Rachel and the New world: A trip to the United States and Cuba

              ^mx'Timmf*^fffifV7»y«nr'fTy?g'«rrvmtnr^{ivamtrmm i ^nr* ^tj^i^r-ftr. i-^r-ruvft t-^i^r-
^Jl^^^
n
AUBURN UNIVERSITY
LIBRARIES
NON CIRCULATING
Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2010 with funding from
Lyrasis IVIembers and Sloan Foundation
http://www.archive.org/details/rachelnewworldtrOOinbeau
AND
THE NEW WORLD
EACHEL
AND
THE NEW WORLD.
%
A TRIP
TO THE
UNITED STATES AND CUBA.
TBAHSLATED FROM THE FB2N0H
OF
L^ON BEAUYALLET.
NEW YOKE:
DIX, EDWARDS & CO., 321 BROADWAY.
1856.
Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1856, by
DIX, EDWAEDS & CO.,
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States
for the Southern District of New York.
MILLER & HOLMAN,
Printers & Stereotypers, N. Y.
^yiURN UNIVERSITY. AlAti
PREFACE.
t Wilhmmut,
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF OF THE FIGARO.
Paris, February 3, ]856.
My Dear M. de Villemessant :
I HAVE just arrived from Havana. Here is the latest
news : The Kachel company is disbanded. The two
worlds are now strewn with the numerous waifs of this
terrible shipwreck.
Eachel remains an invalid, on the island of Cuba ; not
so ill as is reported. Sufficiently so, however, for her
to have positively refused to give a single representation
to the Antilles. Yesterday a letter was received from her.
She will be in Paris in a mouth and a half, perhaps two
months, when the severely cold weather is past.
(At the time we wrote this letter, it was to have been
so. Every one knows now that --Mademoiselle Eachel
preferred to release herself from so prolonged an exile.)
Her sister Sarah left for Charleston. She is going, it
is said, to New York, where she wishes to form a com-pany
for the representation of comedy and the drama.
Mademoiselles Durey and Briard have also remained
in North America.
That country being utterly devoid of amusement, I
iv PEEFACE.
preferred embarking immediately from Havana with tlie
rest of the army, on board the Clyde,, an excellent
English steamer, which took us straight to the island of
St. Thomas.
We were fortunate, since this island was enameled
with yellow fever, in being able to take refuge from it,
forthwith, on board the Atrato, another English steamer,
which, notwithstanding terrible weather, and terrific gales
that tore our sails and broke one of our masts, landed us
safe and sound at Southampton, on the 30th of January,
1856, in twenty days and nights. That was all
!
Then how voluptuously we pressed the British soil,
with what profound dehght we swooned upon a basket
of Allied oysters.
Truly, if it were only for the pleasure one feels on
landing, it would be worth while to make sea voyages for-ever.
At Southampton, Eaphael Fehx, his sisters Lia
and Dinah, and M. Felis, their father, parted from us
without a tear, and sailed for London. The rest of us
embarked precisely where we- were ; it was much easier,
and on the 31st, at four o'clock in the morning, we could
have landed at Havre, where, during the visits of the
custom-house agent, I caught the most charming cold in
the head possible.
Now, my dear Monsieur de Villemessant, do you not
perceive, as I do, that the moment has arrived to relate
the Odyssey of French tragedy in America? I have
come from over there with a volume of anecdotes, of
stories, of gossip. A whole volume, you will see ! I will
PKEFACE. V
confess to you, beside, that it was partly for this that I
went there. I had no idea of traversing four thousand
leagues in a multitude of countries, each one still more
fantastic than the others, to abandon myself exclu-sively
to the tirades of that great Jocrisse, who calls
himself Hippolytus, and that false merchant of dates,
named Bajazet ! Oh ! no !
(Here we shall ask permission to insert a little paren-thesis—
it is the second, and shall be the last—to confess,
in all humility, that these by no means literary surnames,
granted so cavaherly by us to the two heroes of Eacine,
have not failed to open under our feet an abyss of most
bitter reproaches. Now that we have made this confes-sion,
we will risk another—-still, in all humihty !—that is,
that these vituperations have not changed, by one iota, our
opinion of the personages in question—they are detestable
characters, and we will never give it up. The refractory
Hyppolytus is a contraband savage, who no more resem-bles
the son of Theseus than that morose Bajazet is hke
the Grand Turk ! Pardieu ! but Racine can well ajfford
to be guilty of those two villainous creations, since he has
given us others so beautiful ! Besides, to applaud indis-criminately,
is to applaud nothing; and to cry up as
subHme this " deplorable prince " and his turbaned col-league,
is to consider as quite ordinary the admirable
characters of Phedre, Agrippina, Hermione, Clytem-nestra—
I pass them by, and some even better—to put an
end to this little parenthesis, which will not finish of
itself! We continue the letter to Villemessant.)
VI PKEFACE.
I have written about eveiytliing, observed everything !
And I beg you to believe that I have a terribly long
account to narrate to you since my letter to Roger do
Beauvoir—the same that I thank you for having so gra-ciously
inserted in your Figaro, and which has been
translated over there in English, Spanish, and probably
in Mohegan and in Eed-skin.
Those good Yankees were em^aged with me, in the
United States. One journal considered it very strange
that I allowed myself to say what I did of a country, the
only thing of which I did not speak being the language.
Incredible assurance, you will admit ! As if one were
obliged to learn Enghsh to have a right to see houses
burning, and people disemboweHng each other
!
To sum up—I am dehghted to have visited North
America, because it is a duty disposed of, and I shall
never have to return there, thank God
!
I am delighted to have seen the Antilles and Florida,
because they are really splendid and wonderful
!
I am dehghted, finally, and above all, to have come
back to my good city of Paris, for one may well talk and
act as if there were only Paris, and there never will be
any place but Paris.
So you see that it is scarcely possible to find a man
more enchanted than I ; yet nevertheless you may put
the finishing touch to all those deHghts, by opening the
columns of the Figaro to the pubhcation of: Rachel and
the Neiv World.
I will guarantee that this shall be curious and amus-
PREFACE. VU
ing. This conviction is, perhaps, very pretentious ; but,
7na foi ! I have been so far.
I await your reply and press your hand.
Devotedly yours,
LfiON BEAUVALLET.
It will be asked, perhaps, in honor of what Saint have
we placed this letter—written two months ago, on our
return to France—at the head of this volume.
It is very easily explained.
If we had not addressed the said missive to the very
accomplished editor of the Figaro—(Bah ! let us tell him
the bare truth, now that we have no further need of
him !)—it is as plain as dayhght that Villemessant would
not have been able to reply to us ; " Your idea suits to a
T. Work fast ! The arms of Figaro are open to receive
you."
Without this compliance it would have been quite
impossible to have published our tour in the afore-men-tioned
Journal. Repulsed lq that quarter, it is more
than likely that we should have been prevented from
carrying elsewhere our "gaiters^" as well as our ac-counts
of the other world.
The said accounts, not having been published in any
journal, our friend Cadot could not have thought for an
instant of republishing them, whatever might have been
his inclination. And that is why the letter in question,
finding itself to be the sole and unique cause of this
book, parades so majestically on the first page.
Vlll PKEFACE.
Several days after its appearance in the columns of the
Figaro (Feb. 14th), H. de Villemessant—already men-tioned—
published the following note :
"We commence to-day, under the title of Rachel and
the Neiv World, a great success de curiosite ; to Figaro—
who first acquainted the public, in all its details, with
the agreement between Mademoiselle Kachel and her
brother ; —its manager being the first to publish the
names and the salaries of the artists who compose the
troupe of M. Raphael ; who first made known the sum
total of the receipts realized in New York by the Felix
family ;—to Figaro it belongs to relate the Odyssey of
which Mademoiselle Rachel has been the Ulysses in
America. M. Leon Beauvallet, the Hippolytus of the
tragic muse in her chase for milhons in the New World,
will, at our request, be pleased to give, in seven or eight
days, a succinct but complete account of this adventurous
peregrination."
It must be understood that it is not this meagre recital
that we intend offering you to-day. That would be but
a poor attraction, and the leaves of this book would run
great risk of remaining uncut.
No ! no ! this second edition of our jaunt in America
has been—we shall not have the presumption to say
"revised and corrected;" but certainly greatly increased.
Ah ! we had already threatened you with these numerous
additions ; be pleased to remember it, and forgive us for
the sake of the intention.
Before closing this preface, observe—I beg, oh I ye
PREFACE. ix
who read prefaces (wliicli, believe me, is a bad habit,)
—
observe that we have not availed ourselves, for your
commendation, of the established address, "dear read-ers,"
and that for a very natural reason; because we
know nothing falser or more illogical than this expres-sion.
" Dear readers," as if it wore not to be read except
by intimate friends !
We know, on the contrary, that more than one among
you will not fail to heap upon this poor book and its
poor author epithets by no means charitable ; that is
melancholy, but as we cannot help it, we shall resign
ourselves.
We proscribe, then, unpityingly, from this volume,
the two words in question, and we take this occasion to
do the same with those of "beautiful lady readers," an
expression as absurd as the other.
If our lady readers are beautiful, they certainly do not
need us to tell it them ; if they are not, we shall appear,
at least, too good to throw in their faces a flattery or an
impertinence. Two things equally useless, that wo hate
as we h ate the plague, and from which we fly with all the
rapidity of our pen.
That arrange*], wo commence.
CONTENTS
Preface - iii
FIKST PAKT.—Befoke Leaving.
Chap. I. Which may serve for a second Preface, if you
please 1
Chap. II. Which, naturally, treats of Eistori . . 4
Chap. III. In which Mdlle. Eachel decides to go into
Exile 9
Chap. IV. In which Millions are spoken of too lightly 12
Chap. V. \^^lich is nothing but the Contract of Mdlle.
'Eachel 15
Chap. VI. In -which you read of another Engagement,
not exactly Mdlle. Eachel's ... 24
ChAP . VII. Which is only in continuation of the preceding 37
SECOND PART.—From Here, over There.
Chap. I. In which, on a certain Priday, they leave
Paris 47
Chap. II. In which we alight among the English . 50
Chap. III. In which the Felix Enterprise begins well
enough 53
Chap. IV. At the end of which Mdlle. Eachel is fined . 56
Chap. V. In which we play in London for the last time 60
Chap. VI. In which we make the Acquaintance of the
Pacific 65
Chap. VII. How they eat on boai-d 69
Chap. VIII. In which it is shown that the Dessert is still
more dismai than the Dinner ... 74
Xll CONTENTS.
PAGB
Chap. IX. In wMch the Pacific commences her frolics . 77
Chap. X. In which we chat of the Box and the
Flageolet ....... 82
Chap. XI. Too foggy 85
Chap. XII. The last dinner on hoard .... 90
Chap. XIII. In which the "Marseillaise" appears on the
tapis 94
Chap. XIV. Laud! Land! • 97
THIED PART.—The Imperial City.
Chap. I. Which may give an idea of New York . 103
Chap, II. In which each one takes Lodgings where he
can get them 109
Chap. III. In which we treat of a certain unpleasant
species of insect 113
Chap. IV. In which the Million-hunt begins . . . 117
Chap. V. First night in New York ... .122
Chap. VI. In which Mdlle. Rachel comes on the scene
and Jenny Liud also 128
Chap. VII- In which it is plainly seen that the American
does not bite weU at Tragedy . . .135
Chap. VIII. In which there i'S more talk about the Swedish
Nightingale 140
Chap. IX. In which we don't play as much as we would
hke 146
Chap. X. Which is very far from being a lively one . 151
Chap. XI. In which there is a good deal said in favor of
the Rachel Company 156
Chap. XII. In which Shop-keepers and Savages are men-tioned
^ . 168
Chap. XIII. Which is little else than a letter to Roger de
Beaavoir 175
Chap. XIV. In which the Million-hunt is furiously con-tinued
J 84
Chap. XV. Which contains the History of the Marseillaise
in the United States 190
FOURTH PART.—The Modern Athens.
Chap. I. In which we get a taste of American Railroads 199
Chap. II. Which treats of Elections and Squirrels . 203
CONTENTS. XIU
PAGB
Chap. III. In which we glance at the Modern Athens . ^08
Chap. IV. In which it is shown that Boston is a literary
city 212
Chap. V. In which the Press begins to show its teeth . 218
Chap. VI. In which we part from Boston on good temas 223
FIFTH PART.—Return to Xew York.
Chap. I. Jules Janiii in the United States . ; . 227
Chap. II. In which we scarcely know to what Theatre
to devote ourselves 261
CHAP.'ni. Adieu to New York 268
Chap. IV. Which is all about Gambling-houses and
Eobbers . 272
Chap. V. In which is to be seen a play of Imagination 276
Chap. I.
Chap. II.
Chap. III.
Chap. IV.
Chap. I.
Chap. II.
Chap. III.
Chap. IV.
Chap. V.
SIXTH PART.—The Quaker City.
Killing time in Philadelphia . . . 279
In which everybody catches a magnificent cold 282
In which Million-hunting begins to be poor
sport 286
A weU-fed Canard 291
SEVENTH PART.—Southward.
In which the Eailroads become more and more
impossible 295
In which there is talk about the Son of Louis
XVI ... 299
In which may be seen Female Vampu-es and
Birds of Prey 306
In vv^hich you are introduced to a New Saint 309
In which we embark for the West Indies . 313
EIGHTH PART.—The Queen op the Antilles.
Chap. I. In which people speak Spanish at every step 319
Chap. II. In which it is a great deal hotter than in an
oven ........ 323
Chap. III. In which the Beds are not so soft as they
might be 327
XIV CONTENTS.
PAQB
Chap. IV. In wliich too many glasses begin to be taken 33"i3
Chap. V. In which the Sundays are not like United
States Sundays 336
Chap. VI. In which the Felix Enterprise flaps only one
wing 341
Chap. VII. La Noche Buena 348
Chap. VIII. In which the Birds make themselves happy , 352
Chap. IX. In which everything runs on from bad to
worse 355
Chap. X. In which the negroes a,re not so very un-happy,
after all ..... . 363
Chap. XI. In which we are up to our necks in Figures 368
Chap. XII. In which Mdlle. Eachel thinks her Company
might as well move on .... 375
NINTH PART.—Feom There, Here.
Chap. I. In which we speak of the Pacific^ and,
naturally, of shipwrecks
Chap. II. In which we pass by Monsieur Soulouque
Chap. III. En route for Europe ....
