The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 68, July 1964 - April, 1965 Page: 206
574 p. : ill., maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Southwestern Historical Quarterly
From San Antonio Madame Bernhardt and her troupe went
to Houston, where she performed La Sorciere on Friday, Camille
at the Saturday matinee, and La Tosca Saturday night. Several
excursion trains ran to Houston, bringing Texans from neighbor-
ing towns to the theatre; the Houston Electric Company put on
extra cars to handle the crowds. Madame Bernhardt's perform-
ances in Houston were in the auditorium, where a new stage had
been completed before her arrival and where new scenery had
been painted to mask in with the massive sets carried in the
Bernhardt special train. The stage, described before the madame's
arrival as "one of the largest and best equipped in the state,""
seemingly redeemed the situation about which the Dallas News
reporter had complained in his city, for there were no such
critical notes concerning the three Houston performances.
Divine Sarah's last appearance in the Lone Star State was in
Tyler, where she performed in an opera house not governed by
the Theatrical Syndicate. There, too, she was able to hold her
audience under her spell until the "trois coups," three bell strokes,
announced the final act in 'Texas of her "farewell American tour."
Numerous columns recorded Texans' attitudes toward Sarah
Bernhardt, the greatest actress of her day, but she wrapped her
impression of the Lone Star State and its people in three brief
statements. "Zese Texan people zey are hospitable. Zey make us
glad we are here. After Paree, I would like to be a Texan best
of all.""
"Texans are glad to have you, madame," she was told. "But
we do not like this calling it a farewell trip."
Madame Bernhardt shrugged her shoulders. "It is not my
fault; it is His." Reverently she pointed upward."
8"Houston Chronicle, March 25, 19o6.
8oGalveston Daily News, February 6, 1892.
81Dallas Morning News, March 26, 19o6.2o6
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 68, July 1964 - April, 1965, periodical, 1965; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101198/m1/246/: accessed April 20, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.