short air (5), where he appears to urge composure, characterises not his true nature, for he is feigning all the time, but the situation, and that with a degree of exaggeration which comes out in striking relief to his otherwise calm and equable nature. The tone and delivery of the air are correctly indicated by Don Alfonso's words: "non son cattivo comico"; the deceit is conscious and evident throughout, and it is rendered easy for the performer to let an ironical tone occasionally peep through. The following quintet (6) carries us to a height hitherto unsuspected. The grief of the sisters at the prospect of separation from their lovers is expressed with ever-increasing passion, while conscious dissimulation imposes a certain restraint on the men, though the emotion they express is in itself genuine enough; the softer nature of Ferrando betrays itself in his gradually increasing sympathy with the sorrowing women. The ironical element introduced by Don Alfonso, just at the point when the passionate lamentation of the sisters is making the greatest impression on their lovers, prevents the situation from passing altogether into the pathetic vein. This quintet undoubtedly belongs in every respect to Mozart's highest achievements. The short duet (7) on the other hand, in which Ferrando and Guillelmo seek to console their trembling fair, ones is poor both in musical substance and characterisation, being an easily constructed piece of the kind which the general public loved. The march with chorus (8), which comes next, is simple, but very fresh and pretty, well suited both to the situation and the character of the opera. The farewell scene (9) takes place at the same time--indicated in the autograph score as "Recitativo coi stromenti"--and is a perfect masterpiece of beauty and delicate characterisation. The broken sobs of the afflicted women have something of the same comic effect as the infinite sorrow of childhood, and the men seem, half involuntarily, to imitate them; but when the last adieux have been exchanged they give vent to such a sweet and touching sound of lamentation that even the lovers are touched by it, and Don Alfonso is silenced. The repetition of the chörus interrupts the tender leave-taking just at the right time, and endows the scene with fresh life and animation. It finds an appropriate conclusion in the {TERZET.} (251)