In 1822 I saw this beautiful person for the first time. She was
originally one of the figurantes at the opera at Vienna, and was at
this time about fourteen years of age, and of delicate and graceful
proportions. Her hair was auburn, her eyes blue and large, and her
face wore an expression of great tenderness. Some years after the Duke
of Reichstadt, the son of the great Napoleon, was captivated with her
beauty; in a word, he became her acknowledged admirer, while her
marvellous acting and dancing drew around her all the great men of the
German court. The year following she went to Naples, where a brother
of the King fell desperately in love with her. Mademoiselle Elssler
went soon afterwards to Paris, where her wit electrified all the
fashionable world, and her dancing and acting in the Diable Boiteux
made the fortune of the entrepreneur. In London her success was not so
striking; but her cachucha will long be remembered, as one of the most
exquisite exhibitions of female grace and power ever seen at her
Majesty's Theatre, and in expressiveness, her pantomimic powers were
unrivalled.