Los Angeles daily herald., 1886-12-26
EMMA ABBOTT.
Incidents of Her Remark
able Career.
HER SUCCESSES IN ENGLAND
Her IndOmitable COurage-lniiu-
entail Friends-Praise
From G0unOd.
EMMA ABBOTT.
HER SUCCESSES IN ENGLANI
BY GRACE GREENWOOD.

The history OF the carry iiie VI
Abbott is marked by pathetic anu SUM
Der sort of romance. She was uhooh'
sciously and involuntarily on A'neiloan
type of the singing Bohemian-an acci'
4 dental Zipgari, long driven about py 'he
idle winds of chance and the ruae gusts
of m;sfortune like a poor little leaf-a
leaf autumn tinted, even In springtime'
IL ;s for the elements of heroism and
hope in the child's hand-to hand struggle
with grim poverty, ill.luck, ill'conditions
and manifold discouragement' that this
period of the sweet singers life is, to
me the most interesting. 1t is out OF
such depressing, uncongenial and un-
poetic conditions that the worlds noblest
dramatic and lyric geniuses queens OF
ira gedy and dsong-haye come to their own.
Siddons and Rachel, Lind and Nilsson
were stars that burned their way to fame
through the cold mists Of misfortune.
The goldfnch, secure in its gilded cage,
with all its little wants anticipated, sings
passing well for my lord and lady, but
out on the thorn bush the nightingale,
which forages for its daily food, and
knows hunger and C Id and storms, sings
best for poets and artists-for hearts
that love and mourn.
When Emma Abbott was a wee thing,
her father, music teacher of small
means, removed to Peoria, Ill. hoping to
better his fortunes. 1t was about this
time the child, who knew almost moth
ing of the world beyond her humble
home. and had never been in theater
or concert room, was, while sleeping in
her little trundle-bed, visited by vision
of success which has since had singu-
lar confirmation.
VISIONS OF SUCCESS.
She beheld in a vast and brilliant
place, with seats rising tier above tier, a
grand audience, gaily dressed and smil-
ing, and she saw herself standing be-
fore them and singing-singing her
little heart out in such soaring, exult-
+, ant way, that she seemed lifted off her
feet.
Even at that callow age she was an
ambitious little songstress, and when
she was scarcely more than s years
old her father allowed her to assist
him in concert given in the school.
house of a country place. The two
artists walked nearly ten miles carrying
violin and guitar, to acquit themselves
of this duty. She was even then re-
ceived by her audience with smiles of
h
efforts rewarded with kindly applause.
There was always a certain purity about
the childish Soprano searching, ap-
pealing, pathetic quality, which never
failed to touch the heart. After this
tour she returned home and continued
her desultory education in the public
school.
During vacation she once visited a
young friend in a neighboring town,
where the idea occurred to her busy
little brain and brave little heart, which
could neither rest nor recreate for
thinking of the dear ones left behind in
the shadow of poverty and ever.im.
!. pending difficulties-the idea OF giving a
concert, grand Abbott concert, all
alone by herself and her guitar. She
was at that time quaint little creature,
email for her age, thin and pale, and
dressed always like the child she really
was. The description of the toilet she
made, when going to this. her first con-
cert, is touching incident in her career.
A SHABBY TOILET.
Such toilet For it meant the shah
by calico dress to be taken of. shaken
and hung up on a tree; then the child
waded into the stream and fastening her
little skirts tight about her, bathed face,
neck and the aching feet, those faithful
little servants from which neither use
nor exposure had taken the shapeliness,
and bronzed though they were, the
straight toes and arched instep had lost
none of their beauty. Then hastily
smoothing the loosened locks with a
comb and donning her dress, she added
a pair of coarse shoes and stockings to
her toilet. which poverty had kept her
from wearing on the road, and seating
herself in nest of ferns, ate the thick
slice of molasses.spread bread provided
for her supper, and then she began
gravely talking to herself, unconsciously
Cumming soft accompaniment on her
Auitar.
81 shall be great artistic, and people
when they hear me sing will throw
money and flowers at me, like plpa
says they did Jennie Lind, tum-tum.
tum; and shall earn bags OF money
and will have carpets on the floor and a
piano, and the poor little mother silk
dress, and she shall sit with her hands
folded all day long, or crochet Tides
like Mrs. Colonel Twiller, tum.tum te.
tum; and papa shall wear fine clothes
like prince and have fiddle like Ole
Bullss; and George shall be great ar.
tist and paint big pictures; and l will
make every one happy and wear for ev.
cry day long black velvet dress with
lots of lace on it, and shining stones
round my neck, tum-te-tum.tum; l
have only to be good and work hard,
and they will call me the "Queen of
Song" concluded the child with big
thrum on her guitar and AN air of salts
fed conviction. Then she looked at the
sun and saw that, like big school boy,
he was turning red with anger at having
to 90 to bed SO early, so jumping up
briskly she set out on the same steady
little jog trot toward the village
HER INDoMITABLK COURAGE.
The result of this concert was $40,
which the singer took home to her
mother, like the good little girl she was.
Then for a season she taught country
school, which she walked eighteen miles
through mud and slush to obtain, and
then on returning home and finding the
family in dire straits took to the high.
way again and went singing from town
TO town. In one place she sung in the
church, standing in the pulpit-a little
preacher of harmony--and resting her
guitar on the Bible, whereon her heart
even then had often rested. For the
two years succeeding she sung for he'
bread and that of dear ones depending
mon her for q season or two attached