OpenLLM-France/wikimedia huggingface dataset:
# Anecdotes of Great Musicians/Anecdote 87

87.—HÄNDEL'S SUCCESSFUL SCHEME.
Before Händel went to England he held the appointment of Kapellmeister to the elector of Hanover. But he became dissatisfied and quitted the service of his royal patron without leave or ceremony.
Not long after Händel had become well intrenched in the good graces of the English court and aristocracy, the elector of Hanover became King George I, of ​England, and the late Queen Anne's music master began to fear for his royal pension. Händel dare not appear personally at the court and ask that he be continued in the good graces of his former patron whom he had so discourteously deserted, for fear of the king's displeasure. But he had a friend at court who told him that on a certain day the king was to take a ride on the river Thames; so Händel set about to compose a series of pieces and had them played by a band of musicians on a boat which followed the royal barge.
Pleased at this attention, the king inquired who the author of the plan was; and learning that Händel was the composer of the music, he received the repentant musician at court. Händel was soon appointed the instructor of the princesses in the royal household and was granted a pension of £200 a year.
This was a piece of good fortune quite unexpected by the composer. The possession of the royal favor was of inestimable value to him, for as went the king so went the court and all the aristocracy, and the time came when Händel was in need of the support of all his aristocratic friends.
# Anecdotes of Great Musicians/Anecdote 9

9.—THE GREATEST MUSICAL PRODIGY.
The receipt from London of a musical work edited many years ago by Dr. William Crotch calls to mind the fact that nowhere do we find record of a more remarkable exhibition of musical genius in a mere baby than in the case of this same person in his early years. He was born in 1775, and when but two years of age showed ​a great enjoyment in music, and could pick out on the organ keys such tunes as "God Save the King." He would also play little melodies of his own, supplying them with a simple but correct harmony.
He played before the King, royal family, and other titled personages of England, and was greeted with admiring wonder wherever his talents were displayed by his proud parents. At the age of four years he had frequently appeared in public. He could name any tone heard by him, and took great delight in pleasant harmonies, though he could not hear a discord without expressing disgust. Mozart was, in his youth, a great prodigy, but his genius was not of so early development as that of little William Crotch. Mozart became one of the greatest composers; but Crotch, though he was granted the degree of Doctor of Music in 1799 by Oxford University, and though regarded as a great musician in his day, is now almost unknown to the musical world.
# Anecdotes of Great Musicians/Anecdote 90

90.—THE COMPOSER'S DEBT TO NATURE.
Many a composer has been indebted to some sound or tone in nature for the suggestion of musical ideas. Nature suggests and man elaborates the melody, though some writers would have us believe that the composer is simply the amanuensis of nature, in many cases. But we must remember that music is art, and that nature supplies nature, not art.
A good composer will turn to account a suggestion from any source, however humble. Mendelssohn took pleasure in acknowledging his debt to nature in these matters. While Mendelssohn was not a Beethoven, while he could not so well depict the rugged, the grand, the heroic, as did that musical Jupiter, yet Mendelssohn was the tone poet of the forest and field, the bright sun, and the blue sky.
A friend of his relates how they were walking in the country one day, and getting tired, threw themselves on the grass in the shade and were there pursuing their conversation. Suddenly Mendelssohn seized him by the arm and whispered, "Hush!" A moment later the composer told him that a large fly had just then gone buzzing by and he wished to hear its sound die away in the distance.
Mendelssohn was at that time working on his overture to "A Midsummer Night's Dream," and not long after it was completed. He then showed his friend a certain descending bass modulation with the remark, "There, that's the fly that buzzed past us at Schonhausen."
# Anecdotes of Great Musicians/Anecdote 83

83.—MUSIC HATH CHARMS.
'Tis said that "music hath charms to soothe the savage breast." An instance of this we find in the Scriptures when the youthful player quieted the passionate king by his soothing music.
Another illustration is found in the influence of the ​singing of Farinelli, the great tenor, on Philip V, of Spain. That monarch was affected by a mild kind of insanity and refused to be properly dressed, shaved, or to transact State affairs. Consequently, he presented a rather unkingly appearance and altogether was decidedly useless in his royal capacity. Numerous remedies and plans were tried, but without success. Finally, music was suggested, as the king was very susceptible to its charms, and a messenger was dispatched for the great tenor.
It was arranged that Farinelli should sing in a room adjoining the royal apartments. By the time he had finished the second song, the king appeared much moved by the beauty of his voice and ordered that the singer should be brought to him. When this was done the enraptured monarch overwhelmed him with compliments and offered to grant him anything he might ask.
Farinelli was modest in his demands, only asking that the king should allow himself to be properly cared for and should attend to his duties of State. To this the royal patient assented. So pleased was he with Farinelli's singing and its effects on his royal mind, that he engaged the singer to give him four songs every night and agreed to pay him the equivalent of £2,000 per year for life. It is unnecessary to say that Farinelli was wise enough to accept so good an offer.
The difference between the two kings in their treatment of their musicians was that one threw javelins at his humble servant, the other, ducats.
For ten years Farinelli stayed in King Philip's service, singing the same four songs to his Majesty every evening. Under Philip's successor, Ferdinand VI, Farinelli enjoyed the same position and, as this monarch was subject to the same infirmity as his father, had the same duties to perform. He was the king's prime favorite and acquired great power and riches; but under the next inheritor of the throne he was ordered to leave the kingdom.
# Anecdotes of Great Musicians/Anecdote 89

