the next marked division in the biography of forrest covers the period between his twenty-first and his twenty-eighth year, from the close of his first engagement at the bowery in 1827 to his departure for europe in 1834. no other actor ever lived who at so early an age achieved a series of popular successes so steady, so brilliant, so extensive as those which filled these seven triumphant and happy years. they yet remain unparalleled. it was undoubtedly the most fortunate and the most enjoyed period of all in his long career. his health and vigor were superb, his faculties joyously unfolding, his senses in their keenest edge, his glory spreading on all sides, money pouring into his purse, the general love and praise lavished on him scarcely as yet broken by the dissenting voices or alloyed by the signals of envy. his name was emblazoned in the chief cities all over the land, the press teemed with kindly notices, his performances were attended nightly by enthusiastic crowds, who applauded him to the very echoes that applauded again.

in his social relations,—the secondary domain of life,—he saw his desires flatteringly gratified in an increasing degree, his goings and comings announced like those of a king, the eyes of the throng turned after him wherever he went, his thoughts and passions taking electric effect on the excited crowds who gathered to gaze on his playing, choice friends suing for his leisure hours. the common estimate of him and the popular feeling towards him are accurately reflected in the sonnet addressed to him at this time by his friend prosper m. wetmore:

"enriched with nature's brightest powers of mind,

[pg 157]

deep is thy influence o'er man's feeling breast;

when fiercest passions come at thy behest

in all the magic strength of truth, they bind

'neath their broad spell the pulses of the heart,

freezing the soul with horror and dismay:

o'er tarquin's corse, where brutus leads the way,

revenge stalks darkly forth: thy potent art

recalls the aged lear to tell his woes,

enlisting in his cause each sense that thrills:

stern richard smiles upon the blood he spills:

tell, patriot tell, defies his tyrant foes.

"eagle-eyed genius round thy youthful name

flashes the brilliance of a deathless fame!"

and in the primary domain of life—his own physique—he was blessed with a basis of favorable conditions quite as rare. his clean-sinewed frame so firmly poised in its weighty centres, his rich flood of blood copiously nourishing the seats of function, his generous intelligence and his native fearlessness of temper, were the ground of a gigantic complacency in himself which was equally pleasurable to him and attractive to others so long as he intuitively experienced rather than consciously asserted it. he was vaguely aware, in an uncritical way, that his sphere was heavier than those of the men he met, that the elemental rhythms of his being were larger, that the gravitation of his personal force overswayed theirs. while this was indicated by nature without his knowledge, it made him interesting, a sort of magnet to which others swayed in loyal curiosity or affection. and such was entirely the case up to this time. his frank, fresh nature was as yet unwrung by injustice, malignity, and falsehood, unspoiled either by souring adverses or sickening satieties. he was a wholesome specimen of a man of the unperverted, untechnical human type, to whom, in his personal harmony and power, with his loving and trusted friends and his progressive grasping of the prizes of the great social struggle, the experience of each day as it came and went was a cup of nectar which he quaffed without a question, finding neither guilt at the top nor remorse at the bottom.

but he had sufficient force and height of character not to yield himself up to selfish indulgence. notwithstanding the flattery bestowed on him, he felt the defects in his education, and

[pg 158]

determined to remedy them as well as he could. he knew that he needed the polish of literary and social culture and the training of critical studies alike to supplement the advantages and to neutralize the disadvantages of the coarse and boisterous scenes—the bold and lawless styles of men—amidst which much of his life in the west and south had been passed. accordingly, when the opportunity was given him for a choice of associates, he took for his intimate friends in new york a very different class from those he had affiliated with in new orleans. without at all losing his taste for manly sports or shunning the company of their votaries, his preferred friends were men of literary and artistic tastes, of the highest refinement and the best social rank. a large number of accomplished persons, like leggett, bryant, wetmore, halleck, inman, ingraham, dunlap, lawson, were in those years on affectionate terms with him as his avowed admirers. from their example, their conversation, their criticism, he profited much. he became a liberal buyer of books, and soon had an excellent library, which he used faithfully, devoting a large portion of his leisure to reading. nor did he read idly. he read as a student, reflecting on what he read, striving to improve his mind and taste by knowledge in general, as well as to pierce more deeply into the philosophy of the dramatic art in particular. he made himself familiar with the history of plastic and pictorial art, with engravings of celebrated statues and paintings, carefully noting their most impressive attitudes and groupings. he also explored the history of costume in the principal countries, classic, mediæval, and modern. the habit of reading and meditating which he formed at this time was fostered by many influences, grew stronger with his years, spread over wide provinces of biography, poetry, philosophy, and science, and was to the very last the chief solace and ornament of his existence.

