And when she sang one of her own national airs, Webster sat
entranced. At its close she courtesied to him. He arose and bowed to her
with the majestic manner of a great monarch. The audience went into a
fury of applause. Every one spoke of her as good of heart, sweet and
natural of manner. She had given her share of the proceeds of this
concert to various charities in New York City. A feeling of uplifted
life spread over the metropolis. She melted the souls of thousands, and
purged the craft of money getting. We came away from her as from a
higher realm. "What," said Abigail, "is anything in the world, money or
statesmanship, what, of all these things of which we have talked to-day
can be compared to an art like that, a divine influence like song?"
After this we started on a round of the theaters. I prevailed upon our
friends to prolong their stay, to be our guests. We saw Burton and Edwin
Booth. We went to the Opera, saw the ballet which Fannie Ellsler had
previously inaugurated. The _Independent_ was denouncing the theater as
an unmitigated evil; the ballet was a shocking exhibition of legs.
Still they had come, and New York had them.
We dined at Niblo's, at Castle Garden. We drove about the city. We went
out to see Trenton Falls where Jenny Lind had been taken as part of her
entertainment, and where she had sung in the woods and been answered by
the birds.
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