, 1873-06-15

or hla genius tIAn8hSuIed her. never nave /
beheld anything 30 beautiful, 30 thrilling never
on the stage has she made 80 deep an Impression
On me. The fatigue, q slight hoarseness, tha
punch, the lsteness OF the honr the almosf
fevetiah excitement she betrayed, lent to this
young face an Irresistible charm Add to ~
this the disorder on the table before us,t thu
trembling flames Of our two candles, and the
sleeping mother, who sat in the corner back Of
ua,-all this would make picture worthy of q
q Wilhelm Meister.'."
It WAS long AFTER midnight when Rachel's
father came homo from the opera. He had bard
" entered the room when ho began to scold her
for sitting up so late, and commanded her tc
stop reading She closed the book violently,
aud cried:
It is not to be endured! I'll buy myself
some candles and read alone in bed!" And the
big tears that rolled down her cheeks seem ia
have touched the poets heart. He ssyB he fell
for her ip his inmost soul, although it would b
difficult to see, as it seems to US, from his OWL
representing. that the young lady was SO very
badly treated.
female characters in the French drama With
unparalleled success, she finally. On the 21st Of
January, 1913, just ono month before
completing her twenty-second year, essayed the
character Of Phndra. Tho result showed that
she had not over-estimated her powers. On that
meanorable night in the history Of the Theatre
Francais she achieved, perhaps her most bril-
liant triumph. From this moment to the time
of her death sho WAS without rival, it being
universally conceded that ahe WAS the greatest
actress Of her age, il not Of any age She ex-
ccl1ed, however, in the classic
rather than in modern drama. sh9
Was Greek from head to foot-in her
walk, in all her movements, in her entire person.
She had received everything from Nature that
WAS necessary to the personation Of those char
Acters il which she particularly e1celled-large-
ness OF gesture, majesty Of mler, nobility Of e1-
preston, and resonance and hexibility Of voice.
Int h fr~ %ha ir1rn
PhBdra, WAS not without her weaknesses, and
one OF the greatest cf these Was her In
ordinate love of gold. She was genuine
worshippeE OF Mammon- Her first appear'
auce At the Theatre Francais WAS in June,
1888, when her. aalary was f1ed at four thousand
francs; this sum WAS increased from timo to
time, until ahe received foTty-fve thousand
francs for playing twice week for .alx months.
For extra performances abe received five hum
dred francs each She spent the remainder ot
the year in - starring" earning from two hun
dred to two hundred and fifty thousand franco
each season, which then, in Europe, waa about
equal to - many dollars now in the United statos
Despite this enormous income.it narer occuIredto
her that she should provide FOR the INDECENT
members of her numerous family; she chose
rather to make them pensioners okt the thea
tire. Her brother and all her sisters evinced
. desire to. enter the dramatic profession +;
very respectable salaries. sarah, Rsbecca,;
Raphael, and even the youngest sister, Dina,
were ali On the salary-lst at the same titno
rise to many bon mot, and the theatre came
to be known as the Asylum for the Felix
family. The Pafisians no longer said, 'Let ua
go to the Coincide Francaise; but, Let us so
to the synagogue."
What even those ct her own faith thought Of
Rachers Avzrice waa illustrated By clever and
forcible remark Of Mademoiselle Judith, also 4
very talented actress Of the Comedie Francaise,
wL4 h-- l. nfz
like Rachel. They were always on bad terms.
!" You should try to get on moro ha1moni-
ous1y with Mhdemoiselle Rachel" said tho
director one day to Judith. "You are wrong IN
on your s sympathy "a and friondship % fhsn any % ona
else in the theatre. Are you not Of the Same re-
Ngion7"
dith, but, nevertheless, there is . wide dihez-
ence between uB.
"How so7"
~ am only Jevess. while Rachel, beaides
But the thehtra wRs not the only source
from which Rachel sought to crafty her love Of
nown, had many auitors, and she had . happy
faculty Of intimat1ng to them that she judged
OF tho sincerity Of their protestations BY the val
ue Of their presents. Il they sometimes evinced
in her opinion, became the ardor of. their pas-
sion, she usually found aome means to ssi1oulatn
their genezos1ty: The manner in which,
On one occasion, she even de-
ceived , her good friend Count Walewaki,
nasutl son u Napoleon l.. 1nq tne conndant
sna ena-n munster oi Napoleon Au'' s very well
Happening to pass through side-room of the
residence OF her rich friend, Madame g., she
noticed venerable guitar, black with dirt,
standing IN one corner.
What is this piece Of old trumper5 doing
here, ma chere? Give it to me-; / have =
specta! M use for it, said Phndra.
a.,;1. Maat ose can you have forit? It's good for
nothing;
THAT does not matter-it will ansuer
my purpose Just ~ well"
gut what eau you want OF it z"
0h, that's my secret" replied Rachel.
.r.,;e !eay reu .k WI sand it to you" end that
evening one OF the 1ady's servanta carried it to
RaGhels residence. Rue Jonbert;;
Two OF three Gays later tho old black instrn~
ment was nouced oy Count Hale"BA in
fnans "a. poudolt, carefully protected BY an els-
ean.t .ta sux cover. als curiosity led him to e1an1-
Aue tas contents OF the cover more closely.
~ ~ -. S@4 '@t!b' aS aaAoA.