a select circle of pupils, friends,
and partisans who, as Chopin told Lenz, took the tickets in advance and
divided them among themselves. As most of the pupils belonged to the
aristocracy, it followed as a matter of course that the concert was
emphatically what Liszt calls it, "un concert de fashion." The three
chief musical papers of Paris: the "Gazette Musicale," the "France
Musicale," and the "Menestrel" were unanimous in their high, unqualified
praise of the concert-giver, "the king of the fete, who was overwhelmed
with bravos." The pianoforte performances of Chopin took up by far the
greater part of the programme, which was varied by two arias from Adam's
"La Rose de Peronne," sung by Mdme. Damoreau--Cinti, who was as usual
"ravissante de perfection," and by Ernst's "Elegie," played by the
composer himself "in a grand style, with passionate feeling and a purity
worthy of the great masters." Escudier, the writer of the notice in the
"France Musicale," says of Ernst's playing: "If you wish to hear the
violin weep, go and hear Ernst; he produces such heart-rending, such
passionate sounds, that you fear every moment to see his instrument
break to pieces in his hands. It is difficult to carry farther the
expression of sadness, of suffering, and of despair."

To give the reader an idea of the character of the concert, I shall
quote largely from Liszt's notice, in which he not only sets forth the
merits of the artists, but also describes the appearance of the room
and the audience. First, however, I must tell a pretty anecdote of which
this notice reminds me. When Liszt was moving about among the audience
during the intervals of the concert, paying his respects here and there,
he came upon M. Ernest Legouve. The latter told him of his intention
to give an account of the concert in the "Gazette Musicale." Liszt
thereupon said that he had a great wish to write one himself, and M.
Legouve, although reluctantly, gave way. When it came to the ears of
Chopin that Liszt was going to report on the concert, he remarked: "Il
me donnera un petit royaume dans son empire" (He will give me a little
kingdom in his empire).

[FOOTNOTE: Since I wrote the above, M. Legouve has published his
"Soixante ans de Souvenirs," and in this book gives his version of the
story, which, it is to be hoped, is less incorrect than some other
statements of his relating to Chopin: "He [Chopin] had asked me to
write a report of the concert. Liszt claimed t