“Don’t worry, dear husband,” interposed Frau Mozart, “the accident is not so bad as it might have been, for we have all escaped without injury. Let us thank God, and hope that the little mishap is not a bad omen.”
“Never fear, little mother,” said Wolfgang, cheerfully. “I shall not break down in Paris. You can rely upon that.”
Father Mozart had to laugh at the boy’s amusing consolation, and his indignation speedily subsided. “Well,” said he, “what has happened can’t be altered. With divine help we can bear this ill-luck patiently. I wonder if there is a smith or a wheelwright in the village who can repair the carriage. Say, driver, how soon can you have the damage your carelessness has caused made good?”
“We can go on in a couple of hours,” replied the driver.
“And what shall we do meanwhile to pass the time away in this miserable spot?”
“I can help you about that, sir,” said the driver in a most amicable tone, hoping they might overlook his carelessness if he were civil. “The beautiful castle, Choissy-le-Roi, where her Majesty the Queen has her summer residence, is near here. You can go there and stroll about the elegant park, and the hours will pass like minutes.”
“Your suggestion sounds well,” replied Father Mozart. “What do you think of it, dear wife? As we have nothing else to do, suppose we go over there a while.” The mother gave her assent, and both the children were delighted at the prospect of frolicking about in the open air for two hours after having been so long closely crowded in a carriage on the dusty roads. They set off at once, while the driver went for help to mend the broken vehicle.
The park, which they soon reached, was shadowy and cool. The trimly kept walks were arched with a roof of beautiful green foliage. Stags and deer were browsing here and there on the grass patches, and above the tree-tops gleamed the towers of the castle, noted at that time for its stateliness. They greatly enjoyed themselves in the cool shade, and gradually approached the castle. No one was to be seen except our travellers. Wolfgang noticed an open door in a building standing by itself, which, from its construction, he judged must be the castle chapel. His curiosity impelled him to enter, and Nannie and his parents followed him. It was a fair-sized chapel and superbly decorated. A very beautiful organ particularly attracted Wolfgang’s attention, and he could not resist the temptation to play on it. As the chapel was empty, and no one could be seen in the vicinity, Father Mozart ventured to gratify his son’s wish. He went to the bellows, and soon a flood of beautiful, captivating music streamed through the chapel and out into the park.
Two richly dressed ladies of distinguished bearing and unusual beauty were just at this time walking in the park, and heard with surprise the wonderfully rich tones which seemed to them to come from the sky. They approached the chapel nearer and nearer, and at last stopped and concealed themselves behind some thick shrubbery, that they might enjoy the magnificent music unperceived. It continued a little longer and then closed with beautiful harmony, softly dying away. Silence once more reigned in the great solitary park.
“It is wonderful,” said one of the ladies to her companion. “It seems to me I have never heard such beautiful, such ravishing music before. Who can the organist be? Our old organist is an excellent player, but he has no idea of such melody and harmony as that.”