cise and emphatic terms: "From the first hour when Maria Garcia
appeared on the stage, first in 'Il Barbiere' and subsequently in
'Il Crociato,' it was evident that a new artist, as original as
extraordinary, was come--one by nature fairly endowed, not merely with
physical powers, but also with that inventive, energetic, rapid genius,
before which obstacles become as nothing, and by the aid of which the
sharpest contradictions become reconciled." She made her _debut_ on June
7, 1825, and was immediately engaged for the remaining six weeks of
the season at five hundred pounds. Her first success was followed by a
second in Meyerber's 'Il Crociato,' in which she sang with Velluti, the
last of that extraordinary _genre_ of artists, the male sopranos. Garcia
wrote several arias for her voice, which were interpolated in the opera,
much to Manager Ayrton's disgust, but much also to the young singer's
advantage, for the father knew every defect and every beauty of his
daughter's voice.

If her father was ambitious and daring, Maria was so likewise. She had
to sing with Velluti a duet in Zingarelli's "Romeo e Giulietta," and in
the morning they rehearsed it together, Velluti reserving his fioriture
for the evening, lest the young _debutante_ should endeavor to imitate
his ornaments. In the evening he sang his solo part, embroidering it
with the most florid decorations, and finishing with a new and beautiful
cadenza, which astonished and charmed the audience; Maria seized the
phrases, to which she imparted an additional grace, and crowned her
triumph with an audacious and superb improvisation. Thunders of applause
greeted her, and while trembling with excitement she felt her arm
grasped by a hand of iron. "Briccona!" hissed a voice in her ear, as
Velluti glared on her, gnashing his teeth with rage. After performing
in London, she appeared in the autumn with her father at the Manchester,
York, and Liverpool Festivals, where she sang some of the most difficult
pieces from the "Messiah" and the "Creation." Some said that she failed,
others that she sang with a degree of mingled brilliancy, delicacy, and
sweetness that drew down a storm of applause.

II.

Garcia now conceived a project for establishing Italian opera in the
United States, and with characteristic daring he set sail for America
with a miserable company, of which the only talent consisted of his own
family, comprising himself, his son, daughter, and wife, Mme. Garcia