4
THE SUNDAY OREGOXIAX, PORTLAND, OCTOBER 27, 1912.
MME. BERNH ARDTS LETTERS ON LIFE TO AMERICAN WOMEN
Celebrated French Actress Writes on Blessings of Dreams, Grandeur of Music, Condemns French Marriage System, Declares American Women Are Happiest, and Says Men Are Good and Brave.
r
9
V
(Copyright. 1912, Rochambeau Newspa
per Syndicate, Philadelphia. All
rights reserved.) 1
BY MADAME SARAH BERNHARDT.
ERE Is madness! madness!
In England and America there
are people who thlnlc that sleep
Is a robbery oC one's life, and that our
brain should remain In the same wake
ful state as our eyes.
This Is folly! I lately saw a poor
youth who was one of this persuasion.
He Is 29 years of age, but one would
think him 60. He went 45 days with
out sleeping; his nerves are in a state
of collapse. He shakes at the least
noise, and one fears that his brain roust
give way. What is the first rule of this
abominable sect? Never to sleep! -But
sleep is beneficial!
To think that life Is suspended be'
cause one sleeps Is Idiotic!
Bernhardt Believes la Dreams.
Life proceeds less actively as far as
the limbs are concerned, but Just as
actively as regards the circulation of
the blood. And the brain, less occupied
with surrounding events, reposes; forti
fies itself and gives to us dreams some
times, good counsel, or gives us neces
sary warning of some approachrng
trouble.
To sleep Is to dream, and to dream
is to live;' to live another life for which
one Is not responsible, meeting people
one may never see again, taking part
in heroic actions, flying in the air with
the wings of a bird, descending wide
stairs without touching the steps; then
to find one's self in a forest where all
the trees are singing, to hear the music
which sounds divine; on horseback to
fly over obstacles six metres high
without falling off; to sink to the depth
of the sea. and then, walking on the
ocean bed, to gather coral and pearls
that resemble flowers.
The Charm of Dreams.
Finally, to enjoy a thousand delicious
sensations and live a hundred other
lives outside our own that is the
charm of dreams! and our dreams come
from sleep!
And then, do we really know that
what we do see In our sleep Is not real?
and if our thoughts do not quit our
bodies in order to wander around the
world? Who shall ever be able to say?
One must slep, because sleep gives
one a glimpse of other worlds.
ut showing material profit seems fool
ish, and all that which is simply beau
tiful seems useless.
. One must be content to dream that
what one hopes might be, and to hope
that what one dreams might also be.
Condemns French Marriage
I
SPOKE quite recently of the happi
ness of Americai. girls, and I men
tion it again because one cannot make
them appreciate sufficiently - how
greatly good fortune has favored them.
If I had not been a Frenchwoman
would have wished to be a Frenchwo
man, but all the time I wish my fel
low-countrywomen could enjoy the
happy lot of Americans.
One sad feature in our old civlliza
tion Is the marriage system. A French
girl has no hope of getting married If
she has no "Dot or marriage portion,
and the first thing the parents of
possible future husband do Is to in
quire how much money the girl's fam
ily possesses, and they also find out
If the girl has a "Dot," and how much
it is. With monstrous bad taste they
find out if she has other numerous or
brilliant prospects; that is to say, if
she will inherit more money at the
death of her father, mother or other
relations, and how much is likely to
be coming to her.
After this indecent investigation the
young couple are permitted to proceed
with their lovemaklng.
Exists la High and Low Ranks.
The practice exists whether it be In
the case of the simple clerk, or of J.he
greatest millionaire.
In America, in England, In Germany
one does not trouble aDout tne mar
rlage portion, and a pretty girl, who
has been well brought up, does not re
main single simply because she is poor.
About two years ago Monsieur de
G died in despair after having lost
( I Were Millionairess"
"VVE need not be a musician to adore
music. Such is at least my casa
I play the piano a little, and also the
mandolin both of them very badly,
but I adore music.
