Robert Schumann rallied for a while from his severe malady, and hopes were held out of his final recovery.  Frau Clara, having her little family to support, resumed her concert playing in good earnest, and appeared with triumphant success in Vienna, London and many other cities.  When possible Brahms and Joachim accompanied her.  Then Schumann’s malady took an unfavorable turn.  When the end was near, Brahms and Frau Clara went to Endenich and were with the master till all was over.  On July 31, 1856, a balmy summer evening, the mortal remains of the great composer were laid to rest in the little cemetery at Bonn, on the Rhine.  The three chief mourners were:  Brahms—­who carried a laurel wreath from the wife—­Joachim and Dietrich.

Frau Schumann returned to Duesseldorf the next day, accompanied by Brahms and Joachim.  Together they set in order the papers left by the composer, and assisted the widow in many little ways.  A little later she went to Switzerland to recover her strength, accompanied by Brahms and his sister Elise.  A number of weeks were spent in rest and recuperation.  By October the three musicians were ready to take up their ordinary routine again.  Frau Clara began practising for her concert season, Joachim returned to his post in Hanover, and Johann turned his face toward Hamburg, giving some concerts on the way, in which he achieved pronounced success.

The season of 1856-7, was passed uneventfully by Brahms, in composing, teaching and occasional journeys.  He may be said to have had four homes, besides that of his parents in Hamburg.  In Duesseldorf, Hanover, Goettingen and Bonn he had many friends and was always welcome.

It may be asked why Brahms, who had the faculty of endearing himself so warmly to his friends, never married.  It is true he sometimes desired to found a home of his own, but in reality the mistress of his absorbing passion was his art, to which everything else remained secondary.  He never swerved a hair’s breadth from this devotion to creative art, but accepted poverty, disappointment, loneliness and often failure in the eyes of the world, for the sake of this, his true love.

Johannes was now engaged as conductor of a Choral Society in Detmold, also as Court Pianist and teacher in the royal family.  The post carried with it free rooms and living, and he was lodged at the Hotel Stadt Frankfort, a comfortable inn, exactly opposite the Castle, and thus close to the scene of his new labors.

He began his duties by going through many short choral works of the older and modern masters.  With other musicians at Court much chamber music was played, in fact almost the entire repertoire.  The young musician soon became a favorite at Court, not only on account of his musical genius but also because of the general culture of his mind.  He could talk on almost any subject.  “Whoever wishes to play well must not only practise a great deal but read many books,” was one of his favorite sayings.