Evening star., 1898-11-12
FRENCH AS SHE is SPOKE

| In the fall of 1892, when was covering
| the hotels in Chicago for my paper" said
| one of the correspondents from the town
OF wind. Il went down to the Grand Pacific
| one evening to have talk with John J.
Ingalls, about any old thing or things he
! cared to expatiate upon. Mr.. Ingalls,. just
| then, was new at the business OF being a
| statesman out of a job, and ne wasn't in a
| very laxative mood. He was cheerful and
| cordial enough, but there didn't appear to
| be any politics in him. He tanned me in
| that accomplished way he used to have,
| notwithstanong my long acquaintancesnip
! with him-asked me If L was happy, and
| If SO. why; Ii L thought the cool weather
| was going TO hang on; if the sky was real
| ~ hlsner in Chicago than elsewhere; il l
| liked Duttermlik; II L ever experienced that
| tired feeling; II had kicked Ior a ralse in
! saiary yet; II l was behaving myseir. il L
admired the good, the true and the beauti-
| iul, and so on-regulation Jonn J. talk
| evasion from start to finish. When he
| nnaiiy streeied OH INTO an expression OF his
| reverence for Wagnerian music, L frankly
Sflnned in his face and stared to leave
| Anything doing anywhere tonight? he
asked me as ! picked up my hat.
L mad coupe of seaus in my pocket for
Sarah Bernhardt, and John j.. looked kind
lonesome, smoking his cigar IN MS room:
SO invited him to come along with me to
McVicker's to see Bernhardt in Jeanne
| q Arc He looked pleased at ine invitation,
|
French actress except from me floor of the
| senate on an occasion when she appeared
IN the visitors gallery. SO we took in
| Jeanne dare in company
| Now, l don't know word of French
even If did take many as nine lessons
| IN an Allendorf book. So that l was rath-
er glad to have such an accomplished
| ffench scholar along with me- to do a
bit OF tfanslating for me on the side when
Sarah got to talking particularly fast and
| turlously. Mr.. ingalls, filled his part to the
| DOT He gave me a bully line he whole
| show Ii it hadn't been for him, | wouldn't
| nave known whether the divine Sarah
| making love to the pretty boy of the piece
| or throwing oral javelns at him. Mr.. In
| galls was carried away with the acting of
| the great Frenchwoman, and he NUT
| terlng throughout the piece the words, 'Sa-
ran 1mperatrix,' whatever that means At
| Ter the performance | told the ex-senator
| that | was assigned to interview Madame
| Bernhardt for the Sunday paper on the
| following evening, and asked him if he
| cared to meet her He said he d be delight
! ed 10 meet such an extraordinary woman
and SO | picked him up at the Grand Pa
| enc the next evening AMI We went over
| to the Hotel Richelieu to interview Sarah
About dozen other newspaper men were
| on hand, as 1t was to be a sort of combina-
| ton interview. Henry Abbey, Madame
| Bernhardts manager, led the way to the
| actress apartments. and solemnly intro
| duced US all by name Sarah toyed with
Tiny toy Kangaroo thai she had hTol ght
! from Australia throughout the introduction
| business, and regarded US with dreamy
eyes. 1 guess We all looked alike to her.
After she had tossed the kangaroo into a
| pilloWed corner and taken into her lap a
vicious little cub bear, also from Australia,
| the interview was on. One of the rews-
paper men, a clever fellow named Arnett.
! who had spent number of years in Paris,
| and who spoke French like native start
ed the thing going. Sarahs spiel was of
| the customary sort. Oh, oul, she loved
America and Americans beyond ell things
| The Australians-pouf! they were bcors-
which meant that they hadn't made very
| much over the divine Sarah. Was there any
| truth in the press agents yarn about her
| having gone through the Chinese opium
| joints of San Francisco? Oh. oui, all true
and so interesting! And SO on.
| Then John ]. chimed in with a question
| in French. 1t sounded like the real thing
to us. did John Us French, although Ar
lett looked up with bit of a smile when
| the ex-senator asked his question. Mad
| anne Bernhardt just looked at Mr.. ingalls,
| with solemn gaze, and voucksafed no
| ply. John j. repeated his question Arnett
tiddled with his hat a bit, but he wasn't
nervy enough to attempt to translate the
| ex-senator's English.
"'Je n est ces pas-Anglese--I no un'-
| Stances eet not? said the great Sarah,
| regarding the flushing Ingalls, fiXedly.
| Mr.. Ingalls, repeated his question. Mad
| anne Bernhard turned with a inystiffed
| glance to Arnett, but Arnett passed it up
| and looked out of the window. Then Mr..
| ingalls, repeated his question once more.
| 50 Eet ees truly-1 not un'stan', answered
Sarah. and then, probably to indicate that
it was all off, she began teasing the cub
bear to make him snar
| 81 asked remarked Mr. Ingalls,. with
| great ton, in, his well-enunciated
| English, if you consider American audi
| ences as appreciative of the drama as con-
| tinental Misunderstanding European audi
enceS?"
| Madame Bernhardts countenance was
| Immediately Illuminated with understand
| ing
"'Morer she exclaimed. sZey are more
what you say-appreetzatif, Zey burst
| ze bounds! Jadore-I loaf ze Americains,
| and thus on, in quite Understandable Eng
| lish, for Madame Bernhard had picked up
| a smattering of our language on her lcng
| Australian tour.
| Her 'obtTseness' in not underst anding
his French, while she perfectly cGmpre-
hended his English had a gloomy effect
| upon Mr. Ingalls,, and he relapsed into
| silence. We all left a short time after that
The next evening l met Madame Bern
hardt in the hall of the Hotel Richelieu as
she was about to leave for the theater She
nodded to me merrily. and said:
| Ze name of ze tall, ze thin man with
! ze-what you call-Ze glasses was
oh l replied. that was ex-senator In
gals, famous man of our country
All ees eet true?' she said. What YER
fine Anglese he speak,
:" And his French, madame?
TIE divine Sarah smiled depreca tingly
out of the tail of her eye, and passed on
l never had the nerve to tell ingalls, of her
E1rts too, 1.