t of laughter from the other boys. A
second preferred a sarcastic inquiry as to the price of flour, whilst
a third desired to know whether Franz expected to get through in such
a garb--sallies which the victim bore with open good humour, the more
so as he felt conscious of his own powers. And, indeed, the laugh was
soon turned against his mockers; for, when he came to be examined, his
singing of the trial-pieces, in addition to his skill in solving the
problems set him, so astonished his examiners that they passed him
through at once, and he was ordered to don the uniform of the imperial
choristers forthwith. With a glow of pride Franz arrayed himself in
his new dress, which, with its edgings of gold lace, he thought
dazzlingly beautiful after his despised suit of grey.

[Illustration: '_They indulged in jokes at the expense of the
spectacled boy._']

Franz's entry into the Convict implied a long separation from home,
but he soon found plenty to occupy his mind and claim his interest.
The school orchestra was a great feature of the new life, in which our
hero, from his home studies, was enabled at once to take a prominent
place. Practice was held daily, and the musicians bent their energies
to mastering the overtures and symphonies of Haydn and Mozart, with
the works of many of the minor masters. Even Beethoven's works were
not considered to be beyond the scope of their powers as time went on.
The work of all others which made the deepest impression on Schubert's
mind at this stage, however, was Mozart's 'G minor Symphony.' 'One can
hear the angels singing in it,' he used to say. But he revelled also
in the overtures to 'Figaro' and the 'Zauberfloete,' and, indeed, the
orchestral music to which he was now introduced opened up to his mind
a vista of never-ending delight.

On the very first day that he took his seat in the orchestra his
clever playing attracted the attention of the leader, a big fellow
named Spaun, who sat immediately in front of him. On turning round to
ascertain who it was that was bringing forth such excellent tone from
his fiddle, and, moreover, playing with such precision, Spaun
discovered it to be 'a small boy in spectacles, named Franz Schubert.'
From that moment big Spaun became little Franz's intimate friend and
counsellor. To him one day Franz, who was characteristically shy of
speaking about himself and his longings, made a blushing admission
that he had already composed a good deal.