Child Of Music Read Free Page A

curiosity which made every effort worthwhile.
    With her individual pupils, of course, she was able to do much more. And among those the outstanding discovery was Janet Morton.
    The first time she saw Janet she was already aware of the child's tragic history, and she put down her dreamy, withdrawn manner to the shock of the then recent car crash which had robbed her of both her parents. But as soon as she heard the child play her violin, and noted her reaction to music far beyond her natural age-group's understanding, Felicity knew that she was dealing with something quite out of the ordinary.
    To say that Janet lived in a world of her own would not have been quite correct. But, in some odd way, she withdrew sometimes into a world of her own, where she seemed perfectly happy and from which she came back refreshed, enlivened and somehow enriched.
    She was a plain-looking little girl, small for her age, pale, and with no remarkable feature except her dark- lashed, quite wonderful smoky-blue eyes. These, however, were usually framed in round spectacles, since she was short-sighted. But when she took off her glasses, which she did sometimes when she was playing from her prodigious memory, she could look almost beautiful.
    To some people — Mary Elliott included — her composure was disquieting. To Felicity it had the fascinating quality of someone who knew where she was going. And once, when she was listening to Janet playing and watching her absorbed, intelligent little face above her violin, Felicity recalled the old Italian saying about the world standing aside for the man who knows where he is going. That, she realized, was exactly how Janet looked. She knew where she was going to such a degree that it seemed likely one day the world would stand aside for her.
    Felicity had thought a great deal about Janet Morton before she had finally come to the conclusion that every effort should be made to get her into the Tarkman School. But the fact that it was not more than three miles away from Carmalton really made it the obvious first choice, once one accepted the fact that the child's education should move from the general class into the particular.
    For a while Felicity considered the possibility of invoking the help and interest of Anthea and her famous husband. But for a couple of years now she had seen nothing of the Warrenders. Their paths had inevitably lain in different directions. Besides, if she made her approach through them it was possible that a chord would be touched in Stephen Tarkman's memory, and this would hardly be helpful to her candidate. Better far that the approach should be made formally and professionally. As the music-teacher of a genuinely gifted child, Felicity might reasonably be expected to be involved in the application on her behalf.
    The day following her talk with Mary, Felicity kept Janet back at the end of her music lesson and inquired, almost casually, if she ever thought what she would like to be when she grew up.
    'Oh, yes, Miss Grainger.' Janet looked slightly surprised, 'I'm going to be a violinist. I wouldn't want to be anything else.'
    With any other child Felicity might have pointed out mildly that 'want' was not necessarily the operative word in relation to what one eventually did for a living. But instead she said, 'You do understand, don't you, that the professional concert player is up against very stiff competition?'
    'I was just thinking of making music,' replied Janet simply. And, unworldly though the reply was, it went straight to Felicity's heart. For there spoke the true artist. It was not success, a big career, the importance of being 'someone' which appealed to the child, as to most children. It was the music which was more important than herself.
    'You have the right idea,' Felicity told her with a smile. 'But, as your teacher, I must look at the more practical side of things.' She hesitated a moment and then went on, 'I'm inclined to think you have a talent which would