and that he might have a success. As they had played fairyland in the
theatre in the Square des-Arts-et-Métiers, he had at hand all the needed
material to give me a luxurious stage-setting without great expense.
Mlle. Caroline Salla was given the part of Hélène. With her beauty and
magnificent voice she was certainly remarkable. But the passages which
had been written for the light high soprano of Madame Carvalho were
poorly adapted for a dramatic soprano. They concluded, therefore, that I
didn't know how to write vocal music.

In spite of everything the work was markedly successful, the natural
result of a splendid performance in which two stars--Melchissedech and
Mlle. Adeline Théodore, at present teacher of dancing at the
Opéra--shone.

Poor Vizentini! His opinion of me has changed greatly since that time.
We were made to understand and love each other, so he has become, with
years, one of my best and most devoted friends. He first produced my
ballet _Javotte_ at the Grand-Théâtre in Lyons, which the Monnaie in
Brussels had ordered and then refused. He had dreams of directing the
Opéra-Comique and installing _Le Timbre d'Argent_ there. Fate willed
otherwise.

We have seen how the young French school was encouraged under the
Empire. The situation has improved and the old state of affairs has
never returned. But we find more than the analogy between the old point
of view and the one that was revealed not long ago when the French
musicians complained that they were more or less sacrificed in favor of
their foreign contemporaries. At bottom it is the same spirit in a
modified form.