The San Francisco call., 1906-05-27
WOMAN SACRIFICES A FORTUNE.
Continued From PAGE ~. column ,


OF Dickens, too. she early became a great
adm1rer- Byron was her favorite poet
When she was fifteen she took Il into
her head that medicine was the vocation
for which she was best fitted. But her
father didn't believe in women doctors.
and vetoed her suggestion. Probably the
paternal veto alone would not have de-
TERED her from following her inclinations.
but for the fact that it was accompanied
by refusal to defray the expense of at
tendance at a medical school in Paris.
Then she broke out into open rebellion
against the shackles of fashionable So
ciety and resolved to take her fate in her
own hands and earn her own living. She
began by teaching English, in which.
thanks to her fathers tuition. she was
lar better qualified to give instruction
than many women of mature years. But
her youth was against her. She could
command only small pay. At eighteen
she ventured on matrimony and made. a
failure of it. She was not cut out for
the humdrum life Of domestic bliss.
She next turned her thoughts to the
stage. She studied at the Brussels Con-
servatoire and made such rapid progress
that in less than a year she carried or
a high prize That sufficed to secure her
an engagement at the Gymnase in Paris
at a salary of $50 month. She next
appeared at the Theatre Franchise. where
Nine. Barty befriended her and predicted
a brilliant career for her. But she was
beginning to find herself 1t was the
drama of real life that attracted her
most So she entered the profession that
offered her. the best opportunities to see
4 it and study il in all sorts of phases
! journalism
/ After getting some contributions print
ed which proved that she could write well
and forcefully. she was appointed the
Brussels correspondent of great Paris
ian daily She described the Belgian
miners strike of 1898. the street fights
which followed and all the rest OF the
struggle. She covered the Miners Con-
gress at Brussels in the year following
Her reports were excellent, but were too
much colored by her own convictions to
suit the journal which she served. She
rebelled when the editor suggested that
she should moderate her tone and lost
her position.
Her father died six years ago and she
inherited his large estate That was
the crucial test of her socialistic creed
Would she practice what she preached?
She gave immediate proof that she pos
sessed to the full the courage Of her
convictions. She introduced the eight
hour day in every department. She in
creased the quality and quantity OF the
i food given to the hands She allowed
them to knock of work for an hour in
the middle of the day and insisted that
herself would wish to be treated were
she in their position The result was
that her expenses far exceeded her
profits. She has been losing money
steadily on her property ever since. but
she still adheres to the system she has
established there and will continue to
do so as long as she has any property
left
Mme| Sorgue is now 50 years old
Though her, energy and enthusiasm show
no signs of abatement and she bravely
affects to make light of the ingratituds
with which she has been treated by
those for whom she has made the great
est sacrifices. there is sad look in her
face at times which shows that she feels
it deeply Her outlook on life is a pes
simistic one.
II have seen so much Of the dark side
of existence. she says. that / have
been tempted to call human Life . hell"