10. TCHAIKOVSKY IN 1867, IN WINTER DRESS 78 11. TCHAIKOVSKY IN 1868 102 12. TCHAIKOVSKY IN 1873 132 13. TCHAIKOVSKY IN 1874 150 14. TCHAIKOVSKY IN 1877 214 15. FRAGMENT FROM A LETTER, WITH SKETCH FOR A THEME FOR “THE ENCHANTRESS” 482 16. TCHAIKOVSKY IN 1888 540 17. TCHAIKOVSKY AND SILOTI 550 18. TCHAIKOVSKY’S HOUSE AT FROLOVSKOE 560 19. THE HOUSE IN WHICH TCHAIKOVSKY LIVED AT KLIN 680 20. TCHAIKOVSKY’S BEDROOM AT KLIN 694 21. SITTING-ROOM AT KLIN 700 22. TCHAIKOVSKY IN 1893 (TAKEN IN LONDON) 708 “To regret the past, to hope in the future, and never to be satisfied with the present--this is my life.”--P. TCHAIKOVSKY (_Extract from a letter_) THE LIFE & LETTERS OF PETER ILICH TCHAIKOVSKY PART I I One of the most characteristic traits of Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky was his ironical attitude towards his family’s traditions of noble descent. He never lost an opportunity of making fun of their armorial bearings, which he regarded as “imaginary,” and clung obstinately to the plebeian origin of the Tchaikovskys. This was not merely the outcome of his democratic convictions, but had its origin, partly in the pride which lay at the very root of his nature, and partly in his excessive conscientiousness. He would not consider himself a scion of the aristocracy, because his nearest ancestors could not boast of one _boyar_, nor one owner of patrimonial estates. His father was the sole serf-owner in the family, and _he_ possessed a cook with a numerous progeny--ten souls in all. But if he was unconcerned as to family descent, he was far from indifferent as to nationality. The aristocratic pretensions of his relatives aroused his mockery, but the mere suggestion of their Polish origin stirred him to instant wrath. Love of Russia and all things Russian was so deeply rooted in him that, while he cared nothing for questions of pedigree, he rejoiced to discover among his earliest ancestors on his father’s side one orthodox Russian from the district of Kremenschug.