hly characteristic
of the great _maestro_. The following _canard_ is one of the most
_veritable_ and amusing:--

"The newspapers announce that Rossini has shut himself up at Bologna
with the celebrated tenor Donzelli, and that they pass their days in
rehearsing a new opera, of which Rossini is finishing the score. After
the sea-serpent, I know of no story which returns more periodically than
the announcement of a new opera by Rossini. It is now fifteen years
since this pleasantry began to be invariably reproduced at the
commencement of every winter, and always with the same success. One
begins to meet in society a few Parisians who shrug their shoulders with
an air of incredulity when you speak to them of the sea-serpent, but no
one dares to evince the least skepticism touching the new opera of
Rossini. We received this morning a letter from our correspondent at
Bologna, and he furnishes us with details which explain the
announcements in the newspapers.

"Rossini is living in rather a retired way just now; and only receives
the regular visits of one person; there is an error, however, in the
orthography of the appellation of this visitor. Instead of Donzelli, he
is named Pastafrollo. He is no tenor! he is a cook! Rossini, in company
with Pastafrollo, is now busily occupied in endeavoring to discover a
new way of dressing turbot. Rossini has invented, up to the present day,
sixty-two different ways of dressing this fish, but he repeats to
whoever will listen to him, that he will not die content until he has
discovered a sixty-third method, which will satisfy him completely--then
he will divulge his secret, and have inscribed on the _cartes_ of all
the _restaurants_ in Europe--_turbot a la Rossini_. On that day, but
that day only, Rossini will make up his mind to open his piano and
compose a _cantata_ in honor of fish in general, and turbot in
particular. The passion of Rossini for cooking has been rendered more
ardent from the fact that the family of this illustrious personage do
all they can to cross him in it. The relatives and friends of Rossini
wish to make him believe that it is unworthy of a musician, and more
especially of a musician of his genius, to occupy himself with turbot;
but Rossini replies, history in hand, that a whole senate once devoted a
long sitting to find out what sauce would eat best with this fish.
Rossini's family do not consider themselves beaten as yet, and they have
organized a sort of _cor