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Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent 6tre filmds d des taux de reduction diffdrents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour dtre reproduit on un seul clich6, il est fllm6 d partir de I'angle sup6rieur gauche, de gauche d droite, et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images n^cessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mdthode. D 22>. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 Il ATJTHORIZZSD EDITION" OP THE LIFE •' SARAH BERNHARDT COIUTILBD fROJU THE MOST AUTHENTIC SOURCES. BY F. RIDGWAY GRIFFITH and A. J. MARRIN. I^I^ICE I^H^TEEniT OE1TT3. TORONTO : PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY W. G. GIBSON 26 CoLBoKNE Street. ^ P3 ^ r no. 0X.S9 '^m/* 1*1 ^"c:::/;'""" 8'"^^"'e... r,..„on.,„. ••"•' ((u Cdn.Kld v\>\*/.l '//./ ♦ V(\N Guia(ia I AUTHOKISHD FDlTfOX OF rm. UFE OF Sarah Bernhardt. ^ Bv i^ RIDGWAV GKIFFITH ,.„ A. J. MARRm, TOKO X T O • FUB,.,S«Hn «V W. O. GIBSON, .6 COLHOKX,, .TRHET. 1880. (I. 1 /; PREFACE. It has occurred to me that, in view of the extraordinary sensation created bj' Mile. Sarah Bernhardt whenever and uherever she has hitherto appeared, a sketch of her life would prove interesting to Americans, to whose judgment she will shortly appeal for a ratification of the unanimous verdict of enthusiastic approval passed upon her startlingly realistic impersonations by the patrons ot the stage in half tl e capitals of Europe. I am fully conscious of the crudeness of the sketch, but if I have succeeded in giving the reader an idea of the irresistible power, the strange fascination, and the innate inspiration that enables this remarkable woman to defy criti- cism, and carry her audience as it were out of themselves, to revel momentarily with her, if only as spectators, in scenes displaying the utmost height and the lowest depth of the purest as also of the vilest attributes of our nature, my primary object will have been attained. I must not omit to make my acknowledgments to Mr. Arthur J. Marrin, who has been of the greatest assistance to me in collecting the information and making the translations I have taken advantage of in compiling this brief sketch of the most gifted daughter of the Comedie Francaise. .. ,, F- RiDGWAV Griffith. New York, October i, 1880. CONTENTS. t i 12 CHAPTER I. Birth and Early Childhood-Roughing It-Sarah runs away from Home -An Encounter with the Police-Her Father Appears -Sent to a Convent— Repeated Sentences of Expulsion Passed on barah— Ihe Sisters Finding her Case Hopeless, She Selects the Stage as a Profession-Before the Jury of the Paris Conservatoire-Auber Favorably Impressed, Orders her Immediate Admission— Her Uebut at the Theatre Francais— Leaves the Francais in a Fit of Temper and Appears at the Odeon-Her Quarrel at the Odeon-She Flies from Paris-Returns, and Appears Unsuccessfully under an assumed Name at the Porte St. Martin— Second Appearance at the Odeon a Pronounced Success CHAPTER II. Sarah among the Wounded— Marie Roze and Sarah Bernhardt--Victor Hugo's Criticism-La FiUe de Roland-May and December-Her Magnetism— Sarah's Waywardness— Conquering her Critics— The Biter Bitten CHAPTER III. A Good Republican-Ideal Happiness-Sarah's Weird Beauty Described —Her Talent as a Sculptor— Midnight Modelling— Her Skill as a Musician— Her Ability as a Painter—" Les Fiancftilles de la Mort —Sleeping in a Coffin— A Spectral Room-mate 'd CHAPTER 'V. Mile. Bernhai^t as a Writer-A Specimc/, :' her Critical Ability-She Describes her Own Portrait-In Malt- ^tu.e-Sarah as an :Uchitect —Her Home in the Artists' Quarter— The Gorgeous Interior Descnb- ed— Eccentricities of her Dogs— Drawing-room or Studio ? i» CHAPTER V. Mile. Bernhardt's Industry-How she Spends her Days-Tete-a-tete with her Pet Skeleton—Her Extreme Delicacy of Constitution— Her own Idea ofthe Reason of her Success- -■' Quand Merae ! "— Hernani- At Dinner with Victor Hugo-Death Invades the Feast— She Quarrels with the Comedie Francais— Her Characteristic Resignation 22 CHAPTER VI. Monsieur Perrin-Sarah Closes her House at Paris-Sulkiug at Havre— TheGaulois Interviews Sarah— The Actress Indignant— "I will Never go Back while I live I "-An appeal to the Law-Monsieur Perrin s Demands-Her Advocate's Reply— The Judgment of the Court .... 26 1 1 CHAPTER VII. Mile. Bernhanlt in Englatul-Her First Appearance at the Gaiely-Air Instant ami Pronounced Success- Her 'lernble Realism as 1 hedre • — Rachel and Bernhardt Compared- -The English go Crazy over Sarah-She Performsat Lord Dudley s— Scandal among the Gossips —Sarah's Son— jokes on Mile. Hernhardt's lack of Embonpoint— Her I'ictures on Exhibition in Piccadilly- An Interview with the Hon. W. E. Gladstone J' CHAPTER VIII. Poets Indite Verses in her Honor- She again Becomes Capricious-Dis- appoints a Large Audience Assembled at the Gaiety-Offended by the Manner of Her Reception at the Mansion House— "AUrai-glit —Her Letter to the London ,S^i«(/.in/— Sarah again in I'avor— V Spiteful Act— Adrienne Lecouvreur— Another Brilliant Audience— The Prince and Princess of Wales Present— Congratulatory Letter from Mr. Gladstone -55 CAPTER IX. Mile. Bernhardfs Second Appearance-Though out of Favor, her Mag- nificent Impersonations Compel Enthusiastic Recognition-A I "^kl'sli Introduction-Ori to Amsterdam- Rapturous Reception in Holland —The MarseiUaiie-At Copenhagen-The King and Queen of Den- mark Attend every one ot her Performances- llie German Ambass- ador Proposes Sarahs Health at a Banquet-Her Scathing Rejoinder —Further Instances of her Petulancy 39 CHAPTER X. Mile. Bernhardfs Taste in Dress-Her Wardrobe Described-An Expen- sive outfit— Her Gorgeous Dressing-room at the Theatre Francais- Chef dCEuvres of Sculptors and Painters— A Riddle for Manager Abbey CH.\PTER XL Alfred De Mussel's Opinion of Rachel-His Criticism Equally Applicable to Sarah Bernhardt— Her Impersonation of the Wife in ''Chez L Ayo- cat." at the Francais-As Arcicie in ■ Phedre ' — Her Crowning Triumph as Phedre-A Terrible Climax-Her Pathos as Bertlie m •■LaFille de Madame Rolaml"— Ennobling an Authors Ted'ous Lines CHAPTER XII. Mille Bernhardfs Visit to America-Keen Cempetition Among Specula- tors to Secure her-Mr. Abbey's Princely Offer Finally Accepted- Mr. Schwab Proceeds to Paris ana Engages a Company to Support her— Particulars of her Tour in this Country 4« CHAPTER XIII. Pen and Ink Portraits of Sarah-A Bundle of Anecdotes-The Prince of Wales and Sarah Bernhardt— Sarah and the- Archbishop-( ham s Revenge— Hard on a Russian— Mysterious Modelling 5' t -4^ 45 Jl SARAH BERNHARDT. J5 39 42 43 48 51 CHAPTER I. H.Kn. AND HAK..V cn.rn.K-on-uouo,nNG n-.ABAH^<^NS AVV^V^^ HOME-AN ENCO-JNTEU WITH TlIK •''^"^'^-"'^" ™'- * , JsSED ON SENT TO A CONVENT-REl'EATKl) SENlENCEl* OF tM'l LSION 'ASS."U ON sicCESSFlI.LV UNDEK AN ASSl'MED NAME AT THE I'OU 1 E hi. MARTIN SECOND A.TEAKANCE AT THE OOKON A PKONOUNCEl. SUCCESS. ry^HE pen that shall do complete justice ^-/'^^.;;:;"^^^^"f "J 1 talent of Sarah Bernhanlt is st.ll uncut "" P ^^ ^^y^^ of a character .s so perfect, tlawless an. >]^ ?« "^f ^ '^l stereotyped analytical survey ot the keenest ol /-'•^tics He who has sat un.noved while witnessing the greatest ach eve ments in thp histrionic art oi the most gifted playcs ot the "a wo decades, finds himself carried ^^^^ay by the marve 1 us verisimilitude of this wonderful woman. M^dmoiselle Bern hardt has mastered the one secret ol the actor s ait, she tee s the character portrayed, while her rivals act the part. Herein lies the secret of her phenomenal success Parisians Sa-ali Bernhardt, who has by turns thrilled the i'a'-'sians wi?h her marvellous dramatic powers, ^tart ed them by her curious talent for painting, sculpture, and literature, and amused them by her eccentricities, of which very Munchausen- Hke tales are constantly being dished up for the delectation ot asclndal-loving public', is certainly the greatest raged enn^^ who has appeared on the boards of the Theatre l^ra"cais since the time ot" Rachel. Her recent visit to England was bril iantly successful, and it is predicted that her greatest tri- umphs are yet to be achieved in America. She ranKS toremo among the artists ol the Theatre Francais, who ho dm their profes^sion the same rank as the forty """^"'■^,J,^"^^^^^„d^te demie Francais hold in the scientific world, lo live and die Ill 8 LIFE or SARAH BERNHARDT. a member of this corps, as societaire of the Maison de Moliere IS their highest ambition, and it is needless to add that critics of all nations are unanimous in declaring them to be worthy of their laurels. but little is known of Sarah's early childhood. Of Jewish origin and Dutch nationality, she was one out of the eleven children of a wandering beauty of Israel. The future trage- dienne was born in Holland about thirty years since, on the road, her mother being at the moment of Sarah's nativity in the act of moving her Lares and Penates to fresh fields and pastures new. Possibly, the nomadic conditions under which as a puling infant, this strange woman drew her first breath! had an all-powerful influence on her after life. We have n» record of her childhood, but at the age of fourteen being, as she claims, irresistibly impelled, Sarah ran away with a Dutch friend of her own ago. The two girls were determined to go to Paris, and, having little money, undertook the journey by water. When they at length reached the French capital their slender resources were exhausted, and leaving an old trunk full of wood in the depot with the person who had greenly trusted in the weight of their baggage, the two friends left their hotel and took a walk in the Palais Royal. Overcome by fatigue they sat down, and were talking over their future pros- pects when the guardian of the chairs, who exacts a trifling fee from every occupant of these resting-places by the way, came up and demanded their soi's. The girls were penniless, and be- ing foreigners did not, perhaps, in stating their case, show suffi- cient respect for the petty official. Invectives in the Jewish and Dutch tongue, met by others no less forcible if more euphonious in pure Parisian slang, soon attracted idlers from the galleries ; gamins came to the rescue, and a sergeant-de-ville walked up.' The scene which followed was worthy of the theatre close by. The intervention of the official guard'ian of the peace resulted* in an adjournment to the nearest police quarters, when an explanation took place. It here became clear to M. le Com- missaire that something had to be done with the fugitives, especially as regarded Sarah's friend, who a month later added a unit to the tale of the chosen people. But to return to Sarah : How she escape ' from this very innocent scrape does not appear, but the well-authenticated fact that she had a father not wholly unmindful of his erratic daughter's interests, seems to throw some liglit on the denouement of her first in- terview with the police. He appears on the horizon of her .na;den life at a time when a protector was visibly indispen- sable, and being interested in his daughter's spiritual and tenporal welf-re, he (tut her in a convent near Versailles. LIFE OF SARAH BERNHARDT. '■ » The name of the place ^vas GranJchanip, and as this retired manner ol existence did not suit Saruii's roaming and vivacious Ssposition, the reader will not be astonished when intormed that her ways greatly shocked the nuns; and furthei, that she was afte I pttient" trial, expelled. But there was a loving- less about the girl, and she exhibited such sincere remorse ?or lie! numerous pecadiUoes that she was restored to the bosom of the flock. On four separate occasions was she ex- pelled trom the sisterhood, and each sentence ot banishment wa the occasion of a new and fervent return to strongei Tpplication. She was, m fact, a rough diamond, arc! as such tor a time defied all the efforts ot the polishers. Attei a time she learned all the lessons taught at Grandchajnp and it was thou-ht expedient that she should s.ek a prolession Her bad and good marks were respectively totted up, and the bul- letins on her conduct were collected, ^he sum in addi ion was not comforting. One prophetic ,u,. however, Penned ».y a conscientious nun, deserves mentu.n. It runs.