while thus devoting himself with new zeal to mental culture, he did not forego one whit of his old assiduity in exercises for the furtherance of his bodily development. during his second year in new york he took a series of lessons in boxing. he felt a great interest in this art, became a redoubtable proficient in its practice, and was ever an earnest and open admirer of its prominent heroes. those who feel this to be discreditable to him will find on reflection, if they think fairly, that it was, on

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the contrary, a credit to him. multitudes of refined people have an intense admiration for superlative developments of physical beauty, force, and courage, though they conceal their taste because by the standards of a squeamish politeness it is considered something low and coarse. but forrest always scorned that style of public opinion, defied it, and frankly lived out what he thought and felt. at the time of the famous fight between heenan and sayers for the belt of world-championship, it was clear that scholars, poets, statesmen, divines, and even fashionable women, felt the keenest interest in the contest. they read the details with avidity, and talked of them with the liveliest eagerness. the fascination is nothing to be ashamed of, but rather to be cultivated with pride. to a just perception, the fighting is not attractive, but repulsive and dreadful. it is the strength, grace, discipline, smiling fearlessness, superb hardihood, connected with the struggle, the rare exaltation of the most fundamental qualities of a kingly nature, that evoke admiration. surely it is better to be a perfect animal than an imperfect one. when all things are in harmony, the finest corporeal condition is the basis for the highest spiritual power. a champion in finished training, with his perfected form, his marble skin, clear unflinching eyes, corky tread, and indomitable pluck, is a thrilling sight. when the crowd see him, their enthusiasm vents itself in a shout of delight. his mauling his adversary into a disfigured mass of jelly is indeed frightful and loathsome; but that is a base perversion, not the proper fruition, of his high estate. the functional power of his bearing is magnificent. he is in a condition of godlike potency. it is a higher thing to admire this glorious wealth of force, ease, and courage than to despise it. personal gifts of strength, skill, fearlessness, are certainly desirable on any level in preference to the corresponding defects. to turn away from them with disgust is a morbid weakness, not a proof of fine superiority. while in this world we cannot escape the physical level of our constitution, however much we may build above it. is it not plainly best as far as possible to perfect ourselves on every level of our nature? an admirable crichton, able to surpass everybody on all the successive heights of human accomplishments, from fencing with swords to fencing with wits, from dancing to dialectics, cannot be held, except by a mawkish judg

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ment, as inferior to a kirke white writing verses of pale piety while dying of consumption brought on by over-stimulus of literary ambition.

forrest had pretty thoroughly practised gymnastics, the exercises of the military drill, horsemanship, and fencing, each of which has a particular efficacy in developing and economizing power, by harmonizing the nervous system, if the will does not interpose too much resistance to the flow of the rhythmical vibrations through the muscles. he now felt that there was a special virtue in the mastery of boxing; and to avail himself of it he secured the services of george hernizer, a distinguished professor of the manly art, a man of immense strength, great experience, and not a little moral dignity. supreme mastership, in whatever province it be achieved, even though it be in the mere ranges of physical force and prowess, gives its possessor an assured feeling of competency and superiority, which has an intrinsic moral value and reflects itself through him in some quiet lustre of repose and security. it is those whose equilibrium is most unstable who are the most irritable and resentful. it is weakness and insecurity that make one fretful and quarrelsome. shakspeare says it is good to have a giant's strength, but tyrannous to use it like a giant. we know that the more gigantic the resources of a man the less tempted he is to put them forth. it is ever your weakling who is naturally waspish.

