In regard to the influence exerted by Meyerbeer upon his contemporaries, although genuine and unmistakable, it cannot be said to be so complete or so general as that exerted by Rossini. And this is due to the nature of his genius, which was very complex, and in which cerebral reflection and the combination of means held as important a place as inspiration properly speaking. It was easy to imitate, without obtaining the same results, the methods and the forms employed by Rossini (I refer to the _Italian_ Rossini, and not the Rossini of _William Tell_); very much less easy was it to imitate the forms and the methods of Meyerbeer, these being not only more complicated, more varied, but essentially dependent on the subject, on the situations, on the episodes. This is why Meyerbeer's influence has been mainly felt in the conception and general form of a work, and has been much less sensible in technical detail and musical method. In closing, I would say that Meyerbeer is one of the noblest, most glorious artists who have ever shed lustre not only upon the French stage, but on musical art as applied to the theatre. A great musician, but especially a great dramatic musician, he has power, nobility, bold and heroic inspiration, and above all the gift of emotion, of that poignant and vigorous emotion which stirs the spectator, wrings his heart, lays hold upon his very vitals, and forces the tears from his eyes. [Illustration: Arthur Pougin] [Illustration: FRESCO IN THE VIENNA OPERA HOUSE, Illustrating Meyerbeer's Opera "The Huguenots."] [Illustration: JOHANN STRAUSS _Reproduction of a photograph from life of the younger Johann Strauss._ _Published by Reichard & Lindner, Berlin, 1887._] [Illustration] STRAUSS The name of Strauss bids fair to become as numerously represented in the annals of Nineteenth Century music as was that of Bach in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries; with this difference, however, that while the Bachs were all of one family, three of the Strausses who have become sufficiently famous to win a place in the musical dictionaries are not related to the other three or four. It is with those that _are_ related, the family of Johann Strauss, the Viennese "Waltz-King," that this article is concerned. A few years ago (1887) the famous Leipsic publishing house of Breitkopf and Härtel commenced the issue of a complete collection of the waltzes, polkas, and other dance pieces of the elder Johann Strauss. The first volume has an interesting though brief biographic sketch by Johann Strauss, Jr., who relates some of his personal reminiscences of his father, besides other facts previously known to the public. "My father," he says in the opening paragraph, "was a musician by the grace of God. Had he not been guided by an inner, irresistible impulse, the difficulties which confronted him in his youth would have pushed him into another path."