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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (May 25, 1913)
,i,,.,,,,,-aMaB--.aMa-s- . " ' ' ' ' " ' "-" ' ' " ' MME. BERNHARDT'S LETTERS ON LIFE TO AMERICAN WOMEN -Tango" and Like Dances Abominable, Revolting 3T MADAME SARAH BERNHARDT. TVamlitlAR hr La Mnrnula de Cartel vnnnnrf rnnTrLihi. mis. Roehambtau Newspaper Syndicate, Philadelphia. All rishta reara- THESE dances are abominable, re voltlnr and Improper. I cannot understand how any one could permit aucb Insanities to take place In their drawing-rooms, yet not only do they permit ' them, but young girls or Tespectable ramuies as rmbla together to learn those dances. The mothers are at fault. They should never Dermlt such exhibitions. Ana why do they do It? They keep a young girl away from Immoral surroundings, chooM her books, bide from her news papers reporting questionable divorces or passionate crimes. They Keep a watch on her friendships, they do everything In the world to keep her mind from betas: sullied, yet they let her, not only see, but actually take part in, a spectacle which is, more man any other, stripped bare of all modesty and decency. I have heard particular people severe ly condemn the waits when I was a girl. What would they say today? - Tells of a Palatal Memory A painful scene in my family Is al ways present in my memory. I was then about 10 or 13 years of age. My mother was traveling, I do not quite remember where, and during the holi days I was visiting my aunt. Henrietta Faure, who. by the way, was no con nection of the president of the French republic no, my uncle was the son of a French peer 'of ancient family, and bis wlfa was ray mother's sister. She had two children: a son who is still living and a daughter long since dead. My ancle was kind. OhI so kind! and my aunt was so severe. With some children living In castles close to us we arranged a children's party at my uncle's place, which was followed by dances on the greensward. One of the little grrls brought her dancing master, who was a species of thoughtless dreamer and had Invented a little ballet of wood-nymphs chasing a fawn. Considering the times of which 1 speak, this ballet was somewhat un usual, for our parents did not see the rehearsals: only our governesses and teachers wera present at them. No doubt nothing struck them as being very Improper. One day. however, the rehearsal was held at our house because my girl cousin had a sore throat and she was not allowed to go out. We were feverishly hard at work when the piano suddenly stopped, and our little up raised limbs became petrified In their typsy fawn attitudes. My aunt had come in and broken her fan across the face of the dancing master. My uncle, hastening forward at the noise, arrived Just In time to catch my fainting aunt In his arms. My uncle was calm (he Is so still, because he has been a Carthusian monk for the last 18 years, and Is now 91 years old. I have not seen him since, but be sends me his news and 1 love him as much as ever) and asked for an explanation of what was passing, and when he was told, he ordered a repetition of the children's ballet which had so scandalized my aunt. Repeated the Performance. We repeated It afresh, and after some minutes he stopped the dance, sent the children away, and shortly afterwards the dancing roaster was more dead from shame than alive. After a well-meant and effective lecture, the dancing master was Instructed to teach us a minuet. As for my aunt, my uncle re proached her for her violence, and then embraced ner tenqgny. xum- PLEASING EMBROIDERY DESIGN FOR This very attractive design may be worked In solid or eyelet Detail drawing shows method of working. There are two ways to apply the designs to the material upon which you wish to work them. ' If yonr material is sheer such as handker chief 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 a neat and ac curate impression of the design upon your ma terial. , - There are two points to observe In this simple process If you would execute It satisfactorily. One Is to see that your material Is level cut and folded by a thread and that your design Is placed upon It evenly at every point The second is, when placed accurately, secure the design 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 print of your fingers will be ss distinct upon the material as the drawn lines of the design. A 0- believe that If she came back on earth and saw the turkey trot or the tango. she would prefer to return Immediately to the realm of the shades. ' Mothers and husbands should stop these degrading . dances. Will they do It? Woes of Drug Habit itihE passion for morphine, which Is 1 extending its ravages among an the young generation. Is a very mourn ful sign of the