but among that collection there were likewise compositions of the teacher’s own, in the shape of clumsy marches and galops — and these too Lubotshka used to play!

Katenka and I cared nothing for serious works, but preferred, above all things, “Le Fou” and “The Nightingale” — the latter of which Katenka would play until her fingers almost became invisible, and which I too was beginning to execute with much vigour and some continuity. I had adopted the gestures of the young man of whom I have spoken, and frequently regretted that there were no strangers present to see me play. Soon, however, I began to realise that Liszt and Kalkbrenner were beyond me, and that I should never overtake Katenka. Accordingly, imagining that classical music was easier (as well as, partly, for the