lace
in Poland. Of these 92 were national Polish operas, the remaining 193 by
Italian, French, and German composers; 1,075 representations being given
of the former, 4,842 of the latter. The libretti of 41 of the 92 Polish
operas were originals, the other 51 were translations. And, lastly, the
majority of the 16 musicians who composed the 92 Polish operas were not
native Poles, but Czechs, Hungarians, and Germans [FOOTNOTE: Ladislas
von Trocki, Die Entwickelung der Oper in Polen. (Leipzig, 1867.)]

A step hardly less important than the foundation of a national opera was
the formation, in 1805, of a Musical Society, which had for its object
the improvement as well as the amusement of its members. The idea, which
originated in the head of one of the Prussian officials then in Warsaw,
finding approval, and the pecuniary supplies flowing in abundantly, the
Oginski Palace was rented and fitted up, two masters were engaged for
the teaching of solo and choral singing, and a number of successful
concerts were given. The chief promoters seem to have been Count
Krasinski and the two Prussian officials Mosqua and E. Th. A. Hoffmann.
In the last named the reader will recognise the famous author of
fantastic tales and of no less fantastic musical criticisms, the
conductor and composer of operas and other works, &c. According to his
biographer, J. E. Hitzig, Hoffmann did not take much interest in the
proceedings of the Musical Ressource (that was the name of the society)
till it bought the Mniszech Palace, a large building, which, having been
damaged by fire, had to undergo extensive repairs. Then, indeed, he
set to work with a will, planned the arrangement and fitting-up of the
rooms, designed and partly painted the decorations--not without freely
indulging his disposition for caricature--and when all was ready, on
August 3, 1806 (the King of Prussia's birthday), conducted the first
concert in the splendid new hall. The activity of the society was great,
and must have been beneficial; for we read that they had every Sunday
performances of quartets and other kinds of chamber music, that ladies
frequently came forward with pianoforte sonatas, and that when the
celebrated violinist Moser, of Berlin, visited Warsaw, he made them
acquainted with the finest quartets of Mozart and Haydn. Still, I should
not have dwelt so long on the doings of the Musical Ressource were it
not that it was the germ of, or at least gave the impulse to, even mo