Purchase one of 1st World Library's Classic Books and help support our free internet library of downloadable eBooks. Visit us online at www.1stWorldLibrary.ORG - - The coming of Diotti to America had awakened more than usual interest in the man and his work. His marvelous success as violinist in the leading capitals of Europe, together with many brilliant contributions to the literature of his instrument, had long been favorably commented on by the critics of the old world. Many stories of his struggles and his triumphs had found their way across the ocean and had been read and re-read with...

John Philip Sousa (1854 - 1932) was an American composer and conductor in the late Romantic era best known for American military and patriotic marches. He is often referred to as The March King. He wrote three novels -- "The Fifth String," "Pipetown Sandy," and "The Transit of Venus" -- as well as a full-length autobiography, Marching Along and a great number of articles and letters-to-the-editor on a variety of subjects. The Fifth String is the story of a young violinist who makes a deal with the Devil for a magic violin with five strings. The strings can excite the emotions of pity, hope,...