INTIMATE WORDS TO LADY FRIEND: "WITH CARUSO THEY'RE NOT INDISCRETIONS" CARUSO, ENRICO. Autograph Letter Signed, "Carusetto," to Sybil Seligman, in Italian, praising her character, reporting a successful performance in Un ballo in maschera, mentioning a discussion with [impresario of Covent Garden Henry Vincent] Higgins suggesting the possibility of meeting her in the spring. 4 pages, 4to, "Hotel Knickerbocker" stationery, written on two sheets; minor soiling at folds of first page. New York, 4 December 1913
". . . At the moment, nothing is serious . . . not having anything else to do but think about my art. With time, maybe, it's not a situation to throw away. A lady who has suffered! A lady who knows me! A lady whom I know! A lady who loves my children as we do! Finally, a lady who know what sorrows are is not contemptible in the light of a life of new happiness. . . . I thank you for your wishes, which I shall keep for the time . . . when I will be able to have a companion. With Caruso they're not indiscretions for you, since he doesn't belong to you anymore . . . . "They say here, as usual, that the box ["scatola": his larynx] is more beautiful, and in Ballo in Maschera, I sent everybody into ecstasy. I saw Higgins . . . about next spring, and if nothing prevents you, we will see each other. . . ." Sybil Beddington Seligman (1868-1936) was the daughter of Samuel Henry Beddington, a wealthy London merchant; she formed sometimes close relationships with several notable authors and musicians, including Oscar Wilde, Marcel Proust, Giacomo Puccini, and Caruso.
