9
MME. BERNHARDTS LETTERS ON LIFE TO AMERICAN WOMEN
Men's Vanity Is Considered Dumfounding Dyama and Opera Not to Be Compared Louis XV Denounced for Parting With Canada.
r TTTE SFVDAT OKFOCVXTAX. PORTLAVD. FEBRFART 9, 1913.
BT MADAME SARAH BERNHARDT.
Translation by Le Marquis de Castle
thomond. Copyrlpht. 1!13. Rochambeau
Newspaper Syndicate. Philadelphia. All
rights reserved.)
I HAVE a friend who Is a doctor, a
charming man, still young". 47 ye art
old. who thought It advisable to
cut off bis beard because it began to
turn gray.
He has a very One face, but the nose
is a little pronounced, a fact I nevei
noticed when be wore a beard.
I was going out of my house on the
Boulevard Perelre. in Paris, when 1
passed a gentleman who raised his hat
and held out bis band.
I looked at the man narrowly, ae-
tontshed that a stranger should hold
out his hand, and then burst out laugh
ing on recognizing my friend, the doc
tor.
"Ah! it is not at all becoming." I ex
claimed- "Let your beard grow again.
He toid me he felt younger without it.
and said his beard was getting too full
of white hair.
Vanity of Men Dumfonnded.
Really I am always dumfounded by
coquettisbness in men; they hide their
age Just as do the women, and they ob
Ject to white hair. That is idiotic!
Bear In mind that my friend, with
his beard, had a most attractive face,
it outlined the cheeks and lengthened
the chin a couple of centimeters, for It
was a short beard, and it diminished
the size of the nose, which appeared to
be fine and straight. Noi, my frieno
is ordinary looking, hardly ugly, bui
certainly not handsome. Why do men
thus walk in women's paths of vanity?
Ir Is futile, and It degrades them.
I know men who wear stays and
think that no one knows it.
How many are the dyed mustaches I
notice. Women often dye their nair
red. fair or dark. But the duty of
woman Is to Dlease.
Fifteen years ago the Emperor of
Russia, father of the reigning Czar,
ordered a hunting party for me at
Elan. There were 10 troikas following
each other. In the one wherein I was
seated there was an officer of the Em
peror's household, rather a good-looking
man, but so dark, so very dark,
that he looked like a gipsy. I would
rather have seen him with lighter hair
and mustache.
We were heaped up with furs. His
head was covered by a large zibeline
cap pulled down to his eyes. We set
out at midnight after the play was
over, and would not arrive at the
bunting grounds until 9 o'clock next
morning. The officer was Bitting op
posite me. He drank like a Cossack.
I slumbered lightly at times in the
troika, and through my half-closed
eyes I appeared to see the face of my
companion in the strangest aspects. At
one time I thought his cheeks looked
as though streaked by big black lines.
I closed my eyes, fearful and doubting
what I saw.
Dye Had Made Him Blue.
When I opened them again in the
rosy dawn I gazed terrified at the sight
of my companion, who slept half buried
in the rugs; his face was violet, but
a dark violet.
I thought he must have been seized
with an attack of apoplexy, and awak
ened the prince, who sat beside him.
and we raised his head. He awakened,
a little stupefied by the champagne he
had drunk, and I took off his fur cap.
but was overcome with laughter, which
made the man one of my cruel enemies
The dye had run down under the
action of the heat and spread itself in
violet perspiration all over his face.
His mustache dye had run over his
collar; never had I seen anythins more
ridiculous than that poor man. He
was obliged to get out at a peasant's
TWO EMBROIDERY DESIGNS FOR SHIRTWAISTS OR LINGERIE
These attractive designs are effective worked either
In the eyelet or the solid embroidery. Detail drawing
shows method of working.
There are two ways to apply the design to the mate
rial upon which you wish to work it.
If your material is sheer such as handkerchief linen,
lawn, batiste, and the like the simplest method Is to
lay the material over the design and with a well pointed
pencil draw over each line.
If your material Is heavy, secure a piece of transfer
or impression paper. Lay It face down upon this, then
draw over each line of the paper design with a hard
pencil or the point of a steel knitting needle. Upon
lifting the pattern and the transfer paper you will find
1 neat and accurate impressslon of the design upon your
material.
There are two points to observe In this simple proc
ess if you would execute It satisfactorily. One is to
see that your material is level cut and folded by a
thread and see that your design is placed upon It
evenly at every point.
