the scene by the river, the singing in the woodbine-covered arbour, came back to her with renewed force.
She was commanded by Queen Victoria to sing at a private concert at Buckingham Palace, and during the evening the Queen talked to her for some time, and congratulated her on her deserved success, and so did Prince Albert, whose opinion on musical matters was always worth having. She re-visited Dublin, after seven years' absence, in the autumn of 1849, "to fulfil an engagement at the Philharmonic Concerts, and her singing created an immense sensation, only equalled by that of the Lind epidemic. She also appeared at the Theatre Royal, when an extraordinary scene took place—a scene calculated to shake the nerves of any singer, much less a timid girl of four and twenty. The opera was Lucia di Lammermoor, and the hero provided was a Signor Paglieri, who was quite incompetent for the part. Again and again he broke down, and at last Catherine Hayes made him a curtsey, and left the stage. Now followed shouts and "cat-calls" from the gallery and a regular row seemed to be at hand. It so happened that Sims Reeves, then in the zenith of his fame, was present with some friends in a private box. He was recognised and shouts of "Reeves, Reeves!" rang through the house. The manager, Mr. Calcraft, then came forward and said that he
