Press and daily Dakotaian. (Yankton, Dakota Territory [S.D.]) 1880-1889, 1886-07-13
Especial Correspondence

The grand stairway opens on the left from
this entrance hall. A stack OF apparel partly
blocks the way. You see robes II shoe.
and fans, etc, mixed together in utter dis
order. This is a portion of the actress ward
robe waiting to be packed in the big blacl
trunks, that maid servants are bending ovel
in the little room across the hall. Probably
some OF these wrinkled garments will. in {
few months more, delight the eyes of Amer
lean audiences Pushing by them and
mounting this palace-like staircase, I react
the drawing rooms of the celebrated artist
The walls are painted in white, relieved BY
strips of gold moulding. The paint and the
chairs and sofas look faded and used. You
see that this is n furnished house. The
army of hungry creditors SO stripped her
own hotel that she had scarcely anything
left; SO there was nothing for her to dc
but to;take a furnished house.
A few pictures hang on the walls, and
some nicknacks stand on the tables--an
that remains of a fine collection of canyases
and objects OF art that passed under the auc.
tioneer's hammer Mt the Hotel Drouot a wear
tso last January. Among the other things
knocked down to tho highest bidder on that
occasion was the, well known picture, eThe
Young Girl and Death, y painted by the ira.
= ittS- - q" a v INV 0dliB " lQiiL
afterward In the window of n picture dealer
near the grand houlevards. One day | no
sticed that it had disappeared, carried off,
perhaps, to Brazil or the great west, where,
perhaps, the grand actress may soon feast
hei. eyes once moro on this lost child Of he.
brush. Two busts by the same hand-for
Sarah Bernhardt is a sculptor, too-are the
only things left in her parlors to testify to
the artistic bent of the hostess.
The most noticeable objects in Sarah Bern
hardt's rooms, as / saw them when / called,
we're immense baskets and bouquets of faded
flowers, the floral offerings of the first night
Of Hamlet" which occurred this past win
ter. Sarah Bernhardt appeared as Ophelia
and was very much criticised. So severe in
fact were some of the critics that the actress
got on one of her high horses and answered
them through the newspapers. But the pub
lie took the same view as the critics, and
the piece soon disappeared from the stage of
the Porto st. Martin. Perhaps the actress
clings to these withered gifts In order stillto
protest against the opinions Of her judges of
the press and the public, and to show that
she at least Is proud to remind her visitors
of this disastrous -ad van tllre nta Tie realms
OF Shakespeare.
1t has often been said that Sarah Bern
hardt keeps her coffin in one Of the closets OF
her house, int that she sometimes takes a
nap in this narrow bed in order to accus tom
herself to the terms of death. ] am assured
by the intimate friends of the actress, that.
as have always believed, there is no truth
in this weird story. However this may be,
another emblem of the heartless Reaper does
adorn the center table at Sarah B~ernhardt's.
a human. skull there stares you in the face.
And the most interesting thing in connec-
finuc With THE opa,x,,p, a.n q -.
for leaving it in full view, is n stanza writ
ten on the crown by Victor Hugo. It.may
DO translated as follows:
Skeleton. what hast thou done with the SOUP
Lamp, what hast thou done with the namef
cage, what hast thou done with thy beau,
tifulg bird that used to sing7
Volcano, what hast thou done with the Laval
What hast thou doneto thy nastera Made him thy
8 slayei WI.
The last line of course refers to the poet |
and the actress Sarah Bernhardt inter. |
preted many of Victor Hugo's tragedies at the |
Theatre Francois before falling out with the |
manager Of that famous state playionse and
rec.gning from the troupe. Hence the poet
himself her master" And she did In.
Iced treat him more than once as if he were
her slave, for Sarah Bernhardt used to rule |
N the green room of the House of Mofiare. |
ana Victor Hugo,5likc less noted dramafi is,
prices
Nine Bsrnhardt tai ~ and moves in her
IN room just as she does on the STAGE
The same rapid but clear enuneiat;s,, Tn
anne graceful cat-like motion, YOU feei tl,ot
'ou are in the theatre With the great actress
'efore the f%ootlightsN Sarah Beruhardt i
atter natural on the stage or STACEY at
iome, probably the latter. She is as aftable
a her casy. chair as she Ia irascihls MT a