ce
was of bright, thrilling, and sympathetic quality, with greater strength
and purity in the upper register, but somewhat defective in the other.
These two portions of her voice she united, however, with great artistic
dexterity, so that the power of the upper notes was not allowed to
outshine the lower. Her execution was great, though inferior to that of
Persiani and the older and still greater singer, Catalani. It appeared,
perhaps, still greater than it was, on account of the natural reluctance
of the voice. Her taste in ornamentation was original and brilliant,
but always judicious, a moderation not often found among great executive
singers. She composed all her own cadenzas, and many of them were of
a character and performance such as to have evoked the strongest
admiration of such musical authorities as Meyerbeer, Mendelssohn, and
Moscheles for their creative science. Her pianissimo tones were so fined
down that they had almost the effect of ventriloquism, so exquisitely
were they attenuated; and yet they never lost their peculiarly musical
quality. As an actress Jenny Lind had no very startling power, and but
little versatility, as her very limited opera repertory proved; but
into what she did she infused a grace, sympathy, and tenderness, which,
combined with the greatness of her singing and some indescribable
quality in the voice itself, produced an effect on audiences with but
few parallels in the annals of the opera. It is a little strange that
Jenny Lind would never sing in Paris, but obstinately refused the most
tempting offers. Perhaps she never forgot the circumstances of her first
experience with a Parisian _impressario_.

It was at Lubeck, Germany, where she was singing in concert in 1849,
that she concluded a treaty with Mr. Barnum for a series of one hundred
and fifty concerts in America under his auspices. The terms were
one thousand dollars per night for each of the performances, and the
expenses of the whole troupe, which consisted of Sig. Belletti and
Julius Benedict (since Sir Julius Benedict). The period intervening
before her American tour was occupied in concert-giving on the continent
and in England. The proceeds of these entertainments were given to
charity, and the demonstrations of the public everywhere proved how
firmly fixed in the heart of the music-loving public the great Swedish
singer remained. Her last appearance before crossing the ocean was at
Liverpool, before an audience of mor