New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1888-01-15
THE BERNHARDT WEDDING
BONNIE BRIDE HANDSOME GROOM AND
MOTIiERLY LOOKING SARAH.


nso,, THE REGULAR CORRESPONDENT or rnx rri'uSA
pAris, December 81
tn, Rornbardt wedding was o typical event
Illustrating curiously the organic changes going
an in the Old World On one side was family
roor but pridinq itself on its conventional dis
tjnction and traditional supcriority-that OF the
Princess Dowager Jablonowska. widow OF an
aide dc camp to the late King Of Italy and herself
the daughter OF an Italian patrican, Prince Ercoa
de- Bologna by Mademoiselle Joubcrthon, step
daughter Of LuCien Bonaparte, brother OF the first
Emperor. On the other side was family which
had gone on free-love lines and not even troubled
Gretna Green to regularize It's domestic relations
Maurice Bernhardt the bridegroom. Is love child
of Sarah Bernhardt, who also Is love child OF
a Dutch Jcwcss and an Englshinan who lived at
Havre. The matchmaking intermediary WAS Sarah
Bernhardts niece Sally. a love child Of Jeanne
Bcrnhardt. who also born out Of wedock
Sally was one Of the bridesmaids OF the Princess
TerlSa JablonowslSa now Madame Maurice Bern
hardt, and both young ladies are devoted TO eacn
other. They became acquainted in the siuulo o'
Julien. who keeps a great drawing school sally
used to give Terka theatrical tickets ana take nef
into the wings Of Boulevard playhouscs In when
her aunt and mother perform On the night OF
the first representation Of La Tosca," which has
only had as yet q run Of thirty-ave nights, the
young girls went to see Sarah in her dressing room
before the curtain rose. Maurice Bernhardt WAS
there He saw Terlxa, was violently smitten ana
could not sleep wink until he again met her
coming from the drawing class. She WAS as
violently enamcred and insisted on her mother
giving Maurice the leave he asked to coll daily
upon her. The visits were not long in ending In
formal declaration Of love.
Sarah Bernhardt who has paid her debts. has
bought another house. which she has furnished
sumptuouslv on the ready money principle. brought
home in clean cash 5000 900, is paid $500 night
for acting in La Tosca," and is engaged to make
q grand European tour in the spring and grand
American our Her position no doubt IT.
regular But It had had not only the gliding OF
artistic fame but Of real gold and Maurice intends
to be not as was arranged few years ago
stockbroker Init painter, and the profession OF
fine art admits Of q good deal Of Bohemianism.
The thing to he asccrtained by the Dowager Prin-
cess was whether Sarah would pass on some of
the gold gliding to her son. Sarah is a generous
creature. and the difficulty with her Is how to keep
money She WAS enchanted to think that her son
shonld start within the bounds Of law with girl
of really high birth. high breeding and loving and
lovable as Juliet Indeed it would he hard to
IND any one answering more fully to Shakes
peare's conception of warm hearted Italian girl
than the piquant, winsome and in all points At
tractNe Terka. She has jet black hair, dark.
poetic eyes. and clear pale COMPLEXION with
an underglow showing through it Of health and
quick spirit. So the queen of the drama bought
straightway biiou mansion in the fashionable
and artistic haunted plain Of Courcees. with
studio in 1t. in the name OF Maurice. and agreed
10 divide with him her last American harvest II
was oil rapidly done and things were ready in
very short time for the wedding She gave her
male mantua maker an order to provide TerlSa
with any dresses that Maurice might choose to
order and as lie insisted on her having few
lovely things, the wedding robe among the rest,
and on his mothers planning what they were to
be, she has started with wardrobe not perhaps
very vouminous, but of the choicest and most
artistic kind
Sarah Bernhardt wanted to have the religious
wedding at midni ght, but the Archbishop Of Paris
would not hear Of the Church of St. Ilonore
dEylau being turned into a playhouse. Her
cuse that she wanted to keep ont the ra fish.
race course public-which no doubt includes a
good deal Of heavy swedom French parish
church, should explain. is by law open to all
corners from sunlight in the morning until sunset
The only plan for preventing that Of St Honore
d'Eylau, which is a small one, from being invaded
by Objectionable people to give out in the
papers that nobody but those showing invitations
at the door would be admitted. PariSians tool,
this fib for what 1t was worth. But outer bar
barans from the other States of the world be-
heved it and long before the time announced for
the ceremony gathered on the footway in the
Place St. Honore d'Eylau In the hope Of seeing
bride, bridegroom, and above all the gifted Sarah
IN her character of heavy mother" "a character
which, here let me say. she played to perfection.
There never was better mother than she has
rIo III.
sister and aunt and was as good as she could be
to her old mother, who was never saint, but true
70 the maternal instinct
The chancel and the part of the church close
TO 1t were very pretlily arranged. Sarah stood
the cost Of the altar and porch decoration with
green plants and flowers. She presented the Cure
with gorgeous crimson silk covered with hand
embroidery in gold. picked up in Hungary. to serve
as reredos The embroidery reflected the light of
the innumerablc tapers on the altar and the yer.
dure OF the palms and camelias made the
crimson seem all the ruddier. row of crimson
velvet arm and pre-dieu chairs for the bride and
bridegroom, the two mothers, the with sses Jeanne
Bernhardt and as kind Of member Of the family
and irregularly born person. Dumas the younger,
was set down In the chancel The gilded chairs
with crimson seats in the nave out
side the chance were on the right
for the family and intimate friends Of the bride
groom and on the left for those of the bride. In
the latter were the Countess de Trobrand. nee
Jones, Of New-YOrh and wife of General de Trob-
Rand, Madame Rataz1 de Rute nee Bonaparte-
Wyse, and her daughter Roma Ratazz Madame
Ratazzi has now her third husband. distinguished
Spaniard and member Of the Cortes, who out Of
devotion to her endeavors to make believe he is
good deal more than forty-three Her second
husband wa, Signor Ratazzi, the Italian states
man, and her first Comte de Solm Her life has
been a roseatc oLe She was the most beautiful
creature imaginable throughout the Second Empire,
was like her great-aunt Pauline Bonaparte In
NOR respects than faultless beauty and charm,
brilliant poet, novelist, playwright and actress,