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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/4386-h.zip b/4386-h.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..1e882d5 --- /dev/null +++ b/4386-h.zip diff --git a/4386-h/4386-h.htm b/4386-h/4386-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..cf4c22a --- /dev/null +++ b/4386-h/4386-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,5406 @@ +<?xml version="1.0" encoding="us-ascii"?> + +<!DOCTYPE html + PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd" > + +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" lang="en"> + <head> + <title> + Life of Chopin, by Franz Liszt + </title> + <style type="text/css" xml:space="preserve"> + + body { margin:5%; background:#faebd0; text-align:justify} + P { text-indent: 1em; margin-top: .25em; margin-bottom: .25em; } + H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; margin-left: 15%; margin-right: 15%; } + hr { width: 50%; text-align: center;} + .foot { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; text-indent: -3em; font-size: 90%; } + blockquote {font-size: 97%; font-style: italic; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;} + .mynote {background-color: #DDE; color: #000; padding: .5em; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 95%;} + .toc { margin-left: 10%; margin-bottom: .75em;} + .toc2 { margin-left: 20%;} + div.fig { display:block; margin:0 auto; text-align:center; } + div.middle { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; } + .figleft {float: left; margin-left: 0%; margin-right: 1%;} + .figright {float: right; margin-right: 0%; margin-left: 1%;} + .pagenum {display:inline; font-size: 70%; font-style:normal; + margin: 0; padding: 0; position: absolute; right: 1%; + text-align: right;} + pre { font-style: italic; font-size: 90%; margin-left: 10%;} + +</style> + </head> + <body> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Life of Chopin, by Franz Liszt + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Life of Chopin + +Author: Franz Liszt + +Translator: Martha Walker Cook + +Release Date: January 7, 2010 [EBook #4386] +Last Updated: February 4, 2013 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LIFE OF CHOPIN *** + + + + +Produced by John Mamoun, David Widger and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team + + + + + +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <h1> + LIFE OF CHOPIN + </h1> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <h2> + by Franz Liszt + </h2> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <h3> + Translated from the French by Martha Walker Cook + </h3> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <h2> + Contents + </h2> + <table summary="" style="margin-right: auto; margin-left: auto"> + <tr> + <td> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_PREF"> PREFACE </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0001"> CHAPTER I. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0002"> CHAPTER II. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0003"> CHAPTER III. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0004"> CHAPTER IV. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0005"> CHAPTER V. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0006"> CHAPTER VI. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0007"> CHAPTER VII. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0008"> CHAPTER VIII. </a> + </p> + </td> + </tr> + </table> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <div class="mynote"> + INFORMATION ABOUT THIS E-TEXT EDITION + <p> + The following is an e-text of "Life of Chopin," written by Franz Liszt + and translated from the french by Martha Walker Cook. The original + edition was published in 1863; a fourth, revised edition (1880) was used + in making this e-text. This e-text reproduces the fourth edition + essentially unabridged, with original spellings intact, numerous + typographical errors corrected, and words italicized in the original + text capitalized in this e-text. In making this e-text, each page was + cut out of the original book with an x-acto knife to feed the pages into + an Automatic Document Feeder scanner for scanning. Hence, the book was + disbinded in order to save it. Thanks to Charles Franks and the Online + Distributed Proofreading team for help in proofreading this e-text. + </p> + <br /> + </div> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> DEDICATION OF THE TRANSLATION TO JAN PYCHOWSKI + </p> + <p> + Without your consent or knowledge, I have ventured to dedicate this + translation to you! + </p> + <p> + As the countryman of Chopin, and filled with the same earnest patriotism + which distinguished him; as an impassioned and perfect Pianist, capable, + of reproducing his difficult compositions in all the subtle tenderness, + fire, energy, melancholy, despair, caprice, hope, delicacy and startling + vigor which they imperiously exact; as thorough master of the complicated + instrument to which he devoted his best powers; as an erudite and + experienced possessor of that abstruse and difficult science, music; as a + composer of true, deep, and highly original genius,—this dedication + is justly made to you! + </p> + <p> + Even though I may have wounded your characteristically haughty, shrinking, + and Sclavic susceptibilities in rendering so public a tribute to your + artistic skill, forgive me! The high moral worth and manly rectitude which + distinguish you, and which alone render even the most sublime genius truly + illustrious in the eyes of woman, almost force these inadequate and + imperfect words from the heart of the translator. + </p> + <p> + M.W.C. <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> <a name="link2H_PREF" id="link2H_PREF"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + PREFACE + </h2> + <p> + To a people, always prompt in its recognition of genius, and ready to + sympathize in the joys and woes of a truly great artist, this work will be + one of exceeding interest. It is a short, glowing, and generous sketch, + from the hand of Franz Liszt, (who, considered in the double light of + composer and performer, has no living equal,) of the original and romantic + Chopin; the most ethereal, subtle, and delicate among our modern + tone-poets. It is a rare thing for a great artist to write on art, to + leave the passionate worlds of sounds or colors for the colder realm of + words; rarer still for him to abdicate, even temporarily, his own throne, + to stand patiently and hold aloft the blazing torch of his own genius, to + illume the gloomy grave of another: yet this has Liszt done through love + for Chopin. + </p> + <p> + It is a matter of considerable interest to note how the nervous and agile + fingers, accustomed to sovereign rule over the keys, handle the pen; how + the musician feels as a man; how he estimates art and artists. Liszt is a + man of extensive culture, vivid imagination, and great knowledge of the + world; and, in addition to their high artistic value, his lines glow with + poetic fervor, with impassioned eloquence. His musical criticisms are + refined and acute, but without repulsive technicalities or scientific + terms, ever sparkling with the poetic ardor of the generous soul through + which the discriminating, yet appreciative awards were poured. Ah! in + these days of degenerate rivalries and bitter jealousies, let us welcome a + proof of affection so tender as his "Life of Chopin"! + </p> + <p> + It would be impossible for the reader of this book to remain ignorant of + the exactions of art. While, through its eloquence and subtle analysis of + character, it appeals to the cultivated literary tastes of our people, it + opens for them a dazzling perspective into that strange world of tones, of + whose magical realm they know, comparatively speaking, so little. It is + intelligible to all who think or feel; requiring no knowledge of music for + its comprehension. + </p> + <p> + The compositions of Chopin are now the mode, the rage. Every one asks for + them, every one tries to play them. We have, however, but few remarks upon + the peculiarities of his style, or the proper manner of producing his + works. His compositions, generally perfect in form, are never abstract + conceptions, but had their birth in his soul, sprang from the events of + his life, and are full of individual and national idiosyncrasies, of + psychological interest. Liszt knew Chopin both as man and artist; Chopin + loved to hear him interpret his music, and himself taught the great + Pianist the mysteries of his undulating rhythm and original motifs. The + broad and noble criticisms contained in this book are absolutely essential + for the musical culture of the thousands now laboriously but vainly + struggling to perform his elaborate works, and who, having no key to their + multiplied complexities of expression, frequently fail in rendering them + aright. + </p> + <p> + And the masses in this country, full of vivid perception and intelligent + curiosity, who, not playing themselves, would yet fain follow with the + heart compositions which they are told are of so much artistic value, will + here find a key to guide them through the tuneful labyrinth. Some of + Chopin's best works are analyzed herein. He wrote for the HEART OF HIS + PEOPLE; their joys, sorrows, and caprices are immortalized by the power of + his art. He was a strictly national tone-poet, and to understand him + fully, something must be known of the brave and haughty, but unhappy + country which he so loved. Liszt felt this, and has been exceedingly happy + in the short sketch given of Poland. We actually know more of its + picturesque and characteristic customs after a perusal of his graphic + pages, than after a long course of dry historical details. His remarks on + the Polonaise and Mazourka are full of the philosophy and essence of + history. These dances grew directly from the heart of the Polish people; + repeating the martial valor and haughty love of noble exhibition of their + men; the tenderness, devotion, and subtle coquetry of their women—they + were of course favorite forms with Chopin; their national character made + them dear to the national poet. The remarks of Liszt on these dances are + given with a knowledge so acute of the traits of the nation in which they + originated, with such a gorgeousness of description and correctness of + detail, that they rather resemble a highly finished picture, than a colder + work of words only. They have all the splendor of a brilliant painting. He + seizes the secrets of the nationality of these forms, traces them through + the heart of the Polish people, follows them through their marvelous + transfiguration in the pages of the Polish artist, and reads by their + light much of the sensitive and exclusive character of Chopin, analyzing + it with the skill of love, while depicting it with romantic eloquence. + </p> + <p> + To those who can produce the compositions of Chopin in the spirit of their + author, no words are necessary. They follow with the heart the poetic and + palpitating emotions so exquisitely wrought through the aerial tissue of + the tones by this "subtle-souled Psychologist," this bold and original + explorer in the invisible world of sound;—all honor to their genius: + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + "Oh, happy! and of many millions, they + The purest chosen, whom Art's service pure + Hallows and claims—whose hearts are made her throne, + Whose lips her oracle, ordained secure, + To lead a priestly life, and feed the ray + Of her eternal shrine, to them alone + Her glorious countenance unveiled is shown: + Ye, the high brotherhood she links, rejoice + In the great rank allotted by her choice! + The loftiest rank the spiritual world sublime, + Rich with its starry thrones, gives to the sons of Time!" + + Schiller. +</pre> + <p> + Short but glowing sketches of Heine, Meyerbeer, Adolphe Nourrit, Hiller, + Eugene Delacroix, Niemcevicz, Mickiewicz, and Madame Sand, occur in the + book. The description of the last days of poor Chopin's melancholy life, + with the untiring devotion of those around him, including the beautiful + countess, Delphine Potocka; his cherished sister, Louise; his devoted + friend and pupil, M. Gutman, with the great Liszt himself, is full of + tragic interest. + </p> + <p> + No pains have been spared by the translator to make the translation + acceptable, for the task was truly a labor of love. No motives of interest + induced the lingering over the careful rendering of the charmed pages, but + an intense desire that our people should know more of musical art; that + while acknowledging the generosity and eloquence of Liszt, they should + learn to appreciate and love the more subtle fire, the more creative + genius of the unfortunate, but honorable and honored artist, Chopin. + </p> + <p> + Perchance Liszt may yet visit us; we may yet hear the matchless Pianist + call from their graves in the white keys, the delicate arabesques, the + undulating and varied melodies, of Chopin. We should be prepared to + appreciate the great Artist in his enthusiastic rendering of the + master-pieces of the man he loved; prepared to greet him when he + electrifies us with his wonderful Cyclopean harmonies, written for his own + Herculean grasp, sparkling with his own Promethean fire, which no meaner + hand can ever hope to master! "Hear Liszt and die," has been said by some + of his enthusiastic admirers—understand him and live, were the wiser + advice! + </p> + <p> + In gratitude then to Chopin for the multiplied sources of high and pure + pleasure which he has revealed to humanity in his creations, that human + woe and sorrow become pure beauty when his magic spell is on them, the + translator calls upon all lovers of the beautiful "to contribute a stone + to the pyramid now rapidly erecting in honor of the great modern composer"—ay, + the living stone of appreciation, crystalized in the enlightened gratitude + of the heart. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + "So works this music upon earth + God so admits it, sends it forth. + To add another worth to worth— + + A new creation-bloom that rounds + The old creation, and expounds + His Beautiful in tuneful sounds." +</pre> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> <a name="link2HCH0001" id="link2HCH0001"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER I. + </h2> + <p> + <i>Chopin—Style and Improvements—The Adagio of the Second + Concerto—Funeral March—Psychological Character of the + Compositions of Chopin, &c., &c.</i> + </p> + <p> + Deeply regretted as he may be by the whole body of artists, lamented by + all who have ever known him, we must still be permitted to doubt if the + time has even yet arrived in which he, whose loss is so peculiarly + deplored by ourselves, can be appreciated in accordance with his just + value, or occupy that high rank which in all probability will be assigned + him in the future. + </p> + <p> + If it has been often proved that "no one is a prophet in his own country;" + is it not equally true that the prophets, the men of the future, who feel + its life in advance, and prefigure it in their works, are never recognized + as prophets in their own times? It would be presumptuous to assert that it + can ever be otherwise. In vain may the young generations of artists + protest against the "Anti-progressives," whose invariable custom it is to + assault and beat down the living with the dead: time alone can test the + real value, or reveal the hidden beauties, either of musical compositions, + or of kindred efforts in the sister arts. + </p> + <p> + As the manifold forms of art are but different incantations, charged with + electricity from the soul of the artist, and destined to evoke the latent + emotions and passions in order to render them sensible, intelligible, and, + in some degree, tangible; so genius may be manifested in the invention of + new forms, adapted, it may be, to the expression of feelings which have + not yet surged within the limits of common experience, and are indeed + first evoked within the magic circle by the creative power of artistic + intuition. In arts in which sensation is linked to emotion, without the + intermediate assistance of thought and reflection, the mere introduction + of unaccustomed forms, of unused modes, must present an obstacle to the + immediate comprehension of any very original composition. The surprise, + nay, the fatigue, caused by the novelty of the singular impressions which + it awakens, will make it appear to many as if written in a language of + which they were ignorant, and which that reason will in itself be + sufficient to induce them to pronounce a barbarous dialect. The trouble of + accustoming the ear to it will repel many who will, in consequence, refuse + to make a study of it. Through the more vivid and youthful organizations, + less enthralled by the chains of habit; through the more ardent spirits, + won first by curiosity, then filled with passion for the new idiom, must + it penetrate and win the resisting and opposing public, which will finally + catch the meaning, the aim, the construction, and at last render justice + to its qualities, and acknowledge whatever beauty it may contain. + Musicians who do not restrict themselves within the limits of conventional + routine, have, consequently, more need than other artists of the aid of + time. They cannot hope that death will bring that instantaneous plus-value + to their works which it gives to those of the painters. No musician could + renew, to the profit of his manuscripts, the deception practiced by one of + the great Flemish painters, who, wishing in his lifetime to benefit by his + future glory, directed his wife to spread abroad the news of his death, in + order that the pictures with which he had taken care to cover the walls of + his studio, might suddenly increase in value! + </p> + <p> + Whatever may be the present popularity of any part of the productions of + one, broken, by suffering long before taken by death, it is nevertheless + to be presumed that posterity will award to his works an estimation of a + far higher character, of a much more earnest nature, than has hitherto + been awarded them. A high rank must be assigned by the future historians + of music to one who distinguished himself in art by a genius for melody so + rare, by such graceful and remarkable enlargements of the harmonic tissue; + and his triumph will be justly preferred to many of far more extended + surface, though the works of such victors may be played and replayed by + the greatest number of instruments, and be sung and resung by passing + crowds of Prime Donne. + </p> + <p> + In confining himself exclusively to the Piano, Chopin has, in our opinion, + given proof of one of the most essential qualities of a composer—a + just appreciation of the form in which he possessed the power to excel; + yet this very fact, to which we attach so much importance, has been + injurious to the extent of his fame. It would have been most difficult for + any other writer, gifted with such high harmonic and melodic powers, to + have resisted the temptation of the SINGING of the bow, the liquid + sweetness of the flute, or the deafening swells of the trumpet, which we + still persist in believing the only fore-runner of the antique goddess + from whom we woo the sudden favors. What strong conviction, based upon + reflection, must have been requisite to have induced him to restrict + himself to a circle apparently so much more barren; what warmth of + creative genius must have been necessary to have forced from its apparent + aridity a fresh growth of luxuriant bloom, unhoped for in such a soil! + What intuitive penetration is repealed by this exclusive choice, which, + wresting the different effects of the various instruments from their + habitual domain, where the whole foam of sound would have broken at their + feet, transported them into a sphere, more limited, indeed, but far more + idealized! What confident perception of the future powers of his + instrument must have presided over his voluntary renunciation of an + empiricism, so widely spread, that another would have thought it a + mistake, a folly, to have wrested such great thoughts from their ordinary + interpreters! How sincerely should we revere him for this devotion to the + Beautiful for its own sake, which induced him not to yield to the general + propensity to scatter each light spray of melody over a hundred orchestral + desks, and enabled him to augment the resources of art, in teaching how + they may be concentrated in a more limited space, elaborated at less + expense of means, and condensed in time! + </p> + <p> + Far from being ambitious of the uproar of an orchestra, Chopin was + satisfied to see his thought integrally produced upon the ivory of the + key-board; succeeding in his aim of losing nothing in power, without + pretending to orchestral effects, or to the brush of the scene-painter. + Oh! we have not yet studied with sufficient earnestness and attention the + designs of his delicate pencil, habituated as we are, in these days, to + consider only those composers worthy of a great name, who have written at + least half-a-dozen Operas, as many Oratorios, and various Symphonies: + vainly requiring every musician to do every thing, nay, a little more than + every thing. However widely diffused this idea may be, its justice is, to + say the least, highly problematical. We are far from contesting the glory + more difficult of attainment, or the real superiority of the Epic poets, + who display their splendid creations upon so large a plan; but we desire + that material proportion in music should be estimated by the same measure + which is applied to dimension in other branches of the fine arts; as, for + example, in painting, where a canvas of twenty inches square, as the + Vision of Ezekiel, or Le Cimetiere by Ruysdael, is placed among the chefs + d'oeuvre, and is more highly valued than pictures of a far larger size, + even though they might be from the hands of a Rubens or a Tintoret. In + literature, is Beranger less a great poet, because he has condensed his + thoughts within the narrow limits of his songs? Does not Petrarch owe his + fame to his Sonnets? and among those who most frequently repeat their + soothing rhymes, how many know any thing of the existence of his long poem + on Africa? We cannot doubt that the prejudice which would deny the + superiority of an artist—though he should have produced nothing but + such Sonatas as Franz Schubert has given us—over one who has + portioned out the insipid melodies of many Operas, which it were useless + to cite, will disappear; and that in music, also, we will yet take into + account the eloquence and ability with which the thoughts and feelings are + expressed, whatever may be the size of the composition in which they are + developed, or the means employed to interpret them. + </p> + <p> + In making an analysis of the works of Chopin, we meet with beauties of a + high order, expressions entirely new, and a harmonic tissue as original as + erudite. In his compositions, boldness is always justified; richness, even + exuberance, never interferes with clearness; singularity never degenerates + into uncouth fantasticalness; the sculpturing is never disorderly; the + luxury of ornament never overloads the chaste eloquence of the principal + lines. His best works abound in combinations which may be said to form an + epoch in the handling of musical style. Daring, brilliant and attractive, + they disguise their profundity under so much grace, their science under so + many charms, that it is with difficulty we free ourselves sufficiently + from their magical enthrallment, to judge coldly of their theoretical + value. Their worth has, however, already been felt; but it will be more + highly estimated when the time arrives for a critical examination of the + services rendered by them to art during that period of its course + traversed by Chopin. + </p> + <p> + It is to him we owe the extension of chords, struck together in arpeggio, + or en batterie; the chromatic sinuosities of which his pages offer such + striking examples; the little groups of superadded notes, falling like + light drops of pearly dew upon the melodic figure. This species of + adornment had hitherto been modeled only upon the Fioritures of the great + Old School of Italian song; the embellishments for the voice had been + servilely copied by the Piano, although become stereotyped and monotonous: + he imparted to them the charm of novelty, surprise and variety, unsuited + for the vocalist, but in perfect keeping with the character of the + instrument. He invented the admirable harmonic progressions which have + given a serious character to pages, which, in consequence of the lightness + of their subject, made no pretension to any importance. But of what + consequence is the subject? Is it not the idea which is developed through + it, the emotion with which it vibrates, which expands, elevates and + ennobles it? What tender melancholy, what subtlety, what sagacity in the + master-pieces of La Fontaine, although the subjects are so familiar, the + titles so modest? Equally unassuming are the titles and subjects of the + Studies and Preludes; yet the compositions of Chopin, so modestly named, + are not the less types of perfection in a mode created by himself, and + stamped, like all his other works, with the high impress of his poetic + genius. Written in the commencement of his career, they are characterized + by a youthful vigor not to be found in some of his subsequent works, even + when more elaborate, finished, and richer in combinations; a vigor, which + is entirely lost in his latest productions, marked by an over-excited + sensibility, a morbid irritability, and giving painful intimations of his + own state of suffering and exhaustion. + </p> + <p> + If it were our intention to discuss the development of Piano music in the + language of the Schools, we would dissect his magnificent pages, which + afford so rich a field for scientific observation. We would, in the first + place, analyze his Nocturnes, Ballades, Impromptus, Scherzos, which are + full of refinements of harmony never heard before; bold, and of startling + originality. We would also examine his Polonaises, Mazourkas, Waltzes and + Boleros. But this is not the time or place for such a study, which would + be interesting only to the adepts in Counterpoint and Thoroughbass. + </p> + <p> + It is the feeling which overflows in all his works, which has rendered + them known and popular; feeling of a character eminently romantic, + subjective individual, peculiar to their author, yet awakening immediate + sympathy; appealing not alone to the heart of that country indebted to him + for yet one glory more, but to all who can be touched by the misfortunes + of exile, or moved by the tenderness of love. Not content with success in + the field in which he was free to design, with such perfect grace, the + contours chosen by himself, Chopin also wished to fetter his ideal + thoughts with classic chains. His Concertos and Sonatas are beautiful + indeed, but we may discern in them more effort than inspiration. His + creative genius was imperious, fantastic and impulsive. His beauties were + only manifested fully in entire freedom. We believe he offered violence to + the character of his genius whenever he sought to subject it to rules, to + classifications, to regulations not his own, and which he could not force + into harmony with the exactions of his own mind. He was one of those + original beings, whose graces are only fully displayed when they have cut + themselves adrift from all bondage, and float on at their own wild will, + swayed only by the ever undulating impulses of their own mobile natures. + </p> + <p> + He was, perhaps, induced to desire this double success through the example + of his friend, Mickiewicz, who, having been the first to gift his country + with romantic poetry, forming a school in Sclavic literature by the + publication of his Dziady, and his romantic Ballads, as early as 1818, + proved afterwards, by the publication at his Grazyna and Wallenrod, that + he could triumph over the difficulties that classic restrictions oppose to + inspiration, and that, when holding the classic lyre of the ancient poets, + he was still master. In making analogous attempts, we do not think Chopin + has been equally successful. He could not retain, within the square of an + angular and rigid mould, that floating and indeterminate contour which so + fascinates us in his graceful conceptions. He could not introduce in its + unyielding lines that shadowy and sketchy indecision, which, disguising + the skeleton, the whole frame-work of form, drapes it in the mist of + floating vapors, such as surround the white-bosomed maids of Ossian, when + they permit mortals to catch some vague, yet lovely outline, from their + home in the changing, drifting, blinding clouds. + </p> + <p> + Some of these efforts, however, are resplendent with a rare dignity of + style; and passages of exceeding interest, of surprising grandeur, may be + found among them. As an example of this, we cite the Adagio of the Second + Concerto, for which he evinced a decided preference, and which he liked to + repeat frequently. The accessory designs are in his best manner, while the + principal phrase is of an admirable breadth. It alternates with a + Recitative, which assumes a minor key, and which seems to be its + Antistrophe. The whole of this piece is of a perfection almost ideal; its + expression, now radiant with light, now full of tender pathos. It seems as + if one had chosen a happy vale of Tempe, a magnificent landscape flooded + with summer glow and lustre, as a background for the rehearsal of some + dire scene of mortal anguish. A bitter and irreparable regret seizes the + wildly-throbbing human heart, even in the midst of the incomparable + splendor of external nature. This contrast is sustained by a fusion of + tones, a softening of gloomy hues, which prevent the intrusion of aught + rude or brusque that might awaken a dissonance in the touching impression + produced, which, while saddening joy, soothes and softens the bitterness + of sorrow. + </p> + <p> + It would be impossible to pass in silence the Funeral March inserted in + the first Sonata, which was arranged for the orchestra, and performed, for + the first time, at his own obsequies. What other accents could have been + found capable of expressing, with the same heart-breaking effect, the + emotions, the tears, which should accompany to the last long sleep, one + who had taught in a manner so sublime, how great losses should be mourned? + We once heard it remarked by a native of his own country: "these pages + could only have been written by a Pole." All that the funeral train of an + entire nation weeping its own ruin and death can be imagined to feel of + desolating woe, of majestic sorrow, wails in the musical ringing of this + passing bell, mourns in the tolling of this solemn knell, as it + accompanies the mighty escort on its way to the still city of the Dead. + The intensity of mystic hope; the devout appeal to superhuman pity, to + infinite mercy, to a dread justice, which numbers every cradle and watches + every tomb; the exalted resignation which has wreathed so much grief with + halos so luminous; the noble endurance of so many disasters with the + inspired heroism of Christian martyrs who know not to despair;—resound + in this melancholy chant, whose voice of supplication breaks the heart. + All of most pure, of most holy, of most believing, of most hopeful in the + hearts of children, women, and priests, resounds, quivers and trembles + there with irresistible vibrations. We feel it is not the death of a + single warrior we mourn, while other heroes live to avenge him, but that a + whole generation of warriors has forever fallen, leaving the death song to + be chanted but by wailing women, weeping children and helpless priests. + Yet this Melopee so funereal, so full of desolating woe, is of such + penetrating sweetness, that we can scarcely deem it of this earth. These + sounds, in which the wild passion of human anguish seems chilled by awe + and softened by distance, impose a profound meditation, as if, chanted by + angels, they floated already in the heavens: the cry of a nation's anguish + mounting to the very throne of God! The appeal of human grief from the + lyre of seraphs! Neither cries, nor hoarse groans, nor impious + blasphemies, nor furious imprecations, trouble for a moment the sublime + sorrow of the plaint: it breathes upon the ear like the rhythmed sighs of + angels. The antique face of grief is entirely excluded. Nothing recalls + the fury of Cassandra, the prostration of Priam, the frenzy of Hecuba, the + despair of the Trojan captives. A sublime faith destroying in the + survivors of this Christian Ilion the bitterness of anguish and the + cowardice of despair, their sorrow is no longer marked by earthly + weakness. Raising itself from the soil wet with blood and tears, it + springs forward to implore God; and, having nothing more to hope from + earth, it supplicates the Supreme Judge with prayers so poignant, that our + hearts, in listening, break under the weight of an august compassion! It + would be a mistake to suppose that all the compositions of Chopin are + deprived of the feelings which he has deemed best to suppress in this + great work. Not so. Perhaps human nature is not capable of maintaining + always this mood of energetic abnegation, of courageous submission. We + meet with breathings of stifled rage, of suppressed anger, in many + passages of his writings: and many of his Studies, as well as his + Scherzos, depict a concentrated exasperation and despair, which are + sometimes manifested in bitter irony, sometimes in intolerant hauteur. + These dark apostrophes of his muse have attracted less attention, have + been less fully understood, than his poems of more tender coloring. The + personal character of Chopin had something to do with this general + misconception. Kind, courteous, and affable, of tranquil and almost joyous + manners, he would not suffer the secret convulsions which agitated him to + be even suspected. + </p> + <p> + His character was indeed not easily understood. A thousand subtle shades, + mingling, crossing, contradicting and disguising each other, rendered it + almost undecipherable at a first view. As is usually the case with the + Sclaves, it was difficult to read the recesses of his mind. With them, + loyalty and candor, familiarity and the most captivating ease of manner, + by no means imply confidence, or impulsive frankness. Like the twisted + folds of a serpent rolled upon itself, their feelings are half hidden, + half revealed. It requires a most attentive examination to follow the + coiled linking of the glittering rings. It would be naive to interpret + literally their courtesy full of compliment, their assumed humility. The + forms of this politeness, this modesty, have their solution in their + manners, in which their ancient connection with the East may be strangely + traced. Without having in the least degree acquired the taciturnity of the + Mussulman, they have yet learned from it a distrustful reserve upon all + subjects which touch upon the more delicate and personal chords of the + heart. When they speak of themselves, we may almost always be certain that + they keep some concealment in reserve, which assures them the advantage in + intellect, or feeling. They suffer their interrogator to remain in + ignorance of some circumstance, some mobile secret, through the unveiling + of which they would be more admired, or less esteemed, and which they well + know how to hide under the subtle smile of an almost imperceptible + mockery. Delighting in the pleasure of mystification, from the most + spiritual or comic to the most bitter and melancholy, they may perhaps + find in this deceptive raillery an external formula of disdain for the + veiled expression of the superiority which they internally claim, but + which claim they veil with the caution and astuteness natural to the + oppressed. + </p> + <p> + The frail and sickly organization of Chopin, not permitting him the + energetic expression of his passions, he gave to his friends only the + gentle and affectionate phase of his nature. In the busy, eager life of + large cities, where no one has time to study the destiny of another, where + every one is judged by his external activity, very few think it worth + while to attempt to penetrate the enigma of individual character. Those + who enjoyed familiar intercourse with Chopin, could not be blind to the + impatience and ennui he experienced in being, upon the calm character of + his manners, so promptly believed. And may not the artist revenge the man? + As his health was too frail to permit him to give vent to his impatience + through the vehemence of his execution, he sought to compensate himself by + pouring this bitterness over those pages which he loved to hear performed + with a vigor [Footnote: It was his delight to hear them executed by the + great Liszt himself.—Translator.] which he could not himself always + command: pages which are indeed full of the impassioned feelings of a man + suffering deeply from wounds which he does not choose to avow. Thus around + a gaily flagged, yet sinking ship, float the fallen spars and scattered + fragments, torn by warring winds and surging waves from its shattered + sides. + </p> + <p> + Such emotions have been of so much the more importance in the life of + Chopin, because they have deeply influenced the character of his + compositions. Among the pages published under such influences, may be + traced much analogous to the wire-drawn subtleties of Jean Paul, who found + it necessary, in order to move hearts macerated by passion, blazes through + suffering, to make use of the surprises caused by natural and physical + phenomena; to evoke the sensations of luxurious terrors arising from + occurrences not to be foreseen in the natural order of things; to awaken + the morbid excitements of a dreamy brain. Step by step the tortured mind + of Chopin arrived at a state of sickly irritability; his emotions + increased to a feverish tremor, producing that involution, that tortuosity + of thought, which mark his latest works. Almost suffocating under the + oppression of repressed feelings, using art only to repeat and rehearse + for himself his own internal tragedy, after having wearied emotion, he + began to subtilize it. His melodies are actually tormented; a nervous and + restless sensibility leads to an obstinate persistence in the handling and + rehandling and a reiterated pursuit of the tortured motifs, which impress + us as painfully as the sight of those physical or mental agonies which we + know can find relief only in death. Chopin was a victim to a disease + without hope, which growing more envenomed from year to year, took him, + while yet young, from those who loved him, and laid him in his still + grave. As in the fair form of some beautiful victim, the marks of the + grasping claws of the fierce bird of prey which has destroyed it, may be + found; so, in the productions of which we have just spoken, the traces of + the bitter sufferings which devoured his heart, are painfully visible. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0002" id="link2HCH0002"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER II. + </h2> + <p> + <i>National Character of the Polonaise—Oginski—Meyseder—Weber—Chopin—His + Polonaise in F Sharp, Minor—Polonaise—Fantaisie.</i> + </p> + <p> + It must not be supposed that the tortured aberrations of feeling to which + we have just alluded, ever injure the harmonic tissue in the works of + Chopin on the contrary, they only render it a more curious subject for + analysis. Such eccentricities rarely occur in his more generally known and + admired compositions. His Polonaises, which are less studied than they + merit, on account of the difficulties presented by their perfect + execution, are to be classed among his highest inspirations. They never + remind us of the mincing and affected "Polonaises a la Pompadour," which + our orchestras have introduced into ball-rooms, our virtuosi in concerts, + or of those to be found in our "Parlor Repertories," filled, as they + invariably are, with hackneyed collections of music, marked by insipidity + and mannerism. + </p> + <p> + His Polonaises, characterized by an energetic rhythm, galvanize and + electrify the torpor of indifference. The most noble traditional feelings + of ancient Poland are embodied in them. The firm resolve and calm gravity + of its men of other days, breathe through these compositions. Generally of + a martial character, courage and daring are rendered with that simplicity + of expression, said to be a distinctive trait of this warlike people. They + bring vividly before the imagination, the ancient Poles, as we find them + described in their chronicles; gifted with powerful organizations, subtle + intellects, indomitable courage and earnest piety, mingled with high-born + courtesy and a gallantry which never deserted them, whether on the eve of + battle, during its exciting course, in the triumph of victory, or amidst + the gloom of defeat. So inherent was this gallantry and chivalric courtesy + in their nature, that in spite of the restraint which their customs + (resembling those of their neighbours and enemies, the infidels of + Stamboul) induced them to exercise upon their women, confining them in the + limits of domestic life and always holding them under legal wardship, they + still manifest themselves in their annals, in which they have glorified + and immortalized queens who were saints; vassals who became queens, + beautiful subjects for whose sake some periled, while others lost, crowns: + a terrible Sforza; an intriguing d'Arquien; and a coquettish Gonzaga. + </p> + <p> + The Poles of olden times united a manly firmness with this peculiar + chivalric devotion to the objects of their love. A characteristic example + of this may be seen in the letters of Jean Sobieski to his wife. They were + dictated in face of the standards of the Crescent, "numerous as the ears + in a grain-field," tender and devoted as is their character. Such traits + caught a singular and imposing hue from the grave deportment of these men, + so dignified that they might almost be accused of pomposity. It was next + to impossible that they should not contract a taste for this stateliness, + when we consider that they had almost always before them the most + exquisite type of gravity of manner in the followers of Islam, whose + qualities they appreciated and appropriated, even while engaged in + repelling their invasions. Like the infidel, they knew how to preface + their acts by an intelligent deliberation, so that the device of Prince + Boleslas of Pomerania, was always present to them: "First weigh it; then + dare:" Erst wieg's: dann wag's! Such deliberation imparted a kind of + stately pride to their movements, while it left them in possession of an + ease and freedom of spirit accessible to the lightest cares of tenderness, + to the most trivial interests of the passing hour, to the most transient + feelings of the heart. As it made part of their code of honor to make + those who interfered with them, in their more tender interests, pay dearly + for it; so they knew how to beautify life, and, better still, they knew + how to love those who embellished it; to revere those who rendered it + precious to them. + </p> + <p> + Their chivalric heroism was sanctioned by their grave and haughty dignity; + an intelligent and premeditated conviction added the force of reason to + the energy of impulsive virtue; thus they have succeeded in winning the + admiration of all ages, of all minds, even that of their most determined + adversaries. They were characterized by qualities rarely found together, + the description of which would appear almost paradoxical: reckless wisdom, + daring prudence, and fanatic fatalism. The most marked and celebrated + historic manifestation of these properties is to be found in the + expedition of Sobieski when he saved Vienna, and gave a mortal blow to the + Ottoman Empire, which was at last conquered in the long struggle, + sustained on both sides with so much prowess and glory, with so much + mutual deference between opponents as magnanimous in their truces as + irreconcilable in their combats. + </p> + <p> + While listening to some of the POLONAISES of Chopin, we can almost catch + the firm, nay, the more than firm, the heavy, resolute tread of men + bravely facing all the bitter injustice which the most cruel and + relentless destiny can offer, with the manly pride of unblenching courage. + The progress of the music suggests to our imagination such magnificent + groups as were designed by Paul Veronese, robed in the rich costume of + days long past: we see passing at intervals before us, brocades of gold, + velvets, damasked satins, silvery soft and flexile sables, hanging sleeves + gracefully thrown back upon the shoulders, embossed sabres, boots yellow + as gold or red with trampled blood, sashes with long and undulating + fringes, close chemisettes, rustling trains, stomachers embroidered with + pearls, head dresses glittering with rubies or leafy with emeralds, light + slippers rich with amber, gloves perfumed with the luxurious attar from + the harems. Prom the faded background of times long passed these vivid + groups start forth; gorgeous carpets from Persia lie at their feet, + filigreed furniture from Constantinople stands around; all is marked by + the sumptuous prodigality of the Magnates who drew, in ruby goblets + embossed with medallions, wine from the fountains of Tokay, and shoed + their fleet Arabian steeds with silver, who surmounted all their + escutcheons with the same crown which the fate of an election might render + a royal one, and which, causing them to despise all other titles, was + alone worn as INSIGNE of their glorious equality. + </p> + <p> + Those who have seen the Polonaise danced even as late as the beginning of + the present century, declare that its style has changed so much, that it + is now almost impossible to divine its primitive character. As very few + national dances have succeeded in preserving their racy originality, we + may imagine, when we take into consideration the changes which have + occurred, to what a degree this has degenerated. The Polonaise is without + rapid movements, without any true steps in the artistic sense of the word, + intended rather for display than for the exhibition of seductive grace; so + we may readily conceive it must lose all its haughty importance, its + pompous self-sufficiency, when the dancers are deprived of the accessories + necessary to enable them to animate its simple form by dignified, yet + vivid gestures, by appropriate and expressive pantomime, and when the + costume peculiarly fitted for it is no longer worn. It has indeed become + decidedly monotonous, a mere circulating promenade, exciting but little + interest. Unless we could see it danced by some of the old regime who + still wear the ancient costume, or listen to their animated descriptions + of it, we can form no conception of the numerous incidents, the scenic + pantomime, which once rendered it so effective. By a rare exception this + dance was designed to exhibit the men, to display manly beauty, to set off + noble and dignified deportment, martial yet courtly bearing. "Martial yet + courtly:" do not these two epithets almost define the Polish character? In + the original the very name of the dance is masculine; it is only in + consequence of a misconception that it has been translated in other + tongues into the feminine gender. + </p> + <p> + Those who have never seen the KONTUSZ worn, (it is a kind of Occidental + kaftan, as it is the robe of the Orientals, modified to suit the customs + of an active life, unfettered by the stagnant resignation taught by + fatalism,) a sort of FEREDGI, often trimmed with fur, forcing the wearer + to make frequent movements susceptible of grace and coquetry, by which the + flowing sleeves are thrown backward, can scarcely imagine the bearing, the + slow bending, the quick rising, the finesse of the delicate pantomime + displayed by the Ancients, as they defiled in a Polonaise, as though in a + military parade, not suffering their fingers to remain idle, but sometimes + occupying them in playing with the long moustache, sometimes with the + handle of the sword. Both moustache and sword were essential parts of the + costume, and were indeed objects of vanity with all ages. Diamonds and + sapphires frequently sparkled upon the arms, worn suspended from belts of + cashmere, or from sashes of silk embroidered with gold, displaying to + advantage forms always slightly corpulent; the moustache often veiled, + without quite hiding, some scar, far more effective than the most + brilliant array of jewels. The dress of the men rivaled that of the women + in the luxury of the material worn, in the value of the precious stones, + and in the variety of vivid colors. This love of adornment is also found + among the Hungarians, [Footnote: The Hungarian costume worn by Prince + Nicholas Esterhazy at the coronation of George the Fourth, is still + remembered in England. It was valued at several millions of florins.] as + may be seen in their buttons made of jewels, the rings forming a necessary + part of their dress, the wrought clasps for the neck, the aigrettes and + plumes adorning the cap made of velvet of some brilliant hue. To know how + to take off, to put on, to manoeuvre the cap with all possible grace, + constituted almost an art. During the progress of a Polonaise, this became + an object of especial remark, because the cavalier of the leading pair, as + commandant of the file, gave the mute word of command, which was + immediately obeyed and imitated by the rest of the train. + </p> + <p> + The master of the house in which the ball was given, always opened it + himself by leading off in this dance. His partner was selected neither for + her beauty, nor youth; the most highly honored lady present was always + chosen. This phalanx, by whose evolutions every fete was commenced, was + not formed only of the young: it was composed of the most distinguished, + as well as of the most beautiful. A grand review, a dazzling exhibition of + all the distinction present, was offered as the highest pleasure of the + festival. After the host, came next in order the guests of the greatest + consideration, who, choosing their partners, some from friendship, some + from policy or from desire of advancement, some from love,—followed + closely his steps. His task was a far more complicated one than it is at + present. He was expected to conduct the files under his guidance through a + thousand capricious meanderings, through long suites of apartments lined + by guests, who were to take a later part in this brilliant cortege. They + liked to be conducted through distant galleries, through the parterres of + illuminated gardens, through the groves of shrubbery, where distant echoes + of the music alone reached the ear, which, as if in revenge, greeted them + with redoubled sound and blowing of trumpets upon their return to the + principal saloon. As the spectators, ranged like rows of hedges along the + route, were continually changing, and never ceased for a moment to observe + all their movements, the dancers never forgot that dignity of bearing and + address which won for them the admiration of women, and excited the + jealousy of men. Vain and joyous, the host would have deemed himself + wanting in courtesy to his guests, had he not evinced to them, which he + did sometimes with a piquant naivete, the pride he felt in seeing himself + surrounded by persons so illustrious, and partisans so noble, all striving + through the splendor of the attire chosen to visit him, to show their high + sense of the honor in which they held him. + </p> + <p> + Guided by him in their first circuit, they were led through long windings, + where unexpected turns, views, and openings had been arranged beforehand + to cause surprise; where architectural deceptions, decorations and + shifting scenes had been studiously adapted to increase the pleasure of + the festival. If any monument or inscription, fitted for the occasion, lay + upon the long line of route, from which some complimentary homage might be + drawn to the "most valiant or the most beautiful," the honors were + gracefully done by the host. The more unexpected the surprises arranged + for these excursions, the more imagination evinced in their invention, the + louder were the applauses from the younger part of the society, the more + ardent the exclamations of delight; and silvery sounds of merry laughter + greeted pleasantly the ears of the conductor-in-chief, who, having thus + succeeded in achieving his reputation, became a privileged Corypheus, a + leader par excellence. If he had already attained a certain age, he was + greeted on his return from such circuits by frequent deputations of young + ladies, who came, in the name of all present, to thank and congratulate + him. Through their vivid descriptions, these pretty wanderers excited the + curiosity of the guests, and increased the eagerness for the formation of + the succeeding Polonaises among those who, though they did not make part + of the procession, still watched its passage in motionless attention, as + if gazing upon the flashing line of light of some brilliant meteor. + </p> + <p> + In this land of aristocratic democracy, the numerous dependents of the + great seigniorial houses, (too poor, indeed, to take part in the fete, yet + only excluded from it by their own volition, all, however noble, some even + more noble than their lords,) being all present, it was considered highly + desirable to dazzle them; and this flowing chain of rainbow-hued and + gorgeous light, like an immense serpent with its glittering rings, + sometimes wreathed its linked folds, sometimes uncoiled its entire length, + to display its brilliancy through the whole line of its undulating + animated surface, in the most vivid scintillations; accompanying the + shifting hues with the silvery sounds of chains of gold, ringing like + muffled bells; with the rustling of the heavy sweep of gorgeous damasks + and with the dragging of jewelled swords upon the floor. The murmuring + sound of many voices announced the approach of this animated, varied, and + glittering life-stream. + </p> + <p> + But the genius of hospitality, never deficient in high-born courtesy, and + which, even while preserving the touching simplicity of primitive manners, + inspired in Poland all the refinements of the most advanced state of + civilization,—how could it be exiled from the details of a dance so + eminently Polish? After the host had, by inaugurating the fete, rendered + due homage to all who were present, any one of his guests had the right to + claim his place with the lady whom he had honored by his choice. The new + claimant, clapping his hands, to arrest for a moment the ever moving + cortege, bowed before the partner of the host, begging her graciously to + accept the change; while the host, from whom she had been taken, made the + same appeal to the lady next in course. This example was followed by the + whole train. Constantly changing partners, whenever a new cavalier claimed + the honor of leading the one first chosen by the host, the ladies remained + in the same succession during the whole course; while, on the contrary, as + the gentlemen continually replaced each other, he who had commenced the + dance, would, in its progress, become the last, if not indeed entirely + excluded before its close. + </p> + <p> + Each cavalier who placed himself in turn at the head of the column, tried + to surpass his predecessors in the novelty of the combinations of his + opening, in the complications of the windings through which he led the + expectant cortege; and this course, even when restricted to a single + saloon, might be made remarkable by the designing of graceful arabesques, + or the involved tracing of enigmatical ciphers. He made good his claim to + the place he had solicited, and displayed his skill, by inventing close, + complicated and inextricable figures; by describing them with so much + certainty and accuracy, that the living ribbon, turned and twisted as it + might be, was never broken in the loosing of its wreathed knots; and by so + leading, that no confusion or graceless jostling should result from the + complicated torsion. The succeeding couples, who had only to follow the + figures already given, and thus continue the impulsion, were not permitted + to drag themselves lazily and listlessly along the parquet. The step was + rhythmic, cadenced, and undulating; the whole form swayed by graceful + wavings and harmonious balancings. They were careful never to advance with + too much haste, nor to replace each other as if driven on by some urgent + necessity. On they glided, like swans descending a tranquil stream, their + flexile forms swayed by the ebb and swell of unseen and gentle waves. + Sometimes, the gentleman offered the right, sometimes, the left hand to + his partner; touching only the points of her fingers, or clasping the + slight hand within his own, he passed now to her right, now to her left, + without yielding the snowy treasure. These complicated movements, being + instantaneously imitated by every pair, ran, like an electric shiver, + through the whole length of this gigantic serpent. Although apparently + occupied and absorbed by these multiplied manoeuvres, the cavalier yet + found time to bend to his lady and whisper sweet flatteries in her ear, if + she were young; if young no longer, to repose confidence, to urge requests, + or to repeat to her the news of the hour. Then, haughtily raising himself, + he would make the metal of his arms ring, caress his thick moustache, + giving to all his features an expression so vivid, that the lady was + forced to respond by the animation of her own countenance. + </p> + <p> + Thus, it was no hackneyed and senseless promenade which they executed; it + was, rather, a parade in which the whole splendor of the society was + exhibited, gratified with its own admiration, conscious of its own + elegance, brilliancy, nobility and courtesy. It was a constant display of + its lustre, its glory, its renown. Men grown gray in camps, or in the + strife of courtly eloquence; generals more often seen in the cuirass than + in the robes of peace; prelates and persons high in the Church; + dignitaries of State aged senators; warlike palatines; ambitious + castellans;—were the partners who were expected, welcomed, disputed + and sought for, by the youngest, gayest, and most brilliant women present. + Honor and glory rendered ages equal, and caused years to be forgotten in + this dance; nay, more, they gave an advantage even over love. It was while + listening to the animated descriptions of the almost forgotten evolutions + and dignified capabilities of this truly national dance, from the lips of + those who would never abandon the ancient Zupan and Kontusz, and who still + wore their hair closely cut round their temples, as it had been worn by + their ancestors, that we first fully understood in what a high degree this + haughty nation possessed the innate instinct of its own exhibition, and + how entirely it had succeeded, through its natural grace and genius, in + poetizing its love of ostentation by draping it in the charms of noble + emotions, and wrapping round it the glittering robes of martial glory. + </p> + <p> + When we visited the country of Chopin, whose memory always accompanied us + like a faithful guide who constantly keeps our interest excited, we were + fortunate enough to meet with some of the peculiar characters, daily + growing more rare, because European civilization, even where it does not + modify the basis of character, effaces asperities, and moulds exterior + forms. We there encountered some of those men gifted with superior + intellect, cultivated and strongly developed by a life of incessant + action, yet whose horizon does not extend beyond the limits of their own + country, their own society, their own traditions. During our intercourse, + facilitated by an interpreter, with these men of past days, we were able + to study them and to understand the secret of their greatness. It was + really curious to observe the inimitable originality caused by the utter + exclusiveness of the view taken by them. This limited cultivation, while + it greatly diminishes the value of their ideas upon many subjects, at the + same time gifts the mind with a peculiar force, almost resembling the keen + scent and the acute perceptions of the savage, for all the things near and + dear to it. Only from a mind of this peculiar training, marked by a + concentrative energy that nothing can distract from its course, every + thing beyond the circle of its own nationality remaining alien to it, can + we hope to obtain an exact picture of the past; for it alone, like a + faithful mirror, reflects it in its primal coloring, preserves its proper + lights and shades, and gives it with its varied and picturesque + accompaniments. From such minds alone can we obtain, with the ritual of + customs which are rapidly becoming extinct, the spirit from which they + emanated. Chopin was born too late, and left the domestic hearth too + early, to be himself in possession of this spirit; but he had known many + examples of it, and, through the memories which surrounded his childhood, + even more fully than through the literature and history of his country, he + found by induction the secrets of its ancient prestige, which he evoked + from the dim and dark land of forgetfulness, and, through the magic of his + poetic art, endowed with immortal youth. Poets are better comprehended and + appreciated by those who have made themselves familiar with the countries + which inspired their songs. Pindar is more fully understood by those who + have seen the Parthenon bathed in the radiance of its limpid atmosphere; + Ossian, by those familiar with the mountains of Scotland, with their heavy + veils and long wreaths of mist. The feelings which inspired the creations + of Chopin can only be fully appreciated by those who have visited his + country. They must have seen the giant shadows of past centuries gradually + increasing, and veiling the ground as the gloomy night of despair rolled + on; they must have felt the electric and mystic influence of that strange + "phantom of glory" forever haunting martyred Poland. Even in the gayest + hours of festival, it appalls and saddens all hearts. Whenever a tale of + past renown, a commemoration of slaughtered heroes is given, an allusion + to national prowess is made, its resurrection from the grave is + instantaneous; it takes its place in the banquet-hall, spreading an + electric terror mingled with intense admiration; a shudder, wild and + mystic as that which seizes upon the peasants of Ukraine, when the + "Beautiful Virgin," white as Death, with her girdle of crimson, is + suddenly seen gliding through their tranquil village, while her shadowy + hand marks with blood the door of each cottage doomed to destruction. + </p> + <p> + During many centuries, the civilization of Poland was entirely peculiar + and aboriginal; it did not resemble that of any other country; and, + indeed, it seems destined to remain forever unique in its kind. As + different from the German feudalism which neighboured it upon the West, as + from the conquering spirit of the Turks which disquieted it on the East, + it resembled Europe in its chivalric Christianity, in its eagerness to + attack the infidel, even while receiving instruction in sagacious policy, + in military tactics, and sententious reasoning, from the masters of + Byzantium. By the assumption, at the same time, of the heroic qualities of + Mussulman fanaticism and the sublime virtues of Christian sanctity and + humility, [Footnote: It is well known with how many glorious names Poland + has enriched the martyrology of the Church. In memorial of the countless + martyrs it had offered, the Roman Church granted to the order of + Trinitarians, or Redemptorist Brothers, whose duty it was to redeem from + slavery the Christians who had fallen into the hands of the Infidels, the + distinction, only granted to this nation, of wearing a crimson belt. These + victims to benevolence were generally from the establishments near the + frontiers, such as those of Kamieniec-Podolski.] it mingled the most + heterogeneous elements, and thus planted in its very bosom the seeds of + ruin and decay. + </p> + <p> + The general culture of Latin letters, the knowledge of and love for + Italian and French literature gave a lustre and classical polish to the + startling contrasts we hare attempted to describe. Such a civilization + must necessarily impress all its manifestations with its own seal. As was + natural for a nation always engaged in war, forced to reserve its deeds of + prowess and valor for its enemies upon the field of battle, it was not + famed for the romances of knight-errantry, for tournaments or jousts; it + replaced the excitement and splendor of the mimic war by characteristic + fetes, in which the gorgeousness of personal display formed the principal + feature. + </p> + <p> + There is certainly nothing new in the assertion, that national character + is, in some degree, revealed by national dances. We believe, however, + there are none in which the creative impulses can be so readily + deciphered, or the ensemble traced with so much simplicity, as in the + Polonaise. In consequence of the varied episodes which each individual was + expected to insert in the general frame, the national intuitions were + revealed with the greatest diversity. When these distinctive marks + disappeared, when the original flame no longer burned, when no one + invented scenes for the intermediary pauses, when to accomplish + mechanically the obligatory circuit of a saloon, was all that was + requisite, nothing but the skeleton of departed glory remained. + </p> + <p> + We would certainly have hesitated to speak of the Polonaise, after the + exquisite verses which Mickiewicz has consecrated to it, and the admirable + description which he has given of it in the last Canto of the "Pan + Tadeusz," but that this description is to be found only in a work not yet + translated, and, consequently, only known to the compatriots of the Poet. + [Footnote: It has been translated into German.—T.] It would have + been presumptuous, even under another form, to have ventured upon a + subject already sketched and colored by such a hand, in his romantic Epic, + in which beauties of the highest order are set in such a scene as Ruysdael + loved to paint; where a ray of sunshine, thrown through heavy + storm-clouds, falls upon one of those strange trees never wanting in his + pictures, a birch shattered by lightning, while its snowy bark is deeply + stained, as if dyed in the blood flowing from its fresh and gaping wounds. + The scenes of "Pan Tadeusz" are laid at the beginning of the present + century, when many still lived who retained the profound feeling and grave + deportment of the ancient Poles, mingled with those who were even then + under the sway of the graceful or giddying passions of modern origin. + These striking and contrasting types existing together at that period, are + now rapidly disappearing before that universal conventionalism which is at + present seizing and moulding the higher classes in all cities and in all + countries. Without doubt, Chopin frequently drew fresh inspiration from + this noble poem, whose scenes so forcibly depict the emotions he best + loved to reproduce. + </p> + <p> + The primitive music of the Polonaise, of which we have no example of + greater age than a century, possesses but little value for art. Those + Polonaises which do not bear the names of their authors, but are + frequently marked with the name of some hero, thus indicating their date, + are generally grave and sweet. The Polonaise styled "de Kosciuszko," is + the most universally known, and is so closely linked with the memories of + his epoch, that we have known ladies who could not hear it without + breaking into sobs. The Princess F. L., who had been loved by Kosciuszko, + in her last days, when age had enfeebled all her faculties, was only + sensible to the chords of this piece, which her trembling hands could + still find upon the key-board, though the dim and aged eye could no longer + see the keys. Some contemporary Polonaises are of a character so sad, that + they might almost be supposed to accompany a funeral train. + </p> + <p> + The Polonaises of Count Oginski [Footnote: Among the Polonaises of Count + Oginski, the one in F Major has especially retained its celebrity. It was + published with a vignette, representing the author in the act of blowing + his brains out with a pistol. This was merely a romantic commentary, which + was for a long time mistaken for a fact.] which next appeared, soon + attained great popularity through the introduction of an air of seductive + languor into the melancholy strains. Full of gloom as they still are, they + soothe by their delicious tenderness, by their naive and mournful grace. + The martial rhythm grows more feeble; the march of the stately train, no + longer rustling in its pride of state, is hushed in reverential silence, + in solemn thought, as if its course wound on through graves, whose sad + swells extinguish smiles and humiliate pride. Love alone survives, as the + mourners wander among the mounds of earth so freshly heaped that the grass + has not yet grown upon them, repeating the sad refrain which the Bard of + Erin caught from the wild breezes of the sea: + </p> + <p> + "Love born of sorrow, like sorrow is true!" + </p> + <p> + In the well known pages of Oginski may be found the sighing of analogous + thoughts: the very breath of love is sad, and only revealed through the + melancholy lustre of eyes bathed in tears. + </p> + <p> + At a somewhat later stage, the graves and grassy mounds were all passed, + they are seen only in the distance of the shadowy background. The living + cannot always weep; life and animation again appear, mournful thoughts + changed into soothing memories, return on the ear, sweet as distant + echoes. The saddened train of the living no longer hush their breath as + they glide on with noiseless precaution, as if not to disturb the sleep of + those who have just departed, over whose graves the turf is not yet green; + the imagination no longer evokes only the gloomy shadows of the past. In + the Polonaises of Lipinski we hear the music of the pleasure-loving heart + once more beating joyously, giddily, happily, as it had done before the + days of disaster and defeat. The melodies breathe more and more the + perfume of happy youth; love, young love, sighs around. Expanding into + expressive songs of vague and dreamy character, they speak but to youthful + hearts, cradling them in poetic fictions, in soft illusions. No longer + destined to cadence the steps of the high and grave personages who ceased + to bear their part in these dances, [Footnote: Bishops and Primates + formerly assisted in these dances; at a later date the Church dignitaries + took no part in them.] they are addressed to romantic imaginations, + dreaming rather of rapture than of renown. Meyseder advanced upon this + descending path; his dances, full of lively coquetry, reflect only the + magic charms of youth and beauty. His numerous imitations have inundated + us with pieces of music, called Polonaises, out which have no + characteristics to justify the name. + </p> + <p> + The pristine and vigorous brilliancy of the Polonaise was again suddenly + given to it by a composer of true genius. Weber made of it a Dithyrambic, + in which the glittering display of vanished magnificence again appeared in + its ancient glory. He united all the resources of his art to ennoble the + formula which had been so misrepresented and debased, to fill it with the + spirit of the past; not seeking to recall the character of ancient music, + he transported into music the characteristics of ancient Poland. Using the + melody as a recital, he accentuated the rhythm, he colored his + composition, through his modulations, with a profusion of hues not only + suitable to his subject, but imperiously demanded by it. Life, warmth, and + passion again circulated in his Polonaises, yet he did not deprive them of + the haughty charm, the ceremonious and magisterial dignity, the natural + yet elaborate majesty, which are essential parts of their character. The + cadences are marked by chords, which fall upon the ear like the rattling + of swords drawn from their scabbards. The soft, warm, effeminate pleadings + of love give place to the murmuring of deep, fall, bass voices, proceeding + from manly breasts used to command; we may almost hear, in reply, the wild + and distant neighings of the steeds of the desert, as they toss the long + manes around their haughty heads, impatiently pawing the ground, with + their lustrous eye beaming with intelligence and full of fire, while they + bear with stately grace the trailing caparisons embroidered with turquoise + and rubies, with which the Polish Seigneurs loved to adorn them. + [Footnote: Among the treasures of Prince radziwill at Nieswirz were to be + seen, in the days of former splendor, twelve sets of horse trappings, each + of a different color, incrusted with precious stones. The twelve Apostles, + life size, in massive silver, were also to be seen there. This luxury will + cease to astonish us when we consider that the family of Radziwill was + descended from the last Grand Pontiff of Lithuania, to whom, when he + embraced Christianity, were given all the forests and plains which had + before been consecrated to the worship of the heathen Deities; and that + toward the close of the last century, the family still possessed eight + hundred thousand serfs, although its riches had then considerably + diminished. Among the collection of treasures of which we speak, was an + exceedingly curious relic, which is still in existence. It is a picture of + St. John the Baptist, surrounded by a Bannerol bearing the inscription: + "In the name of the Lord, John, thou shalt be Conqueror." It was found by + Jean Sobieski himself, after the victory which he had won, under the walls + of Vienna, in the tent of the Vizier Kara Mustapha. It was presented after + his death, by Marie d'Arquin, to a Prince Radziwill, with an inscription + in her own hand-writing which indicates its origin, and the presentation + which she makes of it. The autograph, with the royal seal, is on the + reverse side of the canvas.] How did Weber divine the Poland of other + days? Had he indeed the power to call from the grave of the past, the + scenes which we have just contemplated, that he was thus able to clothe + them with life, to renew their earlier associations? Vain questions! + Genius is always endowed with its own sacred intuitions! Poetry ever + reveals to her chosen the secrets of her wild domain! + </p> + <p> + All the poetry contained in the Polonaises had, like a rich sap, been so + fully expressed from them by the genius of Weber, they had been handled + with a mastery so absolute, that it was, indeed, a dangerous and difficult + thing to attempt them, with the slightest hope of producing the same + effect. He has, however, been surpassed in this species of composition by + Chopin, not only in the number and variety of works in this style, but + also in the more touching character of the handling, and the new and + varied processes of harmony. Both in construction and spirit, Chopin's + Polonaise In A, with the one in A flat major, resembles very much the one + of Weber's in E Major. In others he relinquished this broad style: Shall + we say always with a more decided success? In such a question, decision + were a thorny thing. Who shall restrict the rights of a poet over the + various phases of his subject? Even in the midst of joy, may he not be + permitted to be gloomy and oppressed? After having chanted the splendor of + glory, may he not sing of grief? After having rejoiced with the + victorious, may he not mourn with the vanquished? We may, without any fear + of contradiction, assert, that it is not one of the least merits of + Chopin, that he has, consecutively, embraced ALL the phases of which the + theme is susceptible, that he has succeeded in eliciting from it all its + brilliancy, in awakening from it all its sadness. The variety of the moods + of feeling to which he was himself subject, aided him in the reproduction + and comprehension of such a multiplicity of views. It would be impossible + to follow the varied transformations occurring in these compositions, with + their pervading melancholy, without admiring the fecundity of his creative + force, even when not fully sustained by the higher powers of his + inspiration. He did not always confine himself to the consideration of the + pictures presented to him by his imagination and memory, taken en masse, + or as a united whole. More than once, while contemplating the brilliant + groups and throngs flowing on before him, has he yielded to the strange + charm of some isolated figure, arresting it in its course by the magic of + his gaze, and, suffering the gay crowds to pass on, he has given himself + up with delight to the divination of its mystic revelations, while he + continued to weave his incantations and spells only for the entranced + Sibyl of his song. + </p> + <p> + His GRAND POLONAISE in F SHARP MINOR, must be ranked among his most + energetic compositions. He has inserted in it a MAZOURKA. Had he not + frightened the frivolous world of fashionable life, by the gloomy + grotesqueness with which he introduced it in an incantation so fantastic, + this mode might have become an ingenious caprice for the ball-room. It is + a most original production, exciting us like the recital of some broken + dream, made, after a night of restlessness, by the first dull, gray, cold, + leaden rays of a winter's sunrise. It is a dream-poem, in which the + impressions and objects succeed each other with startling incoherency and + with the wildest transitions, reminding us of what Byron says in his + "DREAM:" + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + "... Dreams in their development have breath, + And tears, and tortures, and the touch of joy; + They leave a weight upon our waking thoughts, + * * * * * * * * + And look like heralds of Eternity." +</pre> + <p> + The principal motive is a weird air, dark as the lurid hour which precedes + a hurricane, in which we catch the fierce exclamations of exasperation, + mingled with a bold defiance, recklessly hurled at the stormy elements. + The prolonged return of a tonic, at the commencement of each measure, + reminds us of the repeated roar of artillery—as if we caught the + sounds from some dread battle waging in the distance. After the + termination of this note, a series of the most unusual chords are unrolled + through measure after measure. We know nothing analogous, to the striking + effect produced by this, in the compositions of the greatest masters. This + passage is suddenly interrupted by a SCENE CHAMPETRE, a MAZOURKA in the + style of an Idyl, full of the perfume of lavender and sweet marjoram; but + which, far from effacing the memory of the profound sorrow which had + before been awakened, only augments, by its ironical and bitter contrast, + our emotions of pain to such a degree, that we feel almost solaced when + the first phrase returns; and, free from the disturbing contradiction of a + naive, simple, and inglorious happiness, we may again sympathize with the + noble and imposing woe of a high, yet fatal struggle. This improvisation + terminates like a dream, without other conclusion than a convulsive + shudder; leaving the soul under the strangest, the wildest, the most + subduing impressions. + </p> + <p> + The "POLONAISE-FANTAISIE" is to be classed among the works which belong to + the latest period of Chopin's compositions, which are all more or less + marked by a feverish and restless anxiety. No bold and brilliant pictures + are to be found in it; the loud tramp of a cavalry accustomed to victory + is no longer heard; no more resound the heroic chants muffled by no + visions of defeat—the bold tones suited to the audacity of those who + were always victorious. A deep melancholy—ever broken by startled + movements, by sudden alarms, by disturbed rest, by stifled sighs—reigns + throughout. We are surrounded by such scenes and feelings as might arise + among those who had been surprised and encompassed on all sides by an + ambuscade, the vast sweep of whose horizon reveals not a single ground for + hope, and whose despair had giddied the brain, like a draught of that wine + of Cyprus which gives a more instinctive rapidity to all our gestures, a + keener point to all our words, a more subtle flame to all our emotions, + and excites the mind to a pitch of irritability approaching insanity. + </p> + <p> + Such pictures possess but little real value for art. Like all descriptions + of moments of extremity, of agonies, of death rattles, of contractions of + the muscles where all elasticity is lost, where the nerves, ceasing to be + the organs of the human will, reduce man to a passive victim of despair; + they only serve to torture the soul. Deplorable visions, which the artist + should admit with extreme circumspection within the graceful circle of his + charmed realm! + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0003" id="link2HCH0003"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER III. + </h2> + <p> + <i>Chopin's Mazourkas—Polish Ladies—Mazourka in Poland—Tortured + Motives—Early life of Chopin—Zal.</i> + </p> + <p> + In all that regards expression, the MAZOURKAS of Chopin differ greatly + from his POLONAISES. Indeed they are entirely unlike in character. The + bold and vigorous coloring of the Polonaises gives place to the most + delicate, tender, and evanescent shades in the Mazourkas. A nation, + considered as a whole, in its united, characteristic, and single impetus, + is no longer placed before us; the character and impressions now become + purely personal, always individualized and divided. No longer is the + feminine and effeminate element driven back into shadowy recesses. On the + contrary, it is brought out in the boldest relief, nay, it is brought into + such prominent importance that all else disappears, or, at most, serves + only as its accompaniment. The days are now past when to say that a woman + was charming, they called her GRATEFUL (WDZIECZNA); the very word charm + being derived from WDZIEKI: GRATITUDE. Woman no longer appears as a + protegee, but as a queen; she no longer forms only the better part of + life, she now entirely fills it. Man is still ardent, proud, and + presumptuous, but he yields himself up to a delirium of pleasure. This + very pleasure is, however, always stamped with melancholy. Both the music + of the national airs, and the words, which are almost always joined with + them, express mingled emotions of pain and joy. This strange but + attractive contrast was caused by the necessity of "CONSOLING MISERY" + (CIESZYC BIDE), which necessity induced them to seek the magical + distraction of the graceful Mazourka, with its transient delusions. The + words which were sung to these melodies, gave them a capability of linking + themselves with the sacred associations of memory, in a far higher degree + than is usual with ordinary dance-music. They were sung and re-sung a + thousand times in the days of buoyant youth, by fresh and sonorous voices, + in the hours of solitude, or in those of happy idleness. Linking the most + varying associations with the melody, they were again and again carelessly + hummed when traveling through forests, or ploughing the deep in ships; + perhaps they were listlessly upon the lips when some startling emotion has + suddenly surprised the singer; when an unexpected meeting, a long-desired + grouping, an unhoped-for word, has thrown an undying light upon the heart, + consecrating hours destined to live forever, and ever to shine on in the + memory, even through the most distant and gloomy recesses of the + constantly darkening future. + </p> + <p> + Such inspirations were used by Chopin in the most happy manner, and + greatly enriched with the treasures of his handling and style. Cutting + these diamonds so as to present a thousand facets, he brought all their + latent fire to light, and re-uniting even their glittering dust, he + mounted them in gorgeous caskets. Indeed what settings could he have + chosen better adapted to enhance the value of his early recollections, or + which would have given him more efficient aid in creating poems, in + arranging scenes, in depicting episodes, in producing romances? Such + associations and national memories are indebted to him for a reign far + more extensive than the land which gave them birth. Placing them among + those idealized types which art has touched and consecrated with her + resplendent lustre, he has gifted them with immortality. + </p> + <p> + In order fully to understand how perfectly this setting suited the varying + emotions which Chopin had succeeded in displaying in all the magic of + their rainbow hues, we must have seen the Mazourka danced in Poland, + because it is only there that it is possible to catch the haughty, yet + tender and alluring, character of this dance. The cavalier, always chosen + by the lady, seizes her as a conquest of which he is proud, striving to + exhibit her loveliness to the admiration of his rivals, before he whirls + her off in an entrancing and ardent embrace, through the tenderness of + which the defiant expression of the victor still gleams, mingling with the + blushing yet gratified vanity of the prize, whose beauty forms the glory + of his triumph. There are few more delightful scenes than a ball in + Poland. After the Mazourka has commenced, the attention, in place of being + distracted by a multitude of people jostling against each other without + grace or order, is fascinated by one couple of equal beauty, darting + forward, like twin stars, in free and unimpeded space. As if in the pride + of defiance, the cavalier accentuates his steps, quits his partner for a + moment, as if to contemplate her with renewed delight, rejoins her with + passionate eagerness, or whirls himself rapidly round, as though overcome + with the sudden joy and yielding to the delicious giddiness of rapture. + Sometimes, two couples start at the same moment, after which a change of + partners may occur between them; or a third cavalier may present himself, + and, clapping his hands, claim one of the ladies as his partner. The + queens of the festival are in turn claimed by the most brilliant gentlemen + present, courting the honor of leading them through the mazes of the + dance. + </p> + <p> + While in the Waltz and Galop, the dancers are isolated, and only confused + tableaux are offered to the bystanders; while the Quadrille is only a kind + of pass at arms made with foils, where attack and defence proceed with + equal indifference, where the most nonchalant display of grace is answered + with the same nonchalance; while the vivacity of the Polka, charming, we + confess, may easily become equivocal; while Fandangos, Tarantulas and + Minuets, are merely little love-dramas, only interesting to those who + execute them, in which the cavalier has nothing to do but to display his + partner, and the spectators have no share but to follow, tediously enough, + coquetries whose obligatory movements are not addressed to them;—in + the Mazourka, on the contrary, they have also their part, and the role of + the cavalier yields neither in grace nor importance to that of his fair + partner. + </p> + <p> + The long intervals which separate the successive appearance of the pairs + being reserved for conversation among the dancers, when their turn comes + again, the scene passes no longer only among themselves, but extends from + them to the spectators. It is to them that the cavalier exhibits the + vanity he feels in having been able to win the preference of the lady who + has selected him; it is in their presence she has deigned to show him this + honor; she strives to please them, because the triumph of charming them is + reflected upon her partner, and their applause may be made a part of the + most flattering and insinuating coquetry. Indeed, at the close of the + dance, she seems to make him a formal offering of their suffrages in her + favor. She bounds rapidly towards him and rests upon his arm,—a + movement susceptible of a thousand varying shades which feminine tact and + subtle feeling well know how to modify, ringing every change, from the + most impassioned and impulsive warmth of manner to an air of the most + complete "abandon." + </p> + <p> + What varied movements succeed each other in the course round the + ball-room! Commencing at first with a kind of timid hesitation, the lady + sways about like a bird about to take flight; gliding for some time on one + foot only, like a skater, she skims the ice of the polished floor; then, + running forward like a sportive child, she suddenly takes wing. Raising + her veiling eyelids, with head erect, with swelling bosom and elastic + bounds, she cleaves the air as the light bark cleaves the waves, and, like + an agile woodnymph, seems to sport with space. Again she recommences her + timid graceful gliding, looks round among the spectators, sends sighs and + words to the most, highly favored, then extending her white arms to the + partner who comes to rejoin her, again begins her vigorous steps which + transport her with magical rapidity from one end to the other of the + ball-room. She glides, she runs, she flies; emotion colors her cheek, + brightens her eye; fatigue bends her flexile form, retards her winged + feet, until, panting and exhausted, she softly sinks and reclines in the + arms of her partner, who, seizing her with vigorous arm, raises her a + moment in the air, before finishing with her the last intoxicating round. + </p> + <p> + In this triumphal course, in which may be seen a thousand Atalantas as + beautiful as the dreams of Ovid, many changes occur in the figures. The + couples, in the first chain, commence by giving each other the hand; then + forming themselves into a circle, whose rapid rotation dazzles the eye, + they wreathe a living crown, in which each lady is the only flower of its + own kind, while the glowing and varied colors are heightened by the + uniform costume of the men, the effect resembling that of the dark-green + foliage with which nature relieves her glowing buds and fragrant bloom. + They all then dart forward together with a sparkling animation, a jealous + emulation, defiling before the spectators as in a review—an + enumeration of which would scarcely yield in interest to those given us, + by Homer and Tasso, of the armies about to range themselves in the front + of battle! At the close of an hour or two, the same circle again forms to + end the dance; and on those days when amusement and pleasure fill all with + an excited gayety, sparkling and glittering through those impressible + temperaments like an aurora in a midnight sky, a general promenade is + recommenced, and in its accelerated movements, we cannot detect the least + symptom of fatigue among all these delicate yet enduring women; as if + their light limbs possessed the flexible tenacity and elasticity of steel! + </p> + <p> + As if by intuition, all the Polish women possess the magical science of + this dance. Even the least richly gifted among them know how to draw from + it new charms. If the graceful ease and noble dignity of those conscious + of their own power are full of attraction in it, timidity and modesty are + equally full of interest. This is so because of all modern dances, it + breathes most of pure love. As the dancers are always conscious that the + gaze of the spectators is fastened upon them, addressing themselves + constantly to them, there reigns in its very essence a mixture of innate + tenderness and mutual vanity, as full of delicacy and propriety as of + allurement. + </p> + <p> + The latent and unknown poetry, which was only indicated in the original + Polish Mazourkas, was divined, developed, and brought to light, by Chopin. + Preserving their rhythm, he ennobled their melody, enlarged their + proportions; and—in order to paint more fully in these productions, + which he loved to hear us call "pictures from the easel," the innumerable + and widely-differing emotions which agitate the heart during the progress + of this dance, above all, in the long intervals in which the cavalier has + a right to retain his place at the side of the lady, whom he never leaves—he + wrought into their tissues harmonic lights and shadows, as new in + themselves as were the subjects to which he adapted them. + </p> + <p> + Coquetries, vanities, fantasies, inclinations, elegies, vague emotions, + passions, conquests, struggles upon which the safety or favor of others + depends, all—all, meet in this dance. How difficult it is to form a + complete idea of the infinite gradations of passion—sometimes + pausing, sometimes progressing, sometimes suing, sometimes ruling! In the + country where the Mazourka reigns from the palace to the cottage, these + gradations are pursued, for a longer or shorter time, with as much ardor + and enthusiasm as malicious trifling. The good qualities and faults of men + are distributed among the Poles in a manner so fantastic, that, although + the essentials of character may remain nearly the same in all, they vary + and shade into each other in a manner so extraordinary, that it becomes + almost impossible to recognize or distinguish them. In natures so + capriciously amalgamated, a wonderful diversity occurs, adding to the + investigations of curiosity, a spur unknown in other lands; making of + every new relation a stimulating study, and lending unwonted interest to + the lightest incident. Nothing is here indifferent, nothing unheeded, + nothing hackneyed! Striking contrasts are constantly occurring among these + natures so mobile and susceptible, endowed with subtle, keen and vivid + intellects, with acute sensibilities increased by suffering and + misfortune; contrasts throwing lurid light upon hearts, like the blaze of + a conflagration illumining and revealing the gloom of midnight. Here + chance may bring together those who but a few hours before were strangers + to each other. The ordeal of a moment, a single word, may separate hearts + long united; sudden confidences are often forced by necessity, and + invincible suspicions frequently held in secret. As a witty woman once + remarked: "They often play a comedy, to avoid a tragedy!" That which has + never been uttered, is yet incessantly divined and understood. + Generalities are often used to sharpen interrogation, while concealing its + drift; the most evasive replies are carefully listened to, like the + ringing of metal, as a test of the quality. Often, when in appearance + pleading for others, the suitor is urging his own cause; and the most + graceful flattery may be only the veil of disguised exactions. + </p> + <p> + But caution and attention become at last wearisome to natures naturally + expansive and candid, and a tiresome frivolity, surprising enough before + the secret of its reckless indifference has been divined, mingles with the + most spiritual refinement, the most poetic sentiments, the most real + causes for intense suffering, as if to mock and jeer at all reality. It is + difficult to analyze or appreciate justly this frivolity, as it is + sometimes real, sometimes only assumed. It makes use of confusing replies + and strange resources to conceal the truth. It is sometimes justly, + sometimes wrongfully regarded as a kind of veil of motley, whose fantastic + tissue needs only to be slightly torn to reveal more than one hidden or + sleeping quality under the variegated folds of gossamer. It often follows + from such causes, that eloquence becomes only a sort of grave badinage, + sparkling with spangles like the play of fireworks, though the heart of + the discourse may contain nothing earnest; while the lightest raillery, + thrown out apparently at random, may perhaps be most sadly serious. Bitter + and intense thought follows closely upon the steps of the most tempestuous + gayety; nothing indeed remains absolutely superficial, though nothing is + presented without an artificial polish. In the discussions constantly + occurring in this country, where conversation is an art cultivated to the + highest degree, and occupying much time, there are always those present, + who, whether the topic discussed be grave or gay, can pass in a moment + from smiles to tears, from joy to sorrow, leaving the keenest observer in + doubt which is most real, so difficult is it to discern the fictitious + from the true. + </p> + <p> + In such varying modes of thought, where ideas shift like quick sands upon + the shores of the sea, they are rarely to be found again at the exact + point where they were left. This fact is in itself sufficient to give + interest to interviews otherwise insignificant. We have been taught this + in Paris by some natives of Poland, who astonished the Parisians by their + skill in "fencing in paradox;" an art in which every Pole is more or less + skillful, as he has felt more or less interest or amusement in its + cultivation. But the inimitable skill with which they are constantly able + to alternate the garb of truth or fiction (like touchstones, more certain + when least suspected, the one always concealed under the garb of the + other), the force which expends an immense amount of intellect upon the + most trivial occasions, as Gil Bias made use of as much intelligence to + find the means of subsistence for a single day, as was required by the + Spanish king to govern the whole of his domain; make at last an impression + as painful upon us as the games in which the jugglers of India exhibit + such wonderful skill, where sharp and deadly arms fly glittering through + the air, which the least error, the least want of perfect mastery, would + make the bright, swift messengers of certain death! Such skill is full of + concealed anxiety, terror, and anguish! From the complication of + circumstances, danger may lurk in the slightest inadvertence, in the least + imprudence, in possible accidents, while powerful assistance may suddenly + spring from some obscure and forgotten individual. A dramatic interest may + instantaneously arise from interviews apparently the most trivial, giving + an unforeseen phase to every relation. A misty uncertainty hovers round + every meeting, through whose clouds it is difficult to seize the contours, + to fix the lines, to ascertain the present and future influence, thus + rendering intercourse vague and unintelligible, filling it with an + indefinable and hidden terror, yet, at the same time, with an insinuating + flattery. The strong currents of genuine sympathy are always struggling to + escape from the weight of this external repression. The differing impulses + of vanity, love, and patriotism, in their threefold motives of action, are + forever hurtling against each other in all hearts, leading to inextricable + confusion of thought and feeling. + </p> + <p> + What mingling emotions are concentrated in the accidental meetings of the + Mazourka! It can surround, with its own enchantment, the lightest emotion + of the heart, while, through its magic, the most reserved, transitory, and + trivial rencounter appeals to the imagination. Could it be otherwise in + the presence of the women who give to this dance that inimitable grace and + suavity, for which, in less happy countries, they struggle in vain? In + very truth are not the Sclavic women utterly incomparable? There are to be + found among them those whose qualities and virtues are so incontestable, + so absolute, that they are acknowledged by all ages, and by all countries. + Such apparitions are always and everywhere rare. The women of Poland are + generally distinguished by an originality full of fire. Parisians in their + grace and culture, Eastern dancing girls in their languid fire, they have + perhaps preserved among them, handed down from mother to daughter, the + secret of the burning love potions possessed in the seraglios. Their + charms possess the strange spell of Asiatic languor. With the flames of + spiritual and intellectual Houris in their lustrous eyes, we find the + luxurious indolence of the Sultana. Their manners caress without + emboldening; the grace of their languid movements is intoxicating; they + allure by a flexibility of form, which knows no restraint, save that of + perfect modesty, and which etiquette has never succeeded in robbing of its + willowy grace. They win upon us by those intonations of voice which touch + the heart, and fill the eye with tender tears; by those sudden and + graceful impulses which recall the spontaneity and beautiful timidity of + the gazelle. Intelligent, cultivated, comprehending every thing with + rapidity, skillful in the use of all they have acquired; they are + nevertheless as superstitious and fastidious as the lovely yet ignorant + creatures adored by the Arabian prophet. Generous, devout, loving danger + and loving love, from which they demand much, and to which they grant + little; beyond every thing they prize renown and glory. All heroism is + dear to them. Perhaps there is no one among them who would think it + possible to pay too dearly for a brilliant action; and yet, let us say it + with reverence, many of them devote to obscurity their most holy + sacrifices, their most sublime virtues. But however exemplary these quiet + virtues of the home life may be, neither the miseries of private life, nor + the secret sorrows which must prey upon souls too ardent not to be + frequently wounded, can diminish the wonderful vivacity of their emotions, + which they know how to communicate with the infallible rapidity and + certainty of an electric spark. Discreet by nature and position, they + manage the great weapon of dissimulation with incredible dexterity, + skillfully reading the souls of others with out revealing the secrets of + their own. With that strange pride which disdains to exhibit + characteristic or individual qualities, it is frequently the most noble + virtues which are thus concealed. The internal contempt they feel for + those who cannot divine them, gives them that superiority which enables + them to reign so absolutely over those whom they have enthralled, + flattered, subjugated, charmed; until the moment arrives when—loving + with the whole force of their ardent souls, they are willing to brave and + share the most bitter suffering, prison, exile, even death itself, with + the object of their love! Ever faithful, ever consoling, ever tender, ever + unchangeable in the intensity of their generous devotion! Irresistible + beings, who in fascinating and charming, yet demand an earnest and devout + esteem! In that precious incense of praise burned by M. de Balzac, "in + honor of that daughter of a foreign soil," he has thus sketched the Polish + woman in hues composed entirely of antitheses: "Angel through love, demon + through fantasy; child through faith, sage through experience; man through + the brain, woman through the heart; giant through hope, mother through + sorrow; and poet through dreams." [Footnote: Dedication of "Modeste + Mignon".] + </p> + <p> + The homage inspired by the Polish women is always fervent. They all + possess the poetic conception of an ideal, which gleams through their + intercourse like an image constantly passing before a mirror, the + comprehension and seizure of which they impose as a task. Despising the + insipid and common pleasure of merely being able to please, they demand + that the being whom they love shall be capable of exacting their esteem. + This romantic temperament sometimes retains them long in hesitation + between the world and the cloister. Indeed, there are few among them who + at some moment of their lives have not seriously and bitterly thought of + taking refuge within the walls of a convent. + </p> + <p> + Where such women reign as sovereigns, what feverish words, what hopes, + what despair, what entrancing fascinations must occur in the mazes of the + Mazourka; the Mazourka, whose every cadence vibrates in the ear of the + Polish lady as the echo of a vanished passion, or the whisper of a tender + declaration. Which among them has ever danced through a Mazourka, whose + cheeks burned not more from the excitement of emotion than from mere + physical fatigue? What unexpected and endearing ties have been formed in + the long tete-a-tete, in the very midst of crowds, with the sounds of + music, which generally recalled the name of some hero or some proud + historical remembrance attached to the words, floating around, while thus + the associations of love and heroism became forever attached to the words + and melodies! What ardent vows have been exchanged; what wild and + despairing farewells been breathed! How many brief attachments have been + linked and as suddenly unlinked, between those who had never met before, + who were never, never to meet again—and yet, to whom forgetfulness + had become forever impossible! What hopeless love may have been revealed + during the moments so rare upon this earth; when beauty is more highly + esteemed than riches, a noble bearing of more consequence than rank! What + dark destinies forever severed by the tyranny of rank and wealth may have + been, in these fleeting moments of meeting, again united, happy in the + glitter of passing triumph, reveling in concealed and unsuspected joy! + What interviews, commenced in indifference, prolonged in jest, interrupted + with emotion, renewed with the secret consciousness of mutual + understanding, (in all that concerns subtle intuition Slavic finesse and + delicacy especially excel,) have terminated in the deepest attachments! + What holy confidences have been exchanged in the spirit of that generous + frankness which circulates from unknown to unknown, when the noble are + delivered from the tyranny of forced conventionalisms! What words + deceitfully bland, what vows, what desires, what vague hopes have been + negligently thrown on the winds;—thrown as the handkerchief of the + fair dancer in the Mazourka... and which the maladroit knows not how to + pick up!... + </p> + <p> + We have before asserted that we must have known personally the women of + Poland, for the full and intuitive comprehension of the feelings with + which the Mazourkas of Chopin, as well as many more of his compositions, + are impregnated. A subtle love vapor floats like an ambient fluid around + them; we may trace step by step in his Preludes, Nocturnes Impromptus and + Mazourkas, all the phases of which passion is capable The sportive hues of + coquetry the insensible and gradual yielding of inclination, the + capricious festoons of fantasy; the sadness of sickly joys born dying, + flowers of mourning like the black roses, the very perfume of whose gloomy + leaves is depressing, and whose petals are so frail that the faintest sigh + is sufficient to detach them from the fragile stem; sudden flames without + thought, like the false shining of that decayed and dead wood which only + glitters in obscurity and crumbles at the touch; pleasures without past + and without future, snatched from accidental meetings; illusions, + inexplicable excitements tempting to adventure, like the sharp taste of + half ripened fruit which stimulates and pleases even while it sets the + teeth on edge; emotions without memory and without hope; shadowy feelings + whose chromatic tints are interminable;—are all found in these + works, endowed by genius with the innate nobility, the beauty, the + distinction, the surpassing elegance of those by whom they are + experienced. + </p> + <p> + In the compositions just mentioned, as well as in most of his Ballads, + Waltzes and Etudes, the rendering of some of the poetical subjects to + which we have just alluded, may be found embalmed. These fugitive poems + are so idealized, rendered so fragile and attenuated, that they scarcely + seem to belong to human nature, but rather to a fairy world, unveiling the + indiscreet confidences of Peris, of Titanias, of Ariels, of Queen Mabs, of + the Genii of the air, of water, and of fire,—like ourselves, subject + to bitter disappointments, to invincible disgusts. + </p> + <p> + Some of these compositions are as gay and fantastic as the wiles of an + enamored, yet mischievous sylph; some are soft, playing in undulating + light, like the hues of a salamander; some, full of the most profound + discouragement, as if the sighs of souls in pain, who could find none to + offer up the charitable prayers necessary for their deliverance, breathed + through their notes. Sometimes a despair so inconsolable is stamped upon + them, that we feel ourselves present at some Byronic tragedy, oppressed by + the anguish of a Jacopo Foscari, unable to survive the agony of exile. In + some we hear the shuddering spasms of suppressed sobs. Some of them, in + which the black keys are exclusively taken, are acute and subtle, and + remind us of the character of his own gaiety, lover of atticism as he was, + subject only to the higher emotions, recoiling from all vulgar mirth, from + coarse laughter, and from low enjoyments, as we do from those animals more + abject than venomous, whose very sight causes the most nauseating + repulsion in tender and sensitive natures. + </p> + <p> + An exceeding variety of subjects and impressions occur in the great number + of his Mazourkas. Sometimes we catch the manly sounds of the rattling of + spurs, but it is generally the almost imperceptible rustling of crape and + gauze under the light breath of the dancers, or the clinking of chains of + gold and diamonds, that maybe distinguished. Some of them seem to depict + the defiant pleasure of the ball given on the eve of battle, tortured + however by anxiety for, through the rhythm of the dance, we hear the sighs + and despairing farewells of hearts forced to suppress their tears. Others + reveal to us the discomfort and secret ennui of those guests at a fete, + who find it in vain to expect that the gay sounds will muffle the sharp + cries of anguished spirits. We sometimes catch the gasping breath of + terror and stifled fears; sometimes divine the dim presentiments of a love + destined to perpetual struggle and doomed to survive all hope, which, + though devoured by jealousy and conscious that it can never be the victor, + still disdains to curse, and takes refuge in a soul-subduing pity. In + others we feel as if borne into the heart of a whirlwind, a strange + madness; in the midst of the mystic confusion, an abrupt melody passes and + repasses, panting and palpitating, like the throbbing of a heart faint + with longing, gasping in despair, breaking in anguish, dying of hopeless, + yet indignant love. In some we hear the distant flourish of trumpets, like + fading memories of glories past, in some of them, the rhythm is as + floating, as undetermined, as shadowy, as the feeling with which two young + lovers gaze upon the first star of evening, as yet alone in the dim skies. + </p> + <p> + Upon one afternoon, when there were but three persons present, and Chopin + had been playing for a long time, one of the most distinguished women in + Paris remarked, that she felt always more and more filled with solemn + meditation, such as might be awakened in presence of the grave-stones + strewing those grounds in Turkey, whose shady recesses and bright beds of + flowers promise only a gay garden to the startled traveller. She asked him + what was the cause of the involuntary, yet sad veneration which subdued + her heart while listening to these pieces, apparently presenting only + sweet and graceful subjects:—and by what name he called the strange + emotion inclosed in his compositions, like ashes of the unknown dead in + superbly sculptured urns of the purest alabaster... Conquered by the + appealing tears which moistened the beautiful eyes, with a candor rare + indeed in this artist, so susceptible upon all that related to the secrets + of the sacred relics buried in the gorgeous shrines of his music, he + replied: "that her heart had not deceived her in the gloom which she felt + stealing upon her, for whatever might have been his transitory pleasures, + he had never been free from a feeling which might almost be said to form + the soil of his heart, and for which he could find no appropriate + expression except in his own language, no other possessing a term + equivalent to the Polish word: ZAL!" As if his ear thirsted for the sound + of this word, which expresses the whole range of emotions produced by an + intense regret, through all the shades of feeling, from hatred to + repentance, he repeated it again and again. + </p> + <p> + ZAL! Strange substantive, embracing a strange diversity, a strange + philosophy! Susceptible of different regimens, it includes all the + tenderness, all the humility of a regret borne with resignation and + without a murmur, while bowing before the fiat of necessity, the + inscrutable decrees of Providence: but, changing its character, and + assuming the regimen indirect as soon as it is addressed to man, it + signifies excitement, agitation, rancor, revolt full of reproach, + premeditated vengeance, menace never ceasing to threaten if retaliation + should ever become possible, feeding itself meanwhile with a bitter, if + sterile hatred. + </p> + <p> + ZAL! In very truth, it colors the whole of Chopin's compositions: + sometimes wrought through their elaborate tissue, like threads of dim + silver; sometimes coloring them with more passionate hues. It may be found + in his sweetest reveries; even in those which that Shakespearian genius, + Berlioz, comprehending all extremes, has so well characterized as "divine + coquetries"—coquetries only understood in semi-oriental countries; + coquetries in which men are cradled by their mothers, with which they are + tormented by their sisters, and enchanted by those they love; and which + cause the coquetries of other women to appear insipid or coarse in their + eyes; inducing them to exclaim, with an appearance of boasting, yet in + which they are entirely justified by the truth: NIEMA IAK POLKI! "Nothing + equals the Polish women!" [Footnote: The custom formerly in use of + drinking, in her own shoe, the health of the woman they loved, is one of + the most original traditions of the enthusiastic gallantry if the Poles.] + Through the secrets of these "divine coquetries" those adorable beings are + formed, who are alone capable of fulfilling the impassioned ideals of + poets who, like M. de Chateaubriand, in the feverish sleeplessness of + their adolescence, create for themselves visions "of an Eve, innocent, yet + fallen; ignorant of all, yet knowing all; mistress, yet virgin." + [Footnote: Memoires d'Outre Tombe. 