"No sooner had I said this," writes this friend in describing the incident, "than the old maestro rose from his seat, stood with his back to the piano, and told me to strike any note I liked and he would name it. As rapidly as possible I struck the notes, and instantaneously he called out what they were. I must have sounded upwards of two dozen, one after the other, so rapidly that he was never left time to consider. Without a moment's hesitation he named each in turn without a single mistake." CHAPTER XVIII. AN OCTOGENARIAN AUTHOR. (1890-1895.) The five years preceding the celebration of Manuel Garcia's ninetieth birthday are principally noteworthy for two episodes, which I will leave Mr Hermann Klein to relate, since he was intimately connected with both. The first took place during the summer of 1892. "In the midst of this abnormally busy season, M. Maurel elected to deliver a lecture at the Lyceum Theatre on 'The Application of Science to the Arts of Speech and Song.' This duly came off, and its main feature proved to be an exceedingly virulent tirade against the _coup de la glotte_. This would not have mattered much had it not happened that Manuel Garcia himself was present, and had to 'possess his soul in patience,' while M. Maurel executed some ridiculous imitations of what he considered to be the indispensable vocal concomitants of the _coup de la glotte_,--a term derided only by certain Paris teachers who have misunderstood and misdirected its use. "Age and dignity alike compelled Signor Garcia to sit still and treat with silent contempt this ill-timed and unjustifiable attack upon his method. "When the lecture was over, however, I offered him the columns of 'The Sunday Times' as a medium for replying to M. Maurel's assertions. "On the spur of the moment he accepted, and sent a short account of the lecture, written in his own terse and trenchant manner. Then thinking better of it, he decided not to take any personal part in the discussion, and requested me not to print his copy. "This threw the onus of reply upon me, and the answer proved so far effectual that M. Maurel was moved to make a protest in other London papers against any contradiction of his 'scientific argumentation,' save by M. Garcia himself, and not even then unless supported by something beyond 'simple denial.' "Accordingly, the maestro then consented to write a letter to 'The Sunday Times,' confirming the statement that he had found M. Maurel's illustrations of the _coup de la glotte_ 'extremely exaggerated,' but declining that gentleman's invitation to discuss the subject-matter of his lecture, and adding that it would be utterly impossible to argue upon theories which still remain to be revealed."