and perverted talents, I was still conscious of a wonderful
secret solace in the face of the calamity that had befallen me. I
knew, a fact that no one else could know, namely, that my work
could only be rightly judged when set to the music which I had
resolved to write for it, and which I intended to start composing
immediately.

I must now explain my position with respect to music hitherto.
For this purpose I must go back to my earliest attempts in the
art. In my family two of my sisters were musical; the elder one,
Rosalie, played the piano, without, however, displaying any
marked talent. Clara was more gifted; in addition to a great deal
of musical feeling, and a fine rich touch on the piano, she
possessed a particularly sympathetic voice, the development of
which was so premature and remarkable that, under the tuition of
Mieksch, her singing master, who was famous at that time, she was
apparently ready for the role of a prima donna as early as her
sixteenth year, and made her debut at Dresden in Italian opera as
'Cenerentola' in Rossini's opera of that name. Incidentally I
may remark that this premature development proved injurious to
Clara's voice, and was detrimental to her whole career. As I have
said, music was represented in our family by these two sisters.
It was chiefly owing to Clara's career that the musical conductor
C. M. von Weber often came to our house. His visits were varied
by those of the great male-soprano Sassaroli; and in addition to
these two representatives of German and Italian music, we also
had the company of Mieksch, her singing master. It was on these
occasions that I as a child first heard German and Italian music
discussed, and learnt that any one who wished to ingratiate
himself with the Court must show a preference for Italian music,