Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1881-01-15

ner, and return to the opera in time for the first
Get A corNphee, for instance. will play page
IN me iirst act. appear IN the second and take
fourth act she remains In her dressing room.
and does little crochet, but hardly has she
done few points before the call mans voice Is
heard IN the lObhteS: Ladies', the fourth act t3
finished" She changes her costume. scamper5
down the stairs, and rushes upon the stage just
10 time to disappear into the cellar with the
las ims NJ n,hs E be ~ cnptan fala The
cOry1hee regaiDs her dressing room. puts on
her ordinary clothes. and leaves the theater-
this time for good. Is is nearly O'Clock when
she reaches her home. aud after eating bit OF
bread aid cheese While she undreSSeS. she
creers Into her narrow bed. Her days work Is
over.
Indeed. there is but little poetry In the exist
ence OF the sn'''ug. and lght-footed dancers
whose pirouettes afford so much pleasure to
the old gentleman In the orchestra stalls.
They begin often at the age OF or in the
they practise and toll and chatter and caper
until from rats they become successfully Hgar-
dntes at the rate OF one franc night. members
OF the first and second Guadriles. COrVphess, and
SuJtts. Then at the end OF their first three
years engagement tegins period OF bitter
grief. For then 1t often happens that. instead
salary, the administration OF the opera chooses
its stars from among foreigners, as, for Instance
SaDgalli and Rosita Mauri, who mads her
second debut In LA Korrigane." OF late years
Mule. Baugrand, who retired six months ago,
has been almost the only dancer who beg IN at
the opera as rat and became star, and a
great star. at the same theater. after passing
through all the degrees. The new III tnasor OF
the opera. M. Vaucorbeil. will noc, It is said,
continue this system OF cosmopolitan prefer
enceS
The reader will perhaps ask what a rat Is. I
refer him to Baizac. who says: The rat IS one
OF the elements OF the opera. 1t is produced OF
door porters, poor folk. actors. dancers. There
Is nothing but the greatest misery which could
advise q
to the most severe tortures." Ne5tOr Rolue
plan, who was more competent to speak On the
subject than Balzac, says: 'The true rat is
little girl OF from seven to fourteen years Of age
pupil OF the dancing class She wears shoes
that have been worn out by others, shawls that
have lost their color, hats that never had any.
bread in her pockets, and asks you for
makes holes in the scenery in order TO
ee snd BAYS at hide and IN
lobbies. The profession OF singing does not
produce rats" Like that OF all the girls OF the
up In these words: Ele s'haoiHe babtl1e, Sc des-
h0bVe; She dances from morning until night,
and from years end to years end, aud puts on
halt dozen different costumes In the course Of
piece Her name Is supposed to have been
derived from tie fact that she Is always nib
bling something. and that, like all children, she
has the bump Of destructlveness Very largely
developed. The young rats are generally lean.
they have certain air Of b3ldne55, courage,
and good humOr. They love dancing. they love
the opera. Their trade is q hard one, but they
adore it. This Is their great virtue, and because
Of Ii much Will be forgiven them.
The mother OF the d0nSeuse has been studied
by many French writer's. besides HaIevy, Whom
quoted at the beginning of my letter, and
times cut OF number Sic and her 1nseparable
Basket have tempted the pencil OF Gavarni as
they now tempt that of Grevin. The danSeusP,
above all people In the world, always has
mother; II the fates cut the threads Of the
days of her natural parent, she will borrow,
hire. or buy new one. Ii Is an article of pri-
mary necessity. The mother holds her daugh-
ter'S shawl in the wings. watches her dance,
covers her shoulders when her pas is over, ard
offers Der little bottle Of cold beeftea to quench
her thirst and keep up her strength. The
mother is again of use when her daughter is
beset by tnsipld and sterile assidutleS; She Is OF
use when the danSeuSe, taking advantage OF
her youthful years, refers the aspirant TO her
mamma. But, as l have already said, virtue is
| fashionable at the opera at present. NeVerthe-
| less, there are mothers like Nine. N, for In
stance, who begins her day as fruit seller at G
| o'clock In the morning. She mounts into her
| little cart and trOts Off to the Central Market
| turnips, carrots and salads. Then, on summer
| evenings about o'clock a tall lackey enters
| her shop, and Nine. n, dressed In her Sunday
best, gets into Mons. de P.'s victoria and takes
| ride in the Bots de BOulOgne with her daugh.
| ter. Nine. N. Is an exception nowadays, it Is
| true. But how can her conversation be other
| than interesting? How can one ever grow
| weary of the cOmpany.of such woman? She
| is living encyclopaedia. gazette OF the mar.
| ket and OF the court. She knows the reason
| why potatoes are so dear, and tomatoes sc
scarce; and she Is equally familiar with the
| causes which prevented little WhaL's-his name
from being appointed second secretary to the
+ embassy al Madrid. THEODORE CaID.