Scandinavian American. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1945-1958, 1947-03-01
The Swedish
Nightingale

in our minds as we recall her
name? 1t is, first, some tale of
the wonderful days when all Lon
don went mad over her singing =.
1t was the grandmother who
was the first to detect the musical
gifts of the child; and this de
lection left a profound impression
on the child herself, as if she, too,
then first made discovery of
what was in her through the sur
prise which she found herself pro-
ducing in others
LAS ccild I sang with every
step 1 took, and with every jump
my feet made" So she herself
records in her letter to the Editor
of the Swedish Biographical Lex
con-" written in 1865; and, ap-
parently one of the forms which
the perpetual song took was adj
dressed to a cat, with blue rib
bon round it's neck" of which she
was very fond. The rest of the
story shall be given in her own
words as they were taken down
by her eldest son, to whom she
told it at Cannes in the spring of
1887. Her favorite seat with her
cat was in the window of the
Stewards rooms, which look out
on the lively street leading up to
the Church of St. Jacobs, and
there she sat and sang to it; and
the people passing in the street
used to hear, and wonder; and
amongst others the maid of Ma
demoissele Lundberg, a dancer at
the Royal Opera House; and the
maid told her mistress that she
had never heard such beautiful
singing as this little girl sang to
her cat.
Mademoiselle Lundberg there
upon found out who she was and
sent to ask the mother, who
seems to have been in Stockholm
at the time, to bring her to sing
to her. And, when she heard her
sing, she said, The child is a
genius; you must have her educat-
ed for the stage" But Jenny's
mother, as well as her grandmoth-
er, had an old-fashioned preju
dice against the stage; and she
would not hear of this. Then you
must, at any rate, have her taught
singing said Mademoiselle Lund-
berg; and the mother was persuad-
ed, in this way, to accept letter
of introduction to Herr Croelius,
the Court-secretary and Singing
master. at the Royal Theatre. Off
with the letter they started but,
as they went up the broad steps
of the Opera House, the mother
was again troubled by her doubts
and repugnance. She, no doubt,
had all the inherited dislike of the
bursher families to the dramatic
life. But little Jenny eagerly
urged her to go on; and they en-
tered the room where Croelius sat.
And the child sang him something
out of an opera composed by
Winter Croelius was moved to
tears and said that he must take
her in to Count Puke, the head OF
the Royal Theatre, and tell him
what a treasure he had found. And
they went at once; and Count
Puke's first question was, How
old is she?" and Croelius answer
ed Mine years old" Nine" ex-
claimed the Count but this is not
Creche! 1t is the Kings
THEATRE" And he would not look
at her, she being moreover, at that
time what she herself lin her let
ter to the Biographical LeXicon'o
calls "a small. ugly. broad-nosed,
shy, gauche, under-grown girl"
We'll" said Croelius, "if the
Count will not hear her, then |
will teach her gratuitously myself,
and she will one day astonish you"
Then Count Puke consented to
hear her sing: and when she sang,
he too was moved to tears; and,
from that moment, she was ac-
cepted; and was taken, and taught
to sing, and educated, and brought
up at the Government expense
From Jenny Lind, the Artist"
by HOLLAND AND ROCKSTRO.