times. In Paris, during several years al ready, our young students of medicine and pharmacy have succumbed to the morphine and cocaine habits; but here in America the passion has developed in the schools, and boys of 12 and 15 years of age Intoxicate themselves with morphine, cocaine and heroin The West Technical High School and Central High School are the assem bling places of little morphomanlaca, nrain victims, etc This Is an extremely grave state of things, and I realise wnat the agony of mothers must be when they sud denly become aware of the truth. ' Monsieur Flanuermeyer, one oi m most influential among the members of the commission charged with the examination of pharmaceutical prod ucts, at once began a campaign against the evil, and found that several drug gists were guilty of illicit sales of the dangerous products. He - threatens to severely punish those men who have neither con science nor consideration for youth. I hope Mr. Flanderraeyer will perse vere energetically In his resolution, because those who do not hesitate to ruin youth are fiends. Core la Never Certaia. Tears of care will be necessary to cure the children, and even when one thinks they are cured the least lit tle thing the slightest constraint, the least sorrow will make them return to the fatal habit. Oh! you who read these lines, be ware of those stupefying and Insinu ating drugs! One always begins oy taking a in- tie. Oh! so little. Ana a lew aays later a little more. Yes, Oh! so lit tle! Then every day a new reason Is found for the use of more morphine. or perhaps cocaine. Shortly, small doses no longer produce the same dreams and the victim uses more and more every day. The first injections made him forget some physical suf fering and 'produced a Joy In being alive, and Intense happiness. Then lit tle by little nightmares took the place of dreams and subsequently replaced them forever. Horrors Replace Pleasant Dreams. In th place where once the victim saw roses, he now sees frogs and snakes. The first effects of morphine had been to calm suffering, whereas it onlv increases it later, and the pa tient has to augment the dose. It breaks up his entire system; his hands trem ble, he becomes thin, his appetite leaves him, he begins to stoop. xoung sun; his hair turns gray and at last he dies his body already decomposed, his mind an Idiot's, and all those around him have been martyrized. It Is a horrible spectacle. I know It well. For two years I nursed my husband, who was a victim of mor phine and cocaine. Cocaine produces excess of madness; it begins by causing high energy, which is taken for strength and vl tnlltv. and it ends by raving madness. The hapless persons it intoxicates see things which do not exist or tney see them In other forms. Here Is a curious case: The doctor who attended my husoanu came to I and Improper-How Children make the death report and seeing some little syringes on the mantie plece, he asked me for them and also for the 40 grammes of morphine and 30 grammes of cocaine found under the pillow, and, as I showed signs of surprise at his request, he said: "Oh, I want It In my hospital, but I hate the emotions ana sensations cauoea u these drugs." Three days later I went to his house to thank him for his services and pay him what my husband owed him. He lived on the Boulevard Maiesneroes, In Paris, on the third floor. The win dow was wide open, and he said: Tour carriage is downstairs await ing you. I will accompany you to it. I walked to the door, but some in stlnct made me turn round. His eyes had a wild look while he walked to the window, buttoning his gloves. "Doctor." I cried, "what is the mat ter with your I had not finished the words before he disappeared tnrougn the window, crashing to his death upon the sidewalk. Then only did I know that he was a victim ot cocaine. Ah! Monsieur Flandermeyer, punish the culprits severely out of pity for the youtli they try to ruin. Robber on Board Train ABOUT - midnight yesterday, as a train was running out of Kansas City, a robber appeared on the plat form of the observation car. Facing the colored man In charge, he pointed a revolver at the quaking form and told him to walk ahead into the sitting room. , Three men were there. ""Hands up!" cried the bandit, and he was Instantly obeyed. At his leisure, he took everything they had; he emptied their pockets, and In this way he nassed from car to car. mot a soui resisted this man, who was alone against 60. He went into the Pullman car, awaK- ened all the sleepers and took their Jewelry, watches and money. Finally he came to tne stateroom where a millionaire was sleeping. Awakened by the robber he handed out $1000 and a big diamond shirt stud. Then, when the robber was going away' he fired a revolver shot through