resignation, informing her dear comrades that she found herself under the necessity of retiring from the Théâtre Français, as the restoration of her health and the preservation of her dignity depended on her doing so.
Hardly was the resignation sent in before it was withdrawn, owing, in a great measure, to Janin's influence. He wrote to her on the 30th July 1849:—
How happy and proud I am, my dear child, that my influence has been of some avail in keeping you at the Théâtre Français, whose ruin was decreed the day you left it. It is no use; there is but one Rachel; she reigns absolute sovereign, and we must all submit. Remember that your life and your work are part and parcel of the theatre. It would be a matter of eternal regret if you gave up those evenings, that audience entranced by your representation, the discriminating applause, the tender appreciation of poets and critics. He who has once tasted that inebriating draught can never do without it. I, your critic, am but an artist in a small way; I only address a small audience; but I would sooner die than give up my Monday every week, so much delight do I take in telling my readers what my head has thought and my heart has felt. Come back as quickly as you can, and take possession of your kingdom again. You will be received with well-merited applause, for you will have proved once more that the great artist is superior to the most legitimate cause of complaint. Alas! while you are leaving Brussels I am leaving Paris. Hardly shall we be able to exchange a word in passing, A clasp of the hand is not enough for friends such as you and I. Each day we have known one another has tightened the bonds that bind us together, increased our esteem, and justified our tender affection. I embrace you with all my heart.
A few months later she again resigned, and this time, to all appearance, definitely. Rachel explained her reasons to Madame de Girardin in a long letter, from which we give some extracts. It is dated the 14th October 1849:—
Madame,
Before bidding adieu to the Comédie Française, I wished to go over all my repertory once more, so as, in some measure, to pay the
