[ 2 93 ] 



perfectly well ; and had all the airs, recitatives, and chorufes of 

 Samfon and the Meffiah, both words and notes, by heart-, 



Whenever he heard his brother begin to play, he would tell us 

 whofe mufic it was, (whether Handel, Corelli, Scarlatti, or any 

 other) and what part of what leflbn, fonata, or overture. 



Before he could write he compofed much mufic. His cufrom 

 was, to lay the words of an oratorio before him, and fing them 

 all over. Thus he fet (extempore for the moft part) Ruth, Gi- 

 deon, ManafTes, and the Death of Abel. We obferved, when 

 he repeated the fame words, it was always to the fame tunes. The 

 airs of Ruth in particular he made before he was fix years old, 

 laid them up in his memory till he was eight, and then wrote 

 them down. 



I have feen him open his prayer-book, and fing the Te Deum, 

 or an anthem from fomePfalm, to his own mufic, accompanying 

 it with the harpfichord. This he often did, after he had learnt 

 to play by note, which Mr. Williams, a young organift of Briftol, 

 taught him between fix and feven. 



How and when he learnt counter-point I can hardly tell ; but 

 without being ever taught it, he foon wrote in parts. 



He was full eight years old when Dr. Boyce came to fee us ; 

 and accofted me with, " Sir, I hear you have got an Englim 

 ** Mozart in your houfe : young Linley tells me wonderful things 

 4t of him." I called Sam to aniwer forhimfelf. He had by this 

 time fcrawled down his Oratorio of Ruth. The do£lor looked over 

 it very carefully, and feemed highly pleafed with the performance. 

 Some of his words were, " Thefe airs are fome of the prettieft I 

 " have feen : this boy writes by^ nature as true a bafe as I can by 

 " rule and ftudy. There is no man in England has two fuch 

 " fons, &c." He bad us let him run on ad libitum, without any 

 check of rubs or matters. 



3 After 