If I were an American millionairess
I should always be accompanied by
splendid orchestra everywhere I went,
even to the end of the earth, but that's
just It, I am not a millionairess and I
must content myself In cities with the
music of men, and in the country with
the music of God.
Laves the Maple of Nature.
And this last music Is far from be-
Ing the least sweet. Ah! the music of
the breeze in the tamarind trees, with
their fronds light as plumes. The mu
sic of the sea In the torment of its tem
pests and the rhythm of the ripples
in calm weather. The song of the sky
larks jit the rising of the sun, the co-co-rl-co
of the crowing cock. The
mournful hoo-hoo-ing of the night
owls. The little : sharp notes of the
hurrying swallows when the weather
turns to rain. And the thunder, re
sembling the big drum, and the crack
ing explosions of lightning; all this di
vine combination replaces the orches
tra in my mind, and with the assist
ance of the imagination I hear other
invisible instruments playing.
Should Be Music Everywhere.
There should be in all the states of
the world, in all the towns of those
states, and in all the quarters of the
towns, organized orchestras playing all
day; sad airs and gay airs, attracting
and charming. The busy crowd, as It
passes, might thus catch a breath of
poetry or of gaiety, a second of calm
to soothe perhaps some pain, a minute
of forgetf ulness of some disappoint
ment. .
The road-menders would more speed
ily repair the broken roads. The towns
folk would feel the Influence of the
caressing wave of sound. There would
be fewer assassins, fewer robbers, few
er bad people altogether. The poor
would eat their frugal meal with great
er pleasure.
Work for a Philanthropist.
Ah! if a philanthropic millionaire
would but try this in but one town,
all the other towns would follow the
example, and work, sickness and death
would seem all the easier to bear.
But all that which costs money wlth-
a large fortune In a dreadful financial
crash. His daughter, valentine, i
pretty girl. 17 years old. was sur
rounded by admirers. Impatient for her
to reach the age or 18 before asmn
her hand. It was well known that the
family was Immensely rich.
The Ctrl was much taken with a
young sportsman who was more- at
tentlve and prepossessing than any of
the others, but the day after the crash
he had not the decency to wait 48
hours, but sent a telegram saying that
he had been called away to the bedside
of a sick relative in Austria. He never
made another visit, nor did the other
late adorers call again, even If they
showed a little more tact and courtesy.
Young Englishman Won Her.
But there was one exception a
young Englishman who had been Mon
sieur de a s socretary, ana wno,
loving the girl in secret, now came
forward and offered all his savings to
the widow. He then went to live near
the abandoned couple so that he might
be of help and see them dally. The
girl gave lessons in drawing, but her
life was very sad in the' midst of her
Doverty.
Quite unexpected. however, six
months asro. as romantically as in a
fairy tale. Mademoiselle de G "s god
mother, an old and miserly woman.
died suddenly, leaving two millions of
francs to her god-daughter.
"Mother Wants' a Son."
The young Englishman came to take
his farewell, thinking that they no
longer required his assistance, and
doubtleBS he did not wish to witness
the triumph of a rival, but the girl
said: "Remain with us; my mother
wants to have a son near her."-
Two months ago they were married.
The act on the part of the young girl
was charming. I much regret that the
graceful actions of the young man
were not those of a Frenchman:
American Women Happiest
THERE is no happier woman than
the American woman. Her life is
one of perpetual enchantment. ' From
the time the little child becomes a
young woman the doors of Paradise are
wide open for her.
Fine colleges take the place of the
dull prisons of poor girls In the Old
World. The holidays pass by witn
cheerful picnics, and in magnificent
parks she plays her favorite games,
having for her'companlons youths who
play with her at tennis, at golf or at
croquet. They at once learn responsi
bility as a habit.
The poor little prisoners in Europe
only go out on the fete days accom
panied by their parents, father, mother
or aunt or governess.
"Mademoiselle! you cannot Join in
that game of tennis because boys are
playing there; you must look for an
other lawn where there are only girls."
"Mademoiselle, stop playing; you are
getting too warm."
