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LIFE  AND  ART  OF  JOSEPH  JEFFERSON 


JOSEPH  JEFFERSON  IN  1884. 

With,  tils  Grandson. 
AVARREN  JEFFERSON. 


LIFE  AND  ART   OF 

JOSEPH  JEFFERSON 


TOGETHER   WITH    SOME    ACCOUNT   OF    HIS 

ANCESTRY  AND  OF  THE  JEFFERSON 

FAMILY   OF   ACTORS 


BY 

WILLIAM   WINTER 


"  0  that  I  had  a  title  good  enough 
to  keep  his  name  company  !  " 

—  SHAKESPEARE 


fforfc 
MACMILLAN    AND    CO. 

AND     LONDON 
1894 

All  rights  rtservtd 


riFf  2    1969COPYRIGI^ i893> 

Bv  MA 

fefc/TYOFtf*5 


I.* 9  if. 


Nortoooti 

J.  S.  Gushing  &  Co.  —  Berwick  &  Smith. 
Boston,  Mass.,  U.S.A. 


TO 

Hatorence  Eooie 


THE  REPRESENTATIVE   COMEDIAN  OF  ENGLAND 

IN   THE   PRESENT   GENERATION 
I     DEDICATE    THIS    MEMORIAL    OF 


THE    REPRESENTATIVE  COMEDIAN   OF  AMERICA 
IN  THE  SAME  PERIOD 

THUS  UNITING 
IN   AN   HUMBLE  TRIBUTE  OF  LOVE  AND   HONOUR 

MEN   LONG   SINCE  UNITED 
IN   PERSONAL  AFFECTION   AND  PUBLIC    ESTEEM 

WILLIAM  WINTER 

February  20,  1894 


PREFACE 


ABOUT  fourteen  years  ago,  at  the  kind  suggestion 
of  my  thoughtful  friend  Laurence  Hutton,  I  wrote  art- 
account  of  the  Jefferson  Family  of  Actors,  which  was  pub- 
lished in  1 88 1,  under  the  name  of  The  Jeff ersons,  as 
one  of  the  American  Actor  Series,  projected  and  super- 
vised by  him.  The  present  Memoir  is  a  complete  revision 
of  that  biography.  The  story  has  been  rectified,  aug- 
mented, re-arranged,  and  in  part  re-written,  —  so  that  this 
work  is,  practically,  new.  It  certainly  is  more  ample  and 
more  authentic  than  its  predecessor,  and  therefore  more 
worthy  of  its  interesting  subject  and  of  the  public  favour. 
In  the  composition  of  it  I  have  drawn  upon  my  dramatic 
zuri  tings  in  the  New  York  Tribune,  since  1865,  and  in 
other  publications,  notably  my  Brief  Chronicles.  The 
beauty  and  greatness  of  the  dramatic  art  and  the  possible 
dignity  and  iitility  of  the  stage  are  better  known  and 
understood  now  than  they  were  in  former  times,  and  I 
have  assumed  that  the  achievements  of  an  exceptionally 
talented  family  of  actors  may  be  deemed  worthy  of  com- 
memoration. The  Jefferson  family  has  been  upon  the 
stage,  continuously,  for  five  generations,  and  in  this  nar- 
rative an  effort  has  been  made  to  trace  its  history  along 
one  unbroken  line,  throughout  that  time.  The  English 
historic  period  traversed  by  this  biography  begins  with 
the  reign  of  George  the  Second,  in  1727.  The  American 


viii  PREFACE 

period  extends  from  \  794  to  the  present  day.  The  first 
Jefferson  had  his  career  in  England,  in  the  time  of  Gar- 
rick.  The  second  was  famous  in  the  days  of  the  old 
Chestnut  Street  theatre,  in  Philadelphia.  The  third  did 
not  attain  to  eminence.  The  fourth  is  tJie  Rip  Van 
Winkle  and  the  Acres  of  contemporary  renown,  whose 
sons  are  also  on  the  stage.  Other  members  of  the  race 
have  been  distinguished  actors,  and  tJicir  names  and  deeds 
are  recorded  in  this  chronicle.  The  Garrick  period  has 
been  so  fully  described  by  many  writers  that,  in  recount- 
ing what  is  known  of  the  first  Jefferson,  I  have  preferred 
not  to  linger  upon  it.  Select  qiiotation  from  old  chron- 
icles has,  however,  been  deemed  essential,  as  a  basis  of 
authority.  The  career  of  the  second  Jefferson  recalls  the 
storied  days  of  the  Chestnut  Street  theatre, — an  institu- 
tion which  has  not  been  surpassed,  if  ever  it  was  equalled, 
in  the  history  of  the  American  stage,  for  dignity,  intel- 
lectual resource,  stateliness  of  character,  and  opulence  of 
association.  Ample  materials  exist,  no  doubt,  in  the  manu- 
script journals  of  the  elder  Warren,  for  a  minute  account 
of  that  theatre  and  its  dramatic  luminaries  ;  but  they  are 
not  accessible.  The  third  Jefferson,  his  sister  ElizabetJi, 
his  wife,  and  his  stepson,  Charles  S.  T.  Burke,  are  com- 
memorated in  this  book,  and  mention  is  herein  made  of 
all  the  known  scions  of  the  Jefferson  race.  The  design  has 
been  to  portray  this  family  in  its  relation  to  the  times 
through  which  it  has  moved,  and  thus  to  make  an  authen- 
tic basis  for  the  researches  and  illustrative  embellishments 
of  future  inquirers.  Attention  has  been  chiefiy  given  to 
the  career  of  the  fourth  Jefferson,  and  to  his  impersona- 
tion of  Rip  Van  Winkle,  — an  artistic  achievement  which 
has  fascinated  the  public  mind  for  thirty  years.  No  single 


PREFACE  ix 

dramatic  performance  of  our  time,  indeed,  —  not  Edwin 
Boot/is  Hamlet,  nor  Ristori  s  .Queen  Elizabeth,  nor  Les- 
ter Wallaces  Don  Felix,  nor  Marie  SeebacJt  s  Margaret, 
nor  Charles  Keans  Louis,  nor  Adelaide  Neilson  s  Juliet, 
nor  Henry  Irving  s  Mathias,  nor  Ada  Reharis  Rosalind, 
—  has  had  more  extensive  popularity,  or  has  in  a  greater 
degree  stimulated  contemporary  thought  upon  the  influ- 
ence of  the  stage.  The  wish  to  honour  it  will  be  recog- 
nised in  these  pages,  although  the  power  may  be  missed. 
Every  writer  upon  the  history  of  the  drama  in  America 
must  acknowledge  his  obligation  for  guidance  to  the 
thorough,  faitlifid,  and  suggestive  Records  made  by  the 
veteran  historian,  Joseph  N.  Ireland.  In  the  composition 
of  this  biography  reference  has  frequently  been  made  to 
that  work.  Other  authorities,  likewise,  have  been  con- 
sulted, and  they  are  duly  mentioned.  I  have  profited  by 
the  personal  recollections  of  several  members  of  tJie  Jeffer- 
son family,  and  by  useful  suggestions  of  friendly  cor- 
respondents, —  among  whom  should  be  named  Thomas 
J.  McKee  of  New  York,  L.  Clarke  Davis  and  George  P. 
Philes  of  Philadelphia,  and  my  old,  honoured,  and  la- 
mented friend,  the  late  John  T.  Ford  of  Baltimore  —  by 
whose  sudden  death  I  am  admonished  that  the  number 
of  persons  to  whom  any  writings  of  mine  can  appeal  with 
the  confident  expectation  of  sympathy  is  growing  smaller 
every  day. 

"  Like  clouds  that  rake  the  mountain  summits, 

Or  waves  that  own  no  curbing  hand, 

How  fast  has  brother  followed  brother 

From  sunshine  to  the  sunless  land! " 

w.  w. 

March  25,  1894. 


"  In  giving  an  account  of  the  stage  a  good  story  may  sometimes  be  admitted  on 
slender  authority,  but  where  matters  of  fact  are  concerned  the  history  of  the  stage 
ought  to  be  written  with  the  same  accuracy  as  the  history  of  England"  —  GENEST. 


"  The  longest  life  is  too  short  for  the  almost  endless  study  of  the  actor" 
BARTON  BOOTH.  

"A  name 

Noble  and  brave  as  aught  of  consular 
On  Roman  marbles"  —  BYRON. 


"  First,  noble  friend, 

Let  me  embrace  thine  age  ;  whose  honour  cannot 
Be  measured  or  confined"  —  SHAKESPEARE. 


1  Noble  he  was,  contemning  all  things  mean, 
His  truth  unquestioned  and  his  soul  serene. 
Shame  knew  him  not,  he  dreaded  no  disgrace, 
Truth,  simple  truth,  was  written  in  his  face; 
Yet,  while  the  serious  thought  his  soul  approv'd, 
Cheeiful  he  seem'd  and  gentleness  he  lov'd  ; 
To  bliss  domestic  he  his  heart  resign' d. 
And  with  the  firmest  had  the  fondest  mind. 
Were  others  joyful,  he  looked  smiling  on, 
And  gave  allowance  where  he  needed  none. 
Good  he  refused  with  future  ill  to  buy. 
Nor  knew  a  joy  that  caused  reflection's  sigh. 
A  friend  to  virtue,  his  unclouded  breast 
No  envy  stung,  no  jealousy  distress' d  ; 
Yet  far  was  he  from  stoic  pride  remov'd, — 
He  felt  humanely,  and  he  warmly  lov'd"  —  CRABBE. 


"  He  is  insensibly  subdued 
To  settled  quiet :  he  is  one  by  whom 
All  effort  seems  forgotten  ;  one  to  whom 
Long  patience  hath  such  mild  composure  given 
That  patience  now  doth  seem  a  thing  of  which 
He  hath  no  need" 

'  He  is  retired  as  noontide  dew, 

Or  fountain  in  a  noon-day  grove  ; 
And  you  must  love  him,  ere  to  you 
He  will  seem  worthy  of  your  love" 

—  WORDSWORTH. 


"  We  are  a  queen  (or  long  have  dreamed  so) ,  certain 
The  daughter  of  a  /^^."  — 


"  Upon  my  word,  thou  art  a  very  odd  fellow,  and  I  like  thy  humour  ex- 
tremely" —  FIELDING.  .__ 

"  With  all  the  fortunate  have  not. 

With  gentle  voice  and  trow. 
—  Alive,  we  would  have  changed  his  lot — 
We  would  not  change  it  now." 

—  MATTHEW  ARNOLD. 


"  If he  come  not,  then  the  play  is  marred"  —  SHAKESPEARE. 


"  It  is  difficult  to  render  even  ordinary  justice  to  living  merit,  without  incur- 
ring the  suspicion  of  being  influenced  by  partiality,  or  by  motives  of  a  less  hon- 
ourable nature.  Yet,  as  what  I  shall  say  of  this  gentleman,  whose  friendship 
I  have  enjoyed  for  many  years,  and  still  possess  in  unabated  cordiality,  will  be 
supported  by  all  who  are  acquainted  with  him,  I  am  under  no  apprehension  of 
suffering  by  the  suggestions  of  malice."  —  JOHN  TAYLOR. 


'  /  marvel  how  Nature  could  ever  find  space 
For  so  many  strange  contrasts  in  one  human  face  : 
There's  thought  and  no  thought,  and  there's  paleness  and  bloom, 
And  bustle  and  sluggishness,  pleasure  and  gloom. 

'  There's  weakness  and  strength,  both  redundant  and  vain  ; 
Such  strength  as,  if  ever  affliction  and  pain 
Could  pierce  through  a  temper  that's  soft  to  disease, 
Would  be  rational  peace,  —  a  philosopher's  ease. 

'  There's  indifference,  alike  when  he  fails  or  succeeds, 
And  attention  full  ten  times  as  much  as  there  needs  ; 
Pride  where  there's  no  envy,  there's  so  much  of  joy  ; 
And  mildness,  and  spirit  both  forward  and  coy. 

'  There's  freedom,  and  sometimes  a  diffident  stare, 
Of  shame,  scarcely  seeming  to  know  that  she's  there : 
There's  virtue,  the  title  it  surely  may  claim, 
Yet  wants  heaven  knows  what  to  be  worthy  the  name. 

'  This  picture  from  nature  may  seem  to  depart. 
Yet  the  Man  would  at  once  run  away  with  your  heart : 
And  I  for  five  centuries  right  gladly  would  be 
Such  an  odd,  such  a  kind,  happy  creature  as  he." 

—  WORDSWORTH. 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

I.    THOMAS  JEFFERSON.     1 728-1807 i 

II.    JOSEPH  JEFFERSON.     1774-1832 47 

III.  ELIZABETH  JEFFERSON.     1810-1890 124 

IV.  JOSEPH  JEFFERSON.     1804-1842 131 

V.    CHARLES  BURKE.     1822-1854 142 

VI.    JOSEPH  JEFFERSON.     1829- 153 

VII.     RIP  VAN  WINKLE 203 

VIII.    ACRES 211 

IX.    CALEB  PLUMMER  AND  MR.  GOLIGHTLY 223 

X.     DR.  PANGLOSS  AND  THE  HEIR  AT  LAW 227 

XI.    SOME  OF  JEFFERSON'S  CONTEMPORARIES 233 

XII.    STAGE  ART 272 

MEMORIALS 291 

Our  Stage  in  Its  Palmy  Days 293 

Mr.  H 296 

William  Warren 298 

Hackett  in  England 303 

Notable  Early  Casts  of  Rip  Van  Winkle 305 

Jefferson  as  a  Lecturer 309 

Chronology  of  the  Life  of  Jefferson 312 

INDEX 315 


LIST  OF   ILLUSTRATIONS. 

JOSEPH  JEFFERSON  IN  1894 Frontispiece 

From  a  photograph  by  Falk. 

Facing  page 

DAVID  GARRICK 8 

OLD  PLYMOUTH  THEATRE 20 

MRS.  ABINGTON 28 

THOMAS  JEFFERSON 36 

JOHN  HODGKINSON 60 

JOSEPH  JEFFERSON,  SR.,  AND  MR.  BLISSETT 120 

As  Dr.  Smug/ace  and  Dr.  Dablancour  in  The  Budget  of  Blunders. 

PARK.  STREET  IN  1830 128 

JOSEPH  JEFFERSON 168 

At  the  age  of  twenty-eight. 

JEFFERSON  FAMILY  GROUP  AT  HOHOKUS,  N.  J 186 

JEFFERSON  FAMILY  GROUP  AT  ORANGE  ISLAND,  LA.  .    .     .192 
RIP  VAN  WINKLE 204 

From  a  photograph  by  Sarony. 

JEFFERSON  AND  FLORENCE  IN  THE  RIVALS 218 

From  a  photograph  by  Falk. 

CALEB  PLUMMER 226 

RIP  VAN  WINKLE 272 

From  a  photograph  by  Sarony. 

WILLIAM  WARREN 298 

XV 


LIFE    OF    JEFFERSON 


THOMAS    JEFFERSON 
1728-1807 

HOMAS  JEFFERSON,  the  founder  of 
the  Jefferson  Family  of  Actors,  was  the  son 
of  an  English  farmer,  and  was  born  at,  or 
near,  Ripon,  Yorkshire,  England,  about  the 
year  1728,  —  in  the  beginning  of  the  reign 
of  George  the  Second.  Little  is  known  of  his  parents, 
or  of  his  childhood,  and  stories  of  him  that  have  sur- 
vived are  meagre  and  contradictory.  One  person,  how- 
ever, who  had  seen  him,  lived  to  our  time,  dying  in 
1869,  and  gave  an  account  of  the  beginning  of  his 
stage  career.  That  person  was  Mr.  Drinkwater  Mead- 
ows,1 a  respected  actor,  who  saw  Thomas  Jefferson, 
at  Ripon,  in  1806,  a  feeble  old  man,  sitting  by  the 

1  MR.  DRINKWATER  MEADOWS,  long  a  useful  and  esteemed  comedian 
on  the  London  stage,  made  his  first  appearance  in  London,  at  Covent  Gar- 
den, in  September,  1821,  acting  Scrub,  in  The  Beaux'  Stratagem.  He 
was  the  original  Fathom  in  The  Hunchback  (1832).  His  last  appearance 
on  the  London  stage  was  made  at  the  Princess's  theatre,  in  1862,  and  he 
then  retired  from  the  profession.  He  occupied,  for  a  time,  the  office  of 
Secretary  of  the  Covent  Garden  Theatrical  Fund,  discharging  its  duties 
with  probity  and  courtesy.  He  died  at  his  residence,  Prairie  Cottage, 
Barnes,  on  Saturday,  June  5,  1869,  at  about  the  age  of  eighty. 

A  I 


2  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

fireside,  ill  with  gout,  and  tended  by  his  relatives. 
Mr.  Meadows  was  at  Ripon,  on  a  visit  to  one  of  the 
aged  actor's  sons,  Frank  Jefferson,  a  lieutenant  aboard 
a  royal  yacht  in  Virginia  Water,  at  Windsor;  and 
from  him  he  learned  something  of  old  Thomas  Jeffer- 
son's life,  which  he  lived  to  relate  to  Thomas  Jefferson's 
great-grandson,  whom  he  saw  upon  the  stage  as  Rip 
Van  Winkle,  and  personally  met,  in  London,  in  1865. 
According  to  the  narrative  of  Mr.  Meadows,  Thomas 
Jefferson,  when  young,  was  a  wild  lad,  dashing  and 
gay,  and  capable  of  any  intrepidity.  His  person  was 
handsome,  his  bearing  free  and  graceful,  his  intelli- 
gence superior,  his  temperament  merry  ;  he  was  a  frolic- 
some companion,  a  capital  equestrian,  and  a  general 
favourite.  A  time  presently  came  when  his  skill  in 
horsemanship,  his  good  spirits,  and  his  excellent  faculty 
for  singing  a  comic  song  were  the  means,  if  not  of 
making  his  fortune,  at  least  of  prescribing  his  career. 
The  rebellion  of  1745,  for  Charles  Edward  Stuart, 
appears  to  have  been  a  motive  to  his  prosperity.  A 
dispatch  was  to  be  conveyed  from  Ripon,  or  perhaps 
from  neighbouring  York,  to  London,  and  young  Thomas 
Jefferson  —  who  could  ride  well,  and  whose  thriving 
father  could  mount  him  on  a  thoroughbred  steed,  for 
the  journey  —  was  chosen  to  be  its  bearer.  He  under- 
took the  task,  and  he  accomplished  it,  —  through  what 
perils  it  were  idle  to  conjecture ;  but  an  equestrian  trip 
of  two  hundred  and  twenty  miles,  through  wild  parts 
of  the  kingdom,  what  with  bad  roads  and  highwaymen, 
was  a  serious  business ; 1  and  it  may  be  supposed  that 

1  "  In  1 707  it  took,  in  summer  one  day,  in  winter  nearly  two  days,  to 
travel  from  London  to  Oxford,  forty-six  miles."  —  Haydrfs  Dictionary.   The 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  3 

Thomas  Jefferson  was  a  man  well  satisfied  with  himself 
and  with  fortune,  when  at  length  his  mission  had  been 
fulfilled,  and  he  was  taking  his  rest  at  a  London  inn. 
He  had  arrived  just  in  time  to  grasp  the  extended  hand 
of  a  singular  good-fortune.  On  that  night  David  Gar- 
rick,  the  wonder  and  delight  of  London,  was  feasting 
with  a  party  of  friends  at  that  inn  ;  and  presently  to 
the  merry  circle  of  Roscius  in  the  parlour,  a  laughing 
servant  brought  word  of  the  jovial  young  fellow  from 
the  country,  who  was  singing  songs  and  telling  stories 
to  the  less  select  revellers  in  the  tap-room.  A  proposi- 
tion to  invite  this  pleasant  rustic,  for  a  frolic  over  his 
bumpkin  humour,  met  with  the  favour  of  Garrick's  com- 
panions, and  so  it  chanced  that  Thomas  Jefferson  was 
asked  to  sit  at  the  table  of  David  Garrick.  Fancy 
dwells  pleasurably  on  the  ensuing  scene  of  festal  triumph 
for  the  sparkling  country  lad.  He  charmed  his  fas- 
tidious acquaintances  of  the  parlour  as  much  as  he  had 
charmed  his  careless  comrades  of  the  tap ;  and  the 
fancy  that  Garrick  took  for  him,  on  that  night,  was 
destined  not  only  to  ripen  into  a  lasting  friendship,  but 
to  mark  out  his  pathway  in  life.  He  returned  no  more, 


ride  from  Ripon  to  London,  in  1746,  could  not  have  been  made  in  less 
than  five  summer  days.  —  "  In  the  year  1 763  the  roads  were  so  bad  at  par- 
ticular seasons  of  the  year  that  they  were,  for  want  of  proper  forming, 
almost  impassable;  and  it  has  been  known,  in  the  winter,  to  have  been 
eight  or  ten  days'  journey  from  York  to  London." — Tate  Wilkinson's 
Memoirs,  Vol.  III.,  p.  142.  —  Travel  was  not  the  expeditious  business,  in 
old  times,  that  it  is  now.  In  the  spring  of  1623  Prince  Charles,  afterward 
Charles  I.  of  England,  being  then  at  Madrid,  to  woo  the  Infanta  of  Spain, 
apprised  his  father,  James  I.,  that  he  had  come  safely  from  London  to 
Madrid  "  in  less  than  sixteen  days."  See  Howel's  Familiar  Letter s^  Book 
I.,  Letter  xv. 


4  LIFE   OF  JEFFERSON 

for  a  long  time,  to  Ripon ;  but,  with  Garrick's  advice 
and  aid,  he  adopted  the  stage,  and  was  embarked  in 
professional  occupation. 

There  is  a  romantic  air  about  that  narrative  which, 
possibly,  implies  a  fiction ;  but  such  is  the  story,  as  trans- 
mitted by  Mr.  Meadows,  and  so  it  remains.  Another 
account  says  that  Jefferson  was  educated  for  the  bar, 
and  began  the  practice  of  law ;  but  soon,  by  accident, 
discarded  that  profession,  for  the  stage.  According  to 
this  tale,  he  chanced  one  day  to  stroll  into  a  barn  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  Ripon,  where  some  wandering  players 
had  undertaken  to  enact  Farquhar's  comedy  of  The 
Beaux  Stratagem,  and  there  and  then  volunteered  his 
services,  in  place  of  an  actor  suddenly  disabled  by  ill- 
ness, to  perform  Archer.  His  offer  was  accepted.  He 
had  previously  acted  the  part  at  a  private  theatrical  club, 
and  his  success  in  it  was  so  cheering  that  he  determined 
to  renounce  the  law  and  adopt  the  theatre.  This  legend 
furthermore  states  that  Garrick,  when  accosted  by  the 
new-comer,  promptly  bestowed  upon  him  an  engagement, 
together  with  his  personal  friendship,  and  that  Jefferson 
subsequently  for  a  term  of  years  shared  the  honours  of 
the  stage  with  its  chieftain.  The  student  of  theatrical 
history,  however,  without  reference  to  the  comparative 
sterility  of  existing  records  of  Jefferson's  career,  remem- 
bering what  is  authentically  recorded  of  Garrick's  tem- 
perament and  habits,  will  prefer  to  accept  the  more 
rational  and  pleasing  story  related  on  the  authority  of 
the  veteran  of  Covent  Garden. 