Chap, IV. Mdlle. Rachel writes in the Papers
Chap. V. How all finishes with a Lawsuit
Chap. VI. Which suddenly finds itself the last of all
381
385
389
393
396
402
AND
THE NEW WORLD.
lint fart*
BEFOEE LEAVING.
CHAPTEK I.
WHICH MAY SEKTE FOR A SECOND PREFACE IP TOU PLEASE.
It would not have been, perhaps, entkely
unsuitable to have begun this little volume by
'some biography of Mademoiselle Eachel, and
by an account, more or less brief, of her previ-ous
dramatic tours in France, England, Belgium,
Sv^itzerland, Germany, and the Empire of the
Czars.
But all that would have made an endless
story, and our poor little diaUe of a volume
would have become, quite' unconsciously, an
immense folio
!
1
RAOHEL
A dangerous transformation! which would
not have failed to have recalled to everybody the
famous saying of Perrin Dandin : " Now let us
go on to the flood?" That is what we did!
And throwing aside the youth of our great
tragedienne, all adventurous as it was, not giv-ing
even a recollection to her numerous ex-cursions
in old Europe, we returned naturally
and vigorously to nos moutons of the Figaro,
that is to say, to the Odyssey of the tragic
muse in young America
!
A prodigious, impossible event, about which
all the newspapers in the world made it their
duty to entertain their readers during three
hundred and sixty-five long days—that is, for one
whole year ! And the last word is not yet said
!
Eachel in America
!
This news astonished at first ; excited after-ward!
^
Such a whim was not to be believed. One
could almost pardon all her old escapades,
and understand that of St. Petersburg and
Moscow ; but a voyage to the other world
!
Ah ! for a certainty, that exceeded a joke, and
the public began to grumble in good earnest
!
AND THE NEW WORLD. 6
If it had merely grumbled; but it was not
contented with that
!
It was as jealous as a tiger, and wished at
any price to avenge itself on this ungrateful
Rachel, whom it loved so much and who again
betrayed it ! And for whom, grand Dieu!—For
savages
!
And see the luck of this Othello-Public!
Scarcely had it spoken, ere the vengeance that
it demanded with hue and cry, came of itself,
in the person of a fair Italian, an unknown,
who, by chance, plays tragedy, who, by good
fortune, has talent, and who fell from the
clouds one fine morning, quite unexpectedly,
like the Deus ex machind of the antique.
4 EACHEL
CHAPTEE II.
WHICH, NATUKALLY, TREATS OF EISTOEI.
La Ristori ! From this moment, to her, to
her only, the enthusiastic crowd hurled the
bouquets and the acclamations that the im-prudent
Rachel had dared to disdain! La
Ristori!—she became ''the great speculation
of Paris during the exhibition!" as Auguste
Villemot said in one of his charming chats in
the Figaro.
La Ristori!—"What is she?"—adds the
witty chronicler (pardon, my dear Villemot ; I
rob you like a fellow in the woods). " What is
she?"—talent, genius, or an accident? Must
her success be accepted according to its in-trinsic
value, or must we deduct from it the
malicious pleasure that seems to be experienced
in using it as a battering-ram to demolish the
reputation of Mademoiselle Rachel. She, with
her disdainful sorties and her triumphal re-appearances,
finds at last with whom she has
AND THE NEW WOELD. 5
to deal. The hostile critic has now a plan of
operations, and the work of ruin, begun by-sapping,
is effected by an infernal train. The
synagogue is touched, and the high priest has
ordered prayers. I sincerely believe that Ma-demoiselle
Kachel will survive all this; but
she v/ill learn from it that one must despise
nothing, not even the public—a libertine who
dotes on new adventures. " So, either for love
of herself, or malice toward her rival," la Ristori
found all Paris at her feet. The "rage," a ca-pricious
goddess, who, in this country, embraces
her favorites even to suffocation, put on her
forehead this star of the elect, whose fame has
gone forth to the four corners of the globe.
"LaRistori! Have you seen la Ristori ? Tell
us of la Ristori !"
No room for anything else—in prose, in
verse, in pamphlet, in conversation, in every
formula of human language, a universal con-sent
to celebrate the goddess. M. Jules Janin
wrote about her, inter alias, a very eloquent
article. Only it seems to me that, in the last
column of his edifice, he got a little out of
breath in showing that la Ristori leaves la
6 EACHEL
Rachel intact and invulnerable. Our Parisian
public always proceeds unfortunately by the
means of comparison and exclusion. With the
assistance of malignity and reaction, there is
no lack of persons who affirm to-day that Ma-demoiselle
Rachel has never recited a hemis-tich
without disgracing it. That recalls a very
good repartee of Madame de Stael: A man,
who was aware of her spite against the Em-peror,
said one day in her presence, thinking
to flatter her greatly, that Bonaparte had never
possessed either talent or courage. " Sir," re-plied
with severity the author of Corhine,
" you would have a great deal of trouble to
convince me that Europe prostrated herself for
fifteen years at the feet of a fool and a pol-troon."
In our turn, it seems to us difiicult to admit
that Mademoiselle Rachel should, for fifteen
years, have enveloped in a complete mystifi-cation
the superior intelligences, the press,
artists, and the liege public, which knows so
well how to defend itself against an attempt
to impose on it that which is not to its liking.
For fifteen years Maximes and Araldis have been
AND THE NEW WOELD. 7
thrown at the feet of Mademoiselle Rachel, to
trip her up. She has passed over these mani-kins
in her triumphal march. To-day the case
is more serious ; la Ristori holds the lyre with
seven chords, and of these seven chords of the
human soul, Rachel has never touched but
two. That is the state of the question. And
this gallant Figaro, who is just by nature, says
beside, in reference to it:
" We are, in truth, overgrown children
;
after we have amused ourselves for some time
with a fine toy, if we are given another, we
immediately forget the first ; and it is fortunate
if we do not break it by striking it against the
new one."
We had a beautiful tragic play-thing. Made-moiselle
Rachel; the Italians showed us an-other,
la Ristori; crac! here we are, at this
moment, trying to break Rachel with la Ris-tori,
as if the domains of theatrical art were
not vast enough to offer two seats of honor to
two women of different but equal talent—the
one in tragedy, the other in the drama.
The greatest hrat of this age, the poim Du-mas,
is one of those who threw away, most
EACHEL
Spitefully, tlie Kachel toy for the Ristori toy.
It is true tliat the Rachel toy has never en-tertained
him much in his day. Rachel has
played Saint Ybaret too often, and Dumas not
often enough ; that is his criterion.
The other day, then, Dumas, the papa, wit-nessed
from his box the performance of Marie
Stuart, and the enthusiast cried, in his de-lirium
:
"Bravo! bravissimo! that woman is Mars,
Lecouvreur, Clairon, Duchenois, Georges, Le
Kain, Talma, Kean, Macready—all, united in
one single talent ! Bravo ! bravo !"
Some one near him murmured, timidly,
" However, Monsieur Dumas, Mademoiselle
Rachel—,'^
"Eh! Monsieur," replied Dumas, brusquely,
"to be able to judge correctly of Ristoii's
genius ooe must understand Italian profoundly.
Do you know Italian well?"
" Yes, Monsieur Dumas, as you know
French!"
" Then," said Dumas, with the most ex-quisite
good-humor, " I said truly, you do not
know Italian
!"
AND THE NEW WORLD.
CHAPTER III.
IN WHICH MADEMOISELLE EACHEL DECIDES TO GO INTO EXILE.
Seein-g- tMs rage, this fury, this nameless
enthusiasm for the new comer, Mademoiselle
Eachel, who, all along, has been "undecided as
to the proposition of her brother Eaphael, and
who had found, each day, some new pretext
for not signing, definitely, the American agree-ment,
wished now to leave, as soon as possible,
the insolent cou.ntry which had had the au-dacity
to invent another grande tragedienne.
High authority did its best to keep her ! It
was trouble thrown away. She paid no atten-tion
even to her nomination of professor of
declamation at the Conservatoire^ which nomi-nation
appeared at full length in the Monitem
Universel.
Go, she would
!
To effect that, she consented to everything,
even to give a series of representations at the
1*
10 RACHEL
Theatre-Frangais (a thing wliicli, until then, she
had implacably refused).
They say, besides, upon this subject (is it true? —^that is the question), that it was not solely to
obey the authorities that she deigned to re-appear
on the French stage, but, partly, to
prove to her old courtiers that if they had
changed she had not
!
And, in fact, she had several truly splendid
nights, and, as a queen still, she left her palace
in the I'ue Richelieu.
For a performance of Phedre, it is said (is
it a false rumor?) that she sent a box to her
triumphant rival, with a charmii^g letter.
Myrrha hastened to accept both the letter
and the box, and did not wait to be begged to
applaud.
Ah !" said she, envyingly, " how happy is
Rachel ! The French understand her !"
Yes, the French do understand her ; but she
now prefers to them the Americans who, as-suredly,
never will understand her
!
However, if Rachel had not thought of go-ing
to the United States, la Ristori would have
met, perhaps, in France the fate of Macready
AND THE NEW WOPJ.D. 11
and so many others ; and if this same Ristori
had not been welcomed here as she was, it was
also probable that Rachel would never have
hazarded her life to go to America in search of
imaginary millions, of which she was not in
need.
That is so true, that before the appearance
of the new tragic star, there was, on the part
of Mademoiselle Rachel, perpetual hesitancy.
Every moment, Raphael Felix, sole director
of the transatlantic enterprise, believed that all
had gone to the bottom.
The great tragedienne had around her many
persons who did their best to keep her in her
own good France ; she, on her part, did not
paint this distant pilgrimage in colors so com-pletely
rose-hued as to induce her to consent
till the very latest moment. At last, wearied
of the incessant attacks of the press, vexed with
the whole world and herself, a little fascinated
(and that explains itself!) by the promises, as
splendid as improbable, held out to her by
America through her brother, she pronounced
the YES, so impatiently awaited.
12 RACHEL
CHAPTER IV.
m WHICH MILLIONS ARE SPOKEN OP TOO LIGHTLY.
The day after the signing of the agree-
•ment, the following appeared in the Figaro :
There is no longer any opposition to the
dramatic excursion of Mademoiselle Eachel to
America ; the day of her departure is fixed,
and the bold young Raphael Felix, director of
the conges of his sister, has foreseen and ar-ranged
everything for the approaching cam-paign.
Under the title of ;petits documents for the
artistic history of our epoch, we publish the
authentic engagement which Mademoiselle
Rachel has contracted with her brother and
director.
Here is, first, a list of the troupe and the
budsret
:
o
Francs.
1st. Mademoiselle Racliel for the whole cam-paign,
----- 1,200,000
Four performances, with benefits guaran-teed,
. - . - - 80,000
AND THE NEW WORLD. 13
France.
Hotel expenses, per month, - - 5,000
2nd. Mademoiselle Sarah Felix, for all (he
campaign, - - . _ G 0,000
3rd. Mademoiselle Lia Felix, do., - - 60,000
4th. Mademoiselle Dinah Felix, do., - - 50,000
6th. Mademoiselle Briard, first covfidente, - 12,000
6th. Mademoiselle Durrey do., - 12,000
'Jth. Madame Latouche, second confidente, - 9,000
8th. Three femmes-de-chambre, - - 6,000
9th. M. ^andonx, jeune premier role, - 30,000
10th. M. Cheri aine, premier role, - - 30,000
11th'. M. Latouche, pere noble, - - 30,000
12th. M. lueon Besinysd\et,jeune premier, ' - 20,000
13th. M. Dieiidonne, amoureux, - - 12,000
14:th.. M. Chen jeime, troisieme role, - - 12,000
15th. Manager, M. Bellevaut. - - - 15,000
16th. Administrator, M. Gustavo ISaquet, - 12,000
llth. Cashier, M. Lemaitre, - - - 15,000
18th. Prompter, M. Pelletier, - - - 6,000
19th. Three male servants, - . .
20th. Hotel expenses for the family, - - 36,000
21st. Traveling expenses of the company for
the year, _ . . - 170,000
22nd. Eent of the different theatres in the
United States, and outlays for each per-formance,
_ - - - 459,000
23rd. Unforeseen expenses, _ _ - 100,000
24th. Hotel expenses during the month of
August, ... - - 10,000
25th. Indemnity during the closing of the
theatres in June, July, and August,
1856, 25,000
26th. Costumes, . . . . 15,000
27th. Transportation of luggage, - - 8,000
28th. Installation of bureaux in New York, - 7,000
14 EACHEL
Francs.
29th. Preparatory travelling expenses of the
dh-ector, _ - - - 42,000
General expenses of the enterprise,
Total, - - Fr. 2,554,600
The expenses of this enterprise are, as may-be
seen, considerable ; but the profits will be,
we doubt not, immense (we shall see at the
end of this volume if the profits have been so
remarkable). The motive of our great trage-dienne^
in undertaking this fatiguing voyage, is
not so much to increase her own fortune, as to
enrich her whole family before leaving the stage.
May this good act result in happiness to her-self
and all her companions ! (Alas !)
The Company will take its departure the
11th of August, on board the steamer Pacific,
from Liverpool.
Before embarking for America, Mademoiselle
Eachel will take leave of the English public in
London ;—she will play there four times, and
will realize by her performances 5000 fr.—ex-clusive
of expenses.
AND THE NEW WORLD. 15
CHAPTEK V.
WHICH IS NOTHINa BUT THE CONTRACT OF MA.DEMOI-SELLE
RACHEL.
Between the "undersigned
:
Mademoiselle Eachel Felix, dramatic artist,
residing in Paris, No. 4 rue de Trudon, on the
one part ; and Monsieur Felix Raphael, residing
in Paris, No. 3 Cite Trevise, on the other
;
The following is agreed upon :
1st. Mademoiselle Rachel Felix will give on
account of M. Felix Raphael, two hundred repre-sentations
—tragedy, drama, and comedy—the
said representations, as nearly as possible, to be
concluded in the space of fifteen months, from
the day of the first representation, which is
now fixed for the first of next September ; in
that case, the expiration of the present con-tract
shall take place on the thirtieth of No-vember,
eighteen hundred and fifty-six. The
representations above mentioned to be given, at
the option of M. Felix Raphael, in the territory
16 KACHEL
of the United States, or North and South
America, or at Havana.
2d. Mademoiselle can refuse to remain in " the
South" of America if the sanitary condition of
the country, into which M. Felix Eaphael would
wish to take his company, should be of a na-ture
to affect the health of Mademoiselle Ka-chel,
who reserves to herself the exclusive
right of not going to New Orleans, Havana,
or Mexico until the fevers shall have disap-peared.
