Page:Rachel (1887 Nina H. Kennard).djvu/61

 to do Rachel honour in those days. When she appeared in public she was fêted. When she assisted at the sittings of the Chamber of Deputies, as was the custom for the great ladies of the day, she attracted universal attention from speakers and audience. In one of her brilliant articles that appeared periodically in La Presse, Madame de Girardin alludes to Rachel's social success:—

And so the brilliant and clever lady goes on to prove that Rachel possessed the only true kind of rank; and she and Émile de Girardin gave evidence of the consistency of their opinions by entertaining the actress continually at their hospitable table, and when many others later held aloof, ever remained equally cordial and friendly.

Rachel was admitted at this time into the exclusive circle at the Abbaye aux Bois, where Madame RecamierRécamier [sic], although no longer rich, beautiful, or young, succeeded in keeping a large circle of illustrious and respectful admirers—La réunion des refusés! as profane outsiders called it; but which was looked upon by those admitted to the sacred precincts of the old convent as the tribunal of art and æstheticism. Here Rachel met Chateaubriand, and listened to the chapters of the Mémoires d'Outre-Tombe read aloud by the author. The young actress astonished and charmed these apostles of culture by her simple dignity, unassuming