, Bach generously handed over
the last quarter's salary which was due to him on leaving.

With this improvement in his worldly prospects Bach deemed that he
might prudently marry. He had been contemplating this step since the
time, some months before, when he had incurred the displeasure of the
Arnstadt authorities by introducing a 'stranger maiden' into the
choir--a proceeding altogether contrary to rule, but one which, like
the rest of his faults, was condoned for the sake of hearing him play.
The 'stranger maiden' was no other than his cousin, Maria Barbara, the
youngest daughter of Michael Bach, of Gehren, with whom he had fallen
in love, and to whom he was married on October 17, 1707.

It was customary in those days for organists to maintain their
instruments in repair, and Bach's first duty on entering upon his new
post was to undertake some extensive alterations in the organ
committed to his charge. The completion of these repairs, however, was
left to his successor, for Bach did not retain his position at
Muehlhausen for more than a year. He was filled with a desire to raise
the standard of Church music, reverently desirous of clothing the old
services in a new dress--one which should elevate the thoughts of the
worshippers to a higher plane by giving to the words of Scripture a
fuller and more sympathetic interpretation. In this longing for
freedom from the old modes of Church music, by which, owing to the
rigid simplicity of the Lutheran services, the truths of religion were
trammelled and obscured, Bach hoped to have secured the support and
sympathy of his congregation; but he soon found that his efforts were
unappreciated. For us, who now see this longing for the first time
clearly expressed in his life, and who know what important fruits it
was destined to bear in the future, this stage in the career of
Sebastian Bach possesses a peculiar interest. In his letter to the
town council announcing his resignation he explains that he has
'always striven to make the improvement of Church music, to the honour
of God, his aim,' but that he has met with opposition such as he sees
no chance of being enabled to overcome in the future. Moreover, he
states that, 'poor as is his mode of living, he has not enough to
subsist on after paying his house-rent and other necessary expenses.'

The shortness of his means, with a wife and the near prospect of a
family to provide for, no doubt had a good deal to do with Bach's
dec