1st vol. Incantation.] The only being + which was ever found to resemble this dream, was a Polish girl of + seventeen—"a mixture of the Odalisque and Valkyria... realization of + the ancient sylph—new Flora—freed from the chain of the + seasons" [Footnote: Idem. 3d vol. Atala.]—and whom M. de + Chateaubriand feared to meet again. "Divine coquetries" at once generous + and avaricious; impressing the floating, wavy, rocking, undecided motion + of a boat without rigging or oars upon the charmed and intoxicated heart! + </p> + <p> + Through his peculiar style of performance, Chopin imparted this constant + rocking with the most fascinating effect; thus making the melody undulate + to and fro, like a skiff driven on over the bosom of tossing waves. This + manner of execution, which set a seal so peculiar upon his own style of + playing, was at first indicated by the term 'tempo rubato', affixed to his + writings: a Tempo agitated, broken, interrupted, a movement flexible, yet + at the same time abrupt and languishing, and vacillating as the flame + under the fluctuating breath by which it is agitated. In his later + productions we no longer find this mark. He was convinced that if the + performer understood them, he would divine this rule of irregularity. All + his compositions should be played with this accentuated and measured + swaying and balancing. It is difficult for those who have not frequently + heard him play to catch this secret of their proper execution. He seemed + desirous of imparting this style to his numerous pupils, particularly + those of his own country. His countrymen, or rather his countrywomen, + seized it with the facility with which they understand every thing + relating to poetry or feeling; an innate, intuitive comprehension of his + meaning aided them in following all the fluctuations of his depths of + aerial and spiritual blue. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0004" id="link2HCH0004"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER IV. + </h2> + <p> + <i>Chopin's Mode of Playing—Concerts—The Elite—Fading + Bouquets and Immortal Crowns—Hospitality—Heine—Meyerbeer—Adolphe + Nourrit—Eugene Delacroix—Niemcevicz—Mickiewicz—George + Sand.</i> + </p> + <p> + AFTER having described the compositions palpitating with emotion in which + genius struggles with grief, (grief, that terrible reality which Art must + strive to reconcile with Heaven), confronting it sometimes as conqueror, + sometimes as conquered; compositions in which all the memories of his + youth, the affections of his heart, the mysteries of his desires, the + secrets of his untold passions, are collected like tears in a + lachrymatory; compositions in which, passing the limits of human + sensations—too dull for his eager fancy, too obtuse for his keen + perceptions—he makes incursions into the realms of Dryads, Oreads, + and Oceanides;—we would naturally be expected to speak of his talent + for execution. But this task we cannot assume. We cannot command the + melancholy courage to exhume emotions linked with our fondest memories, + our dearest personal recollections; we cannot force ourselves to make the + mournful effort to color the gloomy shrouds, veiling the skill we once + loved, with the brilliant hues they would exact at our hands. We feel our + loss too bitterly to attempt such an analysis. And what result would it be + possible to attain with all our efforts! We could not hope to convey to + those who have never heard him, any just conception of that fascination so + ineffably poetic, that charm subtle and penetrating as the delicate + perfume of the vervain or the Ethiopian calla, which, shrinking and + exclusive, refuses to diffuse its exquisite aroma in the noisome breath of + crowds, whose heavy air can only retain the stronger odor of the tuberose, + the incense of burning resin. + </p> + <p> + By the purity of its handling, by its relation with LA FEE AUX MIETTES and + LES LUTINS D'ARGAIL, by its rencounters with the SERAPHINS and DIANES, who + murmur in his ear their most confidential complaints, their most secret + dreams, the style and the manner of conception of Chopin remind us of + Nodier. He knew that he did not act upon the masses, that he could not + warm the multitude, which is like a sea of lead, and as heavy to set in + motion, and which, though its waves may be melted and rendered malleable + by heat, requires the powerful arm of an athletic Cyclops to manipulate, + fuse, and pour into moulds, where the dull metal, glowing and seething + under the electric fire, becomes thought and feeling under the new form + into which it has been forced. He knew he was only perfectly appreciated + in those meetings, unfortunately too few, in which ALL his hearers were + prepared to follow him into those spheres which the ancients imagined to + be entered only through a gate of ivory, to be surrounded by pilasters of + diamond, and surmounted by a dome arched with fawn-colored crystal, upon + which played the various dyes of the prism; spheres, like the Mexican + opal, whose kaleidoscopical foci are dimmed by olive-colored mists veiling + and unveiling the inner glories; spheres, in which all is magical and + supernatural, reminding us of the marvellous worlds of realized dreams. In + such spheres Chopin delighted. He once remarked to a friend, an artist who + has since been frequently heard: "I am not suited for concert giving; the + public intimidate me; their looks, only stimulated by curiosity, paralyze + me; their strange faces oppress me; their breath stifles me: but you—you + are destined for it, for when you do not gain your public, you have the + force to assault, to overwhelm, to control, to compel them." + </p> + <p> + Conscious of how much was necessary for the comprehension of his peculiar + talent, he played but rarely in public. With the exception of some + concerts given at his debut in 1831, in Vienna and Munich, he gave no + more, except in Paris, being indeed not able to travel on account of his + health, which was so precarious, that during entire months, he would + appear to be in an almost dying state. During the only excursion which he + made with a hope that the mildness of a Southern climate would be more + conducive to his health, his condition was frequently so alarming, that + more than once the hotel keepers demanded payment for the bed and mattress + he occupied, in order to have them burned, deeming him already arrived at + that stage of consumption in which it becomes so highly contagious We + believe, however, if we may be permitted to say it, that his concerts were + less fatiguing to his physical constitution, than to his artistic + susceptibility. We think that his voluntary abnegation of popular applause + veiled an internal wound. He was perfectly aware of his own superiority; + perhaps it did not receive sufficient reverberation and echo from without + to give him the tranquil assurance that he was perfectly appreciated. No + doubt, in the absence of popular acclamation, he asked himself how far a + chosen audience, through the enthusiasm of its applause, was able to + replace the great public which he relinquished. Few understood him:—did + those few indeed understand him aright? A gnawing feeling of discontent, + of which he himself scarcely comprehended the cause, secretly undermined + him. We have seen him almost shocked by eulogy. The praise to which he was + justly entitled not reaching him EN MASSE, he looked upon isolated + commendation as almost wounding. That he felt himself not only slightly, + but badly applauded, was sufficiently evident by the polished phrases with + which, like troublesome dust, he shook such praises off, making it quite + evident that he preferred to be left undisturbed in the enjoyment of his + solitary feelings to injudicious commendation. + </p> + <p> + Too fine a connoisseur in raillery, too ingenious satirist ever to expose + himself to sarcasm, he never assumed the role of a "genius misunderstood." + With a good grace and under an apparent satisfaction, he concealed so + entirely the wound given to his just pride, that its very existence was + scarcely suspected. But not without reason, might the gradually increasing + rarity [Footnote: Sometimes he passed years without giving a single + concert. We believe the one given by him in Pleyel's room, in 1844, was + after an interval of nearly ten years] of his concerts be attributed + rather to the wish he felt to avoid occasions which did not bring him the + tribute he merited, than to physical debility. Indeed, he put his strength + to rude proofs in the many lessons which he always gave, and the many + hours he spent at his own Piano. + </p> + <p> + It is to be regretted that the indubitable advantage for the artist + resulting from the cultivation of only a select audience, should be so + sensibly diminished by the rare and cold expression of its sympathies. The + GLACE which covers the grace of the ELITE, as it does the fruit of their + desserts; the imperturbable calm of their most earnest enthusiasm, could + not be satisfactory to Chopin. The poet, torn from his solitary + inspiration, can only find it again in the interest, more than attentive, + vivid and animated of his audience. He can never hope to regain it in the + cold looks of an Areopagus assembled to judge him. He must FEEL that he + moves, that he agitates those who hear him, that his emotions find in them + the responsive sympathies of the same intuitions, that he draws them on + with him in his flight towards the infinite: as when the leader of a + winged train gives the signal of departure, he is immediately followed by + the whole flock in search of milder shores. + </p> + <p> + But had it been otherwise—had Chopin everywhere received the exalted + homage and admiration he so well deserved; had he been heard, as so many + others, by all nations and in all climates; had ho obtained those + brilliant ovations which make a Capitol every where, where the people + salute merit or honor genius had he been known and recognized by thousands + in place of the hundreds who acknowledged him—we would not pause in + this part of his career to enumerate such triumphs. + </p> + <p> + What are the dying bouquets of an hour to those whose brows claim the + laurel of immortality? Ephemeral sympathies, transitory praises, are not + to be mentioned in the presence of the august Dead, crowned with higher + glories. The joys, the consolations, the soothing emotions which the + creations of true art awaken in the weary, suffering, thirsty, or + persevering and believing hearts to whom they are dedicated, are destined + to be borne into far countries and distant years, by the sacred works of + Chopin. Thus an unbroken bond will be established between elevated + natures, enabling them to understand and appreciate each other, in + whatever part of the earth or period of time they may live. Such natures + are generally badly divined by their contemporaries when they have been + silent, often misunderstood when they have spoken the most eloquently! + </p> + <p> + "There are different crowns," says Goethe, "there are some which may be + readily gathered during a walk." Such crowns charm for the moment through + their balmy freshness, but who would think of comparing them with those so + laboriously gained by Chopin by constant and exemplary effort, by an + earnest love of art, and by his own mournful experience of the emotions + which he has so truthfully depicted? + </p> + <p> + As he sought not with a mean avidity those crowns so easily won, of which + more than one among ourselves has the modesty to be proud; as he was a + pure, generous, good and compassionate man, filled with a single + sentiment, and that one of the most noble of feelings, the love of + country; as he moved among us like a spirit consecrated by all that Poland + possesses of poetry; let us approach his sacred grave with due reverence! + Let us adorn it with no artificial wreaths! Let us cast upon it no trivial + crowns! Let us nobly elevate our thoughts before this consecrated shroud! + Let us learn from him to repulse all but the highest ambition, let us try + to concentrate our labor upon efforts which will leave more lasting + effects than the vain leading of the fashions of the passing hour. Let us + renounce the corrupt spirit of the times in which we live, with all that + is not worthy of art, all that will not endure, all that does not contain + in itself some spark of that eternal and immaterial beauty, which it is + the task of art to reveal and unveil as the condition of its own glory! + Let us remember the ancient prayer of the Dorians whose simple formula is + so full of pious poetry, asking only of their gods: "To give them the + Good, in return for the Beautiful!" In place of laboring so constantly to + attract auditors, and striving to please them at whatever sacrifice, let + us rather aim, like Chopin, to leave a celestial and immortal echo of what + we have felt, loved, and suffered! Let us learn, from his revered memory, + to demand from ourselves works which will entitle us to some true rank in + the sacred city of art! Let us not exact from the present with out regard + to the future, those light and vain wreath which are scarcely woven before + they are faded and forgotten!... + </p> + <p> + In place of such crowns, the most glorious palms which it is possible for + an artist to receive during his lifetime, have been placed in the hands of + Chopin by ILLUSTRIOUS EQUALS. An enthusiastic admiration was given him by + a public still more limited than the musical aristocracy which frequented + his concerts. This public was formed of the most distinguished names of + men, who bowed before him as the kings of different empires bend before a + monarch whom they have assembled to honor. Such men rendered to him, + individually, due homage. How could it have been otherwise in France, + where the hospitality, so truly national, discerns with such perfect taste + the rank and claims of the guests? + </p> + <p> + The most eminent minds in Paris frequently met in Chopin's saloon. Not in + reunions of fantastic periodicity, such as the dull imaginations of + ceremonious and tiresome circles have arranged, and which they have never + succeeded in realizing in accordance with their wishes, for enjoyment, + ease, enthusiasm, animation, never come at an hour fixed upon before hand. + They can be commanded less by artists than by other men, for they are all + more or less struck by some sacred malady whose paralyzing torpor they + must shake off, whose benumbing pain they must forget, to be joyous and + amused by those pyrotechnic fires which startle the bewildered guests, who + see from time to time a Roman candle, a rose-colored Bengal light, a + cascade whose waters are of fire, or a terrible, yet quite innocent + dragon! Gayety and the strength necessary to be joyous, are, unfortunately + things only accidentally to be encountered among poets and artists! It is + true some of the more privileged among them have the happy gift of + surmounting internal pain, so as to bear their burden always lightly, able + to laugh with their companions over the toils of the way, or at least + always able to preserve a gentle and calm serenity which, like a mute + pledge of hope and consolation, animates, elevates, and encourages their + associates, imparting to them, while they remain under the influence of + this placid atmosphere, a freedom of spirit which appears so much the more + vivid, the more strongly it contrasts with their habitual ennui, their + abstraction, their natural gloom, their usual indifference. + </p> + <p> + Chopin did not belong to either of the above mentioned classes; he + possessed the innate grace of a Polish welcome, by which the host is not + only bound to fulfill the common laws and duties of hospitality, but is + obliged to relinquish all thought of himself, to devote all his powers to + promote the enjoyment of his guests. It was a pleasant thing to visit him; + his visitors were always charmed; he knew how to put them at once at ease, + making them masters of every thing, and placing every thing at their + disposal. In doing the honors of his own cabin, even the simple laborer of + Sclavic race never departs from this munificence; more joyously eager in + his welcome than the Arab in his tent, he compensates for the splendor + which may be wanting in his reception by an adage which he never fails to + repeat, and which is also repealed by the grand seignior after the most + luxurious repasts served under gilded canopies: CZYM BOHAT, TYM RAD—which + is thus paraphrased for foreigners: "Deign graciously to pardon all that + is unworthy of you, it is all my humble riches which I place at your + feet." This formula [Footnote: All the Polish formulas of courtesy retain + the strong impress of the hyperbolical expressions of the Eastern + languages. The titles of "very powerful and very enlightened seigniors" + are still obligatory. The Poles, in conversation, constantly name each + other Benefactor (DOBRODZIJ). The common salutation between men, and of + men to women, is PADAM DO NOG: "I fall at your feet." The greeting of the + people possesses a character of ancient solemnity and simplicity: SLAWA + BOHU: "Glory to God."] is still pronounced with a national grace and + dignity by all masters of families who preserve the picturesque customs + which distinguished the ancient manners of Poland. + </p> + <p> + Having thus described something of the habits of hospitality common in his + country, the ease which presided over our reunions with Chopin will be + readily understood. The flow of thought, the entire freedom from + restraint, were of a character so pure that no insipidity or bitterness + ever ensued, no ill humor was ever provoked. Though he avoided society, + yet when his saloon was invaded, the kindness of his attention was + delightful; without appearing to occupy himself with any one, he succeeded + in finding for all that which was most agreeable; neglecting none, he + extended to all the most graceful courtesy. + </p> + <p> + It was not without a struggle, without a repugnance slightly misanthropic, + that Chopin could be induced to open his doors and piano, even to those + whose friendship, as respectful as faithful, gave them a claim to urge + such a request with eagerness. Without doubt more than one of us can still + remember our first improvised evening with him, in spite of his refusal, + when he lived at Chaussee d'Antin. + </p> + <p> + His apartment, invaded by surprise, was only lighted by some wax candles, + grouped round one of Pleyel's pianos, which he particularly liked for + their slightly veiled, yet silvery sonorousness, and easy touch, + permitting him to elicit tones which one might think proceeded from one of + those harmonicas of which romantic Germany has preserved the monopoly, and + which were so ingeniously constructed by its ancient masters, by the union + of crystal and water. + </p> + <p> + As the corners of the room were left in obscurity, all idea of limit was + lost, so that there seemed no boundary save the darkness of space. Some + tall piece of furniture, with its white cover, would reveal itself in the + dim light; an indistinct form, raising itself like a spectre to listen to + the sounds which had evoked it. The light, concentrated round the piano + and falling on the floor, glided on like a spreading wave until it mingled + with the broken flashes from the fire, from which orange colored plumes + rose and fell, like fitful gnomes, attracted there by mystic incantations + in their own tongue. A single portrait, that of a pianist, an admiring and + sympathetic friend, seemed invited to be the constant auditor of the ebb + and flow of tones, which sighed, moaned, murmured, broke and died upon the + instrument near which it always hung. By a strange accident, the polished + surface of the mirror only reflected so as to double it for our eyes, the + beautiful oval with silky curls which so many pencils have copied, and + which the engraver has just reproduced for all who are charmed by works of + such peculiar eloquence. + </p> + <p> + Several men, of brilliant renown, were grouped in the luminous zone + immediately around the piano: Heine, the saddest of humorists, listened + with the interest of a fellow countryman to the narrations made him by + Chopin of the mysterious country which haunted his ethereal fancy also, + and of which he too had explored the beautiful shores. At a glance, a + word, a tone, Chopin and Heine understood each other; the musician replied + to the questions murmured in his ear by the poet, giving in tones the most + surprising revelations from those unknown regions, about that "laughing + nymph" [Footnote: Heine. SALOON-CHOPIN.] of whom he demanded news: "If she + still continued to drape her silvery veil around the flowing locks of her + green hair, with a coquetry so enticing?" Familiar with the tittle-tattle + and love tales of those distant lands he asked: "If the old marine god, + with the long white beard, still pursued this mischievous naiad with his + ridiculous love?" Fully informed, too, about all the exquisite fairy + scenes to be seen DOWN THERE—DOWN THERE, he asked "if the roses + always glowed there with a flame so triumphant? if the trees at moonlight + sang always so harmoniously?" When Chopin had answered, and they had for a + long time conversed together about that aerial clime, they would remain in + gloomy silence, seized with that mal du pays from which Heine suffered + when he compared himself to that Dutch captain of the phantom ship, with + his crew eternally driven about upon the chill waves, and "sighing in vain + for the spices, the tulips, the hyacinths, the pipes of sea-foam, the + porcelain cups of Holland... 'Amsterdam! Amsterdam! when shall we again + see Amsterdam!' they cry from on board, while the tempest howls in the + cordage, beating them forever about in their watery hell." Heine adds: "I + fully understand the passion with which the unfortunate captain once + exclaimed: 'Oh if I should EVER again see Amsterdam! I would rather be + chained forever at the corner of one of its streets, than be forced to + leave it again!' Poor Van der Decken!" + </p> + <p> + Heine well knew what poor Van der Decken had suffered in his terrible and + eternal course upon the ocean, which had fastened its fangs in the wood of + his incorruptible vessel, and by an invisible anchor, whose chain he could + not break because it could never be found, held it firmly linked upon the + waves of its restless bosom. He could describe to us when he chose, the + hope, the despair, the torture of the miserable beings peopling this + unfortunate ship, for he had mounted its accursed timbers, led on and + guided by the hand of some enamored Undine, who, when the guest of her + forest of coral and palace of pearl rose more morose, more satirical, more + bitter than usual, offered for the amusement of his ill humor between the + repasts, some spectacle worthy of a lover who could create more wonders in + his dreams than her whole kingdom contained. + </p> + <p> + Heine had traveled round the poles of the earth in this imperishable + vessel; he had seen the brilliant visitor of the long nights, the aurora + borealis, mirror herself in the immense stalactites of eternal ice, + rejoicing in the play of colors alternating with each other in the varying + folds of her glowing scarf. He had visited the tropics, where the zodiacal + triangle, with its celestial light, replaces, during the short nights, the + burning rays of an oppressive sun. He had crossed the latitudes where life + becomes pain, and advanced into those in which it is a living death, + making himself familiar, on the long way, with the heavenly miracles in + the wild path of sailors who make for no port! Seated on a poop without a + helm, his eye had ranged from the two Bears majestically overhanging the + North, to the brilliant Southern Cross, through the blank Antarctic + deserts extending through the empty space of the heavens overhead, as well + as over the dreary waves below, where the despairing eye finds nothing to + contemplate in the sombre depths of a sky without a star, vainly arching + over a shoreless and bottomless sea! He had long followed the glittering + yet fleeting traces left by the meteors through the blue depths of space; + he had tracked the mystic and incalculable orbits of the comets as they + flash through their wandering paths, solitary and incomprehensible, + everywhere dreaded for their ominous splendor, yet inoffensive and + harmless. He had gazed upon the shining of that distant star, Aldebaran, + which, like the glitter and sullen glow in the eye of a vengeful enemy, + glares fiercely upon our globe, without daring to approach it. He had + watched the radiant planets shedding upon the restless eye which seeks + them a consoling and friendly light, like the weird cabala of an enigmatic + yet hopeful promise. + </p> + <p> + Heine had seen all these things, under the varying appearances which they + assume in different latitudes; he had seen much more also with which he + would entertain us under strange similitudes. He had assisted at the + furious cavalcade of "Herodiade;" he had also an entrance at the court of + the king of "Aulnes" in the gardens of the "Hesperides"; and indeed into + all those places inaccessible to mortals who have not had a fairy as + godmother, who would take upon herself the task of counterbalancing all + the evil experienced in life, by showering upon the adopted the whole + store of fairy treasures. + </p> + <p> + Upon that evening which we are now describing, Meyerbeer was seated next + to Heine;—Meyerbeer, for whom the whole catalogue of admiring + interjections has long since been exhausted! Creator of Cyclopean + harmonics as he was, he passed the time in delight when following the + detailed arabesques, which, woven in transparent gauze, wound in filmy + veils around the delicate conceptions of Chopin. + </p> + <p> + Adolphe Nourrit, a noble artist, at once ascetic and passionate, was also + there. He was a sincere, almost a devout Catholic, dreaming of the future + with the fervor of the Middle Ages, who, during the latter part of his + life, refused the assistance of his talent to any scene of merely + superficial sentiment. He served Art with a high and enthusiastic respect; + he considered it, in all its divers manifestations, only a holy + tabernacle, "the Beauty of which formed the splendor of the True." Already + undermined by a melancholy passion for the Beautiful, his brow seemed to + be turning into stone under the dominion of this haunting feeling: a + feeling always explained by the outbreak of despair, too late for remedy + from man—man, alas! so eager to explore the secrets of the heart—so + dull to divine them! + </p> + <p> + Hiller, whose talent was allied to Chopin's, and who was one of his most + intimate friends, was there also. In advance of the great compositions + which he afterwards published, of which the first was his remarkable + Oratorio, "The Destruction of Jerusalem," he wrote some pieces for the + Piano. Among these, those known under the title of Etudes, (vigorous + sketches of the most finished design), recall those studies of foliage, in + which the landscape painter gives us an entire little poem of light and + shade, with only one tree, one branch, a single "motif," happily and + boldly handled. + </p> + <p> + In the presence of the spectres which filled the air, and whose rustling + might almost be heard, Eugene Delacroix remained absorbed and silent. Was + he considering what pallet, what brushes, what canvas he must use, to + introduce them into visible life through his art? Did he task himself to + discover canvas woven by Arachne, brushes made from the long eyelashes of + the fairies, and a pallet covered with the vaporous tints of the rainbow, + in order to make such a sketch possible? Did he then smile at these + fancies, yet gladly yield to the impressions from which they sprung, + because great talent is always attracted by that power in direct contrast + to its own? + </p> + <p> + The aged Niemcevicz, who appeared to be the nearest to the grave among us, + listened to the "Historic Songs" which Chopin translated into dramatic + execution for this survivor of times long past. Under the fingers of the + Polish artist, again were heard, side by side with the descriptions, so + popular, of the Polish bard, the shock of arms, the songs of conquerors, + the hymns of triumph, the complaints of illustrious prisoners, and the + wail over dead heroes. They memorized together the long course of national + glory, of victory, of kings, of queens, of warriors; and so much life had + these phantoms, that the old man, deeming the present an illusion, + believed the olden times fully resuscitated. + </p> + <p> + Dark and silent, apart from all others, fell the motionless profile of + Mickiewicz: the Dante of the North, he seemed always to find "the salt of + the stranger bitter, and his steps hard to mount." + </p> + <p> + Buried in a fauteuil, with her arms resting upon a table, sat Madame Sand, + curiously attentive, gracefully subdued. Endowed with that rare faculty + only given to a few elect, of recognizing the Beautiful under whatever + form of nature or of art it may assume, she listened with the whole force + of her ardent genius. The faculty of instantaneously recognizing Beauty + may perhaps be the "second sight," of which all nations have acknowledged + the existence in highly gifted women. It is a kind of magical gaze which + causes the bark, the mask, the gross envelope of form, to fall off; so + that the invisible essence, the soul which is incarnated within, may be + clearly contemplated; so that the ideal which the poet or artist may have + vivified under the torrent of notes, the passionate veil of coloring, the + cold chiseling of marble, or the mysterious rhythms of strophes, may be + fully discerned. This faculty is much rarer than is generally supposed. It + is usually felt but vaguely, yet—in its highest manifestations, it + reveals itself as a "divining oracle," knowing the Past and prophesying + the Future. It is a power which exempts the blessed organization which it + illumes, from the bearing of the heavy burden of technicalities, with + which the merely scientific drag on toward that mystic region of inner + life, which the gifted attain with a single bound. It is a faculty which + springs less from an acquaintance with the sciences, than from a + familiarity with nature. + </p> + <p> + The fascination and value of a country life consist in the long + tete-a-tete with nature. The words of revelation hidden under the infinite + harmonies of form, of sounds, of lights and shadows, of tones and + warblings, of terror and delight, may best be caught in these long + solitary interviews. Such infinite variety may appear crushing or + distracting on a first view, but if faced with a courage that no mystery + can appal, if sounded with a resolution that no length of time can abate, + may give the clue to analogies, conformities, relations between our senses + and our sentiments, and aid us in tracing the hidden links which bind + apparent dissimilarities, identical oppositions and equivalent antitheses, + and teach us the secrets of the chasms separating with narrow but + impassable space, that which is destined to approach forever, yet never + mingle; to resemble ever, yet never blend. To have awakened early, as did + Madame Sand, to the dim whispering with which nature initiates her chosen + to her mystic rites, is a necessary appanage of the poet. To have learned + from her to penetrate the dreams of man when he, in his turn, creates, and + uses in his works the tones, the warblings, the terrors, the delights, + requires a still more subtle power; a power which Madame Sand possesses by + a double right, by the intuitions of her heart, and the vigor of her + genius. After having named Madame Sand, whose energetic personality and + electric genius inspired the frail and delicate organization of Chopin + with an intensity of admiration which consumed him, as a wine too + spirituous shatters the fragile vase; we cannot now call up other names + from the dim limbus of the past, in which so many indistinct images, such + doubtful sympathies, such indefinite projects and uncertain beliefs, are + forever surging and hurtling. Perhaps there is no one among us, who, in + looking through the long vista, would not meet the ghost of some feeling + whose shadowy form he would find impossible to pass! Among the varied + interests, the burning desires, the restless tendencies surging through + the epoch in which so many high hearts and brilliant intellects were + fortuitously thrown together, how few of them, alas! possessed sufficient + vitality to enable them to resist the numberless causes of death, + surrounding every idea, every feeling, as well as every individual life, + from the cradle to the grave! Even during the moments of the troubled + existence of the emotions now past, how many of them escaped that saddest + of all human judgments: "Happy, oh, happy were it dead! Far happier had it + never been born!" Among the varied feelings with which so many noble + hearts throbbed high, were there indeed many which never incurred this + fearful malediction? Like the suicide lover in Mickiewicz's poem, who + returns to life in the land of the Dead only to renew the dreadful + suffering of his earth life, perhaps among all the emotions then so + vividly felt there is not a single one which, could it again live, would + reappear without the disfigurements, the brandings, the bruises, the + mutilations, which were inflicted on its early beauty, which so deeply + sullied its primal innocence! And if we should persist in recalling these + melancholy ghosts of dead thoughts and buried feelings from the heavy + folds of the shroud, would they not actually appal us, because so few of + them possessed sufficient purity and celestial radiance to redeem them + from the shame of being utterly disowned, entirely repudiated, by those + whose bliss or torment they formed during the passionate hours of their + absolute rule? In very pity ask us not to call from the Dead, ghosts whose + resurrection would be so painful! Who could bear the sepulchral ghastly + array? Who would willingly call them from their sheeted sleep? If our + ideas, thoughts, and feelings were indeed to be suddenly aroused from the + unquiet grave in which they lie buried, and an account demanded from them + of the good and evil which they have severally produced in the hearts in + which they found so generous an asylum, and which they have confused, + overwhelmed, illumined, devastated, ruined, broken, as chance or destiny + willed,—who could hope to endure the replies that would be made to + questions so searching? + </p> + <p> + If among the group of which we have spoken, every member of which has won + the attention of many human souls, and must, in consequence, bear in his + conscience the sharp sting of multiplied responsibilities, there should be + found ONE who has not suffered aught, that was pure in the natural + attraction which bound them together in this chain of glittering links, to + fall into dull forgetfulness; one who allowed no breath of the + fermentation lingering even around the most delicate perfumes, to embitter + his memories; one who has transfigured and left to the immortality of art, + only the unblemished inheritance of all that was noblest in their + enthusiasm, all that was purest and most lasting of their joys; let us bow + before him as before one of the Elect! Let us regard him as one of those + whom the belief of the people marks as "Good Genii!" The attribution of + superior power to beings believed to be beneficent to man, has received a + sublime conformation from a great Italian poet, who defines genius as a + "stronger impress of Divinity!" Let us bow before all who are marked with + this mystic seal; but let us venerate with the deepest, truest tenderness + those who have only used their wondrous supremacy to give life and + expression to the highest and most exquisite feelings! and among the pure + and beneficent genii of earth must indubitably be ranked the artist + Chopin! + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0005" id="link2HCH0005"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER V. + </h2> + <p> + <i>The Lives of Artists—Pure Fame of Chopin—Reserve—Classic + and Romantic Art-Language of the Sclaves—Chopin's Love of Home + Memories.</i> + </p> + <p> + A natural curiosity is generally felt to know something of the lives of + men who have consecrated their genius to embellish noble feelings through + works of art, through which they shine like brilliant meteors in the eyes + of the surprised and delighted crowd. The admiration and sympathy awakened + by the compositions of such men, attach immediately to their own names, + which are at once elevated as symbols of nobility and greatness, because + the world is loath to believe that those who can express high sentiments + with force, can themselves feel ignobly. The objects of this benevolent + prejudice, this favorable presumption, are expected to justify such + suppositions by the high course of life which they are required to lead. + When it is seen that the poet feels with such exquisite delicacy all that + which it is so sweet to inspire; that he divines with such rapid intuition + all that pride, timidity, or weariness struggles to hide; that he can + paint love as youth dreams it, but as riper years despair to realize it; + when such sublime situations seem to be ruled by his genius, which raises + itself so calmly above the calamities of human destiny, always finding the + leading threads by which the most complicated knots in the tangled skein + of life may be proudly and victoriously unloosed; when the secret + modulations of the most exquisite tenderness, the most heroic courage, the + most sublime simplicity, are known to be subject to his command,—it + is most natural that the inquiry should be made if this wondrous + divination springs from a sincere faith in the reality of the noble + feelings portrayed, or whether its source is to be found in an acute + perception of the intellect, an abstract comprehension of the logical + reason. + </p> + <p> + The question in what the life led by men so enamored of beauty differs + from that of the common multitude, is then earnestly asked. This high + poetic disdain,—how did it comport itself when struggling with + material interests? These ineffable emotions of ethereal love,—how + were they guarded from the bitterness of petty cares, from that rapidly + growing and corroding mould which usually stifles or poisons them? How + many of such feelings were preserved from that subtle evaporation which + robs them of their perfume, that gradually increasing inconstancy which + lulls us until we forget to call the dying emotions to account? Those who + felt such holy indignation,—were they indeed always just? Those who + exalted integrity,—were they always equitable? Those who sung of + honor,—did they never stoop? Those who so admired fortitude,—have + they never compromised with their own weakness? + </p> + <p> + A deep interest is also felt in ascertaining how those to whom the task of + sustaining our faith in the nobler sentiments through art has been + intrusted, have conducted themselves in external affairs, where pecuniary + gain is only to be acquired at the expense of delicacy, loyalty, or honor. + Many assert that the nobler feelings exist only in the works of art. When + some unfortunate occurrence seems to give a deplorable foundation to the + words of such mockers, with what avidity they name the most exquisite + conceptions of the poet, "vain phantoms!" How they plume themselves upon + their own wisdom in having advocated the politic doctrine of an astute, + yet honeyed hypocrisy; how they delight to speak of the perpetual + contradiction between words and deeds!... With what cruel joy they detail + such occurrences, and cite such examples in the presence of those unsteady + restless souls, who are incited by their youthful aspirations and by the + depression and utter loss of happy confidence which such a conviction + would entail upon them, to struggle against a distrust so blighting! When + such wavering spirits are engaged in the bitter combat with the harsh + alternatives of life, or tempted at every turn by its insinuating + seductions, what a profound discouragement seizes upon them when they are + induced to believe that the hearts devoted to the most sublime thoughts, + the most deeply initiated in the most delicate susceptibilities, the most + charmed by the beauty of innocence, have denied, by their acts, the + sincerity of their worship for the noble themes which they have sung as + poets! With what agonizing doubts are they not filled by such flagrant + contradictions! How much is their anguish increased by the jeering mockery + of those who repeat: "Poetry is only that which might have been"—and + who delight in blaspheming it by their guilty negations! Whatever may be + the human short-comings of the gifted, believe the truths they sing! + Poetry is more than the gigantic shadow of our own imagination, + immeasurably increased, and projected upon the flying plane of the + Impossible. POETRY and REALITY are not two incompatible elements, destined + to move on together without commingling. Goethe himself confesses this. In + speaking of a contemporary writer he says: "that having lived to create + poems, he had also made his life a Poem." (Er lebte dichtend, und dichtete + lebend.) Goethe was himself too true a poet not to know that Poetry only + is, because its eternal Reality throbs in the noble impulses of the human + heart. + </p> + <p> + We have once before remarked that "genius imposes its own obligations." + [Footnote: Upon Paganini, after his death.] If the examples of cold + austerity and of rigid disinterestedness are sufficient to awaken the + admiration of calm and reflective natures, whence shall more passionate + and mobile organizations, to whom the dullness of mediocrity is insipid, + who naturally seek honor or pleasure, and who are willing to purchase the + object of their desires at any price—form their models? Such + temperaments easily free themselves from the authority of their seniors. + They do not admit their competency to decide. They accuse them of wishing + to use the world only for the profit of their own dead passions, of + striving to turn all to their own advantage, of pronouncing upon the + effects of causes which they do not understand, of desiring to promulgate + laws in spheres to which nature has denied them entrance. They will not + receive answers from their lips, but turn to others to resolve their + doubts; they question those who have drunk deeply from the boiling springs + of grief, bursting from the riven clefts in the steep cliffs upon the top + of which alone the soul seeks rest and light. They pass in silence by the + still cold gravity of those who practice the good, without enthusiasm for + the beautiful. What leisure has ardent youth to interpret their gravity, + to resolve their chill problems? The throbbings of its impetuous heart are + too rapid to allow it to investigate the hidden sufferings, the mystic + combats, the solitary struggles, which may be detected even in the calm + eye of the man who practices only the good. Souls in continual agitation + seldom interpret aright the calm simplicity of the just, or the heroic + smiles of the stoic. For them enthusiasm and emotion are necessities. A + bold image persuades them, a metaphor leads them, tears convince them, + they prefer the conclusions of impulse, of intuition, to the fatigue of + logical argument. Thus they turn with an eager curiosity to the poets and + artists who have moved them by their images, allured them by their + metaphors, excited them by their enthusiasm. They demand from them the + explanation, the purpose of this enthusiasm, the secret of this beauty! + </p> + <p> + When distracted by heart-rending events, when tortured by intense + suffering, when feeling and enthusiasm seem to be but a heavy and + cumbersome load which may upset the life-boat if not thrown overboard into + the abyss of forgetfulness; who, when menaced with utter shipwreck after a + long struggle with peril, has not evoked the glorious shades of those who + have conquered, whose thoughts glow with noble ardor, to inquire from them + how far their aspirations were sincere, how long they preserved their + vitality and truth? Who has not exerted an ingenious discernment to + ascertain how much of the generous feeling depicted was only for mental + amusement, a mere speculation; how much had really become incorporated + with the habitual acts of life? Detraction is never idle in such cases; it + seizes eagerly upon the foibles, the neglect, the faults of those who have + been degraded by any weakness: alas, it omits nothing! It chases its prey, + it accumulates facts only to distort them, it arrogates to itself the + right of despising the inspiration to which it will grant no authority or + aim but to furnish amusement, denying it any claim to guide our actions, + our resolutions, our refusal, our consent! Detraction knows well how to + winnow history! Casting aside all the good grain, it carefully gathers all + the tares, to scatter the black seed over the brilliant pages in which the + purest desires of the heart, the noblest dreams of the imagination are + found; and with the irony of assumed victory, demands what the grain is + worth which only germinates dearth and famine? Of what value the vain + words, which only nourish sterile feelings? Of what use are excursions + into realms in which no real fruit can ever be gathered? of what possible + importance are emotions and enthusiasm, which always end in calculations + of interest, covering only with brilliant veil the covert struggles of + egotism and venal self-interest? + </p> + <p> + With how much arrogant derision men given to such detraction, contrast the + noble thoughts of the poet, with his unworthy acts! The high compositions + of the artist, with his guilty frivolity! What a haughty superiority they + assume over the laborious merit of the men of guileless honesty, whom they + look upon as crustacea, sheltered from temptation by the immobility of + weak organizations, as well as over the pride of those, who, believing + themselves superior to such temptations, do not, they assert, succeed even + as well as themselves in repudiating the pursuit of material well being, + the gratification of vanity, or the pleasure of immediate enjoyment! What + an easy triumph they win over the hesitation, the doubt, the repugnance of + those who would fain cling to a belief in the possibility of the union of + vivid feelings, passionate impressions, intellectual gifts, imaginative + temperaments, with high integrity, pure lives, and courses of conduct in + perfect harmony with poetic ideals! + </p> + <p> + It is therefore impossible not to feel the deepest sadness when we meet + with any fact which shows us the poet disobedient to the inspiration of + the Muses, those guardian angels of the man of genius, who would willingly + teach him to make of his own life the most beautiful of poems. What + disastrous doubts in the minds of others, what profound discouragements, + what melancholy apostasies are induced by the faltering steps of the man + of genius! And yet it would be profanity to confound his errors in the + same anathema, hurled against the base vices of meanness, the shameless + effrontery of low crime! It would be sacrilege! If the acts of the poet + have sometimes denied the spirit of his song, have not his songs still + more powerfully denied his acts? May not the limited influence of his + private actions have been far more than counterbalanced by the germs of + creative virtues, scattered profusely through his eloquent writings? Evil + is contagious, but good is truly fruitful! The poet, even while forcing + his inner convictions to give way to his personal interest, still + acknowledges and ennobles the sentiments which condemn himself; such + sentiments attain a far wider influence through his works than can be + exerted by his individual acts. Are not the number of spirits which have + been calmed, consoled, edified, through these works, far greater than the + number of those who have been injured by the errors of his private life? + Art is far more powerful than the artist. His creations have a life + independent of his vacillating will; for they are revelations of the + "immutable beauty!" More durable than himself, they pass on from + generation to generation; let us hope that they may, through the blessings + of their widely spread influence, contain a virtual power of redemption + for the frequent errors of their gifted authors. If it be indeed true that + many of those who have immortalized their sensibility and their + aspirations, by robing them in the garb of surpassing eloquence, have, + nevertheless, stifled these high aspirations, abused these quick + sensibilities,—how many have they not confirmed, strengthened and + encouraged to pursue a noble course, through the works created by their + genius! A generous indulgence towards them would be but justice! It is + hard to be forced to claim simple justice for them; unpleasant to be + constrained to defend those whom we wish to be admired, to excuse those + whom we wish to see venerated! + </p> + <p> + With what exultant feelings of just pride may the friend and artist + remember a career in which there are no jarring dissonances; no + contradictions, for which he is forced to claim indulgence; no errors, + whose source must be found in palliation of their existence; no extreme, + to be accounted for as the consequence of "excess of cause." How sweet it + is to be able to name one who has fully proved that it is not only + apathetic beings whom no fascination can attract, no illusion betray, who + are able to limit themselves within the strict routine of honored and + honorable laws, who may justly claim that elevation of soul, which no + reverse subdues, and which is never found in contradiction with its better + self! Doubly dear and doubly honored must the memory of Chopin, in this + respect, ever remain! Dear to the friends and artists who have known him + in his lifetime, dear to the unknown friends who shall learn to love him + through his poetic song, as well as to the artists who, in succeeding him, + shall find their glory in being worthy of him! + </p> + <p> + The character of Chopin, in none of its numerous folds, concealed a single + movement, a single impulse, which was not dictated by the nicest sense of + honor, the most delicate appreciation of affection. Yet no nature was ever + more formed to justify eccentricity, whims, and abrupt caprices. His + imagination was ardent, his feelings almost violent, his physical + organization weak, irritable and sickly. Who can measure the amount of + suffering arising from such contrasts? It must have been bitter, but he + never allowed it to be seen! He kept the secret of his torments, he veiled + them from all eyes under the impenetrable serenity of a haughty + resignation. + </p> + <p> + The delicacy of his heart and constitution imposed upon him the woman's + torture, that of enduring agonies never to be confessed, thus giving to + his fate some of the darker hues of feminine destiny. Excluded, by the + infirm state of his health, from the exciting arena of ordinary activity, + without any taste for the useless buzzing, in which a few bees, joined + with many wasps, expend their superfluous strength, he built apart from + all noisy and frequented routes a secluded cell for himself. Neither + adventures, embarrassments, nor episodes, mark his life, which he + succeeded in simplifying, although surrounded by circumstances which + rendered such a result difficult of attainment. His own feelings, his own + impressions, were his events; more important in his eyes than the chances + and changes of external life. He constantly gave lessons with regularity + and assiduity; domestic and daily tasks, they were given conscientiously + and satisfactorily. As the devout in prayer, so he poured out his soul in + his compositions, expressing in them those passions of the heart, those + unexpressed sorrows, to which the pious give vent in their communion with + their Maker. What they never say except upon their knees, he said in his + palpitating compositions; uttering in the language of the tones those + mysteries of passion and of grief which man has been permitted to + understand without words, because there are no words adequate for their + expression. + </p> + <p> + The care taken by Chopin to avoid the zig-zags of life, to eliminate from + it all that was useless, to prevent its crumbling into masses without + form, has deprived his own course of incident. The vague lines and + indications surrounding his figure like misty clouds, disappear under the + touch which would strive to follow or trace their outlines. He takes part + in no actions, no drama, no entanglements, no denouements. He exercised a + decisive influence upon no human being. His will never encroached upon the + desires of another, he never constrained any other spirit, or crashed it + under the domination of his own, He never tyrannized over another heart, + he never placed a conquering hand upon the destiny of another being. He + sought nothing; he would have scorned to have made any demands. Like + Tasso, he might say: + </p> + <p> + Brama assai, poco spera, e nulla chiede. In compensation, he escaped from + all ties; from the affections which might have influenced him, or led him + into more tumultuous spheres. Ready to yield all, he never gave himself. + Perhaps he knew what exclusive devotion, what love without limit he was + worthy of inspiring, of understanding, of sharing! Like other ardent and + ambitions natures, he may have thought if love and friendship are not all—they + are nothing! Perhaps it would have been more painful for him to have + accepted a part, any thing less than all, than to have relinquished all, + and thus to have remained at least faithful to his impossible Ideal! If + these things have been so or not, none ever knew, for he rarely spoke of + love or friendship. He was not exacting, like those whose high claims and + just demands exceed all that we possess to offer them. The most intimate + of his acquaintances never penetrated to that secluded fortress in which + the soul, absent from his common life, dwelt; a fortress which he so well + succeeded in concealing, that its very existence was scarcely suspected. + </p> + <p> + In his relations and intercourse with others, he always seemed occupied in + what interested them; he was cautions not to lead them from the circle of + their own personality, lest they should intrude into his. If he gave up + but little of his time to others, at least of that which he did + relinquish, he reserved none for himself. No one ever asked him to give an + account of his dreams, his wishes, or his hopes. No one seemed to wish to + know what he sighed for, what he might have conquered, if his white and + tapering fingers could have linked the brazen chords of life to the golden + ones of his enchanted lyre! No one had leisure to think of this in his + presence. His conversation was rarely upon subjects of any deep interest. + He glided lightly over all, and as he gave but little of his time, it was + easily filled with the details of the day. He was careful never to allow + himself to wander into digressions of which he himself might become the + subject. His individuality rarely excited the investigations of curiosity, + or awakened vivid scrutiny. He pleased too much to excite much reflection. + The ensemble of his person was harmonious, and called for no especial + commentary. His blue eye was more spiritual than dreamy, his bland smile + never writhed into bitterness. The transparent delicacy of his complexion + pleased the eye, his fair hair was soft and silky, his nose slightly + aquiline, his bearing so distinguished, and his manners stamped with so + much high breeding, that involuntarily he was always treated EN PRINCE. + His gestures were many and graceful; the tone of his voice was veiled, + often stifled; his stature was low, and his limbs slight. He constantly + reminded us of a convolvulus balancing its heaven-colored cup upon an + incredibly slight stem, the tissue of which is so like vapor that the + slightest contact wounds and tears the misty corolla. + </p> + <p> + His manners in society possessed that serenity of mood which distinguishes + those whom no ennui annoys, because they expect no interest. He was + generally gay, his caustic spirit caught the ridiculous rapidly and far + below the surface at which it usually strikes the eye. He displayed a rich + vein of drollery in pantomime. He often amused himself by reproducing the + musical formulas and peculiar tricks of certain virtuosi, in the most + burlesque and comic improvisations, in imitating their gestures, their + movements, in counterfeiting their faces with a talent which + instantaneously depicted their whole personality. His own features would + then become scarcely recognizable, he could force the strangest + metamorphoses upon them, but while mimicking the ugly and grotesque, he + never lost his own native grace. Grimace was never carried far enough to + disfigure him; his gayety was so much the more piquant because he always + restrained it within the limits of perfect good taste, holding at a + suspicious distance all that could wound the most fastidious delicacy. He + never made use of an inelegant word, even in the moments of the most + entire familiarity; an improper merriment, a coarse jest would have been + shocking to him. + </p> + <p> + Through a strict exclusion of all subjects relating to himself from + conversation, through a constant reserve with regard to his own feelings, + he always succeeded in leaving a happy impression behind him. People in + general like those who charm them without causing them to fear that they + will be called upon to render aught in return for the amusement given, or + that the pleasurable excitement of gayety will be followed by the sadness + of melancholy confidences the sight of mournful faces, or the inevitable + reactions which occur in susceptible natures of which we may say: Ubi mel, + ibi fel. People generally like to keep such "susceptible natures" at a + distance; they dislike to be brought into contact with their melancholy + moods, though they do not refuse a kind of respect to the mournful + feelings caused by their subtle reactions; indeed such changes possess for + them the attraction of the unknown and they are as ready to take delight + in the description of such changing caprices, as they are to avoid their + reality. The presence of Chopin was always feted. He interested himself so + vividly in all that was not himself, that his own personality remained + intact, unapproached and unapproachable, under the polished and glassy + surface upon which it was impossible to gain footing. + </p> + <p> + On some occasions, although very rarely, we have seen him deeply agitated. + We have seen him grow so pale and wan, that his appearance was actually + corpse-like. But even in moments of the most intense emotion, he remained + concentrated within himself. A single instant for self-recovery always + enabled him to veil the secret of his first impression. However full of + spontaneity his bearing afterwards might seem to be, it was + instantaneously the effect of reflection, of a will which governed the + strange conflict of emotional and moral energy with conscious physical + debility; a conflict whose strange contrasts were forever warring vividly + within. The dominion exercised over the natural violence of his character + reminds us of the melancholy force of those beings who seek their strength + in isolation and entire self-control, conscious of the uselessness of + their vivid indignation and vexation, and too jealous of the mysteries of + their passions to betray them gratuitously. + </p> + <p> + He could pardon in the most noble manner. No rancor remained in his heart + toward those who had wounded him, though such wounds penetrated deeply in + his soul, and fermented there in vague pain and internal suffering, so + that long after the exciting cause had been effaced from his memory, he + still experienced the secret torture. By dint of constant effort, in spite + of his acute and tormenting sensibilities, he subjected his feelings to + the rule rather of what ought to be, than of what is; thus he was grateful + for services proceeding rather from good intentions than from a knowledge + of what would have been agreeable to him; from friendship which wounded + him, because not aware of his acute but concealed susceptibility. + Nevertheless the wounds caused by such awkward miscomprehension are, of + all others, the most difficult for nervous temperaments to bear. Condemned + to repress their vexation, such natures are excited by degrees to a state + of constantly gnawing irritability, which they can never attribute to the + true cause. It would be a gross mistake to imagine that this irritation + existed without provocation. But as a dereliction from what appeared to + him to be the most honorable course of conduct was a temptation which he + was never called upon to resist, because in all probability it never + presented itself to him; so he never, in the presence of the more vigorous + and therefore more brusque and positive individualities than his own, + unveiled the shudder, if repulsion be too strong a term, caused by their + contact or association. + </p> + <p> + The reserve which marked his intercourse with others, extended to all + subjects to which the fanaticism of opinion can attach. His own sentiments + could only be estimated by that which he did not do in the narrow limits + of his activity. His patriotism was revealed in the course taken by his + genius, in the choice of his friends, in the preferences given to his + pupils, and in the frequent and great services which he rendered to his + compatriots; but we cannot remember that he took any pleasure in the + expression of this feeling. If he sometimes entered upon the topic of + politics, so vividly attacked, so warmly defended, so frequently discussed + in Prance, it was rather to point out what he deemed dangerous or + erroneous in the opinions advanced by others than to win attention for his + own. In constant connection with some of the most brilliant politicians of + the day, he knew how to limit the relations between them to a personal + attachment entirely independent of political interests. + </p> + <p> + Democracy presented to his view an agglomeration of elements too + heterogeneous, too restless, wielding too much savage power, to win his + sympathies. The entrance of social and political questions into the arena + of popular discussion was compared, more than twenty years ago, to a new + and bold incursion of barbarians. Chopin was peculiarly and painfully + struck by the terror which this comparison awakened. He despaired of + obtaining the safety of Rome from these modern Attilas, he feared the + destruction of art, its monuments, its refinements, its civilization; in a + word, he dreaded the loss of the elegant, cultivated if somewhat indolent + ease described by Horace. Would the graceful elegancies of life, the high + culture of the arts, indeed be safe in the rude and devastating hands of + the new barbarians? He followed at a distance the progress of events, and + an acuteness of perception, which he would scarcely have been supposed to + possess, often enabled him to predict occurrences which were not + anticipated even by the best informed. But though such observations + escaped him, he never developed them. His concise remarks attracted no + attention until time proved their truth. His good sense, full of + acuteness, had early persuaded him of the perfect vacuity of the greater + part of political orations, of theological discussions, of philosophic + digressions. He began early to practice the favorite maxim of a man of + great distinction, whom we have often heard repeat a remark dictated by + the misanthropic wisdom of age, which was then startling to our + inexperienced impetuosity, but which has since frequently struck us by its + melancholy truth: "You will be persuaded one day as I am," (said the + Marquis de Noailles to the young people whom he honored with his + attention, and who were becoming heated in some naive discussions of + differing opinions,) "that it is scarcely possible to talk about any thing + to any body." (Qu'il n'y a guere moyen de causer de quoi que ce soit, avec + qui que ce soit.) + </p> + <p> + Sincerely religious, and attached to Catholicity, Chopin never touched + upon this subject, but held his faith without attracting attention to it. + One might have been acquainted with him for a long time, without knowing + exactly what his religious opinion were. Perhaps to console his inactive + hand an reconcile it with his lute, he persuaded himself to think: Il + mondo va da se. We have frequently watched him during the progress of + long, animated, and stormy discussions, in which he would take no part. In + the excitement of the debate he was forgotten by the speakers, but we have + often neglected to follow the chain of their reasoning, to fix our + attention upon the features of Chopin, which were almost imperceptibly + contracted when subjects touching upon the most important conditions of + our existence were discussed with such eagerness and ardor, that it might + have been thought our fates were to be instantly decided by the result of + the debate. At such times, he appeared to us like a passenger on board of + a vessel, driven and tossed by tempests upon the stormful waves, thinking + of his distant country, watching the horizon, the stars, the manoeuvres of + the sailors, counting their fatal mistakes, without possessing in himself + sufficient force to seize a rope, or the energy requisite to haul in a + fluttering sail. + </p> + <p> + On one single subject he relinquished his premeditated silence, his + cherished neutrality. In the cause of art he broke through his reserve, he + never abdicated upon this topic the explicit enunciation of his opinions. + He applied himself with great perseverance to extend the limits of his + influence upon this subject. It was a tacit confession that he considered + himself legitimately possessed of the authority of a great artist. In + questions which he dignified by his competence, he never left any doubt + with regard to the nature of his opinions. During several years his + appeals were full of impassioned ardor, but later, the triumph of his + opinions having diminished the interest of his role, he sought no further + occasion to place himself as leader, as the bearer of any banner. In the + only occurrence in which he took part in the conflict of parties, he gave + proof of opinions, absolute, tenacious, and inflexible, as those which + rarely come to the light usually are. + </p> + <p> + Shortly after his arrival in Paris, in 1832, a new school was formed both + in literature and music, and youthful talent appeared, which shook off + with eclat the yoke of ancient formulas. The scarcely lulled political + effervescence of the first years of the revolution of July, passed into + questions upon art and letters, which attracted the attention and interest + of all minds. ROMANTICISM was the order of the day; they fought with + obstinacy for and against it. What truce could there be between those who + would not admit the possibility of writing in any other than the already + established manner, and those who thought that the artist should be + allowed to choose such forms as he deemed best suited for the expression + of his ideas; that the rule of form should be found in the agreement of + the chosen form with the sentiments to be expressed, every different shade + of feeling requiring of course a different mode of expression? The former + believed in the existence of a permanent form, whose perfection + represented absolute Beauty. But in admitting that the great masters had + attained the highest limits in art, had reached supreme perfection, they + left to the artists who succeeded them no other glory than the hope of + approaching these models, more or less closely, by imitation, thus + frustrating all hope of ever equalling them, because the perfecting of any + process can never rival the merit of its invention. The latter denied that + the immaterial Beautiful could have a fixed and absolute form. The + different forms which had appeared in the history of art, seemed to them + like tents spread in the interminable route of the ideal; mere momentary + halting places which genius attains from epoch to epoch, and beyond which + the inheritors of the past should strive to advance. The former wished to + restrict the creations of times and natures the most dissimilar, within + the limits of the same symmetrical frame; the latter claimed for all + writers the liberty of creating their own mode, accepting no other rules + than those which result from the direct relation of sentiment and form, + exacting only that the form should be adequate to the expression of the + sentiment. However admirable the existing models might be, they did not + appear to them to have exhausted all the range of sentiments upon which + art might seize, or all the forms which it might advantageously use. Not + contented with the mere excellence of form, they sought it so far only as + its perfection is indispensable for the complete revelation of the idea, + for they were not ignorant that the sentiment is maimed if the form remain + imperfect, any imperfection in it, like an opaque veil, intercepting the + raying of the pure idea. Thus they elevated what had otherwise been the + mere work of the trade, into the sphere of poetic inspiration. They + enjoined upon genius and patience the task of inventing a form which would + satisfy the exactions of the inspiration. They reproached their + adversaries with attempting to reduce inspiration to the bed of + Procrustes, because they refused to admit that there are sentiments which + cannot be expressed in forms which have been determined upon beforehand, + and of thus robbing art, in advance even of their creation, of all works + which might attempt the introduction of newly awakened ideas, newly clad + in new forms; forms and ideas both naturally arising from the naturally + progressive development of the human spirit, the improvement of the + instruments, and the consequent increase of the material resources of art. + </p> + <p> + Those who saw the flames of Genius devour the old worm-eaten crumbling + skeletons, attached themselves to the musical school of which the most + gifted, the most brilliant, the most daring representative, was Berlioz. + Chopin joined this school. He persisted most strenuously in freeing + himself from the servile formulas of conventional style, while he + earnestly repudiated the charlatanism which sought to replace the old + abuses only by the introduction of new ones. + </p> + <p> + During the years which this campaign of Romanticism lasted, in which some + of the trial blows were master-strokes, Chopin remained invariable in his + predilections, as well as in his repulsions. He did not admit the least + compromise with those who, in his opinion, did not sufficiently represent + progress, and who, in their refusal to relinquish the desire of displaying + art for the profit of the trade, in their pursuit of transitory effects, + of success won only from the astonishment of the audience, gave no proof + of sincere devotion to progress. He broke the ties which he had contracted + with respect when he felt restricted by them, or bound too closely to the + shore by cordage which he knew to be decayed. He obstinately refused, on + the other hand, to form ties with the young artists whose success, which + he deemed exaggerated, elevated a certain kind of merit too highly. He + never gave the least praise to any thing which he did not believe to be a + real conquest for art, or which did not evince a serious conception of the + task of an artist. He did not wish to be lauded by any party, to be aided + by the manoeuvres of any faction, or by the concessions made by any + schools in the persons of their chiefs. In the midst of jealousies, + encroachments, forfeitures, and invasions of the different branches of + art, negotiations, treaties, and contracts have been introduced, like the + means and appliances of diplomacy, with all the artifices inseparable from + such a course. In refusing the support of any accessory aid for his + productions, he proved that he confidently believed that their own beauty + would ensure their appreciation, and that he did not struggle to + facilitate their immediate reception. + </p> + <p> + He supported our struggles, at that time so full of uncertainty, when we + met more sages shaking their heads, than glorious adversaries, with his + calm and unalterable conviction. He aided us with opinions so fixed that + neither weariness nor artifice could shake them, with a rare immutability + of will, and that efficacious assistance which the creation of meritorious + works always brings to a struggling cause, when it can claim them as its + own. He mingled so many charms, so much moderation, so much knowledge with + his daring innovations, that the prompt admiration he inspired fully + justified the confidence he placed in his own genius. The solid studies + which he had made, the reflective habits of his youth, the worship for + classic models in which he had been educated, preserved him from losing + his strength in blind gropings, in doubtful triumphs, as has happened to + more than one partisan of the new ideas. His studious patience in the + elaboration of his works sheltered him from the critics, who envenomed the + dissensions by seizing upon those easy and insignificant victories due to + omissions, and the negligence of inadvertence. Early trained to the + exactions and restrictions of rules, having produced compositions filled + with beauty when subjected to all their fetters, he never shook them off + without an appropriate cause and after due reflection. In virtue of his + principles he always progressed, but without being led into exaggeration + or lured by compromise; he willingly relinquished theoretic formulas to + pursue their results. Less occupied with the disputes of the schools and + their terms, than in producing himself the best argument, a finished work, + he was fortunate enough to avoid personal enmities and vexatious + accommodations. + </p> + <p> + Chopin had that reverential worship for art which characterized the first + masters of the middle ages, but in expression and bearing he was more + simple, modern, and less ecstatic. As for them, so art was for him, a high + and holy vocation. Like them he was proud of his election for it, and + honored it with devout piety. This feeling was revealed at the hour of his + death through an occurrence, the significance of which is more fully + explained by a knowledge of the manners prevalent in Poland. By a custom + which still exists, although it is now falling into disuse, the Poles + often chose the garments in which they wished to be buried, and which were + frequently prepared a long time in advance. [Footnote: General K——, + the author of Julie and Adolphe, a romance imitated from the New Heloise + which was much in vogue at the time of its publication, and who was still + living in Volhynia at the date of our visit to Poland, though more than + eighty years of age, in conformity with the custom spoken of above, had + caused his coffin to be made, and for more than thirty years it had always + stood at the door of his chamber.] Their dearest wishes were thus + expressed for the last time, their inmost feelings were thus at the hour + of death betrayed. Monastic robes were frequently chosen by worldly men, + the costumes of official charges were selected or refused as the + remembrances connected with them were glorious or painful. Chopin, who, + although among the first of contemporary artists, had given the fewest + concerts, wished, notwithstanding, to be borne to the grave in the clothes + which he had worn on such occasions. A natural and profound feeling + springing from the inexhaustible sources of art, without doubt dictated + this dying request, when having scrupulously fulfilled the last duties of + a Christian, he left all of earth which he could not bear with him to the + skies. He had linked his love for art and his faith in it with immortality + long before the approach of death, and as he robed himself for his long + sleep in the grave, he gave, as was customary with him, by a mute symbol, + the last touching proof of the conviction he had preserved intact during + the whole course of his life. Faithful to himself, he died adoring art in + its mystic greatness, its highest revelations. + </p> + <p> + In retiring from the turmoil of society, Chopin concentrated his cares and + affections upon the circle of his own family and his early acquaintances. + Without any interruption he preserved close relations with them; never + ceasing to keep them up with the greatest care. His sister Louise was + especially dear to him, a resemblance in the character of their minds, the + bent of their feelings, bound them closely to each other. Louise + frequently came from Warsaw to Paris to see him. She spent the last three + months of his life with the brother she loved, watching over him with + undying affection. Chopin kept up a regular correspondence with the + members of his own family, but only with them. It was one of his + peculiarities to write letters to no others; it might almost have been + thought that he had made a vow to write to no strangers. It was curious + enough to see him resort to all kinds of expedients to escape the + necessity of tracing the most insignificant note. Many times he has + traversed Paris from one end to the other, to decline an invitation to + dinner, or to give some trivial information, rather than write a few lines + which would have spared him all this trouble and loss of time. His + handwriting was quite unknown to the greatest number of his friends. It is + said he sometimes departed from this custom in favor of his beautiful + countrywomen, some of whom possess several of his notes written in Polish. + This infraction of what seemed to be a law with him, may be attributed to + the pleasure he took in the use of this language. He always used it with + the people of his own country, and loved to translate its most expressive + phrases. He was a good French scholar, as the Sclaves generally are. In + consequence of his French origin, the language had been taught him with + peculiar care. But he did not like it, he did not think it sufficiently + sonorous, and he deemed its genius cold. This opinion is very prevalent + among the Poles, who, although speaking it with great facility, often + better than their native tongue, and frequently using it in their + intercourse with each other, yet complain to those who do not speak Polish + of the impossibility of rendering the thousand ethereal and shifting modes + of thought in any other idiom. In their opinion it is sometimes dignity, + sometimes grace, sometimes passion, which is wanting in the French + language. If they are asked the meaning of a word or a phrase which they + may have cited in Polish, the reply invariably is: "Oh, that cannot be + translated!" Then follow explanations, serving as comments to the + exclamation, of all the subtleties, all the shades of meaning, all the + delicacies contained in THE NOT TO BE TRANSLATED words. We have cited some + examples which, joined to others, induce us to believe that this language + has the advantage of making images of abstract nouns, and that in the + course of its development, through the poetic genius of the nation, it has + been enabled to establish striking and just relations between ideas by + etymologies, derivations, and synonymes. Colored reflections of light and + shade are thus thrown upon all expressions, so that they necessarily call + into vibration through the mind the correspondent tone of a third, which + modulates the thought into a major or minor mode. The richness of the + language always permits the choice of the mode, but this very richness may + become a difficulty. It is not impossible that the general use of foreign + tongues in Poland may be attributed to indolence of mind or want of + application; may be traced to a desire to escape the necessary labor of + acquiring that mastery of diction indispensable in a language so full of + sudden depths, of laconic energy, that it is very difficult, if not quite + impossible, to support in it the commonplace. The vague agreements of + badly defined ideas cannot be compressed in the nervous strength of its + grammatical forms; the thought, if it be really low, cannot be elevated + from its debasement or poverty; if it really soar above the commonplace, + it requires a rare precision of terms not to appear uncouth or fantastic. + In consequence of this, in proportion to the works published, the Polish + literature should be able to show a greater number of chefs-d'oeuvre than + can be done in any other language. He who ventures to use this tongue, + must feel himself already master. + </p> + <p> + [Footnote: It cannot be reproached with a want of harmony or musical + charm. The harshness of a language does not always and absolutely depend + upon the number of consonants, but rather upon the manner of their + association. We might even assert, that in consequence of the absence of + well-determined and strongly marked sounds, some languages have a dull and + cold coloring. It is the frequent repetition of certain consonants which + gives shadow, rhythm, and vigor to a tongue; the vowels imparting only a + kind of light clear hue, which requires to be brought out by deeper + shades. It is the sharp, uncouth, or unharmonious clashing of + heterogeneous consonants which strikes the ear painfully. It is true the + Sclavic languages make use of many consonants, but their connection is + generally sonorous, sometimes pleasant to the ear, and scarcely ever + entirely discordant, even when the combinations are more striking than + agreeable. The quality of the sounds is rich, full, and varied. They are + not straitened and contracted as if produced in a narrow medium, but + extending through a considerable register, range through a variety of + intonations. The letter L, almost impossible for those to pronounce, who + have not acquired the pronunciation in their infancy, has nothing harsh in + its sound. The ear receives from it an impression similar to that which is + made upon the fingers by the touch of a thick woolen velvet, rough, but at + the same time, yielding. The union of jarring consonants being rare, and + the assonances easily multiplied, the same comparison might be employed to + the ensemble of the effect produced by these idioms upon foreigners. Many + words occur in Polish which imitate the sound of the thing designated by + them. The frequent repetition of CH, (h aspirated,) of SZ, (CH in French,) + of RZ, of CZ, so frightful to a profane eye, have however nothing barbaric + in their sounds, being pronounced nearly like GEAI, and TCHE, and greatly + facilitate imitations of the sense by the sound. The word DZWIEK, (read + DZWIINQUE,) meaning sound, offers a characteristic example of this; it + would be difficult to find a word which would reproduce more accurately + the sensation which a diapason makes upon the ear. Among the consonants + accumulated in groups, producing very different sounds, sometimes + metallic, sometimes buzzing, hissing or rumbling, many diphthongs and + vowels are mingled, which sometimes become slightly nasal, the A and E + being sounded as ON and IN, (in French,) when they are accompanied by a + cedilla. In juxtaposition with the E, (TSE,) which is pronounced with + great softness, sometimes C, (TSIE,) the accented S is almost warbled. The + Z has three sounds: the Z, (JAIS,) the Z, (ZED,) and the Z, (ZIED). The Y + forms a vowel of a muffled tone, which, as the L, cannot be represented by + any equivalent sound in French, and which like it gives a variety of + ineffable shades to the language. These fine and light elements enable the + Polish women to assume a lingering and singing accent, which they usually + transport into other tongues. When the subjects are serious or melancholy, + after such recitatives or improvised lamentations, they have a sort of + lisping infantile manner of speaking, which they vary by light silvery + laughs, little interjectional cries, short musical pauses upon the higher + notes, from which they descend by one knows not what chromatic scale of + demi and quarter tones to rest upon some low note; and again pursue the + varied, brusque and original modulations which astonish the ear not + accustomed to such lovely warblings, to which they sometimes give that air + of caressing irony, of cunning mockery, peculiar to the song of some + birds. They love to ZINZILYLER, and charming changes, piquant intervals, + unexpected cadences naturally find place in this fondling prattle, making + the language far more sweet and caressing when spoken by the women, than + it is in the mouths of the men. The men indeed pride themselves upon + speaking it with elegance, impressing upon it a masculine sonorousness, + which is peculiarly adapted to the energetic movements of manly eloquence, + formerly so much cultivated in Poland. Poetry commands such a diversity of + prosodies, of rhymes, of rhythms, such an abundance of assonances from + these rich and varied materials, that it is almost possible to follow + MUSICALLY the feelings and scenes which it depicts, not only in mere + expressions in which the sound repeats the sense, but also in long + declamations. The analogy between the Polish and Russian, has been + compared to that which obtains between the Latin and Italian. The Russian + language is indeed more mellifluous, more lingering, more caressing, + fuller of sighs than the Polish. Its cadencing is peculiarly fitted for + song. The finer poems, such as those of Zukowski and Pouchkin, seem to + contain a melody already designated in the metre of the verses; for + example, it would appear quite possible to detach an ARIOSO or a sweet + CANTIABLE from some of the stanzas of LE CHALE NOIR, or the TALISMAN. The + ancient Sclavonic, which is the language of the Eastern Church, possesses + great majesty. More guttural than the idioms which have arisen from it, it + is severe and monotonous yet of great dignity, like the Byzantine + paintings preserved in the worship to which it is consecrated. It has + throughout the characteristics of a sacred language which has only been + used for the expression of one feeling and has never been modulated or + fashioned by profane wants.] + </p> + <p> + Chopin mingled a charming grace with all the intercourse which he held + with his relatives. Not satisfied with limiting his whole correspondence + to them alone, he profited by his stay in Paris to procure for them the + thousand agreeable surprises given by the novelties, the bagatelles, the + little gifts which charm through their beauty, or attract as being the + first seen of their kind. He sought for all that he had reason to believe + would please his friends in Warsaw, adding constant presents to his many + letters. It was his wish that his gifts should be preserved, that through + the memories linked with them he might be often remembered by those to + whom they were sent. He attached the greatest importance, on his side, to + all the evidences of their affection for him. To receive news or some mark + of their remembrance, was always a festival for him. He never shared this + pleasure with any one, but it was plainly visible in his conduct. He took + the greatest care of every thing that came from his distant friends, the + least of their gifts was precious to him, he never allowed others to make + use of them, indeed he was visibly uneasy if they touched them. + </p> + <p> + Material elegance was as natural to him as mental; this was evinced in the + objects with which he surrounded himself, as well as in the aristocratic + grace of his manners. He was passionately fond of flowers. Without aiming + at the brilliant luxury with which, at that epoch, some of the celebrities + in Paris decorated their apartments, he knew how to keep upon this point, + as well as in his style of dress, the instinctive line of perfect + propriety. + </p> + <p> + Not wishing the course of his life, his thoughts, his time, to be + associated or shackled in any way by the pursuits of others, he preferred + the society of ladies, as less apt to force him into subsequent relations. + He willingly spent whole evenings in playing blind man's buff with the + young people, telling them little stories to make them break into the + silvery laughs of youth, sweeter than the song of the nightingale. He was + fond of a life in the country, or the life of the chateau. He was + ingenious in varying its amusements, in multiplying its enjoyments. He + also loved to compose there. Many of his best works written in such + moments, perhaps embalm and hallow the memories of his happiest days. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0006" id="link2HCH0006"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER VI. + </h2> + <p> + <i>Birth and Early Life of Chopin—National Artists—Chopin + embodies in himself the poetic sense of his whole nation—Opinion of + Beethoven.</i> + </p> + <p> + CHOPIN was born in 1810, at Zelazowa-Wola, near Warsaw. Unlike most other + children, he could not, during his childhood, remember his own age, and + the date of his birth was only fixed in his memory by a watch given him in + 1820 by Madame Catalani, which bore the following inscription: "Madame + Catalani to Frederic Chopin, aged ten years." Perhaps the presentiments of + the artist gave to the child a foresight of his future! Nothing + extraordinary marked the course of his boyhood; his internal development + traversed but few phases, and gave but few manifestations. As he was + fragile and sickly, the attention of his family was concentrated upon his + health. Doubtless it was from this cause that he acquired his habits of + affability, his patience under suffering, his endurance of every annoyance + with a good grace; qualities which he early acquired from his wish to calm + the constant anxiety that was felt with regard to him. No precocity of his + faculties, no precursory sign of remarkable development, revealed, in his + early years, his future superiority of soul, mind, or capacity. The little + creature was seen suffering indeed, but always trying to smile, patient + and apparently happy and his friends were so glad that he did not become + moody or morose, that they were satisfied to cherish his good qualities, + believing that he opened his heart to them without reserve, and gave to + them all his secret thoughts. + </p> + <p> + But there are souls among us who resemble rich travelers thrown among + simple herdsmen, loading them with gifts during their sojourn among them, + truly not at all in proportion to their own wealth, yet which are quite + sufficient to astonish the poor hosts, and to spread riches and happiness + in the midst of such simple habits. It is true that such souls give as + much affection, it may be more, than those who surround them; every body + is pleased with them, they are supposed to have been generous, when the + truth is that in comparison with their boundless wealth they have not been + liberal, and have given but little of their store of internal treasure. + </p> + <p> + The habits in which Chopin grew up, in which he was rocked as in a + form-strengthening cradle, were those peculiar to calm, occupied, and + tranquil characters. These early examples of simplicity, piety, and + integrity, always remained the nearest and dearest to him. Domestic + virtues, religious habits, pious charities, and rigid modesty, surrounded + him from his infancy with that pure atmosphere in which his rich + imagination assumed the velvety tenderness characterizing the plants which + have never been exposed to the dust of the beaten highways. + </p> + <p> + He commenced the study of music at an early age, being but nine years old + when he began to learn it. Shortly after he was confided to a passionate + disciple of Sebastian Bach, Ziwna, who directed his studies during many + years in accordance with the most classic models. It is not to be supposed + that when he embraced the career of a musician, any prestige of vain + glory, any fantastic perspective, dazzled his eyes, or excited the hopes + of his family. In order to become a skillful and able master, he studied + seriously and conscientiously, without dreaming of the greater or less + amount of fame he would be able to obtain as the fruit of his lessons and + assiduous labors. + </p> + <p> + In consequence of the generous and discriminating protection always + granted by Prince Antoine Radziwill to the arts, and to genius, which he + had the power of recognizing both as a man of intellect and as a + distinguished artist; Chopin was early placed in one of the first colleges + in Warsaw. Prince Radziwill did not cultivate music only as a simple + dilettante, he was also a remarkable composer. His beautiful rendering of + Faust, published some years ago, and executed at fixed epochs by the + Academy of Song at Berlin, appears to us far superior to any other + attempts which have been made to transport it into the realm of music, by + its close internal appropriateness to the peculiar genius of the poem. + Assisting the limited means of the family of Chopin, the Prince made him + the inestimable gift of a finished education, of which no part had been + neglected. Through the person of a friend, M. Antoine Korzuchowski, whose + own elevated mind enabled him to understand the requirements of an + artistic career, the Prince always paid his pension from his first + entrance into college, until the completion of his studies. From this time + until the death of Chopin, M. Antoine Korzuchowski always held the closest + relations of friendship with him. + </p> + <p> + In speaking of this period of his life, it gives us pleasure to quote the + charming lines which may be applied to him more justly, than other pages + in which his character is believed to have been traced, but in which we + only find it distorted, and in such false proportions as are given in a + profile drawn upon an elastic tissue, which has been pulled athwart, + biased by contrary movements during the whole progress of the sketch. + [Footnote: These extracts, with many that succeed them, in which the + character of Chopin is described, are taken from Lucrezia Floriani, a + novel by Madame Sand, in which the leading characters are said to be + intended to represent Liszt, Chopin, and herself.—Note of the + Translator.] + </p> + <p> + "Gentle, sensitive, and very lovely, at fifteen years of age he united the + charms of adolescence with the gravity of a more mature age. He was + delicate both in body and in mind. Through the want of muscular + development he retained a peculiar beauty, an exceptional physiognomy, + which had, if we may venture so to speak, neither age nor sex. It was not + the bold and masculine air of a descendant of a race of Magnates, who knew + nothing but drinking, hunting and making war; neither was it the + effeminate loveliness of a cherub couleur de rose. It was more like the + ideal creations with which the poetry of the middle ages adorned the + Christian temples: a beautiful angel, with a form pure and slight as a + young god of Olympus, with a face like that of a majestic woman filled + with a divine sorrow, and as the crown of all, an expression at the same + time tender and severe, chaste and impassioned. + </p> + <p> + "This expression revealed the depths of his being. Nothing could be purer, + more exalted than his thoughts; nothing more tenacious, more exclusive, + more intensely devoted, than his affections.... But he could only + understand that which closely resembled himself.... Every thing else only + existed for him as a kind of annoying dream, which he tried to shake off + while living with the rest of the world. Always plunged in reveries, + realities displeased him. As a child he could never touch a sharp + instrument without injuring himself with it; as a man, he never found + himself face to face with a being different from himself without being + wounded by the living contradiction... + </p> + <p> + "He was preserved from constant antagonism by a voluntary and almost + inveterate habit of never seeing or hearing any thing which was + disagreeable to him, unless it touched upon his personal affections. The + beings who did not think as he did, were only phantoms in his eyes. As his + manners were polished and graceful, it was easy to mistake his cold + disdain on insurmountable aversion for benevolent courtesy... + </p> + <p> + "He never spent an hour in open-hearted expansiveness, without + compensating for it by a season of reserve. The moral causes which induced + such reserve were too slight, too subtle, to be discovered by the naked + eye. It was necessary to use the microscope to read his soul, into which + so little of the light of the living ever penetrated.... + </p> + <p> + "With such a character, it seems strange he should have had friends: yet + he had them, not only the friends of his mother who esteemed him as the + noble son of a noble mother, but friends of his own age, who loved him + ardently, and who were loved by him in return.... He had formed a high + ideal of friendship; in the age of early illusions he loved to think that + his friends and himself, brought up nearly in the same manner, with the + same principles, would never change their opinions, and that no formal + disagreement could ever occur between them.... + </p> + <p> + "He was externally so affectionate, his education had been so finished, + and he possessed so much natural grace, that he had the gift of pleasing + even where he was not personally known. His exceeding loveliness was + immediately prepossessing, the delicacy of his constitution rendered him + interesting in the eyes of women, the full yet graceful cultivation of his + mind, the sweet and captivating originality of his conversation, gained + for him the attention of the most enlightened men. Men less highly + cultivated, liked him for his exquisite courtesy of manner. They were so + much the more pleased with this, because, in their simplicity, they never + imagined it was the graceful fulfillment of a duty into which no real + sympathy entered. + </p> + <p> + "Could such people have divined the secrets of his mystic character, they + would have said he was more amiable than loving—and with respect to + them, this would have been true. But how could they have known that his + real, though rare attachments, were so vivid, so profound, so undying?... + </p> + <p> + "Association with him in the details of life was delightful. He filled all + the forms of friendship with an unaccustomed charm, and when he expressed + his gratitude, it was with that deep emotion which recompenses kindness + with usury. He willingly imagined that he felt himself every day dying; he + accepted the cares of a friend, hiding from him, lest it should render him + unhappy, the little time he expected to profit by them. He possessed great + physical courage, and if he did not accept with the heroic recklessness of + youth the idea of approaching death, at least he cherished the expectation + of it with a kind of bitter pleasure."