Questions to arouse interest. Where are these people? At whom are they looking? Why do you think it is night? Upon what has the boy been playing? What does the man carry in his hand? Why do they look so surprised? Does the boy look frightened, anxious, or pleased? How is he dressed? How is the man dressed? the woman? What can you see hanging from her belt? Who is behind her? Where do you think they have come from? Why do you suppose they dressed so fully? What can you see scattered upon the floor? What do you like best about this picture?

The story of the picture. It is midnight; the small boy Handel has forgotten everything in the world as he plays upon the old harpsichord hidden in the dark old garret. He feels safe, for he has taken all precautions—first, by going to bed at the regular time; then, by feigning sleep until all the household was wrapped in slumber. Ah! how long the time seemed, and how impatiently he went over and over again in his mind the beautiful melody he had been composing all day as he worked or played.

But no one must know. He had not even dared hum, lest he should be suspected, for his father had forbidden him the use of the harpsichord, the only musical instrument the family possessed. Humming a tune was something to be frowned at because this small boy loved music so dearly that, if permitted, he would neglect all else to sing or play upon the old harpsichord.

The father had long ago planned that his son should become a lawyer, and he wished to educate him for that profession. But the boy did not apply himself to his lessons, and was at the foot of the class. After much discussion, it was decided that the harpsichord must be banished to the garret and the boy forbidden to touch it until he had mastered his other studies.

Then it was that Handel began to pay those nightly visits to the garret where, with closed windows and doors, he played half the night or until the first hint of dawn told him he must hurry back to his bed. No wonder his mother found it hard to get him up in the morning, and that he began to look pale and delicate.

On this one night he had so completely lost himself in his music that he used the swell at its greatest volume, fairly flooding the garret room with his happy music. Faint sounds had crept down through the garret floor; now they grew loud, now soft and weird, as if the house were haunted. Finally the whole family was awakened, but no one could explain the source of those mysterious sounds. It could not be the wind, for all was still and quiet outside; but whatever it was, they could not sleep until it stopped.

Now all were up and dressed, but no one thought of the boy as the father lighted the great lantern and led the way in search of the ghost or spirit which had so disturbed them. Still the sounds continued, growing fainter, then stronger again, but always seeming to come from the top of the house. So they climbed up the steep and narrow stairs to the garret,—first the father, carrying the lantern, then the mother, who had hurriedly caught up her bag and bunch of keys; the elder brother, and the grandmother and grandfather came last of all. Even when they reached the garret door they did not suspect the boy, for they thought him safe in bed; only a ghost would play in a dark garret at that time of night.

Handel did not need a light, for he knew his keys by heart; his very finger tips were full of the music which had been singing in his head all day long.

Can you not imagine the father swinging the door open and quickly flashing the lantern about until the light rested upon the frail, ghostlike little figure at the harpsichord? They must have been startled, indeed, but not half so much as poor Handel, who felt his last chance of happiness slipping from him.

How very real to us the artist has made it! We seem to be in the big garret ourselves, looking first toward the small boy at the quaint old instrument and then at those who have discovered him. The harpsichord looks something like our grand piano, and was used for many years before the piano was invented. There sits Handel in his night clothes and cap, looking pathetically first at his father, then at his mother, while his sensitive face twitches with anxiety. He had been so intent on his playing that he had not heard their approach, had had no warning, and now it was too late.

And will they punish him? We do not know whether they did in any way except to keep the garret door locked, but that was punishment enough for poor Handel. We do know it was not until he was nine years old that his father reluctantly consented to Handel’s studying music, and then it came about by accident.

One of the great days in Handel’s life was the day his father went to visit his older son (Handel’s half-brother), who held a position under the Duke of Weissenfels. Handel was then only seven years old and had been refused permission to go, but when, many miles from home, the father discovered the tired but determined boy following on foot, he was finally taken. One Sunday, at the close of the service in the court chapel, the boy was permitted to try the great organ. The duke, who had remained in the chapel, heard the playing and immediately inquired who the musician was. “Little Handel from Halle” was the reply.

Becoming interested, the duke soon had the story of the boy’s secret playing, and it was through his talk with the father that Handel was at last placed under a skilled instructor and given every chance to cultivate his great talent.

Soon he was without a rival on the organ and the harpsichord. From the first he wrote his own music, and before long was composing great oratorios such as the famous “Messiah.”

In the picture the artist has centered our interest and attention upon the small boy in several ways: by his position, the light, the inclination of the other figures toward him. At whatever part of the picture we glance, our eyes are almost immediately drawn back to the boy musician. The childish figure, sensitive face, and startled, appealing glance arouse our sympathy and interest.

Questions to help the pupil understand the picture. Where is this boy? What is his name? Why is he in the attic? Why did he not play the harpsichord during the day? What precautions did he take before coming to the garret? Why was he discovered? What warning did he have? Who found him? Why was Handel so anxious? How was he punished? Why was it not good for him to spend his nights or days in this way? When was he permitted to study music? How did this happen? What had his father wanted him to study? How did Handel succeed with his music? Upon what is our attention centered in this picture? By what means is this accomplished? What appeal does this picture make to you? Does it arouse your sympathy and admiration, or does it give you a feeling of disappointment?

The story of the artist. Margaret Isabel Dicksee was the daughter of a noted English artist, Thomas Francis Dicksee. Her parents lived in a section of London where many successful artists and art students had their quarters. Thus Margaret Dicksee’s very earliest memories were associated with pictures and painters, and she had doubtless absorbed all the rudiments of drawing and color long before she began her A B C’s.

Her brother Frank, five years older than Margaret, was already well started on the road to fame in art when the little Margaret first began to trace the queer figures that children draw. No doubt it was he who first guided her hand, scarce strong enough yet to hold the crayon firmly. But Margaret made rapid progress, for the desire to draw and paint the things she saw about her was part of her nature. Soon brother and sister were students together at the same art classes.

The children’s uncle, too, was an artist, as well as their cousin, Herbert Dicksee. In after years Herbert became a noted etcher and made engravings of his cousins’ pictures.

What a happy life these three children must have lived. Conditions for them were as favorable as they had been unfavorable for their father and uncle. Margaret’s father had often told her how he and his brother John, Margaret’s uncle, had got out of bed at the first gray streak of dawn so that they could have time to draw and paint before school. Their parents would not allow them to set aside school tasks for such things as drawing, which they considered of far less importance. How glad Margaret and Frank must have been that their father was an artist and did not interfere with their efforts at drawing and painting, but encouraged them as much as he could.

The young artists were successful in their work from the very first. Their pictures were admired and praised by every one who saw them. Very often pictures by both sister and brother were to be seen at the same exhibition. Later Frank became a member of the Royal Academy.

Miss Dicksee chose as subjects for her paintings scenes from history, biography, and fiction. She also painted a number of fine portraits. The pictures she has left to us give evidence of a very lovable and sympathetic nature. Among her most noted and attractive works besides “The Child Handel Discovered Playing in the Garret” are “The Children of Charles I” and “A Sacrifice of Vanity,” the latter a scene taken from Oliver Goldsmith’s Vicar of Wakefield.

Questions about the artist. In what part of London was the artist born? What was her father’s name and profession? Tell about Margaret Dicksee as a little girl. Who helped her in her first attempts at drawing? Tell about the childhood experiences of her father and uncle. What was the name of Margaret’s and Frank’s cousin? What did he become? What subjects did Miss Dicksee choose for her paintings?