In the following week Mascagni  found some consolation for this disappointment  in the congratulations of the Queen, before whom  he conducted the second act of “L'Amico Fritz''  and “Cavalleria Rusticana." I had the pleasure  of accompanying him to Windsor on this occasion. We had barely arrived at the Castle in the  afternoon before Her Majesty sent for the composer, and bestowed upon him the unusual honor of an audience in the private apartments just  before going on her customary drive. The Queen, speaking sometimes in Italian, but mostly in  French, reminded him that she had already heard  “Cavalleria”, and expressed the deepest interest  in his music. We took dinner with the members  of the household, and the performance began at half-past nine.   

Her Majesty, who was accompanied by Princess  Henry of Battenberg, Prince and Princess Christian, Princess Henry of Prussia, Princess Louis  of Battenberg, and the Grand Duke of Hesse, enjoyed the representation immensely, and directly  afterward sent for Signor Mascagni, together with  Mme. Calve, Sir Augustus Harris, Signor Vignas,  and Signor Ancona, all of whom received handsome souvenirs. The composer was presented  with a portrait of Her Majesty in a silver frame  bearing the autograph inscription, “Victoria R. I.,  July 15, 1893."