One day he saw some musical score paper and realized in a moment, what wonderful things might be done with it and exclaimed: “What an orchestral work one might write on that!” and quite suddenly, he decided to write music! He could only play the guitar, the flute and the flageolet and knew practically nothing of harmony. He certainly paid well for his decision, for he had a hard struggle with himself and circumstances. He took one of his compositions to Professor Lesueur at the Paris Conservatory, and was admitted. BERLIOZ VERSUS CHERUBINI Cherubini, Director of the Conservatory, made a rule that men and women should use separate doors leading into the library. Not knowing this rule, Berlioz entered by the door reserved for the women and sat down to read a score of his beloved Gluck. Cherubini, thin, pale-faced, with tousled hair and fiercely shining eyes, came up to Hector and reprimanded him for breaking the rule. They had a noisy fight, chasing in and out among the desks and when Berlioz reached the door, he looked back at Cherubini and called out: “I am soon coming back to study Gluck again.” Being a determined boy, he did come back, but Cherubini, on whom his future depended, was his staunch enemy for life. His parents were infuriated with Hector for his conduct in and out of school. His mother, a pious woman, practically disowned him and his father gave him but a small allowance with the stipulation that unless he could soon prove his ability in music, he should have to go back to medicine. So he tried desperately to earn money, by singing in choruses, playing the flute and teaching, hoping that he could win the _Prix de Rome_, which would give him a few years in Rome and three thousand francs. After terrific opposition by Cherubini and held back, too, by his own lack of diplomacy, either by submitting works that were written too poorly or too well, he lost many chances for the prize and finally, after four attempts, he won the coveted award with his cantata _Sardanapalus_. The amusing thing about this is, that he left out the parts then looked upon as modern, and difficult, which would have lost him the prize, but the first time it was played in public, he put them all in, and the piece was successful. Then he fell in love, and after much posing and strutting about and foolish behavior, he married the young Irish actress, Harriet Smithson. They were very unhappy and unfortunate, but he was good to her and even gave up composing to earn a living by writing, and he proved an exceptionally gifted writer and critic. His autobiography, too, is most interesting for he sees himself as a romantic hero and tells the tale with great dramatic energy and exaggeration. WITH INTENT TO MURDER!