The second is. when placed accurately, secure the de
sign to the material with thumb tacks or pins, so it
cannot slip during the operation
Do not rest your hand or fingers upon any part of
the design you are transferring, else the imprint of
your fingers will be as distinct upon the material as
the drawn lines of the design.
i
J
J
JiV Collar and Cu'f
house and wash hi self, and during al'
the hunting trip he was piebald with
black and white spots. Poor man!
I think that during the hunt he tried
to shoot me. Oh. he was mad with rage
and he had reason to be. and all th
more so because in the second carriag
was a young Polish countess whom ni
courted and wished to marry.
She too, laughed heartily, and wouk
never marry him. I cannot understand
and can never excuse coquettishness ti
men.
Denounces Lett s XV.
1
HAVE Just crossed that part of Can
ada between Winnipeg and Victoria
passing through Edmonton and Cal
gary. Hon Dleu! what an interesting coun
try this is. 1 can understand why
people come In crowds to pitch their
tents here.
I understand why one comes from
Europe for the sole purpose of making
the admirable and unforgettable
Journey across the Rocky Mountains
from Calgary to Vancouver.
The diversity of nature's conditions
are extraordinary. We left Edmonton
in 30 degrees centigrade of cold, and
we arrived in Vancouver in 10 ae
grecs of cold. Then taking the boat
we were (a few hours later) In
changed country the Island of Van
couver. where the city of Victoria is
situated.
One might have thought It Spring
time. Everywhere there were flowers
and delightful houses on the shores
of the bay. The most luxurious autos
were to be seen. The Empress Hotel
one of the most sumptuous of places.
has a French cuisine of the first order
As for the people of Victoria, they
recalled those of London. All the wo
men wore elegant toilettes; the men
were dressed in perfect taste.
It was the second time since the
commencement of our Journey that we
had a houseful that was warmly
sympathetic It is trre that nearly
everybody spoke French.
Calls Lonli XV Criminal.
Ah! when I see the advance that
this immense Canada is making I can
i:ot help thinking of that criminal.
King Louis XV7, who sold it for 1.000,
000 francs. It is true that Canada
was not so big then as it is now. Many
other regions have been opened since
but even then there was magnificent
expanse of land. That stupid act shows
to what extent of absurdity absolute
power may go.
Heaven be thanked one can no longer
count similar acts in our day. Kings
and Emperors are but the employes oy
the people, and the people they are
the whole nation.
Canada will certainly become the
granary of the world.
I may not witness it, out i roresee
t. nevertheless.
Drama and Opera
T Is impossible, sir. to compare an
opera with a drama.
A musicaj work gives prominence be
yond everything to the music and not
to the meaning of the words.
What does the action matter in a mus
leal work? That which the public de
mands especially, ana oefore all else,
is to listen to beautiful music. It Is
not necessary to understand the words
that are sung. What Importance is it
o
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that the verses of the poem should be
beautiful? '
It is necessary that the music should
be beautiful and make the bearer ex
perience all the emotions. And it is
here that Wagner's operas are so mar
velous. He makes his thoughts sing.
and they become clear to everybody.
Musicians should always write theii
own poems; their works would gain
doubly In sincerity.
Personally, I consider that a divorce
occurs too often between the poet and
the musician, and the want of accord
Jars upon me extremely.
As for lyric artists, they cannot and
should not attempt to perform in the
same way as dramatic artists. The
emission of sound is not the same. The
diction is altogether different. Singe:
must emit the o's and a's in an exag
gerated manner, while actors mlghi
lengthen the sound of the o, but ab
breviate the a.
Difference la Wide.
The actor must forget everything
around him except his part. The singer
o
must never forget the conductor of the
orchestra.
An actor may "Change his fashion of
playing a part every day, but a singer
may not give way to any dramatic in
clination. The orchestration is regulated to a
minute point, and the restricted singer
must not for a moment lose sight of
the glacial conductor.
There are certainly some singers,
men as well as women, who have more
temperament than others. For Instance,
Mary Garden is a passionate as well
as an admirable lyric artist. Jean de
Reszke, more than any other singer,
gave to his Romeo the character of a
real lover. TBut none of all this can
be compared to a dramatic scene played
sincerely.
