st actresses of France. Born in Flanders in
1723, at a very early age she had wandered about the provinces, from
theatre to theatre, with itinerant troupes, winning a great reputation
at Rouen. In 1738 the leading actresses were Mlle. Quinault, who
had retired to enjoy her immense fortune in private life, and Mlle.
Dumesnil, the great _tragedienne_. When Mlle. Clairon received an
offer to play alternately with the favorite, Mlle. Dumesnil, she
selected as her opening part _Phedre_, the _role de triomphe_ of her
rival.

The appearance of a debutante was an event, and its announcement
brought out a large crowd; the presumption of a provincial artist
in selecting a role in which to rival a great favorite had excited
general ridicule, and an unusually large audience had assembled,
expecting to witness an ignominious failure. Mlle. Clairon's stately
figure, the dignity and grace of her carriage, "her finely chiselled
features, her noble brow, her air of command, her clear, deep,
impassioned voice," made an immediate impression upon the audience.
She was unanimously acknowledged as superior to Mlle. Dumesnil, and
the entire social and literary world hastened to do her homage.

Mlle. Clairon did as much for the theatre as did Adrienne Le Couvreur,
especially in discarding, in her _Phedre_, the plumes, spangles, the
panier, the frippery, which had been the customary equipments of that
role. She and Lecain, the prominent actor of the day, introduced the
custom of wearing the proper costume of the characters represented.
The grace and dignity of her stage presence caused her to be sought
by the great ladies, who took lessons in her famous courtesy _grande
reverence_, which was later supplanted by the courtesy of Mme. de
Pompadour.

Mlle. Clairon became the recipient of great favors and honors, her
most prominent slave being Marmontel, to whom she had given a room in
her hotel after Mme. Geoffrin had withdrawn from him the privilege of
occupying an apartment in her spacious establishment. She contributed
largely to the success of his plays, as well as to those of Voltaire,
whom she visited at Ferney, performing in his private theatre. Her
success was uninterrupted until she declined to play, in the _Siege de
Calais_, with an actor who had been guilty of dishonesty; she was then
thrown into prison, and refused to reappear. When about fifty years of
age she became the mistress of the Margrave of Ansbach, at whose court
she resid