This was not fruitless. The service was celebrated in the church of _La Steccata_, appropriated to that order of chivalry. After the solemnity the friends of the deceased obtained the permission of the Bishop of Parma to bring the body within the boundary of the Duchy, when it was transferred to the _Villa Gajona_, for interment in the Communal cemetery. So, at last, in May, 1845, the mortal remains of the illustrious violinist were laid in the grave; by order of the government, there was no display of any kind, no outward symbol of homage. The mourners might, however, hope at least for the repose of the casket that once enclosed the fiery, turbulent, soaring spirit of one who knew no rest in life. But, alas! even that was not the end. In the letter addressed by Paganini to the Editor of the Paris _Révue Musicale_, the closing sentence breathed a prayer that, however calumniated he might be in life, the world would at least allow his ashes to repose in peace. That appeal was not granted. It has been shown that five years elapsed between his death and his burial; fifty years more, and the repose of the grave was broken. The _Athenæum_ of September 7th, 1895, contained this paragraph:-- "In the Communal Cemetery of Parma the mortal remains of the great violin player, Paganini, have just been exhumed. The violinist was buried there fifty-five years ago, nevertheless his face has been found to be well preserved and easily recognizable. It is proposed to show the body to the public before it is re-interred." Horrible! But first note the mistake. The body was buried fifty, not fifty-five, years before. Those terrible five years seem to have been unnoticed in this country, and I have been unable to find any reference to the mournful function of May, 1845.[31] Now, what was the reason for exhuming the remains? For the purpose of removal to a more prominent site! Thus is homage paid to genius! Such, too, was the fate of Beethoven. His remains were removed in 1888 to the Central Cemetery at Vienna, and lamentable incidents attended the exhumation. Schubert, who, by his own desire, was buried by the side of the great master, did not escape the doom; but Mozart was mercifully spared; he was buried in a pauper's grave, and his body has remained undiscovered. The story of the preservation of his skull may be dismissed as apocryphal. But what are gorgeous monuments? Does the true artist value the case more than the instrument? Why seek ye the living among the dead? The artist does not die--he puts off the "muddy vesture of decay"; he lives in his art-work. [Illustration: _Plate XIII.--See Appendix._ THE TOMB OF PAGANINI AT PARMA.] FOOTNOTES: [29] Pergolesi. [30] The _Athenæum_ puts the amount at 52,000 francs. [31] In the _Musical World_ of February 16th, 1843, there is a paragraph stating that Paganini's remains were still unsepulchred, the corpse lying in an uninhabited house. CHAPTER VIII.