8d. Mademoiselle Rachel will have the right
to fix the number of representations she will
give per month, and that according to the fol-lowing
table.
This table indicates the minimum of the
nights that M. Felix has engaged to give to the
various directors with w^hom he has an under-standing,
as also the maximum of the repre-sentations
that he has a right to give ; in case
Mademoiselle Rachel should prefer the maxi-mum,
she must each month apprise M. Raphael
Felix of it, in order that he may make the
necessary arrangements to insure himself of
the houses.
AND THE NEW WORLD. 17
Sept. 1855, 17 repn's, or 21 at tlie option of Mile. Eachel.
Oct. " 18 23
Nov. " 16 20
Dec. " 12 15
Jan. 185G;, 14 17
Feb. " 16 20
March " 18 22
April " 12 15
May " 14 17
Total
:
137 Total
:
170
4th. Mademoiselle Rachel has a vacation of
three months, dming which M. Felix has agreed
to postpone the representations—these months
to be June, July, and August, 1856.
5th. Mademoiselle Rachel can obtain the can-celling
of the present contract on the 30th day
of May, 1856, by forewarning M. Felix Raphael
one month in advance ; but it is specified that
this rupture shall not be legal unless Mademoi-selle
Rachel will return to France, with the ex-press
condition of playing no more in America,
nor in any foreign country, until she has given
to M. Felix Raphael the integral number of
representations stipulated in the present con-tract;
she will be permitted to jilay only in
Paris at the Comedie-Frangaise.
5th {again). Mademoiselle Rachel can com-
18 KACHEL
pel the rupture of this contract by paying to
M. Raphael Felix the sum of three hu7idred
thousandfrancs, on the score of damages and i?iter-est;
besides, she will pay to M. Felix Raphael
the sum of five thousand francs for each repre-sentation
which yet remains to complete the
number of two hundred nights. On these condi-tions
alone can Mademoiselle Rachel regain her
entire liberty.
6th. Mademoiselle Rachel gives to M. Felix
Raphael the right of selecting the pieces which
shall constitute the repertory for America.
7th. Mademoiselle Rachel will leave Paris
during the last week of July or the first days
of August, at the option of M. Raphael Felix.
8th. With respect to the engagements above
mentioned, the said M. Raphael Felix agrees to
furnish the said Mademoiselle Rachel Felix with
two femmes-de-chambre ', to pay the traveling
expenses of herself and suite, for the passage
from Europe to America, as well as the succes-sive
removals which may take place in the
United States, in North or South America, or
to take them to Havana.
9th. M. Felix Raphael agrees to defray all
AND THE NEW WORLD. 19
the expenses of Mademoiselle Rachel and suite
;
these expenses comprising those of hotel, table,
and lodging, during the engagement, and the
salaries of her femmes-de-chambre at the rate
of one hundred and fifty francs per month ; a
carriage to be placed at the disposal of Made-moiselle
Rachel in all the cities where repre-sentations
are given, the horses and the attend-ants
necessary for this service to be equally at
the expense of M. Raphael Felix.
Mademoiselle Rachel may, if she please, take
upon herself all the expenses specified in article
9, receiving from M. Felix Raphael the sum of
five thousand francs per month in exchange for
the obligation assumed by the said Felix Ra-phael
to be responsible for the expenses above-mentioned.
10th. Mademoiselle Rachel shall receive six
thousand francs for each representation, or
twelve hundred thousand francs for the two
hundred nights. She will have the right, be-side,
to four extra representations, which will
be for her benefit, the expenses—the rent of
the house, the lights, and persons employed
—
to be reimbursed by her to M. Raphael Felix ;
20 RACHEL
she shall have the privilege of giving up these
four representations to M.- Raphael Felix, who
engages also to buy them from her at the price
of eighty thousand francs for the four. In case
Mademoiselle Rachel should not wish to sell
them, she will have the right to choose four
cities, to give one of her benefits in each one
of them, and at whatever time she pleases ; she
must give notice a fortnight in advance, each
time that she wishes a benefit night. Each
benefit will consist of a new play, to be selected
by Mademoiselle Rachel.
11th. The said Felix Raphael binds himself
to furnish the said Rachel Felix with all the
guaranties and satisfactory bonds necessary to
insure to her the payments above-mentioned ;
after the twentieth representation, Mademoi-selle
Rachel shall have received the sum of
three Inmdred thousandfrancs^ as payment for the
first twenty nights ; the rest in advance.
From the twenty-first representation. Made-moiselle
Rachel will deduct from each receipt
the sum of six thousand francs, being the
amount of her share. These six thousand
francs to be each time remitted to her before
AND THE NEW WORLD. 21
the commencement of the play, and that to
continue until the entire payment of the
twelve hundred thousand francs.
12th. Should M. Felix Raphael neglect to
make the above mentioned payments to the
said Rachel Felix, she will have the right to
refuse to play till M. Raphael Felix shall be
able to pay according to the terms of the
present contract.
13th. In case of the indisposition or illness
of Mademoiselle Rachel, the latter being suffi-cient
to impede the series of representations
she engages to refund, after deducting what
would be due her for service performed, the
sums she might have received in advance
;
Mademoiselle Rachel engages, besides, to re-pay,
at the expiration of the present contract,
for the time which had been necessary for her
recovery; Mademoiselle Rachel to be entitled
to the advances returned by her, on the day
she shall recommence her performances.
14th. It is stipulated, furthermore, that
Mademoiselle Rachel divide equally with M.
Raphael Felix any sum exceeding four millions
six hundred and twelve thousand, four hundred
22 RACHEL
francs of receipts, which are to be appropriated
as much to the general expenses of the said en-terprise
as for the benefit of M. Eaphael Felix.
15th. Mademoiselle Eachel afi&rms that she
has acquainted herself with the general ex-penses,
she has shown her approval by placing
her signature by the side of the total. It is stipu-lated,
that M. Raphael Felix shall add a ballet
divertissement, the expenses of which are in-cluded
in the sum, four millions six hundred
thousand four hundred francs.
16th. It is agreed between the contracting
parties, that the said Eachel Felix shall be free
to play, any time she may judge it convenient,
for benevolent or Christian objects, either in
representations, matinees, or concerts, but that
only for the benefit of the poor. It is well
understood, that these representations, mati-nees,
or concerts, are to be exclusive of the
representations belonging to M. Felix Raphael,
and that Mademoiselle Eachel cannot demand
any indemnity. Mademoiselle Eachel binds
herself to enter into suitable arrangements with
the said M. Eaphael Felix, in order that these
said benevolent representations, concerts, or
AND THE NEW WORLD. 23
matinees, may not injure the contemplated
representations of M. Raphael Felix, with
whom the said Rachel Felix will be always
bound to concert, as to the localities and the
hours when the said benevolent representations
shall take place—for the poor, or the various
institutions of the United States. M. Raphael
to have nothing to pay, nor to furnish for them,
with the exception of artists from his company
—which latter may be demanded of him.
17th. The said Rachel Felix binds herself to
play on no one's account, during the engage-ment
concluded by her with the said Raphael
Felix for two hundred performances, with the
exception of charitable objects, such as those
above-mentioned.
18th. Mademoiselle Rachel will travel, as
said in the present contract, at the expense of
Felix Raphael, in the most comfortable manner
possible, and she will have a right on all rail-roads
and steam-boats to the first-class accom-modations.
Approved, the above document^ and the other part.
Eaphael Felix.
The ahove document approved^ and the other part.
Rachel Felix.
24 RACHEL
CHAPTER YI.
IN WHICH YOU EEAD OP ANOTHER ENGAGEMENT, NOT EXACTLY
MADEMOISELLE RACHEL's.
Since we give you, at full length, the con-tract
of Mademoiselle Eachel, I do not know
why we should not also put before your eyes
a model contract for a simple stock actor.
(N. B.—Comj)ared to Mademoiselle Rachel,
everybody is a plain stock actor.)
I have often seen contracts of dramatic art-ists—
I have seen some very strange ones ; but,
I can certify, that never, never have I found
anything so monstrous, as the one you are
about to read.
If they were concluding a treaty with a con-vict
going to the bagnio, they could not make
the terms more binding .
One thing I do declare, and that is, that
Raphael never dreamed of carrying out any
one of the articles which he took so much
AND THE NEW WORLD. 25
pains to draw up, and have printed in such a
naagnificent deed.
He knew perfectly well, that, in presence of
the law, the whole thing would tumble to
pieces, like a card-toy. The company knew
it, as well as he did, and that is why they
signed the diabolical compact. But it was all
the same; one always does wrong in signing
such bargains. You shall judge, by-and-by.
The reader is informed that the parenthesis
makes no part of the treaty.
THEATRICAL ENGAGEMENT.
Between M. Raphael Felix, on the one part,
residing at Paris, 3 Cite Trevize, and M. ,
dramatic artist—free of every engagement
which might interrupt the present one—on the
other
:
It is agreed, and reciprocally accepted, as
follows
:
M. declares himself /ree of every engage-ment
(Bis repetita flacentj^ and agrees to play all
the roles which shall be set down to him, of
whatever importance, whether tragedy, melo-drama,
comedy, or vaudeville, in chief or subor-
2
26 RACHEL
dinate part, at the pleasure of the management,
and accordmg to the following conditions
:
He shall employ his talents only in those
theatres which shall be designated by the
director.
He engages to accompany, in France or
abroad, the troupe directed by M. Kaphael
Felix; and, to this effect, he cannot claim
indemnity for removals, nor shall he have other
than the right of transport for himself and his
baggage to the place which shall be designated
by the management : the weight of his baggage
not to exceed one hundred and fifty kilos, any
excess to be at his own charge.
He agrees to conform to all the regulations
already made, or to be made hereafter (" To he
made hereafter .'" What do you think of that ?),
and to recognize the authority of persons named
by the director, to represent him in his ab-sence.
He puts himself at the disposition of the man-agement
from the day of the signing of the pre-sent
act, whether it be to rehearse or play the
pieces in the repertory of Mademoiselle Ra-chel
; or to apply himself immediately to the
AND THE NEW WORLD. 27
study of parts which shall be assigned to him.
In case of his playing with Mademoiselle
Kachel before the date fixed for departure, the
actor shall have no right of indemnity ; his
traveling and hotel expenses only will be de-frayed
by the management. Whatever represeiit-atioii
may he given before sailing will he considered
as GENERAL REHEARSALS, and Consequently in-dispensable
to aid in getting up the repertory,
which ought to he ready hefore the dejjarture from
Paris. Wherefore the artist must be as punc-tual
in attendance on the rehearsals and repre-sentations
which may precede the departure of
the Company as during the engagement, on
penalty of fines to be deducted from his month's
salary thereafter. (Not to touch the salary, but
to pay the fines—there's coquetry for you !)
Absence from three rehearsals, by M. 's
fault, will justify M. Kaphael in cancelling the
present agreement.
The artist agrees not to absent himself nor
to lodge out of town without authority from
the director ; and in this case he will indicate
the place w^here he can be found, in case he
should be wanted ; he must be present every
28 KACHEL
day at the theatre at the beginning of the per-formance
(an occupation full of charms !) ready-to
play off-hand parts in which he shall have
appeared already, as often as may be required
of him by the management, which by no means
implies that the latter will defray the cost of
playbooks, nor the franking of passes, which
must be done according to rule, under the pen-alty
of a fine of one hundred francs. (Why
not a thousand francs ?)
He engages to play every day, and in case of
necessity twice a day, (at the same time, per-haps
!) whether at Court, (Court in America
!
"What Court ?) at the theatre, in a matinee, or
even in a concert, without the right to claim
any compensation (Naturally !).
He engages, moreover, to appear in all accom-modation
parts which may be required of him,
and even as a supernumerary, under penalty of
a hundred francs forfeit for each refusal (Well
that is not dear).
He will be ready to play in all the parts which
shall have been assigned to him and in which
he shall have appeared before his departure.
The artist must provide all his own costumes
AND THE KZW WORLD. 20
of whatever nature, the management acknow-ledging
no obligation on its part to comply with
the usages hitherto in force ; the costumes of
the artist must be new and always appropriate,
according to the part personated by him, they
must conform to those of the Theatre-Frangais
at Paris.
From the signing of the present engagement,
the artist shall commit the parts which may be
assigned to him at the rate of thirty-five lines a
day (thirty-five lines ! not one more, not one
less !) and shall rehearse as often as the man-agement
may judge necessary. He will hand
in, conjointly with the signing of the present
engagement, the list of parts he already knows
in the repertory of Mademoiselle Rachel, indi-cating
also those which he can add between
morning and evening.
If M. suspends or interrupts his duties
for any cause whatever, and especially on ac-count
of sickness, the director shall have the
right to withhold his salary for each day of such
default, with option of final rupture of engage-ment,
should the illness exceed ten days.
(Not only have you the discomfort of being
30 EACHEL
ill, but you can no longer touch a sou of your
pay. (That is perfect !)
Illness resulting from misconduct, shall can-cel
the right of engagement. (That is good !)
Every artist whom a preliminary certificate
does not designate as ill, shall, from the omis-sion
of this formality, be considered on hand for
that day's duty, and the director may place his
name on the bills without special notice.
In case of disputes or difficulties which may
be submitted, at the option of the director,
either to civil or commercial suit, or to legal
arbitration, neither the public representations
nor the rehearsals shall suffer by delay of judg-ment
; and, provisionally, M. engages
to satisfy the demands of the engagement, or,
in default of so doing, to pay for each refusal
the indemnity fixed by the regulations.
M. Raphael knows neither reimbursement
nor assignment.
On the arrival of the troupe at the cities
wherein Mademoiselle Rachel wall perform,
the management will be under no other obliga-tion
than to transport all the baggage to the
theatre. M. will undertake that (that
AND THE NEW WORLD. 31
what?) of having his trunks removed to his
hotel.
The management engages to transport only
two trunks, conformable to a model furnished
to each artist, (of the eighty trunks in the com-pany,
it is well known that there were not two
alike!) the latter being under obligation to
put his name on each of them by means of a
small copper plate.
These conditions being accepted and respect-ed
between us, I, Raphael Felix, engage to pay
to M. the sum of dollars, valued at
^Ye francs, twenty-five centimes, to the dollar.
These payments to be made five days after
the expiration of each month.
