, 1873-06-15
A SUPPER WITH RACHEL,

| fred de Musset the place that properly be-
| longs to him in their literature.
| This is scarcely less than debt Of honor they
| owe his memory. for he has till now been fre-
| quently. it not generally, misunderstood and
| falsely Judged The reason may be found IN the
fact that he differed wida1y from the majority OF
| modern French authors. His romantic, dreamy
| turn Of mind made him more German, perhaps,
| than French in his nature, although He1ne: IN
his undue love OF ridcu1e and satire, wholly mis-
understood him. OF late, his works and his gen
| ius have been favorite themes with the French
literary Journals; they Seem determined to do
full Justice at last to the memory OF their gifted
countryman, who died May /, 1857.
t His posthumouB works consiat Of smaH
volume containing 90 Faustine," dramatic hag-
| nent, "I'Ane ct ie Ruisseau," aud collection
| Of his letters In one Of the latter ne 6nd an
| exceedingly graphic account Of n supper with
Rthe renowned tragedieune, which will MD us
materially in appreciating the development and
/ understanding the character Of the greatest
actress France, and perhaps the world, has ever
| produced The poet requested tho lady, who
received the letter, to preserve it, in order that
| the remembrance Of the evening might not be
| lost. Fortunately, his wish WAS complied with.
| It was one night sfter representation OF
*Tancred." In the fifth oct Rachel had drawn
| floods OF tears from her auditors, and Hhe
| scarcely had strength to go through the last
scene After the representation she walked
| leisurely through the arcades Of the Palais
| Royal, in company with number Of her col
| leagues Of both SEXES, toward home, when abe
| met our young poet. whom ehe invited to join
| the party. They directed their steps toward the
residence Of the tragedienne, which was near BY,
| aud where they expected to find sumptuous
| repast in waiting. They were disappointed. No
preparation whatever had been beon made for
| their entertainment and, to make uaattors worse
| Rachel YVES compelled to send her only servant
back to the, theatre for some 1ewelry abe had
| negIgentlY left in her dressing-room. Now,
| there was no one to prepare the supper, except
| Rachel herself. She Withdrew for minute, and
| returned in " modest muslin gown" q little
white cap Ia bonne, white apron, and 9
! neckerchiof. De Musset says abe Was "a beauti-
ful aa an angel in this costume, but it would be
| hard to Enag gine an angel Of the Rachel descnp-
ton, In her hands che carried platter, on
| which she had herseli prepared. sha piaced
| the dish on the table, and cried out: "Fall
to, everybody !" then back she gent 10 the
! kitchen for ter1ine of soup and q dish OF spin
| ach. This was all aha could find, and Was, COLI
eequently, all abe had to offer her guests There
we're no plates or Spoons, ~ the servant had the
| keys in her keeping. Rachel went on another
tour Of discovery, and found bowl Of salad.
Sans ceremonie ahe took the spoon and began to
"But, child," said the mother, "thera arc
some tin plates IN the kitchen" -
| Out went Rachel again, and soon came back
xith a handful Of tin plates, which she disIib~
| uted among her guests.
"Child," began the mother again, "these
| beefeteaks are too much DONE"
"That's very true, mother, returned Rachel
"When was in practice, cooked better: But,
turning sodden1y & to her %an sster
1T would sooner go hung1 than eat oil tin
! plates" replied Sarah, sullenly.
"Humph! It won't be long till you viii want
| q servant at each elbow" returned Rachel
"Wonld You Believe that, when played at the
Theatre Mouere, had only two pair OF stock
| ings aud every morning."
Here Sarah began to speak German in order
prevent her sister beng hes5d On. haene eae
ing German am not ashamed to tell no"
poor we were. had only two pairs Of stock
inga, and was, therefore, compelled to Wash one
| pair every morning, in order to have clean pair
| for the stage in the evening. And thon had to
do nearly al cur houaaWork. I ross every
morning ut g. and by had all the chamber
| work done. Then I went to market. was An
| economical and honest cook-Waa not, moth
q Yes, that you were. never had any fault
to find with you," said tho mother.
"Only once" continued Rachel, :" was
guilty Of pilfering. What paid four SOUS for,
f6tsa 1 vs and continued to do 80 until
4sAnd what did you do with your money p
"she bought Moliere with it," interrupted
| the mother.
ayes" continued Rachel; ssI already had Rar
cine'e and Corneiea works, and wanted Mo1iere's 8.
I bought it With my th1ee francs, and then con-
fessed ny czime.'
In the meantime the servant returned With the
L. 1.Is 81