ange of his ambition may be
seen from the fact that he had enough confidence in his own genius from
the very first to play his own music, and it was conceded to possess
great freshness and originality. These early "Airs Varie" consisted of
an introduction, a theme, followed by three or four variations, and a
brilliant finale.

The young artist preceded Paganini in London several years, as he
made his first appearance before an English audience in 1826. It was
fortunate, perhaps, for De Beriot that such was the case, as it is more
than probable that, after the dazzling and electric displays of
the Geneose player, the more sedate and simple style which then
characterized De Beriot would have failed to please. As it was, he
was most cordially admired, and was generally recognized by English
connoisseurs, as well as by the general public, as one of the most
accomplished players who had ever visited England. The pecuniary results
of these concerts were large, and sufficient to relieve De Beriot, who
had formerly been rather straitened in his means, from the friction and
embarrassment which poverty so often imposes on struggling talent.
There was a peculiar charm in De Beriot's style which was permanently
characteristic of him, though his technical method did not always remain
the same. In addition to very facile execution and a rich, mellow tone,
he possessed the most refined taste. His playing impressed people less
as that of a great professional violinist than that of the marvelously
accomplished amateur, the gentleman of leisure and culture, who
performed with the easy, sparkling grace of one who took no thought of
whether he played well or not, but did great feats on his instrument
because he could not help it. Such was also the characteristic of Mario
as a singer, and there seems to have been many features of resemblance
between these two fine artists, though moving in different fields of
art.

After traveling through Europe for several years, giving concerts with
great success, he was presented to King Wilhelm of the then united
kingdom of the Netherlands. This monarch, though quite ignorant of
music, was an enthusiastic patron of art, and, believing that De Beriot
was destined to be a great ornament of his native country (for he was
born in Belgium, though his parents were from France), bestowed on the
artist a pension of two thousand florins a year, and the title of first
violin solo to his majesty. But this honor