89.—OLD WORDS TO NEW TUNES.
Plutarch tells us that Solon, by singing an elegy of a hundred verses in length, composed by himself, excited the Athenians to war with the Megarians. This may readily be believed. To be compelled to listen to a song of a hundred verses would excite almost any one to war, even at the present day. But the old Puritan psalm singers outdid the Greeks in this respect. The writer has a copy of the Covenanter's Psalm Book, dated 1595. In it, among other lugubrious tunes, is the one used to the 119th psalm, and to this tune are set the 176 verses in long array, stringing out their dreary length page after page. We may well believe that a people who could stand such doses as this, could burn their neighbors at the stake for witchcraft. Some of the versions of the Psalms as used by the modern psalm-singers are somewhat improved as to versification, but are yet lamentable failures as to rhyme and rhythm. But there is this to say in their favor, that the quantity to be used at any one sitting has been reduced somewhat from 176 verses.
If the Psalms must be sung in their original phrase or anywhere near it, let the original Hebrew tunes (if such they can be called) be used. But if these lines are to be set to modern tunes of the Gospel hymn order, a re-arrangement of idiom and rhythm must take place, or the result upon the musical listener will not be productive of a worshipful frame of mind.
# Anecdotes of Great Musicians/Anecdote 91

91.—SONTAG'S REVENGE.
Henrietta Sontag, one of the greatest "queens of song," had to go through at least one severe struggle before she attained the enviable position which she ​maintained as the greatest singer Germany had produced. It is said that at the beginning of her career she was hissed off the Vienna stage by the friends of her rival, Amelia Steininger. But in spite of this defeat, Sontag persevered until all Europe was at her feet.
Many years later, when she was at the height of her fame, she was one day riding through the streets of Berlin. Soon she came across a little girl leading a blind woman. The kind-hearted songstress was touched by the woman's helplessness, and she impulsively beckoned the child to her with, "Come here, my child, come here. Who is that you are leading by the hand?"
The answer was, "That's my mother, Amelia Steininger. She used to be a great singer, but she lost her voice, and she cried so much about it that now she can't see any more."
Sontag inquired their address and then told the child, "Tell your mother an old acquaintance will call on her this afternoon." The great singer was true to her word. She searched out their lowly abiding place and undertook the care of both mother and daughter. At her request, a skilled oculist tried to restore the woman's sight, but it was in vain.
But Sontag's kindness to her former rival did not stop here. The next week she gave a benefit concert for the poor woman, and it was said that on that occasion Sontag sang as she had never sung before. And who can doubt that with the applause of that vast audience there was mingled the applause of the angels in heaven who rejoice over the good deeds of those below.
# Anecdotes of Great Musicians/Anecdote 88

88.—A BASSO'S WIT.
That huge basso of stentorian voice, Lablache, was "a fellow of infinite jest" as well as occasionally one of poor memory. This was once shown in a laughable way, the occasion being his reception by the King of Naples. As Lablache was seated in the reception room awaiting his turn to pass into the king's presence, he noticed a draught from the open doors and begged to be allowed to keep his hat on to ward off any evil effects.
A few moments later his turn came for admittance, and as the usher beckoned him he hastily caught up a hat that was lying close by, and, forgetting that his own hat was on his head, carried the borrowed one with him into the king's presence. His Majesty greeted him with a ​hearty laugh, which soon brought Lablache to a realization of his ludicrous appearance at a royal reception. But not chagrined by the matter, he brought his ready wit to bear, and bowing to the king declared:
"Sire, your Majesty is quite right; even one hat would be too much for a fellow who has no head!"
# Ante-Nicene Fathers/Volume VII/Lactantius/Of the Manner in Which the Persecutors Died/Chap. XIV

