Page:The story of the flute (IA storyofflute1914fitz).djvu/70

 of the main facts without entering into minute technical details, referring those of my readers who desire further information to Mr. Charles Welch's exhaustive treatise on the subject.

Nothing is known of Gordon's early life. It is not even certain whether his Christian name, whatever it was, began with a W (probably William) or a J. He was a Swiss by birth, though his surname points to an English or Scottish origin, and held a commission as captain in the Swiss Guards of Charles X. He was passionately fond of music, to which he devoted all his spare time; and as his regiment was quartered in Paris, he took lessons from Drouet and also from Tulou (the latter, by the way, does not seem to have attached any importance to Gordon's inventions, and describes the tone of his flute as "thin"). He would appear to have been a very good amateur flautist, and a modest, kind-hearted, and ingenious gentleman, possessed of little or no mechanical skill or training, and having no special knowledge of acoustics.

In 1826 Gordon tried to improve the flute by developing the open-keyed system, and he had several flutes made under his direction by French workmen and by a Swiss watchmaker. What the changes he introduced were is not now known precisely, but his widow stated in 1838 that he aimed at perfect accuracy of intonation, combined with easier execution and a more extended compass. Charles X. lost his throne by the Revolution of 1830, and on July 29th Gordon's regiment, which was guarding the Louvre,