The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1906-11-20


iii -,sIt4 IL on shda m q -
1seq llliS
lou q he tlttle Etaili.n
tiil6t sere verdi was born 9as
made up OF uneduc1tal HANDWRITING
taborers. ana his surround 81 ygsra OF
tae most prosalc kind But the Gre
" genITis yvas Ii the lad. says his bog
rapher. and these unsyrnpathetic en-
vironnents were poygerless to ertin-
guish II
The honor OF first drawing attention
TO the boys gifts - with a POOR ttln-
Grant vioIfufst, Bagdsset by name. In
lis yanderings he frequently visited
I.e Roncole. Little Giuseppe and he
struck up a friendship. and Il wns
Bagasset who suggested to the boys
father that the lad should be allowed
to follow music as profession In
after years when Verdi had become
Famous he Found BaEnsset again, then
4 very old man ana poor, and, remena=
loerlng the past. did an IN his power to
help him.
When Verdi was eight years old ne
became the proud possessor Of an old
spinet. This Instrument he regarded
with the greatest anection, and to the
day OF his death 1t occupied a place OF
honor at his estate near Busseto There
was an interesting and quaint lnscrtp-
lion written on part OF Il. It gives
particulars OF certain repairs which
had been effected ana ends: ''This DO
gratis In consideration OF the good dis
position the boy Giuseppe Verdi shows
IN learning to play on this instrument.
which quite satisfies me for any trou-
bic. stephen Cavaletti. A. D. 1921"
This spInet meant everything In the
world to the boy at this time, and It
was his enthusiasm In subjecttng It to
the expression OF the latent music
that was In him that caused the dam
age and necessltated the repairs re-
ferred to.
Once he was playing chords on Il
and was delighted at having discovered
the major third and fifth OF G. Trying
to repeat this the following day. he
was unable to find the chord again
Try as he would, he could not succeed,
SO in childish rage he picked up ham
mer and proceeded to bang the spinet-
His father came upon the scene at
this moment, and, taking the part OF
the splnet In this unequal encounter,
he gave his son lesson which doubt
less sounded chords y, the boys brain
which were a revelation to him.
The benevolence OF Verdi after his
success was a byword, and toward
those less fortunate ones OF his pro-
fession his help was at all times freely
given. But everything was done In the
most unobstrusiye way When his old
lIbrettIst Plare was stricken with pa
ralysis Verdi paid oil the costs Of his
Illness, made him an annual allowance
and at his death met the expenses of
the funeral. In addition to this, he
provided Tor the support of the old
mans daughter.
One dry when he was chatting with
Carduccl. the famous poet, an organ
outside struck up an air from 'tTrova-
tore" Thinking that Verdi would be
disturbed, the poet went to the window
to send the man away. but the COM
poser pushed past him and, reckoning
to the organ grinder below, threw a
handful OF silver out saying to his
friend:
''Let him so on; 1t pIeases me, and,
besides, we must all live somehow"
The perusal of his Will shows that
he never forgot those who had been
kind to him In his struggling days !
The bequest which Is most widely |
known in his own country is the Home
OF Rest For Musicians In Milan.
It had always been a great idea OF
VerdPs to found SON e institution for
the care Of aged mus clans whose Ia |
bors had not resulted in making them
independent In the years when their |
work had come to IN end. In his viii |
he devoted a large share of his proper
ty to this scheme, and his generous |
gift Affords a home to 100 old musi- |
Companion.