Walker-My_Musical_Ex.. - Walter Cosand

DEPPE AND SCHARWENCKA 143
pointing to something towering above us, ' and you
are down there;' and he brought his hand down
lower and lower as if he were directing our attention
to some yawning depth. ' You know it in your
inmost heart,' he continued ;
' but you won't listen to
your conscience and give in. You will not strip off
all these rags of pretension, and become like a little
child. I could weep for you,' he continued, with ever-
increasing fervour, 'for your aim is ideal, and you
will suffer cruelly when you at last discover that you
have never even been on the road to it.'
Such was the force of his eloquence that, although
I would not at once tell him so, he had nearly won
me over to return to Herr Deppe, and thus become
truly their comrade in art. But a friend at whose
house I was a constant guest never ceased to influ-
ence me against Herr Deppe and his followers. I,
moreover, did not like the idea of offering a slight to
Scharwencka, whom I liked and admired, and who
had taken great pains with me, and was in many
respects an admirable teacher; I therefore decided
that when the summer came, and I should be away
from all personal influences either for or against
Herr Deppe, I would think it out for myself, and
decide whether I should join his school. When I
said good-bye to the Steinecke-Clarkes early in July,
it was, therefore, quite with the idea that we should all
three be much together during the following winter.
This is, I think, the best place for quoting some