before putting on the gloves with his pupil for the first time, hernizer sat down with him and talked with him for half an hour in a wise and kindly manner on the morality of the art, or the true spirit in which it should be approached. he summed up in terse maxims the principles which ought to govern all who practise it, and enforced them with apt illustrations. he warned him especially never to lose his temper, and never to presume on the advantages of his skill to strike any man unnecessarily. he said that every boxer who had the instincts of a gentleman was made more generous and forbearing by his safeguard of reserved power. forrest, eager to be at the work, and scarcely appreciating the propriety or value of the lecture, listened to it impatiently at the time, but remembered it with profit and gratitude all his life. as he recalled the circumstances and lingered over the narrative forty years later, a light of retrospective fondness

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played in his eyes, and his tongue seemed laved and lambent with love.

when he had taken lessons for about six months, one day when his nervous centres were aching with fulness of power, as he was sparring with his teacher, a sort of good-natured berserker rage came over him. the ancestral instincts of love of battle burned in his muscles, and he longed to pitch into the strife in right down sincerity. "come, now, hernizer," he cried, "let us try it for once in real earnest." "pshaw! no, no!" replied the master, parrying him off. but waxing warmer and warmer in the play he pressed hard on him, putting in the licks so hot and heavy that at last hernizer, rallying on his resources, fetched him a blow fair between the eyes that made him see stars and sent him reeling against the wall. "i have got enough!" exclaimed forrest, with a laugh, as soon as he could collect himself, and went and threw his arms around his teacher; and the two athletes stood in a smiling embrace, their naked breasts clasped together, and the great waves of warm blood mantling through them. such a passage would have made untrained and nervous men angry or sullen, but it only made these giants laugh with pleasure and sharpened their fellowship. however, forrest said, he never again asked hernizer to buckle to it in earnest.

forrest did not inherit that herculean poise of power which for half a century made him such a massive mark of popular admiration. he attained it by training. and herein he is a splendid example to his countrymen, thousands on thousands of whom, in their whining debility, dyspeptic pallor, and fidgety activity, need nothing else so much as a thorough physical regimen to replenish their blood, soothe their exasperated nerves, and give a solid equilibrium to their energies. the greeks and romans, the nobles and knights of the middle age, were wiser than we in securing a superb physical basis for human perfection. men like plato, pericles, æschylus, sophocles, were foremost in the palæstra as well as in the lists of mind. there never was another time or land in which the excited suspicions and emulations of society tended so terribly as in our own to fret and haggardize men and prematurely break them down and wear them out. our incessant reading, our excessive brain-work, cloys the memory, impoverishes the heart, wearies the soul, and destroys the capacity

[pg 162]

"the committee to whom the matter had been referred reported that a gold medal, with a bust of mr. forrest in profile on one side, surrounded by a legend in these words, histriom optimo, eduino forrest, viro præstanti, and a figure of the genius of tragedy with suitable emblems on the other, surrounded, as a legend, with the following quotation from shakspeare, 'great in mouths of wisest censure,' would perhaps constitute the most expressive and acceptable token of those sentiments of admiration and regard which it was the wish of the subscribers to testify to mr. forrest. the report having been unanimously adopted, the task of drawing up suitable designs was confided to mr. charles c. ingham. the dies were engraved by mr. c. c. wright.

"in accordance with the suggestions of many citizens, a public dinner to mr. forrest was agreed upon as furnishing the most appropriate opportunity of presenting to him this token of their regard. to this end a committee was charged to make the

[pg 183]

necessary arrangements, and the following is their invitation addressed to mr. forrest, together with his reply:

"new york, july 10, 1834.

"to edwin forrest, esq.

"dear sir,—a number of your friends, learning your intention shortly to visit europe, are desirous, before your departure, of an opportunity of expressing, in some public manner, their sense of your merits, professional and personal. it would be a source of regret to them if one so esteemed, while sojourning in foreign lands, should possess no memorial of the regard entertained for him in his own.

"we have been charged as a committee, with a view to carry this purpose into execution, to request the pleasure of your company at a dinner, at the city hotel, on any day most agreeable to yourself.

"with sincere esteem and respect,

"we are your ob't serv'ts,

william dunlap,

r. r. ward,

henry ogden,

john v. greenfield,

william p. hawes,

abraham asten,

george d. strong,

prosper m. wetmore.

