA MODE.

Plus merveilleux que nos ancetres, Ou peut-etre plus singuliers, A dix ans nous avons des maitres, Qui sont a vingt des ecoliers!

Which may be thus freely paraphrased:-

Our's is an age of wonders;-we behold Precocious prodigies, in pa.s.sing plenty: We have our _masters_, now, at ten years old,- But then-they sink to _scholars_, when they're twenty!

The Germans have an expressive denomination for these very early and forced exhibitants. They style them _wunderkind_, or wonder-children.

After hearing some violin variations rattled through at a Vienna Concert by a six-year old performer, son of a M. Birnbach, a prognosticator was heard to say, with a gravity that scarcely seemed unreasonable: "Well! I foresee that, before many years are pa.s.sed, we shall have a symphony of Haydn's performed by babes in swaddling-clothes!"

As a matter of curiosity, I will here subjoin a few records of early feats, without attempting to distinguish those which may belong simply to the cla.s.s of _wunder-kinde_.

Weichsel, the brother of Mrs. Billington, played in public with his sister, when she was _six_ years old, and himself a year older-their instruments being the violin and the pianoforte.-Balfe, the singer and composer, made a kind of _debut_ as a juvenile violin-player (according to the _Harmonicon_) at a theatrical benefit.-Two Hungarian boys, of the name of Ebner, one ten and the other eleven, played some of Mayseder's difficult variations at a Concert at Berlin, in 1823.-A boy of twelve years of age, named Khayll, pupil of Jansa, introduced by Moscheles at a Concert at Vienna in 1827, played some admirable variations on the violin, in which he displayed an ease and solidity far beyond his years, and a great knowledge of his instrument.-At Limberg, in 1831, Apollinarino Conski, _five_ years old, surprised all hearers by his execution of a concerto of Maurer's; and the son of this last-named Artist, at the age of twelve, performed in the same year some of Mayseder's variations, at his father's Concerts at Berlin.

At Stutgardt, in 1831, the brothers Eickhorn, the elder _nine_, and the younger _seven_ years of age, gave a Concert at one of the saloons, and astonished not only the public in general, but the connoisseurs, by their early proficiency on that most difficult of instruments here under notice. The elder played variations by Mayseder and Rode, and a potpourri with his younger brother, composed by Jacobi-and some variations of k.u.mmer's.

In various towns of Switzerland, during the same year, the four brothers Koella, of Zurich, gave Concerts with great success. These boys were then respectively twelve, ten, nine, and seven years of age-"small by degrees, and beautifully less." The elder played the violin and violoncello with great spirit and power; the third was a good tenor-player; and the youngest executed concertos of Viotti's! Their quartett-playing, however, was their strongest point.

Dr. Crotch, when about _five_ years old, was capable of fiddling, and after a fas.h.i.+on, too, by no means common to others-that is to say, _left-handed_.

_Fiddlers' Tricks._-In 1731, a Concert was announced at Hickford's room, for the benefit of Signor Castrucci, _first violin of the Opera_, who, as the advertis.e.m.e.nt stated, was to play, amongst other pieces, a solo, in which he would execute "_twenty-four_" notes with one bow." On the following day, this advertis.e.m.e.nt was burlesqued by another, in which was promised a solo by the _last violin of Goodman's Fields' Playhouse_, who would perform _twenty-five_ notes with one bow. Such a feat as either of these, would, in our own days, be nothing at all.

A Signor Angelo Casirola, of Tortona, mystified the good people of Milan, in 1825, by playing the _reverse_ way-that is, playing with _a fiddle_ upon _a bow_! His plan was to fasten the bow in an upright position upon a table, and play upon it with the violin, according to the best manner in which he could manage to "rub on." The effect was unpleasing, both to ear and eye. Another of his tricks was a _sonata scherzosa_, for which he had two violins _fixed_, with the heads screwed on a table, and then worked away right and left, with a bow in each hand, accompanied by a full orchestra. He fooled his audience to the top of their bent, and was applauded to the very echo! It might a.s.sist the gratification of the gapers after novelty, if the thaumaturgist, operating with his left hand, as usual, on the finger-board of his instrument, were to have the _bow_ held and worked by _another person_.

The Chinese flutists have done something like this in _principle_-one blowing the flute which another has played on! More wonderful still-at some entertainments given by their Emperor, two musicians played together the same air, each having one hand on his own flute, and the other on that of his companion!