"Mademoiselle, you make too much
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MADAME SARAH BEBXHAttDT.
noise; it is not becoming. Tou must
laugh softly."
Poor Girls Lose Spirit.
And so the poor girls get the habit
of playing without spirit, never run
ning for fear of getting too hot. They
stifle laughter; that merry laugh of
young girls which sounds like a quiver
of harp-strings.
A young girl in France never goes
out alone, not even to walk 10 Daces.
know one unhappy girl of 18 years
whose father and mother are divorced.
She was consigned to the care of her
mother, who takes no care of her and
put her In the charge of an insepara
ble chaperone, a lay sister in some re
ligious order, who never leaves her for
second. The girl has permission to
see her father one day each week, but
he has never been able, during two
years, -to say a; single word unless
within hearing of that glacial woman.
On one occasion Count de X , the
father of the young girl, led her to a
room, under the pretense of showing
her a new picture, and he then slyit
the door in order to talk more freely
with the poor child. However, the gov-
rness made such a noise that a scan
al was the consequence, and the
Countess began an action against her
ex-husband for this act.
The Countess Is empty-headed, and
everybody hopes the case will not come
to the courts.. But the girl Is ex
tremely miserable meantime!
Never Alone With Fiance.
The French young girl, when engaged
to be married, is never left alone with
her future husband. He has the right
to corrte every day and pay his court.
but in the presence of the family, -me
two persons who should spend all their
life together never really know eann
other until after their marriage but,
in truth, that is a little too late.
All Men Not Sybarites
I
HAVE read in an English review an
article written by a woman who
declared that all men were sybarites,
egotists and heartless. Now, there is
a truly unfortunate woman, if she ndver
met any other than men of this de
scription. Wholly to the contrary, I think that
man is the intellectual and physical
complement of woman.
What would you say of a country
where there were only women?
For my own part, I would fly away
from it as though it were ravished by
an epidemic.
"Men love luxury to an outrageous
extent," wrote the lady mentioned: but
that is as it should be: since, appre
ciating luxury, they share It with wom
en. Generally speaking, men work
much harder for their women than
they do for themselves, especially in
America, the paradise of women..
This lady, it is true, is English, but
Englishmen are kind, devoted and
courteous. Most of the men are good,
as a rule.
Women More Selfish.
Selfish? Without doubt men are a
little, but the women are a hundred
times more so. Women have but one
superiority over men, speaking In a
general way, and that is their devo
tion. Nevertheless, consider the appalling
tragedy of the Titanic, how many
were the men who showed tenderness
for the women, taking them by force
to put them in the lifeboats and throw
ing their own cloaks around them so
that they should not catch cold, silently
watching the boats pull away those
boats which carried away their wives,
their children, whilst they stood pa
tiently there, wondering what their fate
would be. I do not mention . Bruce
Ismay; there are cowards everywhere,
in all conditions of life, and in every
country.
Contempt for Men Stupid.
The contempt that some women have
for men is ttecly stupid. They are as
necessary to our existence as the air
and our sleep. It Is they who founded
the nation and the home. It is they
who defend them. They are wrong in
appropriating too many rights to them
selves, but that is the weakness of
strength; it is a whim, not a crime.
The authoress mentioned reproaches
men for their love of luxury, but if
they desire it for themselves, they de
sire It even more for our sakes, and if
we allow ourselves to be just, they
might well enjoy the good things they
toil for and which they share gener
ously and ungrudgingly with women.
No! Madame English writer you are
mistaken; acknowledge it! Men are
good, bravo and generous; without
them the existence of women would be
painfully monotonous and sad.
Aviation Field for Women
THE latest conquest of man is cer
tainly one of the noblest manifes
tations of human genius, and this time
women will be table to take part in the
dangers of flight without being ridi
culed for encroachment on masculine
territory.
Man was the creator of the quiver
ing but lifeless bird, flyrng without
wings; of the marvelous bird whicn
makes other birds marvel, and woman
may now hope to render their country
service by one day risking their lives.
