She drew
naturally, for she had no training, with unusual skill; and it was
from her, and not from the two naval artists, that Fleeming
inherited his eye and hand. She played on the harp and sang with
something beyond the talent of an amateur. At the age of
seventeen, she heard Pasta in Paris; flew up in a fire of youthful
enthusiasm; and the next morning, all alone and without
introduction, found her way into the presence of the PRIMA DONNA
and begged for lessons. Pasta made her sing, kissed her when she
had done, and though she refused to be her mistress, placed her in
the hands of a friend. Nor was this all, for when Pasta returned
to Paris, she sent for the girl (once at least) to test her
progress. But Mrs. Jenkin's talents were not so remarkable as her
fortitude and strength of will; and it was in an art for which she
had no natural taste (the art of literature) that she appeared
before the public. Her novels, though they attained and merited a
certain popularity both in France and England, are a measure only
of her courage. They were a task, not a beloved task; they were
written for money in days of poverty, and they served their end.
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