“I am spending my last days here. I need hardly tell you why I cannot accept your hospitality any longer, although I might remain until June 10th (22nd). I have spent many unforgettable days here; I have experienced the purest and most tranquil enjoyment. I have drunk in the beauties and sympathetic surroundings of Brailov, so that my visit will remain one of the most beautiful memories of my life. I thank you. Nevertheless it is time I went away.” _To N. F. von Meck._ “BRAILOV, _May_ 30_th_ (_June_ 11_th_), 1878. “I have given my pieces (which are dedicated to Brailov) to Marcel, so that he may deliver them to you. The first is the best, I think, but also the most difficult; it is called _Meditation_. The second is a very quick Scherzo, and the third a ‘_Chant sans Paroles_.’ It was very hard to part with them to Marcel. Just recently I had started copying them! Then the lilacs were still in full bloom, the grass uncut, and the roses had hardly begun to bud!” VIII _To N. F. Meck._ “VILLAGE OF NIZI, _June_ 6_th_ (18_th_) 1878. “Forgive me, my friend, for not having written to you from Petersburg. In the first place, I was afraid my letter might not reach you in time, and secondly, you cannot imagine what a _hell_ my three days’ sojourn in Moscow proved to be. They seemed more like three centuries. I experienced the same joy when I found myself in the train once more that I might have felt on being released from a narrow prison cell. I have come here in answer to the invitation of a hospitable old friend, Kondratiev, whom I formerly used to visit almost every summer. Here I composed _Vakoula_ and many other works.” _To N. F. von Meck._ “KAMENKA, _June_ 24_th_ (_July_ 6_th_), 1878. “You want to know my methods of composing? Do you know, dear friend, that it is very difficult to give a satisfactory answer to your question, because the circumstances under which a new work comes into the world vary considerably in each case. “First, I must divide my works into two categories, for this is important in trying to explain my methods. “(1) Works which I compose on my own initiative--that is to say, from an invincible inward impulse. “(2) Works which are inspired by external circumstances: the wish of a friend, or a publisher, and _commissioned_ works.