I know, and I freely confess it, your artist is a being apart, strange, abnormal, whimsical, freakish—an oddity, in fact. Well, grant it all. If his peculiarities cause discomfort, he suffers by them too, and much more, very often, than people think. But, after all, his shortcomings may be forgiven for the sake of what he is, and it may be that his value is owing in part to what he lacks. He must be taken as he is, or left alone. There is no other way to enable him to become all he has it in him to be.
CH. GOUNOD.
THE END
Printed by BALLANTYNE, HANSON & CO.
Edinburgh and London
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Translator's Note.—The system of scholarships in French public schools is quite different from that in vogue with us. In the former country the total value is often split up into fractions and bestowed on a number of students. I do not think this is ever done in England.
[2] In French public schools the upper classes are not referred to by numbers. Thus the first or highest class is "Philosophy," the second "Rhetoric," and so on. (See also post, in text.)
[3] See letter from Gounod to Lefuel, dated July 14, 1840.
[4] See letter from Gounod to Lefuel, with a postscript from Hébert (dated April 4, 1841), with reference to the performance of this Mass.
[5] Jean Murat, a Painter, Grand Prix de Rome.