Page:Anecdotes of Great Musicians.djvu/91

Rh One Sunday, during the summer of 1826, Schubert, with several friends, was strolling about among the suburban villages in the vicinity of Vienna. As was their custom, they stopped at a beer garden where they sat chatting and enjoying the good company they found. Schubert picked up a book of poetry one of his acquaintances had laid down, and, after turning over the leaves, suddenly stopped, and pointing out a poem exclaimed: "Such a delicious melody has just come into my head; if I but had a sheet of music paper with me!"

One of his companions hastily drew a few staves on the back of a bill of fare and passed it to him, and in the midst of the hubbub of a German beer garden Schubert wrote out that beautiful melody that has pleased such a multitude of music lovers since his day.



That beautiful songstress, Maria Garcia, better known as Madame Malibran, had a varied experience. Her father, a man of fiery temper, was her instructor; after her childhood was passed, she was for some years on the stage with him. Neither her years of childhood nor the time she spent singing in opera with her father were particularly pleasant years, owing to his tyrannical exactions and their fluctuating fortunes. America was the scene of their operatic performances.

Later, when M. Malibran appeared on the scene and posed as a wealthy banker, Maria married him to escape the unpleasant scenes of her early years. But Malibran turned out to be a rascal, to have little money and to be dependent on his wife's exertions. So this great singer was followed by more misfortune. It was not until this marriage was annulled by a French court and she had some time later been married to the great violinist, De Beriot, that her life became one of peace and happiness.

The disposition of this great songstress was one heartily to be admired. Says one biographer: "Living among