Perrin gave us Madame Carvalho for Helene and Faure for Spiridion, but he wanted to burlesque the part for the tenor and give it to Mlle.Wertheimber.He wanted to engage her and had no other part for her.

This was impossible.

After several discussions Perrin yielded to the obstinate refusals of the authors, but I saw clearly from his attitude that he would never play our work.
About that time du Locle took over the management of the Opera-Comique.
He saw that Perrin, who was his uncle, had decided not to stage _Le Timbre d'Argent_ and asked me for it.
This meant another metamorphosis for the work and new and considerable work for the musician.

And this work was by no means easy.

Until this time Barbier and Carre had been as close friends as Orestes and Pylades, but now they had a falling out.