to violin music, while pieces in minor keys caused her such grief that
they were employed by her parents in place of punishments. At the age of
two she was given a photographic sitting, and at the critical moment she
electrified the group about her by suddenly singing Handel's "See, the
conquering hero comes." The photographer, who had been rehearsing that
work for the first peace jubilee, was astounded to find that she gave it
with the most perfect accuracy. Her power of memory exerted itself in
other fields, and almost as soon as she learned to read she was able to
recite long and difficult selections. She also showed a marked ability
to improvise melodies and sing an accompanying part to any given theme.
Her active mind associated a certain definite colour with each musical
key, a habit which continues to the present time.

[Illustration: MRS. H. H. A. BEACH.]

At the age of four she succeeded in obtaining permission to touch the
piano, although she was so small that she had to improvise a pedestal in
order to reach the keys. She soon learned many pieces, and began to
compose little waltzes of her own. One of these was thought out wholly
without the piano, and played correctly three months afterward. She read
from printed notes before she knew their names, and found no trouble in
making transpositions at will. At six she insisted on having regular
lessons, which were begun by her mother, and continued for two years at
home. During that period she learned many difficult works, including
etudes by Heller and Czerny, some Chopin valses, and various movements
of the Beethoven sonatas, including the whole of the first one. At this
time also she grew interested in the works of Bach, and learned to
understand and appreciate the beauty of the interweaving voices in a
fugue.

At the age of eight, her parents took her to Boston to pursue her
general education. The musical authorities who heard her play insisted
that she was able to enter any one of the great European conservatories,
but with due regard to her health and her other studies, her parents
wisely decided not to let her go. She was sent to Mr. W. L. Whittemore's
private school, where she manifested all her usual quickness of
attainment. Her piano work was greatly aided by her quick ear and
accurate memory, and she was able, for example, to reproduce a Beethoven
sonata without notes, merely after hearing a fellow pupil practise it.
Another use to which she put this