CHAPTER II.
National Character of the Polonaise--Oginski--Meyseder--Weber--Chopin--His Polonaise in F Sharp, Minor--Polonaise--Fantaisie.
It must not be supposed that the tortured aberrations of feeling to which we have just alluded, ever injure the harmonic tissue in the works of Chopin on the contrary, they only render it a more curious subject for analysis.

Such eccentricities rarely occur in his more generally known and admired compositions.

His Polonaises, which are less studied than they merit, on account of the difficulties presented by their perfect execution, are to be classed among his highest inspirations.
They never remind us of the mincing and affected "Polonaises a la Pompadour," which our orchestras have introduced into ball-rooms, our virtuosi in concerts, or of those to be found in our "Parlor Repertories," filled, as they invariably are, with hackneyed collections of music, marked by insipidity and mannerism.
His Polonaises, characterized by an energetic rhythm, galvanize and electrify the torpor of indifference.

The most noble traditional feelings of ancient Poland are embodied in them.

The firm resolve and calm gravity of its men of other days, breathe through these compositions.