Jefferson,  it  is  certain,  never  at  any  time  in  his  pro- 
fessional career  divided  honours  with  his  great  leader. 
The  earliest  record  of  his  appearance  at  Drury  Lane 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  5 

assigns  it  to  October  24,  1753,  when  he  performed  Vain- 
love  in  The  Old  Bachelor.  He  acted  Horatio,  and  also 
King  Claudius,  to  Garrick's  Hamlet ;  the  Duke  of  Buck- 
ingham, to  Garrick's  Richard  the  Third ;  Paris,  to  Gar- 
rick's  Romeo  ;  Colonel  Britton,  to  Garrick's  Don  Felix  ; 
and  the  Duke  of  Gloster,  to  Garrick's  John  Shore ;  and 
this  showing  indicates  his  place  in  Garrick's  company. 
He  was  "a  well-graced  actor";  he  gained  and  held  a 
good  rank,  when  rank  was  hard  to  gain  ;  and  he  possessed 
Garrick's  regard  more  fully  than  probably  he  would  have 
done  had  he  ever  been,  or  seemed  to  be,  a  rival  to  that 
illustrious  but  not  always  magnanimous  genius.  Jeffer- 
son seems  to  have  been  early  captivated  by  the  idea  of 
theatrical  management  in  the  provincial  towns,  and  he 
may  have  left  Garrick's  company  either  as  a  strolling 
player,  or  with  this  vocation  in  view.  There  is  an  anec- 
dote, treasured  by  his  descendants,  that  when  he  sought 
that  great  actor  to  say  good-bye,  Garrick,  who  had  just 
ended  a  performance  of  Abel  Drugger,  in  Ben  Jonson's 
comedy  of  The  Alchemist,  took  off  his  wig,  after  exchang- 
ing words  of  farewell,  and  threw  it  to  him,  saying,  "Take 
that,  my  friend,  and  may  it  bring  you  as  much  good  as 
it  has  brought  me."  This  relic  survived  for  a  long  time ; 
was  brought  to  America  by  Joseph  Jefferson,  in  1795, 
passed  into  the  possession  of  the  next  Joseph  Jefferson, 
father  of  our  Rip  Van  Winkle,  and  ultimately  was 
destroyed,  together  with  other  articles  of  stage  ward- 
robe, which  had  been  entrusted  by  the  latter  to  the  care 
of  Joseph  Cowell,1  the  comedian,  in  a  fire  that  burnt 
down  the  St.  Charles  theatre,  New  Orleans,  in  1842. 

1  JOSEPH  LEATHLEY  COWELI.  was  born  at  Kent,  England,  August  7, 
1792,  and  passed  his  youth  at  Torquay,  where  he  saw  Nelson,  of  whom 


6  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

There  is  another  version  of  Thomas  Jefferson's  exodus 
from  Ripon,  the  details  of  which  are  sanctioned  by  sev- 
eral authorities.  This  account  states  that  when  a  youth 
he  was,  for  a  short  time,  employed  by  an  attorney  in 
Yorkshire,  presumably  at  Ripon,  and  that  he  went  to 
London  as  an  adventurous  fugitive.  The  attorney  had 
ordered  him  to  prepare  for  a  journey  up  to  the  capital, 
and  this,  to  the  gay  lad,  was  a  joyful  prospect ;  but,  to 
his  disappointment  and  mortification,  he  was  presently 
apprised  that  the  plan  had  been  changed,  and  that  the 
attorney  himself  would  make  the  trip.  Young  Jefferson, 
not  to  be  thus  defeated,  thereupon  determined  to  go  to 
London  on  his  own  account.  A  fortunate  chance  seemed 
to  favour  his  flight.  A  fine  charger  had  been  bought, 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  Ripon,  for  a  military  magnate 
named  General  Fawkes,  and  Jefferson  got  permission 
to  ride  the  horse  to  London.  Thus  provided,  he  bent 

he  can  find  nothing  better  to  say  than  that  he  was  "a  mean-looking 
little  man,  but  very  kind  and  agreeable  to  children."  Cowell  made  his 
first  appearance  on  the  stage,  at  Plymouth,  in  1812,  as  Belcour,  in  Cum- 
berland's comedy  of  The  West  Indian.  He  afterwards  was  on  the  York 
circuit,  —  Tate  Wilkinson's  old  ground,  —  and  eventually  he  became  a 
member  of  the  company  at  Drury  Lane.  In  1821  he  came  to  America, 
under  engagement  to  Stephen  Price,  for  the  New  York  Park  theatre,  and  he 
remained  in  this  country  till  1844,  when  he  returned  to  England.  He  was 
in  New  York  in  1850,  and  appeared  at  the  Astor  Place  opera  house;  and 
on  April  23,  1856,  at  the  old  Broadway  theatre,  he  took  a  farewell  benefit 
and  left  the  stage.  His  autobiography,  entitled  Thirty  Years  among  the 
Players,  was  published  by  Messrs.  Harper  and  Brothers,  in  1844.  He  went 
back  to  England  with  his  grand-daughter,  Kate  Bateman,  and  died  in 
London,  November  14,  1863,  in  his  seventy-second  year.  He  was  popular 
as  Crack,  in  The  Turnpike  Gate,  —  a  musical  piece,  by  T.  Knight,  first 
acted  at  Covent  Garden,  in  1 799,  —  and  his  portrait,  in  that  character, 
painted  by  Neagle,  is  one  of  the  illustrations  of  Wemyss's  Acting  American 
Theatre. 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  7 

his  course  toward  the  capital,  arriving  there  in  January, 
1746  or  1747.  In  the  spring  of  1747  he  was  an  inmate 
of  the  Tilt-yard  coffee-house,  when  that  building  chanced 
to  be  blown  up  with  gunpowder,  —  a  large  quantity  of 
which  had  been  served  to  certain  soldiers  who  were  to 
guard  that  old  reprobate,  Simon  Eraser,  Lord  Lovat,  on 
his  way  to  Tower  Hill.1  Several  persons  were  killed  by 
that  explosion,  but  Jefferson  was  saved  by  the  fortunate 
intervention  of  a  falling  timber,  which  protected  him 
from  being  crushed.  A  little  later  he  happened  to 
attend  a  performance  at  Drury  Lane,  where  he  saw  the 
fascinating  Peg  Woffington,  as  Ruth,  in  Sir  Robert 
Howard's  comedy  of  The  Committee;  whereupon  his 
fancy  was  so  captivated  that  he  could  think  of  nothing 
but  the  stage,  and  he  determined  to  devote  himself 
thereafter  entirely  to  its  pursuit. 

Thomas  Jefferson's  professional  career  was  various 
and  devious,  but  in  general  it  was  successful,  and  it 
seems  to  have  been  attended  with  happiness.  He  was 
a  theatrical  manager  at  Richmond,  Exeter,  Lewes,  and 
Plymouth ;  he  frequently  made  strolling  expeditions, 
and  he  acted  at  Drury  Lane,  intermittently,  from  about 
1750  to  1776.  Soon  after  his  first  meeting  with  Gar- 
rick,  he  appeared  at  the  Haymarket,  London,  as  Horatio, 
in  The  Fair  Penitent.  The  exact  date  of  that  meeting 
is  unknown.  Garrick  made  his  great  hit2  in  London, 

1  LOVAT,  born  in  1667,  perished  beneath  the  axe,  on  March  20,  1747. 
The  other  noted  Scotch  lords  who  suffered  death  in  the  cause  of  the  Pre- 
tender—  Balmerino  and  Kilmarnock  —  were  beheaded  earlier,  August  18, 
1 746.     The  axe  and  block  that  were  used  in  those  executions  are  shown 
at  the  Tower. 

2  DAVID  GARRICK,  1716-1779.  —  In  John  Bernard's  Retrospections  of 
the  Stage,  Vol.  II.,  chap.  6,  mention  is  made  of  a  spectator  of  the  first 


8  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

at  Goodman's  Fields  theatre,  when  he  was  twenty-five 
years  old,  on  October  19,  1741,  afterwards  went  to  Dub- 
lin, and  then  was  engaged  by  Fleetwood,  for  Drury  Lane, 
where  he  remained  till  1745.  In  that  year  he  was  again 
in  Ireland,  acting  with  Thomas  Sheridan,  father  of  the 
famous  Richard  Brinsley,  in  the  theatre  in  Smock 
alley.  But  in  1746  he  was  acting,  under  the  manage- 
ment of  Rich,  at  Covent  Garden,  and  it  was  not  till  the 
winter  of  1747  that  he  became  the  manager  of  Drury 
Lane.  Jefferson's  meeting  with  him  occurred  in  1746 
or  1747.  It  is  likely  that,  through  Garrick's  influence, 
Jefferson  was  early  attached  to  the  stage.  He  may  at 
first  have  gone  on  a  country  circuit,  and  afterwards 
joined  the  Drury  Lane  company,  when  Garrick  had 
become  its  manager,  quitting  that  theatre  at  a  later 
time  to  manage  for  his  own  benefit  in  the  provinces. 
He  must  soon  have  learned,  as  others  did,  that  it  was 

appearance  of  Garrick  in  London.  That  was  Philip  Lewis,  uncle  of  the 
English  comedian,  William  T.  Lewis.  "  He  was  the  only  man  of  my 
acquaintance,"  says  Bernard,  "who  remembered  the  debut  of  Garrick; 
and  it  was  .  .  .  when  sitting  at  my  table,  with  Charles  Bannister 
and  Merry,  he  uttered  an  impromptu  I  have  since  heard  attributed  to 
others :  — 

" '  I  saw  him  rising  in  the  east, 

In  all  his  energetic  glows; 
I  saw  him  sinking  in  the  west 

In  greater  splendour  than  he  rose.' " 

Hannah  More  [1745-1833],  certainly  a  shrewd  observer,  came  up  to 
London,  from  her  home  at  Bristol,  to  see  Garrick's  farewell  performance, 
1776,  and  after  her  return  she  wrote  these  words:  "I  pity  those  who  have 
not  seen  him.  Posterity  will  never  be  able  to  form  the  slightest  idea  of 
his  perfection.  The  more  I  see  him,  the  more  I  admire.  I  have  seen 
him  within  these  three  weeks  take  leave  of  Benedick,  Sir  John  Brute, 
Kitely,  Abel  Drugger,  Archer,  and  Leon.  It  seems  to  me  as  if  I  was 
assisting  at  the  obsequies  of  the  different  poets." 


DAVI1D    GAKRICK. 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  9 

well-nigh  impossible,  in  that  epoch,  for  any  actor  to  win 
a  pre-eminent  success,  at  the ,  British  capital,  in  face 
of  the  overwhelming  ascendency  which  Garrick  then 
maintained. 

A  reprint  of  the  Drury  Lane  play-bill,  which,  follow- 
ing the  authority  of  Genest,  appears  to  assign  Jefferson's 
first  appearance  at  that  theatre,  under  Garrick's  man- 
agement, to  October  24,  1753,  will  here  be  appropriate. 
It  is  a  reduced  fac-simile  from  an  original.  Almost 
every  name  in  it  is  distinguished  in  theatrical  history. 
Mrs.  Pritchard  was  Dr.  Johnson's  "  inspired  idiot,"  — 
the  great  Lady  Macbeth  of  the  eighteenth  century, 
prior  to  Mrs.  Yates  and  Mrs.  Siddons.  Foote  was  "  the 
English  Aristophanes."  Woodward  —  superb  as  Mer- 
cutio  and  fine  as  Touchstone  —  was  deemed  the  model 
of  every  grace.  Palmer  and  Blakes  are  complimented 
even  by  the  exigent  Churchill  —  in  The  Rosciad.  Yates 
was  the  original  Sir  Oliver  Surface,  and  died  in  1796, 
in  his  97th  year.  Mrs.  Davies  was  the  lovely  wife  of 
Thomas  Davies,  the  actor,  author,  and  bookseller,  the 
man  who  introduced  Boswell  to  Dr.  Johnson ;  and  it  is 
sad  to  think  that,  being  left  a  widow,  she  fell  into  mis- 
fortune and  died  in  an  almshouse.  Miss  Macklin  was 
Maria,  daughter  of  Charles  Macklin  (1690-1797),  the 
first  great  Shylock  of  the  stage.  William  Havard,  a 
conscientious  actor  and  an  estimable  man,  was  the  author 
of  several  successful  plays, — one  of  them  on  Charles  the 
First, —  and  he  rests  in  Covent  Garden  Church,  com- 
memorated by  an  epitaph  from  the  pen  of  Garrick. 


10  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

Theatre     Royal     in     Drury-Lane, 

This  prefent  Wednefday,  being  the  24th  of  Oftober, 
Will  be  Revived  a  COMEDY,  call'd 

The     OLD     BATCHELOR. 

Fondlewife  by  Mr.   FOOTE, 

Bellmour  by  Mr.  PALMER, 

Sharper  by  Mr.  HAVARD, 

Vainlove  by  Mr.  JEFFERSON, 

Heartwell  by   Mr.    BERRY, 

Sir   Joseph    Wittol    Mr.   WOODWARD, 

Noll  Bluffe  by   Mr.  YATES, 

Setter  by  Mr.  B LAKES, 

Belinda   by   Mifs    HAUGHTON, 

Araminta  by  Mrs.  DA  VIES, 

Sylvia  by  Mrs.  COWPER, 

Lucy  by  Mrs.  BENNET, 

Latitia     by     Mrs.     PRITCHARD. 

In  Act  III.  a  DANCE  proper  to  the  Play,  by 

Monf.  GERARD,  and  Mad.  LUSSANT. 

To  which  will  be  added  a  COMEDY  in  Two  Acts,  call'd 

The     Englifhman     in     PARIS. 

Buck  by  Mr.   FOOTE, 

Luanda  by   Mifs    MAC  KLIN, 

(Being  the  Third  Time  of  her  appearing  upon  that  STAGE.) 

With  a  NEW  Occafional   PROLOGUE, 
and  the  ORIGINAL  EPILOGUE. 

Boxes  55.    Pit  35.     First  Gallery  25.    Upper  Gallery  is. 

PLACES  for  the  Boxes  to  be  had  of  Mr.  VARNEY,  at  the  Stage- 
door  of  the  Theatre. 

t  No  Perfons  to  be  admitted  behind  the  Scenes,  nor  any  Money  to  be 
returned  after  the  Curtain  M  drawn  up.     Vi-vat  REX. 


LIFE   OF  JEFFERSON  11 

A  period  of  about  twelve  years  of  itinerant  acting  and 
perhaps  of  desultory  theatrical  management,  after  Jeffer- 
son's arrival  in  London,  is  accordingly  to  be  supposed. 
In  1758  he  went  to  Ireland,  and  in  1760  he  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Crow  Street  theatre,  acting  with  a  company 
which  included  Barry,  Dexter,  Foote,  Heaphy,  Macklin, 
Mossop,  Sowden,  Vernon,  Walker,  Woodward,  Mrs. 
Dancer,  Mrs.  Fitzhenry,  and  Mrs.  Kennedy.  In  that 
year,  or  a  little  later,  he  left  Dublin,  in  order  to  assume 
the  management  of  the  Plymouth  theatre,  with  which 
his  name  was  afterward  long  associated.  In  1764,  still 
holding  the  Plymouth  house,  he  joined  with  Mrs.  Pitt, 
in  the  direction  of  a  theatre  at  Exeter,  and  in  1765, 
conjointly  with  Josiah  Foote,  a  tradesman  of  that  town, 
he  purchased  Mrs.  Pitt's  interest  in  that  property  and 
renewed  the  lease ;  but  in  1767  he  sold  his  share  of  the 
estate  to  his  partner,  Foote,  and  after  that  time  he  con- 
centrated his  attention  upon  the  care  of  the  Plymouth 
theatre.  He  managed,  indeed,  at  one  or  two  other  places, 
and  he  appeared  at  Drury  Lane,  —  his  name  being  occa- 
sionally found  in  the  casts  of  plays  that  were  presented 
there,  during  the  period  from  1753  to  1776.  But  he 
never  appeared  in  that  theatre  after  Garrick  left  it 
—  June  10,  1776;  and  after  Garrick's  death,  January 
20,  1779,  when  that  resplendent  career,  of  thirty -five 
years,  was  ended,  he  seems  never  to  have  cared  again 
to  associate  himself  with  London  theatrical  life.  He 
was  now  about  fifty  years  of  age,  with  his  children  grow- 
ing up  around  him,  and  his  circumstances  had  assumed 
a  character  such  as  naturally  restricted  him  to  the  safe 
fields  of  unadventurous  industry. 

The  rank  of  Thomas  Jefferson  among  the  actors  of 


12  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

his  time  was  with  the  best,  —  setting  aside  the  names 
of  Garrick,  Barry,  Henderson,1  and  Mossop  as  excep- 
tional, and  far  above  their  comrades.  The  dramatic 
period  was  a  storied  one,  and  only  a  man  of  fine  talent 
could  have  held  a  conspicuous  position  in  the  shining 
group  of  players  which  then  adorned  the  British  stage. 
Theatrical  powers  and  enterprises  in  those  days  were 
more  closely  concentrated  than  they  have  been  since, 
except,  perhaps,  in  the  best  period  of  the  Chestnut  and 
the  Park,  in  America,  and  were  subjected  to  a  more 
exacting  attention,  on  the  part  of  the  public,  than  they 
receive,  or,  generally,  are  calculated  to  inspire,  at  present. 
The  stock  companies  were  few,  and  they  were  composed 
of  performers  who,  for  the  most  part,  in  the  vastly 
extended  theatrical  area,  and  the  vastly  increased  de- 
mand and  remuneration  for  theatrical  entertainments, 
would  now  be  "stars."  Jefferson's  repute,  if  not  sur- 
passingly high,  like  that  of  Garrick,  was,  nevertheless, 
that  of  sterling  merit.  He  ranked  with  Barry  in  comedy, 
—  excelling  Mossop,  Sheridan,  and  Reddish,  —  but  he 
was  not  half  so  good  as  Barry  in  tragedy.  His  tragedy, 

1  "HENDERSON  (1747-1785)  was  the  legitimate  successor  to  Gar- 
rick's  throne,  —  the  only  attendant  genius  that  could  wear  his  mantle. 
Though  it  is  difficult  to  compare  the  others,  owing  to  the  peculiarities  of 
their  paths,  Powell  was  best  in  the  Romans  and  fathers;  Holland,  in  the 
ardent  spirits  of  lovers  and  champions,  the  Hotspurs  and  Chamonts;  and 
Jefferson  in  the  kings  and  tyrants.  Of  the  four,  Powell  and  Reddish  were 
the  cleverest.  But  Reddish  was  differently  situated;  he  lived  in  Garrick's 
time,  and  was  one  of  the  many  stars,  in  that  Augustan  era  of  acting,  whose 
radiance  was  absorbed  in  the  great  luminary's.  Powell,  Holland,  and 
Jefferson  were  all  in  the  same  predicament :  Mossop,  Barry,  and  Sheridan 
were  the  only  ones  who  rose  into  notice  from  a  collision  with  the  Rose! us; 
but  even  their  memories  are  fading." — John  Bernard's  Retrospections  of 
the  Stage,  Vol.  I.,  p.  15. 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 


13 


however,  was  accounted  equal  with  that  of  Macklin,  the 
first  great  Shylock  of  the  British  stage ;  and  he  must 
have  been  important,  if  he  could  hold  his  rank  against 
that  competitor.  The  Thespian  Dictionary  (1805), 
recording,  perhaps,  the  testimony  of  a  contemporary, 
says  that  he  "  possessed  a  pleasing  countenance,  strong 
expression  and  compass  of  voice,  and  was  excellent  in 
declamatory  parts."  His  abilities,  obviously,  were  con- 
siderable, and  they  must  have  been  versatile,  for  the 
chronicles  show  that  he  was  sometimes  accepted  as  a 
substitute  for  Garrick ;  that  he  was  even  thought  to 
resemble  him  in  appearance  ;  and  that  he  was  accounted 
a  competent  actor  throughout  a  wide  range  of  parts. 

An  indication  of  the  professional  rank  of  Thomas  Jef- 
ferson, and  also  of  that  of  his  first  wife,  Miss  May,  is  given 
in  a  Scale  of  Merits  of  the  Performers  on  the  Dublin 
stage,  made  about  1760-1763.  This  document  was  pub- 
lished in  the  London  Chronicle,  Vol.  XV.,  and  is  quoted 
in  Malcolm's  Anecdotes  of  the  Manners  and  Customs  of 
London,  during  the  Eighteenth  Century,  Vol.  II.,  p.  247. 


MEN. 

Tragedy. 

Comedy. 

WOMEN. 

Tragedy. 

Comedy. 

Ir.  Barry  .     . 

.      2O     . 

.     .     10 

Mrs.  Dancer   . 

.      14     . 

.     .     16 

"    Mossop    . 

•      15      • 

.     .       6 

Fitzhenry 

.      14     . 

.    .      6 

Sheridan  . 

•      15      • 

.     .       6 

Abington 

O       . 

.     .     18 

Macklin  . 

.      8    . 

•     •     15 

Hamilton 

IO      . 

.       .       12 

Sowdon    . 

•     13     • 

.      .       12 

Kennedy 

.       8     . 

.       .       IO 

Dexter 

.       10      . 

.       .       12 

Keif  .     . 

.       8     . 

.       .       IO 

T.  Barry  . 

.      IO      . 

.       .          8 

Barry 

.      8    . 

.      .       10 

Ryder  .     . 

.      6    . 

.      .       12 

Jefferson 

.      6    . 

.     .      8 

Stamper  . 

o    . 

.       .       12 

Ambrose 

0      . 

.     .      8 

Sparks 

0      . 

.       .       12 

Mahon   . 

0      . 

.    .      6 

Jefferson  . 

.      8    . 

.      .       IO 

Roach     . 

o    . 

.    .      6 

Heaphy    . 

.      6    . 

.    .      8 

Parsons  . 

o    . 

.    .     6 

Reddish  . 

.      6    . 

.     .      8 

Walker     . 

o    . 

.    .      8 

Glover 

•      4     • 

.    .      8 

Mahon     . 

.      4     . 

.     .      6 

14  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

Thomas  Jefferson  was  twice  married.  His  first  wife, 
Miss  May,  was  the  daughter  of  a  member  of  the  British 
Navy,  and,  according  to  Gilliland's  Dramatic  Mirror,  he 
agreed,  in  marrying  her,  to  forfeit  ^500  to  her  father,  in 
case  she  should  ever  appear  upon  the  stage.  That  was 
at  Lewes,  where  Jefferson  acted  for  two  seasons,  under 
the  name  of  Burton,  in  the  dramatic  company  of  a  man- 
ager named  Williams.  A  number  of  the  ladies  of  that 
place,  on  a  subsequent  occasion,  wished  that  Mrs.  Jef- 
ferson should  appear  in  a  dramatic  performance,  and, 
finding  Mr.  May's  bond  an  obstacle  to  their  desire,  they 
succeeded  in  persuading  him  to  cancel  it.  Mrs.  Jeffer- 
son thereupon  acted  Lady  Charlotte,  in  Sir  Richard 
Steele's  comedy  of  The  Funeral  (1702).  "  The  ladies," 
says  the  Mirror,  "  provided  the  females  of  the  company 
with  dresses  for  the  piece,  and  it  was  played  three 
nights,  each  person's  share  amounting  to  six  guineas." 
The  first  appearance  of  Mrs.  Jefferson  on  the  London 
stage  was  made  at  Drury  Lane,  October  6,  1753,  as 
Anne  Bullen. 

