15, 1824, Mr. Pichon (anagram of Chopin) played a Concerto of
Kalkbrenner's and a little song, the latter being received by the
youthful audience with more applause than the former.

Two anecdotes that relate to this stay at Szafarnia further
exemplify what has already been said of Frederick's love of fun
and mischief. Having on one of his visits to the village of
Oberow met some Jews who had come to buy grain, he invited them
to his room, and there entertained them with music, playing to
them "Majufes."

[FOOTNOTE: Karasowski describes "Majufes" as a kind of Jewish
wedding march. Ph. Lobenstein says that it means "the beautiful,
the pleasing one." With this word opened a Hebrew song which
dates from the time of the sojourn of the Jews in Spain, and
which the orthodox Polish Jews sing on Saturdays after dinner,
and whose often-heard melody the Poles imitate as a parody of
Jewish singing.]

His guests were delighted--they began to dance, told him that he
played like a born Jew, and urged him to come to the next Jewish
wedding and play to them there. The other anecdote would be a
very ugly story were it not for the redeeming conclusion. Again
we meet with one of the numerous, but by no means well-loved,
class of Polish citizens. Frederick, having heard that a certain
Jew had bought grain from Mr. Romecki, the proprietor of Oberow,
sent this gentleman a letter purporting to be written by the
grain-dealer in question, in which he informed him that after
reconsidering the matter he would rather not take the grain. The
imitation of the jargon in use among the Polish Jews was so good,