CATALINA, ANGELICA,
By marriage Valabrèque, a celebrated singer, was born in 1784, at Sinigaglia, in the Ecclesiastical States, and educated at the convent of St. Lucia, near Rome. Angelica displayed, in her seventh year, such wonderful musical talents, and such multitudes came to hear her, that the magistrates prohibited her singing longer in the convent. But the favour of a cardinal, and the love of the celebrated Bosello, enabled her to cultivate her talents. When fourteen, she appeared in the theatres at Venice and other Italian cities. She was afterwards for five years at Lisbon. Her first concert at Madrid gained her more than 15,000 dollars; and from her concerts in Paris her fame spread all over Europe. In London, she received, the first year, a salary of 72,000 francs, and the next, 96,000 francs; besides the immense sums she obtained from her journeys through the country towns. In 1817, she undertook the direction of the Italian opera in Paris, but left it on the return of Napoleon, and resumed it on the restoration of the king. In 1816, she visited the chief cities of Germany and Italy. She passed the most of her time in travelling and singing throughout Europe, till about 1830, when she retired to an estate in Italy, where she lived very much secluded. She was married to M. Valabrèque, formerly a captain in the French service, by whom she had several children. She was a handsome woman and a good actress. Her voice was wonderful from its flexibility and brilliancy. She died in June, 1849.
CATELLAN, MARIE CLAIRE PRISCILLE MARGUERITE DE,
A lady of Narbonne, who died at Toulouse, 1745, aged eighty-three. Her odes were admired by the French, and were crowned by the Toulouse academicians.
CATHARINE ALEXIEONA,
A country girl of the name of Martha, which was changed to Catharine when she embraced the Greek religion and became Empress of Russia, was born of very indigent parents, who lived at Ringen, a small village not far from Dorpt, on lake Vitcherve, in Livonia. When only three years old she lost her father, who left her with no other support than the scanty maintenance produced by the labours of an infirm and sickly mother. She grew up handsome, well formed, and possessed of a good understanding. Her mother taught her to read, and an old Lutheran clergyman, named Gluck, instructed her in the principles of that persuasion. Scarcely had she attained her fifteenth year when she lost her mother, and the good pastor took her home, and employed her in attending his children. Catharine availed herself of the lessons in music and dancing given them by their masters; but the death of her benefactor, which happened not long after her reception into his family, plunged her once more into the extremity of poverty; and her country being now the seat of war between Sweden and Russia, she went to seek an asylum at Marienburg.
In 1701, she married a dragoon of the Swedish garrison of that fortress, and, if we may believe some authors, the very day of their marriage, Marienburg was besieged by the Russians, and the lover,