At Munich, in 1827, M. Fereol Mazas raised a public astonishment somewhat akin to that created in London more recently by Paganini, as an operator on _one string_: and, indeed, all the more _obvious_ peculiarities in the performance of the great Italian artist-those pertaining to mechanical dexterity-have been copied, more or less successfully. a.s.suming to be "the English Paganini," a certain individual, of no distinction at that time as a legitimate player, was particularly prominent in this business of imitation. He presented, sooth to say, but a soul-less exhibition, having some of the externals of similitude, indeed, but none of that which "pa.s.seth _show_." Upon the auditors sc.r.a.ped together, however, his "ad captandum" tricks appeared to tell abundantly-more especially when he worked with his left hand the pizzicato accompaniment to the bowed pa.s.sages; when he brought out some harmonics from _below_, instead of _above_, the finger-stops; when (by way of going _beyond_ Paganini) he thrust the instrument between the hair and stick of the relaxed bow, and thus played on the strings with the _inner_ hair: and, above all, when he placed the bow between his knees, and, taking the fiddle in both hands, rubbed the strings against it, so as to execute some difficulties of which a judicious observer might have well regretted the possibility! One of the least pardonable of the faults attending this display, was that his instrument did not always _tell the truth_: in other words, its intonation was sometimes false.

ECCENTRIC VARIETIES OF THE VIOLIN KIND.

_The Fiddle of Iceland._-"Sir Joseph Banks and Dr. Solander, when they visited this island in 1773, brought thence a very ancient musical instrument, of a long and narrow form, which used to be played on with a bow; and of which they did me the honour to make me a present. It is called by the natives the _Long-Spiel_, and has four strings of copper, one of which is used as a drone. Pieces of wood are placed at different distances upon the finger-board, to serve as frets. Though this individual instrument has the appearance of great antiquity, yet, rude and clumsy as it is, there can be no doubt but that it was still more imperfect in its first invention: for, to have placed these frets, implies some small degree of meditation, experience, and a scale; and as to the bow, that wonderful engine! which the ancients, with all their diligence and musical refinements, had never been able to discover, it seems, from this instrument, to have been known in Iceland at least as early as in any other part of Europe. Sir Joseph Banks and Dr. Solander, when they found the _Long-Spiel_ on the island, had very great difficulty in discovering a person among the inhabitants who either could, or would dare to play on it. At length a wicked Icelander was found, who, being rendered more courageous and liberal than the rest, by a few gla.s.ses of generous gin, ventured, in secret, to exhilarate these philosophers ... with a psalm-tune."-_Burney's Hist. of Music_, v. iii, p. 40, 41.

_Fiddle of Tartary._-The Tartars have an instrument peculiar to themselves, which they denominate a _koba_. It is a _kind_ of violin, half open at the top, in shape somewhat resembling a boat, having two hair-strings, which are swept with a bow, the notes being stopped by the fingers of the left hand, as in performing on the recognized violin.

_African Fiddle._-The Mosees, Mallowas, Burnous, and natives from the more remote parts of the interior, play on a _rude violin_. The body is a calabash; the top is covered with deer-skin, and two large holes are cut in it for the sound to escape: the strings, or rather the string, is composed of cow's hair, and broad, like that of the bow with which they play, which resembles the bow of a violin. Their grimace equals that of an Italian _buffo_: they generally accompany themselves with the voice, and increase the humour by a strong nasal sound.-_Bowdich's Mission to Ashantee._

"At parting, he (Bee Simera, a king in the Kooranko Country) sent his _griot_, or minstrel, to play before me, and sing a song of welcome.

This man had a sort of fiddle, the body of which was formed of a calabash, in which two small square holes were cut, to give it a tone.

It had only one string, composed of many twisted horse-hairs, and, although he could only bring from it four notes, yet he contrived to vary them so as to produce a pleasing harmony(!) He played at my door till I fell asleep, and, waking at day-break, his notes still saluted my ears; when, finding that his attendance would not be discontinued without a _douceur_, I gave him a head of tobacco, and told him to go home and thank his master."-_Major Laing's Travels in Western Africa._

"The admirers of Paganini (says Dr. Hogg, in his "_Visit to Alexandria_") may learn with surprise that a species of Violin, with a single string, is not only well-known in Egypt, but is frequently played in the streets, with extraordinary skill. Of the celebrated Italian, the Egyptians never heard; but they often listen with delight to the melodious sounds drawn forth from a single string by a wild untutored Arab."

