Walker-My_Musical_Ex.. - Walter Cosand

274 MY MUSICAL EXPERIENCES
not have afforded to pay him anything— but he
treated all such pupils with a delicacy .of feeling, a
consideration and thoughtfulness, of which I believe we
should find but few examples in any profession. The
following two instances came under my own personal
observation, and in both I derived my knowledge of
the fact that he was giving, and they receiving,
through others, and in quite an incidental manner.
It was in the middle of winter, and the snow lay
deep on the ground in St. Petersburg, when I went
one day by appointment to take my lesson from
Henselt, and was, according to the usual custom,
ushered into his anteroom, after leaving my fur and
other wraps in the hall. Instead, however, of being
called in as usual by his man, the Meister himself
appeared after a few moments, and (it was always his
fashion to come at once to the point without prelude
or preamble) greeted me with, ' My dear friend, I am
in a sort of fix this moment, for I find that I have
appointed the same hour for you and another lady.
She is here, and as she is a teacher, her time is
valuable—she cannot come backwards and forwards
to me : what is to be done ?'
I naturally at once said I would either wait, if he
would have time for me when she was done, or else
would go home and come back later, whichever might
suit him best. It was settled then that I should have
he next hour after hers.
As I lived only about ten minutes' walk from him,