an Infant Mufician. *99 
Another wonderful part of his pre-maturity was the 
being able at two years and four months old to tranfpofe 
into the molt extraneous and difficult keys whatever he 
played; and now, in his extemporaneous flights, he mo- 
dulates into all keys with equal facility. 
The laft qualification which I fhall point out as ex- 
traordinary in this infant mufician, is the being able to 
play an extemporary bafe to eafy melodies when per- 
formed by another perfon upon the fame inftrument. 
But thefe bafes muft not be imagined correct, according 
to the rules of counter-point, any more than his volun- 
taries. He generally gives, indeed, the key-note to paf- 
fages formed from its common chord and its inverfioiis, 
and is quick at difcovering when the fifth of the key 
will ferve as a bafe. At other times he makes the third 
of the key ferve as an accompaniment to melodies formed 
from the harmony of the chord to the key-note; and if 
Ample paflages are played flow, in a regular progreffion 
afcending or defcending, he foon finds out that thirds or 
tenths, below the treble, will ferve his purpofe in fur- 
nifhing an agreeable accompaniment. 
However, in this kind of extemporary bafe, if the 
fame paffages are not frequently repeated, the changes of 
modulation muft be few and flow, or corredtnefs cannot 
be expected even from a profefibr. The child is always 
as ready at finding a treble to a bafe as a bafe to a treble,. 
if 
