contrived to get himself engaged by Sir Cyril Wych as tutor to his son;
he also took over the boy's musical education, hinting that Handel
was dismissed for neglect of his duties. In view of Handel's strictly
honourable character it is difficult to believe that he was guilty of
neglect, and we may naturally suppose him to have resented the loss of a
lucrative appointment.

The first opera of the autumn was not Handel's _Almira_, but an opera by
Mattheson, called _Cleopatra_. Mattheson, always eager to exhibit his
versatility, sang the part of Antony himself, and, not content with that,
came into the orchestra as soon as Antony had died on the stage and kept
himself in view of the audience by conducting at the harpsichord. For
several performances Handel made no objection and gave up his seat to
Mattheson when the moment came, but on December 5, for some reason or
other, he refused, to the surprise and indignation of the composer. German
musicians in those days were a quarrelsome crew; at the court of Stuttgart
the musicians were so much given to knocking each other on the head with
their instruments, even in the august presence of His Serene Highness, that
there was hardly one left undamaged. It was only to be expected that the
friends of Handel and Mattheson should egg them on to fight a duel in the
street; luckily Mattheson's sword broke on a button of Handel's coat, and
the duel ended. On December 30 a town councillor effected a reconciliation;
the rivals dined together at Mattheson's house and went on to the rehearsal
of _Almira_, which was brought out on January 8, 1705, with Mattheson as
the principal tenor.

_Almira_, the libretto of which was partly in German and partly in Italian,
ran continuously for about twenty performances until February 25, when it
was succeeded by _Nero_, another opera which Handel had hastily composed
for the occasion. _Nero_, in which Mattheson sang the title part, was a