The San Antonio light. (San Antonio, Tex.) 1883-1886, 1885-04-07
THE S ECRET
or THE
STRADIVARIUS.
BY nuGH CoNwAY.


II in these pages ! call him 10y u name
other than theune he has made famous,
il is solely ON account of promise he
eXacted from me, In ease ! should ever
feel tempted to make the following
strange experiences we shared together,
public property. lam afraid ncverthe-
less. that too many will readily identify
the man himself with the portrait am
obliged TO draw.
Liiigi--leaving his professional great
ness out of the qtlestiOn-wOuld have
been u noticeable man in any company,
n man at whom people would look and
ask not only, who Is hcY" but What
has he done in the wOrldy' knowing tilat
men Of his stamp are seldom sent upon
! this scene To live an ordinary everyday
| life. In person hc was very tall. stand
ing over six feet. Ills figure was grace
ful, some have called it slight; there was
breadth of shoulder enough To tell IL
! was the figure of u strong man. a face
! with II pale but clear complexion; dark
| dccp-Spt eyes, with a sort of PARKWAY
expression in them; black hair, worn
! long, after the manner of gcniuscs of
his kind; high but rugged forehead; n
well-shaped nose; dropping mustache;
hand whose long and delicate fingers
seemed constructed expressly for their
! particular missiOn--violin-pla
Picture all these characteristics, and
| If you enjoy the acquaintance of the
musical world, or even If you have been
| in the habitof attending concerts where
stars of the first magnitude cOndescen1
| to shine. ! fear. in spite of my promise
| of cOncoaling his name, you will too
easily recognize my friend.
Laughs manner in ordinary life was
very quiet, geutlcmanly, and repOsed.
| lie was, in his dreamy sort of way,
| highly courteous and polite to strangers.
| Although. when alone with meOr other
| friends he loved, he had plenty to say
| for himself-and his broken English
was pleasant to listen TON general
| company he spoke but little. But let
his left hand close round the neck of a
fiddle. let his right hand grasp the bow,
and one knew directly for what purpose
| Luigi came into the world. Then the
man lived and revelcd, rs il were, in n
life of his own making. The notes his
craft drew forth were like hracing air
| To him; he seemed actually tO respire
the music. and his Creamy eyes awOke
and shonc with fire lie did that rare
thing rare indeed. but lacking which
no performer can rise to enduring fame
threw his whole soul into his playing.
His manner. his very atttudcas he com
mcnced, was a complete study.
Drawing himself mp to every inch of
his height, lac placed the vinln-nest-
ling it, may say-undcr his chin. and
then taking a long breath of what APP
| pcarcd To he mtiCipatury pleasure,
| swept lns magiC'an'S wand over the
sleeping strings. and waking them with
| the charmed touch, wOvc his wonder
full spell of music The moment the
horsehair came in contact with the gut,
the listener knew that he was in the
presence of II master.
Luigi had come to London for the
season, after much negotiation and per-
suaslOn, accepted I'm engagement at a
long series of some of the best. if cheap
est and most popular concerts held in
London. 1t was his fist visit to En-
gland; he had ever diSliked thecOuntry,
and believed very little in the national
love for good music, or in our power of
approaching 1t when heard. lie dislk-
ed, also. the trumpcting with which the
promoters of the concerts hcralded his
appearance. Although his fame was al
ready great throughout the Continent he
dreaded the effect of playing to an I'M
sympathetic audience. His fears were,
however, grOundlesS.
Whether the people liked and under
stood his music and style Of playing or
not, they at least appeared to do so;and
the newspapers, one and all, unable to
do things by halves, went into raptures
over him. They compared him with
Paganini. Ole Bull, and other by-gone
masters, and their comparisons were
very llattcring. Altogether, Luigi was
u great success.
met him on two occasions at the
houses of some friends of mine, who
are in the habit of spending much time
trouble and some money on that strange
| It.,,, 10 10
held, | think, on two evenings in every
week; so he had timea his disposal, and
was somewhat sought after. We were
introduced, and took liking to the
quiet. gentlemanly celebrity, who, diff
ferent from many others whose names
are in the mouths of men, gave himself
no airs, nor Wanted, by words or man
ner, the "aristocracy of talent"
| could make shift to converse will
him fairly enough in his own soft Ian
guage; so that upon my meeting him
the second time, he expressed his pleas
ure at again encountering me. A few
days afterward we met by chance in thu
street, and was able to eXtricate hin
from some little difficulty, into which
his imperfect knowledge of Englisl
} ways had betrayed him. Then our &C
, quaintance ripened, until 1t becam'
friendship, and even at this day reck
} on him among the friends hold TN
dearest.
, | saw great deal of Luigi during hi
, stay in London. We made pleasant lit
} tie excursions together to such object
of interest as we wished to visit. w
spent many evenings together, nights
should rather say, for the small hour
! had sounded when we parted, leaving
: the room dim with the smoke from m
; cigars and his cigarettes. Like man,
of his countrymen, he smoked simpl
! whenever he could get chance; an
: when Alone with me, believe the onl
, cessation to his consumption of Tobacco
was when he took his beloved fiddle Il
his hand and played for his own pleas
e urc and my delight.
r lie was a charming cOmpaniOn-iI
J, deed what man who had seen sue
= varied life as he had, could be Other
wise when drawn out by the cOniidenc
! that friendship giyesp | soon f0un
Il that under the external calmness of TIL
P. man lay nature full of poetry, and ne
free from excitement. | was also niue
V amused to find n vivid vein of superst
il ton and belief in the supernatural ruI
ming through his character; and | b,
II lieye it was only my merrlment on NAL
- ing the discovery that hindered hi
g from eXpatiating upon some ghostlye
J. periences he had himself gone through
}. instead of darkly limiting at what !
n could reveal. IL was in vain | apol'
n giZed for my ill-timed mirth, and wit
3, grave face tried to tempt him. i
Is only said: you, like the rest of you
d cold-blooded, money-making race, a
-. \ Al