The late Sir George Smart, who delighted in contriving musical treats for me during my green velvet period, once took me to call upon Sterndale Bennett, promising me that "the great man''should play expressly for my delectation. This promise having been explained to Bennett with due representation of my precocious passion for music, he smilingly turned to me, saying, "Well; what shall I play for you? " For the moment I could think of none of the names of my favourite chevaux-de-bataille and nervously blurted out, "Would you mind playing through the full scales with both hands?" He replied, "Not at all ; nor is it half a bad test of pianoforte-playing. In fact, I consider it a high compliment to be asked to play my scales;" with which he sat down to the piano and played them so incomparably as to afford me a delightful revelation with respect to the effects that may be elicited from the piano by the simplest forms of execution, expounded by fingers of paramount skilfulness.