after numerous attempts and
corrections, the old man began to applaud his efforts. Lipinski ever
afterwards profited by these lessons.

Later on he met Paganini again at Warsaw, where they were rivals, for
the time being, and different factions waxed warm over their respective
merits. Paganini himself, who is said to have been asked whom he
considered to be the greatest violinist, replied, with conscious
modesty, "The _second_ greatest is certainly Lipinski."

Lipinski travelled throughout Europe, meeting with great success, until
in 1839 he was appointed concert-meister at the Royal Opera in Dresden,
where he remained for many years. He also organised a string quartet,
and was considered a most excellent performer of chamber-music. He wrote
a large quantity of music for the violin, but little of it was of a
lasting quality. In 1861 he was pensioned, and retired to Urlow, near
Lemberg, where he had some property, and there he died in December of
the same year.

CHAPTER IV.

PAGANINI.

The name Paganini stands for the quintessence of eccentric genius,--one
of the most remarkable types of mankind on record. Paganini was able to
excite wonder and admiration by his marvellous technical skill, or to
sway the emotions of his hearers by his musical genius, while his
peculiar habits, eccentric doings, and weird aspect caused the
superstitious to attribute his talent to the power of his Satanic
Majesty. Yet Paganini was not only mortal, but in many respects a weak
mortal, although the most extraordinary and the most renowned violinist
of the nineteenth century.

[Illustration: NICCOLO PAGANINI]

Nicolo Paganini was the son of a commercial broker, Antonio Paganini,
and was born at Genoa, February 18, 1784. He was a child of nervous and
delicate constitution, and the harsh treatment accorded to him by his
father tended to accentuate and develop the peculiarities of his
character. He was a good violinist at the age of six, and before he was
eight years of age he had outgrown, not only his father's instruction,
but also that of one Servetto, a musician at the theatre, and that of
Costa, the director of music and principal violinist to the churches of
Genoa. He had also written a sonata for violin, which was afterwards
lost. At the age of nine he appeared in his first concert, given by
Marchesi and Albertinatti in a large theatre at Genoa. At the age of
twelve he was taken to Rolla, the celebrated violinist and compo