- ^f^ ^ ^ ^ destined to become either a feartul suhjec ol scandal in this world or a tremendous light in the Church." The latter part of Xs prediction has not yet been verified ; as to the fornje the word scandal may imply worldly lame or it may no biU all oracles being veiled until facts are consummated, to he future may be left the decision as to its prophetic va ue. ^Yhen the "young lady was personally referred to, and asked what she wished to be, she replied, "An actress or a nun As nuns evidently did not run in the Bernhardt family, she was ai gh to ec'ite verse, and promised she would pursue her studies tt the Conservatoire, if admitted by the committee. In due course of time the day appointed for the trial of candi- dates before the jury of the Conservatoire arrived, barah, a dl pale girl with flashing eyes, stood up before an areopagus o crrtics,lith Auber in the centre. It ^vascustomary on sucu occasion; for would-be pupils to recite a tirade t/o^^^^^^^'lj^ or Racine, but the present candidate, unaware of this was un- prepared with anything of the kind. Fortunete y, however, sie^knew La Fontaine's "Two Pigeons," and this she pro- ceeded to recite. Scarcely had the lines, " Deux pigeons a'aimaient d'amour tendre, L'un deux, s'enuuyanl an logis," passed her lips, when Auber interposed. " Come here mo. enfant," said he, " I want to speak to you. ihe girl, with a degree of self-possession which brought a smile to the faces of ,the jurors, fearlessly approached the elevated platform. lo LII'E OF SARAH BERNHARDT. i i III 1 i !l \ \ (I i " What is yoiu" name, little girl ? " " Sarah Benihartlt." " Ah ! a Jewess ? " " By birth, oui, monsieur, but I have been trained as a Christian." " You recit'! very prettily, and will be admitted." She entered the Conservatoire in 1861, and was a pupil of the celebrated actor, Beauvallet. Mile. Bernhardt pursued her studies with such success that she gained tiie first prize lor tragedy, and was in consequence enUtled to a debut at the Theatre Francais. Thus did she pass at one bound from school to the lirst theatre in Europe. Her [phigenia — the cliaracter in which she made her debut— showed her to be an actress of rare promise, and tiie journals distinguished for knowledge of the theatrical art praised the performance with a significant warmth. This was deemed a sufficient reason for obstructing her progress, and at length, too ambitiou:, and spirited to endure unfair treatment, she left the theatre. She then went to the Gymnase, where it is stated, she made a com- plete fiasco. It was here she fell out with a rival, and rumor has it that the young interpreters of the immortal masters ex- clianged one or two slaps. However that may be, Sarah did not get parts at the Cyuinase, and, returning to the habits of her childhood, ran aw. y after the second night's representation. The discomfited actress wrote a farewell letter to the author, Labiche, with these concluding words: " Ayez pitie d'une pauvre petite toquee." She was waited for at the rehearsal, and, no one being ready to take her part at the performance, she was hunted tor all over Paris. The report then spread that she had fled either to America or Brussels. M. Montigney, the manager, fairly infuriated, declared he would never forgive her, and when the culprit came back to Paris he kept his word. To be in Paris and not belore the public was more than the aspiring actress could endure; she therefore took a false name,, and came out at the Porte St. Martin in a fiery piece, the Biclie-aitx-hois, but her success was but indifferent, and she became despondent. She went to the Odeon, which was at this time under the management of MM. Chilly and Duquesnel, and supervised ' y a lover of fine arts, Camille Doucet. To M. Duquesnel, she said, " I have been turned away everywhere; but try me; I assure you that there is something there," point- ing, not to her head but to her heart. M. Duquesnel greatly patronized Sarah, and sent her to M. Chilly, who, shrugging liib slioulders, said, " She will do only for tragedy." M. Du- quesnel was not of his partner's opinion, and asserting a right he owned, to select artists for the Odeon, he chose our wander- as a LIFE or SARAH BERNHARDT. 11 ot s^ ne bu w en Alexander Dumas entrusted to her the her individually with a perfect storm ot applause. CHAPTER II. i] I- f\ i bARAH AMONG THE WOUNDED-MARIE ROSi; AND SARAH m-RVHAHnr V, ■ TOR HUGOS CRITICISM -LA K.LLE DE ROLAND-MAV AN^tTcEMm' HER MAGNETISM-SARAH'S WAYWARDNESS -CONOUERlvrKK™^ THE iilTEK UITTEN. "• V,i^i-I<1AG Uhk CRITICS^ DURING the siege ol Paris, Mile. Bernhardt relinquished her engagement at the Odeon and hgured anion- the fore most of the heroic women who devoted all their means and en' erg.es to organizing relief for the sick and vvounded O o, e" uX' Mhr^Bern '"'A.''"," ''''''''''' '^'^^^^'^^ the amb^dan l,r .L; ■ ^^'"'^^.'■dt s charge a particular service, the popu- vTiich the7oll ''""'"'^ ^'""^ ,^^^™^ ^ characteristic lett^er^ot winch the following is a translation : w^nd^/^"^??"^^ ^^^'T = Tha^kt'hT-r ^iame'^°my woui ded ! If ever you have need oi me, count on mv truV gratitude. Your admirer, SarIh BehnhaSt/' Proving thus that she had a heart for sterner realities than hose the stage imitates, Mile. Bernhardt assisted teambu lances, and tendered her wounded countrymen wit iuiSL: care and lasting devotion until the close of the war Thef came the peace, and on February 2nd, 1872. the curtain rose again at the Odeon, on 7?,y, ^^^«^, with Sarah Bernhardt as the melancholy Queen of Spain. Her triumph was grand and se created a complete furor. Victor Hugo declared^that as Don S Maria she realized the type of wl,ich\e had drea.ned BeS long her fame was such that the Comedie Franca se threw open Its doors to her, and almost took her by toice from S Odeon. At first her success was comparatively slight a^ s e was unfortunate in the parts allotted to her ; and Ive'n now although France and England ring with herfime, she has had ewer original characters to create' than have fal en to the lot of far inferior actresses. But Mile. Bernhardt proved i sev eral of Racine's tragedies, that she alone of livFng French ar' t.stes was capable of wearing with grace the maftle t at fbli more than twenty years ago from the shoulders of Rachel A length in La //.//. ./. Roland, tho talented lady founra most congenial character, in which the charm of^her voi?e t"ie LIFE OF SARAH BERNHARDT. IS- bright intelligence of her diction, and her statuesque grace, had full opportunity for display. Her success was immense, and it sealed the futur'e of an author who had waited even longer than his interpreter for public recognition. No Englishman could have watched Mile. Bernhart, as La Fille de Roland winds her arms around the venerable form of Charlemagne without think- ing what an exquisite Cordelia she would make, and without regretting that Shakespeare is practically banished from the French stage. Her next tragic creation was that ol the blmd Postumia in Rowe Vaiiicuc ; and here again it washer remark- able impersonation that redeemed the dulness of a heavy tragcdv. Her part in the Etrangcre was a distinctly individual creatio'n, the actress completely merging her own individuaity in that of the character she inteipreted. The dif eient render- ings of the pieces she played at the Odeon, and later at the Francaise, have shown her in turn to be as great a tragaclimne as she is admitted to be finished as a comedienne. Notwith- standing her physical disabilities., her energy is prodigious. No rehersals can be too arduous ; so long as there is a liaw, her will compels every one playing with her to go over the ground again and again until she is satisfied. She is also in- defatigable. Her slight figure, her sunken eye, often reveal the painful results of over-exertion, but she exhibits an antique sort of grandeur in denying that any work can be .00 much tor her By the assiduous cultivation of her natural gifts she stands at the head of the French theatre, and has estalilished a right to be ranked on the same level as Desacillets, Champ- mesle Adrienne Lecouvreur, Dumcsnil, Clairon, and Rachel. Indeed it seems impossible that any actress could possess a more vivid and brilliant imagination, more exquisite sensibility, a keener perception of character, or a more powerful mastery of the resources of her art. That her physical powers are un- equal to one or two parts in which she has appeared is obvious enough, but even when she is at such a disadvantage, the glowing energy of her spirit carries the spectator out of him- self The effect of her eclairs of passion is simply electrical. Many stories are related of Sarah's peculiar characteristics. The following serve to illustrate her singular waywardness. Like other mortals, she has tasted the sweets of failure. Un a certain night— it was one of the three debut nights, which made matters worse— a gentleman had the bad taste and (one must add) the courage to hiss her sola. She " spotted Iiim, learned his address, and colled on him next day. Once alone with him, Mile. Bernhardt observed that she had always en- deavoured to do her duty as an artiste conscientiously ; that her chief wish was to please the public; that it was a source u LIFE OF SARAH BERNHARDT. of the deepest regret for her not to succeed in iier object ; and inally would Monsieur kindly point out her laults in detail' hat she might correct them ? . . . How Monsieur got hrough the interview is not known ; but this is certain that the poor wretch has ever since been among the most passion- ate ol Sarah s devotees. She dealt even more energetically witn the dramatic critics of the Uigare, who said that her hair was false and that her teeth were too brilliant to !)e real On the day after this ungallant critique appeared, tiiis theatrical scalper was surprised at his work by a lady who suddenly burst into the room and let down her hair in his presence beizing his hand, she made him clutch one of those luxuriant tresses, saying, - Is this real hair or not ?" " Yes, yes," stam- mered the Caul who was considerably and not unnaturally scared. 1 iien she caught his other hand, opened her mouth and made him touch her teeth. " Are these false teeth r she asked. '• No, no, they're the most beautiful set of real teeth '" the man almost whined. This luckless being has also been yoked ever since to her chariot-wlieels •ill (fit ject ; and, ' in detail, isieiir got tain, that ■t passion - :rgetically t her hail- real. On theatrical suddenl}' presence, luxuriant is," stam- naturally r mouth, th.?" she ^1 teeth ?" ilso been CHAl'TER 111. A OOOP RE.i:BL,CAN-mEM. HAP..NKSS -SAKAHS ^VK.K.> .^HAT'rV .,ESCR,BHJ> HEKTALFNT AS A«C(Ll'rOU-Mn..NlGHT MODELl.lNC.