Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-06-14

| her theory of dramatic composition and
| have been astoun1ed by the strength and
| ripeness both of her ideas and her vocabu-
| larry.
Naturally, there are those who show in
credulity. Last summer at Fecamp. the
| Norman seaside resort, she played the
| leading part in her piece, THE Bathtub,"
before fashionable audience of 1880. the
majority ParisianS AS this ten-year-old
| actress wears, for grown-up roles, a pair
| of strangely high-heeed shoes and possesses
| a face of peculiarly grown-up intelligence
she looks much older than she really is
| Therefore, the story got about that there
| were two sisters and a money making mys-
| LITIGATION.
ance a magistrate and two policemen call
| ed upon Nine. de Champmoynat to make an
| inquisitiOn They We're met by a little girl.
| Where is your elder sister," they asked
| in what they thought a bluff of great sa-
| gacity. Little Carmen knew Immediately
| what was meant, for she had already heard
| the tale which robbed her of her glory. Il
| will call her" she replied, and disappear red
| Within five minutes there came to the room
| the elder sister,
Come. now, make full confession" said
the country justice kindly, filled up with
| Importance. I'VE know your mother keeps
| you in the dark to make for your little sis
ter the reputation of prodigy. Tell us
| all about it"
II will confess" said Carmen in low.
| trembling accents. But do not be hard on
poor mother" Whereupon she launched
into confession of such intricate en-
| Engagements and amending complications
that the three Fecamp inquistors an hour
| later went off in a state of nervous bewil-
derment Arguing and explaining to each
other, they all but came to blows in the
| front yard and had to be separated before
they had gone two blocks. The result of
| the chid's trick, nevertheless, threatened
| at one moment to be serious for Nine. de
| Champmoynat because the local magis-
| trate and his aids were convinced of the
| existence of the elder sister, and the ex-
| PLANTATION of the high-heeled shoes made but
| slight impression on them. Before they
| confessed themselves convinced little Car
| men was obliged to leave the room In COM
| pany with the ma gistrates wife, change in
her presence and return the elder sis
| ter" always in that lady's company.
An Officers Daughter
Carmen d'Assilva cher pen name) Is the
only daughter of the brave French naval
officer Carley de Champmoynat, recently
deceased To Americans the curious story
! of her direct descent from Benjamin Frank
| lin will doubtless prove one of her most In
| teresting qualities. Cora Adelaide Dupont
| Franklin, the mother of Carley de Champ
moynat (and consequently Garments grand
mother), was the daughter of Mile. A. Lee
| Franklin, whose father was the great Ben
| jamin himself, although the official biogra-
| phies do not mention 1t.
| This unrecognized branch of the family
| drifted down Barbados way. where a
match was struck up with French officer
| in Martinique. my husband always in
sisted on the descent said Nine de Champ
moynat to me the other afternoon, land l
| have among his papers many old documents
| in which the names are mentioned. Some
| day l will have them brought to Paris and
show them to you" l thanked her sin
| cerely.
| Certainly the little Carmen, In her more
| serious expressions, when she holds her face
IL al, ,tra
of likeness to the ancestral American phil
| oSopher 1T is an American face" her
! friends insist; and 1 think that they are
| right. 1t is almost a manlike face at times,
| when 1t does really look like Benjamin.
| Carmen is, nevertheless. a dainty little
creature, with dark velvety eyes almost
| black by candle light, long curling eye
| lashes, long curling locks of dark brown
| hair, and forehead of abnormal breadth.
| She was never allowed to go to school or
| do lessons" for fear of "A meningitis. her
| brain always having worked too actively.
| Instead Of the usual education. she has
read what pleased her. The result is an
| uncanny maturity in certain directions.
For example, reflect upon her vocabulary,
| I asked her in a roundabout way thinking
| that l must explain 1T to her how it came
about when she was admitted to member
! ship in the Societe des Auters Dramat-
| iques: meant though what influences, how
| they were acquired and so on.
The Switching" In.
Mamma" she called out briefly almost
| before 1 had finished making myself clear.
| ''he wants to know the 'aiguillage' of my
| admission" Now. the word "aiguillage"
| refers to the switching of trains from one
| track to another in complicated railway
| depot system. In one word, almost literary
| slang, she had summed up my own involved
question.
As to the actual switching Of her into
that rich and close corporation of dramatic
| authors which, under the presidency Of Vic
/ torien Sardou, rules all the theaters OF