Mozart's Sister (6 page)

Our Grand Tour began in June of 1763, with a trip to Munich.

The carriage was heavy with luggage. We had a servant along to
help as a general domestic and hairdresser. His name was Sebastian
Winter. The driver and coachman would trade off when we stopped
for new horses and to rest, but Sebastian would stay with us for a
while. I was glad. He was a nice man who did animal imitations.
Wolfie liked his pig noises. I preferred Sebastian's rooster and could
not rightly tell it from the feathered form.

When we began we were all in great spirits, and after a few
hours of riding Mama started us singing songs. Wolfie sang very
loudly and didn't care much about the right notes. He sang beyond the melody, making up harmony. At first it was annoying, but I
eventually chose to like it, for it allowed me the melody. I found
Papa smiling, even though he didn't join in.

Then suddenly, the coach dipped to the left, sending me into
Wolfie's lap! Papa and Mama fell toward us, making our arms and
legs bump and pinch.

"Whoa! Whoa!" the driver yelled.

There was a horrible sound of wood splintering and metal hitting rock. The carriage stopped but was tipped precariously.

"Oh no ... Leopold?" Mama said.

"What happened?" I asked.

Papa helped Mania back in her seat and held on to the door of
the carriage to keep himself in place. "This is not what we need.
Not when we've only just begun."

"What broke?" Wolfie asked.

"The wheel. Obviously the wheel." Papa looked mad, but I
knew he wasn't mad at us. He flung open the door on the low side
and jumped out. Wolfie and I crowded together to look out the
window.

"It's gone, completely broke to pieces," Sebastian said.

Papa rubbed the spot above his eyebrows. "One of my friends
warned me the wheels were not in good shape, but since I'd just
bought the carriage . . ." He sighed. "Expenses. Unforeseen
expenses. This is not an auspicious beginning."

Sebastian and the driver looked down the road. "We passed a
null a ways back. Perhaps we can find help to-"

Papa waved them away. "Go. See what you can do"

I heard their footsteps on the road, running back the way we'd
come. Papa looked at us and blinked, as if only now remembering
we were there.

"Come. Come out." He helped Mama down first, then me,
then Wolfie. Mama and I held our skirts above the dust of the road.

We looked at the wheel. All that was left were little pieces
attached to the metal hub.

"What are we going to do?" Mama asked.

Papa knelt beside the carriage, looking underneath. "We wait."

"Yippee!" Wolfie ran off the road into the brush and picked up a stick. He pointed it like a sword. "En garde!"

I looked to Papa. "Can we play?"

He nodded and Mama said, "Don't get dirty, and stay close."

I found my own sword and defended myself.

What started out as an adventure wasn't fun at all. We had to
wait by the side of the road for over an hour until Sebastian and the
driver returned with help. Then the wheel they brought was too
small and too long in the hub. Papa and Sebastian had to fell a small
tree to bind in front of the wheel so it would not run away. They
broke up the smashed wheel to take the metal with us to the next
town of Wasserburg, where we could get it fixed properly, but even
that they had to tie underneath. And Papa and Sebastian had to walk
so as not to strain the carriage.

We didn't get into town until midnight. Papa left us at an inn
while he and Sebastian went to find a smithy and a cartwright to
forge the iron and form the new wooden wheel. Mama helped us
out of our traveling clothes and we fell into bed. It smelled of perspiration-not ny own.

The next morning at breakfast, Papa told us one of the other
wheels was also in bad shape and would have to be replaced. As he
drank his coffee, I noticed he was wearing the same shirt as yesterday
There were dark circles under his eyes and his hair was mussed.
Hadn't he slept? He hadn't been there when Mama got us up.

Mama answered my unspoken question. "You must rest,
Leopold."

"I will." He ran a hand over his hair, smoothing it. "Although
this is a bad start, and having to board the horses and Sebastian during the delay is a bothersome expense, by heaven it is better to lose
ten wheels than a foot or a few fingers"

Mama nodded. "When will it be ready?"

"We've been told tomorrow morning," Papa said. His voice
echoed his unbelief.

Mama's shoulders dropped. "What are we going to do today?"

Papa pressed his fingers over his eyes and sighed. "There is a church here called St. James. I've heard it has a fine organ."

"Organ!" Wolfie said. "I want to try!"

Wolfie had played the organ for the first time on our last trip
when we'd stopped at a small town near the Danube River. He'd
played well then, even though no one had ever taught him. Perhaps
this time I could try too. A keyboard was a keyboard, wasn't it?

"You may try, Wolferl." Papa smiled. "Actually, that is my
intent."

Wolfie jumped out of his chair, nearly knocking it over. "Now!
I want to go now!"

