MOZART MUCUS. 



83 



genius, ami was the Raphael of musicians. But early 

 as this great genius developed his powers in his own 

 art, he remained a child in all the other relations of 

 life. He never knew how to govern himself; he had 

 no sense of the necessity of domestic order, of the 

 value of money, and of the need of moderation in 

 enjoyment. But this absent, distracted man seemed 

 to become of a higher order when seated at the 

 hnrpsichord. His inind expanded, and his attention 

 was absorbed in the one object for which he was born 

 the harmony of sound. He preferred to play in 

 the night till early in the morning, if he was not pre- 

 vented. He usually composed from six or seven in the 

 morning till ten, and almost always in bed ; during 

 the rest of the day, he would compose no more, un- 

 less he had something to finish. Besides music, 

 there was but one thing to which he appeared devoted 

 billiards. His exterior was not favourable ; he 

 was short, pale, and thin, and his features were not 

 striking. Among the works of his which have re- 

 mained on the German stages, and which will always 

 be the delight of the German nation, is his Idomeneo, 

 Re di Crcta, composed 1780, at Munich. Of his 

 EntfUhrung aus dem Serail (his fourteenth opera in 

 tiie order of time), which was performed at Vienna, 

 in 1782, Joseph II. said to the composer, "This 

 music is too fine for our ears ; there are a prodigious 

 number of notes in it." " There are as many as are 

 proper," replied Mozart. The Marriage of Figaro 

 met with the highest applause. It was performed 

 during the winter of 1787, at Prague. At the same 

 place, Mozart composed, in the same winter, his Don 

 Juan, which pleased in Prague even more than the 

 Marriage of Figaro. Nevertheless, this" opera, on 

 its first representation, was not favourably received 

 at Vienna, although Haydn, on this occasion, pro- 

 nounced Mozart the greatest of all living composers. 

 After having written, in 1790, Cost fan Tutte, and, 

 during the Mlness which caused his death, 1791, the 

 Magic Flute ; La Clemenza di Tito, and his famous 

 requiem, he died, December 5, 1792, in the thirty- 

 sixth year of his age, according to the opinion of the 

 physician, from an accumulation of water on the 

 brain. His instrumental compositions (his beautiful 

 symphonies, his ethereal quartetts, concertos for the 

 piano, sonatas, &c.) will remain a pattern for all 

 nations and all ages. He has equal fame in sacred 

 music, particularly for his grand hymns and masses. 

 His requiem is generally said to have had the follow- 

 ing origin. A count of Walseeg, who was a stranger 

 to him, came one day, and requested him to compose 

 a mass for the death of his wife, for which Mozart 

 was to fix his own price. Mozart required 100, others 

 say 200, ducats, but would not bind himself as to 

 time, wishing to give the work perfection. The 

 visiter paid the price demanded in advance, and pro- 

 mised, when the work was finished, to give an addi- 

 tional sum, and to call again in the course of some 

 months. During this time, Mozart received the 

 commission to compose La Clemenza di Tito for the 

 coronation at Prague, and was on the point of 

 entering the carriage to proceed to Prague, when the 

 visiter reappeared, and reminded him of his promise. 

 Mozart apologized, and promised to attend to the 

 work immediately on his return from Prague. He 

 commenced the mass with an energy and interest 

 which he had never yet felt while composing any of 

 his other pieces, so that his wife felt great anxiety 

 lest the unusual exertion should affect his already 

 declining health ; indeed, Mozart himself, with tears 

 in his eyes, acknowledged that lie was writing a 

 requiem for himself. His wife prevented him from 

 continuing the work, and would not return him the 

 mnnuscript till his health was apparently perfectly 

 rf established, and he had repeatedly requested it. 



Mozart nearly completed the work, when lie was 

 again oppressed with melancholy; liis health daily 

 declined, and his death took place. Immediately on 

 his death, the visiter appeared, demanded the piece, 

 and received it unfinished, as it was left. This com- 

 position fell into the hands of his scholar Suszmayr, 

 who presumed to make additions and alterations, 

 particularly adding those instruments to the sanctus 

 which were omitted, and arranged the whole as it 

 is now printed. Mozart's works equally delight the 

 mere amateur and the accomplished musician, not- 

 withstanding the complete novelty of their character. 

 Fie explored all the sources of the art, and attained 

 the highest degree of perfection, by the richness, 

 purity, and depth of his ideas. Mozart left a widow 

 and two sons. The former married a second time, 

 and died in 1826. His eldest son received a post in 

 one of the government offices at Milan : the younger 

 son, born J 792, became a performer, and composer 

 on the piano-forte. 



MUCIC ACID. This acid has generally been 

 known by the name of saccholactic acid, because it 

 was first obtained from sugar of milk ; but all the 

 gums appear equally to afford it. To obtain it from 

 a gum, we have only to heat one part of this sub- 

 stance with two of nitric acid, till a small quantity of 

 nitrous gas and of carbonic acid is disengaged, when 

 the dissolved mass will deposit, on cooling, the muck: 

 acid. The pulverulent acid is soluble in about sixty 

 parts of hot water. It decomposes the muriate of 

 ILiie. It scarcely acts upon the metals, but forms 

 salts with their oxides. According to Berzelius, 

 mucic acid consists of oxygen, 6:2 69, carbon, 33' 61), 

 and hydrogen, 3-62. 



MUCIUS SC^EVOLA (properly Cains Mucius 

 Cordus); the subject of a celebrated Roman tale. 

 If we may believe the story, when Porsenna, king 

 of Etruria, had besieged Rome to reinstate Tarquin 

 in his rights, Mucius determined to deliver his country 

 from so dangerous an enemy. He disguised himself 

 in the habit of a Tuscan, and, as he could speak their 

 language fluently, he gained an easy introduction into 

 the camp, and, soon, into the royal tent. Porsenini 

 sat alone with his secretary when Mucius entered. 

 The Roman immediately rushed upon the secretary, 

 and stabbed him to the heart, mistaking him for his 

 royal master. Mucius, unable to escape, was 

 seized. He gave no answers to the inquiries of the 

 courtiers, and only told them that he was a Roman, 

 and, to give them a proof of his fortitude, lie laid his 

 right hand on an altar of burning coals, sternly 

 looking at the king, and, without uttering a groan, 

 boldly told him that 300 young Romans like himself 

 had conspired against his life, and determined either 

 to destroy him, or to perish in the attempt. This 

 extraordinary confession astonished Porsenna, who 

 made peace with the Romans, and retired from their 

 city. Mucius obtained the surname of Sccevola 

 (the Lefthanded), because he lost the use of his 

 right hand by burning it in the presence of the 

 Etrurian king. 



MUCK. See Amuck. 



MUCUS (from ftt%u, the mucus of the nose); one 

 of the primary fluids of the animal body, perfectly 

 distinct from gelatin and vegetable mucus ; trans- 

 parent, glutinous, thready, and of a salt savour. It 

 contains water, muriate of potassa, and soda, Jaclate 

 of lime, of soda, and phosphate of lime. The mucus 

 forms a layer of greater or less thickness, at the sur- 

 face of the mucous membranes, protects these mem- 

 branes against the action of the air, of the aliment, 

 the different glandular fluids, &c. Independently of 

 this general use, it hiis others that vary according to 

 the parts of mucous membranes: thus the mucus of 

 the nose is favourable to smell, that of the mouth to 

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