[Footnote:  After relating that an intimate friend of Chopin’s told Miss Stirling of the latter’s straitened circumstances, received from her bank-notes to the amount of 25,000 francs, and handed them enclosed in an envelope to the master’s portiere with the request to deliver the packet immediately to its address, Madame Audley proceeds with her story (which Franchomme’s death prevented me from verifying) thus:  “Here, then, was a gleam of light in this darkened sky, and the reassured friends breathed more freely.”  “But what was my surprise,” said M. Franchomme, from whom I have the story, “when some time after I heard Chopin renew his complaints and speak of his distress in the most poignant terms.  Becoming impatient, and being quite at a loss as to what was going on, I said at last to him:  “But, my dear friend, you have no cause to torment yourself, you can wait for the return of your health, you have money now!”—­“I, money!” exclaimed Chopin; “I have nothing.”—­“How! and these 25,000 francs which were sent you lately?”—­“25,000 francs?  Where are they?  Who sent them to me?  I have not received a sou!”—­“Ah! really, that is too bad!” Great commotion among the friends.  It was evident that the money given to the portiere had not arrived at its destination; but how to be assured of this? and what had become of it?  Here was a curious enough fact, as if a little of the marvellous must always be mingled with Chopin’s affairs.  Paris at that time possessed a much run-after clairvoyant, the celebrated Alexis; they thought of going to consult him.  But to get some information it was necessary to put him en rapport, directly or indirectly, with the person suspected.  Now this person was, naturally, the portiere.  By ruse or by address they got hold of a little scarf that she wore round her neck and placed it in the hands of the clairvoyant.  The latter unhesitatingly declared that the 25,000 francs were behind the looking-glass in the loge.  The friend who had brought them immediately presented himself to claim them; and our careful portiere, fearing, no doubt, the consequences of a too prolonged sequestration, drew the packet from behind the clock and held it out to him, saying:  ‘Eh bien, la v’la, vot’ lettre!’”]

Chopin, however, refused to accept the whole of the 25,000 francs.  According to Madame Rubio, he kept only 1,000 francs, returning the rest to Miss Stirling, whilst Franchomme, on the other hand, said that his friend kept 12,000 francs.

During Chopin’s short stay in the Rue Chaillot, M. Charles Gavard, then a very young man, in fact, a youth, spent much of his time with the suffering composer:—­