-HbK SKILL As A 7.S?C,AN -HEK ABILITV AH A HA.NTEK -" l.ES F.ANC ULLKS .E LA .N.ORT — SLEEPINO IN A COFFIN-A Sl'FXTRAL ROOM-MATE. MLLE BERNHARDT is a stanch Republican, and held receptions, when in Paris, at which the deputies of the Extreme Left were as free (and easy) as they were wel- come. She might have aspired to the position of a French Lady Palmerston, but for the circumstance that her dra%ying- rooni was frequented by members of the sterner sex alone. Women rule in France, but on certain coiiditions In spite of her Liberalism, Mile. Bernhardt thinks the hie of an English nobleman the ideal one for a man. "To be an Enghsh grand seigneur, with lots of money and Paris lor one's residence— can the human mind imagine any- thinsr more delightful ?" Possibly Mile. Bernhardt would be more difhcult to please in sketching out a feminine ideal : but wealth would certainly enter into it. She enjoys all that is pleasant and exc. ing in life, including champagne and trips m a balloon To sprinkle handfuls of sand on English tourists Irom the height of a thousand feet-this Mile. Sarah thought the acme o fun, but to chronicle the deed after in print was a most as jolly. The large painting by Clairin renders the nameless charm ot the woman better than any other. She sits on a couch, as she sits in the /■ ira^-^/-*^, an excessively frail but graceful shape, Its outline half lost, half revealed, between masses o drapery trailing far beyond her feet in statuesque folds. Abo^v^ /^ ^ thinnish face of intense power, with delicately-ciit .features framed, as it were, in a wild, luxuriant growth o J^air falling low on the forehead, and forming a depth of shade to enhance the brilliancy ot the eyes. You praise her because slie looks like a picture : you praise the picture because it looks like the life. For any attempt to describe the quality of her charm, grace must be the f^rst and last word-grace in ^|^^^'^"- ^^i^^^ in dress, in gesture, attitude, regard ; if still another word is wanted, distinction is the only one that can be found. J^ot content with the laarels she has gathered on the stage, Mile. Id LIFE OF SARA// BERSHARDT. \ 11 I IS Bernhardt has pursncl other walks of art with remarkable sue cess M Sarcey, the celebrated critic of the T^mM a wnrm admirer of Sarah, informs ns how she became .'17 In .S69. when Rny Bias, thanks to the ulnS .'ac^t" s's'"e"^ joyec such prolonged success, M. Matthieu-Mei.snier h ducTd Sar^h to pose to him tor a bust representin.. her as DcTnna Maria de NeubourK, a character ,n the play. She consented. Wh e posing ,n the artists studio. Sarali attentively watched le process, and criticized the result in the free, ii.dq en ent wav 90 characteristic of her. Her suggestions 'and rlma k 'were so just and appropriate that the sculptor said to her " Y- wo" d ITav^ deferred to the morrow tue preliminary trial. Not so S;,rT At the fall of the curtain the actress, casting aside hastify he; diadem and roya mantle, hurried home. It was one o'clock in the morning when she entered. An hour's preparation and all IS ready. Sarah is about to make her debut in the new at when she discovers, to her consternation, that a most impor ant Item IS lacking-vi... a model. She hesitates a moment then smiles triumphant. Ah. Aunt Brucke ! just thTt^ini' Poor Aun Brucke. wrapped in sweet sleep, was unceremon!: ously awakened by her imperious niece and bidden "o sit as a model. Disagreeable, indeed; but how could she refuse the caprice of her spoiled child! Aunt Brucke surrendered and Sarah took her initiatory step in sculpturing. The youne nc tress became an enthusiastic votary of that" art. and her fir^t serious work in this direction-a marble bust ^f a girlLw^s exhibited in the Sa on of 1873. Another bust exlSbi ed in I875, attracting much attention, was that of her younger s ster Regina who died at the age of eighteen. In the .Saloon of 876 she had several exh,bits--a bust of Mme. Baretta and a no her of Mme. Moulton But it was not until Mile. Bernhard" nro duced an admirab e marble group, '< Apres la Tempete," t^hat her talent as a sculptress was fully apparent. The sub ect is maternal grief. An aged woman, bereft of reason by " Su lated misfortunes, IS represented with the corpse of her adoTed son lying across her knees. She is gazing on her only child refusing to be leve that he is dead, yet with\ glimmering con! sciousness of the truth expressed in her withered ^acc Th^ t, oup IS pathetic in the highest degree, and received the approbation of, and a special mention by the jury. The figure •f the old woman :s an altered portrait of the actress When irkable suc- ^.', a warm sculptress, ctress, en- ier induced Jnna Maria ed. While atclied the ndeiit way larks were lier, " You >uld study ia. " You ay." She lust go to ould have so Sarah, astily her le o'clock ation, and 2 new art, St impor- moment, he thing, ceremoni- sit as a refuse the tired, and 'oung ac- her first girl— was libited in ger sister >n of I S 76 i another ^rdt pro- ne," that ubject is accumu- 2r adored ily child, ring con- c. The ived the he figure When LIFE OF SARAH BERNHARDT. 17 Sarah executed this work of art she looked at herself in a mir- ror, wrinkled her forehead and temples in such a manner that persons calling on her were momentarily deceived as she assumed the aspect of decrepitude. I„ jSycj she o.xhibted a remarkable bust of Emile de Girardin ; and she completed about this time also a colossal statue destined for the facade of the theatre at Monaco. Nor d< es this female Admirable Cnchton stop here. Not content with the triumphs acnuired m the above-mentioned walks of art. the iiulefatigable Sarah wL,?'!n n/'T'' '° ^""."^'T '''''''y '"^''' proficiency in music. W lien in the humor she has given some delightful musical soi- rees at her villa. She excels on the piano and harp (the latter being her favorite instrument, symbolic of her Jewish lineage) Nor IS she a stranger to the palette and brush, as attested bv her numerous collection of works exhibited in London. One of these IS a very striking picture of Medea slaying her child- ren. At another time, in her leisure moments she dashed off Two'ofief P-^^f °f - y.°""g lady staying in her house Iwo other remarkable paintings from her hand are the de la Mor^ °''*' '"^.-^ companion-piece, '• Les Fiancailles iithn^lnJ: /^P'"^«^"t.ng a young girl " en toilette blanche " with orange-flowers, prepared to go to the altar, and to the figure of Death which lurks behind it. In her choice of sub jects Sarah's taste leans toward the sombre in art Indeed they are typical of the melancholy that often overshadows ge-' nu s. This spirit of sadness is especially noticeable at times in the gifted actress, and has given rise to many absurd stores concerning her. It was stated and believed that she habi^ial ly slept in her coffin. True, she had the fancy o having her coffin always near her. and actually did sleep in it once but as she af erwards averred, she found a bed infinkely 'more comfortable. . But this constant companionship with the "dea of death did not seem to cast a shadow over her gaieVy and perhaps many will agree with her that familiarity wUh the in ev.table is preferable to a craven fear of the future. Uwas said she hked to play at croquet with skulls, but t h ^ stor^ not very well authenticated ; but this is certain, that the ske t'ha't otMlle'Ni" -,--V household occupies a po'st of honor Tn that of Mile Bernhardt. Hers is the skeleton of a man who destroyed himself on account of a disappointment in love His bony arms embrace the cheval-glass in her bedroom and when she studies a new part she makes this gaunrdumb C^ Th ''•^^ ''" ".anuscript of her part in^his fie Tss hand. This is one of the eccentricities of genius. "^'"'^^^ CHAPTER IV. MLLE. HERNHARDT AS A WRITER— A SPECIMEN OF HER CRITICAL ABILITV— SHE DESCRIBES HER OWN PORTRAIT— IN MALE ATTIRE— SARAH AS AN ARCHITECT— HKR HOME IN THE ARTISTS' QUARTER— THE GORGEOUS INTERIOR DESCRIHED— ECCENTRICITIES OF HER HOGS— DRAWING-KOOM OR STUDIO ? (1 WL have now to consider Mile. Bernhardt in a new role, that of a "litterateur." Her first attempt was a humorous pamphlet written in 1879, and entitled " Dans les Nuages," the adventures of a chair in the monster balloon. While in London she wrote a series of notes on England for a Pans journal. With her usual energy she took up her new pursuit with ardor, writing a series ol tourist sketches for another newspaper, and finally launched into criticism, assum- ing the position of Salon art critic for the Paris Globe, a fact which aroused no small covert jealousy in French literary circles. The strange mistrust that is almost universally enter- tained of those who excel in more than one branch of art received a striking illustration in the attacks made on M'le. Bernhardt. iJad she been content with her stage triumphs she would have been everywhere gladly accepted as the great- est of living tragic artists. But from the moment that "she claimed the admiration of the public for her fine group of sculpture at the Salon, and developed her later talents, she began to excite the jealousy both of her histrionic -playmates and of the artist whose priviliged province she had dared to invade. The Parisian papers teemed with venomous little paragraphs in deprecation of her rare gifts. These had their inevitable effect, and her enemies were on the lookout for eccentricities at which they could carp. There is naturally some curiosity to see how this wonderful woman will succeed in the field of journalism, since she has pursued with so much success all other branches of art. The following critique of the Pans Salon of 1880 gives an idea of her style. It opens as follows : " ' Criticism is easy and art is difficult,' says a verse of Destouches which has often been attributed to Boileau. Well— shade of the poet pardon me !— criticism is not at all easy. Nothing, indeed, is so disconcerting as the general aspect of a picture-gallery while the eye ranges over LIFE OF SARAH BERNHARDT: 19 :al ability — sarah as an flE GOKCiliOUS 3RAWING-K00M a new role, mpt was a " Dans les ;er balloon, igland for a up her new ketches for sm, assum- rlobe, a fact ch literary sally enter- mch of art ie on M'le. s triumphs 3 the graat- nt that she e group of :alents, she ■playmates d dared to mous little e had their lookout for s naturally all succeed ;h so much critique of It opens lit,' says a ■ibuted to ;riticisni is ting as the anges over good and bad paintings. Very fortunately for the amateur, after a few minutes the beautiful paintings stand out bright and encouraging. But the miserable daubs which are all around demand attention, fatiguing by their ever-increasing number, ending by irritating the nervous system. One is tempted to be severe without thinking that hard work, and perhaps talent, are sometimes necessary to make even a poor picture. Then one must appeal to the administration and to the judges (of the Salon). They are really culpable to encour- age such efforts. The Salon is not a school, but a theatre. The artists are responsible for their acts, and the public are admitted to pass judgment on them. . . . There are in the Salon fifteen hundred canvases too many. Art should be elevated, not broadened." Her description of a portrait by the artist whose portrait of Modjeska attracted so much attention is interesting and vivid ; " Here is a portrait of Madame the Countess V., by Carolus Duran. It is superb. The head, with a slight smile on the face, and with yellow hair, stands out upon a russet back- ground, calm and lightly poised. This background is a ' tour- deforce.' The long and slender hand plays with an eye-glass. A yellow rose relieves the delicate tone of the flesh. The white satin dress is a marvel of execution, especially in the shadows of the skirt. A large fur cloak thrown back on the shoulders, and treated with a master hand, completes this admirable portrait." The conscious vanity with which she refers to her own por- trait is pardonable. " This young painter (Bastien Lepage) displays another very interesting picture. U is the portrait of a well-known actress. She is shown in profile, seated, erect and rapt in contemplation before a small statuette of Orpheus. This portrait is an exquisite maivel. The lustrous and deli- cate flesh and the red hair are a prodigy of execution. The white dress is in relief on the white background. A white fur cloak with gray shadows completes this harmonious ensemble. The hands are made of nothing — they are everything." Whether Mile. Bernhardt be a thoroughly competent critic or not, she shows the incisive familiarity with art »vhich we might expect from her character and her own efforts; and the following, although subjectively rather than objectively critical, reveals the innate artist nature, which enables her to appreciate all that is good and artistic, and to condemn every- thing which 13 unworthy : ^ " Painting is idealization, not realism. It is indifferent to me whether the artist shows me a tree with all its leaves, and moss with all its spears. It is necessary, above all, that he LIFE ^,F '^ARAH BERNHARDT. d^ipaw^r""'^^^ *° '"^ ^^^ mipress, n which his subject It wULbe i?