Books › The Violin: A concise exposition of the general principles of construction.., 1871 › scan 32
Scan 32
The Violin: A concise exposition of the general principles of construction.., 1871
5 lines. Read by computer on 28 September 2026. No printed page number was found. See the scan on archive.org.
1all the music we had; and yet no ordinary fiddlers get so much money as ours do here, which speaks our rudeness still. That he hath gathered our Italians from several courts in Christendom, to come to make a concert for the King, which he do give £200 a-year a piece to." Amongst the common customs prevalent previous to, and during the reign of this merry monarch, may be mentioned the following one from an author in 1659,* where, speaking of taverns, he says, "Your L. will not believe me that the ladies of the greatest quality suffer themselves to be treated in one of these taverns, but you will be more astonisht when I assure you, that they drink their crowned cups roundly, strain healths through their smocks, dance after the fiddle, kiss freely, and term it an honourable treat;" and amongst the numerous odd devices used on tavern signboards, the violin formed one, as in a work in 1665,† treating of "fanatic reformers," the author observes, "Such ridiculous work they make of their reformation, and so zealous are they against all mirth and jollity, as they would pluck down the sign of the Cat and Fiddle too, if it durst but play so loud as they must hear it." The art of playing by the different shifts appears to have been introduced into Britain during the reign of this Sovereign, by Thomas Baltzar, a native of Lubeck, and leader of the royal band of violinists, whose performances are graphically depicted in the amusing works of Anthony Wood. We may now consider the violin as a standard and common
3* Character of England, p. 31.
4† Richard Flecknoe's Ænigmatical Characters.
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