Favorite Songs and Hymns For School and Home, page: 0220

450 Of The World's Best Songs And Hymns, With Lyrics & Sheet music for voice & piano.

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	Early Beginnings.�Nearly all the great masters were precocious in their abilities. Haydn began his career at the age of eight. When fifteen he had al�ready developed much of the skill and independence for which he became famous. At that age he hap�pened to hear of a vacancy in the choir of the church at Tell, and circumstances made him anxious to ob�tain the post. The choir-master, however, on receiv�ing his application, refused to allow him to join the choir. Nevertheless, on the following Sunday, Haydn managed to smuggle himself into the choir, and sit next to the principal soloist. Just as this soloist rose to de-	liver himself of the solo, Haydn snatched the name from his hand, and at once began to sing it himself at sight. The church authorities were so electrified that they gave him a good sum of money as soon as the service was over. Beethoven, at fifteen, was one of the chief musicians under the Elector of Cologne. At four, Mozart could play freely on the harpsichord; at six he not only composed, but began to travel as a virtuoso. The Archbishop of Salzburg, a few years afterwards, would not believe that a child so young could of himself accomplish all he was accredited with. Accordingly, he shut him up in a cell with
	OVER THE SUMMER SEA.	Verdi.
	pen, ink, paper, and the words for a mass. Within a week the young prisoner produced a complete score for the inspection of the incredulous archbishop. The result of its performance was that the mass became a stock piece at the Salzburg Cathedral, while Mozart became the prelate's consert-meister, at the age of twelve. Mendelssohn was a noted improviser on the pianoforte at the age of eight. Schumann, as a school-boy, could at any time gather a knot of com�panions, who eagerly listened as he described their characters on the piano. Chopin did a still more	wonderful thing, when a boy in his father's school. Sonntag thought him such a miracle at ten, that she gave him a valuable gold watch as a token of admir�ation. At nine he was asked to assist at a public concert for the poor. He selected as his subject a difficult concerto, and was dressed by his mother like a little dandy for the occasion. After a great suc�cess, he went home to his mother, who asked him as she embraced him, what the public liked best "Oh, mamma," said the unconscious young genius, "nobody could look at anything but my collar!"