... + </p> + <p> + The attachment which he felt for a young lady, who never ceased to feel a + reverential homage for him, may be traced back to his early youth. The + tempest which in one of its sudden gusts tore Chopin from his native soil, + like a bird dreamy and abstracted surprised by the storm upon the branches + of a foreign tree, sundered the ties of this first love, and robbed the + exile of a faithful and devoted wife, as well as disinherited him of a + country. He never found the realization of that happiness of which he had + once dreamed with her, though he won the glory of which perhaps he had + never thought. Like the Madonnas of Luini whose looks are so full of + earnest tenderness, this young girl was sweet and beautiful. She lived on + calm, but sad. No doubt the sadness increased in that pure soul when she + knew that no devotion tender as her own, ever came to sweeten the + existence of one whom she had adored with that ingenuous submission, that + exclusive devotion, that entire self-forgetfulness, naive and sublime, + which transform the woman into the angel. + </p> + <p> + Those who are gifted by nature with the beautiful, yet fatal energies of + genius, and who are consequently forbidden to sacrifice the care of their + glory to the exactions of their love, are probably right in fixing limits + to the abnegation of their own personality. But the divine emotions due to + absolute devotion, may be regretted even in the presence of the most + sparkling endowments of genius. The utter submission, the + disinterestedness of love, in absorbing the existence, the will, the very + name of the woman in that of the man she loves, can alone authorize him in + believing that he has really shared his life with her, and that his + honorable love for her has given her that which no chance lover, + accidentally met, could have rendered her: peace of heart and the honor of + his name. + </p> + <p> + This young Polish lady, unfortunately separated from Chopin, remained + faithful to his memory, to all that was left of him. She devoted herself + to his parents. The father of Chopin would never suffer the portrait which + she had drawn of him in the days of hope, to be replaced by another, + though from the hands of a far more skilful artist. We saw the pale cheeks + of this melancholy woman, glow like alabaster when a light shines through + its snow, many years afterwards, when in gazing upon this picture, she met + the eyes of his father. + </p> + <p> + The amiable character of Chopin won for him while at college the love of + his fellow collegiates, particularly that of Prince Czetwertynski and his + brothers. He often spent the vacations and days of festival with them at + the house of their mother, the Princess Louise Czetwertynska, who + cultivated music with a true feeling for its beauties, and who soon + discovered the poet in the musician. Perhaps she was the first who made + Chopin feel the charm of being understood, as well as heard. The Princess + was still beautiful, and possessed a sympathetic soul united to many high + qualities. Her saloon was one of the most brilliant and RECHERCHE in + Warsaw. Chopin often met there the most distinguished women of the city. + He became acquainted there with those fascinating beauties who had + acquired a European celebrity, when Warsaw was so famed for the + brilliancy, elegance, and grace of its society. He was introduced by the + Princess Czetwertynska to the Princess of Lowicz; by her he was presented + to the Countess Zamoyska; to the Princess Radziwill; to the Princess + Jablonowska; enchantresses, surrounded by many beauties little less + illustrious. + </p> + <p> + While still very young, he has often cadenced their steps to the chords of + his piano. In these meetings, which might almost be called assemblies of + fairies, he may often have discovered, unveiled in the excitement of the + dance, the secrets of enthusiastic and tender souls. He could easily read + the hearts which were attracted to him by friendship and the grace of his + youth, and thus was enabled early to learn of what a strange mixture of + leaven and cream of roses, of gunpowder and tears of angels, the poetic + Ideal of his nation is formed. When his wandering fingers ran over the + keys, suddenly touching some moving chords, he could see how the furtive + tears coursed down the cheeks of the loving girl, or the young neglected + wife; how they moistened the eyes of the young men, enamored of, and eager + for glory. Can we not fancy some young beauty asking him to play a simple + prelude, then softened by the tones, leaning her rounded arm upon the + instrument to support her dreaming head, while she suffered the young + artist to divine in the dewy glitter of the lustrous eyes, the song sung + by her youthful heart? Did not groups, like sportive nymphs, throng around + him, and begging him for some waltz of giddying rapidity, smile upon him + with such wildering joyousness, as to put him immediately in unison with + the gay spirit of the dance? He saw there the chaste grace of his + brilliant countrywomen displayed in the Mazourka, and the memories of + their witching fascination, their winning reserve, were never effaced from + his soul. + </p> + <p> + In an apparently careless manner, but with that involuntary and subdued + emotion which accompanies the remembrance of our early delights, he would + sometimes remark that he first understood the whole meaning of the feeling + which is contained in the melodies and rhythms of national dances, upon + the days in which he saw these exquisite fairies at some magic fete, + adorned with that brilliant coquetry which sparkles like electric fire, + and flashing from heart to heart, heightens love, blinds it, or robs it of + all hope. And when the muslins of India, which the Greeks would have said + were woven of air, were replaced by the heavier folds of Venetian velvet, + and the perfumed roses and sculptured petals of the hot-house camellias + gave way to the gorgeous bouquets of the jewel caskets; it often seemed to + him that however good the orchestra might be, the dancers glided less + rapidly over the floor, that their laugh was less sonorous, their eye less + luminous, than upon those evenings in which the dance had been suddenly + improvised, because he had succeeded in electrifying his audience through + the magic of his performance. If he electrified them, it was because he + repeated, truly in hieroglyphic tones, but yet easily understood by the + initiated, the secret whispers which his delicate ear had caught from the + reserved yet impassioned hearts, which indeed resemble the Fraxinella, + that plant so full of burning and vivid life, that its flowers are always + surrounded by a gas as subtle as inflammable. He had seen celestial + visions glitter, and illusory phantoms fade in this sublimated air; he had + divined the meaning of the swarms of passions which are forever buzzing in + it; he knew how these hurtling emotions fluttered through the reckless + human soul; how, notwithstanding their ceaseless agitation and excitement, + they could intermingle, interweave, intercept each other, without once + disturbing the exquisite proportions of external grace, the imposing and + classic charm of manner. It was thus that he learned to prize so highly + the noble and measured manners which preserve delicacy from insipidity; + petty cares from wearisome trifling; conventionalism from tyranny; good + taste from coldness; and which never permit the passions to resemble, as + is often the case where such careful culture does not rule, those stony + and calcareous vegetables whose hard and brittle growth takes a name of + such sad contrast: flowers of iron (FLOS FERRI). + </p> + <p> + His early introduction into this society, in which regularity of form did + not conceal petrifaction of heart, induced Chopin to think that the + CONVENANCES and courtesies of manner, in place of being only a uniform + mask, repressing the character of each individual under the symmetry of + the same lines, rather serve to contain the passions without stifling + them, coloring only that bald crudity of tone which is so injurious to + their beauty, elevating that materialism which debases them, robbing them + of that license which vulgarizes them, lowering that vehemence which + vitiates them, pruning that exuberance which exhausts them, teaching the + "lovers of the ideal" to unite the virtues which have sprung from a + knowledge of evil, with those "which cause its very existence to be + forgotten in speaking to those they love." As these visions of his youth + deepened in the long perspective of memories, they gained in grace, in + charm, in delight, in his eyes, fascinating him to such an extent that no + reality could destroy their secret power over his imagination, rendering + his repugnance more and more unconquerable to that license of allurement, + that brutal tyranny of caprice, that eagerness to drink the cup of fantasy + to the very dregs, that stormy pursuit of all the changes and + incongruities of life, which rule in the strange mode of life known as LA + BOHEME. + </p> + <p> + More than once in the history of art and literature, a poet has arisen, + embodying in himself the poetic sense of a whole nation, an entire epoch, + representing the types which his contemporaries pursue and strive to + realize, in an absolute manner in his works: such a poet was Chopin for + his country and for the epoch in which he was born. The poetic sentiments + the most widely spread, yet the most intimate and inherent of his nation, + were embodied and united in his imagination, and represented by his + brilliant genius. Poland has given birth to many bards, some of whom rank + among the first poets of the world. + </p> + <p> + Its writers are now making strenuous efforts to display in the strongest + light, the most glorious and interesting facts of its history, the most + peculiar and picturesque phases of its manners and customs. Chopin, + differing from them in having formed no premeditated design, surpasses + them all in originality. He did not determine upon, he did not seek such a + result; he created no ideal a priori. Without having predetermined to + transport himself into the past, he constantly remembered the glories of + his country, he understood and sung the loves and tears of his + contemporaries without having analyzed them in advance. He did not task + himself, nor study to be a national musician. Like all truly national + poets he sang spontaneously without premeditated design or preconceived + choice all that inspiration dictated to him, as we hear it gushing forth + in his songs without labor, almost without effort. He repeated in the most + idealized form the emotions which had animated and embellished his youth; + under the magic delicacy of his pen he displayed the Ideal, which is, if + we may be permitted so to speak, the Real among his people; an Ideal + really in existence among them, which every one in general and each one in + particular approaches by the one or the other of its many sides. Without + assuming to do so, he collected in luminous sheaves the impressions felt + everywhere throughout his country—vaguely felt it is true, yet in + fragments pervading all hearts. Is it not by this power of reproducing in + a poetic formula, enchanting to the imagination of all nations, the + indefinite shades of feeling widely scattered but frequently met among + their compatriots, that the artists truly national are distinguished? + </p> + <p> + Not without reason has the task been undertaken of collecting the melodies + indigenous to every country. It appears to us it would be of still deeper + interest, to trace the influences forming the characteristic powers of the + authors most deeply inspired by the genius of the nation to which they + belong. Until the present epoch there have been very few distinctive + compositions, which stand out from the two great divisions of the German + and Italian schools of music. But with the immense development which this + art seems destined to attain, perhaps renewing for us the glorious era of + the Painters of the CINQUE CENTO, it is highly probable that composers + will appear whose works will be marked by an originality drawn from + differences of organization, of races, and of climates. It is to be + presumed that we will be able to recognize the influences of the country + in which they were born upon the great masters in music, as well as in the + other arts; that we will be able to distinguish the peculiar and + predominant traits of the national genius more completely developed, more + poetically true, more interesting to study, in the pages of their + compositions than in the crude, incorrect, uncertain, vague and tremulous + sketches of the uncultured people. + </p> + <p> + Chopin must be ranked among the first musicians thus individualizing in + themselves the poetic sense of an entire nation, not because he adopted + the rhythm of POLONAISES, MAZOURKAS, and CRACOVIENNES, and called many of + his works by such names, for in so doing he would have limited himself to + the multiplication of such works alone, and would always have given us the + same mode, the remembrance of the same thing; a reproduction which would + soon have grown wearisome, serving but to multiply compositions of similar + form, which must have soon grown more or less monotonous. It is because he + filled these forms with the feelings peculiar to his country, because the + expression of the national heart may be found under all the modes in which + he has written, that he is entitled to be considered a poet essentially + Polish. His PRELUDES, his NOCTURNES, his SCHERZOS, his CONCERTOS, his + shortest as well as his longest compositions, are all filled with the + national sensibility, expressed indeed in different degrees, modified and + varied in a thousand ways, but always bearing the same character. An + eminently subjective author, Chopin has given the same life to all his + productions, animated all his works with his own spirit. All his writings + are thus linked by a marked unity. Their beauties as well as their defects + may be traced to the same order of emotions, to peculiar modes of feeling. + The reproduction of the feelings of his people, idealized and elevated + through his own subjective genius, is an essential requisite for the + national poet who desires that the heart of his country should vibrate in + unison with his own strains. + </p> + <p> + By the analogies of words and images, we should like to render it possible + for our readers to comprehend the exquisite yet irritable sensibility + peculiar to ardent yet susceptible hearts, to haughty yet deeply wounded + souls. We cannot flatter ourselves that in the cold realm of words we have + been able to give any idea of such ethereal odorous flames. In comparison + with the vivid and delicious excitement produced by other arts, words + always appear poor, cold, and arid, so that the assertion seems just: + "that of all modes of expressing sentiments, words are the most + insufficient." We cannot flatter ourselves with having attained in our + descriptions the exceeding delicacy of touch, necessary to sketch that + which Chopin has painted with hues so ethereal. All is subtle in his + compositions, even the source of excitement, of passion; all open, frank, + primitive impressions disappear in them; before they meet the eye, they + have passed through the prism of an exacting, ingenious, and fertile + imagination, and it has become difficult if not impossible to resolve them + again into their primal elements. Acuteness of discernment is required to + understand, delicacy to describe them. In seizing such refined impressions + with the keenest discrimination, in embodying them with infinite art, + Chopin has proved himself an artist of the highest order. It is only after + long and patient study, after having pursued his sublimated ideas through + their multiform ramifications, that we learn to admire sufficiently, to + comprehend aright, the genius with which he has rendered his subtle + thoughts visible and palpable, without once blunting their edge, or ever + congealing their fiery flow. + </p> + <p> + He was so entirely filled with the sentiments whose most perfect types he + believed he had known in his own youth, with the ideas which it alone + pleased him to confide to art; he contemplated art so invariably from the + same point of view, that his artistic preferences could not fail to be + influenced by his early impressions. In the great models and + CHEFS-D'OEUVRE, he only sought that which was in correspondence with his + own soul. That which stood in relation to it pleased him; that which + resembled it not, scarcely obtained justice from him. Uniting in himself + the frequently incompatible qualities of passion and grace he possessed + great accuracy of judgment, and preserved himself from all petty + partiality, but he was but slightly attracted by the greatest beauties, + the highest merits, when they wounded any of the phases of his poetic + conceptions. Notwithstanding the high admiration which he entertained for + the works of Beethoven, certain portions of them always seemed to him too + rudely sculptured; their structure was too athletic to please him, their + wrath seemed to him too tempestuous, their passion too overpowering, the + lion-marrow which fills every member of his phases was matter too + substantial for his tastes, and the Raphaelic and Seraphic profiles which + are wrought into the midst of the nervous and powerful creations of this + great genius, were to him almost painful from the force of the cutting + contrast in which they are frequently set. + </p> + <p> + In spite of the charm which he acknowledged in some of the melodies of + Schubert, he would not willingly listen to those in which the contours + were too sharp for his ear, in which suffering lies naked, and we can + almost feel the flesh palpitate, and hear the bones crack and crash under + the rude embrace of sorrow. All savage wildness was repulsive to him. In + music, in literature, in the conduct of life, all that approached the + melodramatic was painful to him The frantic and despairing aspects of + exaggerated romanticism were repellent to him, he could not endure the + struggling for wonderful effects, for delicious excesses. "He loved + Shakspeare only under many conditions. He thought his characters were + drawn too closely to the life, and spoke a language too true; he preferred + the epic and lyric syntheses which leave the poor details of humanity in + the shade. For the same reason he spoke little and listened less, not + wishing to give expression to his own thoughts, or to receive the thoughts + of others, until after they had attained a certain degree of elevation." + </p> + <p> + A nature so completely master of itself, so full of delicate reserve, + which loved to divine through glimpses, presentiments, suppositions, all + that had been left untold (a species of divination always dear to poets + who can so eloquently finish the interrupted words) must have felt + annoyed, almost scandalized, by an audacity which leaves nothing + unexpressed, nothing to be divined. If he had been called upon to express + his own views upon this subject, we believe he would have confessed that + in accordance with his taste, he was only permitted to give vent to his + feelings on condition of suffering much to remain unrevealed, or only to + be divined under the rich veils of broidery in which he wound his + emotions. If that which they agree in calling classic in art appeared to + him too full of methodical restrictions, if he refused to permit himself + to be garroted in the manacles and frozen in the conventions of systems, + if he did not like confinement although enclosed in the safe symmetry of a + gilded cage, it was not because he preferred the license of disorder, the + confusion of irregularity. It was rather that he might soar like the lark + into the deep blue of the unclouded heavens. Like the Bird of Paradise, + which it was once thought never slept but while resting upon extended + wing, rocked only by the breath of unlimited space at the sublime height + at which it reposed; he obstinately refused to descend to bury himself in + the misty gloom of the forests, or to surround himself with the howlings + and wailings with which it is filled. He would not leave the depths of + azure for the wastes of the desert, or attempt to fix pathways over the + treacherous waves of sand, which the winds, in exulting irony, delight to + sweep over the traces of the rash mortal seeking to mark the line of his + wandering through the drifting, blinding swells. + </p> + <p> + That style of Italian art which is so open, so glaring, so devoid of the + attraction of mystery or of science, with all that which in German art + bears the seal of vulgar, though powerful energy, was distasteful to him. + Apropos of Schubert he once remarked: "that the sublime is desecrated when + followed by the trivial or commonplace." Among the composers for the piano + Hummel was one of the authors whom he reread with the most pleasure. + Mozart was in his eyes the ideal type, the Poet par excellence, because + he, less rarely than any other author, condescended to descend the steps + leading from the beautiful to the commonplace. The father of Mozart after + having been present at a representation of IDOMENEE made to his son the + following reproach: "You have been wrong in putting in it nothing for the + long ears." It was precisely for such omissions that Chopin admired him. + The gayety of Papageno charmed him; the love of Tamino with its mysterious + trials seemed to him worthy of having occupied Mozart; he understood the + vengeance of Donna Anna because it cast but a deeper shade upon her + mourning. Yet such was his Sybaritism of purity, his dread of the + commonplace, that even in this immortal work he discovered some passages + whose introduction we have heard him regret. His worship for Mozart was + not diminished but only saddened by this. He could sometimes forget that + which was repulsive to him, but to reconcile himself to it was impossible. + He seemed to be governed in this by one of those implacable and irrational + instincts, which no persuasion, no effort, can ever conquer sufficiently + to obtain a state of mere indifference towards the objects of the + antipathy; an aversion sometimes so insurmountable, that we can only + account for it by supposing it to proceed from some innate and peculiar + idiosyncrasy. + </p> + <p> + After he had finished his studies in harmony with Professor Joseph Elsner, + who taught him the rarely known and difficult task of being exacting + towards himself, and placing the just value upon the advantages which are + only to be obtained by dint of patience and labor; and after he had + finished his collegiate course, it was the desire of his parents that he + should travel in order that he might become familiar with the finest works + under the advantage of their perfect execution. For this purpose he + visited many of the German cities. He had left Warsaw upon one of these + short excursions, when the revolution of the 29th of November broke out in + 1830. + </p> + <p> + Forced to remain in Vienna, he was heard there in some concerts, but the + Viennese public, generally so cultivated, so prompt to seize the most + delicate shades of execution, the finest subtleties of thought, during + this winter were disturbed and abstracted. The young artist did not + produce there the effect he had the right to anticipate. He left Vienna + with the design of going to London, but he came first to Paris, where he + intended to remain but a short time. Upon his passport drawn up for + England, he had caused to be inserted: "passing through Paris." These + words sealed his fate. Long years afterwards, when he seemed not only + acclimated, but naturalized in France, he would smilingly say: I am + "passing through Paris." + </p> + <p> + He gave several concerts after his arrival in Paris, where he was + immediately received and admired in the circles of the elite, as well as + welcomed by the young artists. We remember his first appearance in the + saloons of Pleyel, where the most enthusiastic and redoubled applause + seemed scarcely sufficient to express our enchantment for the genius which + had revealed new phases of poetic feeling, and made such happy yet bold + innovations in the form of musical art. + </p> + <p> + Unlike the greater part of young debutants, he was not intoxicated or + dazzled for a moment by his triumph, but accepted it without pride or + false modesty, evincing none of the puerile enjoyment of gratified vanity + exhibited by the PARVENUS of success. His countrymen who were then in + Paris gave him a most affectionate reception. He was intimate in the house + of Prince Czartoryski, of the Countess Plater, of Madame de Komar, and in + that of her daughters, the Princess de Beauveau and the Countess Delphine + Potocka, whose beauty, together with her indescribable and spiritual + grace, made her one of the most admired sovereigns of the society of + Paris. He dedicated to her his second Concerto, which contains the Adagio + we have already described. The ethereal beauty of the Countess, her + enchanting voice enchained him by a fascination full of respectful + admiration. Her voice was destined to be the last which should vibrate + upon the musician's heart. Perhaps the sweetest sounds of earth + accompanied the parting soul until they blended in his ear with the first + chords of the angels' lyres. + </p> + <p> + He mingled much with the Polish circle in Paris; with Orda who seemed born + to command the future, and who was however killed in Algiers at twenty + years of age; with Counts Plater, Grzymala, Ostrowski, Szembeck, with + Prince Lubomirski, etc. etc. As the Polish families who came afterwards to + Paris were all anxious to form acquaintance with him, he continued to + mingle principally with his own people. He remained through them not only + AU COURANT of all that was passing in his own country, but even in a kind + of musical correspondence with it. He liked those who visited Paris to + show him the airs or new songs they had brought with them, and when the + words of these airs pleased him, he frequently wrote a new melody for + them, thus popularizing them rapidly in his country although the name of + their author was often unknown. The number of these melodies, due to the + inspiration of the heart alone, having become considerable, he often + thought of collecting them for publication. But he thought of it too late, + and they remain scattered and dispersed, like the perfume of the scented + flowers blessing the wilderness and sweetening the "desert air" around + some wandering traveller, whom chance may have led upon their secluded + track. During our stay in Poland we heard some of the melodies which are + attributed to him, and which are truly worthy of him; but who would now + dare to make an uncertain selection between the inspirations of the + national poet, and the dreams of his people? + </p> + <p> + Chopin kept for a long time aloof from the celebrities of Paris; their + glittering train repelled him. As his character and habits had more true + originality than apparent eccentricity, he inspired less curiosity than + they did. Besides he had sharp repartees for those who imprudently wished + to force him into a display of his musical abilities. Upon one occasion + after he had just left the dining-room, an indiscreet host, who had had + the simplicity to promise his guests some piece executed by him as a rare + dessert, pointed to him an open piano. He should have remembered that in + counting without the host, it is necessary to count twice. Chopin at first + refused, but wearied at last by continued persecution, assuming, to + sharpen the sting of his words, a stifled and languid tone of voice, he + exclaimed: "Ah, sir, I have scarcely dined!" + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0007" id="link2HCH0007"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER VII. + </h2> + <p> + <i>Madame Sand—Lelia—Visit to Majorca—Exclusive Ideals.</i> + </p> + <p> + In 1836 Madame Sand had not only published INDIANA, VALENTINE, and + JACQUES, but also LELIA, that prose poem of which she afterwards said: "If + I regret having written it, it is because I could not now write it. Were I + in the same state of mind now as when it was written, it would indeed be a + great consolation to me to be able to commence it." The mere painting of + romances in cold water colors must have seemed, without doubt, dull to + Madame Sand, after having handled the hammer and chisel of the sculptor so + boldly, in modeling the grand lines of that semi-colossal statue, in + cutting those sinewy muscles, which even in their statuesque immobility, + are full of bewildering and seductive charm. Should we continue long to + gaze upon it, it excites the most painful emotion. In strong contrast to + the miracle of Pygmalion, Lelia seems a living Galatea, rich in feeling, + full of love, whom the deeply enamored artist has tried to bury alive in + his exquisitely sculptured marble, stifling the palpitating breath, and + congealing the warm blood in the vain hope of elevating and immortalizing + the beauty he adores. In the presence of this vivid nature petrified by + art, we cannot feel that admiration is kindled into love, but, saddened + and chilled, we are forced to acknowledge that love may be frozen into + mere admiration. + </p> + <p> + Brown and olive-hued Lelia! Dark as Lara, despairing as Manfred, + rebellious as Cain, thou hast ranged through the depths of solitude! But + thou art more ferocious, more savage, more inconsolable than they, because + thou hast never found a man's heart sufficiently feminine to love thee as + they were loved, to pay the homage of a confiding and blind submission to + thy virile charms, to offer thee a mute yet ardent devotion, to suffer its + obedience to be protected by thy Amazonian force! Woman-hero! Like the + Amazons, thou hast been valiant and eager for combats; like them thou hast + not feared to expose the exquisite loveliness of thy face to the + fierceness of the summer's sun, or the sharp blasts of winter! Thou hast + hardened thy fragile limbs by the endurance of fatigue, thus robbing them + of the subtle power of their weakness! Thou hast covered thy palpitating + breast with a heavy cuirass, which has pressed and torn it, dyeing its + snow in blood;—that gentle woman's bosom, charming as life, discreet + as the grave, which is always adored by man when his heart is permitted to + form its sole, its impenetrable buckler! + </p> + <p> + After having blunted her chisel in polishing this statue, which, by its + majesty, its haughty disdain, its look of hopeless anguish, shadowed by + the frowning of the pure brows and by the long loose locks shivering with + electric life, reminds us of those antique cameos on which we still admire + the perfect features, the beautiful yet fatal brow, the haughty smile of + the Medusa, whose gaze paralyzed and stopped the pulses of the human + heart;—Madame Sand in vain sought another form for the expression of + the emotions which tortured her insatiate soul. After having draped this + figure with the highest art, accumulating every species of masculine + greatness upon it in order to compensate for the highest of all qualities + which she repudiated for it, the grandeur of, "utter self-abnegation for + love," which the many-sided poet has placed in the empyrean and called + "the Eternal Feminine," (DAS EWIGWEIBLICHE,)—a greatness which is + love existing before any of its joys, surviving all its sorrows;—after + having caused Don Juan to be cursed, and a divine hymn to be chanted to + Desire by Lelia, who, as well as Don Juan, had repulsed the only delight + which crowns desire, the luxury of self-abnegation,—after having + fully revenged Elvira by the creation of Stenio,—after having + scorned man more than Don Juan had degraded woman,—Madame Sand, in + her LETTRES D'UN VOYAGEUR, depicts the shivering palsy, the painful + lethargy which seizes the artist, when, having incorporated the emotion + which inspired him in his work, his imagination still remains under the + domination of the insatiate idea without being able to find another form + in which to incarnate it. Such poetic sufferings were well understood by + Byron, when he makes Tasso shed his most bitter tears, not for his chains, + not for his physical sufferings, not for the ignominy heaped upon him, but + for his finished Epic, for the ideal world created by his thought and now + about to close its doors upon him, and by thus expelling him from its + enchanted realm, rendering him at last sensible of the gloomy realities + around him:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + "But this is o'er—my pleasant task is done:— + My long-sustaining friend of many years: + If I do blot thy final page with tears, + Know that my sorrows have wrung from me none. + But thou, my young creation! my soul's child! + Which ever playing round me came and smiled, + And woo'd me from myself with thy sweet sight, + Thou too art gone—and so is my delight." + + LAMENT OF TASSO.—BYRON. +</pre> + <p> + At this epoch, Madame Sand often heard a musician, one of the friends who + had greeted Chopin with the most enthusiastic joy upon his arrival at + Paris, speak of him. She heard him praise his poetic genius even more than + his artistic talent. She was acquainted with his compositions, and admired + their graceful tenderness. She was struck by the amount of emotion + displayed in his poems, with the effusions of a heart so noble and + dignified. Some of the countrymen of Chopin spoke to her of the women of + their country, with the enthusiasm natural to them upon that subject, an + enthusiasm then very much increased by a remembrance of the sublime + sacrifices made by them during the last war. Through their recitals and + the poetic inspiration of the Polish artist, she perceived an ideal of + love which took the form of worship for woman. She thought that guaranteed + from dependence, preserved from inferiority, her role might be like the + fairy power of the Peri, that ethereal intelligence and friend of man. + Perhaps she did not fully understand what innumerable links of suffering, + of silence, of patience, of gentleness, of indulgence, of courageous + perseverance, had been necessary for the formation of the worship for this + imperious but resigned ideal, beautiful indeed, but sad to behold, like + those plants with the rose-colored corollas, whose stems, intertwining and + interlacing in a network of long and numerous branches, give life to + ruins; destined ever to embellish decay, growing upon old walls and hiding + only tottering stones! Beautiful veils woven by beneficent Nature, in her + ingenious and inexhaustible richness, to cover the constant decay of human + things! + </p> + <p> + As Madame Sand perceived that this artist, in place of giving body to his + phantasy in porphyry and marble, or defining his thoughts by the creation + of massive caryatides, rather effaced the contour of his works, and, had + it been necessary, could have elevated his architecture itself from the + soil, to suspend it, like the floating palaces of the Fata Morgana, in the + fleecy clouds, through his aerial forms of almost impalpable buoyancy, she + was more and more attracted by that mystic ideal which she perceived + glowing within them. Though her arm was powerful enough to have sculptured + the round shield, her hand was delicate enough to have traced those light + relievos where the shadows of ineffaceable profiles have been thrown upon + and trusted to a stone scarcely raised from its level plane. She was no + stranger in the supernatural world, she to whom Nature, as to a favored + child, had unloosed her girdle and unveiled all the caprices, the + attractions, the delights, which she can lend to beauty. She was not + ignorant of the lightest graces; she whose eye could embrace such vast + proportions, had stooped to study the glowing illuminations painted upon + the wings of the fragile butterfly. She had traced the symmetrical and + marvellous network which the fern extends as a canopy over the wood + strawberry; she had listened to the murmuring of streams through the long + reeds and stems of the water-grass, where the hissing of the "amorous + viper" may be heard; she had followed the wild leaps of the + Will-with-a-wisp as it bounds over the surface of the meadows and marshes; + she had pictured to herself the chimerical dwelling-places toward which it + perfidiously attracts the benighted traveller; she had listened to the + concerts given by the Cicada and their friends in the stubble of the + fields; she had learned the names of the inhabitants of the winged + republics of the woods which she could distinguish as well by their + plumaged robes, as by their jeering roulades or plaintive cries. She knew + the secret tenderness of the lily in the splendor of its tints; she had + listened to the sighs of Genevieve, [Footnote: ANDRE] the maiden enamored + of flowers. + </p> + <p> + She was visited in her dreams by those "unknown friends" who came to + rejoin her "when she was seized with distress upon a desolate shore," + brought by a "rapid stream... in large and full bark"... upon which she + mounted to leave the unknown shores, "the country of chimeras which make + real life appear like a dream half effaced to those, who enamored from + their infancy of large shells of pearl, mount them to land in those isles + where all are young and beautiful... where the men and women are crowned + with flowers, with their long locks floating upon their shoulders... + holding vases and harps of a strange form... having songs and voices not + of this world... all loving each other equally with a divine love... where + crystal fountains of perfumed waters play in basins of silver... where + blue roses bloom in vases of alabaster... where the perspectives are all + enchanted... where they walk with naked feet upon the thick green moss, + soft as carpets of velvet... where all sing as they wander among the + fragrant groves." [Footnote: LETTRES D'UN VOYAGEUR] + </p> + <p> + She knew these unknown friends so well that after having again seen them, + "she could not dream of them without palpitations of the heart during the + whole day." She was initiated into the Hoffmannic world—"she who had + surprised such ineffable smiles upon the portraits of the dead;" + [Footnote: SPIRIDSON] who had seen the rays of the sun falling through the + stained glass of a Gothic window form a halo round loved heads, like the + arm of God, luminous and impalpable, surrounded by a vortex of atoms;—she + who had known such glorious apparitions, clothed with the purple and + golden glories of the setting sun. The realm of fantasy had no myth with + whose secret she was not familiar! + </p> + <p> + Thus she was naturally anxious to become acquainted with one who had with + rapid wing flown "to those scenes which it is impossible to describe, but + which must exist somewhere, either upon the earth, or in some of the + planets, whose light we love to gaze upon in the forests when the moon has + set." [Footnote: LETTRES D'UN VOYAGEUR] Such scenes she had prayed never + to be forced to desert—never desiring to bring her heart and + imagination back to this dreary world, too like the gloomy coasts of + Finland, where the slime and miry slough can only be escaped by scaling + the naked granite of the solitary rocks. Fatigued with the massive statue + she had sculptured, the Amazonian Lelia; wearied with the grandeur of an + Ideal which it is impossible to mould from the gross materials of this + earth; she was desirous to form an acquaintance with the artist "the lover + of an impossible so shadowy"—so near the starry regions. Alas! if + these regions are exempt from the poisonous miasmas of our atmosphere, + they are not free from its desolating melancholy! Perhaps those who are + transported there may adore the shining of new suns—but there are + others not less dear whose light they must see extinguished! Will not the + most glorious among the beloved constellation of the Pleiades there + disappear? Like drops of luminous dew the stars fall one by one into the + nothingness of a yawning abyss, whose bottomless depths no plummet has + ever sounded, while the soul, contemplating these fields of ether, this + blue Sahara with its wandering and perishing oases,—is stricken by a + grief so hopeless, so profound, that neither enthusiasm nor love can ever + soothe it more. It ingulfs and absorbs all emotions, being no more + agitated by them than the sleeping waters of some tranquil lake, + reflecting the moving images thronging its banks from its polished + surface, are by the varied motions and eager life of the many objects + mirrored upon its glassy bosom. The drowsy waters cannot thus be wakened + from their icy lethargy. This melancholy saddens even the highest joy. + "Through the exhaustion always accompanying such tension, when the soul is + strained above the region which it naturally inhabits... the insufficiency + of speech is felt for the first time by those who have studied it so much, + and used it so well—we are borne from all active, from all militant + instincts—to travel through boundless space—to be lost in the + immensity of adventurous courses far, far above the clouds... where we no + longer see that the earth is beautiful, because our gaze is riveted upon + the skies... where reality is no longer poetically draped, as has been so + skilfully done by the author of Waverley, but where, in idealizing poetry + itself, the infinite is peopled with the spirits belonging only to its + mystic realm, as has been done by Byron in his Manfred." + </p> + <p> + Could Madame Sand have divined the incurable melancholy, the will which + cannot blend with that of others, the imperious exclusiveness, which + invariably seize upon imaginations delighting in the pursuit of dreams + whose realities are nowhere to be found, or at least never in the + matter-of-fact world in which the dreamers are constrained to dwell? Had + she foreseen the form which devoted attachment assumes for such dreamers; + had she measured the entire and absolute absorption which they will alone + accept as the synonyme of tenderness? It is necessary to be in some degree + shy, shrinking, and secretive as they themselves are, to be able to + understand the hidden depths of characters so concentrated. Like those + susceptible flowers which close their sensitive petals before the first + breath of the North wind, they too veil their exacting souls in the + shrouds of self concentration, unfolding themselves only under the warming + rays of a propitious sun. Such natures have been called "rich by + exclusiveness;" in opposition to those which are "rich by expansiveness." + "If these differing temperaments should meet and approach each other, they + can never mingle or melt the one into the other," (says the writer whom we + have so often quoted) "but the one must consume the other, leaving nothing + but ashes behind." Alas! it is the natures like that of the fragile + musician whose days we commemorate, which, consuming themselves, perish; + not wishing, not indeed being able, to live any life but one in conformity + with their own exclusive Ideal. + </p> + <p> + Chopin seemed to dread Madame Sand more than any other woman, the modern + Sibyl, who, like the Pythoness of old, had said so many things that others + of her sex neither knew nor dared to say. He avoided and put off all + introduction to her. Madame Sand was ignorant of this. In consequence of + that captivating simplicity, which is one of her noblest charms, she did + not divine his fear of the Delphic priestess. At last she was presented to + him, and an acquaintance with her soon dissipated the prejudices which he + had obstinately nourished against female authors. + </p> + <p> + In the fall of 1837, Chopin was attacked by an alarming illness, which + left him almost without force to support life. Dangerous symptoms forced + him to go South to avoid the rigor of winter. Madame Sand, always so + watchful over those whom she loved, so full of compassion for their + sufferings, would not permit him, when his health required so much care, + to set out alone, and determined to accompany him. They selected the + island of Majorca for their residence because the air of the sea, joined + to the mild climate which prevails there, is especially salubrious for + those who are suffering from affections of the lungs. Though he was so + weak when he left Paris that we had no hope of his ever returning; though + after his arrival in Majorca he was long and dangerously ill; yet so much + was he benefited by the change that big health was improved during several + years. + </p> + <p> + Was it the effect of the balmy climate alone which recalled him to health? + Was it not rather because his life was full of bliss that he found + strength to live? Did he not regain strength only because he now wished to + live? Who can tell how far the influence of the will extends over the + body? Who knows what internal subtle aroma it has the power of disengaging + to preserve the sinking frame from decay; what vital force it can breathe + into the debilitated organs? Who can say where the dominion of mind over + matter ceases? Who knows how far our senses are under the dominion of the + imagination, to what extent their powers may be increased, or their + extinction accelerated, by its influence? It matters not how the + imagination gains its strange extension of power, whether through long and + bitter exercise, or, whether spontaneously collecting its forgotten + strength, it concentrates its force in some new and decisive moment of + destiny: as when the rays of the sun are able to kindle a flame of + celestial origin when concentrated in the focus of the burning glass, + brittle and fragile though the medium be. + </p> + <p> + All the long scattered rays of happiness were collected within this epoch + of the life of Chopin; is it then surprising that they should have + rekindled the flame of life, and that it should have burned at this time + with the most vivid lustre? The solitude surrounded by the blue waves of + the Mediterranean and shaded by groves of orange, seemed fitted in its + exceeding loveliness for the ardent vows of youthful lovers, still + believing in their naive and sweet illusions, sighing for happiness in + "some desert isle." He breathed there that air for which natures unsuited + for the world, and never feeling themselves happy in it, long with such a + painful home-sickness; that air which may be found everywhere if we can + find the sympathetic souls to breathe it with us, and which is to be met + nowhere without them; that air of the land of our dreams; and which in + spite of all obstacles, of the bitter real, is easily discovered when + sought by two! It is the air of the country of the ideal to which we + gladly entice the being we cherish, repeating with poor Mignon: DAHIN! + DAHIN!... LASST UNS ZIEHN! + </p> + <p> + As long as his sickness lasted, Madame Sand never left the pillow of him + who loved her even to death, with an attachment which in losing all its + joys, did not lose its intensity, which remained faithful to her even + after all its memories had turned to pain: "for it seemed as if this + fragile being was absorbed and consumed by the strength of his + affection.... Others seek happiness in their attachments; when they no + longer find it, the attachment gently vanishes. In this they resemble the + rest of the world. But he loved for the sake of loving. No amount of + suffering was sufficient to discourage him. He could enter upon a new + phase, that of woe; but the phase of coldness he could never arrive at. It + would have been indeed a phase of physical agony—for his love was + his life—and delicious or bitter, he had not the power of + withdrawing himself a single moment from its domination." [Footnote: + LUCRESIA FLORIANA] Madame Sand never ceased to be for Chopin that being of + magic spells who had snatched him from the valley of the shadow of death, + whose power had changed his physical agony into the delicious languor of + love. To save him from death, to bring him back to life, she struggled + courageously with his disease. She surrounded him with those divining and + instinctive cares which are a thousand times more efficacious than the + material remedies known to science. While engaged in nursing him, she felt + no fatigue, no weariness, no discouragement. Neither her strength, nor her + patience, yielded before the task. Like the mothers in robust health, who + appear to communicate a part of their own strength to the sickly infant + who, constantly requiring their care, have also their preference, she + nursed the precious charge into new life. The disease yielded: "the + funereal oppression which secretly undermined the spirit of Chopin, + destroying and corroding all contentment, gradually vanished. He permitted + the amiable character, the cheerful serenity of his friend to chase sad + thoughts and mournful presentiments away, and to breathe new force into + his intellectual being." + </p> + <p> + Happiness succeeded to gloomy fears, like the gradual progression of a + beautiful day after a night full of obscurity and terror, when so dense + and heavy is the vault of darkness which weighs upon us from above, that + we are prepared for a sudden and fatal catastrophe, we do not even dare to + dream of deliverance, when the despairing eye suddenly catches a bright + spot where the mists clear, and the clouds open like flocks of heavy wool + yielding, even while the edges thicken under the pressure of the hand + which rends them. At this moment, the first ray of hope penetrates the + soul. We breathe more freely like those who lost in the windings of a dark + cavern at last think they see a light, though indeed its existence is + still doubtful. This faint light is the day dawn, though so colorless are + its rays, that it is more like the extinction of the dying twilight,—the + fall of the night-shroud upon the earth. But it is indeed the dawn; we + know it by the vivid and pure breath of the young zephyrs which it sends + forth, like avant-coureurs, to bear us the assurance of morn and safety. + The balm of flowers fills the air, like the thrilling of an encouraged + hope. A stray bird accidentally commences his song earlier than usual, it + soothes the heart like a distant consolation, and is accepted as a promise + for the future. As the imperceptibly progressive but sure indications + multiply, we are convinced that in this struggle of light and darkness it + is the shadows of night which are to yield. Raising our eyes to the Dome + of lead above us, we feel that it weighs less heavily upon us, that it has + already lost its fatal stability. + </p> + <p> + Little by little the long gray lines of light increase, they stretch + themselves along the horizon like fissures into a brighter world. They + suddenly enlarge, they gain upon their dark boundaries, now they break + through them, as the waters bounding the edge of a lake inundate in + irregular pools the arid banks. Then a fierce opposition begins, banks and + long dikes accumulate to arrest the progress. The clouds are oiled like + ridges of sand, tossing and surging to present obstructions, but like the + impetuous raging of irresistible waters, the light breaks through them, + demolishes them, devours them, and as the rays ascend, the rolling waves + of purple mist glow into crimson. At this moment the young dawn shines + with a timid yet victorious grace, while the knee bends in admiration and + gratitude before it, for the last terror has vanished, and we feel as if + new born. + </p> + <p> + Fresh objects strike upon the view, as if just called from chaos. A veil + of uniform rose-color covers them all, but as the light augments in + intensity, the thin gauze drapes and folds in shades of pale carnation, + while the advancing plains grow clear in white and dazzling splendor. + </p> + <p> + The brilliant sun delays no longer to invade the firmament, gaining new + glory as he rises. The vapors surge and crowd together, rolling themselves + from right to left, like the heavy drapery of a curtain moved by the wind. + Then all breathes, moves, lives, hums, sings; the sounds mingle, cross, + meet, and melt into each other. Inertia gives place to motion, it spreads, + accelerates and circulates. The waves of the lake undulate and swell like + a bosom touched by love. The tears of the dew, motionless as those of + tenderness, grow more and more perceptible, one after another they are + seen glittering on the humid herbs, diamonds waiting for the sun to paint + with rainbow-tints their vivid scintillations. The gigantic fan of light + in the East is ever opening larger and wider. Spangles of silver, borders + of scarlet, violet fringes, bars of gold, cover it with fantastic + broidery. Light bands of reddish brown feather its branches. The brightest + scarlet at its centre has the glowing transparency of the ruby; shading + into orange like a burning coal, it widens like a torch, spreads like a + bouquet of flames, which glows and glows from fervor to fervor, ever more + incandescent. + </p> + <p> + At last the god of day appears! His blazing front is adorned with luminous + locks of long floating hair. Slowly he seems to rise—but scarcely + has he fully unveiled himself, than he starts forward, disengages himself + from all around him, and, leaving the earth far below him, takes + instantaneous possession of the vaulted heavens.... + </p> + <p> + The memory of the days passed in the lovely isle of Majorca, like the + remembrance of an entrancing ecstasy, which fate grants but once in life + even to the most favored of her children, remained always dear to the + heart of Chopin. "He [Footnote: Lucrezia Fioriani] was no longer upon this + earth, he was in an empyrean of golden clouds and perfumes, his + imagination, so full of exquisite beauty, seemed engaged in a monologue + with God himself; and if upon the radiant prism in whose contemplation he + forgot all else, the magic-lantern of the outer world would even cast its + disturbing shadow, he felt deeply pained, as if in the midst of a sublime + concert, a shrieking old woman should blend her shrill yet broken tones, + her vulgar musical motivo, with the divine thoughts of the great masters." + He always spoke of this period with deep emotion, profound gratitude, as + if its happiness had been sufficient for a life-time, without hoping that + it would ever be possible again to find a felicity in which the fight of + time was only marked by the tenderness of woman's love, and the brilliant + flashes of true genius. Thus did the clock of Linnaeus mark the course of + time, indicating the hours by the successive waking and sleeping of the + flowers, marking each by a different perfume, and a display of ever + varying beauties, as each variegated calyx opened in ever changing yet + ever lovely form! + </p> + <p> + The beauties of the countries through which the Poet and Musician + travelled together, struck with more distinctness the imagination of the + former. The loveliness of nature impressed Chopin in a manner less + definite, though not less strong. His soul was touched, and immediately + harmonized with the external enchantment, yet his intellect did not feel + the necessity of analyzing or classifying it. His heart vibrated in unison + with the exquisite scenery around him, although he was not able at the + moment to assign the precise source of his blissful tranquillity. Like a + true musician, he was satisfied to seize the sentiment of the scenes he + visited, while he seemed to give but little attention to the plastic + material, the picturesque frame, which did not assimilate with the form of + his art, nor belong to his more spiritualized sphere. However, (a fact + that has been often remarked in organizations such as his,) as he was + removed in time and distance from the scenes in which emotion had obscured + his senses, as the clouds from the burning incense envelope the censer, + the more vividly the forms and beauties of such scenes stood out in his + memory. In the succeeding years, he frequently spoke of them, as though + the remembrance was full of pleasure to him. But when so entirely happy, + he made no inventory of his bliss. He enjoyed it simply, as we all do in + the sweet years of childhood, when we are deeply impressed by the scenery + surrounding us without ever thinking of its details, yet finding, long + after, the exact image of each object in our memory, though we are only + able to describe its forms when we have ceased to behold them. + </p> + <p> + Besides, why should he have tasked himself to scrutinize the beautiful + sites in Spain which formed the appropriate setting of his poetic + happiness? Could he not always find them again through the descriptions of + his inspired companion? As all objects, even the atmosphere itself, become + flame-colored when seen through a glass dyed in crimson, so he might + contemplate these delicious sites in the glowing hues cast around them by + the impassioned genius of the woman he loved. The nurse of his sick-room—was + she not also a great artist? Rare and beautiful union! If to the depths of + tenderness and devotion, in which the true and irresistible empire of + woman must commence, and deprived of which she is only an enigma without a + possible solution, nature should unite the most brilliant gifts of genius,—the + miraculous spectacle of the Greek firs would be renewed,—the + glittering flames would again sport over the abysses of the ocean without + being extinguished or submerged in the chilling depths, adding, as the + living hues were thrown upon the surging waves, the glowing dyes of the + purple fire to the celestial blue of the heaven-reflecting sea! + </p> + <p> + Has genius ever attained that utter self-abnegation, that sublime humility + of heart which gives the power to make those strange sacrifices of the + entire Past, of the whole Future; those immolations, as courageous as + mysterious; those mystic and utter holocausts of self, not temporary and + changing, but monotonous and constant,—through whose might alone + tenderness may justly claim the higher name, devotion? Has not the force + of genius its own exclusive and legitimate exactions, and does not the + force of woman consist in the abdication of all exactions? Can the royal + purple and burning flames of genius ever float upon the immaculate azure + of woman's destiny?... + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0008" id="link2HCH0008"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER VIII. + </h2> + <p> + <i>Disappointment—Ill Health—Visit to England—Devotion + of Friends—Last Sacraments—Delphina Potocka—Louise—M. + Gutman—Death.</i> + </p> + <p> + FROM the date of 1840, the health of Chopin, affected by so many changes, + visibly declined. During some years, his most tranquil hours were spent at + Nohant, where he seemed to suffer less than elsewhere. He composed there, + with pleasure, bringing with him every year to Paris several new + compositions, but every winter caused him an increase of suffering. Motion + became at first difficult, and soon almost impossible to him. From 1846 to + 1847, he scarcely walked at all; he could not ascend the staircase without + the most painful sensation of suffocation, and his life was only prolonged + through continual care and the greatest precaution. + </p> + <p> + Towards the Spring of 1847, as his health grew more precarious from day to + day, he was attacked by an illness from which it was thought he could + never recover. He was saved for the last time; but this epoch was marked + by an event so agonizing to his heart that he immediately called it + mortal. Indeed, he did not long survive the rupture of his friendship with + Madame Sand, which took place at this date. Madame de Stael, who, in spite + of her generous and impassioned heart, her subtle and vivid intellect, + fell sometimes into the fault of making her sentences heavy through a + species of pedantry which robbed them of the grace of "abandon,"—remarked + on one of those occasions when the strength of her feelings made her + forget the solemnity of her Genevese stiffness: "In affection, there are + only beginnings!" + </p> + <p> + This exclamation was based upon the bitter experience of the insufficiency + of the human heart to accomplish the beautiful and blissful dreams of the + imagination. Ah! if some blessed examples of human devotion did not + sometimes occur to contradict the melancholy words of Madame de Stael, + which so many illustrious as well as obscure facts seem to prove, our + suspicions might lead us to be guilty of much ingratitude and want of + trust; we might be led to doubt the sincerity of the hearts which surround + us, and see but the allegorical symbols of human affections in the antique + train of the beautiful Canephoroe, who carried the fragile and perfumed + flowers to adorn some hapless victim for the altar! + </p> + <p> + Chopin spoke frequently and almost by preference of Madame Sand, without + bitterness or recrimination. Tears always filled his eyes when he named + her; but with a kind of bitter sweetness he gave himself up to the + memories of past days, alas, now. He stripped of their manifold + significance! In spite of the many subterfuges employed by his friends to + entice him from dwelling upon remembrances which always brought dangerous + excitement with them, he loved to return to them; as if through the same + feelings which had once reanimated his life, he now wished to destroy it, + sedulously stifling its powers through the vapor of this subtle poison. + His last pleasure seemed to be the memory of the blasting of his last + hope; he treasured the bitter knowledge that under this fatal spell his + life was ebbing fast away. All attempts to fix his attention upon other + objects were made in vain, he refused to be comforted and would constantly + speak of the one engrossing subject. Even if he had ceased to speak of it, + would he not always have thought of it? He seemed to inhale the poison + rapidly and eagerly, that he might thus shorten the time in which he would + be forced to breathe it! + </p> + <p> + Although the exceeding fragility of his physical constitution might not + have allowed him, under any circumstances, to have lingered long on earth, + yet at least he might have been spared the bitter sufferings which clouded + his last hours! With a tender and ardent soul, though exacting through its + fastidiousness and excessive delicacy, he could not live unless surrounded + by the radiant phantoms he had himself evoked; he could not expel the + profound sorrow which his heart cherished as the sole remaining fragment + of the happy past. He was another great and illustrious victim to the + transitory attachments occurring between persons of different character, + who, experiencing a surprise full of delight in their first sudden + meeting, mistake it for a durable feeling, and build hopes and illusions + upon it which can never be realized. It is always the nature the most + deeply moved, the most absolute in its hopes and attachments, for which + all transplantation is impossible, which is destroyed and mined in the + painful awakening from the absorbing dream! Terrible power exercised over + man by the most exquisite gifts which he possesses! Like the coursers of + the sun, when the hand of Phaeton, in place of guiding their beneficent + career, permits them to wander at random, disordering the beautiful + structure of the celestial spheres, they bring devastation and flames in + their train! Chopin felt and often repeated that the sundering of this + long friendship, the rupture of this strong tie, broke all the chords + which bound him to life. + </p> + <p> + During this attack his life was despaired of for several days. M. Gutman, + his most distinguished pupil, and during the last years of his life, his + most intimate friend, lavished upon him every proof of tender attachment. + His cares, his attentions, were the most agreeable to him. With the + timidity natural to invalids, and with the tender delicacy peculiar to + himself, he once asked the Princess Czartoryska, who visited him every + day, often fearing that on the morrow he would no longer be among the + living: "if Gutman was not very much fatigued? If she thought he would be + able to continue his care of him;" adding, "that his presence was dearer + to him than that of any other person." His convalescence was very slow and + painful, leaving him indeed but the semblance of life. At this epoch he + changed so much in appearance that he could scarcely be recognized The + next summer brought him that deceptive decrease of suffering which it + sometimes grants to those who are dying. He refused to quit Paris, and + thus deprived himself of the pure air of the country, and the benefit of + this vivifying element. + </p> + <p> + The winter of 1847 to 1848 was filled with a painful and continual + succession of improvements and relapses. Notwithstanding this, he resolved + in the spring to accomplish his old project of visiting London. When the + revolution of February broke out, he was still confined to bed, but with a + melancholy effort, he seemed to try to interest himself in the events of + the day, and spoke of them more than usual. M. Gutman continued his most + intimate and constant visitor. He accepted through preference his cares + until the close of his life. + </p> + <p> + Feeling better in the month of April, he thought of realizing his + contemplated journey, of visiting that country to which he had intended to + go when youth and life opened in bright perspective before him. He set out + for England, where his works had already found an intelligent public, and + were generally known and admired. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + [Footnote: The compositions of Chopin were, even at that + time, known and very much liked in England. The most + distinguished virtuosi frequently executed them. In a + pamphlet published in London by Messrs. Wessel and + Stappletou, under the title of AN ESSAY ON THE WORKS OF F. + CHOPIN, we find some lines marked by just criticism. The + epigraph of this little pamphlet is ingeniously chosen, and + the two lines from Shelley could scarcely be better applied + than to Chopin: + + "He was a mighty poet—and + A subtle-souled Psychologist." + + The author of this pamphlet speaks with enthusiasm of the + "originative genius untrammeled by conventionalities, + unfettered by pedantry;... of the outpourings of an + unworldly and tristful soul—those musical floods of tears, + and gushes of pure joyfulness—those exquisite embodiments + of fugitive thoughts—those infinitesimal delicacies, which + give so much value to the lightest sketch of Chopin." The + English author again says: "One thing is certain, viz.: to + play with proper feeling and correct execution, the PRELUDES + and STUDIES of Chopin, is to be neither more nor less than a + finished pianist, and moreover to comprehend them + thoroughly, to give a life and tongue to their infinite and + most eloquent subtleties of expression, involves the + necessity of being in no less a degree a poet than a + pianist, a thinker than a musician. Commonplace is + instinctively avoided in all the works of Chopin; a stale + cadence or a trite progression, a humdrum subject or a + hackneyed sequence, a vulgar twist of the melody or a worn- + out passage, a meagre harmony or an unskillful counterpoint, + may in vain be looked for throughout the entire range of his + compositions; the prevailing characteristics of which, are, + a feeling as uncommon as beautiful, a treatment as original + as felicitous, a melody and a harmony as new, fresh, + vigorous, and striking, as they are utterly unexpected and + out of the common track. In taking up one of the works of + Chopin, you are entering, as it were, a fairyland, untrodden + by human footsteps, a path hitherto unfrequented but by the + great composer himself; and a faith, a devotion, a desire to + appreciate and a determination to understand are absolutely + necessary, to do it any thing like adequate justice.... + Chopin in his POLONAISES and in his MAZOURKAS has aimed at + those characteristics, which distinguish the national music + of his country so markedly from, that of all others, that + quaint idiosyncrasy, that identical wildness and + fantasticality, that delicious mingling of the sad and + cheerful, which invariably and forcibly individualize the + music of those Northern nations, whose language delights in + combinations of consonants...."] +</pre> + <p> + He left France in that mood of mind which the English call "low spirits." + The transitory interest which he had endeavored to take in political + changes, soon disappeared. He became more taciturn than ever. If through + absence of mind, a few words would escape him. They were only exclamations + of regret. His affection for the limited number of persons whom he + continued to see, was filled with that heart-rending emotion which + precedes eternal farewells! Art alone always retained its absolute power + over him. Music absorbed him during the time, now constantly shortening, + in which he was able to occupy himself with it, as completely as during + the days when he was full of life and hope. Before he left Paris, he gave + a concert in the saloon of M. Pleyel, one of the friends with whom his + relations had been the most constant, the most frequent, and the most + affectionate; who is now rendering a worthy homage to his memory, + occupying himself with zeal and activity in the execution of a monument + for his tomb. At this concert, his chosen and faithful audience heard him + for the last time! + </p> + <p> + He was received in London with an eagerness which had some effect in + aiding him to shake off his sadness, to dissipate his mournful depression. + Perhaps he dreamed, by burying all his former habits in oblivion, he could + succeed in dissipating, his melancholy! He neglected the prescriptions of + his physicians, with all the precautions which reminded him of his + wretched health. He played twice in public, and many times in private + concerts. He mingled much in society, sat up late at night, and exposed + himself to considerable fatigue, without permitting himself to be deterred + by any consideration for his health. He was presented to the Queen by the + Duchess of Sutherland, and the most distinguished society sought the + pleasure of his acquaintance. He went to Edinburgh, where the climate was + particularly injurious to him. He was much debilitated upon his return + from Scotland; his physicians wished him to leave England immediately, but + he delayed for some time his departure. Who can read the feelings which + caused this delay!... He played again at a concert given for the Poles. It + was the last mark of love sent to his beloved country—the last look—the + last sigh—the last regret! He was feted, applauded, and surrounded + by his own people. He bade them all adieu,—they did not know it was + an eternal Farewell! What thoughts must have filled his sad soul as he + crossed the sea to return to Paris! That Paris so different now for him + from that which he had found without seeking in 1831! + </p> + <p> + He was met upon his arrival by a surprise as painful as unexpected. Dr. + Molin, whose advice and intelligent prescriptions had saved his life in + the winter of 1847, to whom alone he believed himself indebted for the + prolongation of his life, was dead. He felt his loss painfully, nay, it + brought a profound discouragement with it; at a time when the mind + exercises so much influence over the progress of the disease, he persuaded + himself that no one could replace the trusted physician, and he had no + confidence in any other. Dissatisfied with them all, without any hope from + their skill, he changed them constantly. A kind of superstitious + depression seized him. No tie stronger than life, no more powerful as + death, came now to struggle against this bitter apathy! From the winter of + 1848, Chopin had been in no condition to labor continuously. From time to + time he retouched some scattered leaves, without succeeding in arranging + his thoughts in accordance with his designs. A respectful care of his fame + dictated to him the wish that these sketches should be destroyed to + prevent the possibility of their being mutilated, disfigured, and + transformed into posthumous works unworthy of his hand. + </p> + <p> + He left no finished manuscripts, except a very short WALTZ, and a last + NOCTURNE, as parting memories. In the later period of his life he thought + of writing a method for the Piano, in which he intended to give his ideas + upon the theory and technicality of his art, the results of his long and + patient studies, his happy innovations, and his intelligent experience. + The task was a difficult one, demanding redoubled application even from + one who labored as assiduously as Chopin. Perhaps he wished to avoid the + emotions of art, (affecting those who reproduce them in serenity of soul + so differently from those who repeat in them their own desolation of + heart,) by taking refuge in a region so barren. He sought in this + employment only an absorbing and uniform occupation, he only asked from it + what Manfred demanded in vain from the powers of magic: "forgetfulness!" + Forgetfulness—granted neither by the gayety of amusement, nor the + lethargy of torpor! On the contrary, with venomous guile, they always + compensate in the renewed intensity of woe, for the time they may have + succeeded in benumbing it. In the daily labor which "charms the storms of + the soul," (DER SEELE STURM BESCHWORT,) he sought without doubt + forgetfulness, which occupation, by rendering the memory torpid, may + sometimes procure, though it cannot destroy the sense of pain. At the + close of that fine elegy which he names "The Ideal," a poet, who was also + the victim of an inconsolable melancholy, appeals to labor as a + consolation when a prey to bitter regret; while expecting an early death, + he invokes occupation as the last resource against the incessant anguish + of life: + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + "And thou, so pleated, with her uniting, + To charm the soul-storm into peace, + Sweet toil, in toil itself delighting, + That more it labored, less could cease, + Though but by grains thou aidest the pile + The vast eternity uprears, + At least thou strikest from TIME the while + Life's debt—the minutes—days—and years." + + Bulwer's translation of SCHILLER'S "Ideal." + + Beschoeftigung, die nie ermattet + Die langsam schafft, doch nie zerstoert, + Die zu dem Bau der Ewigkeiten + Zwar Sandkorn nur, fuer Sandkorn reicht, + Doch von der grossen Schuld der Zeiten + Minute, Tage, Jahre streicht. + + Die Ideale—SHILLER. +</pre> + <p> + The strength of Chopin was not sufficient for the execution of his + intention. The occupation was too abstract, too fatiguing. He contemplated + the form of his project, he spoke of it at different times, but its + execution had become impossible. He wrote but a few pages of it, which + were destroyed with the rest. + </p> + <p> + At last the disease augmented so visibly, that the fears of his friends + assumed the hue of despair. He scarcely ever left his bed, and spoke but + rarely. His sister, upon receiving this intelligence, came from Warsaw to + take her place at his pillow, which she left no more. He witnessed the + anguish, the presentiments, the redoubled sadness around him, without + showing what impression they made upon him. He thought of death with + Christian calm and resignation, yet he did not cease to prepare for the + morrow. The fancy he had for changing his residence was once more + manifested, he took another lodging, disposed the furnishing of it anew, + and occupied himself in its most minute details. As he had taken no + measures to recall the orders he had given for its arrangement, they were + transporting his furniture to the apartments he was destined never to + inhabit, upon the very day of his death! + </p> + <p> + Did he fear that death would not fulfil his plighted promise! Did he + dread, that after having touched him with his icy hand, he would still + suffer him to linger upon earth? Did he feel that life would be almost + unendurable with its fondest ties broken, its closest links dissevered? + There is a double influence often felt by gifted temperaments when upon + the eve of some event which is to decide their fate. The eager heart, + urged on by a desire to unravel the mystic secrets of the unknown Future, + contradicts the colder, the more timid intellect, which fears to plunge + into the uncertain abyss of the coming fate! This want of harmony between + the simultaneous previsions of the mind and heart, often causes the + firmest spirits to make assertions which their actions seem to contradict; + yet actions and assertions both flow from the differing sources of an + equal conviction. Did Chopin suffer from this inevitable dissimilarity + between the prophetic whispers of the heart, and the thronging doubts of + the questioning mind? + </p> + <p> + From week to week, and soon from day to day, the cold shadow of death + gained upon him. His end was rapidly approaching; his sufferings became + more and more intense; his crises grew more frequent, and at each + accelerated occurrence, resembled more and more a mortal agony. He + retained his presence of mind, his vivid will upon their intermission, + until the last; neither losing the precision of his ideas, nor the clear + perception of his intentions. The wishes which he expressed in his short + moments of respite, evinced the calm solemnity with which he contemplated + the approach of death. He desired to be buried by the side of Bellini, + with whom, during the time of Bellini's residence in Paris, he had been + intimately acquainted. The grave of Bellini is in the cemetery of Pere + LaChaise, next to that of Cherubini. The desire of forming an acquaintance + with this great master whom he had been brought up to admire, was one of + the motives which, when he left Vienna in 1831 to go to London, induced + him, without foreseeing that his destiny would fix him there, to pass + through Paris. Chopin now sleeps between Bellini and Cherubini, men of + very dissimilar genius, and yet to both of whom he was in an equal degree + allied, as he attached as much value to the respect he felt for the + science of the one, as to the sympathy he acknowledged for the creations + of the other. Like the author of NORMA, he was full of melodic feeling, + yet he was ambitions of attaining the harmonic depth of the learned old + master; desiring to unite, in a great and elevated style, the dreamy + vagueness of spontaneous emotion with the erudition of the most consummate + masters. + </p> + <p> + Continuing the reserve of his manners to the very last, he did not request + to see any one for the last time; but he evinced the most touching + gratitude to all who approached him. The first days of October left + neither doubt nor hope. The fatal moment drew near. The next day, the next + hour, could no longer be relied upon. M. Gutman and his sister were in + constant attendance upon him, never for a single moment leaving him. The + Countess Delphine Potocka, who was then absent from Paris, returned as + soon as she was informed of his imminent danger. None of those who + approached the dying artist, could tear themselves from the spectacle of + this great and gifted soul in its hours of mortal anguish. + </p> + <p> + However violent or frivolous the passions may be which agitate our hearts, + whatever strength or indifference may be displayed in meeting unforeseen + or sudden accidents, which would seem necessarily overwhelming in their + effects, it is impossible to escape the impression made by the imposing + majesty of a lingering and beautiful death, which touches, softens, + fascinates and elevates even the souls the least prepared for such holy + and sublime emotions. The lingering and gradual departure of one among us + for those unknown shores, the mysterious solemnity of his secret dreams, + his commemoration of past facts and passing ideas when still breathing + upon the narrow strait which separates time from eternity, affect us more + deeply than any thing else in this world. Sudden catastrophes, the + dreadful alternations forced upon the shuddering fragile ship, tossed like + a toy by the wild breath of the tempest; the blood of the battle-field, + with the gloomy smoke of artillery; the horrible charnel-house into which + our own habitation is converted by a contagious plague; conflagrations + which wrap whole cities in their glittering flames; fathomless abysses + which open at our feet;—remove us less sensibly from all the + fleeting attachments "which pass, which can be broken, which cease," than + the prolonged view of a soul conscious of its own position, silently + contemplating the multiform aspects of time and the mute door of eternity! + The courage, the resignation, the elevation, the emotion, which reconcile + it with that inevitable dissolution so repugnant to all our instincts, + certainly impress the bystanders more profoundly than the most frightful + catastrophes, which, in the confusion they create, rob the scene of its + still anguish, its solemn meditation. + </p> + <p> + The parlor adjoining the chamber of Chopin was constantly occupied by some + of his friends, who, one by one, in turn, approached him to receive a sign + of recognition, a look of affection, when he was no longer able to address + them in words. On Sunday, the 15th of October, his attacks were more + violent and more frequent—lasting for several hours in succession. + He endured them with patience and great strength of mind. The Countess + Delphine Potocka, who was present, was much distressed; her tears were + flowing fast when he observed her standing at the foot of his bed, tall, + slight, draped in white, resembling the beautiful angels created by the + imagination of the most devout among the painters. Without doubt, he + supposed her to be a celestial apparition; and when the crisis left him a + moment in repose, he requested her to sing; they deemed him at first + seized with delirium, but he eagerly repeated his request. Who could have + ventured—to oppose his wish? The piano was rolled from his parlor to + the door of his chamber, while, with sobs in her voice, and tears + streaming down her cheeks, his gifted countrywoman sang. Certainly, this + delightful voice had never before attained an expression so full of + profound pathos. He seemed to suffer less as he listened. She sang that + famous Canticle to the Virgin, which, it is said, once saved the life of + Stradella. "How beautiful it is!" he exclaimed. "My God, how very + beautiful! Again—again!" Though overwhelmed with emotion, the + Countess had the noble courage to comply with the last wish of a friend, a + compatriot; she again took a seat at the piano, and sung a hymn from + Marcello. Chopin again feeling worse, everybody was seized with fright—by + a spontaneous impulse all who were present threw themselves upon their + knees—no one ventured to speak; the sacred silence was only broken + by the voice of the Countess, floating, like a melody from heaven, above + the sighs and sobs which formed its heavy and mournful + earth-accompaniment. It was the haunted hour of twilight; a dying light + lent its mysterious shadows to this sad scene—the sister of Chopin + prostrated near his bed, wept and prayed—and never quitted this + attitude of supplication while the life of the brother she had so + cherished lasted. + </p> + <p> + His condition altered for the worse during the night, but he felt more + tranquil upon Monday morning, and as if he had known in advance the + appointed and propitious moment, he asked to receive immediately the last + sacraments. In the absence of the Abbe ——, with whom he had + been very intimate since their common expatriation, he requested that the + Abbe Jelowicki, one of the most distinguished men of the Polish + emigration, should be sent for. When the holy Viaticum was administered to + him, he received it, surrounded by those who loved him, with great + devotion. He called his friends a short time afterwards, one by one, to + his bedside, to give each of them his last earnest blessing; calling down + the grace of God fervently upon themselves, their affections, and their + hopes,—every knee bent—every head bowed—all eyes were + heavy with tears—every heart was sad and oppressed—every soul + elevated. + </p> + <p> + Attacks more and more painful, returned and continued during the day; from + Monday night until Tuesday, he did not utter a single word. He did not + seem able to distinguish the persons who were around him. About eleven + o'clock on Tuesday evening, he appeared to revive a little. The Abbe + Jelowicki had never left him. Hardly had he recovered the power of speech, + than he requested him to recite with him the prayers and litanies for the + dying. He was able to accompany the Abbe in an audible and intelligible + voice. From this moment until his death, he held his head constantly + supported upon the shoulder of M. Gutman, who, during the whole course of + this sickness, had devoted his days and nights to him. + </p> + <p> + A convulsive sleep lasted until the 17th of October, 1849. The final agony + commenced about two o'clock; a cold sweat ran profusely from his brow; + after a short drowsiness, he asked, in a voice scarcely audible: "Who is + near me?" Being answered, he bent his head to kiss the hand of M. Gutman, + who still supported it—while giving this last tender proof of love + and gratitude, the soul of the artist left its fragile clay. He died as he + had lived—in loving. + </p> + <p> + When the doors of the parlor were opened, his friends threw themselves + around the loved corpse, not able to suppress the gush of tears. + </p> + <p> + His love for flowers being well known, they were brought in such + quantities the next day, that the bed in which they had placed them, and + indeed the whole room, almost disappeared, hidden by their varied and + brilliant hues. He seemed to repose in a garden of roses. His face + regained its early beauty, its purity of expression, its long unwonted + serenity. Calmly—with his youthful loveliness, so long dimmed by + bitter suffering, restored by death, he slept among the flowers he loved, + the last long and dreamless sleep! + </p> + <p> + M. Clesinger reproduced the delicate traits, to which death had rendered + their early beauty, in a sketch which he immediately modeled, and which he + afterwards executed in marble for his tomb. + </p> + <p> + The respectful admiration which Chopin felt for the genius of Mozart, had + induced him to request that his Requiem should be performed at his + obsequies; this wish was complied with. The funeral ceremonies took place + in the Madeleine Church, the 30th of October, 1849. They had been delayed + until this date, in order that the execution of this great work should be + worthy of the master and his disciple. The principal artists in Paris were + anxious to take part in it. The FUNERAL MARCH of Chopin, arranged for the + instruments for this occasion by M. Reber, was introduced at the Introit. + At the Offertory, M. Lefebure Vely executed his admirable PRELUDES in SI + and MI MINOR upon the organ. The solos of the REQUIEM were claimed by + Madame Viardot and Madame Castellan. Lablache, who had sung the TUBA MIRUM + of this REQUIEM at the burial of Beethoven in 1827, again sung it upon + this occasion. M. Meyerbeer, with Prince Adam Czartoryski, led the train + of mourners. The pall was borne by M. Delacroix, M. Franchomme, M. Gutman, + and Prince Alexander Czartorvski.—However insufficient these pages + may be to speak of Chopin as we would have desired, we hope that the + attraction which so justly surrounds his name, will compensate for much + that may be wanting in them. If to these lines, consecrated to the + commemoration of his works and to all that he held dear, which the sincere + esteem, enthusiastic regard, and intense sorrow for his loss, can alone + gift with persuasive and sympathetic power, it were necessary to add some + of the thoughts awakened in every man when death robs him of the loved + contemporaries of his youth, thus breaking the first ties linked by the + confiding and deluded heart with so much the greater pain if they were + strong enough to survive that bright period of young life, we would say + that in the same—year we have lost the two dearest friends we have + known on earth. One of them perished in the wild course of civil war. + Unfortunate and valiant hero! He fell with his burning courage unsubdued, + his intrepid calmness undisturbed, his chivalric temerity unabated, + through the endurance of the horrible tortures of a fearful death. He was + a Prince of rare intelligence, of great activity, of eminent faculties, + through whose veins the young blood circulated with the glittering ardor + of a subtle gas. By his own indefatigable energy he had just succeeded in + removing the difficulties which obstructed his path, in creating an arena + in which his faculties might hare displayed themselves with as much + success in debates and the management of civil affairs, as they had + already done in brilliant feats in arms. The other, Chopin, died slowly, + consuming himself in the flames of his own genius. His life, unconnected + with public events, was like some fact which has never been incorporated + in a material body. The traces of his existence are only to be found in + the works which he has left. He ended his days upon a foreign soil, which + he never considered as his country, remaining faithful in the devotion of + his affections to the eternal widowhood of his own. He was a Poet of a + mournful soul, full of reserve and complicated mystery, and familiar with + the stern face of sorrow. + </p> + <p> + The immediate interest which we felt in the movements of the parties to + which the life of Prince Felix Lichnowsky was bound, was broken by his + death: the death of Chopin has robbed us of all the consolations of an + intelligent and comprehensive friendship. The affectionate sympathy with + our feelings, with our manner of understanding art, of which this + exclusive artist has given us so many proofs, would have softened the + disappointment and weariness which yet await us, and have strengthened is + in our earliest tendencies, confirmed us in our first essays. + </p> + <p> + Since it has fallen to our lot to survive them, we wish at least to + express the sincere regret we feel for their loss. We deem ourselves bound + to offer the homage of our deep and respectful sorrow upon the grave of + the remarkable musician who has just passed from among us. Music is at + present receiving such great and general development, that it reminds us + of that which took place in painting in the fourteenth and fifteenth + centuries. Even the artists who limited the productions of their genius to + the margins of parchments, painted their miniatures with an inspiration so + happy, that having broken through the Byzantine stiffness, they left the + most exquisite types, which the Francias, the Peruginos, and the Raphaels + to come were to transport to their frescos, and introduce upon their + canvas. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + There have been people among whom, in order to preserve the memory of + their great men or the signal events of their history, it was the custom + to form pyramids composed of the stones which each passer-by was expected + to bring to the pile, which gradually increased to an unlooked-for height + from the anonymous contributions of all. Monuments are still in our days + erected by an analogous proceeding, but in place of building only a rude + and unformed hillock, in consequence of a fortunate combination the + contribution of all concurs in the creation of some work of art, which is + not only destined to perpetuate the mute remembrance which they wish to + honor, but which may have the power to awaken in future ages the feelings + which gave birth to such creation, the emotions of the contemporaries + which called it into being. The subscriptions which are opened to raise + statues and noble memorials to those who have rendered their epoch or + country illustrious, originate in this design. Immediately after the death + of Chopin, M. Camille Pleyel conceived a project of this kind. He + commenced a subscription, (which conformably to the general expectation + rapidly amounted to a considerable sum,) to have the monument modeled by + M. Clesinger, executed in marble and placed in the Pere La-Chaise. In + thinking over our long friendship with Chopin; on the exceptional + admiration which we have always felt for him ever since his appearance in + the musical world; remembering that, artist like himself, we have been the + frequent interpreter of his inspirations, an interpreter, we may safely + venture to say, loved and chosen by himself; that we have more frequently + than others received from his own lips the spirit of his style; that we + were in some degree identified with his creations in art, and with the + feelings which he confided to it, through that long and constant + assimilation which obtains between a writer and his translator;—we + have fondly thought that these connective circumstances imposed upon us a + higher and nearer duty than that of merely adding an unformed and + anonymous stone to the growing pyramid of homage which his contemporaries + are elevating to him. We believed that the claims of a tender friendship + for our illustrious colleague, exacted from us a more particular + expression of our profound regret, of our high admiration. It appeared to + us that we would not be true to ourselves, did we not court the honor of + inscribing our name, our deep affliction, upon his sepulchral stone! This + should be granted to those who never hope to fill the void in their hearts + left by an irreparable loss!... + </p> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Life of Chopin, by Franz Liszt + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LIFE OF CHOPIN *** + +***** This file should be named 4386-h.htm or 4386-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/4/3/8/4386/ + +Produced by John Mamoun, David Widger and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Life of Chopin + +Author: Franz Liszt + +Translator: Martha Walker Cook + +Release Date: August, 2003 [Etext# 4386] +Posting Date: January 7, 2010 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LIFE OF CHOPIN *** + + + + +Produced by John Mamoun and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team + + + + + +LIFE OF CHOPIN + +by Franz Liszt + + +Translated from the French by Martha Walker Cook + + + +TABLE OF CONTENTS + + DEDICATION OF THE TRANSLATION TO JAN PYCHOWSKI + PREFACE + CHAPTER I + CHAPTER II + CHAPTER III + CHAPTER IV + CHAPTER V + CHAPTER VI + CHAPTER VII + CHAPTER VIII + + + +INFORMATION ABOUT THIS E-TEXT EDITION + +The following is an e-text of "Life of Chopin," written by Franz Liszt +and translated from the french by Martha Walker Cook. The original +edition was published in 1863; a fourth, revised edition (1880) was +used in making this e-text. This e-text reproduces the fourth edition +essentially unabridged, with original spellings intact, numerous +typographical errors corrected, and words italicized in the original +text capitalized in this e-text. In making this e-text, each page was +cut out of the original book with an x-acto knife to feed the pages into +an Automatic Document Feeder scanner for scanning. Hence, the book was +disbinded in order to save it. Thanks to Charles Franks and the Online +Distributed Proofreading team for help in proofreading this e-text. + + + +DEDICATION OF THE TRANSLATION TO JAN PYCHOWSKI + +Without your consent or knowledge, I have ventured to dedicate this +translation to you! + +As the countryman of Chopin, and filled with the same earnest patriotism +which distinguished him; as an impassioned and perfect Pianist, capable, +of reproducing his difficult compositions in all the subtle tenderness, +fire, energy, melancholy, despair, caprice, hope, delicacy and +startling vigor which they imperiously exact; as thorough master of +the complicated instrument to which he devoted his best powers; as +an erudite and experienced possessor of that abstruse and difficult +science, music; as a composer of true, deep, and highly original +genius,--this dedication is justly made to you! + +Even though I may have wounded your characteristically haughty, +shrinking, and Sclavic susceptibilities in rendering so public a tribute +to your artistic skill, forgive me! The high moral worth and manly +rectitude which distinguish you, and which alone render even the most +sublime genius truly illustrious in the eyes of woman, almost force +these inadequate and imperfect words from the heart of the translator. + +M.W.C. + + + + +PREFACE + + +To a people, always prompt in its recognition of genius, and ready to +sympathize in the joys and woes of a truly great artist, this work +will be one of exceeding interest. It is a short, glowing, and generous +sketch, from the hand of Franz Liszt, (who, considered in the double +light of composer and performer, has no living equal,) of the original +and romantic Chopin; the most ethereal, subtle, and delicate among our +modern tone-poets. It is a rare thing for a great artist to write on +art, to leave the passionate worlds of sounds or colors for the colder +realm of words; rarer still for him to abdicate, even temporarily, his +own throne, to stand patiently and hold aloft the blazing torch of his +own genius, to illume the gloomy grave of another: yet this has Liszt +done through love for Chopin. + +It is a matter of considerable interest to note how the nervous and +agile fingers, accustomed to sovereign rule over the keys, handle the +pen; how the musician feels as a man; how he estimates art and artists. +Liszt is a man of extensive culture, vivid imagination, and great +knowledge of the world; and, in addition to their high artistic value, +his lines glow with poetic fervor, with impassioned eloquence. His +musical criticisms are refined and acute, but without repulsive +technicalities or scientific terms, ever sparkling with the poetic ardor +of the generous soul through which the discriminating, yet appreciative +awards were poured. Ah! in these days of degenerate rivalries and bitter +jealousies, let us welcome a proof of affection so tender as his "Life +of Chopin"! + +It would be impossible for the reader of this book to remain ignorant of +the exactions of art. While, through its eloquence and subtle analysis +of character, it appeals to the cultivated literary tastes of our +people, it opens for them a dazzling perspective into that strange world +of tones, of whose magical realm they know, comparatively speaking, +so little. It is intelligible to all who think or feel; requiring no +knowledge of music for its comprehension. + +The compositions of Chopin are now the mode, the rage. Every one asks +for them, every one tries to play them. We have, however, but few +remarks upon the peculiarities of his style, or the proper manner of +producing his works. His compositions, generally perfect in form, are +never abstract conceptions, but had their birth in his soul, sprang +from the events of his life, and are full of individual and national +idiosyncrasies, of psychological interest. Liszt knew Chopin both as man +and artist; Chopin loved to hear him interpret his music, and himself +taught the great Pianist the mysteries of his undulating rhythm and +original motifs. The broad and noble criticisms contained in this book +are absolutely essential for the musical culture of the thousands now +laboriously but vainly struggling to perform his elaborate works, and +who, having no key to their multiplied complexities of expression, +frequently fail in rendering them aright. + +And the masses in this country, full of vivid perception and intelligent +curiosity, who, not playing themselves, would yet fain follow with the +heart compositions which they are told are of so much artistic value, +will here find a key to guide them through the tuneful labyrinth. Some +of Chopin's best works are analyzed herein. He wrote for the HEART OF +HIS PEOPLE; their joys, sorrows, and caprices are immortalized by +the power of his art. He was a strictly national tone-poet, and to +understand him fully, something must be known of the brave and haughty, +but unhappy country which he so loved. Liszt felt this, and has been +exceedingly happy in the short sketch given of Poland. We actually know +more of its picturesque and characteristic customs after a perusal of +his graphic pages, than after a long course of dry historical details. +His remarks on the Polonaise and Mazourka are full of the philosophy +and essence of history. These dances grew directly from the heart of +the Polish people; repeating the martial valor and haughty love of noble +exhibition of their men; the tenderness, devotion, and subtle coquetry +of their women--they were of course favorite forms with Chopin; their +national character made them dear to the national poet. The remarks of +Liszt on these dances are given with a knowledge so acute of the traits +of the nation in which they originated, with such a gorgeousness of +description and correctness of detail, that they rather resemble a +highly finished picture, than a colder work of words only. They have +all the splendor of a brilliant painting. He seizes the secrets of the +nationality of these forms, traces them through the heart of the Polish +people, follows them through their marvelous transfiguration in the +pages of the Polish artist, and reads by their light much of the +sensitive and exclusive character of Chopin, analyzing it with the skill +of love, while depicting it with romantic eloquence. + +To those who can produce the compositions of Chopin in the spirit of +their author, no words are necessary. They follow with the heart the +poetic and palpitating emotions so exquisitely wrought through the +aerial tissue of the tones by this "subtle-souled Psychologist," this +bold and original explorer in the invisible world of sound;--all honor +to their genius: + + + "Oh, happy! and of many millions, they + The purest chosen, whom Art's service pure + Hallows and claims--whose hearts are made her throne, + Whose lips her oracle, ordained secure, + To lead a priestly life, and feed the ray + Of her eternal shrine, to them alone + Her glorious countenance unveiled is shown: + Ye, the high brotherhood she links, rejoice + In the great rank allotted by her choice! + The loftiest rank the spiritual world sublime, + Rich with its starry thrones, gives to the sons of Time!" + + Schiller. + + +Short but glowing sketches of Heine, Meyerbeer, Adolphe Nourrit, Hiller, +Eugene Delacroix, Niemcevicz, Mickiewicz, and Madame Sand, occur in the +book. The description of the last days of poor Chopin's melancholy life, +with the untiring devotion of those around him, including the beautiful +countess, Delphine Potocka; his cherished sister, Louise; his devoted +friend and pupil, M. Gutman, with the great Liszt himself, is full of +tragic interest. + +No pains have been spared by the translator to make the translation +acceptable, for the task was truly a labor of love. No motives of +interest induced the lingering over the careful rendering of the charmed +pages, but an intense desire that our people should know more of musical +art; that while acknowledging the generosity and eloquence of Liszt, +they should learn to appreciate and love the more subtle fire, the more +creative genius of the unfortunate, but honorable and honored artist, +Chopin. + +Perchance Liszt may yet visit us; we may yet hear the matchless Pianist +call from their graves in the white keys, the delicate arabesques, the +undulating and varied melodies, of Chopin. We should be prepared +to appreciate the great Artist in his enthusiastic rendering of the +master-pieces of the man he loved; prepared to greet him when he +electrifies us with his wonderful Cyclopean harmonies, written for his +own Herculean grasp, sparkling with his own Promethean fire, which no +meaner hand can ever hope to master! "Hear Liszt and die," has been said +by some of his enthusiastic admirers--understand him and live, were the +wiser advice! + +In gratitude then to Chopin for the multiplied sources of high and pure +pleasure which he has revealed to humanity in his creations, that human +woe and sorrow become pure beauty when his magic spell is on them, the +translator calls upon all lovers of the beautiful "to contribute a +stone to the pyramid now rapidly erecting in honor of the great modern +composer"--ay, the living stone of appreciation, crystalized in the +enlightened gratitude of the heart. + + + "So works this music upon earth + God so admits it, sends it forth. + To add another worth to worth-- + + A new creation-bloom that rounds + The old creation, and expounds + His Beautiful in tuneful sounds." + + + + + +CHAPTER I. + +Chopin--Style and Improvements--The Adagio of the Second +Concerto--Funeral March--Psychological Character of the Compositions of +Chopin, &c., &c. + + +Deeply regretted as he may be by the whole body of artists, lamented by +all who have ever known him, we must still be permitted to doubt if +the time has even yet arrived in which he, whose loss is so peculiarly +deplored by ourselves, can be appreciated in accordance with his +just value, or occupy that high rank which in all probability will be +assigned him in the future. + +If it has been often proved that "no one is a prophet in his own +country;" is it not equally true that the prophets, the men of the +future, who feel its life in advance, and prefigure it in their works, +are never recognized as prophets in their own times? It would be +presumptuous to assert that it can ever be otherwise. In vain may the +young generations of artists protest against the "Anti-progressives," +whose invariable custom it is to assault and beat down the living with +the dead: time alone can test the real value, or reveal the hidden +beauties, either of musical compositions, or of kindred efforts in the +sister arts. + +As the manifold forms of art are but different incantations, charged +with electricity from the soul of the artist, and destined to evoke +the latent emotions and passions in order to render them sensible, +intelligible, and, in some degree, tangible; so genius may be manifested +in the invention of new forms, adapted, it may be, to the expression +of feelings which have not yet surged within the limits of common +experience, and are indeed first evoked within the magic circle by the +creative power of artistic intuition. In arts in which sensation is +linked to emotion, without the intermediate assistance of thought and +reflection, the mere introduction of unaccustomed forms, of unused +modes, must present an obstacle to the immediate comprehension of any +very original composition. The surprise, nay, the fatigue, caused by +the novelty of the singular impressions which it awakens, will make it +appear to many as if written in a language of which they were ignorant, +and which that reason will in itself be sufficient to induce them to +pronounce a barbarous dialect. The trouble of accustoming the ear to it +will repel many who will, in consequence, refuse to make a study of it. +Through the more vivid and youthful organizations, less enthralled +by the chains of habit; through the more ardent spirits, won first by +curiosity, then filled with passion for the new idiom, must it penetrate +and win the resisting and opposing public, which will finally catch the +meaning, the aim, the construction, and at last render justice to its +qualities, and acknowledge whatever beauty it may contain. Musicians who +do not restrict themselves within the limits of conventional routine, +have, consequently, more need than other artists of the aid of time. +They cannot hope that death will bring that instantaneous plus-value to +their works which it gives to those of the painters. No musician could +renew, to the profit of his manuscripts, the deception practiced by one +of the great Flemish painters, who, wishing in his lifetime to benefit +by his future glory, directed his wife to spread abroad the news of his +death, in order that the pictures with which he had taken care to cover +the walls of his studio, might suddenly increase in value! + +Whatever may be the present popularity of any part of the productions of +one, broken, by suffering long before taken by death, it is nevertheless +to be presumed that posterity will award to his works an estimation of +a far higher character, of a much more earnest nature, than has hitherto +been awarded them. A high rank must be assigned by the future historians +of music to one who distinguished himself in art by a genius for melody +so rare, by such graceful and remarkable enlargements of the harmonic +tissue; and his triumph will be justly preferred to many of far more +extended surface, though the works of such victors may be played and +replayed by the greatest number of instruments, and be sung and resung +by passing crowds of Prime Donne. + +In confining himself exclusively to the Piano, Chopin has, in our +opinion, given proof of one of the most essential qualities of a +composer--a just appreciation of the form in which he possessed +the power to excel; yet this very fact, to which we attach so much +importance, has been injurious to the extent of his fame. It would have +been most difficult for any other writer, gifted with such high harmonic +and melodic powers, to have resisted the temptation of the SINGING of +the bow, the liquid sweetness of the flute, or the deafening swells of +the trumpet, which we still persist in believing the only fore-runner +of the antique goddess from whom we woo the sudden favors. What strong +conviction, based upon reflection, must have been requisite to have +induced him to restrict himself to a circle apparently so much more +barren; what warmth of creative genius must have been necessary to have +forced from its apparent aridity a fresh growth of luxuriant bloom, +unhoped for in such a soil! What intuitive penetration is repealed by +this exclusive choice, which, wresting the different effects of the +various instruments from their habitual domain, where the whole foam of +sound would have broken at their feet, transported them into a sphere, +more limited, indeed, but far more idealized! What confident perception +of the future powers of his instrument must have presided over his +voluntary renunciation of an empiricism, so widely spread, that another +would have thought it a mistake, a folly, to have wrested such great +thoughts from their ordinary interpreters! How sincerely should we +revere him for this devotion to the Beautiful for its own sake, which +induced him not to yield to the general propensity to scatter each light +spray of melody over a hundred orchestral desks, and enabled him to +augment the resources of art, in teaching how they may be concentrated +in a more limited space, elaborated at less expense of means, and +condensed in time! + +Far from being ambitious of the uproar of an orchestra, Chopin was +satisfied to see his thought integrally produced upon the ivory of the +key-board; succeeding in his aim of losing nothing in power, without +pretending to orchestral effects, or to the brush of the scene-painter. +Oh! we have not yet studied with sufficient earnestness and attention +the designs of his delicate pencil, habituated as we are, in these +days, to consider only those composers worthy of a great name, who have +written at least half-a-dozen Operas, as many Oratorios, and various +Symphonies: vainly requiring every musician to do every thing, nay, a +little more than every thing. However widely diffused this idea may be, +its justice is, to say the least, highly problematical. We are far +from contesting the glory more difficult of attainment, or the real +superiority of the Epic poets, who display their splendid creations upon +so large a plan; but we desire that material proportion in music should +be estimated by the same measure which is applied to dimension in other +branches of the fine arts; as, for example, in painting, where a canvas +of twenty inches square, as the Vision of Ezekiel, or Le Cimetiere by +Ruysdael, is placed among the chefs d'oeuvre, and is more highly valued +than pictures of a far larger size, even though they might be from the +hands of a Rubens or a Tintoret. In literature, is Beranger less a great +poet, because he has condensed his thoughts within the narrow limits +of his songs? Does not Petrarch owe his fame to his Sonnets? and among +those who most frequently repeat their soothing rhymes, how many know +any thing of the existence of his long poem on Africa? We cannot doubt +that the prejudice which would deny the superiority of an artist--though +he should have produced nothing but such Sonatas as Franz Schubert has +given us--over one who has portioned out the insipid melodies of many +Operas, which it were useless to cite, will disappear; and that in +music, also, we will yet take into account the eloquence and ability +with which the thoughts and feelings are expressed, whatever may be +the size of the composition in which they are developed, or the means +employed to interpret them. + +In making an analysis of the works of Chopin, we meet with beauties of a +high order, expressions entirely new, and a harmonic tissue as original +as erudite. In his compositions, boldness is always justified; richness, +even exuberance, never interferes with clearness; singularity never +degenerates into uncouth fantasticalness; the sculpturing is never +disorderly; the luxury of ornament never overloads the chaste eloquence +of the principal lines. His best works abound in combinations which +may be said to form an epoch in the handling of musical style. Daring, +brilliant and attractive, they disguise their profundity under so much +grace, their science under so many charms, that it is with difficulty +we free ourselves sufficiently from their magical enthrallment, to judge +coldly of their theoretical value. Their worth has, however, already +been felt; but it will be more highly estimated when the time arrives +for a critical examination of the services rendered by them to art +during that period of its course traversed by Chopin. + +It is to him we owe the extension of chords, struck together in +arpeggio, or en batterie; the chromatic sinuosities of which his pages +offer such striking examples; the little groups of superadded notes, +falling like light drops of pearly dew upon the melodic figure. This +species of adornment had hitherto been modeled only upon the Fioritures +of the great Old School of Italian song; the embellishments for +the voice had been servilely copied by the Piano, although become +stereotyped and monotonous: he imparted to them the charm of novelty, +surprise and variety, unsuited for the vocalist, but in perfect keeping +with the character of the instrument. He invented the admirable harmonic +progressions which have given a serious character to pages, which, in +consequence of the lightness of their subject, made no pretension to any +importance. But of what consequence is the subject? Is it not the idea +which is developed through it, the emotion with which it vibrates, +which expands, elevates and ennobles it? What tender melancholy, what +subtlety, what sagacity in the master-pieces of La Fontaine, although +the subjects are so familiar, the titles so modest? Equally unassuming +are the titles and subjects of the Studies and Preludes; yet the +compositions of Chopin, so modestly named, are not the less types of +perfection in a mode created by himself, and stamped, like all his +other works, with the high impress of his poetic genius. Written in the +commencement of his career, they are characterized by a youthful +vigor not to be found in some of his subsequent works, even when more +elaborate, finished, and richer in combinations; a vigor, which is +entirely lost in his latest productions, marked by an over-excited +sensibility, a morbid irritability, and giving painful intimations of +his own state of suffering and exhaustion. + +If it were our intention to discuss the development of Piano music in +the language of the Schools, we would dissect his magnificent pages, +which afford so rich a field for scientific observation. We would, in +the first place, analyze his Nocturnes, Ballades, Impromptus, Scherzos, +which are full of refinements of harmony never heard before; bold, +and of startling originality. We would also examine his Polonaises, +Mazourkas, Waltzes and Boleros. But this is not the time or place +for such a study, which would be interesting only to the adepts in +Counterpoint and Thoroughbass. + +It is the feeling which overflows in all his works, which has rendered +them known and popular; feeling of a character eminently romantic, +subjective individual, peculiar to their author, yet awakening immediate +sympathy; appealing not alone to the heart of that country indebted +to him for yet one glory more, but to all who can be touched by the +misfortunes of exile, or moved by the tenderness of love. Not content +with success in the field in which he was free to design, with such +perfect grace, the contours chosen by himself, Chopin also wished to +fetter his ideal thoughts with classic chains. His Concertos and Sonatas +are beautiful indeed, but we may discern in them more effort than +inspiration. His creative genius was imperious, fantastic and impulsive. +His beauties were only manifested fully in entire freedom. We believe +he offered violence to the character of his genius whenever he sought to +subject it to rules, to classifications, to regulations not his own, +and which he could not force into harmony with the exactions of his own +mind. He was one of those original beings, whose graces are only fully +displayed when they have cut themselves adrift from all bondage, and +float on at their own wild will, swayed only by the ever undulating +impulses of their own mobile natures. + +He was, perhaps, induced to desire this double success through the +example of his friend, Mickiewicz, who, having been the first to gift +his country with romantic poetry, forming a school in Sclavic literature +by the publication of his Dziady, and his romantic Ballads, as early +as 1818, proved afterwards, by the publication at his Grazyna and +Wallenrod, that he could triumph over the difficulties that classic +restrictions oppose to inspiration, and that, when holding the classic +lyre of the ancient poets, he was still master. In making analogous +attempts, we do not think Chopin has been equally successful. He could +not retain, within the square of an angular and rigid mould, that +floating and indeterminate contour which so fascinates us in his +graceful conceptions. He could not introduce in its unyielding lines +that shadowy and sketchy indecision, which, disguising the skeleton, the +whole frame-work of form, drapes it in the mist of floating vapors, such +as surround the white-bosomed maids of Ossian, when they permit +mortals to catch some vague, yet lovely outline, from their home in the +changing, drifting, blinding clouds. + +Some of these efforts, however, are resplendent with a rare dignity of +style; and passages of exceeding interest, of surprising grandeur, may +be found among them. As an example of this, we cite the Adagio of the +Second Concerto, for which he evinced a decided preference, and which +he liked to repeat frequently. The accessory designs are in his best +manner, while the principal phrase is of an admirable breadth. It +alternates with a Recitative, which assumes a minor key, and which seems +to be its Antistrophe. The whole of this piece is of a perfection +almost ideal; its expression, now radiant with light, now full of +tender pathos. It seems as if one had chosen a happy vale of Tempe, +a magnificent landscape flooded with summer glow and lustre, as a +background for the rehearsal of some dire scene of mortal anguish. A +bitter and irreparable regret seizes the wildly-throbbing human heart, +even in the midst of the incomparable splendor of external nature. This +contrast is sustained by a fusion of tones, a softening of gloomy hues, +which prevent the intrusion of aught rude or brusque that might awaken +a dissonance in the touching impression produced, which, while saddening +joy, soothes and softens the bitterness of sorrow. + +It would be impossible to pass in silence the Funeral March inserted in +the first Sonata, which was arranged for the orchestra, and performed, +for the first time, at his own obsequies. What other accents could have +been found capable of expressing, with the same heart-breaking effect, +the emotions, the tears, which should accompany to the last long sleep, +one who had taught in a manner so sublime, how great losses should +be mourned? We once heard it remarked by a native of his own country: +"these pages could only have been written by a Pole." All that the +funeral train of an entire nation weeping its own ruin and death can +be imagined to feel of desolating woe, of majestic sorrow, wails in +the musical ringing of this passing bell, mourns in the tolling of this +solemn knell, as it accompanies the mighty escort on its way to the +still city of the Dead. The intensity of mystic hope; the devout appeal +to superhuman pity, to infinite mercy, to a dread justice, which numbers +every cradle and watches every tomb; the exalted resignation which has +wreathed so much grief with halos so luminous; the noble endurance of so +many disasters with the inspired heroism of Christian martyrs who +know not to despair;--resound in this melancholy chant, whose voice of +supplication breaks the heart. All of most pure, of most holy, of +most believing, of most hopeful in the hearts of children, women, +and priests, resounds, quivers and trembles there with irresistible +vibrations. We feel it is not the death of a single warrior we mourn, +while other heroes live to avenge him, but that a whole generation of +warriors has forever fallen, leaving the death song to be chanted but by +wailing women, weeping children and helpless priests. Yet this +Melopee so funereal, so full of desolating woe, is of such penetrating +sweetness, that we can scarcely deem it of this earth. These sounds, +in which the wild passion of human anguish seems chilled by awe and +softened by distance, impose a profound meditation, as if, chanted +by angels, they floated already in the heavens: the cry of a nation's +anguish mounting to the very throne of God! The appeal of human grief +from the lyre of seraphs! Neither cries, nor hoarse groans, nor impious +blasphemies, nor furious imprecations, trouble for a moment the sublime +sorrow of the plaint: it breathes upon the ear like the rhythmed sighs +of angels. The antique face of grief is entirely excluded. Nothing +recalls the fury of Cassandra, the prostration of Priam, the frenzy of +Hecuba, the despair of the Trojan captives. A sublime faith destroying +in the survivors of this Christian Ilion the bitterness of anguish and +the cowardice of despair, their sorrow is no longer marked by earthly +weakness. Raising itself from the soil wet with blood and tears, it +springs forward to implore God; and, having nothing more to hope from +earth, it supplicates the Supreme Judge with prayers so poignant, +that our hearts, in listening, break under the weight of an august +compassion! It would be a mistake to suppose that all the compositions +of Chopin are deprived of the feelings which he has deemed best to +suppress in this great work. Not so. Perhaps human nature is not capable +of maintaining always this mood of energetic abnegation, of courageous +submission. We meet with breathings of stifled rage, of suppressed +anger, in many passages of his writings: and many of his Studies, as +well as his Scherzos, depict a concentrated exasperation and despair, +which are sometimes manifested in bitter irony, sometimes in intolerant +hauteur. These dark apostrophes of his muse have attracted less +attention, have been less fully understood, than his poems of more +tender coloring. The personal character of Chopin had something to +do with this general misconception. Kind, courteous, and affable, of +tranquil and almost joyous manners, he would not suffer the secret +convulsions which agitated him to be even suspected. + +His character was indeed not easily understood. A thousand subtle +shades, mingling, crossing, contradicting and disguising each other, +rendered it almost undecipherable at a first view. As is usually the +case with the Sclaves, it was difficult to read the recesses of +his mind. With them, loyalty and candor, familiarity and the most +captivating ease of manner, by no means imply confidence, or impulsive +frankness. Like the twisted folds of a serpent rolled upon itself, their +feelings are half hidden, half revealed. It requires a most attentive +examination to follow the coiled linking of the glittering rings. It +would be naive to interpret literally their courtesy full of compliment, +their assumed humility. The forms of this politeness, this modesty, have +their solution in their manners, in which their ancient connection with +the East may be strangely traced. Without having in the least degree +acquired the taciturnity of the Mussulman, they have yet learned from +it a distrustful reserve upon all subjects which touch upon the +more delicate and personal chords of the heart. When they speak +of themselves, we may almost always be certain that they keep some +concealment in reserve, which assures them the advantage in intellect, +or feeling. They suffer their interrogator to remain in ignorance of +some circumstance, some mobile secret, through the unveiling of which +they would be more admired, or less esteemed, and which they well know +how to hide under the subtle smile of an almost imperceptible mockery. +Delighting in the pleasure of mystification, from the most spiritual or +comic to the most bitter and melancholy, they may perhaps find in +this deceptive raillery an external formula of disdain for the veiled +expression of the superiority which they internally claim, but +which claim they veil with the caution and astuteness natural to the +oppressed. + +The frail and sickly organization of Chopin, not permitting him the +energetic expression of his passions, he gave to his friends only the +gentle and affectionate phase of his nature. In the busy, eager life +of large cities, where no one has time to study the destiny of another, +where every one is judged by his external activity, very few think it +worth while to attempt to penetrate the enigma of individual character. +Those who enjoyed familiar intercourse with Chopin, could not be blind +to the impatience and ennui he experienced in being, upon the calm +character of his manners, so promptly believed. And may not the artist +revenge the man? As his health was too frail to permit him to give vent +to his impatience through the vehemence of his execution, he sought to +compensate himself by pouring this bitterness over those pages which he +loved to hear performed with a vigor [Footnote: It was his delight to +hear them executed by the great Liszt himself.