登陆注册
5257900000021

第21章 Chapter IX : Demoiselle Candeille(1)

Her origin was of the humblest, for her mother--so it was said-- had been kitchen-maid in the household of the Duc de Marny, but Desiree had received some kind of education, and though she began life as a dresser in one of the minor theatres of Paris, she became ultimately one of its most popular stars.

She was small and dark, dainty in her manner and ways, and with a graceful little figure, peculiarly supple and sinuous. Her humble origin certainly did not betray itself in her hands and feet, which were exquisite in shape and lilliputian in size.

Her hair was soft and glossy, always free from powder, and cunningly arranged so as to slightly overshadow the upper part of her face.

The chin was small and round, the mouth extraordinarily red, the neck slender and long. But she was not pretty: so said all the women. Her skin was rather coarse in texture and darkish in colour, her eyes were narrow and slightly turned upwards at the corners; no! she was distinctly not pretty.

Yet she pleased the men! Perhaps because she was so artlessly determined to please them. The women said that Demoiselle Candeille never left a man alone until she had succeeded in captivating his fancy if only for five minutes; an internal in a dance ... the time to cross a muddy road.

But for five minutes she was determined to hold any man's complete attention, and to exact his admiration. And she nearly always succeeded.

Therefore the women hated her. The men were amused. It is extremely pleasant to have one's admiration compelled, one's attention so determinedly sought after.

And Candeille could be extremely amusing, and as Madelon in Moliere's "Les Precieuses" was quite inimitable.

This, however, was in the olden days, just before Paris went quite mad, before the Reign of Terror had set in, and ci-devant Louis the King had been executed.

Candeille had taken it into her frolicsome little head that she would like to go to London. The idea was of course in the nature of an experiment.

Those dull English people over the water knew so little of what good acting really meant. Tragedy? Well! passons! Their heavy, large-boned actresses might manage one or two big scenes where a commanding presence and a powerful voice would not come amiss, and where prominent teeth would pass unnoticed in the agony of a dramatic climax.

But Comedy!

Ah! ca non, par example! Demoiselle Candeille had seen several English gentlemen and ladies in those same olden days at the Tuileries, but she really could not imagine any of them enacting the piquant scenes of Moliere or Beaumarchais.

Demoiselle Candeille thought of every English-born individual as having very large teeth. Now large teeth do not lend themselves to well-spoken comedy scenes, to smiles, or to double entendre.

Her own teeth were exceptionally small and white, and very sharp, like those of a kitten.

Yes! Demoiselle Candeille thought it would be extremely interesting to go to London and to show to a nation of shopkeepers how daintily one can be amused in a theatre.

Permission to depart from Paris was easy to obtain. In fact the fair lady had never really found it difficult to obtain anything she very much wanted.

In this case she had plenty of friends in high places. Marat was still alive and a great lover of the theatre. Tallien was a personal admirer of hers, Deputy Dupont would do anything she asked.

She wanted to act in London, at a theatre called Drury Lane. She wanted to play Moliere in England in French, and had already spoken with several of her colleagues, who were ready to join her. They would give public representations in aid of the starving population of France; there were plenty of Socialistic clubs in London quite Jacobin and Revolutionary in tendency: their members would give her full support.

She would be serving her country and her countrymen and incidentally see something of the world, and amuse herself. She was bored in Paris.

Then she thought of Marguerite St. Just, once of the Maison Moliere, who had captivated an English milor of enormous wealth. Demoiselle Candeille had never been of the Maison Moliere; she had been the leading star of one of the minor --yet much-frequented--theatres of Paris, but she felt herself quite able and ready to captivate some other unattached milor, who would load her with English money and incidentally bestow an English name upon her.

So she went to London.

The experiment, however, had not proved an unmitigated success. At first she and her company did obtain a few engagements at one or two of the minor theatres, to give representations of some of the French classical comedies in the original language.

