ements easily at hand and a certain
independence, once the service of the day was over, they found the dull
regular routine of the farm very irksome. In the summer it was well
enough--harvest time was gay, everyone in the fields, but in the short,
cold winter days, with the frozen ground making all the work doubly
hard, just enough food and no distraction of any kind but a pipe in the
kitchen after supper, the young men grew terribly restive and
discontented. Very few of them remain, and the old traditions handed
down from father to son for three or four generations are disappearing.
After dinner we had music and some charming recitations by Mme. Thenard.
Her first one was a comic monologue which always had the wildest success
in London, "Je suis veuve," beginning it with a ringing peal of laughter
which was curiously contagious--everyone in the room joined in. I like
her better in some of her serious things. When she said "le bon gite"
and "le petit clairon," by Paul Deroulede, in her beautiful deep
voice, I had a decided choke in my throat.

We often had music at the chateau. Many of our artist friends came
down--glad to have two or three days rest in the quiet old house. We had
an amusing experience once with the young organist from La Ferte--almost
turned his hair gray. He had taught himself entirely and managed his old
organ very well. He had heard vaguely of Wagner and we had always
promised him we would try and play some of his music with two
pianos--eight hands. Four hands are really not enough for such
complicated music. Mlle. Dubois, premier prix du conservatoire--a
beautiful musician--was staying with us one year and we arranged a
concert for one evening, asking the organist to come to dinner. The poor
man was rather terrified at dining at the chateau--had evidently taken
great pains with his dress (a bright pink satin cravat was rather
striking) and thanked the butler most gratefully every time he handed
him a dish--"Je vous remercie beaucoup, Monsieur." We had our two grand
pianos and were going to play the overture of Tannhaeuser, one of the
simplest and most melodious of Wagner's compositions. The performers
were Francis and I, Mlle. Dubois and the organist. It was a little
difficult to arrange who he should play with. He was very nervous at the
idea of playing with Mlle. Dubois--rather frightened of me and in
absolute terror at the idea of playing before W. Finally it was decided
that he and I should tak