"washington hotel, july 12th, 1834.

"gentlemen,—i have had the honor to receive your communication of the 10th instant, inviting me to dine with a number of my friends at the city hotel previous to my approaching departure for europe, and signifying a desire to bestow upon me some token of regard, which, as i journey in foreign lands, may preserve in my memory the friends i leave in my own.

"i have received too many and too important testimonials from my friends in new york to render any additional memorial necessary for the purpose you indicate. but, knowing the pleasure which generous natures feel in bestowing benefactions, i accept with lively satisfaction the invitation you have conveyed to me in such grateful terms; and may be excused if, in doing so, i express my regret that the object of your kindness is not more worthy so distinguished a mark of favor.

"with your permission, gentlemen, i will name friday, the

[pg 184]

25th instant, as the day when it will best comport with the arrangements i have already made, to meet you as proposed.

"i am, with sentiments of great

respect and regard,

your ob't serv't,

"edwin forrest.

"messrs. wm. dunlap, and others.

"on friday last, the day named by mr. forrest, this gratifying testimonial of regard for an individual whose character as a citizen, not less than his genius as an actor, has insured for him general respect, was carried into effect at the city hotel. the repast provided for the occasion by mr. jennings, the accomplished director of that establishment, displayed all that taste and splendor for which his entertainments are remarkable. at six o'clock a very numerous company, comprising a large number of our most distinguished and talented citizens, sat down to the table. the honorable wm. t. mccoun, vice-chancellor, presided, assisted by general prosper m. wetmore, mr. justice lownds, and alderman geo. d. strong as vice-presidents. on the right of the president was seated the guest in whose honor the feast was provided, and on his left the honorable cornelius w. lawrence, mayor of the city. among the guests were the managers of the several principal theatres in the united states in which the genius of mr. forrest has been most frequently exercised, together with several of the most esteemed members of the theatrical profession; among them the veteran cooper and the inimitable and estimable placide.

"on the removal of the cloth the following regular toasts were proposed:

"regular toasts.

"1. the drama.—the mirror of nature, in which life, like narcissus, delights to contemplate its own image.

"2. shakspeare.—like his own banquo, 'father of a line of kings'—monarchs who rule with absolute sway the passions and sympathies of the human heart.

"previous to offering the third toast, the chairman, chancellor mccoun, addressed the company in the following terms:

[pg 185]

"to your kindness and partiality, gentlemen, i owe it that the pleasing duty devolves upon me of consummating the object for which we are this day met together. to render a suitable acknowledgment to worth is one of the most grateful employments of generous minds. but with how much more alacrity is such an office undertaken when the worth is of so mingled a character that it equally commands the admiration of our intellects and the applause of our hearts, and when it is to be exercised not for merit of foreign growth and already stamped with foreign approbation, but for the offspring of our own soil and nursed into fame by our own encouragement.

"eight years ago a youth came to this city unheralded and almost unknown. his first introduction to the community was through one of those acts of kindness on his part by which his whole subsequent career has been distinguished. to add a few dollars to the slender means of a poor but industrious and worthy native actor, this youth, his diffidence overcome by his sympathy, appeared in the arduous character of othello before a metropolitan audience. what was the astonishment and delight of the spectators when, instead of a raw and ungainly tyro, they beheld one who needed only a few finishing touches to render him the peer of the proudest in his art! a rival theatre was then rapidly rising under the superintendence of a man who has had few superiors as a director of the mimic world of the stage. to this theatre the unheralded youth (now the 'observed of all observers') was speedily transferred, and during the most brilliant period of its history was its 'bright particular star.' allured by the strange and attractive light, the wealth, the talent, the fashion and respectability of the city nightly crowded its benches. the carriages of the luxurious were drawn up in long retinue before its doors, and the laborious left their tasks and repaired in throngs to sit entranced beneath the actor's potent spell. not goodman's fields, when garrick burst, a kindred prodigy, on the astonished london audience, displayed nightly a gayer scene nor resounded with heartier plaudits.

