When she went out in this for the first time the police at once reminded her of the regulations, but she refused to yield, saying that, rather than do so, she would leave Venice. The governor was afraid of a public riot, such was her popularity, and he feared still more the observations of the Austrian Court, so determined to shut his eyes to the matter. But the singer had her revenge, for one day when he had gallantly conducted her to her gondola, she obliged him to take a seat in it, and then took him through all the canals, while they were met by the ironical cheers of all whom they passed. In 1831 Maria Malibran built herself a handsome villa near Brussels, and from that time on made it a custom to retire to this home whenever she had a few weeks' rest. Here in the summer of the following year she received a visit from Lablache, who was passing through the town on his way south. During conversation he suggested that they should make a tour in Italy: the idea pleased her, and without more ado they set off with an opera company, with the result that they made a perfect triumphal progress through the principal cities. On June 2, 1832, Manuel Garcia's father passed away at the age of fifty-seven. We have already seen what a prominent figure the elder Garcia was in the musical world of the early nineteenth century. No less gifted as an actor than as a singer, his greatest performances were given in such contrasting characters as Almaviva, Don Giovanni, and Otello. Again, as a composer he was responsible for over forty operas in Italian, French, and Spanish, many of which are still treasured among the municipal archives of Madrid. Lastly, as a teacher of singing he made his mark both in Paris and London, and a great many of the best qualities of the modern school of vocalists depend on the joint teaching of the elder Garcia and his son Manuel; for while the latter was the first to conduct vocal training on correct scientific principles, the former undoubtedly laid the foundation of the school from which sprung Grisi, Sontag, and Alboni. Truly a remarkable man, to whose abilities Rossini bore striking testimony when he said to Manuel, after the elder Garcia's death, "Si ton père avait autant de savoir-faire que de savoir musical, il serait le premier musicien de l'époque." The spring of 1833 saw Maria Malibran at Drury Lane, receiving £3200 for forty appearances, in addition to two benefits, which brought an additional £2000; and on May 1, we read that she appeared in the first performance of an English version of "Somnambula," in which part "she drew the town in admiring crowds, tickling the ears of the groundlings with the felicity of her roulades."