Tour to the West, 1781

urn:iso:std:iso:639:ed-3:eng

55–56

text excerpt

After chapel, we went to tea at Mr R[eynolds]’s, where we had been invited to hear an infant in petticoats play tunes upon the violin, taught him by his father, a watchmaker.  Indeed it was highly entertaining and wonderful to see the mixture in this infant of childishness, and of skill in musick; on being ask’d if he cou’d play by note; Why aye, says he, give me the book, and then you’ll see.  Mr R. laugh’d at his forwardness, declaring he knew only the few tunes his father had taught him; but his surprise exceeded ours, when he found that Master Cobham (aged 5 years, 3 months) knew all his notes perfectly well, and could play anything at sight with a tolerable grace; sometimes for a minute laboring at difficult passages, and in the next pulling the cats tail.  He retired highly pleas’d with a golden sixpence we gave him.  At present he is a greater curiosity than Dr Crotch, and more likely hereafter to shine as a musician; tho’ being puny, it is probable that great attention to musick may destroy him.―Miss R[eynolds] afterwards gave us several fine pieces of musick in a very grand and superior stile; her finger and execution being both inimitable: but on these solemn occasions I feel myself like Mr Western in Tom Jones, and wish for an ordinary tune to relieve my vulgar ears, which soon get tired of difficult lessons, and hard concertos.

excerpt from 'Tour to the West, 1781' pp. 55–56 (249 words)

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1546519928891