In the portrait which is in the Mozart collection in Salzburg, Mozart
is painted in this dress, and he wore it with as much ease as if he had
always been used to such finery. Also he never showed any embarrassment
or self-consciousness when in the presence of royalty, and once jumped
on the lap of the Empress, Maria Theresa, put his arms around her neck
and kissed her as effusively as if she had been his mother, while he
treated the princesses as if they were his sisters. Marie Antoinette
was one of his great favourites after she helped him up from a severe
fall on a highly polished floor. To her great amusement he thanked her
by saying:
"You are good. I will marry you," and when the Crown Prince Joseph, who
afterwards became Emperor, played the violin before the little prodigy,
he exclaimed: "Fie!" at something he did not like, then, "that was
false!" at another bar, and finally applauded, with cries of "Bravo!"
Little Nannerl who played only less well than her remarkable brother,
was a charmingly pretty, piquant little girl, whose manner, both in
society and in the concert hall, was winning and demure, while
Wolfgang's grace and elegance of manner were striking. Wherever the
children went, people went mad over them. They were the fashion, the
furore, no musical entertainment was a success without them, and they
were so petted that they might easily have been spoiled, had it not
been for their father's wise and watchful care. But with true German
caution, the father guarded them from bad effects of over-excitement or
indulgence. All sorts of presents were constantly given them, among
which were many jewels and beautiful articles of clothing, but the
clothes were only used on concert nights or special occasions, the
jewellery was kept locked up in a box, and the children were only
allowed to see or handle it when they had been especially good.
When Paris was the headquarters of the travellers, all possible honour
was given them, and the concerts in the French capital brought the
Mozarts a substantial sum and they were received very kindly in a visit
to the Court of Versailles; of which visit little Nannerl said later,
that her only recollection was of the Marquise de Pompadour standing
Wolfgang on a table, that he wanted to kiss her, and when she drew
back, he said indignantly:
"Who is she that she will not let me kiss her? The Empress kissed me."
The King's daughters were very kind to the children, and on New Year's
Day, 1764, the Mozart family dined with the royal family. Wolfgang sat
next to the Queen, who talked to him in German, translating the
conversation to Louis Fifteenth, while near Wolfgang sat his father and
his mother, and Nannerl sat on the opposite side of the table by the
Dauphin.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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