the curtains. The bandit returnea tne fire and after he had emptied nis weapon at the millionaire, he Jumped off, losing a quantity of blood. Really, all this is naraiy xo do Be lieved! How ever was It that a single man was able to hold up 60 men, some ot whom even had weapons? v hy did they not run forward when they heard the revolver shots? Not a bit of it. But all that crowd set out In brave pursuit of the wounded man when they were very sure he was out of reach. I can understand how It was that tne negro, suddenly surprised and without arms, had been obliged to do as he was told. I understand that the three men who were surprised in the sitting-room had no time to defend themselves, but when the bandit went into the chair car they could have armetl themselves with everything that came to hand and thrown themselves upon him. The men sleeping In the chair car, when awak ened by the noise, might have done something. And the people In the Pull man might have been warned, and those having arms should have used them. But that cringing Deiore a single man Is revolting. The millionaire did well to nre, put he should have taken steady aim and fired with coolness. It is odious to think of. It is all wretchedly humiliating. In the first case, why do Americans. of Divorcees Suffer-Tells who know that robbers act In this way, not carry revolvers? The law prohib its It, but the law Is wrong to do' so, for as long as rascals carry arms It is only fair that honest people should also be allowed to do so. But then the law In all countries in France as well as In America Is made for rascals. It Is they who always benefit by the laws. In France also it is forbidden to carry arms, but all my friends and the members of my lamuy have them. I too, have a revolver in my automobile and In the evenings when I leave the theater and when my auto rolls away, I take It In my hand, ready to open fire on the first rogue who comes near. I found It useful on two occasions. I did not fire, the sight of the revolver barrel was suf ficient. I think It is proper to obey the law when it Is Just, but I revolt against it when It is unjust. And this Is-often the case. Absurd Height of Heels rpHE fashion really exaggerates the JL height of heels. I advocate and have always advocated heels; in the first place because I really cannot walk without them; even when playing ten nis I wear them, very low, it Is true but all the same they are two pr three centimeters high. But the present fashion Increases them to the height of 10 or 12 centimeters, a fashion which is both ugly and dan gerous. Ugly, because the body, in cllned too far forward, throws back the arms to regain equilibrium, and then women walk like turkeys. ' Dangerous, because it makes It more difficult for the dfgestive and respira tory organs to perform their functions. Some doctors declare that high, the very high, heels, bring on diseases among women. That I do not believe, and I have consulted the most promi nent of our great surgeons on the sub ject They all agreed that the real dan ger for women who wore very nign heels Is the liability to hernia, and It seems to me that this reason alone ought to be sufficient to make one avoid exaggerations. Then, I have already said, and I re peat it again, a woman should study herself before she decks herself out with fasmonable stupidities. A woman who is tall, thin, with a small head, should wear only low heels. four or five centimeters, otherwise she will spoil the harmony of her curves. Salt Your Individuality. A tall woman with head and features somewhat big and with long arms might use heels of ten centimeters. She, on the contrary, will create the gen eral harmony of her person. The same is the case with a little woman. It Is necessary that she should look at herself narrowly, study herself closely, and view herself without excus ing things so that she shall realize what is necessary to her proportions,, for this is the half of beauty. Finally, women who have Nature s best advantages should despise over high heels' because the ankles, not be ing straight, cannot sustain the dis placed weight and they give away, hance come frequent sprains. High Heels Cause Spnalna. A Chicago doctor told me that he had, during this Winter, more than '50 pa tients with serious sprains consequent uDon high heels. "To tell the truth.' he said, "I have 20 patients, one of whom Is worse than the others. Look, here Is the shoe of one of them," and lie showed me a pretty little gray shoe with a steel buckle; the heel was 12 centimeters high an4 was ribbed with steel. I put the shoe on my toot ana it jil V How Her Husband was Victim of Drag Habit-Her Rescue of a Crippled Boy. ted me perfectly, but I knew that If I had to walk In it on the stage, I should pitch