xandre. [FOOTNOTE: Madame Rubio always called the clairvoyant thus.
See another name farther on.] The latter on being applied to told them
that the packet along with a letter had been delivered to the portiere
who had it then in her possession, but that he could not say more until
he got some of her hair. One evening when the portiere was bathing
Chopin's feet, he--who had in the meantime been communicated
with--talked to her about her hair and asked her to let him cut off one
lock. She allowed him to do so, and thus Alexandre was enabled to say
that the money was in the clock in the portiere's room. Having got this
information, they went to the woman and asked her for the packet. She
turned pale, and, drawing it out of the clock, said that at the time she
forgot to give it to Chopin, and when she remembered it afterwards was
afraid to do so. The packet of notes was unopened. Madame Rubio supposed
that the portiere thought Chopin would soon die and that then she might
keep the contents of the parcel.

[FOOTNOTE: After relating that an intimate friend of Chopin's told Miss
Stirling of the latter's straitened circumstances, received from her
bank-notes to the amount of 25,000 francs, and handed them enclosed in
an envelope to the master's portiere with the request to deliver the
packet immediately to its address, Madame Audley proceeds with her story
(which Franchomme's death prevented me from verifying) thus: "Here,
then, was a gleam of light in this darkened sky, and the reassured
friends breathed more freely." "But what was my surprise," said M.
Franchomme, from whom I have the story, "when some time after I heard
Chopin renew his complaints and speak of his distress in the most
poignant terms. Becoming impatient, and being quite at a loss as to what
was going on," I said at last to him: "But, my dear friend, you have no
cause to torment yourself, you can wait for the return of your
health, you have money now!"--"I, money!" exclaimed Chopin; "I
have nothing."--"How! and these 25,000 francs which were sent you
lately?"--"25,000 francs? Where are they? Who sent them to me? I have
not received a sou!"--"Ah! really, that is too bad!" Great commotion
among the friends. It was evident that the money given to the portiere
had not arrived at its destination; but how to be assured of this? and
what had become of it? Here was a curious enough fact, as if a little
of the marvellous must always be mingled with Chopin's affairs. Par