With 1894 there are two novelties added to the repertoire,--Verdi's "Falstaff" and Puccini's "Manon Lescaut"; while the English Jubilee is celebrated of Joseph Joachim and Alfredo Piatti. With 1895, the year in which Manuel Garcia concludes his ninetieth year, Adelina Patti returns to Covent Garden for a few more performances, and Jean de Rezké makes a temporary absence during the season, for the first time for eight years. The following year saw the death of Sir Augustus Harris, and with the event the present _régime_ came into existence, the formation of the Covent Garden Syndicate, with Earl de Grey at its head, Higgins as director, and Neil Forsyth, secretary. Here we will abandon the narration of the trend of operatic events in London, for those which took place in the last ten years of Manuel Garcia's life are probably in the memories of all. Those which took place during the first forty years of the maestro's life in England seemed sufficiently remote to be worth recalling, for by them we obtain at any rate a bird's-eye view of the great names and events of the operatic world during Garcia's active career as a teacher. FOURTH PERIOD RETIREMENT (1895-1906) CHAPTER XIX. A NONAGENARIAN TEACHER. (1895-1905). In commencing this chapter I must apologise for the personal tone, which is almost unavoidable, since I am giving purely personal reminiscences of the years of study that I spent under Manuel Garcia. It was early in the May of 1895 that my mother (Antoinette Sterling) took me up to see her old master, in order that he might give his decision as to the advisability of my entering the musical profession. When we had driven out to his house on Shoot-up-hill, we rang the bell, and a maid came to the door. "Is Señor Garcia well enough to see us? If he is sleeping, do not disturb him. We can wait till he is rested." The servant raised her eyebrows in slight wonderment. "Mr Garcia is out gardening, Madame. I will tell him of your arrival." This astonishing information was uttered in the most ordinary tone, as though such a thing were a mere episode of everyday life. We were ushered into the drawing-room, but were not kept waiting long, for in a few minutes the door opened and Manuel Garcia entered. With a genial smile and an exclamation of pleasure he came rapidly across the room, taking short, quick steps, and was shaking hands with his old pupil almost before she had time to rise from her seat. The next quarter of an hour passed swiftly enough. A stream of questions fell from the lips of the wonderful nonagenarian as to what she had been doing, where she had been, what were her latest songs, what she thought of the pianist who had recently come out, what of the political situation, when could she come to lunch,--and so on.