“Then I generally spend half an hour at your splendid harmonium. I like to observe all its curious acoustic properties, which are called aliquot tones. No doubt you have observed that when you play chords on the organ, besides the sound which comes from the notes struck, another sound is heard in the bass, which sometimes harmonises with the chord and sometimes results in a harsh discord. Occasionally the most curious combinations are produced. This is what I discovered yesterday. [Illustration] Try this acoustic experiment by drawing out register No. 1, that is to say Flute and Cor Anglais. D and F sharp, A and C are perfectly in tune, but the E sounds rather sharp. “At 9 p.m. the second Balthazar’s feast takes place. Then I play and make myself acquainted with your musical library. Yesterday I played through a serenade for strings by Volkmann with great pleasure. A sympathetic composer. He has many simple and natural charms. “Do you know that Volkmann is quite an old man and lives in the greatest poverty at Pesth? Once the musicians in Moscow got up a small fund for him, amounting to 300 roubles, in gratitude for which he dedicated his Second Symphony to the Moscow Musical Society. I never could discover why he was so poor. “At 11 p.m. I go to my room and undress. Marcel, the good-natured soldier-porter, and Alexis go to bed. I am left alone to read, dream, or recall the past; to think of those near and dear to me; to open the window and gaze out on the stars; to listen to the sounds of night; and finally--to go to bed. “A wonderful life! Like a vision, a dream! Kind and beloved Nadejda Filaretovna, how grateful I am to you for everything! Sometimes my sense of gratitude is so keen I feel I must proclaim it aloud.” _To N. F. von Meck._ “BRAILOV, _May_ 23_rd_ (_June_ 4_th_), 1878. “As I walked through the woods yesterday I found a quantity of mushrooms. Mushrooming is my greatest delight in summer. The moment in which one first sees a plump, white mushroom is simply fascinating! Passionate card-lovers may experience the same feeling when they see the ace of trumps in their hand. All night long I dreamed of large, fat, pink mushrooms. When I awoke I reflected that these _mushroomy dreams_ were very childish. And, in truth, one would become a child again if one lived long all alone with Nature. One would become far more receptive to the simple, artless joys which she offers us.