*«n from these extracts that Aflle, Bernhardt is an entertam.ng nt.c, as she is interesting in all she does and ascmafng uj her personality. Everything that she Shes rom the needle to the chi.nel and the ffen, becomes imbued as t were w.th her singular an.l charming individuality, and she ps ightly from one subject to another in her critic: 'm with a^i like antitheses,' or somr equally self-conscious r*.mark Her etters from England to Paris journals were read with avidity, and possessed no little charm! Those acimit ed oTe acquaintance have reason to laugh at the stones of her emplov ing others to do the work which goes forth to the world" her name ; for all her work is done more or less in public Her studio ,s generally filled with friends, an.l it is in thdr resen4 and m the midst of bright conversation, that she pints he,' pictures and moulds the clay into shapes that will live when tne fair sculptress ,s no more. She wears male attire for convenience when employed on some colossal statue such as that which has been set up in Monaco ; but when she k working on a bust she receives her visitors in ordinary attire ,n the superb studio which is ail that an artist can desire. The consummate actress is best seen in the naave elegance of the daughter of Judah, when she neither acts or drLms of her profession Al her gestures are simple and perfect. She is folded m her skirts, not dressed. Her great hobby was the building of a lovely home, and as long" as that lastS she turned architect, and fascinated 'her bricklayers with as much ardor as If they were her Tuesday night^dmirers at the Theatre Franca.s. Enter the house, and you would say at once jt was the home of an artist. It is in the artists^uar er They dwell ,n sky-parlors at Batignolles or in the Pays Latin while Ihcy are learning how to make their forfunesf and S Vilas bordering the Pare Monceau when they have learned that oftimes arduous lesson. The streets are named after great workers with the brush, living or dead : one of tienf for instance bears the name of Fortuny ; ana it is at the con er R.r 5" 5m' ^"'•^'''"y ^"d the Avenue de Villiers that Sa"al ?.Tf r?' '17?/ '" ^ .^^"'^ ^"''t ^"-""^ ^'^' «^vn designs. Uis half studio half mansion. The drawing-room window ,s lame enough to 111 limine a cathedral, and thire is as mucirsLVS as roof 1. ^.s the same character within as without- the dwelling, one -..^hr think, of some fertile genius of the pencU whose idea« -IV. " ,. if> < -r-i ,, 1 s' ii •■ 'c pcjicu, „,,,, . ■ •- ^ ^c c-.rvd5 and Lnc ateher to spread over all the premise., oe liai; ^. frescoed with paintings of Chinese life, and two T..ag.- :,^,..s join hands above the door of the t LIFE or SARAH BERSHARDT. ill drawiiif,'-rooni. The ante-cliaiiiber is as a sectii n ot sketches in a piil)lic gallery, with thiH difference, that it also contains an ininuMise painting ot the hostess in riding costnme, by Mile. Abenia, which is a finished work ot art. Witii all this there are many things to remind you tiiat you are in a home, and not in a nuistum : ibo solid, comfortable tapestries ot walls and ceiling, 0'.'d, abuve all, the trequent intrusion of one or other of hilf a 'Core of big dogH— Russian greyhounds, looking like " Irishmen " of the same breed in light ulsters — and now and then a beautiful poodle. These come in and out, examine you, lake back their reports, return tor further particulars, and at last range themselves in order of procession at your heels when you enter tiie drawing-room. ]}ut is it a drawing-room, or is it a studio? Here there is more room than ever for confusion of idea. It is very broad, very lofty, lit both by the cathedral- window aforesaid and by a starlight — in consequence a studio. It is tapestried in velvet — a drawing-roofn, then. It contains easels, unfinished pictures, busts in thj rough— studio. Dain- tily-fiuisheJ chairs— /ante nils, satin couches — drawing-room ; vases big as sentry-boxes, which may have come direct from the sale o* the furniture and effects ot the leader of the Forty Thieves — drawing-room again, if you like, but a drawing-room of Brobdignag. And to add to the variety of effects, towering tropical plants, and a fireplace worthy, in breadth and depth, of the kitchen at Windsor Castle. In truth, it is the home at once of an amatuer of pictorial art and of the greatest living actress. It is just because Mile. Bernhardt is at the pinnacle of her glory in one pursuit that she surrounded herself by so much that shows a taste for another. She has won all that is to be won on the stage, and her quick, ambitious spirit, to which rest is but a form of death, is moving to fresh conquests in another dopiain. li I rii CHAPTER V. MLLE. BERNHARDT'S INDUSTRY— HOW SHF apuvnc „,-„ RESIGNATION. >.u-ituil. FRANCAISE— HER CHARACTER' TIC A THOROUGH hard .vorker, Mile. Bernhardt rises at , eight, goes at once to her studio, wliere slie i^iakes h^r fnlL?,"?"^""?"""' '"""' '""'"■ and receives v,s,t" tan her ntiraate riends, painting and modelling meanwhile Ah .r ,n her s.ndio hy the H^h 'of^lSnlSc? i.'goLl-o^vt; pftifrn?:cTs-;',l;!;ftt.^^t^;re:si'- Sr,ls;St-T^----;4.1^r:3.g th^ wn,- 1 I ■ . '^°'''^, ^''''* ''™^ "P tier theory in life is wii l Jav^S Ic T . "Represent things as you see them " v^drpe^u, wnich has all the animat on of life • f^vr^^ tl-.af -^^ fondl '•,:';' =• /'""=-. °f '"•"«., expression^'^^a Ys'n":' ■"it .s Tasv to ■ av tT,K "^T"""' "'" ""^ '"•■■'"■''■■ "^ ""= """".a XL lb edsy to say tins, she goes on • "hnrH t,^ r\r^ if d i IS i ^l,n,>W 1-.. ■'^.■'"'6? "onjour! in a modern comedy ust ^of "prhrsiVirthtt^ry-^wh,/ ^ca^ib was the classtclradition, dating perLps fr^m the tbumlalion LIFE OF SARAH BERNHARDT. 23 of the house. They wanted more dignity ; that is to say, more deliberation, solemnity, the pomp of the ancient manner. It was so all through. I dressed for my parts according to my notions, solely with an eye to my personal advantages and defects. It was wrong. Why, again ? Because Mile. Mars had not dressed so. But Mile. Mars was almost an old woman when she appeared in that character, and I am a young one. That is no reason. It shall be reason enough. Now if you know the stage as I know it, you will see where is the need of my iron will. I insist ; but my work is only half done. There is the public likewise under the same absurd prepossession. Things were not done like that in our day. Probably ; but the world has changed, and what I am trying to show you is human nature as it has shown itself to me. Flumor them, conform to the tradition, and you may win so)ne admiration. Dare to disregard it, and bear the chill of their temporary dis- favor, and you will win all. It is the shorter il it is the harder road. To have made concessions in the hope of slowly re- volutionizing their tastes would have been to take the longer one, and I really had no time for that. I wanted to arrive. My life has been a struggle — a struggle to have my own way, where I felt I was in the right; and still I am only half satis- fied. I have never yet had what I could call a part, a character that I could make mine. I think tiiat I shall find it in Shake- speare.* These sentiments afford a good insight into the actress's character. Anything suited her if it only involved a departure from the usages of her sex, the ways of common life. The truth is, she was sowing the wild oats of genius in a sort of extravagant as- sertion of her own individuality. She would live after her own plan, but she sometimes made the mistake of thinking that she could know it for her own only when it was unlike the plan of everybody else. She had definite views as to the way of becoming a great actress ; half of them were wrong, and they cost her many a humiliation ; but half of them were right, and they served to assure her success. She won only by being ^-esolutely true to all in turn, until she had tested their value — by allowing no one to step between her and her idea. She would ARRIVE, whatever happened, and a<' a sign of her determination adopted her appropriate device, '' Quand Meme." Her vagaries and eccentricities were but will play- ing the fool in its plenitude of strength. In He e yuan I, the production o f Victor II u r-hppr-n i ,' , '''^'^ ""^ b^^" as pener4 ready, though at'"i: 1^; ;"^^ho;?^;,:-;^^/--'/ for a postponement. He at once consentJi'o tl post^te' LIFE OF SARAH BERNHARDT. 27 ment until he heard that at Emile Augier's own request she had consented to play on the appointed night. Emile Augier confirmed all this. Sarah, he said, had consented not only to play, but had played with her usual success. When he went into the room behind the scenes, after the fall of the curtain, he tound her surrounded by a Battering group, who were no less satisfied witli her than she was satisfied with herself. " It was the unhappy criticism of the next morning," M. Augier added, " which has changed tliis happy state of things. It is all the fault of the critics. Hitherto they have treated her as a spoiled child. These ungrateful Athenians are beginning to weary et her success, but she at any rate will never be the woman to write like Aristides her own name on tlie shell. She would rather write yours (M. Perrin's), and it is very natural we must admit. Let us then be indulgent for this outburst of a pretty woman, who practises so many different arts with an equal superiority, and let us preserve our severities for artists less universal and less serious." The publication of these letters in the journals was accom- panied by an editorial note from M. Vitu, the offending critic. M. Vitu felt compelled to defend himself. The judge had in a twinkling, and by a mere stroke of Sarah's pen, become a pris- oner pleading from the dock. He persisted in his assertion and had nothing to retract. The popular verdict was against Sarah. It was asserted that her object in making the disturbance was to make the most abroad of her ability and reputation and be perfectly free in her movements. Her triumphal visit to Hol- land in the preceding Easter showed the enthusiasm and profits she might command as compared with the meagre advantages offered by the Theatre Frdncais even to its best actors. It was the greed for gain, not a just cause of grievance, that drove her to this action. The next step at the Comedie Francaise was more serious. M. Perrin convened tiie judicipl council of the society to con- sider how a remedy was to be found at law. While the com- mittee was sitting, an interviewer of the Gauluis was speeding down to Havre by express train. He found the irate genius looking out upon the sea from her balcony. She was in a white peignoir and the sea breeze was her coiffeur for that morning. She probably had enough of the sea, for she was very delighted to see the interviewer. She showed him a big bundle of letters from all parts of France, and from all kinds of people, offering her al! sorts of advice, enrourngement and sympathy. Direc- tors of theatres were among them, hoping to snap her up for their companies. She knew why the interviewer had come, and like a business v/oman plunged at once into a grand dis- cussion. M. Perrin's denial was not true. It was false, false. 28 LIFE OF SARAH BERNHARDT. m ^^;^nJ^'li:^^,:S^^\^^^ ^-^ -biected her to scwJpture. He was always worHn "^f '" Pointing and 1" to him to think tha X nSinf '"'/ ''"i ^' ^^^^ '^^te extra by playing m England dm- /h'" '] ^f'' *''""^^"d francs tlie first tnne she had told hm a tH ^f^J^y^- It was not scene with him the other dn 1 ^\ ^''^ '^''^^^ ^ad a yiolent ta k oi his giving u.1i';l^^'„:^i„7^-',/j-t there was some n^ake her apologise for it. She wmdd r^ ^ 'f^^^'' ''''''^^^ *" But you are going back aUerX ' J n '^ '°'" '" P'^^^s. interviewer. " Never, understand ml n "^ the matter-of-fact go back while Hive." ' ISousl ? ■''' 'c"'^"'' ' ^ will never ha es me, and so I shall leaye the 'iomed"^""""'^^' ^'^- P^'"^'" I «hal have to pay for breaklnf niv T ^^ '-'-incaise. I know sary, I will sell my hotel mv^! T engagement, but if neces- that I had built iJr i'^^lf ay^^f J, f ^ '^^^ |--e in P^s house IS open to them and ?hey cln^n ^^°^ ^''^^ '"^^ter the hey hke." The interviewer a^liul" 1°/" .^"^ ^^'^^ ^t once ,f hnie Ignorance of legal prSureinf ?.°^^^^ by this sub- hardly seize until the afflir h J?' '"^°™^d her that they could " Well,- said she, . I Shan d.f^"!!' ^'^^^^^ ''^^^^^ the court to reduce the damages They '^In/^^'^f ' °^.