Scan 465
The violin: its famous makers and their imitators, 1884
15 lines. Read by computer on 28 September 2026. Printed page 371. See the scan on archive.org.
1Clerkenwell Green to St. John Street. From the year 1678 to the time of his death, in 1714, the concerts of Britton were attended by persons of all ranks.
3"Tho' mean thy rank, yet in thy humble cell,
4Did gentle peace and arts unpurchased dwell.
5Well pleased, Apollo thither led his train,
6And Music warbled in her sweetest strain.
7Cylenius too, so fables tell, and Jove
8Came willing guests to poor Philemon's grove.
9Let useless pomp behold, and blush to find
10So low a station, such a liberal mind."*
12Thus the first germ of the great musical societies gave a marked impulse to the culture of stringed music in England. Attention was turned to the subject; its humanising effects were recognised, and parties met in several places for the practice of chamber music. Our progress in Violin-playing at this date was clearly satisfactory. We had a Violinist named John Henry Eccles, belonging to a clever family of musicians. He became a member of the band of Louis XIV., and was regarded as an excellent player and musician. He published in Paris some solos for the Violin in 1720. His brother Thomas was also a good Violinist. Fortune, however, did not smile upon him. He is described as being one of those itinerant musicians—perhaps the last of them—who in winter evenings went to taverns, and for a slender subsistence bore the insults of those disinclined to listen to their performance. This order
14* These verses were written by Mr. John Hughes, who was a frequent performer on the Violin at Britton's concerts. (Hawkins).
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