Mrs.  Jefferson  was  a  beautiful  woman,  and  of  a  lovely 
disposition,  and  that  part  of  the  married  life  of  Thomas 
Jefferson  which  was  passed  in  her  society  was  happy. 
She  bore  two  sons,  —  John  and  Joseph.  The  former 
became  a  clergyman  of  the  established  church,  and 
went  as  a  missionary  to  some  part  of  Asia,  where  he 
was  presently  slain  by  persons  who  opposed  him  in 
religious  opinion.  In  Ryley's  Itinerant  (1808),  men- 
tion is  made  of  John  Jefferson,  a  son  of  Thomas,  who, 
it  is  said,  "  was  very  tall,  very  slim,  very  sallow,  and  a 
very  poor  actor"  ;  and  it  is  further  stated  that  he  was 
of  a  religious  turn  of  mind,  and  was  called  "  The  Parson." 


LIFE  OF   JEFFERSON  15 

That  may  have  been  the  pious  John.  The  latter  son, 
Joseph,  became  an  actor,  and,  after  a  brief  career  in 
England,  emigrated  to  America,  and  established  the 
family  in  this  country.  The  mother  of  those  boys, 
whenever  named  in  old  theatrical  chronicles,  is  named 
not  merely  with  honour  and  affection,  but  with  evident 
wonder  that  so  much  beauty  could  coexist  with  so  much 
goodness.  Even  her  death  bore  witness  to  the  sunshine 
of  her  nature ;  for  she  died  of  laughter.  Davies,  in  his 
Life  of  Garrick,  records  the  incident,  and  describes  the 
heroine  :  — 

"  Britannia  was  represented  by  Mrs.  Jefferson,  the  most  complete 
figure,  in  beauty  of  countenance  and  symmetry  of  form,  I  ever  beheld. 
This  good  woman  —  for  she  was  as  virtuous  as  fair  —  was  so  unaf- 
fected and  simple  in  her  behaviour  that  she  knew  not  her  power  of 
charming.  Her  beautiful  figure  and  majestic  step,  in  the  character 
of  Anne  Bullen,  drew  the  admiration  of  all  who  saw  her.  She  was 
very  tall,  and  had  she  been  happy  in  ability  to  represent  characters 
of  consequence,  she  would  have  been  an  excellent  partner  in  tragedy 
for  Mr.  Barry.  In  the  vicissitudes  of  itinerant  acting  she  had  been 
often  reduced,  from  the  small  number  of  players  in  the  company  she 
belonged  to,  to  disguise  her  lovely  form  and  to  assume  parts  very 
unsuitable  to  so  delicate  a  creature.  When  she  was  asked  what 
characters  she  excelled  in  most,  she  innocently  replied,  '  Old  men 
in  comedy,'  —  meaning  such  parts  as  Fondlewife,  in  The  Old  Bach- 
elor, and  Sir  Jealous  Traffic,  in  The  Busybody.  She  died  suddenly 
at  Plymouth,  as  she  was  looking  at  a  dance  that  was  practising  for 
the  night's  representation.  In  the  midst  of  a  hearty  laugh  she  was 
seized  with  a  sudden  pain,  and  expired  in  the  arms  of  Mr.  Moody,1  who 
happened  to  stand  by,  and  saved  her  from  falling  on  the  ground." 

1  JOHN  MOODY.  —  He  established  a  theatre  in  the  island  of  Jamaica, 
in  1745,  and  was  thus  the  means  of  introducing  the  acted  drama  into 
America.  He  was  considered  exceptionally  fine  as  the  Irishman  Teague, 
in  The  Committee.  In  the  print  of  The  Immortality  of  Garrick  he  is 
represented  as  Adam. 


16  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

That  is  said  to  have  occurred  on  July  18,  1766.  It  is 
a  tradition  in  the  Jefferson  family  that  the  proximate 
cause  of  the  catastrophe  was  a  rehearsal  of  Dicky  Gos- 
sip, by  Edward  Shuter.  That  comedian,  the  original 
representative  of  Mr.  Hardcastle,  in  She  Stoops  to  Con- 
quer, and  of  Sir  Anthony  Absolute,  in  The  Rivals,  was 
thought  by  Garrick  to  be  the  greatest  comic  genius 
of  his  time.  "  I  remember  him,"  says  John  Taylor, 
(Records  of  My  Life),  "  as  Justice  Woodcock,  Scrub, 
Peachum,  and  Sir  Francis  Gripe.  .  .  .  His  acting  was 
a  compound  of  truth,  simplicity,  and  luxuriant  humour. 
Never  was  an  actor  more  popular  than  Shuter."  "  He 
was  more  bewildered  in  his  brain  by  wishing  to  acquire 
imaginary  grace,  than  by  all  his  drinking,"  says  Tate 
Wilkinson;  "like  Mawworm,  he  believed  he  had  a  call." 
Shuter,  a  devout  Methodist,  was  also  a  fine  Falstaff. 
The  part  of  Britannia,  mentioned  by  Davies  as  allotted 
to  Mrs.  Jefferson,  occurs  in  a  masque  by  David  Mallet, 
first  produced  at  Drury  Lane  in  1755.  The  music  was 
composed  by  Dr.  Arne  (1710-1778).  A  prologue  to  the 
piece,  written  by  Mallet  and  Garrick,  and  spoken  by  the 
latter,  made  a  hit,  by  presenting  a  tipsy  sailor  reading  a 
play-bill,  with  allusions  to  war  with  the  French.  Mrs. 
Jefferson  is  mentioned  by  Genest  as  having  played 
Mrs.  Fainall,  in  Congreve's  comedy  of  The  Way  of 
the  World  (1703),  at  Drury  Lane,  on  March  15,  1774, 
for  the  benefit  of  Mrs.  Abington.  Her  attributes  and 
rank  as  an  actress  may  be  inferred  from  those  facts. 
Her  death  is  said  by  one  authority  to  have  occurred 
in  1766;  by  another,  in  1768.  The  birth  of  Joseph 
Jefferson  is  assigned  to  1774  or  1776.  It  is  known  that 
he  had  a  step-mother ;  one  cause  of  his  leaving  home 


LIFE  OF   JEFFERSON  17 

and  emigrating  to  America,  indeed,  was  his  dissatisfac- 
tion with  his  father's  second  marriage  ;  and  there  is  no 
record  that  Thomas  Jefferson  was  married  more  than 
twice.  It  is  not  questioned  that  the  mirth-making  race 
of  Jefferson  has  descended  from  the  lovely  lady  who 
died  of  laughter  on  the  Plymouth  stage ;  but  either  the 
date  of  her  death  or  that  of  Joseph  Jefferson's  birth  has 
been  incorrectly  stated.  The  true  date  of  her  death, 
probably,  is  1776.  One  account  says  that  Joseph  Jef- 
ferson was  born  literally  upon  the  stage,  and  that  his 
mother  died  shortly  afterward.  It  is  a  coincidence, 
bearing  on  the  question  of  descent,  that  the  Jefferson 
of  our  day,  Rip  Van  Winkle,  suffers  agony  at  the  base 
of  the  brain,  from  inordinate  laughter. 

Tate  Wilkinson,1  in  his  agreeable  Memoirs  -(1790), 
a  work  containing  several  allusions  to  Thomas  Jefferson, 
pays  a  tribute  to  the  first  Mrs.  Jefferson,  when  referring 
to  the  Exeter  episode  of  Jefferson's  career  as  a 
manager :  — 

"Early  in  December,  1764,  I  set  off  for  Exeter,  where  Mr. 
Jefferson,  my  old  friend  and  acquaintance  in  Dublin  and  London, 
was  then  become  the  manager,  and  everything  then  promised  most 
flatteringly  that  he  would  soon  make  a  fortune.  But  the  substance 
is  often  changed  for  a  shadow,  nor  are  managers1  gains  so  easily 
amassed  as  the  public  can  gather  it  for  them.  His  invitation  had 
double  allurement :  first,  novelty,  which  was  ever  prevalent ;  and 
next,  to  see  so  pleasant  and  friendly  a  man  as  he  had  ever 
proved  to  me.  I  joined  him  and  his  new  troop.  Mr.  Jefferson  was 
at  that  time  endeavouring  —  not  without  encouragement  —  to  bring 
that  theatre  into  a  regular  and  established  reputation.  He  had 
engaged  Mr.  Reddish 2  and  many  other  good  performers.  Mrs. 

1  TATE  WILKINSON  was  born  on  October  27,  1739,  and  he   died   on 
December  i,  1803. 

2  SAMUEL  REDDISH.  —  He  was  born  in  1740,  became  insane  in  1779, 

B 


18  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

Jefferson,  his  first  wife,  was  then  living.  She  had  one  of  the  best 
dispositions  that  ever  harboured  in  a  human  breast ;  and,  more 
extraordinary,  joined  to  that  meekness,  she  was  one  of  the  most 
elegant  women  ever  beheld." 

Jefferson's  second  wife  was  Miss  Wood,  sister  to  a 
public  singer  of  that  name,  then  distinguished  in  Lon- 
don. She  was  a  worthy  lady,  though  apparently  less 
amiable  than  her  predecessor,  and  though  unpropitious 
toward  her  step-son.  She  did  not  attempt  the  stage. 
The  children  of  that  union  were  two  sons,  Frank  and 
George,  and  two  daughters,  Frances  and  Elizabeth. 
Frank  has  been  mentioned,  as  at  one  time  an  officer  of 
a  royal  yacht  in  Virginia  Water,  at  Windsor.  George 
became  an  actor,  and  a  respectably  good  one ;  and  he 
also  displayed  talent  as  a  painter.  It  is  said  that  a 
titled  lady,  resident  near  Ripon,  established  in  her 
house  a  gallery  of  his  works,  and  bought  everything 
that  he  painted,  —  binding  him  not  to  sell  his  produc- 
tions to  any  other  person.  Elizabeth  died  in  youth. 
Frances  was  married  to  Mr.  Samuel  Butler,1  manager 
of  the  Harrowgate,  Beverly,  and  Richmond  theatres, 
Yorkshire ;  and  in  after  time  was  known  upon  the 

and  died  in  1 785,  in  an  asylum  at  York.  John  Taylor,  who  saw  and  knew 
him,  records  that  he  chiefly  distinguished  himself  in  the  Shakespeare 
characters  of  Edgar,  Fosthumus,  and  Henry  the  Sixth. 

1  In  St.  Mary's  Church  at  Beverly,  Yorkshire,  is  a  tablet  bearing  this 
inscription :  — 

"  IN   MEMORY  OF 

SAMUEL  BUTLER. 

'  A  poor  player,  that  struts  and 

frets  his  hour  upon  the  stage,  and 

then  is  heard  no  more.' 

Obt.  June  15,  1812. 

JEt.  6a." 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  19 

stage,  both  as  manager  and  actress.  F.  C.  Wemyss, 
when  a  youth  of  eighteen,  joined  Mrs.  Butler's  dramatic 
company  (April  12,  1815)  at  Kendal,  in  Westmoreland; 
and  he  records  in  his  Theatrical  Biography,  that  he 
there  was  introduced  by  the  lady  to  George  Jefferson, 
her  brother,  who  was  stage  manager.  That  branch 
of  the  Jefferson  family,  however,  contributed  nothing 
of  great  importance  to  the  stage.  Reference,  though, 
should  be  made  to  the  professional  career  of  Samuel 
W.  Butler,  son  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Samuel  Butler  above 
mentioned,  and  grandson  of  Thomas  Jefferson.  That 
actor  appeared  at  the  Bowery  theatre,  New  York,  on 
December  14,  1831,  as  Coriolanus,  and  subsequently  he 
played  Virginius,  and  other  parts.  On  November  4, 
1841,  he  came  forward  at  the  Park  theatre,  as  Hamlet, 
and  on  November  9,  he  acted  Walder,  in  Walder,  the 
Avenger.  Ireland  says  that,  although  "  handsome  in 
person,  graceful  in  action,  and  correct  in  elocution,  he 
still  lacked  the  inspiration  necessary  to  rank  him  as 
an  artist  of  the  first  class."  His  wife,  who  accompanied 
him  in  America,  surpassed  him  in  public  favour,  — 
acting  Louisa,  in  The  Dead  Shot,  and  also  Gil  Bias. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Butler  returned  to  England.  Samuel 
William  Butler  died  on  July  17,  1845,  aged  forty-one, 
and  was  buried  in  Ardwick  cemetery,  Manchester. 
Charles  Swain  wrote  his  epitaph,  which  is  here  tran- 
scribed from  a  valuable  collection  of  Curious  Epitaphs, 
made  by  the  learned  antiquary,  William  Andrews,  of 
Hull,  England,  and  published  in  1884.  Mr.  Andrews 
mentions  a  sketch  of  the  life  of  Butler,  written  by  Mr. 
John  Evans  and  printed  in  Papers  of  the  Manchester 
Literary  Chib,  in  1877.  This  is  the  epitaph  :  — 


20  LIFE   OF  JEFFERSON 

"  Here  rest  the  mortal  remains  of  Samuel  William  Butler,  Tra- 
gedian. In  him  the  stage  lost  a  highly-gifted  and  accomplished 
actor,  on  whose  tongue  the  noblest  creations  of  the  poet  found 
truthful  utterance.  After  long  and  severe  suffering  he  departed  this 
life  the  ryth  day  of  July  in  the  year  of  our  Lord,  1845.  Aged 
41  years. 

"  Whence  this  ambition,  whence  this  proud  desire, 
This  love  of  fame,  this  longing  to  aspire? 
To  gather  laurels  in  their  greenest  bloom, 
To  honour  life  and  sanctify  the  tomb  ? 
'Tis  the  Divinity  that  never  dies, 
Which  prompts  the  soul  of  genius  still  to  rise. 
Though  fades  the  laurel  leaf  by  leaf  away, 
The  soul  hath  prescience  of  a  fadeless  day ; 
And  God's  eternal  promise,  like  a  star, 
From  faded  hopes  still  points  to  hopes  afar ; 
Where  weary  hearts  for  consolation  trust, 
And  bliss  immortal  quickens  from  the  dust. 
On  this  great  hope  the  painter,  actor,  bard, 
And  all  who  ever  strove  for  fame's  reward, 
Must  rest  at  last ;  and  all  that  earth  have  trod 
Still  need  the  grace  of  a  forgiving  God." 

Thomas  Jefferson  had  a  long  career.  He  was  on  the 
stage  from  about  1746  to  almost  the  day  of  his  death, 
in  1807, — a  period  of  sixty  years.  At  first  a  rover,  he 
saw  many  parts  of  the  British  kingdom,  and  became  a 
favourite  in  the  theatrical  circles  of  many  communities. 
He  then  settled  into  the  groove  of  theatrical  manage- 
ment, and  there  he  remained  till  the  last.  His  most 
prosperous  days  were  those  that  he  passed  at  Plym- 
outh, where  he  was  established  by  chance.  He  had 
been  asked  to  become  the  manager  of  the  Plymouth 
theatre,  for  a  salary  and  one-third  of  the  profits,  and  he 
agreed,  —  on  condition  that  the  interior  of  the  theatre 
should  be  renovated.  This  was  promised,  and  he  there- 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  21 

upon  sent  forward  carpenters  and  painters,  from  the 
theatre  at  Dublin,  where  (about  1760)  he  happened  to 
be  acting,  to  do  the  work.  Before  those  artisans  reached 
Plymouth,  the  owner  of  the  theatre,  Mr.  Kerby,  had  died ; 
nevertheless  they  were  permitted,  by  his  representative, 
to  proceed  in  their  task.  Jefferson  soon  followed,  with 
his  theatrical  company,  but  on  arriving  was  astonished 
to  learn  that  the  building  materials  used  by  his  me- 
chanics had  been  supplied  on  the  credit  of  his  name, 
which  was  well  known  and  highly  respected,  and  that 
he  now  already  owed  £,261  to  the  tradespeople  of  the 
town.  The  heir-at-law  refused  to  assume  that  debt,  or 
undertake  any  responsibility  in  the  matter ;  and,  thus 
hampered,  Jefferson  determined  to  secure  a  lease  of  the 
theatre, — buying  its  scenery  and  wardrobe,  —  and  to 
make  Plymouth  his  permanent  residence.  That  project 
was  fulfilled.  He  remained  sole  proprietor  till  1770, 
when  he  sold  one-third  interest  to  Mr.  Foote,  of  Exe-. 
ter,  with  whom,  in  the  mean  time,  he  had  been  asso- 
ciated in  the  ownership  of  the  Exeter  theatre,  and 
another  third  to  Mr.  Wolfe,  of  Pynn.  This  partnership 
lasted  till  1784,  when,  upon  the  death  of  Foote,  Jefferson 
inherited  half  his  share,  and  Wolfe  the  other  half,  in 
trust.  Three  years  later,  in  the  winter  of  1787,  John 
Bernard1  purchased  from  Jefferson  a  third  interest  in 

1  JOHN  BERNARD.  —  This  actor,  famous  in  his  day  for  the  perfection  of 
his  dry  humour  and  finished  manners,  and  equally  excellent  in  the  lines 
of  acting  typified  by  Lord  Ogleby  and  Dashwould,  was  born  at  Portsmouth, 
England,  in  1756.  He  went  on  the  stage  in  1774,  and  left  it  in  1820. 
After  a  time  of  provincial  tribulation,  he  succeeded  in  winning  a  good  rank 
on  the  London  stage,  and  was  long  a  favourite  at  Covent  Garden.  Wignell 
engaged  him  to  come  to  Philadelphia  in  1797,  and  he  was  there  connected 
with  the  Chestnut  Street  theatre  until  1803,  when  he  removed  to  Boston, 


22  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

the  Plymouth  theatre,  for  ^400,  and  thereafter  Jeffer- 
son, Bernard,  and  Wolfe  were  partners  in  its  manage- 
ment, till  the  season  of  1795-96,  when  Bernard  sold  his 
share,  apparently  to  another  Mr.  Foote,  and  emigrated 
to  America.  Jefferson,  a  sufferer  from  gout,  had  be- 
come infirm,  —  so  that  he  had  to  be  helped  in  and  out 
from  house  to  theatre,  —  and  after  Bernard's  departure 
he  did  not  long  retain  his  Plymouth  property,  but  sold 
it  for  the  consideration  of  an  annual  benefit,  clear  of 
expenses,  as  long  as  he  should  live.  That  contract  was 
fulfilled,  and  the  veteran  received  a  testimonial  each 
year  till  his  death.1  He  derived  support,  also,  as  an 
annuitant,  from  the  Covent  Garden  Theatrical  Fund,  of 
which  he  had  long  been  a  member.  His  last  days, 
notwithstanding  illness  and  trouble,  were  marked  by 
cheerful  resignation.  He  was  an  entertaining  compan- 
ion, and  was  always  in  good  spirits.  His  last  appear- 
ance on  the  stage  was  made  in  Aaron  Hill's  tragedy  of 
Zara,  as  the  aged,  dying  monarch,  Lusignan,  a  character 
that  he  represented,  seated  in  a  chair.  Wood  mentions 

where  he  remained  three  years.  In  1807  he  appeared  at  the  New  York 
Park,  and  he  was  last  seen  in  New  York  in  1813  at  the  Commonwealth 
theatre,  corner  of  Broadway  and  White  street.  He  returned  to  England, 
and  died  in  London,  November  29,  1828,  aged  seventy-two.  His  Retro- 
spections of  the  Stage,  edited  by  his  son,  William  Bayle  Bernard,  is  a 
charming  book,  and  one  of  the  best  contributions  that  have  been  made 
to  the  history  of  the  English  stage.  He  left  papers,  also,  from  which  his 
son  compiled  and  edited  Early  Days  of  the  American  Stage,  first  pub- 
lished in  Tallis's  Dramatic  Magazine  (December,  1850,  et  seq.~).  Bayle 
Bernard  died  in  London,  August  9,  1875.  ^e  was  tne  autnor  of  many 
plays,  notably  of  two  versions  of  Rip  Van  Winkle. 

1  "  JEFFERSON'S  benefit  (at  Plymouth)  is  always  well  and  fashionably 
attended,  and  we  are  happy  to  add  the  last  two  years  have  been  particularly 
lucrative."  —  Gilliland's  Dramatic  Mirror. 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  23 

that  incident,  in  his  Personal  Recollections,  and  refers  to 
an  acquaintance  of  his,  who  witnessed  the  ceremony  of 
Jefferson's  final  retirement.  (The  tragedy  of  Zara,  pro- 
duced at  Drury  Lane  in  1736,  was  borrowed  from  Vol- 
taire's Zaire.}  At  the  time  of  his  death,  which  speedily 
followed  his  farewell,  Jefferson  was  at  Ripon,  on  a  visit 
to  his  daughter  Frances,  Mrs.  Samuel  Butler,  and  it 
was  there  that  he  was  seen  by  Drinkwater  Meadows. 
His  residence  in  Plymouth  was  a  house  adjoining  the 
theatre.  A  view  of  those  premises  occurs  in  James 
Winston's  Theatric  Tourist,  and  Winston  directs  atten- 
tion to  the  comedian's  bedroom  window,  which  is  visible 
in  that  print.  It  was  in  this  theatre  that  the  first  Mrs. 
Jefferson  dkd  ;  and  it  was  in  this  house,  no  doubt,  that 
Joseph  Jefferson  was  born,  —  the  actor  who  first  made 
the  name  conspicuous  in  American  theatrical  history. 
The  old  Plymouth  theatre,  —  a  queer  little  two-story 
building,  having  two  small  doors  and  seven  small  win- 
dows,—  was  burnt  down  in  1863. 

