New Britain herald., 1923-03-27
Impressive Service

IN any event there VIII ne an I'M
pressiye ceremony In Paris on either
Thursday or Friday and there Is a
strong sentiment In favor OF holding
this at the expense OF the nation. Az
an officer of the Legion Of Honor
Nine. Bernhard Is entitled TO burial
with military honors, but the public
feels that she should be inferred with
pomp betting her incalculable serv-
ices to French art.
The newspapers print columns
about her. Many OF the articles are
signed with we'll known names.
1t was arranged that the body
should lie In state at the home begin
ming at 2 o'clock this afternoon.
The funeral probably will be held
at the church OF st. Francois de Sales,
but inasmuch as this Is "the week OF
the dead" preceding Easter there can
be no high mass.
Nine. Bernhardt's most valuable
personal effects are being taken out OF
the house by her son Maurice and
sent elsewhere for safe keeping.
Was Greatest Actress
Madam Sarah Bernhard, who at 10
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
in their attempts to minimize her
right to that 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 a theme afforded the
greatest opportunity for q 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 dedicated to character delinea
tions, and Bernhard never was sur
passed, her critics say, in this emo
tional school. Hundreds of parts she
either rewrote or created to suit her
self, seldom being content to act
them as interpreted by others.
Adored by Three Generations
Three generations have praised and
even worshipped the art of Bernhard.
and even hundreds upon thousands of
people around the world have throng-
ed to see and marvel at her acting
without understanding the French
language, which she invariably en-
ployed upon the stage. Once. in Rio
de Janeiro, she was called before the
curtain more than 200 times by a
wildly enthusiastic audience, and
many times, in other parts of the
world, she was obliged to answer
scores of curtain calls at single per-
Torrance.
The long life-story of Bernhard is
almost legendary. Clogely woven with
dramatic incident off as well as on the
stage, it was set down by herself In a
lengthy volume published many years
ago, and, as one of her critics has
said, through the pages of the book
peers the face of a woman, little
tired, weary of her own reputation,
and blessed with more than her share
Of the vanities of the SEX" AS she and
others have told the story. it is
summed up here:
The date of her birth, the record
of which was destroyed in the flames
of the Commune in Paris, was COM
monty accepted as October 20, lS45.
Her mother was Dutch and Jewish,
and her natural father a French OFF,
cial.
Wanted to be a Nun
AS a child Bernhard spent much
of her time with relatives in Paris,
and at the age of II was sent to the
Grand Champ Convent. Versailles,
where she made her debut in little
miracle play given by the children.
Even at this early age, the pale and
sickly child is said to have displayed
the fits of temper which were char
acteristic OF her stage career.
After year or two at the convent,
she conceived a passionate desire to
become nun. To this her mother re-
corded unqualified opposition. and
suggested theatrical career instead.
She's to thin to be an actress" said
her godfather. LET her be num-"
Il won't be an actress" little Sarah
categorically exclaimed. "Rachel is an
actress. She came to the convent and
walked around the garden. then she
had to sit down because she couldn't
get her breath. They got her some
thing to bring her around, but she
was so pale, oh, so pale. / was very
sorry for her, and the nuns told me
what she was doing was killing her.
for she was an actress, and so ! won't
be an actress, won't"
Became Star at Tragedy
But fate had determined otherwise,
and at the age of IA Bernhardt was
sent to a conservatory. At the end of
the rst year she won second prize for
tragedy. A subscription among the