“I suppose so. You are certainly very young yet, Bastian.”
“Young!” replied the latter, indignantly. “I am thirteen—almost fourteen years old. It is high time I was learning something useful, hearing good music, becoming acquainted with great compositions, and I cannot do that here or elsewhere in Thuringia. I must go to some great city where the musical life is intense, where famous organists delight congregations on Sunday, and public libraries lend their best books. It is for such reasons as these I cannot stay with my cousins, even if they should cordially invite me. Now, do you understand, Erdmann?”
During this statement his friend had been thoughtfully regarding the little Sebastian—he was very small for his age—and at last tenderly said: “I believe you are right, Sebastian. Were you to remain here you would be in wretched circumstances like all the other Bachs, although they have musical talent by nature. You must get away, and I will make you this proposition: Day after to-morrow I am going to see my mother’s brother at Lüneburg.[6] Go with me. Lüneburg is not a great city, but it is a much more important place than Ohrdruff, Arnstadt, or Eisenach. It was for long the residence of the Grand Duke of Brunswick, and it still has many of the advantages of a capital. There is a magnificent organ in the old Gothic Church of St. John, and every Sunday you can hear the best of music there. You would enjoy that, I fancy.”
Sebastian stood for a moment with glistening eyes, overcome with joy. “Lüneburg!” he replied with trembling voice, “St. John’s Church organ! Oh, Erdmann, the great organist Böhm,[7] whose majestic chorales I copied by moonlight, is the leading player there. Oh, to hear him, to hear him, I would go barefoot to Lüneburg!”
“Yes,” said Erdmann, pleased with the acceptance of his proposal, “that will be nice for you, and a few miles from there is Hamburg.”
“Where the famous Reinken, Johann Adam Reinken,[8] plays splendidly at St. Katherine’s Church,” interposed Sebastian, with enthusiasm. “Erdmann, my dear Erdmann, I must go; and if you will take me with you I will thank you all my life long.”
“If your relatives consent, I shall not fail to do so,” said his friend. “And once you are in Lüneburg, my uncle, if I ask him, will gladly help you to go farther.”
“Really?” said Sebastian, overcome with delight. “Oh, dear friend, how fortunate I am to have met you! I am determined to go with you whether my cousins consent or not.”
His more considerate friend advised him to keep on good terms with his relatives. “I will come in the morning and inquire,” said he. “Only be very judicious, so that they may have confidence in your good judgment and give their consent to your plans.”
“Yes, I will. But come, be sure to come,” implored Sebastian, in a beseeching tone, as he pressed his friend’s hand. “And not too late. The funeral takes place immediately after the noon service, and promptly afterward everything necessary must be done, for most of the guests will wish to leave before evening, so that they may be punctual at their posts on Monday morning. There will not be much time to spare.”