It was very like Adrienne Lecouvreur to memorize only such poems as were mournful, just as in after life she could win success upon the stage only in tragic parts.  She would repeat with a sort of ecstasy the pathetic poems that were then admired; and she was soon able to give up her menial work, because many people asked her to their houses so that they could listen to the divinely beautiful voice charged with the emotion which was always at her command.

When she was thirteen her father moved to Paris, where she was placed at school—­a very humble school in a very humble quarter of the city.  Yet even there her genius showed itself at that early age.  A number of children and young people, probably influenced by Adrienne, formed themselves into a theatrical company from the pure love of acting.  A friendly grocer let them have an empty store-room for their performances, and in this store-room Adrienne Lecouvreur first acted in a tragedy by Corneille, assuming the part of leading woman.

Her genius for the stage was like the genius of Napoleon for war.  She had had no teaching.  She had never been inside of any theater; and yet she delivered the magnificent lines with all the power and fire and effectiveness of a most accomplished actress.  People thronged to see her and to feel the tempest of emotion which shook her as she sustained her part, which for the moment was as real to her as life itself.

At first only the people of the neighborhood knew anything about these amateur performances; but presently a lady of rank, one Mme. du Gue, came out of curiosity and was fascinated by the little actress.  Mme. du Gue offered the spacious courtyard of her own house, and fitted it with some of the appurtenances of a theater.  From that moment the fame of Adrienne spread throughout all Paris.  The courtyard was crowded by gentlemen and ladies, by people of distinction from the court, and at last even by actors and actresses from the Comedie Franchise.

It is, in fact, a remarkable tribute to Adrienne that in her thirteenth year she excited so much jealousy among the actors of the Comedie that they evoked the law against her.  Theaters required a royal license, and of course poor little Adrienne’s company had none.  Hence legal proceedings were begun, and the most famous actresses in Paris talked of having these clever children imprisoned!  Upon this the company sought the precincts of the Temple, where no legal warrant could be served without the express order of the king himself.

There for a time the performances still went on.  Finally, as the other children were not geniuses, but merely boys and girls in search of fun, the little company broke up.  Its success, however, had determined for ever the career of Adrienne.  With her beautiful face, her lithe and exquisite figure, her golden voice, and her instinctive art, it was plain enough that her future lay upon the stage; and so at fourteen or fifteen she began where most actresses leave off—­accomplished and attractive, and having had a practical training in her profession.