CHAP.PAGE
I.
Childhood
1
II.
At Boarding School
6
III.
Convent Life
16
IV.
My Début
27
V.
The Soldier’s Shako
38
VI.
The Family Council and my First Visit to a Theatre
46
VII.
My Career—First Lessons
59
VIII.
The Conservatoire
64
IX.
A Marriage Proposal and Examinations—The Conservatoire
73
X.
My First Engagement
88
XI.
My Début at the House of Molière, and my First Departure therefrom
98
XII.
At the Gymnase Theatre—A Trip to Spain
107
XIII.
From the Porte St. Martin Theatre to the Odéon
118
XIV.
“Le Passant”—At the Tuileries—Fire in my Flat
135
XV.
The Franco-Prussian War
151
XVI.
Sarah Bernhardt’s Ambulance at the Odéon Theatre
160
XVII.
Paris Bombarded
172
XVIII.
A Bold Journey through the German Lines
189
XIX.
My Return to Paris—The Commune—At St. Germain-en-Laye
216
XX.
Victor Hugo
226
XXI.
A Memorable Supper
231
XXII.
At the Comédie Française again—Sculpture
244
XXIII.
A Descent into the Enfer du Plogoff—My First Appearance as Phèdre—The Decoration of my New Mansion
259
viXXIV.
Alexandre Dumas—“L’Etrangère”—My Sculpture at the Salon
272
XXV.
“Hernani”—A Trip in a Balloon
280
XXVI.
The Comédie goes to London
291
XXVII.
London Life—My First Performance at the Gaiety Theatre
303
XXVIII.
My Performance in London—My Exhibition—My Wild Animals—Trouble with the Comédie Française
309
XXIX.
The Comédie Française returns to Paris—Sarah Bernhardt’s Comments on Actors and Actresses of the Day
326
XXX.
My Departure from the Comédie Française—Preparations for my first American Tour—Another Visit to London
331
XXXI.
A Tour in Denmark—Royal Families—The “Twenty-Eight Days” of Sarah Bernhardt
342
XXXII.
Experiences and Reflections on Board Ship from Hâvre to New York
352
XXXIII.
Arrival in New York—American Reporters—The Custom House—Performances in New York—A Visit to Edison at Menlo Park
361
XXXIV.
At Boston—Story of the Whale
380
XXXV.
Montreal’s Grand Reception—The Poet Fréchette—An Escapade on the St. Lawrence River
388
XXXVI.
Springfield—Baltimore—Philadelphia—Chicago—Adventures between St. Louis and Cincinnati—Capital Punishment
398
XXXVII.
New Orleans and other American Cities—A Visit to the Falls of Niagara
414
XXXVIII.
The Return to France—The Welcome at Hâvre
433
INDEX
443