_La Pietra del Paragone_ is quite unknown to the opera-goers of the present day. It belongs to the year 1812, and probably no one now living ever heard it. Many, however, have heard portions of it; for _La Pietra del Paragone_ not having proved thoroughly successful as a whole, the composer extracted the best pieces from it and introduced them into _La Cenerentola_, which, five years later, was represented for the first time at Rome. The air "Miei rampolli," the duet "Un soave no so chè," the drinking chorus, and the baron's burlesque proclamation, were all borrowed or rather taken once and for ever from the score of _La Pietra del Paragone_. Some other pieces, too, from the same work were nearly fifty years later heard at least once in an opera attributed to Rossini brought out at Paris in the year 1859. It has been said that among Rossini's operas of the year 1812 were two written for the San Mosè of Venice. The second of these, _L'Occasione fa il Ladro_, made its appearance substantially at Naples in conjunction with the pieces just spoken of, extracted from _La Pietra del Paragone_. An Italian poetaster, Signor Berettoni, gave to his new arrangement of _L'Occasione fa il Ladro_ (which, by the way, he had enriched with selections not only from _La Pietra del Paragone_, but also from _Aureliano in Palmira_) the title of _Un Curioso Accidente_. Rossini, however, though he did not mind borrowing from himself, did not choose to be borrowed from without permission, as without dexterity, by other persons; and finding that a _pasticcio_ made up of pieces taken more or less at random from the works of his youth was to be brought out as a new and original work, he addressed to the manager of the Théâtre des Italiens, M. Calzado, the following letter on the subject:-- "_November 11th, 1859._. "SIR,--I am told that the bills of your theatre announce a new opera by me under this title _Un Curioso Accidente_. "I do not know whether I have the right to prevent the representation of a production in two acts (more or less) made up of old pieces of mine; I have never occupied myself with questions of this kind in regard to my works (not one of which, by the way, is named _Un Curioso Accidente_). In any case I have not objected to, and I do not object to, the representation of _Un Curioso Accidente_. But I cannot allow the public invited to your theatre, and your subscribers to think either that it is a _new_ opera by me or that I took any part in arranging it. "I must beg of you then to remove from your bills the word _new_, together with my name as author, and to substitute instead the following:--'Opera, consisting of pieces by M. Rossini, arranged by M. Berettoni.' "I request that this alteration may appear in the bills of to-morrow, in default of which I shall be obliged to ask from justice what I now ask from your good faith.