There the fragment breaks off; and in a letter of August 29 there occurs this reply to a message from his eldest sister:—­

’Thank dear Joan for her caution:  I know I need it sadly, especially now when I am at work upon somewhat out-of-the-way subjects, and feel the danger of forgetting that if I mistake the means for the end, and feel gratified with the mere intellectual amusement, I am doing very wrong, even when I am working very hard at very difficult matters.  I like these things, I must confess, and the time is so well adapted to work here, and now that the weather is cool I can secure every day a good long time to myself.’  In the enclosed letter he announces that he shall leave Dresden in another three weeks.  He says:—­

’We have had a steady working time of it here; and as I know some members of the family rather discourage these Continental flights, I just sum up the advantages thereof.  Being naturally endowed with a love of music, the probability is, that when you, Clara, and Miss Horsley are together in the house, as soon as a Lied or Sonata began, away would go my books, or at all events my thoughts.  You know well that the piano goes at all hours, and always in the morning at home.  Then riding,, walking with Father, long sitting after dinner, &c. do not improve the chances for reading.  In fact, you know that what with visitors from without, friends within, parties, &c., I should have had very little reading in the vacation, and that not through my own fault—­not a Stilbehen in the house could protect me from music.  Here I make my own time, and last week my eyes were troublesome.  I walked twice every day, exactly at the hour when I most wanted it; and without nonsense, I may say that I have in two months done really a great deal more than I could have done at home even with masters.  This all applies to Arthur just as much.  He has read German exclusively most of the time, and knows as well as I do that it is not possible to work at home.  If I could go on just as well as with Mendelssohn ringing in my ears, it would be different, but I can’t.  You remember how pleasant, but how very idle, last vacation was, and especially the last six weeks of it!’

Then, after much about family matters, commissions, and little gifts which he was collecting for all at home—­

I should like to get something for everybody, but that is not possible.  Luckily, my lessons are less expensive than I expected, and, considering the work, wonderfully cheap.  I make good progress, I can say; but the difficulty is great enough to discourage any but a real “grinder” at such work.  I have written a scrap for Father, and you will see that I am working away pretty well.  I have finished my introductory book, consisting of forty-one fables; and though difficulties present themselves always to really good scholars from time to time, the Bible is not one of the hardest books, not so hard, e.g. as the Koran.  Now I can at any future time, if