he finds herself
in the presence of Sharpless and Linkerton. The latter signs to her,
not to waken Butterfly. She is showing him the room adorned with
flowers for his arrival, when she suddenly perceives a lady walking in
the garden and hears, that she is Linkerton's lawful American wife.

Sharpless, taking the maid aside, begs her to prepare her mistress for
the coming blow and tells her, that the foreign lady desires to adopt
her husband's little boy.

Linkerton himself is deeply touched by the signs of Butterfly's undying
love; full of remorse he entreats Sharpless to comfort her as best he
can, and weeping leaves the scene of his first love dream.

His wife Kate returning to the foot of the terrace, sweetly repeats her
wish to adopt the little boy, when Butterfly, emerging from the inner
room, comes to look for her long lost husband, whose presence she feels
with the divination of love.

Seeing Sharpless standing by a foreign lady and Suzuki in tears the
truth suddenly bursts upon her. "Is he alive?" she asks, and when
Suzuki answers "yes", she knows that he has forsaken her.--

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Turned to stone she listens to Kate's humble apologies and to her offer
to take the child.--By a supreme effort she controls herself.

"I will give up my child to him only; let him come and take him; I
shall by ready in half an hour," she answers brokenly.

When Sharpless and Kate have left her, Butterfly sends Suzuki into
another room with the child. Then seizing her father's long knife she
takes her white veil, throwing it over the folding screen. Kissing the
blade she reads its inscription. "Honourably he dies, who no longer
lives in honour," and raises it to her throat.

At this moment the door opens and her child runs up to his mother with
outstretched arms. Snatching him to her bosom she devours him with
kisses, then sends him into the garden.

Seizing the knife once more Butterfly disappears behind the screen and
shortly afterward the knife is heard to fall.

When Linkerton's call "Butterfly" is heard, she emerges once more from
the background and drags herself to the door; but there her strength
fails her and she sinks dead to the ground.--

ACTE.

Music-Drama in four Acts. Text and Music by JOAN MANEN.

It is only a few years since the young Spanish composer has begun to be
known beyond his own country.

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He was an infant prodigy, whose musical genius revealed itself in his
earliest