The shaking myself thus free from all responsibility did not give me any relief.  When I arrived at Warsaw I intended to call upon Clara, but was prevented by a severe headache; which got better towards evening before my aunt came up.

She found me already dressed, and we drove together to the concert, which was a great success.  Clara’s fame had attracted the whole musical and intelligent world, and the charitable purpose the aristocratic circles.  I saw many people there I knew, among them Sniatynski and his wife.  The concert room was crowded.  But I was out of humor, and everything irritated me.  I do not know why, but I felt afraid Clara’s performance would be a failure.  When she appeared on the platform a programme clung to the folds of her dress; I thought it would make her appear ridiculous.  She herself in full evening dress seemed to me more like a stranger than a friend.  I involuntarily asked myself whether it was the same Clara I was so intimate with.  When the hearty applause had ceased she sat down to the piano, and I acknowledged to myself that she had a noble and artistic presence, full of simplicity and quite free of any affectation.  On all faces there was the concentrated attention of people who have no understanding of art, but like to pass for connoisseurs and judges.  She played Mendelssohn’s concerto, which I know by heart,—­but whether it was the thought that much was expected from her, or that the unusually enthusiastic reception had moved her, she played worse than I had ever heard her.  I was sorry for it and looked at her with astonishment; our eyes met for a moment.  The expression of my face put the final touch to her confusion, and I heard a few dim notes without force or expression.  I was quite sure now she would fail.  Never had the piano, with its lack of continuity, its sound smothered by the acoustic properties of the room, seemed to me a more miserable instrument.  At times it seemed as if I heard the sharp, staccato sounds of a harp.  Presently Clara recovered her self-possession, but upon the whole I thought she had played but indifferently.  I was very much surprised indeed when after she had finished there rose such a storm of applause as I had not heard even in Paris, where Clara was received with exceptional enthusiasm.  During the short pause, amateurs and professionals began discussing the music, and in their animated faces I read perfect satisfaction.  The cheering lasted until Clara reappeared on the platform.  She stepped forth with downcast eyes, and I who could read her face saw what she wanted to express:  “You are very kind, and I thank you for it; but it was not good and I feel inclined to cry.”  I too had applauded with the rest, for which I received a passing glance full of reproach.  Clara loves her art too much to be gratified by undeserved applause.  I felt sorry for her, and should have liked to say a few encouraging words, but the continued cheering did not permit her to leave the platform.  She