New-York tribune., 1910-06-26

x,s seen 1A0 ,.,
I,sh nao Nine Sarah Bernharass ats eyes eyes;
fh7o1s the play and the actor
pnds'-. completely than ever before. by
loTe 80 intelligence. When she chose
help :. - actress could be great critic'
tha' 1--we sympathetic, kindly; but
r,s loyal to her art What she hao
si' 20 irving. she thought. she may
sac roia less than she thought but
h''s more. She had seen in him those
ns'1 which had created for him
0'sii,S ,,,,,,self; and put him in class
p s;nself. Sometimes denied 10 hifn
y english critics, this most suotie Oh
as..ch.critics had recognized them
f'sA., '..e,sro in France, whether dramatic
- Is 3 more exact science than
o. o.. IN England When it is dra-
'' .sc its relation 10 the stage is iar
TS-,N, ,,tiuate than here. where the critic
TnO', seldom the training or equip
nss ,.,ich only a knowledge of the
nei'' ,,5 of acting as seen on and from
s@ss ran give Sarah, of course
us ,as+ in a supreme degree She
H'1 ,,;te free. moreover, from Jealousy.
We @ ot the French actors who came
00'''e 10 not Coquelin was not; though
n''e .oee there was a feeling which
j .irs-ed over jealousy. He held
y. ozn art to be so irnmeasura bly, su-
..o- n ali others that he did less than
- ~ others. But as we. have al
US. .osn Sarah thought Coquelin an
'sa-. NV not an artist. Ever since. this
g.. so-ah,s eulogies upon Irving have
.,s hest answer to 1rvings de-
IF the detractors were not
...,4noed. they were silenced-
T-z4ng had asked US to come to supper
- nlay. in the Beefsteak Rooms in
1roeurn Theatre. With mercIful
+-,7sss - and tact for which We were
"a. grateful. he had asked nobody else
-, easfsteak suppers were often oe-
-, b,,t. as Sarah and Irving had
,,et this was 10 each Of them a
80 If knowing the other too valu-
.h,s IN be thrown away. A free laik
-, +u,o people who had no language
= ,o-,rnon was difficult enough at best
,-s,r had no French and Sarah had no
--,,isb so that. in a company, there
rs have been no meeting of minds
~ themselves, with an interpreter 1t
night be managed
r.sv n,et on even terms. Irving had,
,,s, ne chose. the grand manner. and
:. bs5 Sarah, and both were On their
-. hehevjor. Irving received his guest
z4,h distinction, and Sarah greeted her
Inst with lust that touch Of ceremony
zbirh is expected on the stage: to be
,,,nned instantly for a cordial accept
s,ce of his welcome. She thanked him
Car the box he had sent her. and burst
81 onne. like the true Frenchwoman she
xss into E shower OF compliments on
bis Matthias.
Said Irving, in his polished way:
They are compliments which I'cannot
deserve, but like 10 have them, and L
acknowledge them as compliments
But Sarah broke in:
no, not compliments; not as between
artists. 7 offer you none. i owe TO you
.he truth. You can afford to hear it, as
! could
Her compliments, or whatever they
were, had 10 be translated sentence by
sentence into English, SO that the fuli
effect Of the explosion was missed, but
il was none the less overwhelming The
color rose in Irving's pale cheeks. and
spread. and The eyes grew luminous and
dsep. He was not sure what impression
be might have made on q French mind.
lie coveted Sarah's praise. and he had 1t
IN full measure. He asked me afterward
whether she had said to me in the box
Is much as she had said to him, and
when told him More he was con-
tent
When We sat down to supper the talk
turned upon things dramatic. To that
they kept and they discoursed through
nearly four hours. They discussed tech
ricalities, and technicaIities Of the stage
ere not always easy to translate from
French into English, or vice versa. The
drama has a vocabulary Of its own. But
did not know both French and Eng
Ash for a particular term I could gen
srally paraphrase, and SO the extraordi-
nary conversation flowed on. IL II was
difficult, II was illuminating. Here were
ne TWO consummate artists Of the
french and English theatre; the great
Isl French actress, the greatest English
s2t0r; and each OF them with a more
complete knowledge Of all matters per-
sinins 10 the theatre than anybody
ave the other. AS listened L felt how
A1te experience hac taught me and into
sasl new realms Of knowledge 1 was
yang shown the way. ] had never
.Ss1nt 50 much as I learnt in those
hours.
"0s vas # only the things Of the
sasse / had known both Irving and
'-an long and we'll But here was
:" irving and z new Sarah. They re-
e'es themselves 10 each other, and in
aly 10 me. For the first time
Va Is were seeing the theatre and
"' u It's mysteries from the inside. /
a. any rate. what # meant to those
o. we're OF the mystery themselves.
paik was simple, true, direct. They
U al artiice, pretence, disguise and
a1asks they wear 10 the public. The
m o'llsts opened their souls to each
80 anc in their frankness. in their
unconscious disclosures of their real
0'es ard Their real thoughts, they
,- more admirable than ever The
--aoas Of art stood TO them IN the
!" mat community Of speech which
o., oeHieo them. They had more than
- art n enrrnrnc.,, ill., -,-erc s.-rr,.-