Scan 12
Famous Violinists and Fine Violins: Historical Notes, Anecdotes, and …, 1896
6 lines. Read by computer on 3 September 2026. No printed page number was found. See the scan on archive.org.
1ample proof that he was one of the best judges of good playing that ever lived; and he would not allow the slightest bad taste or false note to be produced in his presence without correcting it at once.
3My first violin came to me under rather peculiar circumstances, when I was not quite six years of age. I had been very ill with scarlet fever, but had recovered wonderfully since my mother had allowed me to sponge my aching head over a bucket of cold water. One morning my father entered my bedroom; he said he was going to ride into Birmingham, and asked me what he should bring back for me to play with. Without a moment's hesitation I exclaimed, "A violin!"
5Why did I say that? Why did I ask for an instrument which was destined ever afterwards to cling to me through life, to soothe my sorrows, to become a source of delight, and to lead me through endless adventures? Heaven alone knows! I asked for a violin, and my good father, to my great joy, actually brought one to me. It was cautiously wrapped, with its bow, and a little box of rosin, in a brown paper parcel, so that he could carry it attached to the pommel of his saddle. To describe the feeling of contentment and the enthusiasm with which I opened this precious parcel, as I sat up in bed exulting over my good fortune, would be quite impossible. But, alas! when it was opened I could do nothing but silently admire the contents.
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