itself in severe and ungenerous sarcasms. But the genius of the singer
was proof against the hostility of the Franco-Italian composer, and the
immense audiences which gathered to hear her interpret the chef-d'ouvres
of Weber, whose fame as the great national composer of Germany was
then at its zenith, proved her strong hold on the hearts of the German
people. Spontini's prejudice was generally attributed to Mme. Devrient's
dislike of his music and her artistic identification with the heroines
of Weber, for whose memory Spontini entertained much the same envious
hate as Salieri felt for Mozart in Vienna at an earlier date.

Our singer's ambition sighed to conquer new worlds, and in 1830 she went
to Paris with a troupe of German singers, headed by Mme. Fischer, a
tall blonde beauty, with a fresh, charming voice, but utterly Mme.
Schrôder-Devrient's inferior in all the requirements of the great
artist. She made her _début_ in May at the Theatre Louvois, as _Agathe_
in "Der Freischutz," and, though excessively agitated, was so impressive
and powerful in the impersonation as to create a great _éclat_. The
critics were highly pleased with the beauty and finish of her style.
She produced the principal parts of her _répertoire_ in "Fidelio," "Don
Giovanni," Weber's "Oberon" and "Euryanthe," and Mozart's "Serail."
It was in "Fidelio," however, that she raised the enthusiasm of her
audiences to the highest pitch. On returning again to Germany she
appeared in opera with Scheckner and Sontag, in Berlin, winning laurels
even at the expense of Mme. Sontag, who was then just on the eve of
retiring from the stage, and who was inspired to her finest efforts as
she was departing from the field of her triumphs.

Two years later Mme. Schröder-Devrient accepted a proposition made to
her by the manager of the Théâtre Italiens to sing in a language and
a school for which she was not fully qualified. The season opened with