Chapter III: Front Matter (3)

When Mrs. Stowe's account of the concert was read to Miss
Greenfield, she remarked--"I _should_ have looked well to the
lady--for the black moire antique silk in which I was clad was the
gift of Mrs. Stowe, and made under her own direction. It cost her
seventy-five dollars." Mrs. Stowe's sympathy seemed ever to have
followed her with a watchful care. We find this interesting letter
among her papers of this date.

MY DEAR MISS GREENFIELD:--I am sorry I cannot see you before I
leave town, but I give you in parting my best wishes. Enclosed you
will find the bill for your dress and other things _receipted_--the
receipt you had better _keep_, lest by some mistake you be called
upon to pay the bill bye and bye--such mistakes sometimes happen.

And now, my dear friend, I hope that you will endeavour always,
first of all things, to _do what is right_. Trust in your heavenly
Father and Divine Saviour; read the Bible daily, and strive to know
his will.

Do not spend your Sundays in idleness or folly, but go regularly to
church, and try to profit by what you hear.

I trust that you will read in this little book the text for each
day--and I pray God to bless you.

There are a great many temptations in a life like yours, but if you
pray to God, he will be your Father and help you always to do right
and make your way plain before you.

Let me beg of you to be careful as to your dress. Do not dress low
in the neck--do not try for showy colours--but keep a _plain
modest_ respectable style.

It was for this purpose that I furnished you with a suit. These
things are very important for one in your position, and if rightly
managed will secure for you respect.

In your manners be just as simple as you always have been.--Don't
put on anything--don't try to pass for anything but what you really
are, and you will keep the friends that you have made. I hope to
hear good accounts of you when I return.

Your true and affectionate friend,

(Signed) H. B. Stowe.

If you wish to write to me, carry the letter to Samson Lowe, 47
Ludgate Hill, and he will send it to me. I shall be glad to hear
from you.

H. B. S.

At the presentation of the Inkstand, by the ladies of Surrey Chapel to Mrs. Stowe, Miss Greenfield was present and sang some songs. At the Stafford House Mrs. Stowe showed to her grace a note which Miss Greenfield had sent for her to correct. The Duchess said, "O, give it me! it is a great deal better as it is. I like it just as she wrote it." Mrs. Stowe thinks people always like simplicity and truth better than finish.

Tuesday, May 31, 1853.

Miss Greenfield's first public morning concert took place at the Queen's Concert Rooms, Hanover Square. She came out under the immediate patronage of her grace the Duchess of Sutherland, her grace the Duchess of Norfolk, and the Earl and Countess of Shaftsbury. It commenced at three o'clock and terminated at five. Mrs. Stowe says, Miss Greenfield did very well, and was heard with indulgence, though surrounded with artists who had enjoyed what she had not--a life's training. I could not but think, remarks Mrs. Stowe, what a loss to art is the enslaving of a race which might produce so much musical talent. Had Miss Greenfield had culture equal to her voice and ear, _no_ singer of any country could have surpassed her. There could be even associations of poetry thrown around the dusky hue of her brow were it associated with the triumphs of art.

The following is the bill of her second grand concert at the Queen's Concert Rooms, Hanover Square. She was assisted by the following eminent artists.

PROGRAMME.--PART FIRST.

_Overture in C Minor_,--"Peace and War," Duggan.

_Duetto_,--"Dunque io son,"--(Barbiere) M'lle. Rita Favanti and Mr. Charles Cotton, Rosini.

_Song_,--"I arise from dreams of thee,"--Miss Ursula Barclay, Alfred Mellon.

_Cavatina_,--"Adelaide"--Signor Gardoni, Beethoven. "The Cradle Song,"--Miss Greenfield, Wallace.

_Grand Fantasia_,--Piano Forte--Miss Rosina Bentley, (pupil of Miss Kate Loder) (Prophiete) Lutz.

_Aria_,--"Sorgete,"--Mr. Cotton (Maometto) Rosini.

_Cavatina_,--(by desire) "Non Piu mesta"--Mdlle. Rita Favanti (Cenerentola) Rosini.

_Song_,--"The Slave's Dream," Herr Brandt, Hatton.

_Song_,--"When the thorn is white with blossom" Mrs. Wokie, (late Miss Fanny Russell, pupil of Mr. Henry Philips,) Weber.

_Variations, Violin_,--"Hilli Milli Puniah," and East Indian air, M. de Valadares, Valadares.

_Song_,--"The Vision of the Negro Slave," Miss Greenfield.

_Aria_,--"Di pescatore ignobile,"--Mr. Sims Reeves, Donizetti.

_Grand Concertante Duette_,--Violoncello and Contra Basso, Signori Piatti, and Bottesini, (I Puritani,) Bellini.

_Air_,--"Diamans de le Couronne,"--Miss Louisa Pyne, Auber.

_Solo Tenor Sax Tuba_,--Mr. Henry Distin, Distin.

_Scena_,--"Joan of Arc in Prison," Miss Dolby, Lindsay Sloper.

_Overture_,--"Fra Diavolo," Auber.

