Schelle's  critique  sounds  like  a  lawyer's  plead-
ing in  favor  of  a  criminal.  In  this  regard  his
writing  is  quite  creditable,  for  he  has  well
pleaded  the  cause  of  the  violin  makers  of  Vi-
enna !

But  then  those  words  in  my  circular  about


REPLY   TO   MR.   SCHELLE.  IOJ

violin  makers  proved  true  again  :  "  This  won-
derful instrument  has  still  remained  an  enigma
to  the  musical  world  until  now.  How  fortun-
ate it  is  that  it  does  not  understand  human
language,  by  which  circumstance  it  escapes  the
medley  of  opinions  which  have  been  given  in
regard  to  it."

When,  however,  its  clear  tone  was  heard,
and  the  easiness  with  which  the  tones  came
was  noticed,  then  it  became  an  enigma  to  pro-
fessional men  and  they  declared  that  this  vio-
lin was  an  original  fixed  up  again  !

But  later,  when  it  was  objected  to  and  found
to  be  a  new  Gemiinder  violin,  it  was  ignored
even  in  the  newspapers.  The  Neue  Wiener
Tageblatt,  of  Vienna,  called  it  afterwards  "  the
false  Cremona  violin  !"  How  envy  here  glared
forth  again  ;  for  this  violin  was  not  exhibited
as  a  Cremona  violin,  although  it  has  been  dem-
onstrated that  it  had  been  previously  really
taken  for  a  genuine  Italian  instrument.
Its  introduction  as  "  Emperor  Violin  "  had  a
force  and  pungency  which  tickled  the  profes-
sionals, and  what  surpasses  all  belief  is,  that
they  themselves  crowned  the  work.  It  was,
indeed,  the  greatest  premium  that  I  could  gainr
in  spite  of  all  the  pains  which  those  men  gave


106  PROGRESS  IN   VIOLIN    MAKING.
to  themselves  to  deprive  me  of  my  merit.
