Этюд в багровых тонах
The Science of Deduction.
WhenIhadgotsofarinmylistIthrewitintothefireindespair. “IfIcanonlyfindwhatthefellowisdrivingatbyreconcilingalltheseaccomplishments,anddiscoveringacallingwhichneedsthemall,”Isaidtomyself,“Imayaswellgiveuptheattemptatonce.”
IseethatIhavealludedabovetohispowersupontheviolin. Thesewereveryremarkable,butaseccentricasallhisotheraccomplishments. Thathecouldplaypieces,anddifficultpieces,Iknewwell,becauseatmyrequesthehasplayedmesomeofMendelssohn’sLieder,andotherfavourites. Whenlefttohimself,however,hewouldseldomproduceanymusicorattemptanyrecognizedair. Leaningbackinhisarm-chairofanevening,hewouldclosehiseyesandscrapecarelesslyatthefiddlewhichwasthrownacrosshisknee. Sometimesthechordsweresonorousandmelancholy. Occasionallytheywerefantasticandcheerful. Clearlytheyreflectedthethoughtswhichpossessedhim,butwhetherthemusicaidedthosethoughts,orwhethertheplayingwassimplytheresultofawhimorfancywasmorethanIcoulddetermine. Imighthaverebelledagainsttheseexasperatingsoloshaditnotbeenthatheusuallyterminatedthembyplayinginquicksuccessionawholeseriesofmyfavouriteairsasaslightcompensationforthetrialuponmypatience.
Duringthefirstweekorsowehadnocallers,andIhadbeguntothinkthatmycompanionwasasfriendlessamanasIwasmyself. Presently,however,Ifoundthathehadmanyacquaintances,andthoseinthemostdifferentclassesofsociety.
