10
him; and now, because the press has turned against him, he is even below being bowed to.'
"'The press is against him?' quoth I, with uplifted eyebrows.
"'What! have you not read how bitterly he has been criticized of late?'
"'No. I have had other matters to think about than pianists.'
"'Well, of late he seems to have been out of sorts. His name has appeared on the bills several times, and then he has not played; whilst at the last concerts he went through his pieces in a most humdrum, lifeless way, so very different from his former brilliant execution.'
"I felt as if a hand was griping at my heart within my breast, still I tried to keep my features as indifferent as possible.
"'I am sorry for him,' said I, listlessly; 'but then, I daresay the ladies will console him for the taunts of the press, and thus blunt the points of their arrows.'
"My mother shrugged her shoulders and drew down the corners of her lips disdainfully. She little guessed either my thoughts, or how
