She is said to have spent L100,000 in charities and
churches, and that at Cambridge, dedicated to the English martyrs, was
founded, completed, and endowed by her. She led a blameless and
worthy life, and died in 1894. Her portrait by Mlle. Taglioni (fig.
64), her co-celebrity, married Count Gilbert de Voisins, a French
nobleman, in 1847, and with her marriage came an ample fortune;
unfortunately the bulk of this fortune was lost in the Franco-German
war. With the courage of her character the Countess returned to London
and gave lessons in dancing, etc., in which she was sufficiently
successful to obtain a fair living. She died in 1884 at 80 years of
age. Of the other celebrities of the period--Carlotta Grisi, Ferraris
(fig. 65), and Fanny Ellsler (fig. 63)--some illustrations are given;
besides these were Fanny Cerito, Lucile Grahn, a Dane, and some others
of lesser notoriety performing in London at this great period of the
ballet.
[Illustration: Fig. 68.--Mlle. Sophie Fedorova.]
The recent encouragement of the classic ballet has introduced us to
some exquisite dancers: amongst these are Mlle.
Pages:
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60