MELBA'S LONDON HOME.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 11620, 6 April 1901, Page 5 (Supplement)

MELBA'S LONDON HOME.

! Madame Melba was expected to return from , i America recently to her house. in , Great :i : i Cumberland Place— -of the motlt '.woni derful homes in, all London. ~ The gieatfc . salon, which aroused the enthusiasm of .the , Heir-Apparent, was copied by a number of famous artists from a room in the Palace of Versailles. The diva's own, apartments aire '' very lovely, and the quaint diamond-mir-rored and adjustable partition that divides' her dressing-room ; and bathroom Was designed .by herself. ': ; The ■ bed,::;which is placed on a stand and fitted with a canopy, V! draped with ; priceless lace, is the one on which the Dauphin of France spent his last night of Royal state. ■■:■■ The toilet set in this room is of the rarest unspotted amber :■--■■:; tortoiseshell,:and each piece bears a large "M" in diamonds. That in her dressingroom is of hammered gold, with a lily, of - the valley designed in diamonds and pearln.Ewers of rarest Sevres stand in basins of solid silver gilt to correspond with th gene- x ral decoration scheme of the room, and throughout the house there are countless art I treasures, including some of the finest co- ..;' loured engravings extant. , ,- • On her travels Melba is always accom-' panied by a sister or sometimes byji m: both—and as all her family are ' quite re-i markably fair, while she is even darker than her mother—who was of Spanish descentthe contrast is very striking..... Melba's eldest sister, Miss Annie MitchisU,has an innate gift for distinction and elegance in ■■ dress. When she was first presented to Sarah Bernhardt, the tragedienne took •her*'-.' by both hands and hurriedly said, in « hah'-' whisper: " Gentille, gentille,geritille.".; An-' other sister, who married a nephew of the' late Premier of Victoria, Sir James Patterson, must be credited with haying discovered a child apparently destined to be a, musical wonder. Mrs. Patterson heard' little Fritz Muller play in Melbourne, and was so struck with his performance that she .-.;. raised enough money to send him to • Ber- .'■■ • lin" to, study, of course, contriJ>u|ißs » largo eaegjie, ~ ~ . ~ '•••'.