The Indianapolis journal., 1891-04-13
JENNY LIND AND MIR. BARNUM.
Recoliections of . Lawyer Who Visited Mi
Lind at the Request of q Friend.

Recollections of . Lawyer Who Visited Miss
Lind at the Request of Friend.
George Ticknor Curtis, in New York Sun.
The death of Mr. p T. Barnum and the
account given in the Sun of his contract
with Jenny Lind remind me of a visit that
l paid TO her III the summer of 1850 at the
request of Mr.. Joshua Bates. then the
American partner and head of the house of
Barring Brothers. Mr.. Bates was q very
warm friend of Jenny Lind. Knowing that
Lind was then staying at watering place,
Mr. Bates wished me to tako |, tier of in
PRODUCTION to her, because she might wish
to consult me as an American lawyer about
her contract with Barnum, which, he under
stood. Mr.. Barnum was endeavoring to
make. / told Mr.. Bates that would take
the letter. and that if / went to Schlangen-
bad, where Miss Lind was then staying, /
would call upon her and deliver thc letter
and she could ask my advice If she desired
to do so.
went upon the continent in August, and
passing through Belgium one day entered
q railway carriage. intending to stop at
Ghent, Bruges, and other Belgian towns.
In the same compartment there was a trav-
eler, who appeared to me from bis CONVEX
sation and manners to be an American,
and probably New Yorker. He was very
talkative, and from his conversation / sus-
pected that he was Barnunl's agent, on his
way to see Jenny Lind. My route was all
not conveniently vary 1T. / thought that
if this person was Barnum's agent, and that
if he should see Jenny Lind before L ar
rived at Schlangenbad, the contract would
not beuclosed for several days.
When ] arrived there took lodgings at q
hotel on the opposite side of che street from
the one in which Miss Lind was staying. /
sent the letter over with my card. and in q
short time her man.s6rvant, with a gold
band around his cap, came to my lodgings
and said that Miss Lind would be very
happy to see Inc at 4 o'clock that afternoon.
At the appointed time / called upon her
and was very pleasantly received: In the
course of an hours conversation she asked
me great many questions about America,
but said nothing about the pending ar
rangement with Mr. Barnum. / thought iu
best, however, to allude to Mr.. Bates's let
ter, and TO give her to understand that it
was only as friend that should aid her
if she required it. She then told me that
the contract was already concluded and
signed, and that it was entirely satisfactory
to her. 1t seems that Mr.. Barnum's agent
arrived two days before did.
Miss Lind spoke English with entire cor
rectness, although with a not unpleasant
Swedish accent. Her manners showed her
peasant origin in some respects. For ex-
ample. her attitudes. although perfectly
modest, were not always those Of woman
or of what is called woman of society"
She was very bright and intelligent, and
was a very attractive study to one who had
never met such woman before. She was
not handsome, but her expression, when
she was pleased and animated was very
sweet.
returned home in September She came
to New York in August. When she came
to Boston to sing. where / then resided.
l called upon her at her hotel and re-
newed the acquaintance. She was very
cordial. Mr.. Goldschmidt. the gentleman
whom she afterward married. and who
was then her pianist was with her.
Several of my lady friends, of high social
position, wished to call upon her and to
invite her to their houses. They asked me
to arrange it. She declined all visits and
all hospitalities She gave as a reason that
she could not spare any time from the prac-
ticing necessary for her concerts. / rather
suspected, however, that she had never
been accustomed to going into society. and
for tnat reason did not like to be an object
of observation by American ladies. OF her
singing it is unnecessary for me to speak.
although l can confirm all that tradition
has handed down respecting the sweetness
and compass of her voice. In manners and
appearance she was so unlike any female
singer that mad ever been heard in Europe
or America that the charm of her singing
was greatly enhanced by the simplicity
and unconventlonality of her ways and
nEa