=Questions to arouse interest.= Where are these people? At whom are they
looking? Why do you think it is night? Upon what has the boy been
playing? What does the man carry in his hand? Why do they look so
surprised? Does the boy look frightened, anxious, or pleased? How is he
dressed? How is the man dressed? the woman? What can you see hanging
from her belt? Who is behind her? Where do you think they have come
from? Why do you suppose they dressed so fully? What can you see
scattered upon the floor? What do you like best about this picture?
=Artist=: Margaret Isabel Dicksee.
=Birthplace=: London, England.
=Dates=: Born, 1858; died, 1903.
=The story of the picture.= It is midnight; the small boy Handel has
forgotten everything in the world as he plays upon the old harpsichord
hidden in the dark old garret. He feels safe, for he has taken all
precautions—first, by going to bed at the regular time; then, by
feigning sleep until all the household was wrapped in slumber. Ah! how
long the time seemed, and how impatiently he went over and over again in
his mind the beautiful melody he had been composing all day as he worked
or played.
But no one must know. He had not even dared hum, lest he should be
suspected, for his father had forbidden him the use of the harpsichord,
the only musical instrument the family possessed. Humming a tune was
something to be frowned at because this small boy loved music so dearly
that, if permitted, he would neglect all else to sing or play upon the
old harpsichord.
The father had long ago planned that his son should become a lawyer, and
he wished to educate him for that profession. But the boy did not apply
himself to his lessons, and was at the foot of the class. After much
discussion, it was decided that the harpsichord must be banished to the
garret and the boy forbidden to touch it until he had mastered his other
studies.
Then it was that Handel began to pay those nightly visits to the garret
where, with closed windows and doors, he played half the night or until
the first hint of dawn told him he must hurry back to his bed. No wonder
his mother found it hard to get him up in the morning, and that he began
to look pale and delicate.
On this one night he had so completely lost himself in his music that he
used the swell at its greatest volume, fairly flooding the garret room
with his happy music. Faint sounds had crept down through the garret
floor; now they grew loud, now soft and weird, as if the house were
haunted. Finally the whole family was awakened, but no one could explain
the source of those mysterious sounds. It could not be the wind, for all
was still and quiet outside; but whatever it was, they could not sleep
until it stopped.
Now all were up and dressed, but no one thought of the boy as the father
lighted the great lantern and led the way in search of the ghost or
spirit which had so disturbed them. Still the sounds continued, growing
fainter, then stronger again, but always seeming to come from the top of
the house. So they climbed up the steep and narrow stairs to the
garret,—first the father, carrying the lantern, then the mother, who had
hurriedly caught up her bag and bunch of keys; the elder brother, and
the grandmother and grandfather came last of all. Even when they reached
the garret door they did not suspect the boy, for they thought him safe
in bed; only a ghost would play in a dark garret at that time of night.
Handel did not need a light, for he knew his keys by heart; his very
finger tips were full of the music which had been singing in his head
all day long.
Can you not imagine the father swinging the door open and quickly
flashing the lantern about until the light rested upon the frail,
ghostlike little figure at the harpsichord? They must have been
startled, indeed, but not half so much as poor Handel, who felt his last
chance of happiness slipping from him.
How very real to us the artist has made it! We seem to be in the big
garret ourselves, looking first toward the small boy at the quaint old
instrument and then at those who have discovered him. The harpsichord
looks something like our grand piano, and was used for many years before
the piano was invented. There sits Handel in his night clothes and cap,
looking pathetically first at his father, then at his mother, while his
sensitive face twitches with anxiety. He had been so intent on his
playing that he had not heard their approach, had had no warning, and
now it was too late.
And will they punish him? We do not know whether they did in any way
except to keep the garret door locked, but that was punishment enough
for poor Handel. We do know it was not until he was nine years old that
his father reluctantly consented to Handel’s studying music, and then it
came about by accident.
