ed to Ivan's rich, strong style. Many a concerted
passage, moreover, did he, in silent despair, alter to suit the stubborn
inabilities of the singers, who insisted that the composer knew nothing
of the possibilities of the human voice:--a criticism, indeed, passed
more than once on Ivan's later works, and by those who knew whereof they
spoke. The climax came on a late December afternoon, when, after a three
hours' struggle with a single passage, the contralto went into
hysterics, the soprano flew into a rage that promised to keep her off
the boards for a week, and Finocchi retired to his dressing-room vowing
to resign his part. The cause of this united rebellion was the rhythm of
a quartet in the third act--by far the best concerted piece in the
opera--in which the two high voices sang four eighth notes against
triplets in the base.

This passage had, up till now, been held in abeyance by Merelli, who had
foreseen difficulty. And, now that it was reached, it proved a reef
indeed. For, of the four singers, only the basso had any conception of
time. Thus when Merelli, in despair, came apologetically to Ivan to
suggest an alteration of the rhythm--which made the whole beauty of the
song--Ivan rose from his place swearing, savagely, that not one other
note in the score should be altered; but that Merelli and his whole
troupe might go to perdition when and how they chose; after which he
left the theatre, sought out Nicholas, flung his contract in that good
man's face, and requested that he go at once to Merelli with word that
the score be returned, with all its parts, and the entire transaction
declared off.

Next morning, at ten o'clock, Ivan heard his quartet sung with a
strictness of _tempo_, rhythm, and expression, far surpassing anything
yet accomplished by any of the principals of the company.

* * * * *

By Christmas week, all Moscow knew that a Gregoriev opera, _The
Boyar_--"written by the man who had been too drunk to conduct his
symphony in the previous October, you know"--(as good an advertisement
as any, and costing nothing)--was to be produced at the Grand Theatre,
at eight o'clock on the evening of January 1, 1868; the evening's
ballet, "Reve d'Ete" being by the same composer. Ivan's friends were in
a state of high excitement at a prospective success of which Merelli
seemed very sure. But they suddenly discovered that the composer himself
had not the slightest intention of bei