head-foremost onto somebody's head In the orchestra. Rescues Crippled Child MY "private railway car is situated here, In Cleveland In a charming spot in Gordon park, but I cannot con sole myself because of the spoliation made here by the railway running thi-mich the middle of the park. And what ' is really terrible about It is that there are five lines always being used by various trains, expresses and freights. One must not think that I complain ot the train traffic; the lines are made for that and it 19 all the better for the town that the traffic should be made. No, I complain that no one has thought of making a suspension bridge over the line in order to allow people to go to the lake without running the possibility of being crushed to death. Yesterday I was arranging flowers in my sitting-room when my eyes fell upon the most painful of spectacles. A child 8 years of age was crossing the line to go to the park; he was lame and walked on crutches. One of his crutches caupht between two rails, doubled at that spot by the curve of the line. The child pulled the crutch in efforts to get It out His pretty face was pale with anxiety, but American children seem to me to be brave. I left my flowers and got down to run to the child's assistance, when Just then I saw a train In the distance com ing at full speed. The child was on the rails of that trains I only had to pull him to me, and together we scrambled to the side of my private car. The enormous engine thundered past dragging five Pullmans in its vortl ginous course, raising a whirl of wind that tossed my dress and hair. Both of us closed our eyes Instinctively, and when we opened them we saw the poor little wooden leg seared to Bplinters. The child began to cry. "Mother gave them to me on my birthday three years ago!" he stammered In bad French (he was a little Italian). I bade him get Into my car and consoled him as best I could. I telephoned for an auto and took the child to his mother, a young woman, who had been a widow for one year. The poor weman must have made a big sacrifice to give her little lad such ele gant crutches. Her husband had died a drunkard. I understood then why the child was a cripple. When I got back to my little rolling house I found three people awaiting me. One of them was a big financier of the railway we were on. I told of my little adventure and showed him the fragments of the crutch. He took It In his fingers. "Will you sign one of these pieces of wood?" he asked. "If you do you will find, should you return again in two years, your bridge here. I give you my word." I wish I had those two years already added to however, I have years enough as it Is. But that's how It Is. One is never contented. Against the Billboards NO, NO! I cannot endure the hor rible exhibition of advertisements o-hic-h (Use-race the most beautiful views In this fine country. Take, for instance, the Journey from Cleveland to New York. It is really a very beau- 1 Ftiita on nna u .11 1 It from the rail- way; the Hudson unwinds itself so gracefully and displays unexpecteu views which are always varying. I was reclining on the platform ot One Heif Design. Collar eJ2?T. my car dreamingly, enchanted at the view, when suddenly an utterly ridicu lous sight tore my dream from me. A frightful advertisement, perhaps 30 meters high, between two high masts, and representing a colossal obese baby, blocked out the view of a charming spot close to Albany. I longed for a loaded gun in order to blaze at that monstrous thing. And in the same way nature is vio lated In many parts of America. Passing through the gigantic defile of the Rocky Mountains, my eyes 'were outraged by mustard advertisements. An immense red shoe was painted on a whole rock whose peak aspired to heaven. All around on rocks, big and little, advertisements were painted. I cried with rage. Like Illuminated Signs. That one might make big illuminated advertisements at night in cities is all Very well, and sometimes they are pretty; moreover, It spreads a gladden ing brightness over everything. In cer tain towns there is an orgy of light which is altogether joyful. There are automobiles which seem to fly along a road; a bottle of champagne, which pours its contents as the glass fills up; an ostrich running to escape a hunter who tries to pull out its feathers, etc. And a thousand other mirthful things to which electricity gives movement and light Against these things I do not rebel. Towns are made for the display of all the .discoveries of the mind of man, but the dome of the streets, which is heaven, belongs still to nature. The very trees In the streets are put to un becoming use. So let the city fathers allow all those follies, whether they be beautiful or ugly. In the towns, but let the country be