hand, several years later _Figaro_ made a most unexpected
and lamentable fiasco, in comparison with the success of its
pleasing, though quite insignificant rival _Cosa rara_--and not
alone through the intrigue of the manager. It was the same _Figaro_
which, soon after, the cultivated and unprejudiced people of Prague
received with such enthusiasm that the master, in gratitude, determined
to write his next great opera for them.

But despite the unfavorable period and the influence of his enemies,
Mozart, if he had been more prudent and circumspect, might have received
a very considerable sum from his art. As it was, he was in arrears after
every enterprise, even when full houses shouted their applause to him.
So circumstances, his own nature, and his own faults conspired to keep
him from prosperity.

And what a sad life was that of Frau Mozart! She was young and of a
cheerful disposition, musical, and of a musical family, and had the best
will in the world to stop the mischief at the outset, and, failing in
that, to make up for the loss in great things by saving in small
affairs. But she lacked, perhaps, skill and experience. She held the
purse, and kept the account of the house expenses. Every claim, every
bill, every vexation was carried to her. How often must she have choked
back the tears when to such distress and want, painful embarrassment,
and fear of open disgrace, was added the melancholy of her husband, in
which he would remain for days, accomplishing nothing, refusing all
comfort, and either sighing and complaining, or sitting silent in a
corner, thinking continually of death! But she seldom lost courage, and
almost always her clear judgment found counsel and relief, though it
might be but temporary. In reality she could make no radical change in
the situation. If she persuaded him in seriousness or in jest, by
entreaties or by coaxing, to eat his supper and spend his
evening with his family, she had gained but little. Perhaps,
touched by the sight of his wife's distress, he would curse his bad
habits and promise all that she asked--even more. But to no purpose; he
would soon, unexpectedly, find himself in the old ruts again. One is
tempted to believe that he could not do otherwise, and that a code of
morals, totally different from our ideas of right and wrong, of
necessity controlled him.

Yet Frau Constanze hoped continually for a favorable turn of affairs, a
great improvement in their financial conditio