284 Mary Somerville. 



went about the streets, playing airs composed for 

 the occasion, and in the theatres it was even worse, 

 for the acting was interrupted, and the orchestra 

 called upon to play the national tunes in vogue, 

 and repeat them again and again, amid the deafen- 

 ing shouts and applause of the excited audience. 

 We found the Bolognese very sociable, and it was 

 by far the most musical society I ever was in. 

 Rossini was living in Bologna, and received in the 

 evening, and there was always music, amateur and 

 professional, at his house. Frequently there waa 

 part-singing or choruses, and after the music was 

 over the evening ended with a dance. We fre- 

 quently saw Eossini some years later, when we 

 resided at Florence. He was clever and amusing in 

 conversation, but satirical He was very bitter 

 against the modern style of opera-singing, and con- 

 sidered the singers of the present day, with some 

 exceptions, as wanting in study and finish. He 

 objected to much of the modern music, as dwelling 

 too constantly on the highest notes of the voice, 

 whereby it is very soon deteriorated, and the singer 

 forced to scream ; besides which, he considered the 

 orchestral accompaniments too loud. I, who recol- 

 lected Pasta, Malibran, Grisi, Rubini, and others of 

 that epoch, could not help agreeing with him when 

 I compared them to the singers I heard at the 



