September, 1877; and reprinted in “Musical Studies”—­Edinburgh:  A. & C. Black, 1880).  This ends the list of biographies with any claims to originality.  There are, however, many interesting contributions to a biography of Chopin to be found in works of various kinds.  These shall be mentioned in the course of my narrative; here I will point out only the two most important ones—­namely, George Sand’s “Histoire de ma Vie,” first published in the Paris newspaper “La Presse” (1854) and subsequently in book-form; and her six volumes of “Correspondance,” 1812-1876 (Paris:  Calmann Levy, 1882-1884).

My researches had for their object the whole life of Chopin, and his historical, political, artistical, social, and personal surroundings, but they were chiefly directed to the least known and most interesting period of his career—­his life in France, and his visits to Germany and Great Britain.  My chief sources of information are divisible into two classes—­newspapers, magazines, pamphlets, correspondences, and books; and conversations I held with, and letters I received from, Chopin’s pupils, friends, and acquaintances.  Of his pupils, my warmest thanks are due to Madame Dubois (nee Camille O’Meara), Madame Rubio (nee Vera de Kologrivof), Mdlle.  Gavard, Madame Streicher (nee Friederike Muller), Adolph Gutmann, M. Georges Mathias, Brinley Richards, and Lindsay Sloper; of friends and acquaintances, to Liszt, Ferdinand Hiller, Franchomme, Charles Valentin Alkan, Stephen Heller, Edouard Wolff, Mr. Charles Halle, Mr. G. A. Osborne, T. Kwiatkowski, Prof.  A. Chodzko, M. Leonard Niedzwiecki (gallice, Nedvetsky), Madame Jenny Lind-Goldschmidt, Mr. A. J. Hipkins, and Dr. and Mrs. Lyschinski.  I am likewise greatly indebted to Messrs. Breitkopf and Hartel, Karl Gurckhaus (the late proprietor of the firm of Friedrich Kistner), Julius Schuberth, Friedrich Hofmeister, Edwin Ashdown, Richault & Cie, and others, for information in connection with the publication of Chopin’s works.  It is impossible to enumerate all my obligations—­many of my informants and many furtherers of my labours will be mentioned in the body of the book; many, however, and by no means the least helpful, will remain unnamed.  To all of them I offer the assurance of my deep-felt gratitude.  Not a few of my kind helpers, alas! are no longer among the living; more than ten years have gone by since I began my researches, and during that time Death has been reaping a rich harvest.

The Chopin letters will, no doubt, be regarded as a special feature of the present biography.  They may, I think, be called numerous, if we consider the master’s dislike to letter-writing.  Ferdinand Hiller—­whose almost unique collection of letters addressed to him by his famous friends in art and literature is now, and will be for years to come, under lock and key among the municipal archives at Cologne—­allowed me to copy two letters by Chopin, one of them written conjointly with Liszt.  Franchomme, too, granted me the privilege of copying his friend’s epistolary communications.  Besides a number of letters that have here and there been published, I include, further, a translation of Chopin’s letters to Fontana, which in Karasowski’s book (i.e., the Polish edition) lose much of their value, owing to his inability to assign approximately correct dates to them.