Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1872-01-11
NILSSON.
some Gossip About Her by Mr.
4Nym Crinkie.

You must remember Missions origins
how many generations of her people
toiled unknown to luxury before the
yigor and virtue of the stock took vocal
form and opened the way into the world;
what traditions of hunger and penury,
and thankless labor must have come
down to her, and must peep like ghosts
Of memory into her mind when she
wears the regal robes Of ''Leonora, or
clorifes the fnery Of Violetta.P Do
you wonder at the pathos born in her
face2 She isn't ashamed o. her origin:
Not she. Didn't tell you she belonged
to tie royal line? Where did Grisi come
from? Some of us can remember when
the Marquise de Caux ran about bare
| foot in New York. Rubini was jour
| neyman tailor. Watched dreve cab in
Homburg. He told me so himself; and
many tenor he took to the opera house
before he got into it himself. The fact
is that these artists all fancy, when they
come to America, that their humble ORR
gin gives them patent of natural no
bility with our people 1t takes them
some time to find out that we Democrats
are rather ashamed Of it.
Nilsson admires the material pros
perity of the country. They say she
clapped her hands with delight when
they told her the wonderful history of
Chicago; and when that city disappeared
in night, like the dream that it was,
the tears came into her eyes. Every
where in the West she saw the poorer
classes happy and becoming prosperous.
She saws she sang better for it, Some
of her letters to Europe glow with
naire enthusiasm that is charming. She
never saw such warm-hearted people.
kShe never saw people make money so
ffast. She never saw such grand sight
as prairie. She fell in love with Peo-
ria, and when they gave her the Illinois
wine to drink she ordered it for her hotel
in New York, and bought q farm and
vineyard in Peoria. She said there was
more musical culture in the middle
classes of our society than among the
same classes anywhere in Europe.
About her fellow artists she was eau
tious, reserving her opiRions, expressing
only very decided admiration OF Miss
bKelloggs abilities. M 81 III 4,
She avoids society, having an actress
aversion to the assumption of snowy ap-
parel when off the stage. There are two
or three families up town where she
visits en- fdmille, and there she romps
and sings and abandons herself to the
freedom of private life with genuine re-
lief On the night she appeared in
Troyatore for the first time she sent for
me to come into her dressing-room and
sea the new costumes which had been
sent over by Worth for the occasion.
Those who saw her from the front that
night can have no idea Of the magnifi-
cence of the woman thus attired in a
room. To see her to the best advantage
lis to hear her. The stage lights throw
heavy shadows on her face at times, and
the most delicate and charming of her
facial expressions do not carry. She
stood up like another Queen Mary IN
the room, her tall and graceful figure
| duplicated by the mirror. The moment
we entered she held out her hands, and
with childish glee strobe about the apart
| ment, and called attention to the ele-
gance of the dress. Then she suddenly
threw her head back and listened, un-
| Willingly falling into an attitude of
beautiful suspense. Brignoli was sing
ing. She put her finger on her lip and
opened the door Of the dressing-room.
Magnificent a t
1t was the true Italian strain that
pleased her Something in the worn
voice, and something more in the method
of the once fayorite tenor, touched her,
as they sometimes will all OF us even at
this day &nE III W