of
him by the general public for some time. But such almost marvellous
power as this artist, this master, possessed, could not long remain
unrevealed. People of musical culture were ere long electrified by the
sweet tones of wondrous melody which with perfect ease he drew from
his violin. That terrible barrier so often, even at the present time,
erected in this country, that shameful obstruction, _color prejudice_,
could not long withstand the attacks of this quiet yet courageous
musical genius; and people, at first indifferent because of his
complexion, were won anon to his favor, not alone by his exceptional
skill as a performer, but also by the polish, the ease and dignity, of
his manners, so refreshingly free from ostentatious affectation on the
one hand, or hesitating timidity on the other. They found that he was
indeed the true, the conscientious artist, who loved music for its own
sake, and was imbued with a spirit of truthful enthusiasm, in such
pleasing contrast with the characteristics exhibited by many of the
foreign artists who had preceded him, as to render the same decidedly
charming. The possession of these rare traits of character served, of
course, to add to the attractiveness of a form which was one of most
pleasing symmetry.

A knowledge of his great abilities as a soloist spreading among
musicians in New York, he was induced to appear in public. It is
needless to say that his success was unequivocal. Of the impression
he made in New York, a city that has so often been the scene of the
success or failure of the foreign artist, I shall call another
person--a purely disinterested and competent art critic--to testify in
the following, written from New York to "The Musician and Artist" of
Boston of March, 1876:--

"Joseph White is in some respects the best violinist who has
visited this country within my remembrance, _not_ excepting
Wieniawski. He and his companion Ignasio Cervantes, pianist,
made their appearance in this city some few months since,
very modestly advertised, and unheralded by any sensational
newspaper paragraphs, and at their very first concert
insured themselves undoubted future success. This success
has been due entirely to White; for, although Cervantes is
quite a nice pianist, he is nothing wonderful. But White was
a _revelation_. His first New-York introduction to a large
general audience was at a philharmonic concert (the da