St. Paul daily globe., 1892-07-10

short, snub nose, broad, strangely
flexible mouth, with thin, painted lips,
which gives her face an expression OF
vulcarity painful in such young
woman.
Her costume resembles the one in the
advertiSeme in outline, but not i'll
color.
She wears an olive green dress of
pressed velvet, arranged in straight.
verticle lines, with narrow V-shaped
decOllete, aud the already-mentiOned
cloves. reaching to the shoulder. Her
biographer says she is not more than
twenty-five, but in the glare of the foot
lights she looks more like thirty.
A tumultuOuS applause greetS her.
The audience is full of expectancy, and
stretch forth their necks to listen. She
begins to sing. Her voice is neither
very strong or melodious, moderately
high soprano like that of the better
chorus girls, who now and then
take minor parts. Her gestures are
neither particularly graceful nor re-
fined, but they suit very we'll the words
she sings. She takes every note cor.
rectiy. always keeps in time. and marks
the rhythm with a fire which brings il
into bold relief. The distinctness Of hel
delivery proves a great advantage in
making her songs popular, as the pub
lie, even the most unmuSical among
them, cannot help remembering the
melody.
Her power of recitation is remark.
able. She understands how to give
every word a double meaning, alluSiOn,
etc. All which the author says she EN-.
bodies 10 perfection.
In her the Seamy side of Paris has
found all impersOnator which never had
its equal on the stage. She can initiate
the rogues and gallows birds of Paris to
such perfection that no detective could
surDass her, though his life may often
depend on the clever disguise and imi-
tatiOn, when obliged to enter a tavern
and the outer boulevards frequented 10y
criminals. She has learned from them
every haracteristic-every peculiarly,
which only the sharpeSt and most con-
slant observation and the finest psyche
logical analysis could produce.
Observe, for instance, the face she is
now making-One eye shut, the lips
drawn to one side to broad grin, while
the lower lip Is dropping. That is the
typical face of the gamin of today, not
the gamin of the romanciSts-Victor
Hugo's GavrOche; times have changed.
She intimateS the grunts and whim-
pers, the SuDplicati0ns for charity of the
half-starved woman without work; the
half-cynical lamentS of the demi-mOnds,
of mendicants. cripples and paralytics
the squeezed. oily voice. which proceeds
the hysterical exclamation of the
morbid lady of fashion. the tongue
tied pronunciation of the chif-
onieres, who clip all their consonantS
the grimaces of degenerated wretches,
whose faces are distorted by the tic
dOulOureuX; the silly smile of the bare
foot girl child; the catch words and col
loquial oddities of the light-fingered
gentry-in short, the counterparts OF all
miserable, fantastic creatures which
Callott, Hogarth, Goya and Steen have
ever drawn.
And these limitations are so strikingly
natural that the most cynical spectator
grows restless and involuntary turns
his head. Imagining for moment that
he is at Chateau Rouge OH the Boule-
ward de Lavilette or Fauburg des Tenn.
pie.
All this remarkable gift of depicting
human misery insures her an income of
$780, 600 year. The Concert Partisan
alone pays f.50O an evening for one
hour, from 10 to IL. The rest she makes
in private entertainments from IL to l,
for which she receives f.2,5OO. She is
seen in the very best circle of aristo-
Gratis and millionaire parvenues, even
the residents of FaubuIg st. Germain
and st. HOuvie open their doors to her.
But how can her unheard-of success
be explained?
All there is known of her is that only
few years ago she was employed as
| saleslady in shoe store: later on she
| tried to get all opening in variety the
| ater. but she made complete failure OF
the small part which had been confided
! to her. Then she received an engage
ment to sing III the Cafe Japanais fol
| f.16 an evening. Nobody knows ex
actly how it came about. but suddenly
| she was taken up by circle of admir-.
ers and pushed to the front Already
then her most enthusiastic admirers ex
| claimed: 'She is new revelation oj
| art!"
| After while the papers began te
speak of her. Hughes le Roux, jour
nalist of great ability and favorite OF
the Parisian boulevardiers, became hel
Christopher Columbus, and introduced
| her to society at large. He did no
merely write special articles about her
but also essays which treated her tai
| ents in a critical and sometimes even il
a scientific manner. At last lie hireC
the Theatre des Arts, invited the lead
ing literati, artists. club men and socia
leaders to special matinee, which ht
| opened with all exceedingly cleve
lecture ON Yvette Guilbert, con
vincing the audience. even befor,
they had seen her, that she wa
the personiiication of her time o
fin de steele. Among other witty
though far-fetched, assertions, he mad
special hit by comparing his proteg,
to Diana (probably on account of til,
length of her figure) and to a female
faun.
Since then Paris kneels at her feet
All those whose chief aim.of life is t.
be in the height of fashion consider
their duty to adore her. Soon enougI
artistes who desired that few rays o
the sun of her popularity would faI
upon them, offered their services gratis
Painters painted her in oil, pastel ant
acquarelie; sculptors formed her il
marble, bronze and terra Gotta. aud Dc
cts and musicians wrote and compose,
songs to her praise and for her roper