--Translator.] which he +could not himself always command: pages which are indeed full of the +impassioned feelings of a man suffering deeply from wounds which he does +not choose to avow. Thus around a gaily flagged, yet sinking ship, float +the fallen spars and scattered fragments, torn by warring winds and +surging waves from its shattered sides. + +Such emotions have been of so much the more importance in the life +of Chopin, because they have deeply influenced the character of his +compositions. Among the pages published under such influences, may be +traced much analogous to the wire-drawn subtleties of Jean Paul, who +found it necessary, in order to move hearts macerated by passion, blazes +through suffering, to make use of the surprises caused by natural and +physical phenomena; to evoke the sensations of luxurious terrors arising +from occurrences not to be foreseen in the natural order of things; +to awaken the morbid excitements of a dreamy brain. Step by step the +tortured mind of Chopin arrived at a state of sickly irritability; his +emotions increased to a feverish tremor, producing that involution, that +tortuosity of thought, which mark his latest works. Almost suffocating +under the oppression of repressed feelings, using art only to repeat +and rehearse for himself his own internal tragedy, after having wearied +emotion, he began to subtilize it. His melodies are actually tormented; +a nervous and restless sensibility leads to an obstinate persistence +in the handling and rehandling and a reiterated pursuit of the tortured +motifs, which impress us as painfully as the sight of those physical or +mental agonies which we know can find relief only in death. Chopin was a +victim to a disease without hope, which growing more envenomed from year +to year, took him, while yet young, from those who loved him, and laid +him in his still grave. As in the fair form of some beautiful victim, +the marks of the grasping claws of the fierce bird of prey which has +destroyed it, may be found; so, in the productions of which we have just +spoken, the traces of the bitter sufferings which devoured his heart, +are painfully visible. + + + +CHAPTER II. + +National Character of the +Polonaise--Oginski--Meyseder--Weber--Chopin--His Polonaise in F Sharp, +Minor--Polonaise--Fantaisie. + + +It must not be supposed that the tortured aberrations of feeling to +which we have just alluded, ever injure the harmonic tissue in the works +of Chopin on the contrary, they only render it a more curious subject +for analysis. Such eccentricities rarely occur in his more generally +known and admired compositions. His Polonaises, which are less studied +than they merit, on account of the difficulties presented by their +perfect execution, are to be classed among his highest inspirations. +They never remind us of the mincing and affected "Polonaises a la +Pompadour," which our orchestras have introduced into ball-rooms, +our virtuosi in concerts, or of those to be found in our "Parlor +Repertories," filled, as they invariably are, with hackneyed collections +of music, marked by insipidity and mannerism. + +His Polonaises, characterized by an energetic rhythm, galvanize and +electrify the torpor of indifference. The most noble traditional +feelings of ancient Poland are embodied in them. The firm resolve +and calm gravity of its men of other days, breathe through these +compositions. Generally of a martial character, courage and daring are +rendered with that simplicity of expression, said to be a distinctive +trait of this warlike people. They bring vividly before the imagination, +the ancient Poles, as we find them described in their chronicles; gifted +with powerful organizations, subtle intellects, indomitable courage and +earnest piety, mingled with high-born courtesy and a gallantry which +never deserted them, whether on the eve of battle, during its exciting +course, in the triumph of victory, or amidst the gloom of defeat. So +inherent was this gallantry and chivalric courtesy in their nature, that +in spite of the restraint which their customs (resembling those of +their neighbours and enemies, the infidels of Stamboul) induced them to +exercise upon their women, confining them in the limits of domestic +life and always holding them under legal wardship, they still +manifest themselves in their annals, in which they have glorified +and immortalized queens who were saints; vassals who became queens, +beautiful subjects for whose sake some periled, while others lost, +crowns: a terrible Sforza; an intriguing d'Arquien; and a coquettish +Gonzaga. + +The Poles of olden times united a manly firmness with this peculiar +chivalric devotion to the objects of their love. A characteristic +example of this may be seen in the letters of Jean Sobieski to his wife. +They were dictated in face of the standards of the Crescent, "numerous +as the ears in a grain-field," tender and devoted as is their character. +Such traits caught a singular and imposing hue from the grave deportment +of these men, so dignified that they might almost be accused of +pomposity. It was next to impossible that they should not contract a +taste for this stateliness, when we consider that they had almost +always before them the most exquisite type of gravity of manner in the +followers of Islam, whose qualities they appreciated and appropriated, +even while engaged in repelling their invasions. Like the infidel, they +knew how to preface their acts by an intelligent deliberation, so that +the device of Prince Boleslas of Pomerania, was always present to them: +"First weigh it; then dare:" Erst wieg's: dann wag's! Such deliberation +imparted a kind of stately pride to their movements, while it left +them in possession of an ease and freedom of spirit accessible to the +lightest cares of tenderness, to the most trivial interests of the +passing hour, to the most transient feelings of the heart. As it made +part of their code of honor to make those who interfered with them, +in their more tender interests, pay dearly for it; so they knew how +to beautify life, and, better still, they knew how to love those who +embellished it; to revere those who rendered it precious to them. + +Their chivalric heroism was sanctioned by their grave and haughty +dignity; an intelligent and premeditated conviction added the force of +reason to the energy of impulsive virtue; thus they have succeeded in +winning the admiration of all ages, of all minds, even that of their +most determined adversaries. They were characterized by qualities +rarely found together, the description of which would appear almost +paradoxical: reckless wisdom, daring prudence, and fanatic fatalism. The +most marked and celebrated historic manifestation of these properties is +to be found in the expedition of Sobieski when he saved Vienna, and gave +a mortal blow to the Ottoman Empire, which was at last conquered in the +long struggle, sustained on both sides with so much prowess and glory, +with so much mutual deference between opponents as magnanimous in their +truces as irreconcilable in their combats. + +While listening to some of the POLONAISES of Chopin, we can almost catch +the firm, nay, the more than firm, the heavy, resolute tread of men +bravely facing all the bitter injustice which the most cruel and +relentless destiny can offer, with the manly pride of unblenching +courage. The progress of the music suggests to our imagination such +magnificent groups as were designed by Paul Veronese, robed in the +rich costume of days long past: we see passing at intervals before us, +brocades of gold, velvets, damasked satins, silvery soft and flexile +sables, hanging sleeves gracefully thrown back upon the shoulders, +embossed sabres, boots yellow as gold or red with trampled blood, sashes +with long and undulating fringes, close chemisettes, rustling trains, +stomachers embroidered with pearls, head dresses glittering with rubies +or leafy with emeralds, light slippers rich with amber, gloves perfumed +with the luxurious attar from the harems. Prom the faded background of +times long passed these vivid groups start forth; gorgeous carpets from +Persia lie at their feet, filigreed furniture from Constantinople stands +around; all is marked by the sumptuous prodigality of the Magnates who +drew, in ruby goblets embossed with medallions, wine from the fountains +of Tokay, and shoed their fleet Arabian steeds with silver, who +surmounted all their escutcheons with the same crown which the fate of +an election might render a royal one, and which, causing them to despise +all other titles, was alone worn as INSIGNE of their glorious equality. + +Those who have seen the Polonaise danced even as late as the beginning +of the present century, declare that its style has changed so much, that +it is now almost impossible to divine its primitive character. As very +few national dances have succeeded in preserving their racy originality, +we may imagine, when we take into consideration the changes which +have occurred, to what a degree this has degenerated. The Polonaise is +without rapid movements, without any true steps in the artistic sense +of the word, intended rather for display than for the exhibition of +seductive grace; so we may readily conceive it must lose all its haughty +importance, its pompous self-sufficiency, when the dancers are deprived +of the accessories necessary to enable them to animate its simple +form by dignified, yet vivid gestures, by appropriate and expressive +pantomime, and when the costume peculiarly fitted for it is no longer +worn. It has indeed become decidedly monotonous, a mere circulating +promenade, exciting but little interest. Unless we could see it danced +by some of the old regime who still wear the ancient costume, or listen +to their animated descriptions of it, we can form no conception of the +numerous incidents, the scenic pantomime, which once rendered it so +effective. By a rare exception this dance was designed to exhibit the +men, to display manly beauty, to set off noble and dignified deportment, +martial yet courtly bearing. "Martial yet courtly:" do not these two +epithets almost define the Polish character? In the original the +very name of the dance is masculine; it is only in consequence of a +misconception that it has been translated in other tongues into the +feminine gender. + +Those who have never seen the KONTUSZ worn, (it is a kind of Occidental +kaftan, as it is the robe of the Orientals, modified to suit the customs +of an active life, unfettered by the stagnant resignation taught by +fatalism,) a sort of FEREDGI, often trimmed with fur, forcing the wearer +to make frequent movements susceptible of grace and coquetry, by which +the flowing sleeves are thrown backward, can scarcely imagine the +bearing, the slow bending, the quick rising, the finesse of the delicate +pantomime displayed by the Ancients, as they defiled in a Polonaise, as +though in a military parade, not suffering their fingers to remain +idle, but sometimes occupying them in playing with the long moustache, +sometimes with the handle of the sword. Both moustache and sword were +essential parts of the costume, and were indeed objects of vanity with +all ages. Diamonds and sapphires frequently sparkled upon the arms, worn +suspended from belts of cashmere, or from sashes of silk embroidered +with gold, displaying to advantage forms always slightly corpulent; +the moustache often veiled, without quite hiding, some scar, far more +effective than the most brilliant array of jewels. The dress of the men +rivaled that of the women in the luxury of the material worn, in the +value of the precious stones, and in the variety of vivid colors. This +love of adornment is also found among the Hungarians, [Footnote: The +Hungarian costume worn by Prince Nicholas Esterhazy at the coronation +of George the Fourth, is still remembered in England. It was valued at +several millions of florins.] as may be seen in their buttons made of +jewels, the rings forming a necessary part of their dress, the wrought +clasps for the neck, the aigrettes and plumes adorning the cap made of +velvet of some brilliant hue. To know how to take off, to put on, to +manoeuvre the cap with all possible grace, constituted almost an art. +During the progress of a Polonaise, this became an object of especial +remark, because the cavalier of the leading pair, as commandant of the +file, gave the mute word of command, which was immediately obeyed and +imitated by the rest of the train. + +The master of the house in which the ball was given, always opened it +himself by leading off in this dance. His partner was selected neither +for her beauty, nor youth; the most highly honored lady present +was always chosen. This phalanx, by whose evolutions every fete was +commenced, was not formed only of the young: it was composed of the +most distinguished, as well as of the most beautiful. A grand review, a +dazzling exhibition of all the distinction present, was offered as the +highest pleasure of the festival. After the host, came next in order the +guests of the greatest consideration, who, choosing their partners, some +from friendship, some from policy or from desire of advancement, +some from love,--followed closely his steps. His task was a far more +complicated one than it is at present. He was expected to conduct the +files under his guidance through a thousand capricious meanderings, +through long suites of apartments lined by guests, who were to take a +later part in this brilliant cortege. They liked to be conducted through +distant galleries, through the parterres of illuminated gardens, through +the groves of shrubbery, where distant echoes of the music alone reached +the ear, which, as if in revenge, greeted them with redoubled sound and +blowing of trumpets upon their return to the principal saloon. As the +spectators, ranged like rows of hedges along the route, were continually +changing, and never ceased for a moment to observe all their movements, +the dancers never forgot that dignity of bearing and address which won +for them the admiration of women, and excited the jealousy of men. Vain +and joyous, the host would have deemed himself wanting in courtesy to +his guests, had he not evinced to them, which he did sometimes with +a piquant naivete, the pride he felt in seeing himself surrounded by +persons so illustrious, and partisans so noble, all striving through the +splendor of the attire chosen to visit him, to show their high sense of +the honor in which they held him. + +Guided by him in their first circuit, they were led through long +windings, where unexpected turns, views, and openings had been +arranged beforehand to cause surprise; where architectural deceptions, +decorations and shifting scenes had been studiously adapted to increase +the pleasure of the festival. If any monument or inscription, fitted +for the occasion, lay upon the long line of route, from which some +complimentary homage might be drawn to the "most valiant or the most +beautiful," the honors were gracefully done by the host. The more +unexpected the surprises arranged for these excursions, the more +imagination evinced in their invention, the louder were the applauses +from the younger part of the society, the more ardent the exclamations +of delight; and silvery sounds of merry laughter greeted pleasantly the +ears of the conductor-in-chief, who, having thus succeeded in achieving +his reputation, became a privileged Corypheus, a leader par excellence. +If he had already attained a certain age, he was greeted on his return +from such circuits by frequent deputations of young ladies, who came, +in the name of all present, to thank and congratulate him. Through their +vivid descriptions, these pretty wanderers excited the curiosity of the +guests, and increased the eagerness for the formation of the succeeding +Polonaises among those who, though they did not make part of the +procession, still watched its passage in motionless attention, as if +gazing upon the flashing line of light of some brilliant meteor. + +In this land of aristocratic democracy, the numerous dependents of the +great seigniorial houses, (too poor, indeed, to take part in the fete, +yet only excluded from it by their own volition, all, however noble, +some even more noble than their lords,) being all present, it was +considered highly desirable to dazzle them; and this flowing chain +of rainbow-hued and gorgeous light, like an immense serpent with +its glittering rings, sometimes wreathed its linked folds, sometimes +uncoiled its entire length, to display its brilliancy through the +whole line of its undulating animated surface, in the most vivid +scintillations; accompanying the shifting hues with the silvery sounds +of chains of gold, ringing like muffled bells; with the rustling of the +heavy sweep of gorgeous damasks and with the dragging of jewelled +swords upon the floor. The murmuring sound of many voices announced the +approach of this animated, varied, and glittering life-stream. + +But the genius of hospitality, never deficient in high-born courtesy, +and which, even while preserving the touching simplicity of primitive +manners, inspired in Poland all the refinements of the most advanced +state of civilization,--how could it be exiled from the details of a +dance so eminently Polish? After the host had, by inaugurating the fete, +rendered due homage to all who were present, any one of his guests had +the right to claim his place with the lady whom he had honored by his +choice. The new claimant, clapping his hands, to arrest for a moment the +ever moving cortege, bowed before the partner of the host, begging her +graciously to accept the change; while the host, from whom she had been +taken, made the same appeal to the lady next in course. This example was +followed by the whole train. Constantly changing partners, whenever a +new cavalier claimed the honor of leading the one first chosen by +the host, the ladies remained in the same succession during the whole +course; while, on the contrary, as the gentlemen continually replaced +each other, he who had commenced the dance, would, in its progress, +become the last, if not indeed entirely excluded before its close. + +Each cavalier who placed himself in turn at the head of the column, +tried to surpass his predecessors in the novelty of the combinations of +his opening, in the complications of the windings through which he led +the expectant cortege; and this course, even when restricted to a +single saloon, might be made remarkable by the designing of graceful +arabesques, or the involved tracing of enigmatical ciphers. He made good +his claim to the place he had solicited, and displayed his skill, by +inventing close, complicated and inextricable figures; by describing +them with so much certainty and accuracy, that the living ribbon, turned +and twisted as it might be, was never broken in the loosing of its +wreathed knots; and by so leading, that no confusion or graceless +jostling should result from the complicated torsion. The succeeding +couples, who had only to follow the figures already given, and thus +continue the impulsion, were not permitted to drag themselves lazily +and listlessly along the parquet. The step was rhythmic, cadenced, and +undulating; the whole form swayed by graceful wavings and harmonious +balancings. They were careful never to advance with too much haste, nor +to replace each other as if driven on by some urgent necessity. On they +glided, like swans descending a tranquil stream, their flexile forms +swayed by the ebb and swell of unseen and gentle waves. Sometimes, the +gentleman offered the right, sometimes, the left hand to his partner; +touching only the points of her fingers, or clasping the slight hand +within his own, he passed now to her right, now to her left, without +yielding the snowy treasure. These complicated movements, being +instantaneously imitated by every pair, ran, like an electric shiver, +through the whole length of this gigantic serpent. Although apparently +occupied and absorbed by these multiplied manoeuvres, the cavalier yet +found time to bend to his lady and whisper sweet flatteries in her ear, +if she were young; if young no longer, to repose confidence, to urge +requests, or to repeat to her the news of the hour. Then, haughtily +raising himself, he would make the metal of his arms ring, caress his +thick moustache, giving to all his features an expression so vivid, that +the lady was forced to respond by the animation of her own countenance. + +Thus, it was no hackneyed and senseless promenade which they executed; +it was, rather, a parade in which the whole splendor of the society +was exhibited, gratified with its own admiration, conscious of its own +elegance, brilliancy, nobility and courtesy. It was a constant display +of its lustre, its glory, its renown. Men grown gray in camps, or in +the strife of courtly eloquence; generals more often seen in the cuirass +than in the robes of peace; prelates and persons high in the Church; +dignitaries of State aged senators; warlike palatines; ambitious +castellans;--were the partners who were expected, welcomed, disputed and +sought for, by the youngest, gayest, and most brilliant women present. +Honor and glory rendered ages equal, and caused years to be forgotten +in this dance; nay, more, they gave an advantage even over love. It was +while listening to the animated descriptions of the almost forgotten +evolutions and dignified capabilities of this truly national dance, from +the lips of those who would never abandon the ancient Zupan and Kontusz, +and who still wore their hair closely cut round their temples, as it had +been worn by their ancestors, that we first fully understood in what a +high degree this haughty nation possessed the innate instinct of its own +exhibition, and how entirely it had succeeded, through its natural grace +and genius, in poetizing its love of ostentation by draping it in the +charms of noble emotions, and wrapping round it the glittering robes of +martial glory. + +When we visited the country of Chopin, whose memory always accompanied +us like a faithful guide who constantly keeps our interest excited, +we were fortunate enough to meet with some of the peculiar characters, +daily growing more rare, because European civilization, even where it +does not modify the basis of character, effaces asperities, and moulds +exterior forms. We there encountered some of those men gifted with +superior intellect, cultivated and strongly developed by a life of +incessant action, yet whose horizon does not extend beyond the limits of +their own country, their own society, their own traditions. During our +intercourse, facilitated by an interpreter, with these men of past +days, we were able to study them and to understand the secret of their +greatness. It was really curious to observe the inimitable originality +caused by the utter exclusiveness of the view taken by them. This +limited cultivation, while it greatly diminishes the value of their +ideas upon many subjects, at the same time gifts the mind with +a peculiar force, almost resembling the keen scent and the acute +perceptions of the savage, for all the things near and dear to it. Only +from a mind of this peculiar training, marked by a concentrative energy +that nothing can distract from its course, every thing beyond the circle +of its own nationality remaining alien to it, can we hope to obtain +an exact picture of the past; for it alone, like a faithful mirror, +reflects it in its primal coloring, preserves its proper lights and +shades, and gives it with its varied and picturesque accompaniments. +From such minds alone can we obtain, with the ritual of customs which +are rapidly becoming extinct, the spirit from which they emanated. +Chopin was born too late, and left the domestic hearth too early, to be +himself in possession of this spirit; but he had known many examples of +it, and, through the memories which surrounded his childhood, even more +fully than through the literature and history of his country, he found +by induction the secrets of its ancient prestige, which he evoked from +the dim and dark land of forgetfulness, and, through the magic of his +poetic art, endowed with immortal youth. Poets are better comprehended +and appreciated by those who have made themselves familiar with the +countries which inspired their songs. Pindar is more fully understood by +those who have seen the Parthenon bathed in the radiance of its limpid +atmosphere; Ossian, by those familiar with the mountains of Scotland, +with their heavy veils and long wreaths of mist. The feelings which +inspired the creations of Chopin can only be fully appreciated by those +who have visited his country. They must have seen the giant shadows +of past centuries gradually increasing, and veiling the ground as the +gloomy night of despair rolled on; they must have felt the electric and +mystic influence of that strange "phantom of glory" forever haunting +martyred Poland. Even in the gayest hours of festival, it appalls and +saddens all hearts. Whenever a tale of past renown, a commemoration of +slaughtered heroes is given, an allusion to national prowess is made, +its resurrection from the grave is instantaneous; it takes its place +in the banquet-hall, spreading an electric terror mingled with intense +admiration; a shudder, wild and mystic as that which seizes upon the +peasants of Ukraine, when the "Beautiful Virgin," white as Death, with +her girdle of crimson, is suddenly seen gliding through their tranquil +village, while her shadowy hand marks with blood the door of each +cottage doomed to destruction. + +During many centuries, the civilization of Poland was entirely peculiar +and aboriginal; it did not resemble that of any other country; and, +indeed, it seems destined to remain forever unique in its kind. As +different from the German feudalism which neighboured it upon the West, +as from the conquering spirit of the Turks which disquieted it on +the East, it resembled Europe in its chivalric Christianity, in its +eagerness to attack the infidel, even while receiving instruction in +sagacious policy, in military tactics, and sententious reasoning, from +the masters of Byzantium. By the assumption, at the same time, of the +heroic qualities of Mussulman fanaticism and the sublime virtues of +Christian sanctity and humility, [Footnote: It is well known with how +many glorious names Poland has enriched the martyrology of the Church. +In memorial of the countless martyrs it had offered, the Roman Church +granted to the order of Trinitarians, or Redemptorist Brothers, whose +duty it was to redeem from slavery the Christians who had fallen into +the hands of the Infidels, the distinction, only granted to this nation, +of wearing a crimson belt. These victims to benevolence were +generally from the establishments near the frontiers, such as those of +Kamieniec-Podolski.] it mingled the most heterogeneous elements, and +thus planted in its very bosom the seeds of ruin and decay. + +The general culture of Latin letters, the knowledge of and love for +Italian and French literature gave a lustre and classical polish to the +startling contrasts we hare attempted to describe. Such a civilization +must necessarily impress all its manifestations with its own seal. As +was natural for a nation always engaged in war, forced to reserve its +deeds of prowess and valor for its enemies upon the field of battle, it +was not famed for the romances of knight-errantry, for tournaments or +jousts; it replaced the excitement and splendor of the mimic war by +characteristic fetes, in which the gorgeousness of personal display +formed the principal feature. + +There is certainly nothing new in the assertion, that national character +is, in some degree, revealed by national dances. We believe, however, +there are none in which the creative impulses can be so readily +deciphered, or the ensemble traced with so much simplicity, as in the +Polonaise. In consequence of the varied episodes which each individual +was expected to insert in the general frame, the national intuitions +were revealed with the greatest diversity. When these distinctive marks +disappeared, when the original flame no longer burned, when no one +invented scenes for the intermediary pauses, when to accomplish +mechanically the obligatory circuit of a saloon, was all that was +requisite, nothing but the skeleton of departed glory remained. + +We would certainly have hesitated to speak of the Polonaise, after +the exquisite verses which Mickiewicz has consecrated to it, and the +admirable description which he has given of it in the last Canto of the +"Pan Tadeusz," but that this description is to be found only in a work +not yet translated, and, consequently, only known to the compatriots of +the Poet. [Footnote: It has been translated into German.--T.] It would +have been presumptuous, even under another form, to have ventured upon +a subject already sketched and colored by such a hand, in his romantic +Epic, in which beauties of the highest order are set in such a scene as +Ruysdael loved to paint; where a ray of sunshine, thrown through heavy +storm-clouds, falls upon one of those strange trees never wanting in his +pictures, a birch shattered by lightning, while its snowy bark is deeply +stained, as if dyed in the blood flowing from its fresh and gaping +wounds. The scenes of "Pan Tadeusz" are laid at the beginning of the +present century, when many still lived who retained the profound feeling +and grave deportment of the ancient Poles, mingled with those who were +even then under the sway of the graceful or giddying passions of modern +origin. These striking and contrasting types existing together at +that period, are now rapidly disappearing before that universal +conventionalism which is at present seizing and moulding the higher +classes in all cities and in all countries. Without doubt, Chopin +frequently drew fresh inspiration from this noble poem, whose scenes so +forcibly depict the emotions he best loved to reproduce. + +The primitive music of the Polonaise, of which we have no example of +greater age than a century, possesses but little value for art. Those +Polonaises which do not bear the names of their authors, but are +frequently marked with the name of some hero, thus indicating +their date, are generally grave and sweet. The Polonaise styled "de +Kosciuszko," is the most universally known, and is so closely linked +with the memories of his epoch, that we have known ladies who could not +hear it without breaking into sobs. The Princess F. L., who had been +loved by Kosciuszko, in her last days, when age had enfeebled all her +faculties, was only sensible to the chords of this piece, which her +trembling hands could still find upon the key-board, though the dim and +aged eye could no longer see the keys. Some contemporary Polonaises are +of a character so sad, that they might almost be supposed to accompany a +funeral train. + +The Polonaises of Count Oginski [Footnote: Among the Polonaises of Count +Oginski, the one in F Major has especially retained its celebrity. It +was published with a vignette, representing the author in the act +of blowing his brains out with a pistol. This was merely a romantic +commentary, which was for a long time mistaken for a fact.] which next +appeared, soon attained great popularity through the introduction of an +air of seductive languor into the melancholy strains. Full of gloom +as they still are, they soothe by their delicious tenderness, by their +naive and mournful grace. The martial rhythm grows more feeble; the +march of the stately train, no longer rustling in its pride of state, is +hushed in reverential silence, in solemn thought, as if its course wound +on through graves, whose sad swells extinguish smiles and humiliate +pride. Love alone survives, as the mourners wander among the mounds +of earth so freshly heaped that the grass has not yet grown upon them, +repeating the sad refrain which the Bard of Erin caught from the wild +breezes of the sea: + +"Love born of sorrow, like sorrow is true!" + +In the well known pages of Oginski may be found the sighing of analogous +thoughts: the very breath of love is sad, and only revealed through the +melancholy lustre of eyes bathed in tears. + +At a somewhat later stage, the graves and grassy mounds were all passed, +they are seen only in the distance of the shadowy background. The living +cannot always weep; life and animation again appear, mournful thoughts +changed into soothing memories, return on the ear, sweet as distant +echoes. The saddened train of the living no longer hush their breath as +they glide on with noiseless precaution, as if not to disturb the sleep +of those who have just departed, over whose graves the turf is not yet +green; the imagination no longer evokes only the gloomy shadows of +the past. In the Polonaises of Lipinski we hear the music of the +pleasure-loving heart once more beating joyously, giddily, happily, as +it had done before the days of disaster and defeat. The melodies breathe +more and more the perfume of happy youth; love, young love, sighs +around. Expanding into expressive songs of vague and dreamy character, +they speak but to youthful hearts, cradling them in poetic fictions, in +soft illusions. No longer destined to cadence the steps of the high +and grave personages who ceased to bear their part in these dances, +[Footnote: Bishops and Primates formerly assisted in these dances; at +a later date the Church dignitaries took no part in them.] they are +addressed to romantic imaginations, dreaming rather of rapture than of +renown. Meyseder advanced upon this descending path; his dances, full of +lively coquetry, reflect only the magic charms of youth and beauty. +His numerous imitations have inundated us with pieces of music, called +Polonaises, out which have no characteristics to justify the name. + +The pristine and vigorous brilliancy of the Polonaise was again +suddenly given to it by a composer of true genius. Weber made of it a +Dithyrambic, in which the glittering display of vanished magnificence +again appeared in its ancient glory. He united all the resources of his +art to ennoble the formula which had been so misrepresented and debased, +to fill it with the spirit of the past; not seeking to recall +the character of ancient music, he transported into music the +characteristics of ancient Poland. Using the melody as a recital, +he accentuated the rhythm, he colored his composition, through his +modulations, with a profusion of hues not only suitable to his subject, +but imperiously demanded by it. Life, warmth, and passion again +circulated in his Polonaises, yet he did not deprive them of the +haughty charm, the ceremonious and magisterial dignity, the natural yet +elaborate majesty, which are essential parts of their character. The +cadences are marked by chords, which fall upon the ear like the rattling +of swords drawn from their scabbards. The soft, warm, effeminate +pleadings of love give place to the murmuring of deep, fall, bass +voices, proceeding from manly breasts used to command; we may almost +hear, in reply, the wild and distant neighings of the steeds of +the desert, as they toss the long manes around their haughty heads, +impatiently pawing the ground, with their lustrous eye beaming with +intelligence and full of fire, while they bear with stately grace the +trailing caparisons embroidered with turquoise and rubies, with which +the Polish Seigneurs loved to adorn them. [Footnote: Among the treasures +of Prince radziwill at Nieswirz were to be seen, in the days of former +splendor, twelve sets of horse trappings, each of a different color, +incrusted with precious stones. The twelve Apostles, life size, in +massive silver, were also to be seen there. This luxury will cease to +astonish us when we consider that the family of Radziwill was descended +from the last Grand Pontiff of Lithuania, to whom, when he embraced +Christianity, were given all the forests and plains which had before +been consecrated to the worship of the heathen Deities; and that toward +the close of the last century, the family still possessed eight hundred +thousand serfs, although its riches had then considerably diminished. +Among the collection of treasures of which we speak, was an exceedingly +curious relic, which is still in existence. It is a picture of St. John +the Baptist, surrounded by a Bannerol bearing the inscription: "In the +name of the Lord, John, thou shalt be Conqueror." It was found by Jean +Sobieski himself, after the victory which he had won, under the walls of +Vienna, in the tent of the Vizier Kara Mustapha. It was presented after +his death, by Marie d'Arquin, to a Prince Radziwill, with an inscription +in her own hand-writing which indicates its origin, and the presentation +which she makes of it. The autograph, with the royal seal, is on the +reverse side of the canvas.] How did Weber divine the Poland of other +days? Had he indeed the power to call from the grave of the past, the +scenes which we have just contemplated, that he was thus able to clothe +them with life, to renew their earlier associations? Vain questions! +Genius is always endowed with its own sacred intuitions! Poetry ever +reveals to her chosen the secrets of her wild domain! + +All the poetry contained in the Polonaises had, like a rich sap, been so +fully expressed from them by the genius of Weber, they had been handled +with a mastery so absolute, that it was, indeed, a dangerous and +difficult thing to attempt them, with the slightest hope of producing +the same effect. He has, however, been surpassed in this species of +composition by Chopin, not only in the number and variety of works in +this style, but also in the more touching character of the handling, +and the new and varied processes of harmony. Both in construction and +spirit, Chopin's Polonaise In A, with the one in A flat major, resembles +very much the one of Weber's in E Major. In others he relinquished this +broad style: Shall we say always with a more decided success? In such a +question, decision were a thorny thing. Who shall restrict the rights of +a poet over the various phases of his subject? Even in the midst of joy, +may he not be permitted to be gloomy and oppressed? After having chanted +the splendor of glory, may he not sing of grief? After having rejoiced +with the victorious, may he not mourn with the vanquished? We may, +without any fear of contradiction, assert, that it is not one of the +least merits of Chopin, that he has, consecutively, embraced ALL the +phases of which the theme is susceptible, that he has succeeded in +eliciting from it all its brilliancy, in awakening from it all its +sadness. The variety of the moods of feeling to which he was himself +subject, aided him in the reproduction and comprehension of such a +multiplicity of views. It would be impossible to follow the varied +transformations occurring in these compositions, with their pervading +melancholy, without admiring the fecundity of his creative force, even +when not fully sustained by the higher powers of his inspiration. He +did not always confine himself to the consideration of the pictures +presented to him by his imagination and memory, taken en masse, or as a +united whole. More than once, while contemplating the brilliant groups +and throngs flowing on before him, has he yielded to the strange charm +of some isolated figure, arresting it in its course by the magic of his +gaze, and, suffering the gay crowds to pass on, he has given himself +up with delight to the divination of its mystic revelations, while he +continued to weave his incantations and spells only for the entranced +Sibyl of his song. + +His GRAND POLONAISE in F SHARP MINOR, must be ranked among his most +energetic compositions. He has inserted in it a MAZOURKA. Had he not +frightened the frivolous world of fashionable life, by the gloomy +grotesqueness with which he introduced it in an incantation so +fantastic, this mode might have become an ingenious caprice for the +ball-room. It is a most original production, exciting us like the +recital of some broken dream, made, after a night of restlessness, by +the first dull, gray, cold, leaden rays of a winter's sunrise. It is a +dream-poem, in which the impressions and objects succeed each other with +startling incoherency and with the wildest transitions, reminding us of +what Byron says in his "DREAM:" + + "... Dreams in their development have breath, + And tears, and tortures, and the touch of joy; + They leave a weight upon our waking thoughts, + * * * * * * * * + And look like heralds of Eternity." + +The principal motive is a weird air, dark as the lurid hour which +precedes a hurricane, in which we catch the fierce exclamations of +exasperation, mingled with a bold defiance, recklessly hurled at the +stormy elements. The prolonged return of a tonic, at the commencement +of each measure, reminds us of the repeated roar of artillery--as if we +caught the sounds from some dread battle waging in the distance. After +the termination of this note, a series of the most unusual chords are +unrolled through measure after measure. We know nothing analogous, +to the striking effect produced by this, in the compositions of the +greatest masters. This passage is suddenly interrupted by a SCENE +CHAMPETRE, a MAZOURKA in the style of an Idyl, full of the perfume of +lavender and sweet marjoram; but which, far from effacing the memory of +the profound sorrow which had before been awakened, only augments, by +its ironical and bitter contrast, our emotions of pain to such a degree, +that we feel almost solaced when the first phrase returns; and, free +from the disturbing contradiction of a naive, simple, and inglorious +happiness, we may again sympathize with the noble and imposing woe of +a high, yet fatal struggle. This improvisation terminates like a dream, +without other conclusion than a convulsive shudder; leaving the soul +under the strangest, the wildest, the most subduing impressions. + +The "POLONAISE-FANTAISIE" is to be classed among the works which belong +to the latest period of Chopin's compositions, which are all more or +less marked by a feverish and restless anxiety. No bold and brilliant +pictures are to be found in it; the loud tramp of a cavalry accustomed +to victory is no longer heard; no more resound the heroic chants muffled +by no visions of defeat--the bold tones suited to the audacity of those +who were always victorious. A deep melancholy--ever broken by startled +movements, by sudden alarms, by disturbed rest, by stifled sighs--reigns +throughout. We are surrounded by such scenes and feelings as might arise +among those who had been surprised and encompassed on all sides by an +ambuscade, the vast sweep of whose horizon reveals not a single ground +for hope, and whose despair had giddied the brain, like a draught of +that wine of Cyprus which gives a more instinctive rapidity to all our +gestures, a keener point to all our words, a more subtle flame to +all our emotions, and excites the mind to a pitch of irritability +approaching insanity. + +Such pictures possess but little real value for art. Like all +descriptions of moments of extremity, of agonies, of death rattles, +of contractions of the muscles where all elasticity is lost, where the +nerves, ceasing to be the organs of the human will, reduce man to +a passive victim of despair; they only serve to torture the soul. +Deplorable visions, which the artist should admit with extreme +circumspection within the graceful circle of his charmed realm! + + + +CHAPTER III. + +Chopin's Mazourkas--Polish Ladies--Mazourka in Poland--Tortured +Motives--Early life of Chopin--Zal. + + + +In all that regards expression, the MAZOURKAS of Chopin differ greatly +from his POLONAISES. Indeed they are entirely unlike in character. The +bold and vigorous coloring of the Polonaises gives place to the most +delicate, tender, and evanescent shades in the Mazourkas. A nation, +considered as a whole, in its united, characteristic, and single +impetus, is no longer placed before us; the character and impressions +now become purely personal, always individualized and divided. No +longer is the feminine and effeminate element driven back into shadowy +recesses. On the contrary, it is brought out in the boldest relief, nay, +it is brought into such prominent importance that all else disappears, +or, at most, serves only as its accompaniment. The days are now +past when to say that a woman was charming, they called her GRATEFUL +(WDZIECZNA); the very word charm being derived from WDZIEKI: GRATITUDE. +Woman no longer appears as a protegee, but as a queen; she no longer +forms only the better part of life, she now entirely fills it. Man is +still ardent, proud, and presumptuous, but he yields himself up to a +delirium of pleasure. This very pleasure is, however, always stamped +with melancholy. Both the music of the national airs, and the words, +which are almost always joined with them, express mingled emotions of +pain and joy. This strange but attractive contrast was caused by the +necessity of "CONSOLING MISERY" (CIESZYC BIDE), which necessity induced +them to seek the magical distraction of the graceful Mazourka, with its +transient delusions. The words which were sung to these melodies, gave +them a capability of linking themselves with the sacred associations of +memory, in a far higher degree than is usual with ordinary dance-music. +They were sung and re-sung a thousand times in the days of buoyant +youth, by fresh and sonorous voices, in the hours of solitude, or in +those of happy idleness. Linking the most varying associations with +the melody, they were again and again carelessly hummed when traveling +through forests, or ploughing the deep in ships; perhaps they were +listlessly upon the lips when some startling emotion has suddenly +surprised the singer; when an unexpected meeting, a long-desired +grouping, an unhoped-for word, has thrown an undying light upon the +heart, consecrating hours destined to live forever, and ever to shine on +in the memory, even through the most distant and gloomy recesses of the +constantly darkening future. + +Such inspirations were used by Chopin in the most happy manner, and +greatly enriched with the treasures of his handling and style. Cutting +these diamonds so as to present a thousand facets, he brought all their +latent fire to light, and re-uniting even their glittering dust, he +mounted them in gorgeous caskets. Indeed what settings could he have +chosen better adapted to enhance the value of his early recollections, +or which would have given him more efficient aid in creating poems, in +arranging scenes, in depicting episodes, in producing romances? Such +associations and national memories are indebted to him for a reign far +more extensive than the land which gave them birth. Placing them among +those idealized types which art has touched and consecrated with her +resplendent lustre, he has gifted them with immortality. + +In order fully to understand how perfectly this setting suited the +varying emotions which Chopin had succeeded in displaying in all the +magic of their rainbow hues, we must have seen the Mazourka danced +in Poland, because it is only there that it is possible to catch the +haughty, yet tender and alluring, character of this dance. The cavalier, +always chosen by the lady, seizes her as a conquest of which he is +proud, striving to exhibit her loveliness to the admiration of his +rivals, before he whirls her off in an entrancing and ardent embrace, +through the tenderness of which the defiant expression of the victor +still gleams, mingling with the blushing yet gratified vanity of the +prize, whose beauty forms the glory of his triumph. There are few +more delightful scenes than a ball in Poland. After the Mazourka has +commenced, the attention, in place of being distracted by a multitude of +people jostling against each other without grace or order, is fascinated +by one couple of equal beauty, darting forward, like twin stars, in +free and unimpeded space. As if in the pride of defiance, the cavalier +accentuates his steps, quits his partner for a moment, as if to +contemplate her with renewed delight, rejoins her with passionate +eagerness, or whirls himself rapidly round, as though overcome with +the sudden joy and yielding to the delicious giddiness of rapture. +Sometimes, two couples start at the same moment, after which a change +of partners may occur between them; or a third cavalier may present +himself, and, clapping his hands, claim one of the ladies as his +partner. The queens of the festival are in turn claimed by the most +brilliant gentlemen present, courting the honor of leading them through +the mazes of the dance. + +While in the Waltz and Galop, the dancers are isolated, and only +confused tableaux are offered to the bystanders; while the Quadrille is +only a kind of pass at arms made with foils, where attack and defence +proceed with equal indifference, where the most nonchalant display of +grace is answered with the same nonchalance; while the vivacity of +the Polka, charming, we confess, may easily become equivocal; while +Fandangos, Tarantulas and Minuets, are merely little love-dramas, only +interesting to those who execute them, in which the cavalier has nothing +to do but to display his partner, and the spectators have no share but +to follow, tediously enough, coquetries whose obligatory movements are +not addressed to them;--in the Mazourka, on the contrary, they have also +their part, and the role of the cavalier yields neither in grace nor +importance to that of his fair partner. + +The long intervals which separate the successive appearance of the pairs +being reserved for conversation among the dancers, when their turn comes +again, the scene passes no longer only among themselves, but extends +from them to the spectators. It is to them that the cavalier exhibits +the vanity he feels in having been able to win the preference of the +lady who has selected him; it is in their presence she has deigned to +show him this honor; she strives to please them, because the triumph of +charming them is reflected upon her partner, and their applause may be +made a part of the most flattering and insinuating coquetry. Indeed, at +the close of the dance, she seems to make him a formal offering of their +suffrages in her favor. She bounds rapidly towards him and rests upon +his arm,--a movement susceptible of a thousand varying shades which +feminine tact and subtle feeling well know how to modify, ringing every +change, from the most impassioned and impulsive warmth of manner to an +air of the most complete "abandon." + +What varied movements succeed each other in the course round the +ball-room! Commencing at first with a kind of timid hesitation, the lady +sways about like a bird about to take flight; gliding for some time on +one foot only, like a skater, she skims the ice of the polished floor; +then, running forward like a sportive child, she suddenly takes wing. +Raising her veiling eyelids, with head erect, with swelling bosom and +elastic bounds, she cleaves the air as the light bark cleaves the waves, +and, like an agile woodnymph, seems to sport with space. Again +she recommences her timid graceful gliding, looks round among the +spectators, sends sighs and words to the most, highly favored, then +extending her white arms to the partner who comes to rejoin her, again +begins her vigorous steps which transport her with magical rapidity from +one end to the other of the ball-room. She glides, she runs, she flies; +emotion colors her cheek, brightens her eye; fatigue bends her flexile +form, retards her winged feet, until, panting and exhausted, she softly +sinks and reclines in the arms of her partner, who, seizing her with +vigorous arm, raises her a moment in the air, before finishing with her +the last intoxicating round. + +In this triumphal course, in which may be seen a thousand Atalantas as +beautiful as the dreams of Ovid, many changes occur in the figures. The +couples, in the first chain, commence by giving each other the hand; +then forming themselves into a circle, whose rapid rotation dazzles the +eye, they wreathe a living crown, in which each lady is the only flower +of its own kind, while the glowing and varied colors are heightened +by the uniform costume of the men, the effect resembling that of the +dark-green foliage with which nature relieves her glowing buds and +fragrant bloom. They all then dart forward together with a sparkling +animation, a jealous emulation, defiling before the spectators as in +a review--an enumeration of which would scarcely yield in interest +to those given us, by Homer and Tasso, of the armies about to range +themselves in the front of battle! At the close of an hour or two, +the same circle again forms to end the dance; and on those days when +amusement and pleasure fill all with an excited gayety, sparkling and +glittering through those impressible temperaments like an aurora in a +midnight sky, a general promenade is recommenced, and in its accelerated +movements, we cannot detect the least symptom of fatigue among all +these delicate yet enduring women; as if their light limbs possessed the +flexible tenacity and elasticity of steel! + +As if by intuition, all the Polish women possess the magical science +of this dance. Even the least richly gifted among them know how to draw +from it new charms. If the graceful ease and noble dignity of those +conscious of their own power are full of attraction in it, timidity and +modesty are equally full of interest. This is so because of all modern +dances, it breathes most of pure love. As the dancers are always +conscious that the gaze of the spectators is fastened upon them, +addressing themselves constantly to them, there reigns in its very +essence a mixture of innate tenderness and mutual vanity, as full of +delicacy and propriety as of allurement. + +The latent and unknown poetry, which was only indicated in the original +Polish Mazourkas, was divined, developed, and brought to light, by +Chopin. Preserving their rhythm, he ennobled their melody, enlarged +their proportions; and--in order to paint more fully in these +productions, which he loved to hear us call "pictures from the easel," +the innumerable and widely-differing emotions which agitate the heart +during the progress of this dance, above all, in the long intervals in +which the cavalier has a right to retain his place at the side of the +lady, whom he never leaves--he wrought into their tissues harmonic +lights and shadows, as new in themselves as were the subjects to which +he adapted them. + +Coquetries, vanities, fantasies, inclinations, elegies, vague emotions, +passions, conquests, struggles upon which the safety or favor of others +depends, all--all, meet in this dance. How difficult it is to form a +complete idea of the infinite gradations of passion--sometimes pausing, +sometimes progressing, sometimes suing, sometimes ruling! In the +country where the Mazourka reigns from the palace to the cottage, these +gradations are pursued, for a longer or shorter time, with as much ardor +and enthusiasm as malicious trifling. The good qualities and faults +of men are distributed among the Poles in a manner so fantastic, that, +although the essentials of character may remain nearly the same in all, +they vary and shade into each other in a manner so extraordinary, +that it becomes almost impossible to recognize or distinguish them. +In natures so capriciously amalgamated, a wonderful diversity occurs, +adding to the investigations of curiosity, a spur unknown in other +lands; making of every new relation a stimulating study, and lending +unwonted interest to the lightest incident. Nothing is here indifferent, +nothing unheeded, nothing hackneyed! Striking contrasts are constantly +occurring among these natures so mobile and susceptible, endowed with +subtle, keen and vivid intellects, with acute sensibilities increased +by suffering and misfortune; contrasts throwing lurid light upon hearts, +like the blaze of a conflagration illumining and revealing the gloom +of midnight. Here chance may bring together those who but a few hours +before were strangers to each other. The ordeal of a moment, a single +word, may separate hearts long united; sudden confidences are often +forced by necessity, and invincible suspicions frequently held in +secret. As a witty woman once remarked: "They often play a comedy, to +avoid a tragedy!" That which has never been uttered, is yet incessantly +divined and understood. Generalities are often used to sharpen +interrogation, while concealing its drift; the most evasive replies +are carefully listened to, like the ringing of metal, as a test of the +quality. Often, when in appearance pleading for others, the suitor is +urging his own cause; and the most graceful flattery may be only the +veil of disguised exactions. + +But caution and attention become at last wearisome to natures naturally +expansive and candid, and a tiresome frivolity, surprising enough before +the secret of its reckless indifference has been divined, mingles with +the most spiritual refinement, the most poetic sentiments, the most real +causes for intense suffering, as if to mock and jeer at all reality. It +is difficult to analyze or appreciate justly this frivolity, as it +is sometimes real, sometimes only assumed. It makes use of confusing +replies and strange resources to conceal the truth. It is sometimes +justly, sometimes wrongfully regarded as a kind of veil of motley, whose +fantastic tissue needs only to be slightly torn to reveal more than one +hidden or sleeping quality under the variegated folds of gossamer. It +often follows from such causes, that eloquence becomes only a sort of +grave badinage, sparkling with spangles like the play of fireworks, +though the heart of the discourse may contain nothing earnest; while the +lightest raillery, thrown out apparently at random, may perhaps be most +sadly serious. Bitter and intense thought follows closely upon the +steps of the most tempestuous gayety; nothing indeed remains absolutely +superficial, though nothing is presented without an artificial +polish. In the discussions constantly occurring in this country, where +conversation is an art cultivated to the highest degree, and occupying +much time, there are always those present, who, whether the topic +discussed be grave or gay, can pass in a moment from smiles to tears, +from joy to sorrow, leaving the keenest observer in doubt which is most +real, so difficult is it to discern the fictitious from the true. + +In such varying modes of thought, where ideas shift like quick sands +upon the shores of the sea, they are rarely to be found again at the +exact point where they were left. This fact is in itself sufficient to +give interest to interviews otherwise insignificant. We have been taught +this in Paris by some natives of Poland, who astonished the Parisians by +their skill in "fencing in paradox;" an art in which every Pole is more +or less skillful, as he has felt more or less interest or amusement in +its cultivation. But the inimitable skill with which they are constantly +able to alternate the garb of truth or fiction (like touchstones, more +certain when least suspected, the one always concealed under the garb of +the other), the force which expends an immense amount of intellect upon +the most trivial occasions, as Gil Bias made use of as much intelligence +to find the means of subsistence for a single day, as was required by +the Spanish king to govern the whole of his domain; make at last an +impression as painful upon us as the games in which the jugglers of +India exhibit such wonderful skill, where sharp and deadly arms fly +glittering through the air, which the least error, the least want of +perfect mastery, would make the bright, swift messengers of certain +death! Such skill is full of concealed anxiety, terror, and anguish! +From the complication of circumstances, danger may lurk in the slightest +inadvertence, in the least imprudence, in possible accidents, while +powerful assistance may suddenly spring from some obscure and forgotten +individual. A dramatic interest may instantaneously arise from +interviews apparently the most trivial, giving an unforeseen phase to +every relation. A misty uncertainty hovers round every meeting, through +whose clouds it is difficult to seize the contours, to fix the lines, to +ascertain the present and future influence, thus rendering intercourse +vague and unintelligible, filling it with an indefinable and hidden +terror, yet, at the same time, with an insinuating flattery. The strong +currents of genuine sympathy are always struggling to escape from the +weight of this external repression. The differing impulses of vanity, +love, and patriotism, in their threefold motives of action, are forever +hurtling against each other in all hearts, leading to inextricable +confusion of thought and feeling. + +What mingling emotions are concentrated in the accidental meetings of +the Mazourka! It can surround, with its own enchantment, the lightest +emotion of the heart, while, through its magic, the most reserved, +transitory, and trivial rencounter appeals to the imagination. Could it +be otherwise in the presence of the women who give to this dance that +inimitable grace and suavity, for which, in less happy countries, +they struggle in vain? In very truth are not the Sclavic women utterly +incomparable? There are to be found among them those whose qualities and +virtues are so incontestable, so absolute, that they are acknowledged +by all ages, and by all countries. Such apparitions are always and +everywhere rare. The women of Poland are generally distinguished by an +originality full of fire. Parisians in their grace and culture, Eastern +dancing girls in their languid fire, they have perhaps preserved among +them, handed down from mother to daughter, the secret of the burning +love potions possessed in the seraglios. Their charms possess the +strange spell of Asiatic languor. With the flames of spiritual and +intellectual Houris in their lustrous eyes, we find the luxurious +indolence of the Sultana. Their manners caress without emboldening; +the grace of their languid movements is intoxicating; they allure by +a flexibility of form, which knows no restraint, save that of perfect +modesty, and which etiquette has never succeeded in robbing of its +willowy grace. They win upon us by those intonations of voice which +touch the heart, and fill the eye with tender tears; by those sudden and +graceful impulses which recall the spontaneity and beautiful timidity +of the gazelle. Intelligent, cultivated, comprehending every thing +with rapidity, skillful in the use of all they have acquired; they are +nevertheless as superstitious and fastidious as the lovely yet ignorant +creatures adored by the Arabian prophet. Generous, devout, loving danger +and loving love, from which they demand much, and to which they grant +little; beyond every thing they prize renown and glory. All heroism +is dear to them. Perhaps there is no one among them who would think it +possible to pay too dearly for a brilliant action; and yet, let us say +it with reverence, many of them devote to obscurity their most holy +sacrifices, their most sublime virtues. But however exemplary these +quiet virtues of the home life may be, neither the miseries of private +life, nor the secret sorrows which must prey upon souls too ardent not +to be frequently wounded, can diminish the wonderful vivacity of +their emotions, which they know how to communicate with the infallible +rapidity and certainty of an electric spark. Discreet by nature and +position, they manage the great weapon of dissimulation with incredible +dexterity, skillfully reading the souls of others with out revealing the +secrets of their own. With that strange pride which disdains to exhibit +characteristic or individual qualities, it is frequently the most noble +virtues which are thus concealed. The internal contempt they feel for +those who cannot divine them, gives them that superiority which enables +them to reign so absolutely over those whom they have enthralled, +flattered, subjugated, charmed; until the moment arrives when--loving +with the whole force of their ardent souls, they are willing to brave +and share the most bitter suffering, prison, exile, even death itself, +with the object of their love! Ever faithful, ever consoling, ever +tender, ever unchangeable in the intensity of their generous devotion! +Irresistible beings, who in fascinating and charming, yet demand an +earnest and devout esteem! In that precious incense of praise burned by +M. de Balzac, "in honor of that daughter of a foreign soil," he has +thus sketched the Polish woman in hues composed entirely of antitheses: +"Angel through love, demon through fantasy; child through faith, sage +through experience; man through the brain, woman through the heart; +giant through hope, mother through sorrow; and poet through dreams." +[Footnote: Dedication of "Modeste Mignon".] + +The homage inspired by the Polish women is always fervent. They all +possess the poetic conception of an ideal, which gleams through their +intercourse like an image constantly passing before a mirror, the +comprehension and seizure of which they impose as a task. Despising the +insipid and common pleasure of merely being able to please, they demand +that the being whom they love shall be capable of exacting their esteem. +This romantic temperament sometimes retains them long in hesitation +between the world and the cloister. Indeed, there are few among them who +at some moment of their lives have not seriously and bitterly thought of +taking refuge within the walls of a convent. + +Where such women reign as sovereigns, what feverish words, what hopes, +what despair, what entrancing fascinations must occur in the mazes of +the Mazourka; the Mazourka, whose every cadence vibrates in the ear of +the Polish lady as the echo of a vanished passion, or the whisper of a +tender declaration. Which among them has ever danced through a Mazourka, +whose cheeks burned not more from the excitement of emotion than from +mere physical fatigue? What unexpected and endearing ties have been +formed in the long tete-a-tete, in the very midst of crowds, with the +sounds of music, which generally recalled the name of some hero or some +proud historical remembrance attached to the words, floating around, +while thus the associations of love and heroism became forever attached +to the words and melodies! What ardent vows have been exchanged; what +wild and despairing farewells been breathed! How many brief attachments +have been linked and as suddenly unlinked, between those who had never +met before, who were never, never to meet again--and yet, to whom +forgetfulness had become forever impossible! What hopeless love may have +been revealed during the moments so rare upon this earth; when beauty +is more highly esteemed than riches, a noble bearing of more consequence +than rank! What dark destinies forever severed by the tyranny of rank +and wealth may have been, in these fleeting moments of meeting, again +united, happy in the glitter of passing triumph, reveling in concealed +and unsuspected joy! What interviews, commenced in indifference, +prolonged in jest, interrupted with emotion, renewed with the secret +consciousness of mutual understanding, (in all that concerns subtle +intuition Slavic finesse and delicacy especially excel,) have terminated +in the deepest attachments! What holy confidences have been exchanged in +the spirit of that generous frankness which circulates from unknown +to unknown, when the noble are delivered from the tyranny of forced +conventionalisms! What words deceitfully bland, what vows, what desires, +what vague hopes have been negligently thrown on the winds;--thrown +as the handkerchief of the fair dancer in the Mazourka... and which the +maladroit knows not how to pick up!... + +We have before asserted that we must have known personally the women of +Poland, for the full and intuitive comprehension of the feelings with +which the Mazourkas of Chopin, as well as many more of his compositions, +are impregnated. A subtle love vapor floats like an ambient fluid around +them; we may trace step by step in his Preludes, Nocturnes Impromptus +and Mazourkas, all the phases of which passion is capable The sportive +hues of coquetry the insensible and gradual yielding of inclination, the +capricious festoons of fantasy; the sadness of sickly joys born dying, +flowers of mourning like the black roses, the very perfume of whose +gloomy leaves is depressing, and whose petals are so frail that the +faintest sigh is sufficient to detach them from the fragile stem; sudden +flames without thought, like the false shining of that decayed and +dead wood which only glitters in obscurity and crumbles at the touch; +pleasures without past and without future, snatched from accidental +meetings; illusions, inexplicable excitements tempting to adventure, +like the sharp taste of half ripened fruit which stimulates and pleases +even while it sets the teeth on edge; emotions without memory +and without hope; shadowy feelings whose chromatic tints are +interminable;--are all found in these works, endowed by genius with the +innate nobility, the beauty, the distinction, the surpassing elegance of +those by whom they are experienced. + +In the compositions just mentioned, as well as in most of his Ballads, +Waltzes and Etudes, the rendering of some of the poetical subjects to +which we have just alluded, may be found embalmed. These fugitive poems +are so idealized, rendered so fragile and attenuated, that they scarcely +seem to belong to human nature, but rather to a fairy world, unveiling +the indiscreet confidences of Peris, of Titanias, of Ariels, of Queen +Mabs, of the Genii of the air, of water, and of fire,--like ourselves, +subject to bitter disappointments, to invincible disgusts. + +Some of these compositions are as gay and fantastic as the wiles of an +enamored, yet mischievous sylph; some are soft, playing in undulating +light, like the hues of a salamander; some, full of the most profound +discouragement, as if the sighs of souls in pain, who could find none +to offer up the charitable prayers necessary for their deliverance, +breathed through their notes. Sometimes a despair so inconsolable +is stamped upon them, that we feel ourselves present at some Byronic +tragedy, oppressed by the anguish of a Jacopo Foscari, unable to survive +the agony of exile. In some we hear the shuddering spasms of suppressed +sobs. Some of them, in which the black keys are exclusively taken, are +acute and subtle, and remind us of the character of his own gaiety, +lover of atticism as he was, subject only to the higher emotions, +recoiling from all vulgar mirth, from coarse laughter, and from low +enjoyments, as we do from those animals more abject than venomous, whose +very sight causes the most nauseating repulsion in tender and sensitive +natures. + +An exceeding variety of subjects and impressions occur in the great +number of his Mazourkas. Sometimes we catch the manly sounds of the +rattling of spurs, but it is generally the almost imperceptible rustling +of crape and gauze under the light breath of the dancers, or the +clinking of chains of gold and diamonds, that maybe distinguished. Some +of them seem to depict the defiant pleasure of the ball given on the eve +of battle, tortured however by anxiety for, through the rhythm of the +dance, we hear the sighs and despairing farewells of hearts forced to +suppress their tears. Others reveal to us the discomfort and secret +ennui of those guests at a fete, who find it in vain to expect that +the gay sounds will muffle the sharp cries of anguished spirits. +We sometimes catch the gasping breath of terror and stifled fears; +sometimes divine the dim presentiments of a love destined to perpetual +struggle and doomed to survive all hope, which, though devoured by +jealousy and conscious that it can never be the victor, still disdains +to curse, and takes refuge in a soul-subduing pity. In others we feel as +if borne into the heart of a whirlwind, a strange madness; in the midst +of the mystic confusion, an abrupt melody passes and repasses, panting +and palpitating, like the throbbing of a heart faint with longing, +gasping in despair, breaking in anguish, dying of hopeless, yet +indignant love. In some we hear the distant flourish of trumpets, like +fading memories of glories past, in some of them, the rhythm is as +floating, as undetermined, as shadowy, as the feeling with which two +young lovers gaze upon the first star of evening, as yet alone in the +dim skies. + +Upon one afternoon, when there were but three persons present, and +Chopin had been playing for a long time, one of the most distinguished +women in Paris remarked, that she felt always more and more filled +with solemn meditation, such as might be awakened in presence of the +grave-stones strewing those grounds in Turkey, whose shady recesses +and bright beds of flowers promise only a gay garden to the startled +traveller. She asked him what was the cause of the involuntary, yet +sad veneration which subdued her heart while listening to these pieces, +apparently presenting only sweet and graceful subjects:--and by what +name he called the strange emotion inclosed in his compositions, like +ashes of the unknown dead in superbly sculptured urns of the purest +alabaster... Conquered by the appealing tears which moistened the +beautiful eyes, with a candor rare indeed in this artist, so susceptible +upon all that related to the secrets of the sacred relics buried in +the gorgeous shrines of his music, he replied: "that her heart had not +deceived her in the gloom which she felt stealing upon her, for whatever +might have been his transitory pleasures, he had never been free from +a feeling which might almost be said to form the soil of his heart, +and for which he could find no appropriate expression except in his +own language, no other possessing a term equivalent to the Polish word: +ZAL!" As if his ear thirsted for the sound of this word, which expresses +the whole range of emotions produced by an intense regret, through all +the shades of feeling, from hatred to repentance, he repeated it again +and again. + +ZAL! Strange substantive, embracing a strange diversity, a strange +philosophy! Susceptible of different regimens, it includes all the +tenderness, all the humility of a regret borne with resignation and +without a murmur, while bowing before the fiat of necessity, the +inscrutable decrees of Providence: but, changing its character, and +assuming the regimen indirect as soon as it is addressed to man, it +signifies excitement, agitation, rancor, revolt full of reproach, +premeditated vengeance, menace never ceasing to threaten if retaliation +should ever become possible, feeding itself meanwhile with a bitter, if +sterile hatred. + +ZAL! In very truth, it colors the whole of Chopin's compositions: +sometimes wrought through their elaborate tissue, like threads of dim +silver; sometimes coloring them with more passionate hues. It may be +found in his sweetest reveries; even in those which that Shakespearian +genius, Berlioz, comprehending all extremes, has so well characterized +as "divine coquetries"--coquetries only understood in semi-oriental +countries; coquetries in which men are cradled by their mothers, with +which they are tormented by their sisters, and enchanted by those they +love; and which cause the coquetries of other women to appear insipid +or coarse in their eyes; inducing them to exclaim, with an appearance of +boasting, yet in which they are entirely justified by the truth: NIEMA +IAK POLKI! "Nothing equals the Polish women!" [Footnote: The custom +formerly in use of drinking, in her own shoe, the health of the woman +they loved, is one of the most original traditions of the enthusiastic +gallantry if the Poles.] Through the secrets of these "divine +coquetries" those adorable beings are formed, who are alone capable +of fulfilling the impassioned ideals of poets who, like M. de +Chateaubriand, in the feverish sleeplessness of their adolescence, +create for themselves visions "of an Eve, innocent, yet fallen; ignorant +of all, yet knowing all; mistress, yet virgin." [Footnote: Memoires +d'Outre Tombe. 1st vol. Incantation.] The only being which was ever +found to resemble this dream, was a Polish girl of seventeen--"a mixture +of the Odalisque and Valkyria... realization of the ancient sylph--new +Flora--freed from the chain of the seasons" [Footnote: Idem. 3d vol. +Atala.]--and whom M. de Chateaubriand feared to meet again. "Divine +coquetries" at once generous and avaricious; impressing the floating, +wavy, rocking, undecided motion of a boat without rigging or oars upon +the charmed and intoxicated heart! + +Through his peculiar style of performance, Chopin imparted this constant +rocking with the most fascinating effect; thus making the melody +undulate to and fro, like a skiff driven on over the bosom of tossing +waves. This manner of execution, which set a seal so peculiar upon his +own style of playing, was at first indicated by the term 'tempo rubato', +affixed to his writings: a Tempo agitated, broken, interrupted, a +movement flexible, yet at the same time abrupt and languishing, and +vacillating as the flame under the fluctuating breath by which it is +agitated. In his later productions we no longer find this mark. He was +convinced that if the performer understood them, he would divine this +rule of irregularity. All his compositions should be played with this +accentuated and measured swaying and balancing. It is difficult for +those who have not frequently heard him play to catch this secret of +their proper execution. He seemed desirous of imparting this style +to his numerous pupils, particularly those of his own country. His +countrymen, or rather his countrywomen, seized it with the facility +with which they understand every thing relating to poetry or feeling; an +innate, intuitive comprehension of his meaning aided them in following +all the fluctuations of his depths of aerial and spiritual blue. + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +Chopin's Mode of Playing--Concerts--The Elite--Fading Bouquets and +Immortal Crowns--Hospitality--Heine--Meyerbeer--Adolphe Nourrit--Eugene +Delacroix--Niemcevicz--Mickiewicz--George Sand. + + + +AFTER having described the compositions palpitating with emotion in +which genius struggles with grief, (grief, that terrible reality which +Art must strive to reconcile with Heaven), confronting it sometimes +as conqueror, sometimes as conquered; compositions in which all the +memories of his youth, the affections of his heart, the mysteries of his +desires, the secrets of his untold passions, are collected like tears +in a lachrymatory; compositions in which, passing the limits of human +sensations--too dull for his eager fancy, too obtuse for his keen +perceptions--he makes incursions into the realms of Dryads, Oreads, and +Oceanides;--we would naturally be expected to speak of his talent +for execution. But this task we cannot assume. We cannot command the +melancholy courage to exhume emotions linked with our fondest memories, +our dearest personal recollections; we cannot force ourselves to make +the mournful effort to color the gloomy shrouds, veiling the skill we +once loved, with the brilliant hues they would exact at our hands. We +feel our loss too bitterly to attempt such an analysis. And what result +would it be possible to attain with all our efforts! We could not hope +to convey to those who have never heard him, any just conception of that +fascination so ineffably poetic, that charm subtle and penetrating +as the delicate perfume of the vervain or the Ethiopian calla, which, +shrinking and exclusive, refuses to diffuse its exquisite aroma in the +noisome breath of crowds, whose heavy air can only retain the stronger +odor of the tuberose, the incense of burning resin. + +By the purity of its handling, by its relation with LA FEE AUX MIETTES +and LES LUTINS D'ARGAIL, by its rencounters with the SERAPHINS and +DIANES, who murmur in his ear their most confidential complaints, their +most secret dreams, the style and the manner of conception of Chopin +remind us of Nodier. He knew that he did not act upon the masses, that +he could not warm the multitude, which is like a sea of lead, and as +heavy to set in motion, and which, though its waves may be melted and +rendered malleable by heat, requires the powerful arm of an athletic +Cyclops to manipulate, fuse, and pour into moulds, where the dull +metal, glowing and seething under the electric fire, becomes thought and +feeling under the new form into which it has been forced. He knew he was +only perfectly appreciated in those meetings, unfortunately too few, +in which ALL his hearers were prepared to follow him into those spheres +which the ancients imagined to be entered only through a gate of ivory, +to be surrounded by pilasters of diamond, and surmounted by a dome +arched with fawn-colored crystal, upon which played the various dyes of +the prism; spheres, like the Mexican opal, whose kaleidoscopical foci +are dimmed by olive-colored mists veiling and unveiling the inner +glories; spheres, in which all is magical and supernatural, reminding +us of the marvellous worlds of realized dreams. In such spheres Chopin +delighted. He once remarked to a friend, an artist who has since been +frequently heard: "I am not suited for concert giving; the public +intimidate me; their looks, only stimulated by curiosity, paralyze me; +their strange faces oppress me; their breath stifles me: but you--you +are destined for it, for when you do not gain your public, you have the +force to assault, to overwhelm, to control, to compel them." + +Conscious of how much was necessary for the comprehension of his +peculiar talent, he played but rarely in public. With the exception of +some concerts given at his debut in 1831, in Vienna and Munich, he gave +no more, except in Paris, being indeed not able to travel on account of +his health, which was so precarious, that during entire months, he would +appear to be in an almost dying state. During the only excursion which +he made with a hope that the mildness of a Southern climate would be +more conducive to his health, his condition was frequently so alarming, +that more than once the hotel keepers demanded payment for the bed and +mattress he occupied, in order to have them burned, deeming him already +arrived at that stage of consumption in which it becomes so highly +contagious We believe, however, if we may be permitted to say it, that +his concerts were less fatiguing to his physical constitution, than to +his artistic susceptibility. We think that his voluntary abnegation of +popular applause veiled an internal wound. He was perfectly aware of his +own superiority; perhaps it did not receive sufficient reverberation +and echo from without to give him the tranquil assurance that he was +perfectly appreciated. No doubt, in the absence of popular acclamation, +he asked himself how far a chosen audience, through the enthusiasm +of its applause, was able to replace the great public which he +relinquished. Few understood him:--did those few indeed understand him +aright? A gnawing feeling of discontent, of which he himself scarcely +comprehended the cause, secretly undermined him. We have seen him +almost shocked by eulogy. The praise to which he was justly entitled not +reaching him EN MASSE, he looked upon isolated commendation as almost +wounding. That he felt himself not only slightly, but badly applauded, +was sufficiently evident by the polished phrases with which, like +troublesome dust, he shook such praises off, making it quite evident +that he preferred to be left undisturbed in the enjoyment of his +solitary feelings to injudicious commendation. + +Too fine a connoisseur in raillery, too ingenious satirist ever to +expose himself to sarcasm, he never assumed the role of a "genius +misunderstood." With a good grace and under an apparent satisfaction, he +concealed so entirely the wound given to his just pride, that its very +existence was scarcely suspected. But not without reason, might the +gradually increasing rarity [Footnote: Sometimes he passed years without +giving a single concert. We believe the one given by him in Pleyel's +room, in 1844, was after an interval of nearly ten years] of his +concerts be attributed rather to the wish he felt to avoid occasions +which did not bring him the tribute he merited, than to physical +debility. Indeed, he put his strength to rude proofs in the many lessons +which he always gave, and the many hours he spent at his own Piano. + +It is to be regretted that the indubitable advantage for the artist +resulting from the cultivation of only a select audience, should be so +sensibly diminished by the rare and cold expression of its sympathies. +The GLACE which covers the grace of the ELITE, as it does the fruit of +their desserts; the imperturbable calm of their most earnest enthusiasm, +could not be satisfactory to Chopin. The poet, torn from his solitary +inspiration, can only find it again in the interest, more than +attentive, vivid and animated of his audience. He can never hope to +regain it in the cold looks of an Areopagus assembled to judge him. He +must FEEL that he moves, that he agitates those who hear him, that his +emotions find in them the responsive sympathies of the same intuitions, +that he draws them on with him in his flight towards the infinite: as +when the leader of a winged train gives the signal of departure, he is +immediately followed by the whole flock in search of milder shores. + +But had it been otherwise--had Chopin everywhere received the exalted +homage and admiration he so well deserved; had he been heard, as so +many others, by all nations and in all climates; had ho obtained those +brilliant ovations which make a Capitol every where, where the people +salute merit or honor genius had he been known and recognized by +thousands in place of the hundreds who acknowledged him--we would not +pause in this part of his career to enumerate such triumphs. + +What are the dying bouquets of an hour to those whose brows claim the +laurel of immortality? Ephemeral sympathies, transitory praises, are not +to be mentioned in the presence of the august Dead, crowned with higher +glories. The joys, the consolations, the soothing emotions which the +creations of true art awaken in the weary, suffering, thirsty, or +persevering and believing hearts to whom they are dedicated, are +destined to be borne into far countries and distant years, by the sacred +works of Chopin. Thus an unbroken bond will be established between +elevated natures, enabling them to understand and appreciate each other, +in whatever part of the earth or period of time they may live. Such +natures are generally badly divined by their contemporaries when they +have been silent, often misunderstood when they have spoken the most +eloquently! + +"There are different crowns," says Goethe, "there are some which may +be readily gathered during a walk." Such crowns charm for the moment +through their balmy freshness, but who would think of comparing them +with those so laboriously gained by Chopin by constant and exemplary +effort, by an earnest love of art, and by his own mournful experience of +the emotions which he has so truthfully depicted? + +As he sought not with a mean avidity those crowns so easily won, of +which more than one among ourselves has the modesty to be proud; as he +was a pure, generous, good and compassionate man, filled with a single +sentiment, and that one of the most noble of feelings, the love of +country; as he moved among us like a spirit consecrated by all that +Poland possesses of poetry; let us approach his sacred grave with due +reverence! Let us adorn it with no artificial wreaths! Let us cast upon +it no trivial crowns! Let us nobly elevate our thoughts before this +consecrated shroud! Let us learn from him to repulse all but the highest +ambition, let us try to concentrate our labor upon efforts which will +leave more lasting effects than the vain leading of the fashions of the +passing hour. Let us renounce the corrupt spirit of the times in which +we live, with all that is not worthy of art, all that will not endure, +all that does not contain in itself some spark of that eternal and +immaterial beauty, which it is the task of art to reveal and unveil as +the condition of its own glory! Let us remember the ancient prayer of +the Dorians whose simple formula is so full of pious poetry, asking only +of their gods: "To give them the Good, in return for the Beautiful!" +In place of laboring so constantly to attract auditors, and striving to +please them at whatever sacrifice, let us rather aim, like Chopin, to +leave a celestial and immortal echo of what we have felt, loved, +and suffered! Let us learn, from his revered memory, to demand from +ourselves works which will entitle us to some true rank in the sacred +city of art! Let us not exact from the present with out regard to the +future, those light and vain wreath which are scarcely woven before they +are faded and forgotten!... + +In place of such crowns, the most glorious palms which it is possible +for an artist to receive during his lifetime, have been placed in the +hands of Chopin by ILLUSTRIOUS EQUALS. An enthusiastic admiration was +given him by a public still more limited than the musical aristocracy +which frequented his concerts. This public was formed of the most +distinguished names of men, who bowed before him as the kings of +different empires bend before a monarch whom they have assembled to +honor. Such men rendered to him, individually, due homage. How could it +have been otherwise in France, where the hospitality, so truly national, +discerns with such perfect taste the rank and claims of the guests? + +The most eminent minds in Paris frequently met in Chopin's saloon. Not +in reunions of fantastic periodicity, such as the dull imaginations +of ceremonious and tiresome circles have arranged, and which they +have never succeeded in realizing in accordance with their wishes, for +enjoyment, ease, enthusiasm, animation, never come at an hour fixed upon +before hand. They can be commanded less by artists than by other +men, for they are all more or less struck by some sacred malady whose +paralyzing torpor they must shake off, whose benumbing pain they must +forget, to be joyous and amused by those pyrotechnic fires which startle +the bewildered guests, who see from time to time a Roman candle, a +rose-colored Bengal light, a cascade whose waters are of fire, or a +terrible, yet quite innocent dragon! Gayety and the strength necessary +to be joyous, are, unfortunately things only accidentally to be +encountered among poets and artists! It is true some of the more +privileged among them have the happy gift of surmounting internal pain, +so as to bear their burden always lightly, able to laugh with their +companions over the toils of the way, or at least always able to +preserve a gentle and calm serenity which, like a mute pledge of hope +and consolation, animates, elevates, and encourages their associates, +imparting to them, while they remain under the influence of this placid +atmosphere, a freedom of spirit which appears so much the more vivid, +the more strongly it contrasts with their habitual ennui, their +abstraction, their natural gloom, their usual indifference. + +Chopin did not belong to either of the above mentioned classes; he +possessed the innate grace of a Polish welcome, by which the host is not +only bound to fulfill the common laws and duties of hospitality, but is +obliged to relinquish all thought of himself, to devote all his powers +to promote the enjoyment of his guests. It was a pleasant thing to visit +him; his visitors were always charmed; he knew how to put them at once +at ease, making them masters of every thing, and placing every thing at +their disposal. In doing the honors of his own cabin, even the simple +laborer of Sclavic race never departs from this munificence; more +joyously eager in his welcome than the Arab in his tent, he compensates +for the splendor which may be wanting in his reception by an adage +which he never fails to repeat, and which is also repealed by the grand +seignior after the most luxurious repasts served under gilded canopies: +CZYM BOHAT, TYM RAD--which is thus paraphrased for foreigners: "Deign +graciously to pardon all that is unworthy of you, it is all my humble +riches which I place at your feet." This formula [Footnote: All +the Polish formulas of courtesy retain the strong impress of the +hyperbolical expressions of the Eastern languages. The titles of "very +powerful and very enlightened seigniors" are still obligatory. +The Poles, in conversation, constantly name each other Benefactor +(DOBRODZIJ). The common salutation between men, and of men to women, +is PADAM DO NOG: "I fall at your feet." The greeting of the people +possesses a character of ancient solemnity and simplicity: SLAWA BOHU: +"Glory to God."] is still pronounced with a national grace and dignity +by all masters of families who preserve the picturesque customs which +distinguished the ancient manners of Poland. + +Having thus described something of the habits of hospitality common in +his country, the ease which presided over our reunions with Chopin will +be readily understood. The flow of thought, the entire freedom from +restraint, were of a character so pure that no insipidity or bitterness +ever ensued, no ill humor was ever provoked. Though he avoided society, +yet when his saloon was invaded, the kindness of his attention was +delightful; without appearing to occupy himself with any one, he +succeeded in finding for all that which was most agreeable; neglecting +none, he extended to all the most graceful courtesy. + +It was not without a struggle, without a repugnance slightly +misanthropic, that Chopin could be induced to open his doors and piano, +even to those whose friendship, as respectful as faithful, gave them a +claim to urge such a request with eagerness. Without doubt more than one +of us can still remember our first improvised evening with him, in spite +of his refusal, when he lived at Chaussee d'Antin. + +His apartment, invaded by surprise, was only lighted by some wax +candles, grouped round one of Pleyel's pianos, which he particularly +liked for their slightly veiled, yet silvery sonorousness, and easy +touch, permitting him to elicit tones which one might think proceeded +from one of those harmonicas of which romantic Germany has preserved +the monopoly, and which were so ingeniously constructed by its ancient +masters, by the union of crystal and water. + +As the corners of the room were left in obscurity, all idea of limit was +lost, so that there seemed no boundary save the darkness of space. Some +tall piece of furniture, with its white cover, would reveal itself in +the dim light; an indistinct form, raising itself like a spectre to +listen to the sounds which had evoked it. The light, concentrated round +the piano and falling on the floor, glided on like a spreading wave +until it mingled with the broken flashes from the fire, from which +orange colored plumes rose and fell, like fitful gnomes, attracted there +by mystic incantations in their own tongue. A single portrait, that of +a pianist, an admiring and sympathetic friend, seemed invited to be the +constant auditor of the ebb and flow of tones, which sighed, moaned, +murmured, broke and died upon the instrument near which it always hung. +By a strange accident, the polished surface of the mirror only reflected +so as to double it for our eyes, the beautiful oval with silky curls +which so many pencils have copied, and which the engraver has just +reproduced for all who are charmed by works of such peculiar eloquence. + +Several men, of brilliant renown, were grouped in the luminous zone +immediately around the piano: Heine, the saddest of humorists, listened +with the interest of a fellow countryman to the narrations made him by +Chopin of the mysterious country which haunted his ethereal fancy also, +and of which he too had explored the beautiful shores. At a glance, +a word, a tone, Chopin and Heine understood each other; the musician +replied to the questions murmured in his ear by the poet, giving in +tones the most surprising revelations from those unknown regions, about +that "laughing nymph" [Footnote: Heine. SALOON-CHOPIN.] of whom he +demanded news: "If she still continued to drape her silvery veil around +the flowing locks of her green hair, with a coquetry so enticing?" +Familiar with the tittle-tattle and love tales of those distant lands he +asked: "If the old marine god, with the long white beard, still pursued +this mischievous naiad with his ridiculous love?" Fully informed, too, +about all the exquisite fairy scenes to be seen DOWN THERE--DOWN THERE, +he asked "if the roses always glowed there with a flame so triumphant? +if the trees at moonlight sang always so harmoniously?" When Chopin had +answered, and they had for a long time conversed together about that +aerial clime, they would remain in gloomy silence, seized with that mal +du pays from which Heine suffered when he compared himself to that Dutch +captain of the phantom ship, with his crew eternally driven about upon +the chill waves, and "sighing in vain for the spices, the tulips, +the hyacinths, the pipes of sea-foam, the porcelain cups of +Holland... 