It is impossible for an unfortunate
singer who is followed by assassins to
fly away as fast as his legs can cam
him. He must stand still and cry out
in a suppressed voice, or more often
yell:
"Here they come! They are at my
heels! The wretches are after me! I
o of
fly. I fl . . y . . . I fl . . . y . . . y.
And yet he stands singing there on the
same spot all the time.
For this reason, whenever I am at
the opera I sit at the back of my box
and close my eyes to hear the music.
because as a dramatic artist my in
tellect cannot endure the ridiculous
phrases and grotesque situations in
many operas.
Would Like Spoken Opera.
My dream, which is also that of
other artists, would be spoken opera.
In which dramatic artists would de
claim and play, supported by the music
Between the acts the audience would
be initiated into what was about to
follow by long descriptive preludes,
s.y or terrible, according to the ac
tion of the piece.
I know a great musician who is
working on an opera for me. Ed
mond Rostand is writing the poem,
but the musician whom I am not au
thorized to name at the moment and
the poet are beings who are more than
ill others, tossed about by their genius.
They work with passion and destroy
their work with fury. . . . And in
the meantime the days run on, the
months glide away, the years mount up
and the dream foreruns the eternal
sleep.
It Is such a pity. The idea is so
beautiful.
'VaTsiy Men Drill
AT NINE o'clock this morning I was
still asleep in my private car
(standing near the shore of Lake Wash
Ington) and dreaming of what I had
seen the previous day at the Univer
sity, when I was awakened by loud
hurrahs.
I raised my curtain and there under
the clear sky stood 20 young men ar-
I rayed In brown military uniforms, go
jlng, through drill In my honor. I
lerugnizea among tneni laces 1 naa
seen the day before at the University.
There were the young soldiers of the
University under the command of their
officer, an army Lieutenant appointed
to Instruct them. Nearly all these young
men form part of the territorial army
of the State of Washington.
I saluted my young friends and com
plimented them on their fine military
air and after breakfast returned to the i
University to pay a visit to a young
woman who was ailing and wished to
see me. The girls take part in nearly
all the classes, but the boys do not fol
low the courses In cooking. The girls
alone roilow It, and I regret that they
are instructed only in American cook
ing. They should be taught the French
cuisine. It is so much more attractive
and delicate.
My young invalid was still asleep
when I arrived at the University, so I
turned this to account by visiting the
Indian Museum. There are some mar
vels to be found there.
Tells of Wonderful Canoe.
It was a French naval officer who
?pent 25 years of his life collecting
these wonders, and I regret that they
are not in a French museum, for pref
erence the Ethnographical Museum of
the Trocadero. Among the exhibits is
a war canoe which is a real master
piece. It is eight meters long and
carved from a huge tree-trunk, the
prow being a mervelous piece of sculp
ture. The whole was carved from the
ame trunk, not a morsel of other wood
being added. It is a work of extra
ordinary cleverness.
There are also arrows of clear flint.
so fine, so transparent that one might
have thought they were made of amber
or porphyry. These are the arrows
o
o
with which the Alaska Indians received
the firet Europeans who came among
them. There are besides a number .of
amulets and charms carved from
sharks' teeth and also masks worn by
medicine men fearsome and grotesque
objects. Yes, the medicine men cov
ered their faces with masks, either
comic or lugubrious accordingly as they
wished to make the patient laugh or
to hypnotise him.
Finds Sbe Knew Invalid.
At last I was called to the bedside
of the invalid, and what was my sur
prise when I recognized in her a cham
bermaid who two years before had
waited on my friend the Countess de
Majac in Switzerland when she traveled
with me.
"You remember me then?" she asked
as she held out her little feverish hand.
"Tes." I said, "but how is it ?" She in
terrupted me. "Oh!" she said, "my
brother and I are very poor and to pay
for our rooms here (we live too far
away to be outside patients) and In or
der to dress decently we accept any
kind of honorable work during the
three Summer months to pay -our ex
nenses durine the Winter
"An elderly Swiss lady who lived In
Seattle engaged me as reader when
she went to visit her sick son i Swit
zerland, and she took also my brother
as courier. We arrived in Switzerland
but she died a fortnight after from
pulmonary attack.
"She had recommended us to one of
her friends who was alfo your friend
Monsieur Tronchin, grandson of King
Louis xvi s doctor. He got me an en
gsgement with the Countess whose
maid was ill. and she also took my
brother as gardener.
