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to violin music, while pieces in minor keys caused her such grief that they were employed by her parents in place of punishments. At the age of two she was given a photographic sitting, and at the critical moment she electrified the group about her by suddenly singing Handel's "See, the conquering hero comes." The photographer, who had been rehearsing that work for the first peace jubilee, was astounded to find that she gave it with the most perfect accuracy. Her power of memory exerted itself in other fields, and almost as soon as she learned to read she was able to recite long and difficult selections. She also showed a marked ability to improvise melodies and sing an accompanying part to any given theme. Her active mind associated a certain definite colour with each musical key, a habit which continues to the present time. [Illustration: MRS. H. H. A. BEACH.] At the age of four she succeeded in obtaining permission to touch the piano, although she was so small that she had to improvise a pedestal in order to reach the keys. She soon learned many pieces, and began to compose little waltzes of her own. One of these was thought out wholly without the piano, and played correctly three months afterward. She read from printed notes before she knew their names, and found no trouble in making transpositions at will. At six she insisted on having regular lessons, which were begun by her mother, and continued for two years at home. During that period she learned many difficult works, including etudes by Heller and Czerny, some Chopin valses, and various movements of the Beethoven sonatas, including the whole of the first one. At this time also she grew interested in the works of Bach, and learned to understand and appreciate the beauty of the interweaving voices in a fugue. At the age of eight, her parents took her to Boston to pursue her general education. The musical authorities who heard her play insisted that she was able to enter any one of the great European conservatories, but with due regard to her health and her other studies, her parents wisely decided not to let her go. She was sent to Mr. W. L. Whittemore's private school, where she manifested all her usual quickness of attainment. Her piano work was greatly aided by her quick ear and accurate memory, and she was able, for example, to reproduce a Beethoven sonata without notes, merely after hearing a fellow pupil practise it. Another use to which she put this
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