Page:Rachel (1887 Nina H. Kennard).djvu/65

 with which she electrified her audience. In proof of this, the following incident is related as having suggested the by-play that is so effective in the rôle of Camille, when listening to the description of the combat between the Horatii and the Curiatii.

One morning, knocked up by her exertions of the evening before, the young actress had remained in bed. Hearing a caller down below, she rose and went to the door, to ascertain who it was; she recognised the voice as that of an acquaintance of the family, a young medical student. In answer to the question put by her mother and sisters, as to why he had been so long absent, he told a fearful story of some accident, while dissecting, that had necessitated the amputation of his hand. Rachel, already tired and over-excited, was so overcome with horror at this description, that she fainted. The noise of her fall brought the family to her assistance, and she soon recovered. It was then the idea occurred to her that if she, who was not particularly interested in this young man, had been so much impressed by the narrative of his accident, how terrible must be the shock on the nerves of a woman hearing of her lover's death. She told Samson that the next time she played Camille, she would introduce a new effect. She did so, and we know by hearsay how great was her success.

These early years of Rachel's success were undoubtedly the happiest of her life: years of privation and struggle and doubt, but years also of appreciation and success. The words she had conned over and studied with youthful reverence in the solitude of her garret room, she was now able to speak to hundreds every night, and to catch inspiration from their comprehension and applause. Under the dictation of none