244 Notices of Books. [April, 
and confirm them, as is well shown in the marvellous story of 
M. Bach and the old Spinet. To be properly understood this 
must be read in the full detail given by Mr. Owen: in outline it 
is as follows: Mons. Leon Bach purchased, at an old curiosity 
shop in Paris, a very ancient but beautiful spznet, as a present to 
his father, who is a great-grandson of the Bach, and is a com- 
poser and musical amateur. The next night the elder Bach 
dreamt that he saw a handsome young man, dressed in old court 
costume, and who told him that the spinet had been given to him 
by his master King Henry. He then said he would play on it an 
air, with words composed by the King, in memory of a lady he 
had greatly loved: he did so, and M. Bach woke in tears, touched 
by the pathos of the song. He went to sleep again; and on 
waking in the morning was amazed to find on his bed a sheet of 
paper, on which was written, in very old characters, both words 
and music of the song he had heard in his dream. It was said 
to be by Henry III., and the date inscribed on the spinet was a 
few years earlier. M. Bach, completely puzzled, showed the 
music to his friends, and among them were some spiritualists, 
from whom he heard, forthe first time, their interpretation of the 
phenomena. Now comes the most wonderful part of the history. 
M. Bach became himself a writing medium; and through his 
hand was written, involuntarily, a statement that inside the 
spinet, in a secret niche near the key-board, was a parchment, 
nailed to the case, containing the lines written by King Henry 
when he gave the instrument to his musician. The four-line 
stanza, which it was said would be found on the parchment, was 
also given, and was followed by the signature— Baldazzarini. 
Father and son then set to work to search for this hidden scroll ; 
and after two hours’ close examination found, in a narrow slit, a 
piece of old parchment about eleven inches by three, containing, 
in very old writing, nearly the same words which M. Bach had 
written, and signed—Henry. This parchment was taken to the 
Bibliothéque Impé€riale, and submitted to experienced antiquarians, 
and was pronounced to be an undoubtedly genuine autograph of 
Henry III. 
This is the story; but Mr. Owen is not content with ascer- 
taining these facts at first hand, and obtaining photographs of 
the spinet and the parchment, of both of which he gives good 
representations. He also sets himself to hunt up historical 
confirmation of the story, and after much research and many 
failures, he finds that Baltasarini was an Italian musician, who 
came to France in 1577, and was in great favour with Henry III.; 
that the King was passionately attached to Marie de Cleves, who 
became wife of the Prince de Condé; and that several of the 
allusions to her in the verses corresponded to what was known 
of her history. Other minute details were also found to be 
historically accurate. 
Mr. Owen then carefully discusses the nature of the evidence, 
the character of the persons concerned, and the possibility of 
# 
