the king and queen. The king placed before Wolfgang not only pieces
of Wagenseil, but of Bach, Abel, and Handel, all of which he performed
_prima vista_. He played upon the king's organ in such a style that
every one admired his organ even more than his harpsichord performance.
He then accompanied the queen, who sang an air, and afterwards a
flute-player in a solo. At last they gave him the bass part of one of
Handel's airs, to which he composed so beautifal a melody that all
present were lost in astonishment. In a word, what he knew in Salzburg
was a mere shadow of his present knowledge; his invention and fancy gain
strength every day."

"A concert was lately given at Ranelagh for the benefit of a newly
erected Lying-in-Hospital. I allowed Wolfgang to play a concerto on the
organ at it. Observe--this is the way to get the love of these people."

A large portion of Leopold Mozart's letters is occupied with masses
to be offered up for the health, &c.; and during his sojourn in the
Five-fields, Chelsea, he appears to have been in considerable hope that
he had converted a Mr. Sipruntini (a Dutch Jew, and a fine violoncello
player), to Catholicism. After dedicating a set of sonatas to the queen,
and experiencing great patronage from the nobility, Mozart, with his
father and sister, in July, 1765, crossed over into the Netherlands.
At the Hague, a fever attacked both children, and had nearly cost the
daughter her life. On their recovery, they played before the Prince of
Orange, and Wolfgang composed some variations on a national air, which
was, just then, sung, piped, and whistled throughout the streets of
Holland. The organist of the cathedral in Haerlem waited upon the
Mozarts, and invited the son to try his instrument, which he did the
next morning. Mozart senior describes the organ as a magnificent one, of
sixty-eight stops, and built wholly of metal, "as wood would not endure
the dampness of the Dutch atmosphere." Upon the return of the family to
Salzburg, Mozart enjoyed a year of quiet and uninterrupted study in the
higher walks of composition. Besides applying to the old masters, he was
indefatigable in perusing the works of Emanuel Bach, Hasse, Handel, and
Eberlin, and by the diligent performance of these authors, he acquired
extraordinary brilliancy and power in the left hand. On the 11th of
September, 1767, the whole family proceeded on their way to Vienna; but
as the small pox was raging there, they went to Ollmue