ardently, reform and its promoters; and therefore cannot regard with complacency the acts of those, who, possessing great talents and influence, yet fail to use them in furthering the cause of right. I have said that Mr. Williams has written several overtures: one of these was for the orchestra of the famous Park Theatre. At present he is constantly engaged in arranging and composing music. In concluding this brief sketch, which I fear falls short of doing its subject justice, I will only add, that in the remarkably fine achievements he has made under circumstances and against difficulties that would have caused many to falter, indeed, to yield in despair,--chief among these difficulties being the hateful, terrible spirit of _color-prejudice_, that foul spirit, the full measure of whose influence in crushing out the genius often born in children of his race it is difficult to estimate,--in Mr. Williams's triumphs in a great degree against all these, I say, is presented an instance of art-love, and of manly, persevering devotion, that is truly heroic. Falling short, as he does, of an eminence, that, had he been born with a fairer complexion, would ere this have been his, his life is yet a grand example to those younger members of his race who are beginning their careers in the world of music when fairer skies light their pathway; when the American people, regretting the depressing, blighting cruelties of the dark past, now seek to atone for the same by offering encouragement to _all_ who exhibit musical talents, and evince a conscientious desire to improve the same. Mr. Williams may remember with pride that to this gratifying result he has in a very marked degree contributed; and that therefore, in spite of some disappointments, his musical life has really been a noble success. VIII. JUSTIN HOLLAND, THE EMINENT AUTHOR AND ARRANGER, AND PERFORMER ON THE GUITAR, FLUTE, AND PIANO-FORTE. "Gayly the troubadour Touched his guitar." OLD SONG. "Untwisting all the chains that tie The hidden soul of harmony." MILTON. No life can be called a truly great one that has not been a truly good one: a very simple saying, and one which, however trite, yet requires frequent repeating, since its importance is but too seldom considered. And the noble fame that sooner or later surely attaches to the author of such a life belongs chiefly, but not entirely, to him; it being in part, in a certain sense, the property of all who would follow in his footsteps, becoming for them an inspiring example; its history, with all its experiences of hope and fear, its occasional failures but frequent successes, its struggles when environed by poverty or other untoward circumstances, and its final triumph over all obstacles, serving as a guide, a beacon indeed, to illumine their pathway as they climb the same difficult but glorious hills of honor. [Illustration: JUSTIN HOLLAND.]