for Madam Urso. She took a
brief rest during the summer near New York, but during the remainder of
the time gave an uninterrupted succession of concerts in all the
Northern States, so that it seems as if the sound of her violin still
rang in our ears.

CHAPTER III.

THE GOSPEL OF WORK.

It is now in order to review briefly the events of this remarkable art
life, and to see what lessons it may teach to the musician, the student,
and the art lover. Whether we look at the child, gazing in large-eyed
wonder at the festival in the Church of the Holy Cross, the patient
girl, trudging day by day through the quiet streets of Nantes to take
her lessons, the pale student in the conservatory, the sober-faced
maiden who so won all our hearts so long ago in Boston, the brilliant
young woman who flashed out so suddenly into the highest walks of art,
the great artist born of a wonder child, or the simple American woman,
Camilla Urso, in whatever station we view her, we see the dignity and
reward of honest work. Everywhere we see the same passionate love of
music, the same eagerness to study, to learn the all there is of it, and
to play with ever increasing skill. Genius is the great gift that has
been bestowed upon her. She did not hide it in a napkin, but with heart
and soul she did her best to make it a good and acceptable gift to art
and humanity. Whether giving concerts among our prairie cities, resting
by the sea-shore at Boulogne, traveling among the mountains of
California, studying the great masters of the violin in London or Paris,
or among friends in Boston, she is always practicing upon her beloved
instrument. It is never out of her hands a day, unless ill or fatigued
by traveling. Each month she means shall show some improvement, and from
year to year she has gone on till the present standard of excellence has
been reached. To what perfection her skill has been carried, we shall
leave others to say at the end of this book.

The musician, in looking back over this life of an artist, naturally
asks what changes she may have seen in the art life of the world during
the dozen years or more she has been before the American public. We
purposely select the American public, because it is of the most interest
to us, and because the art life of Europe is somewhat different from
ours, and less liable to changes. Madam Urso's own views upon the
subject are instructive and encouraging, and we present them in very
nearly h