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Show - "I am not afraid to die." Thoso were her last words, and with them trembling on her lips the soul of Emma Abbott took its illght. There were present at ttio death bed: Alice Kllortnn (her pet), Miss Nellie Franklin, Miss Vernon, Mr. Pruetto, Mr. and Sirs. Michclena, Mr. and Mrs. 1'ratt, Miss Annandale and Dr. l'inker-ton. l'inker-ton. The last opera in which Miss Abbott sang was "Ernani," and the cast was as follows: "mMAHl." F.lvlin Mlos Atihott (iloranul Mvra MlrnlU K.nmnl K. Mleheli'iia Dim Ctrlus Win. I'niette Sllvii Wui. Hntdrr ck lil ardo II. Kca.lv 3 Ago liieuard Kail Utand chnrus and orehe.-1 a. Mnsle.H dlrl'i t ir Albert Kr.uiso is hue director K. Hulolplil Mulmol wi rlmlo Jnre Kenny Moult of properties Win. MrConniik The repertoire of the operas given by the Abbott company during their last engagement in this city were as t"l lows: Wednosrt -iy, Dec. 31. I0. K.-nani. Thursday. J:m I, lsi'1. II Trovatoro. ' Friday, Jan. 3nd. Masked Hall. Saturday, Matinee. Chimes of Normandy. S iturday eve line. Fra Dlavnlo. The following are the members of Abbott company in this city: Lizzie Annandalo, Seuor Fernando Michelena, William Pruetto, William Rroderick, Martin Pache, Rudolph Kudolphi. Richard Rich-ard Karl, Harry Ready, Emma Rroder-ick, Rroder-ick, Charlie Kaiifman. J. Klliott, Frank Conway, Frank McKnight, 8. Modi-gliani, Modi-gliani, John Crane, Lydia Pierce, Kate Michelena, Funny McKnight, James Dubois, Myra Mirella, William MeCormick, James Louange, George Kenny, Albert Koaucer, J. Murehio, T. O'Brien, P. Howvie, Williem Pease. O. N. Brown, J. C. Cheriot, Bessie May, Alico Kllerington, Florence Mer-keut. Mer-keut. Klla Vincent, Carrie Lowell, Halda Krause. Clara Roswell. Louise Conwav, Grace Vernon, Nellie Franklin. Frank-lin. ' Bn addition to the above there an orchestra of lifteen persons. Itlography of Her Life. The International Encyclopedia gives the following condensed" history of her life: .Emma Abbott, nn American vocalist, vo-calist, was born in Chicago, 184'J, appeared ap-peared in concerts at the age of I), was afterwards soprano of Dr. Chapin's church in New Vork city; in 187:2 she went to Europe to prosecute her studies; made her debut in opera in May 2, 187.1, at Covent Garden theater in London, and after a tour of the British cities appeared ap-peared in New York, Feb. 7, 1877. .She has since visited all the principal cities in Europe and America. Miss Abbott was married to Mr. E. J. Wetherell, Feb. 20, 187.1. When Hut a Child. W' IS DEAD. The Sunshine of Knvlahle Fame. Darkened Forever ami u Lyric Light F.xtingitUhed. Bpran? from the Sombre Shadows of Poverty to the Zenith of the Lyrio Stage. A8WEET. PUBE AND NOBLE WOMAN The Fill ire Company Prostrated With Grief and the Chorus Girls Weep a Lost Jewel. ''Let - Ma 8ee, It Was a Year Ago To-dav My Husband Died." INCIDENTS OF HER STRUGGLES. The Body will be Taken Eaet for Bnrlal The Company will go to New Vork I and Disband. ! Emma Abbott is dead. The noble little woman succumbed to an attack of pneumonia at forty minutes past seven o'clock this morning. Deep lowering clouds of ashy hue hung over the city at the hour of her death. "Emma Abbott is dead," was whispered whis-pered on the streets in muffled tones. The idol of the lyrio stage was mourned by tho entire populace. On Tuesday Miss Abbott took a chill and on AA'ednesday evening she became violently ill, during the performance of Krnani. Dr. Pinkerton was called and finding her temperature 101. insisted that she should Leave the Stage and be taken to her hotel. Miss Abbott, though a yery sick woman, insisted that ihe was well enough to finish her part, and the plucky little songstress, in spitt of the protests of her medical med-ical adviser, stepped to the footlights and warbled the music given to Flvira in the beautiful opera as though there was nothing wrong with her. except a bad cold. On Thursday Dr. Pinkerton found her condition so critical that he called in Dr. Rasccm to his assistance as consulting physician. They found Miss Abbott in an extremely critical condition, the entire left lung being involved, in-volved, and they had little hope of her recovery. Saturday morning her con- dition ' ' Wat Hit Alarming ' that the physicians said she could not - ..Uye until noon. She, however, ral-' ral-' lied and Saturdy afternoon rested so easy that her friends had great hopes that she had passed the critical point and would soon recover. But the doctors shook their heads. Sunday night the news was spread about the Templeton that Abbott was worse, and there was a scene of devotion devo-tion and pure affection seldom witnessed. wit-nessed. Miss Abbott's kindness of heart, geutleness of spirit, and nobility of character has never been stunted by success, but has grown broader and more magnanimous in proportion to her triumphs. From the time she started out to earn a few dollars to help her papa and mamma in singing at concerts in country coun-try towns about Peoria, 111., she grew steadily in womanly virtue until she was crowned the richest and most popular pop-ular operatic star in the American firmament. firm-ament. "She was as a sister to mo," said Miss Annandale, who has been her leading woman vocalist for seven years, and she added: "She was the brightest hope of my life. All I can say of her is that she was pure, noble and ambitious. That she was always al-ways full of hope; it being but a few days since she told me that she had secured se-cured a new opera for next season in which she had a grand part. She Never Mpnke nn Unkind Word during all the time I was with her," said Miss Annandale, and the