shared by Minna, and by our mutual affection for this treasured
pet we were once more tenderly united in a way likely to conduce
to our domestic happiness.

In addition to our pets, our older Zurich friends had also
remained faithful to us, in spite of the catastrophe which had
befallen my family life. Sulzer was without a doubt the worthiest
and most important of these friends. The profound difference
between us both in intellect and temperament seemed only to
favour this relationship, for each was constantly providing
surprises for the other; and as the divergencies between us were
radical, they often gave rise to most exhilarating and instructive
experiences. Sulzer was extraordinarily excitable and very
delicate in health. It was quite against his own original desire
that he had entered the service of the state, and in doing so he
had sacrificed his own wishes to a conscientious performance of
duty in the extremest sense of the word, and now, through his
acquaintance with me, he was drawn more deeply into the sphere of
aesthetic enjoyment than he regarded as justifiable. Probably he
would have indulged less freely in these excesses, had I taken my
art a little less seriously. But as I insisted upon attaching an
importance to the artistic destiny of mankind which far
transcended the mere aims of citizenship, I sometimes completely
upset him. Yet, on the other hand, it was just this intense
earnestness which so strongly attracted him to me and my
speculations. This not only gave rise to pleasant conversation
and calm discussion between us, but also, owing to a fiery temper
on both sides, sometimes provoked violent explosions, so that,
with trembling lips, he would seize hat and stick and hurry away
without a word of farewell. Such, however, was the intrinsic