The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1899-10-25
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/ believe that only one person has
succeeded in fixing the real face Of
'Paganini on paper. he is deaf painter
named Lyser. who, in his brilliant
madness, drew the head Of Paganini so
well with few strokes Of his crayon
that the beholder laughs and is fright
ened at once ut the resemblance. 1.-The
devil directed my hand" said the deaf
painter to me, giggling mysteriously
and nodding with good natured irony,
as. he was used to do when he INDUCED
in his harmless jests. This painter
ever had been curious creature.
Despite his deafness he loved music en-
Enthusiastically, and it is said that If he
was near enough to the orchestra he
could read the music from the faces
of the musicians and that he could
Judge Of the more or less successful
execution by their finger motions. In
deed, he wrote the operate criticisms
for an important. newspaper Of Ham
burg. After all. what is there wonder
full in this? Tee deaf painter could
see the tones in the visible signature
of the music. There are persons to
whom the tones themselves are only
invisible signatures, in which they hear
colors and forms
am sorry that'I own that little
drawing of Lyser's no longer. Only in
caring black, hasty lines could there
be seized those fablelike features,
which seemed to belong more to the
sulphurous shadow realm than to the
sunny world . life.
..Assuredly the devil gl,ided my,
hand" insisted the deaf painter, as
we stood before the Alster pavilion in
Hamburg on the day when Paganini
gave his first concert there. Yes, my
friend" he continued. sit is true what
the whole world is saying-tbat he has
sold himself to the devil, body md
soul, to become the best violin payer,
to fiddle, millions into lis pockets. and
first to get away. frcm the slave gal
ley. where he had suffered so many
years. For see, friend. when be was
orchestra leader il Lucca. he fell in
love with a theater princess. became
jealous OF q priest. stabbed his faith
less Amata in good Italian style, was
sent to the galley in Genoa and, as ]
have said. sold himself to the devil to
get away, to become the best violin
player and to lay each one Of US under
tribute tonight to the extent Of 81. But
see you! All good spirits praise God!
See, there be comes himself. with his
suspicious familiar"
Indeed it was Paganini himself. He
wore a dark gray overcoat, which
reached 70 his feet, making him look
very tall. The long. black hair fell to
his shoulders in torn curls and formed
a dark frame around the pale, corpse
like face, on which sorrow. genius and
hell had graved their imperishable
signs. Beside him danced a short.
comfortable figure, prosaically ornate,
rosy, wrlnkled face, little light gray
coat with steel buttons, saluting to all
sides with offensive friendliness, but
always squirting upward full Of wor-
ried timidity at the gloomy form which
stalked, grave and thoughtful, at his
side. E imagined that he saw that
picture Of the place where Faust is
walking with Wagner before the thea
ter in Leipsic. The deaf painter made
comments on the two shapes in his
own fantastic way and called my at
tention particularly to the measured,
broad steps Of Paganinl. "Is it not so,"
asked he, "as II he carried the iron bar
still between his ankles? He has ac-
quired for good the habit Of walking
that way. See, too, how contemptuous-
ly ironical is the glance which he sends
down on his companion when he bur
dens him with his prosaic questions.
But he cannot rid himself Of that COM
panion. a bloody pact binds him to
this servant, who is nobody else than
satan. The ignorant public, it is true.
thinks that this companion Is Harris,
the writer Of comedies and anecdotes,
whom Paganini has taken along to
manage the finances. The public does
not know that the devil merely borrow
ed his body from Mr.. George Harris
and that the poor soul Of that poor
creature Is locked up in q chest in Ham
over with other rubbish to wait till the
devil returns it's flesh envelope. Prob
ably he will accompany his master,
Paganini, in another form through the
sworld then-namely, as a black poo
dle."
If Paganini seemed fablelike' and
weird to me in :he bright monday,
under the green trees Of Hamburgs
Maiden Zane, how did his frightfully
bizarre appearance amaze me in the
evening at the concert! On the stage
there appeared dark form that SEEM
ed to have risen from the under world.
That was Paganini in black gala dress,
the black coat and the black waistcoat
Of q dreadful cut, as perhaps hellish
etiquette prescribes at the court of
Proserpine, the black trousers tim
idly futtering around the thin legs
The long arms seemed even lengthen-
ed as he held the violin in one hand
and in the other the bow, and nearly
touched the ground with them while
he displayed his nameless bows before
the public. In the angular distortions
Of his body there was dreadful wood
enness, and also something groteSQuely