ated with Rode at the Paris Conservatoire, and
likewise in the compilation of the well-known Instruction Book written
expressly for the use of the pupils at the Conservatoire. Baillot was
famed for his admirable bowing and refined playing. Kreutzer is, of
course, better known from his Forty Studies than from anything else
that he has written. His concertos partake more of the study than of
the name they bear, and are valued accordingly.

Lafont was instructed by both Rode and Kreutzer, and held a high
position among the Violinists of his time.

Francois Antoine Habeneck was a pupil of Baillot at the Paris
Conservatoire, where he distinguished himself, and became a professor.
Among his pupils were Alard, Sainton, and Deldevez.

M. Alard was born in 1815. He succeeded Baillot at the Conservatoire
in 1843, holding the position for many years, and retiring shortly
after the death of his father-in-law, M. Vuillaume. M. Alard was the
master of Sarasate. M. Sainton was born in 1813 at Toulouse. He took
the first prize at the Conservatoire in 1834. He settled in London in
1845. Shortly afterwards he became principal professor of the Violin
at the Royal Academy of Music, and leader under Signor Costa.

It now remains for me to notice the Belgian school. The first to name
is Charles de Beriot, one of the most delicious players we have had.
As a composer for his instrument, he opened up entirely fresh ground;
he banished all that was dry, and gave us those fresh and pleasant
Airs with Variations, and Morceaux de Salon, teeming with novel
effects. It can never be said that De Beriot alarmed the amateurs with
outrageous difficulties; on the contrary, he gave them passages
comparatively easy to execute, full of effect, and yet withal
_astonishing_ to the listener. De Beriot probably made more amateur
Violinists than any composer of his time.

Henri Vieuxtemps was a thorough master of his art. His Concertos are
compositions worthy of the title they bear; they do not consist of a
number of difficulties strung together without meaning, but are
properly constructed works. He has written many Fantasias, all of
which are the delight of good Violinists. His compositions being most
difficult to render, they are chiefly known among artists, but in
these days of rapid development in Violin-playing among amateurs, a
new and wide field will certainly be opened for them.

From Belgium to Poland seems a wide step in my discourse, but it is