'Amsterdam! Amsterdam! when shall we again see Amsterdam!' +they cry from on board, while the tempest howls in the cordage, +beating them forever about in their watery hell." Heine adds: "I +fully understand the passion with which the unfortunate captain once +exclaimed: 'Oh if I should EVER again see Amsterdam! I would rather be +chained forever at the corner of one of its streets, than be forced to +leave it again!' Poor Van der Decken!" + +Heine well knew what poor Van der Decken had suffered in his terrible +and eternal course upon the ocean, which had fastened its fangs in the +wood of his incorruptible vessel, and by an invisible anchor, whose +chain he could not break because it could never be found, held it firmly +linked upon the waves of its restless bosom. He could describe to us +when he chose, the hope, the despair, the torture of the miserable +beings peopling this unfortunate ship, for he had mounted its accursed +timbers, led on and guided by the hand of some enamored Undine, who, +when the guest of her forest of coral and palace of pearl rose more +morose, more satirical, more bitter than usual, offered for the +amusement of his ill humor between the repasts, some spectacle worthy +of a lover who could create more wonders in his dreams than her whole +kingdom contained. + +Heine had traveled round the poles of the earth in this imperishable +vessel; he had seen the brilliant visitor of the long nights, the aurora +borealis, mirror herself in the immense stalactites of eternal ice, +rejoicing in the play of colors alternating with each other in the +varying folds of her glowing scarf. He had visited the tropics, where +the zodiacal triangle, with its celestial light, replaces, during the +short nights, the burning rays of an oppressive sun. He had crossed the +latitudes where life becomes pain, and advanced into those in which it +is a living death, making himself familiar, on the long way, with the +heavenly miracles in the wild path of sailors who make for no port! +Seated on a poop without a helm, his eye had ranged from the two Bears +majestically overhanging the North, to the brilliant Southern Cross, +through the blank Antarctic deserts extending through the empty space of +the heavens overhead, as well as over the dreary waves below, where the +despairing eye finds nothing to contemplate in the sombre depths of a +sky without a star, vainly arching over a shoreless and bottomless sea! +He had long followed the glittering yet fleeting traces left by the +meteors through the blue depths of space; he had tracked the mystic and +incalculable orbits of the comets as they flash through their wandering +paths, solitary and incomprehensible, everywhere dreaded for their +ominous splendor, yet inoffensive and harmless. He had gazed upon the +shining of that distant star, Aldebaran, which, like the glitter and +sullen glow in the eye of a vengeful enemy, glares fiercely upon our +globe, without daring to approach it. He had watched the radiant planets +shedding upon the restless eye which seeks them a consoling and friendly +light, like the weird cabala of an enigmatic yet hopeful promise. + +Heine had seen all these things, under the varying appearances which +they assume in different latitudes; he had seen much more also with +which he would entertain us under strange similitudes. He had assisted +at the furious cavalcade of "Herodiade;" he had also an entrance at the +court of the king of "Aulnes" in the gardens of the "Hesperides"; and +indeed into all those places inaccessible to mortals who have not had +a fairy as godmother, who would take upon herself the task of +counterbalancing all the evil experienced in life, by showering upon the +adopted the whole store of fairy treasures. + +Upon that evening which we are now describing, Meyerbeer was seated +next to Heine;--Meyerbeer, for whom the whole catalogue of admiring +interjections has long since been exhausted! Creator of Cyclopean +harmonics as he was, he passed the time in delight when following the +detailed arabesques, which, woven in transparent gauze, wound in filmy +veils around the delicate conceptions of Chopin. + +Adolphe Nourrit, a noble artist, at once ascetic and passionate, was +also there. He was a sincere, almost a devout Catholic, dreaming of the +future with the fervor of the Middle Ages, who, during the latter part +of his life, refused the assistance of his talent to any scene of +merely superficial sentiment. He served Art with a high and enthusiastic +respect; he considered it, in all its divers manifestations, only a +holy tabernacle, "the Beauty of which formed the splendor of the True." +Already undermined by a melancholy passion for the Beautiful, his brow +seemed to be turning into stone under the dominion of this haunting +feeling: a feeling always explained by the outbreak of despair, too late +for remedy from man--man, alas! so eager to explore the secrets of the +heart--so dull to divine them! + +Hiller, whose talent was allied to Chopin's, and who was one of his most +intimate friends, was there also. In advance of the great compositions +which he afterwards published, of which the first was his remarkable +Oratorio, "The Destruction of Jerusalem," he wrote some pieces for the +Piano. Among these, those known under the title of Etudes, (vigorous +sketches of the most finished design), recall those studies of foliage, +in which the landscape painter gives us an entire little poem of light +and shade, with only one tree, one branch, a single "motif," happily and +boldly handled. + +In the presence of the spectres which filled the air, and whose rustling +might almost be heard, Eugene Delacroix remained absorbed and silent. +Was he considering what pallet, what brushes, what canvas he must use, +to introduce them into visible life through his art? Did he task +himself to discover canvas woven by Arachne, brushes made from the long +eyelashes of the fairies, and a pallet covered with the vaporous tints +of the rainbow, in order to make such a sketch possible? Did he then +smile at these fancies, yet gladly yield to the impressions from which +they sprung, because great talent is always attracted by that power in +direct contrast to its own? + +The aged Niemcevicz, who appeared to be the nearest to the grave among +us, listened to the "Historic Songs" which Chopin translated into +dramatic execution for this survivor of times long past. Under the +fingers of the Polish artist, again were heard, side by side with the +descriptions, so popular, of the Polish bard, the shock of arms, the +songs of conquerors, the hymns of triumph, the complaints of illustrious +prisoners, and the wail over dead heroes. They memorized together the +long course of national glory, of victory, of kings, of queens, of +warriors; and so much life had these phantoms, that the old man, deeming +the present an illusion, believed the olden times fully resuscitated. + +Dark and silent, apart from all others, fell the motionless profile of +Mickiewicz: the Dante of the North, he seemed always to find "the salt +of the stranger bitter, and his steps hard to mount." + +Buried in a fauteuil, with her arms resting upon a table, sat Madame +Sand, curiously attentive, gracefully subdued. Endowed with that rare +faculty only given to a few elect, of recognizing the Beautiful under +whatever form of nature or of art it may assume, she listened with +the whole force of her ardent genius. The faculty of instantaneously +recognizing Beauty may perhaps be the "second sight," of which all +nations have acknowledged the existence in highly gifted women. It is a +kind of magical gaze which causes the bark, the mask, the gross envelope +of form, to fall off; so that the invisible essence, the soul which is +incarnated within, may be clearly contemplated; so that the ideal which +the poet or artist may have vivified under the torrent of notes, the +passionate veil of coloring, the cold chiseling of marble, or the +mysterious rhythms of strophes, may be fully discerned. This faculty is +much rarer than is generally supposed. It is usually felt but vaguely, +yet--in its highest manifestations, it reveals itself as a "divining +oracle," knowing the Past and prophesying the Future. It is a power +which exempts the blessed organization which it illumes, from the +bearing of the heavy burden of technicalities, with which the merely +scientific drag on toward that mystic region of inner life, which the +gifted attain with a single bound. It is a faculty which springs less +from an acquaintance with the sciences, than from a familiarity with +nature. + +The fascination and value of a country life consist in the long +tete-a-tete with nature. The words of revelation hidden under the +infinite harmonies of form, of sounds, of lights and shadows, of tones +and warblings, of terror and delight, may best be caught in these +long solitary interviews. Such infinite variety may appear crushing or +distracting on a first view, but if faced with a courage that no mystery +can appal, if sounded with a resolution that no length of time can +abate, may give the clue to analogies, conformities, relations between +our senses and our sentiments, and aid us in tracing the hidden +links which bind apparent dissimilarities, identical oppositions and +equivalent antitheses, and teach us the secrets of the chasms separating +with narrow but impassable space, that which is destined to approach +forever, yet never mingle; to resemble ever, yet never blend. To have +awakened early, as did Madame Sand, to the dim whispering with which +nature initiates her chosen to her mystic rites, is a necessary appanage +of the poet. To have learned from her to penetrate the dreams of man +when he, in his turn, creates, and uses in his works the tones, the +warblings, the terrors, the delights, requires a still more subtle +power; a power which Madame Sand possesses by a double right, by the +intuitions of her heart, and the vigor of her genius. After having named +Madame Sand, whose energetic personality and electric genius inspired +the frail and delicate organization of Chopin with an intensity of +admiration which consumed him, as a wine too spirituous shatters the +fragile vase; we cannot now call up other names from the dim limbus of +the past, in which so many indistinct images, such doubtful sympathies, +such indefinite projects and uncertain beliefs, are forever surging and +hurtling. Perhaps there is no one among us, who, in looking through the +long vista, would not meet the ghost of some feeling whose shadowy +form he would find impossible to pass! Among the varied interests, the +burning desires, the restless tendencies surging through the epoch in +which so many high hearts and brilliant intellects were fortuitously +thrown together, how few of them, alas! possessed sufficient vitality to +enable them to resist the numberless causes of death, surrounding every +idea, every feeling, as well as every individual life, from the cradle +to the grave! Even during the moments of the troubled existence of the +emotions now past, how many of them escaped that saddest of all human +judgments: "Happy, oh, happy were it dead! Far happier had it never +been born!" Among the varied feelings with which so many noble hearts +throbbed high, were there indeed many which never incurred this fearful +malediction? Like the suicide lover in Mickiewicz's poem, who returns to +life in the land of the Dead only to renew the dreadful suffering of his +earth life, perhaps among all the emotions then so vividly felt there is +not a single one which, could it again live, would reappear without the +disfigurements, the brandings, the bruises, the mutilations, which +were inflicted on its early beauty, which so deeply sullied its primal +innocence! And if we should persist in recalling these melancholy ghosts +of dead thoughts and buried feelings from the heavy folds of the shroud, +would they not actually appal us, because so few of them possessed +sufficient purity and celestial radiance to redeem them from the shame +of being utterly disowned, entirely repudiated, by those whose bliss or +torment they formed during the passionate hours of their absolute rule? +In very pity ask us not to call from the Dead, ghosts whose resurrection +would be so painful! Who could bear the sepulchral ghastly array? +Who would willingly call them from their sheeted sleep? If our ideas, +thoughts, and feelings were indeed to be suddenly aroused from the +unquiet grave in which they lie buried, and an account demanded from +them of the good and evil which they have severally produced in the +hearts in which they found so generous an asylum, and which they have +confused, overwhelmed, illumined, devastated, ruined, broken, as chance +or destiny willed,--who could hope to endure the replies that would be +made to questions so searching? + +If among the group of which we have spoken, every member of which has +won the attention of many human souls, and must, in consequence, bear +in his conscience the sharp sting of multiplied responsibilities, there +should be found ONE who has not suffered aught, that was pure in the +natural attraction which bound them together in this chain of glittering +links, to fall into dull forgetfulness; one who allowed no breath of +the fermentation lingering even around the most delicate perfumes, +to embitter his memories; one who has transfigured and left to the +immortality of art, only the unblemished inheritance of all that was +noblest in their enthusiasm, all that was purest and most lasting of +their joys; let us bow before him as before one of the Elect! Let us +regard him as one of those whom the belief of the people marks as "Good +Genii!" The attribution of superior power to beings believed to be +beneficent to man, has received a sublime conformation from a great +Italian poet, who defines genius as a "stronger impress of Divinity!" +Let us bow before all who are marked with this mystic seal; but let us +venerate with the deepest, truest tenderness those who have only used +their wondrous supremacy to give life and expression to the highest +and most exquisite feelings! and among the pure and beneficent genii of +earth must indubitably be ranked the artist Chopin! + + + +CHAPTER V. + +The Lives of Artists--Pure Fame of Chopin--Reserve--Classic and Romantic +Art-Language of the Sclaves--Chopin's Love of Home Memories. + + + +A natural curiosity is generally felt to know something of the lives +of men who have consecrated their genius to embellish noble feelings +through works of art, through which they shine like brilliant meteors +in the eyes of the surprised and delighted crowd. The admiration and +sympathy awakened by the compositions of such men, attach immediately to +their own names, which are at once elevated as symbols of nobility and +greatness, because the world is loath to believe that those who can +express high sentiments with force, can themselves feel ignobly. The +objects of this benevolent prejudice, this favorable presumption, are +expected to justify such suppositions by the high course of life which +they are required to lead. When it is seen that the poet feels with such +exquisite delicacy all that which it is so sweet to inspire; that he +divines with such rapid intuition all that pride, timidity, or weariness +struggles to hide; that he can paint love as youth dreams it, but as +riper years despair to realize it; when such sublime situations seem +to be ruled by his genius, which raises itself so calmly above the +calamities of human destiny, always finding the leading threads by which +the most complicated knots in the tangled skein of life may be proudly +and victoriously unloosed; when the secret modulations of the most +exquisite tenderness, the most heroic courage, the most sublime +simplicity, are known to be subject to his command,--it is most natural +that the inquiry should be made if this wondrous divination springs +from a sincere faith in the reality of the noble feelings portrayed, +or whether its source is to be found in an acute perception of the +intellect, an abstract comprehension of the logical reason. + +The question in what the life led by men so enamored of beauty differs +from that of the common multitude, is then earnestly asked. This high +poetic disdain,--how did it comport itself when struggling with material +interests? These ineffable emotions of ethereal love,--how were they +guarded from the bitterness of petty cares, from that rapidly growing +and corroding mould which usually stifles or poisons them? How many of +such feelings were preserved from that subtle evaporation which robs +them of their perfume, that gradually increasing inconstancy which lulls +us until we forget to call the dying emotions to account? Those who felt +such holy indignation,--were they indeed always just? Those who exalted +integrity,--were they always equitable? Those who sung of honor,--did +they never stoop? Those who so admired fortitude,--have they never +compromised with their own weakness? + +A deep interest is also felt in ascertaining how those to whom the task +of sustaining our faith in the nobler sentiments through art has +been intrusted, have conducted themselves in external affairs, where +pecuniary gain is only to be acquired at the expense of delicacy, +loyalty, or honor. Many assert that the nobler feelings exist only +in the works of art. When some unfortunate occurrence seems to give a +deplorable foundation to the words of such mockers, with what avidity +they name the most exquisite conceptions of the poet, "vain phantoms!" +How they plume themselves upon their own wisdom in having advocated the +politic doctrine of an astute, yet honeyed hypocrisy; how they delight +to speak of the perpetual contradiction between words and deeds!... With +what cruel joy they detail such occurrences, and cite such examples in +the presence of those unsteady restless souls, who are incited by their +youthful aspirations and by the depression and utter loss of happy +confidence which such a conviction would entail upon them, to struggle +against a distrust so blighting! When such wavering spirits are engaged +in the bitter combat with the harsh alternatives of life, or tempted at +every turn by its insinuating seductions, what a profound discouragement +seizes upon them when they are induced to believe that the hearts +devoted to the most sublime thoughts, the most deeply initiated in +the most delicate susceptibilities, the most charmed by the beauty of +innocence, have denied, by their acts, the sincerity of their worship +for the noble themes which they have sung as poets! With what agonizing +doubts are they not filled by such flagrant contradictions! How much +is their anguish increased by the jeering mockery of those who repeat: +"Poetry is only that which might have been"--and who delight in +blaspheming it by their guilty negations! Whatever may be the human +short-comings of the gifted, believe the truths they sing! Poetry is +more than the gigantic shadow of our own imagination, immeasurably +increased, and projected upon the flying plane of the Impossible. POETRY +and REALITY are not two incompatible elements, destined to move on +together without commingling. Goethe himself confesses this. In speaking +of a contemporary writer he says: "that having lived to create poems, +he had also made his life a Poem." (Er lebte dichtend, und dichtete +lebend.) Goethe was himself too true a poet not to know that Poetry +only is, because its eternal Reality throbs in the noble impulses of the +human heart. + +We have once before remarked that "genius imposes its own obligations." +[Footnote: Upon Paganini, after his death.] If the examples of cold +austerity and of rigid disinterestedness are sufficient to awaken the +admiration of calm and reflective natures, whence shall more passionate +and mobile organizations, to whom the dullness of mediocrity is insipid, +who naturally seek honor or pleasure, and who are willing to purchase +the object of their desires at any price--form their models? Such +temperaments easily free themselves from the authority of their seniors. +They do not admit their competency to decide. They accuse them of +wishing to use the world only for the profit of their own dead passions, +of striving to turn all to their own advantage, of pronouncing upon +the effects of causes which they do not understand, of desiring to +promulgate laws in spheres to which nature has denied them entrance. +They will not receive answers from their lips, but turn to others to +resolve their doubts; they question those who have drunk deeply from the +boiling springs of grief, bursting from the riven clefts in the steep +cliffs upon the top of which alone the soul seeks rest and light. They +pass in silence by the still cold gravity of those who practice the +good, without enthusiasm for the beautiful. What leisure has ardent +youth to interpret their gravity, to resolve their chill problems? +The throbbings of its impetuous heart are too rapid to allow it to +investigate the hidden sufferings, the mystic combats, the solitary +struggles, which may be detected even in the calm eye of the man who +practices only the good. Souls in continual agitation seldom interpret +aright the calm simplicity of the just, or the heroic smiles of the +stoic. For them enthusiasm and emotion are necessities. A bold image +persuades them, a metaphor leads them, tears convince them, they prefer +the conclusions of impulse, of intuition, to the fatigue of logical +argument. Thus they turn with an eager curiosity to the poets and +artists who have moved them by their images, allured them by their +metaphors, excited them by their enthusiasm. They demand from them the +explanation, the purpose of this enthusiasm, the secret of this beauty! + +When distracted by heart-rending events, when tortured by intense +suffering, when feeling and enthusiasm seem to be but a heavy and +cumbersome load which may upset the life-boat if not thrown overboard +into the abyss of forgetfulness; who, when menaced with utter shipwreck +after a long struggle with peril, has not evoked the glorious shades +of those who have conquered, whose thoughts glow with noble ardor, to +inquire from them how far their aspirations were sincere, how long they +preserved their vitality and truth? Who has not exerted an ingenious +discernment to ascertain how much of the generous feeling depicted +was only for mental amusement, a mere speculation; how much had really +become incorporated with the habitual acts of life? Detraction is never +idle in such cases; it seizes eagerly upon the foibles, the neglect, the +faults of those who have been degraded by any weakness: alas, it omits +nothing! It chases its prey, it accumulates facts only to distort them, +it arrogates to itself the right of despising the inspiration to which +it will grant no authority or aim but to furnish amusement, denying +it any claim to guide our actions, our resolutions, our refusal, our +consent! Detraction knows well how to winnow history! Casting aside all +the good grain, it carefully gathers all the tares, to scatter the black +seed over the brilliant pages in which the purest desires of the heart, +the noblest dreams of the imagination are found; and with the irony of +assumed victory, demands what the grain is worth which only germinates +dearth and famine? Of what value the vain words, which only nourish +sterile feelings? Of what use are excursions into realms in which +no real fruit can ever be gathered? of what possible importance are +emotions and enthusiasm, which always end in calculations of interest, +covering only with brilliant veil the covert struggles of egotism and +venal self-interest? + +With how much arrogant derision men given to such detraction, contrast +the noble thoughts of the poet, with his unworthy acts! The high +compositions of the artist, with his guilty frivolity! What a haughty +superiority they assume over the laborious merit of the men of guileless +honesty, whom they look upon as crustacea, sheltered from temptation +by the immobility of weak organizations, as well as over the pride of +those, who, believing themselves superior to such temptations, do not, +they assert, succeed even as well as themselves in repudiating the +pursuit of material well being, the gratification of vanity, or the +pleasure of immediate enjoyment! What an easy triumph they win over the +hesitation, the doubt, the repugnance of those who would fain cling to +a belief in the possibility of the union of vivid feelings, passionate +impressions, intellectual gifts, imaginative temperaments, with high +integrity, pure lives, and courses of conduct in perfect harmony with +poetic ideals! + +It is therefore impossible not to feel the deepest sadness when we meet +with any fact which shows us the poet disobedient to the inspiration +of the Muses, those guardian angels of the man of genius, who would +willingly teach him to make of his own life the most beautiful of +poems. What disastrous doubts in the minds of others, what profound +discouragements, what melancholy apostasies are induced by the faltering +steps of the man of genius! And yet it would be profanity to confound +his errors in the same anathema, hurled against the base vices of +meanness, the shameless effrontery of low crime! It would be sacrilege! +If the acts of the poet have sometimes denied the spirit of his song, +have not his songs still more powerfully denied his acts? May not +the limited influence of his private actions have been far more than +counterbalanced by the germs of creative virtues, scattered profusely +through his eloquent writings? Evil is contagious, but good is truly +fruitful! The poet, even while forcing his inner convictions to give way +to his personal interest, still acknowledges and ennobles the sentiments +which condemn himself; such sentiments attain a far wider influence +through his works than can be exerted by his individual acts. Are not +the number of spirits which have been calmed, consoled, edified, through +these works, far greater than the number of those who have been injured +by the errors of his private life? Art is far more powerful than the +artist. His creations have a life independent of his vacillating will; +for they are revelations of the "immutable beauty!" More durable than +himself, they pass on from generation to generation; let us hope that +they may, through the blessings of their widely spread influence, +contain a virtual power of redemption for the frequent errors of +their gifted authors. If it be indeed true that many of those who have +immortalized their sensibility and their aspirations, by robing them in +the garb of surpassing eloquence, have, nevertheless, stifled these high +aspirations, abused these quick sensibilities,--how many have they not +confirmed, strengthened and encouraged to pursue a noble course, through +the works created by their genius! A generous indulgence towards them +would be but justice! It is hard to be forced to claim simple justice +for them; unpleasant to be constrained to defend those whom we wish to +be admired, to excuse those whom we wish to see venerated! + +With what exultant feelings of just pride may the friend and artist +remember a career in which there are no jarring dissonances; no +contradictions, for which he is forced to claim indulgence; no errors, +whose source must be found in palliation of their existence; no extreme, +to be accounted for as the consequence of "excess of cause." How sweet +it is to be able to name one who has fully proved that it is not only +apathetic beings whom no fascination can attract, no illusion betray, +who are able to limit themselves within the strict routine of honored +and honorable laws, who may justly claim that elevation of soul, which +no reverse subdues, and which is never found in contradiction with its +better self! Doubly dear and doubly honored must the memory of Chopin, +in this respect, ever remain! Dear to the friends and artists who have +known him in his lifetime, dear to the unknown friends who shall learn +to love him through his poetic song, as well as to the artists who, in +succeeding him, shall find their glory in being worthy of him! + +The character of Chopin, in none of its numerous folds, concealed a +single movement, a single impulse, which was not dictated by the nicest +sense of honor, the most delicate appreciation of affection. Yet no +nature was ever more formed to justify eccentricity, whims, and abrupt +caprices. His imagination was ardent, his feelings almost violent, his +physical organization weak, irritable and sickly. Who can measure the +amount of suffering arising from such contrasts? It must have been +bitter, but he never allowed it to be seen! He kept the secret of his +torments, he veiled them from all eyes under the impenetrable serenity +of a haughty resignation. + +The delicacy of his heart and constitution imposed upon him the woman's +torture, that of enduring agonies never to be confessed, thus giving to +his fate some of the darker hues of feminine destiny. Excluded, by +the infirm state of his health, from the exciting arena of ordinary +activity, without any taste for the useless buzzing, in which a few +bees, joined with many wasps, expend their superfluous strength, he +built apart from all noisy and frequented routes a secluded cell for +himself. Neither adventures, embarrassments, nor episodes, mark +his life, which he succeeded in simplifying, although surrounded by +circumstances which rendered such a result difficult of attainment. His +own feelings, his own impressions, were his events; more important in +his eyes than the chances and changes of external life. He constantly +gave lessons with regularity and assiduity; domestic and daily tasks, +they were given conscientiously and satisfactorily. As the devout in +prayer, so he poured out his soul in his compositions, expressing in +them those passions of the heart, those unexpressed sorrows, to which +the pious give vent in their communion with their Maker. What they never +say except upon their knees, he said in his palpitating compositions; +uttering in the language of the tones those mysteries of passion and of +grief which man has been permitted to understand without words, because +there are no words adequate for their expression. + +The care taken by Chopin to avoid the zig-zags of life, to eliminate +from it all that was useless, to prevent its crumbling into masses +without form, has deprived his own course of incident. The vague lines +and indications surrounding his figure like misty clouds, disappear +under the touch which would strive to follow or trace their outlines. He +takes part in no actions, no drama, no entanglements, no denouements. +He exercised a decisive influence upon no human being. His will never +encroached upon the desires of another, he never constrained any +other spirit, or crashed it under the domination of his own, He never +tyrannized over another heart, he never placed a conquering hand upon +the destiny of another being. He sought nothing; he would have scorned +to have made any demands. Like Tasso, he might say: + +Brama assai, poco spera, e nulla chiede. In compensation, he escaped +from all ties; from the affections which might have influenced him, or +led him into more tumultuous spheres. Ready to yield all, he never gave +himself. Perhaps he knew what exclusive devotion, what love without +limit he was worthy of inspiring, of understanding, of sharing! Like +other ardent and ambitions natures, he may have thought if love and +friendship are not all--they are nothing! Perhaps it would have been +more painful for him to have accepted a part, any thing less than +all, than to have relinquished all, and thus to have remained at least +faithful to his impossible Ideal! If these things have been so or not, +none ever knew, for he rarely spoke of love or friendship. He was not +exacting, like those whose high claims and just demands exceed all that +we possess to offer them. The most intimate of his acquaintances never +penetrated to that secluded fortress in which the soul, absent from his +common life, dwelt; a fortress which he so well succeeded in concealing, +that its very existence was scarcely suspected. + +In his relations and intercourse with others, he always seemed occupied +in what interested them; he was cautions not to lead them from the +circle of their own personality, lest they should intrude into his. If +he gave up but little of his time to others, at least of that which he +did relinquish, he reserved none for himself. No one ever asked him to +give an account of his dreams, his wishes, or his hopes. No one seemed +to wish to know what he sighed for, what he might have conquered, if his +white and tapering fingers could have linked the brazen chords of life +to the golden ones of his enchanted lyre! No one had leisure to think of +this in his presence. His conversation was rarely upon subjects of any +deep interest. He glided lightly over all, and as he gave but little +of his time, it was easily filled with the details of the day. He was +careful never to allow himself to wander into digressions of which he +himself might become the subject. His individuality rarely excited the +investigations of curiosity, or awakened vivid scrutiny. He pleased +too much to excite much reflection. The ensemble of his person was +harmonious, and called for no especial commentary. His blue eye was more +spiritual than dreamy, his bland smile never writhed into bitterness. +The transparent delicacy of his complexion pleased the eye, his fair +hair was soft and silky, his nose slightly aquiline, his bearing so +distinguished, and his manners stamped with so much high breeding, that +involuntarily he was always treated EN PRINCE. His gestures were many +and graceful; the tone of his voice was veiled, often stifled; his +stature was low, and his limbs slight. He constantly reminded us of a +convolvulus balancing its heaven-colored cup upon an incredibly slight +stem, the tissue of which is so like vapor that the slightest contact +wounds and tears the misty corolla. + +His manners in society possessed that serenity of mood which +distinguishes those whom no ennui annoys, because they expect no +interest. He was generally gay, his caustic spirit caught the ridiculous +rapidly and far below the surface at which it usually strikes the eye. +He displayed a rich vein of drollery in pantomime. He often amused +himself by reproducing the musical formulas and peculiar tricks of +certain virtuosi, in the most burlesque and comic improvisations, in +imitating their gestures, their movements, in counterfeiting their faces +with a talent which instantaneously depicted their whole personality. +His own features would then become scarcely recognizable, he could force +the strangest metamorphoses upon them, but while mimicking the ugly and +grotesque, he never lost his own native grace. Grimace was never carried +far enough to disfigure him; his gayety was so much the more piquant +because he always restrained it within the limits of perfect good +taste, holding at a suspicious distance all that could wound the most +fastidious delicacy. He never made use of an inelegant word, even in the +moments of the most entire familiarity; an improper merriment, a coarse +jest would have been shocking to him. + +Through a strict exclusion of all subjects relating to himself from +conversation, through a constant reserve with regard to his own +feelings, he always succeeded in leaving a happy impression behind him. +People in general like those who charm them without causing them to +fear that they will be called upon to render aught in return for the +amusement given, or that the pleasurable excitement of gayety will be +followed by the sadness of melancholy confidences the sight of mournful +faces, or the inevitable reactions which occur in susceptible natures of +which we may say: Ubi mel, ibi fel. People generally like to keep such +"susceptible natures" at a distance; they dislike to be brought into +contact with their melancholy moods, though they do not refuse a kind +of respect to the mournful feelings caused by their subtle reactions; +indeed such changes possess for them the attraction of the unknown and +they are as ready to take delight in the description of such changing +caprices, as they are to avoid their reality. The presence of Chopin +was always feted. He interested himself so vividly in all that was not +himself, that his own personality remained intact, unapproached and +unapproachable, under the polished and glassy surface upon which it was +impossible to gain footing. + +On some occasions, although very rarely, we have seen him deeply +agitated. We have seen him grow so pale and wan, that his appearance was +actually corpse-like. But even in moments of the most intense +emotion, he remained concentrated within himself. A single instant +for self-recovery always enabled him to veil the secret of his first +impression. However full of spontaneity his bearing afterwards might +seem to be, it was instantaneously the effect of reflection, of a will +which governed the strange conflict of emotional and moral energy with +conscious physical debility; a conflict whose strange contrasts were +forever warring vividly within. The dominion exercised over the natural +violence of his character reminds us of the melancholy force of those +beings who seek their strength in isolation and entire self-control, +conscious of the uselessness of their vivid indignation and vexation, +and too jealous of the mysteries of their passions to betray them +gratuitously. + +He could pardon in the most noble manner. No rancor remained in his +heart toward those who had wounded him, though such wounds penetrated +deeply in his soul, and fermented there in vague pain and internal +suffering, so that long after the exciting cause had been effaced from +his memory, he still experienced the secret torture. By dint of constant +effort, in spite of his acute and tormenting sensibilities, he subjected +his feelings to the rule rather of what ought to be, than of what is; +thus he was grateful for services proceeding rather from good intentions +than from a knowledge of what would have been agreeable to him; from +friendship which wounded him, because not aware of his acute but +concealed susceptibility. Nevertheless the wounds caused by such awkward +miscomprehension are, of all others, the most difficult for nervous +temperaments to bear. Condemned to repress their vexation, such natures +are excited by degrees to a state of constantly gnawing irritability, +which they can never attribute to the true cause. It would be a gross +mistake to imagine that this irritation existed without provocation. +But as a dereliction from what appeared to him to be the most honorable +course of conduct was a temptation which he was never called upon to +resist, because in all probability it never presented itself to him; +so he never, in the presence of the more vigorous and therefore more +brusque and positive individualities than his own, unveiled the +shudder, if repulsion be too strong a term, caused by their contact or +association. + +The reserve which marked his intercourse with others, extended to +all subjects to which the fanaticism of opinion can attach. His own +sentiments could only be estimated by that which he did not do in the +narrow limits of his activity. His patriotism was revealed in the course +taken by his genius, in the choice of his friends, in the preferences +given to his pupils, and in the frequent and great services which he +rendered to his compatriots; but we cannot remember that he took any +pleasure in the expression of this feeling. If he sometimes entered +upon the topic of politics, so vividly attacked, so warmly defended, +so frequently discussed in Prance, it was rather to point out what he +deemed dangerous or erroneous in the opinions advanced by others than to +win attention for his own. In constant connection with some of the most +brilliant politicians of the day, he knew how to limit the relations +between them to a personal attachment entirely independent of political +interests. + +Democracy presented to his view an agglomeration of elements too +heterogeneous, too restless, wielding too much savage power, to win +his sympathies. The entrance of social and political questions into the +arena of popular discussion was compared, more than twenty years ago, +to a new and bold incursion of barbarians. Chopin was peculiarly and +painfully struck by the terror which this comparison awakened. He +despaired of obtaining the safety of Rome from these modern Attilas, +he feared the destruction of art, its monuments, its refinements, its +civilization; in a word, he dreaded the loss of the elegant, cultivated +if somewhat indolent ease described by Horace. Would the graceful +elegancies of life, the high culture of the arts, indeed be safe in +the rude and devastating hands of the new barbarians? He followed at a +distance the progress of events, and an acuteness of perception, which +he would scarcely have been supposed to possess, often enabled him +to predict occurrences which were not anticipated even by the best +informed. But though such observations escaped him, he never developed +them. His concise remarks attracted no attention until time proved their +truth. His good sense, full of acuteness, had early persuaded him of +the perfect vacuity of the greater part of political orations, of +theological discussions, of philosophic digressions. He began early to +practice the favorite maxim of a man of great distinction, whom we have +often heard repeat a remark dictated by the misanthropic wisdom of age, +which was then startling to our inexperienced impetuosity, but which +has since frequently struck us by its melancholy truth: "You will be +persuaded one day as I am," (said the Marquis de Noailles to the young +people whom he honored with his attention, and who were becoming heated +in some naive discussions of differing opinions,) "that it is scarcely +possible to talk about any thing to any body." (Qu'il n'y a guere moyen +de causer de quoi que ce soit, avec qui que ce soit.) + +Sincerely religious, and attached to Catholicity, Chopin never touched +upon this subject, but held his faith without attracting attention to +it. One might have been acquainted with him for a long time, without +knowing exactly what his religious opinion were. Perhaps to console his +inactive hand an reconcile it with his lute, he persuaded himself to +think: Il mondo va da se. We have frequently watched him during the +progress of long, animated, and stormy discussions, in which he would +take no part. In the excitement of the debate he was forgotten by the +speakers, but we have often neglected to follow the chain of their +reasoning, to fix our attention upon the features of Chopin, which were +almost imperceptibly contracted when subjects touching upon the most +important conditions of our existence were discussed with such eagerness +and ardor, that it might have been thought our fates were to be +instantly decided by the result of the debate. At such times, he +appeared to us like a passenger on board of a vessel, driven and tossed +by tempests upon the stormful waves, thinking of his distant country, +watching the horizon, the stars, the manoeuvres of the sailors, counting +their fatal mistakes, without possessing in himself sufficient force to +seize a rope, or the energy requisite to haul in a fluttering sail. + +On one single subject he relinquished his premeditated silence, his +cherished neutrality. In the cause of art he broke through his reserve, +he never abdicated upon this topic the explicit enunciation of his +opinions. He applied himself with great perseverance to extend the +limits of his influence upon this subject. It was a tacit confession +that he considered himself legitimately possessed of the authority of +a great artist. In questions which he dignified by his competence, he +never left any doubt with regard to the nature of his opinions. During +several years his appeals were full of impassioned ardor, but later, the +triumph of his opinions having diminished the interest of his role, he +sought no further occasion to place himself as leader, as the bearer of +any banner. In the only occurrence in which he took part in the +conflict of parties, he gave proof of opinions, absolute, tenacious, and +inflexible, as those which rarely come to the light usually are. + +Shortly after his arrival in Paris, in 1832, a new school was formed +both in literature and music, and youthful talent appeared, which +shook off with eclat the yoke of ancient formulas. The scarcely lulled +political effervescence of the first years of the revolution of +July, passed into questions upon art and letters, which attracted the +attention and interest of all minds. ROMANTICISM was the order of the +day; they fought with obstinacy for and against it. What truce could +there be between those who would not admit the possibility of writing +in any other than the already established manner, and those who thought +that the artist should be allowed to choose such forms as he deemed best +suited for the expression of his ideas; that the rule of form should +be found in the agreement of the chosen form with the sentiments to +be expressed, every different shade of feeling requiring of course a +different mode of expression? The former believed in the existence of +a permanent form, whose perfection represented absolute Beauty. But in +admitting that the great masters had attained the highest limits in art, +had reached supreme perfection, they left to the artists who succeeded +them no other glory than the hope of approaching these models, more or +less closely, by imitation, thus frustrating all hope of ever equalling +them, because the perfecting of any process can never rival the merit +of its invention. The latter denied that the immaterial Beautiful could +have a fixed and absolute form. The different forms which had appeared +in the history of art, seemed to them like tents spread in the +interminable route of the ideal; mere momentary halting places which +genius attains from epoch to epoch, and beyond which the inheritors of +the past should strive to advance. The former wished to restrict the +creations of times and natures the most dissimilar, within the limits +of the same symmetrical frame; the latter claimed for all writers the +liberty of creating their own mode, accepting no other rules than those +which result from the direct relation of sentiment and form, exacting +only that the form should be adequate to the expression of the +sentiment. However admirable the existing models might be, they did not +appear to them to have exhausted all the range of sentiments upon which +art might seize, or all the forms which it might advantageously use. Not +contented with the mere excellence of form, they sought it so far only +as its perfection is indispensable for the complete revelation of the +idea, for they were not ignorant that the sentiment is maimed if the +form remain imperfect, any imperfection in it, like an opaque veil, +intercepting the raying of the pure idea. Thus they elevated what had +otherwise been the mere work of the trade, into the sphere of poetic +inspiration. They enjoined upon genius and patience the task of +inventing a form which would satisfy the exactions of the inspiration. +They reproached their adversaries with attempting to reduce inspiration +to the bed of Procrustes, because they refused to admit that there are +sentiments which cannot be expressed in forms which have been determined +upon beforehand, and of thus robbing art, in advance even of their +creation, of all works which might attempt the introduction of newly +awakened ideas, newly clad in new forms; forms and ideas both naturally +arising from the naturally progressive development of the human spirit, +the improvement of the instruments, and the consequent increase of the +material resources of art. + +Those who saw the flames of Genius devour the old worm-eaten crumbling +skeletons, attached themselves to the musical school of which the most +gifted, the most brilliant, the most daring representative, was Berlioz. +Chopin joined this school. He persisted most strenuously in freeing +himself from the servile formulas of conventional style, while he +earnestly repudiated the charlatanism which sought to replace the old +abuses only by the introduction of new ones. + +During the years which this campaign of Romanticism lasted, in which +some of the trial blows were master-strokes, Chopin remained invariable +in his predilections, as well as in his repulsions. He did not admit the +least compromise with those who, in his opinion, did not sufficiently +represent progress, and who, in their refusal to relinquish the desire +of displaying art for the profit of the trade, in their pursuit of +transitory effects, of success won only from the astonishment of the +audience, gave no proof of sincere devotion to progress. He broke the +ties which he had contracted with respect when he felt restricted by +them, or bound too closely to the shore by cordage which he knew to be +decayed. He obstinately refused, on the other hand, to form ties with +the young artists whose success, which he deemed exaggerated, elevated a +certain kind of merit too highly. He never gave the least praise to any +thing which he did not believe to be a real conquest for art, or which +did not evince a serious conception of the task of an artist. He did +not wish to be lauded by any party, to be aided by the manoeuvres of +any faction, or by the concessions made by any schools in the persons +of their chiefs. In the midst of jealousies, encroachments, forfeitures, +and invasions of the different branches of art, negotiations, treaties, +and contracts have been introduced, like the means and appliances of +diplomacy, with all the artifices inseparable from such a course. In +refusing the support of any accessory aid for his productions, he proved +that he confidently believed that their own beauty would ensure their +appreciation, and that he did not struggle to facilitate their immediate +reception. + +He supported our struggles, at that time so full of uncertainty, when we +met more sages shaking their heads, than glorious adversaries, with his +calm and unalterable conviction. He aided us with opinions so fixed +that neither weariness nor artifice could shake them, with a rare +immutability of will, and that efficacious assistance which the creation +of meritorious works always brings to a struggling cause, when it can +claim them as its own. He mingled so many charms, so much moderation, so +much knowledge with his daring innovations, that the prompt admiration +he inspired fully justified the confidence he placed in his own genius. +The solid studies which he had made, the reflective habits of his youth, +the worship for classic models in which he had been educated, preserved +him from losing his strength in blind gropings, in doubtful triumphs, +as has happened to more than one partisan of the new ideas. His studious +patience in the elaboration of his works sheltered him from the +critics, who envenomed the dissensions by seizing upon those easy +and insignificant victories due to omissions, and the negligence of +inadvertence. Early trained to the exactions and restrictions of rules, +having produced compositions filled with beauty when subjected to all +their fetters, he never shook them off without an appropriate cause and +after due reflection. In virtue of his principles he always progressed, +but without being led into exaggeration or lured by compromise; he +willingly relinquished theoretic formulas to pursue their results. +Less occupied with the disputes of the schools and their terms, than in +producing himself the best argument, a finished work, he was fortunate +enough to avoid personal enmities and vexatious accommodations. + +Chopin had that reverential worship for art which characterized the +first masters of the middle ages, but in expression and bearing he was +more simple, modern, and less ecstatic. As for them, so art was for him, +a high and holy vocation. Like them he was proud of his election for it, +and honored it with devout piety. This feeling was revealed at the hour +of his death through an occurrence, the significance of which is more +fully explained by a knowledge of the manners prevalent in Poland. By a +custom which still exists, although it is now falling into disuse, the +Poles often chose the garments in which they wished to be buried, +and which were frequently prepared a long time in advance. [Footnote: +General K----, the author of Julie and Adolphe, a romance imitated from +the New Heloise which was much in vogue at the time of its publication, +and who was still living in Volhynia at the date of our visit to Poland, +though more than eighty years of age, in conformity with the custom +spoken of above, had caused his coffin to be made, and for more than +thirty years it had always stood at the door of his chamber.] Their +dearest wishes were thus expressed for the last time, their inmost +feelings were thus at the hour of death betrayed. Monastic robes were +frequently chosen by worldly men, the costumes of official charges +were selected or refused as the remembrances connected with them +were glorious or painful. Chopin, who, although among the first +of contemporary artists, had given the fewest concerts, wished, +notwithstanding, to be borne to the grave in the clothes which he had +worn on such occasions. A natural and profound feeling springing from +the inexhaustible sources of art, without doubt dictated this dying +request, when having scrupulously fulfilled the last duties of a +Christian, he left all of earth which he could not bear with him to +the skies. He had linked his love for art and his faith in it with +immortality long before the approach of death, and as he robed himself +for his long sleep in the grave, he gave, as was customary with him, +by a mute symbol, the last touching proof of the conviction he had +preserved intact during the whole course of his life. Faithful to +himself, he died adoring art in its mystic greatness, its highest +revelations. + +In retiring from the turmoil of society, Chopin concentrated his +cares and affections upon the circle of his own family and his early +acquaintances. Without any interruption he preserved close relations +with them; never ceasing to keep them up with the greatest care. His +sister Louise was especially dear to him, a resemblance in the character +of their minds, the bent of their feelings, bound them closely to each +other. Louise frequently came from Warsaw to Paris to see him. She spent +the last three months of his life with the brother she loved, watching +over him with undying affection. Chopin kept up a regular correspondence +with the members of his own family, but only with them. It was one of +his peculiarities to write letters to no others; it might almost have +been thought that he had made a vow to write to no strangers. It was +curious enough to see him resort to all kinds of expedients to escape +the necessity of tracing the most insignificant note. Many times he has +traversed Paris from one end to the other, to decline an invitation to +dinner, or to give some trivial information, rather than write a few +lines which would have spared him all this trouble and loss of time. His +handwriting was quite unknown to the greatest number of his friends. It +is said he sometimes departed from this custom in favor of his beautiful +countrywomen, some of whom possess several of his notes written in +Polish. This infraction of what seemed to be a law with him, may be +attributed to the pleasure he took in the use of this language. +He always used it with the people of his own country, and loved to +translate its most expressive phrases. He was a good French scholar, +as the Sclaves generally are. In consequence of his French origin, the +language had been taught him with peculiar care. But he did not like +it, he did not think it sufficiently sonorous, and he deemed its genius +cold. This opinion is very prevalent among the Poles, who, although +speaking it with great facility, often better than their native tongue, +and frequently using it in their intercourse with each other, yet +complain to those who do not speak Polish of the impossibility of +rendering the thousand ethereal and shifting modes of thought in any +other idiom. In their opinion it is sometimes dignity, sometimes grace, +sometimes passion, which is wanting in the French language. If they are +asked the meaning of a word or a phrase which they may have cited in +Polish, the reply invariably is: "Oh, that cannot be translated!" Then +follow explanations, serving as comments to the exclamation, of all the +subtleties, all the shades of meaning, all the delicacies contained +in THE NOT TO BE TRANSLATED words. We have cited some examples which, +joined to others, induce us to believe that this language has the +advantage of making images of abstract nouns, and that in the course of +its development, through the poetic genius of the nation, it has been +enabled to establish striking and just relations between ideas by +etymologies, derivations, and synonymes. Colored reflections of light +and shade are thus thrown upon all expressions, so that they necessarily +call into vibration through the mind the correspondent tone of a third, +which modulates the thought into a major or minor mode. The richness +of the language always permits the choice of the mode, but this very +richness may become a difficulty. It is not impossible that the general +use of foreign tongues in Poland may be attributed to indolence of +mind or want of application; may be traced to a desire to escape the +necessary labor of acquiring that mastery of diction indispensable in +a language so full of sudden depths, of laconic energy, that it is very +difficult, if not quite impossible, to support in it the commonplace. +The vague agreements of badly defined ideas cannot be compressed in the +nervous strength of its grammatical forms; the thought, if it be really +low, cannot be elevated from its debasement or poverty; if it really +soar above the commonplace, it requires a rare precision of terms not +to appear uncouth or fantastic. In consequence of this, in proportion +to the works published, the Polish literature should be able to show a +greater number of chefs-d'oeuvre than can be done in any other language. +He who ventures to use this tongue, must feel himself already master. + +[Footnote: It cannot be reproached with a want of harmony or musical +charm. The harshness of a language does not always and absolutely depend +upon the number of consonants, but rather upon the manner of their +association. We might even assert, that in consequence of the absence of +well-determined and strongly marked sounds, some languages have a dull +and cold coloring. It is the frequent repetition of certain consonants +which gives shadow, rhythm, and vigor to a tongue; the vowels imparting +only a kind of light clear hue, which requires to be brought out by +deeper shades. It is the sharp, uncouth, or unharmonious clashing of +heterogeneous consonants which strikes the ear painfully. It is true the +Sclavic languages make use of many consonants, but their connection is +generally sonorous, sometimes pleasant to the ear, and scarcely ever +entirely discordant, even when the combinations are more striking than +agreeable. The quality of the sounds is rich, full, and varied. They +are not straitened and contracted as if produced in a narrow medium, but +extending through a considerable register, range through a variety of +intonations. The letter L, almost impossible for those to pronounce, who +have not acquired the pronunciation in their infancy, has nothing harsh +in its sound. The ear receives from it an impression similar to that +which is made upon the fingers by the touch of a thick woolen velvet, +rough, but at the same time, yielding. The union of jarring consonants +being rare, and the assonances easily multiplied, the same comparison +might be employed to the ensemble of the effect produced by these idioms +upon foreigners. Many words occur in Polish which imitate the sound +of the thing designated by them. The frequent repetition of CH, (h +aspirated,) of SZ, (CH in French,) of RZ, of CZ, so frightful to a +profane eye, have however nothing barbaric in their sounds, being +pronounced nearly like GEAI, and TCHE, and greatly facilitate imitations +of the sense by the sound. The word DZWIEK, (read DZWIINQUE,) meaning +sound, offers a characteristic example of this; it would be difficult to +find a word which would reproduce more accurately the sensation which a +diapason makes upon the ear. Among the consonants accumulated in groups, +producing very different sounds, sometimes metallic, sometimes buzzing, +hissing or rumbling, many diphthongs and vowels are mingled, which +sometimes become slightly nasal, the A and E being sounded as ON and IN, +(in French,) when they are accompanied by a cedilla. In juxtaposition +with the E, (TSE,) which is pronounced with great softness, sometimes C, +(TSIE,) the accented S is almost warbled. The Z has three sounds: the +Z, (JAIS,) the Z, (ZED,) and the Z, (ZIED). The Y forms a vowel of a +muffled tone, which, as the L, cannot be represented by any equivalent +sound in French, and which like it gives a variety of ineffable shades +to the language. These fine and light elements enable the Polish women +to assume a lingering and singing accent, which they usually transport +into other tongues. When the subjects are serious or melancholy, after +such recitatives or improvised lamentations, they have a sort of lisping +infantile manner of speaking, which they vary by light silvery laughs, +little interjectional cries, short musical pauses upon the higher notes, +from which they descend by one knows not what chromatic scale of demi +and quarter tones to rest upon some low note; and again pursue the +varied, brusque and original modulations which astonish the ear not +accustomed to such lovely warblings, to which they sometimes give that +air of caressing irony, of cunning mockery, peculiar to the song of some +birds. They love to ZINZILYLER, and charming changes, piquant intervals, +unexpected cadences naturally find place in this fondling prattle, +making the language far more sweet and caressing when spoken by the +women, than it is in the mouths of the men. The men indeed pride +themselves upon speaking it with elegance, impressing upon it a +masculine sonorousness, which is peculiarly adapted to the energetic +movements of manly eloquence, formerly so much cultivated in Poland. +Poetry commands such a diversity of prosodies, of rhymes, of rhythms, +such an abundance of assonances from these rich and varied materials, +that it is almost possible to follow MUSICALLY the feelings and scenes +which it depicts, not only in mere expressions in which the sound +repeats the sense, but also in long declamations. The analogy between +the Polish and Russian, has been compared to that which obtains between +the Latin and Italian. The Russian language is indeed more mellifluous, +more lingering, more caressing, fuller of sighs than the Polish. Its +cadencing is peculiarly fitted for song. The finer poems, such as those +of Zukowski and Pouchkin, seem to contain a melody already designated in +the metre of the verses; for example, it would appear quite possible +to detach an ARIOSO or a sweet CANTIABLE from some of the stanzas of +LE CHALE NOIR, or the TALISMAN. The ancient Sclavonic, which is the +language of the Eastern Church, possesses great majesty. More guttural +than the idioms which have arisen from it, it is severe and monotonous +yet of great dignity, like the Byzantine paintings preserved in +the worship to which it is consecrated. It has throughout the +characteristics of a sacred language which has only been used for the +expression of one feeling and has never been modulated or fashioned by +profane wants.] + +Chopin mingled a charming grace with all the intercourse which he held +with his relatives. Not satisfied with limiting his whole correspondence +to them alone, he profited by his stay in Paris to procure for them the +thousand agreeable surprises given by the novelties, the bagatelles, the +little gifts which charm through their beauty, or attract as being +the first seen of their kind. He sought for all that he had reason to +believe would please his friends in Warsaw, adding constant presents to +his many letters. It was his wish that his gifts should be preserved, +that through the memories linked with them he might be often remembered +by those to whom they were sent. He attached the greatest importance, +on his side, to all the evidences of their affection for him. To receive +news or some mark of their remembrance, was always a festival for him. +He never shared this pleasure with any one, but it was plainly visible +in his conduct. He took the greatest care of every thing that came from +his distant friends, the least of their gifts was precious to him, he +never allowed others to make use of them, indeed he was visibly uneasy +if they touched them. + +Material elegance was as natural to him as mental; this was evinced +in the objects with which he surrounded himself, as well as in the +aristocratic grace of his manners. He was passionately fond of flowers. +Without aiming at the brilliant luxury with which, at that epoch, some +of the celebrities in Paris decorated their apartments, he knew how to +keep upon this point, as well as in his style of dress, the instinctive +line of perfect propriety. + +Not wishing the course of his life, his thoughts, his time, to be +associated or shackled in any way by the pursuits of others, he +preferred the society of ladies, as less apt to force him into +subsequent relations. He willingly spent whole evenings in playing blind +man's buff with the young people, telling them little stories to make +them break into the silvery laughs of youth, sweeter than the song of +the nightingale. He was fond of a life in the country, or the life of +the chateau. He was ingenious in varying its amusements, in multiplying +its enjoyments. He also loved to compose there. Many of his best works +written in such moments, perhaps embalm and hallow the memories of his +happiest days. + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +Birth and Early Life of Chopin--National Artists--Chopin embodies in +himself the poetic sense of his whole nation--Opinion of Beethoven. + + + +CHOPIN was born in 1810, at Zelazowa-Wola, near Warsaw. Unlike most +other children, he could not, during his childhood, remember his own +age, and the date of his birth was only fixed in his memory by a +watch given him in 1820 by Madame Catalani, which bore the following +inscription: "Madame Catalani to Frederic Chopin, aged ten years." +Perhaps the presentiments of the artist gave to the child a foresight of +his future! Nothing extraordinary marked the course of his boyhood; +his internal development traversed but few phases, and gave but few +manifestations. As he was fragile and sickly, the attention of his +family was concentrated upon his health. Doubtless it was from this +cause that he acquired his habits of affability, his patience under +suffering, his endurance of every annoyance with a good grace; qualities +which he early acquired from his wish to calm the constant anxiety +that was felt with regard to him. No precocity of his faculties, no +precursory sign of remarkable development, revealed, in his early years, +his future superiority of soul, mind, or capacity. The little creature +was seen suffering indeed, but always trying to smile, patient and +apparently happy and his friends were so glad that he did not become +moody or morose, that they were satisfied to cherish his good qualities, +believing that he opened his heart to them without reserve, and gave to +them all his secret thoughts. + +But there are souls among us who resemble rich travelers thrown among +simple herdsmen, loading them with gifts during their sojourn among +them, truly not at all in proportion to their own wealth, yet which are +quite sufficient to astonish the poor hosts, and to spread riches and +happiness in the midst of such simple habits. It is true that such souls +give as much affection, it may be more, than those who surround +them; every body is pleased with them, they are supposed to have been +generous, when the truth is that in comparison with their boundless +wealth they have not been liberal, and have given but little of their +store of internal treasure. + +The habits in which Chopin grew up, in which he was rocked as in a +form-strengthening cradle, were those peculiar to calm, occupied, and +tranquil characters. These early examples of simplicity, piety, and +integrity, always remained the nearest and dearest to him. Domestic +virtues, religious habits, pious charities, and rigid modesty, +surrounded him from his infancy with that pure atmosphere in which +his rich imagination assumed the velvety tenderness characterizing the +plants which have never been exposed to the dust of the beaten highways. + +He commenced the study of music at an early age, being but nine years +old when he began to learn it. Shortly after he was confided to a +passionate disciple of Sebastian Bach, Ziwna, who directed his studies +during many years in accordance with the most classic models. It is +not to be supposed that when he embraced the career of a musician, any +prestige of vain glory, any fantastic perspective, dazzled his eyes, or +excited the hopes of his family. In order to become a skillful and able +master, he studied seriously and conscientiously, without dreaming of +the greater or less amount of fame he would be able to obtain as the +fruit of his lessons and assiduous labors. + +In consequence of the generous and discriminating protection always +granted by Prince Antoine Radziwill to the arts, and to genius, which +he had the power of recognizing both as a man of intellect and as +a distinguished artist; Chopin was early placed in one of the first +colleges in Warsaw. Prince Radziwill did not cultivate music only as +a simple dilettante, he was also a remarkable composer. His beautiful +rendering of Faust, published some years ago, and executed at fixed +epochs by the Academy of Song at Berlin, appears to us far superior to +any other attempts which have been made to transport it into the realm +of music, by its close internal appropriateness to the peculiar genius +of the poem. Assisting the limited means of the family of Chopin, the +Prince made him the inestimable gift of a finished education, of which +no part had been neglected. Through the person of a friend, M. Antoine +Korzuchowski, whose own elevated mind enabled him to understand the +requirements of an artistic career, the Prince always paid his pension +from his first entrance into college, until the completion of +his studies. From this time until the death of Chopin, M. Antoine +Korzuchowski always held the closest relations of friendship with him. + +In speaking of this period of his life, it gives us pleasure to quote +the charming lines which may be applied to him more justly, than other +pages in which his character is believed to have been traced, but in +which we only find it distorted, and in such false proportions as are +given in a profile drawn upon an elastic tissue, which has been pulled +athwart, biased by contrary movements during the whole progress of the +sketch. [Footnote: These extracts, with many that succeed them, in which +the character of Chopin is described, are taken from Lucrezia Floriani, +a novel by Madame Sand, in which the leading characters are said to +be intended to represent Liszt, Chopin, and herself.--Note of the +Translator.] + + + +"Gentle, sensitive, and very lovely, at fifteen years of age he united +the charms of adolescence with the gravity of a more mature age. He +was delicate both in body and in mind. Through the want of muscular +development he retained a peculiar beauty, an exceptional physiognomy, +which had, if we may venture so to speak, neither age nor sex. It was +not the bold and masculine air of a descendant of a race of Magnates, +who knew nothing but drinking, hunting and making war; neither was it +the effeminate loveliness of a cherub couleur de rose. It was more like +the ideal creations with which the poetry of the middle ages adorned the +Christian temples: a beautiful angel, with a form pure and slight as a +young god of Olympus, with a face like that of a majestic woman filled +with a divine sorrow, and as the crown of all, an expression at the same +time tender and severe, chaste and impassioned. + +"This expression revealed the depths of his being. Nothing could be +purer, more exalted than his thoughts; nothing more tenacious, more +exclusive, more intensely devoted, than his affections.... But he could +only understand that which closely resembled himself.... Every thing +else only existed for him as a kind of annoying dream, which he tried +to shake off while living with the rest of the world. Always plunged in +reveries, realities displeased him. As a child he could never touch a +sharp instrument without injuring himself with it; as a man, he never +found himself face to face with a being different from himself without +being wounded by the living contradiction... + +"He was preserved from constant antagonism by a voluntary and almost +inveterate habit of never seeing or hearing any thing which was +disagreeable to him, unless it touched upon his personal affections. The +beings who did not think as he did, were only phantoms in his eyes. As +his manners were polished and graceful, it was easy to mistake his cold +disdain on insurmountable aversion for benevolent courtesy... + +"He never spent an hour in open-hearted expansiveness, without +compensating for it by a season of reserve. The moral causes which +induced such reserve were too slight, too subtle, to be discovered by +the naked eye. It was necessary to use the microscope to read his soul, +into which so little of the light of the living ever penetrated.... + +"With such a character, it seems strange he should have had friends: yet +he had them, not only the friends of his mother who esteemed him as the +noble son of a noble mother, but friends of his own age, who loved him +ardently, and who were loved by him in return.... He had formed a high +ideal of friendship; in the age of early illusions he loved to think +that his friends and himself, brought up nearly in the same manner, +with the same principles, would never change their opinions, and that no +formal disagreement could ever occur between them.... + +"He was externally so affectionate, his education had been so finished, +and he possessed so much natural grace, that he had the gift of pleasing +even where he was not personally known. His exceeding loveliness was +immediately prepossessing, the delicacy of his constitution rendered him +interesting in the eyes of women, the full yet graceful cultivation of +his mind, the sweet and captivating originality of his conversation, +gained for him the attention of the most enlightened men. Men less +highly cultivated, liked him for his exquisite courtesy of manner. They +were so much the more pleased with this, because, in their simplicity, +they never imagined it was the graceful fulfillment of a duty into which +no real sympathy entered. + +"Could such people have divined the secrets of his mystic character, +they would have said he was more amiable than loving--and with respect +to them, this would have been true. But how could they have known +that his real, though rare attachments, were so vivid, so profound, so +undying?... + +"Association with him in the details of life was delightful. He filled +all the forms of friendship with an unaccustomed charm, and when he +expressed his gratitude, it was with that deep emotion which recompenses +kindness with usury. He willingly imagined that he felt himself every +day dying; he accepted the cares of a friend, hiding from him, lest +it should render him unhappy, the little time he expected to profit by +them. He possessed great physical courage, and if he did not accept with +the heroic recklessness of youth the idea of approaching death, at least +he cherished the expectation of it with a kind of bitter pleasure."... + +The attachment which he felt for a young lady, who never ceased to feel +a reverential homage for him, may be traced back to his early youth. +The tempest which in one of its sudden gusts tore Chopin from his native +soil, like a bird dreamy and abstracted surprised by the storm upon the +branches of a foreign tree, sundered the ties of this first love, and +robbed the exile of a faithful and devoted wife, as well as disinherited +him of a country. He never found the realization of that happiness of +which he had once dreamed with her, though he won the glory of which +perhaps he had never thought. Like the Madonnas of Luini whose looks are +so full of earnest tenderness, this young girl was sweet and beautiful. +She lived on calm, but sad. No doubt the sadness increased in that pure +soul when she knew that no devotion tender as her own, ever came to +sweeten the existence of one whom she had adored with that ingenuous +submission, that exclusive devotion, that entire self-forgetfulness, +naive and sublime, which transform the woman into the angel. + +Those who are gifted by nature with the beautiful, yet fatal energies +of genius, and who are consequently forbidden to sacrifice the care of +their glory to the exactions of their love, are probably right in +fixing limits to the abnegation of their own personality. But the divine +emotions due to absolute devotion, may be regretted even in the presence +of the most sparkling endowments of genius. The utter submission, the +disinterestedness of love, in absorbing the existence, the will, the +very name of the woman in that of the man she loves, can alone authorize +him in believing that he has really shared his life with her, and that +his honorable love for her has given her that which no chance lover, +accidentally met, could have rendered her: peace of heart and the honor +of his name. + +This young Polish lady, unfortunately separated from Chopin, remained +faithful to his memory, to all that was left of him. She devoted herself +to his parents. The father of Chopin would never suffer the portrait +which she had drawn of him in the days of hope, to be replaced by +another, though from the hands of a far more skilful artist. We saw the +pale cheeks of this melancholy woman, glow like alabaster when a light +shines through its snow, many years afterwards, when in gazing upon this +picture, she met the eyes of his father. + +The amiable character of Chopin won for him while at college the love +of his fellow collegiates, particularly that of Prince Czetwertynski +and his brothers. He often spent the vacations and days of festival with +them at the house of their mother, the Princess Louise Czetwertynska, +who cultivated music with a true feeling for its beauties, and who soon +discovered the poet in the musician. Perhaps she was the first who +made Chopin feel the charm of being understood, as well as heard. The +Princess was still beautiful, and possessed a sympathetic soul united +to many high qualities. Her saloon was one of the most brilliant and +RECHERCHE in Warsaw. Chopin often met there the most distinguished women +of the city. He became acquainted there with those fascinating beauties +who had acquired a European celebrity, when Warsaw was so famed for the +brilliancy, elegance, and grace of its society. He was introduced by +the Princess Czetwertynska to the Princess of Lowicz; by her he was +presented to the Countess Zamoyska; to the Princess Radziwill; to the +Princess Jablonowska; enchantresses, surrounded by many beauties little +less illustrious. + +While still very young, he has often cadenced their steps to the chords +of his piano. In these meetings, which might almost be called assemblies +of fairies, he may often have discovered, unveiled in the excitement of +the dance, the secrets of enthusiastic and tender souls. He could easily +read the hearts which were attracted to him by friendship and the grace +of his youth, and thus was enabled early to learn of what a strange +mixture of leaven and cream of roses, of gunpowder and tears of angels, +the poetic Ideal of his nation is formed. When his wandering fingers ran +over the keys, suddenly touching some moving chords, he could see how +the furtive tears coursed down the cheeks of the loving girl, or the +young neglected wife; how they moistened the eyes of the young men, +enamored of, and eager for glory. Can we not fancy some young beauty +asking him to play a simple prelude, then softened by the tones, leaning +her rounded arm upon the instrument to support her dreaming head, while +she suffered the young artist to divine in the dewy glitter of the +lustrous eyes, the song sung by her youthful heart? Did not groups, like +sportive nymphs, throng around him, and begging him for some waltz of +giddying rapidity, smile upon him with such wildering joyousness, as to +put him immediately in unison with the gay spirit of the dance? He saw +there the chaste grace of his brilliant countrywomen displayed in the +Mazourka, and the memories of their witching fascination, their winning +reserve, were never effaced from his soul. + +In an apparently careless manner, but with that involuntary and subdued +emotion which accompanies the remembrance of our early delights, he +would sometimes remark that he first understood the whole meaning of +the feeling which is contained in the melodies and rhythms of national +dances, upon the days in which he saw these exquisite fairies at some +magic fete, adorned with that brilliant coquetry which sparkles like +electric fire, and flashing from heart to heart, heightens love, blinds +it, or robs it of all hope. And when the muslins of India, which the +Greeks would have said were woven of air, were replaced by the heavier +folds of Venetian velvet, and the perfumed roses and sculptured petals +of the hot-house camellias gave way to the gorgeous bouquets of the +jewel caskets; it often seemed to him that however good the orchestra +might be, the dancers glided less rapidly over the floor, that their +laugh was less sonorous, their eye less luminous, than upon those +evenings in which the dance had been suddenly improvised, because he +had succeeded in electrifying his audience through the magic of his +performance. If he electrified them, it was because he repeated, truly +in hieroglyphic tones, but yet easily understood by the initiated, the +secret whispers which his delicate ear had caught from the reserved yet +impassioned hearts, which indeed resemble the Fraxinella, that plant so +full of burning and vivid life, that its flowers are always surrounded +by a gas as subtle as inflammable. He had seen celestial visions +glitter, and illusory phantoms fade in this sublimated air; he had +divined the meaning of the swarms of passions which are forever buzzing +in it; he knew how these hurtling emotions fluttered through the +reckless human soul; how, notwithstanding their ceaseless agitation and +excitement, they could intermingle, interweave, intercept each other, +without once disturbing the exquisite proportions of external grace, +the imposing and classic charm of manner. It was thus that he learned to +prize so highly the noble and measured manners which preserve delicacy +from insipidity; petty cares from wearisome trifling; conventionalism +from tyranny; good taste from coldness; and which never permit the +passions to resemble, as is often the case where such careful culture +does not rule, those stony and calcareous vegetables whose hard and +brittle growth takes a name of such sad contrast: flowers of iron (FLOS +FERRI). + +His early introduction into this society, in which regularity of form +did not conceal petrifaction of heart, induced Chopin to think that the +CONVENANCES and courtesies of manner, in place of being only a uniform +mask, repressing the character of each individual under the symmetry of +the same lines, rather serve to contain the passions without stifling +them, coloring only that bald crudity of tone which is so injurious to +their beauty, elevating that materialism which debases them, robbing +them of that license which vulgarizes them, lowering that vehemence +which vitiates them, pruning that exuberance which exhausts them, +teaching the "lovers of the ideal" to unite the virtues which have +sprung from a knowledge of evil, with those "which cause its very +existence to be forgotten in speaking to those they love." As these +visions of his youth deepened in the long perspective of memories, they +gained in grace, in charm, in delight, in his eyes, fascinating him to +such an extent that no reality could destroy their secret power over +his imagination, rendering his repugnance more and more unconquerable +to that license of allurement, that brutal tyranny of caprice, that +eagerness to drink the cup of fantasy to the very dregs, that stormy +pursuit of all the changes and incongruities of life, which rule in the +strange mode of life known as LA BOHEME. + +More than once in the history of art and literature, a poet has arisen, +embodying in himself the poetic sense of a whole nation, an entire +epoch, representing the types which his contemporaries pursue and strive +to realize, in an absolute manner in his works: such a poet was Chopin +for his country and for the epoch in which he was born. The poetic +sentiments the most widely spread, yet the most intimate and inherent of +his nation, were embodied and united in his imagination, and represented +by his brilliant genius. Poland has given birth to many bards, some of +whom rank among the first poets of the world. + +Its writers are now making strenuous efforts to display in the strongest +light, the most glorious and interesting facts of its history, the most +peculiar and picturesque phases of its manners and customs. Chopin, +differing from them in having formed no premeditated design, surpasses +them all in originality. He did not determine upon, he did not seek such +a result; he created no ideal a priori. Without having predetermined to +transport himself into the past, he constantly remembered the glories +of his country, he understood and sung the loves and tears of his +contemporaries without having analyzed them in advance. He did not task +himself, nor study to be a national musician. Like all truly national +poets he sang spontaneously without premeditated design or preconceived +choice all that inspiration dictated to him, as we hear it gushing forth +in his songs without labor, almost without effort. He repeated in the +most idealized form the emotions which had animated and embellished his +youth; under the magic delicacy of his pen he displayed the Ideal, which +is, if we may be permitted so to speak, the Real among his people; an +Ideal really in existence among them, which every one in general and +each one in particular approaches by the one or the other of its many +sides. Without assuming to do so, he collected in luminous sheaves the +impressions felt everywhere throughout his country--vaguely felt it is +true, yet in fragments pervading all hearts. Is it not by this power of +reproducing in a poetic formula, enchanting to the imagination of +all nations, the indefinite shades of feeling widely scattered but +frequently met among their compatriots, that the artists truly national +are distinguished? + +Not without reason has the task been undertaken of collecting the +melodies indigenous to every country. It appears to us it would be +of still deeper interest, to trace the influences forming the +characteristic powers of the authors most deeply inspired by the genius +of the nation to which they belong. Until the present epoch there have +been very few distinctive compositions, which stand out from the two +great divisions of the German and Italian schools of music. But with +the immense development which this art seems destined to attain, perhaps +renewing for us the glorious era of the Painters of the CINQUE CENTO, it +is highly probable that composers will appear whose works will be marked +by an originality drawn from differences of organization, of races, and +of climates. It is to be presumed that we will be able to recognize the +influences of the country in which they were born upon the great +masters in music, as well as in the other arts; that we will be able to +distinguish the peculiar and predominant traits of the national genius +more completely developed, more poetically true, more interesting to +study, in the pages of their compositions than in the crude, incorrect, +uncertain, vague and tremulous sketches of the uncultured people. + +Chopin must be ranked among the first musicians thus individualizing in +themselves the poetic sense of an entire nation, not because he adopted +the rhythm of POLONAISES, MAZOURKAS, and CRACOVIENNES, and called +many of his works by such names, for in so doing he would have limited +himself to the multiplication of such works alone, and would always +have given us the same mode, the remembrance of the same thing; a +reproduction which would soon have grown wearisome, serving but to +multiply compositions of similar form, which must have soon grown +more or less monotonous. It is because he filled these forms with the +feelings peculiar to his country, because the expression of the national +heart may be found under all the modes in which he has written, that he +is entitled to be considered a poet essentially Polish. His PRELUDES, +his NOCTURNES, his SCHERZOS, his CONCERTOS, his shortest as well as +his longest compositions, are all filled with the national sensibility, +expressed indeed in different degrees, modified and varied in a thousand +ways, but always bearing the same character. An eminently subjective +author, Chopin has given the same life to all his productions, animated +all his works with his own spirit. All his writings are thus linked by +a marked unity. Their beauties as well as their defects may be traced +to the same order of emotions, to peculiar modes of feeling. The +reproduction of the feelings of his people, idealized and elevated +through his own subjective genius, is an essential requisite for the +national poet who desires that the heart of his country should vibrate +in unison with his own strains. + +By the analogies of words and images, we should like to render it +possible for our readers to comprehend the exquisite yet irritable +sensibility peculiar to ardent yet susceptible hearts, to haughty yet +deeply wounded souls. We cannot flatter ourselves that in the cold realm +of words we have been able to give any idea of such ethereal odorous +flames. In comparison with the vivid and delicious excitement produced +by other arts, words always appear poor, cold, and arid, so that the +assertion seems just: "that of all modes of expressing sentiments, words +are the most insufficient." We cannot flatter ourselves with having +attained in our descriptions the exceeding delicacy of touch, necessary +to sketch that which Chopin has painted with hues so ethereal. All is +subtle in his compositions, even the source of excitement, of passion; +all open, frank, primitive impressions disappear in them; before +they meet the eye, they have passed through the prism of an exacting, +ingenious, and fertile imagination, and it has become difficult if not +impossible to resolve them again into their primal elements. Acuteness +of discernment is required to understand, delicacy to describe them. +In seizing such refined impressions with the keenest discrimination, in +embodying them with infinite art, Chopin has proved himself an artist of +the highest order. It is only after long and patient study, after having +pursued his sublimated ideas through their multiform ramifications, that +we learn to admire sufficiently, to comprehend aright, the genius with +which he has rendered his subtle thoughts visible and palpable, without +once blunting their edge, or ever congealing their fiery flow. + +He was so entirely filled with the sentiments whose most perfect types +he believed he had known in his own youth, with the ideas which it alone +pleased him to confide to art; he contemplated art so invariably from +the same point of view, that his artistic preferences could not fail +to be influenced by his early impressions. In the great models and +CHEFS-D'OEUVRE, he only sought that which was in correspondence with +his own soul. That which stood in relation to it pleased him; that which +resembled it not, scarcely obtained justice from him. Uniting in himself +the frequently incompatible qualities of passion and grace he possessed +great accuracy of judgment, and preserved himself from all petty +partiality, but he was but slightly attracted by the greatest beauties, +the highest merits, when they wounded any of the phases of his poetic +conceptions. Notwithstanding the high admiration which he entertained +for the works of Beethoven, certain portions of them always seemed to +him too rudely sculptured; their structure was too athletic to please +him, their wrath seemed to him too tempestuous, their passion too +overpowering, the lion-marrow which fills every member of his phases was +matter too substantial for his tastes, and the Raphaelic and Seraphic +profiles which are wrought into the midst of the nervous and powerful +creations of this great genius, were to him almost painful from the +force of the cutting contrast in which they are frequently set. + +In spite of the charm which he acknowledged in some of the melodies of +Schubert, he would not willingly listen to those in which the contours +were too sharp for his ear, in which suffering lies naked, and we can +almost feel the flesh palpitate, and hear the bones crack and crash +under the rude embrace of sorrow. All savage wildness was repulsive +to him. In music, in literature, in the conduct of life, all that +approached the melodramatic was painful to him The frantic and +despairing aspects of exaggerated romanticism were repellent to him, +he could not endure the struggling for wonderful effects, for delicious +excesses. "He loved Shakspeare only under many conditions. He thought +his characters were drawn too closely to the life, and spoke a language +too true; he preferred the epic and lyric syntheses which leave the poor +details of humanity in the shade. For the same reason he spoke little +and listened less, not wishing to give expression to his own thoughts, +or to receive the thoughts of others, until after they had attained a +certain degree of elevation." + +A nature so completely master of itself, so full of delicate reserve, +which loved to divine through glimpses, presentiments, suppositions, all +that had been left untold (a species of divination always dear to poets +who can so eloquently finish the interrupted words) must have felt +annoyed, almost scandalized, by an audacity which leaves nothing +unexpressed, nothing to be divined. If he had been called upon to +express his own views upon this subject, we believe he would have +confessed that in accordance with his taste, he was only permitted +to give vent to his feelings on condition of suffering much to remain +unrevealed, or only to be divined under the rich veils of broidery in +which he wound his emotions. If that which they agree in calling classic +in art appeared to him too full of methodical restrictions, if he +refused to permit himself to be garroted in the manacles and frozen +in the conventions of systems, if he did not like confinement although +enclosed in the safe symmetry of a gilded cage, it was not because he +preferred the license of disorder, the confusion of irregularity. It +was rather that he might soar like the lark into the deep blue of the +unclouded heavens. Like the Bird of Paradise, which it was once thought +never slept but while resting upon extended wing, rocked only by the +breath of unlimited space at the sublime height at which it reposed; he +obstinately refused to descend to bury himself in the misty gloom of +the forests, or to surround himself with the howlings and wailings +with which it is filled. He would not leave the depths of azure for the +wastes of the desert, or attempt to fix pathways over the treacherous +waves of sand, which the winds, in exulting irony, delight to sweep over +the traces of the rash mortal seeking to mark the line of his wandering +through the drifting, blinding swells. + +That style of Italian art which is so open, so glaring, so devoid of the +attraction of mystery or of science, with all that which in German art +bears the seal of vulgar, though powerful energy, was distasteful +to him. Apropos of Schubert he once remarked: "that the sublime is +desecrated when followed by the trivial or commonplace." Among the +composers for the piano Hummel was one of the authors whom he reread +with the most pleasure. Mozart was in his eyes the ideal type, the +Poet par excellence, because he, less rarely than any other author, +condescended to descend the steps leading from the beautiful to the +commonplace. The father of Mozart after having been present at a +representation of IDOMENEE made to his son the following reproach: "You +have been wrong in putting in it nothing for the long ears." It was +precisely for such omissions that Chopin admired him. The gayety of +Papageno charmed him; the love of Tamino with its mysterious trials +seemed to him worthy of having occupied Mozart; he understood the +vengeance of Donna Anna because it cast but a deeper shade upon her +mourning. Yet such was his Sybaritism of purity, his dread of the +commonplace, that even in this immortal work he discovered some passages +whose introduction we have heard him regret. His worship for Mozart was +not diminished but only saddened by this. He could sometimes forget +that which was repulsive to him, but to reconcile himself to it was +impossible. He seemed to be governed in this by one of those implacable +and irrational instincts, which no persuasion, no effort, can ever +conquer sufficiently to obtain a state of mere indifference towards the +objects of the antipathy; an aversion sometimes so insurmountable, that +we can only account for it by supposing it to proceed from some innate +and peculiar idiosyncrasy. + +After he had finished his studies in harmony with Professor Joseph +Elsner, who taught him the rarely known and difficult task of being +exacting towards himself, and placing the just value upon the advantages +which are only to be obtained by dint of patience and labor; and after +he had finished his collegiate course, it was the desire of his parents +that he should travel in order that he might become familiar with the +finest works under the advantage of their perfect execution. For this +purpose he visited many of the German cities. He had left Warsaw upon +one of these short excursions, when the revolution of the 29th of +November broke out in 1830. + +Forced to remain in Vienna, he was heard there in some concerts, but the +Viennese public, generally so cultivated, so prompt to seize the most +delicate shades of execution, the finest subtleties of thought, during +this winter were disturbed and abstracted. The young artist did not +produce there the effect he had the right to anticipate. He left Vienna +with the design of going to London, but he came first to Paris, where +he intended to remain but a short time. Upon his passport drawn up for +England, he had caused to be inserted: "passing through Paris." These +words sealed his fate. Long years afterwards, when he seemed not only +acclimated, but naturalized in France, he would smilingly say: I am +"passing through Paris." + +He gave several concerts after his arrival in Paris, where he was +immediately received and admired in the circles of the elite, as well as +welcomed by the young artists. We remember his first appearance in the +saloons of Pleyel, where the most enthusiastic and redoubled applause +seemed scarcely sufficient to express our enchantment for the genius +which had revealed new phases of poetic feeling, and made such happy yet +bold innovations in the form of musical art. + +Unlike the greater part of young debutants, he was not intoxicated or +dazzled for a moment by his triumph, but accepted it without pride +or false modesty, evincing none of the puerile enjoyment of gratified +vanity exhibited by the PARVENUS of success. His countrymen who were +then in Paris gave him a most affectionate reception. He was intimate +in the house of Prince Czartoryski, of the Countess Plater, of Madame +de Komar, and in that of her daughters, the Princess de Beauveau and the +Countess Delphine Potocka, whose beauty, together with her indescribable +and spiritual grace, made her one of the most admired sovereigns of +the society of Paris. He dedicated to her his second Concerto, which +contains the Adagio we have already described. The ethereal beauty of +the Countess, her enchanting voice enchained him by a fascination full +of respectful admiration. Her voice was destined to be the last which +should vibrate upon the musician's heart. Perhaps the sweetest sounds +of earth accompanied the parting soul until they blended in his ear with +the first chords of the angels' lyres. + +He mingled much with the Polish circle in Paris; with Orda who seemed +born to command the future, and who was however killed in Algiers at +twenty years of age; with Counts Plater, Grzymala, Ostrowski, Szembeck, +with Prince Lubomirski, etc. etc. As the Polish families who came +afterwards to Paris were all anxious to form acquaintance with him, he +continued to mingle principally with his own people. He remained through +them not only AU COURANT of all that was passing in his own country, +but even in a kind of musical correspondence with it. He liked those who +visited Paris to show him the airs or new songs they had brought with +them, and when the words of these airs pleased him, he frequently wrote +a new melody for them, thus popularizing them rapidly in his country +although the name of their author was often unknown. The number of +these melodies, due to the inspiration of the heart alone, having become +considerable, he often thought of collecting them for publication. But +he thought of it too late, and they remain scattered and dispersed, +like the perfume of the scented flowers blessing the wilderness and +sweetening the "desert air" around some wandering traveller, whom chance +may have led upon their secluded track. During our stay in Poland we +heard some of the melodies which are attributed to him, and which +are truly worthy of him; but who would now dare to make an uncertain +selection between the inspirations of the national poet, and the dreams +of his people? + +Chopin kept for a long time aloof from the celebrities of Paris; their +glittering train repelled him. As his character and habits had more true +originality than apparent eccentricity, he inspired less curiosity +than they did. Besides he had sharp repartees for those who imprudently +wished to force him into a display of his musical abilities. Upon one +occasion after he had just left the dining-room, an indiscreet host, who +had had the simplicity to promise his guests some piece executed by +him as a rare dessert, pointed to him an open piano. He should have +remembered that in counting without the host, it is necessary to +count twice. Chopin at first refused, but wearied at last by continued +persecution, assuming, to sharpen the sting of his words, a stifled and +languid tone of voice, he exclaimed: "Ah, sir, I have scarcely dined!" + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +Madame Sand--Lelia--Visit to Majorca--Exclusive Ideals. + + + +In 1836 Madame Sand had not only published INDIANA, VALENTINE, and +JACQUES, but also LELIA, that prose poem of which she afterwards said: +"If I regret having written it, it is because I could not now write it. +Were I in the same state of mind now as when it was written, it would +indeed be a great consolation to me to be able to commence it." The +mere painting of romances in cold water colors must have seemed, without +doubt, dull to Madame Sand, after having handled the hammer and +chisel of the sculptor so boldly, in modeling the grand lines of that +semi-colossal statue, in cutting those sinewy muscles, which even in +their statuesque immobility, are full of bewildering and seductive +charm. Should we continue long to gaze upon it, it excites the most +painful emotion. In strong contrast to the miracle of Pygmalion, Lelia +seems a living Galatea, rich in feeling, full of love, whom the deeply +enamored artist has tried to bury alive in his exquisitely sculptured +marble, stifling the palpitating breath, and congealing the warm blood +in the vain hope of elevating and immortalizing the beauty he adores. In +the presence of this vivid nature petrified by art, we cannot feel +that admiration is kindled into love, but, saddened and chilled, we are +forced to acknowledge that love may be frozen into mere admiration. + +Brown and olive-hued Lelia! Dark as Lara, despairing as Manfred, +rebellious as Cain, thou hast ranged through the depths of solitude! +But thou art more ferocious, more savage, more inconsolable than they, +because thou hast never found a man's heart sufficiently feminine to +love thee as they were loved, to pay the homage of a confiding and +blind submission to thy virile charms, to offer thee a mute yet ardent +devotion, to suffer its obedience to be protected by thy Amazonian +force! Woman-hero! Like the Amazons, thou hast been valiant and eager +for combats; like them thou hast not feared to expose the exquisite +loveliness of thy face to the fierceness of the summer's sun, or the +sharp blasts of winter! Thou hast hardened thy fragile limbs by the +endurance of fatigue, thus robbing them of the subtle power of their +weakness! Thou hast covered thy palpitating breast with a heavy cuirass, +which has pressed and torn it, dyeing its snow in blood;--that gentle +woman's bosom, charming as life, discreet as the grave, which is +always adored by man when his heart is permitted to form its sole, its +impenetrable buckler! + +After having blunted her chisel in polishing this statue, which, by its +majesty, its haughty disdain, its look of hopeless anguish, shadowed +by the frowning of the pure brows and by the long loose locks shivering +with electric life, reminds us of those antique cameos on which we still +admire the perfect features, the beautiful yet fatal brow, the haughty +smile of the Medusa, whose gaze paralyzed and stopped the pulses of the +human heart;--Madame Sand in vain sought another form for the expression +of the emotions which tortured her insatiate soul. After having +draped this figure with the highest art, accumulating every species of +masculine greatness upon it in order to compensate for the highest +of all qualities which she repudiated for it, the grandeur of, "utter +self-abnegation for love," which the many-sided poet has placed in the +empyrean and called "the Eternal Feminine," (DAS EWIGWEIBLICHE,)--a +greatness which is love existing before any of its joys, surviving all +its sorrows;--after having caused Don Juan to be cursed, and a divine +hymn to be chanted to Desire by Lelia, who, as well as Don Juan, +had repulsed the only delight which crowns desire, the luxury of +self-abnegation,--after having fully revenged Elvira by the creation +of Stenio,--after having scorned man more than Don Juan had degraded +woman,--Madame Sand, in her LETTRES D'UN VOYAGEUR, depicts the shivering +palsy, the painful lethargy which seizes the artist, when, having +incorporated the emotion which inspired him in his work, his imagination +still remains under the domination of the insatiate idea without +being able to find another form in which to incarnate it. Such poetic +sufferings were well understood by Byron, when he makes Tasso shed his +most bitter tears, not for his chains, not for his physical sufferings, +not for the ignominy heaped upon him, but for his finished Epic, for the +ideal world created by his thought and now about to close its doors upon +him, and by thus expelling him from its enchanted realm, rendering him +at last sensible of the gloomy realities around him:-- + + + "But this is o'er--my pleasant task is done:-- + My long-sustaining friend of many years: + If I do blot thy final page with tears, + Know that my sorrows have wrung from me none. + But thou, my young creation! my soul's child! + Which ever playing round me came and smiled, + And woo'd me from myself with thy sweet sight, + Thou too art gone--and so is my delight." + + LAMENT OF TASSO.--BYRON. + + +At this epoch, Madame Sand often heard a musician, one of the friends +who had greeted Chopin with the most enthusiastic joy upon his arrival +at Paris, speak of him. She heard him praise his poetic genius even more +than his artistic talent. She was acquainted with his compositions, +and admired their graceful tenderness. She was struck by the amount of +emotion displayed in his poems, with the effusions of a heart so noble +and dignified. Some of the countrymen of Chopin spoke to her of the +women of their country, with the enthusiasm natural to them upon that +subject, an enthusiasm then very much increased by a remembrance of +the sublime sacrifices made by them during the last war. Through their +recitals and the poetic inspiration of the Polish artist, she perceived +an ideal of love which took the form of worship for woman. She thought +that guaranteed from dependence, preserved from inferiority, her role +might be like the fairy power of the Peri, that ethereal intelligence +and friend of man. Perhaps she did not fully understand what innumerable +links of suffering, of silence, of patience, of gentleness, of +indulgence, of courageous perseverance, had been necessary for the +formation of the worship for this imperious but resigned ideal, +beautiful indeed, but sad to behold, like those plants with the +rose-colored corollas, whose stems, intertwining and interlacing in a +network of long and numerous branches, give life to ruins; destined ever +to embellish decay, growing upon old walls and hiding only tottering +stones! Beautiful veils woven by beneficent Nature, in her ingenious and +inexhaustible richness, to cover the constant decay of human things! + +As Madame Sand perceived that this artist, in place of giving body to +his phantasy in porphyry and marble, or defining his thoughts by the +creation of massive caryatides, rather effaced the contour of his works, +and, had it been necessary, could have elevated his architecture itself +from the soil, to suspend it, like the floating palaces of the Fata +Morgana, in the fleecy clouds, through his aerial forms of almost +impalpable buoyancy, she was more and more attracted by that mystic +ideal which she perceived glowing within them. Though her arm was +powerful enough to have sculptured the round shield, her hand was +delicate enough to have traced those light relievos where the shadows +of ineffaceable profiles have been thrown upon and trusted to a stone +scarcely raised from its level plane. She was no stranger in the +supernatural world, she to whom Nature, as to a favored child, had +unloosed her girdle and unveiled all the caprices, the attractions, +the delights, which she can lend to beauty. She was not ignorant of the +lightest graces; she whose eye could embrace such vast proportions, had +stooped to study the glowing illuminations painted upon the wings of the +fragile butterfly. She had traced the symmetrical and marvellous network +which the fern extends as a canopy over the wood strawberry; she had +listened to the murmuring of streams through the long reeds and stems of +the water-grass, where the hissing of the "amorous viper" may be heard; +she had followed the wild leaps of the Will-with-a-wisp as it bounds +over the surface of the meadows and marshes; she had pictured to herself +the chimerical dwelling-places toward which it perfidiously attracts +the benighted traveller; she had listened to the concerts given by the +Cicada and their friends in the stubble of the fields; she had learned +the names of the inhabitants of the winged republics of the woods which +she could distinguish as well by their plumaged robes, as by their +jeering roulades or plaintive cries. She knew the secret tenderness of +the lily in the splendor of its tints; she had listened to the sighs of +Genevieve, [Footnote: ANDRE] the maiden enamored of flowers. + +She was visited in her dreams by those "unknown friends" who came to +rejoin her "when she was seized with distress upon a desolate shore," +brought by a "rapid stream... in large and full bark"... upon which she +mounted to leave the unknown shores, "the country of chimeras which make +real life appear like a dream half effaced to those, who enamored from +their infancy of large shells of pearl, mount them to land in those +isles where all are young and beautiful... where the men and women +are crowned with flowers, with their long locks floating upon their +shoulders... holding vases and harps of a strange form... having songs and +voices not of this world... all loving each other equally with a divine +love... where crystal fountains of perfumed waters play in basins of +silver... where blue roses bloom in vases of alabaster... where the +perspectives are all enchanted... where they walk with naked feet upon +the thick green moss, soft as carpets of velvet... where all sing as they +wander among the fragrant groves." [Footnote: LETTRES D'UN VOYAGEUR] + +She knew these unknown friends so well that after having again seen +them, "she could not dream of them without palpitations of the heart +during the whole day." She was initiated into the Hoffmannic world--"she +who had surprised such ineffable smiles upon the portraits of the dead;" +[Footnote: SPIRIDSON] who had seen the rays of the sun falling through +the stained glass of a Gothic window form a halo round loved heads, +like the arm of God, luminous and impalpable, surrounded by a vortex of +atoms;--she who had known such glorious apparitions, clothed with the +purple and golden glories of the setting sun. The realm of fantasy had +no myth with whose secret she was not familiar! + +Thus she was naturally anxious to become acquainted with one who +had with rapid wing flown "to those scenes which it is impossible to +describe, but which must exist somewhere, either upon the earth, or in +some of the planets, whose light we love to gaze upon in the forests +when the moon has set." [Footnote: LETTRES D'UN VOYAGEUR] Such scenes +she had prayed never to be forced to desert--never desiring to bring +her heart and imagination back to this dreary world, too like the gloomy +coasts of Finland, where the slime and miry slough can only be escaped +by scaling the naked granite of the solitary rocks. Fatigued with the +massive statue she had sculptured, the Amazonian Lelia; wearied with +the grandeur of an Ideal which it is impossible to mould from the gross +materials of this earth; she was desirous to form an acquaintance with +the artist "the lover of an impossible so shadowy"--so near the starry +regions. Alas! if these regions are exempt from the poisonous miasmas +of our atmosphere, they are not free from its desolating melancholy! +Perhaps those who are transported there may adore the shining of new +suns--but there are others not less dear whose light they must see +extinguished! Will not the most glorious among the beloved constellation +of the Pleiades there disappear? Like drops of luminous dew the +stars fall one by one into the nothingness of a yawning abyss, +whose bottomless depths no plummet has ever sounded, while the soul, +contemplating these fields of ether, this blue Sahara with its wandering +and perishing oases,--is stricken by a grief so hopeless, so profound, +that neither enthusiasm nor love can ever soothe it more. It ingulfs and +absorbs all emotions, being no more agitated by them than the sleeping +waters of some tranquil lake, reflecting the moving images thronging +its banks from its polished surface, are by the varied motions and eager +life of the many objects mirrored upon its glassy bosom. The drowsy +waters cannot thus be wakened from their icy lethargy. This melancholy +saddens even the highest joy. "Through the exhaustion always +accompanying such tension, when the soul is strained above the region +which it naturally inhabits... the insufficiency of speech is felt for +the first time by those who have studied it so much, and used it so +well--we are borne from all active, from all militant instincts--to +travel through boundless space--to be lost in the immensity of +adventurous courses far, far above the clouds... where we no longer +see that the earth is beautiful, because our gaze is riveted upon the +skies... where reality is no longer poetically draped, as has been so +skilfully done by the author of Waverley, but where, in idealizing +poetry itself, the infinite is peopled with the spirits belonging only +to its mystic realm, as has been done by Byron in his Manfred." + +Could Madame Sand have divined the incurable melancholy, the will which +cannot blend with that of others, the imperious exclusiveness, which +invariably seize upon imaginations delighting in the pursuit of dreams +whose realities are nowhere to be found, or at least never in the +matter-of-fact world in which the dreamers are constrained to dwell? +Had she foreseen the form which devoted attachment assumes for such +dreamers; had she measured the entire and absolute absorption which they +will alone accept as the synonyme of tenderness? It is necessary to be +in some degree shy, shrinking, and secretive as they themselves are, to +be able to understand the hidden depths of characters so concentrated. +Like those susceptible flowers which close their sensitive petals before +the first breath of the North wind, they too veil their exacting souls +in the shrouds of self concentration, unfolding themselves only under +the warming rays of a propitious sun. Such natures have been called +"rich by exclusiveness;" in opposition to those which are "rich by +expansiveness." "If these differing temperaments should meet and +approach each other, they can never mingle or melt the one into the +other," (says the writer whom we have so often quoted) "but the one must +consume the other, leaving nothing but ashes behind." Alas! it is the +natures like that of the fragile musician whose days we commemorate, +which, consuming themselves, perish; not wishing, not indeed being able, +to live any life but one in conformity with their own exclusive Ideal. + +Chopin seemed to dread Madame Sand more than any other woman, the modern +Sibyl, who, like the Pythoness of old, had said so many things that +others of her sex neither knew nor dared to say. He avoided and put +off all introduction to her. Madame Sand was ignorant of this. In +consequence of that captivating simplicity, which is one of her noblest +charms, she did not divine his fear of the Delphic priestess. At last +she was presented to him, and an acquaintance with her soon dissipated +the prejudices which he had obstinately nourished against female +authors. + +In the fall of 1837, Chopin was attacked by an alarming illness, which +left him almost without force to support life. Dangerous symptoms forced +him to go South to avoid the rigor of winter. Madame Sand, always so +watchful over those whom she loved, so full of compassion for their +sufferings, would not permit him, when his health required so much care, +to set out alone, and determined to accompany him. They selected the +island of Majorca for their residence because the air of the sea, joined +to the mild climate which prevails there, is especially salubrious for +those who are suffering from affections of the lungs. Though he was +so weak when he left Paris that we had no hope of his ever returning; +though after his arrival in Majorca he was long and dangerously ill; +yet so much was he benefited by the change that big health was improved +during several years. + +Was it the effect of the balmy climate alone which recalled him to +health? Was it not rather because his life was full of bliss that he +found strength to live? Did he not regain strength only because he now +wished to live? Who can tell how far the influence of the will extends +over the body? Who knows what internal subtle aroma it has the power of +disengaging to preserve the sinking frame from decay; what vital force +it can breathe into the debilitated organs? Who can say where the +dominion of mind over matter ceases? Who knows how far our senses are +under the dominion of the imagination, to what extent their powers may +be increased, or their extinction accelerated, by its influence? It +matters not how the imagination gains its strange extension of power, +whether through long and bitter exercise, or, whether spontaneously +collecting its forgotten strength, it concentrates its force in some new +and decisive moment of destiny: as when the rays of the sun are able to +kindle a flame of celestial origin when concentrated in the focus of the +burning glass, brittle and fragile though the medium be. + +All the long scattered rays of happiness were collected within this +epoch of the life of Chopin; is it then surprising that they should have +rekindled the flame of life, and that it should have burned at this time +with the most vivid lustre? The solitude surrounded by the blue waves of +the Mediterranean and shaded by groves of orange, seemed fitted in +its exceeding loveliness for the ardent vows of youthful lovers, still +believing in their naive and sweet illusions, sighing for happiness +in "some desert isle." He breathed there that air for which natures +unsuited for the world, and never feeling themselves happy in it, +long with such a painful home-sickness; that air which may be found +everywhere if we can find the sympathetic souls to breathe it with us, +and which is to be met nowhere without them; that air of the land of +our dreams; and which in spite of all obstacles, of the bitter real, is +easily discovered when sought by two! It is the air of the country of +the ideal to which we gladly entice the being we cherish, repeating with +poor Mignon: DAHIN! DAHIN!... LASST UNS ZIEHN! + +As long as his sickness lasted, Madame Sand never left the pillow of him +who loved her even to death, with an attachment which in losing all its +joys, did not lose its intensity, which remained faithful to her even +after all its memories had turned to pain: "for it seemed as if +this fragile being was absorbed and consumed by the strength of his +affection.... Others seek happiness in their attachments; when they no +longer find it, the attachment gently vanishes. In this they resemble +the rest of the world. But he loved for the sake of loving. No amount +of suffering was sufficient to discourage him. He could enter upon a new +phase, that of woe; but the phase of coldness he could never arrive at. +It would have been indeed a phase of physical agony--for his love was +his life--and delicious or bitter, he had not the power of withdrawing +himself a single moment from its domination." [Footnote: LUCRESIA +FLORIANA] Madame Sand never ceased to be for Chopin that being of magic +spells who had snatched him from the valley of the shadow of death, +whose power had changed his physical agony into the delicious languor of +love. To save him from death, to bring him back to life, she struggled +courageously with his disease. She surrounded him with those divining +and instinctive cares which are a thousand times more efficacious than +the material remedies known to science. While engaged in nursing him, +she felt no fatigue, no weariness, no discouragement. Neither her +strength, nor her patience, yielded before the task. Like the mothers in +robust health, who appear to communicate a part of their own strength to +the sickly infant who, constantly requiring their care, have also their +preference, she nursed the precious charge into new life. The disease +yielded: "the funereal oppression which secretly undermined the spirit +of Chopin, destroying and corroding all contentment, gradually vanished. +He permitted the amiable character, the cheerful serenity of his friend +to chase sad thoughts and mournful presentiments away, and to breathe +new force into his intellectual being." + +Happiness succeeded to gloomy fears, like the gradual progression of a +beautiful day after a night full of obscurity and terror, when so dense +and heavy is the vault of darkness which weighs upon us from above, that +we are prepared for a sudden and fatal catastrophe, we do not even dare +to dream of deliverance, when the despairing eye suddenly catches a +bright spot where the mists clear, and the clouds open like flocks of +heavy wool yielding, even while the edges thicken under the pressure +of the hand which rends them. At this moment, the first ray of hope +penetrates the soul. We breathe more freely like those who lost in the +windings of a dark cavern at last think they see a light, though indeed +its existence is still doubtful. This faint light is the day dawn, +though so colorless are its rays, that it is more like the extinction of +the dying twilight,--the fall of the night-shroud upon the earth. But it +is indeed the dawn; we know it by the vivid and pure breath of the +young zephyrs which it sends forth, like avant-coureurs, to bear us the +assurance of morn and safety. The balm of flowers fills the air, like +the thrilling of an encouraged hope. A stray bird accidentally commences +his song earlier than usual, it soothes the heart like a distant +consolation, and is accepted as a promise for the future. As the +imperceptibly progressive but sure indications multiply, we are +convinced that in this struggle of light and darkness it is the shadows +of night which are to yield. Raising our eyes to the Dome of lead above +us, we feel that it weighs less heavily upon us, that it has already +lost its fatal stability. + +Little by little the long gray lines of light increase, they stretch +themselves along the horizon like fissures into a brighter world. They +suddenly enlarge, they gain upon their dark boundaries, now they break +through them, as the waters bounding the edge of a lake inundate in +irregular pools the arid banks. Then a fierce opposition begins, banks +and long dikes accumulate to arrest the progress. The clouds are oiled +like ridges of sand, tossing and surging to present obstructions, but +like the impetuous raging of irresistible waters, the light breaks +through them, demolishes them, devours them, and as the rays ascend, the +rolling waves of purple mist glow into crimson. At this moment the young +dawn shines with a timid yet victorious grace, while the knee bends in +admiration and gratitude before it, for the last terror has vanished, +and we feel as if new born. + +Fresh objects strike upon the view, as if just called