Page:Rachel (1887 Nina H. Kennard).djvu/47

 Hermione than of her Camille. This trumpet-blast had the desired effect. The name of the little Jewish girl, Rachel Félix, was ou everyone's lips, and Paris, awakened out of her lethargy, had but one thought, the progress and development of the genius that had been discovered in her midst—one pre-occupation, the past history, and every detail concerning the private and public life of this cigale du café transformée en Melpomène.

Janin took a great deal of the credit to himself, in later days, of having made Rachel famous—"invented" her, in fact. It is impossible to deny that, until the appearance of these articles in the Débats, she had made no considerable stir in the artistic world, and it was not even until the second one that the great critic himself was listened to. He, perhaps, hastened the moment of her triumph, and, by giving the young girl opportunely the encouragement of praise and appreciation, helped her in her venturesome task. Still there is little doubt that, as the winter season approached, and the more critical audience of the Théâtre Français returned to their accustomed places, Rachel's genius would gradually have been appreciated.

On the 27th and 29th Rachel acted in Cinna, on the 3rd of October in Andromaque again, on the 5th and 9th in Racine's Mithridate as Monime, with an ever-increasing success, until at last popular enthusiasm knew no bounds. Védel gives an account of these early days of Rachel's career in a pamphlet published in 1858, immediately after her death. On the 27th, the first time she appeared after the publication of Janin's second feuilleton, the Comédie Française was besieged by applicants for seats. It was only with difficulty they could be kept in order. The queues leading to