<="»'-«e. and try cording to the money I receiye Tt hi r. ° ^'^'"'^^^ ^^em ac- that you know was not nuichlonlvlh ^'Z,'" F^ancais, and year. It is all very well for neonl/J^'*-'' ^^ousand francs a who are willing to nlav wh/n^M ^ "^''^ '^'''"^ to play forever are forty and wlien ufey I e fif ^h T l^'"'^ ^"^ when they y wish to grow gray in^ the theaire n^^'" °"" ^°^^ ""^ ^'^act^ carve statu^er.nd to pat "Tt f '^^ ' ^^^ ^--ed to - in tl..y thousand^^::;s ^Z^'l ^^ ^^^^ ' ' Sh,' asTor'that T ^T^^-'' *« England ..- the other: whf,: V rterf-;^/^- under engagement, and injured if I draw back. That wi n 1 '" V"' ^'^^ ^^ ««"0"siy '^" TkeVlT ' ^''' ' ^^^ ?he7u'tr--^^'"P^'^"- ^- with innL'eUfo dSlfr's "^ ^° ^"""^^ ^« ^^^^ ^ Path strewn '' No, I tell you I shall nJay nowh-- • f • t^ . Such undoubtedly was SnLhv 7 ""^ '" England." overcome by Manager rbbeJ^pd/cdyoffeT""' ''' '' "^'^ LIFE OF SARAH BERNHARDT. 2» In the meantime the awful Judicial council had held its,» sitting. Two questions were put before it. Should Mile. Sarah Bernhardt be compelled to return to the Comedie Fran- caise or should she bejsued for damages. The first was soon found to be not worth consideration, as about the only means of making her come back would have been to force her on the stage between two gendarmes. The second course was de- cided on, and Mile. Favart was appointed to her vacant posi- tion. The case was tried in the first chamber of the Civil Tribunal of the Seine. Mile. Bernhardt was not present, she having in the meanwhile gone to London to fill her engage- ment. Maitre Allon appeared for the Comedie Francaise. and Maitre Barboux for the defendant. Maitre Allon, who spoke first, explained the three points in the demand of his client. " M. Perrin demands (i) the forfeiture by Mile. Sarah Bernhardt of her rights as societaire of the Comedie Francais ; (2) the seizure of the forty and odd thousand francs forming the reserve fund left at the theatre by the fugitive artist ; (3) three hundred thousand francs damages." Maitre Allon ar- gued that never was a demand better justified. He reminded the court of the circumstance in which Mile. Sarah left the Comedie, to which she was bound by a treaty for twenty years, and how on the day after the revival oi VAvcHturiere, she took as a pretext the criticisms of the press to send in her resigna- tion. "Several excuses," he said, " have been offered for the actress ; no excuse is good. The truth is that Mile. Bernhardt has engagements elsewhere and a great need of money. Her value as an artist, her elegance as a woman, her talents as a sculptor, almost as a litterateur, had seduced the English pub- lic ; she received brilliant offers for the following season, and she accepted them. It is true that she forgot to speak of that new engagement to M. Perrin, and to ask of him the indispen- sable authorization. The administrator of the Comedie Fran- caise waited a whole year for the confession of his peusionitaire. She took care to say nothing to him, but at the first pretext she was gone. It is thus that Mile. Sarah Bernhardt gave up the envied position oi societaire of the first dramatic scene of France, and the thirty thousand francs of income which that situation assured her. To the delicate applause of the Pari- sians she has preferred the vulgar curiosity of which she is the object abroad- A positive and calculating woman, although she poses for being capricious, she has just signed a new treaty with an American Barnum. She will he exhibited all over America. She will have twenty-five hundred francs a night; the third of the gross receipts up to fifteen thousand francs ; fifteen hundred francs for her lodging and that of her three 80 UFF. OF SARAH BERNHARDT. ^ chambermaids. Ah ! centlempn fi,.f ■ toquce (the poor crazy crea nrerw , !' T '°"^"'' ''^« /'««'"'^ biche for a siniilar escapade ' .In" ^^'^'^^P^'-don of Mr. La- ness. dazzled by go 5? who has o d T ''" T'"^" '^^ l^"^'" ''But/'continued Ma treAlkm. their T' '" ^'^^ ^evil !" -it is the dethroncme.ft vS, J f ^'^^^tisement will come talent. Mile. Sarah S'rnhardt.r^ .'°^^^ '^V^'*^ *'^'^ ^reat quitted what, at the Co^'/edieF^^^^ be pun.shed for having 'La Maison.' Over the.^m^ ?''''!' '•' '^^^ play surrounded by 'ners"a?d!f"'^'n" ^'"^'"'^^' ^^'^ ^^ill She can carry away ^ e, artfst . '!'' ""^ ^'^ understood, cargo; if her "VS increase heVT""' -l'^ ^" ^"^"^ic she not already as ,t werr:"^d:cla:see "'"" "'^ '^^''"" ^^ askJdr rLtTwas"t,d taSi^""' ^''-^ M. Perrin formerly been dln^nded o ifchd and°n^ '"1" '^^'^''' ^'^^ point oi M. Perrin-s demand he r fin /^ "Pr*"* "^^''^ third Plessy, who had been c" ,1 ^^ „ *j!^^^^^^^ A-ould- francs damages in similar crcumstan^ces ""^'"'^ '^^°"^^"d atttnTp^'to^^^tHy^^ifclie^^^^^ d.d not extenuating^ circ'umstanc ' S He SU^.i* '' ^'l"^'"^^ entered the ComedieFrancaiseinT«..?'^f' ^'^ ^^'f'' ^ad sand francs She became a ?,.! J ^S /atlf^^ °'"-^ ^'^°"- During eight years she received fronr the ro.nH'" '" '^77- francs and two centimes Dnnna Vi? <-omedie 179,230 revived thirty ^o/... iSitre Ba bo i ^""T ''^" ^'"^^t^d or one point of 'his speech? He connw^^^^^^ ^' creation of Shakes >eare ^^A aI^]^\ '^'^ ^''^"* *o an airy Hacine. He pleaXd d^^t shf ^^s -11 "'i '"' '''' '^^."^^ter Jf she ran off; that she had been sno led T\ '^^'^'•^^"^ked when applause of the public • tl af at^l l r .^^'"''^''^'^ ^^ ^he replaced with advantage ami that . . ^°'"^2^'^ «he had been by having abandoned^ t'he tale of th? Tlf"r"'i^ ^""'^hed rivals. The claims of M. Pen in he H.n!. ^^^'"'^ ^rancais to The judgment of the cou va ihTut n ^?^bitant. sentenced to pay a f^ne of twonn- fi , f " Bernhardt be She, moreover, fost the eigh t lousan°rH'".f ^"""'"^ ""''^ ^°^t«- credit in the reserve Lnfof the Cn A^^^'J ''^"^'"^ ^o her the right and title to a pension Th,^'^' Jrancaise, as also has never yet been ascrrtamed tS Sa'atLs'' 'T'' Y '' twenty thousand dollars damages ^? ^ produced the far from the delicate applause of" Pa^\ Tf '^'"^ '" ^"^^^"d, substantial harvest of f ondon g Id ' "'^^'"^ ^^'^ '"°^« » X CHAPTER VII. MLLE. BERNHARDT IN ENal-AND — HER FIRST APPEARANCE AT THE GAIETY — AN INSTANT AND PRONOUNCED SUCCESS— HER TERRIBLE REALISM AS " I'HEDRE ''—RACHEL AND HERNiIARDT COMPAREIJ — THE ENGLISH GO CRAZY OVER SARAH — SHE PERFORMS AT I,ORD DUDLEY'S - SCANDAL AMONG THE GOSSIPS — SARAH's SON — JOKES ON MLLE. BERNIIARDT's LACK OF EMBONPOINT— HER PICTURES CiN EXHIBITION IN PICCADILLY — AN IN- TERVIEW WITH THE HON. W. E. GLADSTONE. MLLE. SARAH BERNHARDT made her first appear- in London at the Gaiety Theatre, under the manape- meiU ol Mr. John Hollingshead, onjune 2nd, 1H79. The Misanthrope with Mrne. Favart as leading lady, followed by the second act of Pliedre, composed the lengthy programme presented, as Mile. Bernhardt objected to make her debut before the British public, as had been arranged, in the character of Mrs. Clarkson, the adventuress in L'Ettangcre. The second act oi Pliedre gives some opportunity in Hippolyte's avowal of his hidden flame for Arcicie ; and a great opportunity to Phedre when, tearing off the thin veil of propriety in which she at first tries to conceal her guilty love, she stands revealed before her horror-stricken step-son, a creature all aglow with the white heat of passion — Toutc de larmes ct de/eii dessechee — and alter pouring out the lava-flood of her unreturned flame, in a trans- port of shame and despair, snatches the sword from the belt of Hippolyte, with a hoarse cry oi Donne: ! and tries to thrust it into her heart. This tremendous scene Mile. Bernhardt rendered with a self-abandonment that took no measure of her strength. She seemed like a leaf whirled away on the torrent of her passion. And when at last the storm seemed to shatter her being, and she sank inert and insensible into the arms of CEnone, the house seemed rather to be relieving its pent-up feelings in its tumult of applause, then offermg a tribute to the fair frail creature who had so held their breaths suspended on hers. Rachel's sombre grandeur was remembered, the concen- trated passion that seemed to be glowing at a red heat in the core of her heart. Her Phedre might be more terrible and intense, but it was perJiaps lubS womanlike, less S)"mpathetic ; less entrainante than the Phedre of Sarah I3ernhardt. Before Rachel one turned cold with a thrill that seemed to travel the nerve-centres ; before her successor, one felt an intense and f!. 88 I^IFE OF SARAH BERNHARDT. if l;lamc for his colcinoss tlu n I 'l^^c re fo f '^' r" was nu.ro to / , "e.^e .^rhlr"T^' ^"'"^^ ^'^^ ^''« she took the town by sto^m 's othinJ T '"';. ^" ^^'^ ''^^^^ were eager to see ller act is t" 1 let utV^'''^ ^"'''^ ac ress that people raved about tw, J. '^^ ""^ ""'y ^^'e individual woman, the ext^o.'d n rf ' ''^P','^"^" "^°^e the any clung known to the To done t at^'- ""'V''^''.^° ""^^'^"^ developed the usual languid iTeresto welN "TT'''^ ^ '^^ into passionate admiration of thrcre.ture t' .^^""'^''"^' '^^ ing may be described as a soc al ohpn^ '"" ^^''^^^^ °^ 'eei- one class or rank of life bi? ^T '"r""' ""^ "^^'^fi'^ed to admission to the Gaiety was aised^filT'^'"^- '^'^^ P''-^e o* then the number of peopre tun ed . "^ P"' ?'"^-' ^"^ even great that holders of tSsboiSin?7 "' 't' door was so difficulty to get into the Imuse S^le'" ?'^'''""t'^^d ^''^ "tmost at the Gaiety. In the meantime sh^coSd be f ^"/ '^'^^ ^ ^^^^ enough to be asked, at various orivilt"'''^'*'^"'^'"^'^'y artiste had a most in elligen aDurerf^H ^.f- ^^^ ^'^^^ of her gifts and was not to be smSd nfo°^ ''f '"°"^>' ^^^"^ t.ons by any society artifice. W en pl?t^ of Nlf '°"' '^'^'^'■ eminent performers were cnpst.: nVr Nillson or other where ii. the grand w" ld"S^ h:' ?v^TS '?,r" °^ ^'^^• prepared for the " Madame will sin- ns a lim ' ^^ ."^^'^ ^^ their hostess, the Marchioness o Carabas 't^w^^'^'"^" °^ complied, thus paying for their s.mnt , '.i ^^'^^ ""^ ^n^e hundred suppers. Sarah knew beUer "^^^ l^ f°"8: ^orth a experience of her first visit V^« Enhgjitened by the before an invitation had iShe^heTthTH '° "^^'^^^ '* ^"«^n were two different persons, and if she we i' ^Tt ^"^ S"^^' she expected to be paid. Her terms wJ.fi ^f^^'^J^ V-riovm per night. This p4e of h^^S^i^f^ J^Sli^S^^^ Liri-: OF SARAH liEKSlIARirr. 88 her popularity, made licr more the social ra^e than ever— it was so eccentric. When she performed at Lord Diullev's Jioii.se, he caused to be printed and distrihiited amon- l,is .'uests five hundred copies of the play in English. When expecte'l as a j^'uest at an eveniiif^ party, everyone was on the alert. J-luniif,' two hours the question everybody asked everyone el.se was • Js Bernhardt here ? Have you seen her ? Are you sure she is coming ? I he wits of the day coined a new verb " to Bernhardt. '•Have you Jiernhanlt.Ml " became a byword Decorous, moreover, as the Lon.lou papers are, they bcWn to avor the public with anecdotes about Mile. JJernhardt that lay tar heyond the domain ot her purely dramatic lif( Of scandal and gossip there was a surfeit. There appeared , .nong other tilings tlie tollowiiig in the correspondence column ot the Era • U-i.ious.-77/f ..o« of Mile. Bernhardt is about fourteen year's old, ami ,s Tenth her m this country. Where then is Monsieur Bernhardt, and why doe.s he not vome to share in the Irimnoh of his popular wije And in this ea.se it would be snrely more polite to address the lady us Madame Bernhardt. A great inany jokes were cracked about Sarah's supernatural thinness. Some paper offered what might be called a " puzzle prize to the man vho should disc(,ver the best means of utilizing a large fortune. Among the competitors was a gentle- man who said that if he came into a " thumping" leyacv he should act in this wise: ho would purchase a thousand orto- lans a thousand truffles, a thousand pates de foie g'as etc etc. (. mimerating all the good things of the earth). These he would oeat altogether in a rich paste wherewith he would endea/or to fatten Sarah Bernhardt. The prize was not adjudged him, because it was felt that Sarah could not be im- proved upon. A woman less pretty and witty might fairly have been considered open to criticism had there been ^^o little ol ner in the ile ;h. A young wit convoyed his impression ot her Avant of substance by informing liis audience that he had seen an enipty carriage drive up to the Gaiety and beheld Mile. Sarah alight from it. Mile. Bernhardt took all this raillery in good part, and far from concealing her lack of em- bonpoint, greatly exaggerated it l.y her mode of ' "''^^' "'^t- Not in Paris \vith el^rj-nce o tl^'f^ ^"^/.ncfons maintained relaxed in London But f rl ^^'"''^"-^'t, but so heely were ptxsente.l Mlu.y ' ers a .d'""/"'^ " ^'''^^ ""'"'^^-'- '^^'^^ -'utably Madame Ni?lso? wit? /■'r''"'"^ "^ ^'"-' '^""'Pany, features and the ceHr.f. t i 1'^""^" ^ powerful rugged The actress re eived tl e at^e' ''"'""?"'' ''^ ^''^ ^^^t'«^«- dignity, while he, ofAis fvirt ,v " v^. '"'\\ '^'''^'''^ ^""^^^ ^"^» They conversed to.e he ?