176.—GOUNOD'S FAUST.
Gounod will always be best known as the author of "Faust." But with all the beauty and popularity of that work it was not well received at first. In fact, had it been we might suspect its value. Chappell & Co., the London publishers, bought the right of English performance from Gounod for £60. It lay on their shelves for some time, until one day Colonel Mapleson, husband of the great prima donna, Titiens, and impresario of Her Majesty's Opera House, being at his wits' end for something new and attractive to produce, turned for assistance to his friend, Tom Chappell, head of the firm of Chappell & Co. This gentleman handed the Colonel the manuscript of "Faust," remarking that its merits, if it had any, remained to be discovered. Colonel Mapleson carefully removed the cobwebs and dust from the work, mute witnesses of British musical perspicacity. In a few weeks the public were wild with delight, and Gounod's name as a composer of the highest order was widely proclaimed.