Walker Lake bulletin. (Hawthorne, Nev.) 1883-1926, 1895-06-19
ORIGINAL TRILBY.
She Was a Famous English
Prima Dona.
FACTS ON DU MAURIER'S HEROINE
1t is Claimed That a Noted Musician Ex-
ercised a Strange influence Over
Her-Hypnotized.

Speculations as to the original from
which Du Maurier drew his Trilby
O'Ferrall and Svengali have been
rife since the publication of the most
popular book that has appeared for
many years, says the New York World.
All sorts of exemplars have been
quoted, but none of them bore a suffi-
cient resemblance to the heroine of the
novel to be worth consideration.
The musical history of the time in
which Trilby's extraordinary career is
dated has been ransacked for the
names of singers whose careers in any
way touched upon the meteoric fight
Of that extraordinary girl through the
upper regions of the musical world.
Trilby was indeed shooting star,
coming no one knew whence, shining
with rare effulgence for a short time
and suddenly losing her brilliance and
fading into nothingness. She came
from nothing, and to nothing she re-
turned.
The lives Of the other great prime
donne of the period offer no parallel to
this extraordinary story. The greatest
singer of that day. Giulia Grisi. began
life as chorus girl showed remarka-
BILE talent and an exceptionally beauti-
full voice, studied hard under good
masters, was gradually promoted on her
merits. was for many years the reign
ing prima donna of Europe. declined
in popularity with the advance Of age
and died in retirement, peacefully and
quietly.
Trilby, on the contrary. leaped into
celebrity at bound, blazed forth as
star Of the first magnitude and was
suddenly extingui shed when the mag
netic force that controlled her orbit
failed to act. So it was with the other
great vocalists Their lives have been
written, even to the minutest detail.
Their history is the common property
of the world; there is no mystery
about it.
One singer, however, whose fame
was world wide, but who now is we'll
nigh forgotten, offers in her career a
striking resemblance to that of Trllby.
In fact. as far as her professional life
is concerned, Ann Riviere. afterward
Lady Henry Bishop, then Nine. Anna
Bishop and at last Mrs. Meyer Schultz,
stands out in bold relief as the only
artist from whose life it was possible
to incarnate the eccentric but delight
full heroine of Du Maurier's romance.
OF course the story previous to
her public appearance as singer is
purely imaginary and the product of
the brain of Du Maurier. Ann
Riviere never was an artists model.
never wore a soldiers coat, never
knocked about the streets of Paris as
waif and stray. but was born and bred
lady, and maintained through life
the respect and love of all who knew
her.
Her father, musician of talent, was
of good descent, being scion of the
ancient and noble French family, De
Crecy, who had emigrated to England
during the reign of terror in the first
French revolution. She was we'll
brought up and well taught, and at an
early age was married to a man very
much her senior, the celebrated Sir
Henry Rowley Bishop, the well-known
composer, whose name is made familiar
by his famous glee. "The Chough and
Crow" the popular songs. "Should He
Upbraid ?" "Maid Marion" and "My
Pretty Jane" and the adaptation from
the old Italian air TO "Home, Sweet
Home" which IN the after career OF
his wife held the same position as
standing musical dish that English's
ballad, "Oh! Don't You Remember
Sweet Alice Ben Bolt?'' held in the
vocal repertory of Trilby O'Ferrall.
The married life of Sir Henry and
Lady Bishop was troubled always by
the ambition Of her ladyship, who in
sisted upon being prima donna. while
her husband, musician of vast exper-
fence. always declared that although
she had voice she had neither talent
nor aptitude for that position.
About this time there appeared on
the musical horizon of London strange
and eccentric individual, whose genius,
though alleged with the baser metal of
charlatanry, was of brilliant. if some
what tinsely. quality. This man was
Bohemian by birth. named Nicholas
Charles Bochsa. By profession he was
performer upon the harp. an instru.
ment he had perfected by the addition
of pedals, which gave the performer the
power of adding semi to the dia-
tonic scale and enabled, the performer
to play in many keys which had hith-
erto been impossible on that instru-
ment.
Like Svenghali, whose prototype he
undoubtedly was, he was every inch
Snowman. Nothing delighted him
so much as to appear in strange and
weird costumes. When George !.
condescended to visit his kingdom of
Ireland. Bochsa, who was then giving
concerts in Dublin, appeared in the
ceremony of the royal reception as an
ancient bard of the Druidic time, with
a wreath Of shamrocks on his head
and wearing wig Of long gray hair
and yellow robe.