find in the quotation from Cruda sorte,' at the three hundred and twenty-seventh page.

It has been remarked, that he has a feature of modulation peculiar to himself, i. e., his fondness for closing his periods from the major mood, to the minor of the lesser third below:

and to the major and minor third above:

Both are of such constant occurrence, that we can scarcely find a melody which does not exhibit one or other of these minor transitions in the motivo. It is said of this author, that his chief merit lies in his concerted pieces; but where can we find songs that have been repeated so often in the different cities of Europe as the following:-' Di piacer,' ‹ Tu ch'accendi,'' Elena, Una voce,' and ' Largo al factotum-?' In duettos he has excelled every other author-Fiero incontro,'' Mabbraccia,' 'Deh pensa che domani,' 'Ebben a te ferisci,' 'All'idea,' 'Parlar,' 'Amor possente,'' Se tu m' ami,' &c. &c., all of which, without exception, are inimitable. A symmetrical beauty runs through the whole of them, and their vocal phrases are so natural, that after hearing them, they haunt us for days. This similarity has led some persons to affirm that he is constantly committing robberies upon himself; but with a talent so facile, it is improbable that he would resort to this expedient. A writer has observed, 'that we 'might compare the operas of Rossini to a long 'family of sisters, in which the likeness of the parent is too strongly, and too frequently repeated, and ' yet, in each member of the family, there are some 'distinct beauties to claim our interest and admira'tion.' His last opera, William Tell, has less of this general resemblance; his style, obviously, has been influenced by the native airs of Switzerland, which he has adorned with all the powers of his genius.* • Vide the beautiful Waltz at page 206.

It was in the year 1813, when Rossini had arrived at his twenty-first year, that he produced the opera of Tancredi. No adequate idea can be formed of the success which this delightful opera obtained at Venice. Suffice it to say, that the presence of Napoleon himself, who honored the Venetians with a visit, was unable to call off their attention from Rossini. All was enthusiasm!-tutto furore, to use the terms of that expressive language, which seems to have been created for the use of the arts. From the gondolier to the patrician, everybody was repeating Mi rivedrai, ti rivedro.' In the very courts of law, the judges were obliged to impose silence on the auditory, who were perpetually humming 'Ti rivedro.'*

Of all his works, the oratorio of Moses in Egypt is of the highest order; it is cast upon the grandest scale; and the magnitude of the chorusses have a weight and sublimity, that can only be represented in the church. In the last ten years a host of writers have sprung up in Italy, who have been pursuing the line of beauty which Rossini has struck out, all of whom may be considered as mere imitators of the Gran Maestro. During this interval a genius more masculine has appeared, and Germany has given us her Weber, who, unfortunately for England, died in the act of uniting our language to his nervous and energetic strains-a loss to the English stage never to be repaired. He is the only For a portion of this air see page 442.