Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Ernest Schaal, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net CHILD'S OWN BOOK _of Great Musicians_ BACH [Illustration] _By_ THOMAS TAPPER THEODORE PRESSER CO. 1712 CHESTNUT STREET ·PHILADELPHIA· Johann Sebastian Bach The Story of the Boy Who Sang in the Streets This Book was made by ............................................... Philadelphia Theodore Presser Co. 1712 Chestnut Str. COPYRIGHT, 1915, BY THEODORE PRESSER CO. Printed in the U.S.A. [Illustration] The Story of the Boy Who Sang in the Streets This is the house in which JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH was born. [Illustration: THE HOUSE IN WHICH BACH WAS BORN.] This house stands in the town of Eisenach in Germany. It looks very much the same today as it did when Sebastian was a little boy. Many people go there to visit this house because the little boy grew to be a famous man. In Eisenach there is a statue of Bach near the palace. [Illustration: STATUE OF BACH AT EISENACH.] In the same town in which Sebastian was born there stands on the top of a hill a very famous castle built many hundreds of years ago. This castle is called the Wartburg. [Illustration: THE CASTLE AT WARTBURG.] As a boy little Sebastian used to climb the hill with his friends, and they, no doubt, had a happy time playing about the castle grounds. In one of its great halls the minstrels of Germany held their Song Contests. When Sebastian was old enough he used to travel afoot, just as the minstrels did; his purpose was to go to hear fine organ players. Once as he sat weary by the roadside someone threw a herring to him so that he might eat as he rested. [Illustration: BACH EATING THE HERRING.] Little Sebastian's father was named JOHANN AMBROSIUS BACH. He, too, was a musician, as his people had been for many years. [Illustration: JOHANN AMBROSIUS BACH.] One of these was a miller who played and sang while the corn was grinding. His name was Veit Bach, and his little boy was called Hans, the Player, because he, too, loved to play the violin. [Illustration: VEIT BACH AND HIS SON HANS.] When Sebastian was ten years old his father and mother died. So he went to live with his brother, whose home was a few miles away.