“‘May God be good to you this coming year, may you have a bright and happy Christmas, and may your glorious spirit remain with us for many years to come. We all admire your courage and your genius and love to call you “The Great Woman” of our century!’ “Her reply is one of my most valued treasures: “‘I cannot express to you sufficiently my appreciation of your adorable messages. I have long been an admirer and friend of yours. My one regret is that I have never played under your direction. That will be for another planet! “‘All my heart devoted, “‘SARAH BERNHARDT.’ “Yes, my dear Jefferson Winter, if I must have one, and _only one_, favorite player, I am quite sure it must be Mme. Sarah Bernhardt, in whom the Spirit of Courage, the Spirit of Youth, the Spirit of France, and the Spirit of Art are all united. “Faithfully, “DAVID BELASCO.” BRIEF EXTRACTS FROM MISCELLANEOUS CORRESPONDENCE OF BELASCO. “In all my years of work in the Theatre I have never done anything with which I was wholly satisfied--and I never shall do so. It is the irony of Fate that we live only long enough to learn how, and then die before we can make use of the knowledge!” “If I were asked what proportion of the aspirants for the Stage who apply to me for advice will ultimately become great artists, I should answer: ‘One in two thousand.’” “The good stage manager is born--like the good actor. It [stage management] is, in itself, a special gift and cannot be acquired by training.” “When I can think more with my head and less with my heart the world will think me wise--and I shall know myself a fool!” “The eyes of the heart see quickly and judge rightly.” “I think Dreams are the only Realities of Life--and Love is their soul.” “My world is a small one, of my own making; a world of faith and dreams--and that’s why there are so few people in it!” “When we are not physically well, the thoughts follow the line of least resistance--if the Will allows them to; but the Will is _Master_, and whatever we wish to be, whatever we wish to do, whatever we wish to get, we _can_ get, we can _be_ and _do_, by _willing_ it. So it is that you will be happy; so it is that you will do wonderful things with your life; so it is that you will get into the Castle of your Dreams.” “For women, marriage is the greatest of all careers: therefore, do not try to mix any of the others with it!” About Flaubert and de Maupassant: “Both of them are of the realistic school, and all students of human nature should read and reread them, for they are well worth thought and study. The joys and ills of life are so graphically portrayed that one may almost hear the souls of many women weep in their pages. Many of their women you will find frail and erring, but the light of love shines through nearly all their mistakes, hallowing them, and whether they be beautifully human, or just inhumanly beautiful, they are always women.”