may be said that his early death prevented him from doing full justice
to his powers, for he had in him the material out of which the great
artist is made. Let us first sketch the career of Donizetti, the author
of sixty-four operas, besides a mass of other music, such as cantatas,
ariettas, duets, church music, etc., in the short space of twenty-six
years.

Gàetano Donizetti was born at Bergamo, September 25, 1798, his father
being a man of moderate fortune.*

* Admirers of the author of "Don Pasquale" and "Lucia" may
be interested in knowing that Donizetti was of Scotch
descent. His grandfather was a native of Perthshire, named
Izett. The young Scot was beguiled by the fascinating tongue
of a recruiting-sergeant into his Britannic majesty's
service, and was taken prisoner by General La Hoche during
the latter's invasion of Ireland. Already tired of a
private's life, he accepted the situation, and was induced
to become the French general's private secretary.
Subsequently he drifted to Italy, and married an Italian
lady of some rank, denationalizing his own name into
Donizetti. The Scottish predilections of our composer show
themselves in the music of "Don Pasquale," noticeably in
"Com' e gentil;" and the score of "Lucia" is strongly
flavored by Scottish sympathy and minstrelsy.

Receiving a good classical education, the young Gäetano had three
careers open before him: the bar, to which the will of his father
inclined; architecture, indicated by his talent for drawing; and music,
to which he was powerfully impelled by his own inclinations. His