and order in the boy's studies; but in many ways his
life was rendered unnecessarily hard. The schoolmaster was a married
man, but his wife showed the utmost indifference towards the little
fellow who had hoped to find in her a second mother, but who found
instead that he was neglected in every way. Next to religion itself,
Mathias and Maria had instilled into their children a positive
reverence for personal cleanliness. Joseph's distress, therefore, at
finding himself bereft of a mother's care became greater day by day as
he saw the rents in his clothing passed over and the means of keeping
his body in the state to which he had been accustomed unprovided. What
this meant to a sensitive child with a rooted aversion to dirt may be
imagined; nor were his sufferings in any way reduced by the attention
which his destitute, neglected state drew upon him. Try as he might to
forget his misery in his books, he could not but be aware of the
pitying glances which were cast at him by those whom he encountered in
his walks, or who passed by as he sat reading on the step outside his
cousin's door.

Though ashamed of his appearance, Joseph was in no danger of losing
his self-respect--the love of cleanliness and order had been too
deeply implanted to be easily uprooted; moreover, his childish reason
whispered to him that the present state of things could not last for
ever, and in the meantime he bravely resolved to make the best of it.
He was receiving lessons on the clavier and violin, but the training
of his voice occupied the foremost place, and when not in school the
boy was nearly always to be found in the church, listening to the
organ or the singing. In a very short time he had made such progress
as to be admitted to the choir, where he joined his sweet young voice
in the singing of the Masses.

Already his mind was beginning to feed upon those higher branches of
music which his natural gifts enabled him to appreciate. His
reverential nature was strongly shown in regard to his music, and it
was in the church alone that he could obtain the gratification of a
sense which was surely leading him on to greater things. As the days
went by he was conscious of a yearning for something that his present
surroundings could not supply. His thoughts were constantly travelling
towards a city wherein he had centred his hopes, and where he knew he
should find his heart's desires. That city was Vienna. It was before
his eyes as he stood in th