The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1923-04-03
LIES CURTAIN FALLS
ON GREATEST ACTRESS
SARAH BERNHARDT, WORLDS
MOST RENOWNED TRACE
DIENNE, PASSES AWAY.

OAGANNG1 E1SSA@0 "A w ~
PARIS.-Sarah Bernhard die d
peacefully in the arms of her son,
Maurice, at one minute before eight
o'clock tonight.
In life she had had an amazing pow
er of emotion, of marvellous realism
and pathos in her acting of death
scenes.
At the end of her days she quietly
drifted away into eternity, tired after
her long fight against death, which
she did not wish, but never feared.
Hope for the life OF the great ac-
tress had long since been abandoned,
and half an hour before she passed
away those in attendance found her
sinking beyond recovery, though
knowing her recuperative powers it
was thought she might live through
out the night
Nine. Bernhard died in a large
room on the second floor of her home
with windows wide open on the Boule
ward Pereire, the noise of trucks and
the railroad keeping up low roar to
which she was long accustomed. 1t
was the sudden closing of these win
dows, opened on the finest day OF
spring, that gave the signal to those
waiting and watching without that
Bernhard was dead.
Death was due to a renewed attack
of uraemic poisoning, which began
Friday, but the actress astonished her
physicians by her repeated rallies and
her will to live, just as she did last
December when hope had several
81
summoned hurriedly in the middle of
the afternoon, when symptoms of the
gravest nature supervened but Bern
The priest administered extreme unc-
ton, which she acknowledged with
faint movements of the hands and
head, too weak to speak.
Her Son Maurice at Bedside.
The actress son, Maurice, aided by
the family physician, DR.. Marot, ar
ranged his mothers hair and cloth
ing and readjusted her position on the
large bed on which she died, facing
the windows. This room is filled with
antique furniture, chosen by the ac-
tress herself with the walls covered
with tapestries, except where hang
many autographed photographs of
sovereigns and great personages who |
were her friends.
Many hundreds of friends, persons
prominent in all walks of life and 9TH
ers. little known but quite as dear
to Bernhard, called during the three
days of her last illness, but none of
them were permitted to see her
Messages OF sympathy came from
all the world, and from all parts of
France friends journeyed to Paris so
they might come personally to the
house to make inquiries and leave an
expression of their affection. Carriages
and automobiles filed past the en-
trance from morning until night, the
whole world seemed to be watching
with the. group OF six doctors, hoping
for recovery, but regretfully realizing
that great career was ending.
Worlds Greatest Actress.
Madam Sarah Bernhard, who at 20
years of age seemed still a girl, was
known to every land as "the worlds
greatest actress" What dissent there
might have been to this estimate, and
however far her detractors ventured
III their attempts to minimize her
right to the distinction, the number
less admirers of the Divine Sarah"
remained convinced that never before
had the stage produced an actress
capable OF soaring to such heights in
the realm OF emotional drama.
The work of Nine Bernhard was
best where theme afforded the great
est opportunity for a display of her
powerful emotions. AT the height of
her career this form of acting, based
principally on love, hate and jealousy,
held the predominant place now dedi-
Gated to character delineations, and
Bernhard never was surpassed, her
critics say, in this emotional school, |
Hundreds of parts she either rewrote
or created to suit herself, seldom be-
ing content to act them as Interpreted
by others.
Three generations have praised and
even worshipped the art of Bernhardt
and hundreds upon thousands of peo-
pie around the world have thronged |
to see and marvel at her acting with
out understanding the French lam
guage, which she invariably employ
ed upon the stage. Once, in Rio de
Janerio, she was called before the |
curtain more than 200 times by a wild |
ly enthusiastic audience, and many
times, in other parts OF the world, she
was obliged to answer scores of cur
tain calls at a single performance.