e lad by a fair lady in a mood of ecstasy. To
convince the Neapolitans of their error Mozart was obliged to accept
their challenge and remove the ring. He wrote home to his mother that he
had no time to practise, as in every city where he went artists insisted
on his sitting for his portrait.

The acme of attention and applause was reached at Milan, where he was
commissioned to write an opera for the Christmas festivities. The
production of this opera at La Scala was the most glorious item in the
life of Mozart. A boy of fourteen conducting an opera of his own
composition before enraptured multitudes is an event that stands to the
credit of Mozart, and Mozart alone. "Evviva the Little Master--Evviva
the Little Master!" cried the audience. "It is music for the stars," and
against all precedent aria after aria had to be repeated. The boy,
always rather small for his age, stood on a chair to wield his baton,
and the flowers that were rained upon him nearly covered the lad from
view.

* * * * *

Ashtabula: The place of a man's birth does not honor him until after he
is dead, and every man of genius has been distrusted by his intimate
kinsmen. If he is granted recognition by the outside world, those who
have known him from childhood wink slyly and repeat Phineas T. Barnum's
aphorism, a free paraphrase of which the Germans have used since the
days of the Vandals.

Leopold Mozart returned home with his wonderful boy not much richer than
when he went away. He had left the management of finances to others, and
was quite content to travel in a special carriage, stop at the best
hotels, and have any "label" he might order, just for the asking.

Reports had reached Germany of the wonderful success of the youthful
Mozart in Italy, but Vienna smiled and Salzburg sneezed.

* * * * *

North East: It is not so very long ago that all the beautiful things of
earth were supposed to belong to the Superior Class. That is to say, all
the toilers, all the workers in metals, all the bookmakers, authors,
poets, painters, sculptors and musicians, did their work to please this
noble or that. All bands of singers were singers to His Lordship, and if
a man wrote a book he dedicated it to His Royal Highness. At first these
thinkers and doers were veritable slaves, and no court was complete that
did not have its wise man who wore the cap and bells, and made puns,
epigrams and quoted