excerpt from 'Memories of a Musician: Reminiscences of Seventy years of Musical Life' pp. 197-8 (325 words)
excerpt from 'Memories of a Musician: Reminiscences of Seventy years of Musical Life' pp. 197-8 (325 words)
| part of | Memories of a Musician: Reminiscences of Seventy years of Musical Life |
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| in pages | 197-8 |
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She first invited me to her beautiful castle in South Wales, called Craig-y-nos (the Black Mountain or Mountain of the Night), to assist at a charity concert, which she gave for the Swansea Hospital in the eighties. The distance from her home was about twenty miles by rail, and all along the embankments crowds of miners stood with their wives and children, watching the train go by, and cheering her and waving their caps and handkerchiefs as she passed along. On her arrival at Swansea she was re- ceived by the Mayor and some members of the corporation, and a company of the local volun- teers with their bands playing. She drove in an open carriage with her husband, and other carriages followed with the rest of the artists and her friends staying at the castle, through the streets to the Albert Hall. The ships in the harbour were decked with flags, and on each side of the way, bunting with such mottoes as "God bless the Queen of Song," "Welcome," "Long live Adelina Patti," etc., decorated the route. From the house windows the inhabitants cheered, and likewise the crowds of people in the streets. The Albert Hall at Swansea was crowded to suffocation. She sang several of her favourite songs, and ended with the ever-popular " Home, Sweet Home," which made many of the audience shed tears. Numerous floral offerings which consisted of the choicest flowers were handed to her on the platform. At the end of the concert the Member of Parliament for Swansea made an eloquent speech, in which he thanked her for her generosity and kindness in coming so far to help the hospital. A suitable reply was made for her by a friend. Our return to the railway station was again a scene of enthusiasm and deafening cheering, her castle being reached in time for dinner, and the Diva was happy in having done such good work for the suffering poor. |
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