IV.

M. de Bériot did not recover from this shock for more than a year, but remained secluded at his country place near Brussels. It was not till Pauline Garcia (subsequently Mme. Viardot) made her _debut_ in concert in 1837, that De Bériot again appeared in public before one of the most brilliant audiences which had ever assembled in Brussels. In honor of this occasion the Philharmonic Society of that city caused two medals to be struck for M. de Bériot and Mlle. Garcia, the molds of which were instantly destroyed. The violinist gave a series of concerts assisted by the young singer in Belgium, Germany, and France, and returned to Brussels again on the anniversary of their first concert, where they appeared in the Théâtre de la Renaissance before a most crowded and enthusiastic audience. Among the features of the performance which called out the warmest applause was Panseron's grand duo for voice and violin, "Le Songe de Tartini," Mlle. Garcia both singing and playing the piano-forte accompaniment with remarkable skill. Two years afterward Mile. Garcia married M. Viardot, director of the Italian Opera at Paris, and De Bériot espoused Mlle. Huber, daughter of a Viennese magistrate, and ward of Prince Dietrischten Preskau, who had adopted her at an early age.

De Bériot became identified with the Royal Conservatory of Music at Brussels in the year 1840, and thenceforward his life was devoted to composition and the direction of the violin school. He gave much time and care to the education of his son Charles, who, in addition to a wonderful resemblance to his mother, appears to have inherited much of the musical endowment of both parents. Had not an ample fortune rendered professional labor unnecessary, it is probable that the son of Malibran and De Bériot would have attained a musical eminence worthy of his lineage; but he is even now celebrated for his admirable performances in private, and his musical evenings are said to be among the most delightful entertainments in Parisian society, gathering the most celebrated artists and _litterateurs_ of the great capital.

De Bériot ceased giving public concerts after taking charge of the violin classes of the Brussels Conservatoire, though he continued to charm select audiences in private concerts. Many of his pupils became distinguished players, among whom may be named Monasterio, Standish, Lauterbach, and, chief of all, Henri Vieuxtemps, with whose precocious talents he was so much pleased that he gave him lessons gratuitously. During his life at Brussels, and indeed during the whole of his career, De Bériot enjoyed the friendship and esteem of many of the most distinguished men of the day, among his most intimate friends and admirers having been Prince de Chimay, the Russian Prince Youssoupoff, and King Leopold I, of Belgium. The latter part of his life was not un-laborious in composition, but otherwise of affluent and elegant ease. During the last two years his eyesight failed him, and he gradually became totally blind. He died, April 13, 1870, at the age of sixty-eight, while visiting his friend Prince Youssoupoff at St. Petersburg, of the brain malady which had long been making fatal inroads on his health.

In originality as a composer for the violin, probably no one can surpass De Bériot except Paganini, who exerted a remarkable modifying influence on him after he had formed his own first style. His works are full of grace and poetic feeling, and worked out with an intellectual completeness of form which gives him an honorable distinction even among those musicians marked by affluence of ideas. These compositions are likely to be among the violin classics, though some of the violinists of the Spohr school have criticised them for want of depth. He produced seven concertos, eleven _airs variés_, several books of studies, four trios for piano, violin, and 'cello, and, together with Osborne, Thalberg, and other pianists, a number of brilliant duos for piano and violin. His book of instruction for the violin is among the best ever written, though somewhat diffuse in detail. He may be considered the founder of the Franco-Belgian school of violinists, as distinguished from the classical French school founded by Viotti, and illustrated by Rode and Baillot. His early playing was molded entirely in this style, but the dazzling example of Paganini, in course of time, had its effect on him, as he soon adopted the captivating effects of harmonics, arpeggios, pizzicatos, etc., which the Genoese had introduced, though he stopped short of sacrificing his breadth and richness of tone. He combined the Paganini school with that of Viotti, and gave status to a peculiar _genre_ of players, in which may be numbered such great virtuosos as Vieuxtemps and Wieniawski, who successively occupied the same professional place formerly illustrated by De Bériot, and the latter of whom recently died. De Bériot's playing was noted for accuracy of intonation, remarkable deftness and facility in bowing, grace, elegance, and piquancy, though he never succeeded in creating the unbounded enthusiasm which everywhere greeted Paganini.

OLE BULL.

The Birth and Early Life of Ole Bull at Bergen, Norway.--His Family and Connections.--Surroundings of his Boyhood.--Early Display of his Musical Passion.--Learns the Violin without Aid.--Takes Lessons from an Old Musical Professor, and soon surpasses his Master.--Anecdotes of his Boyhood.--His Father's Opposition to Music as a Profession.--Competes for Admittance to the University at Christiania.--Is consoled for Failure by a Learned Professor.--"Better be a Fiddler than a Preacher."--Becomes Conductor of the Philharmonic Society at Bergen.--His first Musical Journey.--Sees Spohr.--Fights a Duel.--Visit to Paris.--He is reduced to Great Pecuniary Straits.--Strange Adventure with Vidocq, the Great Detective.--First Appearance in Concert in Paris.--Romantic Adventure leading to Acquaintance.--First Appearance in Italy.--Takes the Place of Do Bériot by Great Good Luck.--Ole Bull is most enthusiastically received.--Extended Concert Tour in Italy and France.--His _Début_ and Success in England.--One Hundred and Eighty Concerts in Six Months.--Ole Bull's Gaspar di Salo Violin, and the Circumstances under which he acquired it.--His Answer to the King of Sweden.--First Visit and Great Success in America in 1843.--Attempt to establish a National Theatre.--The Norwegian Colony in Pennsylvania.--Latter Years of Ole Bull.--His Personal Appearance.--Art Characteristics.