erdi showed him some of the same compositions he had shown
Basili. After examining them he willingly accepted the young aspirant
as a pupil.

Verdi spent most of his evenings at the home of the master, when
Lavigna was not at La Scala and there met many artists. One night it
chanced that Lavigna, Basili and Verdi were alone, and the two masters
were speaking of the deplorable result of a competition for the
position of Maitre di Capelle and organist of the Church of San
Giovanni di Monza. Out of twenty-eight young men who had taken part
in the competition, not one had known how to develop correctly the
subject given by Basili for the construction of a fugue. Lavigna, with
a bit of mischief in his eyes, began to say to his friend:--"It is
really a remarkable fact. Well, look at Verdi, who has studied fugue
for two short years. I lay a wager he would have done better than your
eight and twenty candidates."

"Really?" replied Basili, in a somewhat vexed tone.

"Certainly. Do you remember your subject? Yes, you do? Well, write it
down."

Basili wrote and Lavigne, giving the theme to Verdi, said:

"Sit down there at the table and just begin to work out this subject."

Then the two friends resumed their conversation, until Verdi, coming
to them said simply: "There, it is done."

Basili took the paper and examined it, showing signs of astonishment
as he continued to read. When he came to the conclusion he
complimented the lad and said: "But how is it that you have written a
double canon on my subject?"

"It is because I found it rather poor and wished to embellish
it," Verdi replied, remembering the reception he had had at the
Conservatoire.

In 1833 his old master Provesi died. Verdi felt the loss keenly, for
Provesi was the one who first taught him music and who showed him how
to work to become an artist. Though he wished to do greater things, he
returned to Busseto to fulfill his promise to take Provesi's place as
organist of the Cathedral and conductor of the Philharmonic, rather
big positions to fill for a young man of twenty.

And now Verdi fell in love with the beautiful Margherita, the oldest
daughter of Barezzi, who did not mind giving his daughter to a poor
young man, for Verdi possessed something worth far more than money,
and that was great musical talent. The young people were married in
1836, and the whole Philharmonic Society attended.

About the year 1833-34 there flourished in Milan a vocal socie