Mama righted the chair and pointed to it. "We will go when
your father says it's time. Now, let him eat a proper breakfast. It's the
least we can do considering his difficult night."

Mama was always looking after us.

"See, Wolfgang," Papa said. "These are the pedals. You played
the keys before, but now it's time to play the pedals too."

Wolfie looked at Papa's feet and tried one of the pedals of the
organ, though he had to slip off the stool to reach it with a toe. A
deep bass sounded from the pipes above us.

Then suddenly, Wolfie pushed the stool away and played the
pedals standing up, as if he were executing a complicated dance. He
added his hands and, after just a few errors, was playing like he'd
been practicing for months.

I heard applause from the sanctuary and peeked over the railing
of the loft to see several priests and the choirmaster clapping and
talking amongst themselves.

"Bravo!" Papa whispered in Wolfie's ear. "Indeed this is a fresh
act of God's grace."

Mama beamed and kissed Wolfie's other cheek. I scooted over
in the choir pew to the far end.

Into the shadows.

"Hurry, children. Now that we're in Munich, we must be seen."
Papa glanced up at the windows of the Nymphenburg Palace, which
was just west of the city, and moved us near some rosebushes along
a path of the palace gardens.

"Don't push us, Leopold," Mama said. "We must look natural."

But Papa wasn't done placing us into a scene, creating the perfect
picture. He leaned over us, smiling, though his words were stern.
"Nannerl, you be on the garden side, and take your brother's hand
so you both can be seen from the windows. Then the two of you
walk in front of us." He pointed at Wolfie's nose. "Walk, don't run."

We did as we were told. We'd arrived in Munich the night
before, and at breakfast that morning Papa had told us how things
must work on our trip. As soon as we entered a new town, we had
to make it known we were there. Sometimes Papa had letters of
introduction-but most of those didn't refer to a specific date for us
to perform, so we had to make that kind of arrangement after we
arrived in town. And the only way to do that was to let those in
charge know we were available. Papa said he wasn't too proud to
knock on doors, but he preferred this subtler, more dignified
approach.

Lucky for us, today was a gala day, the Feast of St. Antony, and
many people were taking in the pretty gardens at Nymphenburg.
Papa said the palace had been built in 1645 by an elector who was
overjoyed by the birth of his son and heir. He'd had the palace built
for his wife-or at least part of the palace. Since then it had grown
enormous as other electors had added on. The grounds had all sorts
of canals and pools with fountains. And flowers of every color and
scent. It was like walking through sprays of summer perfume.

But we weren't interested in all that. We were interested in the
promenades and staying close to the building in case anyone of
importance happened to look outside-

"Herr Mozart!"

We looked at the windows. There, from the second floor, a man
waved us over. He was about Papa's age.

"Who's that?" Wolfie asked, too loudly.

Mama pulled at his sleeve to quiet him while Papa herded us
close to the stately white building. "Prince Frederick Michael, how
wonderful to see you again," he said.

I stood straighter. From the way the man was dressed in a rumpled
shirt and without a wig, I would not have known he was royalty. Perhaps he'd only now awakened-though it was midafternoon.

"You remember my family from our time in Vienna, don't
you?" Papa asked the prince.

"Of course, of course," he said. "Greetings to you, Fran Mozart,
and to you, children."

Mama and I curtsied, and after a poke to his back, Wolfie
bowed.

"Are you here to perform for us?"

"That is our wish," Papa said.

The prince's eyebrows dipped. "Does the elector know you're
here?"

"Not as yet."

Prince Frederick stood erect and called someone over from
inside the room. We could overhear his instructions to the courtier.
"Go inform the elector the Mozart family is here, and ask if he
would like to hear the children perform."

The prince leaned on the windowsill again. "Why don't you
stroll through the grounds and wait for a reply. I'm sure you'll be
sent for shortly"

We said our good-byes, then walked away. Papa beamed. Wolfie
walked backward in front of us. "Do we get to play, Papa? Do we?"

"Shh, child. And turn around!" He pulled Wolfie and me close,
one beneath each arm. "It appears God will bless our efforts. But we
must pray that what has been started ends in a desirable manner."

I looked at Mama. She nodded once and bowed her head a bit
as we walked. Her lips moved and I knew she was already sending a
request to the Almighty. I did the same.

God would hear us. He would help us make Papa happy.

Papa never did much praying. Back in Salzburg, Mama and I
would join the other women in having masses said at particular altars
in particular churches-depending on the nature of our prayers. We
believed in miracles and fasting, and collected relics that were said to
have power. And Mama was constantly looking for signs from God.
We knew the Almighty was in charge and His will ruled over all.

Even over Papa.