OCR Text |
Show A MUSICIAN'S YOUTH. It was by a devious path, some steps of which were painful, that Verdi became be-came a musician. When he was seven years old, his mild and somewhat melancholy mel-ancholy temperament attracted the attention at-tention of the parish piiest, and ho received the appointment of acolyte at the village church of Le Roncole. One day a priest was celebrating mass, with Verdi as his assistant, when the boy became so carued away by the music that, his duties were entirely forgotten. "Water V whispered the priest, but Verdi did not respond. Then, thinking think-ing his request liad not been heard, the celebrant repeated "Water!" Still there, was no reply, and, turning turn-ing round, the priest found the server gazing in wonder and delight at the organ. "Water!" demanded the priest, for 'the third time, accompanying 1he order or-der with such a well-directed move-nient move-nient of the foot that the little Verdi was pitched headlong down the altar steps. In falling he struck his head, and was carried to the vestry quite unconscious. un-conscious. Perhaps it was this incident, together to-gether with the child's unbounded delight de-light in the organ music he heard in the street, that induced his father, who was an innkeeper, to add a spinet, or pianoforte, to his wordly .possessions. But it was several years after this that his vocation was temporarily decided de-cided for him, though fate afterward stepped in and undid the decision. "Why do you want to be a musician?" musi-cian?" asked his confessor. "You have a gift for Latin, and must be a priest." Meanwhile, the lad became an office of-fice boy in Brezzi's wholesale grocery store, and for a little over seven dollars dol-lars a year played the organ in the church at Roncole; but one day it happened that Father Seletti, who had decided that the boy should be a monk, was officiating at mass while Verdi played the organ. The priest was struck with the unusual beauty of the music, and at the close of the service expressed a desire to see the organist. Verdi appeared, and the priest recognized recog-nized him as the pupil whom he had sought to turn from music to theology. "Whose music were you playing?" asked Seletti. "It was beautiful." Verdi said, shyly, that he had brought no music with him that day, and had been improvising. "So I played as I felt," said he. "Ah;" exclaimed Seletti, "I advised you wrongly. You must be no priest, but a musician." After that the way was easier. The priestly influence on his side opened many a door to him. |