"What," she replied, "isn't he satisfied with his position?
He plays the organ at the Madeleine and the piano at my house.

Isn't that enough for him ?" But that wasn't enough for me, and to overcome the obstacles, I caused a scandal.

At the age of twenty-eight I competed for the _Prix de Rome_! They did not give it to me on the ground that I didn't need it, but the day after the award, Auber, who was very fond of me, asked Carvalho for a libretto for me.

Carvalho gave me _Le Timbre d'Argent_, which he didn't know what to do with as several musicians had refused to touch it.

There were good reasons for this, for, despite an excellent foundation for the music, the libretto had serious faults.