But these never quite became the fashion. The feeling against France and all her doings was far too keen in that very set, which Demoiselle Candeille had desired to captivate with her talents, to allow of the English jeunesse doree to flock and see Moliere played in French, by a French troupe, whilst Candeille's own compatriots resident in England had given her but scant support.

One section of these--the aristocrats and emigres--looked upon the actress who was a friend of all the Jacobins in Paris as nothing better than canaille. They sedulously ignored her presence in this country, and snubbed her whenever they had an opportunity.

The other section--chiefly consisting of agents and spies of the Revolutionary Government--she would gladly have ignored. They had at first made a constant demand on her purse, her talents and her time: then she grew tired of them, and felt more and more chary of being identified with a set which was in such ill-odour with that very same jeunesse doree whom Candeille had desired to please.

In her own country she was and always had been a good republican:

同类推荐
  • 书法雅言

    书法雅言

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 醉古堂剑扫卷

    醉古堂剑扫卷

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 勿斋先生文集

    勿斋先生文集

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 症因脉治

    症因脉治

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 南华真经口义

    南华真经口义

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
热门推荐
  • 夫子请赐教

    夫子请赐教

    她是温十香,温太师府里的掌上明珠,自小过惯了衣来张口饭来伸手的生活,娇蛮任性却也心地善良,不认输,不服气,不听话。调皮捣蛋样样拿手,琴棋书画样样不会。打架斗殴酒醉,逃课踢馆全会。他叫百里辞,长安书院里的年轻夫子,勤俭节约,温文尔雅,谈笑间风流倜傥,吟词赋博学多才。不喝酒,不赌博,不逛青楼,却是心思缜密,腹黑难敌。本以为诗词歌赋仅会,又怎知骑射剑术乏味。品行样貌上等,文攻武略卓越。劣根学子遇上完美夫子,一二较量,三番比文,四回斗武,书院里乱作一堂。刁蛮千金对上一介布衣,五千白银遣之不走,六次上门告发恶行。罚跪下蹲日日不少,诗书礼乐慢慢调教。出师离书院,回首百里辞。教书教礼还教追男人,果真好夫子也!十香道:“夫子,请赐教!”情节一:某日,太阳当空照,花草点头笑。夫子白雪衣,十香挥墨毫:“上下四条脚,落地呱呱叫。一叫稻香早,再叫夫子笑。夫子,我这诗做得好不好?”夫子侧眉眼,斜目笑十香:“押韵,甚好!”转而低眉弄白衫,泼墨却难消,夫子蹙眉道:“此墨甚好,可持久用之。”十香气倒!情节二:小女子,动春心。夫子瞧破,上府门告知太师曰:“汝女初长成,暗动春心扰读书人之清静,请责之。”傍晚,十香回府。其父曰:“小小年纪,不知羞耻。罚女戒,抄三百。”自此,十香恨夫子。情节三:荏苒时光捎人醉,十香已至出阁时。大喜日,某夫子一身白衣上门。太师问:“夫子怎这般打扮过来?”夫子曰:“娶妻当娶贤,嫁夫当嫁穷。小生无财却多才,十香交予我,定然调教妥当,来年定赠太师外孙也!如何?”太师:“.”嫁衣脱身,凤冠弃地,十香转身唤家丁曰:“将此人拖出去,乱棍伺候之。”遂而,圣贤曰:切记,莫惹刁妇也。
  • 人生要找到踏实的感觉

    人生要找到踏实的感觉

    本书以“踏实的感觉”为主题,内容涉及为人处世、工作生活中如何施以包容的心态,获得快乐与幸福感,将各种故事与现实生活紧密衔接,给人以精神的享受和智慧的启迪。
  • 名侦探之胎死腹中

    名侦探之胎死腹中

    我从有意识以来就被困在那个人身体的角落里,我挣扎,我怒吼,我不甘,但这些根本没有人能够听见!我只能一天天的看着那个人生活,开心,大笑,我也想!如果能让我来到这个世界上,让我拥有这具身体一天,哪怕是哭,我也是开心的!
  • 鸭子呱呱叫