One of the great days in Handel’s life was the day his father went to
visit his older son (Handel’s half-brother), who held a position under
the Duke of Weissenfels. Handel was then only seven years old and had
been refused permission to go, but when, many miles from home, the
father discovered the tired but determined boy following on foot, he was
finally taken. One Sunday, at the close of the service in the court
chapel, the boy was permitted to try the great organ. The duke, who had
remained in the chapel, heard the playing and immediately inquired who
the musician was. “Little Handel from Halle” was the reply.
Becoming interested, the duke soon had the story of the boy’s secret
playing, and it was through his talk with the father that Handel was at
last placed under a skilled instructor and given every chance to
cultivate his great talent.
Soon he was without a rival on the organ and the harpsichord. From the
first he wrote his own music, and before long was composing great
oratorios such as the famous “Messiah.”
In the picture the artist has centered our interest and attention upon
the small boy in several ways: by his position, the light, the
inclination of the other figures toward him. At whatever part of the
picture we glance, our eyes are almost immediately drawn back to the boy
musician. The childish figure, sensitive face, and startled, appealing
glance arouse our sympathy and interest.
=Questions to help the pupil understand the picture.= Where is this boy?
What is his name? Why is he in the attic? Why did he not play the
harpsichord during the day? What precautions did he take before coming
to the garret? Why was he discovered? What warning did he have? Who
found him? Why was Handel so anxious? How was he punished? Why was it
not good for him to spend his nights or days in this way? When was he
permitted to study music? How did this happen? What had his father
wanted him to study? How did Handel succeed with his music? Upon what is
our attention centered in this picture? By what means is this
accomplished? What appeal does this picture make to you? Does it arouse
your sympathy and admiration, or does it give you a feeling of
disappointment?
=The story of the artist.= Margaret Isabel Dicksee was the daughter of a
noted English artist, Thomas Francis Dicksee. Her parents lived in a
section of London where many successful artists and art students had
their quarters. Thus Margaret Dicksee’s very earliest memories were
associated with pictures and painters, and she had doubtless absorbed
all the rudiments of drawing and color long before she began her A B
C’s.
Her brother Frank, five years older than Margaret, was already well
started on the road to fame in art when the little Margaret first began
to trace the queer figures that children draw. No doubt it was he who
first guided her hand, scarce strong enough yet to hold the crayon
firmly. But Margaret made rapid progress, for the desire to draw and
paint the things she saw about her was part of her nature. Soon brother
and sister were students together at the same art classes.
The children’s uncle, too, was an artist, as well as their cousin,
Herbert Dicksee. In after years Herbert became a noted etcher and made
engravings of his cousins’ pictures.
What a happy life these three children must have lived. Conditions for
them were as favorable as they had been unfavorable for their father and
uncle. Margaret’s father had often told her how he and his brother John,
Margaret’s uncle, had got out of bed at the first gray streak of dawn so
that they could have time to draw and paint before school. Their parents
would not allow them to set aside school tasks for such things as
drawing, which they considered of far less importance. How glad Margaret
and Frank must have been that their father was an artist and did not
interfere with their efforts at drawing and painting, but encouraged
them as much as he could.
The young artists were successful in their work from the very first.
Their pictures were admired and praised by every one who saw them. Very
often pictures by both sister and brother were to be seen at the same
exhibition. Later Frank became a member of the Royal Academy.
Miss Dicksee chose as subjects for her paintings scenes from history,
biography, and fiction. She also painted a number of fine portraits. The
pictures she has left to us give evidence of a very lovable and
sympathetic nature. Among her most noted and attractive works besides
“The Child Handel Discovered Playing in the Garret” are “The Children of
Charles I” and “A Sacrifice of Vanity,” the latter a scene taken from
Oliver Goldsmith’s _Vicar of Wakefield_.
=Questions about the artist.= In what part of London was the artist
born? What was her father’s name and profession? Tell about Margaret
Dicksee as a little girl. Who helped her in her first attempts at
drawing? Tell about the childhood experiences of her father and uncle.
What was the name of Margaret’s and Frank’s cousin? What did he become?
What subjects did Miss Dicksee choose for her paintings?
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[Illustration:
By Permission of Braun & Co., Paris and New York
]