The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1855-10-11
THE DAILY DlSpAI.Is..Ilr1ls..
1910 Mernins. October lis 1919.
y.rurfIANA.


.uer,can Empcrinm Is A. this time
80, .,,,hu.,asm over the French tIagedienne
Rachel. (The reader wa observe sha' '" ~
an fat he must pronounce the wort ksees no' =,
tho old fashioned Jacob and Rachel bus WIN me
AGENT on the second syllable and the ea prcnonn
,,ed Ike sk--shus Ra-sAsn Think Of oyster snsii
and YOU win never forget IT. Those peop'e W. y.
have said that Americans are behind the ss :.
taste and cultivation, let those peorse
the triumph Of Ra shell In NcwNers. =. q,
nets. shoes. Wigs, paadnss. ereeches-"o ,.,,s,
the mo.ir--uo one IL civilized WHO IA, This
-, .r,,.,c nj die, or wearing arpais''
-.......,,. nrefix. we point WIN "'
-. !, ,hese demonstrations. We soy
,,,,,,f ,fed MP to heaven, fha' ''e ss".. pN
-. - ,,.,a.h * not incompatible WIN '''
go. of refinement But the DINER I'd. 'Ae
g., tho hest piano in the Paris exhibition was
..-,.a BOSTON Y ankce, man so rcdo'eh' Oh 'li',
-. s.,v f.xorite Of Boston, that II is oei'e'e"
- -, .f,cr death win yield an immense qnah.l'!
-, .o, liver oil And finally mere Is h'
~, has become, in an instant. the IDOL OF tue
- yort Goldfish aristocrats, in white KIDS; anu
A'N" - all ,tose fashionable New YORK par
'''' ...,os. hose social mermaids, with patrl-
-, hoaas and plebeian taiIs, who are inc ad
' .u,o,;shment of all visitors to New
York. ;u.or,;cor,
Tphappily, we cannot include IN these ih.eiheeh'
.'.o.;.,; tive classes of New York society the
,-ha.;ars multitudes who live in the Bowery, VINO
.,,.,.r travelled. who are intensely American
:, continent. physique and speech These out
,;s, hrrtes not only fail to comprehend the mys-
.-,,r;os of the French tragedienne but make the
- r;,o with derisive shouts at the superior
- ,bn upper ten They echo the chastened
49,, discriminating plaudits of the theatre with hid
-o.rs If savage mcrriment. With horrid i'm
~.a.;o,s thev denounce Camille, and with savage
,.or,, demand TO know who the devil are Corneille
and Racine They would rainier near MIS-. HOW
.-d any day for a dollar than Ra-shel for nothing
We blush crimson to record such dreadful ignorance
,nddepravity These wretches could listen all night
n Camille TO Phedre to Roxene, to Hernionc, TO
Pauline and not feel their bosoms swell with PRIDE
love pity or hate; and not drop single tear; aye,
and leave the classic scene swearing that they
didn't understand single word OF it.
We turn from such as these with honest pride to
the cultivated upperten of New York fashion; to
,bose highly educated and refined people who speak
French with more than the facility OF their native
,onpuc and no doubt with as greater grammatical
accuracy; who can follow the rapid and indistinct
,unciation of French actress in the classic TRACE
,es Of Corneille and Racine. and understand and
appreciate words which even the most practised
French ears are unable to catch. When we reflect
that these persons thus discriminating and appre-
eiatiye. were but yesterday at the wash tub, the
broom handle and the plough tail; that their oppor-
8 tunities for education have been so limited that
they have not yet become well acquainted with their
own vulgar English tongue; that their manners in
pryate intercourse do not indicate remarkable de-
gree of familiarity with French or any other society;
their theatrical exhibitions of taste and cultivation
seem little less than a miracle. In fact, when we
think of it, far removed we are from the OF
action, we can scarcely suppress enthusi-
asm and were we the fortunate possessor of a pair
of white kids, we should venture gentle COLI
sion of our gloyed palms-Ne should not hesitate
to calculate, yive Ra-she vive Goldfish! vve hum
bug!
We must dsclaim any disrespect in these com
anents TO the actress Rachel Doubtless she is the
Queen of the French stage. But the most harrow
ing creation of Camille delivered in French to an
audience of New York snobs, strikes our unsophs-
ticated senses as comedy rather than tragedy. Nor
do we impeach the sagacity of Rachel in making
this American tour. 1t is not with her an expert
ment, 30 far as dollars are concerned. These
were wisely secured before she set foot in these
Western wilds And it matters not whether
comprehend her or not, 80 long speak to her
in that universal language, that silver tongue
sweeter than her own musical French, which re-
auires no translation, and which civilized and saw
age men equally understand.