Chapter xv.
_Julian passes into the character of a fidler._
"Rome was now the seat of my nativity. My mother was an African, a womanof no great beauty, but a favourite, I suppose from her piety, of popeGregory II. Who was my father I know not, but I believe no veryconsiderable man; for after the death of that pope, who was, out of hisreligion, a very good friend of my mother, we fell into great distress,and were at length reduced to walk the streets of Rome; nor had eitherof us any other support but a fiddle, on which I played with prettytolerable skill; for, as my genius turned naturally to music, so I hadbeen in my youth very early instructed at the expense of the good pope.This afforded us but a very poor livelihood: for, though I had often anumerous croud of hearers, few ever thought themselves obliged tocontribute the smallest pittance to the poor starving wretch who hadgiven them pleasure. Nay, some of the graver sort, after an hour'sattention to my music, have gone away shaking their heads, and crying itwas a shame such vagabonds were suffered to stay in the city.
"To say the truth, I am confident the fiddle would not have kept usalive had we entirely depended on the generosity of my hearers. Mymother therefore was forced to use her own industry; and while I wassoothing the ears of the croud, she applied to their pockets, and thatgenerally with such good success that we now began to enjoy a verycomfortable subsistence; and indeed, had we had the least prudence orforecast, might have soon acquired enough to enable us to quit thisdangerous and dishonourable way of life: but I know not what is thereason that money got with labour and safety is constantly preserved,while the produce of danger and ease is commonly spent as easily, andoften as wickedly, as acquired. Thus we proportioned our expenses ratherby what we had than what we wanted or even desired; and on obtaining aconsiderable booty we have even forced nature into the most profligateextravagance, and have been wicked without inclination.
"We carried on this method of thievery for a long time withoutdetection: but, as Fortune generally leaves persons of extraordinaryingenuity in the lurch at last, so did she us; for my poor mother wastaken in the fact, and, together with myself, as her accomplice, hurriedbefore a magistrate.
"Luckily for us, the person who was to be our judge was the greatestlover of music in the whole city, and had often sent for me to play tohim, for which, as he had given me very small rewards, perhaps hisgratitude now moved him: but, whatever was his motive, he browbeat theinformers against us, and treated their evidence with so little favour,that their mouths were soon stopped, and we dismissed with honour;acquitted, I should rather have said, for we were not suffered to departtill I had given the judge several tunes on the fiddle.
"We escaped the better on this occasion because the person robbedhappened to be a poet; which gave the judge, who was a facetious person,many opportunities of jesting. He said poets and musicians should agreetogether, seeing they had married sisters; which he afterwards explainedto be the sister arts. And when the piece of gold was produced he burstinto a loud laugh, and said it must be the golden age, when poets hadgold in their pockets, and in that age there could be no robbers. Hemade many more jests of the same kind, but a small taste will suffice.
"It is a common saying that men should take warning by any signaldelivery; but I cannot approve the justice of it; for to me it seemsthat the acquittal of a guilty person should rather inspire him withconfidence, and it had this effect on us: for we now laughed at the law,and despised its punishments, which we found were to be escaped evenagainst positive evidence. We imagined the late example was rather awarning to the accuser than the criminal, and accordingly proceeded inthe most impudent and flagitious manner.
"Among other robberies, one night, being admitted by the servants intothe house of an opulent priest, my mother took an opportunity, whilstthe servants were dancing to my tunes, to convey away a silver vessel;this she did without the least sacrilegious intention; but it seems thecup, which was a pretty large one, was dedicated to holy uses, and onlyborrowed by the priest on an entertainment which he made for some of hisbrethren. We were immediately pursued upon this robbery (the cup beingtaken in our possession), and carried before the same magistrate, whohad before behaved to us with so much gentleness: but his countenancewas now changed, for the moment the priest appeared against us, hisseverity was as remarkable as his candour had been before, and we wereboth ordered to be stript and whipt through the streets.
"This sentence was executed with great severity, the priest himselfattending and encouraging the executioner, which he said he did for thegood of our souls; but, though our backs were both flead, neither mymother's torments nor my own afflicted me so much as the indignityoffered to my poor fiddle, which was carried in triumph before me, andtreated with a contempt by the multitude, intimating a great scorn forthe science I had the honour to profess; which, as it is one of thenoblest inventions of men, and as I had been always in the highestdegree proud of my excellence in it, I suffered so much from theill-treatment my fiddle received, that I would have given all myremainder of skin to have preserved it from this affront.
"My mother survived the whipping a very short time; and I was nowreduced to great distress and misery, till a young Roman of considerablerank took a fancy to me, received me into his family, and conversedwith me in the utmost familiarity. He had a violent attachment to music,and would learn to play on the fiddle; but, through want of genius forthe science, he never made any considerable progress. However, Iflattered his performance, and he grew extravagantly fond of me for sodoing. Had I continued this behaviour I might possibly have reaped thegreatest advantages from his kindness; but I had raised his own opinionof his musical abilities so high, that he now began to prefer his skillto mine, a presumption I could not bear. One day as we were playing inconcert he was horribly out; nor was it possible, as he destroyed theharmony, to avoid telling him of it. Instead of receiving my correction,he answered it was my blunder and not his, and that I had mistaken thekey. Such an affront from my own scholar was beyond human patience; Iflew into a violent passion, I flung down my instrument in a rage, andswore I was not to be taught music at my age. He answered, with as muchwarmth, nor was he to be instructed by a stroling fiddler. The disputeended in a challenge to play a prize before judges. This wager wasdetermined in my favour; but the purchase was a dear one, for I lost myfriend by it, who now, twitting me with all his kindness, with my formerignominious punishment, and the destitute condition from which I hadbeen by his bounty relieved, discarded me for ever.
"While I lived with this gentleman I became known, among others, toSabina, a lady of distinction, and who valued herself much on her tastefor music. She no sooner heard of my being discarded than she took meinto her house, where I was extremely well cloathed and fed.Notwithstanding which, my situation was far from agreeable; for I wasobliged to submit to her constant reprehensions before company, whichgave me the greater uneasiness because they were always wrong; nor am Icertain that she did not by these provocations contribute to my death:for, as experience had taught me to give up my resentment to my bread,so my passions, for want of outward vent, preyed inwardly on my vitals,and perhaps occasioned the distemper of which I sickened.
"The lady, who, amidst all the faults she found, was very fond of me,nay, probably was the fonder of me the more faults she found,immediately called in the aid of three celebrated physicians. Thedoctors (being well fee'd) made me seven visits in three days, and twoof them were at the door to visit me the eighth time, when, beingacquainted that I was just dead, they shook their heads and departed.
"When I came to Minos he asked me with a smile whether I had brought myfiddle with me; and, receiving an answer in the negative, he bid me getabout my business, saying it was well for me that the devil was no loverof music."