Connecticut western news., 1879-07-16
THE FRENCH ACTORS.
A SKETCH OF SARAH BERNHARDT, THE AC- TRESS WHO Is CREATING A GREAT FU- RORE IN EUROPE.

As all the world is now talking of
 Sarah Bernhardt, who has long been
 one of the wonders of Paris, short
 sketch of the great actress's professional
 career will doubtless be perused with
 interest by your readers. Sarah Bern
 hardt is of Jewish extraction; her
 father was an advocate at Havre, her
 mother was Dutch. She entered the
 Conservatoire in 1861, and was @ pupil
 of the actor Beauvallet Mdlle. Bern hardt pursued her studies with such
 success that she gained the first prize for
 tragedy, and was Ill consequence entitled
 to debut at the Theatre Francais. The
 debut, however, was failure ; and her
 next attempt-th time at the Gym
 nase-provede a complete faseo so
 complete, indeed, that after the second
 representation, the discomfited actress
 fled from Paris, and, in a farewell letter
 to the author Labiche, wrote, 1ycs
 2oitje dune pauUre petite t0quee."
 (Have pity on poor little actress. Re-
 turning after 8 short interval to the
 capital, Mdlle. Bernhardt performed at |
 the Theatre of the Porte Saint Martin
 but here again she failed to please. |
 Undaunted by misfortune, Sarah Bern
 hardt paid visit to one of the directors
 of the Odeon, and asked him to receive
 her. This was M. Duquesnel, and to
 him she said, "I have been turned
 away everywhere, but try me. I assure
 you there IS something hero," pointing
 not to her head, but to her heart, and
 they soon found at the Odeon thnt there
 was " something there." Sarah Bern
 hardt made her debut at this theatre in
 the role of Sylvia in the "Jeu de
 PAmour ct du,, ,,Hasard." In this charac-
 ter she did not shine but when Alex andre Dumas entrusted to her the lead
 ing female part in his " kean," her suc- cess was assured; and, although the play was i'll received, the house re-
 warded her with perfect storm of ap- plause. During the War, proving that she had heart for sterner realities than
 those of the stage, Mdlle. Bernhardt assisted with the ambulances, tending ) her wounded countrymen with untiring care and devotion. Then came the peace, and on February 2, 1872, the cur tain rose on Buy Blas," with Sarah , Bernhardt as Queen of Spain. Her triumph was immense, and M. Victor 5 Hugo declared that she realized tho type t of which he had dreampt for Dona Maria. The Theatre Franchise took Mdlle. SA1hOoU bJ 1OIC6 buO OdeOn; but at first her success was comparatively slight. She was not for l tunate ill the parts allotted to her and
 even now, although all Paris rings with l her varied fame, she has had fewer orig & lnal characters to create than have fallen Q to the lot Of far inferior actresses. But o Mdlle. Bernhardt proved, in several of Racine's tragedies, that she alone 7 of living French artistes is capable - of wearing with grace that mantle t that slipped more than twenty years ago from the shoulders of Rachel. o At length, in "L La File de Ro- . land," the talented lady, who had for so long been feeling her way upon the o stage of the Francais, found a congenial d character, in which the charm of her s voice, the bright intelligence of her dic- IT tloa, and her statuesque grace, had full opportunity of display. Her success was U immense and it sealed the future of an
 author who had waited even longer than
 his interpreter for public recognition.
 No one can have watched Mdlle. Bern 5 hardt, as "La File de Roland" winds @ her arms around the venerable form of ,- Charlemagne, without thinking what an - exquisite Cordelia she would make, and I without regretting that Shakespeare is o practically banished from tho French
 stage. Her next tragic creation was that II of the blind Postumia, in "Rome Vain cue;" and here, again, it was her remark " able impersonation that redeemed the k dullness of heavy tragedy. Her part in ,r "Estrangere, although inferior in inter- = est, and even in importance, to that oi o the Duchesse du Septmonts, was dis r. tinctly individual creation, and many d will have an opportunity of observing .e in London, where she is now play l. ing, how completely this gifted ac ., tress contrives to merge her own in al dividnality Tn that of the character sh, V interprets. Even in her accent as Mrs n Clarkson there is just the faintest possi D. ble indication of her foreign origin. In Q. to the details of Mdle. Bernhardt' Q, private lifo it would not be right tt
 enter, were 1t not that all her multfari 1' ous occupations are as much publi le property as are the days of an Americal in President. Those admitted to the privi lg lege of her acquaintance have reason t. s. laugh at the stories of her employing is others to do the work, in sculpture . painting and literature, which goes fortl u to the world in her name. For all he or work is done more or less in public ly Her studio is generally filled with friends f. and 1t is in their presence, and in tn s midst of bright conversation, that sh ,o paints her pictures and mouIds the cla 1o into shapes that will live. If she wear 7n a cricketing costume, it is only whe v- she IS employed on some colossal stat ne ue, such as that which has been set Il s. at Monaco; but when she is working O d a bust she receives her visitors in ord - nary attire, and ill the superb studi ''- which is all that an artist can dream ne Mdlle. Bernhardt has the fancy of hay ny ing her coffin always near her, but thi
 constant companionship with the ide
 of death, does not cast a shadow owe
 her gaiety, and many will agree wit
 her in thinking that familiarity with tn at inevitable Is preferable to craven fea oe of the future. The skeleton which rs in every household occupies a post C yn honor in that of Mdlle. Bernhardt. To s. his bony arms embrace the cheval-g glas es ill her bed room; and when she studle as a new part, she makes this dumb prompt as or hold the manuscript of her part l :" hls tleshless hand. This is one of tn
 eccentricities of genius, and by way ( @, proof that am. not using tho word loose le ly may state that M. de Grardin, Il ed mean judge in such matters, declares hi in conviction that NIdlle. Bernhardt IS, a on a tragedian, fully equal to Rachel. O en this point there eau be no doubt, tha i'll the actress of to-day has all tho winnin ed tenderness in which her famous prede ry cessor was conspicuously deficient.
 10 THE NATIONAL FINANCES