ions; and who shall say how much the wondrous blending of strength
and delicacy in the music of Chopin is due to the memory of those early
days of toil and trial, of strength and forbearance, of hope and love?

To be born into such a family is a great blessing. The value of the
environment is shown in that all three of the sisters became
distinguished in literature. Two of them married men of intellect,
wealth and worth, and through the collaboration of these sisters, books
were produced that did for the plain people of Poland what Harriet
Martineau's books on sociology did for the people of England. Frederic
played and practised at the Lyceum where his father taught, and the
ambition of his parents was that he should grow up and take the place of
Professor of Music in the Lyceum. Adalbert Zevyny, one of the leading
pianists in the city, became attracted to the boy and took him as a
pupil, without pay.

The teacher soon became a little boastful of his precocious pupil, and
when there came a public concert for the benefit of the poor, we find
reference made to Chopin thus, "A child not yet eight years of age
played, and connoisseurs say he promises to replace Mozart." In reality
the boy was nearer twelve than eight, but his size and looks suggested
to the management the idea of plagiarizing, in advance, our honored
countryman, Phineas T. Barnum. Hence the announcement on the programs.

But now the nobility of the neighborhood began to send carriages for the
fair-haired lad, so he could play for their invited guests. Then came
snug little honorariums that soon replaced his patched-up wardrobe for
something more fashionable.

Frederic took all the applause quite as a matter of course, and on one
occasion, after he had played divinely, he asked a proud lady this
question, "How do you like my new collar?"

He was to the manner born, and the gentle blood of his mother formed him
as a fit companion for aristocrats.

These occasional musicales at the houses of the great made money matters
easier, and Frederic began to take lessons from Joseph Elsner, who
taught him the science of composition, and introduced him into the
deeper mysteries of music-making. Elsner, it was, more than any other
man, who forced the truth upon Chopin that he must play to satisfy
himself, and in composition be his own most exacting critic. In other
words, Elsner developed and strengthened in Chopin the artistic
conscience--that impulse which cause