ANOTHER VIEW OF SARAH BERNHARDT.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 147, 16 March 1908, Page 3

ANOTHER VIEW OF SARAH BERNHARDT.

• Doubtless Madame Sarah Bernhardt omits much from the "Memoirs of My Life," but she tells enough, , Says a Now York paper; to show how much she has been misrepresented in some matters, and to make Americans | blush' l for, the vulgarity and cheap mendacity of much of our Press as it. was when she first visited the United States. Her book is a large one,-and no reador is likely to wish it; smaller. Her story of childhood is full of, charm and interest; her account tf her preparation for the stage and;her obscure days as an actress in Paris gives one a delightful glimpse into ,much that is, best and most amiable in' the theatrical life of thatcity. Her. triumphs and extravagances came later,' but all the wliilo the woman and artist lived on, separate and distinct from the vulgar accompaniments of a public ' 1 .What,she has to of her. contact;with reporters' and,, curibsity seekers, in New York and Boston would be unbelievable,' if it did not carry ..the stamp; of'truth for those who knew ,the journalism'of. a somewhat earlier period than that of the ■ present; which in some of its • aspects is surely bad enough! Her own agents spread the most offensive scandals about her for advertising purposes, and a vulgar Press and' a vulgar section of. tlie ■American , people eagerly/snatched at all this and .accepted ■' it as truth or as" better than truth. The way in which a showman at Boston-made 'the actress a moans of advertising: his whale, as it lay .dead 'or dying in the harhour seems-incredible. Sarah had a fully, justified»hatred and - contempt for the United States Custom-House arid its agents, and hor account of the way in which the latter handled her-.finery is another'cause for American .blushes. V / : Of course tho book reveals the caprices of a nervously high strung and. self-willed woman conscious .of the power conferred upon her Jby her gifts and . her-popularity,: but theqe things -,aro-. after' all only the sonsational accompaniments of a remarkable: character and a great professional career.' The book is' of fascinating interest.