In this case it is not a matter of us
ing brute force: one must be possessed
of dexterity, of courage and of cool
ness. The latter is certainly not a
feminine quality but it will be acquired
by persistence, and before very long,
here in France, one will be able to
enumerate as many heroines as heroes.
And profoundly I rejoice at' this new
impetus toward glorious achievements.
Our country has use for heroic hearts.
Already three women have been killed
in their flights toward the infinite;
there will be more still. But that does
not matter. It Is. one of the rights of
women to take part in the great sac
rifices for their, native land.
Should Be Schools for Women.
There should be schools of aviation
for womeii. They would, I am certain,
be able to render the greatest service
in time of war, and this is the aviator's
cherished dream.
And as, alas! all nations are arming
themselves more than ever to assure
peace, they say women without child
ren and without husbands have the
right to consider what they might do
best when their native land is troubled;
and that is something not very far off.
There would be little monoplanes,
rapid and light, such as I saw at
Rheims, an admirable type, but it had
not yet been tested; it was so dan
gerous that they hesitated to attempt
a flight
"Oh!" I cried, "but this little bird is
a woman's toy," and the inventor re
plied: "Yes, It is for my sister, who
is an avlatrlce!" I looked at the man;
he was not joking. He had made that
machine, which was so-much more dan
gerous than the ethers, for his sister.
All his careful planning, all his in
ventive genius, he had employed In
order to render this bird he was mak
ing for his sister smaller and more
rapid.
Noticing the astonisment I could not
repress, he said: "Oh! my sister and I
are orphans; we are alone in the
world; we have the same ideals and
the same fearlessness of death.
"But here she comes toward us. Al
low me to present her to you."
Approaching us, there came a slight
and fair young girl about 20 years of
age, dressed In deepest mourning; al
hm'io-h v,ir brother was nftt In black.
whnt sorrow was that which had
..A looted th hrleht voung life to be.
some future day, a victim of the air?
others, there is always food . for
thought, and teaching of high purpose.
It is not the unpleasant details of an
action which unfolds itself that one
must recollect, but rather the conse
quences of the details and the reason.l
which lead up to the consequences. N
The modern young girl in nearly
every country in Europe, at the present
time, has her mlr.d sufficiently open
to understand and appreciate a play
having decided characteristics.
Plays That Girls May See
AM of the opinion that once a girl
I has passed the age of 16 she might
see plays, whether .they be bold, sor
rowful, psychological or pnuosopniuai.
Certainly they should . never see
nlavs bv Georges Faydeau, who, al
though .a delicious and fantastic au
thor, is -not only impossiDie tor jouns
girls, but also very often for married
women. I do not refer to other than
those pieces which are works of
thought, of love, and of sketches of
Ufa
I consider that young girls having
passed 17 years of age might enjoy a
great variety of entertainment at an
evening performance. In the matter
of theaters, I must say that the Eng
11s and Americans have made great
progress In their education. I recall
that when I went to England for the
first time with the Comedle Francaise
"La Dame aux Camelias" was forbid
den there, but Queen Victoria, at the
demand of the Prince of Wales, after-..
ward Edward VII, authorized me to
c-ivn the niece as it was written by
Alexandre Dumas, the younger, with
out changing either words or situa
tions. Queen's Relatives Present.
It was in 1882 that I played for the
first time in London "La Dame aux
Camelias." But one did not then bring
any young girls to see it. Ten years
later In the royal box two young rela
tions of Queen Alexandra were pres
ent, and since that time all young
girls who had come "out" witnessed
La Dame aux camelias.
But it was really very odd that they
had been allowed to see "Romeo and
Juliet." "La Travlata," "Faust," and
yet they were not allowed to see "La
Dame aux Camelias."
When I made inquiries, to get some
light on this mystery, the reply gen
erally was:
"Oh! yes. but 'La Travlata' is opera
and 'Romeo' and 'Faust' are performed
In music."
