Then Marie Cruvelli, a German singer with an Italian training, appeared. With her beauty and prodigious voice she shone like a meteor in the theatrical firmament. Meyerbeer found his Africanne realized in her and at his request she was engaged at the Opera. Her engagement was made the occasion for a brilliant revival of _Les Huguenots_ and Meyerbeer wrote new ballet music for it. To-day we have no idea of what _Les Huguenots_ was then. Then the author went back to his Africanne and went to work again. He used to go to see the brilliant singer about it nearly every day, when she suddenly announced that she was going to leave the stage to become the Comtesse Vigier! Meyerbeer was discouraged and he threw his unfinished manuscript into a drawer where it stayed until Marie Sass had so developed her voice and talent that he made up his mind to entrust the role of Selika to her. He wanted Faure for the role of Nelusko and he was already at the Opera, so he had the management engage Naudin, the Italian tenor, as well. But Scribe had died during the long period which had elapsed since the marriage of the Comtesse Vigier. Meyerbeer was now left to himself, and too much inclined to revisions of every kind as he was, re-made the piece to his fancy. When it was completed--it didn't resemble anything and the author planned to finish it at the rehearsals. As we know, Meyerbeer died suddenly. He realized that he was dying and as he knew how necessary his presence was for a performance of _L'Africanne_ he forbade its appearance. But his prohibition was only verbal as he could no longer write. The public was impatiently awaiting _L'Africanne_, so they went ahead with it. When Perrin and his nephew du Locle opened the package of manuscripts Meyerbeer had left, they were stupefied at finding no _L'Africanne_. "Never mind," said Perrin, "the public wants an _Africanne_ and it shall have one."