A Prodigious Success

A magnificent tale is told by people who visited Milan during the Summer past.

There was in the conservatory in the Lombard city a man of middle life and of some wealth, a tenor. He had been studying for years with that grand heroism that you find in aspirants who have never contrived to sing a decent note. No manager, even of the smallest company, would give him. a debut. In the Spring a number of students held a confabulation at the end of which they went to the tenor, told him that the managers were conspiring against him, and that they, his friends, were going to get up a performance for him. He was overjoyed.

They engaged a theatre, gathered a good company for Aida, announced a performance with the tenor, who was known and laughed at all over town, as Radames. The Milanese, notably facetious, packed the house on the august night.

When the curtain rose and revealed the tenor the audience gave him a tremendous ovation, to which he bowed in all dignity. He sang terribly, but they applauded every note he emitted. When the others of the cast--good artists--sang, they hissed them. Wilder and wilder grew the farce until everybody in the audience and on stage--save the unfortunate tenor--was choking with laughter. The hero was puzzled, but accepted his success. After the performance they put him in his carriage and in the ancient grand manner unhitched the horses, and the cheering crowd dragged him to his home, where after long parting shouts of ''bravo " they left him to meditate.