district of Parma in the Italian Parliament. He proved himself a man of
power--practical, self-centered and businesslike--and as such served his
country well.

The sentiment of the man is shown in his buying the property at Busseto,
his old home, which was owned by Signore Barezzi. He removed the high
picket fence, replacing it with a low stone wall; remodeled the house
and turned the conservatory into a small theater, where free concerts
were often given with the help of the villagers. The adjoining grounds
and splendid park were free to the public.

The master's attention to music was now limited to enjoying it. So
passed the days.

Ten years of the life of a country gentleman went by, and the Shah of
Persia, who had been on a visit to Italy and met Verdi, sent a command
for an opera. The plot must be laid in the East, the characters Moorish,
and the whole to be dedicated to the immortal Son of the Sun--the Shah.

It is a little doubtful whether the Shah knew that operas are produced
only in certain moods and can not be done to order as a carpenter builds
a fence. But it was the way that Eastern Royalty had of showing its high
esteem.

Verdi smiled, and his wife smiled, and they had quite a merry little
time over the matter, calling in the neighbors and friends, and drinking
to the health of a real live Shah who knew a great musical genius when
he found one. But suddenly the matter began to take form in the master's
mind. He set to work, and the result was that in a few weeks "Aida" was
completed. The stories often told of the long preparation for composing
this opera reveal the fine imagination of the men who write for the
newspapers. Verdi seized upon knowledge as a devilfish absorbs its
prey--he learned in the mass.

"Aida" was first produced at Cairo in Eighteen Hundred Seventy-one, with
a grand setting and the best cast procurable. A new Verdi opera was an
event, and critics went from London, Paris, and other capitals to see
the performance.

The first thing the knowing ones said was that Verdi was touched with
Wagnerism, and that he had studied "Lohengrin" with painstaking care. If
Verdi was influenced by Wagner it was for good; but there was no servile
imitation in it. The "Aida" is rich in melody, reveals a fine balance
between singers and orchestra, and the "local color" is correct even to
the chorus of Congo slaves that was introduced at the performance in
Cairo.

All agreed that the rest had done