Books › The violin and its music, 1885 › scan 314
Scan 314
The violin and its music, 1885
2 lines. Read by computer on 3 September 2026. Printed page 289. See the scan on archive.org.
1Chevalier de Saint Georges was born in 1745. He was possessed of abilities of a varied and diverse kind; indeed, he might be described as a Crichton among Violinists. As a fencer he gained the title of L'inimitable! In athletics he was an Achilles! In horsemanship he was perfection! As a dancer, a model! In bearing and manners, a D'Orsay! In politics, an intriguer! And last, a fine Violinist and worthy pupil of Le Clair. Surely no Violinist, before or since, ever cut such a figure! But stay!—in athletics Ole Bull might have entered the arena with many a Cumberland or Westmoreland hero; his muscular power was, to use Dominie Sampson's well-worn exclamation—prodigious!—and he knew how to use it scientifically. I remember, upon one occasion, after his having spent several hours in my workshop fitting bridges and sound-posts to his Violins—an occupation he pursued daily, with but few exceptions, during his visits to London—his turning to me and expressing himself somewhat wearied with his task, and that he would continue it later. Returning a few hours afterwards, he remarked that he was in excellent "form," having had some exercise with the proprietor of the gymnastic establishment in Soho Square. Taking up his Violin, and playing with the utmost finish, executing legions of notes without giving the least indication of changing the stroke of his bow, I felt astonished at the command he had over his muscular power, remembering the direction in which
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