nly the greater part of it
was the merest drudgery. Each afternoon he bent over a desk, laboriously
copying manuscript music; meditating upon his morning of study at the
Conservatoire; or seeking to hear the music the notes and signs of which
he had been writing down. And this last exercise, idle though he thought
it, in time bore excellent results. In the evening he still played in
the orchestra of the Panaievsky Theatre--though he had now risen from
"all-round man" to the sole charge of the kettle-drums. Even the
performances on the shallow stage above him held for him keen interest;
and, without other tuition, he gained here a knowledge of dramatic
construction that served him well later, during the creation of his few
operas. For, in Ivan, great talent found itself mated to love of earnest
work:--a union to which the world has, through all time, owed its
greatest masters of art and science.

During eighteen months--until the autumn of 1864, Ivan's working-day
averaged fourteen hours. He studied constantly under Anton Rubinstein;
and had the privilege, during that time, of many a private lesson under
the master who at that time looked upon him as his special discovery.
During the summer, he took a few pupils from the poorer ranks of the
Conservatoire: students, who, by means of coaching during the summer,
and double work in the winter months, managed to shorten their years of
study, that wage-earning might begin as soon as possible.

At the beginning of the new winter season, Ivan passed through an
experience deeply dreaded, and found himself the recipient of a
happiness greater than he had dreamed possible. At the earnest
solicitation of his master, he once more made his appearance in the
_salon_ of the Grand-Duchess Helena: this time as a paid accompanist.
The moment in which he crossed the once familiar threshold, seemed to
him the most difficult of his lonely years. And then, in another
instant, he was in a new country! Her Imperial Highness greeted him with
a cordiality such as she had never before shown; and the assembled
company only waited for the royal greeting to crowd about him, hands
out-stretched, with a welcome that brought a lump to his throat. If his
playing was very bad that night: if his cold, damp fingers could
scarcely move across the keys, no one noticed it save, perhaps, his
hostess, who surely, in her beautiful wisdom, understood it well.

Years of hard study and constant mechanical training