wing several things
for their own amusement. In the midst of these was Cherubini, also
drawing. I had the honor, like every one newly introduced, of having
my portrait taken in caricature. Begasse took me in hand, and succeeded
well. In an adjoining room were musicians and actors, among them
Ponchard, Le-vasseur, Dugazon, Panseron, Mlle, de Munck, and Mme.
Livere, of the Theatre Francais. The most interesting of their
performances, which I attended merely as a listener, was a vocal quartet
by Cherubini, performed under his direction. Later in the evening, the
whole party armed itself with larger or smaller 'mirlitons' (reed-pipe
whistles), and on these small monotonous instruments, sometimes made
of sugar, they played, after the fashion of Russian horn music, the
overture to 'Demophon,' two frying-pans representing the drums." On the
27th of March this "mirliton" concert was repeated at Ciceri's, and on
this occasion Cherubini took an active part. Moscheles relates: "Horace
Vernet entertained us with his ventriloquizing powers, M. Salmon with
his imitation of a horn, and Dugazon actually with a 'mirliton' solo.
Lafont and I represented the classical music, which, after all, held,
its own." It was hard to tear himself from these gayeties; but he
had not visited London, and he was anxious to make himself known at a
musical capital inferior to none in Europe. He little thought that in
London he was destined to find his second home. He plunged into the
gayeties and enjoyments of the English capital with no less zest than he
had already experienced in Paris. He found such great players as J. B.
Cramer, Ferdinand Ries, Kalkbrenner, and Clementi in the field; but
our young artist did not altogether lose by comparison. Among other
distinguished musicians, Moscheles also met Kiesewetter, the violinist,
the great singers Mara and Catalani, and Dragonetti, the greatest of
double-bass players. Dragonetti was a most eccentric man, and of him
Moscheles says: "In his _salon_ in Liecester Square he has collected
a large number of various kinds of dolls, among them a negress. When
visitors are announced, he politely receives them, and says that this
or that young lady will make room for them; he also asks his intimate
acquaintances whether his favorite dolls look better or worse since
their last visit, and similar absurdities. He is a terrible snuff-taker,
helping himself out of a gigantic snuff-box, and he has an immense and
varied coll