had no control over Mr. Reeves, whose engagement had terminated. Sims Reeves then stood up and said, "Ladies and gentlemen, I will sing to oblige you, but not to oblige Mr. Calcraft."
Mr. Calcraft, not to be out-done, said—
"I am not angry, I assure you, that Mr. Reeves has declined to sing to oblige me, but I am gratified to find that he has consented to do so to please the audience, and doubly gratified that, under the untoward circumstances, he will support your gifted and distinguished young countrywoman."
The curtain again rose, and the opera proceeded, Catherine Hayes showed no trace of the nervousness she must have felt, she threw herself into her part, and she and Sims Reeves were again and again called before the curtain, amidst waving of hats, canes, handkerchiefs, and umbrellas. The manager and Sims Reeves finally shook hands and a riot that threatened serious consequences ended in peace. I am indebted to the Rev. Dr. Tisdall for pointing out to me another account of this scene, given by Sims Reeves himself in his book, "My Jubilee, or Fifty Years of Artistic Life." Paglieri was not the only Edgardo who failed, for another tenor named Damcke, who happened to be at hand, was sent on for the part, and was found equally incompetent. Miss Hayes was therefore, subjected to two painfully embarrassing disappointments. Reeves, who was in a private
