he more or less skilful execution by the movements of their
fingers; indeed, he wrote critiques on the opera for an excellent
journal at Hamburg. And yet is that peculiarly wonderful? In the
visible symbols of the performance the deaf painter could see the
sounds. There are men to whom the sounds themselves are invisible
symbols in which they hear colors and forms.

I am sorry that I no longer possess Lyser's little drawing; it
would perhaps have given you an idea of Paganini's outward
appearance. Only with black and glaring strokes could those
mysterious features be seized, features which seemed to belong more
to the sulphurous kingdom of shades than to the sunny world of
life. "Indeed, the devil guided my hand," the deaf painter assured
me, as we stood before the pavilion at Hamburg on the day when
Paganini gave his first concert there. "Yes, my friend, it is true
that he has sold himself to the devil, body and soul, in order to
become the best violinist, to fiddle millions of money, and
principally to escape the damnable galley where he had already
languished many years. For, you see, my friend, when he was
chapel-master at Lucca he fell in love with a princess of the
theater, was jealous of some little abbate, was perhaps deceived by
the faithless amata, stabbed her in approved Italian fashion, came
in the galley to Genoa, and as I said, sold himself to the devil to
escape from it, became the best violin-player, and imposed upon us
this evening a contribution of two thalers each. But, you see, all
good spirits praise God! There in the avenue he comes himself, with
his suspicious impresario."

It was Paganini himself whom I then saw for the first time. He wore
a dark gray overcoat, which reached to his heels, and made his
figure seem very tall. His long black hair fell in neglected curls
on his shoulders, and formed a dark frame round the pale,
cadaverous face, on which sorrow, genius and hell had engraved
their lines. Near him danced along a little pleasing figure,
elegantly prosaic--with rosy, wrinkled face, bright gray little
coat with steel buttons, distributing greetings on all sides in an
insupportably friendly way, leering up, nevertheless, with
apprehensive air at the gloomy figure who walked earnest and
thoughtful at his side. It