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This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1919 Excerpt: ...the fact that he had not actually seen her, that he might find himself endeavoring vainly to remember the name of the actress who played the part. It is now nearly half-a-century since Sardou brought out one of the cleverest of his satiric comedies, the 'Famille Benoiton.' It dealt with the fortunes of a family in the second decade of the Second Empire, with its gaudy glitter and with its gangrene of social disintegration. Monsieur and Madame Benoiton have sons and daughters, married, marriageable, and not yet ripe for matrimony. All the members of the family are presented to us in turn, singly and together, --all of them except Madame Benoiton. They are put thru their paces in a series of amusing scenes; and we discover slowly that the family is in its sorry state, largely because it lacks the guiding hand of the mother. Madame Benoiton is never at home; she may have just gone out or she may be immediately expected; but she does not appear with the rest of the family. She is a woman of fashion, or she aspires so to be considered; and her social duties are too absorbing for her to give any time to her husband, to her sons or to her daughters. When at last the fifth act draws to its conclusion, with the reconciliation of the eldest daughter to her husband and with the engagement of the next oldest daughter to an eligible bachelor, there is the sound of carriage-wheels and a ring at the front door. The youngest boy looks out the window, cries Mamma! and rushes away to greet her. The eligible bachelor smiles with anticipatory delight; he has yet to be introduced to his future mother-in-law! Then the boy returns disappointed; and when he is askt where his mother is, he explains that she has just gone out again: -- She had forgotten he...

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