from chaos. A +veil of uniform rose-color covers them all, but as the light augments in +intensity, the thin gauze drapes and folds in shades of pale carnation, +while the advancing plains grow clear in white and dazzling splendor. + +The brilliant sun delays no longer to invade the firmament, gaining +new glory as he rises. The vapors surge and crowd together, rolling +themselves from right to left, like the heavy drapery of a curtain moved +by the wind. Then all breathes, moves, lives, hums, sings; the sounds +mingle, cross, meet, and melt into each other. Inertia gives place to +motion, it spreads, accelerates and circulates. The waves of the lake +undulate and swell like a bosom touched by love. The tears of the dew, +motionless as those of tenderness, grow more and more perceptible, one +after another they are seen glittering on the humid herbs, diamonds +waiting for the sun to paint with rainbow-tints their vivid +scintillations. The gigantic fan of light in the East is ever opening +larger and wider. Spangles of silver, borders of scarlet, violet +fringes, bars of gold, cover it with fantastic broidery. Light bands of +reddish brown feather its branches. The brightest scarlet at its centre +has the glowing transparency of the ruby; shading into orange like a +burning coal, it widens like a torch, spreads like a bouquet of flames, +which glows and glows from fervor to fervor, ever more incandescent. + +At last the god of day appears! His blazing front is adorned with +luminous locks of long floating hair. Slowly he seems to rise--but +scarcely has he fully unveiled himself, than he starts forward, +disengages himself from all around him, and, leaving the earth far below +him, takes instantaneous possession of the vaulted heavens.... + +The memory of the days passed in the lovely isle of Majorca, like the +remembrance of an entrancing ecstasy, which fate grants but once in life +even to the most favored of her children, remained always dear to the +heart of Chopin. "He [Footnote: Lucrezia Fioriani] was no longer upon +this earth, he was in an empyrean of golden clouds and perfumes, his +imagination, so full of exquisite beauty, seemed engaged in a monologue +with God himself; and if upon the radiant prism in whose contemplation +he forgot all else, the magic-lantern of the outer world would even cast +its disturbing shadow, he felt deeply pained, as if in the midst of +a sublime concert, a shrieking old woman should blend her shrill yet +broken tones, her vulgar musical motivo, with the divine thoughts of +the great masters." He always spoke of this period with deep emotion, +profound gratitude, as if its happiness had been sufficient for a +life-time, without hoping that it would ever be possible again to find a +felicity in which the fight of time was only marked by the tenderness +of woman's love, and the brilliant flashes of true genius. Thus did the +clock of Linnaeus mark the course of time, indicating the hours by +the successive waking and sleeping of the flowers, marking each by +a different perfume, and a display of ever varying beauties, as each +variegated calyx opened in ever changing yet ever lovely form! + +The beauties of the countries through which the Poet and Musician +travelled together, struck with more distinctness the imagination of +the former. The loveliness of nature impressed Chopin in a manner less +definite, though not less strong. His soul was touched, and immediately +harmonized with the external enchantment, yet his intellect did not +feel the necessity of analyzing or classifying it. His heart vibrated in +unison with the exquisite scenery around him, although he was not able +at the moment to assign the precise source of his blissful tranquillity. +Like a true musician, he was satisfied to seize the sentiment of the +scenes he visited, while he seemed to give but little attention to the +plastic material, the picturesque frame, which did not assimilate +with the form of his art, nor belong to his more spiritualized sphere. +However, (a fact that has been often remarked in organizations such as +his,) as he was removed in time and distance from the scenes in which +emotion had obscured his senses, as the clouds from the burning incense +envelope the censer, the more vividly the forms and beauties of such +scenes stood out in his memory. In the succeeding years, he frequently +spoke of them, as though the remembrance was full of pleasure to him. +But when so entirely happy, he made no inventory of his bliss. He +enjoyed it simply, as we all do in the sweet years of childhood, when we +are deeply impressed by the scenery surrounding us without ever thinking +of its details, yet finding, long after, the exact image of each object +in our memory, though we are only able to describe its forms when we +have ceased to behold them. + +Besides, why should he have tasked himself to scrutinize the beautiful +sites in Spain which formed the appropriate setting of his poetic +happiness? Could he not always find them again through the descriptions +of his inspired companion? As all objects, even the atmosphere itself, +become flame-colored when seen through a glass dyed in crimson, so he +might contemplate these delicious sites in the glowing hues cast around +them by the impassioned genius of the woman he loved. The nurse of his +sick-room--was she not also a great artist? Rare and beautiful union! +If to the depths of tenderness and devotion, in which the true and +irresistible empire of woman must commence, and deprived of which she is +only an enigma without a possible solution, nature should unite the most +brilliant gifts of genius,--the miraculous spectacle of the Greek firs +would be renewed,--the glittering flames would again sport over the +abysses of the ocean without being extinguished or submerged in the +chilling depths, adding, as the living hues were thrown upon the surging +waves, the glowing dyes of the purple fire to the celestial blue of the +heaven-reflecting sea! + +Has genius ever attained that utter self-abnegation, that sublime +humility of heart which gives the power to make those strange sacrifices +of the entire Past, of the whole Future; those immolations, as +courageous as mysterious; those mystic and utter holocausts of self, +not temporary and changing, but monotonous and constant,--through whose +might alone tenderness may justly claim the higher name, devotion? Has +not the force of genius its own exclusive and legitimate exactions, and +does not the force of woman consist in the abdication of all exactions? +Can the royal purple and burning flames of genius ever float upon the +immaculate azure of woman's destiny?... + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +Disappointment--Ill Health--Visit to England--Devotion of Friends--Last +Sacraments--Delphina Potocka--Louise--M. Gutman--Death. + + + +FROM the date of 1840, the health of Chopin, affected by so many +changes, visibly declined. During some years, his most tranquil hours +were spent at Nohant, where he seemed to suffer less than elsewhere. +He composed there, with pleasure, bringing with him every year to Paris +several new compositions, but every winter caused him an increase of +suffering. Motion became at first difficult, and soon almost impossible +to him. From 1846 to 1847, he scarcely walked at all; he could not +ascend the staircase without the most painful sensation of suffocation, +and his life was only prolonged through continual care and the greatest +precaution. + +Towards the Spring of 1847, as his health grew more precarious from day +to day, he was attacked by an illness from which it was thought he could +never recover. He was saved for the last time; but this epoch was marked +by an event so agonizing to his heart that he immediately called it +mortal. Indeed, he did not long survive the rupture of his friendship +with Madame Sand, which took place at this date. Madame de Stael, who, +in spite of her generous and impassioned heart, her subtle and vivid +intellect, fell sometimes into the fault of making her sentences +heavy through a species of pedantry which robbed them of the grace of +"abandon,"--remarked on one of those occasions when the strength of her +feelings made her forget the solemnity of her Genevese stiffness: "In +affection, there are only beginnings!" + +This exclamation was based upon the bitter experience of the +insufficiency of the human heart to accomplish the beautiful and +blissful dreams of the imagination. Ah! if some blessed examples of +human devotion did not sometimes occur to contradict the melancholy +words of Madame de Stael, which so many illustrious as well as obscure +facts seem to prove, our suspicions might lead us to be guilty of much +ingratitude and want of trust; we might be led to doubt the sincerity +of the hearts which surround us, and see but the allegorical symbols of +human affections in the antique train of the beautiful Canephoroe, who +carried the fragile and perfumed flowers to adorn some hapless victim +for the altar! + +Chopin spoke frequently and almost by preference of Madame Sand, without +bitterness or recrimination. Tears always filled his eyes when he named +her; but with a kind of bitter sweetness he gave himself up to the +memories of past days, alas, now. He stripped of their manifold +significance! In spite of the many subterfuges employed by his friends +to entice him from dwelling upon remembrances which always brought +dangerous excitement with them, he loved to return to them; as if +through the same feelings which had once reanimated his life, he now +wished to destroy it, sedulously stifling its powers through the vapor +of this subtle poison. His last pleasure seemed to be the memory of the +blasting of his last hope; he treasured the bitter knowledge that under +this fatal spell his life was ebbing fast away. All attempts to fix +his attention upon other objects were made in vain, he refused to be +comforted and would constantly speak of the one engrossing subject. Even +if he had ceased to speak of it, would he not always have thought of it? +He seemed to inhale the poison rapidly and eagerly, that he might thus +shorten the time in which he would be forced to breathe it! + +Although the exceeding fragility of his physical constitution might +not have allowed him, under any circumstances, to have lingered long +on earth, yet at least he might have been spared the bitter sufferings +which clouded his last hours! With a tender and ardent soul, though +exacting through its fastidiousness and excessive delicacy, he could not +live unless surrounded by the radiant phantoms he had himself evoked; +he could not expel the profound sorrow which his heart cherished as +the sole remaining fragment of the happy past. He was another great +and illustrious victim to the transitory attachments occurring between +persons of different character, who, experiencing a surprise full of +delight in their first sudden meeting, mistake it for a durable feeling, +and build hopes and illusions upon it which can never be realized. It is +always the nature the most deeply moved, the most absolute in its hopes +and attachments, for which all transplantation is impossible, which is +destroyed and mined in the painful awakening from the absorbing dream! +Terrible power exercised over man by the most exquisite gifts which he +possesses! Like the coursers of the sun, when the hand of Phaeton, in +place of guiding their beneficent career, permits them to wander at +random, disordering the beautiful structure of the celestial spheres, +they bring devastation and flames in their train! Chopin felt and often +repeated that the sundering of this long friendship, the rupture of this +strong tie, broke all the chords which bound him to life. + +During this attack his life was despaired of for several days. M. +Gutman, his most distinguished pupil, and during the last years of his +life, his most intimate friend, lavished upon him every proof of tender +attachment. His cares, his attentions, were the most agreeable to him. +With the timidity natural to invalids, and with the tender delicacy +peculiar to himself, he once asked the Princess Czartoryska, who visited +him every day, often fearing that on the morrow he would no longer be +among the living: "if Gutman was not very much fatigued? If she thought +he would be able to continue his care of him;" adding, "that his +presence was dearer to him than that of any other person." His +convalescence was very slow and painful, leaving him indeed but the +semblance of life. At this epoch he changed so much in appearance +that he could scarcely be recognized The next summer brought him that +deceptive decrease of suffering which it sometimes grants to those who +are dying. He refused to quit Paris, and thus deprived himself of the +pure air of the country, and the benefit of this vivifying element. + +The winter of 1847 to 1848 was filled with a painful and continual +succession of improvements and relapses. Notwithstanding this, he +resolved in the spring to accomplish his old project of visiting London. +When the revolution of February broke out, he was still confined to bed, +but with a melancholy effort, he seemed to try to interest himself in +the events of the day, and spoke of them more than usual. M. Gutman +continued his most intimate and constant visitor. He accepted through +preference his cares until the close of his life. + +Feeling better in the month of April, he thought of realizing his +contemplated journey, of visiting that country to which he had intended +to go when youth and life opened in bright perspective before him. He +set out for England, where his works had already found an intelligent +public, and were generally known and admired. + + [Footnote: The compositions of Chopin were, even at that + time, known and very much liked in England. The most + distinguished virtuosi frequently executed them. In a + pamphlet published in London by Messrs. Wessel and + Stappletou, under the title of AN ESSAY ON THE WORKS OF F. + CHOPIN, we find some lines marked by just criticism. The + epigraph of this little pamphlet is ingeniously chosen, and + the two lines from Shelley could scarcely be better applied + than to Chopin: + + "He was a mighty poet--and + A subtle-souled Psychologist." + + The author of this pamphlet speaks with enthusiasm of the + "originative genius untrammeled by conventionalities, + unfettered by pedantry;... of the outpourings of an + unworldly and tristful soul--those musical floods of tears, + and gushes of pure joyfulness--those exquisite embodiments + of fugitive thoughts--those infinitesimal delicacies, which + give so much value to the lightest sketch of Chopin." The + English author again says: "One thing is certain, viz.: to + play with proper feeling and correct execution, the PRELUDES + and STUDIES of Chopin, is to be neither more nor less than a + finished pianist, and moreover to comprehend them + thoroughly, to give a life and tongue to their infinite and + most eloquent subtleties of expression, involves the + necessity of being in no less a degree a poet than a + pianist, a thinker than a musician. Commonplace is + instinctively avoided in all the works of Chopin; a stale + cadence or a trite progression, a humdrum subject or a + hackneyed sequence, a vulgar twist of the melody or a worn- + out passage, a meagre harmony or an unskillful counterpoint, + may in vain be looked for throughout the entire range of his + compositions; the prevailing characteristics of which, are, + a feeling as uncommon as beautiful, a treatment as original + as felicitous, a melody and a harmony as new, fresh, + vigorous, and striking, as they are utterly unexpected and + out of the common track. In taking up one of the works of + Chopin, you are entering, as it were, a fairyland, untrodden + by human footsteps, a path hitherto unfrequented but by the + great composer himself; and a faith, a devotion, a desire to + appreciate and a determination to understand are absolutely + necessary, to do it any thing like adequate justice.... + Chopin in his POLONAISES and in his MAZOURKAS has aimed at + those characteristics, which distinguish the national music + of his country so markedly from, that of all others, that + quaint idiosyncrasy, that identical wildness and + fantasticality, that delicious mingling of the sad and + cheerful, which invariably and forcibly individualize the + music of those Northern nations, whose language delights in + combinations of consonants...."] + +He left France in that mood of mind which the English call "low +spirits." The transitory interest which he had endeavored to take in +political changes, soon disappeared. He became more taciturn than ever. +If through absence of mind, a few words would escape him. They were only +exclamations of regret. His affection for the limited number of persons +whom he continued to see, was filled with that heart-rending emotion +which precedes eternal farewells! Art alone always retained its absolute +power over him. Music absorbed him during the time, now constantly +shortening, in which he was able to occupy himself with it, as +completely as during the days when he was full of life and hope. Before +he left Paris, he gave a concert in the saloon of M. Pleyel, one of the +friends with whom his relations had been the most constant, the most +frequent, and the most affectionate; who is now rendering a worthy +homage to his memory, occupying himself with zeal and activity in the +execution of a monument for his tomb. At this concert, his chosen and +faithful audience heard him for the last time! + +He was received in London with an eagerness which had some effect +in aiding him to shake off his sadness, to dissipate his mournful +depression. Perhaps he dreamed, by burying all his former habits in +oblivion, he could succeed in dissipating, his melancholy! He neglected +the prescriptions of his physicians, with all the precautions which +reminded him of his wretched health. He played twice in public, and many +times in private concerts. He mingled much in society, sat up late at +night, and exposed himself to considerable fatigue, without permitting +himself to be deterred by any consideration for his health. He was +presented to the Queen by the Duchess of Sutherland, and the most +distinguished society sought the pleasure of his acquaintance. He went +to Edinburgh, where the climate was particularly injurious to him. +He was much debilitated upon his return from Scotland; his physicians +wished him to leave England immediately, but he delayed for some time +his departure. Who can read the feelings which caused this delay!... He +played again at a concert given for the Poles. It was the last mark of +love sent to his beloved country--the last look--the last sigh--the last +regret! He was feted, applauded, and surrounded by his own people. He +bade them all adieu,--they did not know it was an eternal Farewell! What +thoughts must have filled his sad soul as he crossed the sea to return +to Paris! That Paris so different now for him from that which he had +found without seeking in 1831! + +He was met upon his arrival by a surprise as painful as unexpected. Dr. +Molin, whose advice and intelligent prescriptions had saved his life in +the winter of 1847, to whom alone he believed himself indebted for the +prolongation of his life, was dead. He felt his loss painfully, nay, +it brought a profound discouragement with it; at a time when the +mind exercises so much influence over the progress of the disease, he +persuaded himself that no one could replace the trusted physician, and +he had no confidence in any other. Dissatisfied with them all, without +any hope from their skill, he changed them constantly. A kind of +superstitious depression seized him. No tie stronger than life, no more +powerful as death, came now to struggle against this bitter apathy! +From the winter of 1848, Chopin had been in no condition to labor +continuously. From time to time he retouched some scattered leaves, +without succeeding in arranging his thoughts in accordance with his +designs. A respectful care of his fame dictated to him the wish that +these sketches should be destroyed to prevent the possibility of their +being mutilated, disfigured, and transformed into posthumous works +unworthy of his hand. + +He left no finished manuscripts, except a very short WALTZ, and a +last NOCTURNE, as parting memories. In the later period of his life he +thought of writing a method for the Piano, in which he intended to give +his ideas upon the theory and technicality of his art, the results of +his long and patient studies, his happy innovations, and his intelligent +experience. The task was a difficult one, demanding redoubled +application even from one who labored as assiduously as Chopin. Perhaps +he wished to avoid the emotions of art, (affecting those who reproduce +them in serenity of soul so differently from those who repeat in them +their own desolation of heart,) by taking refuge in a region so barren. +He sought in this employment only an absorbing and uniform occupation, +he only asked from it what Manfred demanded in vain from the powers of +magic: "forgetfulness!" Forgetfulness--granted neither by the gayety of +amusement, nor the lethargy of torpor! On the contrary, with venomous +guile, they always compensate in the renewed intensity of woe, for the +time they may have succeeded in benumbing it. In the daily labor which +"charms the storms of the soul," (DER SEELE STURM BESCHWORT,) he sought +without doubt forgetfulness, which occupation, by rendering the memory +torpid, may sometimes procure, though it cannot destroy the sense of +pain. At the close of that fine elegy which he names "The Ideal," a +poet, who was also the victim of an inconsolable melancholy, appeals to +labor as a consolation when a prey to bitter regret; while expecting +an early death, he invokes occupation as the last resource against the +incessant anguish of life: + + + "And thou, so pleated, with her uniting, + To charm the soul-storm into peace, + Sweet toil, in toil itself delighting, + That more it labored, less could cease, + Though but by grains thou aidest the pile + The vast eternity uprears, + At least thou strikest from TIME the while + Life's debt--the minutes--days--and years." + + Bulwer's translation of SCHILLER'S "Ideal." + + Beschoeftigung, die nie ermattet + Die langsam schafft, doch nie zerstoert, + Die zu dem Bau der Ewigkeiten + Zwar Sandkorn nur, fuer Sandkorn reicht, + Doch von der grossen Schuld der Zeiten + Minute, Tage, Jahre streicht. + + Die Ideale--SHILLER. + + +The strength of Chopin was not sufficient for the execution of +his intention. The occupation was too abstract, too fatiguing. He +contemplated the form of his project, he spoke of it at different times, +but its execution had become impossible. He wrote but a few pages of it, +which were destroyed with the rest. + +At last the disease augmented so visibly, that the fears of his friends +assumed the hue of despair. He scarcely ever left his bed, and spoke but +rarely. His sister, upon receiving this intelligence, came from Warsaw +to take her place at his pillow, which she left no more. He witnessed +the anguish, the presentiments, the redoubled sadness around him, +without showing what impression they made upon him. He thought of death +with Christian calm and resignation, yet he did not cease to prepare for +the morrow. The fancy he had for changing his residence was once more +manifested, he took another lodging, disposed the furnishing of it anew, +and occupied himself in its most minute details. As he had taken no +measures to recall the orders he had given for its arrangement, they +were transporting his furniture to the apartments he was destined never +to inhabit, upon the very day of his death! + +Did he fear that death would not fulfil his plighted promise! Did he +dread, that after having touched him with his icy hand, he would still +suffer him to linger upon earth? Did he feel that life would be almost +unendurable with its fondest ties broken, its closest links dissevered? +There is a double influence often felt by gifted temperaments when upon +the eve of some event which is to decide their fate. The eager heart, +urged on by a desire to unravel the mystic secrets of the unknown +Future, contradicts the colder, the more timid intellect, which fears to +plunge into the uncertain abyss of the coming fate! This want of harmony +between the simultaneous previsions of the mind and heart, often causes +the firmest spirits to make assertions which their actions seem to +contradict; yet actions and assertions both flow from the differing +sources of an equal conviction. Did Chopin suffer from this inevitable +dissimilarity between the prophetic whispers of the heart, and the +thronging doubts of the questioning mind? + +From week to week, and soon from day to day, the cold shadow of death +gained upon him. His end was rapidly approaching; his sufferings became +more and more intense; his crises grew more frequent, and at each +accelerated occurrence, resembled more and more a mortal agony. He +retained his presence of mind, his vivid will upon their intermission, +until the last; neither losing the precision of his ideas, nor the clear +perception of his intentions. The wishes which he expressed in his +short moments of respite, evinced the calm solemnity with which he +contemplated the approach of death. He desired to be buried by the side +of Bellini, with whom, during the time of Bellini's residence in Paris, +he had been intimately acquainted. The grave of Bellini is in the +cemetery of Pere LaChaise, next to that of Cherubini. The desire of +forming an acquaintance with this great master whom he had been brought +up to admire, was one of the motives which, when he left Vienna in 1831 +to go to London, induced him, without foreseeing that his destiny would +fix him there, to pass through Paris. Chopin now sleeps between Bellini +and Cherubini, men of very dissimilar genius, and yet to both of whom +he was in an equal degree allied, as he attached as much value to +the respect he felt for the science of the one, as to the sympathy he +acknowledged for the creations of the other. Like the author of NORMA, +he was full of melodic feeling, yet he was ambitions of attaining the +harmonic depth of the learned old master; desiring to unite, in a great +and elevated style, the dreamy vagueness of spontaneous emotion with the +erudition of the most consummate masters. + +Continuing the reserve of his manners to the very last, he did not +request to see any one for the last time; but he evinced the most +touching gratitude to all who approached him. The first days of October +left neither doubt nor hope. The fatal moment drew near. The next day, +the next hour, could no longer be relied upon. M. Gutman and his sister +were in constant attendance upon him, never for a single moment leaving +him. The Countess Delphine Potocka, who was then absent from Paris, +returned as soon as she was informed of his imminent danger. None of +those who approached the dying artist, could tear themselves from the +spectacle of this great and gifted soul in its hours of mortal anguish. + +However violent or frivolous the passions may be which agitate our +hearts, whatever strength or indifference may be displayed in +meeting unforeseen or sudden accidents, which would seem necessarily +overwhelming in their effects, it is impossible to escape the impression +made by the imposing majesty of a lingering and beautiful death, which +touches, softens, fascinates and elevates even the souls the least +prepared for such holy and sublime emotions. The lingering and gradual +departure of one among us for those unknown shores, the mysterious +solemnity of his secret dreams, his commemoration of past facts +and passing ideas when still breathing upon the narrow strait which +separates time from eternity, affect us more deeply than any thing else +in this world. Sudden catastrophes, the dreadful alternations forced +upon the shuddering fragile ship, tossed like a toy by the wild breath +of the tempest; the blood of the battle-field, with the gloomy smoke of +artillery; the horrible charnel-house into which our own habitation is +converted by a contagious plague; conflagrations which wrap whole +cities in their glittering flames; fathomless abysses which open at our +feet;--remove us less sensibly from all the fleeting attachments "which +pass, which can be broken, which cease," than the prolonged view of a +soul conscious of its own position, silently contemplating the multiform +aspects of time and the mute door of eternity! The courage, the +resignation, the elevation, the emotion, which reconcile it with that +inevitable dissolution so repugnant to all our instincts, certainly +impress the bystanders more profoundly than the most frightful +catastrophes, which, in the confusion they create, rob the scene of its +still anguish, its solemn meditation. + +The parlor adjoining the chamber of Chopin was constantly occupied by +some of his friends, who, one by one, in turn, approached him to receive +a sign of recognition, a look of affection, when he was no longer able +to address them in words. On Sunday, the 15th of October, his attacks +were more violent and more frequent--lasting for several hours in +succession. He endured them with patience and great strength of mind. +The Countess Delphine Potocka, who was present, was much distressed; her +tears were flowing fast when he observed her standing at the foot of +his bed, tall, slight, draped in white, resembling the beautiful angels +created by the imagination of the most devout among the painters. +Without doubt, he supposed her to be a celestial apparition; and when +the crisis left him a moment in repose, he requested her to sing; they +deemed him at first seized with delirium, but he eagerly repeated his +request. Who could have ventured--to oppose his wish? The piano was +rolled from his parlor to the door of his chamber, while, with sobs in +her voice, and tears streaming down her cheeks, his gifted countrywoman +sang. Certainly, this delightful voice had never before attained an +expression so full of profound pathos. He seemed to suffer less as he +listened. She sang that famous Canticle to the Virgin, which, it is +said, once saved the life of Stradella. "How beautiful it is!" +he exclaimed. "My God, how very beautiful! Again--again!" Though +overwhelmed with emotion, the Countess had the noble courage to comply +with the last wish of a friend, a compatriot; she again took a seat at +the piano, and sung a hymn from Marcello. Chopin again feeling worse, +everybody was seized with fright--by a spontaneous impulse all who were +present threw themselves upon their knees--no one ventured to speak; the +sacred silence was only broken by the voice of the Countess, floating, +like a melody from heaven, above the sighs and sobs which formed its +heavy and mournful earth-accompaniment. It was the haunted hour +of twilight; a dying light lent its mysterious shadows to this +sad scene--the sister of Chopin prostrated near his bed, wept and +prayed--and never quitted this attitude of supplication while the life +of the brother she had so cherished lasted. + +His condition altered for the worse during the night, but he felt more +tranquil upon Monday morning, and as if he had known in advance the +appointed and propitious moment, he asked to receive immediately the +last sacraments. In the absence of the Abbe ----, with whom he had been +very intimate since their common expatriation, he requested that +the Abbe Jelowicki, one of the most distinguished men of the Polish +emigration, should be sent for. When the holy Viaticum was administered +to him, he received it, surrounded by those who loved him, with great +devotion. He called his friends a short time afterwards, one by one, +to his bedside, to give each of them his last earnest blessing; calling +down the grace of God fervently upon themselves, their affections, and +their hopes,--every knee bent--every head bowed--all eyes were heavy +with tears--every heart was sad and oppressed--every soul elevated. + +Attacks more and more painful, returned and continued during the day; +from Monday night until Tuesday, he did not utter a single word. He +did not seem able to distinguish the persons who were around him. About +eleven o'clock on Tuesday evening, he appeared to revive a little. The +Abbe Jelowicki had never left him. Hardly had he recovered the power +of speech, than he requested him to recite with him the prayers and +litanies for the dying. He was able to accompany the Abbe in an audible +and intelligible voice. From this moment until his death, he held his +head constantly supported upon the shoulder of M. Gutman, who, during +the whole course of this sickness, had devoted his days and nights to +him. + +A convulsive sleep lasted until the 17th of October, 1849. The final +agony commenced about two o'clock; a cold sweat ran profusely from his +brow; after a short drowsiness, he asked, in a voice scarcely audible: +"Who is near me?" Being answered, he bent his head to kiss the hand of +M. Gutman, who still supported it--while giving this last tender proof +of love and gratitude, the soul of the artist left its fragile clay. He +died as he had lived--in loving. + +When the doors of the parlor were opened, his friends threw themselves +around the loved corpse, not able to suppress the gush of tears. + +His love for flowers being well known, they were brought in such +quantities the next day, that the bed in which they had placed them, and +indeed the whole room, almost disappeared, hidden by their varied and +brilliant hues. He seemed to repose in a garden of roses. His face +regained its early beauty, its purity of expression, its long unwonted +serenity. Calmly--with his youthful loveliness, so long dimmed by bitter +suffering, restored by death, he slept among the flowers he loved, the +last long and dreamless sleep! + +M. Clesinger reproduced the delicate traits, to which death had rendered +their early beauty, in a sketch which he immediately modeled, and which +he afterwards executed in marble for his tomb. + +The respectful admiration which Chopin felt for the genius of Mozart, +had induced him to request that his Requiem should be performed at his +obsequies; this wish was complied with. The funeral ceremonies took +place in the Madeleine Church, the 30th of October, 1849. They had been +delayed until this date, in order that the execution of this great work +should be worthy of the master and his disciple. The principal artists +in Paris were anxious to take part in it. The FUNERAL MARCH of Chopin, +arranged for the instruments for this occasion by M. Reber, was +introduced at the Introit. At the Offertory, M. Lefebure Vely executed +his admirable PRELUDES in SI and MI MINOR upon the organ. The solos +of the REQUIEM were claimed by Madame Viardot and Madame Castellan. +Lablache, who had sung the TUBA MIRUM of this REQUIEM at the burial of +Beethoven in 1827, again sung it upon this occasion. M. Meyerbeer, with +Prince Adam Czartoryski, led the train of mourners. The pall was +borne by M. Delacroix, M. Franchomme, M. Gutman, and Prince Alexander +Czartorvski.--However insufficient these pages may be to speak of Chopin +as we would have desired, we hope that the attraction which so justly +surrounds his name, will compensate for much that may be wanting in +them. If to these lines, consecrated to the commemoration of his works +and to all that he held dear, which the sincere esteem, enthusiastic +regard, and intense sorrow for his loss, can alone gift with persuasive +and sympathetic power, it were necessary to add some of the thoughts +awakened in every man when death robs him of the loved contemporaries +of his youth, thus breaking the first ties linked by the confiding and +deluded heart with so much the greater pain if they were strong enough +to survive that bright period of young life, we would say that in the +same--year we have lost the two dearest friends we have known on earth. +One of them perished in the wild course of civil war. Unfortunate and +valiant hero! He fell with his burning courage unsubdued, his intrepid +calmness undisturbed, his chivalric temerity unabated, through the +endurance of the horrible tortures of a fearful death. He was a Prince +of rare intelligence, of great activity, of eminent faculties, through +whose veins the young blood circulated with the glittering ardor of a +subtle gas. By his own indefatigable energy he had just succeeded in +removing the difficulties which obstructed his path, in creating an +arena in which his faculties might hare displayed themselves with as +much success in debates and the management of civil affairs, as they had +already done in brilliant feats in arms. The other, Chopin, died slowly, +consuming himself in the flames of his own genius. His life, unconnected +with public events, was like some fact which has never been incorporated +in a material body. The traces of his existence are only to be found +in the works which he has left. He ended his days upon a foreign soil, +which he never considered as his country, remaining faithful in the +devotion of his affections to the eternal widowhood of his own. He was +a Poet of a mournful soul, full of reserve and complicated mystery, and +familiar with the stern face of sorrow. + +The immediate interest which we felt in the movements of the parties to +which the life of Prince Felix Lichnowsky was bound, was broken by his +death: the death of Chopin has robbed us of all the consolations of an +intelligent and comprehensive friendship. The affectionate sympathy +with our feelings, with our manner of understanding art, of which this +exclusive artist has given us so many proofs, would have softened the +disappointment and weariness which yet await us, and have strengthened +is in our earliest tendencies, confirmed us in our first essays. + +Since it has fallen to our lot to survive them, we wish at least to +express the sincere regret we feel for their loss. We deem ourselves +bound to offer the homage of our deep and respectful sorrow upon the +grave of the remarkable musician who has just passed from among us. +Music is at present receiving such great and general development, that +it reminds us of that which took place in painting in the fourteenth +and fifteenth centuries. Even the artists who limited the productions of +their genius to the margins of parchments, painted their miniatures +with an inspiration so happy, that having broken through the Byzantine +stiffness, they left the most exquisite types, which the Francias, the +Peruginos, and the Raphaels to come were to transport to their frescos, +and introduce upon their canvas. + + ***** + +There have been people among whom, in order to preserve the memory of +their great men or the signal events of their history, it was the +custom to form pyramids composed of the stones which each passer-by +was expected to bring to the pile, which gradually increased to an +unlooked-for height from the anonymous contributions of all. Monuments +are still in our days erected by an analogous proceeding, but in place +of building only a rude and unformed hillock, in consequence of a +fortunate combination the contribution of all concurs in the creation +of some work of art, which is not only destined to perpetuate the mute +remembrance which they wish to honor, but which may have the power to +awaken in future ages the feelings which gave birth to such creation, +the emotions of the contemporaries which called it into being. The +subscriptions which are opened to raise statues and noble memorials to +those who have rendered their epoch or country illustrious, originate +in this design. Immediately after the death of Chopin, M. Camille Pleyel +conceived a project of this kind. He commenced a subscription, +(which conformably to the general expectation rapidly amounted to +a considerable sum,) to have the monument modeled by M. Clesinger, +executed in marble and placed in the Pere La-Chaise. In thinking over +our long friendship with Chopin; on the exceptional admiration which we +have always felt for him ever since his appearance in the musical +world; remembering that, artist like himself, we have been the frequent +interpreter of his inspirations, an interpreter, we may safely venture +to say, loved and chosen by himself; that we have more frequently than +others received from his own lips the spirit of his style; that we +were in some degree identified with his creations in art, and with +the feelings which he confided to it, through that long and constant +assimilation which obtains between a writer and his translator;--we have +fondly thought that these connective circumstances imposed upon us +a higher and nearer duty than that of merely adding an unformed +and anonymous stone to the growing pyramid of homage which his +contemporaries are elevating to him. We believed that the claims of a +tender friendship for our illustrious colleague, exacted from us a more +particular expression of our profound regret, of our high admiration. It +appeared to us that we would not be true to ourselves, did we not +court the honor of inscribing our name, our deep affliction, upon his +sepulchral stone! This should be granted to those who never hope to fill +the void in their hearts left by an irreparable loss!... + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Life of Chopin, by Franz Liszt + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LIFE OF CHOPIN *** + +***** This file should be named 4386.txt or 4386.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/4/3/8/4386/ + +Produced by John Mamoun and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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The +original edition was published in 1863; a fourth, revised edition +(1880) was used in making this e-text. This e-text reproduces the +fourth edition essentially unabridged, with original spellings +intact, numerous typographical errors corrected, and words +italicized in the original text capitalized in this e-text. In +making this e-text, each page was cut out of the original book +with an x-acto knife to feed the pages into an Automatic Document +Feeder scanner for scanning. Hence, the book was disbinded in +order to save it. Thanks to Charles Franks and the Online +Distributed Proofreading team for help in proofreading this e- +text. + + + +DEDICATION OF THE TRANSLATION TO JAN PYCHOWSKI + + + +"Without your consent or knowledge, I have ventured to dedicate +this translation to you! + +As the countryman of Chopin, and filled with the same earnest +patriotism which distinguished him; as an impassioned and perfect +Pianist, capable, of reproducing his difficult compositions in +all the subtle tenderness, fire, energy, melancholy, despair, +caprice, hope, delicacy and startling vigor which they +imperiously exact; as thorough master of the complicated +instrument to which he devoted his best powers; as an erudite and +experienced possessor of that abstruse and difficult science, +music; as a composer of true, deep, and highly original genius,-- +this dedication is justly made to you! + +Even though I may have wounded your characteristically haughty, +shrinking, and Sclavic susceptibilities in rendering so public a +tribute to your artistic skill, forgive me! The high moral worth +and manly rectitude which distinguish you, and which alone render +even the most sublime genius truly illustrious in the eyes of +woman, almost force these inadequate and imperfect words from the +heart of the translator. + +M.W.C. + + + +PREFACE + + + +To a people, always prompt in its recognition of genius, and +ready to sympathize in the joys and woes of a truly great artist, +this work will be one of exceeding interest. It is a short, +glowing, and generous sketch, from the hand of Franz Liszt, (who, +considered in the double light of composer and performer, has no +living equal,) of the original and romantic Chopin; the most +ethereal, subtle, and delicate among our modern tone-poets. It is +a rare thing for a great artist to write on art, to leave the +passionate worlds of sounds or colors for the colder realm of +words; rarer still for him to abdicate, even temporarily, his own +throne, to stand patiently and hold aloft the blazing torch of +his own genius, to illume the gloomy grave of another: yet this +has Liszt done through love for Chopin. + +It is a matter of considerable interest to note how the nervous +and agile fingers, accustomed to sovereign rule over the keys, +handle the pen; how the musician feels as a man; how he estimates +art and artists. Liszt is a man of extensive culture, vivid +imagination, and great knowledge of the world; and, in addition +to their high artistic value, his lines glow with poetic fervor, +with impassioned eloquence. His musical criticisms are refined +and acute, but without repulsive technicalities or scientific +terms, ever sparkling with the poetic ardor of the generous soul +through which the discriminating, yet appreciative awards were +poured. Ah! in these days of degenerate rivalries and bitter +jealousies, let us welcome a proof of affection so tender as his +"Life of Chopin"! + +It would be impossible for the reader of this book to remain +ignorant of the exactions of art. While, through its eloquence +and subtle analysis of character, it appeals to the cultivated +literary tastes of our people, it opens for them a dazzling +perspective into that strange world of tones, of whose magical +realm they know, comparatively speaking, so little. It is +intelligible to all who think or feel; requiring no knowledge of +music for its comprehension. + +The compositions of Chopin are now the mode, the rage. Every one +asks for them, every one tries to play them. We have, however, +but few remarks upon the peculiarities of his style, or the +proper manner of producing his works. His compositions, generally +perfect in form, are never abstract conceptions, but had their +birth in his soul, sprang from the events of his life, and are +full of individual and national idiosyncrasies, of psychological +interest. Liszt knew Chopin both as man and artist; Chopin loved +to hear him interpret his music, and himself taught the great +Pianist the mysteries of his undulating rhythm and original +motifs. The broad and noble criticisms contained in this book are +absolutely essential for the musical culture of the thousands now +laboriously but vainly struggling to perform his elaborate works, +and who, having no key to their multiplied complexities of +expression, frequently fail in rendering them aright. + +And the masses in this country, full of vivid perception and +intelligent curiosity, who, not playing themselves, would yet +fain follow with the heart compositions which they are told are +of so much artistic value, will here find a key to guide them +through the tuneful labyrinth. Some of Chopin's best works are +analyzed herein. He wrote for the HEART OF HIS PEOPLE; their +joys, sorrows, and caprices are immortalized by the power of his +art. He was a strictly national tone-poet, and to understand him +fully, something must be known of the brave and haughty, but +unhappy country which he so loved. Liszt felt this, and has been +exceedingly happy in the short sketch given of Poland. We +actually know more of its picturesque and characteristic customs +after a perusal of his graphic pages, than after a long course of +dry historical details. His remarks on the Polonaise and Mazourka +are full of the philosophy and essence of history. These dances +grew directly from the heart of the Polish people; repeating the +martial valor and haughty love of noble exhibition of their men; +the tenderness, devotion, and subtle coquetry of their women-- +they were of course favorite forms with Chopin; their national +character made them dear to the national poet. The remarks of +Liszt on these dances are given with a knowledge so acute of the +traits of the nation in which they originated, with such a +gorgeousness of description and correctness of detail, that they +rather resemble a highly finished picture, than a colder work of +words only. They have all the splendor of a brilliant painting. +He seizes the secrets of the nationality of these forms, traces +them through the heart of the Polish people, follows them through +their marvelous transfiguration in the pages of the Polish +artist, and reads by their light much of the sensitive and +exclusive character of Chopin, analyzing it with the skill of +love, while depicting it with romantic eloquence. + +To those who can produce the compositions of Chopin in the spirit +of their author, no words are necessary. They follow with the +heart the poetic and palpitating emotions so exquisitely wrought +through the aerial tissue of the tones by this "subtle-souled +Psychologist," this bold and original explorer in the invisible +world of sound;--all honor to their genius: + + + "Oh, happy! and of many millions, they + The purest chosen, whom Art's service pure + Hallows and claims--whose hearts are made her throne, + Whose lips her oracle, ordained secure, + To lead a priestly life, and feed the ray + Of her eternal shrine, to them alone + Her glorious countenance unveiled is shown: + Ye, the high brotherhood she links, rejoice + In the great rank allotted by her choice! + The loftiest rank the spiritual world sublime, + Rich with its starry thrones, gives to the sons of Time!" + + Schiller. + + +Short but glowing sketches of Heine, Meyerbeer, Adolphe Nourrit, +Hiller, Eugene Delacroix, Niemcevicz, Mickiewicz, and Madame +Sand, occur in the book. The description of the last days of poor +Chopin's melancholy life, with the untiring devotion of those +around him, including the beautiful countess, Delphine Potocka; +his cherished sister, Louise; his devoted friend and pupil, M. +Gutman, with the great Liszt himself, is full of tragic interest. + +No pains have been spared by the translator to make the +translation acceptable, for the task was truly a labor of love. +No motives of interest induced the lingering over the careful +rendering of the charmed pages, but an intense desire that our +people should know more of musical art; that while acknowledging +the generosity and eloquence of Liszt, they should learn to +appreciate and love the more subtle fire, the more creative +genius of the unfortunate, but honorable and honored artist, +Chopin. + +Perchance Liszt may yet visit us; we may yet hear the matchless +Pianist call from their graves in the white keys, the delicate +arabesques, the undulating and varied melodies, of Chopin. We +should be prepared to appreciate the great Artist in his +enthusiastic rendering of the master-pieces of the man he loved; +prepared to greet him when he electrifies us with his wonderful +Cyclopean harmonies, written for his own Herculean grasp, +sparkling with his own Promethean fire, which no meaner hand can +ever hope to master! "Hear Liszt and die," has been said by some +of his enthusiastic admirers--understand him and live, were the +wiser advice! + +In gratitude then to Chopin for the multiplied sources of high +and pure pleasure which he has revealed to humanity in his +creations, that human woe and sorrow become pure beauty when his +magic spell is on them, the translator calls upon all lovers of +the beautiful "to contribute a stone to the pyramid now rapidly +erecting in honor of the great modern composer"--ay, the living +stone of appreciation, crystalized in the enlightened gratitude +of the heart. + + + + + + + "So works this music upon earth + God so admits it, sends it forth. + To add another worth to worth-- + + A new creation-bloom that rounds + The old creation, and expounds + His Beautiful in tuneful sounds." + + + + + + +CHAPTER I. + +Chopin--Style and Improvements--The Adagio of the Second +Concerto--Funeral March--Psychological Character of the +Compositions of Chopin, &c., &c. + + + +Deeply regretted as he may be by the whole body of artists, +lamented by all who have ever known him, we must still be +permitted to doubt if the time has even yet arrived in which he, +whose loss is so peculiarly deplored by ourselves, can be +appreciated in accordance with his just value, or occupy that +high rank which in all probability will be assigned him in the +future. + +If it has been often proved that "no one is a prophet in his own +country;" is it not equally true that the prophets, the men of +the future, who feel its life in advance, and prefigure it in +their works, are never recognized as prophets in their own times? +It would be presumptuous to assert that it can ever be otherwise. +In vain may the young generations of artists protest against the +"Anti-progressives," whose invariable custom it is to assault and +beat down the living with the dead: time alone can test the real +value, or reveal the hidden beauties, either of musical +compositions, or of kindred efforts in the sister arts. + +As the manifold forms of art are but different incantations, +charged with electricity from the soul of the artist, and +destined to evoke the latent emotions and passions in order to +render them sensible, intelligible, and, in some degree, +tangible; so genius may be manifested in the invention of new +forms, adapted, it may be, to the expression of feelings which +have not yet surged within the limits of common experience, and +are indeed first evoked within the magic circle by the creative +power of artistic intuition. In arts in which sensation is linked +to emotion, without the intermediate assistance of thought and +reflection, the mere introduction of unaccustomed forms, of +unused modes, must present an obstacle to the immediate +comprehension of any very original composition. The surprise, +nay, the fatigue, caused by the novelty of the singular +impressions which it awakens, will make it appear to many as if +written in a language of which they were ignorant, and which that +reason will in itself be sufficient to induce them to pronounce a +barbarous dialect. The trouble of accustoming the ear to it will +repel many who will, in consequence, refuse to make a study of +it. Through the more vivid and youthful organizations, less +enthralled by the chains of habit; through the more ardent +spirits, won first by curiosity, then filled with passion for the +new idiom, must it penetrate and win the resisting and opposing +public, which will finally catch the meaning, the aim, the +construction, and at last render justice to its qualities, and +acknowledge whatever beauty it may contain. Musicians who do not +restrict themselves within the limits of conventional routine, +have, consequently, more need than other artists of the aid of +time. They cannot hope that death will bring that instantaneous +plus-value to their works which it gives to those of the +painters. No musician could renew, to the profit of his +manuscripts, the deception practiced by one of the great Flemish +painters, who, wishing in his lifetime to benefit by his future +glory, directed his wife to spread abroad the news of his death, +in order that the pictures with which he had taken care to cover +the walls of his studio, might suddenly increase in value! + +Whatever may be the present popularity of any part of the +productions of one, broken, by suffering long before taken by +death, it is nevertheless to be presumed that posterity will +award to his works an estimation of a far higher character, of a +much more earnest nature, than has hitherto been awarded them. A +high rank must be assigned by the future historians of music to +one who distinguished himself in art by a genius for melody so +rare, by such graceful and remarkable enlargements of the +harmonic tissue; and his triumph will be justly preferred to many +of far more extended surface, though the works of such victors +may be played and replayed by the greatest number of instruments, +and be sung and resung by passing crowds of Prime Donne. + +In confining himself exclusively to the Piano, Chopin has, in our +opinion, given proof of one of the most essential qualities of a +composer--a just appreciation of the form in which he possessed +the power to excel; yet this very fact, to which we attach so +much importance, has been injurious to the extent of his fame. It +would have been most difficult for any other writer, gifted with +such high harmonic and melodic powers, to have resisted the +temptation of the SINGING of the bow, the liquid sweetness of the +flute, or the deafening swells of the trumpet, which we still +persist in believing the only fore-runner of the antique goddess +from whom we woo the sudden favors. What strong conviction, based +upon reflection, must have been requisite to have induced him to +restrict himself to a circle apparently so much more barren; what +warmth of creative genius must have been necessary to have forced +from its apparent aridity a fresh growth of luxuriant bloom, +unhoped for in such a soil! What intuitive penetration is +repealed by this exclusive choice, which, wresting the different +effects of the various instruments from their habitual domain, +where the whole foam of sound would have broken at their feet, +transported them into a sphere, more limited, indeed, but far +more idealized! What confident perception of the future powers of +his instrument must have presided over his voluntary renunciation +of an empiricism, so widely spread, that another would have +thought it a mistake, a folly, to have wrested such great +thoughts from their ordinary interpreters! How sincerely should +we revere him for this devotion to the Beautiful for its own +sake, which induced him not to yield to the general propensity to +scatter each light spray of melody over a hundred orchestral +desks, and enabled him to augment the resources of art, in +teaching how they may be concentrated in a more limited space, +elaborated at less expense of means, and condensed in time! + +Far from being ambitious of the uproar of an orchestra, Chopin +was satisfied to see his thought integrally produced upon the +ivory of the key-board; succeeding in his aim of losing nothing +in power, without pretending to orchestral effects, or to the +brush of the scene-painter. Oh! we have not yet studied with +sufficient earnestness and attention the designs of his delicate +pencil, habituated as we are, in these days, to consider only +those composers worthy of a great name, who have written at least +half-a-dozen Operas, as many Oratorios, and various Symphonies: +vainly requiring every musician to do every thing, nay, a little +more than every thing. However widely diffused this idea may be, +its justice is, to say the least, highly problematical. We are +far from contesting the glory more difficult of attainment, or +the real superiority of the Epic poets, who display their +splendid creations upon so large a plan; but we desire that +material proportion in music should be estimated by the same +measure which is applied to dimension in other branches of the +fine arts; as, for example, in painting, where a canvas of twenty +inches square, as the Vision of Ezekiel, or Le Cimetiere by +Ruysdael, is placed among the chefs d'oeuvre, and is more highly +valued than pictures of a far larger size, even though they might +be from the hands of a Rubens or a Tintoret. In literature, is +Beranger less a great poet, because he has condensed his thoughts +within the narrow limits of his songs? Does not Petrarch owe his +fame to his Sonnets? and among those who most frequently repeat +their soothing rhymes, how many know any thing of the existence +of his long poem on Africa? We cannot doubt that the prejudice +which would deny the superiority of an artist--though he should +have produced nothing but such Sonatas as Franz Schubert has +given us--over one who has portioned out the insipid melodies of +many Operas, which it were useless to cite, will disappear; and +that in music, also, we will yet take into account the eloquence +and ability with which the thoughts and feelings are expressed, +whatever may be the size of the composition in which they are +developed, or the means employed to interpret them. + +In making an analysis of the works of Chopin, we meet with +beauties of a high order, expressions entirely new, and a +harmonic tissue as original as erudite. In his compositions, +boldness is always justified; richness, even exuberance, never +interferes with clearness; singularity never degenerates into +uncouth fantasticalness; the sculpturing is never disorderly; the +luxury of ornament never overloads the chaste eloquence of the +principal lines. His best works abound in combinations which may +be said to form an epoch in the handling of musical style. +Daring, brilliant and attractive, they disguise their profundity +under so much grace, their science under so many charms, that it +is with difficulty we free ourselves sufficiently from their +magical enthrallment, to judge coldly of their theoretical value. +Their worth has, however, already been felt; but it will be more +highly estimated when the time arrives for a critical examination +of the services rendered by them to art during that period of its +course traversed by Chopin. + +It is to him we owe the extension of chords, struck together in +arpeggio, or en batterie; the chromatic sinuosities of which his +pages offer such striking examples; the little groups of +superadded notes, falling like light drops of pearly dew upon the +melodic figure. This species of adornment had hitherto been +modeled only upon the Fioritures of the great Old School of +Italian song; the embellishments for the voice had been servilely +copied by the Piano, although become stereotyped and monotonous: +he imparted to them the charm of novelty, surprise and variety, +unsuited for the vocalist, but in perfect keeping with the +character of the instrument. He invented the admirable harmonic +progressions which have given a serious character to pages, +which, in consequence of the lightness of their subject, made no +pretension to any importance. But of what consequence is the +subject? Is it not the idea which is developed through it, the +emotion with which it vibrates, which expands, elevates and +ennobles it? What tender melancholy, what subtlety, what sagacity +in the master-pieces of La Fontaine, although the subjects are so +familiar, the titles so modest? Equally unassuming are the titles +and subjects of the Studies and Preludes; yet the compositions of +Chopin, so modestly named, are not the less types of perfection +in a mode created by himself, and stamped, like all his other +works, with the high impress of his poetic genius. Written in the +commencement of his career, they are characterized by a youthful +vigor not to be found in some of his subsequent works, even when +more elaborate, finished, and richer in combinations; a vigor, +which is entirely lost in his latest productions, marked by an +over-excited sensibility, a morbid irritability, and giving +painful intimations of his own state of suffering and exhaustion. + +If it were our intention to discuss the development of Piano +music in the language of the Schools, we would dissect his +magnificent pages, which afford so rich a field for scientific +observation. We would, in the first place, analyze his Nocturnes, +Ballades, Impromptus, Scherzos, which are full of refinements of +harmony never heard before; bold, and of startling originality. +We would also examine his Polonaises, Mazourkas, Waltzes and +Boleros. But this is not the time or place for such a study, +which would be interesting only to the adepts in Counterpoint and +Thoroughbass. + +It is the feeling which overflows in all his works, which has +rendered them known and popular; feeling of a character eminently +romantic, subjective individual, peculiar to their author, yet +awakening immediate sympathy; appealing not alone to the heart of +that country indebted to him for yet one glory more, but to all +who can be touched by the misfortunes of exile, or moved by the +tenderness of love. Not content with success in the field in +which he was free to design, with such perfect grace, the +contours chosen by himself, Chopin also wished to fetter his +ideal thoughts with classic chains. His Concertos and Sonatas are +beautiful indeed, but we may discern in them more effort than +inspiration. His creative genius was imperious, fantastic and +impulsive. His beauties were only manifested fully in entire +freedom. We believe he offered violence to the character of his +genius whenever he sought to subject it to rules, to +classifications, to regulations not his own, and which he could +not force into harmony with the exactions of his own mind. He was +one of those original beings, whose graces are only fully +displayed when they have cut themselves adrift from all bondage, +and float on at their own wild will, swayed only by the ever +undulating impulses of their own mobile natures. + +He was, perhaps, induced to desire this double success through +the example of his friend, Mickiewicz, who, having been the first +to gift his country with romantic poetry, forming a school in +Sclavic literature by the publication of his Dziady, and his +romantic Ballads, as early as 1818, proved afterwards, by the +publication at his Grazyna and Wallenrod, that he could triumph +over the difficulties that classic restrictions oppose to +inspiration, and that, when holding the classic lyre of the +ancient poets, he was still master. In making analogous attempts, +we do not think Chopin has been equally successful. He could not +retain, within the square of an angular and rigid mould, that +floating and indeterminate contour which so fascinates us in his +graceful conceptions. He could not introduce in its unyielding +lines that shadowy and sketchy indecision, which, disguising the +skeleton, the whole frame-work of form, drapes it in the mist of +floating vapors, such as surround the white-bosomed maids of +Ossian, when they permit mortals to catch some vague, yet lovely +outline, from their home in the changing, drifting, blinding +clouds. + +Some of these efforts, however, are resplendent with a rare +dignity of style; and passages of exceeding interest, of +surprising grandeur, may be found among them. As an example of +this, we cite the Adagio of the Second Concerto, for which he +evinced a decided preference, and which he liked to repeat +frequently. The accessory designs are in his best manner, while +the principal phrase is of an admirable breadth. It alternates +with a Recitative, which assumes a minor key, and which seems to +be its Antistrophe. The whole of this piece is of a perfection +almost ideal; its expression, now radiant with light, now full of +tender pathos. It seems as if one had chosen a happy vale of +Tempe, a magnificent landscape flooded with summer glow and +lustre, as a background for the rehearsal of some dire scene of +mortal anguish. A bitter and irreparable regret seizes the +wildly-throbbing human heart, even in the midst of the +incomparable splendor of external nature. This contrast is +sustained by a fusion of tones, a softening of gloomy hues, which +prevent the intrusion of aught rude or brusque that might awaken +a dissonance in the touching impression produced, which, while +saddening joy, soothes and softens the bitterness of sorrow. + +It would be impossible to pass in silence the Funeral March +inserted in the first Sonata, which was arranged for the +orchestra, and performed, for the first time, at his own +obsequies. What other accents could have been found capable of +expressing, with the same heart-breaking effect, the emotions, +the tears, which should accompany to the last long sleep, one who +had taught in a manner so sublime, how great losses should be +mourned? We once heard it remarked by a native of his own +country: "these pages could only have been written by a Pole." +All that the funeral train of an entire nation weeping its own +ruin and death can be imagined to feel of desolating woe, of +majestic sorrow, wails in the musical ringing of this passing +bell, mourns in the tolling of this solemn knell, as it +accompanies the mighty escort on its way to the still city of the +Dead. The intensity of mystic hope; the devout appeal to +superhuman pity, to infinite mercy, to a dread justice, which +numbers every cradle and watches every tomb; the exalted +resignation which has wreathed so much grief with halos so +luminous; the noble endurance of so many disasters with the +inspired heroism of Christian martyrs who know not to despair;-- +resound in this melancholy chant, whose voice of supplication +breaks the heart. All of most pure, of most holy, of most +believing, of most hopeful in the hearts of children, women, and +priests, resounds, quivers and trembles there with irresistible +vibrations. We feel it is not the death of a single warrior we +mourn, while other heroes live to avenge him, but that a whole +generation of warriors has forever fallen, leaving the death song +to be chanted but by wailing women, weeping children and helpless +priests. Yet this Melopee so funereal, so full of desolating woe, +is of such penetrating sweetness, that we can scarcely deem it of +this earth. These sounds, in which the wild passion of human +anguish seems chilled by awe and softened by distance, impose a +profound meditation, as if, chanted by angels, they floated +already in the heavens: the cry of a nation's anguish mounting to +the very throne of God! The appeal of human grief from the lyre +of seraphs! Neither cries, nor hoarse groans, nor impious +blasphemies, nor furious imprecations, trouble for a moment the +sublime sorrow of the plaint: it breathes upon the ear like the +rhythmed sighs of angels. The antique face of grief is entirely +excluded. Nothing recalls the fury of Cassandra, the prostration +of Priam, the frenzy of Hecuba, the despair of the Trojan +captives. A sublime faith destroying in the survivors of this +Christian Ilion the bitterness of anguish and the cowardice of +despair, their sorrow is no longer marked by earthly weakness. +Raising itself from the soil wet with blood and tears, it springs +forward to implore God; and, having nothing more to hope from +earth, it supplicates the Supreme Judge with prayers so poignant, +that our hearts, in listening, break under the weight of an +august compassion! It would be a mistake to suppose that all the +compositions of Chopin are deprived of the feelings which he has +deemed best to suppress in this great work. Not so. Perhaps human +nature is not capable of maintaining always this mood of +energetic abnegation, of courageous submission. We meet with +breathings of stifled rage, of suppressed anger, in many passages +of his writings: and many of his Studies, as well as his +Scherzos, depict a concentrated exasperation and despair, which +are sometimes manifested in bitter irony, sometimes in intolerant +hauteur. These dark apostrophes of his muse have attracted less +attention, have been less fully understood, than his poems of +more tender coloring. The personal character of Chopin had +something to do with this general misconception. Kind, courteous, +and affable, of tranquil and almost joyous manners, he would not +suffer the secret convulsions which agitated him to be even +suspected. + +His character was indeed not easily understood. A thousand subtle +shades, mingling, crossing, contradicting and disguising each +other, rendered it almost undecipherable at a first view. As is +usually the case with the Sclaves, it was difficult to read the +recesses of his mind. With them, loyalty and candor, familiarity +and the most captivating ease of manner, by no means imply +confidence, or impulsive frankness. Like the twisted folds of a +serpent rolled upon itself, their feelings are half hidden, half +revealed. It requires a most attentive examination to follow the +coiled linking of the glittering rings. It would be naive to +interpret literally their courtesy full of compliment, their +assumed humility. The forms of this politeness, this modesty, +have their solution in their manners, in which their ancient +connection with the East may be strangely traced. Without having +in the least degree acquired the taciturnity of the Mussulman, +they have yet learned from it a distrustful reserve upon all +subjects which touch upon the more delicate and personal chords +of the heart. When they speak of themselves, we may almost always +be certain that they keep some concealment in reserve, which +assures them the advantage in intellect, or feeling. They suffer +their interrogator to remain in ignorance of some circumstance, +some mobile secret, through the unveiling of which they would be +more admired, or less esteemed, and which they well know how to +hide under the subtle smile of an almost imperceptible mockery. +Delighting in the pleasure of mystification, from the most +spiritual or comic to the most bitter and melancholy, they may +perhaps find in this deceptive raillery an external formula of +disdain for the veiled expression of the superiority which they +internally claim, but which claim they veil with the caution and +astuteness natural to the oppressed. + +The frail and sickly organization of Chopin, not permitting him +the energetic expression of his passions, he gave to his friends +only the gentle and affectionate phase of his nature. In the +busy, eager life of large cities, where no one has time to study +the destiny of another, where every one is judged by his external +activity, very few think it worth while to attempt to penetrate +the enigma of individual character. Those who enjoyed familiar +intercourse with Chopin, could not be blind to the impatience and +ennui he experienced in being, upon the calm character of his +manners, so promptly believed. And may not the artist revenge the +man? As his health was too frail to permit him to give vent to +his impatience through the vehemence of his execution, he sought +to compensate himself by pouring this bitterness over those pages +which he loved to hear performed with a vigor [Footnote: It was +his delight to hear them executed by the great Liszt himself.-- +Translator.] which he could not himself always command: pages +which are indeed full of the impassioned feelings of a man +suffering deeply from wounds which he does not choose to avow. +Thus around a gaily flagged, yet sinking ship, float the fallen +spars and scattered fragments, torn by warring winds and surging +waves from its shattered sides. + +Such emotions have been of so much the more importance in the +life of Chopin, because they have deeply influenced the character +of his compositions. Among the pages published under such +influences, may be traced much analogous to the wire-drawn +subtleties of Jean Paul, who found it necessary, in order to move +hearts macerated by passion, blazes through suffering, to make +use of the surprises caused by natural and physical phenomena; to +evoke the sensations of luxurious terrors arising from +occurrences not to be foreseen in the natural order of things; to +awaken the morbid excitements of a dreamy brain. Step by step the +tortured mind of Chopin arrived at a state of sickly +irritability; his emotions increased to a feverish tremor, +producing that involution, that tortuosity of thought, which mark +his latest works. Almost suffocating under the oppression of +repressed feelings, using art only to repeat and rehearse for +himself his own internal tragedy, after having wearied emotion, +he began to subtilize it. His melodies are actually tormented; a +nervous and restless sensibility leads to an obstinate +persistence in the handling and rehandling and a reiterated +pursuit of the tortured motifs, which impress us as painfully as +the sight of those physical or mental agonies which we know can +find relief only in death. Chopin was a victim to a disease +without hope, which growing more envenomed from year to year, +took him, while yet young, from those who loved him, and laid him +in his still grave. As in the fair form of some beautiful victim, +the marks of the grasping claws of the fierce bird of prey which +has destroyed it, may be found; so, in the productions of which +we have just spoken, the traces of the bitter sufferings which +devoured his heart, are painfully visible. + + + +CHAPTER II. + +National Character of the Polonaise--Oginski--Meyseder--Weber-- +Chopin--His Polonaise in F Sharp, Minor--Polonaise--Fantaisie. + + + +It must not be supposed that the tortured aberrations of feeling +to which we have just alluded, ever injure the harmonic tissue in +the works of Chopin on the contrary, they only render it a more +curious subject for analysis. Such eccentricities rarely occur in +his more generally known and admired compositions. His +Polonaises, which are less studied than they merit, on account of +the difficulties presented by their perfect execution, are to be +classed among his highest inspirations. They never remind us of +the mincing and affected "Polonaises a la Pompadour," which our +orchestras have introduced into ball-rooms, our virtuosi in +concerts, or of those to be found in our "Parlor Repertories," +filled, as they invariably are, with hackneyed collections of +music, marked by insipidity and mannerism. + +His Polonaises, characterized by an energetic rhythm, galvanize +and electrify the torpor of indifference. The most noble +traditional feelings of ancient Poland are embodied in them. The +firm resolve and calm gravity of its men of other days, breathe +through these compositions. Generally of a martial character, +courage and daring are rendered with that simplicity of +expression, said to be a distinctive trait of this warlike +people. They bring vividly before the imagination, the ancient +Poles, as we find them described in their chronicles; gifted with +powerful organizations, subtle intellects, indomitable courage +and earnest piety, mingled with high-born courtesy and a +gallantry which never deserted them, whether on the eve of +battle, during its exciting course, in the triumph of victory, or +amidst the gloom of defeat. So inherent was this gallantry and +chivalric courtesy in their nature, that in spite of the +restraint which their customs (resembling those of their +neighbours and enemies, the infidels of Stamboul) induced them to +exercise upon their women, confining them in the limits of +domestic life and always holding them under legal wardship, they +still manifest themselves in their annals, in which they have +glorified and immortalized queens who were saints; vassals who +became queens, beautiful subjects for whose sake some periled, +while others lost, crowns: a terrible Sforza; an intriguing +d'Arquien; and a coquettish Gonzaga. + +The Poles of olden times united a manly firmness with this +peculiar chivalric devotion to the objects of their love. A +characteristic example of this may be seen in the letters of Jean +Sobieski to his wife. They were dictated in face of the standards +of the Crescent, "numerous as the ears in a grain-field," tender +and devoted as is their character. Such traits caught a singular +and imposing hue from the grave deportment of these men, so +dignified that they might almost be accused of pomposity. It was +next to impossible that they should not contract a taste for this +stateliness, when we consider that they had almost always before +them the most exquisite type of gravity of manner in the +followers of Islam, whose qualities they appreciated and +appropriated, even while engaged in repelling their invasions. +Like the infidel, they knew how to preface their acts by an +intelligent deliberation, so that the device of Prince Boleslas +of Pomerania, was always present to them: "First weigh it; then +dare:" Erst wieg's: dann wag's! Such deliberation imparted a kind +of stately pride to their movements, while it left them in +possession of an ease and freedom of spirit accessible to the +lightest cares of tenderness, to the most trivial interests of +the passing hour, to the most transient feelings of the heart. As +it made part of their code of honor to make those who interfered +with them, in their more tender interests, pay dearly for it; so +they knew how to beautify life, and, better still, they knew how +to love those who embellished it; to revere those who rendered it +precious to them. + +Their chivalric heroism was sanctioned by their grave and haughty +dignity; an intelligent and premeditated conviction added the +force of reason to the energy of impulsive virtue; thus they have +succeeded in winning the admiration of all ages, of all minds, +even that of their most determined adversaries. They were +characterized by qualities rarely found together, the description +of which would appear almost paradoxical: reckless wisdom, daring +prudence, and fanatic fatalism. The most marked and celebrated +historic manifestation of these properties is to be found in the +expedition of Sobieski when he saved Vienna, and gave a mortal +blow to the Ottoman Empire, which was at last conquered in the +long struggle, sustained on both sides with so much prowess and +glory, with so much mutual deference between opponents as +magnanimous in their truces as irreconcilable in their combats. + +While listening to some of the POLONAISES of Chopin, we can +almost catch the firm, nay, the more than firm, the heavy, +resolute tread of men bravely facing all the bitter injustice +which the most cruel and relentless destiny can offer, with the +manly pride of unblenching courage. The progress of the music +suggests to our imagination such magnificent groups as were +designed by Paul Veronese, robed in the rich costume of days long +past: we see passing at intervals before us, brocades of gold, +velvets, damasked satins, silvery soft and flexile sables, +hanging sleeves gracefully thrown back upon the shoulders, +embossed sabres, boots yellow as gold or red with trampled blood, +sashes with long and undulating fringes, close chemisettes, +rustling trains, stomachers embroidered with pearls, head dresses +glittering with rubies or leafy with emeralds, light slippers +rich with amber, gloves perfumed with the luxurious attar from +the harems. Prom the faded background of times long passed these +vivid groups start forth; gorgeous carpets from Persia lie at +their feet, filigreed furniture from Constantinople stands +around; all is marked by the sumptuous prodigality of the +Magnates who drew, in ruby goblets embossed with medallions, wine +from the fountains of Tokay, and shoed their fleet Arabian steeds +with silver, who surmounted all their escutcheons with the same +crown which the fate of an election might render a royal one, and +which, causing them to despise all other titles, was alone worn +as INSIGNE of their glorious equality. + +Those who have seen the Polonaise danced even as late as the +beginning of the present century, declare that its style has +changed so much, that it is now almost impossible to divine its +primitive character. As very few national dances have succeeded +in preserving their racy originality, we may imagine, when we +take into consideration the changes which have occurred, to what +a degree this has degenerated. The Polonaise is without rapid +movements, without any true steps in the artistic sense of the +word, intended rather for display than for the exhibition of +seductive grace; so we may readily conceive it must lose all its +haughty importance, its pompous self-sufficiency, when the +dancers are deprived of the accessories necessary to enable them +to animate its simple form by dignified, yet vivid gestures, by +appropriate and expressive pantomime, and when the costume +peculiarly fitted for it is no longer worn. It has indeed become +decidedly monotonous, a mere circulating promenade, exciting but +little interest. Unless we could see it danced by some of the old +regime who still wear the ancient costume, or listen to their +animated descriptions of it, we can form no conception of the +numerous incidents, the scenic pantomime, which once rendered it +so effective. By a rare exception this dance was designed to +exhibit the men, to display manly beauty, to set off noble and +dignified deportment, martial yet courtly bearing. "Martial yet +courtly:" do not these two epithets almost define the Polish +character? In the original the very name of the dance is +masculine; it is only in consequence of a misconception that it +has been translated in other tongues into the feminine gender. + +Those who have never seen the KONTUSZ worn, (it is a kind of +Occidental kaftan, as it is the robe of the Orientals, modified +to suit the customs of an active life, unfettered by the stagnant +resignation taught by fatalism,) a sort of FEREDGI, often trimmed +with fur, forcing the wearer to make frequent movements +susceptible of grace and coquetry, by which the flowing sleeves +are thrown backward, can scarcely imagine the bearing, the slow +bending, the quick rising, the finesse of the delicate pantomime +displayed by the Ancients, as they defiled in a Polonaise, as +though in a military parade, not suffering their fingers to +remain idle, but sometimes occupying them in playing with the +long moustache, sometimes with the handle of the sword. Both +moustache and sword were essential parts of the costume, and were +indeed objects of vanity with all ages. Diamonds and sapphires +frequently sparkled upon the arms, worn suspended from belts of +cashmere, or from sashes of silk embroidered with gold, +displaying to advantage forms always slightly corpulent; the +moustache often veiled, without quite hiding, some scar, far more +effective than the most brilliant array of jewels. The dress of +the men rivaled that of the women in the luxury of the material +worn, in the value of the precious stones, and in the variety of +vivid colors. This love of adornment is also found among the +Hungarians, [Footnote: The Hungarian costume worn by Prince +Nicholas Esterhazy at the coronation of George the Fourth, is +still remembered in England. It was valued at several millions of +florins.] as may be seen in their buttons made of jewels, the +rings forming a necessary part of their dress, the wrought clasps +for the neck, the aigrettes and plumes adorning the cap made of +velvet of some brilliant hue. To know how to take off, to put on, +to manoeuvre the cap with all possible grace, constituted almost +an art. During the progress of a Polonaise, this became an object +of especial remark, because the cavalier of the leading pair, as +commandant of the file, gave the mute word of command, which was +immediately obeyed and imitated by the rest of the train. + +The master of the house in which the ball was given, always +opened it himself by leading off in this dance. His partner was +selected neither for her beauty, nor youth; the most highly +honored lady present was always chosen. This phalanx, by whose +evolutions every fete was commenced, was not formed only of the +young: it was composed of the most distinguished, as well as of +the most beautiful. A grand review, a dazzling exhibition of all +the distinction present, was offered as the highest pleasure of +the festival. After the host, came next in order the guests of +the greatest consideration, who, choosing their partners, some +from friendship, some from policy or from desire of advancement, +some from love,--followed closely his steps. His task was a far +more complicated one than it is at present. He was expected to +conduct the files under his guidance through a thousand +capricious meanderings, through long suites of apartments lined +by guests, who were to take a later part in this brilliant +cortege. They liked to be conducted through distant galleries, +through the parterres of illuminated gardens, through the groves +of shrubbery, where distant echoes of the music alone reached the +ear, which, as if in revenge, greeted them with redoubled sound +and blowing of trumpets upon their return to the principal +saloon. As the spectators, ranged like rows of hedges along the +route, were continually changing, and never ceased for a moment +to observe all their movements, the dancers never forgot that +dignity of bearing and address which won for them the admiration +of women, and excited the jealousy of men. Vain and joyous, the +host would have deemed himself wanting in courtesy to his guests, +had he not evinced to them, which he did sometimes with a piquant +naivete, the pride he felt in seeing himself surrounded by +persons so illustrious, and partisans so noble, all striving +through the splendor of the attire chosen to visit him, to show +their high sense of the honor in which they held him. + +Guided by him in their first circuit, they were led through long +windings, where unexpected turns, views, and openings had been +arranged beforehand to cause surprise; where architectural +deceptions, decorations and shifting scenes had been studiously +adapted to increase the pleasure of the festival. If any monument +or inscription, fitted for the occasion, lay upon the long line +of route, from which some complimentary homage might be drawn to +the "most valiant or the most beautiful," the honors were +gracefully done by the host. The more unexpected the surprises +arranged for these excursions, the more imagination evinced in +their invention, the louder were the applauses from the younger +part of the society, the more ardent the exclamations of delight; +and silvery sounds of merry laughter greeted pleasantly the ears +of the conductor-in-chief, who, having thus succeeded in +achieving his reputation, became a privileged Corypheus, a leader +par excellence. If he had already attained a certain age, he was +greeted on his return from such circuits by frequent deputations +of young ladies, who came, in the name of all present, to thank +and congratulate him. Through their vivid descriptions, these +pretty wanderers excited the curiosity of the guests, and +increased the eagerness for the formation of the succeeding +Polonaises among those who, though they did not make part of the +procession, still watched its passage in motionless attention, as +if gazing upon the flashing line of light of some brilliant +meteor. + +In this land of aristocratic democracy, the numerous dependents +of the great seigniorial houses, (too poor, indeed, to take part +in the fete, yet only excluded from it by their own volition, +all, however noble, some even more noble than their lords,) being +all present, it was considered highly desirable to dazzle them; +and this flowing chain of rainbow-hued and gorgeous light, like +an immense serpent with its glittering rings, sometimes wreathed +its linked folds, sometimes uncoiled its entire length, to +display its brilliancy through the whole line of its undulating +animated surface, in the most vivid scintillations; accompanying +the shifting hues with the silvery sounds of chains of gold, +ringing like muffled bells; with the rustling of the heavy sweep +of gorgeous damasks and with the dragging of jewelled swords upon +the floor. The murmuring sound of many voices announced the +approach of this animated, varied, and glittering life-stream. + +But the genius of hospitality, never deficient in high-born +courtesy, and which, even while preserving the touching +simplicity of primitive manners, inspired in Poland all the +refinements of the most advanced state of civilization,--how +could it be exiled from the details of a dance so eminently +Polish? After the host had, by inaugurating the fete, rendered +due homage to all who were present, any one of his guests had the +right to claim his place with the lady whom he had honored by his +choice. The new claimant, clapping his hands, to arrest for a +moment the ever moving cortege, bowed before the partner of the +host, begging her graciously to accept the change; while the +host, from whom she had been taken, made the same appeal to the +lady next in course. This example was followed by the whole +train. Constantly changing partners, whenever a new cavalier +claimed the honor of leading the one first chosen by the host, +the ladies remained in the same succession during the whole +course; while, on the contrary, as the gentlemen continually +replaced each other, he who had commenced the dance, would, in +its progress, become the last, if not indeed entirely excluded +before its close. + +Each cavalier who placed himself in turn at the head of the +column, tried to surpass his predecessors in the novelty of the +combinations of his opening, in the complications of the windings +through which he led the expectant cortege; and this course, even +when restricted to a single saloon, might be made remarkable by +the designing of graceful arabesques, or the involved tracing of +enigmatical ciphers. He made good his claim to the place he had +solicited, and displayed his skill, by inventing close, +complicated and inextricable figures; by describing them with so +much certainty and accuracy, that the living ribbon, turned and +twisted as it might be, was never broken in the loosing of its +wreathed knots; and by so leading, that no confusion or graceless +jostling should result from the complicated torsion. The +succeeding couples, who had only to follow the figures already +given, and thus continue the impulsion, were not permitted to +drag themselves lazily and listlessly along the parquet. The step +was rhythmic, cadenced, and undulating; the whole form swayed by +graceful wavings and harmonious balancings. They were careful +never to advance with too much haste, nor to replace each other +as if driven on by some urgent necessity. On they glided, like +swans descending a tranquil stream, their flexile forms swayed by +the ebb and swell of unseen and gentle waves. Sometimes, the +gentleman offered the right, sometimes, the left hand to his +partner; touching only the points of her fingers, or clasping the +slight hand within his own, he passed now to her right, now to +her left, without yielding the snowy treasure. These complicated +movements, being instantaneously imitated by every pair, ran, +like an electric shiver, through the whole length of this +gigantic serpent. Although apparently occupied and absorbed by +these multiplied manoeuvres, the cavalier yet found time to bend +to his lady and whisper sweet flatteries in her ear, if she were +young; if young no longer, to repose confidence, to urge +requests, or to repeat to her the news of the hour. Then, +haughtily raising himself, he would make the metal of his arms +ring, caress his thick moustache, giving to all his features an +expression so vivid, that the lady was forced to respond by the +animation of her own countenance. + +Thus, it was no hackneyed and senseless promenade which they +executed; it was, rather, a parade in which the whole splendor of +the society was exhibited, gratified with its own admiration, +conscious of its own elegance, brilliancy, nobility and courtesy. +It was a constant display of its lustre, its glory, its renown. +Men grown gray in camps, or in the strife of courtly eloquence; +generals more often seen in the cuirass than in the robes of +peace; prelates and persons high in the Church; dignitaries of +State aged senators; warlike palatines; ambitious castellans;-- +were the partners who were expected, welcomed, disputed and +sought for, by the youngest, gayest, and most brilliant women +present. Honor and glory rendered ages equal, and caused years to +be forgotten in this dance; nay, more, they gave an advantage +even over love. It was while listening to the animated +descriptions of the almost forgotten evolutions and dignified +capabilities of this truly national dance, from the lips of those +who would never abandon the ancient Zupan and Kontusz, and who +still wore their hair closely cut round their temples, as it had +been worn by their ancestors, that we first fully understood in +what a high degree this haughty nation possessed the innate +instinct of its own exhibition, and how entirely it had +succeeded, through its natural grace and genius, in poetizing its +love of ostentation by draping it in the charms of noble +emotions, and wrapping round it the glittering robes of martial +glory. + +When we visited the country of Chopin, whose memory always +accompanied us like a faithful guide who constantly keeps our +interest excited, we were fortunate enough to meet with some of +the peculiar characters, daily growing more rare, because +European civilization, even where it does not modify the basis of +character, effaces asperities, and moulds exterior forms. We +there encountered some of those men gifted with superior +intellect, cultivated and strongly developed by a life of +incessant action, yet whose horizon does not extend beyond the +limits of their own country, their own society, their own +traditions. During our intercourse, facilitated by an +interpreter, with these men of past days, we were able to study +them and to understand the secret of their greatness. It was +really curious to observe the inimitable originality caused by +the utter exclusiveness of the view taken by them. This limited +cultivation, while it greatly diminishes the value of their ideas +upon many subjects, at the same time gifts the mind with a +peculiar force, almost resembling the keen scent and the acute +perceptions of the savage, for all the things near and dear to +it. Only from a mind of this peculiar training, marked by a +concentrative energy that nothing can distract from its course, +every thing beyond the circle of its own nationality remaining +alien to it, can we hope to obtain an exact picture of the past; +for it alone, like a faithful mirror, reflects it in its primal +coloring, preserves its proper lights and shades, and gives it +with its varied and picturesque accompaniments. From such minds +alone can we obtain, with the ritual of customs which are rapidly +becoming extinct, the spirit from which they emanated. Chopin was +born too late, and left the domestic hearth too early, to be +himself in possession of this spirit; but he had known many +examples of it, and, through the memories which surrounded his +childhood, even more fully than through the literature and +history of his country, he found by induction the secrets of its +ancient prestige, which he evoked from the dim and dark land of +forgetfulness, and, through the magic of his poetic art, endowed +with immortal youth. Poets are better comprehended and +appreciated by those who have made themselves familiar with the +countries which inspired their songs. Pindar is more fully +understood by those who have seen the Parthenon bathed in the +radiance of its limpid atmosphere; Ossian, by those familiar with +the mountains of Scotland, with their heavy veils and long +wreaths of mist. The feelings which inspired the creations of +Chopin can only be fully appreciated by those who have visited +his country. They must have seen the giant shadows of past +centuries gradually increasing, and veiling the ground as the +gloomy night of despair rolled on; they must have felt the +electric and mystic influence of that strange "phantom of glory" +forever haunting martyred Poland. Even in the gayest hours of +festival, it appalls and saddens all hearts. Whenever a tale of +past renown, a commemoration of slaughtered heroes is given, an +allusion to national prowess is made, its resurrection from the +grave is instantaneous; it takes its place in the banquet-hall, +spreading an electric terror mingled with intense admiration; a +shudder, wild and mystic as that which seizes upon the peasants +of Ukraine, when the "Beautiful Virgin," white as Death, with her +girdle of crimson, is suddenly seen gliding through their +tranquil village, while her shadowy hand marks with blood the +door of each cottage doomed to destruction. + +During many centuries, the civilization of Poland was entirely +peculiar and aboriginal; it did not resemble that of any other +country; and, indeed, it seems destined to remain forever unique +in its kind. As different from the German feudalism which +neighboured it upon the West, as from the conquering spirit of +the Turks which disquieted it on the East, it resembled Europe in +its chivalric Christianity, in its eagerness to attack the +infidel, even while receiving instruction in sagacious policy, in +military tactics, and sententious reasoning, from the masters of +Byzantium. By the assumption, at the same time, of the heroic +qualities of Mussulman fanaticism and the sublime virtues of +Christian sanctity and humility, [Footnote: It is well known with +how many glorious names Poland has enriched the martyrology of +the Church. In memorial of the countless martyrs it had offered, +the Roman Church granted to the order of Trinitarians, or +Redemptorist Brothers, whose duty it was to redeem from slavery +the Christians who had fallen into the hands of the Infidels, the +distinction, only granted to this nation, of wearing a crimson +belt. These victims to benevolence were generally from the +establishments near the frontiers, such as those of Kamieniec- +Podolski.] it mingled the most heterogeneous elements, and thus +planted in its very bosom the seeds of ruin and decay. + +The general culture of Latin letters, the knowledge of and love +for Italian and French literature gave a lustre and classical +polish to the startling contrasts we hare attempted to describe. +Such a civilization must necessarily impress all its +manifestations with its own seal. As was natural for a nation +always engaged in war, forced to reserve its deeds of prowess and +valor for its enemies upon the field of battle, it was not famed +for the romances of knight-errantry, for tournaments or jousts; +it replaced the excitement and splendor of the mimic war by +characteristic fetes, in which the gorgeousness of personal +display formed the principal feature. + +There is certainly nothing new in the assertion, that national +character is, in some degree, revealed by national dances. We +believe, however, there are none in which the creative impulses +can be so readily deciphered, or the ensemble traced with so much +simplicity, as in the Polonaise. In consequence of the varied +episodes which each individual was expected to insert in the +general frame, the national intuitions were revealed with the +greatest diversity. When these distinctive marks disappeared, +when the original flame no longer burned, when no one invented +scenes for the intermediary pauses, when to accomplish +mechanically the obligatory circuit of a saloon, was all that was +requisite, nothing but the skeleton of departed glory remained. + +We would certainly have hesitated to speak of the Polonaise, +after the exquisite verses which Mickiewicz has consecrated to +it, and the admirable description which he has given of it in the +last Canto of the "Pan Tadeusz," but that this description is to +be found only in a work not yet translated, and, consequently, +only known to the compatriots of the Poet. [Footnote: It has been +translated into German.