New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1853-11-19
DAILY CRESCENT.
Last DAYS Of Mozart.


This gifted overwhelmingly, like
most men Of genius, impulsive and erratic, now
on mountain wave Of joyous emotions, and
anon in the deep and gloomy vale Of melancholy
was. alas too often the victim Of seductive
wiles and his high and noble nature frequently
yielded To appetite and passion. Would that it
had been otherwise; but the snares and blan-
dishments Of fashionable life were around him,
and he must have been more than a man to
have withstood their powers.
One of the most pleasant reflections connected
with his eventful history was the unwavering
attachment and tenderness Of his faithful wife,
who stood by him in every hour, and would not
allow her affections to become alienated, not
outstanding the misgivings of her heart, and
the many rumors which came to her ears In
the midst of all, this noble woman chung to MIN
to the last.
frame % delicate as that of Mozsrt's, could
not always stand the heavy draws made upon it.
The DAYS and nights of intense mental labor,
added to the dissipation which almost necessa-
rilv connected itself with the circles in which
he moved. made fearful inroads upon his health
II was during the composition of the Zauber-
fiote that the manifestation of those symptoms,
which portended the decay of his vital powers,
and general breaking up Of his first
work, and wrote necessarily by day and by
night, but not, as formerly, with impunity. He
often tainted away over his compositions, and
remained for several minutes before conscious
ness returned His health suffered SO much
that he was obliged to suspend his labors, and
take an excursion to Baden. While there he
executed his Ave Vernum Corpus" a strain
of such calm but exalted religious feeling as
may we'll interpret his sensations in sickness
and solitude.
About this period one of the most curious, if
not mysterious incidents of his life occurred
As he sat musingly in his study one day, he was
surprised by the entrance of stranger, who
presented him letter without any signature,
the purport of which was to inquire whether
he would undertake the composition of Requi-
EN-, and also to ascertain when he could have it
ready, andIwhat would be its price Mozart,
after consulting his wife, agreed to the PROPOSE
ton Of the unknown, fixed the price, and re-
ceived twenty five ducats as part payment, but
would not determine the time of its completion
He was informed by the stranger that it would
be vain to trouble himself about who his en-
pleyer was, and that he would never regret the
undertaking.
After the departure of the mysterious messen-
ger, Mozart fell into deep reverie, and suddenly
calling for pen, ink, and paper, he began to
write. His progress, however, was interrupted,
being called away on professional business to
Prague. Just as he was entering the carriage
the stranger appeared and, looking intensely at
Mozart, said, How will the Requiem proceed
now" On Mozart's giving him satisfactory
answer, they separated. While at Prague. in
the midst of its mirth and revelry, he had long
presentiment of his death, and wept to think,
on leaving, that he should see his numerous
friends no more
On his return he RECOMMENDED the Requiem; ;
but the thought of bis death filled him with mel
ancholy. He labored in unusual silence and de-
lection, and seemed to be possessed of one idea,
which entirely absorbed his mind. Friends call
ed, and his affectionate wife tried to rally him,
but all in vain; he seemed like one SPELL bound,
and labored on in silent abstraction. On fine
day, seated in a grove with his wife, he said to
her, Constance, am writing this Requiem for
myself" She tried TO reason him out of his
gloomy fancies, but in vain His eyes filling
with tears, he answered :" No. no. | cannot
last long, have certainly been poisoned On
consulting physician, his Requiem was taken
away from him. This produced a momentary
relief, and he 50 far recovered as to be able to
attend lodge of Free Masons, which greatly re-
vived his spirits.
Being partially restored, he was allowed to
have his Requiem, which he so much. desired
With it came his former illness, and he wascon-
fined to bed; but his Requiem was constantly
beside him. AT o'clock on the same day on
which he died, he desired some performers to
sing the Requiem, himself taking the alto part
When they proceeded so far as the first bars of
the Lacrymosa, Mozart burst into a food of
tears and the score was removed 1t was his
last song, and
'swan-fke, aud sweet, it waited him homen