The Conservative. (M'connelsville, Ohio) 1866-1871, 1869-09-24
A LIFE For 4 SONG.
An incident in the career of Ontas

H
Fifty years 20, the Divine Sontag stood
upon the boards of La Scala. IL was q
night of wondrous triumph for the Milan
csc; for long had the battle ragged, and des.
perate, between the triple operatic powers
Of Rome, Naples, and Milan, ere tho palm
Of victory had been awarded to tho latter.
My professional duties Ind detained me
late q was q young, struggling NJ. ID. in
Milan, at the time), and / entered the thea
tire Just as the dir shook with the wondrous
applause ELECTED by Sontag's rendering Of
"Ahl o crcda," in the Sonnambula. /
was especially disappointed to have missed
that aria, TO me the gem of the entire opera.
But who could deem himself ill-used If in
time for the Giunge2 So, mentally thank
full il was no worse, ] made my way to q
seat,-one fortunately near the stage. and
had taken it, and was bowling to some Eng
lish frienda seated in the boxes adjoining,
ere the wild tumult Of applause had ceased
TO deafen my cars, or the floral tributes to
be enthusiastically showerod at tho lady's
feet.
One wreath, remarkable for its singular
beauty, l remember, composed of some
deftly-woven, strange. red e%xotics, caught
my gaze, as i turned towards tho stage, In
the act of its descent. An instant more, It
caught my hand rs we'll; for, unintention-
ally, in the act Of turning, hat in hand, the
latter struck IL, thereby swerving it from its
original destination directly into my "
grasp. A momunt more, / stood in the
centre Of the attraction in ny immediate
sphere, bending forward with what grace /
might, offering it to Sontag. The kindly,
gracious smile with which she received IL
will probably dwell in my memory rs long
as aught earthly. Verify, the remembrance
thrills me with a stnnge sense of pleasure,
even upon a fifty year recall.
The graceful figure, In its slender beauty,
yet bent before me, the crimson wreath
lightly resting against her breast, when n
second one actually dropped from above,
literally browning Amina as she stood. It
was a def trick, and one which immediate.
ly called forth the delightful appreciation
Of the audience.
The building absolutely rocked with the
vibration caused by the second burst of q
sudden, ~ecstatic exclamation.
One odd feature Of the incident imme-
diately struck me, namely, that the second
wreath on the prima dofnn's head was an
exact duplicate of the blood-red crown
upon her bosom, and which I had presented
not q moment before. l had scarcely time
to note this coincidence, aud the lady,
casting her hurried eyes appreciatingly in
my direction, was ia the act OF bowling o
second graceful obeisance to the compli-
mentary wreath, raising it, as she did so,
TO her lips, when the beautiful face palcd
suddenly, the limbs contracted sharply,
and she fell in writhing commissions almost
into the very foot-lights at my feet.
In an hour the mystery was out, and all
Milan knew that both wreaths were pois-
oned. To this day the music-mad Milan
ESQ remember the dreamy horror of that
night. A week later, all Europe learned IL:
and ut this day it is the property Of the
world. The facts were these: A Jealous
rival, displaced alike in love Rs in fame by
the peerless favorite, ~interpolatod tho role
of the Borgia in the pera-providentially
with but partial success,
A week later, Sontag perfectly recovered,
sang tho San Carlo, and n month had barely
elapsed ere the echoes of In Scala again
awoke 20 her divine forgiveness.
A sudden case of suicide called me from
my bed Immediately upon my retirement
the nigat of the floral murder" as We Of
Mifhn, dubbed the abortive catastrophe.
My patient was n young and beautiful wo-
mana sings, one Of Milan's favorites
prior to the arrival of the present idol. It's
cause, q duel, envy and malice, rooted IN
maddening jealousy.
BY a marvellous intorposition, death wa
not the immediate result, my patient lin
gored on for hours, may, days, and even
four IN number, actually passed in life
for q woman literally stabbed through Ito
heart
had, Of course, forbidden tho slightest
possible excitement. life, Of course, was
utterly hopeless, but life should DO saved
as long, / determined az human skill could
fan tho vital spark. All Milan. profession
III was in attendance, but / having received
the earliest call, was considered the ruling
medical authority. IL was in the afternoon
Of the fourth day, and / was hurrying
from other calls back into this wondrous
patients room, when / was arrested by
such strains of enhancing melody, that,
with my hand upon. tho door knob, IN the
act Of hurrying out, ] paused TO listen.
"Oh, 1t IL the glorious Sontag," was my
first thought.
A friend, passing 1T the same moment.
for l lodged in the same hotel with both
prima donnas) drawn from his sofa, like
myself, into the corridor, by the concord
ofthese wondrous sweet sounds, nodded
back appreciation. recognition.
"Of course IL is Sontag, | said.
mo; that is the strangest part Of ii.
Sontng is listening with the rest,
enhanced, within the corridor"
"What J. / amazedly answered, and,
with the word, spraug into the passage.
Once out there, one glance told me all; the
crowd had gathered around the patient's
room, and it was from that door that this
world of melody was pouring. IN an in
slant / was beside her, about TO forcibly
prevent the certain death, if possible; but 1
saw that | was already too late. A strange
lit up her wasted face, and the large
eyes kindled into an unearthly transient
glare OF life as they met me; then, point
TO n tiny envelope upon the table be-
side her, with ono loud, triumphant burst
of inexpressibly sad melody, she raised
herself suddenly to her full height in bed,
stretched forth her arms wildly, and, with
u choking, gurgling rattle Of the throat, |
fell forward on her face, literally deluged
in her own life-bloOd.
The note, directed simply to mo, con-
tanned these words, in q slender Italian
hand:
"DooToR, you say l caRnot live, and /
know it, My prayer is for one more song
in life, and that she may hear it. pay
price knowingly-and only too willing
for a single song"
She had verify paid II. An examination
the poor girls effects showed her TO have
died in extreme poverty. She might have
been wealthy in former times, but her
reckleBsness and sad extravaganza had
long since passed into a proverb among
those who knew her best.
The Collins Metal.
From the New York Weekly Tribune, Sept. s., 1863.
The Collins Watch has reached q sale somo-
what marvellous. 1t is not many wears since
a gold ttme pieco was as great a rarity "a ala.
monds are noW. This chronometer which
Washington Is said 10 have lost on Torno
Mountain, near ltamapo, was not gold. Mod
ern t%astos, however, nave decreased the sale
silver and brass watches materially. The
silver soon tarniahes and resembles TIN or
lead, while brass soon assumes a color 30 in