om advance sheets of a capital book entitled "Men and Women of the XIXth
Century, by Argene Houssaye," in press by Redfield.

Mademoiselle de Camargo almost came into the world dancing. It is related
that Gritry, when he was scarcely four years of age, had an idea of
musical tunes. Mademoiselle de Camargo danced at a much earlier age. She
was still in arms when the combined airs of a violin and a hautboy caught
her ear. She jumped about full of life, and during the whole time that the
music was playing, she danced, there is no other word for it, keeping time
with great delight. It must be stated that she was of Spanish origin. She
was born at Brussels, the 15th of April, 1710, of a noble family, that had
supplied several cardinals to the sacred college, and is of considerable
distinction in Spanish history, both ecclesiastical and national. Her name
was Marianne. Her mother had danced, but with the ladies of the court, for
her own pleasure, and not for that of others. Her father, Ferdinand de
Cupis de Camargo, was a frank Spanish noble, that is to say he was poor;
he lived at Brussels, upon the crumbs of the table of the Prince de Ligne,
without counting the debts he made. His family, which was quite numerous,
was brought up by the grace of God; the father frequented the tavern,
trusting to the truth that there is a God that rules over children!

Marianne was so pretty that the Princess de Ligne used to call her her
fairy daughter. Light as a bird, she used to spring into the elms, and
jump from branch to branch. No fawn in its morning gayety had more
capricious and easy movements; no deer wounded by the huntsman ever sprang
with more force and grace. When she was ten years old, the Princess de
Ligne thought that this pretty wonder belonged of right to Paris, the city
of wonders, Paris, where the opera was then displaying its thousand and
thousand enchantments. It was decided that Mademoiselle de Camargo should
be a dancing-girl at the opera. Her father objected strenuously:
"Dancing-girl! the daughter of a gentleman, a grandee of Spain!"--"Goddess
of dance, if you please," said the Princess of Ligne, in order to quiet
him. He resigned himself to taking a journey to Paris in the prince's
carriage. He arrived in the style of a lord at the house of Mademoiselle
Prevost, whom the poets of the day celebrated under the name of
Terpsichore. She consented to give lessons to Marianne de Camargo. Three
months after h