Chap. XIV.
But Galerius, not satisfied with the tenor of the edict, sought in another way to gain on the emperor. That he might urge him to excess of cruelty in persecution, he employed private emissaries to set the palace on fire; and some part of it having been burnt, the blame was laid on the Christians as public enemies; and the very appellation of Christian grew odious on account of that fire. It was said that the Christians, in concert with the eunuchs, had plotted to destroy the princes; and that both of the princes had well-nigh been burnt alive in their own palace. Diocletian, shrewd and intelligent as he always chose to appear, suspected nothing of the contrivance, but, inflamed with anger, immediately commanded that all his own domestics should be tortured to force a confession of the plot. He sat on his tribunal, and saw innocent men tormented by fire to make discovery. All magistrates, and all who had superintendency in the imperial palace, obtained special commissions to administer the torture; and they strove with each other who should be first in bringing to light the conspiracy. No circumstances, however, of the fact were detected anywhere; for no one applied the torture to any domestics of Galerius. He himself was ever with Diocletian, constantly urging him, and never allowing the passions of the inconsiderate old man to cool. Then, after an interval of fifteen days, he attempted a second fire; but that was perceived quickly, and extinguished. Still, however, its author remained unknown. On that very day, Galerius, who in the middle of winter had prepared for his departure, suddenly hurried out of the city, protesting that he fled to escape being burnt alive.

## Footnotes

* ↑ [That it had become in some degree popular, see evidence, vol. vi. pp. 158–160.]
# Ante-Nicene Fathers/Volume VII/Lactantius/Of the Manner in Which the Persecutors Died/Chap. XIII

Chap. XIII.
Next day an edict was published, depriving the Christians of all honours and dignities; ordaining also that, without any distinction of rank or degree, they should be subjected to tortures, and that every suit at law should be received against them; while, on the other hand, they were debarred from being plaintiffs in questions of wrong, adultery, or theft; and, finally, that they should neither be capable of freedom, nor have right of suffrage. A certain person tore down this edict, and cut it in pieces, improperly indeed, but with high spirit, saying in scorn, “These are the triumphs of Goths and Sarmatians.” Having been instantly seized and brought to judgment, he was not only tortured, but burnt alive, in the forms of law; and having displayed admirable patience under sufferings, he was consumed to ashes.
# Ante-Nicene Fathers/Volume VII/Lactantius/Of the Manner in Which the Persecutors Died/Chap. XLI

Chap. XLI.
But the empress, an exile in some desert region of Syria, secretly informed her father Diocletian of the calamity that had befallen her. He despatched messengers to Daia, requesting that his daughter might be sent to him. He could not prevail. Again and again he entreated; yet she was not sent. At length he employed a relation of his, a military man high in power and authority, to implore Daia by the remembrance of past favours. This messenger, equally unsuccessful in his negotiation as the others, reported to Diocletian that his prayers were vain.
# Ante-Nicene Fathers/Volume VII/Lactantius/Of the Manner in Which the Persecutors Died/Chap. XLIII

Chap. XLIII.
Of the adversaries of God there still remained one, whose overthrow and end I am now to relate.
Daia had entertained jealousy and ill-will against Licinius from the time that the preference was given to him by Galerius; and those sentiments still subsisted, notwithstanding the treaty of peace lately concluded between them. When Daia heard that the sister of Constantine was betrothed to Licinius, he apprehended that the two emperors, by contracting this affinity, meant to league against him; so he privily sent ambassadors to Rome, desiring a friendly alliance with Maxentius: he also wrote to him in terms of cordiality. The ambassadors were received courteously, friendship established, and in token of it the effigies of Maxentius and Daia were placed together in public view. Maxentius willingly embraced this, as if it had been an aid from heaven; for he had already declared war against Constantine, as if to revenge the death of his father Maximian. From this appearance of filial piety a suspicion arose, that the detestable old man had but feigned a quarrel with his son that he might have an opportunity to destroy his rivals in power, and so make way for himself and his son to possess the whole empire. This conjecture, however, had no foundation; for his true purpose was to have destroyed his son and the others, and then to have reinstated himself and Diocletian in sovereign authority.
# Ante-Nicene Fathers/Volume VII/Lactantius/Of the Manner in Which the Persecutors Died/Chap. X

Chap. X.
Diocletian, as being of a timorous disposition, was a searcher into futurity, and during his abode in the East he began to slay victims, that from their livers he might obtain a prognostic of events; and while he sacrificed, some attendants of his, who were Christians, stood by, and they put the immortal sign on their foreheads. At this the demons were chased away, and the holy rites interrupted. The soothsayers trembled, unable to investigate the wonted marks on the entrails of the victims. They frequently repeated the sacrifices, as if the former had been unpropitious; but the victims, slain from time to time, afforded no tokens for divination. At length Tages, the chief of the soothsayers, either from guess or from his own observation, said, “There are profane persons here, who obstruct the rites.” Then Diocletian, in furious passion, ordered not only all who were assisting at the holy ceremonies, but also all who resided within the palace, to sacrifice, and, in case of their refusal, to be scourged. And further, by letters to the commanding officers, he enjoined that all soldiers should be forced to the like impiety, under pain of being dismissed the service. Thus far his rage proceeded; but at that season he did nothing more against the law and religion of God. After an interval of some time he went to winter in Bithynia; and presently Galerius Cæsar came thither, inflamed with furious resentment, and purposing to excite the inconsiderate old man to carry on that persecution which he had begun against the Christians. I have learned that the cause of his fury was as follows.

