"Think what the world would have lost if she had not done this! For that baby became the father of Italian opera!
"His haunting melodies are sung everywhere. You have heard them though you may not know it.
"When Verdi was a little boy, he used to assist the priest in church. One day the notes of the organ carried him far away to dreamland. He did not hear the priest ask for some water.
"No water came. The priest waited. Then he repeated, 'Water!' Still no sign from Giuseppe.
"'Water!' The priest was growing angry. He touched his dreaming assistant with the toe of his shoe. Down the steps, head first, fell young Verdi!
"The older he grew the more Verdi loved his native land. At this time the people of Italy were ruled by the Austrians. They were unhappy and wanted their own king, Victor Emmanuel.
"Verdi's music always stirred within them a deep love of their country.
"It was found that the name 'Verdi' could be spelled by using the first letters of the words, 'Victor Emmanuel, Ré d'Italia' (which means, in English, "Victor Emmanuel, King of Italy").
"The Italians would cry 'Verdi! Verdi!' The Austrians thought, of course, that these were only cheers for the popular composer. But they were really crying, 'Victor Emmanuel, King of Italy!' Had the Austrians known this, they would have been very angry."