Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1871-03-26
THE MUSICIANS MARRIAGE

4 After having passed thesummer in visit
1 ing the princip pal towns in Germany, the
celebrated pianist, Liszt, arrived in Prague
4 in October, 1846. = szrx
/ The next day after he came, his apart
ment was entered by Q stranger-an old
man whose apparance indicated misery
ed him with a cordiality which he would
not perhaps have shown. to a nobleman.
Encouraged by his Kindness, his visitor
/ said:
"I come to you, sir, as brother Ex-
| cuse me if take this title, notwithstand-
| ing the distance that separates us; but
| formerly could boast some skill in play
| ing on piano and by giving instructions
i am DID, feeble, burdened with large
family, and destitute of pupils. live at
Nuremburg. but came to Prague to seek
1 to recover the remnant of a small property
which belonged to my ancestors. Although
nominally successful, the expense of.sa
long litigation has more than swallowed up
the trif1ing sum recovered. To-day / set
out for home-penniless.p ssss-&sl
/ "And you have come to me? You have
done well, and thank you for this proof
of your esteem. To assist a brother pro-
fessor is to me more than a eduty--it is a
| pleasure. Artists should have their purse
in common and IL fortune neglect some,
| in order to treat others better than they
deserve, it only makes it more necessary
to preserve the equilibrium by fraternal
kindness. That's my system so don't
speak of gratitude, for i feel that / only
discharge debt"
| AS he uttered these generous words,
Liszt opened drawer, in his writing case,
and started when he saw that his usual de-
pository for his money contained but two
ducats. He summoned his servant.
| "Where is the money!" he asked.
/ "There, sir" replied. the man, pointing
to thelopen drawer q ID ) a tg3lEN
"There! Why there's scarcely any
| thing"
"I know it, sir. IF yon please to remem-
ber, told you yesterday that the cash was
nearly exhausted.n .s.xs. 500 sc
sYous see, my dear brother,n said Liszt,
smiling, 'that for moment lam no richer
than you; but that does not trouble me. /
have credit, and can make ready money
start from the keys of my piano. Howev-
er, as you are in haste to leave Prague and
return, home, you shall not be delayed by
my present want of funds"
So saying, he opened another drawer,
and taking out splendid medallion, gave
| it to the old man.
-reFhere, q said he; ssthat will do. y 1t was
a present to me by the Emperor of Austria
| his own portrait set in diamonds. The
| painting is nothing remarkable, but the
stones are fine. Take them and dispose
of them, and whatever they bring shall be
yours
THE old man tried in vain to decline SO
rich gift. .Liszt would not hear of a re-
fusal, and the poor man at length with
drew, after evoking the choicest blessings
of heaven on his generous -benefactor. .
He then repaired to the shop of the prin-
cipal jeweler in the city, in order to sell the
diamonds. Seeing miserly dressed man
anxious to dispose of magnificent jewels,
with whose value he was mot acquainted,
the master of the shop very naturally sus-
pected his honesty; and while appearing
to examine the diamonds with close atten-
ton, he whispered few words in the ear
of one of his assistants. The latter went
out and speedily returned, accompanied by
several soldiers of police, who arrested the
unhappy artist in spite of his earnest pro-
testations Of innocence @
You must come first to prison." they
said; afterwards you can give an expla-
nation to the magistrate"
The prisoner Wrote few lines to his
benefactOr, imploring assistance. Liszt
hastened to the jeweler.
"Sir, ,n~said he, "you have caused the ar
rest of an innocent man. Come with me
Immediately and let us have him released.
He is the lawful owner of the jewels in
But, sir" asked the merchant, "who
are you?"
- My name is Liszt.r ~
ls"I don't know any rich man Of that
name."
known
''Are you aware, sir, that these diamonds
are worth six thousand florins-that is to
say, about five hundred guineas, or twelve
thousand francs?'
so much the better for him on whom
have bestowed them.n kst@t4ssas~
"Butinorder to make such present you
must be very wealthy"
My actual fortune consists of two du-
cats"
''Then you are magician"
by no means; and yet, by just moving
my fingers, i can obtain as much money as
1 wish"
'You must be magician, ..-s
eff you choose, I'll disclose to you the
magic employ"
Liszt had seen q piano in the parlor be- |
hind the shop. He opened it. and ran his
fingers over the keys; then seized by sud- |
den inspiration, he improvised one of those
soul touching symphonies peculiar to him
SELF F
AS he sounded the first chord, al
beautiful, young girl entered the room. |
Fs4AAAS LIZ AhOAo0J OOHtiuCQ sue ISDldiucu
speechless and immovable; then as the |
last note died away, she cried, with ire
pressible enthusiasm e Z .Sz S p |
Brave, Liszti tbs wendrousinaz
. '"Dost thou know him, then, my daugh-
ter ?n asked the ieweler. s, s. -.
"This is the first time that have had |
the pleasure of seeing or hearing him, ,, re-
piled she "but do know that none liv-
ing save List could draw such sounds
from the piano. - 30 1NzA
Expressed with grace and modesty, by a
young person of remarkable beauty, this
admiration. could not fail to be more than
flattering to the artist. However, after
making his acknowle dgments, Liszt with
was accompanied by the jeweler.
Grieved at his mistake, the wealthy
merchantsought to repair it yinviting the