of it in amazement. ... I showed myself to the audience, which shouted as if insane. ... How satisfied I am! [He concludes by noting the success of the singers]: "Lablache sang like a god, Grisi like a little angel, Rubini and Tamburini the same." The opera became "the rage of Paris" and was given 17 performances to end the season on 31 March. Paris: January to September 1835 In the immediate aftermath of I puritanis success, Bellini was awarded two honours: the first by King Louis-Philippe, naming him as chevalier of the Légion d'honneur; the second by King Ferdinand II in Naples, awarding him the cross of the "Order of Francesco I". Bellini then dedicated I puritiani "To the Queen of the French", Queen Marie-Emélie. But from a personal point of view, Bellini expressed his sadness at not having seen Florimo for so long, and there flowed a succession of invitations, then demands that Florimo come to Paris to visit him, but from February to July, Florimo ignored the offers and finally, in a letter to him, Bellini stated: "I'll no longer ask for reasons, and I'll see you when I see you." After that, he attempted to persuade his uncle, Vincenzo Ferlito, to visit, but without success. During the final preparations in 1834 for the staging of Puritani and up to its delay into 1835, Bellini had concluded an agreement with Naples to present three operas there—including the re-writing of parts of the music for Malibran—beginning in the following January. All that went by the wayside when the revised score failed to arrive on time, and performances were abandoned and the contract scrapped. Thus, during March, Bellini did nothing, but did attend the final performance of Puritani on 31st. On 1 April, he wrote a very lengthy letter to Ferlito laying out the entire history of his life in Paris to date, as well as reviving the old jealousies about Donizetti and Rossini's so-called "enmity" toward him. He ended by mentioning that "my future plans are to be able to arrange a contract with the French Grand Opéra and remain in Paris, making it my home for the present." Additionally, he discusses the prospect of marriage to a young woman who "is not rich, but she has an uncle and aunt who are: if they will give her 200,000 francs, I'll marry her", but remarks that he is