Madame Sontag, when she wished to interpret Gluck’s music, chose Delsarte for her teacher.  Rachel drew inspiration from his counsels, and he became her guardian of the sacred fire.  He was urgently solicited to appear with her at the Theatre-Francais, but religious scruples led him to refuse the finest offers.

Madame de Giradin (Delphine Gay), surnamed the Muse of her country, welcomed him gladly to her salon, then the rendezvous of the world of art and letters, and regretted not seeing him oftener.  He was more than once invited to the literary sessions of Juilly college, and, under the spell of his diction, the pupils became animated by a new ardor for study.

Monseigneur Sibour had great esteem and affection for Delsarte, and made him his frequent guest.  It was in the salon of this art-loving archbishop that Delsarte achieved one of his most brilliant triumphs.  All the notable men of science had gathered there, and the conversation took such a turn that Delsarte found opportunity to give, without offence, a challenge in these two lines of Racine: 

    L’onde approche, se brise, et vomit a nos yeux,
    Parmi des flots d’ecume, un monstre furieux.

    ("The wave draws near, it breaks, and casts before our eyes,
    Amid the floods of foam, a monster grim and dire.”)

“Please tell me the most emphatic and significant word here,” said Delsarte.

All reflected, sought out and then gave, each in turn, his chosen word.  Every word was selected save the conjunction et (and).  No one thought of that.

Delsarte then rose, and in a calm and modest, but triumphant tone, said:  “The significant, emphatic word is the only one which has escaped you.  It is the conjunction and, whose elliptic sense leaves us in apprehension of that which is about to happen.”  All owned themselves vanquished, and applauded the triumphant artist.

Donoso Cortes made Delsarte a chosen confidant of his ideas.  One day, when the great master of oratorical diction had recited to him the Dies Irae, the illustrious philosopher, in an access of religious emotion, begged that this hymn might be chanted at his funeral.  Delsarte promised it, and he kept his word.

When invited to the court of Louis Philippe, he replied:  “I am not a court buffoon.”  When a generous compensation was hinted at, he answered:  “I do not sell my loves.”  When it was urged that the occasion was a birth-day fete to be given his father by the Duke of Orleans, he accepted the invitation upon three conditions, thus stated by himself:  “1st.  I shall be the only singer; 2d.  I shall have no accompaniment but the opera chorus; 3d.  I shall receive no compensation.”  The conditions were assented to, and Delsarte surpassed himself.  The king paid him such marked attentions that M. Ingres felt constrained to say:  “One might declare in truth that it is Delsarte who is king of France.”