Flying Dutchman..

Things had reached this point when Meyerbeer again left Paris,
this time for a longer period of absence.

As I did not hear from M. Pillet for quite a long time, I now
began to work diligently at my composition of Rienzi, though, to
my great distress, I had often to interrupt this task in order to
undertake certain pot-boiling hack-work for Schlesinger.

As my contributions to the Gazette Musicale proved so
unremunerative, Schlesinger one day ordered me to work out a
method for the Cornet a pistons. When I told him about my
embarrassment, in not knowing how to deal with the subject, he
replied by sending me five different published 'Methods' for the
Cornet a pistons, at that time the favourite amateur instrument
among the younger male population of Paris. I had merely to
devise a new sixth method out of these five, as all Schlesinger
wanted was to publish an edition of his own. I was racking my
brains how to start, when Schlesinger, who had just obtained a
new complete method, released me from the onerous task. I was,
however, told to write fourteen 'Suites' for the Cornet a
pistons--that is to say, airs out of operas arranged for this
instrument. To furnish me with material for this work,
Schlesinger sent me no less than sixty complete operas arranged
for the piano. I looked them through for suitable airs for my
'Suites,' marked the pages in the volumes with paper strips, and
arranged them into a curious-looking structure round my work-
table, so that I might have the greatest possible variety of the
melodious material within my reach. When I was in the midst of