I will not enter on the subject of women, wherein nature herself is our enemy, and he who does not strenuously resist at first will strive in vain to escape from the labyrinth, and will find no release but death. How blindly one is often led on by jokes, flattery, &c., until returning sense awakens one to shame, you may have, perhaps, already experienced in some degree. I do not mean to reproach you. I know that you love me not as your father alone, but as your closest and surest friend.

Separation from his wife was not the only sacrifice made by the father to the well-being of his son. He foresaw that the profits of the journey would hardly cover its expenses, and that he must arrange to have a sum always in hand in case of emergencies. He had no private property; the profits of the first journey had already disappeared; he was obliged to borrow, and debt was abhorrent to so conscientious a man; but his friends Hagenauer and Bullinger readily came to his assistance. He not only cut down to their lowest point the expenses of his housekeeping with Nannerl, but he undertook once more "the very uncongenial work of giving lessons," badly paid and fatiguing as it was. A father who made such sacrifices for his son had a right to demand in return, not indeed filial love, and the gaining of artistic fame—that came freely and spontaneously—but a degree of prudence and forethought which should suffice for the demands of practical life. "I have, my dear Wolfgang," he says (February 16, 1778), "not only not the smallest mistrust in you, but I place all confidence and all hope in your future. It all depends on the sound good sense which you certainly possess, if you would only pay heed to it, and on fortunate circumstances. These last are not to be forced, but you can always take sense to your counsel, and that I hope and pray you will."

Thus was everything planned and prepared, the necessary means were provided, the outfit purchased, and a carriage in readiness which would contain the two travellers and their luggage, clothes, and instruments. This was the approved method of travelling at that time, and Leopold Mozart was determined to send his son forth into the world, not as an itinerant musician, but as an artist commanding respect and honourable treatment, even from his outward surroundings.

CHAPTER XVI. MUNICH AND AUGSBURG.

EARLY on the morning of September 23,1777, Wolfgang and his mother took their departure from Salzburg, leaving L. Mozart far from well, and inconsolable in his solitude.

"After you had set off," he wrote (September 25, 1777), "I went upstairs quite exhausted, and threw myself on a couch. It was with a great effort that I had restrained myself at parting, in order not to add to our grief, and in the confusion I had forgotten to give my son the paternal blessing. I ran to the window and sent it after you both; but as I did not see you drive through the gate, I came to the conclusion that you had already passed, and that I had sat immersed in my grief longer than I supposed." Nannerl wept till she made herself ill, and did not recover till the evening, when the two consoled themselves with a game of piquet.

Wolfgang, on the contrary, breathed more freely as soon as he had turned his back upon Salzburg; the feeling of relief from the galling oppression of years dispelled the sorrow of parting with his father and sister. In his former journeys he had experienced nothing but encouragement and success, and had been shielded from all the harassing cares of ordinary life; and so he took his way with artless confidence into the wide world. He little dreamt that he had in fact made the first step along a thorny path, to be met from henceforth to the end by difficulty, opposition, pain, and sorrow. MUNICH, 1777. His mind was fresh and youthful enough to be diverted by all the little incidents of such a journey. When he sat down in the evening, "undecima hora noctis," at Wasserburg, to acquaint his father of their safe arrival, he could think of nothing more important to tell him than of their having seen a cow "all on one side." He had met a fat gentleman who remembered having seen Wolfgang a year ago during a performance of "Mirabell"; he was in company with Herr von Unhold, of Memmingen, and they both sent their compliments to Wolfgang's father and sister. It is plain that the boy rejoiced in the feeling of freedom and independence: "Viviamo come i principi, and want nothing but my dear father; but it is God's will, and all will go well. I hope you will be well and as contented as I am. I am getting quite expert, and, like another papa, taking care of everything. I have always to pay the postilions, for I can talk to the fellows better than mamma. Pray take care of your health, my dear father."

Their first stay was at Munich. The state of affairs there, coupled with their former failure, gave little hope of a prosperous visit; but it was necessary to make the attempt. Furnished with his diplomas of the Academies of Bologna and Verona, and with recommendations from Padre Martini, Wolfgang might present himself before the Elector Maximilian as a thoroughly trained musician; and might hope to gain such favour from influential patrons as would justify his undertaking new works. They took up their abode with their old acquaintance Albert,[ 1 ] known as "the learned host." Wolfgang's first visit was to Count Seeau, the inspector of plays.[ 2 ] He met with a friendly reception, and was advised by the Count to seek an audience of the Elector without delay, and if he did not succeed, to address him by letter; there was no doubt that a first-rate composer was wanted in Munich.