[Oct. 1, 
544 Anecdotes of the late Joseph IJavdn, 
been accustomed to the best of food at 
the school-house, kept his eye fixed. 
Reiter, who observed his wishful looks, 
put a tew har.dfuis into his hat, and 
made him sin^ some Italian and Latin 
couplets, of which the boy did not un¬ 
derstand a sinj^le word, Canst thou 
execute a quaver? asked Reiter. “No,’^ 
replied Haydn, “ neither can my cousin.’^ 
The schoolmaster was covered with con¬ 
fusion, and Reiter burst into a fit of laugh¬ 
ter. Reiter then shewed him the pro¬ 
per appulse ofthe tongue against the teeth, 
and made liim acquainted with otlier 
facilities. liiiydn imitated him, and 
the third trial succeeded. “Thou shalt 
remain with me,” said Reiter : and during 
the succeeding eight years he was en¬ 
gaged as a caorister in the church of St. 
Stephen, at Vienna, where he was in¬ 
structed by able masters in singing, and 
in the uses of several instruments, and 
in t)ie theory of music in general. 
the same time he heard works of 
merit performed; and his own imagination 
■was already so awakened and active, 
that he attempted compositions of six 
and eigiit parts : “ I fancied then,” said 
Haydn, when speaking of these essay^s; 
“ that ail was well, provided the paper was 
quite full.” Reiter seveial times cook me 
to task respecting these my crude pro¬ 
ductions, reprimanding me for endea¬ 
vouring to make six parts, when I had 
not learned the art of composing even 
for two voices. At the age of puberty, 
wlien his voice began to change, Haydn 
was dismissed from the choir; after 
which, during a long course of years, lie 
endured ail the rigour of adverse fortune, 
finding it very difficult to earn even a 
bare subsistence at Vienna. He lodged 
JD the sixth story, his garret had neither 
door nor casement; his breath congealed 
on his bed-cioaths; and the water which 
he fetched from the fountain, for his 
toilette in the morning, was frequently 
changed into ice before he could re- 
Rsceud to the exalted regions of his 
abode. Kaydn gave lessons, and per¬ 
formed at oi chesters and musietd parties, 
where something might be gained; but 
his indigence kept him secluded from 
society; an old worm-eaten harpsichord 
was his sole source of happiness.. Con¬ 
soling himself with this companion of his 
misfortunes, he courageously continued 
to compose, and his ardent genius pre¬ 
vented him from sinking into a state of 
torpid despair. At last he had the good 
fortune to have as his pupil, a Miss I\Ior- 
lini, a relation of Sletasiasio; and at her 
house he obtained his board during 
three years. Afterwards he removed to 
one ofthe suburbs. 
About that time he engaged liimself 
as director of the choir of the Charitable 
Brothers, in theLeopoldstadt, at a salary 
of sixty florins per annum. He was 
obliged on Sundays and liolidays to be at 
tiieir church by eiglrt o’clock in the 
morning; at ten he played the organ in 
the chapel of Count Haugwitz, and at 
eleven he sung in the choir of the cathe¬ 
dral of St. Stephen. Thousands would 
have sunk under such hardsliips. 
Havdn never was in Italy. If he 
had enjoyed that advantage, there can 
be no doubt, that, with his excellent ideas 
of singing and harmony, he would have 
acquired great reputation as a composer 
of operas. He, however, spoke Italian 
with considerable facility; and acknow¬ 
ledged, that he owed much to an Italian 
musician of the name of Porpora, with 
whom he became acquainted at the 
house of a lady in Meinersdorf. Haydn 
served him about three months nearly 
in the capacity of a valet, solely for the 
purpose of improving himself by his in¬ 
structions. Porpora \vas teaching the 
lady to sing, and Haydn accompanied 
her on the harpsichord : and, during tlie 
intervals between the lessons, submitted 
his compositions to the correction of 
his master. 
Thus was formed the composer, 
wliose sublime notes resound in all the 
orchestras of Europe; and who conti¬ 
nued his labours with increasing applause 
and glory during half a century, to the 
time of his death in 1809. 
The following extracts of letters were 
written from Vienna in 1305, when tlie 
French were in possession of that city, 
gives an interesting account of a visit 
to tlie venerable composer, at the age 
of 74. 
“ We went several times to Joseph 
Haydn’s: as he is now bowed down with 
age and infirmities it is difiicult for 
strangers to obtain access to him. 
“ When we first paid our respects to 
liim, we were accompanied by Wolfgang 
Alozart, an amiable youth of thirteen, 
full of spirit and vivacity, and who lias 
already given indication of his posses¬ 
sing talents vvortliy of the reputation of 
liis father.—Last spring, the young artist 
liad celebrated the 78d birth-day of 
Haydn, by having performed, at tiie the¬ 
atre ofV^iemia, a cantata, composed by 
him in honour of the fatlier of the Ger¬ 
man musicians. 
“ Ilayd.^ 