On the fifteenth of next, an advance of
will be made to the artist which shall be
retained by sixths, counting from the first pay-ment,
which is fixed for one month and five
days after the first performance of Mademoiselle
Rachel. The duration of the present engage-ment
will be nine months in America or other
states. These months will be : September, Oc-tober,
November, December, 1855 ; January,
February, March, April and May, 1856. Dur-
32 RA.CHEL
ing the month of August, 1855, which is allowed
jor the voyage, (counting from the 30th of July,
when Mademoiselle Rachel's appearances began
in London,) the artist shall not receive appropria-tions
from M. Raphael Felix for the payment
of hotel and lodging expenses. The present
engagement to be in force from the embarka-tion,
on the first of August, 1855, (just now the
engagement did not commence until the first of
September, now it begins on the first of August
—a traveling notion !) until the 31st of May,
1856.
Should the management deem it necessary to
prolong this engagement, it reserves to itself
the right of doing so, and that from a fortnight
to a year ; in that case, the artist would be no-tified
fifteen days in advance. Should the en-gagement
be extended by the month, the con-ditions
will remain the same as above ; if, on
the contrary, the extension is by the fortnight,
M. Raphael Felix will pay the artist by the day
at the monthly rate.
Should there be a prolongation of the engage-ment,
the artist agrees to remain in America
during June, July and August, 1856, without
AND THE NEW WOELD. 33
pay, the management reserving to itself the
right to suspend operations; during the said
three months, M. Raphael Felix engages to
defray the hotel and lodging expenses of the
artist at the rate of ten francs a day. It is
stipulated that the artist can never leave
America, nor even the city in v^hich the com-pany,
is residing, without v^ritten permission.
The immediate rupture of this engagement
will be the consequence of any outrage, by
word or act, offered to the persons placed at
the head of an important enterprise ; and this
will be at the pleasure of M. Raphael Felix.
(I like that. Why beat, just for nothing at all,
a person at the head of an important enter-prise
?)
As the artist will not be subject to any pub-lic
debut, the management reserves to itself the
right, during the rehearsals at Paris, of closing
said engagement, should it judge that the tal-ents
of the artist are not desirable for this kind
of business ; the management will also have the
right of cancelling said engagement, if between
this and the 30th of July next it should find it
impossible, on account of circumstances, to con-
2*
34 EACHEL
elude all the negotiations with the different
theatres with which it is placed in relation;
after that time, the artist may consider himself
definitively engaged.
In case of war or public calamity, the burn-ing
of a theatre or illness—whether of Made-moiselle
Rachel or of some other artist—certified
by two physicians, all pay is to cease by legal
right (that's precise !). Said engagement will
also be cancelable if, in consequence of had
husiness, the management should find itself un-der
the absolute necessity of relinquishing the
enterprise, and in that case the artist could de-mand
no indemnity ; he would be entitled merely
to the expenses of the voyage to Paris. If the
month has begun, the artist cannot draw his
pay, except in proportion for the days that have
elapsed. (This is always business-like.) The
management would owe nothing from the day
on which it should find itself under the neces-sity
of cutting short the representations.
The artist engages to go to sea as often as
may be required of him by the management,
without power to recover any kind of indem-nity
on that account. (This clause is hard, but
AND THE NEW WORLD. 35
logical. For, after all, since one engages to go
to America, one cannot oblige the director to
take him there in a post-chaise or a wagon
—
that will come one day, but not yet!)
The present engagement shall be regarded
as cancelled, should the representations be
interrupted by a command from a higher
quarter.
The artist shall give in his name every time
that it may please M. Raphael Felix to
announce a representation, without which the
artist can claim no compensation or indemnity
whatsoever.
The present engagement, once signed, can-not
be cancelled, save by paying to the man-agement
the sum of , (the forfeitures
range from 25,000 to 80,000 francs—sums
equally absurd !) payable by the artist in all
lands and under all sorts of jurisdictions, even in
foreign countries, so that neither marriage nor
the death of his nearest friends (that is what one
would call providing for everything!), an order
for debut or enlistment at the National theatres
of Paris—or, finally, so that, under no pretext
whatsoever, can the artist shelter himself to
36 RACHEL
escape payment of the said sum, the manage-ment
desiring that this contract should have
all the force of one drawn up before a notary,
in respect of charges, damages, and interest.
Ouf ! ! !
AND THE NEW WORLD. 37
CHAPTER VII.
WHICH IS ONLY IN CONTINUATION OF THE PRECEDING.
And to say that all you have been reading is
nothing to the regulations which complete the
thing.
Yes, there are still the " regulations." You
might pass them by ; but, bah ! why so, while
you are in the way of them? And, besides,
they are well worth the trouble with which
they were concocted.
" Hear, people—Hear, everybody!"
REaULATIONS.
Article I.—No artist shall absent himself
from the place wherein the company is residing,
without informing the management, and indi-cating
the place where he can be found in case
of accident or change of spectacle.
Art. II.—The artist who, at the representa-
38 RACHEL
tion, shall keep the play waiting at the precise
time for the rising of the curtain, shall pay a
fine of ten per cent, on his monthly salary
;
should this delay continue more than a quarter
of an hour, the fine shall be doubled for every
quarter of an hour additional.
Art. III.—The artist who shall fail to make
his entree at a performance, shall pay ten per
cent, of his monthly salary ; if he should miss
a whole scene, thirty per cent.; if he should
fail of an entire performance, he will be fined
the whole receipts, at the highest possible
valuation. (In America the largest receipts of
Jenny Lind were 93,000 francs. Probably this
is the sum which the delinquent would have
to fork out. How would he do, that earns but
500 francs a month?—Answer, if you please.)
The artist who shall attend the general rehearsal
without knowing his part, shall be subject to
a fine of five dollars. The fine to be doubled
at a performance.
Art. IV.—The artist who, by his own fault,
shall retard the representation of a piece an-nounced
for a fixed day, shall pay thirty-six
per cent, of his monthly salary.
AND THE NEW WORLD. 39
Art. V.—The artist who, by his own fault,
shall retard the representation of a piece already-played,
shall pay one month's salary, the excuse
that he had a part to refresh not being admis-sible.
(What memories they must have in
America.)
To refuse a role, called for in accordance
with the provisions of the engagement, will
involve a fine of two months' salary, unless,
however, the management should think proper
to exact heavier damages. (If I were the
management, I am sure I should exact fifty
thousand livres in stock and a calash with two
horses.)
Before an appearance, any artist who is be-hindhand
in that part of his duty shall be
marlced as though he had failed in his role.
The artist who, on the stage, shall excuse him-self
from singing in the choruses, shall pay ten
dollars fine. (What choruses ?)
Art. VI.—No piece which has once been
played can be refused in the repertory of the
week; and all those performed within three
months may be called for between morning
and evening, under penalty of a fine of twenty
40 KACHEL
per cent, of the monthly salary of the delin-quent
artist.
Art. VII.—Cases of indisposition, which
shall necessitate a suspension of duty and a
change of performance, shall involve an obliga-tion
to notify the management immediately,
who shall require the illness to be verified, if
necessary, and the artist to remain at home, to
show himself neither at the theatre nor else-where,
on the day of such change of pro-gramme,
on pain of such fine as it may please
the management to impose. (That may go a
great way.)
Art. Vin.—Every artist who shall suspend
duty on account of indisposition, and who,
nevertheless, shall absent himself indiscreetly,
either at excursion parties or suppers, or to get
pupils in town, shall be subject to a retention
equal to five times the amount of his salary, for
as many days as he shall have passed off duty.
Art. IX.—Every indisposition, the feigning
of which shall be proved by physicians, shall
authorize a rupture of the engagement, and all
damages and interest which the management
may choose to demand. (That is too fair !)
AND THE NEW WORLD. 41
Art. X.— The rehearsal shall commence
precisely at the hour appointed.
The artist who shall fail to answer his cue,
shall pay fifty cents (50 sous) ; for a quarter of
an hour, one dollar—and so doubling every
quarter of an hour until the amount has reached
ten dollars.
The artist who shall quit a rehearsal before
it is finished shall pay the same fine as if he
had been absent entirely. (Then better stay
away altogether !)
If the artist is absent at the moment of his
cue being called, although he may have already
appeared, he shall be subject to a fine of one
dollar, and so on, doubling every quarter of an
hour, until the amount has reached six dollars.
The actor who shall make it necessary to
call him to his cue shall pay, at the third call
of the prompter, twenty-five cents (25 sous)
fine.
AfvT. XI.—The general rehearsals shall be
conducted with the same care as the represent-ations.
At the moment of rehearsing, those
persons who shall speak on the stage, or shall
remain, having no business there, shall pay
42 RACHEL
fifty cents each time that the stage manager
shall request them to be silent or go away.
Moreover, no one shall sew, nor do any other
sort of work with the needle or otherwise,
while rehearsal is going on, under penalty of a
fine of five dollars.
Art. XII.—The artist who, missing the hour
of rehearsal, shall refuse to come to the theatre
when some one is sent to look for him, shall
pay a fine often dollars, if he has not informed
the management since eight o'clock in the
morning of indisposition, which compels him
to remain at home—the ten dollars not preju-dicing
the fine for rehearsal. (Oh, no !)
Art. XIII.—The artist who, having at his
lodgings a book of the play, shall neglect to
send it to the doorkeeper at the theatre, one
hour before rehearsal, shall pay a fine of ten
dollars. For a public performance the fine
shall be doubled. (This article I never could
understand—all the artists have play-books at
their houses.)
Art. XIV.—The most profound silence must
be observed at the theatre after the perform-ance
has begun.
AND THE NEW WORLD. 43
The artist who, in the wings, shall speak so
loud as to be heard on the stage, shall pay ten
dollars fine, and the penalty shall be doubled
with each injunction of the stage-manager to
preserve silence.
The artist who, while on the stage, whether
in the chorus (but what chorus, I say?), or
in a simple appearance, shall talk or laugh
in a serious scene, shall pay a fine of ten dol-lars.
Art. XV. —Each artist may have at the
theatre one servant, but these servants cannot
remain in the wings during the performance
;
their place is in the top dressing-room of their
masters, and they cannot quit it, nor show
themselves, without exposing their masters to a
fine of one dollar each time that they are to
blame. (This may be very dear to the ladies,
on account of some slight relations their filles-de-
chambre are supposed to have with the
foreman.)
Art. XVI.—A table will be placed in the
green-room, on which will be announced the
work of the day.
Art. XVII.—All discussion foreign to the
44 KACHEL
business of the theatre is interdicted. Who-ever
shall violate this article shall be fined
twenty dollars.
Art. XVIII.—The costume-department be-ing
established only for the benefit of the
chorus and figurantes, is not at the disposition
of artists, who cannot draw from it a costume
for any role whatever, the management not
recognizing property dresses under any circum-stances,
even for accommodation roles. (Be ye,
therefore, accommodating !)
Art. XIX.—In any case, when a rehearsal,
from whatever reason, does not begin at the
hour appointed, the artist must attend ; who-ever
shall quit the theatre shall pay one dol-lar
for a quarter of an hour, and so doubling
for such quarter of an hour, until the amount
is ten dollars.
The clock of the theatre shall be the only
regulator of business. (In all the theatres
where we played, either the clock was in a
state of complete immobility, or, generally,
there was no clock at all.)
Art. XX.—The artist cannot make preten-sions
to any particular role for a debut, the
AND THE NEW WOKLD. 45
management reserving to itself the right to
assign these at its own pleasure.
Art. XXI.—Every indisposition which shall
last longer than ten days, shall involve a sus-pension
of salary until the artist has returned
to his duty. (That's the old story!)
Art. XXII.—It is expressly agreed between
the undersigned, that the director has the right
to cancel at pleasure the engagement of every
artist who shall impede the business of the
repertory by bad conduct, or who shall disturb
order and tranquillity by quarrelling and mis-chief-
making among his comrades. The same
is provided for every case of chronic disease,
or improper proceeding ; nor can the actor pre-tend
to the least indemnity.
Done in good faith, and signed with full
knowledge, after having accepted the terms
of the present engagement.
The present act has full force and value, as
one executed before a notary.
It is very evident that, as a docmnent, this
46 RACHEL
engagement deserves, on all accounts, to have
a place in this work.
But, I repeat it, Kaphael never meant it seri-ously
; on the contrary, I am happy to be able
to say that never (at least in America) did he
take from artists a single sou in fines. More
than that—one of his ladies having angrily
interrupted business for several weeks, she,
vdth his consent, continued to draw her salary
without deduction, just as if she had played.
Wherefore, then, somebody asks, all this long
string of Blue-Beard articles and clauses ?
Mo?i Dieul The story will do to laugh at a
little. Life is so very dull I
AND THE NEW WORLD. 47
FROM HERE, OYER THERE.
CHAPTER I.
IN WHICH, ON A CERTAIN FRIDAY, THEY LEAYE PAEIS.
On the 27th of July, 1855, although scarcely
eight o'clock in the morning, the station of the
Northern Eailroad was already filled with a
curious crowd. Ah ! bless me ! Kachel does
not leave for America every day ; and as it is
this morning that she starts on this long voy-age,
they are not sorry to witness a spectacle
which they suppose, with good reason, will
not be re-enacted very soon again.
All the artists of the company are punctu-ally
at the place named by the director.
The families, friends, and acquaintances of
the travellers press them to their breasts and
48 EACHEL
overwhelm them with protestations, good
wishes, and tears. A scene so touching as to
move even the commissioners and gens d'amies.
Kaphael Felix, alone, appeared perfectly
happy. With satchel by his side, and cap
over one ear, he rushes through the station
and the baggage-office, followed by his assist-ants
; having the trunks registered, taking all
the tickets, paying right and left, and seem-ingly
as happy as a god ! That, however, does
not hinder superstitious people from remark-ing,
not without fear, that it is FRIDAY
!
Fatal prestige ! Ah ! ah ! a murmur in the
crowd :, Mademoiselle Rachel gets out of her
carriage.
Ah! this time—says the public—she is
really going to America ! She has often
named the time for her departure ; but at last
she is taking it.
The news of Rachel's arrival is passed from
lip to lip ; extra couriers run in every direc-tion.
Rachel is going to America ! repeats the
crowd. There is no longer a doubt about it.
In fact, she has just entered the station.
AND THE NEW WORLD. 49
Two minutes more, and she will be in the
car.
But here is something else ; at the decisive
moment, she changes her mind. She will not
leave by this train.
And re-entering her carriage, she disappears
from the disappointed crowd, who now sing
another tune : Eachel is not going to America.
Why the devil did she bring us here this morn-ing?
And each one goes home perfectly convinced
that the New World will never hear the decla-ration
of Phedre or the imprecations of Ca-mille.
Nevertheless, Mademoiselle Rachel does
leave Paris the same day, and reaches the
capital of England almost as soon as the rest
of us.