## Footnotes

* ↑ [Nothing easier than for these to pretend such a difficulty, in order to incite the emperor to severities. They may have found it convenient to represent the sign of the cross as the source of their inability to give oracles.]
# Ante-Nicene Fathers/Volume VII/Lactantius/Of the Manner in Which the Persecutors Died/Chap. XI

Chap. XI.
The mother of Galerius, a woman exceedingly superstitious, was a votary of the gods of the mountains. Being of such a character, she made sacrifices almost every day, and she feasted her servants on the meat offered to idols: but the Christians of her family would not partake of those entertainments; and while she feasted with the Gentiles, they continued in fasting and prayer. On this account she conceived ill-will against the Christians, and by woman-like complaints instigated her son, no less superstitious than herself, to destroy them. So, during the whole winter, Diocletian and Galerius held councils together, at which no one else assisted; and it was the universal opinion that their conferences respected the most momentous affairs of the empire. The old man long opposed the fury of Galerius, and showed how pernicious it would be to raise disturbances throughout the world and to shed so much blood; that the Christians were wont with eagerness to meet death; and that it would be enough for him to exclude persons of that religion from the court and the army. Yet he could not restrain the madness of that obstinate man. He resolved, therefore, to take the opinion of his friends. Now this was a circumstance in the bad disposition of Diocletian, that whenever he determined to do good, he did it without advice, that the praise might be all his own; but whenever he determined to do ill, which he was sensible would be blamed, he called in many advisers, that his own fault might be imputed to other men: and therefore a few civil magistrates, and a few military commanders, were admitted to give their counsel; and the question was put to them according to priority of rank. Some, through personal ill-will towards the Christians, were of opinion that they ought to be cut off, as enemies of the gods and adversaries of the established religious ceremonies. Others thought differently, but, having understood the will of Galerius, they, either from dread of displeasing or from a desire of gratifying him, concurred in the opinion given against the Christians. Yet not even then could the emperor be prevailed upon to yield his assent. He determined above all to consult his gods; and to that end he despatched a soothsayer to inquire of Apollo at Miletus, whose answer was such as might be expected from an enemy of the divine religion. So Diocletian was drawn over from his purpose. But although he could struggle no longer against his friends, and against Cæsar and Apollo, yet still he attempted to observe such moderation as to command the business to be carried through without bloodshed; whereas Galerius would have had all persons burnt alive who refused to sacrifice.

## Footnotes

* ↑ [A just statement of Diocletian’s earlier disposition. See. vol. vi. p. 158, the beautiful letter of Theonas.]
# Ante-Nicene Fathers/Volume VII/Lactantius/Of the Manner in Which the Persecutors Died/Chap. XII

Chap. XII.
A fit and auspicious day was sought out for the accomplishment of this undertaking; and the festival of the god Terminus, celebrated on the sevens of the kalends of March, was chosen, in preference to all others, to terminate, as it were, the Christian religion.
“That day, the harbinger of death, arose, First cause of ill, and long enduring woes;”
of woes which befell not only the Christians, but the whole earth. When that day dawned, in the eighth consulship of Diocletian and seventh of Maximian, suddenly, while it was yet hardly light, the prefect, together with chief commanders, tribunes, and officers of the treasury, came to the church in Nicomedia, and the gates having been forced open, they searched everywhere for an image of the Divinity. The books of the Holy Scriptures were found, and they were committed to the flames; the utensils and furniture of the church were abandoned to pillage: all was rapine, confusion, tumult. That church, situated on rising ground, was within view of the palace; and Diocletian and Galerius stood, as if on a watch-tower, disputing long whether it ought to be set on fire. The sentiment of Diocletian prevailed, who dreaded lest, so great a fire being once kindled, some part of the city might he burnt; for there were many and large buildings that surrounded the church. Then the Pretorian Guards came in battle array, with axes and other iron instruments, and having been let loose everywhere, they in a few hours levelled that very lofty edifice with the ground.

## Footnotes

* ↑ 23d of February.
* ↑ [See cap. 15, infra.]