"such success naturally elicited from rival theatres the most splendid offers; yet, though earning a poor stipend and held but by a verbal tie, this honorable boy—his prospects altered but his mind the same—gave promptly such replies as showed that he

[pg 186]

valued integrity at its proper price. i shall be pardoned for thus adverting to one such instance among the many that might be adduced as finely illustrative of his character to whose honor it is mentioned.

"the time soon came, however, when he began to reap a harvest of profit as well as fame. and one of the first uses to which he turned his prosperity was to arouse the dramatic talent of his countrymen. the fruits of his liberality and judgment are several of the most popular and meritorious tragedies which have been produced on the modern stage. one of them, wholly american in its character and incidents, has been performed more frequently and with more advantage to the theatres than any other play in the same period of time on either side of the atlantic. though not without defects as a drama, it has the merit of presenting a strong and natural portrait of one of the most remarkable warriors of a race the last relics of which are fast melting away before the advancing tide of civilization. yet, whatever the intrinsic qualities of the production, no one has witnessed it without feeling that its popularity is mainly to be ascribed to the bold, faithful, and spirited personation of the principal character; and, as the original of metamora died with king philip, so his scenic existence will terminate with the actor who introduced him to the stage. among the other dramatic productions which the same professional perspicuity and generous feeling gave rise to are two or three of extraordinary merit. one of them, the gladiator, for scenic effect, strongly-marked and well-contrasted characters, and fine nervous language, is surpassed by few dramas of modern times.

"but while this young actor was thus encouraging with liberal hand the literary genius of our countrymen, many an admiring audience beheld through the medium of his personations the noblest creations of the noblest bards of the old world 'live o'er the scene' in all that reality which only acting gives.

"''tis by the mighty actor brought,

illusion's perfect triumphs come;

verse ceases to be airy thought,

and sculpture to be dumb.'

"gentlemen, i have thus far dwelt on points in this performer's

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history and character with which you are all acquainted. there are other topics on which i might touch—did i not fear to invade the sanctuary of the heart—not less entitled to your admiration. but there are some feelings in breasts of honor and delicacy which, though commendable, cannot brook exposure; as there are plants which flourish in the caves of ocean that wither when brought to the light of day. i shall therefore simply say that in his private relations, as in his public career, he has performed well his part, and made esteem a twin sentiment with admiration in every heart that knows him. i need not tell you, gentlemen, that i speak of edwin forrest.

"mr. forrest is on the eve of departure for foreign lands. to a man combining so many claims on our regard, it has been thought proper by his fellow-citizens to present a farewell token of friendship and respect,—a token which may at once serve to keep him mindful that americans properly appreciate the genius and worth of their own land, and which may testify to foreigners the high place he holds in our esteem.

"mr. forrest, i now place this memorial in your hands. it is one in which many of your countrymen have been emulous to bear a part. it is a proud proof of unusual virtues and talents, and as such may be proudly worn. you will mingle in throngs where jewelled insignia glitter on titled breasts; but yours may justly be the reflection that few badges of distinction are the reward of qualities so deserving of honor as those attested by the humbler memorial which now rests upon your bosom.

"gentlemen, i propose to you,—

"edwin forrest—estimable for his virtues, admirable for his talents. good wishes attend his departure, and warm hearts will greet his return.

"the speaker was interrupted at different points of his address with the most enthusiastic applause, and on its conclusion the apartment resounded with unanimous, hearty, and prolonged cheers, attesting at once the concurrence of his hearers in the justness of his sentiments and their sense of the happy and eloquent language in which they were conveyed. when this applause at length subsided, mr. forrest rose, and in a style of simple and

[pg 188]

unaffected modesty returned his acknowledgments in a speech, of which we believe the following is nearly an accurate report:

"mr. president and gentlemen,—a member of a profession which brings me nightly to speak before multitudes, it might seem affectation in me to express how much i am overcome by these distinguishing marks of your kindness and approbation. i stand not now before you to repeat the sentiments of the dramatist, but in my own poor phrase to give utterance to feelings which even the language of poetry could not too strongly embody; and i feel this evening how much easier it is to counterfeit emotions on the mimic scene of the stage than to repress the real and embarrassing yet grateful agitation which this rich token of your favor has occasioned. my thanks must therefore be rendered in the most simple and unstudied language, for i feel 'i am no actor here.'

