On this day we discovered the "Chinese swing," of which so much was said in the papers, and which had, doubtless, been in operation throughout the season. In the alley-way leading to the theatre is a lodging-house facing a sort of opening into the building used for ventilation. An ingenious fellow had rigged up a swing, and so adjusted it that he could toss people from his house on to the roof of the theatre to the ventilation hole. Once there, the intruder passed downstairs through the building, got a pass-out check on leaving it, which he immediately sold for two dollars, and then repeated the swing act again. We arrested one man who had performed the trick four times. The police had to cut the ropes and take the swing away. So many devices were resorted to for entering the theatre without payment that I had to put it during this performance in a state of siege, as it were, and to close the iron shutters, as people came in from ladders through the windows of the dress-circle unobserved in many instances. The following evening Mdlle. Nevada made her second appearance, performing the character of "Lucia" in Donizetti's opera, when the receipts were almost equal to those of the first night. Mdme. Patti performed the next night _Il Trovatore_ to similar receipts. The next day I produced Gounod's _Mirella_, when the Grand Opera-house was again crowded brimful, people considering themselves lucky when they could get standing room without a view of the stage or a glimpse of the singers. The following morning was devoted to a performance of _Faust_, in which Patti took her farewell as "Margherita." Just at this time a strange complaint was made against me by a body of "scalpers," who accused me of having put forward Adelina Patti to sing on a night for which Nevada had been originally announced. This I had, of course, done simply from a feeling of liberality towards my supporters. No one could reasonably accuse me of paying £1,000 a night to Mdme. Patti with the view of injuring the scalpers. They had, however, got more tickets into their hands than they were able to dispose of at the increased rates demanded by them. They, therefore, banded together, employed a lawyer to proceed against me for damages, and as a preliminary procured an order laying an embargo on my receipts. The Sheriff's officers dropped into the gallery pay-box through a skylight on to the very head of the money-taker, who was naturally much surprised by this visitation from above; and they at once seized two thousand dollars. It was very important for me not to let this money be taken, as it would have been impounded; and being on the point of taking my departure for Europe I should have been obliged to go away without it.