Handel, whose divine compositions seem to have proceeded from a heart glowing with the fire of a seraph, was, notwithstanding, what some would call rather a gross mortal, since he placed no small happiness in good eating and drinking. Having received a present of a dozen bottles of superior champagne, he thought the quantity too small to present to his friends; and therefore reserved the delicious nectar for a private use. Sometime after, when a party was dining with him, he longed for a glass of his choice champagne, but could not easily think of a device for leaving the company. On a sudden he assumed (a musing attitude, and, striking his forehead with his forefinger, exclaimed, “I have got one tought! I have got one tought!” (meaning, “thought”). The company, imagining that he had gone to commit to paper some divine idea, saw him depart with silent admiration. He returned to his friends, and very soon had a second, third, and fourth “tought.” A wag suspecting the frequency of St. Cecilia’s visits, followed Handel to an adjoining room, saw him enter a closet, embrace his beloved champagne, and swallow repeated doses. The discovery communicated infinite mirth to the company, and Handel’s “tought” became proverbial.
From: Thomas Busby, Concert Room And Orchestra Anecdotes Of Music and Musicians: Ancient and Modern, in 3 Vols.Vol-2, p.283
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