ives were up in arms; they judged
his desire for music to be a passing fancy, especially as they knew
nothing of any preparatory studies, and realized he had never learned
to play any instrument, not even the piano.

The family, however, compromised enough to engage a teacher for him.
But Richard would never learn slowly and systematically. His mind shot
far ahead, absorbing in one instance the writings of Hoffmann, whose
imaginative tales kept the boy's mind in a continual state of nervous
excitement. He was not content to climb patiently the mountain;
he tried to reach the top at a bound. So he wrote overtures for
orchestras, one of which was really performed in Leipsic--a marvelous
affair indeed, with its tympani explosions.

Richard now began to realize the need of solid work, and settled down
to study music seriously, this time under Theodor Weinlig, who was
cantor in the famous Thomas School.

In less than six months the boy was able to solve the most difficult
problems in counterpoint. He learned to know Mozart's music, and tried
to write with more simplicity of style. A piano sonata, a polonaise
for four hands and a fantaisie for piano belong to this year. After
that he aspired to make piano arrangements of great works, such as
Beethoven's "Ninth Symphony." Then came his own symphony, which
was really performed at Gewandhaus, and is said to have shown great
musical vigor.

Instrumental music no longer satisfied this eager, aspiring boy; he
must compose operas. He was now twenty, and went to Wuerzburg, where
his brother Albert was engaged at the Wuerzburg Theater as actor,
singer and stage manager. Albert secured for him a post as chorus
master, with a salary of ten florins a month.

The young composer now started work on a second opera, the first,
called "The Marriage," was found impracticable. The new work was
entitled "The Fairies." This he finished, and the work, performed
years later, was found to be imitative of Beethoven, Weber, and
Marschner; the music was nevertheless very melodious.

Wagner returned to Leipsic in 1834. Soon there came another impetus
to this budding genius: he heard for the first time the great singer
Wilhelmina Schroeder-Devrient, whose art made a deep impression on
him.

It was a time for rapid impressions to sway the ardent temperament of
this boy genius of twenty-one. He read the works of Wilhelm Heinse,
who depicts both the highest artistic pleasures and those of the
oppo