<;•', r'^:,^!^!^''""^'e! '" '"^""er. )!• some minutes. Many artists were there to see the nirtiirp« • lu,. \if\t ■ -^ ""-'^l.-, tlien Su- Frederick Leig^ to and Ir/lf !^' '" '"T^ '^'^ ^''^^ ; icians. The critics wire ore 1,1 f other Academ- representatives by thrsL,?. w . ■^°';*''^.' """'^ ^'"^^^^i"" sent with the delegates of arfaiH" Z ."""^led amicably enough warmly in adn^ation'^nh^t hSr '"' ^"''"' '' ^^^^^ - '"^ CHAPTER VIII. DISAPPOINTS A LAKGK AUDIKNCE ASSEMIILED AT THE OAIETV-OF- HENUE,, BV THE MANNER OK HER K.CKPT.ON AT THE MANSION HorsE- ACA.N Cv'''."" """■'* '-''-''■"*-" ■"" '"'^ '■'^''"°^ -STANIMRr. '-SARAH AGAIN IN tAVOK-A SPITEFUL ACT -■' ADRIENNE LECOUVREUR '-AN- OTHER BRILLIANT AUIHFNCE-THE PRINCE AND PRINCESS o" WALES PRESENT-CONORATULATORY LETTER FROM MR. GLAI.STONE-THE STORV Tf,p''".^.n""^~-"''''^*"'-'' '■'"'""''" '^' '"-'-E- "EKNHARDT'S RENDITION OF THE CHARACTER OF " ADRIENNE." QARAH seemed to have fired the heart and caused to roll kJ in hne frenzy the eye ol the topical poet. Here is the ■ettusion oi an exuberant eathusiast in Punch • TO SARAH. ■" Mistress of hearts and arts, all met in you ' 1 he picturesque, informed bv Soul of Passion i Say, dost thou feed on milk and honey dew Draniing from goblets deep of classic fashion Champagne and nectar. Shandy gaff sublime, Dashed with a pungent smack of ^rt» de Manilt Aspasia, Sappho, Circe of the time! Seductive Sarah ! Muse ? All Mnemosyne's bright brood in one ! Compound of Psyche, Phryne, Britomarte, Kuler of storm and calm, Euroclydon And Zephyr ! Slender Syrian Astarte ! With voice the soul of music, like that harp Which whilom sounded in the Hall of Tara. How dare Philistines at thy whimsies carp. Soul-swaying Sarah ! ! " •Poseusc ?' Pooh ! pooh ! Yet who so well can pose As thou, swee^ statuesque slim sinuosity ? ' Stsgpy ?' Absurd ! ■ The death's head and the rose ?' Delicious! Gives the touch of tenebrosity That lifts thee to the Lamia level. Oh ! Shame on the dolts who hint of Dulcamara, Serpentine Sarah ! ! ! H ^® LIFE OF SARAH BERNHARDT. •' Clinging enchantress, supple siren, sweep In lithely languorous attitudes forever, " Bewitch my gaze and make my pulses creep ' So Naiads glide— save thee, gross mortals never ' About thee plays thei)rightness of Queen Mab Dashed with romance of the girl page in Lara,' Suggestive Sarah ! 1 ! l' " Oh, idol of the hour and of my heart ! Who calls thee crazy half and half capricious ' A compound of Lioune's and Barnum's part In outrecitiaance rather injudicious ' ' Ah ! heed them not ! play, scribble, sculp, sing, paint Pose as a Plastic Proteus, mia cara ; ^ Semillante Sarali ! ! ! ! i _ This, however, does not exhaust Punch's ideas on the sub- ject, for on the next page is another outburst called " V Ouerv 01 the Dajf :" ' «J"^^j' y Che sara Sara ' Avis per-rara ! Sculptress and paintress, Poseusc and faintress, Swooning and swaying Playing and praying, For praise or for profit, ; On stage or off it. Of actresses, actress; Press— benefactress — Critics— uppoking. Canard — provoking. Paragraph— feeding — Puffery— breed i ng— Che sara Sarah — Avis per— rara ? And so on. The idol of the hour could fill a large album with the prose and poetry which have been poured forth bv entiiusiastic London. ^ About this time Mile. Bernhardt, while at the very zenith of her popularity, managed to grievously offend the Londoners by disappointing a large and fashionable audience assembled to witness one of her marvellous impersonations at the Gaietv Her defence was that she was prevented by a sudden attack of illness, and she maintained that before midday she had informed the management that it would be impossible for her to appear. A sharp attack on her appeared in the London Sta,,dard of the followmg day, in the form of a letter signed 'I Belgravia,' to which Sarah replied in French, entering on a ucicncc in whicli she strenuously denied having offered In'm- tentional insult to the English, who she said had earned her HI LIFE or SARAH BERNHARDT. 37 e sub- Query I bum li by ;nith ners bled ietv. :kof had her don ned >n a in- her warmest respect and regard, concluded by shyly hinting that though in France her frequent attacks of illness had been uni- versally deplored, she was commiserated rather than blamed for tlieir too frequent recurrence. No sooner was this little difference between Sarah and the British public adjusted than she took umbrage at the manner of her reception by the Lord Mayor ot London and the civic authorities at the Mansion House, where Mile. Bernhardt and her company were enter- tained at a banquet given in Uieir honour. The presence of a bust of Wellington, tiiat occupied a conspicuous position in the chamber where the iestivities took place, was considered as an outrage on good taste by many members of the company ; but Sarah herself appears to have been more incensed by the Lord Mayor's appearance at the head of the table without his wig, a tonsorial appendage without which she persisted he had never shown himself in Paris. At this gathering of wealth, wit, beauty, and talent, the lovely Sarah set at rest forever the much-disputed point as to whether or no she understood and spoke English. She paid great attention to the speeches, and applauded vigorous!}^ when any sentiments were expressed that met with her approval, and further shouted " all-rai-ght " with great gusto at the end of an oration which presumably was en- tirely in accord with her feelings and sentiments. The good people of London soon forgot their favorite's petty offences, and she was in the course of a few days as great a favorite as ever. But her animosity against M. Perrin, the Comedie Francaise, and those unlucky critics of the Parisian journals who had attacked her, was as firmly rooted as ever; and with the view of annoying these worthies, she resolved to make her first appearance in the title role of Adrienne Lecouvreur in London instead of in Paris. This necessitated the critics undergoing the horrors ot a channel passage, as it was prepos- terous to suppose that the only successor to Rachel could be permitted to attempt one of her great prototype's most success- ful characters without the Parisian critics being present. The audience that assembled in the C aiety Theatre to pass judgment on this effort of the greatest of modern tragediennes was cer- tainly one of the most brilliant ever gathered together within the walls of a theatre. Royalty was represented by the Prince and Princess of Wales, and the boxes and stalls were crowded with the members of the British aristocracy and the elite of London society. Mr. Gladstone, a rare visitor to a theatre, vvas there, and earnestly watched the performance from the rising of the curtain until its fall, amid a tumult of applause, at the close of the last act. Sarah's triumph was complete, and the next morning revealed columns of laudatory criticism 38 LIFE OF SARAH BERNHARDT. lsf:,i^;^S,/-;-^- S-;na^^^ .".personation the goers Jiad seen. Kven Mr G Hvll ^''"'''''"* ''^'^^ "^ P'^V" gratulatory epistle, adding Um he "d e"xn "^- ^'" ^f ^^''^^ ^ --- "lent in witnessing ],er wonderftW f '^'^^f "'^nced keen enjoy- "lore than ever the rage an f her 1, '"'^'^'- ^^''""^'^ ^^^« "ow ?vy-cJad, and iiu-nished^m riuxm-,cM>l"f ' f ' f ^'"''''' Gate, Its temporary occupant, vvasdlilvh: "^'I'f' ' -"^^-^^^ ^^ «"* mistress, lunv^ver, was mJelv nf 7 '^^^'^ged by callers. Its a"cl many an anstorratic en La 'wl'^' "'''' ^" ''^'- •"^^".ate down, whose occupants poSsedtV"'"^^ Y''^^^^"^ ^^^tting of homes of fashionable LonSon ' '' '° '^'^ '""^'- circle I CHAPTER IX. MI.I.E. HERNHABin's SKCOM) AITi£ AlUMi;- THOIKJH OUT OF FAVdK, HKU MAG- , NIFICI-NT IMI'KNSONATIONSCOMI'KI. KNTH i;.SIASTIC IH-COGN ITION-^A TICKLISH INTRODUCTION'— OFF TO AMSTKKIIAM — KAl'TU ROUS RKC8FTI0N IN HOLLAND — THli MARSEILLAISE AT COPKN H AGFN— 1 HE KlN(i ANIl UL'KliN OF DENMARK ATTEND EVKRV ONE OF IllJK I'ERFORMANCEK— THE CiLKMAN AMIIASSADOR PROPOSES SARAH'S HEALTH AT a' BANOLET — HER SCATHINd REJOINDER- FURTHER INSTANCES OF HER PETULANCY. MLLE. BERNHARDT appeared a second time in Lon- don HI the spring, again fulfilling her engagement at the Gaiety Theatre. Birds of ill omen predicted a fadue, alleging that the actress's previous triumph had [)een ephemeral, and that sober London, having rrcovered its senses, would refuse a second time to fall down and worship at the sluine of the French siren. True it is that the English were a trifle "hipped" by the scant courtesy that society considered the fair Sarah liad exhibited toward her audience on the me;iiorable occasion on which she had failed to put in an appearance during her prior engagement ; but notwithstanding the croakings of the prophets ot evil, it was again a case of Veni, vidi, vici, and on the morning of the day iollowing the " first night " of her re- entree upon the London stage the tone of the critics of the Lon- don dailies showed that Sarah was again to score a distinct success. The indications of the first night— enthusiastic ap- plause and a "perfect ovation at the fall of the curtain— proved thoroughly reliable and the great actress played another tri- umphantly successful engagement before the elite of London society. Again all sorts of absurd canards were in circulation regarding the all-conquering tragedienne. One of these bits of society gossip is worth repeating. It was said that the actress was greatly incensed that she was not invited by the Queen to visit her at Windsor Castle. This may or may not be true ; but had the fascinating Sarah been more intimately acquainted with the usages of the English court she would have known that it is a very rare occurrence for any member of the dra- matic profession to be invited to approach royalty. Mrs. Pemberton, nee Amy Sedgwick, is, il memory serves us, the only living actress who has, since the death of' the Prince Con- sort, visited the Queen by invitation, and m this solitary ri W !i 40 instai LIF1-: OF SAKAH BERNHARDT. f hev Majesty's ad .1- gifted ladyTe,„'c,!.r.;'-'''°;U" ^"H 'l-" "PP-,a.i„„ of d'etre of a line of an invasion of that vvhicli ■y powers was probably th V the raison : "-"11 oi c/iat which woni.i ;^i 7 "^ ^ niison , demarcation in the Onr^ ■ "*''"""* ^PPe-i'- to l)e dramatic profession. W uldbe ,> ^''^'^\"gji-'^t. drawn at the h.y-dtwasthestua,blin^-b ckthaVr '"."^ '^^'' ^^^■'^''^'- ^^ "^ introduction to the lidv w , ^^^' ^^^tween SaraJi and In ^^"'"anity in eve v Ji^irtl of h' °'?V^^^ ^'^stin.es of o'or ' awfully awkward/^7o?L-no V 'fspld'r V """^'^ ^« "o Mile Bernhardt should persist in L, >° sweiklom, if Windsor Castle, sJiould he! M , " /''^'"^^, ^^^'^ ^°"- with her to an invitation to visit that l,n ;f , le T'^"'?""? ^" tender her she would adopt the same fori f i ■,' ^"'i ''^"' l^"ows but tiiat the youtJilul scion of tlie Housp "^'^^"ction m presentincr ^"gJand, that it was c Lnt^v , ^^^["^'^'-dt to the Quee of d-.c.ng him to a diiche ' w oiVt^C fo ''^- '^^^ "^edti, mtro d. n seasoii, a rallying-pomt fbr f ,1 . "'^ "' '''""'"g the Lon- 'r-.tropohs ? Said Mile! Ber ha df ""!' ^''"^ '■^^'''"" «' the boy into the presence of J,Ts [ obte ' '' '^^^ ^"'^ '^^ blush ng :!"V' P?'"i«ez moi, duche ^ ie ^''"'""^"^'^^ of the ...^",f accident.' Tins event as reh'i.w ."' P^^^^^tez mon petit story ap3,,^,3 ^^ be vl.'rren '1 ''• '^"'".