d. My grandfather possessed a set of his plays
translated into Italian, and whenever I was restless and unable to go
to sleep he would take me into his arms and lull me to rest with tales
from these treasured volumes.

"It was I who first introduced Shakespeare in his veritable form on
the Italian stage. Up to that time the classic form had been alone
considered admissible for tragedy. The first play that I produced was
_Othello_. When in the first scene Brabantio came to the window,
the audience began to laugh. 'Is this a tragedy?' they cried--'a man
talking out of a window!' They laughed all through the first acts.
But," continued Rossi, looking round with a sudden flash from his
expressive eyes, "when the scene with Iago came they ceased to laugh;
and henceforward they laughed no more. At the present time Shakespeare
is thoroughly appreciated in Italy. Our audiences would not endure
the altered and garbled versions of the French stage. Rouviere once
undertook to play in Italy the version of _Hamlet_ constructed by the
elder Dumas and M. V----. When, in the last act, the Ghost appeared
to tell Hamlet _Tu vivras_, the audience rose _en masse_ and fairly
shouted and jeered the performers off the stage. It is in Germany,
however, that Shakespeare is best known and understood. The very
bootblacks in the street know all about him and his greatest works."

The fact now came out that Rossi is an accomplished linguist. He reads
and understands both English and German, though he speaks neither
language. French he speaks as fluently as he does Italian, and he
is also versed in Spanish. He spoke rapturously of the German
_Shakespeare_ (Schlegel's translation), declaring that he considered
it nearly equal to the original.

"Next to Shakespeare, but at a great distance below him, I would rank
Moliere," said Rossi in answer to a query from one of the guests.
"Moliere has given us real types of character and real humor. But he
was the man of his epoch, not for all time. He has painted for us
the men and manners of his day and generation: he did not take all
humanity for a study. Therefore, his works appear old-fashioned on the
modern stage, while those of Shakespeare will never seem faded or out
of date."

"What a wonder, what a marvel was Shakespeare! He was an Englishman
born and bred, yet he turns to Italy and paints for us a picture of
Italian life and love such as no Italian hand has ever drawn. His
heart throbs, his imagi