that distinguished artist heard the young student sing in "Daughter of the Regiment". Gerster was delighted and exclaimed: "An Italian voice and an American girl!" That eminent artist advised the American girl to go to Paris and take a thorough course, and, risking all and braving everything, she went and was under the tuition of Madame Marches! for four years. Out of a class of sixteen, "John," as the pupils called her, was the only one who finished the course. Madame Marchesi often said to her: "You have a well-fed voice, and it is good care, plenty of sleep and beefsteak, Marie, that gives you the advantage of all these extra half-hours." Some of the very strongest traits in the character of this artist are her persistent painstaking as an artist, her fearless devotion to principle, her undaunted bravery and integrity to herself and to her friends. Her devotion to the flag of the Union made her a subject of ridicule sometimes in other countries. It is well known that Madame Marchesi has neither admiration nor fondness for our "Stars and Stripes," and the nearest approach to a rupture between her and Marie Decca was the former's taunting remarks concerning the Red, White and Blue. Mile. Decca always carries the American flag wherever she goes, and she would fight to shield it from insult. Her voice is a soprano of the most flexible and remarkable range, reaching F natural, with exquisite tone and strength. She made her debut in Covent Garden, England, under the management of Col. Mapleson, as the Queen of Night in Mozart's "Magic Flute," and made an instant success. She sang three seasons with Her Majesty's Italian Opera and one season with Carl Rosa's English Opera Company. Her repertoire has a wide range, Italian, French, English, and includes "Lucia," "Sonnambula," "Dinorah," "Lakme," "Hamlet," "Linda." "Rigoletto," "Faust," "Fra Diavolo" "II Barbiere," "Don Pasquale," "Daughter of the Regiment," "Marriage of Figaro," "Mignon," "Masked Ball," "Magic Flute," " Bohemian Girl," "Nordisa" and many others. Since Mile. Decca's debut in America she has won a place few American singers have ever attained. Her first appearance in Boston was a triumph, and the entire press was unanimous in enthusiastic admiration of her wonderful execution.
MRS. A. LITSNER DE FERE
DE FERE, Mrs. A. Litsner, musician and voice-trainer, was born in Hungary. She was educated in Germany, and from her earliest youth displayed wonderful aptitude and taste for music and singing. When she was fourteen years old, she appeared in public for the first time, having been chosen to sing a solo part in a festival in Mainz, Germany. The success she achieved on that occasion was such that it was determined that she should pursue a musical career. She presented herself at the customary examination of the National Conservatory of Music, of Paris, and was at once admitted. After four years of study she won two second prizes for singing and opera, and the next year she obtained two first prizes also for singing and opera, which were unanimously awarded to her. A gold medal, yearly awarded to the best singer by the Academie des Beaux-Arts, was also bestowed upon her. Having completed her studies, she was engaged as prima donna in the opera of Paris, Lyon, Marseilles and Bordeaux. She sang in Belgium and Germany, and, having returned to her native country, she was received with enthusiasm at the National Opera of Pesth. Later she sang with great success in the West Indies, and finally went to New York, where she resolved to devote herself to the instruction of singing. She made a study of classical music and constantly sought to improve her method, which seeks the perfection of the vocal instrument and of the quality of the sound. She settled in New York in 1876 and taught vocal music there until 1883, when she removed to Brooklyn and formed her conservatory of music. In New York she taught in the schools of Mrs. Sylvanus Reed, of the Misses Charbonnier, of the Charliers and of Dr. and Mrs. Van Norman. Her home is now in Brooklyn, where she is firmly established. Mrs. De Fere combines the French and Italian methods of singing in her system. Her husband, Eugene De Fere, a graduate of the University of
Paris, assists her in the conduct and management of the De Fere Conservatory. Mrs. De Fere has
won the palm of "Officier d' Academie " in Paris, France, a distinction enjoyed by only one other woman in the United States, Madam Minnie Hauk.
EVELYN MAGRUDER DE JARNETTE
DE JARNETTE, Mrs. Evelyn Magruder, author, born in Glenmore, Albemarle county, Va., 4th March, 1842. She is the third child of Benjamin Henry and Maria Minon Magruder Her father was a prominent Virginia lawyer and legislator, and in 1864 was elected to the Confederate Congress. He was a great lover of good books and had a fine library. In the education of his ten children he took a lively interest and an active part. Her mother was from one of the leading families of Piedmont, Va. Evelyn May Magruder led in early childhood a free and happy country life, until boarding schools claimed her for several terms. Then she became an accomplished young lady of "before the war days in Virginia." She was frequently, during her father's connection with the General Assembly, a visitor to Richmond, where she enjoyed to the full the pleasant social gatherings of that city. In 1864 Miss Magruder became the wife of Captain Elliott H. De Jarnette, whose ancestral home, "Pine Forest," in Spottsylvania county, became her future abode. In the home of her childhood she had
