Page:Arabia, Egypt, India - A Narrative of Travel.djvu/20

2 evening, a very plain, but first rate, prima donna appeared on the stage. She had not yet opened her mouth; they all began to hiss and hoot. She advanced with great resolution to the footlights, and said: "Cari Triestini, I know I am frightful, but I did not come to be looked at, I came to sing. Hear me before you hiss." There was a dead silence. She opened her mouth, and before she had finished the first few bars, the applause was deafening and prolonged. She remained a favourite ever after.

Our English public is colder perhaps, but just, and generous, and sincere.