She invited both ladies in the most friendly manner to visit her more frequently, promising to do all in her power to show and teach them her own manner of singing.  Is this not a quite unusual politeness?  Nay, I even believe it is coquetry so great that it made upon me the impression of naturalness and a certain naivete; for it is hardly to be believed that a human being can be so natural unless it knows all the resources of coquetry.  In her neglige Miss Sontag is a hundred times more beautiful and pleasing than in full evening-dress.  Nevertheless, those who have not seen her in the morning are charmed with her appearance at the concert.  On her return she will give concerts up to the 22nd of the month; then, as she herself told me, she intends to go to St. Petersburg.  Therefore, be quick, dear friend, and come at once, so that you may not miss more than the five concerts she has already given.

From the concluding sentence it would appear that Chopin had talked himself out on the subject; this. however, is not the case, for after imparting some other news he resumes thus:—­

But I have not yet told you all about Miss Sontag.  She has in her rendering some entirely new broderies, with which she produces great effect, but not in the same way as Paganini.  Perhaps the cause lies in this, that hers is a smaller genre.  She seems to exhale the perfume of a fresh bouquet of flowers over the parterre, and, now caresses, now plays with her voice; but she rarely moves to tears.  Radziwill, on the other hand, thinks that she sings and acts the last scene of Desdemona in Othello in such a manner that nobody can refrain from weeping.  To-day I asked her if she would sing us sometime this scene in costume (she is said to be an excellent actress); she answered me that it was true that she had often seen tears in the eyes of the audience, but that acting excited her too much, and she had resolved to appear as rarely as possible on the stage.  You have but to come here if you wish to rest from your rustic cares.  Miss Sontag will sing you something, and you will awake to life again and will gather new strength for your labours.

Mdlle.  Sontag was indeed a unique artist.  In power and fulness of voice, in impassioned expression, in dazzling virtuosity, and in grandeur of style, she might be inferior to Malibran, Catalani, and Pasta; but in clearness and sweetness of voice, in purity of intonation, in airiness, neatness, and elegance of execution, and in exquisiteness of taste, she was unsurpassed.  Now, these were qualities particularly congenial to Chopin; he admired them enthusiastically in the eminent vocalist, and appreciated similar qualities in the pleasing pianist Mdlle. de Belleville.  Indeed, we shall see in the sequel that unless an artist possessed these qualities Chopin had but little sympathy to bestow upon him.  He was, however, not slow to discover in these distinguished lady artists a shortcoming in a direction where he himself was