respected, and the lakes and the rivers and the shores. It will hardly be believed that in the bay the mag nificent bay of San Francisco there are two Immense advertisements. I used to go duck shooting, and for the purpose leased a boat for a week, going out in the morning. One day I took It into my head to go fishing, and asked the captain to take me to a good place. Ha turned full speed toward a spot far away, which I took for a little Island. Well. It was not; it was an im mense advertisement on a floating raft an advertisement for meat powder. Had a Grudge Against It. My boat was moored and I caught a lot of fish, but, all the same, I had a grudge against the place and would never return tnere again. I hope that before the exposition In 1915 onens. the Mayor of San Francisco will have the decency to see that the bay will be left in all Its beauty. Children of Divorcees LAST week the police wera hunting everywhere to find a 17-year-old child who escaped from a sanitarium where she had been kept by order of her father. At last after searching for several days, the young girl was found In a hotel In Boston. There was nothing immoral in this flight The girl could not live as formerly. Her father, a rich American, adores his daughter, but he had been separated from his wife, who is living in California; and the poor child has, since her childhood, gone from one boarding-school to another, from one sanitarium to another. Her father sends her money in abun dance, but she has no home; and her mother never sends her any tender messages. And that is the reason why her heart her entire being, cry out for affection. She loves her father, but he does not SUMMER keep her near him. She would love her mother, but she knows her so little! Tosaed by All the Winds. Poor bird, tossed by all the winds! She cries and is driven to despair! "Yes," she says. "I am rich. Indeed, but I cannot buy happiness; I um very, un happy. The despair of this child ought to make the legislators of Amer ica, as well as those of Europe, consider such cases. Divorce gives freedom to husband and wife, but It imprisons the children of the couple who, tossed from right to left, from father to mother, are condemned to perpetual life among strangers, without even knowing the happiness ot home. Poor little creatures who, whon sick and nearly dying, never know the los ing look of an anxious father leaning over the bed. Poor little souls! They never feel the cooling tears of a mother on their burning; cheeks; that baptism of love! Deny a Child the First Joys of Life. Poor little girl who could never con fide to her mother those little secrets. that only she could understand.. Ah! to deny a child the first joys of life! Not give it a chance to love and be loved! And since- the laws made by men are badly made, It Is for parents to improve the conditions. Choose each one your child if you have two. If there is only one. It ought to belong to the parent who loves It most If it is not equally loved by both. It will always be loved by one, and he or she should always speak with re spect and tenderness of the absent parent It Is said this particular father has taken back his daughter. He has act ed welt May he be able to make hor forget all the sorrows of her neglected childhood! Besides, in cases of divorce or sep aration, the mother who does not try to keep her child is a worthless mother; and her old age will be tortured by regret and remorse. MARRIAGES ARE EULOGIZED Portia of Tarls Bar Declares Some) Unions Are Unalloyed Happiness. PARIS, May 24. (Special.) Mile. Miropolsky, the charming Portia of the Paris bar, gave her views on marriage at a conference at the Theater Femina recently. What she tried to do was to refute the well-known theme of La Rochefou cauld that "there are good marriages, but there are no delightful marriages." Mile. Miropolsky warmly eulogized marriage, and declared emphatically that there are such things as marriages of pure, untroubled happiness. "Mar riage," she said, "is declared In a Chi nese proverb to be like a besieged fort ress those who have not entered Into it long to do so, and those who have done so, long to get out. "But." she added, "is this the fault of the marriage institution, or the fault of those who marry? Marriage should be a contract of faithful devotion, founded on the collaboration of two In telligences and the agreement of two sentiments." "There are no bad marriages," she declared, solemnly; "it is in those who marry that the bad exists, if it exists at all." A Suggestion. Judge. "How did that young architect come out. Slithers?" asked Lubbleigh. "Oh, we had tb fire him he bungled everything," said Slithers. "Whv didn't you put him in charge of your bungnlow department then?" sug gested Dubbieign. BLOUSE f