In  Bernard's  first  season  with  Jefferson  (1787)  at 
Plymouth,  the  dramatic  company,  he  says,  was  "more 
select  than  numerous.  Jefferson,  in  the  old  men,  serious 
and  comic,  was  a  host.  Wolfe,  my  other  partner,  was 
a  respectable  actor,  and  Mrs.  Bernard  and  myself  were 
established  favourites,  from  the  metropolis.  Among 
the  corps  was  a  Mr.  Prigmore,"  —  who  afterwards  came 
to  America.  The  same  writer  describes,  in  a  sprightly 
strain,  the  average  audience  with  which  the  actors  at  the 
Plymouth  theatre  were  favoured  :  — 

"  Sailors  in  general,  I  believe,  are  very  fond  of  play-houses.  This 
may  be  partly  because  they  find  their  ships  work-houses,  and  partly 
because  the  former  are  the  readiest  places  of  amusement  they  can 


24  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

visit  when  ashore.  I  remember,  oo^my  first  trip  to  Plymouth,  I 
was  rather  startled  at  observing  the  effect  which  acting  took  on  them, 
as  also  their  mode  of  conducting  themselves  during  a  performance. 
It  was  a  common  occurrence,  when  no  officers  were  present,  for  a 
tar  in  the  gallery,  who  observed  a  messmate  in  the  pit  that  he  wished 
to  address,  to  sling  himself  over  and  descend  by  the  pillars,  treading 
on  every  stray  finger  and  bill  in  his  way.  When  his  communication 
was  over,  and  before  an  officer  could  seize  him,  up  again  he  went 
like  a  cat,  and  was  speedily  anchored  alongside  of '  Bet,  sweet  Blos- 
som.' The  pit  they  called  the  hold;  the  gallery,  up  aloft,  or  the 
main-top  landing ;  the  boxes,  the  cabin  ;  and  the  stage,  the  quarter- 
deck. Every  General  and  gentleman  they  saluted  as  a  skipper; 
every  soldier  was  a  jolly,  or  lobster;  and  the  varieties  of  old  and 
young  men  who  were  not  in  command  they  collectively  designated 
swabs.  Jefferson,  being  the  eldest,  was  a  Rear- Admiral,  and  I  was 
a  Commodore." 

The  merry  temperament  of  Jefferson  and  the  drifting 
kind  of  life  that  he  led,  in  common  with  his  comrades 
of  the  sock,  are  suggested  in  this  anecdote,  from  the 
same  book :  — 

"On  arriving  at  Plymouth  (1791)  I  found,  to  my  great  surprise, 
the  company  collected,  but  no  preparations  for  the  opening  of  the 
theatre.  Wolfe  and  Jefferson  were  away,  on  one  of  their  temporary 
schemes,  and  their  precise  point  of  destination  I  could  not  ascertain, 
till  Jefferson  came  over  from  the  little  town  of  Lostwithiel,  bringing 
with  him  the  pleasing  intelligence  that  the  result  of  the  speculation 
had  placed  all  our  scenery  and  wardrobe  in  jeopardy.1  I  agreed  to 

1  The  cost  of  conducting  a  theatre,  however,  was  much  less,  in  old 
days,  than  it  is  now,  because  the  salaries  paid  to  actors  were  smaller. 
About  1680  the  highest  salary  paid  to  an  actor  was  six  shillings  and 
threepence  a  day.  About  1773  the  total  payment,  for  a  week,  at  Drury 
Lane,  amounted  to  about  ^523.  In  1750  Quin  was  paid  ^1000  a  year, 
by  Rich,  at  Covent  Garden,  —  the  highest  salary  given  to  any  actor  on 
the  English  stage,  up  to  that  time.  Dunlap  states  his  total  expenses,  at 
the  Park  theatre,  New  York,  in  the  season  of  1798-99,  at  less  than  $1200 
a  week. 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  25 

go  back  with  him  and  play  for  £iis  benefit,  taking  with  me  our  singer, 
a  very  pleasant  fellow,  of  the  name  of  West. 

"  On  crossing  the  ferry  v^e  bought  a  quantity  of  prawns,  which  we 
agreed  to  reserve  for  a  snack  at  an  inn,  where  Jefferson  said  there 
was  some  of  the  finest  ale  in  the  country.  West  and  myself,  how- 
ever, could  not  resist  our  propensities  towards  a  dozen  of  the  prawns, 
which,  lying  at  the  top,  happened  to  be  the  largest,  in  the  manner 
of  pottled  strawberries,  to  cover  a  hundred  small  ones.  Coming  to 
a  hill,  West  and  I  jumped  out  of  the  coach,  leaving  Jefferson  to  take 
care  of  the  fish.  We  had  just  reached  the  summit  when  we  heard 
a  great  bawling  behind  us,  and  looking  round  perceived  the  coach 
standing  still  at  the  foot  of  the  ascent,  and  Jefferson  leaning  out  of 
the  window  and  waving  his  hand.  Imagining  some  accident  had 
happened,  down  we  both  ran,  at  our  utmost  speed,  and  inquired  the 
matter.  Jefferson  held  up  the  handkerchief  of  diminutive  prawns 
to  our  view,  and  replied,  '  I  wished  to  know  if  you  wouldn't  like  a 
few  of  the  large  ones.'  There  was  so  much  pleasantry  in  this  reproof 
that  we  could  only  look  in  each  other's  face,  laugh,  and  toil  up  the 
hill  again." 

Ryley's  Itinerant'*-  gives  pleasant  glimpses  of  Thomas 
Jefferson  :  — 

"  Tom  Blanchard  came  to  play  a  few  nights,  and  with  him  Jeffer- 
son of  Exeter.  During  their  stay  we  received  an  invitation  to  per- 
form The  School  for  Scandal  and  An  Agreeable  Sitrprise,  at  Torr 
Abbey,  on  some  grand  public  occasion  which  now  slips  my  memory. 
Three  chaises  conveyed  the  major  part  of  the  company.  Jefferson 
rode  his  own  horse,  and  I  walked,  with  my  dogs  and  gun.  During 
the  journey,  we  thought  of  nothing  but  British  hospitality  and  good 
cheer.  Rich  wines  and  fat  venison  were  descanted  upon,  with  epi- 
curean volubility :  when,  behold,  we  were  shown  into  a  cold,  com- 
fortless servants'  hall,  with  a  stone  floor.  Jefferson,  who  was  a 

1  SAMUEL  WILLIAM  RYLEY,  born  1755,  died  1837.  Author  of  a  musi- 
cal farce,  called  The  Civilian,  or  Farmer  turned  Footman  (1792),  a  comic 
opera  on  the  subject  of  Smollett's  novel  of  Roderick  Random  (1793),  and 
a  monologue  entertainment  entitled  New  Brooms,  which  contains  several 
songs.  His  Itinerant,  or  Genuine  Memoirs  of  an  Actor,  was  published  in 
1808. 


36  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

martyr  to  the  gout,  looked  around  him  with  disgust ;  and  when  the 
servant  unfeelingly  inquired  whether  we  chose  any  dinner,  he  replied  : 
'  Tell  your  master,  friend,  that  after  his  death  he  had  better  have  a 
bad  epitaph  than  the  players1  ill  report  while  he  lives.'  So  saying 
he  remounted  his  horse,  and  left  us  to  do  the  play  as  well  as  we 
could  without  him.  This  rebuke  had  a  good  effect,  for  the  butler 
soon  made  his  appearance,  with  an  apology,  and  the  players  received 
courteous  entertainment  during  their  stay  at  Torr  Abbey." 

One  of  the  anecdotes  told  by  Ryley,  has  been  illus- 
trated with  an  etching  by  Cruickshank,  published  in 
The  Humourist :  — 

"  The  last  night  of  Jefferson's  engagement,  he  played  Hamlet,  for 
his  own  benefit ;  and  Tom  Blanchard,  ever  accommodating,  agreed 
to  double  Guildenstern  with  the  Grave-Digger.  When  Hamlet 
called  for '  the  recorders,1  Blanchard,  who  delighted  in  a  joke,  instead 
of  a  flute  brought  on  a  bassoon,  used  in  the  orchestra.  Jefferson, 
after  composing  his  countenance,  which  the  sight  of  this  instrument 
had  considerably  discomposed,  went  on  with  the  scene :  — 

'  H.   Will  you  play  upon  this  pipe  ? 

'  G.   My  lord,  I  cannot. 

'  H.   I  pray  you. 

'  G.   Believe  me,  I  cannot. 

'  H.   I  do  beseech  you. 

'  G.  Well,  my  lord,  since  you  are  so  very  pressing,  I  will  do  my 
best.' 

"  Tom,  who  was  a  good  musician,  immediately  struck  up  Lady 
Coventry's  Minuet,  and  went  through  the  whole  strain,  —  which  fin- 
ished the  scene ;  for  Hamlet  had  not  another  word  to  say  for  him- 
self." 

Bernard  speaks  of  Benjamin  Haydon,  father  of  the 
painter,  as  a  resident  of  Plymouth,  in  the  days  of  his 
management  with  Jefferson,  and  as  his  friend  and  agent. 
The  elder  Haydon  was  in  the  habit  of  meeting  Jefferson 
and  Wolfe,  for  consultation  with  them  on  the  business 
of  the  theatre,  and  regularly  communicating  with  Ber- 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  27 

nard,  in  London.  When  Bernard  lived  at  Plymouth,  he 
often  dined  with  Haydon,  and  he  tells  this  story  of  the 
boy  who  afterwards  became  so  distinguished  as  an 
artist :  — 

"  His  son,  the  present  artist  of  celebrity,  a  spirited,  intelligent  little 
fellow  about  ten  years  of  age,  used  to  listen  to  my  songs,  and  laugh 
heartily  at  my  jokes,  whenever  I  dined  at  his  father's.  One  evening 

I  was  playing  Sharp,  in  The  Lying  Valet,  when  he  and  my  friend 
Benjamin  were  in  the  stage-box  ;  and,  on  my  repeating  the  words, 

I 1  have  had  nothing  to  eat,  since  last  Monday  was  a  fortnight,'  little 
Haydon  exclaimed,  in  a  tone  audible  to  the  whole  house,  '  What  a 
whopper !     Why,  you  dined  at  my  father's  house  this  afternoon.' 
It  was  on  this  occasion,  I  believe,  Mr.  B.  R.  Haydon1  first  attracted 
the  notice  of  the  public." 

The  memory  of  Thomas  Jefferson  is  associated  by 
Victor  (Secret  History  of  the  Green-Room}  with  that  of 
the  brilliant  actress,  Frances  Abington.  That  siren 
seems  to  have  had  many  worshippers,  and  she  remained, 
to  the  end  of  her  days,  a  fascinating  woman.  She  was 
born  in  London,  in  1737,  and  died  there,  in  Pall  Mall,  in 
March,  1815,  and  was  buried  in  St.  James's,  Piccadilly. 
A  life-like  glimpse  of  her  is  given  by  John  Taylor,  in 
his  Records  of  my  Life,  p.  230 ;  and  another  by  Henry 
Crabb  Robinson,  in  his  Reminiscences,  p.  214.  Her 
maiden  name  was  Frances  Barton.  She  married  a 
musician  named  Abington.  Her  first  appearance  was 
made  at  the  London  Haymarket,  in  1755,  as  Miranda, 
in  The  Busybody,  and  her  last  public  appearance  occurred 
on  April  12,  1799.  She  was  accounted  a  great  Beatrice, 

1  BENJAMIN  ROBERT  HAYDON,  born  in  1786,  committed  suicide  in  1846. 
His  grave  is  in  old  Paddington  churchyard,  London,  a  little  way  from  that 
of  Sarah  Siddons.  The  Lying  Valet,  mentioned  by  Bernard,  is  a  comedy 
by  David  Garrick,  first  produced  in  1741,  at  Goodman's  Fields  theatre. 


28  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

in  Much  Ado,  and  she  was  the  original  Lady  Teazle,  in 
The  School  for  Scandal,  —  a  part  that  she  made  a  fine 
lady,  with  no  trace  of  rustic  origin.  Garrick  referred 
to  her  as  a  "  most  worthless  creature,  as  silly  as  she  is 
false  and  treacherous."  Robinson's  picture  of  her  is 
more  agreeable  :  — 

"June  16,  1811.  — Dined  at  Sergeant  Rough's,  and  met  the  once 
celebrated  Mrs.  Abington.  From  her  present  appearance  one  can 
hardly  suppose  she  could  ever  have  been  otherwise  than  plain.  She 
herself  laughed  at  her  snub-nose ;  but  she  is  erect,  has  a  large,  blue, 
expressive  eye,  and  an  agreeable  voice.  She  spoke  of  her  retire- 
ment from  the  stage  as  occasioned  by  the  vexations  of  a  theatrical 
life.  She  said  she  should  have  gone  mad,  if  she  had  not  quitted  her 
profession.  She  has  lost  all  her  professional  feelings,  and  when  she 
goes  to  the  theatre  can  laugh  and  cry  like  a  child ;  but  the  trouble 
is  too  great,  and  she  does  not  often  go. 

"  It  is  so  much  a  thing  of  course  that  a  retired  actor  should  be  a 
laudator  temporis  actt,  that  I  felt  unwilling  to  draw  from  her  any 
opinion  of  her  successors.  Mrs.  Siddons,  however,  she  praised, 
though  not  with  the  warmth  of  a  genuine  admirer.  She  said : 
'  Early  in  life  Mrs.  Siddons  was  anxious  to  succeed  in  comedy,  and 
played  Rosalind  before  I  retired.'  In  speaking  of  the  modern 
declamation  and  the  too  elaborate  emphasis  given  to  insignificant 
words,  she  said,  '  That  was  brought  in  by  them '  (the  Kembles) . 
She  spoke  with  admiration  of  the  Covent  Garden  horses,  and 
I  have  no  doubt  that  her  praise  was  meant  to  have  the  effect  of 
satire. 

"  Of  all  the  present  (181 1)  actors  Murray  most  resembles  Garrick. 
She  spoke  of  Barry  with  great  warmth.  He  was  a  nightingale. 
Such  a  voice  was  never  heard.  He  confined  himself  to  characters 
of  great  tenderness  and  sweetness,  such  as  Romeo.  She  admitted 
the  infinite  superiority  of  Garrick,  in  genius.  His  excellence  lay  in 
the  bursts  and  quick  transitions  of  passion,  and  in  the  variety  and 
universality  of  his  genius.  Mrs.  Abington  would  not  have  led  me 
to  suppose  she  had  been  on  the  stage,  by  either  her  manner  or  the 
substance  of  her  conversation.  She  speaks  with  the  ease  of  a  per- 


Mfc3p£& 


MRS.    ABINGTON. 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  29 

son  used  to  good  society,  rather  than  with  the  assurance  of  one 
whose  business  it  was  to  imitate  tha,t  ease." 

The  Covent  Garden  horses,  mentioned  by  Mrs.  Abing- 
ton,  were  a  number  of  steeds  exhibited  at  that  theatre, 
in  1811,  in  processions,  in  Blue  Beard  and  The 
Forty  Thieves.  Sheridan  referred  to  them  in  this 
couplet :  — 

"  How  arts  improve  in  this  degenerate  age  ! 
Peers  mount  the  box,  and  horses  tread  the  stage  ! " 

Thomas  Jefferson's  life  seems  to  have  been  simple, 
industrious,  and  kindly.  Although  he  was  well  known, 
he  never  filled  a  place  of  great  prominence  in  the  public 
eye  or  in  the  records  of  his  time.  The  man  was,  obvi- 
ously, more  than  the  actor.  To  us,  as  his  figure  glim- 
mers forth  in  the  dim  retrospect  of  the  vanishing  past, 
he  is  far  less  remarkable  for  what  he  achieved  than  for 
the  associations  that  cluster  around  his  name,  and  for 
what  we  are  enabled  to  perceive  of  those  charming 
characteristics  which  have  survived  in  his  living  de- 
scendants. It  was  a  romantic  period  through  which 
Thomas  Jefferson  lived.  It  was  a  time,  in  theatrical 
annals,  of  varied  and  brilliant  activity.  The  old  story 
of  Garrick's  dethronement  of  the  classic  style  of  acting 
makes  its  background.  The  great  Newton,  in  science, 
and  Betterton  and  Elizabeth  Barry,  in  art,  had  but  lately 
died,  when  Jefferson  was  born.  Congreve  was  still  alive. 
Gibber,  with  the  courtly  graces  of  the  age  of  Queen 
Anne,  was  just  passing  from  the  scene,  while  Quin,1 

1  JAMES  QUIN,  1693-1766.  —  The  great  Falstaff  of  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury, and  a  man  of  sturdy  intellect,  imperious  character,  and  caustic  wit. 
He  was  buried  in  Bath  Abbey,  where  the  visitor  may  see  his  epitaph, 
written  by  Garrick.  "  I  can  only  recommend  a  man  who  wants  to  see  a 


30  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

with  his  Roman  dignity  and  pompous  declamation, 
was  soon  to  follow.  Fielding  was  writing  his  novels, 
and  Sheridan  his  comedies.  It  was  the  time,  in  acting, 
of  Garrick,  Barry,  Henderson,  Woodward,  Macklin, 
Foote,  Weston,  Mossop,  Shuter,  King,  Mrs.  Pritchard, 
Mrs.  Gibber,  Mrs.  Woffington,  and  Mrs.  Yates.  It  was 
the  time,  in  poetry,  of  Cowper,  Crabbe,  Gray,  Goldsmith, 
and  Robert  Burns.  Burke  and  Fox  and  Pitt  were  tread- 
ing the  stately  heights  of  oratory,  and  the  terrible  Earl 
of  Chatham  was  swaying  the  rod  of  empire.  To  Thomas 
Jefferson  must  have  come,  as  news  of  the  passing  day, 
the  thrilling  martial  story  of  Clive's  exploits  in  India, 
and  the  strange  and  startling  tale  of  Washington's  auda- 
cious and  successful  rebellion  in  America.  He  might 
have  heard  of  the  glorious  death  of  Wolfe,  upon  the 
Plains  of  Abraham,  and  his  gaze  may  have  followed  the 
funeral  cortege  that  bore  that  young  hero  to  his  grave 
in  Greenwich  church.  He  could  have  noted,  as  an 
incident  of  the  hour,  the  suicide  of  Thomas  Chatterton, 
in  Brook  street,  Holborn.  He  possibly  saw,  in  West- 
minster Hall,  the  historic  pageant  of  the  trial  of  Warren 

character  perfectly  played  to  see  Quin  in  Falstajf."  —  Foote.  "  His  senti- 
ments, though  hid  under  the  rough  manner  he  had  assumed,  would  have 
done  honour  to  Cato."  —  George  Anne  Bellamy.  One  of  his  intimates 
was  James  Thomson,  the  poet,  who  wrote  of  him,  in  The  Castle  of  Indo- 
lence, Canto  I.,  stanza  67  :  — 

"  Here  whilom  lagged  the  Esopus  of  the  age: 
But  called  by  fame,  in  soul  yprick^d  deep, 
A  noble  pride  restored  him  to  the  stage, 
And  roused  him  like  a  giant  from  his  sleep. 
Even  from  his  slumbers  we  advantage  reap: 
With  double  force  the  enlivened  scene  he  wakes, 
Yet  quits  not  nature's  bounds.     He  knows  to  keep 
Each  due  decorum.     Now  the  heart  he  shakes, 
And  now  with  well-urged  sense  the  enlighten'd  judgment  takes." 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  31 

Hastings,  and,  in  Westminster  Abbey,  the  grief  of  a 
nation  over  the  burial  of  David  Garrick,  and  afterwards 
of  Samuel  Johnson.  Some  of  the  greatest  men  of  the 
eighteenth  century  witnessed  his  acting,  in  the  theatres 
of  London  and  Dublin.  Living  from  1728  until  1807, 
he  could  have  seen,  as  contemporary  publications,  the 
later  writings  of  Pope  and  the  earlier  writings  of  Words- 
worth and  Sir  Walter  Scott.  He  lasted  until  close  upon 
the  regency  of  George  the  Fourth,  and  passed  away 
just  as  the  accumulated  force  of  Goethe  and  Niebuhr 
and  the  new  powers  of  Coleridge,  Byron,  and  Shelley 
were  opening  a  great  era  in  human  thought.  It  cannot 
be  otherwise  than  instructive  to  muse  upon  the  experi- 
ence of  a  man  before  whose  vision  such  memorable 
scenes  and  persons  arose,  and  into  whose  life  so  much 
was  crowded  of  impressive  spectacle  and  admonitive 
fortune. 

One  of  the  clearest  impressions  derived  from  the 
story  of  Thomas  Jefferson's  life  is  the  impression  of 
his  docile  amiability  and  droll  humour.  A  manly,  in- 
dependent spirit,  a  gentle  disposition,  and  an  invet- 
erate love  of  fun  seem  to  have  been  the  principal 
attributes  of  his  character,  and  those  attributes  have 
marked  his  race.  The  apostles  of  heredity  are  some- 
what overfond  of  telling  us  about  transmitted  evil.  It 
is  a  comfort  occasionally  to  remember  that  good  also  can 
be  inherited.  Jefferson  was  scrupulously  honest,  but  he 
had  no  economy.  The  will  of  the  facetious  Weston,1 

1  THOMAS  WESTON,  1727-1776,  was  a  son  of  the  chief  cook  to  George 
the  Second.  After  a  wild,  roving  youth,  he  became  an  actor.  He  was 
in  Garrick's  company,  at  Drury  Lane,  and  he  was  with  Foote,  at  the  old 
Haymarket.  His  excellence  was  shown  in  Scrub,  Drugger,  and  Jerry 


32  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

that  droll  comedian,  who  almost  rivalled  Garrick  in 
Abel  Drugger,  and  for  whom  Foote  wrote  the  character 
of  Jerry  Sneak,  contains  this  clause  :  "Item.  I  having 
played  under  the  management  of  Mr.  Jefferson,  at 
Richmond,  and  received  from  him  every  politeness; 
I  therefore  leave  him  all  my  stock  of  prudence,  it  being 
the  only  good  quality  I  think  he  stands  in  need  of." 

"I  acted  Bayes,  at  Exeter,"  says  Tate  Wilkinson, 
"and  spoke  a  speech  or  two  in  the  manner  of  old 
Andrew  Brice,  a  printer  of  that  city,  and  an  eccentric 
genius.  It  struck  the  whole  audience  like  electricity. 
Mr.  Jefferson,  who  performed  Johnson,  was  so  taken 
by  surprise  that  he  could  not  proceed  for  laughter." 

Elsewhere  in  Wilkinson's  Memoirs  (Vol.  III.,  p.  193) 
the  reader  sees  Jefferson,  in  the  full  tide  of  innocent, 
sportive  mischief,  demurely  charring  the  pompous  and 
truculent  Henry  Mossop,  —  a  man  of  great  ability,  but 
one  who  lacked  the  sense  of  humour,  and  therefore  was 
the  easy  prey  of  the  joker.  Both  were  members,  at  that 
time,  of  the  Smock  Alley  theatre,  in  Dublin  :  — 

"  Jefferson,  who  loved  a  little  mischief,  said  to  Mossop  one  day, 
'Sir,  I  was  last  night  at  Crow  Street,  where  Wilkinson,  in  Tragedy 
h-la-Mode  and  in  Bayes,  had  taken  very  great  liberties  indeed,'  and 
added  that  the  audience  were  ill-natured  enough  to  be  highly  enter- 
tained ;  on  which  Mossop  snuffed  the  air,  put  his  hand  on  his  sword, 
and,  turning  upon  his  heel,  replied,  '  Yes,  sir ;  but  he  only  takes  me 
off  a  little]  and  made  his  angry  departure.  After  which  Jefferson 
never  again  renewed  the  subject ;  but  was  astonished,  after  his 
repeated  and  open  threats  of  vengeance,  he  had  not  acted  more 

Sneak.  He  seems,  personally,  to  have  been  a  compound  of  Charles 
Surface  and  Dick  Swiveller.  He  was  merry,  comic,  improvident,  and  too 
fond  of  the  bottle  for  his  own  good.  An  interesting  sketch  of  him  is  given 
in  John  Gait's  Lives  of  the  Players,  Vol.  I.,  p.  232. 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  33 

consistently.  And  after  the  said  Jefferson's  telling  me  that  circum- 
stance I  never  heard  more  of  Mr.  Mossop's  sword,  pistol,  or  anger." 
Mossop  had  previously,  in  a  comic  interview  with  Wilkinson,  in 
the  street,  threatened  him  with  violence.  " '  Sir,'  said  Mossop,1 
'  you  are  going  to  play  in  Crow  Street  theatre  with  Barry,  sir,  and, 
sir,  I  will  run  you  through  the  body,  sir,  if  you  take  the  liberty  to 
attempt  my  manner,  by  any  mimicry  on  the  stage.  You  must 
promise  me,  sir,  on  your  honour,  you  will  not  dare  attempt  it.  If 
you  break  that  promise,  sir,  you  cannot  live ;  and  you,  Mr.  Wil-kin- 
son,  must  die,  as  you  must  meet  me  the  next  day,  and  I  shall  kill 
you,  sir.'  I  told  him  it  was  impossible  to  comply  with  that  his 
mandate." 