--T.] It would have been presumptuous, +even under another form, to have ventured upon a subject already +sketched and colored by such a hand, in his romantic Epic, in +which beauties of the highest order are set in such a scene as +Ruysdael loved to paint; where a ray of sunshine, thrown through +heavy storm-clouds, falls upon one of those strange trees never +wanting in his pictures, a birch shattered by lightning, while +its snowy bark is deeply stained, as if dyed in the blood flowing +from its fresh and gaping wounds. The scenes of "Pan Tadeusz" are +laid at the beginning of the present century, when many still +lived who retained the profound feeling and grave deportment of +the ancient Poles, mingled with those who were even then under +the sway of the graceful or giddying passions of modern origin. +These striking and contrasting types existing together at that +period, are now rapidly disappearing before that universal +conventionalism which is at present seizing and moulding the +higher classes in all cities and in all countries. Without doubt, +Chopin frequently drew fresh inspiration from this noble poem, +whose scenes so forcibly depict the emotions he best loved to +reproduce. + +The primitive music of the Polonaise, of which we have no example +of greater age than a century, possesses but little value for +art. Those Polonaises which do not bear the names of their +authors, but are frequently marked with the name of some hero, +thus indicating their date, are generally grave and sweet. The +Polonaise styled "de Kosciuszko," is the most universally known, +and is so closely linked with the memories of his epoch, that we +have known ladies who could not hear it without breaking into +sobs. The Princess F. L., who had been loved by Kosciuszko, in +her last days, when age had enfeebled all her faculties, was only +sensible to the chords of this piece, which her trembling hands +could still find upon the key-board, though the dim and aged eye +could no longer see the keys. Some contemporary Polonaises are of +a character so sad, that they might almost be supposed to +accompany a funeral train. + +The Polonaises of Count Oginski [Footnote: Among the Polonaises +of Count Oginski, the one in F Major has especially retained its +celebrity. It was published with a vignette, representing the +author in the act of blowing his brains out with a pistol. This +was merely a romantic commentary, which was for a long time +mistaken for a fact.] which next appeared, soon attained great +popularity through the introduction of an air of seductive +languor into the melancholy strains. Full of gloom as they still +are, they soothe by their delicious tenderness, by their naive +and mournful grace. The martial rhythm grows more feeble; the +march of the stately train, no longer rustling in its pride of +state, is hushed in reverential silence, in solemn thought, as if +its course wound on through graves, whose sad swells extinguish +smiles and humiliate pride. Love alone survives, as the mourners +wander among the mounds of earth so freshly heaped that the grass +has not yet grown upon them, repeating the sad refrain which the +Bard of Erin caught from the wild breezes of the sea: + +"Love born of sorrow, like sorrow is true!" + +In the well known pages of Oginski may be found the sighing of +analogous thoughts: the very breath of love is sad, and only +revealed through the melancholy lustre of eyes bathed in tears. + +At a somewhat later stage, the graves and grassy mounds were all +passed, they are seen only in the distance of the shadowy +background. The living cannot always weep; life and animation +again appear, mournful thoughts changed into soothing memories, +return on the ear, sweet as distant echoes. The saddened train of +the living no longer hush their breath as they glide on with +noiseless precaution, as if not to disturb the sleep of those who +have just departed, over whose graves the turf is not yet green; +the imagination no longer evokes only the gloomy shadows of the +past. In the Polonaises of Lipinski we hear the music of the +pleasure-loving heart once more beating joyously, giddily, +happily, as it had done before the days of disaster and defeat. +The melodies breathe more and more the perfume of happy youth; +love, young love, sighs around. Expanding into expressive songs +of vague and dreamy character, they speak but to youthful hearts, +cradling them in poetic fictions, in soft illusions. No longer +destined to cadence the steps of the high and grave personages +who ceased to bear their part in these dances, [Footnote: Bishops +and Primates formerly assisted in these dances; at a later date +the Church dignitaries took no part in them.] they are addressed +to romantic imaginations, dreaming rather of rapture than of +renown. Meyseder advanced upon this descending path; his dances, +full of lively coquetry, reflect only the magic charms of youth +and beauty. His numerous imitations have inundated us with pieces +of music, called Polonaises, out which have no characteristics to +justify the name. + +The pristine and vigorous brilliancy of the Polonaise was again +suddenly given to it by a composer of true genius. Weber made of +it a Dithyrambic, in which the glittering display of vanished +magnificence again appeared in its ancient glory. He united all +the resources of his art to ennoble the formula which had been so +misrepresented and debased, to fill it with the spirit of the +past; not seeking to recall the character of ancient music, he +transported into music the characteristics of ancient Poland. +Using the melody as a recital, he accentuated the rhythm, he +colored his composition, through his modulations, with a +profusion of hues not only suitable to his subject, but +imperiously demanded by it. Life, warmth, and passion again +circulated in his Polonaises, yet he did not deprive them of the +haughty charm, the ceremonious and magisterial dignity, the +natural yet elaborate majesty, which are essential parts of their +character. The cadences are marked by chords, which fall upon the +ear like the rattling of swords drawn from their scabbards. The +soft, warm, effeminate pleadings of love give place to the +murmuring of deep, fall, bass voices, proceeding from manly +breasts used to command; we may almost hear, in reply, the wild +and distant neighings of the steeds of the desert, as they toss +the long manes around their haughty heads, impatiently pawing the +ground, with their lustrous eye beaming with intelligence and +full of fire, while they bear with stately grace the trailing +caparisons embroidered with turquoise and rubies, with which the +Polish Seigneurs loved to adorn them. [Footnote: Among the +treasures of Prince radziwill at Nieswirz were to be seen, in the +days of former splendor, twelve sets of horse trappings, each of +a different color, incrusted with precious stones. The twelve +Apostles, life size, in massive silver, were also to be seen +there. This luxury will cease to astonish us when we consider +that the family of Radziwill was descended from the last Grand +Pontiff of Lithuania, to whom, when he embraced Christianity, +were given all the forests and plains which had before been +consecrated to the worship of the heathen Deities; and that +toward the close of the last century, the family still possessed +eight hundred thousand serfs, although its riches had then +considerably diminished. Among the collection of treasures of +which we speak, was an exceedingly curious relic, which is still +in existence. It is a picture of St. John the Baptist, surrounded +by a Bannerol bearing the inscription: "In the name of the Lord, +John, thou shalt be Conqueror." It was found by Jean Sobieski +himself, after the victory which he had won, under the walls of +Vienna, in the tent of the Vizier Kara Mustapha. It was presented +after his death, by Marie d'Arquin, to a Prince Radziwill, with +an inscription in her own hand- writing which indicates its +origin, and the presentation which she makes of it. The +autograph, with the royal seal, is on the reverse side of the +canvas.] How did Weber divine the Poland of other days? Had he +indeed the power to call from the grave of the past, the scenes +which we have just contemplated, that he was thus able to clothe +them with life, to renew their earlier associations? Vain +questions! Genius is always endowed with its own sacred +intuitions! Poetry ever reveals to her chosen the secrets of her +wild domain! + +All the poetry contained in the Polonaises had, like a rich sap, +been so fully expressed from them by the genius of Weber, they +had been handled with a mastery so absolute, that it was, indeed, +a dangerous and difficult thing to attempt them, with the +slightest hope of producing the same effect. He has, however, +been surpassed in this species of composition by Chopin, not only +in the number and variety of works in this style, but also in the +more touching character of the handling, and the new and varied +processes of harmony. Both in construction and spirit, Chopin's +Polonaise In A, with the one in A flat major, resembles very much +the one of Weber's in E Major. In others he relinquished this +broad style: Shall we say always with a more decided success? In +such a question, decision were a thorny thing. Who shall restrict +the rights of a poet over the various phases of his subject? Even +in the midst of joy, may he not be permitted to be gloomy and +oppressed? After having chanted the splendor of glory, may he not +sing of grief? After having rejoiced with the victorious, may he +not mourn with the vanquished? We may, without any fear of +contradiction, assert, that it is not one of the least merits of +Chopin, that he has, consecutively, embraced ALL the phases of +which the theme is susceptible, that he has succeeded in +eliciting from it all its brilliancy, in awakening from it all +its sadness. The variety of the moods of feeling to which he was +himself subject, aided him in the reproduction and comprehension +of such a multiplicity of views. It would be impossible to follow +the varied transformations occurring in these compositions, with +their pervading melancholy, without admiring the fecundity of his +creative force, even when not fully sustained by the higher +powers of his inspiration. He did not always confine himself to +the consideration of the pictures presented to him by his +imagination and memory, taken en masse, or as a united whole. +More than once, while contemplating the brilliant groups and +throngs flowing on before him, has he yielded to the strange +charm of some isolated figure, arresting it in its course by the +magic of his gaze, and, suffering the gay crowds to pass on, he +has given himself up with delight to the divination of its mystic +revelations, while he continued to weave his incantations and +spells only for the entranced Sibyl of his song. + +His GRAND POLONAISE in F SHARP MINOR, must be ranked among his +most energetic compositions. He has inserted in it a MAZOURKA. +Had he not frightened the frivolous world of fashionable life, by +the gloomy grotesqueness with which he introduced it in an +incantation so fantastic, this mode might have become an +ingenious caprice for the ball-room. It is a most original +production, exciting us like the recital of some broken dream, +made, after a night of restlessness, by the first dull, gray, +cold, leaden rays of a winter's sunrise. It is a dream-poem, in +which the impressions and objects succeed each other with +startling incoherency and with the wildest transitions, reminding +us of what Byron says in his "DREAM:" + + "...Dreams in their development have breath, + And tears, and tortures, and the touch of joy; + They leave a weight upon our waking thoughts, + * * * * * * * * + And look like heralds of Eternity." + +The principal motive is a weird air, dark as the lurid hour which +precedes a hurricane, in which we catch the fierce exclamations +of exasperation, mingled with a bold defiance, recklessly hurled +at the stormy elements. The prolonged return of a tonic, at the +commencement of each measure, reminds us of the repeated roar of +artillery--as if we caught the sounds from some dread battle +waging in the distance. After the termination of this note, a +series of the most unusual chords are unrolled through measure +after measure. We know nothing analogous, to the striking effect +produced by this, in the compositions of the greatest masters. +This passage is suddenly interrupted by a SCENE CHAMPETRE, a +MAZOURKA in the style of an Idyl, full of the perfume of lavender +and sweet marjoram; but which, far from effacing the memory of +the profound sorrow which had before been awakened, only +augments, by its ironical and bitter contrast, our emotions of +pain to such a degree, that we feel almost solaced when the first +phrase returns; and, free from the disturbing contradiction of a +naive, simple, and inglorious happiness, we may again sympathize +with the noble and imposing woe of a high, yet fatal struggle. +This improvisation terminates like a dream, without other +conclusion than a convulsive shudder; leaving the soul under the +strangest, the wildest, the most subduing impressions. + +The "POLONAISE-FANTAISIE" is to be classed among the works which +belong to the latest period of Chopin's compositions, which are +all more or less marked by a feverish and restless anxiety. No +bold and brilliant pictures are to be found in it; the loud tramp +of a cavalry accustomed to victory is no longer heard; no more +resound the heroic chants muffled by no visions of defeat--the +bold tones suited to the audacity of those who were always +victorious. A deep melancholy--ever broken by startled movements, +by sudden alarms, by disturbed rest, by stifled sighs--reigns +throughout. We are surrounded by such scenes and feelings as +might arise among those who had been surprised and encompassed on +all sides by an ambuscade, the vast sweep of whose horizon +reveals not a single ground for hope, and whose despair had +giddied the brain, like a draught of that wine of Cyprus which +gives a more instinctive rapidity to all our gestures, a keener +point to all our words, a more subtle flame to all our emotions, +and excites the mind to a pitch of irritability approaching +insanity. + +Such pictures possess but little real value for art. Like all +descriptions of moments of extremity, of agonies, of death +rattles, of contractions of the muscles where all elasticity is +lost, where the nerves, ceasing to be the organs of the human +will, reduce man to a passive victim of despair; they only serve +to torture the soul. Deplorable visions, which the artist should +admit with extreme circumspection within the graceful circle of +his charmed realm! + + + +CHAPTER III. + +Chopin's Mazourkas--Polish Ladies--Mazourka in Poland--Tortured +Motives--Early life of Chopin--Zal. + + + +In all that regards expression, the MAZOURKAS of Chopin differ +greatly from his POLONAISES. Indeed they are entirely unlike in +character. The bold and vigorous coloring of the Polonaises gives +place to the most delicate, tender, and evanescent shades in the +Mazourkas. A nation, considered as a whole, in its united, +characteristic, and single impetus, is no longer placed before +us; the character and impressions now become purely personal, +always individualized and divided. No longer is the feminine and +effeminate element driven back into shadowy recesses. On the +contrary, it is brought out in the boldest relief, nay, it is +brought into such prominent importance that all else disappears, +or, at most, serves only as its accompaniment. The days are now +past when to say that a woman was charming, they called her +GRATEFUL (WDZIECZNA); the very word charm being derived from +WDZIEKI: GRATITUDE. Woman no longer appears as a protegee, but as +a queen; she no longer forms only the better part of life, she +now entirely fills it. Man is still ardent, proud, and +presumptuous, but he yields himself up to a delirium of pleasure. +This very pleasure is, however, always stamped with melancholy. +Both the music of the national airs, and the words, which are +almost always joined with them, express mingled emotions of pain +and joy. This strange but attractive contrast was caused by the +necessity of "CONSOLING MISERY" (CIESZYC BIDE), which necessity +induced them to seek the magical distraction of the graceful +Mazourka, with its transient delusions. The words which were sung +to these melodies, gave them a capability of linking themselves +with the sacred associations of memory, in a far higher degree +than is usual with ordinary dance-music. They were sung and re- +sung a thousand times in the days of buoyant youth, by fresh and +sonorous voices, in the hours of solitude, or in those of happy +idleness. Linking the most varying associations with the melody, +they were again and again carelessly hummed when traveling +through forests, or ploughing the deep in ships; perhaps they +were listlessly upon the lips when some startling emotion has +suddenly surprised the singer; when an unexpected meeting, a +long-desired grouping, an unhoped-for word, has thrown an undying +light upon the heart, consecrating hours destined to live +forever, and ever to shine on in the memory, even through the +most distant and gloomy recesses of the constantly darkening +future. + +Such inspirations were used by Chopin in the most happy manner, +and greatly enriched with the treasures of his handling and +style. Cutting these diamonds so as to present a thousand facets, +he brought all their latent fire to light, and re-uniting even +their glittering dust, he mounted them in gorgeous caskets. +Indeed what settings could he have chosen better adapted to +enhance the value of his early recollections, or which would have +given him more efficient aid in creating poems, in arranging +scenes, in depicting episodes, in producing romances? Such +associations and national memories are indebted to him for a +reign far more extensive than the land which gave them birth. +Placing them among those idealized types which art has touched +and consecrated with her resplendent lustre, he has gifted them +with immortality. + +In order fully to understand how perfectly this setting suited +the varying emotions which Chopin had succeeded in displaying in +all the magic of their rainbow hues, we must have seen the +Mazourka danced in Poland, because it is only there that it is +possible to catch the haughty, yet tender and alluring, character +of this dance. The cavalier, always chosen by the lady, seizes +her as a conquest of which he is proud, striving to exhibit her +loveliness to the admiration of his rivals, before he whirls her +off in an entrancing and ardent embrace, through the tenderness +of which the defiant expression of the victor still gleams, +mingling with the blushing yet gratified vanity of the prize, +whose beauty forms the glory of his triumph. There are few more +delightful scenes than a ball in Poland. After the Mazourka has +commenced, the attention, in place of being distracted by a +multitude of people jostling against each other without grace or +order, is fascinated by one couple of equal beauty, darting +forward, like twin stars, in free and unimpeded space. As if in +the pride of defiance, the cavalier accentuates his steps, quits +his partner for a moment, as if to contemplate her with renewed +delight, rejoins her with passionate eagerness, or whirls himself +rapidly round, as though overcome with the sudden joy and +yielding to the delicious giddiness of rapture. Sometimes, two +couples start at the same moment, after which a change of +partners may occur between them; or a third cavalier may present +himself, and, clapping his hands, claim one of the ladies as his +partner. The queens of the festival are in turn claimed by the +most brilliant gentlemen present, courting the honor of leading +them through the mazes of the dance. + +While in the Waltz and Galop, the dancers are isolated, and only +confused tableaux are offered to the bystanders; while the +Quadrille is only a kind of pass at arms made with foils, where +attack and defence proceed with equal indifference, where the +most nonchalant display of grace is answered with the same +nonchalance; while the vivacity of the Polka, charming, we +confess, may easily become equivocal; while Fandangos, Tarantulas +and Minuets, are merely little love-dramas, only interesting to +those who execute them, in which the cavalier has nothing to do +but to display his partner, and the spectators have no share but +to follow, tediously enough, coquetries whose obligatory +movements are not addressed to them;--in the Mazourka, on the +contrary, they have also their part, and the role of the cavalier +yields neither in grace nor importance to that of his fair +partner. + +The long intervals which separate the successive appearance of +the pairs being reserved for conversation among the dancers, when +their turn comes again, the scene passes no longer only among +themselves, but extends from them to the spectators. It is to +them that the cavalier exhibits the vanity he feels in having +been able to win the preference of the lady who has selected him; +it is in their presence she has deigned to show him this honor; +she strives to please them, because the triumph of charming them +is reflected upon her partner, and their applause may be made a +part of the most flattering and insinuating coquetry. Indeed, at +the close of the dance, she seems to make him a formal offering +of their suffrages in her favor. She bounds rapidly towards him +and rests upon his arm,--a movement susceptible of a thousand +varying shades which feminine tact and subtle feeling well know +how to modify, ringing every change, from the most impassioned +and impulsive warmth of manner to an air of the most complete +"abandon." + +What varied movements succeed each other in the course round the +ball-room! Commencing at first with a kind of timid hesitation, +the lady sways about like a bird about to take flight; gliding +for some time on one foot only, like a skater, she skims the ice +of the polished floor; then, running forward like a sportive +child, she suddenly takes wing. Raising her veiling eyelids, with +head erect, with swelling bosom and elastic bounds, she cleaves +the air as the light bark cleaves the waves, and, like an agile +woodnymph, seems to sport with space. Again she recommences her +timid graceful gliding, looks round among the spectators, sends +sighs and words to the most, highly favored, then extending her +white arms to the partner who comes to rejoin her, again begins +her vigorous steps which transport her with magical rapidity from +one end to the other of the ball-room. She glides, she runs, she +flies; emotion colors her cheek, brightens her eye; fatigue bends +her flexile form, retards her winged feet, until, panting and +exhausted, she softly sinks and reclines in the arms of her +partner, who, seizing her with vigorous arm, raises her a moment +in the air, before finishing with her the last intoxicating +round. + +In this triumphal course, in which may be seen a thousand +Atalantas as beautiful as the dreams of Ovid, many changes occur +in the figures. The couples, in the first chain, commence by +giving each other the hand; then forming themselves into a +circle, whose rapid rotation dazzles the eye, they wreathe a +living crown, in which each lady is the only flower of its own +kind, while the glowing and varied colors are heightened by the +uniform costume of the men, the effect resembling that of the +dark-green foliage with which nature relieves her glowing buds +and fragrant bloom. They all then dart forward together with a +sparkling animation, a jealous emulation, defiling before the +spectators as in a review--an enumeration of which would scarcely +yield in interest to those given us, by Homer and Tasso, of the +armies about to range themselves in the front of battle! At the +close of an hour or two, the same circle again forms to end the +dance; and on those days when amusement and pleasure fill all +with an excited gayety, sparkling and glittering through those +impressible temperaments like an aurora in a midnight sky, a +general promenade is recommenced, and in its accelerated +movements, we cannot detect the least symptom of fatigue among +all these delicate yet enduring women; as if their light limbs +possessed the flexible tenacity and elasticity of steel! + +As if by intuition, all the Polish women possess the magical +science of this dance. Even the least richly gifted among them +know how to draw from it new charms. If the graceful ease and +noble dignity of those conscious of their own power are full of +attraction in it, timidity and modesty are equally full of +interest. This is so because of all modern dances, it breathes +most of pure love. As the dancers are always conscious that the +gaze of the spectators is fastened upon them, addressing +themselves constantly to them, there reigns in its very essence a +mixture of innate tenderness and mutual vanity, as full of +delicacy and propriety as of allurement. + +The latent and unknown poetry, which was only indicated in the +original Polish Mazourkas, was divined, developed, and brought to +light, by Chopin. Preserving their rhythm, he ennobled their +melody, enlarged their proportions; and--in order to paint more +fully in these productions, which he loved to hear us call +"pictures from the easel," the innumerable and widely-differing +emotions which agitate the heart during the progress of this +dance, above all, in the long intervals in which the cavalier has +a right to retain his place at the side of the lady, whom he +never leaves--he wrought into their tissues harmonic lights and +shadows, as new in themselves as were the subjects to which he +adapted them. + +Coquetries, vanities, fantasies, inclinations, elegies, vague +emotions, passions, conquests, struggles upon which the safety or +favor of others depends, all--all, meet in this dance. How +difficult it is to form a complete idea of the infinite +gradations of passion--sometimes pausing, sometimes progressing, +sometimes suing, sometimes ruling! In the country where the +Mazourka reigns from the palace to the cottage, these gradations +are pursued, for a longer or shorter time, with as much ardor and +enthusiasm as malicious trifling. The good qualities and faults +of men are distributed among the Poles in a manner so fantastic, +that, although the essentials of character may remain nearly the +same in all, they vary and shade into each other in a manner so +extraordinary, that it becomes almost impossible to recognize or +distinguish them. In natures so capriciously amalgamated, a +wonderful diversity occurs, adding to the investigations of +curiosity, a spur unknown in other lands; making of every new +relation a stimulating study, and lending unwonted interest to +the lightest incident. Nothing is here indifferent, nothing +unheeded, nothing hackneyed! Striking contrasts are constantly +occurring among these natures so mobile and susceptible, endowed +with subtle, keen and vivid intellects, with acute sensibilities +increased by suffering and misfortune; contrasts throwing lurid +light upon hearts, like the blaze of a conflagration illumining +and revealing the gloom of midnight. Here chance may bring +together those who but a few hours before were strangers to each +other. The ordeal of a moment, a single word, may separate hearts +long united; sudden confidences are often forced by necessity, +and invincible suspicions frequently held in secret. As a witty +woman once remarked: "They often play a comedy, to avoid a +tragedy!" That which has never been uttered, is yet incessantly +divined and understood. Generalities are often used to sharpen +interrogation, while concealing its drift; the most evasive +replies are carefully listened to, like the ringing of metal, as +a test of the quality. Often, when in appearance pleading for +others, the suitor is urging his own cause; and the most graceful +flattery may be only the veil of disguised exactions. + +But caution and attention become at last wearisome to natures +naturally expansive and candid, and a tiresome frivolity, +surprising enough before the secret of its reckless indifference +has been divined, mingles with the most spiritual refinement, the +most poetic sentiments, the most real causes for intense +suffering, as if to mock and jeer at all reality. It is difficult +to analyze or appreciate justly this frivolity, as it is +sometimes real, sometimes only assumed. It makes use of confusing +replies and strange resources to conceal the truth. It is +sometimes justly, sometimes wrongfully regarded as a kind of veil +of motley, whose fantastic tissue needs only to be slightly torn +to reveal more than one hidden or sleeping quality under the +variegated folds of gossamer. It often follows from such causes, +that eloquence becomes only a sort of grave badinage, sparkling +with spangles like the play of fireworks, though the heart of the +discourse may contain nothing earnest; while the lightest +raillery, thrown out apparently at random, may perhaps be most +sadly serious. Bitter and intense thought follows closely upon +the steps of the most tempestuous gayety; nothing indeed remains +absolutely superficial, though nothing is presented without an +artificial polish. In the discussions constantly occurring in +this country, where conversation is an art cultivated to the +highest degree, and occupying much time, there are always those +present, who, whether the topic discussed be grave or gay, can +pass in a moment from smiles to tears, from joy to sorrow, +leaving the keenest observer in doubt which is most real, so +difficult is it to discern the fictitious from the true. + +In such varying modes of thought, where ideas shift like quick +sands upon the shores of the sea, they are rarely to be found +again at the exact point where they were left. This fact is in +itself sufficient to give interest to interviews otherwise +insignificant. We have been taught this in Paris by some natives +of Poland, who astonished the Parisians by their skill in +"fencing in paradox;" an art in which every Pole is more or less +skillful, as he has felt more or less interest or amusement in +its cultivation. But the inimitable skill with which they are +constantly able to alternate the garb of truth or fiction (like +touchstones, more certain when least suspected, the one always +concealed under the garb of the other), the force which expends +an immense amount of intellect upon the most trivial occasions, +as Gil Bias made use of as much intelligence to find the means of +subsistence for a single day, as was required by the Spanish king +to govern the whole of his domain; make at last an impression as +painful upon us as the games in which the jugglers of India +exhibit such wonderful skill, where sharp and deadly arms fly +glittering through the air, which the least error, the least want +of perfect mastery, would make the bright, swift messengers of +certain death! Such skill is full of concealed anxiety, terror, +and anguish! From the complication of circumstances, danger may +lurk in the slightest inadvertence, in the least imprudence, in +possible accidents, while powerful assistance may suddenly spring +from some obscure and forgotten individual. A dramatic interest +may instantaneously arise from interviews apparently the most +trivial, giving an unforeseen phase to every relation. A misty +uncertainty hovers round every meeting, through whose clouds it +is difficult to seize the contours, to fix the lines, to +ascertain the present and future influence, thus rendering +intercourse vague and unintelligible, filling it with an +indefinable and hidden terror, yet, at the same time, with an +insinuating flattery. The strong currents of genuine sympathy are +always struggling to escape from the weight of this external +repression. The differing impulses of vanity, love, and +patriotism, in their threefold motives of action, are forever +hurtling against each other in all hearts, leading to +inextricable confusion of thought and feeling. + +What mingling emotions are concentrated in the accidental +meetings of the Mazourka! It can surround, with its own +enchantment, the lightest emotion of the heart, while, through +its magic, the most reserved, transitory, and trivial rencounter +appeals to the imagination. Could it be otherwise in the presence +of the women who give to this dance that inimitable grace and +suavity, for which, in less happy countries, they struggle in +vain? In very truth are not the Sclavic women utterly +incomparable? There are to be found among them those whose +qualities and virtues are so incontestable, so absolute, that +they are acknowledged by all ages, and by all countries. Such +apparitions are always and everywhere rare. The women of Poland +are generally distinguished by an originality full of fire. +Parisians in their grace and culture, Eastern dancing girls in +their languid fire, they have perhaps preserved among them, +handed down from mother to daughter, the secret of the burning +love potions possessed in the seraglios. Their charms possess the +strange spell of Asiatic languor. With the flames of spiritual +and intellectual Houris in their lustrous eyes, we find the +luxurious indolence of the Sultana. Their manners caress without +emboldening; the grace of their languid movements is +intoxicating; they allure by a flexibility of form, which knows +no restraint, save that of perfect modesty, and which etiquette +has never succeeded in robbing of its willowy grace. They win +upon us by those intonations of voice which touch the heart, and +fill the eye with tender tears; by those sudden and graceful +impulses which recall the spontaneity and beautiful timidity of +the gazelle. Intelligent, cultivated, comprehending every thing +with rapidity, skillful in the use of all they have acquired; +they are nevertheless as superstitious and fastidious as the +lovely yet ignorant creatures adored by the Arabian prophet. +Generous, devout, loving danger and loving love, from which they +demand much, and to which they grant little; beyond every thing +they prize renown and glory. All heroism is dear to them. Perhaps +there is no one among them who would think it possible to pay too +dearly for a brilliant action; and yet, let us say it with +reverence, many of them devote to obscurity their most holy +sacrifices, their most sublime virtues. But however exemplary +these quiet virtues of the home life may be, neither the miseries +of private life, nor the secret sorrows which must prey upon +souls too ardent not to be frequently wounded, can diminish the +wonderful vivacity of their emotions, which they know how to +communicate with the infallible rapidity and certainty of an +electric spark. Discreet by nature and position, they manage the +great weapon of dissimulation with incredible dexterity, +skillfully reading the souls of others with out revealing the +secrets of their own. With that strange pride which disdains to +exhibit characteristic or individual qualities, it is frequently +the most noble virtues which are thus concealed. The internal +contempt they feel for those who cannot divine them, gives them +that superiority which enables them to reign so absolutely over +those whom they have enthralled, flattered, subjugated, charmed; +until the moment arrives when--loving with the whole force of +their ardent souls, they are willing to brave and share the most +bitter suffering, prison, exile, even death itself, with the +object of their love! Ever faithful, ever consoling, ever tender, +ever unchangeable in the intensity of their generous devotion! +Irresistible beings, who in fascinating and charming, yet demand +an earnest and devout esteem! In that precious incense of praise +burned by M. de Balzac, "in honor of that daughter of a foreign +soil," he has thus sketched the Polish woman in hues composed +entirely of antitheses: "Angel through love, demon through +fantasy; child through faith, sage through experience; man +through the brain, woman through the heart; giant through hope, +mother through sorrow; and poet through dreams." [Footnote: +Dedication of "Modeste Mignon".] + +The homage inspired by the Polish women is always fervent. They +all possess the poetic conception of an ideal, which gleams +through their intercourse like an image constantly passing before +a mirror, the comprehension and seizure of which they impose as a +task. Despising the insipid and common pleasure of merely being +able to please, they demand that the being whom they love shall +be capable of exacting their esteem. This romantic temperament +sometimes retains them long in hesitation between the world and +the cloister. Indeed, there are few among them who at some moment +of their lives have not seriously and bitterly thought of taking +refuge within the walls of a convent. + +Where such women reign as sovereigns, what feverish words, what +hopes, what despair, what entrancing fascinations must occur in +the mazes of the Mazourka; the Mazourka, whose every cadence +vibrates in the ear of the Polish lady as the echo of a vanished +passion, or the whisper of a tender declaration. Which among them +has ever danced through a Mazourka, whose cheeks burned not more +from the excitement of emotion than from mere physical fatigue? +What unexpected and endearing ties have been formed in the long +tete-a-tete, in the very midst of crowds, with the sounds of +music, which generally recalled the name of some hero or some +proud historical remembrance attached to the words, floating +around, while thus the associations of love and heroism became +forever attached to the words and melodies! What ardent vows have +been exchanged; what wild and despairing farewells been breathed! +How many brief attachments have been linked and as suddenly +unlinked, between those who had never met before, who were never, +never to meet again--and yet, to whom forgetfulness had become +forever impossible! What hopeless love may have been revealed +during the moments so rare upon this earth; when beauty is more +highly esteemed than riches, a noble bearing of more consequence +than rank! What dark destinies forever severed by the tyranny of +rank and wealth may have been, in these fleeting moments of +meeting, again united, happy in the glitter of passing triumph, +reveling in concealed and unsuspected joy! What interviews, +commenced in indifference, prolonged in jest, interrupted with +emotion, renewed with the secret consciousness of mutual +understanding, (in all that concerns subtle intuition Slavic +finesse and delicacy especially excel,) have terminated in the +deepest attachments! What holy confidences have been exchanged in +the spirit of that generous frankness which circulates from +unknown to unknown, when the noble are delivered from the tyranny +of forced conventionalisms! What words deceitfully bland, what +vows, what desires, what vague hopes have been negligently thrown +on the winds;--thrown as the handkerchief of the fair dancer in +the Mazourka...and which the maladroit knows not how to pick +up!... + +We have before asserted that we must have known personally the +women of Poland, for the full and intuitive comprehension of the +feelings with which the Mazourkas of Chopin, as well as many more +of his compositions, are impregnated. A subtle love vapor floats +like an ambient fluid around them; we may trace step by step in +his Preludes, Nocturnes Impromptus and Mazourkas, all the phases +of which passion is capable The sportive hues of coquetry the +insensible and gradual yielding of inclination, the capricious +festoons of fantasy; the sadness of sickly joys born dying, +flowers of mourning like the black roses, the very perfume of +whose gloomy leaves is depressing, and whose petals are so frail +that the faintest sigh is sufficient to detach them from the +fragile stem; sudden flames without thought, like the false +shining of that decayed and dead wood which only glitters in +obscurity and crumbles at the touch; pleasures without past and +without future, snatched from accidental meetings; illusions, +inexplicable excitements tempting to adventure, like the sharp +taste of half ripened fruit which stimulates and pleases even +while it sets the teeth on edge; emotions without memory and +without hope; shadowy feelings whose chromatic tints are +interminable;--are all found in these works, endowed by genius +with the innate nobility, the beauty, the distinction, the +surpassing elegance of those by whom they are experienced. + +In the compositions just mentioned, as well as in most of his +Ballads, Waltzes and Etudes, the rendering of some of the +poetical subjects to which we have just alluded, may be found +embalmed. These fugitive poems are so idealized, rendered so +fragile and attenuated, that they scarcely seem to belong to +human nature, but rather to a fairy world, unveiling the +indiscreet confidences of Peris, of Titanias, of Ariels, of Queen +Mabs, of the Genii of the air, of water, and of fire,--like +ourselves, subject to bitter disappointments, to invincible +disgusts. + +Some of these compositions are as gay and fantastic as the wiles +of an enamored, yet mischievous sylph; some are soft, playing in +undulating light, like the hues of a salamander; some, full of +the most profound discouragement, as if the sighs of souls in +pain, who could find none to offer up the charitable prayers +necessary for their deliverance, breathed through their notes. +Sometimes a despair so inconsolable is stamped upon them, that we +feel ourselves present at some Byronic tragedy, oppressed by the +anguish of a Jacopo Foscari, unable to survive the agony of +exile. In some we hear the shuddering spasms of suppressed sobs. +Some of them, in which the black keys are exclusively taken, are +acute and subtle, and remind us of the character of his own +gaiety, lover of atticism as he was, subject only to the higher +emotions, recoiling from all vulgar mirth, from coarse laughter, +and from low enjoyments, as we do from those animals more abject +than venomous, whose very sight causes the most nauseating +repulsion in tender and sensitive natures. + +An exceeding variety of subjects and impressions occur in the +great number of his Mazourkas. Sometimes we catch the manly +sounds of the rattling of spurs, but it is generally the almost +imperceptible rustling of crape and gauze under the light breath +of the dancers, or the clinking of chains of gold and diamonds, +that maybe distinguished. Some of them seem to depict the defiant +pleasure of the ball given on the eve of battle, tortured however +by anxiety for, through the rhythm of the dance, we hear the +sighs and despairing farewells of hearts forced to suppress their +tears. Others reveal to us the discomfort and secret ennui of +those guests at a fete, who find it in vain to expect that the +gay sounds will muffle the sharp cries of anguished spirits. We +sometimes catch the gasping breath of terror and stifled fears; +sometimes divine the dim presentiments of a love destined to +perpetual struggle and doomed to survive all hope, which, though +devoured by jealousy and conscious that it can never be the +victor, still disdains to curse, and takes refuge in a soul- +subduing pity. In others we feel as if borne into the heart of a +whirlwind, a strange madness; in the midst of the mystic +confusion, an abrupt melody passes and repasses, panting and +palpitating, like the throbbing of a heart faint with longing, +gasping in despair, breaking in anguish, dying of hopeless, yet +indignant love. In some we hear the distant flourish of trumpets, +like fading memories of glories past, in some of them, the rhythm +is as floating, as undetermined, as shadowy, as the feeling with +which two young lovers gaze upon the first star of evening, as +yet alone in the dim skies. + +Upon one afternoon, when there were but three persons present, +and Chopin had been playing for a long time, one of the most +distinguished women in Paris remarked, that she felt always more +and more filled with solemn meditation, such as might be awakened +in presence of the grave-stones strewing those grounds in Turkey, +whose shady recesses and bright beds of flowers promise only a +gay garden to the startled traveller. She asked him what was the +cause of the involuntary, yet sad veneration which subdued her +heart while listening to these pieces, apparently presenting only +sweet and graceful subjects:--and by what name he called the +strange emotion inclosed in his compositions, like ashes of the +unknown dead in superbly sculptured urns of the purest +alabaster...Conquered by the appealing tears which moistened the +beautiful eyes, with a candor rare indeed in this artist, so +susceptible upon all that related to the secrets of the sacred +relics buried in the gorgeous shrines of his music, he replied: +"that her heart had not deceived her in the gloom which she felt +stealing upon her, for whatever might have been his transitory +pleasures, he had never been free from a feeling which might +almost be said to form the soil of his heart, and for which he +could find no appropriate expression except in his own language, +no other possessing a term equivalent to the Polish word: ZAL!" +As if his ear thirsted for the sound of this word, which +expresses the whole range of emotions produced by an intense +regret, through all the shades of feeling, from hatred to +repentance, he repeated it again and again. + +ZAL! Strange substantive, embracing a strange diversity, a +strange philosophy! Susceptible of different regimens, it +includes all the tenderness, all the humility of a regret borne +with resignation and without a murmur, while bowing before the +fiat of necessity, the inscrutable decrees of Providence: but, +changing its character, and assuming the regimen indirect as soon +as it is addressed to man, it signifies excitement, agitation, +rancor, revolt full of reproach, premeditated vengeance, menace +never ceasing to threaten if retaliation should ever become +possible, feeding itself meanwhile with a bitter, if sterile +hatred. + +ZAL! In very truth, it colors the whole of Chopin's compositions: +sometimes wrought through their elaborate tissue, like threads of +dim silver; sometimes coloring them with more passionate hues. It +may be found in his sweetest reveries; even in those which that +Shakespearian genius, Berlioz, comprehending all extremes, has so +well characterized as "divine coquetries"--coquetries only +understood in semi-oriental countries; coquetries in which men +are cradled by their mothers, with which they are tormented by +their sisters, and enchanted by those they love; and which cause +the coquetries of other women to appear insipid or coarse in +their eyes; inducing them to exclaim, with an appearance of +boasting, yet in which they are entirely justified by the truth: +NIEMA IAK POLKI! "Nothing equals the Polish women!" [Footnote: +The custom formerly in use of drinking, in her own shoe, the +health of the woman they loved, is one of the most original +traditions of the enthusiastic gallantry if the Poles.] Through +the secrets of these "divine coquetries" those adorable beings +are formed, who are alone capable of fulfilling the impassioned +ideals of poets who, like M. de Chateaubriand, in the feverish +sleeplessness of their adolescence, create for themselves visions +"of an Eve, innocent, yet fallen; ignorant of all, yet knowing +all; mistress, yet virgin." [Footnote: Memoires d'Outre Tombe. 1st +vol. Incantation.] The only being which was ever found to +resemble this dream, was a Polish girl of seventeen--"a mixture +of the Odalisque and Valkyria...realization of the ancient sylph- +-new Flora--freed from the chain of the seasons" [Footnote: Idem. +3d vol. Atala.]--and whom M. de Chateaubriand feared to meet +again. "Divine coquetries" at once generous and avaricious; +impressing the floating, wavy, rocking, undecided motion of a +boat without rigging or oars upon the charmed and intoxicated +heart! + +Through his peculiar style of performance, Chopin imparted this +constant rocking with the most fascinating effect; thus making +the melody undulate to and fro, like a skiff driven on over the +bosom of tossing waves. This manner of execution, which set a +seal so peculiar upon his own style of playing, was at first +indicated by the term 'tempo rubato', affixed to his writings: a +Tempo agitated, broken, interrupted, a movement flexible, yet at +the same time abrupt and languishing, and vacillating as the +flame under the fluctuating breath by which it is agitated. In +his later productions we no longer find this mark. He was +convinced that if the performer understood them, he would divine +this rule of irregularity. All his compositions should be played +with this accentuated and measured swaying and balancing. It is +difficult for those who have not frequently heard him play to +catch this secret of their proper execution. He seemed desirous +of imparting this style to his numerous pupils, particularly +those of his own country. His countrymen, or rather his +countrywomen, seized it with the facility with which they +understand every thing relating to poetry or feeling; an innate, +intuitive comprehension of his meaning aided them in following +all the fluctuations of his depths of aerial and spiritual blue. + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +Chopin's Mode of Playing--Concerts--The Elite--Fading Bouquets +and Immortal Crowns--Hospitality--Heine--Meyerbeer--Adolphe +Nourrit--Eugene Delacroix--Niemcevicz--Mickiewicz--George Sand. + + + +AFTER having described the compositions palpitating with emotion +in which genius struggles with grief, (grief, that terrible +reality which Art must strive to reconcile with Heaven), +confronting it sometimes as conqueror, sometimes as conquered; +compositions in which all the memories of his youth, the +affections of his heart, the mysteries of his desires, the +secrets of his untold passions, are collected like tears in a +lachrymatory; compositions in which, passing the limits of human +sensations--too dull for his eager fancy, too obtuse for his keen +perceptions--he makes incursions into the realms of Dryads, +Oreads, and Oceanides;--we would naturally be expected to speak +of his talent for execution. But this task we cannot assume. We +cannot command the melancholy courage to exhume emotions linked +with our fondest memories, our dearest personal recollections; we +cannot force ourselves to make the mournful effort to color the +gloomy shrouds, veiling the skill we once loved, with the +brilliant hues they would exact at our hands. We feel our loss +too bitterly to attempt such an analysis. And what result would +it be possible to attain with all our efforts! We could not hope +to convey to those who have never heard him, any just conception +of that fascination so ineffably poetic, that charm subtle and +penetrating as the delicate perfume of the vervain or the +Ethiopian calla, which, shrinking and exclusive, refuses to +diffuse its exquisite aroma in the noisome breath of crowds, +whose heavy air can only retain the stronger odor of the +tuberose, the incense of burning resin. + +By the purity of its handling, by its relation with LA FEE AUX +MIETTES and LES LUTINS D'ARGAIL, by its rencounters with the +SERAPHINS and DIANES, who murmur in his ear their most +confidential complaints, their most secret dreams, the style and +the manner of conception of Chopin remind us of Nodier. He knew +that he did not act upon the masses, that he could not warm the +multitude, which is like a sea of lead, and as heavy to set in +motion, and which, though its waves may be melted and rendered +malleable by heat, requires the powerful arm of an athletic +Cyclops to manipulate, fuse, and pour into moulds, where the dull +metal, glowing and seething under the electric fire, becomes +thought and feeling under the new form into which it has been +forced. He knew he was only perfectly appreciated in those +meetings, unfortunately too few, in which ALL his hearers were +prepared to follow him into those spheres which the ancients +imagined to be entered only through a gate of ivory, to be +surrounded by pilasters of diamond, and surmounted by a dome +arched with fawn-colored crystal, upon which played the various +dyes of the prism; spheres, like the Mexican opal, whose +kaleidoscopical foci are dimmed by olive-colored mists veiling +and unveiling the inner glories; spheres, in which all is magical +and supernatural, reminding us of the marvellous worlds of +realized dreams. In such spheres Chopin delighted. He once +remarked to a friend, an artist who has since been frequently +heard: "I am not suited for concert giving; the public intimidate +me; their looks, only stimulated by curiosity, paralyze me; their +strange faces oppress me; their breath stifles me: but you--you +are destined for it, for when you do not gain your public, you +have the force to assault, to overwhelm, to control, to compel +them." + +Conscious of how much was necessary for the comprehension of his +peculiar talent, he played but rarely in public. With the +exception of some concerts given at his debut in 1831, in Vienna +and Munich, he gave no more, except in Paris, being indeed not +able to travel on account of his health, which was so precarious, +that during entire months, he would appear to be in an almost +dying state. During the only excursion which he made with a hope +that the mildness of a Southern climate would be more conducive +to his health, his condition was frequently so alarming, that +more than once the hotel keepers demanded payment for the bed and +mattress he occupied, in order to have them burned, deeming him +already arrived at that stage of consumption in which it becomes +so highly contagious We believe, however, if we may be permitted +to say it, that his concerts were less fatiguing to his physical +constitution, than to his artistic susceptibility. We think that +his voluntary abnegation of popular applause veiled an internal +wound. He was perfectly aware of his own superiority; perhaps it +did not receive sufficient reverberation and echo from without to +give him the tranquil assurance that he was perfectly +appreciated. No doubt, in the absence of popular acclamation, he +asked himself how far a chosen audience, through the enthusiasm +of its applause, was able to replace the great public which he +relinquished. Few understood him:--did those few indeed +understand him aright? A gnawing feeling of discontent, of which +he himself scarcely comprehended the cause, secretly undermined +him. We have seen him almost shocked by eulogy. The praise to +which he was justly entitled not reaching him EN MASSE, he looked +upon isolated commendation as almost wounding. That he felt +himself not only slightly, but badly applauded, was sufficiently +evident by the polished phrases with which, like troublesome +dust, he shook such praises off, making it quite evident that he +preferred to be left undisturbed in the enjoyment of his solitary +feelings to injudicious commendation. + +Too fine a connoisseur in raillery, too ingenious satirist ever +to expose himself to sarcasm, he never assumed the role of a +"genius misunderstood." With a good grace and under an apparent +satisfaction, he concealed so entirely the wound given to his +just pride, that its very existence was scarcely suspected. But +not without reason, might the gradually increasing rarity +[Footnote: Sometimes he passed years without giving a single +concert. We believe the one given by him in Pleyel's room, in +1844, was after an interval of nearly ten years] of his concerts +be attributed rather to the wish he felt to avoid occasions which +did not bring him the tribute he merited, than to physical +debility. Indeed, he put his strength to rude proofs in the many +lessons which he always gave, and the many hours he spent at his +own Piano. + +It is to be regretted that the indubitable advantage for the +artist resulting from the cultivation of only a select audience, +should be so sensibly diminished by the rare and cold expression +of its sympathies. The GLACE which covers the grace of the ELITE, +as it does the fruit of their desserts; the imperturbable calm of +their most earnest enthusiasm, could not be satisfactory to +Chopin. The poet, torn from his solitary inspiration, can only +find it again in the interest, more than attentive, vivid and +animated of his audience. He can never hope to regain it in the +cold looks of an Areopagus assembled to judge him. He must FEEL +that he moves, that he agitates those who hear him, that his +emotions find in them the responsive sympathies of the same +intuitions, that he draws them on with him in his flight towards +the infinite: as when the leader of a winged train gives the +signal of departure, he is immediately followed by the whole +flock in search of milder shores. + +But had it been otherwise--had Chopin everywhere received the +exalted homage and admiration he so well deserved; had he been +heard, as so many others, by all nations and in all climates; had +ho obtained those brilliant ovations which make a Capitol every +where, where the people salute merit or honor genius had he been +known and recognized by thousands in place of the hundreds who +acknowledged him--we would not pause in this part of his career +to enumerate such triumphs. + +What are the dying bouquets of an hour to those whose brows claim +the laurel of immortality? Ephemeral sympathies, transitory +praises, are not to be mentioned in the presence of the august +Dead, crowned with higher glories. The joys, the consolations, +the soothing emotions which the creations of true art awaken in +the weary, suffering, thirsty, or persevering and believing +hearts to whom they are dedicated, are destined to be borne into +far countries and distant years, by the sacred works of Chopin. +Thus an unbroken bond will be established between elevated +natures, enabling them to understand and appreciate each other, +in whatever part of the earth or period of time they may live. +Such natures are generally badly divined by their contemporaries +when they have been silent, often misunderstood when they have +spoken the most eloquently! + +"There are different crowns," says Goethe, "there are some which +may be readily gathered during a walk." Such crowns charm for the +moment through their balmy freshness, but who would think of +comparing them with those so laboriously gained by Chopin by +constant and exemplary effort, by an earnest love of art, and by +his own mournful experience of the emotions which he has so +truthfully depicted? + +As he sought not with a mean avidity those crowns so easily won, +of which more than one among ourselves has the modesty to be +proud; as he was a pure, generous, good and compassionate man, +filled with a single sentiment, and that one of the most noble of +feelings, the love of country; as he moved among us like a spirit +consecrated by all that Poland possesses of poetry; let us +approach his sacred grave with due reverence! Let us adorn it +with no artificial wreaths! Let us cast upon it no trivial +crowns! Let us nobly elevate our thoughts before this consecrated +shroud! Let us learn from him to repulse all but the highest +ambition, let us try to concentrate our labor upon efforts which +will leave more lasting effects than the vain leading of the +fashions of the passing hour. Let us renounce the corrupt spirit +of the times in which we live, with all that is not worthy of +art, all that will not endure, all that does not contain in +itself some spark of that eternal and immaterial beauty, which it +is the task of art to reveal and unveil as the condition of its +own glory! Let us remember the ancient prayer of the Dorians +whose simple formula is so full of pious poetry, asking only of +their gods: "To give them the Good, in return for the Beautiful!" +In place of laboring so constantly to attract auditors, and +striving to please them at whatever sacrifice, let us rather aim, +like Chopin, to leave a celestial and immortal echo of what we +have felt, loved, and suffered! Let us learn, from his revered +memory, to demand from ourselves works which will entitle us to +some true rank in the sacred city of art! Let us not exact from +the present with out regard to the future, those light and vain +wreath which are scarcely woven before they are faded and +forgotten!... + +In place of such crowns, the most glorious palms which it is +possible for an artist to receive during his lifetime, have been +placed in the hands of Chopin by ILLUSTRIOUS EQUALS. An +enthusiastic admiration was given him by a public still more +limited than the musical aristocracy which frequented his +concerts. This public was formed of the most distinguished names +of men, who bowed before him as the kings of different empires +bend before a monarch whom they have assembled to honor. Such men +rendered to him, individually, due homage. How could it have been +otherwise in France, where the hospitality, so truly national, +discerns with such perfect taste the rank and claims of the +guests? + +The most eminent minds in Paris frequently met in Chopin's +saloon. Not in reunions of fantastic periodicity, such as the +dull imaginations of ceremonious and tiresome circles have +arranged, and which they have never succeeded in realizing in +accordance with their wishes, for enjoyment, ease, enthusiasm, +animation, never come at an hour fixed upon before hand. They can +be commanded less by artists than by other men, for they are all +more or less struck by some sacred malady whose paralyzing torpor +they must shake off, whose benumbing pain they must forget, to be +joyous and amused by those pyrotechnic fires which startle the +bewildered guests, who see from time to time a Roman candle, a +rose-colored Bengal light, a cascade whose waters are of fire, or +a terrible, yet quite innocent dragon! Gayety and the strength +necessary to be joyous, are, unfortunately things only +accidentally to be encountered among poets and artists! It is +true some of the more privileged among them have the happy gift +of surmounting internal pain, so as to bear their burden always +lightly, able to laugh with their companions over the toils of +the way, or at least always able to preserve a gentle and calm +serenity which, like a mute pledge of hope and consolation, +animates, elevates, and encourages their associates, imparting to +them, while they remain under the influence of this placid +atmosphere, a freedom of spirit which appears so much the more +vivid, the more strongly it contrasts with their habitual ennui, +their abstraction, their natural gloom, their usual indifference. + +Chopin did not belong to either of the above mentioned classes; +he possessed the innate grace of a Polish welcome, by which the +host is not only bound to fulfill the common laws and duties of +hospitality, but is obliged to relinquish all thought of himself, +to devote all his powers to promote the enjoyment of his guests. +It was a pleasant thing to visit him; his visitors were always +charmed; he knew how to put them at once at ease, making them +masters of every thing, and placing every thing at their +disposal. In doing the honors of his own cabin, even the simple +laborer of Sclavic race never departs from this munificence; more +joyously eager in his welcome than the Arab in his tent, he +compensates for the splendor which may be wanting in his +reception by an adage which he never fails to repeat, and which +is also repealed by the grand seignior after the most luxurious +repasts served under gilded canopies: CZYM BOHAT, TYM RAD--which +is thus paraphrased for foreigners: "Deign graciously to pardon +all that is unworthy of you, it is all my humble riches which I +place at your feet." This formula [Footnote: All the Polish +formulas of courtesy retain the strong impress of the +hyperbolical expressions of the Eastern languages. The titles of +"very powerful and very enlightened seigniors" are still +obligatory. The Poles, in conversation, constantly name each +other Benefactor (DOBRODZIJ). The common salutation between men, +and of men to women, is PADAM DO NOG: "I fall at your feet." The +greeting of the people possesses a character of ancient solemnity +and simplicity: SLAWA BOHU: "Glory to God."] is still pronounced +with a national grace and dignity by all masters of families who +preserve the picturesque customs which distinguished the ancient +manners of Poland. + +Having thus described something of the habits of hospitality +common in his country, the ease which presided over our reunions +with Chopin will be readily understood. The flow of thought, the +entire freedom from restraint, were of a character so pure that +no insipidity or bitterness ever ensued, no ill humor was ever +provoked. Though he avoided society, yet when his saloon was +invaded, the kindness of his attention was delightful; without +appearing to occupy himself with any one, he succeeded in finding +for all that which was most agreeable; neglecting none, he +extended to all the most graceful courtesy. + +It was not without a struggle, without a repugnance slightly +misanthropic, that Chopin could be induced to open his doors and +piano, even to those whose friendship, as respectful as faithful, +gave them a claim to urge such a request with eagerness. Without +doubt more than one of us can still remember our first improvised +evening with him, in spite of his refusal, when he lived at +Chaussee d'Antin. + +His apartment, invaded by surprise, was only lighted by some wax +candles, grouped round one of Pleyel's pianos, which he +particularly liked for their slightly veiled, yet silvery +sonorousness, and easy touch, permitting him to elicit tones +which one might think proceeded from one of those harmonicas of +which romantic Germany has preserved the monopoly, and which were +so ingeniously constructed by its ancient masters, by the union +of crystal and water. + +As the corners of the room were left in obscurity, all idea of +limit was lost, so that there seemed no boundary save the +darkness of space. Some tall piece of furniture, with its white +cover, would reveal itself in the dim light; an indistinct form, +raising itself like a spectre to listen to the sounds which had +evoked it. The light, concentrated round the piano and falling on +the floor, glided on like a spreading wave until it mingled with +the broken flashes from the fire, from which orange colored +plumes rose and fell, like fitful gnomes, attracted there by +mystic incantations in their own tongue. A single portrait, that +of a pianist, an admiring and sympathetic friend, seemed invited +to be the constant auditor of the ebb and flow of tones, which +sighed, moaned, murmured, broke and died upon the instrument near +which it always hung. By a strange accident, the polished surface +of the mirror only reflected so as to double it for our eyes, the +beautiful oval with silky curls which so many pencils have +copied, and which the engraver has just reproduced for all who +are charmed by works of such peculiar eloquence. + +Several men, of brilliant renown, were grouped in the luminous +zone immediately around the piano: Heine, the saddest of +humorists, listened with the interest of a fellow countryman to +the narrations made him by Chopin of the mysterious country which +haunted his ethereal fancy also, and of which he too had explored +the beautiful shores. At a glance, a word, a tone, Chopin and +Heine understood each other; the musician replied to the +questions murmured in his ear by the poet, giving in tones the +most surprising revelations from those unknown regions, about +that "laughing nymph" [Footnote: Heine. SALOON- CHOPIN.] of whom +he demanded news: "If she still continued to drape her silvery +veil around the flowing locks of her green hair, with a coquetry +so enticing?" Familiar with the tittle-tattle and love tales of +those distant lands he asked: "If the old marine god, with the +long white beard, still pursued this mischievous naiad with his +ridiculous love?" Fully informed, too, about all the exquisite +fairy scenes to be seen DOWN THERE--DOWN THERE, he asked "if the +roses always glowed there with a flame so triumphant? if the +trees at moonlight sang always so harmoniously?" When Chopin had +answered, and they had for a long time conversed together about +that aerial clime, they would remain in gloomy silence, seized +with that mal du pays from which Heine suffered when he compared +himself to that Dutch captain of the phantom ship, with his crew +eternally driven about upon the chill waves, and "sighing in vain +for the spices, the tulips, the hyacinths, the pipes of sea- +foam, the porcelain cups of Holland...'Amsterdam! Amsterdam! when +shall we again see Amsterdam!' they cry from on board, while the +tempest howls in the cordage, beating them forever about in their +watery hell." Heine adds: "I fully understand the passion with +which the unfortunate captain once exclaimed: 'Oh if I should +EVER again see Amsterdam! I would rather be chained forever at +the corner of one of its streets, than be forced to leave it +again!' Poor Van der Decken!" + +Heine well knew what poor Van der Decken had suffered in his +terrible and eternal course upon the ocean, which had fastened +its fangs in the wood of his incorruptible vessel, and by an +invisible anchor, whose chain he could not break because it could +never be found, held it firmly linked upon the waves of its +restless bosom. He could describe to us when he chose, the hope, +the despair, the torture of the miserable beings peopling this +unfortunate ship, for he had mounted its accursed timbers, led on +and guided by the hand of some enamored Undine, who, when the +guest of her forest of coral and palace of pearl rose more +morose, more satirical, more bitter than usual, offered for the +amusement of his ill humor between the repasts, some spectacle +worthy of a lover who could create more wonders in his dreams +than her whole kingdom contained. + +Heine had traveled round the poles of the earth in this +imperishable vessel; he had seen the brilliant visitor of the +long nights, the aurora borealis, mirror herself in the immense +stalactites of eternal ice, rejoicing in the play of colors +alternating with each other in the varying folds of her glowing +scarf. He had visited the tropics, where the zodiacal triangle, +with its celestial light, replaces, during the short nights, the +burning rays of an oppressive sun. He had crossed the latitudes +where life becomes pain, and advanced into those in which it is a +living death, making himself familiar, on the long way, with the +heavenly miracles in the wild path of sailors who make for no +port! Seated on a poop without a helm, his eye had ranged from +the two Bears majestically overhanging the North, to the +brilliant Southern Cross, through the blank Antarctic deserts +extending through the empty space of the heavens overhead, as +well as over the dreary waves below, where the despairing eye +finds nothing to contemplate in the sombre depths of a sky +without a star, vainly arching over a shoreless and bottomless +sea! He had long followed the glittering yet fleeting traces left +by the meteors through the blue depths of space; he had tracked +the mystic and incalculable orbits of the comets as they flash +through their wandering paths, solitary and incomprehensible, +everywhere dreaded for their ominous splendor, yet inoffensive +and harmless. He had gazed upon the shining of that distant star, +Aldebaran, which, like the glitter and sullen glow in the eye of +a vengeful enemy, glares fiercely upon our globe, without daring +to approach it. He had watched the radiant planets shedding upon +the restless eye which seeks them a consoling and friendly light, +like the weird cabala of an enigmatic yet hopeful promise. + +Heine had seen all these things, under the varying appearances +which they assume in different latitudes; he had seen much more +also with which he would entertain us under strange similitudes. +He had assisted at the furious cavalcade of "Herodiade;" he had +also an entrance at the court of the king of "Aulnes" in the +gardens of the "Hesperides"; and indeed into all those places +inaccessible to mortals who have not had a fairy as godmother, +who would take upon herself the task of counterbalancing all the +evil experienced in life, by showering upon the adopted the whole +store of fairy treasures. + +Upon that evening which we are now describing, Meyerbeer was +seated next to Heine;--Meyerbeer, for whom the whole catalogue of +admiring interjections has long since been exhausted! Creator of +Cyclopean harmonics as he was, he passed the time in delight when +following the detailed arabesques, which, woven in transparent +gauze, wound in filmy veils around the delicate conceptions of +Chopin. + +Adolphe Nourrit, a noble artist, at once ascetic and passionate, +was also there. He was a sincere, almost a devout Catholic, +dreaming of the future with the fervor of the Middle Ages, who, +during the latter part of his life, refused the assistance of his +talent to any scene of merely superficial sentiment. He served +Art with a high and enthusiastic respect; he considered it, in +all its divers manifestations, only a holy tabernacle, "the +Beauty of which formed the splendor of the True." Already +undermined by a melancholy passion for the Beautiful, his brow +seemed to be turning into stone under the dominion of this +haunting feeling: a feeling always explained by the outbreak of +despair, too late for remedy from man--man, alas! so eager to +explore the secrets of the heart--so dull to divine them! + +Hiller, whose talent was allied to Chopin's, and who was one of +his most intimate friends, was there also. In advance of the +great compositions which he afterwards published, of which the +first was his remarkable Oratorio, "The Destruction of +Jerusalem," he wrote some pieces for the Piano. Among these, +those known under the title of Etudes, (vigorous sketches of the +most finished design), recall those studies of foliage, in which +the landscape painter gives us an entire little poem of light and +shade, with only one tree, one branch, a single "motif," happily +and boldly handled. + +In the presence of the spectres which filled the air, and whose +rustling might almost be heard, Eugene Delacroix remained +absorbed and silent. Was he considering what pallet, what +brushes, what canvas he must use, to introduce them into visible +life through his art? Did he task himself to discover canvas +woven by Arachne, brushes made from the long eyelashes of the +fairies, and a pallet covered with the vaporous tints of the +rainbow, in order to make such a sketch possible? Did he then +smile at these fancies, yet gladly yield to the impressions from +which they sprung, because great talent is always attracted by +that power in direct contrast to its own? + +The aged Niemcevicz, who appeared to be the nearest to the grave +among us, listened to the "Historic Songs" which Chopin +translated into dramatic execution for this survivor of times +long past. Under the fingers of the Polish artist, again were +heard, side by side with the descriptions, so popular, of the +Polish bard, the shock of arms, the songs of conquerors, the +hymns of triumph, the complaints of illustrious prisoners, and +the wail over dead heroes. They memorized together the long +course of national glory, of victory, of kings, of queens, of +warriors; and so much life had these phantoms, that the old man, +deeming the present an illusion, believed the olden times fully +resuscitated. + +Dark and silent, apart from all others, fell the motionless +profile of Mickiewicz: the Dante of the North, he seemed always +to find "the salt of the stranger bitter, and his steps hard to +mount." + +Buried in a fauteuil, with her arms resting upon a table, sat +Madame Sand, curiously attentive, gracefully subdued. Endowed +with that rare faculty only given to a few elect, of recognizing +the Beautiful under whatever form of nature or of art it may +assume, she listened with the whole force of her ardent genius. +The faculty of instantaneously recognizing Beauty may perhaps be +the "second sight," of which all nations have acknowledged the +existence in highly gifted women. It is a kind of magical gaze +which causes the bark, the mask, the gross envelope of form, to +fall off; so that the invisible essence, the soul which is +incarnated within, may be clearly contemplated; so that the ideal +which the poet or artist may have vivified under the torrent of +notes, the passionate veil of coloring, the cold chiseling of +marble, or the mysterious rhythms of strophes, may be fully +discerned. This faculty is much rarer than is generally supposed. +It is usually felt but vaguely, yet--in its highest +manifestations, it reveals itself as a "divining oracle," knowing +the Past and prophesying the Future. It is a power which exempts +the blessed organization which it illumes, from the bearing of +the heavy burden of technicalities, with which the merely +scientific drag on toward that mystic region of inner life, which +the gifted attain with a single bound. It is a faculty which +springs less from an acquaintance with the sciences, than from a +familiarity with nature. + +The fascination and value of a country life consist in the long +tete-a-tete with nature. The words of revelation hidden under the +infinite harmonies of form, of sounds, of lights and shadows, of +tones and warblings, of terror and delight, may best be caught in +these long solitary interviews. Such infinite variety may appear +crushing or distracting on a first view, but if faced with a +courage that no mystery can appal, if sounded with a resolution +that no length of time can abate, may give the clue to analogies, +conformities, relations between our senses and our sentiments, +and aid us in tracing the hidden links which bind apparent +dissimilarities, identical oppositions and equivalent antitheses, +and teach us the secrets of the chasms separating with narrow but +impassable space, that which is destined to approach forever, yet +never mingle; to resemble ever, yet never blend. To have awakened +early, as did Madame Sand, to the dim whispering with which +nature initiates her chosen to her mystic rites, is a necessary +appanage of the poet. To have learned from her to penetrate the +dreams of man when he, in his turn, creates, and uses in his +works the tones, the warblings, the terrors, the delights, +requires a still more subtle power; a power which Madame Sand +possesses by a double right, by the intuitions of her heart, and +the vigor of her genius. After having named Madame Sand, whose +energetic personality and electric genius inspired the frail and +delicate organization of Chopin with an intensity of admiration +which consumed him, as a wine too spirituous shatters the fragile +vase; we cannot now call up other names from the dim limbus of +the past, in which so many indistinct images, such doubtful +sympathies, such indefinite projects and uncertain beliefs, are +forever surging and hurtling. Perhaps there is no one among us, +who, in looking through the long vista, would not meet the ghost +of some feeling whose shadowy form he would find impossible to +pass! Among the varied interests, the burning desires, the +restless tendencies surging through the epoch in which so many +high hearts and brilliant intellects were fortuitously thrown +together, how few of them, alas! possessed sufficient vitality to +enable them to resist the numberless causes of death, surrounding +every idea, every feeling, as well as every individual life, from +the cradle to the grave! Even during the moments of the troubled +existence of the emotions now past, how many of them escaped that +saddest of all human judgments: "Happy, oh, happy were it dead! +Far happier had it never been born!" Among the varied feelings +with which so many noble hearts throbbed high, were there indeed +many which never incurred this fearful malediction? Like the +suicide lover in Mickiewicz's poem, who returns to life in the +land of the Dead only to renew the dreadful suffering of his +earth life, perhaps among all the emotions then so vividly felt +there is not a single one which, could it again live, would +reappear without the disfigurements, the brandings, the bruises, +the mutilations, which were inflicted on its early beauty, which +so deeply sullied its primal innocence! And if we should persist +in recalling these melancholy ghosts of dead thoughts and buried +feelings from the heavy folds of the shroud, would they not +actually appal us, because so few of them possessed sufficient +purity and celestial radiance to redeem them from the shame of +being utterly disowned, entirely repudiated, by those whose bliss +or torment they formed during the passionate hours of their +absolute rule? In very pity ask us not to call from the Dead, +ghosts whose resurrection would be so painful! Who could bear the +sepulchral ghastly array? Who would willingly call them from +their sheeted sleep? If our ideas, thoughts, and feelings were +indeed to be suddenly aroused from the unquiet grave in which +they lie buried, and an account demanded from them of the good +and evil which they have severally produced in the hearts in +which they found so generous an asylum, and which they have +confused, overwhelmed, illumined, devastated, ruined, broken, as +chance or destiny willed,--who could hope to endure the replies +that would be made to questions so searching? + +If among the group of which we have spoken, every member of which +has won the attention of many human souls, and must, in +consequence, bear in his conscience the sharp sting of multiplied +responsibilities, there should be found ONE who has not suffered +aught, that was pure in the natural attraction which bound them +together in this chain of glittering links, to fall into dull +forgetfulness; one who allowed no breath of the fermentation +lingering even around the most delicate perfumes, to embitter his +memories; one who has transfigured and left to the immortality of +art, only the unblemished inheritance of all that was noblest in +their enthusiasm, all that was purest and most lasting of their +joys; let us bow before him as before one of the Elect! Let us +regard him as one of those whom the belief of the people marks as +"Good Genii!" The attribution of superior power to beings +believed to be beneficent to man, has received a sublime +conformation from a great Italian poet, who defines genius as a +"stronger impress of Divinity!" Let us bow before all who are +marked with this mystic seal; but let us venerate with the +deepest, truest tenderness those who have only used their +wondrous supremacy to give life and expression to the highest and +most exquisite feelings! and among the pure and beneficent genii +of earth must indubitably be ranked the artist Chopin! + + + +CHAPTER V. + +The Lives of Artists--Pure Fame of Chopin--Reserve--Classic and +Romantic Art-Language of the Sclaves--Chopin's Love of Home +Memories. + + + +A natural curiosity is generally felt to know something of the +lives of men who have consecrated their genius to embellish noble +feelings through works of art, through which they shine like +brilliant meteors in the eyes of the surprised and delighted +crowd. The admiration and sympathy awakened by the compositions +of such men, attach immediately to their own names, which are at +once elevated as symbols of nobility and greatness, because the +world is loath to believe that those who can express high +sentiments with force, can themselves feel ignobly. The objects +of this benevolent prejudice, this favorable presumption, are +expected to justify such suppositions by the high course of life +which they are required to lead. When it is seen that the poet +feels with such exquisite delicacy all that which it is so sweet +to inspire; that he divines with such rapid intuition all that +pride, timidity, or weariness struggles to hide; that he can +paint love as youth dreams it, but as riper years despair to +realize it; when such sublime situations seem to be ruled by his +genius, which raises itself so calmly above the calamities of +human destiny, always finding the leading threads by which the +most complicated knots in the tangled skein of life may be +proudly and victoriously unloosed; when the secret modulations of +the most exquisite tenderness, the most heroic courage, the most +sublime simplicity, are known to be subject to his command,--it +is most natural that the inquiry should be made if this wondrous +divination springs from a sincere faith in the reality of the +noble feelings portrayed, or whether its source is to be found in +an acute perception of the intellect, an abstract comprehension +of the logical reason. + +The question in what the life led by men so enamored of beauty +differs from that of the common multitude, is then earnestly +asked. This high poetic disdain,--how did it comport itself when +struggling with material interests? These ineffable emotions of +ethereal love,--how were they guarded from the bitterness of +petty cares, from that rapidly growing and corroding mould which +usually stifles or poisons them? How many of such feelings were +preserved from that subtle evaporation which robs them of their +perfume, that gradually increasing inconstancy which lulls us +until we forget to call the dying emotions to account? Those who +felt such holy indignation,--were they indeed always just? Those +who exalted integrity,--were they always equitable? Those who +sung of honor,--did they never stoop? Those who so admired +fortitude,--have they never compromised with their own weakness? + +A deep interest is also felt in ascertaining how those to whom +the task of sustaining our faith in the nobler sentiments through +art has been intrusted, have conducted themselves in external +affairs, where pecuniary gain is only to be acquired at the +expense of delicacy, loyalty, or honor. Many assert that the +nobler feelings exist only in the works of art. When some +unfortunate occurrence seems to give a deplorable foundation to +the words of such mockers, with what avidity they name the most +exquisite conceptions of the poet, "vain phantoms!" How they +plume themselves upon their own wisdom in having advocated the +politic doctrine of an astute, yet honeyed hypocrisy; how they +delight to speak of the perpetual contradiction between words and +deeds!....With what cruel joy they detail such occurrences, and +cite such examples in the presence of those unsteady restless +souls, who are incited by their youthful aspirations and by the +depression and utter loss of happy confidence which such a +conviction would entail upon them, to struggle against a distrust +so blighting! When such wavering spirits are engaged in the +bitter combat with the harsh alternatives of life, or tempted at +every turn by its insinuating seductions, what a profound +discouragement seizes upon them when they are induced to believe +that the hearts devoted to the most sublime thoughts, the most +deeply initiated in the most delicate susceptibilities, the most +charmed by the beauty of innocence, have denied, by their acts, +the sincerity of their worship for the noble themes which they +have sung as poets! With what agonizing doubts are they not +filled by such flagrant contradictions! How much is their anguish +increased by the jeering mockery of those who repeat: "Poetry is +only that which might have been"--and who delight in blaspheming +it by their guilty negations! Whatever may be the human short- +comings of the gifted, believe the truths they sing! Poetry is +more than the gigantic shadow of our own imagination, +immeasurably increased, and projected upon the flying plane of +the Impossible. POETRY and REALITY are not two incompatible +elements, destined to move on together without commingling. +Goethe himself confesses this. In speaking of a contemporary +writer he says: "that having lived to create poems, he had also +made his life a Poem." (Er lebte dichtend, und dichtete lebend.) +Goethe was himself too true a poet not to know that Poetry only +is, because its eternal Reality throbs in the noble impulses of +the human heart. + +We have once before remarked that "genius imposes its own +obligations." [Footnote: Upon Paganini, after his death.] If the +examples of cold austerity and of rigid disinterestedness are +sufficient to awaken the admiration of calm and reflective +natures, whence shall more passionate and mobile organizations, +to whom the dullness of mediocrity is insipid, who naturally seek +honor or pleasure, and who are willing to purchase the object of +their desires at any price--form their models? Such temperaments +easily free themselves from the authority of their seniors. They +do not admit their competency to decide. They accuse them of +wishing to use the world only for the profit of their own dead +passions, of striving to turn all to their own advantage, of +pronouncing upon the effects of causes which they do not +understand, of desiring to promulgate laws in spheres to which +nature has denied them entrance. They will not receive answers +from their lips, but turn to others to resolve their doubts; they +question those who have drunk deeply from the boiling springs of +grief, bursting from the riven clefts in the steep cliffs upon +the top of which alone the soul seeks rest and light. They pass +in silence by the still cold gravity of those who practice the +good, without enthusiasm for the beautiful. What leisure has +ardent youth to interpret their gravity, to resolve their chill +problems? The throbbings of its impetuous heart are too rapid to +allow it to investigate the hidden sufferings, the mystic +combats, the solitary struggles, which may be detected even in +the calm eye of the man who practices only the good. Souls in +continual agitation seldom interpret aright the calm simplicity +of the just, or the heroic smiles of the stoic. For them +enthusiasm and emotion are necessities. A bold image persuades +them, a metaphor leads them, tears convince them, they prefer the +conclusions of impulse, of intuition, to the fatigue of logical +argument. Thus they turn with an eager curiosity to the poets and +artists who have moved them by their images, allured them by +their metaphors, excited them by their enthusiasm. They demand +from them the explanation, the purpose of this enthusiasm, the +secret of this beauty! + +When distracted by heart-rending events, when tortured by intense +suffering, when feeling and enthusiasm seem to be but a heavy and +cumbersome load which may upset the life-boat if not thrown +overboard into the abyss of forgetfulness; who, when menaced with +utter shipwreck after a long struggle with peril, has not evoked +the glorious shades of those who have conquered, whose thoughts +glow with noble ardor, to inquire from them how far their +aspirations were sincere, how long they preserved their vitality +and truth? Who has not exerted an ingenious discernment to +ascertain how much of the generous feeling depicted was only for +mental amusement, a mere speculation; how much had really become +incorporated with the habitual acts of life? Detraction is never +idle in such cases; it seizes eagerly upon the foibles, the +neglect, the faults of those who have been degraded by any +weakness: alas, it omits nothing! It chases its prey, it +accumulates facts only to distort them, it arrogates to itself +the right of despising the inspiration to which it will grant no +authority or aim but to furnish amusement, denying it any claim +to guide our actions, our resolutions, our refusal, our consent! +Detraction knows well how to winnow history! Casting aside all +the good grain, it carefully gathers all the tares, to scatter +the black seed over the brilliant pages in which the purest +desires of the heart, the noblest dreams of the imagination are +found; and with the irony of assumed victory, demands what the +grain is worth which only germinates dearth and famine? Of what +value the vain words, which only nourish sterile feelings? Of +what use are excursions into realms in which no real fruit can +ever be gathered? of what possible importance are emotions and +enthusiasm, which always end in calculations of interest, +covering only with brilliant veil the covert struggles of egotism +and venal self-interest? + +With how much arrogant derision men given to such detraction, +contrast the noble thoughts of the poet, with his unworthy acts! +The high compositions of the artist, with his guilty frivolity! +What a haughty superiority they assume over the laborious merit +of the men of guileless honesty, whom they look upon as +crustacea, sheltered from temptation by the immobility of weak +organizations, as well as over the pride of those, who, believing +themselves superior to such temptations, do not, they assert, +succeed even as well as themselves in repudiating the pursuit of +material well being, the gratification of vanity, or the pleasure +of immediate enjoyment! What an easy triumph they win over the +hesitation, the doubt, the repugnance of those who would fain +cling to a belief in the possibility of the union of vivid +feelings, passionate impressions, intellectual gifts, imaginative +temperaments, with high integrity, pure lives, and courses of +conduct in perfect harmony with poetic ideals! + +It is therefore impossible not to feel the deepest sadness when +we meet with any fact which shows us the poet disobedient to the +inspiration of the Muses, those guardian angels of the man of +genius, who would willingly teach him to make of his own life the +most beautiful of poems. What disastrous doubts in the minds of +others, what profound discouragements, what melancholy apostasies +are induced by the faltering steps of the man of genius! And yet +it would be profanity to confound his errors in the same +anathema, hurled against the base vices of meanness, the +shameless effrontery of low crime! It would be sacrilege! If the +acts of the poet have sometimes denied the spirit of his song, +have not his songs still more powerfully denied his acts? May not +the limited influence of his private actions have been far more +than counterbalanced by the germs of creative virtues, scattered +profusely through his eloquent writings? Evil is contagious, but +good is truly fruitful! The poet, even while forcing his inner +convictions to give way to his personal interest, still +acknowledges and ennobles the sentiments which condemn himself; +such sentiments attain a far wider influence through his works +than can be exerted by his individual acts. Are not the number of +spirits which have been calmed, consoled, edified, through these +works, far greater than the number of those who have been injured +by the errors of his private life? Art is far more powerful than +the artist. His creations have a life independent of his +vacillating will; for they are revelations of the "immutable +beauty!" More durable than himself, they pass on from generation +to generation; let us hope that they may, through the blessings +of their widely spread influence, contain a virtual power of +redemption for the frequent errors of their gifted authors. If it +be indeed true that many of those who have immortalized their +sensibility and their aspirations, by robing them in the garb of +surpassing eloquence, have, nevertheless, stifled these high +aspirations, abused these quick sensibilities,--how many have +they not confirmed, strengthened and encouraged to pursue a noble +course, through the works created by their genius! A generous +indulgence towards them would be but justice! It is hard to be +forced to claim simple justice for them; unpleasant to be +constrained to defend those whom we wish to be admired, to excuse +those whom we wish to see venerated! + +With what exultant feelings of just pride may the friend and +artist remember a career in which there are no jarring +dissonances; no contradictions, for which he is forced to claim +indulgence; no errors, whose source must be found in palliation +of their existence; no extreme, to be accounted for as the +consequence of "excess of cause." How sweet it is to be able to +name one who has fully proved that it is not only apathetic +beings whom no fascination can attract, no illusion betray, who +are able to limit themselves within the strict routine of honored +and honorable laws, who may justly claim that elevation of soul, +which no reverse subdues, and which is never found in +contradiction with its better self! Doubly dear and doubly +honored must the memory of Chopin, in this respect, ever remain! +Dear to the friends and artists who have known him in his +lifetime, dear to the unknown friends who shall learn to love him +through his poetic song, as well as to the artists who, in +succeeding him, shall find their glory in being worthy of him! + +The character of Chopin, in none of its numerous folds, concealed +a single movement, a single impulse, which was not dictated by +the nicest sense of honor, the most delicate appreciation of +affection. Yet no nature was ever more formed to justify +eccentricity, whims, and abrupt caprices. His imagination was +ardent, his feelings almost violent, his physical organization +weak, irritable and sickly. Who can measure the amount of +suffering arising from such contrasts? It must have been bitter, +but he never allowed it to be seen! He kept the secret of his +torments, he veiled them from all eyes under the impenetrable +serenity of a haughty resignation. + +The delicacy of his heart and constitution imposed upon him the +woman's torture, that of enduring agonies never to be confessed, +thus giving to his fate some of the darker hues of feminine +destiny. Excluded, by the infirm state of his health, from the +exciting arena of ordinary activity, without any taste for the +useless buzzing, in which a few bees, joined with many wasps, +expend their superfluous strength, he built apart from all noisy +and frequented routes a secluded cell for himself. Neither +adventures, embarrassments, nor episodes, mark his life, which he +succeeded in simplifying, although surrounded by circumstances +which rendered such a result difficult of attainment. His own +feelings, his own impressions, were his events; more important in +his eyes than the chances and changes of external life. He +constantly gave lessons with regularity and assiduity; domestic +and daily tasks, they were given conscientiously and +satisfactorily. As the devout in prayer, so he poured out his +soul in his compositions, expressing in them those passions of +the heart, those unexpressed sorrows, to which the pious give +vent in their communion with their Maker. What they never say +except upon their knees, he said in his palpitating compositions; +uttering in the language of the tones those mysteries of passion +and of grief which man has been permitted to understand without +words, because there are no words adequate for their expression. + +The care taken by Chopin to avoid the zig-zags of life, to +eliminate from it all that was useless, to prevent its crumbling +into masses without form, has deprived his own course of +incident. The vague lines and indications surrounding his figure +like misty clouds, disappear under the touch which would strive +to follow or trace their outlines. He takes part in no actions, +no drama, no entanglements, no denouements. He exercised a +decisive influence upon no human being. His will never encroached +upon the desires of another, he never constrained any other +spirit, or crashed it under the domination of his own, He never +tyrannized over another heart, he never placed a conquering hand +upon the destiny of another being. He sought nothing; he would +have scorned to have made any demands. Like Tasso, he might say: + +Brama assai, poco spera, e nulla chiede. In compensation, he +escaped from all ties; from the affections which might have +influenced him, or led him into more tumultuous spheres. Ready to +yield all, he never gave himself. Perhaps he knew what exclusive +devotion, what love without limit he was worthy of inspiring, of +understanding, of sharing! Like other ardent and ambitions +natures, he may have thought if love and friendship are not all-- +they are nothing! Perhaps it would have been more painful for him +to have accepted a part, any thing less than all, than to have +relinquished all, and thus to have remained at least faithful to +his impossible Ideal! If these things have been so or not, none +ever knew, for he rarely spoke of love or friendship. He was not +exacting, like those whose high claims and just demands exceed +all that we possess to offer them. The most intimate of his +acquaintances never penetrated to that secluded fortress in which +the soul, absent from his common life, dwelt; a fortress which he +so well succeeded in concealing, that its very existence was +scarcely suspected. + +In his relations and intercourse with others, he always seemed +occupied in what interested them; he was cautions not to lead +them from the circle of their own personality, lest they should +intrude into his. If he gave up but little of his time to others, +at least of that which he did relinquish, he reserved none for +himself. No one ever asked him to give an account of his dreams, +his wishes, or his hopes. No one seemed to wish to know what he +sighed for, what he might have conquered, if his white and +tapering fingers could have linked the brazen chords of life to +the golden ones of his enchanted lyre! No one had leisure to +think of this in his presence. His conversation was rarely upon +subjects of any deep interest. He glided lightly over all, and as +he gave but little of his time, it was easily filled with the +details of the day. He was careful never to allow himself to +wander into digressions of which he himself might become the +subject. His individuality rarely excited the investigations of +curiosity, or awakened vivid scrutiny. He pleased too much to +excite much reflection. The ensemble of his person was +harmonious, and called for no especial commentary. His blue eye +was more spiritual than dreamy, his bland smile never writhed +into bitterness. The transparent delicacy of his complexion +pleased the eye, his fair hair was soft and silky, his nose +slightly aquiline, his bearing so distinguished, and his manners +stamped with so much high breeding, that involuntarily he was +always treated EN PRINCE. His gestures were many and graceful; +the tone of his voice was veiled, often stifled; his stature was +low, and his limbs slight. He constantly reminded us of a +convolvulus balancing its heaven-colored cup upon an incredibly +slight stem, the tissue of which is so like vapor that the +slightest contact wounds and tears the misty corolla. + +His manners in society possessed that serenity of mood which +distinguishes those whom no ennui annoys, because they expect no +interest. He was generally gay, his caustic spirit caught the +ridiculous rapidly and far below the surface at which it usually +strikes the eye. He displayed a rich vein of drollery in +pantomime. He often amused himself by reproducing the musical +formulas and peculiar tricks of certain virtuosi, in the most +burlesque and comic improvisations, in imitating their gestures, +their movements, in counterfeiting their faces with a talent +which instantaneously depicted their whole personality. His own +features would then become scarcely recognizable, he could force +the strangest metamorphoses upon them, but while mimicking the +ugly and grotesque, he never lost his own native grace. Grimace +was never carried far enough to disfigure him; his gayety was so +much the more piquant because he always restrained it within the +limits of perfect good taste, holding at a suspicious distance +all that could wound the most fastidious delicacy. He never made +use of an inelegant word, even in the moments of the most entire +familiarity; an improper merriment, a coarse jest would have been +shocking to him. + +Through a strict exclusion of all subjects relating to himself +from conversation, through a constant reserve with regard to his +own feelings, he always succeeded in leaving a happy impression +behind him. People in general like those who charm them without +causing them to fear that they will be called upon to render +aught in return for the amusement given, or that the pleasurable +excitement of gayety will be followed by the sadness of +melancholy confidences the sight of mournful faces, or the +inevitable reactions which occur in susceptible natures of which +we may say: Ubi mel, ibi fel. People generally like to keep such +"susceptible natures" at a distance; they dislike to be brought +into contact with their melancholy moods, though they do not +refuse a kind of respect to the mournful feelings caused by their +subtle reactions; indeed such changes possess for them the +attraction of the unknown and they are as ready to take delight +in the description of such changing caprices, as they are to +avoid their reality. The presence of Chopin was always feted. He +interested himself so vividly in all that was not himself, that +his own personality remained intact, unapproached and +unapproachable, under the polished and glassy surface upon which +it was impossible to gain footing. + +On some occasions, although very rarely, we have seen him deeply +agitated. We have seen him grow so pale and wan, that his +appearance was actually corpse-like. But even in moments of the +most intense emotion, he remained concentrated within himself. A +single instant for self-recovery always enabled him to veil the +secret of his first impression. However full of spontaneity his +bearing afterwards might seem to be, it was instantaneously the +effect of reflection, of a will which governed the strange +conflict of emotional and moral energy with conscious physical +debility; a conflict whose strange contrasts were forever warring +vividly within. The dominion exercised over the natural violence +of his character reminds us of the melancholy force of those +beings who seek their strength in isolation and entire self- +control, conscious of the uselessness of their vivid indignation +and vexation, and too jealous of the mysteries of their passions +to betray them gratuitously. + +He could pardon in the most noble manner. No rancor remained in +his heart toward those who had wounded him, though such wounds +penetrated deeply in his soul, and fermented there in vague pain +and internal suffering, so that long after the exciting cause had +been effaced from his memory, he still experienced the secret +torture. By dint of constant effort, in spite of his acute and +tormenting sensibilities, he subjected his feelings to the rule +rather of what ought to be, than of what is; thus he was grateful +for services proceeding rather from good intentions than from a +knowledge of what would have been agreeable to him; from +friendship which wounded him, because not aware of his acute but +concealed susceptibility. Nevertheless the wounds caused by such +awkward miscomprehension are, of all others, the most difficult +for nervous temperaments to bear. Condemned to repress their +vexation, such natures are excited by degrees to a state of +constantly gnawing irritability, which they can never attribute +to the true cause. It would be a gross mistake to imagine that +this irritation existed without provocation. But as a dereliction +from what appeared to him to be the most honorable course of +conduct was a temptation which he was never called upon to +resist, because in all probability it never presented itself to +him; so he never, in the presence of the more vigorous and +therefore more brusque and positive individualities than his own, +unveiled the shudder, if repulsion be too strong a term, caused +by their contact or association. + +The reserve which marked his intercourse with others, extended to +all subjects to which the fanaticism of opinion can attach. His +own sentiments could only be estimated by that which he did not +do in the narrow limits of his activity. His patriotism was +revealed in the course taken by his genius, in the choice of his +friends, in the preferences given to his pupils, and in the +frequent and great services which he rendered to his compatriots; +but we cannot remember that he took any pleasure in the +expression of this feeling. If he sometimes entered upon the +topic of politics, so vividly attacked, so warmly defended, so +frequently discussed in Prance, it was rather to point out what +he deemed dangerous or erroneous in the opinions advanced by +others than to win attention for his own. In constant connection +with some of the most brilliant politicians of the day, he knew +how to limit the relations between them to a personal attachment +entirely independent of political interests. + +Democracy presented to his view an agglomeration of elements too +heterogeneous, too restless, wielding too much savage power, to +win his sympathies. The entrance of social and political +questions into the arena of popular discussion was compared, more +than twenty years ago, to a new and bold incursion of barbarians. +Chopin was peculiarly and painfully struck by the terror which +this comparison awakened. He despaired of obtaining the safety of +Rome from these modern Attilas, he feared the destruction of art, +its monuments, its refinements, its civilization; in a word, he +dreaded the loss of the elegant, cultivated if somewhat indolent +ease described by Horace. Would the graceful elegancies of life, +the high culture of the arts, indeed be safe in the rude and +devastating hands of the new barbarians? He followed at a +distance the progress of events, and an acuteness of perception, +which he would scarcely have been supposed to possess, often +enabled him to predict occurrences which were not anticipated +even by the best informed. But though such observations escaped +him, he never developed them. His concise remarks attracted no +attention until time proved their truth. His good sense, full of +acuteness, had early persuaded him of the perfect vacuity of the +greater part of political orations, of theological discussions, +of philosophic digressions. He began early to practice the +favorite maxim of a man of great distinction, whom we have often +heard repeat a remark dictated by the misanthropic wisdom of age, +which was then startling to our inexperienced impetuosity, but +which has since frequently struck us by its melancholy truth: +"You will be persuaded one day as I am," (said the Marquis de +Noailles to the young people whom he honored with his attention, +and who were becoming heated in some naive discussions of +differing opinions,) 'that it is scarcely possible to talk about +any thing to any body." (Qu'il n'y a guere moyen de causer de +quoi que ce soit, avec qui que ce soit.) + +Sincerely religious, and attached to Catholicity, Chopin never +touched upon this subject, but held his faith without attracting +attention to it. One might have been acquainted with him for a +long time, without knowing exactly what his religious opinion +were. Perhaps to console his inactive hand an reconcile it with +his lute, he persuaded himself to think: Il mondo va da se. We +have frequently watched him during the progress of long, +animated, and stormy discussions, in which he would take no part. +In the excitement of the debate he was forgotten by the speakers, +but we have often neglected to follow the chain of their +reasoning, to fix our attention upon the features of Chopin, +which were almost imperceptibly contracted when subjects touching +upon the most important conditions of our existence were +discussed with such eagerness and ardor, that it might have been +thought our fates were to be instantly decided by the result of +the debate. At such times, he appeared to us like a passenger on +board of a vessel, driven and tossed by tempests upon the +stormful waves, thinking of his distant country, watching the +horizon, the stars, the manoeuvres of the sailors, counting their +fatal mistakes, without possessing in himself sufficient force to +seize a rope, or the energy requisite to haul in a fluttering +sail. + +On one single subject he relinquished his premeditated silence, +his cherished neutrality. In the cause of art he broke through +his reserve, he never abdicated upon this topic the explicit +enunciation of his opinions. He applied himself with great +perseverance to extend the limits of his influence upon this +subject. It was a tacit confession that he considered himself +legitimately possessed of the authority of a great artist. In +questions which he dignified by his competence, he never left any +doubt with regard to the nature of his opinions. During several +years his appeals were full of impassioned ardor, but later, the +triumph of his opinions having diminished the interest of his +role, he sought no further occasion to place himself as leader, +as the bearer of any banner. In the only occurrence in which he +took part in the conflict of parties, he gave proof of opinions, +absolute, tenacious, and inflexible, as those which rarely come +to the light usually are. + +Shortly after his arrival in Paris, in 1832, a new school was +formed both in literature and music, and youthful talent +appeared, which shook off with eclat the yoke of ancient +formulas. The scarcely lulled political effervescence of the +first years of the revolution of July, passed into questions upon +art and letters, which attracted the attention and interest of +all minds. ROMANTICISM was the order of the day; they fought with +obstinacy for and against it. What truce could there be between +those who would not admit the possibility of writing in any other +than the already established manner, and those who thought that +the artist should be allowed to choose such forms as he deemed +best suited for the expression of his ideas; that the rule of +form should be found in the agreement of the chosen form with the +sentiments to be expressed, every different shade of feeling +requiring of course a different mode of expression? The former +believed in the existence of a permanent form, whose perfection +represented absolute Beauty. But in admitting that the great +masters had attained the highest limits in art, had reached +supreme perfection, they left to the artists who succeeded them +no other glory than the hope of approaching these models, more or +less closely, by imitation, thus frustrating all hope of ever +equalling them, because the perfecting of any process can never +rival the merit of its invention. The latter denied that the +immaterial Beautiful could have a fixed and absolute form. The +different forms which had appeared in the history of art, seemed +to them like tents spread in the interminable route of the ideal; +mere momentary halting places which genius attains from epoch to +epoch, and beyond which the inheritors of the past should strive +to advance. The former wished to restrict the creations of times +and natures the most dissimilar, within the limits of the same +symmetrical frame; the latter claimed for all writers the liberty +of creating their own mode, accepting no other rules than those +which result from the direct relation of sentiment and form, +exacting only that the form should be adequate to the expression +of the sentiment. However admirable the existing models might be, +they did not appear to them to have exhausted all the range of +sentiments upon which art might seize, or all the forms which it +might advantageously use. Not contented with the mere excellence +of form, they sought it so far only as its perfection is +indispensable for the complete revelation of the idea, for they +were not ignorant that the sentiment is maimed if the form remain +imperfect, any imperfection in it, like an opaque veil, +intercepting the raying of the pure idea. Thus they elevated what +had otherwise been the mere work of the trade, into the sphere of +poetic inspiration. They enjoined upon genius and patience the +task of inventing a form which would satisfy the exactions of the +inspiration. They reproached their adversaries with attempting to +reduce inspiration to the bed of Procrustes, because they refused +to admit that there are sentiments which cannot be expressed in +forms which have been determined upon beforehand, and of thus +robbing art, in advance even of their creation, of all works +which might attempt the introduction of newly awakened ideas, +newly clad in new forms; forms and ideas both naturally arising +from the naturally progressive development of the human spirit, +the improvement of the instruments, and the consequent increase +of the material resources of art. + +Those who saw the flames of Genius devour the old worm-eaten +crumbling skeletons, attached themselves to the musical school of +which the most gifted, the most brilliant, the most daring +representative, was Berlioz. Chopin joined this school. He +persisted most strenuously in freeing himself from the servile +formulas of conventional style, while he earnestly repudiated the +charlatanism which sought to replace the old abuses only by the +introduction of new ones. + +During the years which this campaign of Romanticism lasted, in +which some of the trial blows were master-strokes, Chopin +remained invariable in his predilections, as well as in his +repulsions. He did not admit the least compromise with those who, +in his opinion, did not sufficiently represent progress, and who, +in their refusal to relinquish the desire of displaying art for +the profit of the trade, in their pursuit of transitory effects, +of success won only from the astonishment of the audience, gave +no proof of sincere devotion to progress. He broke the ties which +he had contracted with respect when he felt restricted by them, +or bound too closely to the shore by cordage which he knew to be +decayed. He obstinately refused, on the other hand, to form ties +with the young artists whose success, which he deemed +exaggerated, elevated a certain kind of merit too highly. He +never gave the least praise to any thing which he did not believe +to be a real conquest for art, or which did not evince a serious +conception of the task of an artist. He did not wish to be lauded +by any party, to be aided by the manoeuvres of any faction, or by +the concessions made by any schools in the persons of their +chiefs. In the midst of jealousies, encroachments, forfeitures, +and invasions of the different branches of art, negotiations, +treaties, and contracts have been introduced, like the means and +appliances of diplomacy, with all the artifices inseparable from +such a course. In refusing the support of any accessory aid for +his productions, he proved that he confidently believed that +their own beauty would ensure their appreciation, and that he did +not struggle to facilitate their immediate reception. + +He supported our struggles, at that time so full of uncertainty, +when we met more sages shaking their heads, than glorious +adversaries, with his calm and unalterable conviction. He aided +us with opinions so fixed that neither weariness nor artifice +could shake them, with a rare immutability of will, and that +efficacious assistance which the creation of meritorious works +always brings to a struggling cause, when it can claim them as +its own. He mingled so many charms, so much moderation, so much +knowledge with his daring innovations, that the prompt admiration +he inspired fully justified the confidence he placed in his own +genius. The solid studies which he had made, the reflective +habits of his youth, the worship for classic models in which he +had been educated, preserved him from losing his strength in +blind gropings, in doubtful triumphs, as has happened to more +than one partisan of the new ideas. His studious patience in the +elaboration of his works sheltered him from the critics, who +envenomed the dissensions by seizing upon those easy and +insignificant victories due to omissions, and the negligence of +inadvertence. Early trained to the exactions and restrictions of +rules, having produced compositions filled with beauty when +subjected to all their fetters, he never shook them off without +an appropriate cause and after due reflection. In virtue of his +principles he always progressed, but without being led into +exaggeration or lured by compromise; he willingly relinquished +theoretic formulas to pursue their results. Less occupied with +the disputes of the schools and their terms, than in producing +himself the best argument, a finished work, he was fortunate +enough to avoid personal enmities and vexatious accommodations. + +Chopin had that reverential worship for art which characterized +the first masters of the middle ages, but in expression and +bearing he was more simple, modern, and less ecstatic. As for +them, so art was for him, a high and holy vocation. Like them he +was proud of his election for it, and honored it with devout +piety. This feeling was revealed at the hour of his death through +an occurrence, the significance of which is more fully explained +by a knowledge of the manners prevalent in Poland. By a custom +which still exists, although it is now falling into disuse, the +Poles often chose the garments in which they wished to be buried, +and which were frequently prepared a long time in advance. +[Footnote: General K----, the author of Julie and Adolphe, a +romance imitated from the New Heloise which was much in vogue at +the time of its publication, and who was still living in Volhynia +at the date of our visit to Poland, though more than eighty years +of age, in conformity with the custom spoken of above, had caused +his coffin to be made, and for more than thirty years it had +always stood at the door of his chamber.] Their dearest wishes +were thus expressed for the last time, their inmost feelings were +thus at the hour of death betrayed. Monastic robes were +frequently chosen by worldly men, the costumes of official +charges were selected or refused as the remembrances connected +with them were glorious or painful. Chopin, who, although among +the first of contemporary artists, had given the fewest concerts, +wished, notwithstanding, to be borne to the grave in the clothes +which he had worn on such occasions. A natural and profound +feeling springing from the inexhaustible sources of art, without +doubt dictated this dying request, when having scrupulously +fulfilled the last duties of a Christian, he left all of earth +which he could not bear with him to the skies. He had linked his +love for art and his faith in it with immortality long before the +approach of death, and as he robed himself for his long sleep in +the grave, he gave, as was customary with him, by a mute symbol, +the last touching proof of the conviction he had preserved intact +during the whole course of his life. Faithful to himself, he died +adoring art in its mystic greatness, its highest revelations. + +In retiring from the turmoil of society, Chopin concentrated his +cares and affections upon the circle of his own family and his +early acquaintances. Without any interruption he preserved close +relations with them; never ceasing to keep them up with the +greatest care. His sister Louise was especially dear to him, a +resemblance in the character of their minds, the bent of their +feelings, bound them closely to each other. Louise frequently +came from Warsaw to Paris to see him. She spent the last three +months of his life with the brother she loved, watching over him +with undying affection. Chopin kept up a regular correspondence +with the members of his own family, but only with them. It was +one of his peculiarities to write letters to no others; it might +almost have been thought that he had made a vow to write to no +strangers. It was curious enough to see him resort to all kinds +of expedients to escape the necessity of tracing the most +insignificant note. Many times he has traversed Paris from one +end to the other, to decline an invitation to dinner, or to give +some trivial information, rather than write a few lines which +would have spared him all this trouble and loss of time. His +handwriting was quite unknown to the greatest number of his +friends. It is said he sometimes departed from this custom in +favor of his beautiful countrywomen, some of whom possess several +of his notes written in Polish. This infraction of what seemed to +be a law with him, may be attributed to the pleasure he took in +the use of this language. He always used it with the people of +his own country, and loved to translate its most expressive +phrases. He was a good French scholar, as the Sclaves generally +are. In consequence of his French origin, the language had been +taught him with peculiar care. But he did not like it, he did not +think it sufficiently sonorous, and he deemed its genius cold. +This opinion is very prevalent among the Poles, who, although +speaking it with great facility, often better than their native +tongue, and frequently using it in their intercourse with each +other, yet complain to those who do not speak Polish of the +impossibility of rendering the thousand ethereal and shifting +modes of thought in any other idiom. In their opinion it is +sometimes dignity, sometimes grace, sometimes passion, which is +wanting in the French language. If they are asked the meaning of +a word or a phrase which they may have cited in Polish, the reply +invariably is: "Oh, that cannot be translated!" Then follow +explanations, serving as comments to the exclamation, of all the +subtleties, all the shades of meaning, all the delicacies +contained in THE NOT TO BE TRANSLATED words. We have cited some +examples which, joined to others, induce us to believe that this +language has the advantage of making images of abstract nouns, +and that in the course of its development, through the poetic +genius of the nation, it has been enabled to establish striking +and just relations between ideas by etymologies, derivations, and +synonymes. Colored reflections of light and shade are thus thrown +upon all expressions, so that they necessarily call into +vibration through the mind the correspondent tone of a third, +which modulates the thought into a major or minor mode. The +richness of the language always permits the choice of the mode, +but this very richness may become a difficulty. It is not +impossible that the general use of foreign tongues in Poland may +be attributed to indolence of mind or want of application; may be +traced to a desire to escape the necessary labor of acquiring +that mastery of diction indispensable in a language so full of +sudden depths, of laconic energy, that it is very difficult, if +not quite impossible, to support in it the commonplace. The vague +agreements of badly defined ideas cannot be compressed in the +nervous strength of its grammatical forms; the thought, if it be +really low, cannot be elevated from its debasement or poverty; if +it really soar above the commonplace, it requires a rare +precision of terms not to appear uncouth or fantastic. In +consequence of this, in proportion to the works published, the +Polish literature should be able to show a greater number of +chefs-d'oeuvre than can be done in any other language. He who +ventures to use this tongue, must feel himself already master. + +[Footnote: It cannot be reproached with a want of harmony or +musical charm. The harshness of a language does not always and +absolutely depend upon the number of consonants, but rather upon +the manner of their association. We might even assert, that in +consequence of the absence of well-determined and strongly marked +sounds, some languages have a dull and cold coloring. It is the +frequent repetition of certain consonants which gives shadow, +rhythm, and vigor to a tongue; the vowels imparting only a kind +of light clear hue, which requires to be brought out by deeper +shades. It is the sharp, uncouth, or unharmonious clashing of +heterogeneous consonants which strikes the ear painfully. It is +true the Sclavic languages make use of many consonants, but their +connection is generally sonorous, sometimes pleasant to the ear, +and scarcely ever entirely discordant, even when the combinations +are more striking than agreeable. The quality of the sounds is +rich, full, and varied. They are not straitened and contracted as +if produced in a narrow medium, but extending through a +considerable register, range through a variety of intonations. +The letter L, almost impossible for those to pronounce, who have +not acquired the pronunciation in their infancy, has nothing +harsh in its sound. The ear receives from it an impression +similar to that which is made upon the fingers by the touch of a +thick woolen velvet, rough, but at the same time, yielding. The +union of jarring consonants being rare, and the assonances easily +multiplied, the same comparison might be employed to the ensemble +of the effect produced by these idioms upon foreigners. Many +words occur in Polish which imitate the sound of the thing +designated by them. The frequent repetition of CH, (h aspirated,) +of SZ, (CH in French,) of RZ, of CZ, so frightful to a profane +eye, have however nothing barbaric in their sounds, being +pronounced nearly like GEAI, and TCHE, and greatly facilitate +imitations of the sense by the sound. The word DZWIEK, (read +DZWIINQUE,) meaning sound, offers a characteristic example of +this; it would be difficult to find a word which would reproduce +more accurately the sensation which a diapason makes upon the +ear. Among the consonants accumulated in groups, producing very +different sounds, sometimes metallic, sometimes buzzing, hissing +or rumbling, many diphthongs and vowels are mingled, which +sometimes become slightly nasal, the A and E being sounded as ON +and IN, (in French,) when they are accompanied by a cedilla. In +juxtaposition with the E, (TSE,) which is pronounced with great +softness, sometimes C, (TSIE,) the accented S is almost warbled. +The Z has three sounds: the Z, (JAIS,) the Z, (ZED,) and the Z, +(ZIED). The Y forms a vowel of a muffled tone, which, as the L, +cannot be represented by any equivalent sound in French, and +which like it gives a variety of ineffable shades to the +language. These fine and light elements enable the Polish women +to assume a lingering and singing accent, which they usually +transport into other tongues. When the subjects are serious or +melancholy, after such recitatives or improvised lamentations, +they have a sort of lisping infantile manner of speaking, which +they vary by light silvery laughs, little interjectional cries, +short musical pauses upon the higher notes, from which they +descend by one knows not what chromatic scale of demi and quarter +tones to rest upon some low note; and again pursue the varied, +brusque and original modulations which astonish the ear not +accustomed to such lovely warblings, to which they sometimes give +that air of caressing irony, of cunning mockery, peculiar to the +song of some birds. They love to ZINZILYLER, and charming +changes, piquant intervals, unexpected cadences naturally find +place in this fondling prattle, making the language far more +sweet and caressing when spoken by the women, than it is in the +mouths of the men. The men indeed pride themselves upon speaking +it with elegance, impressing upon it a masculine sonorousness, +which is peculiarly adapted to the energetic movements of manly +eloquence, formerly so much cultivated in Poland. Poetry commands +such a diversity of prosodies, of rhymes, of rhythms, such an +abundance of assonances from these rich and varied materials, +that it is almost possible to follow MUSICALLY the feelings and +scenes which it depicts, not only in mere expressions in which +the sound repeats the sense, but also in long declamations. The +analogy between the Polish and Russian, has been compared to that +which obtains between the Latin and Italian. The Russian language +is indeed more mellifluous, more lingering, more caressing, +fuller of sighs than the Polish. Its cadencing is peculiarly +fitted for song. The finer poems, such as those of Zukowski and +Pouchkin, seem to contain a melody already designated in the +metre of the verses; for example, it would appear quite possible +to detach an ARIOSO or a sweet CANTIABLE from some of the stanzas +of LE CHALE NOIR, or the TALISMAN. The ancient Sclavonic, which +is the language of the Eastern Church, possesses great majesty. +More guttural than the idioms which have arisen from it, it is +severe and monotonous yet of great dignity, like the Byzantine +paintings preserved in the worship to which it is consecrated. It +has throughout the characteristics of a sacred language which has +only been used for the expression of one feeling and has never +been modulated or fashioned by profane wants.] + +Chopin mingled a charming grace with all the intercourse which he +held with his relatives. Not satisfied with limiting his whole +correspondence to them alone, he profited by his stay in Paris to +procure for them the thousand agreeable surprises given by the +novelties, the bagatelles, the little gifts which charm through +their beauty, or attract as being the first seen of their kind. +He sought for all that he had reason to believe would please his +friends in Warsaw, adding constant presents to his many letters. +It was his wish that his gifts should be preserved, that through +the memories linked with them he might be often remembered by +those to whom they were sent. He attached the greatest +importance, on his side, to all the evidences of their affection +for him. To receive news or some mark of their remembrance, was +always a festival for him. He never shared this pleasure with any +one, but it was plainly visible in his conduct. He took the +greatest care of every thing that came from his distant friends, +the least of their gifts was precious to him, he never allowed +others to make use of them, indeed he was visibly uneasy if they +touched them. + +Material elegance was as natural to him as mental; this was +evinced in the objects with which he surrounded himself, as well +as in the aristocratic grace of his manners. He was passionately +fond of flowers. Without aiming at the brilliant luxury with +which, at that epoch, some of the celebrities in Paris decorated +their apartments, he knew how to keep upon this point, as well as +in his style of dress, the instinctive line of perfect propriety. + +Not wishing the course of his life, his thoughts, his time, to be +associated or shackled in any way by the pursuits of others, he +preferred the society of ladies, as less apt to force him into +subsequent relations. He willingly spent whole evenings in +playing blind man's buff with the young people, telling them +little stories to make them break into the silvery laughs of +youth, sweeter than the song of the nightingale. He was fond of a +life in the country, or the life of the chateau. He was ingenious +in varying its amusements, in multiplying its enjoyments. He also +loved to compose there. Many of his best works written in such +moments, perhaps embalm and hallow the memories of his happiest +days. + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +Birth and Early Life of Chopin--National Artists--Chopin embodies +in himself the poetic sense of his whole nation--Opinion of +Beethoven. + + + +CHOPIN was born in 1810, at Zelazowa-Wola, near Warsaw. Unlike +most other children, he could not, during his childhood, remember +his own age, and the date of his birth was only fixed in his +memory by a watch given him in 1820 by Madame Catalani, which +bore the following inscription: "Madame Catalani to Frederic +Chopin, aged ten years." Perhaps the presentiments of the artist +gave to the child a foresight of his future! Nothing +extraordinary marked the course of his boyhood; his internal +development traversed but few phases, and gave but few +manifestations. As he was fragile and sickly, the attention of +his family was concentrated upon his health. Doubtless it was +from this cause that he acquired his habits of affability, his +patience under suffering, his endurance of every annoyance with a +good grace; qualities which he early acquired from his wish to +calm the constant anxiety that was felt with regard to him. No +precocity of his faculties, no precursory sign of remarkable +development, revealed, in his early years, his future superiority +of soul, mind, or capacity. The little creature was seen +suffering indeed, but always trying to smile, patient and +apparently happy and his friends were so glad that he did not +become moody or morose, that they were satisfied to cherish his +good qualities, believing that he opened his heart to them +without reserve, and gave to them all his secret thoughts. + +But there are souls among us who resemble rich travelers thrown +among simple herdsmen, loading them with gifts during their +sojourn among them, truly not at all in proportion to their own +wealth, yet which are quite sufficient to astonish the poor +hosts, and to spread riches and happiness in the midst of such +simple habits. It is true that such souls give as much affection, +it may be more, than those who surround them; every body is +pleased with them, they are supposed to have been generous, when +the truth is that in comparison with their boundless wealth they +have not been liberal, and have given but little of their store +of internal treasure. + +The habits in which Chopin grew up, in which he was rocked as in +a form-strengthening cradle, were those peculiar to calm, +occupied, and tranquil characters. These early examples of +simplicity, piety, and integrity, always remained the nearest and +dearest to him. Domestic virtues, religious habits, pious +charities, and rigid modesty, surrounded him from his infancy +with that pure atmosphere in which his rich imagination assumed +the velvety tenderness characterizing the plants which have never +been exposed to the dust of the beaten highways. + +He commenced the study of music at an early age, being but nine +years old when he began to learn it. Shortly after he was +confided to a passionate disciple of Sebastian Bach, Ziwna, who +directed his studies during many years in accordance with the +most classic models. It is not to be supposed that when he +embraced the career of a musician, any prestige of vain glory, +any fantastic perspective, dazzled his eyes, or excited the hopes +of his family. In order to become a skillful and able master, he +studied seriously and conscientiously, without dreaming of the +greater or less amount of fame he would be able to obtain as the +fruit of his lessons and assiduous labors. + +In consequence of the generous and discriminating protection +always granted by Prince Antoine Radziwill to the arts, and to +genius, which he had the power of recognizing both as a man of +intellect and as a distinguished artist; Chopin was early placed +in one of the first colleges in Warsaw. Prince Radziwill did not +cultivate music only as a simple dilettante, he was also a +remarkable composer. His beautiful rendering of Faust, published +some years ago, and executed at fixed epochs by the Academy of +Song at Berlin, appears to us far superior to any other attempts +which have been made to transport it into the realm of music, by +its close internal appropriateness to the peculiar genius of the +poem. Assisting the limited means of the family of Chopin, the +Prince made him the inestimable gift of a finished education, of +which no part had been neglected. Through the person of a friend, +M. Antoine Korzuchowski, whose own elevated mind enabled him to +understand the requirements of an artistic career, the Prince +always paid his pension from his first entrance into college, +until the completion of his studies. From this time until the +death of Chopin, M. Antoine Korzuchowski always held the closest +relations of friendship with him. + +In speaking of this period of his life, it gives us pleasure to +quote the charming lines which may be applied to him more justly, +than other pages in which his character is believed to have been +traced, but in which we only find it distorted, and in such false +proportions as are given in a profile drawn upon an elastic +tissue, which has been pulled athwart, biased by contrary +movements during the whole progress of the sketch. [Footnote: +These extracts, with many that succeed them, in which the +character of Chopin is described, are taken from Lucrezia +Floriani, a novel by Madame Sand, in which the leading characters +are said to be intended to represent Liszt, Chopin, and herself.