tears came to her eyes as she said it. "She was always kind to us," said Miss Mirella. who'took Abbott's part of Zerlina in "Fra Diavolo," Saturday night at an hour's notice. "She was a pure, grand woman," she added, ' and all the members of her company loved her." There were Rroderick and Mc-; Mc-; Cormick and Larriago who had fol lowed her in all her triumphs. Mrs. Pratt, the wife of Manager Pratt, was her constant companion for years, and the attachment that had grown up between be-tween thera was very strong. The sadness of the death of Mr. Wetherell, Kmmt Abbott's husband, two years ago, with whom she had lived so faithfully, both before and after his death seemed to cling to her and at times devour her thoughts and make her oblivions of everything about her. During the Abbott engagement in this city in October, 1888, Mr. Wether- Mrs. Dr. McNiece of this city heard Emma Abbott when but a mere child of nine years in her first concert. The sweet,' modest little girl sang in -kcoun-try school house near Peoria, Ir inois, while her father and brother accompanied accom-panied her on the guitar. "She stopped at my father's house,"' said Mrs (Mo-Niece, (Mo-Niece, "and all I remember is ,tnai. she was a sweet, modest little girl, ,4nd 'that her parents were in very meagre circumstances." cir-cumstances." After singing about the prairie towns for a couple of years she heard that a great singer by the name of Clara Louise Kellogg was to give a concert at Toledo, Ohio. She heard that Miss j Kellogg was a kind hearted woman and I she paid out tier hard earned dollars to go and see her. Miss Kellogg treated her kindly and took 'enough in the ambitious am-bitious little girl to securo her a place in Reecher's Plymouth church. She afterwards af-terwards accepted a place in Dr. Chapin's Chap-in's church and the good members mem-bers raised enough money to send the aspiring voting girl abroad for her education, Vith this start in the world sho pursued her studies with unrelenting unrelent-ing assiduity, and it is refreshing to the public to find a lady whom the plaudits of the people and the peculiar training of the stage have been Powerless to Spoil. Such an one was Emma Abbott. She has been petted by rovaity, patronized pat-ronized by wealth, the protege of a piillionaire, and tho favorite of the Baroness Rothschild; the sunshine of an enviable fame has en wreathed her; and yet, withal she has over been a grateful, considerate, warm hoarted woman one whoso success has always been tempered tem-pered by memories which "lie too deep for tears." She. possessed one of those sweet, liquid, purely musical voices so rarely heard, and so difficult to describe when heard. Jt had a delicate, sensitive timbre, a flute-like, silverv tint, and a charming individuality. Miss Abbott sang as much with her mind and soul as with her throat. Only whon a musical voice is united with a highly emotional nature, na-ture, and then carefully cultivated does the auditor perceive the lire of genius permeating and illuminating rare talent. It was this halo of physical intensity in-tensity that gave to every tone of the American prima donna its most irresistible irre-sistible charm. Regarded from a purely critical standpoint, her voice was one of exceptional compass, very full and rich in tho lower register, pulsing with tenderness and pathos in the middle tones, and as bright and sunny and clear as a rippling stream in the' voce di testa. ell took a cold. He was troubled with A Hackling Cough. Being called to Denver on business, busi-ness, he went, aud entering that high altitude, died while in the act of signing a deed for $75,000 worth of real estate. The shock to Miss Abbott was great. Her first and only lover had been smitten down. Although he has been dead two years, she has not , even considered the most favorablo of a number of proposals from passionate ) admirers. ' Two weeks ago she telegraphed to the f landlord of a Denver hotel asking that that the room and the bed in which her husband died be retained for her. Last night during those lucid intervals inter-vals that are peculiar to the disease, she asked Mrs. Pratt, who sat at her bedside: bed-side: ! -What date is this?" She told her. "Then," she saia, ailing back on the bed. "it was two years tomorrow since he died," referring to her husband. Soon after this incident she called for Miss Annadate and told her she must V ' Later on her vision cleared and the " dark cloud seemed i To Clear Aaray, and with s naturalness that was painful j he whispered: I Abbott's FTtune. Miss Abbott's success financially was even-greater than that of her professional profes-sional rareer. She not only methodically invested all her prodigal earnings but duplicatoil it in stock speculation. Her fortune is estimated at anywhere from one to three million dollars. Before leaving for Europe a year ago she made a will and it is understood that Lizzie Abbott, a sister, her mother and Seth Abbott, her father, who reside re-side at Chicago, inherit a large part of the estate. The will stipulates that it is her wish to be buried beside her husband at Gloucester, Mass. Miss Abbott was a Presbyterian by faith and so strong were her religious convictions that she never sang on Sunday, Sun-day, but attended religious service both morning aud evening whenever she could do so. A short service will be held at the Hotel Templeton this afternoon by Dr. McNice at which only the niemliers of the company and close friends will be presen.t. The company leave for Dcuver this evening over the Rio Grande and the body will be taken to Chicago, where the "disposition of tho remains will be decided upon. , v . - . |