of the thousands of unsympathetic eyes turned upon him. But the
touch of his beloved violin gave him confidence. Lovingly,
tenderly, he drew the bow across the strings. The coldly critical
eyes no longer gazed at him. The unsympathetic audience melted
away. He and his violin were one and alone. In the hands of the
great magician the instrument was more than human. It talked; it
laughed; it wept; it controlled the moods of men as the wind
controls the sea.

The audience scarcely breathed. Criticism was disarmed. Malibran
was forgotten. The people were under the spell of the enchanter.
Orpheus had come again. But suddenly the music ceased. The spell
was broken. With a shock the audience returned to earth, and Ole
Bull, restored to consciousness of his whereabouts by the storm of
applause which shook the house, found himself famous forever.

His triumph was complete, but his work was not over, for the price
of fame is ceaseless endeavor. But the turning point had been
passed. He had seized the great opportunity for which his life had
been a preparation, and it had placed him on the roll of the
immortals.





THE LESSON OF THE TEAKETTLE


The teakettle was singing merrily over the fire; the good aunt was