and greatly tormented love story of
the Schumanns there never appears a line in any of their multitudinous
letters which shows or hints the faintest dream of any procedure but
the most upright. Always they encouraged each other with ringing
beautiful changes on the one theme of their lives: Be true to me as I
am true to you. Despair not.

The lawsuit dragged on and on. Wieck exhausted all the devices of
postponement in which the law is so fertile. Schumann found himself the
victim of a pamphlet of direct assault and downright libel, but all
these things were only obstacles to exercise fidelity. The lovers felt
that no power on earth could cut them apart. They began to dream of
their marriage as more certain than the dawn. Schumann writes to
Clara--"_Mein Herzensbrautmaedchen_"--that he wishes her to study and
prepare for his exclusive hearing a whole concert of music, the bride's
concert. She responds that he too must prepare for her music of his
own, for a bridegroom's concert. He writes and begs her to compose some
music and dedicate it to him; he implores her not to ignore her genius.
She writes that she cannot find inspiration; that he is the family's
genius for original work. Always they mingled music with love.

The composer Hiller gave a notable dinner to Liszt, who, after toasting
Mendelssohn, toasted Schumann, "and spoke of me in such beautiful
French and such tender words, that I turned blood-red." January 31,
1840, Schumann had taken up his plan to gain himself a doctor's degree
to match Clara's titles. He had asked a friend to appeal to the
University of Jena to give him an honorary degree, or set him an
examination to pass; for his qualifications he mentioned modestly:

"My sphere of action as editor on a high-class paper, which has now
existed for seven years; my position as composer and the fact of my
having really worked hard, both as editor and musician."

He began an essay on Shakespeare's relation to music, but without
waiting for this the University of Jena granted him his doctorate on
February 24, 1840, a bit of speed which must have been marvellously
refreshing to this poor victim of so much delay.

The very day the degree was granted, he had decided to take legal steps
for libel against the attack of Wieck's, which had been printed in
pamphlet form and distributed. Toward Wieck he is still pitiful, "The
wretched man is torturing himself; let it be his punishment." The libel
suit was not prose