She sent for her brother, a tall fine
looking young fellow who laughingly
exclaimed:
'Oh! then my sister Tias told you. do
you remember me? It was I who placed
your auto the big bouquet of roses
which Mr. Tronchi that good and kind
man told me to gather for you. You
had a dog called Peter-Pan that used
o jump into every fountain on the
property."
I learned from this young man that
many poor girls and young men . did
the same thing. That Is seek employ
ment in Summer in hotels and bathing
establishments close by. I was very
touched by the accounts these young
People gave me and once again I have
reason to admire the nobility of Ameri.
"an character.
Tales of the Kond k?
IS this progressive town of Seattle
where I am at this moment, one
hears of nothing but Alaska for, al
though the mines are somewhat worked
out in certain parts of the Klondike and
Alaska, many ambitious young people
are still going there, hoping to make
rapid fortunes. But how many are the
shattered hopes; now many the painful
adventures!
. Yesterday while returning from an
auto run, I met two young Frenchmen
whom I was astonished to see in this
town. They belong to rich families in
France and one of them was married
two years ago. I stopped the auto and
called to them gaily, but my merriment
fled at the sight of the wretchedness of
their expression. They came towards
me but I found no words to say any
thing. I felt that grief oppressed them.
"Oh, my poor friend," said one of
them to me. "My poor frind." I made
them get into my automobile. "But
what Is the matter with you, my dear
men?"
The elder brother began to speak.
o
0o
o
CO
IF
fa
Halt Collar ana Cuff .
9 o
"You know RoHand?" he said. "Yes,
charming Holland, so-odd but so de
lightful. What has happened to him?"
Then noticing on my friend's arm a
and of crepe. "Ah, men Ditu! Is h
dead?"
Tell Story of Death and Privation.
The two brothers bowed their heads
and this is what they told me:
"Rolland lost a very large sum of
money gambling. His father was a
banker very rich but close and strict.
He refused to give hi's son the money
necessary to pay his debts. Kolland
said nothing ta his married brother,
who would have assisted Mm by al.
the means in his power, but set out for
Alaska mod with grief; looking upon
Himself as a dishonored man. A friend
gave him letters of introduction to peo
ple in Tanana, a little town situated on
the banks of the Yukon River. He ar
rived at his destination In very bad
health, for, unlike his brother. Rolland
was very delicate. He went into part
nership with a young American of good
family, who also had gone to tempt
fortune.
Unfortunately these two lads of 2S,
and 24 years of age had furnished"
themselves insufficiently with food.
They had canned articles but In small
quantity. Six months passed without
particular incident. Their plant was
very far away from any of the others,
and they found themselves sadly Iso
lated. In that country, which is so
bountiful In gold, the Winter Is ter
rible and for eight months its Inhab
itants must live on preserved foods.
The two young partners had put their
provisions in a little tent close by theit
own so they might not be spoiled by
the heat of their stove. Their mine,
yielded abundantly and Rolland looked
forward to the coming hour when he
cou'.d return to France with enough,
money to pay his debts and live happily.
Had Tent Full of Gold.
One day they brought back the last
lot of gold and realized Joyfully that
tiieir tent was full of treasure, so they
treated themselves to a copious feast of
sardines and salt meats. Rolland con
lining himself to the sardines and &alt
meals, his stomach being too delicate
for other fare.
In the middle of the night they wera
awakened by the barking of their dog,
and looking out, they saw their pro
vision tent In (lames. The horses In a
little wooden tent adjoining, were
seized with terror, and breaking their
..alters, they escaped.
Two hours later the young men found
themselves without provisions, without
guns, without horses and a walk of
three days between them and the near
est village before they could get food
and buy other horses. The young
American started off Immediately. A
piece of bread, all that remained from
the feast, being divided between them.
The two young men embraced each oth
er and a moment later Rolland was
alone.
Died In Midst of Gold.
On the little table was found later a
paper relating the atrocious sufferings
he endured after the second day. He
had been already weakened by hard
work and was unable to combat the se
vere climate, the privations and the at
tacks of hunger. So when, his friend
eturned on horseback on the fourth
day exhausted, he found the body of
Kolland almost hidden under the gold
with which he had covered himself. At
his side lay the mangled body of his
dog. Rolland' had tried to drink tho
blood of the poor beast and his hands
were torn by its teeth.
An expression of bitter laughter held
his lips apart and showed his white
teeth. It nag thought that he had gone
mad and died, and that in his death
(Concluded oo Paga 10.)
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