Waterbury evening Democrat., 1895-03-18
viCToRIEN sARDoU.

was produced at the Odeon in Paris It enjoys tho distinction of having been treated moro severely than any play ever produced in tho French capital.
 In 1858 he married Milo. dc Brccourt. who was n warm personal friend of Do iAzCt, tho famous actress. At tho huusO of DCJaZCt, SaTlnu mot NandCrhuch, who had written several plays for the nctrosS, and with him hu Cullahuratvd on n play called "PrTmivrrs Armcs dr Fli;Lr,., " the leading part in which was 'cuntriNcd" for Dc- jazrt, who at once accepted it The nc trcsS. hriuG cut uf an engagement. leased thcLtrr. witch shU called ThcAIro De- inZrt, N In, IL. In l>19, the play Was pro duvrd nud >urcrt t,vd Sincv that time Sard"u has l"s'n almost prrIWtually in the play yhnuSo
 BrtwCcn IStiU and 1864 Sarluu wrote 20 plays and paid tho rrico of his haste with many a failuro But between lSG6 and 1871 he srnsihly produced but snven, and thrCc of thuSo are still accounted among his best One of thoso was La Patrie, tho fororuuner ot hts later historical efforts and still cnnsidrr,d by many ns model of his style and a literary achievement far Hhovo most of his plays la Patrio" was not the success over hero that 1t should havc hccn
 Sardou's method of making plays Is one that can le easily studied. If one reads his prciares, he will find that tho method so visible in the plays themselves Is dClib- crate, but hc will find, too, that Sarlou rccoSnizcs that, first of all, n man to be a good playmaker must be born with the dramatic Instinct, as a poet must be with l the poetic
 Oucn only has NJ, Sardou overrcachcd | himself in tho marvellous faculty which he a. EH. stage, and tha; was in his historical dru ma, | la llainr, hy men liko Dumas consid | erCd his masirrpiVCr, and which failed bc- cause it W as quito smothercd in staging | and lost sigh: of behind its own splendid | attire
 In tho prcfacu of La Haine" Sardou first told tine world Low ho conceived and
 worked out n play Tho process is in variable" he said 1t never appeared | otherwise than us sort of philoSuphic | equation from which tho unknown quan- | tity is to ho discovered. As soon as 1t iS fairly set befuro mo this problem possoSSes | and gives mo no peace until havo worked | out tho formula In 'Patrio' this is the | question that was put to mr: What is tho
 greatest sacrifice a man can mako for tho love of his country? And the answer once found the play followed uf its own ao- | cord.
 l That was written many years ago and
 before Sartlou worked out his greatest sue
 cess, and while in no way mny his formula
 have hanged he hUs certainly developed it l greatly lis first move is still to think out a situation in which a woman would l appear effective, to imagine her under the l influence of some telling emotion suitable for dramatic presentation. His next is tC l conceive some incident that would permit | of her being in that situation and giving | vent to the dt sired emotion or some com
 plioation of emotions that appear to him | worth an actress labor to portray. Almost | without exception it will be noted that In
 developing the play he takes his place by | the woman and works from that point l Almost universally iL is the woman char
 actor that develops with tho plot of thC play, men, like the setting, being but q
 backG round for her acting or tho impulses
 that bring about tho required dramatic
 emotion which is expected to sorely move
 the audience. In the selection of his emo
 tion Sardoa has a wonderfully fertile i'm
 aQln-''nn. and it must bo owned that he |:
 fairly just to the femintno character ant
 fairly wiSu in regard to it's complex charm
 and its capacity f'r q mixture of good an'
 evil. In the selection nt Iur causes to lca' |
 out before the story, and often before tn 1 characters arc selected, he has an almns | infallible instinct in roSarl to what wil
 move a house to enthusiasm. He Ina | missed this sometimes as was tho case il
 his handling of his heroine in Thormi
 dor" a much moro touching flgure to hin
 than sho proved to the public.
 | When Sardou has selected his main tdeH
 which 1t Is plain at first concerns fore
 rather than people, he proceeds to select n
 attractive back ground fur his story H selects time, plaoe and people and thu done the rest is something like matht nautical problem for him, for he prOceod
 to open an elaborate ledger accnunt wit ! the play, and in that notes down the ;nS terial ho collects for it This takes montf and often years, Both "Theo,lura" an "Thcrmidur, " for example, he had In hi mind and partly completed s5 years l i the case of Thculnra" as long ago [ , when he was usher at srh,'ol and t';ugf
 history Procopius suggested her as guo
 and fitting heroine for a picturcsquo pla! and in the case Of 'Thcrmidor'' hc waite ! many yearS for the ppiper time to con ) for him to speak his sny on the Prone revolution, and yet with al his cleverno' | he spoke too sLun Gismunda' Was fu
 muiated six years befurO it was writer He pores over every vuluma Inc ean fln . Nrh'eh bears un tho subject he has in hnl