3
50 KACHEL
CHAPTEE II.
IN WHICH WE ALIGHT AMONG THE ENGLISH.
It has been well said that London is a
superb city; and it is delightful to make
one's entry to this giant town by the Thames,
which, by the way, is not called la Tamise, but
the Thames, not altogether the same thing.
Besides, it is quite absurd to alter all such
names in this way;—when one travels, it
should be considered a state affair to recog-nize
them as they are.
It must be understood that we shall not
give you the least detailed description of the
English capital. That is as well known to-day
as the white wolf, and one passes the straits as
he would toss off a glass of water.
We shall put aside, then, the custom-house
and all that belongs to it; the docks of St.
Catherine and the India Company, London
bridge and the bridge of Waterloo, which can
AND THE NEW WORLD. 51
scarcely be distinguished through the forest of
masts ; St. Paul's, the Tower, and Westminster
Abbey, where rest, side by side, kings, poets,
and actors—we shall pass by, without going
in, the Colosseum and the Museum of Madame
Tussaud, before the Zoological Garden, filled
with wonders ; go past, on foot, of course, the
Haymarket, the Strand, Kegent street, and
Trafalgar square. In this is erected a statue
to the brave Admiral Nelson, in the back of
which a lightning-rod is artistically insinu-ated,
which gives it the appearance of having
family relations with the statue of the Duke
of York, at the entrance of St. James's Park,
which statue likewise possesses its little light-ning-
rod, placed, still better, on the top of his
head ! The efiect is charming !
Bah ! do not stop to look, let us walk
on—we come to the aristocratic theatre, St.
James's, directed for many years by the libra-rian
of Her Britannic Majesty, John Mitchell,
an altogether admirable gentlemen, and, more-over,
a passionate admirer of Mademoiselle
Eachel.
It, therefore, enchants this same Mr. Mitchell
52 EACHEL
to be able to respectfully announce to the Eng-lish
public that the eminent tragedienne consents
to give four representations at the St. James's
theatre, before her departure for America.
AND THE NEW WORLD. 53
CHAPTER III.
IN WHICH THE FELIX ENTERPRISE BEGINS WELL ENOUGH.
On the 30th of July, 1855, an immense
placard announces the following performance
(we give the programme in English, such as it
is. Those who do not understand that lively
language, are begged to understand this, all
the same)
:
THE FIRST EEPEESENTATION.
(For the first time in this country.)
M. de Premaray's new Comedy of
LES DROITS DE L'HOMME.
Duroc, - . - . MM. Bellevaut.
Roger de Juliane, - - " Leon Beauvallet.
Gaston d'Arthez, - - . - " Dieudonne.
Madame de Lussan, - - Miles. Sarah Felix.
Angelique, - - - " Lia Felix.
Gabrielle, - - . « Dinah Felix.
After which will be presented Corneille's
celebrated tragedy of
LES HORACES.
With the following powerful cast
:
Horace, pere, ... MM. Latouche.
Horace, fils, - - - " Randoux.
54 RACHEL
Curiace, - . - MM. Leon Beauvallet.
Valere, - - - - " Chery, jeune.
Flavian, - - - « Dieudonne.
Sabine, - - - - Miles. Durrey.
Julie, - - - - " Briard.
CAMILLE, - - - " EACHEL.
Private Boxes, 3, 4, 5, and 6 guineas (a guinea is worth
26 fr.) : Stalls, 1 guinea : Boxes, 7 shillings (a sMlling is
worth 25 sous): Pit (parterre), 5 shillings: Amphithe-
ATEE, 3 shillings, 6d.
Kachel is very popular in England, so she
produced, that night, a brilliant effect.
The Duke and Duchess d'Aumale, and the
Duke and Duchess de Nemours, who were
present, applauded with great spirit.
After the performance, the Duke d'Aumale
said to Mr. Mitchell, who escorted the prince
to his carriage, that " this beautiful language
of Corneille, the language of his countr}'-, that
he had just listened to, had been for him as a
fresh rose in a hot spring day."
We have not an exact account of the re-ceipts
of this first night ; but it is certain that
the house was overflowing, and, at those
prices, ten thousand francs can be made at the
St. James's, perhaps more.
The next day the English press was unani-
AND THE NEW WORLD. 55
mous in lauding the French tragedienne to the
skies, and (what was very kind of it) noticing,
favorably, the artists who accompanied her.
The Morning Post, among others, was de-lighted
with us all.
Eaphael asked nothing better. This was
invaluable as an advertisement in the United
States ; and all these articles were sent imme-diately
to the other side of the ocean.
56 EACHEL
CHAPTER IV.
AT THE END OP WHICH MADEMOISELLE RACHEL IS FINED.
On the 1st of August, a second representa-tion
at the St. James's :
PHEDRE AND LES DROITS DE L'HOMME.
CAST ;
Thesee, - - - . MM. Ohery, aine.
Hippolyte, - - . " Leon Beauvallet.
Theramene, * - - - " Randoux.
Aricie, - - - - Miles. Lia Felix.
PHEDRE, - - . '« RACHEL.
Magnificent house, as on the first night.
On the 3d of August, the third representa-tion
:
ADRIENNE LECOUVREUR.
CAST :
Maurice, - - - - MM. Randoux.
Michounet, - - - - " Chery, alne.
Le Prince, - - - - " Latouche.
L'Abbe, - - - - " Dieudonne.
La Princesse, - . - - Miles. Sarali Felix.
ADRIEjSTNE, ..." RACHEL.
On this night, people were refused admitt-ance.
Enormous success.
AND THE NEW WORLD. 57
On the 4th of August, the fourth represent-ation.
ANDROMAQUE.
CAST.
Oreste, - - - - - MM. Randonx.
Pyrrhus, - - . . " Chery, alne.
Andromaque, - . . Miles. Durrey.
HERMIONE, - . . « RACHEL.
A smaller house, and much less enthusiasm
than yesterday. However, we certainly ought
not to complain, and we do not complain ; the
proof of which is, that instead of giving only
four representations, as was announced, we
shall give on the next day, that is to say, the
6th of August, a fifth performance, to consist of
LADY TARTUFFE.
CAST.
Le Marechal, . . - MM. Chery, alne.
Hector de Renneville, - - " Leon Beauvallet.
Destourbieres, - - - " Latouche.
Leonard, . - - « Randoux.
Madame de Clairm(jnt, - - Miles. Sarah.
Jeanne, - - - - " Dinah.
MADA^IE DE BLOSSAC, - " RACHEL.
This play of Madame Emile de Girardin
pleases the English public wonderfully.
This character is, however, one of those which,
in her whole repertory, Mademoiselle Rachel
3*
58 RACHEL
most abominates. Madame de Blossac is com-pletely
odious, and this role, in spite of Made-moiselle
Kachel, produces plainly much less
effect than the others. Nevertheless, every-body
was called out after the fifth act, and even
after the fourth, in which Rachel doesn't appear.
Notwithstanding her dislike of this play, this
was not the first time that Mademoiselle Rachel
had played it in London. Three years ago the
piece was performed several times. I remem-ber
a good joke on this subject. In the play-bills
the following appeared in large letters :
" This evening will be presented the new
comedy of Madame E. de Girardinf Lady
Tartuffe, by MM, Scribe et Legouve,^^
- Two days after the night of the 6th of Au-gust,
the performances at the St. James's Thea-tre
were closed, by a second representation of:
ADRIENNE LECOUYEEUE.
which drew as full a house as a{ first.
Unfortunately, this piece, which had gone
off so well the other night, was, this time, per-formed
in a disgraceful style.
The accessories were forgotten ; no one could
recall his proper replies ; Mademoiselle Rachel,
AND THE NEW WORLD. B^
yes, Mademoiselle Rachel herself, memory in-carnate,
knew not a word of her part. She
separated, she clipped short, she hacked in
pieces that poor prose which couldn't help it-self:—
moreover, in the third act she kept the
audience waiting nearly five minutes for her
entrance.—And in the theatre five minutes is
terribly long.
At once Raphael mounts his high horse, and,
seizing by the fore-lock this occasion to prove
to the world that his directorial power was not
merely a word, he fined the great tragedienne !
Yes, fined her, like the most common martyr
!
And that is not all, he had this terrible arrest
inscribed on the fire-place panel in order that
even the lowest boy in the theatre might read
it and tell it to his friends and acquaintances.
(We must hasten to say that this fine, which
was of 100 francs, pardieu ! was not paid any
more than others. At least, if it was, we never
heard of it.) To end this deplorable night pro-perly,
Randoux, who played Maurice de Saxe,
stumbled, on entering at the fifth act, over an
iron curtain-rod and was thrown at full length
on the stage, disappearing in the prompter's hole.
60* KACHEL
CHAPTER Y.
IN WHICH WE PLAY IN LONDON FOR THE LAST TIME.
On the 9th of August, Mademoiselle Rachel
consented to play at the Theatre Royal of
Drury Lane, for the benefit of the French
Society of Benevolence.
This institution is placed under the pat-ronage
of the Empress Eugenie, and presided
over by the French ambassador. The repre-sentation,
patronized by the Queen of England,
was distributed after the following programme :
LE DEPIT AMOUREUX.
By the Artists of the French Company.
LE SONCB D'ATHALIE,
By Eachel.
Grand Vocal and Instrumental Concert :
Duet of the Pre aux Clercs,
Le Cantique de Noel.
Fanfare Militaire.
Aria : Love Rules the Palace.
Le Muletier de Calabre.
Cantata : La Guerre.
Sung by M. Blondelet, du Theatre Royal, Adelphi (with
AND THE NEW WORLD. 61
the permission of Mr. Webster), in the costume of a French
Zouave.
During the entr'actes,
God save the Queen,
and
Partant Pour la Syrie.
To end with the 2nd act of Wallace's Opera :
La Maritana.
(The poetry of which is simply the English translation of
Don Ccesar de Bazan.)
Prices of Seats: Stalls, 10s. 6d.; Circle, 5s.; Second tier,
2s. 6d.; Parterre, Is.; Gallery, Is. Private Boxes, four
guineas.
This performance was very fine, and very-profitable,
the receipts amounted to 18,000
francs.
That v^hich produced the greatest effect dur-ing
the evening, V7as, not the tragedy, nor the
concert, nor the comic opera ; but the God save
the Queen, and, after that, the air of Queen Hor-tense.
Frantic applause, never-ending bravos, and,
from the first to the last notes of these two
pieces, the audience remained standing and un-covered.
A token of the profound respect
which the English cherish for their Queen, and
of sympathy for their allies.
62 EACHEL
After this representation, the last which
Eachel gave in this city, a charming woman,
half English, half French, who resides in Lon-don
almost as much as in Paris, and who makes
it her duty not to miss seeing a single one of
our tragedies (which proves her strength of
character !), Madame Doche, finally (why could
we not have had the naming of her ?) came to
bid adieu to the great tragedienne, and to wish
us all a safe and pleasant voyage. We begged
her earnestly to accompany us ; but she obsti-nately
refused ; she was very wrong ! Her
sister. Mademoiselle Plunkett, refused also to go
to America. Eaphael, however, made her very
liberal proposals.
For you may have noticed, in reading the
contract of Mademoiselle Rachel, that Raphael
would not have disliked to bring, along with
his tragic troupe, a whole corps de ballet. He
deceived himself a little, as will be seen, about
this grand American public.
Unfortunately for him, this project, which
was good, could not be realized, not only on
account of the refusal of Mademoiselle Plun-kett,
but because a superior ivill opposed itself
AND THE NEW WORLD. 63
(so they said) to the installation of Terpsichore
in the domains of Melpomene. (A little my-thology
is of great use !)
Before quitting London and its theatres, we
cannot refrain from saying a few words about
the much-to-be-regretted event which has rob-bed
London of one of her finest theatrical
houses : Covent Garden no longer exists. It
has been literally devoured by the flames. The
fire burst forth during a masked ball, bringing
to a close a kind of carnival performance, given
by a certain Professor Anderson.
The most unhappy fact connected with the
occurrence, is, that the dramatic library of this
theatre was entirely consumed.
The loss of the original man'iscript of the
School for Scandal^ by Sheridan, is most deeply
regretted.
Moreover, it is astonishing how easily the
London theatres are destroyed by fire. In 1762
and' 1809, Drury Lane was burned; Her Ma-jesty's,
in 1789 ; the Pantheon, in 1792 ;. Ast-ley's,
in 1794, 1803, and 1841; Sarrey, in
1805 ; Covent Garden, in 1808 and 1856 ; Koy-alty,
in 1826 ; English Opera House, in 1830 ;
64 EACHEt
Olympic, in 1849 ; in 1850, it became the turn
of the Argyle Kooms ; and that of the Pavilion,
in 1856.
How many millions gone in smoke
!
AND THE NEW WORLD. 65
CHAPTER YI.
IN WHICH WE MAKE THE ACQUAINTANCE OF THE " PACIFIC."
You will be little surprised, when we say-that,
at the moment of leaving London, all
the irresolution of Mademoiselle Eachel recom-menced
in the finest fashion, and that the
American campaign was once more on the
point of stopping short.
Finally, after frequent parleys, we took the
railroad for Liverpool, on the morning of the
10th of August, and, that evening, we arrived
at that quite important city, in the county of
Lancaster, which does not prevent it from be-ing
slightly dirty, and terribly smoky. True, it
possesses a magnificent harbor, constructed at
the mouth of the Mersey, which is some com-pensation.
There, for the first time, we had
the signal honor of being face to face with the
famous American steamer, which would take
us to the other world.
66 KACHEL
The other world ! There is something sin-ister
in those two words !
Happily this magnificent steamer is called
The Pacific.
That blessed name gives us a little confidence.
Notwithstanding that, however, we generally
sleep badly all night.
We dream, pleasantly enough, of Eobinson
Crusoe, of his desert island, and of his man
Friday. At six o'clock in the morning, we
get up.
The rain falls in torrents. The aspect of the
city is the saddest in the world, notwithstand-ing
the bright yellow bills which decorate the
walls, announcing to the Liverpool population
(which doesn't look as if it were greatly excited
thereat) that to-day Mademoiselle Rachel will
take flight towards the other continent
!
At nine o'clock we are in the harbor.
The rain continues to pour, with even ludi-crous
persistency. Decidedly, it rains too
much in England ! A little steamer takes us
to the Pacific^ with other passengers.
Several ladies are already sea-sick. Fine
prospect
!
AND THE NEW WORLD. 67
Mademoiselle Rachel says not a word. She
is very pale, and seems to be suffering.
