Daily American organ. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1856, 1855-09-19


added, for call our chattels, too" For her
importers have assessed tho tax upon Ameri-
can credulity at several millions Of francs, and
from the ayaricious character Of the lady, we
presume that either her proprietors or the pub
lie will have to make it good in some manner
or other But, we wish to enter one protest
We insist upon seeing some variety In tins
method Of imposition We rather like the can
dor of That Athenian, who admitted he was
tired Of hearing Of nothing but the justice of
Aristides We are little weary Of seeing
nothing but the hun,bug Of Barnum. 1t
utterly worn out.
Barnum made Jenny Lind rchearse for the
character Of Norwegian angel, keep her room
on Sundays, sing for charity schools, scatter
money at hospitals, and perhaps bestow aims
upon people Of straw, who made great demon
STATIONS in public, and returned the money
privately to Banum. All this is rendered
probable by the confessions Of similar frauds
duly published and sold by the Big Snowman
rs a last exaction upon the credulity Of the
public.
the same tactics, elderly andfat women, drink
ing immense quantities Of porter and port, eat
ing largo steaks Of beef, with voices ilawed and
husky, with false teeth, color, character and
in every respect exhausted, worn out, and unfit
to re-awaken the enthusiasm with which the
elrlier efforts Of their genius were greeted by
applauding millions. They came with faces
and regulations yamped and vanished up
for the OCCASION well enough for short
progress through the States, and sufficiently
like themselves to impose upon the unsophis-
ticated Yankees.
Each Of these celebrities has come with pre-.
clsely the same hypocritical pretence Of admi-
ring what few play-actors can comprehend
the freedom Of the country-and respecting
what no foreign play actor can appreciate, the
We are somewhat sick of this We shall re-
qnire more than an ounce Of cvet to reconcile |
us to this bald and disgusting hypocrisy, and
this furnishing up, and imposition upon the
American public, of the broken down and worn
out mountebanks of the Old World
And now some Yankee impresario, without
tie brains, in the words Of Mr. Benton, to in
vent a humbug" Of his own farms the cele-
brated French tragedienne, and contracts to set
her down in America, with her father, mother,
aunts, uncle parrot, and followers generally,
and to guarantee to her, as we have said,
q1antity of francs altogether incredible to those
who make their money by the honest sweat Of
their brows.
But in the native phrase of the tragedenne,
"all this is changed" Rachel has introduced
new style Of advertisement She scatters
francs with the air Of an Empress. She wears
lewelry worth the revenues of a Province. She
receives the admiration of an audience, not like
c )mmon histrions who lead one another along
IN front Of the curtain, as If they were cross
ing a creek on log, but like Queen on her
throne, too conscious Of her genius to make
any other than q naughty acknowledgment Of
homage
Then Rachel has histriographcr, who de-
scribes her deeds and keeps pace with her tri-
,lmph. There is nothing here like Barnum, with
his plscards and paragraphs, his certificates Of
Joyce Heth, and his iiourishing picture Of the
woolly horse jumping across the rayincs Of
New Mexico. No. Rachel-thc Napolienne
OF the drama publishes her own daily bulle-
tins like another conqueror on the path Of
victory. Lot us translate ono of them, that
the system of Rachel may be contrasted with
that Of Barnum, and the infinite superiority Of
the former made manifest.
whilst the political and military rcnown Of
France daily declines in the eyes Of every free
people, her literary and artistical fame, always
sublime, impresses itself upon the enthusiastic
admiration of the whole world Honor, then, |
70 her children, who, by the canvass, the pen,
or the graycr, defend with glory the ancient
banner of France. Honor to those artistes who
scatter through every cline the pearls, and
diamonds Of French literature, and who spread
or awaken admiration Tor our Corneile, our
Racine, and for those who tread in their i'm
mortal footsteps"
.sBut genius adopts different forms under DIFF
rercnt inspirations. Creative genius has call
itself Corneille, or Voltaire, or Victor Hugo,
or Pradier. Representative genius, which pre-
scnts for the appreciation OF the world the
conceptions Of these great authors, has been
called Talma, Mars, Duchesnois-- this epoch
Il Is called Rachel"
For long time until within four or Ave
years the French had forgotten or neglected
their earlier poets, to run after those foreign |
and ridiculous attractions, which il puzzled the
French tongue to pronounce. Rachel appear
cd, the interpreter Of Camille, Phedre, Her.
mione, Monemia. 0fall these immortal char
acters, transported from the drama Of Sopho
cles and Hschylus 10 that Of Racine, Corncille,
and yoltaire Instantly the Partisan world
flies anew 10 the eternal sources OF the sublime
and beautiful in art And thus, before the |
astonished eyes Of Franco and Europe, |
Rachel has flashed like magnificent me-
teor The brilliant star Of French literature, |
in the midst Of her renown she declared, i
will cross the ocean and appear in America |
/ viii then "reyivc at least the taste and study |