A  reference  to  Thomas  Jefferson,  showing  how  near, 
for  the  second  time,  he  came  to  a  sudden,  accidental 
death,  occurs  in  a  sketch  of  Theophilus  Gibber,  pub- 
lished in  the  Biographia  Dramatica.  Theophilus,  the 
profligate  son  of  the  poet  laureate,  Colley  Gibber,  was 
drowned,  in  1758,  aged  fifty-five,  on  a  voyage  from 
England  to  Ireland.  In  recording  that  catastrophe,  the 
Biographia  makes  allusion  to  Jefferson  :  — 

"  Mr.  Gibber  embarked  at  Parkgate,  together  with  Mr.  Maddox, 
the  celebrated  wire-dancer,  who  had  also  been  engaged  as  an  auxil- 
iary to  the  same  theatre,2  on  board  the  Dublin  trader,  some  time  in 
the  month  of  October ;  but  the  high  winds  which  are  frequent  at 
that  time  of  the  year  in  St.  George's  channel,  and  which  are  fatal 
to  many  vessels  in  the  passage  from  this  kingdom  to  Ireland,  proved 
particularly  so  to  this.  The  vessel  was  driven  to  the  coast  of  Scot- 
land, where  it  was  cast  away,  every  soul  in  it  (and  the  passengers 
were  extremely  numerous)  perishing  in  the  waves,  and  the  ship 

1  MOSSOP   (1729-1773)    died    in   London,    in   great   penury,  —  which, 
however,  he  kept  a  secret,  —  and  was  buried  in  or  near  Chelsea  church. 
I  tried,  in  1885,  to  find  his  grave,  but  without  success.     It  is  unmarked. 

2  Those  performers  were  on  their  way  to  join  the  Theatre  Royal  in 
Smock  alley,  Dublin,  managed  by  Thomas  Sheridan,  who  needed  recruits, 
as  he  had  been  much  pressed,  in  that  year,  1758,  by  the  opposition  of  the 
new  theatre  in  Crow  street.     Indeed,  it  ruined  him  there. 

c 


34  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

itself  so  entirely  lost  that  scarcely  any  vestige  of  it  remained,  to 
indicate  where  it  had  been  wrecked,  excepting  a  box  containing 
books  and  papers  which  were  known  to  be  Mr.  Gibber's,  and  which 
were  cast  up  on  the  western  coast  of  Scotland.  [So  said  Mr. 
Baker,1  but  this  was  a  mistake ;  for  we  have  since  found  that  in 
this  ship,  in  which  Theoph.  Gibber,  Maddox,  and  others  perished, 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Jefferson,  Mr.  Arthur  and  family,  Mrs.  Chambers, 
and  some  others  were  passengers,  and,  by  leaping  into  a  small  boat, 
were  saved."] 

A  peculiarity  in  Thomas  Jefferson's  character,  and  a 
singular  incident  in  his  experience,  are  thus  stated  by 
his  grand-daughter,  Elizabeth  Jefferson,  in  a  letter  to 
the  present  biographer  :  — 

"  My  grandfather  had  a  great  aversion  to  litigation  and  lawyers. 
I  remember  having  been  told  of  an  instance  of  this.  He  had  paid 
a  large  sum  of  money  to  a  creditor,  but  had  mislaid  the  receipt ; 
and  it  happened  that  in  time  this  same  bill  was  again  presented  for 
payment.  He  explained  and  protested,  but  his  creditor  was  posi- 
tive, and  finally  my  grandfather  was  sent  to  jail.  My  father  volun- 
tarily went  there,  along  with  him,  to  take  care  of  him,  and  for  a 
whole  year  they  endured  imprisonment.  At  last  the  missing  receipt 
was  found,  and  their  prison  doors  were  opened.  My  grandfather 
was  now  urged  to  bring  an  action  for  damages,  and,  doubtless,  he 
might  have  recovered  a  large  sum ;  but  his  invincible  repugnance 
to  litigation  restrained  him,  and  he  resolutely  refused  to  proceed, 
being  content  with  his  liberty  and  with  the  contrite  apology  offered 
by  his  hard  creditor.  My  father's  devotion  to  him  was  never 
forgotten  ;  nor  —  by  his  step-mother  —  was  it  ever  forgiven." 

Thomas  Jefferson  died  at  Ripon,  January  24,  1807. 
Contemporary  records  of  the  event  offer  a  strong  con- 
trast to  the  kind  of  chronicle  which  is  made,  in  modern 
journals,  of  the  death  of  a  notable  man.  The  Gentle- 

1  DAVID  ERSKINE  BAKER,  who  projected  and  began  the  Biographia, 
bringing  the  record  to  1764.  ISAAC  REED,  F.A.S.,  subsequently  continued 
this  useful  chronicle  to  1782,  and  STEPHEN  JONES  brought  it  onward  to  1811. 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  35 

mans  Magazine^  for  March,  1807,  presents,  for  example, 
the  subjoined  obituary  notice-:  — 

"  Died.  —  At  Ripon,  County  of  York,  while  on  a  visit  to  a  daugh- 
ter, Mr.  Jefferson,  comedian,  —  the  friend,  contemporary,  and  exact 
prototype  of  the  immortal  Garrick.  He  had  resided  many  years  at 
Plymouth ;  and  as  often  as  his  age  and  infirmities  permitted,  he 
appeared  on  that  stage,  in  characters  adapted  to  lameness  and 
decay,  and  performed  them  admirably,  particularly  at  his  last  bene- 
fit, when  he  personated  Lusignan  and  Lord  Chalkstone.  We  know 
not  whether  Mr.  Hull  or  Mr.  Jefferson  was  the  father  of  the  British 
stage ;  they  were  both  of  nearly  an  equal  standing.  To  the  The- 
atrical Fund,1  of  which  the  former  is  founder  and  treasurer,  the 
latter  owed  the  chief  support  of  his  old  age." 

1  THE  THEATRICAL  FUND  of  London  was  instituted  at  Covent  Garden, 
December  22,  1765,  and  confirmed  by  act  of  Parliament  in  1766.  The 
plan  of  it  was  suggested  by  George  Mattocks,  and  was  carried  into  prac- 
tical effect  by  Thomas  Hull.  In  the  churchyard  of  St.  Margaret's,  near 
the  north  porch  of  Westminster  Abbey,  could  once  be  read,  on  a  grave- 
stone, this  inscription,  —  the  lines  by  John  Taylor :  — 

"  Also  to  the  Memory  of 
THOMAS  HULL,  Esq., 

Late  of  the 

Theatre  Royal,  Covent  Garden, 
who  departed  this  life 

April  22,  1808, 
In  the  ygth  year  of  his  age. 
"  Hull,  long  respected  in  the  scenic  art, 
On  this  world's  stage  sustained  a  virtuous  part; 
And  some  memorial  of  his  zeal  to  shew 
For  his  loved  Art,  and  shelter  age  from  woe, 
Founded  that  noble  Fund  which  guards  his  name, 
Embalmed  by  Gratitude,  enshrined  by  Fame." 

At  Chingford  in  Essex,  within  the  precincts  of  a  most  interesting  old 
church,  now  in  ruins,  I  one  day  came  upon  a  weather-beaten  tombstone, 
bearing  this  inscription :  — 

"  In  memory  of  Mr.  John  Jefferson,  late  of  this  parish,  who  departed  this  life  January 
27,  1794,  in  the  7151  year  of  his  age.  Also  of  Mrs.  Mary  Jefferson,  wife  of  the  above. 
June  2,  1775.  Aged  48.  Tom  Jefferson.  1804.  81." 

These  may  have  been  relatives  of  old  Thomas  Jefferson.  It  seemed 
worth  while  to  copy  the  records. 


36  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

A  passing  reference  to  the  same  bereavement  is  made 
in  the  Annual  Register,  for  1807  :  — 

"  Mr.  Jefferson  was  on  a  visit  to  a  daughter,  who  is  settled  in 
Yorkshire,  when  death  closed  the  last  scenes  of  this  honest,  pleasant, 
much  esteemed  man." 

These  notices  of  the  life  of  Thomas  Jefferson  cannot 
better  be  embellished  than  with  the  suggestive  reflec- 
tions made  by  Mr.  James  Smith,  of  Melbourne,  a  diligent 
and  appreciative  student  of  theatrical  history,  and  one 
of  the  most  sprightly  and  ingenious  writers  of  the 
Australian  world :  — 

"  What  times  to  have  lived  in,"  that  moralist  exclaims,  "and  what 
men  and  women  to  have  known  !  He  saw  Old  Drury  in  the  height 
of  its  glory,  and  Garrick  in  the  zenith  of  his  renown.  He  flirted 
with  Kitty  Clive,  and  supped  with  Fanny  Abington.  He  listened 
to  the  silver  tones  of  Spranger  Barry,  and  was  melted  by  the 
pathos  of  Susanna  Gibber.  He  chuckled  at  the  sight  of  Sam  Foote 
mimicking  everybody,  and  of  Tate  Wilkinson  mimicking  Sam 
Foote.  He  saw  the  curtain  rise  before  an  audience  that  included 
Lord  Chancellor  Camden  and  Lord  Chief  Justice  Mansfield,  William 
Hogarth  and  Charles  Churchill,  Edmund  Burke  and  Edward  Gibbon. 
He  heard  Goldsmith's  child-like  laugh  and  Dr.  Johnson's  gruff 
applause.  He  saw  the  courtly  sarcasm  sparkle  in  Horace  Walpole's 
eyes,  and  the  jest  quivering  on  Selwyn's  lip.  He  recognised  the 
quaint  figure  of  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds  in  the  boxes,  and  the  brilliant, 
homely  face  of  Thomas  Gainsborough  in  the  pit.  And,  above  all, 
he  trod  the  same  stage  with  the  English  Roscius,  and  was  privi- 
leged to  watch  every  movement  of  that  marvellous  face.  This  was, 
indeed,  an  uncommon  and  a  happy  fate!  What  pleasant  hours  he 
must  have  spent  with  Garrick,  at  Hampton,  and  what  a  fund  of 
anecdote  he  must  have  accumulated,  with  which,  in  his  age,  to 
charm  his  cronies  at  Plymouth!  He  had  seen  King  carry  the  town 
by  storm  as  Lord  Ogleby  in  The  Clandestine  Marriage,  and  Garrick 
take  his  farewell  of  the  stage.  He  could  recall  the  airy  flutter  of 
Dodd ;  the  rollicking  Irish  humour  of  Moody;  the  well-bred  ease 


THOMAS    JEKKERSON 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  37 

of  Palmer ;  the  eloquent  by-play  of  Parsons  ;  the  versatility  of  Ban- 
nister ;  the  strong,  melodious  voice  of  Holland ;  the  ardour  of 
Powell ;  the  whimsical  drollery  of  Reddish ;  Mossop's  harmonious 
delivery,  and  Macklin's  rumbling  growl.  He  had  seen  the  Abing- 
tons,  the  Baddeleys,  the  Gibbers,  the  Clives,  and  the  whole  splendid 
phalanx  of  the  Garrick  dynasty,  pass  from  the  scene ;  and  he  had 
lived  to  view  the  rise  of  the  Kembles,  and  to  hear  the  thrilling 
accents  of  Mrs.  Siddons,  and  the  sweet,  bubbling  laugh  of  Dora 
Jordan.  What  reminiscences  might  have  been  written  by  Thomas 
Jefferson ! " 

Dramatic  art  is  not  the  assumption  of  disguises,  but 
the  idealised  exposition  of  nature  and  the  poetic  inter- 
pretation of  character,  by  means  of  action.  Human 
capacity  in  that  art  —  as  experience  and  observation 
have  amply  shown  —  is  sharply  limited  ;  for,  in  acting, 
everything  centres  in  the  personality  of  the  individual. 
The  best  success  of  the  best  actor  is  gained  in  only  a 
few  characters,  and  those  such  as  comprise,  however 
intermingled  with  other  ingredients,  attributes  sympa- 
thetic with  his  own.  Thomas  Jefferson  acted  parts  of 
every  description,  from  the  Bleeding  Soldier  up  to  Mac- 
beth, and  from  Katherine's  music-master  up  to  Hamlet. 
In  the  course  of  the  twenty-five  years  during  which,  at 
intervals,  he  performed  in  Drury  Lane,  he  presented 
about  sixty  characters.  In  all  of  them  he  was  efficient ; 
in  some  of  them  he  was  excellent ;  in  no  one  of  them 
did  he  make  an  impression  that  has  endured.  Garrick 
is  remembered  as  Don  Felix  and  King  Lear ;  Kemble, 
as  Coriolanus  and  Penruddock ;  Edmund  Kean,  as  The 
Stranger,  Sir  Edward  Mortimer,  and  Othello ;  Cooke,  as 
Sir  Giles  Overreach  ;  Junius  Brutus  Booth,  as  Richard 
the  Third  ;  Macready,  as  Macbeth  ;  Forrest,  as  Damon  ; 
Edwin  Booth,  as  Hamlet  and  Richelieu;  Henry  Irving, 


38  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

as  Mathias  in  The  Bells,  Becket,  Lear,  Hamlet,  Louis, 
and  Dr.  Primrose :  but  of  Thomas  Jefferson,  the  mem- 
ory is  simply  that  of  a  clever,  versatile  actor,  who 
followed  the  natural  style  of  Garrick,  excelled  in  the 
representation  of  kings  and  tyrants,  and  loved  his  joke. 
Some  of  the  parts  that  he  played,  together  with  the 
titles  of  the  plays  in  which  they  occur,  and  with  occa- 
sional comment,  are  named  in  this  catalogue. 

REPERTORY   OF   THOMAS  JEFFERSON 

A. 

Aubrey,  in  The  Fashionable  Lover.  Comedy.  By  Richard  Cum- 
berland. Drury  Lane,  1772. 

B. 

Balance,  in  The  Recruiting  Officer,  —  one  of  the  fine  comedies  of 
Farquhar.  Drury  Lane,  1705.  The  scene  is  Shrewsbury.  Far- 
quhar  was  once  a  recruiting  officer,  and  he  is  thought  to  have  drawn 
his  own  character  in  that  of  Captain  Plume.  His  Justice  Balance 
was  designed  as  a  compliment  to  Mr.  Berkely,  then  recorder  of 
Shrewsbury;  and  Sylvia  was  drawn  from  Mr.  Berkely's  daughter. 
Jefferson  acted  Balance,  on  occasions  of  his  benefit,  in  1775  aijd 
1776. 

Belford,  and  also  Baldwin,  in  The  Fatal  Marriage,  or  The 
Innocent  Adultery.  Tragedy.  By  Thomas  Southerne.  1694. 
Altered  by  Garrick,  and  called  Isabella,  or  The  Fatal  Marriage. 
Drury  Lane. 

Blandford,  in  The  Royal  Slave.  Tragi-comedy.  By  William 
Cartwright,  1639.  First  acted  in  1636,  at  Oxford,  before  Charles 
the  First. 

Buckingham,  in  Gibber's  alteration  of  Shakespeare's  tragedy  of 
Richard  the  Third.  Drury  Lane,  1700. 

C. 

Chalkstone,  in  Garrick's  farce  of  Lethe,  first  produced  at  Drury 
Lane,  in  1748.  It  had  been  presented  three  years  earlier,  in  a 


LIFE   OF  JEFFERSON  39 

different  form,  at  Goodman's  Fields  theatre,  under  the  title  of 
AZsop  in  the  Shades.  Garrick  was  the  original  Lord  Chalkstone. 

Cubla,  in  Zingis.  Tragedy.  By  Alexander  Dow.  Drury  Lane, 
1769. 

Captain  Worthy,  in  The  Fair  Quaker,  or  The  Humours  of  the 
Navy.  Comedy.  By  Charles  Shadwell,  1710.  Altered  by  Captain 
Edward  Thompson.  Drury  Lane,  1773. 

Carlos,  in  The  Revenge.  Tragedy.  By  Dr.  Edward  Young, 
author  of  Night  Thoughts.  Drury  Lane,  1721. 

Careless,  in  The  Committee,  or  The  Faithful  Irishman.  Comedy. 
By  Sir  Robert  Howard.  1665. 

Careless,  in  The  Doiible  Gallant,  or  The  Sick  Lady's  Cure. 
Comedy.  By  Colley  Gibber.  Hay  market,  1707. 

Colonel  Britton,  in  The  Wonder.  Comedy.  By  Susanna 
Centlivre.  Drury  Lane,  1713-14. 

Colonel  Rivers,  in  False  Delicacy.  Comedy.  By  Hugh  Kelly. 
Drury  Lane,  1768.  Jefferson  acted  this  part  for  his  benefit,  in  1773. 

Colonel  Lambert,  in  The  Hypocrite.  An  alteration  of  Gibber's 
play  of  The  Nonjuror,  1718,  which,  in  turn,  was  based  on  Moliere's 
Tartuffe,  made  by  Isaac  Bickerstaff,  1768.  The  chief  part  in  The 
Nonjuror  is  Dr.  Wolf,  a  priest,  who  pretends  to  be  an  English 
churchman.  In  The  Hypocrite  Mawworm  is  the  principal  part,  and 
that  was  acted,  with  great  ability,  by  Thomas  Weston.  Drury 
Lane. 

Cleomenes,  in  Florizel  and  Perdita.  Pastoral  Drama,  in  three 
acts,  altered  from  Shakespeare's  lovely  comedy  of  A  Winter's  Tale, 
by  Garrick,  and  produced  at  Drury  Lane,  in  1756. 

Clytus,  in  Alexander  the  Great.  Altered  from  Nathaniel  Lee's 
tragedy  of  The  Rival  Queens,  or  The  Death  of  Alexander  the  Great. 
Theatre  Royal,  1677.  Produced  at  both  Covent  Garden  and  Drury 
Lane,  1770.  Roxana  and  Statira  are  in  that  play.  Revived  at 
Drury  Lane,  1795.  The  author,  a  brilliant  genius,  died,  at  thirty- 
five,  in  1691  or  1692,  shortly  after  being  released  from  Bedlam. 

D. 

Dolabella,  in  All  for  Love,  or  The  World  Well  Lost.  That  is 
the  tragedy  in  which  Dryden  imitated  Shakespeare's  Antony  and 
Cleopatra,  and  which  he  said  was  the  only  one  of  his  plays  that 


40  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

he  had  written  for  himself.  Theatre  Royal,  1678.  Dr.  Johnson 
remarks  of  this  play  that  the  author,  "  by  admitting  the  romantic 
omnipotence  of  love,  has  recommended  as  laudable  and  worthy  of 
imitation  that  conduct  which,  through  all  ages,  the  good  have  cen- 
sured as  vicious,  and  the  bad  despised  as  foolish." 

Don  Frederick,  and  also  Don  John,  in  The  Chances.  Comedy. 
By  Beaumont  and  Fletcher,  1647.  Altered  by  the  Duke  of  Buck- 
ingham, 1682.  Altered  by  Garrick,  1773,  who  acted  Don  John. 
Drury  Lane. 

Dunelm,  in  Athelstan.  Tragedy.  By  Dr.  John  Browne,  once 
Bishop  of  Carlisle.  Drury  Lane,  1756. 


Earl  of  Devon,  in  Alfred.  Tragedy.  By  David  Mallet.  Altered 
by  Garrick.  Drury  Lane,  1773. 

Emperor  of  Germany,  in  The  Heroine  of  the  Cave.  Tragedy. 
Begun  by  Henry  Jones,  and  finished  by  Paul  Hiffernan.  Acted,  for 
the  benefit  of  Samuel  Reddish,  March  19,  1774. 

F. 

Friar  John,  in  Shakespeare's  Romeo  and  Juliet.  This  part  is 
usually  omitted:  it  was,  however,  restored  by  Irving  (1882). 

Fail-field,  in  The  Man  of  the  Mitt.  1765.  A  burlesque  opera, 
written  by  "  Signer  Squallini,"  in  satire  of  The  Maid  of  the  Mill, 
by  Isaac  Bickerstaff,  —  a  comic  opera,  on  the  subject  of  Samuel 
Richardson's  novel  of  Pamela.  Covent  Garden,  1765. 

G. 

Gloster,  in  Jane  Shore.  Tragedy.  By  Nicholas  Rowe.  Drury 
Lane,  1713. 

Mrs.  Siddons  told  Dean  Milman  that  one  line  in  Rowe's  tragedy 
of  Jane  Shore  was  the  most  effective  she  ever  uttered  :  "  'Twas  he 
—  'twas  Hastings." 

In  1772  Mrs.  Canning  —  mother  of  the  statesman,  George  Can- 
ning (1770-1827),  then  a  child  of  two  years  —  made  her  first 
appearance  on  the  stage,  acting  Jane  Shore  in  that  piece.  Garrick 
acted  Shore.  An  allusion  to  that  incident  occurs  in  Bernard's 
Retrospections,  Vol.  I.,  p.  13  :  — 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  41 

"  At  Drury  Lane  I  remember  seeing  Jane  Shore,  on  the  evening  that  Mrs. 
Canning,  the  widow  of  an  eminent  counsellor,  made  her  debut,  as  the  heroine. 
She  was  patronised  by  numerous  persons  of  distinction,  and  the  house  was 
very  favourable  towards  her.  But,  independently  of  the  personal  interest  which 
attended  her  attempt,  Mrs.  Canning  put  forth  claims  upon  the  approbation  of 
the  critical.  One  thing,  however,  must  be  admitted  ;  she  was  wonderfully  well 
supported.  Garrick  was  the  Hastings,  and  Reddish  (her  future  husband),  the 
Dumont.  I  little  thought  as  I  sat  in  the  pit  that  night,  an  ardent  boy  of  sixteen, 
that  I  then  beheld  the  lady  who  was  destined,  at  some  fifteen  years'  distance,  to 
become  the  leading  feature  in  a  company  of  my  own ;  nor  that  in  the  Gloster 
of  the  night,  —  admirably  acted  by  Jefferson,  —  I  beheld  my  partner  in  that 
management.  (Plymouth.) " 

Goodwin,  in  The  Brothers.  Tragedy.  By  Dr.  Edward  Young, 
author  of  Night  Thoughts.  Drury  Lane,  1753. 