_Greek Fiddle._-M. Fauriel, in his "Chants Populaires de la Grece Moderne," says that the Greeks accompany their songs by an instrument with strings, which is played with a bow, and that this is exactly the ancient lyre of the Greeks, of which it retains the name as well as the form. This lyre, he adds, when perfect, consists of five strings, but it has frequently but two or three.

The _bow_ is of course a modern accessory, and must have changed, materially, the mode of playing the instrument, as well as its effect.

_An Eight-Stringed Violin._-Prinz, in his History, a.s.sures us that, about the year 1649, Lord Somerset invented a new kind of violin, which had eight strings, instead of four; and that, in the hands of a master who knew how to avail himself of its advantages, it was productive of very extraordinary effects. To the truth of this, Kircher bears witness.

A violin, with eight strings, was also played on by a M. Urhan, at a concert at the French _Conservatoire Royal_, in 1830.

_An intermediate Instrument._-With the plausible view of filling up a void in the range of stringed instruments-that which occurs through the interval of an _octave_ between the pitch of the viola and the violoncello-a new instrument of the violin cla.s.s was invented, a few years ago, by a French Amateur, who proposed to designate it the _Contralto_. Its four strings were tuned an octave below those of the violin, and, consequently, a fourth below the common viola, or tenor, and a fifth above the violoncello. In quartetts (according to the inventor) the _second violin_ might in future be replaced by the _viola_, and the viola by the _Contralto_; which latter would possess the further advantage of enabling its player to execute with ease those high pa.s.sages that are so difficult on the violoncello.-That an instrument thus designed _might_ sometimes partic.i.p.ate effectively in orchestral business, is extremely probable; but that it should displace in quartetts the _second violin_, the importance of which, as an aid, arises so much from its brilliancy, is not _at all_ to be supposed. The truth appears to be, that what is here referred to as an invention, possesses little claim to that character; for it was preceded by _the baryton_, a stringed instrument of a character between the tenor and violoncello, which has now entirely fallen into disuse. Prince Nicholas Esterhazy, an ardent musical Amateur, was very fond of this instrument: and Haydn, who composed a great number of pieces for it, in order to supply the Prince's incessant demand for novelty, frequently said that the necessity he was under of composing so much for the baryton, contributed greatly to his improvement.

_Something more than a Violin!_-M. Vincenti, a lute-master at Florence, invented, some years ago, a violin with _eighteen strings_ and _two bows_, and called it the _Violon-General_, because it combined (or professed to combine), with the tones of the violin, those of the contra-ba.s.so, the violoncello, and the viola!

_An Air Violin._-A new and ingeniously invented instrument was presented, some years since, to the "Academie des Sciences" of Paris, by M. Isoard. It resembled the common violin, with the strings extended between two wooden (or metal) blades. It was vibrated upon at one end by a _current of air_, while, at the other, the player shortened the strings by the pressure of the finger. In fact, the strings of this instrument were acted upon by the current of air, _instead_ of the common _bow_. The sounds were said to vary between those of the French horn and ba.s.soon. Were it possible for this invention to come into ordinary use, the violin would have to be cla.s.sed as a _wind_-instrument!

_Automaton Violinist._-"After the extraordinary performance of Paganini and Ole Bull, our readers will not be surprised at any new development of the powers of this instrument, however great; but there are few in the world who will hear, without wonder and admiration, of the unequalled performance of Monsieur Marreppe's _automaton violin-player_, which was recently exhibited before the Royal Conservatory at Paris. Our informant, M. Bruyere, who was present, thus describes this wonderful piece of mechanism: "On entering the saloon, I saw a well-dressed handsome figure of a man, apparently between forty and fifty, standing with a violin in his hand, as if contemplating a piece of music which lay on a desk before him; and, had I not gone to see an automaton, I should have believed the object before me to have been endowed with life and reason, so perfectly natural and easy were the att.i.tudes and expression of countenance of the figure! I had but little time for observation, before the orchestra was filled by musicians, and, on the leader taking his seat, the figure instantly raised itself erect, bowed with much elegance two or three times, and then, turning to the leader, nodded, as if to say he was ready, and placed his violin to his shoulder. At the given signal, he raised his bow, and, applying it to the instrument, produced, _a la Paganini_, one of the most thrilling and extraordinary flourishes I ever heard, in which scarcely a semitone within the compa.s.s of the instrument was omitted; and this, executed with a degree of rapidity and clearness perfectly astonis.h.i.+ng. The orchestra then played a short symphony, in which the automaton occasionally joined in beautiful style: he then played a most beautiful fantasia in E natural, with accompaniments, including a movement _allegro molto_ on the fourth string solo, which was perfectly indescribable. The tones produced were like any thing but a violin; and expressive beyond conception. I felt as if lifted from my seat, and burst into tears, in which predicament I saw most persons in the room.

