A contemporary enthusiast, writing of her in 1846, said: “Her name is henceforth inseparably connected with the charming and poetic creations which her own grace and beauty have immortalised: ‘Giselle,’ ‘Beatrix,’ ‘La Péri,’ have attained a celebrity equal to that of ‘La Sylphide’ and ‘La Fille du Danube,’ and the most devoted admirer of Taglioni can scarcely refuse a tribute of homage to the bewitching elegance of Carlotta Grisi. Wherever she goes, her reception is the same; if she is idolised in Paris, she is adored in London. The impression produced by her performance of ‘La Péri,’ at Drury Lane, in 1843, will not be easily forgotten, and her more recent triumph in the ‘Pas de Quatre’ is still fresh in the recollection of the _habitués_ of the Opera. Nor must we omit her last creations of Mazourka in the ‘Diable à Quatre’ and ‘Paquita.’ It is impossible to describe the fascinating _naïveté_ of her manner, the arch and lively humour of her pantomime, and the extraordinary precision and grace of her dancing!” High praise, certainly! But, evidently not exaggerated, for all contemporary accounts of Grisi are equally enthusiastic. Carlotta’s married life was not entirely happy. She had many admirers, and her husband had a temper, and though she always kept the former at a discreet distance, the latter was not so easily managed, and after a few years of marriage, which had apparently been entered upon more as a matter of mutual interest than mutual affection, she and her husband agreed to separate. Grisi left the stage in 1857 at the climax of her success, and retired to live quietly in Switzerland, where she died only a few years ago. CHAPTER XXVIII FANNY CERITO (“ONDINE”) Of the great quartette, Cerito was the especial pet of London audiences, among whom she was always known as the “divine” Fanny. This but echoed the pretty worship of her good old father to whom she was always “La Divinita,” and who in the heyday of her success used to go about with his pockets stuffed with her old shoes, and fragments of the floral crowns which had been thrown to her on the stage. From the time of her birth at Naples, in 1821, he had guarded her, and his pride in her talent and her triumphs was but natural, seeing how young she was, how early she won fame, and how great was her charm. She made her _début_ at the San Carlo, Naples, in 1835, in a ballet called “The Horoscope.” She then toured, appearing at most of the Italian cities. Even before she had left Italy she had earned, on her _début_ at Milan, the complimentary title of “the fourth Grace,” one of the many “fourth” Graces the world has seen since ancient classic days! After Italy there followed a couple of years at Vienna and then, strangely enough, reversing the customary order of things, her London _début_ was made some years before she appeared in Paris. She was seen regularly in London for some seasons from 1840 onwards.