“You are glad of it, for you seem to-day very much exhausted.”
“Ay; old age will have its claims satisfied, and rest does me good now and then; but glad—no! I am not glad that the hours are at an end, in which I must do my duty. I can impart instruction yet—I have strength to make good scholars, and so long as I can work, none shall find me remiss.”
“You will do much good yet!”
“That is in God’s hand, Anna! My will indeed is to do—you look so pleasant—what have you there?”
“A letter for you from Philip.”
“Ho, ho!” cried Sebastian, while he joyfully rose; “has the scapegrace at last found time to write to his old father? By my faith, I have doubted whether he has ever learned letter-writing, since he has been concert-master in the service of His Majesty of Prussia! Well—what says he?” and he opened the letter, and read—
“My dear and honored father—
“You will pardon your most dutiful son, that he has not written in so long a time to his beloved and honored parent, and will impute this neglect of duty by no means to any lack of filial affection, or of dutiful esteem, since it is solely and entirely owing to the pressing business of my situation. This magnificent capital is all life, as far as music is concerned. At court there is a great concert two or three times a week, without numbering the private entertainments, which His Majesty has every evening in his cabinet, where I accompany him on the pretty Silbermann’s piano, on which my beloved father played before His Majesty.
“His Majesty plays on the flute quite surprisingly; and I think his tone fuller and better than Herr Quantz can produce. But, as respects time, I am obliged to give good heed to keep with him, for His Majesty is capricious, and troubles himself little with the notes—going forward and backward and stopping at his own will and pleasure. This is pleasant enough when he plays alone, but in concerts occasions much confusion.
“His Majesty has always been very well pleased with my accompaniment; and after every piece we have executed together, His Majesty has been pleased to say—‘You have done this well.’