He was only four when he began to study music and by the time he was nine he had mastered all that his father could teach him. At the age of seven he gave a series of concerts in Cologne. Very soon he began to compose music. When only ten he went on a tour to Holland with his mother, and a year later he was appointed deputy organist in the Elector’s Chapel. While he was still very young he went to play before the great Mozart. Mozart was very busy and did not want to be bothered. He took very little notice of young Beethoven, which disappointed the lad; but the boy sat down at the piano and began to play in such a manner that the great musician said to his friends, “This youth will some day make a noise in the world.” While he was still in his teens the boy’s mother died, and as his father was a worthless character, the lad felt very lonely. Some years later he went to Vienna to continue his musical education, and at once his great genius was recognised. With his wonderful playing, and still more with his compositions, he astonished and delighted the music-loving people there. Then it was that a very serious thing happened to Beethoven--he began to lose his hearing. For awhile he would not admit it, even to himself. That he, who was so passionately fond of music; to whom it seemed the sweetest thing in life, should cease to hear, seemed too cruel to be true. It was just the same as if some great artist were suddenly to lose his eyesight and never again see the beauty of colors. He consulted one doctor after another, in frantic efforts to find a remedy. It was of no avail. His deafness increased so quickly that while still a comparatively young man he was nearly totally deaf. As he realised what was happening Beethoven became unutterably miserable. He realised that resignation to his fate was the only thing left for him. In utter misery he exclaimed, “Resignation! what a miserable refuge, and yet it is the only one left for me.” He even thought of taking his own life. “If I had not read,” he exclaimed, “that man must not of his own free-will end his life, I should have done so long ago.” A mechanician named Maelzel made a pair of ear-trumpets for him and at first the composer thought that they would be a great help, but he was bitterly disappointed and he discarded them.