"Chant of the Monks of the Monastery of St. Bernard." This was the title given to a piece in the programme of a concert at Covent Garden Theatre. It was performed on a darkened stage and the solemn character of its music was emphasized by a beautiful scene representing a monastery with stained glass windows. The introduction, a movement of some length of the basses in unison, was followed by a chant "of lovely harmonies, performed in harmonics (I believe, on the fourth strings) in combination with the wood instruments." Minasi, who gives this account of the piece, states that he believes it to be merely the second movement of the Concerto in B minor, Op. 7. Cantabile for two strings. This piece was performed at the King's Theatre, on June 13th, 1831. Possibly it was the same as the musical fantasia already referred to as played at Lucca under the title of "A Love Scene." Of the remaining pieces, except the one mentioned below, nothing seems now to be known save the names. The one exception is the piece entitled "The Vagaries of a Farmyard," which contained a wonderful series of imitations of farmyard sounds. In this connection the following anecdote, illustrating Paganini's extraordinary power of portraying curious sounds on his violin, may be worth repeating. One fine night, when staying at a little inn just outside Frankfort, he was sitting at his window lost in the contemplation of the glorious heavens. The striking of a clock broke through his reverie and called back to his mind an occurrence of which he had but recently been an ear-witness. He seized his violin, and there arose on the stillness of the night the moans and cries of a mother and her new-born babe. The landlord of the inn, awakened by the unusual sounds and wondering how such visitors had found their way into his house without his knowledge, called his son and hastened to the room whence the plaintive cries proceeded; and he found Paganini, too deep in thought to perceive his entrance, making his violin bring forth these human sounds. It is stated of Paganini that he was wont to produce his animal cries under the stress of special excitement or during an access of fever, and that with his farmyard piece he electrified the audience at one of the last of his concerts in London. FOOTNOTES: [52] Lapheléque, p. 45. [53] Carl F. W. Guhr, born at Militsch, Silesia, October 30th, 1787, violinist, pianist and composer, became Director of the Museum Concerts and Conductor of the Opera at Frankfort-on-the-Main, in which city he died July 22nd, 1848. [54] Mrs. Tom Taylor (_née_ Laura Wilson Barker) was a fine musician, a composer, and almost phenomenal performer on the pianoforte and the violin. She played with both Spohr and Paganini, and took down this set of variations after hearing Paganini play them twice. She died at Coleshill, Bucks, May 22nd, 1905, at the advanced age of eighty-six.