She is certainly the first singer in Italy, since England with its brute power of money, robbed us of poor Sparderini.

But between you and me, figliuolo mio, we should never have got her, if there had not been certain difficulties--certain scandals,--che so io ?--at Milan.

All that is no business of ours, you know, tutt' altro! But there has been talk;--stories have got about!--mere calumny probably, as Signor Ercole very justly remarked,--but it is very desirable that such things should not be the talk of the town here.

It is mauvais genre to chatter about such matters.

You can make it mauvais genre among the youngsters at Ravenna, if you choose.