Waterbury Democrat., 1901-04-30
NEW YARN ABOUT BERNHARDT.

4
 Among the oldest residents of this little town there is an amusing piece of gossip going the rounds. It is de clared by the pioneers who came to Iowa when the buffalo still roamed over the prairies that Sarah Bernhardt was once resident of Rochester. Half dozen men have recognized her, they declare. In the fmpersonator of B'A1g- lon they have seen Sal King, knoWn to them over four decades ago. Of course this announcements would be more startling if the early life of the famous actress was not matter of history in which Iowa has no part, but the residents snap their fingers at all the printed biographies of the fam ous French woman Thus far, they have not claimed Coquelin, but they may discover he is a relative
 Forty-fiye years ago Rochester was the metropolis of Eastern Iowa. It is located on the Cedar river, which then afforded communication with the Mississippi and brought Rochester into touch with the world that could not then be reached by rail. Among the newcomers who fiocked to the little western town was French Canadian family of the name of King. The old- est daughter in the family bore the name Sarah, but her schoolmates adopted the more familiar s.Sal." And Sal is said to be the girl who develop ed into the sinimitable Bernhardt. A few relatives of Sarah King still live near Rochester and they are positive in their statement that she and the great Frenchwoman are the same per son. Fred Fineield, a nephew of Sarah King, has seen the tragedienne, and he ayers that there is no possibili- ty of his being mistaken as to her iden- tity.
 Forty years ago Sal King left Ro- chester and none of her relatives have heard from her since She was a girl of 19 or 20 years old at the time she went away. When exhibitions were held. in the little schoolhouse in old Rochester. Sal King recited poetry of the period. and took kindly to the SC lections given in the wellthumbed cop ies of McGuffey's sixth reader, but Sal King learned portions of Shakespeare tragedies and reyeled in such excerpts as the 'sblood-pot scene'' from Mac beth." When pupils gave the dialogues
 
 father. Sal was always stage director a naughty tyranny. The girl was nat ural actress, and her heart throbbed with ambition.
 But high eyed Sal King was not des- tined for the quiet life of a country vil- lage. An unfortunate love affair drove her from home. She went to Musca- tine, Ia, and from that time rivaled in tragic incidents and careers. of the Sardou heroines. She and her untrue Hover met again. The man was stabbed and narrowly escaped death. Sal King disappeared to avoid prosecution, and since then she has been dead to her relatives and old-time friends. She was afterwards seen in New York, and then rumors drifted to Rochester of the girls departure for France. She spoke French fuently and from child hood had always maintained that she would some day return to Paris, her mothers native city.
 Relatives of the woman thought she must be dead, and the Sal King of for mer days lived only in the memory of a few of the older citizens of Roches- ter Fifteen years ago the great trage- dienne was playing in Chicago. Sev eral Rochester men happened into the theater, and in the Cleopatra of Sar- dou's drama, they saw Sal King of former days. Since that time she has been identified by so many of her child hood friends that her relatives say there is no question that the slender, graceful Sarah King developed into the Madame Bernhardt, at whose feet all the world lays tribute. Chicago Inter Ocean.