Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1886-03-15
RACHEL.
The Life, Early struggles and TrIumphs
OF the Great actress.

From, the C1ic5yo Fers.
Sprung from the blood Of IsraeI's Fcattere
AZ mean inn ia German Aaron born,
10 forms from antique Greece and Rome up
Prick d out with Partisan speech and face
lmDartlng life renewed, old classic grace;
Then soothing with thy Christian strain for
A Kempis! her departing soul outworn,
While by her bedside Hebrew rites have
An. not tbe radiant spirit of Greece alone
She had--one power which made her breast
its h0mel
In her, ike US, there clashed contending pow
Germany, France, Christ, Moses, Athens,
Rome.
The strife, the mixture in her soul. are ours;
Her genius and her glory are her own
The genius Of Rachel is even now fast
becoming a tradition, and few still live
who beheld her in her passionate PRIME
These will welcome Mrs. Kennard's SYM
pathetic study for recalling to them those
never-to-be-forgotten years, and the
younger generation will als0 welcome 1t
Tor its own sake, because 1t will make
them feel, as far as any book can, the per-
sena presence Of the actress who is, by
general admission, the greatest Of the
century. That manifestation Of genius
when only finds a transient expression
upon the stage is at an obvious disadVan-
tage compared with those others which
create for themselves enduring memorials
10 marble, in color, or in imperishable
fabric OF speech. II has its public and its
day, but for other days and publics can be
but q shadow OF q tradition. Ii is, then.
with peculiar interest that We read Of
the lives and the achievements OF those
actors who have held over their hearers
the same absolute dominion, that poets
and painters hold-seeklnR to seize upon
something of the quality of genius, in
communicable in its very essence through
the medium Of literature.
Elisa Rachel Felix was born March a.
1921. at Swiss inn. Her parents were
German Jews of itinerant ayocatiOn, the
father being little better than travelling
peddler, although Of superior education.
For the first years Of RachePs life she
was carried about with her family, and
knew every form OF want and suffering.
Then the family settled at Lyons, where
the father gave lessons in German
and the mother became a dealer in
old clothes. Certainly the conditions
did not promise well for the
nurture of geniu although the end gave
one more illustratOn-and perhaps no
more striking one was ever giyen-of the
seh-assertiVe quality Of genius, If we
cannot disprove the 'mute, ingl0r0us
Miltons," about whom a certain class OF
theorists, who explain everything by en-
VirOnment, have so much TO say, we can
at least show them to be most i'm probable |
by pointing to such instances as this.
Toward 1880, when Rachel was 3 years /
old, the family removed TO Paris and |
struggled along as they had at Lyons. !
The child used TO sing in the streets, with |
a keen eye for the copper coins OF the /
charitable passers-by, and she resOrted |
ROW and then TO subterfuges for the pur-
pose Of exciting sympathy and stlmulat-
ing the outflow Of copper coins. The in
stincts thus iOstered-and, doubtless, also
inherited-led, more than anything else
in latter lite, to dull her artistic sense and
10 faint the sources Of her thought and her
emotion. The service Of art is forever in.
compatible withthat of mammon. One day
when the child was singing in the streets
Of Paris she attracted the attention of
ktienne ChOrOrd, teacher Of music. He
became interested In her and undertook
TO give her instruction in singing. But |
be found that her voice was not capable /
Of the development which he had hoped 4
to give it, and so gave up his design, but 1
induced his friend, PagnOn Saint Aulaire, /
who educated pupils for the stage, to take
the child into his class. He recognized |
her talent, aud devoted four painstaking
years to Its development. At the end Of /
this time he presented her to the Coincide /
Franchise, and she received a minor |
appointment, which was, however, for 4
some unexplained reason, broken of. She |
then tried study at the COnservatOire. but !
met with nothing but discouragement,
and gave IL up. In the meanwhile Saint
Aulaire had been active in her interest,
and brought her TO the attention of NJ.
Poirs0n, manager OF the Gymnase, who
heard her recite, and Immediately offered
her an engagement. Her father was
with her, aud, when asked what sal
airy was expected, said: 'NOus falOns
teux mile vrancs, CONNIE un Hard"
To his surprise, Poirson Immediately
offered 5000, to which old Felix, much
astOnished, replied: "Dres pienl che
signe dout te suiteP' Poirson objected to
the first name OF the glrl-Elisa-and
suggested that she appear as Rachel. So
IL was announced that on May /, 1887,
Mdlle. Rachel would appear at the Gym
nase theatre in new play, written for
her by Paul Duport, and entitled ella
Vendeene."
This first appearance of the actress.
then 10 years old, was but moderately
successful. We have, however, the tes-
timony Of number of competent wit
Aesses Of her acting. among which that
Of Jules Janin and Edwin Forrest is par
ncularl interesting. Janln wrote as
follows In the DebdtS: "There is great
future 10 store for this young genius, and
she receives a tribute of tears. emotion
aud interest from the as yet small
audience that come TO do her
honor" Forests testimony is more
direct ana unequIYocal. lie was
asked TO attend the performance in
order that be might give AN opinion of an
other actor in the piece. His opinion was
not fiattering, but he added: s'That jew
lsh looking girl, that little bag Of bones
with the marble face and flaming eyes
there is demoniacal power in her. IL she
lives, and does not burn out too soon, she
VIII become something wonderful" That
the prophecy was fulfilled all the world
knows. She burned out indeed, but not
before she had restored Racine and Cor
nellie TO the stage, and tFiumphed as no
actress before or since has done.
IL was az the Theatre Francois that the
triumph was achieved. After "A few weeks
AZ the 6ymnase sue returned to the Con-
seNatolre and placed herself under the in
struction OF Samson. Eight months OF
hard work with him supplemented what
genius had done for her already. and she
was prepared TO step at once into the
highest place which the ranks of her ART
0nered. Ihese were alec months of
marked ply slcal development. We read
that "the stunted figure grew several
inches, the pale complexion became clear
and healthy the voice u1uainaI "A "a 80