Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-01-17
FAMOUS WOMEN OF HISTORY.
RACHEL, 1821-1858.
Copyright. 1912. by Willis ]. Abbot.)

The well-worn fable Of the ugly duck
ling that turned out a swan had never
a more striking parallel in human life
than that afforded by the career Of Ra-
chel. the French actress who held two
continents by her tragic genius. Born in
a wayside inn bearing the prophetic
name 1.-The Golden Sum- her father. a
poor Jewish peddler, hard put to it to
earn a living before this new mouth
came to add to his burdens, the girl was
q street singer and beggar in Lyons
when about nine years old. At nine
teen Elisa Rachel Felix Tor Mile. Ra-
chel. to use her stage namel was the
goddess of the tragic stage of Paris.
She had seized upon the dramas of
Corneille and Racine. already totterins
to decay and now virtually forgotten,
breathed into them the breath Of her
genius. made their artificial characters
seem stately. If not natural. and gave
to the classic school Of France new
though brief period Of life.
Sang in Cutters for Sous.
Papa, the peddler. in some way drift
ed to Paris. where his two little daugh-
tiers sang for SOUS in the cutters of the
boulevards. A kindly music teacher
noted their voices and took them into
his school. Soon he concluded that
Sarah, the elder, had voice worth cul-
tivating; Rachel, he thought, might re-
cite or even act in a small way. At
this point Sarah fades out of the story.
Rachel. then a lean and hungry look
ing girl of about thirteen, with the
manners of a gamin picked up in the
cutters of Lyons and Paris. was taken
into the dramatic class Of Pashon ST.
Aulaire. A we'll disposed and somewhat
speculative man was this dramatic in
structor. The child could pay nothing.
of course. but II she proved even capa-
BILE actress some share of her salary
would return to him. Besides she might
turn out prodigy. So for nearly two
years Rachel postured. gestured and de-
claimed in ST. Aulaire's studio. showing
after the manner of stage people de-
which she was wholly untitled and in
which she never won success. Some
months earlier. being hungry. she had
applied her talent for mimicry to a very
practical purpose; wn,.e hue singing ahs n.t WIN
ed to faint and played her part so we'll
that she was carried into the restaurant
and given an excellent meal. while the
diners collected purse of % francs ($4)
for the distressed children.
Suspected She Was a Genius.
Toward the end of the training St.
Aulaire began to suspect he had discov-
cred genius. Straightway he hied him
self to the director Of the Coincide Fran
caise and delivered to that incredulous
dignitary a rhapsody or "a poor Jewish
girl" whom he declared the ideal Of
tragedy YEARLY Director Jouslin
agreed to hear her. But when Rachel
recited the lines Of Hermione in "Ad-
romaque" the directors cynicism vanish
ed. Mile. Mars, one of the greatest Of
French tragediennes. was present at the
test and gathered the girl into her arms
and kissed her. Exuiting in her success.
Rachel asked timidiy II she were too
short to play queens and heroines. Mile
Maillet. the great tragic actress. was
shorter than this girl" cried Mars. land
besides it is a good fault. the child will
grow.
For two or three years she worked in
the lesser theaters of Paris and in 1888,
having found herself" appeared on the
boards at the Coincide Franchise in Cor
ne.lles tragedy Les Horaces." Here for
a. time she was listened to with respect
but without enthusiasm, and the engage
ment babe fair to be losing one for the