"you have made allusion in terms of flattering kindness to a period of my life i can never contemplate without emotions of the most thrilling and pleasurable nature,—a period which beheld me, with a suddenness of transition more like a dream than reality, one day a poor, unknown, and unfriended boy, and the next surrounded by 'troops of friends,' counsellors ready to advise, and generous hearts prodigal of regard. in my immature and unschooled efforts lenient critics saw, or thought they saw, some latent evidences of talent, and, with a generosity rarely equalled, crowded around me with encouragement in payment of anticipated desert. the same spirit of kindness which matured the germ continued its fostering influence through each successive development; and now, at the end of eight years (eight little years,—how brief they have been made by you!), with unexhausted, nay, increasing munificence, that spirit exercises itself in bestowing a memento of esteem as much beyond the deserts of the man as its early plaudits exceeded the merits of the boy.

"if, in the course of a career by you made both pleasant and prosperous, i have appropriated a portion of your bounty to the encouragement of dramatic literature, i have, as it were, acted as your almoner, and have found my reward in the readiness with which you have extended in its support the same cherishing hand that sustained me in my youthful efforts. one of the writers

[pg 189]

whose services, at my invitation, were given to the drama, after having proved his ability by the production of a play the popularity of which you have not exaggerated, lies in a recent and untimely grave. the other, to whose noble roman tragedy you have also particularly alluded, is now pursuing a successful career of literature in another land; and it is a source of no little pleasure to think that i have been in some measure instrumental in calling into exercise a mind which, if i do not overestimate its powers, will add a fresh leaf to that unfading chaplet with which irving and cooper and bryant and halleck, with a few other kindred spirits, have already graced the escutcheon of our country.

"one allusion in your remarks has awakened emotions of the keenest sensibility. it brings home to me more strongly than all the rest how deeply i am indebted to you; for you have not only strewn my own path with flowers, but enabled me to discharge with efficiency the obligations of nature to orphan sisters and a widowed parent. to you i owe it that after a period of adversity i have been permitted to render her latter days pleasant 'and rock the cradle of reposing age.' so far, however, from any compliment being due to me on this score, i may rather chide myself with having fallen short in my filial duties. yet were it otherwise, how could he be less than a devoted son and affectionate brother who has experienced parental kindness and fraternal friendship from a whole community?

"this token of your regard i need not tell you how dearly i shall prize. i am about to visit foreign lands. in a few months i shall probably behold the tomb of garrick,—garrick, the pupil of johnson, the companion and friend of statesmen and wits,—garrick, who now sleeps surrounded by the relics of kings and heroes, orators and bards, the magnates of the earth. i shall contemplate the mausoleum which encloses the remains of talma,—talma, the familiar friend of him before whom monarchs trembled. i shall tread that classic soil with which is mingled the dust of roscius,—of roscius, the preceptor of cicero, whose voice was lifted for him at the forum and whose tears were shed upon his grave. while i thus behold with feelings of deferential awe the last resting-places of those departed monarchs of the drama, how will my bosom kindle with pride at the reflection that i, so inferior in desert, have yet been honored with a token as proud

[pg 190]

as ever rewarded their most successful efforts! i shall then look upon this memorial; but, while my eye is riveted within its 'golden round,' my mind will travel back to this scene and this hour, and my heart be with you in my native land.

"mr. president, in conclusion, let me express my grateful sense of your goodness by proposing as a sentiment,—

"the citizens of new york—distinguished not more by intelligence, enterprise, and integrity than by that generous and noble spirit which welcomes the stranger and succors the friendless.

"this speech was delivered with remarkable feeling and dignity, and received the most earnest applause of every one present. the regular toasts were continued.

"3. talent and worth—the only stars and garters of our nobility.

"4. hallam and henry—the columbus and vespucius of the drama,—who planted its standard in the new world.

"5. garrick and kean—the one a fixed and ever-shining light of the stage; the other an erratic star, which dazzled men by its brightness and perplexed them by its wanderings.

"6. kemble and talma—their genius has identified their memory with the undying fame of shakspeare and racine.

"7. george frederick cooke—a link furnished by the stage to connect the old world with the new. britain nursed his genius, america sepulchres his remains.

