ight to obtain the desired "crimps"; I hadn't closed an eye
from the discomfort and nervousness; and here was the fateful hour at
hand, with no vestige of a "crimp," my face pale with excitement, though
I pinched my cheeks cruelly to make the "roses" come, and my muslin
frock out of the question in such weather. I felt like a veritable
Cinderella in my plain, dark suit.

However, off we started, half an hour's ride on the train. What I
suffered in apprehension; how dizzy I felt, and what a queer feeling I
had in the pit of my stomach! I could have wept from the tension. Could
this drooping young person be the erstwhile very confident embryo prima
donna?

Mrs. Long, of fond memory, put me at once at my ease with her kindly
manner. Her great brown eyes looked into mine and inspired me with such
confidence that soon I was warbling as freely as if I were at home
alone. I no longer heeded the rain, my appearance, or my surroundings.
To my delight I was accepted at once as a pupil, and it is to this
excellent and thorough teacher that I can give thanks for proper
guidance in my early years. My aversion and distaste for the drudgery of
scales and routine manifested itself quickly, but Mrs. Long knew the
best arguments for my rebellious little soul, and, as I really did wish
to become a great and noble singer, I worked as faithfully at my tasks
as I could.

Meanwhile I began to sing occasionally in the Congregational Church in
Melrose. My mother from this time kept a scrapbook of newspaper notices
concerning me, for I was now beginning to become known as a local
celebrity. The first clipping in my mother's scrapbook is from the
"Melrose Journal" of May 21, 1895, and is as follows:--

Miss Geraldine Farrar, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. S. D. Farrar, has a
voice of great power and richness. Many who heard her for the first
time, at the Vesper service last Sunday afternoon, were greatly
surprised. She is only thirteen years of age, but has a future of
great promise, and it is believed that Melrose will some day be
proud of her attainments in the world of music.

As a result of the church singing and the fact that I was actually
studying in Boston under the famous Mrs. Long, I was invited to sing at
my first regular concert. The programme, carefully preserved by my
mother, shows that it was organized by Miss Eudora F. Parkhurst in aid
of the piano fund for the Melrose Highlands Congregational Vestry a