Yenvpr Menuhin, the news-hawks report, has been inspired by the hum of an electric floor-sweeper.
Such occurrences are frequent in musical history. Johann Strauss was one night guest of honour at a banquet in the old Imperial Palace on the shore of the Danube.
Early in the course of the meal his hostess observed him jotting down a theme on the back of his menu, "A new waltz, maestro?" she inquired "Yes, your Highness, and dedicated to you," responded Strauss, "It is inspired by the sound of the Danube as it splashes and foams past your Palace windows."
Alter the soup had been cleared away Strauss turned to his hostess and said: "It is strange, is t not, your Highness, but the Danube has stopped."
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.