but at last some one remembered Mme. Persiani, who was known as a charming dilettante.  Her residence was not many miles away from Leghorn, and it was determined to have recourse to this last resort, for it was otherwise almost impossible to secure a vocalist of talent at short notice.  A deputation of M. Fournier’s friends, among whom were those well acquainted with the Tacchinardi family, formed an embassy to represent the urgent need of the composer and implore the aid of Mme. Persiani.  With some difficulty the consent of husband and father was obtained, and the young singer made her debut in the opera of the merchant-musician.  Mme. Persiani said in after-years that, had her attempt been a successful one, it was very doubtful if she ever would have pursued the profession of the stage.  But her performance came very near to being a failure.  Her pride was so stung and her vanity humiliated that she would not listen to the commands of husband and father.  She would become a great lyric artist, or else satisfy herself that she could not become one.  The turning-point of her life had come.

She found an engagement at the La Scala, Milan, and she speedily laid a good foundation for her future renown.  She sang at Florence with Duprez, and Donizetti, who was then in the city, composed his “Rosmonda d’Inghilterra” for these artists.  For two years there was nothing of specially important note in Mme. Persiani’s life except a swift and steady progress.  An engagement at Vienna made her the pet of that city, which is fanatical in its musical enthusiasm, and we next find her back again in Italy, singing greatly to the satisfaction of the public in such operas as “Romeo e Giulietta,” “Il Pirata,” “La Gazza Ladra,” and “L’Elisir d’Amore.”  Mme. Pasta was singing in Venice when Persiani visited that city, and the latter did not hesitate to enter into competition with her illustrious rival.  Indeed, the complimentary Venetians called her “la petite Pasta,” though the character of her talent was entirely alien to that of the great tragedienne of music.  Milan and Rome reechoed the voice of other cities, and during her stay in Rome she appeared in two new operas, “Misantropia e Pentimento” and “I Promessi Sposi.”  Among the artists associated with her during the Roman engagement was Ronconi, who was then just beginning to establish his great reputation.  One of the most important events of her early career was her association, in 1834, at the San Carlo, Naples, with Duprez, Caselli, and La-blache.  The composer Donizetti had always been charmed with her voice as suiting the peculiar style of music in which he excelled, and he determined to compose an opera for her.  His marvelous facility of composition was happily illustrated in this case.  The novel of “The Bride of Lammermoor” was turned into a libretto for him by a Neapolitan poet, Donizetti himself, it is said, having written the last act in his eagerness to save time and get