Show Sarah Bernhardt A LITTLE LIITLE girl as Sarcey relates once presented herself at the Paris conservatoire conservatoire conservatoire conserva conserva- toire in order to pass the examination for admission All she knew was the fable of the Two Pigeons but she had no sooner recited the first lines than Auber stopped her with a gesture II Enough he he said Come here my ch child ld The little girl who was pale and thin but whose eyes eves gleamed with intelligence approached him with an air of assurance assurance assurance- Your name is Sarah he said Yes sir ir was the rely ly You are are a J Jewess ewess Yes sir by birth but I have been baptized She has been baptized said Auber turning to his colleagues It would have been a pity if such a pretty child had not nolo She SIte said said her h her r fable of the Two v very very ry well She m must st be ad mitt d. d Thus Sarah Bernhardt for it was sh she erit entered r d the conservatoire She was was a a. Jewess of French J and nd Dutch parentage and h was born at Paris in 1844 Her father after having her baptized had placed her in a convent but she had already secretly determined to become an actress In her course course of study at atthe atthe atthe the conservatoire she so distinguished herself that she received a prize which entitled d her to to a a debut at the Theatre Francais She selected the p part rt off of or nie genie inI o on Iphigenie rin which she which 1 appeared August II l 1 1862 1882 vs k j and rid at least l ast on one one one- n news news- I f paper drew special attention to her performance performance performance per per- describing her as pretty and andt t elegant and particularly praising her perfect enunciation She afterward played other parts at the Theatre Francais Francais Francais Fran- Fran cais but soon transferred herself from that that house house to the though not until she had made herself notorious by hy having as was alleged slapped the face of a sister-actress sister in a fit of temper The director of the did not take too serious a view of his new actress who turned up late at rehear rehearsals als alsand and som sometimes times did not turn up at all Nor did her acting make ake any great impression impression impression im im- at the where it is is' true she was on only y permitted to appear on Sundays Sunday At this theatre she lost no notime notime time im in exhibiting that independence a and d caprice to which as much a as to her tale talent t she owes her celebrity The d day y after the first representation of ofa f. f a a apiece apiece piece by Labiche in which she had taken an important lt part she stealthily quitted Pa Paris i addressing to th the author authora a letter in which she begged him to forgive forgive forgive for for- give her After a tour in Spain Sarah returned to Paris and appeared at the Odeon Here she created a certain num number ber of char characters charac charac- ac- ac but chiefly distinguished herself lf in ion Ruy Blas Bias and in a translation of King Lear Alrea Already Iy she he had riveted p. p th the a attention of of then ther public and the press who saw that a brilliant fu future ure l lay y before her At the end pf of of 18 1872 2 she shoe appeared at atthe the Fr Francaise e and with such uch distinction that she retained i ed was ret first as a at a a- a salary a-salary salary of oJ six thousand housand francs and afterwards as a Her successes es were rapid and q Dazzling and whether she she appeared in modern comedy in classic tragedy or oras oras ors as s a crea creator or of chara characters in entirely new plays the theater was always crowded d Ii Her r melodious voice and pure enunciation h her t singularly J varied varied i a nc i Ac-i c cents ts her pa pathos ost her ardent dentt bursts of k f L' L passion were such that a an audience as they hung upon her ther- lips forgot the caprices and eccentricities by which she was already characterized in ip private life It seemed however that Sarah's ambition ambition ambition am am- was to gain personal noto notoriety iet even more than theatrical fame and by her performances of one kind or another another another an an- an other outside the theatre make herself the talk of society She affected to paint to chisel and to write sent pictures to the salon published eccentric eccentric eccentric books and exhibited busts She would receive her friends friends pale palette te in iI- hand and in the dress of a male artist She had a luxurious coffin made for her covered with velvet i in which h s she e loved to recline and she more than once went up in a balloon Her caprice whether in private o or public was altogether ther unrestrained strained In 1880 Emile Angiers Angier's admirable comedy was revived and nd th theauthor the theauthor author confided d' d the part of Clorinde to to Sarah Bernhardt After the first representation representation representation however she was s so enraged by an uncomplimentary newspaper criticism criticism criticism cism that she sent