St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-12-27
TO PLEASE The PUBLIC
Sara Bernharit Will Agai n
Visit st. Paul Early Next
Month.
Sir Edwin Arnold Will Give a
Reading at the Peoples
Church.
Cali the Comforts OF Ho me"
at the Metropolitan This
Week.
Hilton's New Play House Will
Be 0penel This Even
ing.

The announcement that the worlds
greatest actress, Nine. Sarah Bernhardt,
will pay the Twin Cities special visit
next month brings to mind many inter
esting things regarding this strange and
wonderful woman. Nine. Bernhardt is
the only woman producer of plays in the
world. The artistic tie temperament which
makes this famous actress the great ira
gedienne manifests itself in the realms
OF poetry and painting as well Added
to the poets inherent i'm agination for
effects and the painters inspirations in
color combinations, the eccentric Bern
hardt is a serious and intelligent stu
dent of all matters pertaining to her art.
When about to produce new play she
visits, if possible, the country aud PROV
ince iii which the scene is laid,
studying costume effects AID peculiar
tiles. She reads the literature of the
period She pores over the Bibli-
OthesQue National at Paris, the greatest
depository OF cuts, eIgravingS and
paintings of costumes in the world.
She haunts libraries for rare old books
of designs in dress. In this manner she
aqlireS every detail of costume.
One thing that may be of especial in
tereSt to the ladies' and GLOBE readers,
and particularly those who expect to
see the great actress during her coming
engagement at Minneapolis and st.
Paul, is how ana where she gets her
costumes and what they are like, for
she recently ordered wealth of new
things for several of her new plays.
The scene OF her latest tragedy is laid
i'll the cities of Paris and Milan during
the sixteenth century. In the latter
city, in the Chateau dc ChaIant, lived
the heroine Of the narrative i'll whose
sorrOWful story, dramatic and intense,
is much to arouse sympathy and con-
done the OtfenSeS Of q terrible and tiger
like nature.
The first gown is an exact copy IN de-
Sign and material of an oil painting of
La Dame which hangs in the mayors
house in Florence. The petticoat Of
the gown is CT yellow satin, covered
with network Of gold studded with
jewels, and is bordered with darn Rus
sian martin. The outer robe is fash
toned of rare old sixteenth century bro
cake. also yellow. which has lain packed
through these years, and is row brought
out at cost Of $50 yard to grace the
beautiful woman who wears it so well.
The gown has quaint. shOrt-Waisted
bodice. with its low neck edged with
fur, and long trailing skirt also fur
bordered. Bound round and round the
1.-the figure with the art that only
Sarah the great knows is a mar
row band OF gold ribbon. Jewel
studded, and the skirt is pulled and
puhed up through these bands to re-
n ii
gold taSSeiS faSten the ribbon bands on
this side. but how they are made to
stay IN place aud hold the drapings OF
heavy brocadeiis a mystery.
In the second act WOnde rful robe
Of stare in green plush, embroidered
all over with gold and hOrdPred with
gold and pearls. is draped over petit
coat of gold lace. The short-waisted
bodice has wonderful rolled girdle set
with jewels. The sleeves are tulle
pulled through velvet bands, and the
collar Of gathered gold lace. When one
reflects on the cost of the material, $40
yard, and the expense of lining of
satin at So 4 yard, all combined with
the richest Of decoration and most har-
m0niouS cOlOring, it is small wonder
that even
Ehe Great tseFnhardt
is said to have danced about in the
splendid dress when it was finished.
from sheer delight, and flashed her
wonderful smile on DaZian. the New
York cOstnmer, and pretty little Mrs.
DaZian, who went up to see that every
thing was all right. And so, flying about
like a pleased child with new frock.
and calculating ''magnitiauev' "charm-
anti' she must wear the dress out be.
fore te company assembled for re
hearSal for their admiration and ap
plauSe.
The last gown is of heavy ivory satin
lined with equally heavy blue satin ano
bOrdered with real erminP. There are
more than POO of the costly little skins
wrought into the border of the robe
and its double girdle is sewn thick Will
real turquoise and pearls. Beneath this
dress is worn d petticOat that is not
supposed TO show unless for an instant
in the fall Of the death scene. Never
theleSs this pettlcOat is of satin like the
gown, lined the same, and decorated
with imitation turquoise to the belt
But not only is fidelity in costume tC
the period and scene Of the play marked
IN every detail of her own gowns and
NANTES, but it is equally accurate in
the dress of every page and super il
the piece. Every costume, to the slip
pers and ribbons, is criticised anC
studied by Bernhard quite as carefully
as her own. With bits of velvet and
silk thrown over chairs and tables the
artist makes out her color scheme
selects the materials for each costume
pins the samples of goods and decora-
tOnS TO the sketch, scribbleS on the
margin such changes as she de-
sires 10 make, and submits them to the
eXecutantS to carry out. The customer
makes cOpiOuS notes. Sarah makes
none at all. Yet, though each person
III the piece must be cJstumed two OIL
three times over for the different scenes
If there is the slightest deviation from
her directions in a single costume SHIT
knows it, and woe be the lucklesS de
StrOyer of her ideals.
AT 10 O'Clock every morning, after al
eXhausting performance of the evening
1.-The Madame" as her company cal
her, is up and ready for filters and cos
tuners. Every dress and hat must pas
through an examination. Despite tht
many rumOrS of the little Partisan
pleaSaniTieS and eccentricitieS of diSp0
sition of which one hears so much, Mr.
DaZian and his assistants insist that Jus
so long as they follow her directions i'm
plicitiy she is the most gracious anC
grateful woman in the world. The frs
conference the filters had with madam,
was looked forward to with dread ant
fear, They went away SOrrowful, bu
came back smiling. The second seanc,
was more prolonged. Little Mrs
DaZian'S brow puckered into an anXiou
frown, and her tall husband waited
impatiently TO see what was wrong
Again the French madame and he
corps came back radiant. Indeed, &C
cording to the assertion founded on lon,
experience, there isn't one chorus cir
in hundred SO easy to please as Bern
hardt, or so appreciative and ready t
praise, where praise is due.
I'm these days of dramatic degeneracy
when the undisciplined and uninspiret
actress is launched upon the tide O
popularity and success through the me
dunn Of well-adyertiSed costumes ere
ated by Worth or Felix, it is interestin,
to learn that the great Partisan actress
as well as those of her company in tn