was even
passed over on the occasion of a soiree musicale at court to which
all the most distinguished artists then assembled at Warsaw were
invited--Mdlle. Sontag, Mdlle. de Belleville, Worlitzer, Kurpinski, &c.
"Many were astonished," writes Chopin, "that I was not invited to play,
but _I_ was not astonished." When the sittings of the Diet and the
entertainments that accompanied them came to a close Chopin paid a visit
to his friend Titus at Poturzyn, and on his return thence proceeded
with his parents to Zelazowa Wola to stay for some time at the Count
of Skarbek's. After leaving Poturzyn the picture of his friend's quiet
rural life continually rose up in Chopin's mind. A passage in one of his
letters which refers to his sojourn there seems to me characteristic of
the writer, suggestive of moods consonant with his nocturnes and many
cantilene in his other works:--

I must confess that I look back to it with great pleasure; I
feel always a certain longing for your beautiful country-
seat. The weeping-willow is always present to my mind; that
arbaleta! oh, I remember it so fondly! Well, you have teased
me so much about it that I am punished thereby for all my
sins.

And has he forgotten his ideal? Oh, no! On the contrary, his passion
grows stronger every day. This is proved by his frequent allusions to
her whom he never names, and by those words of restless yearning and
heart-rending despair that cannot be read without exciting a pitiful
sympathy. As before long we shall get better acquainted with the lady
and hear more of her--she being on the point of leaving the comparative
privacy of the Conservatorium for the boards that represent the
world--it may be as well to study the symptoms of our friend's
interesting malady.

The first mention of the ideal we find in the letter dated October 3,
1829, wherein he says that he has been dreaming of her every night for
the past six months, and nevertheless has not yet spoken to her. In
these circumstances he stood in need of one to whom he might confide his
joys and sorrows, and as no friend of flesh and blood was at hand, he
often addressed himself to the piano. And now let us proceed with our
investigation.

March 27, 1830.--At no time have I missed you so much as now.
I have nobody to whom I can open my heart.

April 17, 1830.--In my unbearable longing I feel better as
soon as I receive a letter from you. To-day this comfort was
more