CONTENTS

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]
XXIV.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]