The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1873-04-04
PAGANINI.
Interesting sketch of his Life and Char.
acter.

Int nteresting Sketch of his Life and Char
....... Rcter.
Paganini's father may have been a
street porter, as some pretend, OF a
small tradesman, as others, probably in
the right, affirm. He was sharp man !;
he was a cruel man; he did oYermuch to
develop his sons talents, and Overmuch
to ruin his health, and, probably, is
chargeabIe with having destroyed his
mental and moral equilibrium for life.
Nicolo's mother was sweet, amiable
woman she loved her boy, she believed
IN him, she often stood between him
and the rod, she prayed for him, and
saw one night in vision celestial be-
ing, who told her that the boy would
become the greatest violinist that ever
lived. How far this dream, which she
lost no time in communicating to father
and son, increased the fathers severity,
and fired the boys ambition, we cannot
tell; but the dream seems to have been
a welI-established fact, and years after
ward. when the mother was old, and the
son at his. zenith, she reminded him of
it, as of an incident which had been ia
miliar to both of them throughout their
lives. %.
In these early days of boyhood were
probably laid the seeds of that idiosyn-
Grassy of temperament which became at
once the glory and curse of his life.
Little as we know about the human
brain, it is toIerably certain that it's
PARTICLES move in physical grooves and
acquire methodical arrangements, which
correspond to what we call mental quail
tiles and states of mind. Illness may
perpetuate some, and modify others.
Great severity may have similar effect /;
recurrent outward action, for instance,
may create intense propensity IN certain
directions, and thus impart the perse-
veranoe of mania to inward dispositions ;
the nervous system at the same time, if
it does not break down, becomes over
developed, and is then endowed with an
almost supernatural sensibility. Some
thing of this kind appears to have been
the case with tPaganini he was by ma
ture very delicate. At four years of
age he was nearly buried alive, he lay
| whole day in a state of catalepsy; and
was already placed in his shroud, when
he revived, but with a nervous system
which from that time forward showed
signs of strange and unnatural suscep-
tibility. BY his own temperament, as
soon as he could hold the violin he was
urged to an intense and dangerous ap-
I pIication-fo the least fault he was Sc
verely beaten by his father, which seem
ed only to increase an ardor which
should, for his own sake, have been
rather moderated. Precocity was stiD
further forced on by starvation. Had
it not been-f for his mother he might
never have survived this brutal treat
ment. s-s aE.. srsHF
Paganini was born at Genoa on the
18th of February, 1774 After exhaust
I ing his fathers instruction, he was takeI
in hand by Signor SeryettO of the &c
noese theater; then Giacomo Costa
chapel master, taught him, and the
child was often seen playing IN the &c
knoese churches on violin almost a
large as himself but, like Mozart be
/ fore him, and Mendelssohn after him
Nicolo was the despair of his masters
who were in turn angry with. his limo
vations, and astonished at his precOcioU
facility. In Iis ninth year he appeared
at n concert, and electrified every on
with variations on a well known Frencl
air. This triumph compelled his ava
4 riciOus father to discover some one VIII
feould further teach him; the young tai
'ent was to be pressed and squeezed t
its utmost Limit, in order TO preduce tia
golden harvest. .t .--.- .-.t E-r
At Parma lived the celebrated mus
clan RoIla. To Rolla was the bo
4 taken. bat RoIia was III. 7s Whilst wait
i ing in the ante-room little Nicolo too
. imp a violin, and played off at sigh
some difficult music which he found ly
T ing on the table. Theinyalid compose
raised himself to listen, and eagerly il
? ouired who the great master was WI
} had arrived, and was playing in his ant
D room. "a mere lad!-impossible!'' bJ
ON Paganini' 5 making his appearance