The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1891-02-24
ANENT SARAH THE Divine.
Tho Great Bernhard Talks TO An
other Woman Of Herself and
Her Work.
The Blood and tho Murder Of
La Tosoa Are Real
to Her.
Gossip About Her Figure, Dresses and
Mske-Up she stands the Test
Of ELECTRICITY.

The end Of tho third act! Palpitating,
disheveied, wild. eyed Tosca, with her Or
nine-trimmed violet cloak training In sinu-
Gus folds behind her. staggered into her
dressing room. Half fainting she fell into
n crimson velvet chair, her eyes trimming
over with tears, and in brok0n accents,
pressing her hands to her heart, she mur-
INJURED, "Ah, que celia me fat NAL. II ia all
80 real to me, the blood, the murder-Hh
-" and A. II overcome with emotion, sho
sank back almost unconscious and shiver-
ing, ~ IL with fear, into the arms OF her at
tendnnt. A tall form sbadowed the door
way; it WAS Scarpia, who had come to SEQ
how madame felt after her trying scene;
the blood was still unwashed upon his
temple. and at the sight Tosca appeared
overcome with remorse, and in her eyes
there was q look Of appeal, as If asking
''It tires me 3d." she monned; II could
not do IL we'll without ] felt IL, and when !
am playing / am La Tosca. not Sarah Bern
hardt. II 10 my nature; | can't help it,"
Madame has nov recovered her equa-
nimity. and the woman asserted herself.
The maid placed the giIded chair in front
of the long, mirrored dressing table, strswn
with repousse silver puff boxes, ivory
manicure tools and all the psraphernalia
requisite for the makeup of an actress.
Madame daintilv picked up one thing and
then another. First she dabbed Il ausl icion
of rouge upon her rounded chin, then from
out q mother Of ponrl pilgrim shell smeared
with some blonde tinted paste she extracted
. soft brush which she passed lightly over
her cheeks, importing to her complexion u
dazzling brilliuncy; the almond shape of
the eyes were accentuated by long lines of
anthony drawn beneath this lids and be-
yond tho corners: the curves OF the volup-
tuous lips we're made more marked by the
skillfnl application of a cherry stain. and
the pink ears peeped from beneath the halo
of her cleaning looks like two ivo.y-tipped
sea shells.
Her makeup, like everything else per-
tanning to the tragedienne, 10 4 study;
every voint of vantage 10 carefully noted:
there ars no crude streaks Of carmine in
juxtaposition to asseit.v pearl powder and
staring 1iauid white, but all rs beautifully
blended Ms the flesh tints in n Gainsboro
portrait. Sarah stands the crucial test Of
the electric light wonderfully, says the New
York News, and many a society belle would
do well to take a lesson in drawing-room
makeup from the histrionic artist. And
the wrinkles and the crows feet spoken Of
by invidious chroniclers: perhaps they
might be perceptible with the aid Of n
magnifying glass, but even the closest
scrutiny beneath the ~telltale glare of the
VI htbp ihIbCb w ANtDbpo ~ biHhb Vi
age or declining charms. As to her hair.
il il marvelously beautiful, not red. not
blonde. but with ruddy and golden CLEANS,
which seems As il caught from the rays OF
noontide sunlight, reminding one Of that
seen in An old Venitian picture. "Isn't it
rretty?' asked Sarah with the naivete OF a
child AZ she ran her long fingers through
the fluffy aureo!e which encircled her low
Greek forehead and threaded the waving
masses which fell down her back and were
bald f. al m IL. As. or NHu- taV.1 ~tan, ta.-A
j have so much of it and it is 80 hard to
comb" tossing it bnck from her forehead.
Sarah's extreine thinness ia a thing Of the
past: her dircctoire gowns were in marked
contrast to those OF the society actresses.
who make them the occasion for q display
OF their charms. No vestal virgin could
have been govned with more modesty than
Was La Tosca, the bodice Of her dress being
slightly rounded, only showing the upper
portion OF her neck. While tho maid wHs
changing her gown. Sarah stood revealed
in all the seGsuous beauty Of her long. 1.-THE,
untrammelled limbs: there was MOTH ng
visible beneath her dress save n sort of
princess-like garment of silk. of a
tint no nearly ~ possible assimiiat-
ing to tho flesh: it was cut just
like an evening waist, and was unboacd
and laced in tine back; the flesh SD. wed be-
tween the intersticeS in the lacipg. for there
was nothing else beneath. ION this
sheath-like bodice cleaned forth the
actress shoulders. the white pillar of her
throat and the fairness of her arms. NIL Of
NJ rounded contour ms those OF a Il eek
bacchante. The Factions reporter will in
future be forced to discover some other
weak point in the ense'nhle of tho Peerless
One. for her figure certainly leaves nothing
to be desired.
To women tho actress is quite as bewitch-
ing as she is to men: there is none of the
~listless attitude toward other women that
IL the attribute of the man woman, whose
face never lights up save at the approach of
one of the opposite sex. Bernhardt is in
carnated seduction, a creature of impr.s-
siOns, of moods and of impulses, always
dominated by her feelings and not by her
reason, and imbned with q sur plus of mag
netism which has much to do with holding
her audience. And the color of her eyes.
how can / tell? Whether blue, brown or
inscrutabls perhaps. and nj times, as they
glare like the fiery Orbs of the wild beast of
the jungle III passionate scenes. they burn
with an opalescent glow like the tints fash
ing through old Iokay, CLEAN with melting
pathos, and become s~uffused with genuine
tears.
The emotional play. the quick transitions
Of her mobile features, are q study for the
psychologist, and are phenomenal even in
an actress.
A voluptuOus, dangerous atmosphere sur
rounds the great Sarah; the senses grow
faint ~ some strange perfume is waited
upon the air, and the vibrating timbre of
her voice seems to penetrate ones inmost
soul. OFF the stage it ID low, eympnthetio
and full Of reserved force: it can be pitched
III = resonant key when anger il to he por
trayed, bnt the passionate fervor with
which she imbues her Lore passages is large
ly due to ths skillfuIness with which she
manages her voice; she always makes one
believe then she is REFRESHING and not ex-
pressing passion, and in this lies her intens
lty Of expression.
"Ah, Qusl bean paYs.' exclaimed La
Bernhardt. while the plaudits of the audi
ence still rang in her ears. Il had thought
the public would have wearied of me ere
this: but you Americans always accord mo
such a generous welcome: you are loyal TO
your ideals. for to-day | am Rs popular as /
was the first time ] visited you. II ID the
freedom OF you Americans that ! admire;
your women can d0 so much that French
women dare rot do: you can make your liv-
ing in various fields, while in France
place is restricted, and there are
many stumbling blocks III tho way Of the
woman b must earn her bread. An
a~ctress-well, of course. she can make
that way. but think how few good
there are: any woman can 20 on
the stage. but how seldom she attnins emf
hence. Genius il Unborn. and will not be
repressed. Even study and practice cannot
take its place."
And now about 'Cieopatra?'" asked.
"'Cleopatra' is n spectacle" She replied.
"'Tosca' liz n role. 'Iosca' gives infinite