At the time when she entered into correspondence with. Tchaikowsky, she was threatened with tuberculosis and was, therefore, continually on the move. Rubinstein, the great pianist whose business capacity in direct contrast to that of. Tchaikow sky, was apparently the man who introduced: the widow to her unseen lover. His idea was to procure for Tchaikowsky a wealthy patron to protect the arris, from the disabilities of his poverty. For Tehaikowsky''s property had been acute, at one time it was nearly too much for him. and he had thong of abandoning music for the safety of the government law department inewhich he. had at one time a modest competence. But the widow von Mock saved him from thi Rubinstein told her of Tchiakowsky's youth, his genius, and his music. She had fallen in love with "The Tempest," and Rubinstein. clinched the argument by asking her, who had helped so many musi to cee Be egy give the author of that work a commission:
the widow was on her dark eyes cager, alight with a which those who saw sto. remark.... She shi ier tly. and "smiled. as xorteviteh," she said, "I am immi ly interested in all you have told m out this young man. But vou ne hot have argued so cioguently in his behalf, His music spoke, before you "But Do Not Laugh—"
Her letter to Tchaikowsky acknow-Iedging the receipt of the music she had commissioned him to. write shows that beneath a studied conventionality in expression an already deep emotion was developing:
Permit me to express sincere thane for the speedy execution of my commission. To tell you into what estacies your composition sent" me would be "unnecessary and unfitting.
beeawse you are accustomed to the compliments and homage of, the:
much better qualified to speak 1 a creature so. musically insignificant as I. It would only make you smile have experienced so. precious a delight that I could not bear to have Snyone find it ridiculous, so T shalt content myself with king you to believe absolutely that your' music makes my life easier and pleasanter to live, That was written on December 30, 1876. Two. months later, on February 27, 1877, another commission had to be acknowledged and she wrote Truly I do not know how to thank you for your kind indulgence of my impatience. If it were not for my dep sympathy toward you. T should fear' that you would spoil me. My opoeetpeetannygene Ga sainecatea tees great appreciation of your kin prevents any such reaction.
T should very much like to tell yo at length of my fancies and thoughts About you, but I fear to take your time, of which you have so little to spare. Let me" say only that feeling for you is a thing of the eelne dar to mer S0.
sere ort donot Taush—" could Peter Tivieh, call purllaps
be funny if it were not so si and. real, And so the correspondence, which lested for 14 years, began. Tehaikow sky told her of his troubles. the worst of his weaknesses, his reluctance to be drawn into matrix eventual acceptance pf the advances of Antonina, whose beauty and goodness he admitted, but whose affection he could not reciprocate, and of the troubles which such a luckless riage was bound to produce
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.