We do not know if it be stated in the Life of Sir Walter Scott that
several years previous to his death he had proposed to write a work
on the early difficulties to which the most illustrious men of genius
in the British islands had been subjected, but it is within our own
knowledge that during his visit to Ireland he avowed this intention, and
for this purpose collected facts relative to our own most distinguished
countrymen, some of which were obtained from ourselves. Such a work, as
that great man would have written it, would be of inestimable value;
and it is deeply to be lamented that the difficulties in which his own
latter years were involved should have prevented him from undertaking
it. We have been reminded of this interesting fact by the following
anecdote, which has been communicated to us by a friend, illustrative of
the early difficulties with which one of our most eminent countrymen had
to contend, and from which he succeeded in extricating himself, no less
by persevering energy of mind, independence of spirit, and propriety of
conduct, than by the possession and cultivation of talents of the highest
order--we allude to the author of the opera of “Amilie, or the Love
Token.” We give the anecdote in our friend’s own words:--
“William M. Rooke, the composer of the delightful music of
‘Amilie,’ an opera which has spread his musical fame far and
wide, had in early life to contend for years, in his native
city, Dublin, against difficulties which would have broken
the spirit of any one, save a man endowed with the strongest
mental powers: indeed, many men of great talents have sunk
under trials which the genius and perseverance of Rooke have at
length overcome, placing him at his present height of celebrity
as a British composer. None can so truly estimate his merits as
those who are aware of the hard fortune of his early days, and
what he had to struggle against previous to his visiting London
in 1821.
In reference to these struggles, the following singular fact
may not prove uninteresting to those fond of the marvellous;
and had not the circumstance occurred in my presence, I should
have doubted its truth:--One morning during the summer of 1818,
I called at Rooke’s lodgings, and on entering the room found
him in a state of great dejection. ‘How are you, Billy?’ said
I (my usual salute). ‘As well as a man can be,’ he replied,
‘who has not yet had his breakfast, and who has not a farthing
in his pocket to procure one.’ This was at eleven o’clock. At
the very moment that this reply was uttered, our eyes were
attracted by a light piece of paper, which for a short time
floating over our heads, finally settled upon the floor; and
our astonishment may be imagined on discovering it to be a
bank note! It would not be easy to describe my feelings. I
gazed on the object intently, scarcely believing it a reality,
although I could plainly see the prominent features of its
value--Thirty Shillings! We both remained for some minutes
motionless, except that our eyes were cast alternately from
the object of our wonder to the various parts of the room,
seeking a cause for so unexpected but welcome a visitor. This
apparent mystery, however, was soon explained. Some months
previous, Rooke had missed a thirty-shilling note, and supposed
it to have been stolen from him. On the morning of my call he
had been seeking some manuscript music stowed away in a press
near the window, the upper sash of which was down; and in his
search the long-lost note had thus been exposed to a strong
current of air, which ultimately dislodging it from its place
of concealment, restored it to its owner at a moment when it
was so much wanted.
When last in London, during an evening’s chat with my friend,
casting our thoughts back upon old times and circumstances,
I brought to his recollection the fact here related, the
singularity of which principally rests upon the strange chance
of the mislaid note re-appearing at such a time and in such
a manner; and I question whether, in all its rambles before
or since, the said thirty-shilling note ever came to hand so
opportunely.”