My second rôle was a very small one, one of the court ladies of "Les Huguenots." A native first contralto would probably not have been asked to do such a small part, but there being no regular part for my voice in the opera, I think they were glad to use my good stage appearance, and of course, as a beginner I made no protest, being glad of every chance to become more used to the stage. The part was sprung upon me suddenly, and I had no dress for it. The second contralto also had a court lady to do, and the good creature offered to lend me a gorgeous Elizabethan dress of white satin and silver (which, she told me, she also intended to wear as _Amneris_!) and she would "go in black." I was touched, but I could not deprive her of her splendour, so we arranged something out of the pointed pink bodice of one of my other gowns, and the long white skirt of a summer dress, with a ladder arrangement of pink velvet bands sewn on up the front. I remember as I made my entrance, looking up suddenly and seeing the sinister eyes of Carlhof the stage manager, fixed on me from the wings. He proceeded to mock my walk, which was no doubt very American, and not that of a court lady at all. I never forgot the mental jolt it gave me and the sudden realization that every rôle should have a different walk. The range of parts that one is called upon to perform is astonishing. Formerly the limits of a _Fach_ (line of parts) were more rigidly observed than at present, when the personality of a singer in relation to a rôle is more often taken into consideration. Still, if a rôle definitely belongs to the _Fach_ of a certain singer, he is supposed to have first right to it. Difficulties arise in apportioning the parts in very modern operas, whose composers seem no longer disposed to write definitely for a coloratura soprano or a serious bass, but mix up the voice range and styles of singing indiscriminately in one part. My second real part was _Fricka_ in "Walkuere," in which I had a great success vocally, but unfortunately looked a great deal younger than the portly _Brünnhilde_ and far more like her daughter than her stepmother. Then came the _Third Lady_ in "Magic Flute," the _Third Grace_ in "Tannhäuser," _Martha_ in "Faust," _Orlofsky_ in "Fledermaus," _Frau Reich_ in the "Merry Wives of Windsor," the _Gräfin_ in "Trompeter von Säkkingen," _Pamela_ in "Fra Diavolo," _Witch_ in "Haensel und Gretel"; and finally "Carmen." All these before Christmas of my first year. I did not have one of them on my repertoire when I arrived in Metz, except _Fricka_ and _Carmen_, and the latter in French.