sprang from his seat, calling out in a loud voice,
"Ay! indeed you are predestinated to become a violinist--so much so that
for you the violin must have been invented if it had not already
existed." This judgment satisfied the father, and a few days later Liszt
himself took the boy to Leipzig and introduced him to Ferdinand David,
saying, "Let me present to you a future Paganini. Look well to him!" For
three years Wilhelm; was a pupil of David, and at the same time studied
the theory of music with Richter and Hausmann. In due course he passed
his examinations at the Leipzig Conservatory, playing Joachim's
Hungarian concerto.

In 1865 he began his concert tours, travelling through Switzerland and
Holland to England, and from this time he seems to have been almost
continually travelling. During 1869, 1870, and 1871 he made a long tour
in England with Charles Santley, the great singer. In 1876 he led the
violins at the Nibelungen performance at Bayreuth, and the Wagner
concerts in London, at the Albert Hall, in 1877, were due to his
representations. In 1882, after travelling all over the globe, he spent
some time in Russia, but presently returned to Germany and established a
violin school at Biberich, which, however, he abandoned after a time.

From time to time he continued to play in public, but gradually withdrew
and lived in retirement at Blasewitz, near Dresden. Eventually he went
to London, where he was appointed professor at the Guildhall School of
Music. Unfortunately, his powers have been on the wane for some years
past, but though the days of his public performances are past, he is
known as a most patient and painstaking teacher. The high esteem in
which he has been held was quaintly expressed by an eminent musician,
who referred to his decadence in these words: "Ah, if Wilhelmj had not
been what he _is_, Joachim would never have been what _he_ is." By which
one may infer that Wilhelmj was, in some respects, a greater man than
Joachim.

In 1894 Wilhelmj married Marcella Mausch-Jerret, of Dresden, a
distinguished pianist.

Wilhelmj's first appearance in America took place on September 26, 1878,
in New York, and his playing caused an unusual demonstration. He was
described in the following words: "His figure is stately, his face and
attitude suggest reserve force and that majestic calm which seems to
befit great power.... A famous philosopher once said that beauty
consists of an exact balance between the intel