to music. There are still in existence two services of his composition for the royal chapel.
Good Queen Bess and the unfortunate Mary, Queen of Scots, were both excellent performers on the virginal. Mary's ambassador at the court of Elizabeth one day heard her playing, and the Queen, discovering him, required his opinion as to which was the better player, she or his royal mistress. This inquiry placed the poor fellow "'twixt the devil and the deep sea," as Queen Bess's temper was none of the most pacific, and of course he must not disparage his own Queen. But, courtierlike, he complimented them both and came out with flying colors.
Leopold I, of Germany, was an ardent lover of good music and kept up an orchestra that was regarded as being remarkable in its general ensemble. His love for music manifested itself up to the hour of his death. Feeling his end to be near, he sent for his band of players and ordered them to play a symphony. They obeyed, and the monarch expired with a full orchestral accompaniment, à la opera.
Frederic the Great was a fine flute player as well as having a large collection of harpsichords, spinets, and the like. So many flutes did he have that it required one man's time to keep them in good condition. This royal amateur had one good point. He considered it a disgrace to play a wrong note, and would never undertake a composition till he had shut himself up alone and practiced it for hours. Oh, for more of the kind! Emanuel Bach held the position of accompanist to Frederic the Great, and his especial duty was to accompany on the harpsichord as the king played his beloved flute. This monarch combined a musical appreciation with the strictness of a military martinet. He would station himself in the pit behind the conductor, so as to have a full view of the score. In this position he would frequently usurp the conductor's duties; and if a mistake were committed on the stage or in the orchestra, he
