Lillian Russell

O, matchless queen of beauty and song,

     To thee I would give more than mere applause,

     Following one of thy rare songs. I pause

In rapture, while within my vision throng

Scenes of beauty, in which though dost belong;

Rich groves of waving trees, a waterfall,

Bright flowers, music, art and purling brooks,

Singing birds, in and out of shady nooks,

And thou the fairest singer of them all.

Thy voice is ever ringing in my ears,

     Thy face before my vision plays a part;

And more than all my loud applause of years

     Is this; which I inscribe unto thine art,

O, queen of song and beauty, smiles and tears!

March 26, 1896

Little Joker for

Jan. 1898

                          

Lillian Russell (December 4, 1860 – June 6, 1922), born Helen Louise Leonard, was an American actress and singer. She became one of the most famous actresses and singers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, known for her beauty and style, as well as for her voice and stage presence.

Russell was born in Iowa but raised in Chicago. Her parents separated when she was eighteen, and she moved to New York with her mother. She quickly began to perform professionally, singing for Tony Pastor and playing roles in comic opera, including Gilbert and Sullivan works. She married composer Edward Solomon in 1884 and created roles in several of his operas in London, but in 1886 he was arrested for bigamy. Russell was married four times, but her longest relationship was with Diamond Jim Brady, who supported her extravagant lifestyle for four decades.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lillian_Russell