Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1899-09-14
CHAPTER XXXVH.
A Meeting Of Eyes.

The newspapers had already given
many details OF Madame Vanira. For
many long years there had been moth
ing seen like her. They said her pas
sion and power, her dramatic instinct,
her intensity were so great, that she
was like electric fire. One critic
quoted of her what was SO prettily said
of another great actress:
"She has a soul of fire in body Of
gauze."
No one who saw her ever forgot her;
even II they only saw her once, her face
lived clear, distinct, and vivid In their
memory forever afterward. No one
knew which to admire most, her face or
her voice Her face was the most
wonderously beautiful ever seen on the
stage, and her voice was the most mar
velous ever heard-it thrilled you, it
made you tremble; Its grand pathos
It's unutterable sadness, its marvellous
sweetness those clear. passionate
tones reached very heart, no matter
how cold, how hardened 1t might be
one felt that in listening to it that it
was the voice of grand, passionate
soul 1t was fun too, OF kind of elec-
tricity; when Madame Nanlra sung she
could sway the minds and hearts of her
hearers as the winter winds sway the
strong boughs. She drew all hearts to
herself and opened them. When she
sung, 1t was as though she sung the
secret of each heart to its owner.
They said that her soul was of fire
and that the fire caught her listeners,
she had power genius, dramatic force
enough to electrify whole thcater fun
OF people, to lift thom ont of the COM
monplace, to take them with her into
the fairyland of romance and genius.
to make them forget everything and
anything except herself.
Such Il woman comes once In Il cen
fury, not oftener. They called her Il
siren, Il Gree. She was woman with
a passionate soul fun of poetry; n gen
ius with n soul fun of power; a woman
made to attract souls as the magnet
attracts the needle.
She made her debut in the thcaler If
San Carlo, in Naples, and the people
had gone Wild over her; they sere-
naded her through the long starlit
night; they cried out her name with
every epithct of praise that could nc
layished on her; they raved about her
beautiful eyes, her glorious face, her
voice, her acting, her attitudes.
Then Il royal request took her 10
Russia, a still warmer welcome mot
her there; royal hands crowned her
with diamonds, royal voices swelcd
her triumph, ,here was no one like La
NanIm. she was invited to court ana
all honors were lavIshed ON her
From there she went to Vienna,
where her success was as great, to
PARTS, where il was greater, and now
she was to make her debut before The
most critical, calm. appreriptiNc audit
enee in Europe The papers for weeks
had been full Of her, they could de.
scribe her grand. quoenly beauty. hei
wonderful acting, her genius. wheel
was alone in the world, her jewels. hen
dresses, her attitudes, hut there was
nothing To say about her life
Even the society Journals. usuall,
50 well informed. had nothing 70 sa,
about Madame Nauira. Whether sh,
were single or married, or widow
none Of them knew, az what town. 8
what nation. even of what family
none or them knew.
She seemed 10 ne quite alone III III
world and against her even the faint
est rumor had never been heard Al
was Of irreproachahle propriety. nas
more, she was OF angelic goodness
! generous, truthful, charitable and higl,