mand. During his lifetime he composed 1775 poems, most of them being written while he was a young man.

THOMAS MOORE, the Irish poet, began to write for the magazines at fourteen and composed his first volume of poems while yet in his teens.

JOSEPH ADDISON, the poet and greatest of English essayists, distinguished himself in Latin verse at sixteen and was receiving a pension from the public treasury for his poetical productions at twenty-three.

ROBERT BURNS was a literary genius at twelve years of age, and a gifted poet at sixteen.

LORD BYRON published his first volume of poems while yet in his teens and was recognized as one of the most gifted and brilliant poets of the times and was a member of the House of Lords before he was twenty-five.

THOMAS GRAY began his Elegy Written in a Country Church Yard,-considered by many as the most finished poem in the English language at the age of twenty-six.

THOMAS CAMPBELL, the eminent Scottish poet, was a distinguished classical scholar while yet in his teens and published The Pleasures of Hope, the best poem he ever wrote, at twenty

two.

JUNIUS BRUTUS BOOTH, the great American

actor, was upon the stage when seventeen years old, and he was one of the most famous tragedians of the times at twenty-one.

EDWIN BOOTH, who did more than any other man to raise the moral tone of modern dramatic art, went upon the stage when a mere boy and was playing Richard III. at sixteen.

SHERIDAN, the Irish dramatist and orator, was pronounced a dunce when a boy at school by his teacher, and gave no evidence of talent, but he awoke from his mental stupidity and produced his famous comedy, The Rivals, at twenty-four, and his still more famous production, The School for Scandal, was performed in Drury Lane Theatre when he was only twentysix.

BEETHOVEN, the great composer, whose influence wrought a new epoch in music, created astonishment by his performance upon the violin at eight years of age. He played the music in Bach's Wohltemperirtes Klavier at eleven, and published a volume of songs and sonatas of his own composing in his thirteenth year. His fame was world-wide while he was yet in his teens.

MOZART, the immortal musician, played the clavi-chord at four years of age and composed a number of minuets and other pieces, still extant. His talents were remarkably brilliant at seven, and he took part at sight in a trio of

stringed instruments and gave concerts with great success in London and Paris. His achievements and fame increased with remarkable rapidity, so that at the age of thirteen years the enthusiasm and honor given him were without a parallel in the world's history.

HANDEL was composing a cantata in eight parts every week when he was only eight years of age and he produced his great opera, Almira, before he was twenty. Handel is considered by many as the greatest composer the world has produced, and his fame was gained during his early life.

MENDELSSOHN was both brilliant and famous at ten years of age, and had given public concerts in Berlin and Paris. He began to compose music for the piano, violin and other instruments at ten, and published a volume of his productions at fifteen. He composed his Midsummer Night's Dream at eighteen and was the idol of all civilization while yet in his teens. He performed his famous oratorio, Paulus, at twenty-six.

GEORGE MORGAN, for many years organist at the Brooklyn Tabernacle, was a good pianist at five; he played the entire service in St. Nicholas' Church, Gloucester, England, at eight; performed in the Cathedral at twelve, and led the boys' choir in the same edifice from his fourteenth to his twentieth year.

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WEBER, the celebrated composer, began to publish his famous operas at thirteen, and was conductor of the opera at Breslau, and had gained a great reputation for his talents at the age of eighteen.

ROSSINI, the greatest lyrical composer of the present century, spent his boyhood studying the Italian and German masters. His Tancredi, which made such a wonderful sensation, appeared at twenty-three and his masterpiece, Il Barbiere di Seviglia, was composed before he was twenty-six.

HAYDN, the noted German composer, was born in great poverty; he became a member of the choir of St. Stephens, Vienna, at eight and was one of the leading musicians of his time while yet a young man.

THEODORE THOMAS, the eminent American musician, began to play the violin in public at ten, and had won a wide reputation as a musician and was leader of his orchestra, that has enjoyed such great popularity, at twenty-six.

RUBINSTEIN, the celebrated pianist, began to appear in public concerts at eight and from that time forward his career was attended by a constant ovation.

LISZT, whose reputation as a pianist is unexcelled, began to play the piano when three years of age. He was a student of music at six; he was starring through Russia with great

success at sixteen, and was professor in the Strasburg Conservatory of music at twentythree.

GUSTAVE DORE, the celebrated French artist, began to make sketches for the journals when a mere boy; he showed remarkable ability while in his teens. He exhibited his painting, Battle of Alma, when twenty-three, and quite a number of his masterpieces before he was twenty-six.

BENJAMIN WEST, the famous American painter, began to paint pictures when six years of age. He was not encouraged in the art by his parents, but he made colors out of berries and leaves, and brushes out of a cat's tail; and with this crude outfit attracted great attention by his skill. He painted a water-color picture at nine, which he claimed in after life, that in some respects, he never excelled. When his great painting, Christ Healing the Sick, was exhibited in the Royal Academy in London, this little picture was hung beside it. In his sixteenth year he painted one of his masterpieces, Death of Socrates.

MILLAIS, the notable English painter, gained the first prize at the Society of Arts when only nine, and won the principal prizes at the Royal Academy when only eleven. He had completed his celebrated paintings, The Widow's Mite