Back again in the artistes' room, she found that a number of her
friends in front had come round to offer their congratulations. Alan
Stair and Joan, Jerry, and Adrienne de Gervais were amongst them, and
Diana at once became the centre of a little excited throng, all
laughing and talking and shaking her by the hand. Every one seemed to
be speaking at once, and behind it all still rose and fell the
cannonade of shouts and clapping from the hall.
Four times Diana returned to the platform to acknowledge the tremendous
ovation which her singing had called forth, and at length, since Baroni
forbade an encore until after her second group of songs, Madame de
Louvigny went on to give her solo.
"They weel not want to hear me--after you, Mees Quentin," she said
laughingly.
But the British public is always very faithful to its favourites, and
the audience, realising at last that the new singer was not going to
bestow an encore, promptly exerted itself to welcome the French pianist
in a befitting manner.
When Diana reappeared for her second group of song's the excitement was
intense. Whilst she was singing a pin could have been heard to fall;
it almost seemed as though the huge concourse of people held its breath
so that not a single note of the wonderful voice should be missed, and
when she ceased there fell a silence--that brief silence, like a sigh
of ecstasy, which, is the greatest tribute that any artiste can receive.
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