The great singers
of before are engraved forever in the hearts of those who were
fortunate enough to enjoy the exquisite rendering of their work. We
call this an age of progress. We may be wiser in some directions, but
as for the best music the past will have to chronicle the superior
singer. Carlotta Patti was a more beautiful singer than her sister
Adelina. On account of her lameness she could not travel as an opera
singer. I have heard both singers and Carlotta was my choice. Adelina
was the most advertised, for she was a money-maker and demanded just
so much notoriety when she engaged and signed her contracts. Her power
was supreme and no one dared to say her nay. Woe be to the poor prima
donna who sang better or had more applause or favors than she did. She
was the only queen of song as long as her reign lasted. Emma Nevada
and Madam Etelka Gersta were her especial victims when they sang the
same season with her. I am stating facts which will stand. To be a
good singer and up to the standard one must be a good woman with a
refined and educated mind, a sympathetic temperament, charitable
nature towards others who are doing what they can to bring up a
standard for generations to follow.
The war was still in progress when my husband decided in November,
1861, to return to California. I had been away from home four years
and had enjoyed all these advantages and had done what I could for
the volunteers who had fought for the preservation of the Union.
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