in her resignation quitted Paris and went to England wh where re she gave a series of representations representations and appear n there for the the first firs time caused a veritable sen sensation in London society Meanwhile M. M Perrin director of the th theater ater instituted against her hera a a lawsuit for breach of contract with damages laid at three hundred d thousand francs It was at this j juncture that Sarah accepted the offers of an n en enterprising en enterprising manager for fora a tour in America America- where where she she achieved no o less phenomenal successes than in Europe Europ The rest of Sarah's career is too recent to be traced in detail From America Sarah returned to Paris where she revived revolved all her old sUc successes esses and nd where in 1888 at the Odion she one-act one corne comedy her y from ron her own own pen entitled le LAven L' L A ven which met with a a. some what frigid t frigid reception She She- hast has t 1 appeared in several everal of oU Shakespeare's pl plays ys with great suc success ess but her most ambitious us and perhaps most admirable productions of late years have been her Cleo Cleopatra atra and her loan Joan of Arc I Among Am ng her numerous numerous eccentricities Bernhardt once mice got married London by reason of the facilities it it ita a affords for this species of recreation being being being be be- ing chosen as the scene of the espousal The hero of the matrimonial com comedy dy which Was soon followed by a separation to which after many adventures on the the- part of f both husband and wife a reconciliation reconciliation recon reconciliation recon recon- succeeded was M. M a Greek gentleman possessed of considerable considerable consider consider- able histrionic tale talent who died in 1889 J Selected About five years ago while Madame Bernhardt Bernhar t was playing in New York my mother and myself had the good fortune to see her in Camille There were only two two seats seats left and they were on the back row of the gallery just about four feet below the ceiling eiling and altogether too far away away But it was our only chance of seeing the thA great French actress so we paid our four dollars willingly bought the play and went back to the hotel to st study dy up the parly woos at leisure The evening found us looking down from our mansions in the skies on the wicked but comfortable sinners below below below be be- low and in the generosity of our innocent innocent inno inno- cent hearts we weere were ere not lift lifted d up in pride because of our exalted stations Far from it We would have said willingly Come up higher oh my brother Take thou my lofty seat while in iri all humility and meekness I fill thy place in the tortuous pit Now the only French word we knew was was which means pray be Seated and as as that was not used once during the evening we did not thoroughly thoroughly thor thor-I appreciate the beauties of the language but being somewhat familiar 1 with the text w we cou could d follow fairly j jwell well Anyway we 1 looked as as' intelligent as possible possible and and enjoyed the performance hugely Madame Bernhardt was one one piece of concentrated grace grace and certainly certainly certainly had her marvelous voice under perfect control Sometimes she would speak her lines with the almost oppressive oppressive oppressive sive calmness so c characteristic of Booth in his soliloquies es Then she out into a fierce despairing shriek so suddenly that th the old gentleman in front of f us would awaken with a very perceptible perceptible perceptible percept percept- ible start He evidently imagined that his wife had screamed Jeremiah T Jeremiah Jeremiah Jere Jere- ere ere- miah theres there's a a. man under the bed It was interesting under the circumstances circumstances circum circum- stances to notice the audience A few were actually enjoying the scene but most of the people had that conscious conscious' look of rapt attention which tells so plainly how little its possessor really appreciates what is taking place One man who sat in the next seat was at least honest A suppressed snore drew my attention and I turned just in timeto time timeto to catch a glimpse of two very sleepy eyes and hear a gruff voice say wearily I wish I Iwas was at a good minstrel show I recovered in time to see the death scene which was very fine When the curtain fell there ther was a a perfect fury of applause se I The entire audience rose to its feet and went mad At one moment the air was one mass of fleecy clouds as the women waved their dainty kerchiefs and the ne next t it was bla black k with the rain of stove pipes duffies and plain caps with no name at all Above the thunderous applause rose cheer on cheer You would have thought those men were celebrating an election instead of m merely rely doing honor to the willowy white-robed white figure bending bending bending bend bend- s ing so rhythmically again and again before th them m. m I i T. T c Jean t i d I i 1 C W tJ |