ather than
otherwise in the pursuit of art. Later on I shall have to return to
this subject and relate some anecdotes, here I shall confine myself to
quoting a short passage from one of his early letters.

April 17, 1830.--If you are in Warsaw during the sitting of
the Diet, you will come to my concert--I have something like
a presentiment, and when I also dream it, I shall firmly
believe it.

And now, after these introductory explanations, we will begin the
chapter in right earnest by taking up the thread of the story where we
left it. On his return to Warsaw Chopin was kept in a state of mental
excitement by the criticisms on his Vienna performances that appeared
in German papers. He does not weary of telling his friend about them,
transcribing portions of them, and complaining of Polish papers which
had misrepresented the drift and mistranslated the words of them. I do
not wonder at the incorrectness of the Polish reports, for some of these
criticisms are written in as uncouth, confused, and vague German as I
ever had the misfortune to turn into English. One cannot help thinking,
in reading what Chopin says with regard to these matters, that he showed
far too much concern about the utterances of the press, and far too much
sensitiveness under the infliction of even the slightest strictures.
That, however, the young composer was soon engaged on new works may be
gathered from the passage (Oct. 3, 1829), quoted at the commencement
of this chapter, in which he speaks of the Adagio of a concerto, and
a waltz, written whilst his thoughts were with his ideal. These
compositions were the second movement of the F minor Concerto and the
Waltz, Op. 70, No. 3. But more of this when we come to discuss the works
which Chopin produced in the years 1829 and 1830.

One of the most important of the items which made up our friend's
musical life at this time was the weekly musical meetings at the house
of Kessler, the pianist-composer characterised in Chapter X. There all
the best artists of Warsaw assembled, and the executants had to play
prima vista whatever was placed before them. Of works performed at
two of these Friday evening meetings, we find mentioned Spohr's Octet,
described by Chopin as "a wonderful work"; Ries's Concerto in C sharp
minor (played with quartet accompaniment), Hummel's Trio in E major,
Prince Louis Ferdinand of Prussia's Quartet, and Beethoven's last Trio,
which, Chopin says, he could not but adm