Butte record., 1854-11-04
MozARTTs REQUIEM

MOAAhTS S REQUIEM
The t"l owing account of the singular
circumstances attending he compo,ii)n
!of Moz rt's Requiem, may prove inter
es ting :-'Ons day hen he was plunged
II rcfiuni revrrle. he heard a carri ce
stop at the door. \ str niger was an
nounced, who requested to 50 ak to h m
A person was introduced, HANDSOMELY
dress d, OF digni6ed and impressive man
ners. L have been commissioned. sin.
by a m of coGsid cradle Importance. to
call upon YOU Who is he - intrr
rupIed Mozart He does not viii to
b known well, what does he want .
He has just lost person whom he dear
ly and tenderly loved, and whose mem
Dry VII be eternaIly dear 10 him He
is desirous of annually concentrating
this mourntul event by solemn service,
Tor which he requests you to Compose a
requiem Mozart was forcibly struck
10y this d scourse. by the gave manner
IN which it WIS uttered, and by the air
of mystery in which the whole was in
yolved. He engaged to write the re-
QUEEN. The stranger continued. '.Ega-
ploy all your genius on this work; it is
d st'ned for a copnoseur.' so much
the better. 'What time do you re-
quire 2 "A month"; 'Verv well; in
months time l shall return. What
prlc do you set on your work ? "A
hundred dncats.' The stranger counted
them on the table and dsappeared.-
Mozart remained lost in thought for som.
time he then suddenly called Tor pen,
INK and paper. and in spite OF his wile's
entreatles, began t. write This rage
for composition cnntinued for several
d 'ys; he wrote day and night. with an
ardor which se"m-d continually to in
crease tut his consttu ion, already in
a state of great debility, s unable to
support his enthusiasm. One morning
he fell senSeless. and was Obliged to sus-
pend his work Two or three days af-
Ter, when his wife sought to divert his
mind from the gloomy passages which
occupied it, he said to her abruptly, 1T
is ce tain hat I am writing this requiem
for myself; it will serve for my funeral
service Nothing could remove this
inpre |slon from his mind. AS he went
on, he teit his strength diminish from
day to day, and the score advance slow
ly. The month which he had fixed be-
ing expired the stranger again made his
ape france. i have found it impossi-
BIZ, said Mozart, 'to keep my word'-
Do not give Yourself any uneasiness,'
replied the stranger =; what further time
d you require = Another month
The wo k has interested me more tn IN
| expect d, and | hase extended it much
beyond wat at first designed In
that case it is but just to increase the
premium here are fifty ducats more
Sir said Mozart, with Increasing aston
ishmeat, who, then, are you'' That
nothing to the purpose ; in months
lime will return Poor Mozart was
then persuaded that it was no ord nary
bring, that he had connection with the
other world, and wa. sent to announce
to him his approaching end He ap-
Piled himself with more ardor to his re-
QUEEN, which he regarded as the most
durable monument OF his genius While
thus employed, he was seized with the
most alarming fainting fits. Before the
time appointed, Moz,ri was no more
The Mysterious stranger never returned,
and Mrz,rt' prediction was fully vcri-
fed. The requiem was first perform d
on the occasion of MS own obsequies.'
JUSTICE is the great hnt sin,nle nrin-