The Press.
London, England, 1858-01-09 00:00:00

THE PRESS, JA.NVARY 9,1858.

their brilliancy of light, and their depth and richness
of shade. The Florentine views, in particular, from
the cameras of Alvari Brothers, have a clearness, a
mellowness, and a lucidity which bear vivid testimony
to the unclouded splendour of the Italian sky. The
French photographs, by Bisson freres, of Paris, and
the English by Mr. Fenton, are also highly merito-
rious. The exhibition opened to the public yester-
day till February 24th inclusive.
THE ROYAL. Ittsmurrox.—Professor Faraday has
continued his series of Christmas lectures during the
week. On each occasion the room has been crowded
by a brilliant and fashionable audience.

DEATH OF MLLE. RACHEL.
Mu.E. RACHEL died at her villa near Cannes, on

Sunday night last, at eleven o'clock. Mlle. Rachel
was born in March, 1820, at the little Swiss village
of Munf, during one of the professional tours of her
parents, who were Jew hawkers, named Felix, gaining
a livelihood by periodically visiting various towns in
Germany and Switzerland. The family at last
settled in Lyons, and in 1830 came to reside in Paris.
Sarah, the eldest girl, was accustomed to sing at the
various cafes to the accompaniment of an old guitar,
while little Rachel went from table to table collecting
the offerings of the kindly disposed. It is said that
on one of these occasions the little wanderers at-
tracted the notice of M. Choron, the founder of the
Institution for the Study of Sacred Music, and he
made arrangements for admitting them among his
pupils, taking charge more particularly of Rachel.
After a short experiment, however, he found that
the voice of the young girl was better suited for
declamatory expression than for music, and he trans-
ferred her as a pupil to M. St Aulaire, who enjoyed
at the time a high reputation as a dramatic instruc-
tor. For four years that gentleman unweariedly
pursued his task, and laboured incessantly to
implant in the mind of his pupil a true conception
of the highest classical characters, such as Hermoine,
Iphigenie, and PhZdre ; she at the time infinitely
preferring the Dorines, Lisettes, and Philamintes of
Moliere. In the course of time her performance in
Andromague, at a private representation, was con-
sidered by some theatrical dignitaries so admirable
that by their good offices she was admitted to the
Conservatoire, and in October, 1838, joined the class
conducted by Michelot.
In April, 1837, she made her first appearance in
public at the Gymnase, when she played in a piece
called La Vendienne. Her performance, not
exactly a fiasco, was far from being a success. But
it is from her performance of Camille at the Theatre
Francais, on the 24th of June, 1838, that her Euro-
pean reputation is to be dated, and to the end this
character has remained the most celebrated in her
repertory. A series of characters, esteemed of the
highest rank by the critics and annalists of the old
French repertory, followed immediately upon Camille,
and before the season of 1838 was ended Rachel had
attained a reputation rarely gained upon the modern
stage. Notwithstanding the value of tradition, the
classical tragedy, which during the last century was
regarded as a national glory, has now but slight
hold on the French mind, Nave when it becomes a
vehicle for the display of an exceptional talent.
Such a talent was found in Mlle. Rachel, and the
old tragedies remained on the French stage as her
exclusive property. New plays were, indeed, written
with the view to illustration by her genius, and
perhaps the Adrienne Lecouvreur of M. Scribe was
the work in which sbe proved most attractive.
Nevertheless her impersonations of the old classical
characters will retain the longest hold on the
memory, and that wondrous combination of the
highest finish with every appearance of a thorough
abandonment to the passion of the moment will for
years be looked upon as a marvel to which few artists
could offer even a proximate comparison.
In 1840 Mlle. Rachel made her first appearance
in London, and at Her Majesty's Theatre. Her
genius was at once recognised, and she attained a
permanent position in public favour from which she
never descended. At St. James's Theatre, her ap-
pearance every year was hailed with delight. Her
unrivalled enunciation taught us that the stately
verses of Corneille and Racine may be delivered
without monotony, while her acting, always graceful,
easy, natural, and marvellously classic, though in
proper places deeply impassioned, captivated even
those who did not understand a word of her lan-
guage. Mlle. Rachel, in the course of time, ex-
tended her repertoire by the representation of parts
in modern works, and attracted crowded audiences
by her performance in Milt. de Belle Isle, Adrienne
Lecouvreur, Louise de Lignerolles, Lady Tartuffe,
&c. Up to her very last season she continued to
study regularly, and a strong proof of her progress
was to be found in the successive changes and very
decided improvements which took place in her enact-
ment of the part of Phidre, always, no doubt, a great
performance, but in latter years beyond comparison
a finer and more finished representation than it was