We near the Facific, whose black and red
chimney already smokes vigorously.
All the travelling equipage is on deck.
A kind of staircase is let down, which fits on
the deck of the little steamer.
The general procession moves off. The pas-sengers,
one by one, climb the steps with de-spairing
slowness.
It would be a wonder if any one could look
cheerful; Raphael is the only one who is
always radiant
!
And there is good reason for it ; in spite of
the Comedie-Frangaise, in spite of critics, in
spite of all France, in spite of Mademoiselle
Rachel herself, it has come to pass, there is no
further question about it ! While his sister
pale and silent, ascends the long ladder which
takes her to the deck of the steamer, Raphael's
joy increases perceptibly.
Finally Rachel is on board
!
This time, no one will gainsay it ! An agent
of Mr. Mitchell, who has accompanied us thus
far, seems much moved. He murmurs vive Ra-
68 EACHEL
chel! very low, as if he were afraid of being
heard. The fact is, scarcely any one does hear
him.
The small steamer leaves us. The farewell
scene begins, waving of handkerchiefs, smiles,
tears.
We are off!
We begin seriously to believe that Rachel is
going to America.
At ten o'clock in the morning the Pacific
fires off guns, the infernal machine below be-gins
to howl, the immense wheels turn on
their axis, and our ship sails for the new
world
!
AND THE NEW WORLD. 69
CHAPTER YII.
HOW THEY EAT ON BOARD.
The weather is now superb.
The sea is calm. Our steamer flies with
frightful rapidity, notwithstandiag the enor-mous
freight with which she is loaded. She is
one of the best vessels of the company. So
much the better ! At the sight of this mag-nificent
ship, which glides over the sea, or
rather the tranquil stream, wrinkles are
smoothed out of one's forehead, and we think
only of resigning ourselves cheerfully to our
lot. We chat, we laugh, we sing.
Every one now is even foolishly gay. There
is only one passenger who does not seem to
enter largely into the general cheerfulness.
The poor fellow is dying—at least so it ap-pears,
for he is frightfully pale and emaciated.
While we are on deck, a kind of idiot comes
out of a little glass cage, behind, and with a
70 RACHEL
sort of hammer, strikes eight vigorous blows
on a bell near him.
They inform me that this man is in the en-joyment
of his senses, which surprises me,
and that he comes merely to indicate that it is
noon on board.
Eight blows on a bell for noon! That is
ingenious, you will admit.
Scarcely has the last blow sounded, when
we hear below an unparalleled uproar.
We think that the boiler is bursting.
Not the least in the world !
It is nothing but the gong.
With this fantastic instrument they indicate
the hours of the meals on board American
steamers.
We go down to the dining-room, to lunch.
This room, though very large, is literally
jammed. Every one disputes his place. All
the passengers, without exception, have re-sponded
to the call.
They devour.
The waiters look on this scene with a mali-cious
smile, which seems to say. Go on, my
little children, eat ! Give yourselves up to
AND THE NEW WORLD. 71
gayety to-day! to-morrow we shall hear
another story from you.
The smile of these waiters frightens me, and
I foresee all the horrors of my future position.
At four o'clock, the idiot again strikes eight
blows.
The gong sounds again !
It is for dinner.
I confess that I have waited for this moment
with a certain impatience.
At lunch, not knowing a word of English, I
had not been able to get myself waited upon,
except by the means of pantomime, more or
less expressive, and I must say that I was dy-ing
with hunger. To say nothing of the fact
that many travellers had greatly applauded to
me the cookery on board American steamers,
mafoi ! I was marvellously well prepared.
Alas
!
But let us not anticipate events
!
At first, all the service is conducted by the
sound of the gong, which is by no means
amusing.
They entertain for this Chinese instrument
an inexplicable tenderness. Why? I can't say.
72 KACHEL
I suppose it aids their digestion.
Fil-st blow: Soup is served.
This soup being ornamented with coarse
pepper and bits of meat, I denied myself.
Second blow : All the silver covers on the
dishes are removed.
If you but knew with what rare precision,
with what perfect unanimity, these waiters un-cover,
at last, the numerous edibles so carefully
hidden
!
Once or twice I tried, before the blow on the
gong, to see what was under the cover next
me ; but the waiter leapt to my side as if to
devour me.
Naturally, I believed this food of which they
were so careful was exquisite.
Ah ! well, yes !
-Vegetables cooked in water, after the English
fashion ; meats killed in advance and preserved
in ice, consequently without taste or savor.
Beef, mutton, fowl, all having the same taste.
Atrocious
!
It is well understood the wine is an extra.
For a great deal of money you have a right to
expect a very little wine.
AND THE NEW WORLD. 7$
Generally the Americans drink only ic§d war
ter during the repast. They make it up well
at dessert with numerous bottles of Cham-pagne.
I have noticed that they are very fond of
champagne. They have a right to be ; a still
better reason is, that nearly all of them are
members of a temperance society.
74 KACHEL
CHAPTER VIII.
IN WHICH IT IS SHOWN THAT THE DESSERT IS STILL MOKE
DISMAL THAN THE DINNER.
One might suppose that to announce the en-tremets,
they would dispense with this diable
of a gong.
Not so. It sounds then, more than ever.
Then defiles a long string of nameless cakes,
impossible puddings, and extravagant pastries.
They mix rice with rhubarb, cream with
gooseberries a maquereau, currants with long
peppers.
It is a culinary hodge-podge inconceivable.
One's palate is completely perplexed by these
strange and unnatural marriages, so much so
that, though we taste all, we can swallow none.
(N. B. I do not speak here of the Americans ;
they find everything very good and eat of all.)
I decide to take a piece of a cake a little
more civilized than the others, but at the mo-
AND THE NEW WORLD. 75^
ment I am about to take it, the eternal gong
sounds again and all the cakes disappear as if
by magic.
Not contented with taking off the dishes,
they carry away the cloth.
I think that dinner is over ; I rise.
Not at all.
A procession of waiters sallies forth from the
pantry with baskets of oranges, plates filled
with walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds, and other
fruits equally dry.
I sit down again. -
Two waiters place themselves at the end of
the table.
As they continue to hold the dessert in their
arms, I extend my hand and try to take an
orange.
The same pleasantry recommences.
The waiter recoils, frightened as the flood from
Theramene, and he makes a frightful grimace
at me, which would cause him to be mistaken
for the illustrious guardsman called Jocko.
Last blow of the gong.
All the dessert dishes fall at once on the
tables.
76 RACHEL
It is a comic achievement.
Champagne flows, brandy and coffee circu-late
in every direction.
All are as merry as larks.
The conversation becomes animated.
English, Germans, Spanish, Italians, Chinese,
French, Iroquois, Algonquins, all talk together
and at the same time. No one understands a
word of what his neighbor is saying to him.
It is a terrific charivari, a confusion of
tongues utterly indescribable.
I am quite flurried, and, as I have drank a
little champagne, I close my eyes, and for five
minutes I positively believe myself to be in the
tower of Babel.
I await the thunderbolt which will put an
end to all this.
I did not wait long.
The bolt burst in a side room ; the invalid of
whom I spoke above, received it upon his head.
The poor fellow gave up his last sigh at the
moment the last bottle of champagne was
finished. It were scarcely possible to finish
more sadly our first day on board.
/
AND THE NEW WORLD. 77
CHAPTER IX.
IN WHICH THE " PACIFIC" COMMENCES HER FROLICS.
Very early the next morniDg, indeed I may-say
a great deal too early, the sailors took ma-licious
pleasure in waking ns by washing the
deck.
Ah ! how boisterous they are when they wash
the deck, to say nothing of their furious passion
for singing, which, joined to the noise, makes
them intolerable to the passengers who wish
to sleep.
We were now in St. George's Channel.
These quarters being rather rough, the Pacific
commences some very giddy evolutions.
That affords us comfortable anticipations.
Heads are no longer on their ordinary axis.
The dining saloon becomes empty at a rapid
rate. Those scamps of waiters, how well they
knew that!
. 78 RA.CHEL
We very willingly remain in the open air, in
the after part of the ship.
Until noon, we coast along the shores of Ire-land*
These shores, notwithstanding their perfectly
wild and desolate aspect, are very far from
wanting a certain picturesqueness.
And yet I do not know if it is because these
arid cliffs, against which the waves of the sea
dash furiously, are the last land that can be
seen from here for a long time, but you feel,
in a manner, fascinated by them, and, in spite
of yourself, you still look for them, even after
they have totally disappeared from the horizon.
Mademoiselle Rachel is not very cheerful.
In proportion as we go forward her sadness
seems to increase.
From this day, she remains almost entirely
shut up in her state-room.
She is royally ennuyee.
She is never very sick at sea, but almost al-ways
ill at ease, which is worse.
What an odious thing a voyage is ! The sea
is decidedly one of the most frightful torments
that I know of.
AND THE NEW WORLD. 79
And yet we are on one of the finest steamers
in the world. What should we say if we were
travelling in a ship ?
The engine, or rather the engines—for there
are two, in case of accident—on these immense
steamers are truly admirable.
Nothing can be more interesting than to ex-amine
them in all their details. It is enough
to set one crazy.
In the engine-room one might imagine him-self
in the bottomless pit ; and still more readily
believe it, because the firemen will answer per-fectly
for your gang of devils.
What queer specimens one sees among them;
what wild countenances!
They are all half-naked, blackened by the
smoke, as hairy and tawny as beasts ; they
have long, neglected beards, which conceal
their faces, and hang down to the middle of
their breasts.
And all of them go and come, run up and
down, throw themselves violently among mil-lions
of flying wiieels, running gear and iron
rods, which work incessantly, and seem ready
every second to pulverize them.
80 EACHEL
Seeing them thus going from one furnace to
the other, their bodies stooping over the flames,
which illuminate them with a strange, fantastic
light, it is impossible, I repeat, not to take
them for a gang of devils busying themselves in
roasting a cargo of the damned.
Add to this the fact, that in this place the
heat is awful; that it suffocates, stifles you, and
would end by melting you, if you should re-main.
How these men can live there is a wondei
to me.
Another incredible thing is, to see this im-mense
mass of iron and steel, this giant machi-nery
of enormous weight, dancing as lightly on
the waves as a cork or a bit of straw.
That is, besides, the worst of the affair ; for
when the machine which occupies the centre of
the ship amuses itself with such gymnastics,
the ship also is forced to execute a terribly
shaky polka.
One day, a desperate pitching.
The next, a frightful rolling.
The day after that, for a variety, both to-gether
—^rolling and pitching.
AND THE NEW WORLD. 81
This is delightful ! and so much so, that all
the passengers are dreadfully sick!
What the devil are they going to do in such
a scow as this ?
4*
82 EACHEL
CHAPTER X.
IN WHICH WE CHAT OF THE BOX AND THE FLAGEOLET.
After we have been several days out, Cap-tain
Nye (a perfect gentleman, and an excellent
sailor) presents to Mademoiselle, on the part of
a citizen of New York, a superb mahogany
box.
The sender desires to be anonymous.—What
is the mystery ?
Let us hope that the future will clear it up.
But what is in the box ?
Jewels ?
Go to ! jewels ? they are too common. Better
than jewels. Some American perfumery, that
is all
!
And no means of finding out from whom
emanate all these sweet smells! how provok-ing!
In spite of the present of the unknown per-
AND THE NEW WORLD. 83
fumer, Mademoiselle Rachel still refuses all re-creation
on board this good Pacific,
She continues to keep her state-room.
Many passengers do as she does, and your
servant imitates them.
Raphael Felix is one of those rare travellers
who resist the allurements of the Atlantic.
He doesn't care for the Atlantic. All he
thinks about are the dollars of the United
States and the pesos of Havana.
As for myself, dismally stretched out in the
badly stuffed drawer which serves me for a
bed, I think nothing of this wealth in the
perspective. I have other things to do.
While I toss in my ridiculous bunk, there
steals from the state-room in front of mine a
kind of French air on some sort of a flageolet.
A passenger, a friend of the fine arts, perches
there.
When I am very sick he plays a very lively
air ; when I get better, he commences a me-lancholy,
gloomy one.
This flageolet, besides, is quite original. In
the midst of his air I hear him occasionally
stop and
84 RACHEL
. . after which, he takes up the air just at the
note where he left off.
A good many waiters, generally very hurried
and very accommodating, are at the disposal of
passengers who are too ill to leave their state-rooms.
They bring them their food in a sort
of China porringer. Onion soup and fried
potatoes are very popular.
Doubled up in this way in these uncomfort-able
boxes, the passengers have exactly the
appearance of great dogs who have the dis-temper,
and whose porridge is brought to their
kennels.
Sorry resemblance
!
AND THE NEW WOliLD. 85
CHAPTER XI.
TOO FOGGY.
On the 18th, at six o'clock in the morning,
we are off the coast of Newfoundland.
The great Sand-bank off which we are now
passing is famous for the incalculable number
of codfish that collect here.
In spite of the frequenting of these peaceable
fish, these quarters are very dangerous.
It is here the horrible shipwreck of the Arctic
took place.
The recollection of this serves only to give
rise to thoughts still sadder than before.
Thick fogs surround the ship on every side.
One can scarcely distinguish the top of the
masts.
Every preparation is made in case of ship-wreck.
The life boats are uncovered and provided
with ropes and oars.
86 RACHEL
The alarm-gun is ready to fire.
The alarm-bell is on the bridge.
All the time that we push on through the
fog the captain keeps watch.
The steamer's speed is relaxed ; she seems
ashamed of her new pace.
All the passengers take advantage of this to
come out of their state-rooms.
They are, for the most part, not a little
alarmed.
One of them blows up his life-preserver and
fastens it around his waist.
He sleeps with it so all night, and it frets
him, so that he cannot close his eyes. One
thing about it is consoling, that it would have
been worth nothing at all, even if we^had been
wrecked.
During the day, we double Cape Race,
which is the most dangerous point. The
passengers begin to breathe again. Unfor-tunately,
a melancholy event saddens our even-ing.
A young calf, brought from Liverpool by the
captain, dies, from the effects of prolonged sea-sickness.
AND THE NEW WORLD. 87
His remains are thrown into the sea : a fam-ished
shark dines off him.
Poor little calf!
The next morning, when we awake, we have
left the banks of Newfoundland ; the fogs have
disappeared ; a dazzling sun lights np the waves,
the masts, and the rigging.
The deck is filled with a crowd of passengers,
whose presence on board had not been even
suspected.
For ten days, these unfortunates have been
inlaid in the sides of this frolicksome vessel.
Haven't they a right to enjoy themselves?
