pere, demanding a full settlement of the debt. The father was
thus brought again into communication with his son, whom he found nearly
sick unto death with a fever. His heart relented, and the old allowance
was resumed again, enabling the young musician to give his whole time to
his beloved art, instantly he convalesced from his illness.

The eccentric ways and heretical notions of Berlioz made him no favorite
with the dons of the Conservatoire, and by the irritable and autocratic
Cherubini he was positively hated. The young man took no pains to
placate this resentment, but on the other hand elaborated methods of
making himself doubly offensive. His power of stinging repartee stood
him in good stead, and he never put a button on his foil. Had it been in
old Cherubini's power to expel this bold pupil from the Conservatoire,
no scruple would have held him back. But the genius and industry of
Berlioz were undeniable, and there was no excuse for such extreme
measures. Prejudiced as were his judges, he successively took several
important prizes.

II.

Berlioz's happiest evenings were at the Grand Opera, for which he
prepared himself by solemn meditation. At the head of a band of students
and amateurs, he took on himself the right of the most outspoken
criticism, and led the enthusiasm or the condemnation of the audience.
At this time Beethoven was barely tolerated in Paris, and the great
symphonist was ruthlessly clipped and shorn to suit the French taste,
which pronounced him "bizarre, incoherent, diffuse, bustling with
rough modulations and wild harmonies, destitute of melody, forced in
expression, noisy, and fearfully difficult," even as England at the same
time frowned down his immortal works as "obstreperous roarings of
modern frenzy." Berlioz's clear, stern voice would often be heard,
when liberties were taken with the score, loud above the din of the
instruments. "What wretch has dared to tamper with the great Beethoven?"
"Who has taken upon him to revise Gluck?" This self-appointed arbiter
became the dread of the operatic management, for, as a pupil of the
Conservatoire, he had some rights which could not be infringed.

Berlioz composed some remarkable works while at the Conservatoire,
among which were the "Ouverture des Francs Juges," and the symphonie
"Fantastique," and in many ways indicated that the bent of his genius
had fully declared itself. His decided and indomitable nature disdained
to wear a mask, an