McNairy County independent. (Selmer, McNairy County, Tenn.) 1902-1969, 1916-08-11
the man she could not marry.


had always read that she was thin and
skinny in appearance. You can
imagine my surprise when she stepped
on the stage looking like a girl of
twenty. not only young and fresh and
spry, but plump and even rather fat.
| was near enough to the stage to
catch every word she said. The play
was in French from beginning to end,
but so crystal-clear was the pronunc-
iation of the great actress and her
talented players that even moderate
knowledge of the language would en-
able one to follow the play. 1t was
with great interest that | noticed the
manner in which this supreme artist
handled her native language. and to
see just how she acted. She had ap-
peared in this one play perhaps
thousand times. and her acting was
very much like that of Jefferson, so
unstudied and matter-of-fact that it
seemed as though it had always been
just that way, and could be no other
way.
Sarah's eyes struck me with won
derment. They were shaded under
the lower lids in way to make them
look much larger than ordinary eyes;
| never saw eyes like that before or
since. 1t locked uncanny at first.
Occasionally there was that little
hacking cough of consumption, and
an increasing languor of manner and
movement in the suffering woman,
who, however, still kept up her spirits
and only at the very last gave up
hope. Sarah would be talking in an
ordinary tone, lounging 10 lovely
evening gown in her garden; sudden
ly she would spit out some word in a
manner that reminded one of tiger
or of great, spiteful cat; so unex-
pected and unlikely that it was start
ling; then it was all playful smiles
and sweet words again. | loved to
hear Sarah say the word "maintenant"
(meaning now" in French, the last
syllable ending in a sound of very
nasal character, totally unlike En-
glish): the first syllable came out
slowly as usual but the end of the
word came as quick as the crack of
whip; and to hear her pronounce the
name of st. Gaudens, one of the char
acters, was study in itself. French
is beautiful, musical language, but
after thirty years. practice in France,
many Americans have been unable to
master all the intricacies of the &C
cent and pronunciation. 1t is far
more perfect than English in it's
capacity for expressing human
thought, but hardly has the vigor of
English. The editor of the New York
Telegram told me recently that when
he was in Paris some months ago he
was startled by hearing some one in
the office of the War Department
swearing in English. Then he discov-
cred that it was the French War
Minister himself, who appologized and
said that no language under the sun
was SO well adapted to swearing as the
English; and he had enough to make
him "cuss" every hour of the day.
Sarah Bernhardt had clear, musical
voice, aud exactly the manners and
movements of kirl of twenty or a
little over, although she had grand
son nearly grown.
T saw pictures of Sarah Bernhardt
taken last year, after she had lost
l
leg from blood-poisoning. She acted
for moving picture, and it was so
arranged that she never had to stand
alone, but was mostly shown sitting
down. Just why a woman who has
made millions of dollars should still,
in her old and suffering age, want to
act for money. is hard to understand,
except for the passion, which is strong
until death with some people. to be
gathering in gold.
The stage, like everything else in
the fine arts, seems to have degener-
ated to a dead level of mediocrity.
Nobody ever plays any more for the
sake of art; the dollar is the only
inspiring spirit, and that of course
means that the heart is not touched
nor the mind illumined, as in the days
of Garrick, SiddUns, Booth and Jeffer-
son. 1t is the same with poets, musi-
clans and writer's of books. Possibly
the great war in Europe will reveal
1raat minds ond oraat o.t;,t, m