^> credible, but^Ue how Mile. '^ernhardtrsutesTwex"^' '^.T'y ^^ '"^^-^cmg t'le shaits :,f ill-natured w't '"'^^'^^ ^^^^^^ '-^ target for Mny:S!;^:,S^^', -PI. v.s achieved. present at cveiy performance fnd ^"'"'^' °^ ^^^nmark weri strat.ve in the'almost contTnuon. """'^ "°' ''^^ ^^^^^ demon i^Pon the idol of the hour ?n-f^?^^"'^ *'^^t was lav.srd q"arters, and as in Loi d" ,11 c ?''^'.°"' P^^''^^ i" from a i] ■secure the presence o^thT fliin' 5 °^ '[^^'^^^ ^^re adopted numerous receptions th.^, fascinating Frenchwoman at H,« during her stay^ in Cop ^f '^•^^3' the DanishTristocracy the erratic Sarah manrerff ^* °"^ °^ these gatherings passionate devotion to La BelleT ' ' ^'""'"^ «e„s^at on Efr maintained afteward, to niake a A ?'^ '"spiring her, as she sib le to defend as the actTon of a^n^r/"'' ^^"'^ 't were impo of the usages of pol.te sodetv ffT '^'"^^""^^bly cogniiant p;.ed inX— t:^t;;;i:5^ Ss3"^^ i— S:^:" -- - apparent as to insure, if ^rrug^t.^^^^XrinS LIFE OF SARAH BERNHARDT. 41 reception of the toast by warm-hearted, patriotic Sarali. But, alas, evidence was soon forthcoming that MUe. Bernhardt is not to be judged by the standard of ordinary women ; nor can she be relied upon to act under certain circumstances as would ninety-nine of her sex similarly' situated. No sooner had the German minister, after delivering a glowing panegyric on the " adorable Sarah " and the nation that clanns the high honor of holding her name enrolled among its citoyennes, invited the assembled guests to drink to the prosperity of La Belle France, than Mile. Bernhardt arose from her seat, and, glass in hand, thus addressed Baron Magnus: " You drink to France, M. le Baron," said she. " If entire France is the toast, I will join you." The Minister was nonplussed, and general confusion ensued. But Sarah as usual won the day. The sympathies of the hardy Danes were with her, and her pointed reference to the fact that the German flag still flies from steeple and turret o'er the fair French provmces ol Alsace and Lorraine evoked sympathetic cheers from the guests who had assembled to do honwr to one of the most accomplished and b.avest daughters of France. CHAPTER X. MLLE. nERNHARDT's TASTE IN DR^S, u. roR MANAGER ABBEY. ""^ -^^'T-PTORS AND P^lSTKHS-JTwvll o bestow her royal cons ierat o„ ' t' °".^''''^'^ ^'^^ ^'^if?"" tumes occasionally the blendn' Af . '" ^^'^ choice of cos- yr.ke the observer's a tnflebLrre'?°'','"'>' '"""^entariv danng contrasts soon leads one V; ^ blending o^ the sirSr^ tl^t^lt '^" '"^°"^-°- '" -- breathe it not to Worth, whispeft not tn'"pi °^ " ^"^^ "' But S^^nche taste indicated by the suJL"h ^° ^''se or the terribly worthies of their languid^appetSirir'"""^-^ ^^P'-'^^ these Megras for an indefinite oedod "^"'"'"^ ^"^' ^«^' '^^ . Appended, for the benefirnt 1 ^ tion oi the brilliant cXistitl'Sfr' ? I brief descrip- Poses dazzling the vision of W Tm^''''''' Bernhardt pur- the present visit. The cost n[ /^"'^"^^" audiences during LIFE OF SARAH BERSHARDT. 48- made in Lyons, witli cascades of flowers embroidered on tiie skirt, and the bodice trimmed with Bruges hice. The goods alone of tliis dress cost twenty-five hundred francs. Another deshabille toilet, all of satin and Languedoc lace. For Camitle, a ball dress of white satin, with large embroidered camelias covering a ground which is wholly of pilaris, a court train and a novel arrangement secured at the shoulder and draping at the side. This dress cost ten thousand francs. Another dress for a deshabille toilet, wholly of Valenciennes lace and pearls. For FroH- Fruit, ivory-satin dress covered with embroidery ot pearl and mother-of-pearl. One Lampas dress with crim- son flowers on a cream ground. One dress all of black satin and jet, low-necked, with a cuirass. For the Sphinx, one sen- sational dress, with yellow satin skirt, black and jet waist, with two huge ravens upholding the skirt. A house dress of brocade silk, with crimson and pale roses on a cream ground, and ruby satin train. The great actress could well afford these luxuries, as her brief London tour netted her forty thousand dollars. As an addendum to the above, a description of Sarah's dress- ing-room at the Theatre Francais may be quoted as a further instance of her eccentricity in the selection ot colors. " The walls of the dressing-room are hung with a snuff caroubier, tinted ; at the windows, and as screens at the entrance, there are curtains of yellow satin embroidered with arabesques ; on the floor is a costly Eastern carpet ; a chaise longue is covered with stuff ot red silk, with Oriental designs of exquisite taste; at the entrance is a (/ueridon with an enormous bouquet of roses in a crystal vase, which spread their perfume with profusion ; there is an antique ba'"(t with artistic scruple, on which are some costly vases ; on each side of the mirror, which occupies all the space of a panel, are lamps of old Rouen faience on stands ; on the chimney-piece is an owl in bronze, curiously peering into a skull, with the word ' Rien' on the base ; on a support of old oak is another skull ; on the walls are water- colors and sketches ; her portrait m outlines — somewhat too impressiotiiste— by hrr friend Louise Aberna; a water-color drawing, signed Adrien Marie ; and another charming one by Colin, entitled ' On Fait divers,' with some fanciful lines in verse. There is a small bust of the actress (but which does not resemble her in the slightest), representing her in her role in the Passant of Compee, played at the Odeon. It is by Monier, who was her professor in sculpture, and for whom she seems to have retained an affectionate attachment. There is an immense wreath of laurel and gold offered by the town of Havre to the great artist, some chairs and fauteuils in fine old tapestry ; every thing, in fact, attests the artistic taste of 44 LIFE OF SARAH fJERNHARDT. with silver incrustations and mounS ? !." "'"""^ ^^^^et sories requisite for an actress On f^ ""'n '''" ^^^^ ^"e-'^' some droll Parisian caricaturV'= r t^^"' are sketches of Me,' and ' Le supr.^,ne £ t' " l^r' ^"^'^'Wes en TeteJ. first empire ; a pi^ntiTg which IWese\u^s?T ''^' ^'"^^ °^"''^« all the actors of the nioder fTKre pv J^^''^ '" caricature) ag^AX::;;i^t;U^^S^^i;:^^i;S,;-empted t. pU,man- surely be sorely puzzled to nrovi l! ^ ^S? >'°°'^ ^^^te, will ■cage for his splendid capture.^ ^ suihciently attractive CHAPTER XI. ALFRED DE MUSSET S OPINION OF RACHEL — HIS CRITICISM EyUALLY APPLI- CABLE TO SARAH EARNHARDT — HER IMPERSONATION OF THE WIFE IN "CHEZ L'AVOCAT" AT THE FRANCAIS— AS ARCICIE IN "PHEDRE"— HER CROWNING TRIUMPH AS PHEDRE — A TERRIBLE CLIMAX — HER PATH'.; AS BERTHE IN "LA FILLE DE MADAME ROLAND '' — ENNOBLING AN AUTHOR'S TEDIOUS LINES. WRITING under date of the ist of November, 1838, Alfred de Musset, in an article on " Tragedy," said : " An event has happened at the Thealre Francais which is unexpected and surprising ; it is a matter of curiosity for the public, of interest for those who busy themselves with the fine arts. After being completely abandoned for ten years, the tragedies of Corneille and Racine have suddenly reappeared and regained the favor they had lost. Never, even in the greatest days of Talma, has the house been more crowded." Writing of Rachel, who had wrought this sudden change, he intimated that those who expected a tragedy queen to possess great physical force and produce conventional effects, would be disappointed. Mile. Rachel was slight; there was a per- fect simplicity in all she did ; her voice was penetrating, her features penetrating : " du reste elle semble d'une sante faible : un role un pen long la fatigue visiblement." Thus far the description written of Rachel might be applied, with scarcely a word changedjto Mile. Bernhardt. Belonging, as Rachel did, to a race which has given to the world many of its greatest men, she has the same simplicity and directness of action and intonation, the same air of sligh'tness and weakness, and the same genius triumphing over the want of great physical force which Musset found in Rachel. Whether Mile. Bernhardt's genius is full}^ equal to or surpasses that of Rachel may be left for those who have seen both actresses to determine ; but those who never saw Rachel may be surely well content with having seen her successor. As was the case with Rachel, Mile. Bernhardt did not leap into fame at once, as soon as she had taken to the stage ; her powers needed time and practice to make themselves fully felt. Few who saw her in what were practically her early days at the Francais, playing with M. Coquelin in a bright little piece 46 LIFE OF SARAH BERNHARDT. on the ground of incompa ta m/uv o^ temT' ^"F^ ^^^Paration reconciled to each other cn UK ^^'"P^r.and are by degrees iong Mile. Bernhardt won "''pp^ f^Z' Y '"'"^^ ^^^ KacJiel n. Phedn>, although h'Tts own "!'^^' successor to ance was as admirable as Ihe other u""^ '"^ °"" l-^^'-^o™' ^^eW ,n '"'t ^^^^" ''"'•'^^P""- act.ons of mankind. Yet Mile R ,"^ ^^^ emotions and appearance to her la t manaJe. V "^'"'''' ^'""'^ ^'^' first make her audience a^c'ept' "t'^as p^sslblf '' S^ ''^^' ^"^ ^« same time sustained and burned un bv K ^^'^- '^^'"^ ^^ the res.stible power has impkntld Zj^^ ^^ ^'^'''"" ^^'"'^ ^" '^■ and vQt exalted by a khd ^5^/ " '• ^^^ is appalled carried away by he^r long „g for cnmTh 'rT'''--- She is not come from her own nature 'sheTslrt"' '^ ^""^'"^ ^°^^ she cannot resist it; and her suffer nlfiT"^ ^>' '^' although s.on ,n the speech in which it is rnn?^ finds supreme expres- loathmg and triumph to CT-none' '"*'' ^ '"''''"'^ ^^ (Enone. Aimez-vous ? Phedre. Tu connais ce fil*; H*. i-a^ temps par moi-meme opprime ^'""^°"«' ^^^ P"nce si long- fhcTrl' C'lT.'^'' • . ^^^"^^ Dieux .P i «mre. c est toi qui I'oo „„„,-->- ine difficulty to the actrpcc r^f u j- ■enhanced by t,fe fa« ..rafo^n^' ^-'^f X?fs to^'i^""?:? J^ k LIFE OF SARAH BERNHARDT. 47 great is the power with which the words are given that one hangs upon each pause in dreadful expectation ot the next revelation, and when the actual confession is hurled at Qinone, it shatters the faculties of the listener, even as it seems to blast the whole being ot the woman who makes it. It contains a world of conlending passions; it conveys the utmost stretch of tragic horror, the depth of remorse, the ecstasy of martyrdom, and, with all tliis, a cunning triumph in the fact that Phedre has not herseit spoken her infamous secret, but has left it to be put into the shanieiessness of words by G^none. Mile. Bern- hardt's delivery of Racine's verse is admirably limpid, and her diction confers upon the text its full value, while her electrical bursts of passion are full of stirring power. She has elabo- rated wha was at first a fine and original conception into a finished and magnificent piece of acting. In contrast, or, per- haps, as complimentary to the fiery i)assion of Phedre we may refer to the penetrating pathos of Berthe in M. de Bornier's fine play of La FilL dc Roland, and to the mingled dignity, tenderness, and passion ol Donna Sol in Victor Hugo's //cn/a/n', and the heroine in Voltaire's tragedy of Zaire. In each of these parts the actress's genius revealed itselt under new con- ditions, and therefore under a new form, and in them thespon- taneousness and absolute identification with the character represented are to be seen in a marked degree. In Dumas' VEtrangere, she gave life and consistency to a character which is, as written, incomprehensible and impossible, and delivered a long tirade, which is tedious and affected enough in itself, with a skill and power that raised the author's ill-considered sayings to eloquence. It may be said, in fine, of Mile. Bern- hardt, that there is nothing which, as an actress, she has touched that she has not adorned. CHAPTER XII. MLLE. BERNHAIIDT'K VISIT To ampij,,.. I'nef, of tlie engagement she i s , o / T i"" '"^"t'""- ''owever "nder the n.an^g^ient of Mr Henr^^ ^° ^ f >' '" this country man's enterprise is worthv oV^n V^ ''^>'- ^^»'^ f?ent]e- iHs J.heralit • and dZ/ri^ht ph ck rr";"''*;"" = "ay 'more : amount of capital ,n that^ -h'ic , a er dl' i "^^ '° '^'"^^ ^» demand the recognition wJncl, Th^v ■ I 1 ' , !,'' ■''P«'="^ation, >e hands of a generous nat on, ^l,e ea tv n f'' ''''^ '' l^^eatre-go.ng public, wliich alone can en ler f ""'P ° ^'^^ a successful one. It was indet?! -?» ^^•''^ "ndertaking Bernhardt should have ,'1^X6^ 'n ''^"''^^'"•'^'"«'" ^^at Mll^^ . not to mention, fuitrermo e . ? " ?!'