    鸭子呱呱叫

    李东文, 70后。1999年开始学习写作,以小说及情感专栏为主,曾在《天涯》《长城》《十月》《西湖》《长江文艺》等杂志发表小说,作品多次被《小说选刊》《中篇小说选刊》《读者》等转载。
  • 民国枭雄:杜月笙

    民国枭雄:杜月笙

    作者以杜月笙的生平为主线,查阅大量海内外档案、史料,真实再现杜月笙跌宕起伏、风云变幻的一生:一个来自乡下的孤儿,单枪匹马闯入上海滩,一路扶摇直上成为上海滩的黑帮大亨,而且将触角伸向金融、工业、新闻报业、教育等领域,成为当时上海滩的风云人物,与蒋介石称兄道弟,与宋子文交往甚密,与戴笠义结金兰……杜月笙说:“钱财用得完,交情吃不光。所以别人存钱,我存人情。”杜月笙就像一个五彩缤纷的多棱镜,稍微旋转一下,就能展示出截然不同的色彩。生意场上,他机灵诡诈;社交场上,他长袖善舞。
  • 回到北宋当驸马

    回到北宋当驸马

    北宋末年,天下承平已久。燕云之北,大辽。天祚帝耶律延禧好游猎、喜奢靡,不理国政。再北,女真。护步达冈之战已历3年,在完颜阿骨打猎猎大纛之下,女真人瞠目结舌的看着花花世界,垂涎欲滴。中原,江南。在艺术家皇帝徽宗赵佶的引领下,堆山造林、唱词吟曲。烈火油烹、繁花着锦的盛世之下,是数代先皇呕心沥血积攒的家当即将被挥霍一空。便在此时,一个叫燕青的投行大拿穿越时空,附身于大名府卢俊义家仆“燕青”之上。他原本只想活得像条咸鱼,抹上盐,风干了,挂在屋檐下,用呆滞无聊的眼神对整个世界翻白眼……怎奈徽宗的女儿,茂德帝姬赵福金,竟然与他的爱人长得一模一样。——该做些什么,才能抢走蔡京的儿媳,才能当驸马?
  • 风吹卧牛镇

    风吹卧牛镇

    冬月天,是裁缝铺子最忙的时节。哪天晚上要是深夜两点睡,徒弟们的嘴都笑歪了。快过年了,谁家不换一身新衣裳呐。娶媳妇嫁姑娘的人家,一身两身能打住嘛。再说忙了一年了,庄稼也收了,豆子青稞都粜了,猪也宰了,羊也卖了,手里才有余钱穿穿戴戴。卧牛镇的雪,从秋天就开始下了。到了冬天,雪厚得能埋掉牛。镇子上的人走雪路,叫插雪。人走在雪地里,像芨芨草棍儿似的,插出一溜儿脚踪来。衣裳也不叫衣裳,叫身明。新来的学徒唐女子,就是插了四十里山路的雪,在厚雪里戳了大半天时光,才到达三尺布裁缝铺里的。
  • 九元神途

    九元神途

    上古之时,天帝与众神大战,九元大陆的天道神器九元天道轮被毁,三万年之后,异数徐承降临九元大陆,同时众神后裔重返九元大陆……
  • 影视专业高考完全攻略

    影视专业高考完全攻略

    具体来说,艺术文化类专业包括编导、戏文、文管三大类,具体又分为广播电视编导、影视学、戏剧影视文学、影视编剧、公共事业管理、文化产业管理等专业。这些专业的考试内容一般包括文艺基础知识、面试、影视评论,此外编导类专业还包括影视基础知识、电视纪录片评论等内容,戏文类专业还包括叙事散文写作、戏剧故事写作等内容,文管类专业还包括文化热点分析、文化产业常识等内容。
  • 禁宫绾暒传

    禁宫绾暒传

    人生如一梦,荣华总是喜。浮生能有几,贫富一般穷。当我摇身一变成为伯爵之女,代姊入宫荣登君王妃嫔,卷入争斗之中弥足深陷,才明了命运再由不……情节虚构,切勿模仿。