MADAME

CELESTE (1815–1882)  , French dancer and actress, was born in Paris on the ,6th of August 1815 . As a little girl she was a pupil in the ballet class at the Opera . When fif teen, she had an offer from the United States, and made her debut at the Bowery theatre, New York . Returning to England, she appeared at Liverpool as Fenella in Masaniello, and also in London (1831) . In 1834 she aroused such enthusiasm in America that her admirers carried her on their shoulders and took the horses out of her carriage in order to pull it themselves . It is even said that President Jackson introduced her to his cabinet as an adopted citizen of the Union . Having made a large fortune, she returned to England in 1837 . She now gave up dancing, and appeared as an actress, first at Drury Lane and then at the Haymarket . In 1844 she joined Benjamin Webster in the management of the Adelphi, and afterwards took the sole managementof the Lyceum till 1861: She made a third visit to the United States from 1865 to 1868, and retired in 1870 . Her favourite part was Miami in Buckstone's Green Bushes . She died in Paris on the 12th of February 1882 .