Sand, the death of his father and of his friend Matuszynski, and
the rupture with Madame Sand--these were crises of his history.
All else was but an indeterminate factor in the scheme of his
earthly sojourn. Chopin though not an anchorite resembled
Flaubert, being both proud and timid; he led a detached life,
hence his art was bold and violent. Unlike Liszt he seldom sought
the glamor of the theatre, and was never in such public view as
his maternal admirer, Sand. He was Frederic Francois Chopin,
composer, teacher of piano and a lyric genius of the highest
range.

Recently the date of his birth has been again discussed by
Natalie Janotha, the Polish pianist. Chopin was born in Zelazowa-
Wola, six miles from Warsaw, March 1, 1809. This place is
sometimes spelled Jeliasovaya-Volia. The medallion made for the
tomb by Clesinger--the son-in-law of George Sand--and the watch
given by the singer Catalan! in 1820 with the inscription "Donne
par Madame Catalan! a Frederic Chopin, age de dix ans," have
incited a conflict of authorities. Karasowski was informed by
Chopin's sister that the correct year of his birth was 1809, and
Szulc, Sowinski and Niecks agree with him. Szulc asserts that the
memorial in the Holy Cross Church, Warsaw--where Chopin's heart
is preserved--bears the date March 2, 1809. Chopin, so Henry T.
Finck declares, was twenty-two years of age when he wrote to his
teacher Elsner in 1831. Liszt told Niecks in 1878 that Karasowski
had published the correct date in his biography. Now let us
consider Janotha's arguments. According to her evidence the
composer's natal day was February 22, 1810 and his christening
occurred April 28 of the same year. The following baptismal
certificate, originally in Latin and translated by Finck, is