Suddenly, he struck into a cadenza, in which the harmonics, double and single, arpeggios on the four strings, and saltos, for which Paganini was so justly celebrated, were introduced with the greatest effect; and, after a close shake of eight bars' duration, commenced the coda, a prestissimo movement, played in three parts throughout. This part of the performance was perfectly magical. I have heard the great Italian-I have heard the Norwegian-I have heard the best of music-but I never heard such sounds as then saluted my ear. It commenced _p p p_, rising by a gradual _crescendo_ to a pitch beyond belief, and then, by a gradual _morendo_ and _calando_, died away, leaving the audience absolutely enchanted. Monsieur Marreppe, who is a player of no mean order, then came forward amidst the most deafening acclamations, and stated that, emulated by the example of Vaucanson's flute-player, he had conceived the project of constructing this figure, which had cost him many years of study and labour before he could bring it to completion. He then showed to the company the interior of the figure, which was completely filled with _small cranks_, by which the motions are given to the several parts of the automaton, at the will of the conductor, who has the whole machine so perfectly under control, that Monsieur Marreppe proposes that the automaton shall perform any piece of music which may be laid before him, within a fortnight. He also showed that to a certain extent the figure was self-acting, as, on winding up a string, several of the most beautiful airs were played, among which were "Nel cor piu," "Partant pour la Syrie," "Weber's last Waltz," and "La ci darem la mano," all with brilliant embellishments. But the _chef-d'uvre_ is the manner in which the figure is made to obey the direction of the conductor, whereby it is endowed with a sort of semi-reason."-_Galignani's Messenger._

_The Street Fiddler._-Behold the poor fellow, as he stands there in the sun, against that dead wall, with a face that betrays many a foregone year of patient endurance, and a figure that is the very index to "narrow circ.u.mstances." His old brown great coat, loose and hard-worn-his battered hat-his shoes unconscious of blacking-are the vouchers of his low estate. He wears "the hapless vesture of humility."

He is half-blind, and will be _wholly_ so before long, for blindness is the badge of his sad tribe;-but _then_-he will have a _companion_, in the _dog_ that will lead him about!

See, how sobered is his style of execution-how pa.s.sive his action! The fire of enthusiasm is not for _him_: he can but shew the plodding of a quiet spirit. He holdeth his bow, not as your topping players do, but with a third part of its length below his hand. He finds this plan the easiest, because it is his wont to work more from the _shoulder_ than the _wrist_! Think no scorn of him, ye great artists-ye _triumphant_ euphonists! He is self-taught,-or, which is the same thing, hath learned of his father, who was _alter ipse_, and who himself got his knowledge "in the family." Yet, though his bow-arm hath none of the sweep that belongs to science, behold how he puts mettle into the heels of infancy, and even peradventure brings a wriggle into the sides of old age: such power is there in the notes of a fiddle, even in the hands of decrepitude itself! The nursery-maids, who cannot condescend to _talk_ with a street-fiddler, as they would with a young policeman, accord a smile, nevertheless, to some of his "pa.s.sages," and a halfpenny to his pauperism. Musician as he is, or would be _called_ (for poverty has its pride), do not test him with terms, or ask him the meaning of a "common chord:" he will think you design to insult his misery with a dependent allusion! Him _harmony_ concerneth not, nor counterpoint either;-he is a simple _melodist_, and, to him, a few old tunes are the entire world of music. After all, too, the finest melody in _his_ ear, is the sound of human sympathy; and the best of music is the rattle of frequent halfpence in his hat-a hat by night, a money-box by day! His daily gains, what are they? A sorry pittance, truly; yet the poor old fellow, albeit no cla.s.sic, manages to live on the Horatian plan, "contentus parvo," and is very far from being the most thankless of mortals, although

"For all his _s.h.i.+fts_, he cannot s.h.i.+ft _his clothes_."

It is not always people of the finest ear, who are the most intolerant of ambulating fiddlers. There are some _dull_ persons who have little other notion of music in _any_ shape, than as so much _noise_. The complaint of these against the poor starveling here described, is that he makes so _loud_ a noise. Let us only (with sly allusion to the early name for the barbarous instrument) ask them one question-although even a bad joke may be quite thrown away upon the dull:

Say, wherefore should it _not_ be loud, The noise proceeding from a _crowd_?