ause, forward into the trenches. But Ludwig sat on, in his back room,
sunk and lost in the lovely, glorious vision-world which had opened
upon him at his piano. For he had just completed a symphony, in which
he had tried to write down, in notes to be seen and read, what he had
heard and seen within him; a work which, like Beethoven's colossal ones
in that kind, should tell, in heavenly language, of the glorious
wonders of that far-off, romantic realm where life is all unspeakable,
blissful, longing. Like _his_ marvellous creations, it was to
come from that far-off realm, into this little, arid, thirsty world of
ours, and, with beautiful, syren-accents, lure away from it those who
should list, and give ear to its charming. But the landlady came in and
rated him for sitting at his piano in that time of danger and distress;
asking him if he meant to stay in his garret and be shot. At first he
didn't understand what the woman was talking about, till a fragment of
a shell knocked a piece of the roof off, and the broken panes of the
window went clattering down upon the floor. Then the landlady ran
down-stairs weeping and screaming; and Ludwig, taking his most precious
possession, the score of his symphony, under his arm, hastened after
her to the cellar. The inhabitants of the house were all assembled
there. In an access of liberality very unusual with him, the wine-shop
keeper, who occupied the lower story, had 'stood' a dozen or so of his
best wine; whilst the women, in fear and trembling, brought numerous
tit-bits in their work-baskets. People ate and drank, and quickly
passed from their condition of exaltation and excitement to that
confidential frame of mind in which neighbour, drawing close to
neighbour, seeks, and thinks he finds security; and, so to say, all the
petty, artificial _pas_ which we have been taught by conventionality
are whelmed and merged in the great colossal waltz-whirl, to which the
iron hand of destiny beats the resistless measure. The trouble and
danger--the risk to life and limb--were forgotten; cheerful
conversation was the order of the day; animated lips uttered brilliant
speeches, and fellow-lodgers, who barely touched a hat to each other at
ordinary times as they met on the stairs, were seated side by side,
confiding to each other their most confidential affairs.

"The firing began to slacken a good deal, and there was talk of going
up-stairs again, as the streets seemed to be getting pretty saf