ve seen
Pasta! No melodramatic twaddle about her! Genuine, artistic delineation
of passion and profound emotion. And then what a voice! none of your
ambiguous voices there; no difficulty in pronouncing, whether soprano or
contralto. And then her beauty--none of your namby-pamby, sickly,
insignificant prettiness." And thus Twaddle grumbles on, making shocking
comparisons between the past and present. Poor old Twaddle! he has,
according to his own showing, outlived all that is good in the province
of music.

The prima donna in this country will, generally speaking, produce on any
foreigner who happens to be among us, an effect very much akin to that
exercised upon Twaddle. She will set him sighing after the vocalization
of the other side of the Atlantic. He will seem to forget that Parodi or
"the Hays" ought to sing as well in this country as in Europe. But still
he can't be brought to that belief; and what is worse, upon your
venturing to suggest any possibility of such a state of the case, you
are made to perceive that he considers that your nationality puts you
off the bench of musical critics.

* * * * *

Query. Why is it that _every_ Frenchman is supposed to be an infallible
judge of sweet sounds? For our own part, we no more believe that every
Gallic gentleman is fit for a critic, than that every one can raise a
handsome moustache.

* * * * *

Another effect of a beautiful prima donna, is to make young husbands,
who have been married _just_ two years, look so steadfastly on the
stage, that their young wives sit with their eyes fastened on a cousin
George or Harry, in the parquette.

[Illustration]

CHAPTER V.

Of the Barytone.

"Our Barytone I almost had forgot;

* * * * *

In lover's parts, his passion more to breathe,
Having no heart to show, he shows his teeth."--BYRON.

The Barytone of the opera is probably the most inoffensive individual in
the world. This is his peculiarity. Even his fierceness on the stage is
done with an effort; and when in the course of a piece he is
unfortunately called on to massacre somebody, we always fancy that he
does it with the most unfeigned reluctance, and for aught we know, with
silent tears. He is generally of a bashful, retiring disposition, and
pretty nearly always awkward. This perhaps arises from the anomalous
position he occupies in operatica