Diary of Marie Bashkirtseff

We argue heatedly about the departure for Russia and all those matters. I say the same things as in my letter to my father; I end up weeping, but then there is such a display of tenderness — because I said that in sum I ask nothing: you are the one who comes making... offers; I set my conditions; you refuse? Very well — go to bed!

On discute chaudement le départ pour la Russie et toutes ces choses. Moi je dis la même chose que dans ma lettre à mon père, je finis par en pleurer mais alors il se fait tant de tendresse, c'est parce que j'ai dit qu'en somme je ne demande rien, c'est toi qui vient me faire des... offres, je te pose mes conditions tu ne veux pas ? Eh bien va te coucher !

In the evening to the Italiens. I am very smart — a modestly low neckline, but revealing as much as can be.1 Patti is adorable tonight — beautiful, graceful, elegant, pretty. As for Nicolini,2 he had a true triumph: he was acclaimed, the audience rising, the ladies applauding from their boxes; deeply moved, he repeated the number.

Le soir aux Italiens. Je suis très chic, un décolleté pudique mais montrant autant que possible. La Patti est adorable ce soir; elle est belle, gracieuse, élégante, jolie. Quant à Nicolini il a eu un vrai triomphe, on l'a acclamé, debout, les dames applaudissaient des loges. Très ému il a répété le morceau.

Notes

Un décolleté pudique: Marie's own wry phrase — a "modest décolletage," i.e., showing as much as propriety allows.
Ernest Nicolini (1834–1898): French tenor, Adelina Patti's lover and later husband (they married in 1886). He was a regular performer in Patti's Paris seasons at the Italiens.