We perceive, not far from the ship, two
enormous whales, who are gambolling on the
bosom of the briny waves.
Millions of all kinds of fish appear on the
surface, and seem delighted to see us pass.
The appearance of the water changes now,
from one quarter of an hour to another.
The ocean is unusually calm.
That may be perceived, above all, in
the dining-room, which begins to be filled,
exactly as on the first day—even fuller than
then.
88 RACHEL
We find ourselves face to face with furious
appetites.
The horrid edibles, heaped up on the table,
disappear with fearful rapidity.
Are they famishing ?
In the evening, after dinner, an old Protest-ant
clergyman holds service in the saloon.
A splendid sunset puts a glorious end to this
day, and makes us forget, in one moment, all
the misery to which we have been subjected
for the past eight days.
In less than an hour, the sky changes its
color and whole appearance more than a dozen
times. All imaginable tints, from that of melt-ed
gold to the deepest blue. Truly splendid
!
A curious effect, and one which I remark
particularly, is produced this evening—a perfect
circle formed by the horizon, of which our ship
is the central point. We have made good pro-gress,
yet we are always in the middle.
We seem to sail in a huge basin, over which
is placed a great blue cover.
This comparison is, perhaps, not very poetic-al
; but it is a good one.
In the evening, a steamer passes close by
AND THE NEW WORLD. 80
US. Some little sailing craft are distinguished
in the distance, and are vividly painted against
the fiery sky.
Life comes by degrees.
The temperature undergoes a complete
change.
Yesterday, off the banks of Newfoundland,
we were shivering : to-day, we are too warm.
The sea-gulls begin to fly around the ship.
We smell the land.
90 RACHEL
CHAPTER XII.
THE LAST DINNER ON BOARD.
The 20th is as lovely a day as its predeces-sor.
The sun is more and more brilliant ; the
sailing vessels still more numerous.
Schools of porpoises romp at a little distance
off.
These cetacea seem to be of an exceedingly
gay character.
For the first time in ten days, the ship stops.
A signal is set for a coast pilot.
He comes alongside, and the sailors hoist
him on deck with ropes, like a mere bale of
goods.
His arrival exhilarates the whole ship. It
proves that to-morrow we shall be at New
York.
I need hardly say that the engine, furious at
being stopped, even for an instant, starts off
again, almost before the pilot has touched the
deck.
AND THE NEW WORLD. 91
We go ahead under full power.
It is plain that the horse smells the stable.
The earthy odors grow plainer. American
atmosphere begins to prevail. The heat is
dreadful, and offers magnificent coups-de-soleil.
Every woman has her own.
A little further on, we see two water-spouts
spurted above the waves. There are two
whales.
What are they talking about ?
But, hush !
The idiot strikes eight on the bell. That is
to tell you that it is four o'clock.
Four o'clock ! it is the hour of torment—of
dinner, I should say !
The last that we shall take on board.
Heaven be praised
!
It is what they call the Captain's dinner.
This time everybody attends.
Mademoiselle Rachel herself decides to leave
her state-room and take her seat at the table
beside Captain Nye.
Apart from the champagne, added gratis to
^
the usual bill of fare, this dinner doesn't differ
^ RACHEL
much from the others, which is a misfortune
for those who like something fit to eat.
In fact it is the last dinner
!
A toast to Captain Nye is proposed. It is
drunk with all the honors.
A fair young man, after that, proposes the
health of the ladies. His toast is not so suc-cessful
as the other.
That sui-prises me. I had been told that
Americans were models of gallantry.
Finally, Mr. Stewart (a dry goods merchant
of New York, worth forty millions, in the usual
style of that place,) toasts the arrival of Made-moiselle
Eachel in New York.
All eyes are turned towards her. A sj^eech
is expected.
But, as she does not understand English,
save very imperfectly, she does not reply, but
merely bows.
If not she, then her brother will re-spond.
And the general gaze is turned upon
Raphael Felix, director of the French Com-pany.
But Raphael doesn't respond any more than
his sister ; so neither of them responds, which
AND THE NEW "VVOKLD. 93
seems to disappoint the Americans exceed-ingly-
Not to respond to a speech, is an unpardon-able
thing among them.
94 RACHEL
CHAPTER XIII.
IN WHICH THE MAESEILLAISE APPEARS ON THE TAPIS.
Appointing himself master of ceremonies, a
French passenger arises and, in the name of
the Americans, who never dreamed of snch a
thing, asks his countiymen to strike up in cho-rus
la Marseillaise,
These, not knowing by heart the national
hymn of France, turn up their noses at this
unexpected demand, and unanimously refuse
the honor.
But, here is the best of it.
The passenger turns to the guests and says
to them (in English, 7na foi !) that the French
Company declares itself ready to accede to the
general request.
Here is an ambush. How can we get out of
it? Who will sacrifice himself?
Every one now has his eyes fixed on these
AND THE NEW WOKLD. 96
unhappy Frenchmen, who would give anything
to be elsewhere.
Time goes on—nobody begins.
Low murmurs are mingled with stifled
laughs.
Decidedly the French will not be in odor of
sanctity among these gentlemen of the other
world.
Finally, oh ! happiness ! a savior presents
himself.
A Creole from New Orleans—an excellent
fellow, who knows us all.
He knows the Marseillaise. He will sing the
couplets ; the Frenchmen will have only to
take up the refrain in chorus.
So he sings the first couplet. He is much
moved—which is a bad thing in singing the
Marseillaise,
Happily the Frenchmen strike up the refrain
and give smiling faces to all the guests.
I have heard a great deal of singing in my
life ; I have been present at many grotesque
concerts ; but never, never has more uncouth
music stunned my ears.
I could have rolled on the floor with laugh-
9@? RACHEL
ing—not one singer in hamiony with an-other.
It was so curious, that each one seemed to
be singing a different air.
It is scarcely necessary to say that they
passed at once to the last couplet
—
*' Amour sacrd de la patrie /"
Poor Country
!
This last couplet had exactly the same fate
as the first.
As to the refrain, it was, if possible, more
ludicrous, more extravagant than the other.
So that this little musical fete, which threat-ened
to take a slightly political turn, finished
by loud peals of laughter, which, going up the
hatchways, awoke even the cabin-boy asleep
in the top.
AND THE NEW WORLD. 97
CHAPTER XIV,
LAND ! LAND !
Mademoiselle Rachel presented the Cap-tain
with nearly two thousand francs, to be
distributed among the crew of the Pacific.
She gave eight hundred francs to the orphan
children of the sailors.
An American lady, seeing her in a generous
vein, came to beg her to give them a few scenes
in tragedy.
Mademoiselle Rachel refused decidedly.
As she came to America precisely in order
to give scenes in tragedy, the lady in question
will have an opportunity of hearing her quite
at her ease—by paying for it, be it under-stood.
Raphael Felix is in such impatience for the
arrival of this happy moment, that he signalizes
land before any one else.
Unfortunately, what he takes for a light-
93 EACHEL
house, is nothing but the lantern of a steamer
bound to New York.
Not until midnight do we see land. Every-body
passes the night on deck. The weather
is delightful.
Night is over. The sun throws its light
over space ; then floods in upon the ocean. It
is magnificent.
Sunrise is more beautiful here than in
Europe.
The waves, the shrouds, and the yards, are
painted in brilliant colors. Fire plays within
fire. A field of gold spreads out under a
dazzling arcade.
The sea is covered with little fisher-men's
boats. We are now in sight of Nova
Scotia.
Soon we arrive at Sandy Hook, and finally
we pass Staten Island. The gun of the Pacific
salutes the Battery, then the fort of the
Quarantine.
Here we stop.
The Health Officers come on bojird.
Before the hospital several steamers of differ^
ent nations are anchored.
AND THE NEW WORLD. 99
Some have the yellow fever, others the cho-lera,
etc., etc.
In spite of ourselves, we feel uneasy in these
quarters. We hold our breath for the few
minutes we remain here.
We continue our voyage! and at seven
o'clock next morning we enter, under full
steam, the bay of New York, which is one of
the most beautiful in the world.
Millions of boats, of all sizes and colors,
run along delightful shores covered with ver-dure
and flowers.
Finally, we land on the Pacifiers dock ; we
leave that horrible box, we press with rapture
the soil of the New World, and fall delighted
in the arms of Gustavo Naquet, minister pleni-potentiary
of Raphael to New York; who
waits on us to the Custom House, and who
seems the least in the world disappointed at
seeing us.
That explains itself. They did not expect
the Pacific for ten hours to come, and a little
steamer, chartered to come to meet Mademoiselle
Rachel, was to have been filled principally by the
Lafayette Guards (the Frenchmen ofNew York),
100 EACHEL
whose band, on approaching the Pacific, would
have executed a selection of French airs.
Invitations had been sent out, and gentlemen
and even ladies intended to join the Lafayette
Guards.
You will appreciate the general disappoint-ment
on learning the premature arrival of
the Pacific. But man proposes, and steam
disposes!
And this little aquatic fete fell entirely over-board
!
So that she, who was its object, was obliged
to land in the imperial city like any common
mortal.
She and all her family took carriages and
were set down at the St. Nicholas Hotel, very
glad, I am sure, to have escaped this serenade,
and to have been able to go through the city
without being exposed to the impertinent
staring of New York loafers.
Unfortunately for her, she had not got rid of
this Damoclesian serenade, and, at night when
she was sleeping profoundly, the Lafayette
Guards collected under her window, and began
to play all their repertory.
AND THE NEW WORLD. 101
Bongrcy malgre, (willy-nilly), she was com-pelled
to awake, get up, and appear on her
balcony.
The Lafayette Guards, satisfied, retired after
awhile, and permitted their victim to repose.
She had need of it, and we also
!
f^iri fart,
THE IMPERIAL CITY.
CHAPTER I.
WHICH MAY GIVE AN IDEA OF NEW YORK.
New York ! Here we are
!
And not without some trouble ; the custom-house
officers themselves seemed to oppose our
definite entrance to this young capital.
Not a night-cap that they did not inspect
;
not an unhappy necessity for the voyage that
they did not rummage from the top to the
bottom.
Ah ! here is tit-for-tat, I tell you.
Not a soul, by way of revenge, who was not
on the qtd vlve to find out who we were, and
if we had our passports all right.
"Who are you? How does it concern
you ?"
104 EACHEI*
" Your passport ?" Eh ! what for, hon
Dieu ! provided you pay the custom-house
charges without saying anything, it is all the
same thing to them whether one is an honest
man or a gentleman at large.
American hospitality does not loo-k at one
so closely as all that
!
She would do well, for instance, some day
when she has time, to prevent hackmen on
the stand from demanding, for a job of ten
minutes, a sum equal to a little more than
46 fr. 75 c.
The following account is correct. There
were nine of us in a frightful, yellowish vehicle,
in which we were put almost by force, and
were made to pay one dollar (5 fr. 25 c.) each,
to be taken from the Pacific dock to Broome
street, about two stej^s. But what can you
expect ; there is no tariff in this model country ;
and if it had pleased the coachman to ask us
double or triple, we must have paid it.
Charming specimen of American life !
Well, so much the worse for you—why do
you take a hackney coach? Can't you go oa
foot?
AND TUE NEW WORLD. 105
Go on foot ! That is, unfortunately, almost
impossible ; look at the paving of this quar-ter.
Pebbles replace in New York the MacAdam
of our city.
When one walks on them, he has every ap-pearance
of making a forced march on very
hard eggs.
It is insupportably fatiguing to walk even
for a single quarter of an hour on these sharp,
cutting stones.
One must pass his whole life in balancing
himself in these streets, which is tiresome to
the last degree.
But, you will say to me, Are there, then, no
side-walks ?
Oh ! yes. There are sometimes even too
many ; but they are so badly made, that they
break and sink down in fifty difierent places,
which form excavations filled with water,
which it is not always easy to jump over,
without the risk of falling in and getting a
little wet.
There is only one thing to be done—the
omnibus !
5*
106 RACHEL
Ah ! as for that, you have more of those
than you want.
In the larger streets, you may see twenty,
thirty, forty, abreast ; so they are from morning
till night perpetual encumbrances.
It is a good thing, however, when you are
in a hurry ; you are sure with those coaches
always to arrive too late.
But as the fare is only six cents and a quar-ter,
you can say nothing.
Besides, these omnibusses are incredibly
luxurious in pictures and decorations. Heads
of beautiful women, flowers, birds, landscapes,
each one more coquettish than the other.
On first arriving, you take all these carriages
for perambulating signs of New York glass-painters.
Signs ! Of these, one sees all forms and all
dimensions.
The houses are literally covered with im-mense
placards.
From the cellar to the garret, you see no-thing
but high-flown advertisements, colossal
canvases, and monstrous bills, all ornamented
with huge figures of men having nothing hu-
AND THE NEW WORLD. 107
man about them, imaginary animals, and a
thousand other representations made solely to
draw the simpletons and loafers of the two
continents into the shops.
And can you think what all this makes the
city look like ?
A gigantic hand-bill of a mountebank com-pany.
These are here, also, as well as with us.
Broadway, the Boulevard des Italiens of this
place, is inundated with them.
Quacks, dentists, breeders of learned dogs,
exhibitors of branded negresses, wild beast-tamers,
all are in abundance.
One could fancy himself in the fair of an im-mense
village.
What a hubbub ! what tumult
!
Cries and laughter, songs and oaths; the
yells of newsboys mixed with the noise of car-riages
; the trumpets of charlatans confounded
with the bells on the mules who drag eternally
on the thousands of railroads which furrow the
streets, trains of cars, three feet long, like ours.
Add to all this, carts which get locked to-gether
; horses running away ; the people one
108 EACIIEL
crushes; the loafers to fly from; the drunkards
who are being ill-treated, and all the loungers
in white vests, who, paraded at the doors of
hotels, smoke gravely, their heads down, and
their feet in the air ; do not forget, above all,
the hundreds of prostitutes, with large hands
and feet, false teeth, painted cheeks, sunken
breasts, who encumber the sidewalks, in the
very face of policemen and the sun, and you
will have a very small part of the picture
which New York presents to the bewildered
eyes of the traveller !
AND THE NEW WORLD. 109
CHAPTER II.
IN WHICH EACH ONE TAKES LODGINGS WHERE HE CAN GET
THEM.
We have said that Mademoiselle Rachel
alighted with her family at the St. Nicholas
Hotel.
This hotel, one of the most splendid in the
country, is situated in Broadway, of course.
(The general rule : Everything is situated in
Broadway.)
