Happily, however, his musical proficiency
attracted the attention of Lord Durham, who offered him the appointment
of bandmaster to a militia regiment stationed in the north of England.
In this position he gradually formed a connection among the wealthier
families of Leeds, Pontefract, and Doncaster, where he taught music,
and conducted the public concerts and oratorios with equal zeal and
success. In 1764 he paid a brief but happy visit to his family, much to
the joy of his faithful sister, Caroline. Returning to England, for
which country he cherished a strong affection, he resumed his career of
patient industry, and in 1765 was appointed organist at Halifax. He was
now in receipt of an income which secured him due domestic comforts, and
enabled him to remedy the defects of his early education. With the help
of a grammar and a dictionary he mastered Italian. He also studied
mathematics and the scientific theory of music, losing no opportunity of
adding to his stores of knowledge.
In 1766 he obtained the lucrative post of organist to the Octagon Chapel
at Bath.
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