r, and shrewd, and she calculated her effects so well, that
her audience was impressed by the semblance of her being deeply moved.
The eulogies of London and Paris dwelt more upon her acting than upon
her singing, more upon her infusion of her own individuality into
Marguerite, Lucia, and Ophelia than upon any merely vocal achievement.
She was considered a dramatic artist of the finest intuitions, the most
magnetic presence, and the rarest expressive powers. There was, too, a
refinement, a completeness, and an imaginative quality in her acting,
which was altogether unique.

[Illustration: _Nilsson as Valentine._]

From 1870 to the spring of 1872 Miss Nilsson was in America, where she
met with a perfect ovation. In 1872 she returned to London, and in July
was married by Dean Stanley, in Westminster Abbey, to M. Auguste
Rouzeaud, of Paris. She visited America again in the season of 1873-4.
In 1881, Nilsson sang in opera for the last time, but continued to sing
in oratorio and concerts until 1888, since which time she has remained
in the seclusion of private life.

According to Maurice Strakosch, Miss Nilsson once visited a celebrated
palmist, Desbarolles, who examined her hand, and told her that she would
encounter many troubles, of which most would be caused by madness or by
fire. This prophecy proved to be true, for several times during her
American tour she was annoyed by insane lovers. In New York, she was
obliged to seek the protection of the court from a man who pestered her
with attentions, and again in Chicago she had a very unpleasant
experience, both of which affairs caused some sensation at the time. But
more serious than these incidents was the loss of a great part of her
savings through the Boston fire, and this was followed in 1882 by the
death of her husband, M. Rouzeaud, from insanity, caused by mental worry
over business reverses.

The events which led up to Nilsson's retirement from the operatic stage
are told by Colonel Mapleson, but it must be remembered that he was a
man much harassed by the peculiarities of prima donnas, and his
experiences with Madame Nilsson were not the least of his trials.

In 1868 Nilsson was so successful that she revived the drooping fortunes
of Her Majesty's Theatre, which had recently been burnt down. At the
same time Patti was singing at Covent Garden. Nilsson felt that her
achievements were equal to those of Patti, and justified her in
regarding herself as Patti's suc