Gratiano,  in  Shakespeare's  comedy  of  The  Merchant  of  Venice. 


Heartfree,  in  The  Provoked  Wife.  Comedy.  By  Sir  John  Van- 
brugh.  Lincoln's  Inn  Fields,  1697.  Quin  was  distinguished  in  it, 
as  Sir  John  Brute. 

Horatio,  in  The  Fair  Penitent.  Tragedy.  By  Nicholas  Rowe. 
Lincoln's  Inn  Fields,  1703. 

I.   AND  J. 

lachimo  and  also  Cloten,  in  Shakespeare's  Cymbeline,  altered  by 
Garrick,  1761. 

Jarvis,  in  The  Gamester.  Comedy.  By  Susanna  Centlivre.  Lin- 
coln's Inn  Fields,  1705  ;  Drury  Lane,  1758.  There  is  an  earlier  play, 
with  this  title,  by  James  Shirley  (1637),  which  was  altered  by  Garrick, 
and  brought  out  at  Drury  Lane,  in  1758  ;  and  there  is  a  later  one,  by 
Edward  Moore  (1753),  in  which  Mrs.  Siddons  acted  Mrs.  Beverley, 
and  John  Palmer  was  great  as  Stukeley.  Moore  died  in  1757,  and 
his  grave  is  in  the  burial-ground  which  was  given  to  London  by 
Archbishop  Tenison,  in  what  was  once  called  High  street,  Lambeth. 

Johnson,  in  The  Rehearsal.  This  capital  comedy,  by  George  Vil- 
liers,  second  Duke  of  Buckingham  (1627,  1688),  was  produced  at  the 
Theatre  Royal,  in  1672,  and  in  after  years  it  afforded  to  Garrick,  in 
the  character  of  Bayes,  originally  Bilboa,  an  opportunity,  which  he 
brilliantly  improved,  for  satirical  imitation  of  the  noted  actors  of  the 
time.  The  Rehearsal,  as  is  well  known,  suggested  to  Sheridan  the 
admirably  humourous  farce  of  The  Critic, 


42  LIFE   OF  JEFFERSON 

Jaques,  in  Shakespeare's  comedy  of  As  You  Like  It. 


Kathel,  in  The  Fatal  Discovery.  Drury  Lane,  1769.  A  tragedy 
by  the  Rev.  John  Home,  author  of  Douglas  —  so  amusingly  described 
by  Thackeray  {The  Virginians,  chap.  n).  Mr.  Home  was  so  un- 
popular, on  political  grounds,  at  the  time  of  the  production  of  this 
tragedy,  that,  when  the  fact  of  its  authorship  became  known,  the 
malcontents  threatened  to  burn  the  theatre,  if  the  piece  was  not 
withdrawn  ;  and  Garrick,  accordingly,  withdrew  it,  after  the  twelfth 
night. 

King  Claudius,  in  Hamlet,  —  the  Dane  being  acted  by  Garrick. 

L. 

Leonato,  in  Shakespeare's  comedy  of  Much  Ado  About  Nothing. 

Littlestock,  in  The  Gamesters,  a  comedy  by  Garrick,  1758,  altered 
from  The  Gamester,  by  James  Shirley. 

Lord  Morelove,  in  The  Careless  Husband.  Theatre  Royal,  1705. 
This  is  Colley  Gibber's  most  polished  comedy,  and  by  some  judges 
is  considered  his  best.  Lady  Betty  Modish  occurs  in  it,  —  in  which 
part  Mrs.  Oldfield  "  excellently  acted  an  agreeably  gay  woman  of 
quality,  a  little  too  conscious  of  her  natural  attractions."  Lord  More- 
love  is  her  devoted  lover. 

Lord  Trinket,  in  The  Jealous  Wife.  Comedy,  by  George  Col- 
man.  Drury  Lane,  1761. 

Lovemore,  in  The  Way  to  Keep  Him,  a  three-act  comedy  by 
Arthur  Murphy.  Drury  Lane,  1760.  Jefferson  acted  this  for  his 
benefit,  in  1771. 

Lyon,  in  The  Reprisal,  or  The  Tars  of  Old  England.  Farce. 
By  Tobias  Smollett,  the  novelist.  Drury  Lane,  1757.  Garrick  had 
rejected  a  play  by  that  author,  entitled  The  Regicide,  and  Smollett 
had  subsequently  satirised  him,  as  Brayer,  in  Mr.  Melopyn's  story, 
in  Roderick  Random.  Garrick's  acceptance  of  the  poor  farce  of 
The  Reprisal  was,  therefore,  viewed  as  an  act  either  of  magnanim- 
ity or  prudence. 

M. 
Mathusius,  in  Tamanthes. 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  43 

Megistus,  in  Zenobia.  Tragedy.  By  Arthur  Murphy.  Drury 
Lane,  1768.  Adapted  from  the  French  of  Cre"billon. 

Mirabel,  in  The  Way  of  the  World.  Comedy.  By  William  Con- 
greve.  Drury  Lane,  1700.  Jefferson  acted  this  part  for  the  benefit 
of  Mrs.  Abington. 

Mercury,  in  Amphytrion.  This  piece  is  from  the  Latin,  of  Plautus. 
It  was  adapted  by  Moliere,  and  afterwards  by  Dryden.  An  altera- 
tion of  Dryden's  piece,  made  by  Dr.  Hawkesworth,  at  Garrick's 
request,  was  produced  at  Drury  Lane,  in  1756. 

Music-master,  in  Shakespeare's  comedy  of  The  Taming  of  the 
Shrew. 

Myrtle,  in  The  Corsican  Lovers. 

o. 

Orsino,  in  Shakespeare's  comedy  of  Twelfth  Night. 
Oswald,  in  King  Arthur. 

p. 

Palamede,  in  The  Frenchified  Lady  Never  in  Paris.  Comedy. 
By  Henry  Dell.  Covent  Garden,  1757.  Based  on  plays  by  Dryden 
and  Gibber. 

s. 

Sir  Tan  Tivy,  in  The  Male  Coquette,  or  Seventeen  Hundred  Fifty- 
seven.  Farce.  By  Garrick.  Drury  Lane,  1757. 

Siffredi,  in  Tancred  and  Sigismunda.  Tragedy.  By  James 
Thomson,  author  of  The  Seasons.  The  plot  of  this  piece  is  found 
in  Gil  Bias.  Drury  Lane,  1745. 

Sunderland,  in  The  Note  of  Hand,  or  A  Trip  to  Newmarket. 
Farce.  By  Richard  Cumberland.  Drury  Lane,  1774. 

Sir  Epicure  Mammon,  in  The  Alchemist.  This  piece  was  an  alter- 
ation of  Ben  Jensen's  comedy.  Garrick  acted  Abel  Drugger,  and 
was  famously  good  in  the  character.  A  fine  painting  of  Garrick  as 
Abel  Drugger  is  in  the  club-house  of  the  Players,  —  presented  to 
that  institution  by  Joseph  Jefferson  (1890).  Garrick's  performance 
of  Abel  Drugger  was  so  good  that  an  infatuated  young  lady,  who 
had  begun  matrimonial  negotiations  with  him,  became  disgusted 
and  abandoned  her  project ;  while  a  gentleman  from  Lichfield,  who 
had  brought  from  Garrick's  brother  a  letter  of  introduction  to  the 


44  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

great  actor,  would  not  deliver  it,  after  seeing  that  impersonation,  — 
so  great  was  his  contempt  for  the  person  he  then  saw. 

Garrick's  acting  of  the  part  is  described  as  follows,  by  a  contem- 
porary observer,  Mr.  Lichtenberg,  who  wrote  some  account  of  what 
he  saw  as  a  traveller  in  England,  and  whose  observations  were  trans- 
lated by  Tom  Taylor :  — 

"  Abel  Drugger's  first  appearance  would  disconcert  the  muscular  economy 
of  the  wisest.  His  attitude,  his  dread  of  offending  the  doctor,  his  saying  noth- 
ing, his  gradual  stealing  in  further  and  further,  his  impatience  to  be  introduced, 
his  joy  to-his  friend  Face,  are  imitable  by  none.  When  he  first  opens  his  mouth, 
the  features  of  his  face  seem,  as  it  were,  to  drop  upon  his  tongue ;  it  is  all  cau- 
tion,—  it  is  timorous,  stammering,  and  inexpressible.  When  he  stands  under 
the  conjuror,  to  have  his  features  examined,  his  teeth,  his  beard,  his  little  finger, 
his  awkward  simplicity,  and  his  concern,  mixed  with  hope,  and  fear,  and  joy, 
and  avarice,  and  good  nature,  are  beyond  painting." 


Trueman,  in  The  Twin  Rivals.  Comedy.  By  George  Farquhar. 
Drury  Lane,  1703. 

Tullius  Hostilius,  in  The  Roman  Father.  Drury  Lane,  1750. 
Tragedy,  by  William  Whitehead,  who  succeeded  Gibber,  as  Poet- 
Laureate,  in  1757.  It  is  based  on  the  Roman  story  of  the  Horatii 
and  the  Curiatii,  treated  in  Les  Horaces,  by  Corneille,  and  made  im- 
mortal by  Rachel. 

v. 

Velasco,  in  Alonzo.  Tragedy  by  the  Rev.  John  Home.  Drury 
Lane,  1773. 

Vainlove,  in  The  Old  Bachelor.  Comedy.  By  William  Congreve 
(his  first  piece).  Theatre  Royal,  1693. 

Thomas  Jefferson's  character  developed  itself  along 
a  conventional  line.  He  had,  indeed,  the  boldness  to 
adopt  the  stage,  —  against  which,  in  his  time  and  for 
many  years  afterward,  the  respectable  British  parent  is 
found  protesting  with  severity  and  contempt.  But 
when  he  did  that  he  was  an  adventurous  lad,  with  no 
position  to  lose,  and  the  vocation  of  the  actor  no  doubt 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  45 

consorted  as  well  with  his  necessities  as  with  his 
humour  and  talents.  It  does  not  appear  that  there 
was  either  moral  courage  or  mental  prescience  in  the 
choice.  He  was  a  bold,  high-spirited  youth.  He  was 
fascinated  by  the  playhouse,  and  he  drifted  into  acting 
as  a  source  of  pleasure  and  a  means  of  advancement. 
When  thus  embarked,  he  soon  sobered  to  the  practical 
English  view  of  duty,  and  thereafter  he  ambled  calmly 
in  the  beaten  track.  Through  what  is  known  of  his 
intellectual  life,  the  inquirer  discerns  no  impulse  of  posi- 
tive originality,  no  exercise  of  creative  power.  His 
style  as  an  actor  was  based  on  that  of  Garrick,  and  he 
could  not  have  had  a  better  model ;  but  he  was  scarcely 
more  than  a  shadow  of  his  great  original.  He  took  the 
parts  as  they  came,  and  he  applied  to  their  illustration 
dramatic  instinct  of  a  fine  quality  and  dramatic  facul- 
ties of  a  good  order.  But  he  struck  out  no  individual 
path.  He  resembled  Garrick,  as  Davenport  resembled 
Macready,  or  as  Setchell  resembled  Burton  :  he  was  of 
the  Garrick  school,  and  that  was  all.  His  influence  on 
the  stage  was  not  the  influence  of  genius ;  he  did  not 
come  to  destroy,  but  to  fulfil,  the  tradition  which  he 
found.  That  he  followed  the  lead  of  Garrick,  and  not 
of  Quin,  was  significant  rather  of  temperament  than  of 
deliberate  choice  :  brilliancy  and  warmth  allured  him 
more  than  scholarship  and  formality  :  but,  had  he  been 
attracted  to  the  school  of  Quin  rather  than  to  that  of 
Garrick,  he  still  would  have  remained  a  disciple.  His 
services  to  the  stage,  accordingly,  were  those  of  an  able 
and  generous  man,  working  by  conventional  methods  in 
a  traditional  groove.  He  sustained  at  a  high  level  the 
dignity  of  his  profession,  and  he  was  the  more  scrupu- 


46  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

lously  careful  of  the  integrity  of  the  theatre  because 
sensitive  to  the  reproach  under  which  it  laboured. 
While  he  did  not  reject  Archer,  Careless,  Woodall, 
Belmour,  Scandal,  and  kindred  shining  scamps  of  old 
English  comedy,  he,  evidently,  was  the  kind  of  man 
who  must  have  acted  them,  not  from  sympathy  with 
vice,  not  from  immoral  intent,  but  because  experience 
had  shown  them  to  be  useful,  and  because  they  were  in 
possession  of  the  stage.  He  played  them  as  he  played 
everything  else,  —  as  he  played  Jaques,  and  Horatio,  and 
Orsino,  and  as,  had  he  lived  in  our  day,  he  would  have 
played,  with  equal  impartiality,  Master  Walter  and 
Joseph  Surface,  Ludovico  and  Adrastus,  Alfred  Evelyn 
and  Captain  Bland.  He  was  a  thorough  actor;  he 
helped  to  build  up  the  British  stage  :  he  held,  to  the 
end  of  a  long  life,  the  esteem  of  the  public  ;  and  he  left 
to  history  and  to  his  descendants  an  interesting  and" 
honourable  name. 


II 

JOSEPH   JEFFERSON 
1774-1832 

JOSEPH  JEFFERSON,  the  second  of  the  Jefferson  Family 
of  Actors,  and  one  of  the  most  honourably  distinguished 
performers  that  have  graced  the  theatre,  was  born  at 
Plymouth,  England,  in  1774.  His  education  was  con- 
ducted with  care,  and  he  received,  under  the  guidance 
of  his  parents,  a  thorough  training  for  the  stage.  While 
yet  a  lad  he  acted  in  the  Plymouth  theatre, — after 
Bernard  had  become  associated  with  his  father  and  with 
Mr.  Wolfe  in  its  management.  His  youth,  so  far  as 
can  be  judged  from  the  little  that  is  known  of  it,  was 
commendable  for  patience,  industry,  and  filial  devotion. 
He  appears  to  have  matured  early,  and  to  have  been 
capable  of  far-sighted  views  and  the  steady  pursuit  of  a 
definite  purpose  in  life.  He  did  not  find  his  home 
comfortable  after  his  father's  second  marriage,  and  also 
he  sympathised  with  the  republican  drift  of  feeling, 
which,  at  that  disturbed  period,  —  between  the  revolt  of 
the  British  colonies  in  America  and  the  French  Revo- 
lution,— was,  to  a  slight  extent,  rife  in  England.  Those 
causes  of  discontent  impelled  him  to  emigrate  to  Amer- 
ica. The  opportunity  was  afforded  by  C.  S.  Powell,  of 
Boston,  who  had  come  to  England,  in  1793,  to  enlist 

47 


48  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

actors  for  the  new  theatre  in  that  city.  Powell  agreed 
to  pay  the  passage  money,  and  a  salary  of  $17  a  week. 
Jefferson  came  over  in  1795,  and  from  that  time  his  lot 
was  cast  with  the  people  of  this  land.  He  never  re- 
turned to  England.  His  American  career  lasted  thirty- 
seven  years,  and  he  deserved  and  received  every  mark 
of  honour  that  the  respect  and  affection  of  the  commu- 
nity could  bestow  upon  genius  and  virtue.  His  char- 
acter was  impressive,  and  at  the  same  time  winning. 
His  life  was  pure.  His  professional  exertions  were  well 
directed,  and  for  a  long  time  his  name  retained  a  brilliant 
prestige.  Domestic  afflictions  and  waning  popularity, 
indeed,  overshadowed  his  latter  days  ;  but,  when  we 
remember  this,  we  must  also  remember  that  the  fifth 
act  of  life's  drama  cannot  be  otherwise  than  sad,  and 
that  this  actor,  before  it  came,  had  enjoyed,  in  ample 
abundance,  the  sunshine  of  prosperity. 

The  advent  of  Joseph  Jefferson  in  America  is  asso- 
ciated with  the  infancy  of  the  Republic  and  with  an 
early  period  in  the  history  of  the  American  stage.  In 
coming  upon  this  incident,  accordingly,  the  observer's 
thought  is  prompted  to  dwell  for  a  moment  upon  the 
beginning  of  the  theatre  in  this  country.  The  acted 
drama  came  into  America  by  way  of  the  island  of 
Jamaica,  and  the  pioneer,  if  not  the  actual  founder,  of 
the  American  stage  was  the  Irish  comedian,  John 
Moody,  originally  a  barber,  who,  about  the  year  1745, 
came  over  from  England  to  Jamaica,  where,  after  a  pre- 
liminary experiment  with  amateurs,  he  presently  estab- 
lished a  theatre,  which  he  conducted  with  prosperity  for 
four  years.  Moody  had  been  an  unsuccessful  aspirant 
in  tragedy,  but  subsequently  he  became  distinguished 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  49 

.as  a  comedian.  On  his  return  to  London,  in  1749,  he 
was  employed  in  Garrick's  company  at  Drury  Lane, 
and  he  then  leased  his  theatrical  property  at  Jamaica 
to  a  theatrical  company  headed  by  David  Douglas  and 
inclusive  of  Mr.  Daniels,  Miss  Hamilton,  Mr.  Kershaw, 
Mr.  Morris,  and  Mr.  Smith.  Those  successors  to 
Moody  came  across  the  Atlantic  in  1751.  It  was  a 
year  of  destructive  hurricanes  in  Jamaica,  yet  the  adven- 
turous actors  prospered  there ;  and  soon  the  news  of 
their  prosperity,  finding  its  way  back  to  England,  stimu- 
lated other  active  spirits  to  follow  in  their  track.  So 
far  the  drama  had  not  yet  made  a  genuine  lodgement 
upon  the  mainland.  Such  spirits  were  the  more  will- 
ing to  venture  because  goaded  by  the  spur  of  neces- 
sity. Garrick,  who  had  defeated  and  overwhelmed  the 
elocutionists  in  acting,  was  in  complete  possession  of 
the  dramatic  field  in  London,  and,  for  a  time,  no  theatri- 
cal enterprise  or  aspirant  could  withstand  the  sweep  of 
his  extraordinary  power.  Among  other  competitors  who 
went  down  in  the  struggle  was  William  Hallam,  who 
had  succeeded  Garrick  at  Goodman's  Fields  theatre,  but 
who  could  make  no  headway  against  the  new  dramatic 
chieftain,  and  who,  therefore,  in  1750,  retired  from  the 
contest,  a  bankrupt  and  ,£5000  in  debt.  The  creditors 
of  Hallam,  however,  being  satisfied  with  his  conduct, 
discharged  him  from  debt,  and  presented  to  him  the 
wardrobe  and  properties  of  the  theatre.  He  was  then 
enabled  to  begin  business  anew ;  but,  despairing  of 
prosperity  at  home,  and  allured  by  tidings  of  theatrical 
success  abroad,  he  determined  to  begin  it  in  America. 
He  collected  a  dramatic  company,  and  setting  sail  from 
Bristol,  aboard  the  Charming  Sally,  on  May  17,  1752, 
D 


50  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

landed  at  Yorktown,  Va.,  in  June  of  that  year.  The 
Governor  of  the  Province  was  Dinwiddie.  Hallam's 
company,  led  by  himself  and  his  wife,  included  his  two 
sons,  Lewis  and  Adam,  and  his  daughter,  Miss  — 
Hallam.  The  other  members  of  it  were  Mr.  Adcock, 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Clarkson,  Mr.  Herbert,  Mr.  Malone,  Miss 
Palmer,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Rigsby,  Mr.  Singleton,  and  Mr. 
Wynell.  Hallam,  proceeding  to  Williamsburg,  obtained 
for  his  theatre  a  building  in  the  outskirts  of  the  town. 
It  stood,  indeed,  so  near  to  the  woods  that  whenever 
he  wished  to  have  pigeons  for  his  repast,  the  manager 
could,  and  often  did,  without  leaving  his  doorstep,  shoot 
them  on  the  tree-tops.  There,  on  September  5,  1752, 
occurred  the  first  dramatic  performance  on  the  conti- 
nent of  America,  given  by  a  regular  company  at  a  regu- 
lar theatre.1  The  plays  performed  were  Shakespeare's 
comedy  of  The  Merchant  of  Venice  and  Garrick's  farce 
of  Lethe.  Lewis  Hallam,  the  second,  afterwards  highly 
distinguished  in  American  dramatic  life,  making  his  first 
appearance  in  that  representation,  totally  failed  from 
stage  fright. 

The  Hallam  Family  will  always  be  named  with  respect 
in  American  theatrical  history.  The  name  is  first  asso- 

1  One  authority  declares,  however,  that  the  first  regular  theatre  erected 
in  America  was  at  Annapolis,  Md.,  —  a  neat  brick  building  tastefully 
built,  which  would  contain  about  five  hundred  persons,  —  and  that  a  per- 
formance was  given  there  on  July  13,  1752,  the  first  in  our  history  of 
which  any  record  has  been  found.  The  plays  there  acted  were  The 
Beaux'  Stratagem  and  The  Virgin  Unmasked.  The  company  included 
Mr.  Wynell  and  Mr.  Herbert,  probably  members  of  Hallam's  company, 
who  had  repaired  thither  from  Williamsburg.  The  prices  charged  were : 
boxes,  ten  shillings  ($2.50);  pit,  seven  shillings  and  sixpence  ($1.87); 
gallery,  five  shillings  ($1.25). 


