A GERMAN CRITIC ON MR. CHARLES HALLÉ IN 1841.

(Translated from the German.)

The celebrated critic A. Schindler thus wrote of my father in 1841 :–“ Shall I speak once more to German lovers of music of this young artist, whom I mentioned with praise in my “ Beethoven in Paris ”? I may be permitted to do so otherwise than in the usual form, as Mr. Hallé himself as a pianist is an exception to the general rule. At any rate, I wish in this way to bring this interesting artist nearer to the German musical world, to whom he is almost unknown, and to bring him into closer contact with it. Let us endeavour once again to sift the chaff from the wheat. Three days after my arrival in Paris (in January of last year) I received an invitation to a musical soirée at Erard's. In the amiable note occurred the phrase: “You will meet many artists and literary celebrities, and will also find several fellow-countrymen.” The assembly must have numbered over four hundred persons, more than half of them ladies, among whom I could not find a single good-looking one, perhaps in consequence of having been spoilt by the frequentation of German salons and concert-rooms. It was otherwise with the male portion of the party, many of whom were handsome, and had strikingly interesting faces, amongst them some tremendous beards, and heads of hair that flowed over their shoulders.