thought expressed in words, Schubert's exuberance of fancy often runs away with him, and takes him into a trackless forest of sweet melodies and rich harmonies from which he finds it difficult to emerge. But in his more mature works we find him rapidly outgrowing this fault and acquiring complete mastery of his resources. In the A-minor sonata, the D-minor quartet, and the last two symphonies, the form is as perfect as the thought; and we are thus again reminded that Schubert, like young Lycidas and others whom the gods have dearly loved, was cut off in his early prime. So careless of fame was Schubert, so suddenly did death seize him, and so little did the world suspect the untold wealth of music written upon musty sheets of paper tucked away in sundry old drawers and cupboards in Vienna, that much of it has remained unknown until the present day. As from time to time new songs, sonatas, trios, or symphonies were brought to light, a witty French journal began to utter doubts of their genuineness and to scoff at the "posthumous diligence" of "the song-writer Schubert." This was in 1839. Schumann was one of the first to bring to light the great merits of Schubert's genius, as we have seen in the case of his Symphony in C major, and his enthusiasm for Schubert knew no bounds. "There was a time," he said, "when it gave me no pleasure to speak of Schubert; I could only talk of him by night to the trees and stars. Who amongst us, at some time or another, has not been sentimental? Charmed by his new spirit, whose capacities seemed to me boundless, deaf to everything that could be urged against him, my thoughts were absorbed in Schubert." Since then much more has been done toward collecting and editing these wonderful manuscripts, and the thanks of the whole world of music-lovers are due to Sir George Grove for his devoted persistence in this work. Vast as Schubert's fame has come to be, it is probably destined to grow yet greater as his works and his influence are more intimately studied. Few indeed have been the composers who have ever brought us nearer to the eternal fountains of divine music. * * * * *