own industrious efforts rose to positions of respect and honor, the
result of unremitting toil and devotion to a noble ideal. Like many
of the other great musicians, through hardship and sorrow he won his
place among the elect.

Fifteen leagues south of Vienna, amid marshy flats along the river
Leitha, lies the small village of Rehrau. At the end of the straggling
street which constitutes the village, stood a low thatched cottage
and next to it a wheelwright's shop, with a small patch of greensward
before it. The master wheelwright, Mathias Haydn, was sexton, too, of
the little church on the hill. He was a worthy man and very religious.
A deep love for music was part of the man's nature, and it was shared
to a large extent by his wife Maria. Every Sunday evening he would
bring out his harp, on which he had taught himself to play, and he
and his wife would sing songs and hymns, accompanied by the harp. The
children, too, would add their voices to the concert. The little
boy Josef, sat near his father and watched his playing with rapt
attention. Sometimes he would take two sticks and make believe play
the violin, just as he had seen the village schoolmaster do. And
when he sang hymns with the others, his voice was sweet and true. The
father watched the child with interest, and a new hope rose within
him. His own life had been a bitter disappointment, for he had been
unable to satisfy his longing for a knowledge of the art he loved.
Perhaps Josef might one day become a musician--indeed he might even
rise to be Capellmeister.

Little Josef was born March 31, 1732. The mother had a secret desire
that the boy should join the priesthood, but the father, as we have
seen, hoped he would make a musical career, and determined, though
poor in this world's goods, to aid him in every possible way.

About this time a distant relative, one Johann Mathias Frankh by name,
arrived at the Haydn cottage on a visit. He was a schoolmaster at
Hainburg, a little town four leagues away. During the regular evening
concert he took particular notice of Josef and his toy violin. The
child's sweet voice indicated that he had the makings of a good
musician. At last he said: "If you will let me take Sepperl, I will
see he is properly taught; I can see he promises well."

The parents were quite willing and as for little Sepperl, he was
simply overjoyed, for he longed to learn more about the beautiful
music which filled his soul. He went with his ne