Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1871-10-19
NELSON'S AIRS.
She Plays Billiards with BriJsnoIi
for the Drinks-Brig. il "StuCk'-
Disgust of Rural PennsyIvan ians

She Plays billiards with Bri,snoIi
for the Drinks-Brig. is "6tuck"-
Disgust of Rural Pennsylvan ians.
From the Scranton Republican,
The first exploit of Miss Nilsson after
her arrival in this city was not calcu lated
to impress respectable people favol'ably
as TO her delicacy as female. She Lnade
her debut in the billiard room of the
Wyoming House, short time after din
ner, and there demonstrated her ability
with the cue, by beating Brignoli, and
her contempt for the rules which govern
respectable ladies in our midst
At the concert after some preliminary
pieces had been performed, screeches of
the prima donna were heard behind the
scenes. The object Of this was perhaps
to prepare the audience for a glimpse at
the heaven they were about to enjoy
The moment she appeared upon the
stage there was faint effort at applause,
but her conduct soon silenced it. After
surveying the audience with an air Of
hauteur and superciliousness, she com
menced an examination of the stage,
with a sneer upon her lips and slight
elevation of her nasal organ, and then
flung look of contempt at the audience,
as if they had been the cause of her dis
pleasure. What this cause was we know
not. 1t was the opinion of some that it
sprang from there being no carpet on
the stage, and her not over dainty soles
took offense at the bare boards, which
the manager, in his barbarity, had neg
lected to cover with purple and scarlet
for her reception. Be this as it may, 1t
was not the fault Of the audience, and to
charge them with the indignity was as
silly as it was ignorant and unladyhke.
Her face is somewhat pale, herscheek-
bones prominent, her eyes rather small,
but indicating boldnessi her lips thin,
and indicative of illtemper and churl-
ishness; her movements bold, firm and
decided, and toss Of her head that
speaks Of pride, selfesteem and haugh-
tiness. From what we heard we are not
willing to accord to her talents other
than of quite an ordinary character;
there are hundred individuals before
the public at the present time who have
qualities in far higher degree OF per
fection that she gives any evidence Of
Those who have had the pleasure of see
ing our own prima donna, Miss kellogg,
will be slow TO accord to her any supe-
riority.
The recent appearance of the Rich
ings troupe here will enable many OF
our readers to draw a comparison be-
tween the vocal and dramatic powers OF
Miss Nilsson and Mrs. Caroline Rich
ings-Bernard, and we are of the opinion
that the latter will not suffer much by
the contrast She is an artist OF
no such capabilities as Parepa-Rosa
or Madame LaGrange She has
been compared with the former, bat
there is about as much aptness in the
comparison as there would be comparing
the roar of the ocean and the ripple OF a
brook Newspaper writers have dwelt
on her ETHEREAL character, and the IDEAL
ity and spirituality Of her nature, and
compared her musical interpretations to
the picture of placid lake; but her
nature is too gross to be ethereal, and
she is not capable Of any such effects.
There are not twenty persons who would
90 to the Opera House to hear her sing
again, no matter on what terms. When
Mr.. Dickson went into the green-room
and made the request in the name OF the
audience that she would sing one Eng
lish song, her response was that the
audience was too cold. If so, 1t was
her own silly conduct upon her first ap-
pearance that froze them Brignoh,
though gifted with splendid voice, is a
fitting counterpart to the subject We
have Just had under consideration. To
be disagreeable, however, with him is
natural.