the other, covering the
baldness of his riches; if some one had said that these hand-kissing
companions, in whose every word was melody when they spoke the one to
the other, that they did not love, but hated and despised one another;
if some one had said that this lovely, ideal angel of mine even--but no
farther, not so much at once!

At the end of dinner our noble relations were so gracious as to permit
my cousin Melanie to play the piano before us. She was only eight years
old as yet, still she could play as beautifully as other girls of nine
years.

I had very rarely heard a piano; at home mother played sometimes, though
she did not much care for it. Lorand merely murdered the scales, which
was not at all entertaining for me.

My cousin Melanie executed opera selections, and a French quadrille
which excited my extremest admiration. My beautiful aunt laid stress
upon the fact that she had only studied two years. A very intricate plan
began to develop within me.

Melanie played the piano, I the violin. Nothing could be more natural
than that I should come here with my violin to play an obligato to
Melanie's piano; and if afterward we played violin and piano together
perseveringly for eight or nine years, it would be impossible that we
should not in the end reach the goal of life on that road.

In consequence I strove to display my usefulness by turning over the
leaves of the music for her; and my pride was greatly hurt by the fact
that my noble relations did not ask grandmother how I understood how to
read music. Finally the end came to this, as to every good thing; my
cousin Melanie was not quite "up" in the remaining pieces, though I
would have listened even to half-learned pieces, but my grandmother was
getting ready to return to the Fromms'. The Balnokhazys asked her to
spend the night with them, but she replied that she had been there
before, and that I was there too; and she would remain with the younger.
I detested myself so for the idea that I was a drag upon my good
grandmother; why, I ought to have kissed the dust upon her feet for
those words:

"I shall remain with the younger." My brother I envied, who for his part
was "at home" with the P. C.

When I kissed my relations' hands at parting, Balnokhazy thrust a silver
dollar[21] into my hand, adding with magnificent munificence:

[Footnote 21: Thaler.]

"For a little poppy-cake, you know."

Why, it is true, that in Pressburg very fine poppy-biscu