Of an extreme suppleness of body and delighting in acrobatics, he finally obtained a job in a travelling circus, where he was destined to meet the woman whom he afterwards made his first wife.
From then on he became an actor, unattached to any particular theatre at first, but gradually taking parts of increasing importance until he wrote Nana Sahib, in which he played with Sarah Bernhardt. This play laid the real foundations of a fortune and celebrity which to-day are both considerable.
While they were playing together in Nana Sahib, Sarah’s great rival on the stage was Marie Colombier, the friend of the author Bonnetain.
The whole city was divided into two camps, the Bernhardt camp and the Colombier camp, and there was tremendous venom displayed on both sides.
Performances at the theatre in which Marie Colombier was playing would be enlivened by bands of “Saradoteurs,” who, taking possession of the galleries, would hoot and hiss and whistle until the curtain was rung down.
The next night there would be, as like as not, a similar scene in Sarah’s theatre, and often the police would be obliged to interfere to prevent a battle royal between the opposing factions.
Two-thirds of the contents of Sarah’s letter-bag consisted of flowers and presents; the other third of insulting anonymous letters.
A score of times Richepin offered to challenge Bonnetain to a duel on Sarah’s behalf, but was dissuaded from doing so.
Finally Bonnetain wrote a book about Sarah, which was signed by Marie Colombier and entitled “Sarah Barnum.” Barnum and Bailey’s Circus was then the greatest attraction of Europe.
None of the names in the book were real, of course, but they were so cleverly disguised that everyone in Paris knew for whom they were intended, though any proof might be impossible.