with a renewed declaration of his love. His attentions at
Monte Carlo finally became so embarrassing that I threatened to appeal
to the police. Then he ultimately accepted his _conge_, and I was
relieved of this all-too-ardent nobleman.

The season of 1904-05 in Berlin (my fourth season) was made notable by
the first appearance there of Caruso, who made his debut in "Rigoletto."
His coming created a great sensation. I was delighted to sing opposite
him again, but there was a complication of which the public knew
nothing. With the "king of tenors" singing on the stage with me, I knew
there was another--Franz Naval--who had sung opposite me for three
seasons, sitting in a box in the background. However, I compromised with
the two by usually having tea with Franz and dinner with Enrico during
his stay in Berlin, and the artistic world rolled smoothly on.

Many interesting things happened during my fourth season in Berlin. For
one thing the marriage of the Crown Prince to the Grand Duchess Cecile
took place, thereby permanently putting an end to the little annoyances
to which his kindly admiration of me as an artist had subjected me. I am
proud and happy to state that soon after the return of the royal couple
to the Palace at Potsdam, I was invited to sing for the Crown Princess
and, as a result of this meeting, a cordial and friendly intimacy sprang
up between us, which often led to informal musicales at the Palace when
the Crown Princess played the piano, the Crown Prince the violin, and I
sang.

[Illustration: "THE AMUSING MADAME SANS GENE"]

The spring of 1905 found me once more in Monte Carlo, where a notable
performance was the _premiere_ of Saint-Saens' "L'Ancetre," in which I
created the role of Margarita. During this spring engagement I
created another role, the title part in Mascagni's "Amica." Preparations
for the opera had been well under way for some time, Calve having been
engaged for Amica. Five days before the _premiere_ she withdrew for
reasons which were never explained to me. Gunsberg appealed to me as a
favor to help him out, if possible, and create this very difficult role.
I agreed, and, by working day and night, I succeeded in preparing it in
time for the performance. At this special performance Gatti-Casazza, who
was then Director of La Scala at Milan, heard me sing for the first
time, but all he recalls, he says, were a pair of eyes and a very
tempestuous young person.

One night during this s