“’My good friend.—­His Highness has, to my great delight, intrusted me with the errand of sending to you these 60 ducats.  We have been playing your quartettes again, and his Highness was even more charmed and delighted than at the first hearing, three months ago.  He said to me (I must write it word for word):  “When Mozart dedicated these works to you, he thought to honor you alone.  Yet he cannot take it amiss if I find in them a compliment to myself also.  Tell him that I think as highly of his genius as you do, and more than that he could not wish.”  “Amen,” said I. Are you satisfied?

  “’Postscript (for the ear of the good wife).—­Take care that the
  acknowledgment be not too long delayed.  A note from Mozart himself
  would be best.  We must not lose so favorable a breeze.’

“‘You angel!  You divine creature!’ cried Mozart again and again.  It would be hard to say which pleased him most, the letter, or the praise of the prince, or the money.  I confess that just then the money appealed most to me.  We passed a very happy evening, as you may guess.

“Of the affair in the suburb I heard neither that day nor the next.  The whole week went by; no Crescenz appeared, and my husband, in a whirl of engagements, soon forgot her.  One Sunday evening we had a small musicale.  Captain Wasselt, Count Hardegg, and others were there.  During a pause I was called out, and there was the outfit.  I went back to the room and asked, ’Have you ordered a lot of woodenware from the Alservorsstadt?’

“’By thunder, so I did!  I suppose the girl is here?  Tell her to come in.’

“So in she came, quite at ease, with rakes, spades, and all, and apologized for her delay, saying that she had forgotten the name of the street and had only just found it.  Mozart took the things from her, one after another, and handed them to me with great satisfaction.  I thanked him and was pleased with everything, praising and admiring, though I wondered all the time what he had bought the garden tools for.

“‘For your garden,’ he said.

“’Goodness! we gave that up long ago, because the river did so much damage; and besides we never had good luck with it.  I told you, and you didn’t object.’

“‘What!  And so the asparagus that we had this spring—­’

“‘Was always from the market!’

“’Hear that!  If I had only known it!  And I praised it just out of pity for your poor garden, when really the stalks were no bigger than Dutch quills.’

“The guests enjoyed the fun, and I had to give them some of the unnecessary articles at once.  And when Mozart inquired of the girl about the prospects of her marriage, and encouraged her to speak freely, assuring her that whatever assistance we could offer should be quietly given and cause her no trouble, she told her story with so much modesty and discretion that she quite won her audience, and was sent away much encouraged.