| Show TRICKY BERNHARBT 1 How She Turned Her Studio Into a Stable A FREE ADVERTISING FAKIR FAK She Feigns Insanity and Set Paris Wild Madame Adam DeLeuvillo and Mrs Leslie PARIS Nov ISpecial correspondence of THE HERVLDJ Bernhardts little scheme for applying a live snake to herb her-b rod breast in the death scene of Cleopatra Cleo-patra excites a laugh in the city which has become quite used to being freshly fooled by her on the production of each fresh play When Bernhardt puts her genius at the service of her charlatanry the result is such glorious and unique humbugging hum-bugging as only the boulevards could appreciate ap-preciate but which they love her for Parisians will not soon forget how Born hardt advertised one piece by going t a horse fair buying splendid horses for her son returning to Paris after midnight and stabling the animals for lack of other accommodation in her magnificently fitted studio Next morning all Paris was agog How could you allow such wanton destruction 1 Ah said the Bernhaidt her eye alight with maternal devotion how could I deny Maurice anything Nor has Paris yet done talking of how SUE POSED AS AN ANGEL at Maurices wedding a ray of light sifted through stained glass falling softly on her uplifted face as she knelt at the altar wrapt in religious ecstacy This was almost al-most as good an advertisement as the news which not so very long ago startled all France Bernhardt had become insane No said Mpnsieurs the journalists and dramatic critics you have deceived us too often this time we positively refuse to believe be-lieve one syllable M of Fioaro was especially firm in his position By the great gods he had sworn and he would stand by his oath that Bernhardts name should never again appear in types which he controlled But private information came to him from sources deemed incorruptible incor-ruptible and he was brought to call on Berndardt to see with his own eyes In her boudoir with lights turned down she kept him waiting and then bounced into the apartment like one of her own tiger cats and leaned against the mantel hair disheveled face haggard features blank and unintelligent fingers trembling Her complexion was ghastly her eyes wandering wander-ing Not a word did she answer to his I questions but mumbled to herself in undertones After a little SUE DROPPED TO THE FLOOR and lay staring into the fire babbling M was convinced Next aay he came out with a lamentation j a great light had gone out Bernhardt had had her faults but it would be long ere they looked on her like again rhis was the moment for which Bern hardt had been waiting In two hours a card from her was in every newspaper office in the city she was not insane she could not imagine how such a canard had started her head had never been clearer as she hoped to convince the public by her production of in which she should open the week following But none of her recent performances have equaled a somewhat earlier achievement achieve-ment There are gossips who still laugh as they remember how after her marriage with Damula the rumor got about Paris that owing to domestic duties Bernhardt would beunable to finish her season I Fashion writers who visited Worth discovered discov-ered that in good truth Bernhardt had ordered D complete outfit of new stage dresses designed with the view of hiding 1 her figure It became the fashion to go I and see the actress in those gowns Bets were up as to how many more nights she would play when suddenly without warning as the interest reached its climax cli-max the special wardrobe was thrown aside Bernhardt laughed and Paris laughed with her as it saw how well it had been fooled There is only one Bernhardt She is unique unapproachable But with all her quackery Paris remembers to her credit that she sincerely loved Damala she pulled him put of the gutter and in spite of much at the end she mourned him Mme Adam There are few occasions in Paris more interesting in-teresting than the reception days of Mme Adam Though one chooses the earliest hour visitors are already pouring in The founder of the Nouvcllc Reims receives many women but more men who bow before her kissing her hand like subjects sub-jects before their queen At 54 the beautiful beauti-ful Juliette Lambert isnot young looking but graceful simple in manner fascinating Admission to her salon is sought so persistently persis-tently by Americans in Paris that she has had ample opportunity to gather material for her sketches of American girls Mme Adam has a large fortune left by her hus band and an immense capacity for work which has partially satisfied itself in a dozen volumes on history literature and political economy The friend of Gambetta the intimate of all the Republican celebrities celebri-ties she has spent her life in politics in the social world in the great intellectual movement move-ment influencing her time as somehow only French women seem able It is very pretty to see her surrounded by servants deputies and professors who pay her the double homage of French gallantry and literary lit-erary friendship It does not appear to me that she has more than an average share of her countrywomens genius in dress Her toilets are very simple and one remembers her vitality and radiance of intelligence long after one has forgotten her clothes |