All very well, but I think that music
adds a suggestive atmosphere to those
forbidden pieces; the grief and death
of Marguerite Gautier carry a moral
that escapes one In the musical render
ing. Modern Writers. Tenchers of High
Purpose.
Among all our great modern writers.
Paul Hervlen, Maurice Donnay, Porte-
Riohe, Henry Bataille and a host of
ART CRITICS CLAIM VFIND"
Small Work iu Ciallcry Togio May
13e i'm-t of Rare Altar Piece.
ROME, Oct. 26. (Special.) Certain
art critics have for some time held the
view that a small wc.lt preserved In
the Gallery Tosio at Brescia miarht be
a portion of an altar piece painted by
Rapnael at Cltta di Castello, la Umbria,
and portraying the coronation of Saint
Nicholas of Tolentlno.
Recently Commendatore RIccl, director-general
of fine arts; Professor Cav
enaghl, the restorer of the Cenac.olo of
Leonardo, and Commondatore Modigli
anl, director of the Brera Art Museum
at Milan, examined the picture, which is
attributed to Tlmoteo Vltl, with a view
of determining whether it Is a Raphael
or not. The picture represented an
angel with a mass of blonde hair fall
ing on the shoulders, robed In white,
and bearing a mantle, embroidered
with gold. On either side of tha
head there were evident traces
of superposition of colors, which ap
peared to alter the details of the black
background, particularly on the right
Bide of the face, where one could per
ceive the faint outline of the face of
another angel.
Having duly noted these peculiarities.
the commissioners attempted to discover
if beneath this outer coating of pair.t
there was a picture of Raphael. Pro
fessor Cavenaghl succeeded, by means
of a special mixture In removing the
overlying coloration and in revealing
the original. On the right was found
depicted in green-the wing of the angel
and the lines of a triumphal arch,
which constituted the architectonic
motive of the framework of the tableau,
and on the left a part of a book which
the angel held In the hand. These dis
coveries, it is asserted, have removed all
doubts, and have demonstrated that ths
picture belongs to the early period of
Raphael's work.
DOGS CLAIMJIG ESTATE
Legacy Lft to Terrier ty Princess
Wanted for Former's Offspring.
ST. PETERSBURG, Oct. 16. (Spe
cial.) The society for the Prevention
of Cruelty to Animals should be in
terested In a lawsuit arising from the
will of a Russian Princess who died
early this year.
Among her bequests was one of $20, .
000 to a toy terrier, Gipsy, with the
proviso that her pet should be en
trusted to the charge of a certain very
old friend, whom she named. Within
six months Gipsy followed her mis
tress to the grave; and, as even the
most-dalntily-fed and Juxurlously
clothed and bejewelled of toy terriers
cannot run through money at the rate
of J40.000 a year, the legacy was prac
tically Intact when she passed away.
The woman who had tended Gipsy to
the last took it for granted that on
the dog's death she would succeed to
the property; but she has not been al
lowed to remain in possession of it
undisturbed. A claim has been for
mulated on behalf of an offspring of
Gipsy's, who, being a puppy of high
degree, was duly registered at birth.
The claim has been heard, but as the
question Is one of momentous concern
to the canine race. . tne judges are
taking some time to consider their
verdict.
BACHELOR ISACC0UCHEUR
Women on Ship Afraid to Act and
Sailor Plays Physician.
BERGEN, Norway, Oct. 26. (Spe
cial.) A singular instance of the adap
tability of the Bailor has just occurred
here. A young married woman gave
birth to twins on board a steamer go
ing to Trondhjem.
She was taken ill about midnight.
and as there was no doctor on board
and the female members of the crew
were afraid to act, the mate, a bach
elor, was compelled, after a hasty pe
rusal of a chapter of the ship's medi
cal book, to perform the duties of ac
coucheur. Everything was done so skillfully
that although a doctor was fetched
when the ship arrived at Chrlstlansund,
he declared that his services were un
necessary, and the mother and her
babies wero able to proceed to the!?
destination.
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