Story Of A Composer

A father and son, while travchng, stopped onc night at a monaste,-y - vvhtrc hospitality is always extended. The father took the boy into the chapel to see the organ. It was the first large organ the little fellow had ever secn. His face lit up with satisfaction, and every motion and attitude of the little figure expressed wonder. "Father," said the boy, "explain to me those pedáis at the organ s loot, and let me play ?" Wcll pleascd, the father complied. Then the littleboy pushed aside the stool, and when his father had filled the bellows, the little organist stood upon the pedáis, and trod them as though he had never needed to have their management explained. How the deep tones woke the somber stillness of the old church! The organ seemed some great uncouth creature, roaring for very joy it the caresses of the marvellous :hild. The monks, eatmg their supper in the refectory, heard it and dropped knife and fork in astonishment. The organist of the brotherhood was among them, but never had he playecl with so much power and freedom. They listened ; some grew pale ; others blessed themselves; till the prior rose up, and hastened into the cha pel The others followed, and when they looked vip into the organ loft, lo! there was no form of any organist to be seen, though the deep tones still massed themselves in new harmonies, and made the stone arches thrill with their power. "It is a spirit!" cried the last one of the monks,drawing closer to one of his companians, and giving a frightened look over his shoulder to the darkness of the aisle. "It is a miracle!" said another. But when the oldest of themmounted the stairs to the organ lolt, he stoort as n petrified with amazement. There stood the tiny figure, treading from pedal to pedal, at the same time clutching the keys above with his hands, gatheiing handfuls of those wonderful chords as if they were violets, flinging them out into the sol emn gloom behind him. He heard nothing, saw nothing, besides; his eyes beamed like stars, and his whole face lighted with impassioned joy. Louder and fuller rose the harmonies, streaming forth in swelling bil lows, till at last they seemed to reach a sunny shore, on which they broke; and then a vvhispering ripple of faintest melody lingered in the air, like the last murmur of an Eolian harp, and all was still. The boy was John Wolfgang Mozart! This fatnous composer, was born Saltzburg, Germany, in 1756. He was but seven years of age when he first played the organ in the chapel of Versátiles, and from that hour he was re garded as the equal of the best toasters. After having traveled all over Etirope he settled at Vienna, where he died in 1791.