nt
Garden Theatre, on May 9.] It was very fine; I have made her
acquaintance. Madame Viardot also came to see me. She will
make her debuts at the rival theatre [Covent Garden], likewise
in La Sonnambula. All the pianists of Paris are here. Prudent
played his Concerto at the Philharmonic with little success,
for it is necessary to play classical music there. Thalberg is
engaged for twelve concerts at the theatre where Lind is [Her
Majesty's, Haymarket]. Halle is going to play Mendelssohn at
the rival theatre.

Chopin to his friend Grzymala; Thursday, May 11, 1848:--

I have just come from the Italian Opera, where Jenny Lind
appeared to-day, for the first time, as Sonnambula, and the
Queen showed herself for the first time to the people after a
long retirement. [FOOTNOTE: Chopin must have begun this letter
on the 4th of May, and dated it later on; for on the 11th of
May Jenny Lind sang in La Figlia del Reggimento, and the
presence of the Queen at the performance is not mentioned in
the newspaper accounts of it. See preceding foot-note.] Both
were, of course, of much interest to me; more especially,
however, Wellington, who, like an old, faithful dog in a
cottage, sat in the box below his crowned mistress. I have
also made Jenny Lind's personal acquaintance: when, a few days
afterwards, I paid her a visit, she received me in the most
amiable manner, and sent me an excellent "stall" for the opera
performance. I was capitally seated and heard excellently.
This Swede is indeed an original from top to toe! She does not
show herself in the ordinary light, but in the magic rays of
an aurora borealis. Her singing is infallibly pure and sure;
but what I admired most was her piano, which has an
indescribable charm. "Your

FREDERICK.

Of Chopin's visit Jenny Lind-Goldschmidt had to the last years of her
life a most pleasing and vivid recollection. She sang to him Polskas,
[FOOTNOTE: Polskas are dances of Polish origin, popular in Sweden, whose
introduction dates from the time of the union of the crowns of Sweden
and Poland in 1587.] which delighted him greatly. The way Madame
Goldschmidt spoke of Chopin showed unmistakably that he made the best
possible impression upon her, not only as an artist, but also as a
man--she was sure of his goodness, and that he could not but have been
right in the Sand affair, I mean as