PART SECOND.

_Grand Duett for Two Piano-fortes_,--Mrs. Henry Thompson, (late Miss Kate Loder) and her pupil Miss Rosina Bentley, (Huguenots,) Osborne.

_German Song_,--"My heart's on the Rhine," Herr Pischek, Speyer.

_Cavatina_,--"Bell raggio,"--(Semiramide) Mdlle. Rita Favanti, Rossini.

_Duetto_,--"Tutto di te sollecitto,"--Miss Louisa Pyne and Signor Gardoni. (Adelia) Donizetti.

_Ballad_,--"Sweet Home,"--Miss Stabbach, Wrighton.

_Song_,--"Good bye, sweetheart,"--Mr. Sims Reeves, J. L. Hatton.

_Fantaisie_,--Violoncello--Signor Piatti, Piatti.

_Aria_,--"Ernani,"--Mrs. Wokie, Verdi.

_A Fireside Song_,--(by desire)--Miss Greenfield, Wallace.

_Solo_,--"Contra Basso," Signor Bottessini, Bottessini.

_German Song_,--(by particular desire) "The Standard Bearer," Herr Pischek, Lindpainter.

_Scotch Song_,--"Heigho, Janet,"--Miss Dolby, Dolby.

_Song_,--(by desire) "When stars are in the quiet sky,"--Miss Greenfield, accompanied by herself on the piano-forte.

_Finale_,--"Wedding March," Mendelssohn.

The London Morning Post says,--A large assemblage of fashionable and distinguished personages, assembled by invitation at Stafford House, to hear and decide upon the merits of a phenomenon, in the musical world. Miss Elizabeth Greenfield, better known in America as the "Black Swan," under which sobriquet she is also about to be presented to the British public. This lady is said to possess a voice embracing the extraordinary compass of nearly three octaves; and her performances on this occasion elicited the unmistakable evidence of gratification. She is, without doubt, deficient in science and cultivation, but she displays remarkable intelligence, and is gifted with feeling and the capacity of conveying it to her auditors.

In the hackneyed song of "Home, sweet home," she produced, by the pathos and expression she contrived to throw into the music, a very decided impression; nor was she less successful in other music of a different character.

Again, the London Observer remarks--"A concert of vocal music was given in the past week, at Stafford House, the residence of the Duke and Duchess of Sutherland, to test and make known the powers and merits of the American vocalist, Elizabeth Greenfield. She is now about twenty-five years of age, and has come to England to perfect herself in singing, in the hope of elevating the popular estimate of her unfortunate race, by the development and display of any artistic talent she may possess. Her _début_ was in the highest degree favourable; Her voice was at once declared to be one of extraordinary compass. Both her high and low notes were heard with wonder by the assembled amateurs, and her ear was pronounced to be excellent."

London Advertiser, of June 16th, contained the following comments. "A concert was given at Exeter Hall last evening by Miss Greenfield, the American vocalist, better known in this country under the sobriquet of the 'Black Swan.' Apart from the natural gifts with which this lady is endowed, the great musical skill which she has acquired both as a singer and an instrumentalist, are convincing arguments against the assertion so often made, that the negro race are incapable of intellectual culture of a high standard. Miss Greenfield, by birth as well as appearance, is decidedly a negress, her father having been a full African, and her mother of mixed extraction. She herself was born and brought up a slave in the United States, although freed at an early age. On the death of her mistress her vocal abilities, which were already known in a limited circle, were, by the judicious assistance of some kind-hearted friends, brought into public notice; and she was enabled to receive the necessary training and instruction. She speedily became a proficient in the art of vocalization; and, after giving a series of concerts in the United States, she felt sufficient confidence in her abilities to resolve on standing the test of an English audience. Her voice is a contralto, of great clearness and mellow tone in the upper register, and full, resonant, and powerful in the lower, though slightly masculine in its _timbre_. It is peculiarly effective in ballad songs of the pathetic cast, several of which Miss Greenfield sang last night in a very expressive manner. She was encored in two, "The Cradle Song," a simple melody by Wallace, and "Home, Sweet Home," which she gave in an exceedingly pleasing manner. The programme of the concert was bountifully drawn up; for, in addition to the attractions of the Black Swan, there was a host of first-rate artists. Herr Brandt, a German artist, with a remarkably sweet voice, sang Professor Longfellow's 'Slave's Dream,' set to very beautiful music by Hatton, in a way that elicited warm applause. Miss Rosina Bentley played a fantasia by Lutz, very brilliantly, and afterwards assisted by Miss Kate Loder, who, however, must now be known as Mrs. Henry Thompson, in a grand duet for two piano-fortes, by Osborne. M. Valadares executed a curious Indian air, "Hilli Milli Puniah," on the violin, and Mr. Henry Distin a solo on the sax tuba. The band was admirable, and performed a couple of overtures in the best manner. Altogether, the concert, which we understand was made under the distinguished patronage of the Duchess of Sutherland, was highly successful, and went off to the perfect gratification of a numerous and fashionable audience."

_Words of Miss Greenfield's Grand Concert._