LIFE   OF  JEFFERSON  51 

ciated  with  a  melancholy  incident  in  the  life  of  Charles 
Macklin,  who,  in  1735,  accidentally  killed  Thomas  Hal- 
lam,  of  the  Lincoln's  Inn  Fields  theatre,  London,  by 
thrusting  a  walking-cane  into  his  eye.  Thomas  Hallam 
was  an  actor,  and  so  was  his  brother  Adam ;  and  three 
sons  of  the  latter,  William,  Lewis,  and  George,  adopted 
the  same  profession  ;  a  fourth  son  entered  the  navy  and 
rose  to  the  rank  of  admiral.  William  Hallam  came 
over  to  America  in  1752  and  established  the  family 
here ;  but  this  adventurer  remained  only  a  little  while 
in  the  American  field;  for,  shortly  after  1754,  he  sold 
his  business  to  his  brother  Lewis,  and  returned  to  Eng- 
land. Lewis  Hallam  remained  here,  and  so  far  pros- 
pered in  management  that  for  a  time  he  was  the  leader 
of  the  American  stage.  He  had  been  the  principal  low 
comedian  at  Goodman's  Fields  theatre ;  his  wife  —  a  rela- 
tive of  Rich,  of  Covent  Garden,  and  a  woman  of  great 
beauty  and  talent  —  had  been  leading  lady  there ;  and 
both  were  experienced  performers.  They  brought  to 
America  three  of  their  children,  a  daughter  and  two 
sons,  Lewis  and  Adam,  but  left  their  fourth  child,  an- 
other daughter,  in  the  care  of  relatives  in  England. 
The  immigrant  daughter,  then  fifteen  years  old,  at  first 
played  juvenile  ladies,  and  in  time  she  rose  to  a  position 
of  some  prominence ;  but  she  did  not  become  a  remark- 
able figure  on  the  stage,  and  in  1774  she  returned  to 
England,  and  so  vanished  from  the  chronicle.  The 
younger  sister,  who  had  remained  here,  went  on  the 
stage  and  became  the  celebrated  Mrs.  Mattocks.  Lewis 
Hallam,  the  second,  notwithstanding  his  disastrous  first 
appearance,  at  Williamsburg,  rose  to  eminence  and  had 
a  brilliant  career.  He  was  the  first  theatrical  manager 


52  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

in  New  York  after  the  Revolution,  swaying,  in  associa- 
tion with  John  Henry  and  Thomas  Wignell,  the  fort- 
unes of  the  John  Street  theatre.  Lewis  Hallam,  the 
first,  his  father,  did  not  long  survive  his  American  expe- 
dition. He  succeeded,  however,  in  carrying  forward 
the  work  that  William  Hallam  had  planned,  —  in  plant- 
ing the  dramatic  standard  upon  this  continent;  for,  in 
the  face  of  many  and  serious  obstacles,  he  opened 
theatres  in  Williamsburg,  Yorktown,  Annapolis,  New 
York,  and  Philadelphia.  But,  after  all  his  efforts,  he 
did  not  find  himself  adequately  rewarded,  and  eventually 
he  withdrew  to  the  island  of  Jamaica,  and  there,  in 
1756,  he  died.  His  widow  presently  became  the  wife 
of  John  Moody's  theatrical  successor  in  the  West  Indies, 
David  Douglas  ;  and,  as  Mrs.  Douglas,  she  was  the  most 
distinguished  actress  of  her  time  in  the  western  world. 
Douglas  removed  from  Jamaica  to  New  York  in  1758, 
and  opened  theatres  in  that  city  and  in  Philadelphia, 
Newport,  Perth-Amboy,  Charleston,  and  Albany ;  and 
throughout  the  extensive  circuit  thus  indicated  he 
reigned  in  affluence  until  the  storm-clouds  of  the  Revo- 
lution began  to  gather,  and  all  the  arts  and  graces  of 
peace  were  submerged  by  the  flowing  tide  of  war.  Mrs. 
Douglas  died  at  Philadelphia  in  1773,  and  soon  after 
that  calamity  her  husband  abandoned  the  American 
dramatic  field,  and  returned  to  Jamaica,  where  he  be- 
came a  magistrate,  and  so  ended  his  days.  His  step- 
son, Lewis  Hallam,  had  accompanied  him,  and  so  had 
Thomas  Wignell,  who  was  Lewis  Hallam's  second 
cousin :  indeed,  all  the  actors  in  the  colonies,  finding 
their  occupation  gone,  were  obliged  to  seek  other 
places  or  new  pursuits,  and  many  of  them  went  to 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  S3 

Jamaica :  but  when  the  war  was  ended  Lewis  Hallam 
returned  to  New  York,  and,  .in  association  with  John 
Henry,  re-opened  and  established,  in  1785,  the  John 
Street  theatre,  an  institution  which,  during  the  next 
thirteen  years,  with  some  changes  of  management,  led 
the  American  stage. 

Charles  Stuart  Powell,1  under  contract  to  whom  Jef- 
ferson came  to  America,  was  the  first  manager  of  the 
Boston  theatre,  in  Federal  street,  which  he  opened  on 
February  3,  1794;  but  sixteen  months  of  bad  business 
sufficed  to  make  him  a  bankrupt,  and  on  June  19, 
1795,  he  closed  his  season  and  left  the  theatre  ;  so  that 
Jefferson,  when  he  reached  Boston,  found  the  house 
in  strange  hands,  and  ascertained  that  his  services 
were  not  wanted.  The  new  manager,  however,  had 
engaged  the  company  of  Hodgkinson  and  Hallam,  from 
the  John  Street  theatre,  New  York,  which  acted  at  the 
Boston  theatre,  from  November  2,  1795,  till  January  20, 
1796;  and  with  those  players  Jefferson  seems  to  have 
formed  an  early  alliance.  There  is  a  tradition  that 
Hodgkinson  and  Hallam,  before  their  return  to  New 
York,  on  this  occasion,  gave  performances  at  a  few  in- 
termediate towns,  and  that  Jefferson,  who  had  accepted 
employment  with  them  as  scene-painter,  on  condition 
that  he  might  have  one  night  for  a  trial  appearance, 
acted  La  Gloire,  in  Colman's  play  of  The  Surrender  of 
Calais,  at  one  of  those  places,  and  made  so  brilliant  a 
hit  that  Hodgkinson  at  once  engaged  him  for  the  John 
Street  theatre.  But  the  authentic  record  of  his  first 

1  C.  S.  POWELL,  the  Boston  manager,  died  in  Halifax,  in  1810. 
SNELLING  POWELL,  his  brother,  also  a  manager,  died  in  Boston,  April 
8,  1821,  aged  sixty-three. 


54  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

important  appearance1  in  America  assigns  it  to  that 
theatre,  in  New  York,  on  February  10,  1796,  when  he 
came  forward  as  Squire  Richard,  in  The  Provoked  Hus- 
band. That  was  the  opening  night  of  the  season,  and 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  John  Johnson,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Joseph  Tyler, 
and  Mrs.  Brett,  —  all  from  England,  —  were  also  then 
seen  for  the  first  time  in  the  American  capital.  Wil- 
liam Dunlap,  the  manager,  saw  that  performance,  and 
in  his  History  of  the  American  Theatre,  made  this  men- 
tion of  Jefferson  :  — 

"  He  was  then  a  youth,  but  even  then  an  artist.  Of  a  small  and 
light  figure,  well  formed,  with  a  singular  physiognomy,  a  nose 
perfectly  Grecian,  and  blue  eyes  full  of  laughter,  he  had  the  faculty 
of  exciting  mirth  to  as  great  a  degree,  by  power  of  feature,  although 
handsome,  as  any  ugly-featured  low  comedian  ever  seen.  The 

1  JEFFERSON  IN  BOSTON.  —  Reference  to  the  advertisements  in  the 
Columbian  Centinel  (1795)  elicits  the  information  that,  on  December  21, 
in  that  year,  Macbeth  was  acted  at  the  Federal,  with  "  Mr.  Jefferson  "  as 
one  of  the  witches;  that,  on  December  23,  The  Tempest  was  given,  with 
"Mr.  Jefferson"  in  a  minor  character;  and  that  on  December  28,  for  the 
benefit  of  M.  de  Blois,  "  Mr.  Jefferson  "  appeared,  and  sang  the  comic 
song  of  "John  Bull's  a  Bumpkin."  The  minor  character  acted  by  Jef- 
ferson in  The  Tempest  was  Mustachio,  a  sailor  mate.  That  part  is  one 
of  several  interpolations,  made  by  Dryden  and  Davenant,  in  their  version 
of  Shakespeare's  comedy,  acted  at  Dorset  Gardens,  and  published  in  1670. 
Dorinda,  a  sister  to  Miranda,  Sycorax,  a  sister  to  Caliban,  and  Hippolito, 
a  youth  who  has  never  seen  a  woman,  are  among  the  persons  introduced. 
That  piece  was  long  in  use,  but  ultimately  it  gave  place  to  John  Philip 
Kemble's  adaptations,  made  in  1789  and  1806.  Garrick  made  an  opera 
of  The  Tempest ;  so  did  Sheridan;  and  there  is  a  rhymed  version  of  it 
by  Thomas  Dibdin.  Mr.  W.  W.  Clapp  [1826-1891],  whose  careful  and 
thorough  record,  The  Boston  Stage,  covering  the  period  from  1749  to  1853, 
is  of  permanent  value  to  theatrical  inquirers,  apprised  me  that  no  particular 
mention  of  the  name  of  Jefferson  occurs  in  any  of  the  papers  that  he 
consulted  in  making  his  chronicle  of  that  time;  while  the  only  Jeffersons 
mentioned  in  his  book  are  of  the  fourth  generation. 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  55 

Squire  Richard  of  Mr.  Jefferson  made  a  strong  impression  on  the 
writer.  His  Sadi,  in  The  Mountaineers,  a  stronger;  and,  strange 
to  say,  his  Verges,  in  Much  Ado  About  Nothing,  a  yet  stronger." 

Among  the  references  to  Jefferson's  career  in  New 

York  is  an  anecdote  told  by   Dunlap  respecting   the 

attempt  of  Mr.  J.  D.  Miller,  a  young  baker,  to  play 
Clement,  in  The  Deserted  Daughter  :  — 

"  Miller's  de*but  is  connected  with  the  admirable  acting  of  Jeffer- 
son, in  the  character  of  Item,  the  attorney,  whose  clerk  Miller 
represented.  Worked  up  to  a  phrensy  of  feigned  passion,  Jefferson, 
a  small-sized  man,  seized  Miller  by  the  breast,  and,  while  uttering 
the  language  of  rage,  shook  him  violently.  Miller,  not  aware  that 
he  was  to  be  treated  so  roughly,  was  at  first  astonished ;  but  as 
Jefferson  continued  shaking,  and  the  audience  laughing,  the  young 
baker's  blood  boiled,  and,  calling  on  his  physical  energies,  he  seized 
the  comedian  with  an  Herculean  grasp,  and  violently  threw  him  off. 
Certainly  Miller  never  played  with  so  much  spirit  or  nature  on  any 
subsequent  occasion. 

"  This  may  remind  the  reader  of  John  Kemble's  regret  at  the 
death  of  Suett,1  the  low  comedian,  who  played  Weasel  to  Kemble's 
Penruddock.  The  lament  of  the  tragedian  is  characteristic,  as  told 
by  Kelly :  '  My  dear  Mic,  Penruddock  has  lost  a  powerful  ally  in 
Suett.  Sir,  I  have  acted  the  part  with  many  Weasels,  and  good 
ones  too,  but  none  of  them  could  work  up  my  passions  to  the  pitch 
Suett  did.  He  had  a  comic,  impertinent  way  of  thrusting  his  head 
into  my  face,  which  called  forth  all  my  irritable  sensations.  The 
effect  upon  me  was  irresistible.'  Such  was  the  effect  of  Jefferson's 
shaking  upon  Miller,  and  Jefferson  found  the  Yankee's  arm  equally 
irresistible." 

1  RICHARD  SUETT  died  in  1805,  at  a  ripe  age.  The  date  of  his  birth  is 
not  recorded.  He  was  a  native  of  London.  He  first  acted  in  London  in 
1781,  as  Ralph,  in  The  Maid  of  the  Mill.  He  became  a  favourite  at  York. 
Anecdotes  of  him  may  be  found  in  Bernard's  Retrospections.  Charles 
Lamb  says  that  "  Shakespeare  foresaw  him  when  he  framed  his  fools  and 
jesters."  Penruddock  occurs  in  the  comedy  of  The  Wheel  of  Fortune,  by 
Richard  Cumberland;  acted  at  Drury  Lane  in  1795. 


56  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

The  John  Street  theatre  —  first  opened  on  December 
7,  1767,  and  finally  closed  on  January  13,  1798  —  was 
the  precursor  of  the  Park.  Jefferson  was  associated 
with  it  for  nearly  two  years,  and  when  it  closed  he 
transferred  his  services  to  "The  New  Theatre,"  as  the 
Park  was  at  first  styled,  which  was  opened  on  January 
29,  1798,  under  Dunlap's  management.  He  received  a 
salary  of  $23  a  week,  which,  in  the  next  season,  was 
increased  to  $25.  Hallam  and  Cooper,  in  the  same 
company,  received  $25  each.  The  highest  salary  in 
Dunlap's  list  was  $37,  paid  to  Mrs.  Oldmixon.  The 
manager's  main-stay,  in  tragedy,  was  Cooper,  and  in 
low  comedy,  Jefferson. 

On  his  arrival  in  New  York,  Jefferson  had  found  a 
lodging  in  the  house  of  Mrs.  Fortune,  in  John  street, 
adjoining  the  theatre.  That  lady,  whose  ashes,  together 
with  those  of  her  husband,  rest  in  the  churchyard  of 
St.  Paul's,  at  the  corner  of  Broadway  and  Vesey  street, 
New  York,  was  the  widow  of  a  Scotch  merchant,  and 
she  had  two  daughters,  who  were  residing  with  her  at 
this  time.  One  of  those  girls,  Euphemia,  soon  became 
the  wife  of  Jefferson.  The  other,  Esther,  about  eleven 
years  later  married  William  Warren,  —  being  his  second 
wife,  —  and  in  that  way  the  families  of  Jefferson  and 
Warren,  both  highly  distinguished  on  our  stage,  were 
allied.  Warren,1  born  at  Bath,  England,  in  1767,  had 

1  WILLIAM  WARREN,  after  the  wreck  of  his  fortunes  at  the  Chestnut 
Street  theatre,  rapidly  declined  in  strength  and  spirits,  and  soon  died. 
His  death  occurred  at  Baltimore  on  October  19,  1832.  His  age  was  sixty- 
five.  Five  of  his  children  became  members  of  the  stage  :  I.  HESTER,  first 
Mrs.  Willis,  afterwards  Mrs.  Proctor,  died  in  Boston,  Mass.,  in  1842. 
II.  ANNA,  who  became  the  wife  of  the  celebrated  comedian,  Danford 
Marble,  and  died  in  Cincinnati,  March  n,  1872.  III.  EMMA,  first  Mrs. 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  57 

acted  under  the  management  of  Thomas  Jefferson  ;  and 
now,  arriving  in  America  in  1796,  he  was  destined  to 
become  the  brother-in-law  of  Joseph  Jefferson,  the  son 
of  his  former  manager.  Warren's  son,  William  Warren, 
born  of  this  marriage,  in  1812,  was  long  a  favourite  and 
much  honoured  and  beloved  in  Boston.  Mrs.  Jefferson 
made  her  first  appearance  on  the  stage,  December  22, 
1800,  at  the  Park,  as  Louisa  Dudley,  in  The  West 
Indian.  She  was  then  twenty-four  years  old.  She 
subsequently  went,  with  her  husband,  to  Philadelphia, 

Price,  afterwards  Mrs.  Hanchett,  died  in  New  York,  in  May,  1879. 
IV.  MARY  ANN,  who  married  John  B.  Rice,  afterward  mayor  of  Chicago, 
one  of  the  most  honoured  and  beloved  of  men.  She  retired  from  the 
stage  in  1856.  V.  WILLIAM  WARREN.  He  was  born  at  his  father's  resi- 
dence, No.  12  (now,  1894,  No.  712),  Sanson  street,  Philadelphia,  on 
November  17,  1812.  He  made  his  first  appearance  on  the  stage,  at  the 
Arch  Street  theatre,  in  his  native  city,  in  1832,  acting  young  Norval,  in 
Home's  tragedy  of  Douglas.  He  subsequently  led  a  roving  theatrical  life 
in  the  West,  till  at  length  he  settled  in  Buffalo,  where  he  became  a  favourite 
comedian,  at  Rice's  Eagle  theatre.  From  Buffalo  he  went  to  Boston,  — 
making  his  first  appearance  there,  as  Sir  Lucius  OTrigger,  in  The  Rivals, 
on  October  5,  1846,  at  the  Howard  Athenaeum,  under  the  management  of 
James  H.  Hackett.  In  that  theatre  he  acted  for  twenty  weeks,  but  in 
August,  1847,  ne  joined  the  Boston  Museum,  and  with  that  house  he  was 
associated  until  nearly  the  end  of  his  life.  He  acted  almost  all  the  chief 
parts,  of  their  day,  in  the  lines  of  low  and  eccentric  comedy  and  old  men. 
The  finest  Touchstone  on  the  stage  of  his  period, — grave,  quaint,  and 
sadly  thoughtful  behind  the  smile  and  the  jest,  —  an  admirable  Polonius, 
great  in  Sir  Peter  Teazle,  and  of  powers  that  ranged  easily  from  Caleb 
Plummer  to  Eccles,  and  were  adequate  to  both  extremes  of  comic  eccen- 
tricity and  melting  pathos,  Warren  presented  a  shining  exemplification  of 
high  and  versatile  abilities  worthily  used,  and  brilliant  laurels  modestly 
worn.  He  had  a  long  career,  crowned  with  prosperity  and  honour.  He 
died  at  No.  2  Bulfinch  Place,  Boston,  September  21,  1888,  and  was  buried 
at  Mount  Auburn.  Another  of  the  elder  Warren's  children  was  HENRY 
WARREN,  —  a  theatrical  manager,  in  Buffalo  and  elsewhere,  hut  not  an 
actor.  He  died  at  Chicago,  on  February  21,  1894,  aged  eighty. 


58  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

where  she  was   long  an  ornament  to  the  theatre  and 
society.     She  died  in  January,  1831,  aged  fifty-six. 

Jefferson's  career  at  the  Park  extended  through  five 
regular  seasons,  ending  in  the  spring  of  1803.  One  of 
his  hits  was  made  as  Peter,  in  The  Stranger,  which  was 
performed  for  the  first  time  in  America  in  December, 
1798.  Dunlap  had  obtained  a  sketch  of  the  plot, 
together  with  a  portion  of  the  dialogue  of  Kotzebue's 
play,1  then  successful  in  London,  as  adapted  and  re- 
written by  Sheridan,  for  Drury  Lane ;  and  he  promptly 
wrote  a  piece,  upon  the  basis  of  those  materials,  telling 
no  one  but  Cooper  his  secret.  The  work  was  produced 
anonymously,  with  the  following  cast :  — 

The  Stranger Mr.  Cooper. 

Francis Mr.  John  Martin. 

Baron  Steinfort Mr.  GHes  L.  Barrett. 

Solomon Mr.  William  Bates. 

Peter Mr.  Jefferson. 

Mrs.  Haller Mrs.  Barrett. 

Chambermaid Mrs.  Seymour. 

Baroness  Steinfort Mrs.  Hallam. 

Cooper  produced  a  great  effect ;  Mrs.  Barrett  was 
powerful  and  touching ;  Martin  was  correct ;  and  Bates 
and  Jefferson  pleased  the  lovers  of  farce,  —  "for  such," 
says  Dunlap,  "the  comic  portion  of  the  play  literally 

1  AUGUSTE  FREDERICK  FERDINAND  VON  KOTZEBUE,  1761-1819. — 
"  One  of  his  plays,  The  Stranger,  I  have  seen  acted  in  German,  English, 
Spanish,  French,  and,  I  believe  also,  Italian.  He  was  the  pensioner  of 
Prussia,  Austria,  and  Russia.  The  odium  produced  by  this  circumstance, 
and  the  imputation  of  being  a  spy,  are  assigned  as  the  cause  of  his  assassi- 
nation, by  a  student  of  Jena.  He  was  living  (at  Weimar,  1801),  like 
Goethe,  in  a  large  house  and  in  style.  I  drank  tea  with  him,  and  found 
him  a  lively  little  man  with  small  black  eyes."  —  Reminiscences  of  Henry 
Crabb  Robinson,  Vol.  I.,  p.  74. 


LIFE   OF  JEFFERSON  59 

was."  The  Stranger  insured  the  success  of  the  season, 
and  the  manager  was  so  much  pleased  that  he  imme- 
diately learned  the  German  language,  and  thereupon 
opened  upon  the  Park  stage  a  sluice  of  the  sentiment 
of  Kotzebue.  The  actors  sneered  at  it  as  "wretched 
Dutch  stuff,"  and  well  they  might ;  yet,  for  a  time,  it 
was  almost  as  epidemic  as  the  yellow  fever,  which  in 
those  days  devastated,  at  intervals,  the  whole  Atlantic 
coast. 

Many  other  low-comedy  parts  and  old  men  fell  to 
Jefferson  during  his  five  years  at  the  Park.  He  .played 
them  in  the  most  conscientious  and  thorough  man- 
ner. Among  his  characters  were  Kudrin,  in  Count 
Benyowski ;  the  Fool,  in  The  Italian  Father ;  John,  in 
False  Shame ;  and  Michelli,  in  Holcroft's  Tale  of  Mys- 
tery. As  La  Fleur,  in  Dunlap's  opera  of  Sterne's  Maria, 
a  singing  part,  he  was  especially  brilliant.  Mrs.  Old- 
mixon,  Miss  Westray,  Mrs.  Seymour,  Cooper,  Tyler, 
young  Hallam,  and  John  Hogg J  were  in  the  cast.  The 
ladies  were  singers,  but  only  Jefferson  and  Tyler  among 
the  males  could  sing.  Another  of  his  admirable  de- 
lineations was  that  of  Jack  Bowline,  the  Boatswain,  in 
an  adaptation  from  Kotzebue,  blessed  with  the  engag- 
ing title  of  Fraternal  Discord?'  Hodgkinson,  who  had 

1  JOHN  HOGG,  1770-1813,  a  native  of  London,  made  his  first  appear- 
ance in  New  York,  at  the  John  Street  theatre,  in  1796.     His  grave  is  in 
Trinity  churchyard,  near  the  front  porch.     His  son  obtained  a  change  of 
name,  from  Hogg  to  Biddle;   and  his  grandson,  George  Edgar  Biddle,  has 
been  pleasantly  known  on  the  contemporary  stage,  as  George  Edgar,  in 
the  characters  of  Othello  and  King  Lear. 

2  Some  of  the  old-fashioned,  once  popular,  but  now  faded  and  forgotten 
melodramas  bore  wonderful  titles.     Sol  Smith  produced  a  piece  entitled 
The  Hunter  of  the  Alps,  or  The  Runaway  Horse  that  Threw  His  Rider  in 


60  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

joined  the  Park  company  in  the  autumn  of  1799,  acted 
Captain  Bertram,  a  gouty  mariner,  and  was  accounted 
wonderfully  fine.  The  two  comedians  seem  to  have 
been  well  matched,  but  Hodgkinson  was  the  better  of 
the  two.  "  Jefferson's  excellence,"  writes  Dunlap,  "  was 
great,  but  not  to  be  put  in  competition  with  Hodgkin- 
son's,  even  in  low  comedy." 

