t of foresight on the
part of the most skilful and conscientious manager or actor can prevent,
but which almost invariably ruins the greatest masterpiece. There were
about eight or nine actors and actresses in the room--Regnier, Samson,
Beauvallet, etc. It was probably the most critical audience in Europe,
but every one shook, and Mdlle. Anais Aubert went into a dead faint.
Regnier often averred that if Rachel had been a man, she would have been
the greatest comic actor that ever lived; and it is not generally known
that she once played Dorine in "Tartuffe," and set the whole of the
house into a perfect roar; but on that evening I became convinced that
Rachel, in addition to her tragic gifts, was the spirit of
Aristophanesque comedy personified. I am afraid, however, that I cannot
tell the story, or even hint at it, beyond mentioning that Poirson is
reported to have said that Rachel did not want a stage-manager, but a
nurse to take care of her. The criticism was a cruel one, though
justified by appearances. It was Mama Felix, and not her daughter, who
was to blame. The child--she was scarcely more than that--had hurt
herself severely, and instead of keeping her at home, she sent her to
the theatre, "poulticed all over," as Rachel expressed it afterwards.

Mama Felix was the only one who was a match for her famous daughter in
money matters. What the latter did with the enormous sums of money she
earned has always been a mystery. As I have already said, they were not
spent in charity. Nowadays, whatever other theatres may do, the
Comedie-Francaise dresses its pensionnaires as well as its societaires
from head to foot; it pays the bootmaker's as well as the wigmaker's
bill, and the laundress's also. Speaking of the beginning of her career,
which coincided with the end of Rachel's, Madeleine Brohan, whose
language was often more forcible than elegant, remarked, "Dans ma
jeunesse, on nous mettait toutes nues sur la scene; nous etions assez
jolies pour cela." But Rachel's costumes varied so little throughout her
career as to have required but a small outlay on her part. Nor could her
ordinary dresses and furniture, which I happened to see in April, 1858,
when they were sold by public auction at her apartments in the Place
Royale, have made a considerable inroad on her earnings. The furniture
was commonplace to a degree; such pictures and knickknacks as were of
value had been given to her, or acquired in the manner I have alrea