O Black and unknown bards of long ago, How came your lips to touch the sacred fire?

Nothing great or enduring, especially in music, has ever sprung full-fledged and unprecedented from the brain of any master; the best he gives to the world he gathers from the hearts of the people, and runs it through the alembic of his genius.

As yet, the Negroes themselves do not fully appreciate these old slave songs.

I had enjoyed life in Paris, and, taking all things into consideration, enjoyed it wholesomely.

O Black and unknown bards of long ago, How came your lips to touch the sacred fire?

At a very early age I began to thump on the piano alone, and it was not long before I was able to pick out a few tunes? I also learned the names of the notes in both clefs, but I preferred not be hampered by notes.

Southern white people despise the Negro as a race, and will do nothing to aid in his elevation as such; but for certain individuals they have a strong affection, and are helpful to them in many ways.