conscientiously by the
Sisters who recognized Chiquita's strong dramatic ability.

The years passed, and, as the day finally arrived on which she was to
leave school, the performances which marked the closing exercises were
given as usual by the pupils. The last number on the programme
represented an ancient Greek festival arranged by Padre Alesandro, the
instructor in classic literature, in which Chiquita took the leading
part, and in which, at her request, she was permitted to introduce a
dance of her own creation. Among the many guests that had been invited
to attend the closing ceremonies was one Signor Tosti, a ballet-master,
who at the time was visiting the Capitol with an Italian opera company.
A friend whose daughter took part in the exercises had persuaded him,
much against his will, to attend; for what possible interest could a
veteran of the ballet take in such amateurish exhibitions?

Touring the world with a troup of quarrelsome artists was arduous work
for a tired old gentleman at its best. So, like the sensible man that he
was, he promptly went to sleep at the opening of the performance and
probably would have slept through the entire evening, had he not been
aroused from his slumbers in the midst of the last number on the
programme by the sound of a glorious voice--a deep mezzo-soprano of the
richest contralto quality. Opening his eyes, he saw an assembly of
beautifully clad, flower-bedecked Grecian youths and maidens drawn up
across the back of the stage, chanting the chorus, and in their midst,
in the foreground, one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen. He
drew himself up with a start and rubbed his eyes to assure himself that
he was really awake. And then, considering the occasion and the time and
the place, he witnessed a performance that fairly took his breath away.

His Southern temperament became thoroughly aroused, and at the
conclusion of the dance, he suddenly rose from his seat and without
waiting for an introduction, rushed to the stage and springing upon it,
bowed low before Chiquita and seizing her hand, kissed it in view of the
audience. No one knew better than he did that, in his profession, a new
star had just fallen from heaven to earth. The following day he and the
director of his company waited upon Chiquita and offered her any sum she
might choose to name if she would consent to join the company and return
to Europe with them. But they did not know what Chiquita's past had