ion to this deficiency. She devoted herself thoroughly to the
primary formation of the tone under the instruction of Miksch, and must
still remember the old master, and his extraordinary practice in this
particular. Miksch learned it from Caselli, a pupil of Bernacchi. He had
just sung as a young tenor, with great applause, in a concert, and
introduced himself to Caselli, who was present, expecting to receive
his approbation; but the latter, instead of commending, assured him
frankly that his mode of singing was false, and that with such misuse
his voice would succumb within a year, unless he adopted a correct
culture of tone. After much hard struggle, the young Miksch renounced
all further public applause, and studied the formation of tone
assiduously and perseveringly with Caselli, after having previously
allowed his over-strained voice a time for rest.

If a singing-teacher has, by chance, met with a docile pupil, possessed
of a voice of unusual beauty, it frequently happens that the studies are
not pursued with sufficient perseverance; and, perhaps, are continued
only for a few weeks or months, instead of allowing a year or more,
according to circumstances. Richard Wagner agrees with me, when he says,
"Why, then, write operas to be sung, when we no longer have either male
or female singers?"

* * * * *

Since modern progress has come to regard "the three trifles" as
belonging entirely to the past, and in their place has proclaimed,
"Boldness, Spirit, Power," two evil spirits have had rule: they go hand
in hand, ruin the voice, wound the cultivated ear, and provide for
us--only empty opera houses. One of these evils has been frequently
alluded to by me. It is "the expenditure of a great deal too much
breath." The finest voices are obliged to practise with full breath
until they shriek, and the result is mere sobbing, and the heavy drawing
of the breath, just at the time when the tone should still be heard.
Even if every thing else could be right, in such a culture of the tone,
which must very shortly relax the muscles of the voice, that one thing,
in itself, would be sufficient to destroy all promise of success.

The second evil endangers even the male voice, which is able to endure
much ill-treatment; while the female voice is quickly forced by it into
a piercing shrillness, or is driven back into the throat, soon to be
entirely exhausted, or is, at least, prevented from attaining a