ic
tour through Italy, in 1835, culminated in Florence with one of those
exhibitions of popular tyranny and exaction which so often alternate
with enthusiasm in the case of audiences naturally ardent and
impressible, and consequently capricious. When the singer arrived at the
Tuscan capital, she was in such a weak and exhausted state that she did
not deem it prudent to sing. Her manager was, however, unbending,
and insisted on the exact fulfillment of her contract. After vain
remonstrances she yielded to her taskmaster, and appeared in "I
Puritani," trusting to the forbearance and kindness of her audience.
But a few notes had escaped her pale and quivering lips when the angry
audience broke out into loud hisses, marks of disapprobation which were
kept up during the performance. Mme. Persiani could not forgive this,
and, when she completely recovered her voice and energy a few weeks
after, she treated the lavish demonstrations of the public with the most
cutting disdain and indifference. At the close of her engagement, she
publicly announced her determination never again to sing in Florence, on
account of the selfish cruelty to which she had been subjected both by
the manager and the public. Persiani's fame grew rapidly in every part
of Europe. At Vienna, she was named chamber singer to the Austrian
sovereign, and splendid gifts were lavished on her by the imperial
family, and in the leading cities of Germany, as in St. Petersburg and
Moscow, the highest recognition of her talents was shown alike by court
and people.

It was not till 1837 that Mme. Persiani ventured to make her first
appearance in Paris, a step which she took with much apprehension, for
she had an exaggerated notion of the captious-ness and coldness of the
French public. When she stepped on the stage, November 7th, the night of
her _debut_ in "Sonnambula," she was so violently shaken by her emotions
that she could scarcely stand. The other singers were Rubini, Tamburini,
and Mlle. Allessandri, and the audience was of the utmost distinction,
including the foremost people in the art, literary, and social circles
of Paris. The _debutante_ was well received, but it was not until
she appeared in Cimarosa's "Il Matrimonio Segreto" that she was fully
appreciated. Rubini and Tamburini were with her in the cast, and the
same great artists participated also with her in the performance of
"Lucia," which set the final seal of her artistic won h in the
public estima