New-York tribune., 1884-11-16
RtRNHARDT HEARTBROKEN.
tptsuEp BY rHE FAIrHLEss RlCHEPlNs
pEeERT1ON.

txeov rue nrurTi an tRCoRREspoSptNrot I,ih ~. Oh
we'll the news Ia ttne that Sarah Befnh'i"' a.,
.s,;cuslt M There is no shammins this 'i','e'
ssvs pnauesnel. the manager OF the fcf'e In
t,s Theatre, aud sstdou Is Of the same opi'',
mot him the ethpt day ~ the library w - ,ta
t,,a where he Vas IN conversation ~ os.s,.t
ti,,,ieai hat rarely endowed actress WIN 80 t,'
e,hs, msahers ~ the Academy who WV e,,,,ss ~" af
,aatie autbats Ito spate ~ fenei"' ,''.'s,si
the ue,yous systeH, Witch was nhf w 49,, "a ,bs
es,ah has aver siaee sha male . m''a W M.
g,aneais As Ms ciartsaN sAn W 'he paw w 80,
~, lixed IA a state " reipstha' psp'' ',
made IN ut delight and ""i'f' W 49,. o,or,,
humiliation, Of vulgar tormeh's anu "''1''p hs
Her brain, through her o"n 'a"''' P,,"'', ,',
IN IN sta,e of perpetual tension, and hef HasF
-, 90 feyered. on the stage and on, that II was
,0anossihle for mind and body to have gone on ioF
go, EARS without being utterly wrecked
whcn sardou was asked whether she was plavihs
,.ioLs he said; Il think not have had great eA-
,oriepce with women of her class, and ! 'hihk
- rbcn they are not counterfeiting, ana wheh
nv are acting a part. Sarah was nearer I"
a demon than any woman i ever saw "ne"
7 went 10 call on her YESTERDAY
"a NOT observe. Young: she knows that her power
as woman-I do not speak OF her pres''eo a. ''
actress-s on the wane, and sne mas nerSo" w
serted by man who had acquired over hoi '"0
.,,os. ohso,pte ascendency that love can secure
Ue might insult her. trample on all her feeiings'
give the rein to any amount of ih-hnmor tahe ""s
liberty before strangers in talking at her. critc'sc
her sharply. and yet not cool In any wise hei p''-
sion. She was magnetized-poor frall' sway i"s
weed-by his powerful masculinity. sara" i %
nervous herself that she has been always running
after men who have strong minds IN strong
forb Damala freak. hlCut-
min compared TO Dsmala was as Hercules 10 a.,
snollo She literally adored HIM and only wanted
a. la allowed 10 associate her existence Win MS
He was disappointed that she did not carry oil
hoforc ber in England as Lady Macbeth In his trans
,otion of Shakespeare's tragedy SO was she'
Indeed she was annihilated by the codness Win
which she was received. She is creature
or+,rclv without ballast and exaggerates every
thing. All her passions are not amlaole She is
ike one possessed of an evil spirit when she
eiyes herself up to hatred, which she ol.eh
does. The spirit lodged In her
rends her and cannot be exercised. Although sic
does not shrink from doing under all crcumstahces
inst as she likes she cannot half express those Vio
lent emotions even when she gets INTO hts Oh choA-
ing rage"
sordou has Southern loouacity and speaks at the
rate Of sixty miles an hour. 1t is hard to report
yarhaIlv broken monologue which comes Ike a
torrent from his mouth. But the impression oil
what he saws is so strong on his hearers mind that
q ia impossibe not to remember distinctly It's gen
eral sense He saws that Sarah has the tempera-
mont of the Jews at Jerusalem between
the Nativity and the taking OF 'h"S
CITY bv Titus 1t was asked of
sardon whether the famous actress was not
rather a Phcdre pursued by an irrltated venus
who inspired her with passions from whcu sue
herself recoiled The eminent dramatst thouen'
NOT. Phadre has moral sense or sentiment through
ont and admits in all her words ana actohs Vn"'
.ho "a suhect ,o the common law. She never ceases
10 have delicate conscience Her struggle aeaihs,
Tho chains in which ancestral sin has bound
ha, ia one Of her most rasical conceptions of Greek
roetrv. Sarah poor thing. has a notion that she
.h,ulJ be n law unto herself. or indeed
,hot sbe should he subject to no
law eycept that Of her own whimsical VIII.
gha is though convent-bred, utterly Wi'hou'
,oiisious feeling or belief and yet very super
sitinps Her snperstitions are the reverse oi con
sniins. She will begin no task enter INTO ho
ensaaement. attend 40 rehearsal act out on ho
innrnsy on n FRIDAY ~ on the hineieenth oi "h'
month with that. she Ia ah avowel aihel9' ai'
,.,t, 4, sive tao fullest possible value tn Riche-
MINIS 'ulasphpnies by teeitins tleh ~ hei il'h-
80, and sweetest tones kafiaH claims tender pity
for safah M doubt he Ia fisht, Those ELECTS ahe
pfaiu,es an tho stage exhaust vitality WITH 'eis
,bie spaed All artists, literary oi othrf' ohatm
thfoneh cerebral congestion Wheh th"y
most delight they are most consumer
b, The inner dame ~ which they owe eoninnnl-
oative warmth,
sarahs affairs are in utter disorder. When she
Earn, a lot of money she lllngs II away, she over
rates her strength TO make engagements which She
Is unable to keep and gets herself entangled III
ruinous lawsuits. sardou visited her JUST alter
Rlchepin had let her know that deep gun was
Irevocably opened between them and that he was
,ong to Newfoundland. She was rolling on the
loor gnashing her teeth, breaking and biting
.verythng that came in her way, screaming, sob
hing imprecating. and wishing herself
anuihilated. When her nervous power was spent
the was like a rag" and implored her visitor to
have compassion on her and not press her to re-
hearse the character of TheodOrd-the Byzantine
Empress who had been a circuS-rider and profess
,onally gallant before the Emperor JustInian was
bewitched by her and married her. Somewhere in
Italy sardou, when travelling recently there
a BYZANTINE picture of Theodore and was struck
with her resemblance to Sarah. He had
previously read an old forgotten play of which
she was the heroine. entitled The Empress
and her Coachman.r which he opined he might take
for the basis OF n drama. Then he studied the char
aeter III history of the exalted lady. who he found
was neurotic violent whimsical, feline, and capri
sious and refused TO be bolnd by social proDretes
OF court etiquette. She bewitched the pedant JUS
tuian to the end. and founded Magdalen agylum.
INTO which women of immoral life were forced. IL
was conducted on such severe principles and was
sucn fearfully irksome gaol that many of the un-
fortunate pen;tents committed suicide.
Should Sarah's breakdown prove n permanent
sne her part Will be assigned to somebody else.
As there is great scarcity of clever actresses 1t
will be hard to ill the gap which her prolonged
illness would open. In any case Theodore" vii
be brought out at the Porte st. Martin Theatre
In the actual scarcity OF irst-rate artists Sardou
thinks that contnua a1ce of Sarah's illness wonld
be a great misfortune. But he thinks that any