The front of it is of white marble, ina foil
which is truly beautiful ; as to the interior, it
hasn't the slightest resemblance to our Parisian
hotels.
Remember that
!
There is everything wifchin (and it is well
understood that each thing is to be paid for
separately).
Billiard-room, bar, hair-dressing saloon,
baths, laundry, etc., etc.
A small city in itself.
110 RACHEL
There is, even, and not the least curious of
all, in this hotel, as well as in several others in
New York, an electric telegraph. Do you not
think that very convenient, to have only to go
down a few steps, to be able to converse, in
slippers and dressing-gown, with a friend five
or six hundred leagues off?
It is a fact, as curious as authentic (reliable
persons have so assured me), that in all these
large hotels in the United States, any one can
enter the dining-rooms at the hour of repast,
seat himself at table, dine, and go away with-out
paying anything. Without paying ! Yes,
positively ! it is strange, but it is so.
It is true that happens very seldom ; but
when it does, nobody is allowed to demand the
least trifle.
You will admit that there is a certain sort
of grandeur in this.
I know, of course, that a few dollars more or
less is a pitiful consideration for such houses,
which are so filled with travellers that there is
never a vacant room ; but it is, nevertheless, a
fact for all that, and I hasten to record it.
There are so many people in this hotel, that
AND THE NEW WOKLD. Ill
notwithstanding the immense number of
waiters, one never knows whom to call upon.
There is a perpetual coming and going, an
incessant confusion. The fellows pass their
lives in running up stairs and down, from the
right to the leffc, without ever stopping, or
scarcely ever obeying the orders given them.
One would think they were stung with the
tarantula.
So that it is quite impossible to live in this
luxurious caravansary, and as soon as installed
one only thinks of one thing : to get out of it
as quickly as possible.
Mademoiselle did precisely that. The next
day, even, (she lost no time, you see) she, with
her two sisters, Lia and Dinah, lived no longer
in a hotel (she had had enough of that fantastic
existence !), but they took a private house,
Clinton place, No. 5.
Kaphael and M. Felix took lodgings some-where
else, in Broadway, if I recollect. (It
must have been in Broadway.)
In still another part of the city Mademoiselle
Sarah took up her residence.
This division of the Felix family into three
112 RACHEL
different camps, did not fail to excite the ia-quisitiveness
of all the New York tattlers, who
speculated profusely on this subject.
It was, as usual, a much ado about nothing.
They lived separately because they lived sepa-rately,
and that was all.
As to the other members of the French Com-pany,
the horrible yellow coach, of which I
have already spoken, took forcible possession
of them on their sortie from the Custom-house,
took them—not without jolts, I beg you to
believe, and not without very nearly upsetting
a number of times—to a certain French-Span-ish
hotel, kept by a Madame M .
AND THE NEW WORLD. 113
CHAPTER III.
IN WHICH WE TREAT OF A CERTAIN UNPLEASANT SPECIES.
OF INSECT.
The M Hotel ! Here is another vile
place, which it would afford me pleasure not to
recommend to my friends, if it still existed
!
But it is dead ! Peace to its ashes !
However, the table there was supplied with
French cookery—at least, so they said
!
And the best in the city—^but they said that
everywhere
!
Ah! we shall long remember the cotelettes
that we ate in the house of this worthy wo-man,
and her chocolate a la grease, and her
milk a la sheep's brains !
Oh ! Desire ! Oh ! Verdier ! Oh ! Vachette !
Oh ! Bonvalet ! Oh ! Paris dinners ! Where
were you ?
If we at least had been able to sleep ! it
would have been a consolation, for,
" Qui dort, dine."
114 RACHEL
To sleep—ah ! well, yes ! Under these in-temperate
latitudes, this function is positively
forbidden to Europeans.
Our nights were horrible.
One, among others, was hideous to me. It
was the first, pardieu !
Towards one o'clock in the morning I awake,
a prey to an atrocious itch ; I light my candle,
and I perceive on my arms, on my legs, on my
breast, a whole army of large, reddish crickets,
with enormous talons—a kind of insect for
which even entomologists, I am sure, have no
name, and which Young America has raised up
expressly to dissect me !
And these are not all : millions of musquitoes,
of all sorts, join the onset, and devour me with
unequalled rage.
I feel that my senses are taking leave of me.
I act so, at all events, and I leap out of this
too thickly populated bed, and take refuge on
a huge trunk, on which I am far from being
comfortable.
I swell perceptibly.
Like the serpent Hippolytus, I perceive
with horror that my body is but one wound.
AND THE NEW WORLD. 115
Oh ! then I curse America, and Christopher
Columbus who invented it, and Raphael Felix
who has come to explore it ! And I sleep
again !
I have a horrible night-mare : I seem to be
present at a strange, impossible ball where
myriads of fantastic insects have collected to-gether-
Enormous musquitoes, frightful wasps, gi-gantic
crickets, compose the orchestra.
Colossal caterpillars, large hairy spiders,
monstrous scorpions, execute nameless quad-rilles,
and unknown polkas, giddy waltzes,
and diabolical rondos, putting to shame the
sabbath.
It is the Walpurgis night of the insects !
One hideous spider advances then towards
me, and entwining me in her long, thin claws,
tries to drag me with her in the whirls of the
waltz.
To resist the allurements of this ignoble
corypheus, I made such a violent effort that I
awoke to see a spider on the calf of one of my
legs, breakfasting quietly on the last drops of
blood ; a real one this time, of a reddish hue,
116 RACHEL
and so like my dan sense of the past night as
to be readily taken for her.
This is the way they sleep in this country
!
travel, then, twelve hundred leagues to enjoy
this amusement
!
To calm myself, I recollect that to-day is the
284th anniversary of St. Bartholomew.
Indeed, as everybody here is Protestant,
these insects, who are of course the same, have
avenged on my person, a poor Catholic, that
great butchery of the past.
That was right
!
AND THE NEW WORLD. 117
CHAPTEir lY.
IN WHICH THE MILLION-HUNT BEGINS.
To crown these attractions, it is scarce day-break
when a hand-organ begins to play les
Filles de Marbre and the Sire de Franc-Boisy
under my windows.
I thought I had left those tunes behind
!
Notwithstanding the innumerable wounds
of her artistes (for not one of us has been
spared by the musquitoes, and as you may w*ell
suppose, Mademoiselle Kachel no more than
the rest), Kaphael Felix formally announces
the first performance of Mademoiselle Rachel
and the French company, for the 3rd of Sep-tember,
1855, in all the newspapers, and that
without the least bit of delay.
In fact, we shall soon know what we may
count on. Everybody is awaiting, with a
curiosity and impatience that are very natural,
the issue of this first night, which will indicate
very nearly the entire result of the enterprise.
118 RACHEL
So far, it is starting under excellent auspices.
The press throughout seems to be in the best
possible humor.
The New York Herald, the Daily Tribune, the
Courrier des Etats- JJnis, and twenty other more
or less important papers, devote several columns
every day to this great literary event, unpre-cedented
in the history of the United States.
The ticket-sale goes on as if it were on
rollers.
The administrative money bags are swelling
delightfully.
From morning till night, at his office in Wall
street (the street which the Millions inhabit !),
Kaphael Felix spends his time in exchanging
for an enormous amount of dollars a multitude
of little pieces of paste-board.
He is in his element there now ! And it is a
sight to see him, attending to hi^ customers,
inscribing all the names on the books, deliver-ing
box-orders, packing away money and giving
half a dozen employes twenty orders at a
time without ever making a mistake.
O potency of the dollar! He who hardly
knew a dozen sentences of English when he
AND THE NEW WORLD. 110
came on shore here, now finds means to under-stand
this language, which the Americans take
special pains to render thoroughly incompre-hensible,
and what is still harder, he makes
himself understood by them
!
There is really, in this office in Wall street,
a suprising activity.
Ah ! it is because from thence proceed all
the orders in regard to this great battle which
is to be fought so soon.
Expresses scatter all over the city and dis-tribute
on their way thousands of programmes,
announcing the pieces comprised in the reper-tory,
the names of the actors, etc., etc.
Others take to the journalists their notes of
invitation. Gilt-edged notes, ma foi! nothing
less!
At last the final bills are posted at all the
corners of the streets, and the curious and eager
crowd has an opportunity to read the following
details :
METKOPOLITAN THEATEE.
On Monday, Sept. 3rd,
For the first time in this country, M. de Pkemart'3
new comedy of
120
'
RACHEL.
LES DROITS DE L'HOMME.
(Same cast as in London.)
After wbich will be presented Corneille's celebrated tra-gedy
of
LES HOEACES.
N. B.—In New York, M. de Prenaray is al-ways
called de Premary. What for?
(Here also same cast as in London.)
Prices of admission to Mademoiselle Kachel's performances :
Orchestra-seats—parquet and parquet-circle, 3 dollars.
First circle, ...... 2 dollars.
Upper circle, 4 dollars.
Numbered seats may be secured in advance at the above
prices, at an extra charge of 25 cents per seat.
As will be seen, the price of seats is much
less dear here than in London. We should
have supposed quite the contrary.
Seventeen francs for a reserved seat ; really
that would not be the death of a man.
If the house is not crammed every night with
these prices, the New Yorkers will not be will-ing
to come ; that is all.
I read in the Memoires dc Barnum that M,
John N. Geiim paid in this same city of New
York, on the first appearance of Jenny Lind,
AND THE NEW WORLD. 121
the colossal sum of 225 dollars for a single
seat.
Two hundred and twenty-five dollars ! that is
to say, eleven hundred and eighty-one francs
and twenty-five centimes !
After that, everything is possible.
6
122 RACHEL
CHAPTER Y.
FIRST NIGHT IN NEW YORK.
On the third of September, therefore, an im-posing
crowd stood, long before the opening of
the doors, in front of the Metropolitan Theatre.
It is understood, of course, that this edifice
is, more than anything else, situated in Broad-way.
It must be
!
Over the principal entrance a splendid trans-parency
has been placed, where one can spell
in Chinese shadows the following words :
Comedie—Drama—Tragedie.
The name of Eachel has not been forgotten,
very properly, and you can see it at your leisure,
and as often as you like, on the French and
American flags which the ISFew York artist has
painted on the upper portion of his transpa-rency,
and which you would swear were live
flags, they are so well done.
AND THE NEW WORLD. 123
But the mask of tragedy which you see down
lower is not so happily imitated. This is some-thing
which has not the appearance of being
alive ! This diabolical face must give all this
world a strange idea of tragedy !
Well, never mind, in spite of this caricature
—in consequence of it, perhaps—the transpa-rency
has an enormous success.
- O celebrated transparencies of the Cosaques
and of the Priere des Natifroges, how you are
left in the shade, my good friends
!
But listen ! It is half-past six, and the doors
are open !
The crowd begins to invade the theatre ! and
that too, without cries, without bustle, and al-most
without speaking.
O Parisian public ! thou art not the public
to take possession of a theatre in this way
!
But Americans are noisy ©nly about their
business. In their pleasures they are as tran-quil
as the late Baptiste.
So every one follows his usher without crowd-ing,
and without pushing or incommoding any-body,
takes the seat he prefers.
When the stalls are no longer numbered and
124 KACHEL
reserved, every one has a right to choose the
seat he likes best.
Which is very much the best way.
First, because it prevents people w^ho are
late from getting good places, and then because
it suppresses entirely that tyrannical, venal and
morose class of malefactors, who are forever
opening boxes, the everlasting plague spot of
our Paris theatres
!
Meanwhile the spectators have nearly all
arrived, and the house already offers a magnifi-cient
coup d'csil.
The gentlemen are generally dressed very
simply. One thing seems to occasion them a
good deal of trouble, they have ripped gloves.
Ah ! this is a very gala day for the ladies.
So they are all, with very few exceptions,
dressed with an unheard of luxury, and, what is
more, an excellent taste.
Not one of them would have been willing to
come here to night except in ball-dress ; and
what ornaments !
There are diamonds by the shovelful, flow-ers
as if it rained flowers.
Not to take into account that they who wear
AND THE NEW WORLD. 125
them are nearly all young, pretty and smiling,
and that these pretty republicans have, for the
most part, a slightly aristocratic air which is
marvellously becoming to them !
They are far better than their husbands, it is
due to them to say so much, and as fortunately
they are in a majority. Everything is for the
best in this best of all possible theatres.
Besides this theatre is really superb and wor-thy
in all respects to receive such fine com-pany.
The green-room is entirely new, ornamented
with various and fresh decorations throughout.
Everywhere are very rich carpets, magnifi-cent
furniture, and gas burners in all the nooks
and corners.
All that has really a pleasant appearance.
But the hour is passing.
The mighty moment approaches !
The orchestra is playing an overture.
A few seconds more and the French compa-ny
will meet the American public face to face.
At last the green-room clock strikes seven.
The three blows are struck ; everybody
makes ready ; opera glasses are levelled at the
126 RACHEL
stage ; the curtain rises ; the Les Droits de
VHomme is played.
Our friend Jules Premaray's piece produces
an enormous effect, thanks to the numerous
Frenchmen who were present at this first per-formance.
As to the Americans, I dare assert one thing ;
they did not understand a word of the piece.
As there is no English translation of this play
that was the case of course, and we are not
surprised at the result.
During these two acts, a time which seems
to them two centuries, these good New York-ers
are delightfully bored.
Were it not for the splendid toilettes of the
three sisters of Mdlle. Rachel, I am thoroughly
convinced that they would be asleep already.
It would be all the same ; they are very much
vexed at having came so soon and would be
glad to give eleven sous to have the thing over.
The French, who trouble themselves very
little whether the play amuses these gentle-men
of the New World or not, continue to
laugh and applaud, nevertheless.
At last the curtain falls, and now the Ameri-
AND THE NEW WORLD. 127
cans, with the deepest sincerity, join their
bravos to those of the French.
It is over ! Ouf
!
They consent, in concert with our country-men,
to call out all the actors in the comedy,
which is considered to be a great thing in this
country, where the claque is totally unknown.
128 RACHEL
CHAPTER VI.
IN WHICH MDLLE. KACHEL COMES ON THE SCENE AND JENNY
LIND ALSO.
The entr'acte is not long.
Mdlle. Rachel herself is impatient to appear
on the scene.
Nevertheless, she is excited, very much ex-cited.
Her hand is icy.
The piece begins.
The public listen religiously to the Alexan-drines
ofCorneille. The most complete silence
reigns in the house.
Suddenly a strange, unexpected noise drov^ns
the voices of the actors.
One would say that a frightful storm had
come on, and that the rain was furiously beating
against