- +-Note of the Translator.] + + + +"Gentle, sensitive, and very lovely, at fifteen years of age he +united the charms of adolescence with the gravity of a more +mature age. He was delicate both in body and in mind. Through the +want of muscular development he retained a peculiar beauty, an +exceptional physiognomy, which had, if we may venture so to +speak, neither age nor sex. It was not the bold and masculine air +of a descendant of a race of Magnates, who knew nothing but +drinking, hunting and making war; neither was it the effeminate +loveliness of a cherub couleur de rose. It was more like the +ideal creations with which the poetry of the middle ages adorned +the Christian temples: a beautiful angel, with a form pure and +slight as a young god of Olympus, with a face like that of a +majestic woman filled with a divine sorrow, and as the crown of +all, an expression at the same time tender and severe, chaste and +impassioned. + +"This expression revealed the depths of his being. Nothing could +be purer, more exalted than his thoughts; nothing more tenacious, +more exclusive, more intensely devoted, than his +affections....But he could only understand that which closely +resembled himself....Every thing else only existed for him as a +kind of annoying dream, which he tried to shake off while living +with the rest of the world. Always plunged in reveries, realities +displeased him. As a child he could never touch a sharp +instrument without injuring himself with it; as a man, he never +found himself face to face with a being different from himself +without being wounded by the living contradiction... + +"He was preserved from constant antagonism by a voluntary and +almost inveterate habit of never seeing or hearing any thing +which was disagreeable to him, unless it touched upon his +personal affections. The beings who did not think as he did, were +only phantoms in his eyes. As his manners were polished and +graceful, it was easy to mistake his cold disdain on +insurmountable aversion for benevolent courtesy... + +"He never spent an hour in open-hearted expansiveness, without +compensating for it by a season of reserve. The moral causes +which induced such reserve were too slight, too subtle, to be +discovered by the naked eye. It was necessary to use the +microscope to read his soul, into which so little of the light of +the living ever penetrated....... + +"With such a character, it seems strange he should have had +friends: yet he had them, not only the friends of his mother who +esteemed him as the noble son of a noble mother, but friends of +his own age, who loved him ardently, and who were loved by him in +return..... He had formed a high ideal of friendship; in the age +of early illusions he loved to think that his friends and +himself, brought up nearly in the same manner, with the same +principles, would never change their opinions, and that no formal +disagreement could ever occur between them....... + +"He was externally so affectionate, his education had been so +finished, and he possessed so much natural grace, that he had the +gift of pleasing even where he was not personally known. His +exceeding loveliness was immediately prepossessing, the delicacy +of his constitution rendered him interesting in the eyes of +women, the full yet graceful cultivation of his mind, the sweet +and captivating originality of his conversation, gained for him +the attention of the most enlightened men. Men less highly +cultivated, liked him for his exquisite courtesy of manner. They +were so much the more pleased with this, because, in their +simplicity, they never imagined it was the graceful fulfillment +of a duty into which no real sympathy entered. + +"Could such people have divined the secrets of his mystic +character, they would have said he was more amiable than loving-- +and with respect to them, this would have been true. But how +could they have known that his real, though rare attachments, +were so vivid, so profound, so undying?... + +"Association with him in the details of life was delightful. He +filled all the forms of friendship with an unaccustomed charm, +and when he expressed his gratitude, it was with that deep +emotion which recompenses kindness with usury. He willingly +imagined that he felt himself every day dying; he accepted the +cares of a friend, hiding from him, lest it should render him +unhappy, the little time he expected to profit by them. He +possessed great physical courage, and if he did not accept with +the heroic recklessness of youth the idea of approaching death, +at least he cherished the expectation of it with a kind of bitter +pleasure."... + +The attachment which he felt for a young lady, who never ceased +to feel a reverential homage for him, may be traced back to his +early youth. The tempest which in one of its sudden gusts tore +Chopin from his native soil, like a bird dreamy and abstracted +surprised by the storm upon the branches of a foreign tree, +sundered the ties of this first love, and robbed the exile of a +faithful and devoted wife, as well as disinherited him of a +country. He never found the realization of that happiness of +which he had once dreamed with her, though he won the glory of +which perhaps he had never thought. Like the Madonnas of Luini +whose looks are so full of earnest tenderness, this young girl +was sweet and beautiful. She lived on calm, but sad. No doubt the +sadness increased in that pure soul when she knew that no +devotion tender as her own, ever came to sweeten the existence of +one whom she had adored with that ingenuous submission, that +exclusive devotion, that entire self-forgetfulness, naive and +sublime, which transform the woman into the angel. + +Those who are gifted by nature with the beautiful, yet fatal +energies of genius, and who are consequently forbidden to +sacrifice the care of their glory to the exactions of their love, +are probably right in fixing limits to the abnegation of their +own personality. But the divine emotions due to absolute +devotion, may be regretted even in the presence of the most +sparkling endowments of genius. The utter submission, the +disinterestedness of love, in absorbing the existence, the will, +the very name of the woman in that of the man she loves, can +alone authorize him in believing that he has really shared his +life with her, and that his honorable love for her has given her +that which no chance lover, accidentally met, could have rendered +her: peace of heart and the honor of his name. + +This young Polish lady, unfortunately separated from Chopin, +remained faithful to his memory, to all that was left of him. She +devoted herself to his parents. The father of Chopin would never +suffer the portrait which she had drawn of him in the days of +hope, to be replaced by another, though from the hands of a far +more skilful artist. We saw the pale cheeks of this melancholy +woman, glow like alabaster when a light shines through its snow, +many years afterwards, when in gazing upon this picture, she met +the eyes of his father. + +The amiable character of Chopin won for him while at college the +love of his fellow collegiates, particularly that of Prince +Czetwertynski and his brothers. He often spent the vacations and +days of festival with them at the house of their mother, the +Princess Louise Czetwertynska, who cultivated music with a true +feeling for its beauties, and who soon discovered the poet in the +musician. Perhaps she was the first who made Chopin feel the +charm of being understood, as well as heard. The Princess was +still beautiful, and possessed a sympathetic soul united to many +high qualities. Her saloon was one of the most brilliant and +RECHERCHE in Warsaw. Chopin often met there the most +distinguished women of the city. He became acquainted there with +those fascinating beauties who had acquired a European celebrity, +when Warsaw was so famed for the brilliancy, elegance, and grace +of its society. He was introduced by the Princess Czetwertynska +to the Princess of Lowicz; by her he was presented to the +Countess Zamoyska; to the Princess Radziwill; to the Princess +Jablonowska; enchantresses, surrounded by many beauties little +less illustrious. + +While still very young, he has often cadenced their steps to the +chords of his piano. In these meetings, which might almost be +called assemblies of fairies, he may often have discovered, +unveiled in the excitement of the dance, the secrets of +enthusiastic and tender souls. He could easily read the hearts +which were attracted to him by friendship and the grace of his +youth, and thus was enabled early to learn of what a strange +mixture of leaven and cream of roses, of gunpowder and tears of +angels, the poetic Ideal of his nation is formed. When his +wandering fingers ran over the keys, suddenly touching some +moving chords, he could see how the furtive tears coursed down +the cheeks of the loving girl, or the young neglected wife; how +they moistened the eyes of the young men, enamored of, and eager +for glory. Can we not fancy some young beauty asking him to play +a simple prelude, then softened by the tones, leaning her rounded +arm upon the instrument to support her dreaming head, while she +suffered the young artist to divine in the dewy glitter of the +lustrous eyes, the song sung by her youthful heart? Did not +groups, like sportive nymphs, throng around him, and begging him +for some waltz of giddying rapidity, smile upon him with such +wildering joyousness, as to put him immediately in unison with +the gay spirit of the dance? He saw there the chaste grace of his +brilliant countrywomen displayed in the Mazourka, and the +memories of their witching fascination, their winning reserve, +were never effaced from his soul. + +In an apparently careless manner, but with that involuntary and +subdued emotion which accompanies the remembrance of our early +delights, he would sometimes remark that he first understood the +whole meaning of the feeling which is contained in the melodies +and rhythms of national dances, upon the days in which he saw +these exquisite fairies at some magic fete, adorned with that +brilliant coquetry which sparkles like electric fire, and +flashing from heart to heart, heightens love, blinds it, or robs +it of all hope. And when the muslins of India, which the Greeks +would have said were woven of air, were replaced by the heavier +folds of Venetian velvet, and the perfumed roses and sculptured +petals of the hot-house camellias gave way to the gorgeous +bouquets of the jewel caskets; it often seemed to him that +however good the orchestra might be, the dancers glided less +rapidly over the floor, that their laugh was less sonorous, their +eye less luminous, than upon those evenings in which the dance +had been suddenly improvised, because he had succeeded in +electrifying his audience through the magic of his performance. +If he electrified them, it was because he repeated, truly in +hieroglyphic tones, but yet easily understood by the initiated, +the secret whispers which his delicate ear had caught from the +reserved yet impassioned hearts, which indeed resemble the +Fraxinella, that plant so full of burning and vivid life, that +its flowers are always surrounded by a gas as subtle as +inflammable. He had seen celestial visions glitter, and illusory +phantoms fade in this sublimated air; he had divined the meaning +of the swarms of passions which are forever buzzing in it; he +knew how these hurtling emotions fluttered through the reckless +human soul; how, notwithstanding their ceaseless agitation and +excitement, they could intermingle, interweave, intercept each +other, without once disturbing the exquisite proportions of +external grace, the imposing and classic charm of manner. It was +thus that he learned to prize so highly the noble and measured +manners which preserve delicacy from insipidity; petty cares from +wearisome trifling; conventionalism from tyranny; good taste from +coldness; and which never permit the passions to resemble, as is +often the case where such careful culture does not rule, those +stony and calcareous vegetables whose hard and brittle growth +takes a name of such sad contrast: flowers of iron (FLOS FERRI). + +His early introduction into this society, in which regularity of +form did not conceal petrifaction of heart, induced Chopin to +think that the CONVENANCES and courtesies of manner, in place of +being only a uniform mask, repressing the character of each +individual under the symmetry of the same lines, rather serve to +contain the passions without stifling them, coloring only that +bald crudity of tone which is so injurious to their beauty, +elevating that materialism which debases them, robbing them of +that license which vulgarizes them, lowering that vehemence which +vitiates them, pruning that exuberance which exhausts them, +teaching the "lovers of the ideal" to unite the virtues which +have sprung from a knowledge of evil, with those "which cause its +very existence to be forgotten in speaking to those they love." +As these visions of his youth deepened in the long perspective of +memories, they gained in grace, in charm, in delight, in his +eyes, fascinating him to such an extent that no reality could +destroy their secret power over his imagination, rendering his +repugnance more and more unconquerable to that license of +allurement, that brutal tyranny of caprice, that eagerness to +drink the cup of fantasy to the very dregs, that stormy pursuit +of all the changes and incongruities of life, which rule in the +strange mode of life known as LA BOHEME. + +More than once in the history of art and literature, a poet has +arisen, embodying in himself the poetic sense of a whole nation, +an entire epoch, representing the types which his contemporaries +pursue and strive to realize, in an absolute manner in his works: +such a poet was Chopin for his country and for the epoch in which +he was born. The poetic sentiments the most widely spread, yet +the most intimate and inherent of his nation, were embodied and +united in his imagination, and represented by his brilliant +genius. Poland has given birth to many bards, some of whom rank +among the first poets of the world. + +Its writers are now making strenuous efforts to display in the +strongest light, the most glorious and interesting facts of its +history, the most peculiar and picturesque phases of its manners +and customs. Chopin, differing from them in having formed no +premeditated design, surpasses them all in originality. He did +not determine upon, he did not seek such a result; he created no +ideal a priori. Without having predetermined to transport himself +into the past, he constantly remembered the glories of his +country, he understood and sung the loves and tears of his +contemporaries without having analyzed them in advance. He did not +task himself, nor study to be a national musician. Like all truly +national poets he sang spontaneously without premeditated design +or preconceived choice all that inspiration dictated to him, as +we hear it gushing forth in his songs without labor, almost +without effort. He repeated in the most idealized form the +emotions which had animated and embellished his youth; under the +magic delicacy of his pen he displayed the Ideal, which is, if we +may be permitted so to speak, the Real among his people; an Ideal +really in existence among them, which every one in general and +each one in particular approaches by the one or the other of its +many sides. Without assuming to do so, he collected in luminous +sheaves the impressions felt everywhere throughout his country-- +vaguely felt it is true, yet in fragments pervading all hearts. +Is it not by this power of reproducing in a poetic formula, +enchanting to the imagination of all nations, the indefinite +shades of feeling widely scattered but frequently met among their +compatriots, that the artists truly national are distinguished? + +Not without reason has the task been undertaken of collecting the +melodies indigenous to every country. It appears to us it would +be of still deeper interest, to trace the influences forming the +characteristic powers of the authors most deeply inspired by the +genius of the nation to which they belong. Until the present +epoch there have been very few distinctive compositions, which +stand out from the two great divisions of the German and Italian +schools of music. But with the immense development which this art +seems destined to attain, perhaps renewing for us the glorious +era of the Painters of the CINQUE CENTO, it is highly probable +that composers will appear whose works will be marked by an +originality drawn from differences of organization, of races, and +of climates. It is to be presumed that we will be able to +recognize the influences of the country in which they were born +upon the great masters in music, as well as in the other arts; +that we will be able to distinguish the peculiar and predominant +traits of the national genius more completely developed, more +poetically true, more interesting to study, in the pages of their +compositions than in the crude, incorrect, uncertain, vague and +tremulous sketches of the uncultured people. + +Chopin must be ranked among the first musicians thus +individualizing in themselves the poetic sense of an entire +nation, not because he adopted the rhythm of POLONAISES, +MAZOURKAS, and CRACOVIENNES, and called many of his works by such +names, for in so doing he would have limited himself to the +multiplication of such works alone, and would always have given +us the same mode, the remembrance of the same thing; a +reproduction which would soon have grown wearisome, serving but +to multiply compositions of similar form, which must have soon +grown more or less monotonous. It is because he filled these +forms with the feelings peculiar to his country, because the +expression of the national heart may be found under all the modes +in which he has written, that he is entitled to be considered a +poet essentially Polish. His PRELUDES, his NOCTURNES, his +SCHERZOS, his CONCERTOS, his shortest as well as his longest +compositions, are all filled with the national sensibility, +expressed indeed in different degrees, modified and varied in a +thousand ways, but always bearing the same character. An +eminently subjective author, Chopin has given the same life to +all his productions, animated all his works with his own spirit. +All his writings are thus linked by a marked unity. Their +beauties as well as their defects may be traced to the same order +of emotions, to peculiar modes of feeling. The reproduction of +the feelings of his people, idealized and elevated through his +own subjective genius, is an essential requisite for the national +poet who desires that the heart of his country should vibrate in +unison with his own strains. + +By the analogies of words and images, we should like to render it +possible for our readers to comprehend the exquisite yet +irritable sensibility peculiar to ardent yet susceptible hearts, +to haughty yet deeply wounded souls. We cannot flatter ourselves +that in the cold realm of words we have been able to give any +idea of such ethereal odorous flames. In comparison with the +vivid and delicious excitement produced by other arts, words +always appear poor, cold, and arid, so that the assertion seems +just: "that of all modes of expressing sentiments, words are the +most insufficient." We cannot flatter ourselves with having +attained in our descriptions the exceeding delicacy of touch, +necessary to sketch that which Chopin has painted with hues so +ethereal. All is subtle in his compositions, even the source of +excitement, of passion; all open, frank, primitive impressions +disappear in them; before they meet the eye, they have passed +through the prism of an exacting, ingenious, and fertile +imagination, and it has become difficult if not impossible to +resolve them again into their primal elements. Acuteness of +discernment is required to understand, delicacy to describe them. +In seizing such refined impressions with the keenest +discrimination, in embodying them with infinite art, Chopin has +proved himself an artist of the highest order. It is only after +long and patient study, after having pursued his sublimated ideas +through their multiform ramifications, that we learn to admire +sufficiently, to comprehend aright, the genius with which he has +rendered his subtle thoughts visible and palpable, without once +blunting their edge, or ever congealing their fiery flow. + +He was so entirely filled with the sentiments whose most perfect +types he believed he had known in his own youth, with the ideas +which it alone pleased him to confide to art; he contemplated art +so invariably from the same point of view, that his artistic +preferences could not fail to be influenced by his early +impressions. In the great models and CHEFS-D'OEUVRE, he only +sought that which was in correspondence with his own soul. That +which stood in relation to it pleased him; that which resembled +it not, scarcely obtained justice from him. Uniting in himself +the frequently incompatible qualities of passion and grace he +possessed great accuracy of judgment, and preserved himself from +all petty partiality, but he was but slightly attracted by the +greatest beauties, the highest merits, when they wounded any of +the phases of his poetic conceptions. Notwithstanding the high +admiration which he entertained for the works of Beethoven, +certain portions of them always seemed to him too rudely +sculptured; their structure was too athletic to please him, their +wrath seemed to him too tempestuous, their passion too +overpowering, the lion-marrow which fills every member of his +phases was matter too substantial for his tastes, and the +Raphaelic and Seraphic profiles which are wrought into the midst +of the nervous and powerful creations of this great genius, were +to him almost painful from the force of the cutting contrast in +which they are frequently set. + +In spite of the charm which he acknowledged in some of the +melodies of Schubert, he would not willingly listen to those in +which the contours were too sharp for his ear, in which suffering +lies naked, and we can almost feel the flesh palpitate, and hear +the bones crack and crash under the rude embrace of sorrow. All +savage wildness was repulsive to him. In music, in literature, in +the conduct of life, all that approached the melodramatic was +painful to him The frantic and despairing aspects of exaggerated +romanticism were repellent to him, he could not endure the +struggling for wonderful effects, for delicious excesses. "He +loved Shakspeare only under many conditions. He thought his +characters were drawn too closely to the life, and spoke a +language too true; he preferred the epic and lyric syntheses +which leave the poor details of humanity in the shade. For the +same reason he spoke little and listened less, not wishing to +give expression to his own thoughts, or to receive the thoughts +of others, until after they had attained a certain degree of +elevation." + +A nature so completely master of itself, so full of delicate +reserve, which loved to divine through glimpses, presentiments, +suppositions, all that had been left untold (a species of +divination always dear to poets who can so eloquently finish the +interrupted words) must have felt annoyed, almost scandalized, by +an audacity which leaves nothing unexpressed, nothing to be +divined. If he had been called upon to express his own views upon +this subject, we believe he would have confessed that in +accordance with his taste, he was only permitted to give vent to +his feelings on condition of suffering much to remain unrevealed, +or only to be divined under the rich veils of broidery in which +he wound his emotions. If that which they agree in calling +classic in art appeared to him too full of methodical +restrictions, if he refused to permit himself to be garroted in +the manacles and frozen in the conventions of systems, if he did +not like confinement although enclosed in the safe symmetry of a +gilded cage, it was not because he preferred the license of +disorder, the confusion of irregularity. It was rather that he +might soar like the lark into the deep blue of the unclouded +heavens. Like the Bird of Paradise, which it was once thought +never slept but while resting upon extended wing, rocked only by +the breath of unlimited space at the sublime height at which it +reposed; he obstinately refused to descend to bury himself in the +misty gloom of the forests, or to surround himself with the +howlings and wailings with which it is filled. He would not leave +the depths of azure for the wastes of the desert, or attempt to +fix pathways over the treacherous waves of sand, which the winds, +in exulting irony, delight to sweep over the traces of the rash +mortal seeking to mark the line of his wandering through the +drifting, blinding swells. + +That style of Italian art which is so open, so glaring, so devoid +of the attraction of mystery or of science, with all that which +in German art bears the seal of vulgar, though powerful energy, +was distasteful to him. Apropos of Schubert he once remarked: +"that the sublime is desecrated when followed by the trivial or +commonplace." Among the composers for the piano Hummel was one of +the authors whom he reread with the most pleasure. Mozart was in +his eyes the ideal type, the Poet par excellence, because he, +less rarely than any other author, condescended to descend the +steps leading from the beautiful to the commonplace. The father +of Mozart after having been present at a representation of +IDOMENEE made to his son the following reproach: "You have been +wrong in putting in it nothing for the long ears." It was +precisely for such omissions that Chopin admired him. The gayety +of Papageno charmed him; the love of Tamino with its mysterious +trials seemed to him worthy of having occupied Mozart; he +understood the vengeance of Donna Anna because it cast but a +deeper shade upon her mourning. Yet such was his Sybaritism of +purity, his dread of the commonplace, that even in this immortal +work he discovered some passages whose introduction we have heard +him regret. His worship for Mozart was not diminished but only +saddened by this. He could sometimes forget that which was +repulsive to him, but to reconcile himself to it was impossible. +He seemed to be governed in this by one of those implacable and +irrational instincts, which no persuasion, no effort, can ever +conquer sufficiently to obtain a state of mere indifference +towards the objects of the antipathy; an aversion sometimes so +insurmountable, that we can only account for it by supposing it +to proceed from some innate and peculiar idiosyncrasy. + +After he had finished his studies in harmony with Professor +Joseph Elsner, who taught him the rarely known and difficult task +of being exacting towards himself, and placing the just value +upon the advantages which are only to be obtained by dint of +patience and labor; and after he had finished his collegiate +course, it was the desire of his parents that he should travel in +order that he might become familiar with the finest works under +the advantage of their perfect execution. For this purpose he +visited many of the German cities. He had left Warsaw upon one of +these short excursions, when the revolution of the 29th of +November broke out in 1830. + +Forced to remain in Vienna, he was heard there in some concerts, +but the Viennese public, generally so cultivated, so prompt to +seize the most delicate shades of execution, the finest +subtleties of thought, during this winter were disturbed and +abstracted. The young artist did not produce there the effect he +had the right to anticipate. He left Vienna with the design of +going to London, but he came first to Paris, where he intended to +remain but a short time. Upon his passport drawn up for England, +he had caused to be inserted: "passing through Paris." These +words sealed his fate. Long years afterwards, when he seemed not +only acclimated, but naturalized in France, he would smilingly +say: I am "passing through Paris." + +He gave several concerts after his arrival in Paris, where he was +immediately received and admired in the circles of the elite, as +well as welcomed by the young artists. We remember his first +appearance in the saloons of Pleyel, where the most enthusiastic +and redoubled applause seemed scarcely sufficient to express our +enchantment for the genius which had revealed new phases of +poetic feeling, and made such happy yet bold innovations in the +form of musical art. + +Unlike the greater part of young debutants, he was not +intoxicated or dazzled for a moment by his triumph, but accepted +it without pride or false modesty, evincing none of the puerile +enjoyment of gratified vanity exhibited by the PARVENUS of +success. His countrymen who were then in Paris gave him a most +affectionate reception. He was intimate in the house of Prince +Czartoryski, of the Countess Plater, of Madame de Komar, and in +that of her daughters, the Princess de Beauveau and the Countess +Delphine Potocka, whose beauty, together with her indescribable +and spiritual grace, made her one of the most admired sovereigns +of the society of Paris. He dedicated to her his second Concerto, +which contains the Adagio we have already described. The ethereal +beauty of the Countess, her enchanting voice enchained him by a +fascination full of respectful admiration. Her voice was destined +to be the last which should vibrate upon the musician's heart. +Perhaps the sweetest sounds of earth accompanied the parting soul +until they blended in his ear with the first chords of the +angels' lyres. + +He mingled much with the Polish circle in Paris; with Orda who +seemed born to command the future, and who was however killed in +Algiers at twenty years of age; with Counts Plater, Grzymala, +Ostrowski, Szembeck, with Prince Lubomirski, etc. etc. As the +Polish families who came afterwards to Paris were all anxious to +form acquaintance with him, he continued to mingle principally +with his own people. He remained through them not only AU COURANT +of all that was passing in his own country, but even in a kind of +musical correspondence with it. He liked those who visited Paris +to show him the airs or new songs they had brought with them, and +when the words of these airs pleased him, he frequently wrote a +new melody for them, thus popularizing them rapidly in his +country although the name of their author was often unknown. The +number of these melodies, due to the inspiration of the heart +alone, having become considerable, he often thought of collecting +them for publication. But he thought of it too late, and they +remain scattered and dispersed, like the perfume of the scented +flowers blessing the wilderness and sweetening the "desert air" +around some wandering traveller, whom chance may have led upon +their secluded track. During our stay in Poland we heard some of +the melodies which are attributed to him, and which are truly +worthy of him; but who would now dare to make an uncertain +selection between the inspirations of the national poet, and the +dreams of his people? + +Chopin kept for a long time aloof from the celebrities of Paris; +their glittering train repelled him. As his character and habits +had more true originality than apparent eccentricity, he inspired +less curiosity than they did. Besides he had sharp repartees for +those who imprudently wished to force him into a display of his +musical abilities. Upon one occasion after he had just left the +dining-room, an indiscreet host, who had had the simplicity to +promise his guests some piece executed by him as a rare dessert, +pointed to him an open piano. He should have remembered that in +counting without the host, it is necessary to count twice. Chopin +at first refused, but wearied at last by continued persecution, +assuming, to sharpen the sting of his words, a stifled and +languid tone of voice, he exclaimed: "Ah, sir, I have scarcely +dined!" + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +Madame Sand--Lelia--Visit to Majorca--Exclusive Ideals. + + + +In 1836 Madame Sand had not only published INDIANA, VALENTINE, +and JACQUES, but also LELIA, that prose poem of which she +afterwards said: "If I regret having written it, it is because I +could not now write it. Were I in the same state of mind now as +when it was written, it would indeed be a great consolation to me +to be able to commence it." The mere painting of romances in cold +water colors must have seemed, without doubt, dull to Madame +Sand, after having handled the hammer and chisel of the sculptor +so boldly, in modeling the grand lines of that semi-colossal +statue, in cutting those sinewy muscles, which even in their +statuesque immobility, are full of bewildering and seductive +charm. Should we continue long to gaze upon it, it excites the +most painful emotion. In strong contrast to the miracle of +Pygmalion, Lelia seems a living Galatea, rich in feeling, full of +love, whom the deeply enamored artist has tried to bury alive in +his exquisitely sculptured marble, stifling the palpitating +breath, and congealing the warm blood in the vain hope of +elevating and immortalizing the beauty he adores. In the presence +of this vivid nature petrified by art, we cannot feel that +admiration is kindled into love, but, saddened and chilled, we +are forced to acknowledge that love may be frozen into mere +admiration. + +Brown and olive-hued Lelia! Dark as Lara, despairing as Manfred, +rebellious as Cain, thou hast ranged through the depths of +solitude! But thou art more ferocious, more savage, more +inconsolable than they, because thou hast never found a man's +heart sufficiently feminine to love thee as they were loved, to +pay the homage of a confiding and blind submission to thy virile +charms, to offer thee a mute yet ardent devotion, to suffer its +obedience to be protected by thy Amazonian force! Woman-hero! +Like the Amazons, thou hast been valiant and eager for combats; +like them thou hast not feared to expose the exquisite loveliness +of thy face to the fierceness of the summer's sun, or the sharp +blasts of winter! Thou hast hardened thy fragile limbs by the +endurance of fatigue, thus robbing them of the subtle power of +their weakness! Thou hast covered thy palpitating breast with a +heavy cuirass, which has pressed and torn it, dyeing its snow in +blood;--that gentle woman's bosom, charming as life, discreet as +the grave, which is always adored by man when his heart is +permitted to form its sole, its impenetrable buckler! + +After having blunted her chisel in polishing this statue, which, +by its majesty, its haughty disdain, its look of hopeless +anguish, shadowed by the frowning of the pure brows and by the +long loose locks shivering with electric life, reminds us of +those antique cameos on which we still admire the perfect +features, the beautiful yet fatal brow, the haughty smile of the +Medusa, whose gaze paralyzed and stopped the pulses of the human +heart;--Madame Sand in vain sought another form for the +expression of the emotions which tortured her insatiate soul. +After having draped this figure with the highest art, +accumulating every species of masculine greatness upon it in +order to compensate for the highest of all qualities which she +repudiated for it, the grandeur of, "utter self-abnegation for +love," which the many-sided poet has placed in the empyrean and +called "the Eternal Feminine," (DAS EWIGWEIBLICHE,)--a greatness +which is love existing before any of its joys, surviving all its +sorrows;--after having caused Don Juan to be cursed, and a divine +hymn to be chanted to Desire by Lelia, who, as well as Don Juan, +had repulsed the only delight which crowns desire, the luxury of +self-abnegation,--after having fully revenged Elvira by the +creation of Stenio,--after having scorned man more than Don Juan +had degraded woman,--Madame Sand, in her LETTRES D'UN VOYAGEUR, +depicts the shivering palsy, the painful lethargy which seizes +the artist, when, having incorporated the emotion which inspired +him in his work, his imagination still remains under the +domination of the insatiate idea without being able to find +another form in which to incarnate it. Such poetic sufferings +were well understood by Byron, when he makes Tasso shed his most +bitter tears, not for his chains, not for his physical +sufferings, not for the ignominy heaped upon him, but for his +finished Epic, for the ideal world created by his thought and now +about to close its doors upon him, and by thus expelling him from +its enchanted realm, rendering him at last sensible of the gloomy +realities around him:-- + + + "But this is o'er--my pleasant task is done:-- + My long-sustaining friend of many years: + If I do blot thy final page with tears, + Know that my sorrows have wrung from me none. + But thou, my young creation! my soul's child! + Which ever playing round me came and smiled, + And woo'd me from myself with thy sweet sight, + Thou too art gone--and so is my delight." + + LAMENT OF TASSO.--BYRON. + + +At this epoch, Madame Sand often heard a musician, one of the +friends who had greeted Chopin with the most enthusiastic joy +upon his arrival at Paris, speak of him. She heard him praise his +poetic genius even more than his artistic talent. She was +acquainted with his compositions, and admired their graceful +tenderness. She was struck by the amount of emotion displayed in +his poems, with the effusions of a heart so noble and dignified. +Some of the countrymen of Chopin spoke to her of the women of +their country, with the enthusiasm natural to them upon that +subject, an enthusiasm then very much increased by a remembrance +of the sublime sacrifices made by them during the last war. +Through their recitals and the poetic inspiration of the Polish +artist, she perceived an ideal of love which took the form of +worship for woman. She thought that guaranteed from dependence, +preserved from inferiority, her role might be like the fairy +power of the Peri, that ethereal intelligence and friend of man. +Perhaps she did not fully understand what innumerable links of +suffering, of silence, of patience, of gentleness, of indulgence, +of courageous perseverance, had been necessary for the formation +of the worship for this imperious but resigned ideal, beautiful +indeed, but sad to behold, like those plants with the rose- +colored corollas, whose stems, intertwining and interlacing in a +network of long and numerous branches, give life to ruins; +destined ever to embellish decay, growing upon old walls and +hiding only tottering stones! Beautiful veils woven by beneficent +Nature, in her ingenious and inexhaustible richness, to cover the +constant decay of human things! + +As Madame Sand perceived that this artist, in place of giving +body to his phantasy in porphyry and marble, or defining his +thoughts by the creation of massive caryatides, rather effaced +the contour of his works, and, had it been necessary, could have +elevated his architecture itself from the soil, to suspend it, +like the floating palaces of the Fata Morgana, in the fleecy +clouds, through his aerial forms of almost impalpable buoyancy, +she was more and more attracted by that mystic ideal which she +perceived glowing within them. Though her arm was powerful enough +to have sculptured the round shield, her hand was delicate enough +to have traced those light relievos where the shadows of +ineffaceable profiles have been thrown upon and trusted to a +stone scarcely raised from its level plane. She was no stranger +in the supernatural world, she to whom Nature, as to a favored +child, had unloosed her girdle and unveiled all the caprices, the +attractions, the delights, which she can lend to beauty. She was +not ignorant of the lightest graces; she whose eye could embrace +such vast proportions, had stooped to study the glowing +illuminations painted upon the wings of the fragile butterfly. +She had traced the symmetrical and marvellous network which the +fern extends as a canopy over the wood strawberry; she had +listened to the murmuring of streams through the long reeds and +stems of the water-grass, where the hissing of the "amorous +viper" may be heard; she had followed the wild leaps of the Will- +with-a-wisp as it bounds over the surface of the meadows and +marshes; she had pictured to herself the chimerical dwelling- +places toward which it perfidiously attracts the benighted +traveller; she had listened to the concerts given by the Cicada +and their friends in the stubble of the fields; she had learned +the names of the inhabitants of the winged republics of the woods +which she could distinguish as well by their plumaged robes, as +by their jeering roulades or plaintive cries. She knew the secret +tenderness of the lily in the splendor of its tints; she had +listened to the sighs of Genevieve, [Footnote: ANDRE] the maiden +enamored of flowers. + +She was visited in her dreams by those "unknown friends" who came +to rejoin her "when she was seized with distress upon a desolate +shore," brought by a "rapid stream...in large and full +bark"...upon which she mounted to leave the unknown shores, "the +country of chimeras which make real life appear like a dream half +effaced to those, who enamored from their infancy of large shells +of pearl, mount them to land in those isles where all are young +and beautiful...where the men and women are crowned with flowers, +with their long locks floating upon their shoulders...holding +vases and harps of a strange form...having songs and voices not +of this world...all loving each other equally with a divine +love...where crystal fountains of perfumed waters play in basins +of silver...where blue roses bloom in vases of alabaster...where +the perspectives are all enchanted...where they walk with naked +feet upon the thick green moss, soft as carpets of velvet...where +all sing as they wander among the fragrant groves." [Footnote: +LETTRES D'UN VOYAGEUR] + +She knew these unknown friends so well that after having again +seen them, "she could not dream of them without palpitations of +the heart during the whole day." She was initiated into the +Hoffmannic world--"she who had surprised such ineffable smiles +upon the portraits of the dead;" [Footnote: SPIRIDSON] who had +seen the rays of the sun falling through the stained glass of a +Gothic window form a halo round loved heads, like the arm of God, +luminous and impalpable, surrounded by a vortex of atoms;--she +who had known such glorious apparitions, clothed with the purple +and golden glories of the setting sun. The realm of fantasy had +no myth with whose secret she was not familiar! + +Thus she was naturally anxious to become acquainted with one who +had with rapid wing flown "to those scenes which it is impossible +to describe, but which must exist somewhere, either upon the +earth, or in some of the planets, whose light we love to gaze +upon in the forests when the moon has set." [Footnote: LETTRES +D'UN VOYAGEUR] Such scenes she had prayed never to be forced to +desert--never desiring to bring her heart and imagination back to +this dreary world, too like the gloomy coasts of Finland, where +the slime and miry slough can only be escaped by scaling the +naked granite of the solitary rocks. Fatigued with the massive +statue she had sculptured, the Amazonian Lelia; wearied with the +grandeur of an Ideal which it is impossible to mould from the +gross materials of this earth; she was desirous to form an +acquaintance with the artist "the lover of an impossible so +shadowy"--so near the starry regions. Alas! if these regions are +exempt from the poisonous miasmas of our atmosphere, they are not +free from its desolating melancholy! Perhaps those who are +transported there may adore the shining of new suns--but there +are others not less dear whose light they must see extinguished! +Will not the most glorious among the beloved constellation of the +Pleiades there disappear? Like drops of luminous dew the stars +fall one by one into the nothingness of a yawning abyss, whose +bottomless depths no plummet has ever sounded, while the soul, +contemplating these fields of ether, this blue Sahara with its +wandering and perishing oases,--is stricken by a grief so +hopeless, so profound, that neither enthusiasm nor love can ever +soothe it more. It ingulfs and absorbs all emotions, being no +more agitated by them than the sleeping waters of some tranquil +lake, reflecting the moving images thronging its banks from its +polished surface, are by the varied motions and eager life of the +many objects mirrored upon its glassy bosom. The drowsy waters +cannot thus be wakened from their icy lethargy. This melancholy +saddens even the highest joy. "Through the exhaustion always +accompanying such tension, when the soul is strained above the +region which it naturally inhabits...the insufficiency of speech +is felt for the first time by those who have studied it so much, +and used it so well--we are borne from all active, from all +militant instincts--to travel through boundless space--to be lost +in the immensity of adventurous courses far, far above the +clouds...where we no longer see that the earth is beautiful, +because our gaze is riveted upon the skies...where reality is no +longer poetically draped, as has been so skilfully done by the +author of Waverley, but where, in idealizing poetry itself, the +infinite is peopled with the spirits belonging only to its mystic +realm, as has been done by Byron in his Manfred." + +Could Madame Sand have divined the incurable melancholy, the will +which cannot blend with that of others, the imperious +exclusiveness, which invariably seize upon imaginations +delighting in the pursuit of dreams whose realities are nowhere +to be found, or at least never in the matter-of-fact world in +which the dreamers are constrained to dwell? Had she foreseen the +form which devoted attachment assumes for such dreamers; had she +measured the entire and absolute absorption which they will alone +accept as the synonyme of tenderness? It is necessary to be in +some degree shy, shrinking, and secretive as they themselves are, +to be able to understand the hidden depths of characters so +concentrated. Like those susceptible flowers which close their +sensitive petals before the first breath of the North wind, they +too veil their exacting souls in the shrouds of self +concentration, unfolding themselves only under the warming rays +of a propitious sun. Such natures have been called "rich by +exclusiveness;" in opposition to those which are "rich by +expansiveness." "If these differing temperaments should meet and +approach each other, they can never mingle or melt the one into +the other," (says the writer whom we have so often quoted) "but +the one must consume the other, leaving nothing but ashes +behind." Alas! it is the natures like that of the fragile +musician whose days we commemorate, which, consuming themselves, +perish; not wishing, not indeed being able, to live any life but +one in conformity with their own exclusive Ideal. + +Chopin seemed to dread Madame Sand more than any other woman, the +modern Sibyl, who, like the Pythoness of old, had said so many +things that others of her sex neither knew nor dared to say. He +avoided and put off all introduction to her. Madame Sand was +ignorant of this. In consequence of that captivating simplicity, +which is one of her noblest charms, she did not divine his fear +of the Delphic priestess. At last she was presented to him, and +an acquaintance with her soon dissipated the prejudices which he +had obstinately nourished against female authors. + +In the fall of 1837, Chopin was attacked by an alarming illness, +which left him almost without force to support life. Dangerous +symptoms forced him to go South to avoid the rigor of winter. +Madame Sand, always so watchful over those whom she loved, so +full of compassion for their sufferings, would not permit him, +when his health required so much care, to set out alone, and +determined to accompany him. They selected the island of Majorca +for their residence because the air of the sea, joined to the +mild climate which prevails there, is especially salubrious for +those who are suffering from affections of the lungs. Though he +was so weak when he left Paris that we had no hope of his ever +returning; though after his arrival in Majorca he was long and +dangerously ill; yet so much was he benefited by the change that +big health was improved during several years. + +Was it the effect of the balmy climate alone which recalled him +to health? Was it not rather because his life was full of bliss +that he found strength to live? Did he not regain strength only +because he now wished to live? Who can tell how far the influence +of the will extends over the body? Who knows what internal subtle +aroma it has the power of disengaging to preserve the sinking +frame from decay; what vital force it can breathe into the +debilitated organs? Who can say where the dominion of mind over +matter ceases? Who knows how far our senses are under the +dominion of the imagination, to what extent their powers may be +increased, or their extinction accelerated, by its influence? It +matters not how the imagination gains its strange extension of +power, whether through long and bitter exercise, or, whether +spontaneously collecting its forgotten strength, it concentrates +its force in some new and decisive moment of destiny: as when the +rays of the sun are able to kindle a flame of celestial origin +when concentrated in the focus of the burning glass, brittle and +fragile though the medium be. + +All the long scattered rays of happiness were collected within +this epoch of the life of Chopin; is it then surprising that they +should have rekindled the flame of life, and that it should have +burned at this time with the most vivid lustre? The solitude +surrounded by the blue waves of the Mediterranean and shaded by +groves of orange, seemed fitted in its exceeding loveliness for +the ardent vows of youthful lovers, still believing in their +naive and sweet illusions, sighing for happiness in "some desert +isle." He breathed there that air for which natures unsuited for +the world, and never feeling themselves happy in it, long with +such a painful home-sickness; that air which may be found +everywhere if we can find the sympathetic souls to breathe it +with us, and which is to be met nowhere without them; that air of +the land of our dreams; and which in spite of all obstacles, of +the bitter real, is easily discovered when sought by two! It is +the air of the country of the ideal to which we gladly entice the +being we cherish, repeating with poor Mignon: DAHIN! +DAHIN!...LASST UNS ZIEHN! + +As long as his sickness lasted, Madame Sand never left the pillow +of him who loved her even to death, with an attachment which in +losing all its joys, did not lose its intensity, which remained +faithful to her even after all its memories had turned to pain: +"for it seemed as if this fragile being was absorbed and consumed +by the strength of his affection....Others seek happiness in +their attachments; when they no longer find it, the attachment +gently vanishes. In this they resemble the rest of the world. But +he loved for the sake of loving. No amount of suffering was +sufficient to discourage him. He could enter upon a new phase, +that of woe; but the phase of coldness he could never arrive at. +It would have been indeed a phase of physical agony--for his love +was his life--and delicious or bitter, he had not the power of +withdrawing himself a single moment from its domination." +[Footnote: LUCRESIA FLORIANA] Madame Sand never ceased to be for +Chopin that being of magic spells who had snatched him from the +valley of the shadow of death, whose power had changed his +physical agony into the delicious languor of love. To save him +from death, to bring him back to life, she struggled courageously +with his disease. She surrounded him with those divining and +instinctive cares which are a thousand times more efficacious +than the material remedies known to science. While engaged in +nursing him, she felt no fatigue, no weariness, no +discouragement. Neither her strength, nor her patience, yielded +before the task. Like the mothers in robust health, who appear to +communicate a part of their own strength to the sickly infant +who, constantly requiring their care, have also their preference, +she nursed the precious charge into new life. The disease +yielded: "the funereal oppression which secretly undermined the +spirit of Chopin, destroying and corroding all contentment, +gradually vanished. He permitted the amiable character, the +cheerful serenity of his friend to chase sad thoughts and +mournful presentiments away, and to breathe new force into his +intellectual being." + +Happiness succeeded to gloomy fears, like the gradual progression +of a beautiful day after a night full of obscurity and terror, +when so dense and heavy is the vault of darkness which weighs +upon us from above, that we are prepared for a sudden and fatal +catastrophe, we do not even dare to dream of deliverance, when +the despairing eye suddenly catches a bright spot where the mists +clear, and the clouds open like flocks of heavy wool yielding, +even while the edges thicken under the pressure of the hand which +rends them. At this moment, the first ray of hope penetrates the +soul. We breathe more freely like those who lost in the windings +of a dark cavern at last think they see a light, though indeed +its existence is still doubtful. This faint light is the day +dawn, though so colorless are its rays, that it is more like the +extinction of the dying twilight,--the fall of the night-shroud +upon the earth. But it is indeed the dawn; we know it by the +vivid and pure breath of the young zephyrs which it sends forth, +like avant-coureurs, to bear us the assurance of morn and safety. +The balm of flowers fills the air, like the thrilling of an +encouraged hope. A stray bird accidentally commences his song +earlier than usual, it soothes the heart like a distant +consolation, and is accepted as a promise for the future. As the +imperceptibly progressive but sure indications multiply, we are +convinced that in this struggle of light and darkness it is the +shadows of night which are to yield. Raising our eyes to the Dome +of lead above us, we feel that it weighs less heavily upon us, +that it has already lost its fatal stability. + +Little by little the long gray lines of light increase, they +stretch themselves along the horizon like fissures into a +brighter world. They suddenly enlarge, they gain upon their dark +boundaries, now they break through them, as the waters bounding +the edge of a lake inundate in irregular pools the arid banks. +Then a fierce opposition begins, banks and long dikes accumulate +to arrest the progress. The clouds are oiled like ridges of sand, +tossing and surging to present obstructions, but like the +impetuous raging of irresistible waters, the light breaks through +them, demolishes them, devours them, and as the rays ascend, the +rolling waves of purple mist glow into crimson. At this moment +the young dawn shines with a timid yet victorious grace, while +the knee bends in admiration and gratitude before it, for the +last terror has vanished, and we feel as if new born. + +Fresh objects strike upon the view, as if just called from chaos. +A veil of uniform rose-color covers them all, but as the light +augments in intensity, the thin gauze drapes and folds in shades +of pale carnation, while the advancing plains grow clear in white +and dazzling splendor. + +The brilliant sun delays no longer to invade the firmament, +gaining new glory as he rises. The vapors surge and crowd +together, rolling themselves from right to left, like the heavy +drapery of a curtain moved by the wind. Then all breathes, moves, +lives, hums, sings; the sounds mingle, cross, meet, and melt into +each other. Inertia gives place to motion, it spreads, +accelerates and circulates. The waves of the lake undulate and +swell like a bosom touched by love. The tears of the dew, +motionless as those of tenderness, grow more and more +perceptible, one after another they are seen glittering on the +humid herbs, diamonds waiting for the sun to paint with rainbow- +tints their vivid scintillations. The gigantic fan of light in +the East is ever opening larger and wider. Spangles of silver, +borders of scarlet, violet fringes, bars of gold, cover it with +fantastic broidery. Light bands of reddish brown feather its +branches. The brightest scarlet at its centre has the glowing +transparency of the ruby; shading into orange like a burning +coal, it widens like a torch, spreads like a bouquet of flames, +which glows and glows from fervor to fervor, ever more +incandescent. + +At last the god of day appears! His blazing front is adorned with +luminous locks of long floating hair. Slowly he seems to rise-- +but scarcely has he fully unveiled himself, than he starts +forward, disengages himself from all around him, and, leaving the +earth far below him, takes instantaneous possession of the +vaulted heavens.............. + +The memory of the days passed in the lovely isle of Majorca, like +the remembrance of an entrancing ecstasy, which fate grants but +once in life even to the most favored of her children, remained +always dear to the heart of Chopin. "He [Footnote: Lucrezia +Fioriani] was no longer upon this earth, he was in an empyrean of +golden clouds and perfumes, his imagination, so full of exquisite +beauty, seemed engaged in a monologue with God himself; and if +upon the radiant prism in whose contemplation he forgot all else, +the magic-lantern of the outer world would even cast its +disturbing shadow, he felt deeply pained, as if in the midst of a +sublime concert, a shrieking old woman should blend her shrill +yet broken tones, her vulgar musical motivo, with the divine +thoughts of the great masters." He always spoke of this period +with deep emotion, profound gratitude, as if its happiness had +been sufficient for a life-time, without hoping that it would +ever be possible again to find a felicity in which the fight of +time was only marked by the tenderness of woman's love, and the +brilliant flashes of true genius. Thus did the clock of Linnaeus +mark the course of time, indicating the hours by the successive +waking and sleeping of the flowers, marking each by a different +perfume, and a display of ever varying beauties, as each +variegated calyx opened in ever changing yet ever lovely form! + +The beauties of the countries through which the Poet and Musician +travelled together, struck with more distinctness the imagination +of the former. The loveliness of nature impressed Chopin in a +manner less definite, though not less strong. His soul was +touched, and immediately harmonized with the external +enchantment, yet his intellect did not feel the necessity of +analyzing or classifying it. His heart vibrated in unison with +the exquisite scenery around him, although he was not able at the +moment to assign the precise source of his blissful tranquillity. +Like a true musician, he was satisfied to seize the sentiment of +the scenes he visited, while he seemed to give but little +attention to the plastic material, the picturesque frame, which +did not assimilate with the form of his art, nor belong to his +more spiritualized sphere. However, (a fact that has been often +remarked in organizations such as his,) as he was removed in time +and distance from the scenes in which emotion had obscured his +senses, as the clouds from the burning incense envelope the +censer, the more vividly the forms and beauties of such scenes +stood out in his memory. In the succeeding years, he frequently +spoke of them, as though the remembrance was full of pleasure to +him. But when so entirely happy, he made no inventory of his +bliss. He enjoyed it simply, as we all do in the sweet years of +childhood, when we are deeply impressed by the scenery +surrounding us without ever thinking of its details, yet finding, +long after, the exact image of each object in our memory, though +we are only able to describe its forms when we have ceased to +behold them. + +Besides, why should he have tasked himself to scrutinize the +beautiful sites in Spain which formed the appropriate setting of +his poetic happiness? Could he not always find them again through +the descriptions of his inspired companion? As all objects, even +the atmosphere itself, become flame-colored when seen through a +glass dyed in crimson, so he might contemplate these delicious +sites in the glowing hues cast around them by the impassioned +genius of the woman he loved. The nurse of his sick- room--was +she not also a great artist? Rare and beautiful union! If to the +depths of tenderness and devotion, in which the true and +irresistible empire of woman must commence, and deprived of which +she is only an enigma without a possible solution, nature should +unite the most brilliant gifts of genius,--the miraculous +spectacle of the Greek firs would be renewed,--the glittering +flames would again sport over the abysses of the ocean without +being extinguished or submerged in the chilling depths, adding, +as the living hues were thrown upon the surging waves, the +glowing dyes of the purple fire to the celestial blue of the +heaven-reflecting sea! + +Has genius ever attained that utter self-abnegation, that sublime +humility of heart which gives the power to make those strange +sacrifices of the entire Past, of the whole Future; those +immolations, as courageous as mysterious; those mystic and utter +holocausts of self, not temporary and changing, but monotonous +and constant,--through whose might alone tenderness may justly +claim the higher name, devotion? Has not the force of genius its +own exclusive and legitimate exactions, and does not the force of +woman consist in the abdication of all exactions? Can the royal +purple and burning flames of genius ever float upon the +immaculate azure of woman's destiny?... + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +Disappointment--Ill Health--Visit to England--Devotion of +Friends--Last Sacraments--Delphina Potocka--Louise--M. Gutman-- +Death. + + + +FROM the date of 1840, the health of Chopin, affected by so many +changes, visibly declined. During some years, his most tranquil +hours were spent at Nohant, where he seemed to suffer less than +elsewhere. He composed there, with pleasure, bringing with him +every year to Paris several new compositions, but every winter +caused him an increase of suffering. Motion became at first +difficult, and soon almost impossible to him. From 1846 to 1847, +he scarcely walked at all; he could not ascend the staircase +without the most painful sensation of suffocation, and his life +was only prolonged through continual care and the greatest +precaution. + +Towards the Spring of 1847, as his health grew more precarious +from day to day, he was attacked by an illness from which it was +thought he could never recover. He was saved for the last time; +but this epoch was marked by an event so agonizing to his heart +that he immediately called it mortal. Indeed, he did not long +survive the rupture of his friendship with Madame Sand, which +took place at this date. Madame de Stael, who, in spite of her +generous and impassioned heart, her subtle and vivid intellect, +fell sometimes into the fault of making her sentences heavy +through a species of pedantry which robbed them of the grace of +"abandon,"--remarked on one of those occasions when the strength +of her feelings made her forget the solemnity of her Genevese +stiffness: "In affection, there are only beginnings!" + +This exclamation was based upon the bitter experience of the +insufficiency of the human heart to accomplish the beautiful and +blissful dreams of the imagination. Ah! if some blessed examples +of human devotion did not sometimes occur to contradict the +melancholy words of Madame de Stael, which so many illustrious as +well as obscure facts seem to prove, our suspicions might lead us +to be guilty of much ingratitude and want of trust; we might be +led to doubt the sincerity of the hearts which surround us, and +see but the allegorical symbols of human affections in the +antique train of the beautiful Canephoroe, who carried the +fragile and perfumed flowers to adorn some hapless victim for the +altar! + +Chopin spoke frequently and almost by preference of Madame Sand, +without bitterness or recrimination. Tears always filled his eyes +when he named her; but with a kind of bitter sweetness he gave +himself up to the memories of past days, alas, now. He stripped +of their manifold significance! In spite of the many subterfuges +employed by his friends to entice him from dwelling upon +remembrances which always brought dangerous excitement with them, +he loved to return to them; as if through the same feelings which +had once reanimated his life, he now wished to destroy it, +sedulously stifling its powers through the vapor of this subtle +poison. His last pleasure seemed to be the memory of the blasting +of his last hope; he treasured the bitter knowledge that under +this fatal spell his life was ebbing fast away. All attempts to +fix his attention upon other objects were made in vain, he +refused to be comforted and would constantly speak of the one +engrossing subject. Even if he had ceased to speak of it, would +he not always have thought of it? He seemed to inhale the poison +rapidly and eagerly, that he might thus shorten the time in which +he would be forced to breathe it! + +Although the exceeding fragility of his physical constitution +might not have allowed him, under any circumstances, to have +lingered long on earth, yet at least he might have been spared +the bitter sufferings which clouded his last hours! With a tender +and ardent soul, though exacting through its fastidiousness and +excessive delicacy, he could not live unless surrounded by the +radiant phantoms he had himself evoked; he could not expel the +profound sorrow which his heart cherished as the sole remaining +fragment of the happy past. He was another great and illustrious +victim to the transitory attachments occurring between persons of +different character, who, experiencing a surprise full of delight +in their first sudden meeting, mistake it for a durable feeling, +and build hopes and illusions upon it which can never be +realized. It is always the nature the most deeply moved, the most +absolute in its hopes and attachments, for which all +transplantation is impossible, which is destroyed and mined in +the painful awakening from the absorbing dream! Terrible power +exercised over man by the most exquisite gifts which he +possesses! Like the coursers of the sun, when the hand of +Phaeton, in place of guiding their beneficent career, permits +them to wander at random, disordering the beautiful structure of +the celestial spheres, they bring devastation and flames in their +train! Chopin felt and often repeated that the sundering of this +long friendship, the rupture of this strong tie, broke all the +chords which bound him to life. + +During this attack his life was despaired of for several days. M. +Gutman, his most distinguished pupil, and during the last years +of his life, his most intimate friend, lavished upon him every +proof of tender attachment. His cares, his attentions, were the +most agreeable to him. With the timidity natural to invalids, and +with the tender delicacy peculiar to himself, he once asked the +Princess Czartoryska, who visited him every day, often fearing +that on the morrow he would no longer be among the living: "if +Gutman was not very much fatigued? If she thought he would be +able to continue his care of him;" adding, "that his presence was +dearer to him than that of any other person." His convalescence +was very slow and painful, leaving him indeed but the semblance +of life. At this epoch he changed so much in appearance that he +could scarcely be recognized The next summer brought him that +deceptive decrease of suffering which it sometimes grants to +those who are dying. He refused to quit Paris, and thus deprived +himself of the pure air of the country, and the benefit of this +vivifying element. + +The winter of 1847 to 1848 was filled with a painful and +continual succession of improvements and relapses. +Notwithstanding this, he resolved in the spring to accomplish his +old project of visiting London. When the revolution of February +broke out, he was still confined to bed, but with a melancholy +effort, he seemed to try to interest himself in the events of the +day, and spoke of them more than usual. M. Gutman continued his +most intimate and constant visitor. He accepted through +preference his cares until the close of his life. + +Feeling better in the month of April, he thought of realizing his +contemplated journey, of visiting that country to which he had +intended to go when youth and life opened in bright perspective +before him. He set out for England, where his works had already +found an intelligent public, and were generally known and +admired. + +[Footnote: The compositions of Chopin were, even at that time, +known and very much liked in England. The most distinguished +virtuosi frequently executed them. In a pamphlet published in +London by Messrs. Wessel and Stappletou, under the title of AN +ESSAY ON THE WORKS OF F.CHOPIN, we find some lines marked by just +criticism. The epigraph of this little pamphlet is ingeniously +chosen, and the two lines from Shelley could scarcely be better +applied than to Chopin: + + "He was a mighty poet--and + A subtle-souled Psychologist." + +The author of this pamphlet speaks with enthusiasm of the +"originative genius untrammeled by conventionalities, unfettered +by pedantry;...of the outpourings of an unworldly and tristful +soul--those musical floods of tears, and gushes of pure +joyfulness--those exquisite embodiments of fugitive thoughts-- +those infinitesimal delicacies, which give so much value to the +lightest sketch of Chopin." The English author again says: "One +thing is certain, viz.: to play with proper feeling and correct +execution, the PRELUDES and STUDIES of Chopin, is to be neither +more nor less than a finished pianist, and moreover to comprehend +them thoroughly, to give a life and tongue to their infinite and +most eloquent subtleties of expression, involves the necessity of +being in no less a degree a poet than a pianist, a thinker than a +musician. Commonplace is instinctively avoided in all the works +of Chopin; a stale cadence or a trite progression, a humdrum +subject or a hackneyed sequence, a vulgar twist of the melody or +a worn-out passage, a meagre harmony or an unskillful +counterpoint, may in vain be looked for throughout the entire +range of his compositions; the prevailing characteristics of +which, are, a feeling as uncommon as beautiful, a treatment as +original as felicitous, a melody and a harmony as new, fresh, +vigorous, and striking, as they are utterly unexpected and out of +the common track. In taking up one of the works of Chopin, you +are entering, as it were, a fairyland, untrodden by human +footsteps, a path hitherto unfrequented but by the great composer +himself; and a faith, a devotion, a desire to appreciate and a +determination to understand are absolutely necessary, to do it +any thing like adequate justice.... Chopin in his POLONAISES and +in his MAZOURKAS has aimed at those characteristics, which +distinguish the national music of his country so markedly from, +that of all others, that quaint idiosyncrasy, that identical +wildness and fantasticality, that delicious mingling of the sad +and cheerful, which invariably and forcibly individualize the +music of those Northern nations, whose language delights in +combinations of consonants...."] + +He left France in that mood of mind which the English call "low +spirits." The transitory interest which he had endeavored to take +in political changes, soon disappeared. He became more taciturn +than ever. If through absence of mind, a few words would escape +him. They were only exclamations of regret. His affection for the +limited number of persons whom he continued to see, was filled +with that heart-rending emotion which precedes eternal farewells! +Art alone always retained its absolute power over him. Music +absorbed him during the time, now constantly shortening, in which +he was able to occupy himself with it, as completely as during +the days when he was full of life and hope. Before he left Paris, +he gave a concert in the saloon of M. Pleyel, one of the friends +with whom his relations had been the most constant, the most +frequent, and the most affectionate; who is now rendering a +worthy homage to his memory, occupying himself with zeal and +activity in the execution of a monument for his tomb. At this +concert, his chosen and faithful audience heard him for the last +time! + +He was received in London with an eagerness which had some effect +in aiding him to shake off his sadness, to dissipate his mournful +depression. Perhaps he dreamed, by burying all his former habits +in oblivion, he could succeed in dissipating, his melancholy! He +neglected the prescriptions of his physicians, with all the +precautions which reminded him of his wretched health. He played +twice in public, and many times in private concerts. He mingled +much in society, sat up late at night, and exposed himself to +considerable fatigue, without permitting himself to be deterred +by any consideration for his health. He was presented to the +Queen by the Duchess of Sutherland, and the most distinguished +society sought the pleasure of his acquaintance. He went to +Edinburgh, where the climate was particularly injurious to him. +He was much debilitated upon his return from Scotland; his +physicians wished him to leave England immediately, but he +delayed for some time his departure. Who can read the feelings +which caused this delay!...He played again at a concert given for +the Poles. It was the last mark of love sent to his beloved +country--the last look--the last sigh--the last regret! He was +feted, applauded, and surrounded by his own people. He bade them +all adieu,--they did not know it was an eternal Farewell! What +thoughts must have filled his sad soul as he crossed the sea to +return to Paris! That Paris so different now for him from that +which he had found without seeking in 1831! + +He was met upon his arrival by a surprise as painful as +unexpected. Dr. Molin, whose advice and intelligent prescriptions +had saved his life in the winter of 1847, to whom alone he +believed himself indebted for the prolongation of his life, was +dead. He felt his loss painfully, nay, it brought a profound +discouragement with it; at a time when the mind exercises so much +influence over the progress of the disease, he persuaded himself +that no one could replace the trusted physician, and he had no +confidence in any other. Dissatisfied with them all, without any +hope from their skill, he changed them constantly. A kind of +superstitious depression seized him. No tie stronger than life, +no more powerful as death, came now to struggle against this +bitter apathy! From the winter of 1848, Chopin had been in no +condition to labor continuously. From time to time he retouched +some scattered leaves, without succeeding in arranging his +thoughts in accordance with his designs. A respectful care of his +fame dictated to him the wish that these sketches should be +destroyed to prevent the possibility of their being mutilated, +disfigured, and transformed into posthumous works unworthy of his +hand. + +He left no finished manuscripts, except a very short WALTZ, and a +last NOCTURNE, as parting memories. In the later period of his +life he thought of writing a method for the Piano, in which he +intended to give his ideas upon the theory and technicality of +his art, the results of his long and patient studies, his happy +innovations, and his intelligent experience. The task was a +difficult one, demanding redoubled application even from one who +labored as assiduously as Chopin. Perhaps he wished to avoid the +emotions of art, (affecting those who reproduce them in serenity +of soul so differently from those who repeat in them their own +desolation of heart,) by taking refuge in a region so barren. He +sought in this employment only an absorbing and uniform +occupation, he only asked from it what Manfred demanded in vain +from the powers of magic: "forgetfulness!" Forgetfulness--granted +neither by the gayety of amusement, nor the lethargy of torpor! +On the contrary, with venomous guile, they always compensate in +the renewed intensity of woe, for the time they may have +succeeded in benumbing it. In the daily labor which "charms the +storms of the soul," (DER SEELE STURM BESCHWORT,) he sought +without doubt forgetfulness, which occupation, by rendering the +memory torpid, may sometimes procure, though it cannot destroy +the sense of pain. At the close of that fine elegy which he names +"The Ideal," a poet, who was also the victim of an inconsolable +melancholy, appeals to labor as a consolation when a prey to +bitter regret; while expecting an early death, he invokes +occupation as the last resource against the incessant anguish of +life: + + + "And thou, so pleated, with her uniting, + To charm the soul-storm into peace, + Sweet toil, in toil itself delighting, + That more it labored, less could cease, + Though but by grains thou aidest the pile + The vast eternity uprears, + At least thou strikest from TIME the while + Life's debt--the minutes--days--and years." + + Bulwer's translation of SCHILLER'S "Ideal." + + Beschoeftigung, die nie ermattet + Die langsam schafft, doch nie zerstoert, + Die zu dem Bau der Ewigkeiten + Zwar Sandkorn nur, fuer Sandkorn reicht, + Doch von der grossen Schuld der Zeiten + Minute, Tage, Jahre streicht. + + Die Ideale--SHILLER. + + +The strength of Chopin was not sufficient for the execution of +his intention. The occupation was too abstract, too fatiguing. He +contemplated the form of his project, he spoke of it at different +times, but its execution had become impossible. He wrote but a +few pages of it, which were destroyed with the rest. + +At last the disease augmented so visibly, that the fears of his +friends assumed the hue of despair. He scarcely ever left his +bed, and spoke but rarely. His sister, upon receiving this +intelligence, came from Warsaw to take her place at his pillow, +which she left no more. He witnessed the anguish, the +presentiments, the redoubled sadness around him, without showing +what impression they made upon him. He thought of death with +Christian calm and resignation, yet he did not cease to prepare +for the morrow. The fancy he had for changing his residence was +once more manifested, he took another lodging, disposed the +furnishing of it anew, and occupied himself in its most minute +details. As he had taken no measures to recall the orders he had +given for its arrangement, they were transporting his furniture +to the apartments he was destined never to inhabit, upon the very +day of his death! + +Did he fear that death would not fulfil his plighted promise! Did +he dread, that after having touched him with his icy hand, he +would still suffer him to linger upon earth? Did he feel that +life would be almost unendurable with its fondest ties broken, +its closest links dissevered? There is a double influence often +felt by gifted temperaments when upon the eve of some event which +is to decide their fate. The eager heart, urged on by a desire to +unravel the mystic secrets of the unknown Future, contradicts the +colder, the more timid intellect, which fears to plunge into the +uncertain abyss of the coming fate! This want of harmony between +the simultaneous previsions of the mind and heart, often causes +the firmest spirits to make assertions which their actions seem +to contradict; yet actions and assertions both flow from the +differing sources of an equal conviction. Did Chopin suffer from +this inevitable dissimilarity between the prophetic whispers of +the heart, and the thronging doubts of the questioning mind? + +From week to week, and soon from day to day, the cold shadow of +death gained upon him. His end was rapidly approaching; his +sufferings became more and more intense; his crises grew more +frequent, and at each accelerated occurrence, resembled more and +more a mortal agony. He retained his presence of mind, his vivid +will upon their intermission, until the last; neither losing the +precision of his ideas, nor the clear perception of his +intentions. The wishes which he expressed in his short moments of +respite, evinced the calm solemnity with which he contemplated +the approach of death. He desired to be buried by the side of +Bellini, with whom, during the time of Bellini's residence in +Paris, he had been intimately acquainted. The grave of Bellini is +in the cemetery of Pere LaChaise, next to that of Cherubini. The +desire of forming an acquaintance with this great master whom he +had been brought up to admire, was one of the motives which, when +he left Vienna in 1831 to go to London, induced him, without +foreseeing that his destiny would fix him there, to pass through +Paris. Chopin now sleeps between Bellini and Cherubini, men of +very dissimilar genius, and yet to both of whom he was in an +equal degree allied, as he attached as much value to the respect +he felt for the science of the one, as to the sympathy he +acknowledged for the creations of the other. Like the author of +NORMA, he was full of melodic feeling, yet he was ambitions of +attaining the harmonic depth of the learned old master; desiring +to unite, in a great and elevated style, the dreamy vagueness of +spontaneous emotion with the erudition of the most consummate +masters. + +Continuing the reserve of his manners to the very last, he did +not request to see. any one for the last time; but he evinced the +most touching gratitude to all who approached him. The first days +of October left neither doubt nor hope. The fatal moment drew +near. The next day, the next hour, could no longer be relied +upon. M. Gutman and his sister were in constant attendance upon +him, never for a single moment leaving him. The Countess Delphine +Potocka, who was then absent from Paris, returned as soon as she +was informed of his imminent danger. None of those who approached +the dying artist, could tear themselves from the spectacle of +this great and gifted soul in its hours of mortal anguish. + +However violent or frivolous the passions may be which agitate +our hearts, whatever strength or indifference may be displayed in +meeting unforeseen or sudden accidents, which would seem +necessarily overwhelming in their effects, it is impossible to +escape the impression made by the imposing majesty of a lingering +and beautiful death, which touches, softens, fascinates and +elevates even the souls the least prepared for such holy and +sublime emotions. The lingering and gradual departure of one +among us for those unknown shores, the mysterious solemnity of +his secret dreams, his commemoration of past facts and passing +ideas when still breathing upon the narrow strait which separates +time from eternity, affect us more deeply than any thing else in +this world. Sudden catastrophes, the dreadful alternations forced +upon the shuddering fragile ship, tossed like a toy by the wild +breath of the tempest; the blood of the battle-field, with the +gloomy smoke of artillery; the horrible charnel-house into which +our own habitation is converted by a contagious plague; +conflagrations which wrap whole cities in their glittering +flames; fathomless abysses which open at our feet;--remove us +less sensibly from all the fleeting attachments "which pass, +which can be broken, which cease," than the prolonged view of a +soul conscious of its own position, silently contemplating the +multiform aspects of time and the mute door of eternity! The +courage, the resignation, the elevation, the emotion, which +reconcile it with that inevitable dissolution so repugnant to all +our instincts, certainly impress the bystanders more profoundly +than the most frightful catastrophes, which, in the confusion +they create, rob the scene of its still anguish, its solemn +meditation. + +The parlor adjoining the chamber of Chopin was constantly +occupied by some of his friends, who, one by one, in turn, +approached him to receive a sign of recognition, a look of +affection, when he was no longer able to address them in words. +On Sunday, the 15th of October, his attacks were more violent and +more frequent--lasting for several hours in succession. He +endured them with patience and great strength of mind. The +Countess Delphine Potocka, who was present, was much distressed; +her tears were flowing fast when he observed her standing at the +foot of his bed, tall, slight, draped in white, resembling the +beautiful angels created by the imagination of the most devout +among the painters. Without doubt, he supposed her to be a +celestial apparition; and when the crisis left him a moment in +repose, he requested her to sing; they deemed him at first seized +with delirium, but he eagerly repeated his request. Who could +have ventured--to oppose his wish? The piano was rolled from his +parlor to the door of his chamber, while, with sobs in her voice, +and tears streaming down her cheeks, his gifted countrywoman +sang. Certainly, this delightful voice had never before attained +an expression so full of profound pathos. He seemed to suffer +less as he listened. She sang that famous Canticle to the Virgin, +which, it is said, once saved the life of Stradella. "How +beautiful it is!" he exclaimed. "My God, how very beautiful! +Again--again!" Though overwhelmed with emotion, the Countess had +the noble courage to comply with the last wish of a friend, a +compatriot; she again took a seat at the piano, and sung a hymn +from Marcello. Chopin again feeling worse, everybody was seized +with fright--by a spontaneous impulse all who were present threw +themselves upon their knees--no one ventured to speak; the sacred +silence was only broken by the voice of the Countess, floating, +like a melody from heaven, above the sighs and sobs which formed +its heavy and mournful earth-accompaniment. It was the haunted +hour of twilight; a dying light lent its mysterious shadows to +this sad scene--the sister of Chopin prostrated near his bed, +wept and prayed--and never quitted this attitude of supplication +while the life of the brother she had so cherished lasted. + +His condition altered for the worse during the night, but he felt +more tranquil upon Monday morning, and as if he had known in +advance the appointed and propitious moment, he asked to receive +immediately the last sacraments. In the absence of the Abbe * * +*, with whom he had been very intimate since their common +expatriation, he requested that the Abbe Jelowicki, one of the +most distinguished men of the Polish emigration, should be sent +for. When the holy Viaticum was administered to him, he received +it, surrounded by those who loved him, with great devotion. He +called his friends a short time afterwards, one by one, to his +bedside, to give each of them his last earnest blessing; calling +down the grace of God fervently upon themselves, their +affections, and their hopes,--every knee bent--every head bowed-- +all eyes were heavy with tears--every heart was sad and +oppressed--every soul elevated. + +Attacks more and more painful, returned and continued during the +day; from Monday night until Tuesday, he did not utter a single +word. He did not seem able to distinguish the persons who were +around him. About eleven o'clock on Tuesday evening, he appeared +to revive a little. The Abbe Jelowicki had never left him. Hardly +had he recovered the power of speech, than he requested him to +recite with him the prayers and litanies for the dying. He was +able to accompany the Abbe in an audible and intelligible voice. +From this moment until his death, he held his head constantly +supported upon the shoulder of M. Gutman, who, during the whole +course of this sickness, had devoted his days and nights to him. + +A convulsive sleep lasted until the 17th of October, 1849. The +final agony commenced about two o'clock; a cold sweat ran +profusely from his brow; after a short drowsiness, he asked, in a +voice scarcely audible: "Who is near me?" Being answered, he bent +his head to kiss the hand of M. Gutman, who still supported it-- +while giving this last tender proof of love and gratitude, the +soul of the artist left its fragile clay. He died as he had +lived--in loving. + +When the doors of the parlor were opened, his friends threw +themselves around the loved corpse, not able to suppress the gush +of tears. + +His love for flowers being well known, they were brought in such +quantities the next day, that the bed in which they had placed +them, and indeed the whole room, almost disappeared, hidden by +their varied and brilliant hues. He seemed to repose in a garden +of roses. His face regained its early beauty, its purity of +expression, its long unwonted serenity. Calmly--with his youthful +loveliness, so long dimmed by bitter suffering, restored by +death, he slept among the flowers he loved, the last long and +dreamless sleep! + +M. Clesinger reproduced the delicate traits, to which death had +rendered their early beauty, in a sketch which he immediately +modeled, and which he afterwards executed in marble for his tomb. + +The respectful admiration which Chopin felt for the genius of +Mozart, had induced him to request that his Requiem should be +performed at his obsequies; this wish was complied with. The +funeral ceremonies took place in the Madeleine Church, the 30th +of October, 1849. They had been delayed until this date, in order +that the execution of this great work should be worthy of the +master and his disciple. The principal artists in Paris were +anxious to take part in it. The FUNERAL MARCH of Chopin, arranged +for the instruments for this occasion by M. Reber, was introduced +at the Introit. At the Offertory, M. Lefebure Vely executed his +admirable PRELUDES in SI and MI MINOR upon the organ. The solos +of the REQUIEM were claimed by Madame Viardot and Madame +Castellan. Lablache, who had sung the TUBA MIRUM of this REQUIEM +at the burial of Beethoven in 1827, again sung it upon this +occasion. M. Meyerbeer, with Prince Adam Czartoryski, led the +train of mourners. The pall was borne by M. Delacroix, M. +Franchomme, M. Gutman, and Prince Alexander Czartorvski.--However +insufficient these pages may be to speak of Chopin as we would +have desired, we hope that the attraction which so justly +surrounds his name, will compensate for much that may be wanting +in them. If to these lines, consecrated to the commemoration of +his works and to all that he held dear, which the sincere esteem, +enthusiastic regard, and intense sorrow for his loss, can alone +gift with persuasive and sympathetic power, it were necessary to +add some of the thoughts awakened in every man when death robs +him of the loved contemporaries of his youth, thus breaking the +first ties linked by the confiding and deluded heart with so much +the greater pain if they were strong enough to survive that +bright period of young life, we would say that in the same--year +we have lost the two dearest friends we have known on earth. One +of them perished in the wild course of civil war. Unfortunate and +valiant hero! He fell with his burning courage unsubdued, his +intrepid calmness undisturbed, his chivalric temerity unabated, +through the endurance of the horrible tortures of a fearful +death. He was a Prince of rare intelligence, of great activity, +of eminent faculties, through whose veins the young blood +circulated with the glittering ardor of a subtle gas. By his own +indefatigable energy he had just succeeded in removing the +difficulties which obstructed his path, in creating an arena in +which his faculties might hare displayed themselves with as much +success in debates and the management of civil affairs, as they +had already done in brilliant feats in arms. The other, Chopin, +died slowly, consuming himself in the flames of his own genius. +His life, unconnected with public events, was like some fact +which has never been incorporated in a material body. The traces +of his existence are only to be found in the works which he has +left. He ended his days upon a foreign soil, which he never +considered as his country, remaining faithful in the devotion of +his affections to the eternal widowhood of his own. He was a Poet +of a mournful soul, full of reserve and complicated mystery, and +familiar with the stern face of sorrow. + +The immediate interest which we felt in the movements of the +parties to which the life of Prince Felix Lichnowsky was bound, +was broken by his death: the death of Chopin has robbed us of all +the consolations of an intelligent and comprehensive friendship. +The affectionate sympathy with our feelings, with our manner of +understanding art, of which this exclusive artist has given us so +many proofs, would have softened the disappointment and weariness +which yet await us, and have strengthened is in our earliest +tendencies, confirmed us in our first essays. + +Since it has fallen to our lot to survive them, we wish at least +to express the sincere regret we feel for their loss. We deem +ourselves bound to offer the homage of our deep and respectful +sorrow upon the grave of the remarkable musician who has just +passed from among us. Music is at present receiving such great +and general development, that it reminds us of that which took +place in painting in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Even +the artists who limited the productions of their genius to the +margins of parchments, painted their miniatures with an +inspiration so happy, that having broken through the Byzantine +stiffness, they left the most exquisite types, which the +Francias, the Peruginos, and the Raphaels to come were to +transport to their frescos, and introduce upon their canvas. + + ------- + +There have been people among whom, in order to preserve the +memory of their great men or the signal events of their history, +it was the custom to form pyramids composed of the stones which +each passer-by was expected to bring to the pile, which gradually +increased to an unlooked-for height from the anonymous +contributions of all. Monuments are still in our days erected by +an analogous proceeding, but in place of building only a rude and +unformed hillock, in consequence of a fortunate combination the +contribution of all concurs in the creation of some work of art, +which is not only destined to perpetuate the mute remembrance +which they wish to honor, but which may have the power to awaken +in future ages the feelings which gave birth to such creation, +the emotions of the contemporaries which called it into being. The +subscriptions which are opened to raise statues and noble +memorials to those who have rendered their epoch or country +illustrious, originate in this design. Immediately after the +death of Chopin, M. Camille Pleyel conceived a project of this +kind. He commenced a subscription, (which conformably to the +general expectation rapidly amounted to a considerable sum,) to +have the monument modeled by M. Clesinger, executed in marble and +placed in the Pere La-Chaise. In thinking over our long +friendship with Chopin; on the exceptional admiration which we +have always felt for him ever since his appearance in the musical +world; remembering that, artist like himself, we have been the +frequent interpreter of his inspirations, an interpreter, we may +safely venture to say, loved and chosen by himself; that we have +more frequently than others received from his own lips the spirit +of his style; that we were in some degree identified with his +creations in art, and with the feelings which he confided to it, +through that long and constant assimilation which obtains between +a writer and his translator;--we have fondly thought that these +connective circumstances imposed upon us a higher and nearer duty +than that of merely adding an unformed and anonymous stone to the +growing pyramid of homage which his contemporaries are elevating +to him. We believed that the claims of a tender friendship for +our illustrious colleague, exacted from us a more particular +expression of our profound regret, of our high admiration. It +appeared to us that we would not be true to ourselves, did we not +court the honor of inscribing our name, our deep affliction, upon +his sepulchral stone! This should be granted to those who never +hope to fill the void in their hearts left by an irreparable +loss!... + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg Etext of Life of Chopin, by Franz Liszt + diff --git a/old/lfcpn10.zip b/old/lfcpn10.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..9359640 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/lfcpn10.zip |