Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1884-01-10
SARAH BaRNUA'S MEMOIRS.


been written in any language" says Albert
Wolff in the Paris Figaro, Of the "MemoireS
de Sarah Bainum.n This book is the crown
ing point OF the nauseous literature amid
which we are living. After this there is no
reason why al! the secrets OF the family
should not be publicly sold. Be it truth or
lies. there is no more security. Ii these arc
the consequences Of liberty Of the press, il
the magistracy is disarned and the police
cannot protect Us, en- ovaEt the horsewhip,
the dagger and the revolver
\ glance at The little book, copies of which
have lust reached America, will quite justify
this outburst. The identity of Sarah Bar
mum" is evident, not only from the thinly
disguised names throughout the story, but
from burlesquo portrait OF the famous ac-
! tress which iiSures il exaggerated thlnness
| unon the cover She is represented ID the
| ac. OF defamation and surrounded hy the
| indictments Of her multliarious pursuits !:
| her palette AMI brushes, guitar, etc. inc
| book is entirely aud unblushingy scandal
| Gus, and truth and fiction are so mixed up
with we'll known details Of dramatic history
which relate 10 nobody but Madame Bern
| hardt that the object OF the libel would be
| evident, even We're there any attempt 10
| deny it. On every page there arc imputa-
| tions OF immortality and references TO pccu-
MARY difficulties. Every circumstance in
regard to the heroine that can be put i'll a
| bad light is made the worst of with re-
markablc ingenuity. Sarah Barnum is de-
| cared not even TO bG truthful in Colnplaln-
! ing Of Il consumptivc tendency and her
| shifting blood is attributed to the ELECT OF
| some ocscurely limited at surgical operation.
Nine Bernhardt is followed from baptism
| 10 the grave with perseVerlnS mall5nity. II
! il explaincd tha. she was 'an essentially
practical person, in whom baptism had not
DESTROYED the inherent commercial intelli-
scncc .; her race" This Intelligence she
displays, according to the story, by gravely
consulting with her relatives, when eighteen
wears Of age. as to how she can most advan-
! tageously sell herself. Immediately after
| this recital we have an account Of theatri-
cal differences with the pcnsionnaires and
| societares Of u certain theater where her
disobliging manners and generally outrage
Gus conduct led the directors TO demand her
resignation. 70 her disappointment the oc-
currence made no stir and ''the comcdicnnc
only despised the Journalists !; little more
than before. Hungering for notoriety, she
professcd for the instruments Of pulling an
| absolute disdain, the insolcnCo Of which
was increased on this occasion by her
spite"
In the next chapterwe arc tod something
of the Barnuln's associates 'To kill time
| she kept the company Of the fashionable
members OF the demimoude. She was seen
| at the house of Cora Pearl and others
! Those relations, however, proved of small
utility. Her notorlety remained nil: her
beauty had nothing attractive about ii and
she did not know how to set it of 10 the
best advantage. She only looked we'll in y
high dresss, aud Of this she was not aware
Just as she did not know how 10 make
the most OF the charm Of her eyes and
mouth. As regards her toilet it con-
sisted wholly or III part Of eccentricities
which ut Il later date were adopted by the
fashion, but which at this period simply
rendered the originator OF them ridic-
ulous. She again sought an engagement,
took thousand fruitless steps to obtain one,
but was soon discouraged, tired Of finding
herself everywhere humiliated and rcbu1ed.
1t was then that, driven by necessity, she
fell so low as to appear under q false name
in q feere at the POrte-Saint-Martin. She
played the part Of Princess Souci, and as it
required 4 dress open al the sides. she relied
upon securing Il triumph by means of flesh
colored tights
The American voyage is narrated at great
length, and here we have probably the cl0u
of the book. 1t is made 10 appear that
Sarahs sister fell iii on the eve of departure
and she appealed TO ''her dear Martha to
help her in this predicament which the
guileless actress consented to do, and en-
barked withouta contract The story which
follows is long and complicated. 1t relates
chiefly To disputes about salary with Sarah
and Curey, the American manager, and can
not have lnucn interest except as Colon.
Eier's version of q now historic quarrel.
The Barnum's predicament on her return
TO Paris is thus described: Her situation
was one Of real disaster, u complete wreck.
Bills poured in, notices OF seizure came from
every side, aud her deserlion by her friends
was such as TO discourage the most careless
or most philosophical Of Bohcmiaus. It
seemed as il in leaving the Corneilie theater
Sarah had parted with her luck. Oa one
and the same day the actress received Il pro-
tested bill! Of 5000 francs and dined at II
o'clock al night because Il tradesman refused
TO deliver on credit SO centmes worth OF
brio aud the butcher , francs worth of cut.
lets"
Under the head of ''Greatness and Deca-
dence'' an accounts given of theatre built
expressly for the heroine and called the Sa,
rah Barnum theater, where Sarah "struo-
i gled with the energy of despair" but with
out success. "She tried every trick, but
could not save her theater." Reference j:
then made to momentary idea of commit
ting suicide in romantic fashion, from which
she is saved by her instructive cowardice
Reference is also made to her loss OF good
looks. through cares, and to her addiction &C
alcohol. "She attempted TO return to The
Corneille theater, but was refused an en-