"8. the dramatic genius of our country—'the ruddy brightness of its rise gives token of a goodly day.'

"these sentiments having evoked suitable responses, letters were read from the manager of the park theatre and a famous american comedian.

"theatre, july 24, 1834.

"gentlemen,—i received your kind invitation to the dinner to be given by his friends to mr. forrest on friday, 25th instant, and sincerely regret that professional duties will prevent my having the pleasure of attending it. i regret my absence for more than one reason, as nothing would give me greater pleasure than to witness so gratifying a tribute of respect paid to a man to whom the stage is under so many obligations. i do not allude to his talents, splendid as they are, but to the effect that his

[pg 191]

exemplary good conduct and uniform respectability of private character must have on the profession. i trust that the honor conferred on mr. forrest on that day will induce many of our brethren to follow his example, and serve to convince them that the profession of an actor will never disgrace the professor if the professor does not disgrace the profession.

"with much respect, gentlemen, i remain your obedient servant,

"e. simpson.

"jamaica, l.i., 24th july, 1834.

"gentlemen,—i have the honor of acknowledging your highly flattering invitation to be present at a dinner to be given by the friends of mr. forrest on friday next at the city hotel, but find to-day that imperative and unalterable circumstances will prevent my being in town; else, be assured, no one would have heartier pleasure in being present on any occasion of paying a tribute of public respect to so estimable a friend and deservedly distinguished an actor as our countryman, edwin forrest, esq.

"allow me to thank the highly-respected gentlemen you represent, and yourselves individually, for the esteemed compliment extended to me on this interesting and patriotic occasion.

"i have the honor to be, gentlemen, your very obliged servant,

"james h. hackett.

"among the numerous volunteer toasts drank in the course of the evening were the following:

"by the president—william dunlap: to him the american stage owes a threefold debt. its director, his liberality elevated it into consequence. its dramatist, his genius peopled it with admired creations. its historian, he has embalmed the memory of its professors and given permanence to their fame.

"by the first vice-president—nature and art: the stage has united the antipodes of philosophy.

"by the third vice-president—the drama: the handmaid of refinement; may the genius that conceives and the talent that embodies her fair creations blend the dignity of virtue with the allurements of fancy!

"by the hon. cornelius w. lawrence—the stage: talent may distinguish, but virtue elevates, its professors.

[pg 192]

"by thomas a. cooper—the histrionic art: may it prove triumphant over the attacks of priestcraft and fanaticism!—equally inimical to religion and the stage.

"by nathaniel greene, of boston—a kind welcome and just estimate for foreign talent,—a proud confidence in that of native growth.

"by william leggett—shakspeare: a conqueror greater than alexander. the warrior's victories were bounded by the earth, and he vainly wept for other worlds to conquer. the poet 'exhausted worlds, and then imagined new.'"

the festivities were maintained with the greatest zest till early morning, when the company broke up in unalloyed pleasure, leaving with their guest the recollection of an occasion of the most flattering nature. and shortly afterwards, when he embarked, sixty or seventy of his closest friends went several miles down the harbor in a yacht. among them were leggett and halleck. leggett, between whom and forrest had grown a love as ardent and heroic as that of the famed antique examples, threw his arms around him with a tearful "god bless and keep you!" halleck said, "may you have hundreds of beautiful hours in beautiful places, and come back to us the same as you go away, only enriched!" forrest replied, pressing his hand, "that is indeed the wish of a poet for his friend. you may be sure when i am at marathon, at athens, at constantinople, i shall often recall your lines on marco bozzaris, and be delighted to link with them the memory of this your parting benediction."

his friends did not say good-bye until they had through their spokesman commended him to the special graces of the captain. then, wishing him a happy voyage, they joined hands, gave him twenty-four cheers, and sailed reluctantly apart, they to their wonted ways, he to a foreign continent.

leaving him on the deck, with folded arms, his chin on his breast, gazing sadly at the receding west, we will now endeavor to form a just estimate of his acting in his favorite characters at that time. we will try to paint him livingly, just as he was in that fresh period of his popularity and glory, the proud young giant and democrat of the american stage.