Page:The Strand Magazine (Volume 3).djvu/268

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THE STRAND MAGAZINE.
269

MADAME MARIE ROZE.


M ARIE ROZE was born in Paris, where her father, M. Pousin, a well-known lawyer, had married a daughter of Count Roze de la Haye. From her earliest years she showed a passion for music, and at thirteen was sent, by the advice of the great Auber, to the Conservatoire, where she speedily gained the highest honours, and was selected to sing before the Emperor. At seventeen she first appeared in opera, singing the part of Hérold's Marie, and was soon the most popular singer and actress in Paris. During the siege of Paris by the Prussians she remained in the city, turned her house into a hospital, and organised numerous concerts for the relief of the wounded. The kindness of heart thus displayed is most characteristic of Madame Marie Roze, who is ever ready to put her great gifts at the service of those whose charitable enterprises are crippled for want of necessary funds. Two years later she first appeared in London, with a success which has continued to increase from that day to the present time. In 1877 she married Colonel Mapleson.