REMINISCENCES OF THE JENNY LIND CONCERTS.

Te Aroha News, Volume II, Issue 76, 15 November 1884, Page 4

REMINISCENCES OF THE JENNY LIND CONCERTS.

Mr Barnum says of this first concert : "The reception of Jenny Lind was probably never before equalled. As Mr Benedict led her towards the footlights, the entire audience rose to their feet and welcomed her with three cheers, accompanied by the waving of thousands of hats and handkerchiefs. This was by far the largest audience to which Jenny Lind had ever sung. She was evidently much agitated, but the orchestra commenced, and before she had sung a dozen notes of 'Casta Diva,' she began to recover her self-possession, and, long before the scena was concluded, she' was as calm as if she was in her own draw-ing-room. Towards the last portion of the cavatina, the audience were so completely carried away by their feelings that the remainder of the air was drowned in a perfect tempest of acclamation. Enthusiasm had been wrought to its highest pitch, but the musical powers of Jenny Lina exceeded all the brilliant anticipations which had been formed, and her triumph was complete. At the conclusion of the concert Jenny Lind was loudly called for, and was obliged to appear three times before the audience could be satisfied. Then they called vociferously for • Barnum,' and I reluctantly responded to their demand. " The rubicon was passed. The successful issue of the Jenny Lind enterprise was established. I think there were a hundred men in New York, the day after her first concert, who would have willingly paid me 200,000 dols. for my contract. I received repeated offers for an eighth, a tenth, or a sixteenth, equivalent to that price. But mine had been the risk, and I was determined mine should be the triumph. "The amount of money received for tickets to the first concert was 1,756,405 ols. As this made Miss Lind's portion too small to realise the 10,000 dols. which had been announced as devoted to charity, I proposed to divide equally with her the proceeds of the first two concerts, and not count them at all in our regular engagement. Accordingly, the second concert was given September 13th, and the receipts, amounfinsrto 1,420,308d015.,were, like those of the li r»t concert, equally divided. Our third concert, but which, as between our selves we called the ' first regular concei t,' was given Tuesday, September 17, 18.">0." The total amount received for Jenny Lind's ninety-five concerts under Mr Barnum's management was 712,101 dols. The highest prices paid for tickets were at auction, as follows : John N. Genin, in New York, 225 dols. ; Ossian E. Dodge, in Boston, 625 dols. ; Col. William C. Ross, in Providence, 650 dols. ; M. A. Root, in Philadelphia, 625 dols. ; Mr DArcy, in New Orleans, 240 dols. ; a keeper of a refreshment saloon in St. Louis, 150 dols. ; a daguerrotypist, in Baltimore, 100 dols. I cannot now recall the names of the last two. After the sale of the first ticket the premium usually fell to 20 dols., and so downward in the scale of figures. The fixed price of tickets ranged from 7 dols. to 3 dols. Promenade tickets were from 2 dols. to 1 Jol. each. Barnum was born od the sth of July, 1810. H. H. H.

German colonisation is making rapid strides in West Africa. At the present moment there are upwards of sixty factories, divided among fourteen Hamburg firms, namely : One each in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Accra, Whydah, and Ambritz ; two oach in Great and Little Pupoe. Lagot), and Cameroons, and three in Gaboon, while Bremen merchants have establishments in Accra, Little Papoe, Keta, Lagos, Angra Pequena, and Addar. Hamburg and Bremen keep up a regular steam communication with the above settlements, in this respect completely outdoing Holland, Belgium, and even France, which last country also has colonies in that region. In addition to the German cruiser Moewe, which recently sailed tor Cameroons and Angra Pequena (or Luederitzland) with Consul-General Dr. Nachtigall on board, the cruiser Bismarck is to proceed to West Africa early in October, An advertisement of a cod-liver oil manufacturer in Marseilles reads as follows :—: — "The cod being one of the small fishes of the sea, is constantly tracked and pursued by its enemies, the whales nnd sharks, eto. ; therefore it lives in a con>runr> .-t.tt<- <<f fear ; and it is a well-estalili.-lu d tact tliar t>ar engenders in all living creatures jaundice and diseases of the liver. Consequent! \ , all codfish taken in the open sea have di>u i-. d livers. But all my fi^h arc cj-iuyhi 1 1 > «•> -ufe harbour, where marine inousM-is cannot enter. They live there in pu«u':u and comfort. Their livers are perfectly healthy, and that is the reason why my cod liver oil U the best."