New-York tribune., 1903-01-07

4 girls certain pieces La Ddiiie dnA
| Camelas." par exemple.
| one day when 1 mentioned this to charming
! lady OF Faubourg Saint-Germaln, she saio'
| "Ohi but my daughter knows the piece.
| How Madam" 1 asked t'has she read t!
'oh, no.. was the reply in shocked ssf tone pat m
| turned 'ft seems to me that is just the same
| Indeed, it is not" was the rejoinder FOR the
music so corrects the realism of the piece tha1
my daughter did not realize that what she heaio
/ sung could really take place
| Could anything be more mistaken than this
| ladys notions? If the young girl had been pre-
| vented by the music from taking count OF the
| story of La Traviata." so much the worse 1or
| her, and it would have been well to take ner E 70
sac ia Dame aux Cameas," where this would
not be the case for the tragedy of the suferlnss
and the death of the heroine is lesson by whlen @
| If do not think that the glamour of the stage
/ and the acting might blind young glrl TO tne
| instruction of the piece. and reply No. EN-
| is represented the more potent Is the lesson
Nine Bernhard has patience with tne
people who maintain that religious things should
not be put upon the stage, and considers II very
fortunate that great minds" have not oeeli
arrested by the false ideas of the narrow nina
ed She recalls that when Edmond Harancourt
read his Passion ner, she was struck with
admiration, and exclaimed. 'That must De
plaved il is splendid. 1 must, indeed L must
have that work introduced to the public she
relates that they had many struggles to placale
the public, nevertheless They could not at nrst
give the work in it's proper form, SO after
thousand difficulties. some funny, some dlscour-
aging we finally arranged for a reading OF the
piece on a Good Friday in the entracte OF one
Of the Concerts Lamoureux at the cirque
d'Hiver at Paris
The hall was filled with unsympathetc spirits
who had only come to crush what they con-
sdered a scandalous venture. Many klno
friends begged me to abandon tne loe rcnnis
''You will never accomplish it.. ON. pronlse
YOU we will read The Passion of Harancourt 10
the very last line" But it was indeed oeIore q
very chilly audience Of unresponslVe races tnaS
I commenced reading this work of falth anu
beauty IIl-natured whispers accompanied the
most beautiful. lines. But, thanks TO my oeins
woman | was not interrupted However, When
it came to the artists turn to read the woluS
spoken by Jesus the audience oIoke io39I 91ea
the air But we went on imperturpaply e6-
changing the phrases. But at last, IN mo
rnentary IIilI farceur cried out in the tone OF
clown: I'VE are at the Cirque. We want
miousic. mousic!" And the audience. treu Vi
screaming began to laugh with .ne Hrasine suuov
prehension that laughter is more olscouIa oas.
for the artist than Kisses. For one moment l
thought all lost But then Eomoha E'ar O., 90 70
court leaped from his place. ana oasnlns @ o son ~
the platform with his face white with passion, pi
he cried: seYou came here knowing that piece
in verse called La Passion would ne reao' y4o ~
have Maid we'll for it. and you shall hear 1t TO
the end or you shall go" and kissing my manu-
he said: "Merc Madame me mercl; za,h,,c restrained
bv this logic and cowed by this faith. was silent
and listened without further manifestations
he
This hold venture was much talked Of The
new idea was much disputed. but the woh
was beautiful and forcibe 1t preaIned 1atosI 81 &c
mosphere Of grandeur and faith. VlctoIS .I
rnained with the victors Three years iater - t1
Passion was represented at the tneatle VIZ 81
all fitting mise en- scene, ,as coseuaae Ga samari-
taine"-a gospel in three pictures III Vei
winged it's glorious triumphant course upon ne .ne
world The day of its first representation was
Gav of emotion never to be forgotten
Christian love filled the hall with Infinitely infis
pure joy, benehcent tears Moved 81 i ieI' utfeTed
TRANSPORTED into another worlc, lot ultsl 49,
heautiful words and my heart beat Win tiiose
of others wept tears, real tears. tears ] .la, n1
wash away and efface forever the stains oi
80 souls and our lives-too long alas! for the
evil we have done. and too short ror the sooo
we would wish to DO =, - ,,re
With their sympathy. Catulle Mendes, VINO VIII VIII
shortly publish an admlra pie "oLh Iss -, 1000
called "Sainte ThereseILCatul.1 .I,d m tba dav was
indeed a memorable one for me- For II II eooA @
me back for moment to the recolleclios iat W aS
chiIdhood when raved in mystic ana lsl slIit @
adora tion for '1e petit Jesus, 1t snoWeu nIe
more than ever the forcibe power OF .ns ltsi ab
u,or1s represented in our temple. for, indeed lne
theatre is a very Tempe Oh al = o' ~
Is the Temple of Faith. ,,s
Our Roman Catholic religion has always nau
an ir,noense charm for me. and am sun a very
sincere member of the faith, a1though IiaEe
NOT time to follow all its practices. II appeaiss
to me both emotionally ana asLnstiSdns or Ne
as a Young girl I had serious thougnts OF pc
coming religieuse It seemed an outlet loI my
sou1 overfowing with exalted sentnenl. IL
sDite Of nv wayward and passionate ternpera-
saint Augustn the patron saint OF the con, con,
want was nv IDEAL and that and my devotloh
- +be virgin made my religion very real more,
over. the artistic beauties Of the Church ana
its cult were and still an abiding chaIln -
80 T+ ia FOR this reason that pieces OF fnysIlc
or religious nature like LA Passion ana La
samaritaine" commend themselves TO me as IL
lucrative of religious facts which appea! 10 our
snaaes+ feelings They thus evoke my keenest
eynpathy and demand all that is exalting IN
dramatic art.
.or nIrTv TmIcE ABOLISHED.