For an incredible time her success
is reported to have been something marvellous. But at last the
conviction was forced upon her that her facial glories had departed.
Yet her figure was still perfectly symmetrical, her grace and agility
were as supreme as they had ever been. She was sixty-four, when,
yielding to the urgent entreaties of her friends, she consented to
give a "very last" exhibition of her art. The performance was of a
most special kind. The curtain was so far lowered as to conceal
completely the head and shoulders of the dancer. "Il fut impossible
aux spectateurs," writes a biographer of the lady, "de voir autre que
le travail de ses jambes dont le temps avait respecte l'agilite et les
formes pures et delicates!"
By way of final word on the subject, it may be stated that making-up
is but a small portion of the histrionic art; and not, as some would
have it, the very be-all and end-all of acting. It is impossible not
to admire the ingenuity of modern face-painting upon the stage, and
the skill with which, in some cases, well-known personages have been
represented by actors of, in truth, totally different physical aspect;
but still there seems a likelihood of efforts of this kind being urged
beyond reasonable bounds.
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