My only agreeable surprise on arriving in Paris was given me by the violin virtuosos, whose merits were undeniably pre­-eminent. Kreutzer, Boucher, Rode, Lafont, and Baillot all deserve to be numbered among the really great violinists; their supremacy remained unquestioned until the appearance of that unique and imposing figure, Paganini, with his incredible power over his instru­ment and his hearers. Boucher, whose ridiculous bearing bordered on the eccentric, merits the distinction the least, for his idiotic behavior kept his audience in a constant state of apprehension, it appearing that he must at any moment give way to a paroxysm; his playing, however, was none the less superb. And to hear Baillot's pure, soulful tone, whether in solo or in quartet playing, was genuinely refreshing. The Müller brothers alone succeeded later in rivalling, though not in excelling him. << less