^''^TV''-'^ i" London, second-ratecapitals f Cone a^^^ '"Imhitants of two tunityofvvitnessinghei^n; vX,= ""'' ""^^''"'^'''^ an oppor- yet be a stranger to he Sa d of tl l.'^'^'"""''""^' ^"^ «'^""''J New York, wi7h its enormou weal f ft?''' 'fi'" ''''^'- ^"reli- increasing upper class, Tt]ibeA;t/f/^f'^ ""^ '■^'^'^'3- couragement of the f^ne TrtV.nH ' '"/elation to the en- Tom Tiddler's Ground of onerT..'^' ''7^:^!'^''^ n.nown as the should no longer sigrii^efTr^^^^^^^^^^ '"stnomc celebrities, the modern stage. Lt whH^ ' I ^T\^^ "^'''^ "'" ^ne idol of York were thus th nkhi Ani ^^ "* ^^'^ ^J'lettanti of New ing, and in wLy as" Ken^^ murmuring, Mr. Abbey was ac^ vnth the adorable 4 al for a season'^- '* a" °^^-'" "^^'otiations rival he soon found that he IL.?,'" ^^'"^'''ca. On his ar- theatrical f^eld Sing out bS onni^ ■ ?:i% R'^''"^o"^i i" the attract Mile. Bernhardt to thet h ? ' ^'l^'"' "'^^ which to son, of the Globe Theatre Boston w f °^^^- ^^'- Stet- close an engagement vvhtheWoinroft?r^ '"/ ^^'^''"^ ^« red performances for whirl, l.« ,, "^ ^'0"r for one hund- price of $100,000 A F ench mnHon''^'"^^ \" P^>' *'^« P""<=^ly matters theatrical wt lS.."''!''?r^''-^'/hose knowledge of those whose place in the-W is .^urSt^I^^S^^;^ rjFE OF SARAH BERNHARDT. 49 ment, offered the actress similar terms, and, further, was will- ing to put up the whole amount btifore she sailed for America, and even allow Inn- to handle one fourth of the money Ijefo'j she regretfully bade a fond farewell to the country of her adoption. IJut, until ^Fr. Abbey aopeared npon the scene, Sai 'i was inexorable, and refused to listen to the voice of the charmers, regardless of the amount o gold and wisdom woven into their tempting proposals. With ti'e arguments with which that enterprising American manager backed his offer of$i,ooo per night tor a series of loo performances, sup{)lemented by a share of the profits and a liberal allowance for expenses while in the United States, as also the payment of all expenses from place to place of Sarah and her suite, only Mile. Bernhardt and himself are en rapport. Certain it is that the engagement was made, and the cable flashed the news beneath the waste of waters dividing the two continents that the bright particu- lar dramatic star of the Eastern hemisphere was coming to ex- hibit the wealth of her talents before the cognoscenti of the Western world. Simultaneously Mr. Abbey cabled Frederick A. Schwab, asking him at once join him in Pans to organize a troupe to support the star, and select and purchase the ward- robe for Hernani, Phedre, and Adriemic Lecouvreur. Mr. Schwab's valuable services were pri ijiu secured ; one of the secrets of Mr. Abbey's success ,i manager being his quick appreciation of the fact thai ' who would have the best of its kind that the market affords miist not be niggardly in the price he pays for the indulgence of his whim. Mr. Schwab at once started for Paris, and on his arrival Mr. Abbey returned to look after his numerou'^ ventures here, leaving his trusty rep- resentative to conclude ill the arrangements. Mr. Schwab, who is a thorough cosmopolitan, soon got together a first-class company, eighteen in number, comprising the following artists, all favorably knowi. to the Parisian public: M. Angela as leading man, M. Gaily, M. Bouillond, M. Ganglott, M. D'Orsay, M. Chamonnin, M. Deletraz, M. Thefer, M. Joliet, Mile, Jeanne Bernhardt, Mme. Mea, Mile. Sidney, Mile. Vernet Lafleur, Mile. Mea, Mile. Martel. He also purchased tht wardrobes for Adrienne Lecouvreur, Phedre, and Hernani, in every partictdar of material and style identical with the ones in use at the Theatre Francais. The salaries of the company, exclusive of that paid to Sarah, amount to 35,000 francs a month. Mile. Bernhardt, her son and sister, and M. Angelo will sail for New York by the Amenque on October i6th, and the rest of the company take passage by the Wieland of the German line on the same day. During her slay in New York the star wdl take up her residence at the Brunswick Hotel, so f1 f LIFE OF SARAH BERNHARDT. beloved Paris. Her first fnrf '"'^^i'f *^^* ^^^ '« i" her Theatre, on November Sth'^^whSe'in;" r' ".^'V' ^°°'^'^ company will play for four Zelll TU ^^^^f^t and her Boston/playing there two wJ^ffl ^^ "^'^ *^^" °Pen m New En&and.iavel tWe to Phildpl ^PP^^^^wo weeks in enliven the sober Quaker Citv lor in. ^t" "^^^'^ ^""'^^ ^'^ where they will plav a tvvn 2l5 ^ ''''^^^ ' °" *° Chicago, St. Louis forTne week tL f f"&^g?r«"t, and thence to where two weeks wli bl spent anS Th^ ''..^^ ""^^ ^^^^^"^' return^by way of Memphis .To^USl ^^l^l^tdTiSut' \ e may in her Sooth's id her pen in eks in ih will icago, nee to leans, y will 'burg, \f CHAPTER Xir. PEN-AND-INK PORTRAITS OF SARAH — A BUNDLE OF ANECDOTES — THE PRINCE OF WALES AND MLLB. BERNHARDT — SARAH AND THE ARCHBISHOP — CHAM's REVENGE — HARD ON A BUSSIAN — MYSTERIOUS MODELLING. WITH the personal appearance of Mile. Bernhardt, in as far as an idea ot her face and form can be conveyed to the observer through the medium of photograph or engraving, the world is already pretty well familiar. An enterprising New York photographer has paid a large sum for the privilege jf a series of sittings from the fair lady, and it is to be hoped that he will prove more successful in the reproduction of her features than have his brothers of the camera of Paris and London. In vulgar parlance, Sarah does not " take well," so that the numbers of pictures ot her that have appeared of late in the illustrated journals give but a faint idea of the nameless charm of expression that irradiates her by no means fautiess features. Henri Tessier dashed off the accompanying word-picture of her charms : " Des pieds de petit Chinois, La musique d'une voix Des mains dont on pourrait dire Qu'un baisi! les ganterait ! Trente-deux perles de lait Dans I'ecrin d'un frais sourire ! De I'esprit, de la gaite, Un talent fin, tres goute, Telle est cette blonde actrice, . (jui, pendant longtemiis. pleura — Comme Calypso — I'ingrat Ulysse!' And here is a couplet from the pen of another of her admirers : " Les yeux noirs plus beaux, (Eyes of the blackest hue.) Mes amis ! Deux miroirs ! Deux r lyons ! Deux flambeaux I (My friends ! Two mirrors ! Two rays of light ! Two burning torches !) Sarah is of a restless, never-still-a-minm:esort of disposition, and the subjoined graphic sketch ot her nr.anner of conducting herself among her friends happily hits oiT some of her eccen- tricities ol demeanor. rn ever LIFE OF SARAH liKRNHARDT. ~Ie siiis hi.„ L'.A^' ^""'""-i ^' soif-me voihi hon- jour— Je suis hie quehjue chose, n 'import M coiifente— graiui e quoi—un hisciiit bon- s succes, rappels— vite Kn.rli«l, wT ' ■— i'^^"-^ >l"^"-"-un nisciiit—inurci ^i^'n^ch pi:"; d^::?;^^;;' ^'-«^^~he- I ^,o.,a.y^ it.Jl;^x;^n,;^^Sr;;:;'^ -i^^^es at "pl'Wing the lead.' As .hHinr^'''f '' ?''^''^«' ^^ith The Prince of Wales w-isr^^^nV^ ''''''^ appended : last performance of ?e ( 'on^^d ! p- " P'-'^ate spectator at the was be.ng played, the'' du ", '' S- i h"r;,- ^^'"^ """''"'^'"^ At the conclusion of the iece H if H w^^^V^^^' '>"^- Sratnlate him. when Saidi uSli '"-'"^ '°'' ^"^ t^' '•">'- P'-'ceeded to Critic! e Mile b^ ^er accustomed effrontery, a part which Sarah her^d? . • ' ^"''"'^f ^'"" <•<" the hero wh.h '■ersubstituS^.I^f'^I 1^,-;;;;;-'^,^^^ ^''"-- and i^ut wh^ anno;;d^;l-l!rn^^ ^S^'^lSi'Trt^S"! ^'^?^"^ S^,'l^''',^' '»« was of the samrop.nion "^ '"''^^^ ">' don:;^i '^U-.J" n "om;;e;^;i;^rf;ir1>' '^^"•' '^^^^ - ^on. and countesses, she netted h/' ^^"^^agers, duchesses, - ^lo came from the Pr ncls o If '. '"T'^'' ^^^56), of which autograph conun ,nd Jl «*^^ ales for two luttens. Her U^l s^ash^^StLon^;?""' '-' '^^^^^•- T'- ^-- of ce^!:ted^;";st!^^;i;r,-t"'''%^^^"^"^' ^^'-- ^he f er w:th a duniS head " t " hSt/^a'f " '^ ^^'^'"'"^ body, appending this inscription '< Ml 1 S ^^ f '""P^>^-t'""ate her success, receiving the 1mm l-,. . ^•' '''oated by The next attack was -inno "- 1^ ' i f """''^''""^ adorers/' heading : •' She sees In hTf '" '.'f *"llowing prelimina.y holchn^p the tm ::^i ^^:^£^^'S;,f ;;-^^i^val, and Kachil ' had t.^ndered her apolo£rie« VoVl,. the meanwhile Sarah caricature never appS "' ^''"'' '° '^^ ■'^^^«"'l -aFSpa^^'*""'^'"^^ ^^^ ^'^^-'^ thinness appeared A near-sighted person approaches her : '< Take care, mon- I' Life of sarah bershardt. «8 ^ sieur, you will sit upon me." " Fichtre !" exclaims the near- sif,'hted one, recoiling in comic horror, " what a narrow es- cape from impalement." And her rivals have added, " She could take a bath in a gun-barrel. She could clothe herself with a shoe-string." One day, so the story goes, the Bernhardt feigned illness, so as to take a ramble in the country. The doctor's adverse re- port caused her unwilling appearance at rehearsal, during which she incessantly groaned. " Ah, you suffer, then, really ?" asked a companion. " Suffer ! yes indeed ! a terrible malady." " Which you call— ' " An inadmisstldc hypothesis;' '• Hey ! what ! Parbleu !" " The doctor has written it out in big let- ters on his report. ' The illness of Mile. Bernhardt is an in- admissible hypothesis.' " In the following story Sarah plays second fiddle to the Church ; but it will 1 ,ir repetition notwithstanding : While in her , o an archbishop remarked, " What is that behind the sc . "An Amphytrion, monseigneur." " Ah, indeed, let us bee. " 1 beg pardon," said the embarrassed artist ; " but I fear this statue may displease your eminence." " Why so ?" " It is so scantily draped." " Scantily or not at all draped ?" questioned the prelate smilingly. " Ma foi, numseigneur, not at all !" " Show it then, mademoiselle, show it." " There is naught but the 'decollefe,' which is indecent. The nude in art is a costume." vSaid some one to Dumas, while discussing the features ol the tair Sarah, " Why are Jews so ugly and the Jewesses so pretty ? " " Because," he answered, " the Jews crucified the Saviour, and the Jewesses bewailed his sad fate." One evening after an argument with a Russian actress, in whose physiognomy seemed to be reflected the polar breezes and the ice-floes of the Neva, Alice the Russienne, worsted, be- gan to shed tears. Sarah was remouitrated with. '• You were wrong to go so far. The poor girl is deeply moved. She weeps." " She weeps ?" retorted Sarah, incredulous. " Come now, you deceive yourself; she is merely thawing." Anything is easily accomplished when one knows how to do it. When Hermann the conjuror visited Dr. Tanner during the progress of his phenomenal fast, he offered to wager any amount of money that, under similar conditions to those self- imposed by the Minnesota man, he would exist for an indefinite period. A story has been the round of the papers to the effect that Mademoiselle Bernhardt is busy rehearsing, with Madame Da- main, a kind of dramatic duologue which promises to attain great vogue in fashionable drawing-rooms. A duchess, who is u LtF£ OP SARAH BER^HAkbT. \\ :;< somewhat incredulous - t« remove the damn ^H^'f"^^^^ ^"^ your red terra-cotta. Be careful to take ? ^"^ ^'^>' *'"°"' ^he dry now and then, shading your eyes w.fh ^^^ 1'' ^^^ ^^ackward , , — J"" --ail give TanvVe^^l""'^"""- ^-^« ^« ^^-- st/M\7t?;r^^h:s:^rTcrorw1o^^r^''':/^^^^'^^-'-t^ modelled a ^ull-length statuette < in fe^'^ ^''' ^^ Cellini chanced that he wis (like mL Sailh R ''l" audience." It sculptor as he was an ar^nr i . / " Bernhardt) as eood a the %-leaf contamad^h:'r°eVipe wHch"l h'^ ^/^^^ ^^^ ?-'-» for the benefit of provincial Bervl-^../ ^^''^^"'"'""^ated above not painters as well. The cunnin; vf "^^'^ -^'^ ^^to'-s. but tnck sometimes practised iVMrcTown^'".^^''''' '^ ^'^''^ ^o the audience - he takes the po ra^of Mrpr" .'? " '" ''^^' ^^ ^he bold, black outline on a white board £^"^t "O"- '" a broad, drawmg IS spontaneous and free hand t'^ ^" appearance the brush mecanically follows an outlhi . " ^^'^^''ty, the artist's which, having been covered with a thin ^''^ P^"^'"^^, but invisible to the spectators at a disLuc whitewash, is