Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1880-08-29
BIOGRAPHY.
BeefHOte7l.

what Shakespeare is in poetry, name
before the greatness Of which all other
names, however great, seem to dwindle.
His works have ushered in new phase
of progress, from which everything that
is great in modern music has taken its
rise. Although he was the most-ideal
artist in the most-ideal Of arts-music-
he was always inspired by the deepest
sense of truth and reality.
The great note of sadness resounding
in his compositions is the reverberation
Of personal suffering. He was a great
artist only because he was a great man,
and sad man withal.
The youth of Beethoven, we are told,
was passed under by-no-means-happy
circumstances. His father was of a
rough and violent temper, not improved
by his passion for intoxicating drink,
nor the dire poverty under which the
family labored. At years Of age he
submitted to severe training on the
violin under his fathers supervision.
The Elector Of Cologne, Max Franz,
brother of the Emperor Joseph, seems
to have recognized the first sparks of
genius in the quiet and little commune
cative youth. By him Beethoven was
in 1887 sent for a short time to Vienna
to receive a few lessons from Mozart,
who is said to have predicted great
future for his youthful pupil. As a
composer Beethoven appeared before
the public Of the Austrian capital in
1795. He was at that time 25 years Of
age. Beethoyen's works are not like
those of the earlier master, Mozart, the
result of juvenile and all-but-unconscious
spontaneity they are the bitter fruits
Of thought and sorrow; the results of a
passionate but conscious strife for ideal
aims.
The summit of his fame, so far as it
manifested itself in personal honors
conferred upon him, was reached in
1915, when Beethoven celebrated by q
symphony the victories Of the allies over
the French oppressor, and was rewarded
by the applause Of the sovereigns Of
Europe, assembled at the congress at
Vienna.
Beethoven's compositions, 1873 in num-
5er, comprise all the forms Of vocal and
instrumental music, from the sonata to
the symphony, from the simple song to
the opera and oratorio.
In each Of these forms he displayed
the depth Of hisfeeling, the power Of his
genius in some of them he reached o
greatness never approached by his pre-
decessors or followers.
By the bitter irony Of fate, he who
had given to thousands enjoyment and
elevation Of the heart by the art Of
sound, was himself deprived Of the sense
of hearing. The first traces Of begin
ming deafness showed themselves at the
age Of % years. Physicians were con-
suited Immediately, but all their efforts
proved to be inefficient. The Royal Lii
brary, Of Berlin, possesses melancholy
collection Of ear trumpets, some of them
made expressly for Beethoven to assists
his weakened sense, but all to no avail.
In his latter years conversation with him
could only be carried on by writing,
and of the charms of his own art he was
wholly deprived. How grand is the
spectacle of an artist deprived Of all in
tercourse with what to him in this world
was dearest, and yet, pouring forth the
lovely aspirations Of his soul in works
all the more sublime, as we seem to hear
in them the voice of the innermost spirit
of mankind, inaudible to the keen ears
Of other mortals. His heart was open
to the impressions Of friendship and
love. and, in spite Of occasional rough
ness Of utterance, yearning for the re-
sponsiye affection Of his kind. He says,
Born with fiery, lively temper, and
susceptible to the enjoyment Of society,
I have. been compelled early to isolate
myself and lead a lonely Life. Whenever
I tried to overcome this isolation, OIL
how doubly bitter was then the sad ex-
perience Of my bad hearing, which re-
PEELED me again ; for it was impossible
for me to tell people, Speak louder ;
shout, for am deaf" Beethoven never
married, and wasin consequence deprived
Of that feeling Of home and comfort
which only the unceasing care of re-
fined womanhood can bestow. Beeth-
oven died on March 81, 1927, during a
terrible thunderstorm, at 81 years Of
age. Chicago Ledger.
METHODIST MINISTERS AND THE
USE OF TOBACCO.
The Indian weed has received another
heavy blow. The Methodist Conference