It was during this period that the law-suit which the Comédie Française brought against me was decided.
Maître Barboux did not consult me about anything, and my success in London, which was achieved without the help of the Comédie, irritated the committee, the Press, and the public.
Maître Allou in his pleadings pretended that the London public had tired of me very quickly, and did not care to come to the performances of the Comédie in which I appeared.
The following list gives the best possible denial to the assertions of Maître Allou:
| PERFORMANCES GIVEN BY THE COMÉDIE FRANÇAISE AT THE GAIETY THEATRE | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| (The * indicates the pieces in which I appeared.) | |||
| 1879. | Plays. | Receipts in Francs. | |
| June | 2. | Le Misanthrope (Prologue); Phèdre (Acte II.); Les Précieuses Ridicules | *13,080 |
| „ | 3. | L’Etrangère | *12,565 |
| „ | 4. | Le Fils naturel | 9,300 |
| „ | 5. | Les Caprices de Marianne; La Joie fait Peur | 10,100 |
| „ | 6. | Le Menteur; Le Médecin malgré lui | 9,530 |
| „ | 7. | Le Marquis de Villemer | 9,960 |
| „ | 7. | Tartufe (matinée); La Joie fait Peur | 8,700 |
| „ | 9. | Hernani | *13,600 |
| „ | 10. | Le Demi-monde | 11,525 |
| „ | 11. | Mlle. de Belle-Isle; Il faut qu’une porte soit ouverte ou fermée | 10,420 |
| „ | 12. | Le Post-Scriptum; Le Gendre de M. Poirier | 10,445 |
| „ | 13. | Phèdre | *13,920 |
| „ | 14. | Le Luthier de Crémône; Le Sphinx | *13,350 |
| „ | 14. | Le Misanthrope (matinée); Les Plaideurs | 8,800 |
| „ | 16. | L’Ami Fritz | 9,375 |
| „ | 17. | Zaïre; Les Précieuses Ridicules | *13,075 |
| „ | 18. | Le Jeu de l’amour et du hasard; Il ne faut jurer de rien | 11,550 |
| „ | 18. | Le Demi-monde | 12,160 |
| „ | 20. | Les Fourchambault | 11,200 |
| „ | 21. | Hernani | *13,375 |
| „ | 21. | Tartufe (matinée); Il faut qu’une porte soit ouverte ou fermée | 2,115 |
| „ | 23. | Gringoire; On ne badine pas avec l’amour | 11,080 |
| „ | 24. | Chez l’avocat; Mlle. de la Seiglière | 9,660 |
| „ | 25. | L’Etrangère (matinée) | *11,710 |
| „ | 25. | Le Barbier de Seville | 9,180 |
| „ | 26. | Andromaque; Les Plaideurs | *13,350 |
| „ | 27. | L’Avare; L’Etincelle | 11,775 |
| „ | 28. | Le Sphinx; Le Dépit amoureux | *12,860 |
| „ | 28. | Hernani (matinée) | *13,730 |
| „ | 30. | Ruy Blas | *13,660 |
| July | 1. | Mercadet; L’Eté de la St. Martin | 9,850 |
| „ | 2. | Ruy Blas | *13,160 |
| „ | 3. | Le Mariage de Victorine; Les Fourberies de Scapin | 10,165 |
| „ | 4. | Les Femmes savantes; L’Etincelle | 11,960 |
| „ | 5. | Les Fourchambault | 10,700 |
| „ | 5. | Phèdre (matinée); La Joie fait Peur | *14,265 |
| „ | 7. | Le Marquis de Villemer | 10,565 |
| „ | 8. | L’Ami Fritz | 11,005 |
| „ | 9. | Hernani | *14,275 |
| „ | 10. | Le Sphinx | *13,775 |
| „ | 11. | Philiberte; L’Etourdi | 11,500 |
| „ | 12. | Ruy Blas | *12,660 |
| „ | 12. | Gringoire (matinée); Hernani (Acte V.);La Bénédiction; Davenant; L’Etincelle | *13,725 |
| Total receipts 492,150 francs | |||
The average of the receipts was about 11,715 francs. These figures show that, out of the forty-three performances given by the Comédie Française, the eighteen performances in which I took part gave an average of 13,350 francs each, while the twenty-five other performances gave an average of 10,000 francs.
While I was in London I learned that I had lost my law-suit. “The Court—with its ‘Inasmuch as,’ ‘Nevertheless,’ &c.—declares hereby that Mlle. Sarah Bernhardt loses all the rights, privileges, and advantages, resulting to her profit from the engagement which she contracted with the company by authentic decree of March 24, 1875, and condemns her to pay to the plaintiff in his lawful quality the sum of one hundred thousand francs damages.”
I gave my last performance in London the very day that the papers published this unjust verdict. I was applauded, and the public overwhelmed me with flowers.
I had taken with me Madame Devoyod, Mary Jullien, Kalb, my sister Jeanne, Pierre Berton, Train, Talbot, Dieudonnée—all artistes of great repute.