John  Hodgkinson  seems  to  have  been  the  prince  of 
actors,  in  that  period.  He  was  born  at  Manchester, 
England,  in  1767,  being  the  son  of  an  inn-keeper,  named 
Meadowcraft.  In  youth  he  was  bound  an  apprentice  to 
a  trade ;  but  he  ran  away  from  home,  adopted  the  name 
of  Hodgkinson,  and  went  on  the  stage,  and  his  prodigious 
talents  soon  raised  him  to  a  position  of  importance.  He 
was  early  joined  to  Mrs.  Munden,  whom  it  is  said  he 
alienated  from  the  famous  comedian,  Joseph  Shepherd 
Munden  (1758-1832),  and  subsequently  to  Miss  Brett, 
of  the  Bath  theatre,  whom,  however,  he  did  not  wed  till 
after  they  had  come  to  America,  —  in  September,  1792. 
Hallam's  partner,  Henry,  found  them  at  the  Bath  the- 
atre, and  engaged  them  for  this  country.  Hodgkinson's 
first  American  appearance  was  made  in  Philadelphia,  as 
Belcour,  in  The  West  Indian,  and  on  January  28,  1793, 
he  acted  at  the  John  Street  theatre,  New  York,  as 
Vapid,  in  The  Dramatist,  —  that  comedy,  by  Frederic 
Reynolds,  first  given  in  1789  at  Covent  Garden,  which 

the  Forest  of  Savoy.  That,  probably,  was  William  Dimond's  play,  The 
Hunter  of  the  Alps,  —  presented  at  the  London  Haymarket  in  1804, — 
embellished  with  an  extended  title,  for  the  provincial  market.  There  is  in 
print  a  play  called  The  Lonely  Man  of  the  Ocean,  which  was  acted  with 
the  supplementary  title  of  The  Night  before  the  Bridal,  with  the  Terrors 
of  the  Yellow  Admiral  and  the  Perils  of  the  Battle  and  the  Breeze.  Melo- 
drama was  introduced  upon  the  English  stage  in  1793,  by  Thomas  Holcroft. 


JOHN    HODGKINSON. 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  61 

has  been  called  the  precursor  of  "  the  numerous  family 
by  which  genteel  and  sprightly  comedians  have  been 
converted  into  speaking  harlequins."  He  was  one  of 
the  managers  of  the  John  Street  theatre,  from  1794  to 
1798,  and  he  acted  in  the  principal  cities  along  the 
Atlantic  seaboard,  from  Boston  to  Charleston,  and  was 
everywhere  a  favourite.  He  died  suddenly,  of  yellow 
fever,  near  Washington,  on  September  12,  1805,  aged 
thirty-eight.  Hodgkinson's  life  was  sullied  by  wrong 
actions,  and  his  last  hours  were  very  wretched.  "  He 
was  in  continual  agitation,"  we  are  told,  "from  pain 
and  excessive  terror  of  death,  and  presented  the  most 
horrid  spectacle  that  the  mind  can  imagine.  He  was, 
as  soon  as  dead,  wrapped  in  a  blanket  and  carried  to 
the  burying-field  by  negroes."  So,  prematurely  and 
miserably,  a  great  light  was  put  out. 

Bernard,  in  his  Early  Days  of  the  American  Stage, 
pays  a  tribute  to  the  memory  of  that  great  actor,  as 
follows :  — 

"When  I  associate  Hodgkinson  with  Garrick  and  Henderson  (the 
first  of  whom  I  had  often  seen,  and  the  latter  had  played  with),  I  afford 
some  ground  for  thinking  he  possessed  no  common  claims.  .  .  . 
Hodgkinson  was  a  wonder.  In  the  whole  range  of  the  living  drama 
there  was  no  variety  of  character  he  could  not  perceive  and  embody, 
from  a  Richard  or  a  Hamlet  down  to  a  Shelty  or  a  Sharp.  To  the 
abundant  mind  of  Shakespeare  his  own  turned  as  a  moon  that  could 
catch  and  reflect  a  large  amount  of  its  radiance  ;  and  if,  like  his  great 
precursors,  it  seemed  to  have  less  of  the  poetic  element  than  of  the 
riches  of  humour,  this  was  owing  to  association,  which,  in  the  midst 
of  his  tragic  passions,  would  intrude  other  images.  An  exclusive 
tragedian  will  always  seem  greater  by  virtue  of  his  specialty,  by  the 
singleness  of  impressions  which  are  simply  poetic.  Hodgkinson  had 
one  gift  that  enlarged  his  variety  beyond  all  competition ;  he  was 
also  a  singer,  and  could  charm  you  in  a  burletta,  after  thrilling  you 


62  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

in  a  play :  so  that  through  every  form  of  the  drama  he  was  qualified 
to  pass.  .  .  .  I  doubt  if  such  a  number  and  such  greatness  of  requi- 
sites were  ever  before  united  in  one  mortal  man.  Nor  were  his 
physical  powers  inferior  to  his  mental ;  he  was  tall  and  well-propor- 
tioned, though  inclining  to  be  corpulent,  with  a  face  of  great  mobility, 
that  showed  the  minutest  change  of  feeling,  whilst  his  voice,  full  and 
flexible,  could  only  be  likened  to  an  instrument  that  his  passions 
played  upon  at  pleasure." 

In  the  summer  seasons  of  1800  and  1801,  while  the 
Park  theatre  remained  closed,  Jefferson  and  his  wife  acted 
at  Joseph  Corre"s  Mount  Vernon  Gardens,  situated  on  the 
spot  which  is  now  the  northwest  corner  of  Leonard  street 
and  Broadway.  That  theatre  was  opened  July  9,  1800, 
with  Miss  in  Her  Teens,  or  The  Medley  of  Lovers,  and 
Jefferson  acted  Captain  Flash.  In  the  regular  seasons 
at  the  Park,  which  rarely  opened  before  the  middle  of 
October,  Jefferson's  professional  associates  were  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Hodgkinson,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hallam,  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
John  Hogg,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  S.  Powell,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  J.  Har- 
per, Mr.  Tyler,  Mr.  Fox,  Mr.  Martin,  Lewis  Hallam,  Jr., 
Mr.  Crosby,  Mrs.  Melmoth,  Mrs.  and  Miss  Brett,  Miss 
Harding,  and  Miss  Hogg.  There,  and  afterwards  at  the 
Chestnut,  he  ranked  with  the  best  of  his  competitors  ; 
and  in  looking  back  to  those  days  of  the  stage,  it 
should  be  remembered  that  at  some  seasons  it  would 
happen  that  every  man  in  the  company  was  a  classical 
scholar. 

Jefferson's  conspicuous  hits,  even  at  an  early  age, 
appear  to  have  been  made  in  old  men  ;  and  an  anecdote 
which  he  related  attests  his  success.  A  sympathetic 
lady  called  at  the  John  Street  theatre,  with  a  subscrip- 
tion list,  to  entreat  the  managers  "  to  withdraw  that  poor 
old  Mr.  Jefferson  from  the  stage."  She  said  she  had 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  63 

seen  him  play  Item,  in  The  Steward?- —  a  wonderful 
performance,  —  and  she  thought  it  would  be  only  a 
Christian  charity  to  remove  such  an  aged  person  from 
public  life,  and  to  provide  for  him.  She  had  headed 
her  list  with  a  liberal  gift,  and  she  was  now  on  her  way 
to  get  additional  subscribers,  in  order  to  provide  a  respec- 
table home  for  the  infirm  actor.  Cooper,2  who  chanced 
to  be  present,  told  her,  in  reply,  that  such  a  scheme  had 
been  considered,  and  that  the  manager  would  gladly  co- 
operate in  any  charitable  effort  to  relieve  the  hardships 
of  the  aged  Jefferson's  condition.  Just  then  Jefferson 
entered  the  room,  and  Cooper  straightway  introduced 
him  to  the  lady,  calling  her  his  "kind  friend  and  pro- 
tector, who  had  charitably  undertaken  to  find  him  a 
home."  Her  amazement  at  seeing  a  slender,  handsome 
young  fellow  instead  of  a  senile  mummy,  was  excessive. 
She  stammered  out  a  word  of  explanation,  and  tore  her 
subscription  paper  in  pieces ;  and  the  scene  ended  in  a 
laugh. 

The  year  1803  was  a  crisis  in  Jefferson's  life.     Theatri- 
cal enterprise  at  that  time  was  about  equally  divided 

1  An  alteration  of  The  Deserted  Daughter.     Comedy.    By  Thomas  Hoi- 
croft.     Covent  Garden,  1 795.     Jefferson  acted  Grime  as  well  as  Item,  in 
that  piece. 

2  THOMAS  COOPER,  one  of  the  best  and  most  admired  tragedians  of  his 
time,  was  born  at  Harrow,  near  London,  in  1776-77.     He  was  educated 
under  the  care  of  William  Godwin,  the  philosopher  who  figures  in  the  life 
of  Shelley,  and  he  was  befriended  by  Holcroft.     He  early  adopted  the  stage 
(1792),  but  for  some  time  was  unsuccessful.     He  came  to  America  in  1796. 
He  received  and  used  the  middle  name  of  Abthorpe,  to  distinguish  him 
from  another  Cooper.     He  was  the  original  Damon  in  America,  and  was 
deemed  great  in  that  character  and  in  Virginius.     He  was  famous  also  as 
Hamlet,  Mark  Antony,  and  Leon.     He  died  at  Bristol,  Pa.,  April  21,  1849, 
and  his  grave  is  at  that  place. 


64  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

between  Philadelphia,  New  York,  and  Boston.  The 
Chestnut  Street  theatre,  Philadelphia  —  which  city  had 
only  in  1800  ceased  to  be  the  capital  of  the  Republic 
—  held  the  lead.  The  Park  theatre,  in  New  York, 
under  Dunlap's  management,  was  second ;  while  the 
Federal  Street  theatre,  in  Boston,  —  rebuilt  after  the  fire 
of  1798,  and  now  managed  by  Snelling  Powell,  brother 
of  C.  S.  Powell, — was,  for  the  first  time,  successful.  On 
the  New  York  stage  Jefferson  must  have  found  himself 
as  much  overshadowed  by  Hodgkinson,  who  came  and 
went  like  a  comet,  as  his  father  had  been,  on  the  Lon- 
don stage,  by  Garrick.  The  opportunity  of  a  new  field 
now  came  to  him,  and,  apparently,  came  at  just  the  right 
time.  Mrs.  Wignell,  left  a  widow  by  the  sudden  death 
of  the  great  manager,  was  obliged,  in  the  spring  of  1803, 
to  assume  the  direction  of  the  Chestnut  Street  theatre, 
and  a  proposal  was  made  to  Jefferson  to  join  the  com- 
pany there,  taking  the  place  of  John  Bernard,  who  had 
repaired  to  Boston.  At  first  he  hesitated,  being  reluc- 
tant to  leave  a  community  where  he  had  been  much 
admired,  and  where  he  possessed  many  friends ;  and 
also,  perhaps, — for  he  was  a  man  of  extreme  modesty,— 
apprehensive  of  being  compared,  to  some  disadvantage, 
with  his  accomplished  predecessor.  In  the  end  he 
accepted  the  "Philadelphia  engagement,  for  his  wife  as 
well  as  himself  :  and,  after  a  summer  season  of  about  two 
months,  passed  at  Albany,1  he  finally  left  the  New  York 

1  JEFFERSON  IN  ALBANY.  —  Mr.  H.  P.  Phelps,  in  his  compendious  and 
useful  record  of  the  Albany  stage,  entitled  Players  (tfa  Century,  notes  that 
Jefferson  was  with  Dunlap's  company  from  the  New  York  Park  theatre, 
which  acted  in  that  city,  in  the  Thespian  Hotel,  in  1803,  the  season  lasting 
from  August  22  till  October  27.  He  reappeared  in  Albany,  June  9,  1829, 
acting  Dr.  Ollapod  and  Dicky  Gossip;  but  then  he  was  in  his  decadence. 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  65 

stage.  He  was  seen  at  the  old  Park,  though,  as  a  visitor, 
in  the  spring  of  1806,  when  he  acted,  with  splendid  abil- 
ity, the  favourite  characters  of  Jacob  Gawky,  Jeremy 
Diddler,  Bobby  Pendragon,  Dr.  Lenitive,  Toby  All- 
spice, and  Ralph  ;  and  he  came  again  in  1824,  when,  on 
August  5,  at  the  Chatham  Garden  theatre,  he  took  his 
farewell  of  the  metropolis,  acting  Sir  Benjamin  Dove,  in 
The  Brothers,  and  Sancho,  in  Lovers  Quarrels.  The 
story  of  his  life,  after  the  year  1803,  is  the  story  of  his 
association  with  the  Chestnut  Street  theatre. 

Mrs.  Wignell  was  the  famous  actress  first  known  in 
London  as  Anne  Brunton.  That  beautiful  and  brilliant 
woman,  born  at  Bristol,  England,  in  1770,  had  made  a 
hit  at  Covent  Garden,  October  17,  1785,  before  she  was 
sixteen  years  old,  and  she  was  accounted  the  greatest 
tragic  genius  among  women,  since  Mrs.  Siddons.  In 
1792  she  became  the  wife  of  Robert  Merry,  author  of 
the  Delia  Crusca  verse,  to  which  Mrs.  Hannah  Cowley, 
as  Anna  Matilda,  had  replied  in  congenial  fustian,  and 
which  was  excoriated  by  William  Gifford,  in  his  satires 
of  The  Baviad  and  Mczviad.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Merry  came 
to  America  in  1796,  the  lady  being  then  in  her  twenty- 
seventh  year,  under  engagement  to  Wignell,  for  the 
Philadelphia  theatre.  It  is  mentioned  that  the  ship  in 
which  they  sailed  made  the  voyage  to  New  York  in 
twenty-one  days.  Wignell  himself  was  a  passenger  by 
her,  and  so  was  the  comedian  Warren,  whom  also  he 
had  engaged.  All  those  persons,  surely,  would  have 
been  amazed  could  they  have  foreseen  the  incidents  of 
a  not  very  remote  future.  Merry  died  in  1798,  at  Bal- 
timore, and  on  January  I,  1803,  his  widow  married 
Wignell.  He,  in  turn,  died  suddenly,  seven  weeks  after 

E 


66  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

their  marriage,  and  on  August  15,  1806,  the  widow 
married  Warren.  She  had  a  bright  career  on  the 
American  stage,  and  was  greatly  admired  and  esteemed. 
Her  death  occurred  at  Alexandria,  Va.,  June  28,  1808, 
and  her  tomb  is  a  conspicuous  object  in  the  Episcopal 
churchyard  of  that  place.1  Her  sister,  Louisa  Brunton, 
who  was  seen  on  the  London  stage  in  1785  as  Juliet, 
became  the  Countess  of  Craven. 

When  Jefferson  joined  the  Chestnut  Street  theatre, 
the  dramatic  company  was  the  strongest  in  America, 
and  one  of  the  best  ever  formed.  Warren  and  Reinagle 
were  directors,  —  the  former  of  affairs  in  general,  the 
latter  of  the  department  of  music.  William  B.  Wood, 
who  had  been  to  England  for  recruits,  was  the  stage- 
manager.  The  company  comprised  Francis  Blissett, 

J.  H.  Cain, Downie,  John  Durang,  Gilbert   Fox, 

William  Francis, Hardinge,  Joseph  Jefferson,  — 

L'Estrange,  C.    Melbourne,   Louis  J.  Mestayer,  Owen 

1  In  the  Dramatic  Censor  department  of  The  Mirror  of  Taste,  March, 
1810,  was  published  an  elegiac  poem  on  Mrs.  Warren,  closing  with  the 
subjoined  lines :  — 

"  Although  no  civic  aim  was  there, 

Yet  not  in  vain  that  voice  was  given, 
Which,  often  as  it  bless'd  the  air, 

Inform'd  us  what  was  heard  in  heaven. 
"  Sure,  when  renew'd  thy  powers  shall  rise, 

To  hymn  before  th'  empyreal  throne, 
Angels  shall  start,  in  wild  surprise, 
To  hear  a  note  so  like  their  own." 

This  is  suggestive  of  Dr.  Johnson's  couplet,  — 

"  Sleep,  undisturbed,  within  this  peaceful  shrine, 
Till  angels  wake  thee  with  a  note  like  thine  "  ; 

and  also,  perhaps,  of  Dr.  Johnson's  remark  on  epitaphs :  "  The  writer  of 
an  epitaph  should  not  be  considered  as  saying  nothing  but  what  is  strictly 
true.  Allowance  must  be  made  for  some  degree  of  exaggerated  praise. 
In  lapidary  inscriptions  a  man  is  not  upon  oath." 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  67 

Morris,  William  Twaits,  Luke  Usher,  William  Warren, 

Warrell,  William  B.  Wood,    Mrs.    Downie,    Mrs. 

Durang,  Mrs.  Francis,  Miss  Hunt,  Mrs.  Morris,  Mrs. 
Oldmixon,  Mrs.  Shaw,  Mrs.  Snowden,  Mrs.  Solomon, 
Mrs.  Wood  (late  Miss  Juliana  Westray),  and  Mrs.  Wig- 
nell.  The  union  of  powers  thus  indicated,  for  comedy 
acting,  was  extraordinary.  The  weight,  dignity,  and 
rich  humour,  with  which  Warren  could  invest  such 
characters  as  Old  Dornton  and  Sir  Robert  Bramble 
made  him  easily  supreme  in  that  line.  He  held  the 
leadership,  also,  in  the  line  of  Falstaff  and  Sir  Toby 
Belch.  Blissett's  fastidious  taste,  neat  execution,  and 
beautiful  polish,  made  him  perfection,  in  parts  of  the 
Dr.  Caius  and  Bagatelle  order,  which  he  presented  as 
delicate  miniatures.  Francis  (1757-1826),  a  superior 
representative  of  comedy  old  men,  was  finely  adapted 
for  such  boisterous  characters  as  Sir  Sampson  Legend 
and  Sir  Anthony  Absolute.  Jefferson,  conscientious, 
thorough,  and  brilliant,  ranged  from  Mercutio  to  Domi- 
nie Sampson,  from  Touchstone  to  Dogberry,  and  from 
Farmer  Ashfield  to  Mawworm,  and  was  a  consummate 
artist  in  all.  Wood  was  the  Doricourt  and  Don  Felix. 
And  Twaits,  a  wonderful  young  man,  brimful  of  genius, 
seemed  formed  by  nature  for  all  such  characters  as  Dr. 
Pangloss,  Lingo,  Tony  Lumpkin,  and  Goldfinch. 

Dunlap  observes  that  Twaits  was  an  admirable  oppo- 
site to  Jefferson,  and  his  description  of  that  prodigy 
sharpens  his  apt  remark  :  — 

"  Short  and  thin,  yet  appearing  broad ;  muscular,  yet  meagre ;  a 
large  head,  with  stiff,  stubborn,  carroty  hair ;  long,  colourless  face ; 
prominent  hooked  nose ;  projecting,  large,  hazel  eyes ;  thin  lips ; 
and  a  large  mouth,  which  could  be  twisted  into  a  variety  of  expres- 


68  LIFE   OF  JEFFERSON 

sion,  and  which,  combining  with  his  other  features,  eminently 
served  the  purpose  of  the  comic  muse,  —  such  was  the  physiognomy 
of  William  Twaits." 

William  Twaits,  born  April  25,  1781,  at  Birmingham, 
England,  died  in  New  York,  August  22,  1814,  of  con- 
sumption, precipitated  by  his  convivial  habits.  Twaits 
married  Mrs.  Villiers  (Miss  Eliza  Westray),  and  he  was 
manager  of  the  Richmond  theatre  at  the  time  of  the 
fire  that  destroyed  it,  —  and  with  it  at  least  seventy-one 
lives,  —  December  26,  iSii.1  The  mother  of  Rip  Van 
Winkle  Jefferson,  who  received  instruction  from  him, 
and  often  acted  with  him,  spoke  with  enthusiasm  of  his 
brilliant  mental  qualities  and  the  fine  texture  of  his  dra- 
matic art.  A  three-quarter  length  painting  of  Twaits 
as  Dr.  Pangloss  long  existed  among  the  possessions  of 
the  Jefferson  family,  but  ultimately  it  disappeared. 

Another  remarkable  figure  in  that  group  was  Francis 
Blissett,  one  of  the  most  charming  actors  of  that  delight- 
ful dramatic  period.  Blissett  was  born  in  London,  about 
the  year  1773,  and  spent  his  early  days  at  Bath.  His 
father  was  a  favourite  comic  actor,  and  the  son  early  ex- 
hibited dramatic  talent.  He  was  taught  music,  and  at 
first  destined  to  that  pursuit ;  but,  at  the  age  of  eighteen, 
he  made  such  a  successful  dramatic  essay,  —  appearing 

1  The  Richmond  theatre  was  so  built  that  persons  in  the  boxes  could 
not  escape  from  them  except  by  a  long,  winding  passage,  and  a  small, 
angular  staircase.  The  catastrophe  was  awful.  Many  accomplished  and 
beautiful  women  were  among  the  victims.  The  governor  of  Virginia 
(George  W.  Smith)  and  other  leading  citizens  perished.  The  public 
mind  was  everywhere  deeply  affected.  The  citizens  of  Richmond  wore 
mourning  for  thirty  days,  and  amusements  of  every  kind  were  prohibited 
by  law,  for  a  period  of  four  months.  See  the  Mirror  of  Taste,  for  Decem- 
ber, 1811. 


LIFE   OF  JEFFERSON  69 

as  Dr.  Last,  on  the  occasion  of  his  father's  benefit, — 
that  it  was  thought  best  to  devote  him  to  the  stage.  He 
came  to  America  in  1793,  and  joined  Wignell's  company, 
at  the  Chestnut,  and  with  that  company  he  was  associated 
for  twenty-eight  years.  In  1821,  having,  upon  the  death 
of  his  father,  come  into  possession  of  a  considerable 
inheritance,  he  withdrew  from  public  life  and  established 
his  residence  in  the  island  of  Guernsey,  where  he  died, 
in  1848,  aged  seventy-five.  He  was  a  thoughtful  man,  of 
melancholy  temperament  and  reserved  demeanour,  fond 
of  books  and  of  music,  and  a  skilful  player  of  the  violin. 
His  style  of  acting  was  marked  by  exquisite  delicacy 
and  finish.  He  preferred  to  act  little  parts  and  make 
them  perfect,  rather  than  to  exercise  his  powers  upon 
those  of  magnitude.  His  humour  was  dry  and  quaint. 
He  could  speak  with  a  capital  Irish  brogue,  or  with  a 
French  or  a  German  accent.  He  was  excellent  as  Dr. 
Caius,  the  Mock  Duke,  in  The  Honeymoon,  the  Clown, 
in  As  You  Like  It,  Crabtree,  David,  in  The  Rivals,  Crack, 
Verges,  Dr.  Dablancour,  Sheepface,  Dennis  Brulgrud- 
dery,  and  the  First  Gravedigger.  He  was  averse  to 
society,  seldom  spoke,  and  was  observed  to  be  usually 
melancholy  in  manner.  It  is  said  he  was  born  out  of 
wedlock,  and  that  this  misfortune  bred  in  him  an 
habitual  reserve.  He  was  benevolent,  but  by  stealth, 
and  shunned  ostentation.  He  cultivated  but  few  friend- 
ships, yet  was  greatly  respected  and  liked.  No  character 
of  the  group  is  more  interesting  than  that  of  Blissett. 

Among  authentic  sources  of  information  respecting 
the  life  of  Jefferson  after  he  settled  in  Philadelphia  are 
William  B.  Wood's  Personal  Recollections  of  the  Stage, 
and  Francis  Courtney  Wemyss's  Theatrical  Biography. 


70  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

The  former  volume,  published  in  1855,  in  its  author's 
seventy-sixth  year,  covers,  discursively,  the  period  from 
1797  to  1846,  in  Philadelphia  theatrical  history;  the 
latter,  published  in  1848,  in  its  author's  fifty-first  year, 
traverses,  in  part,  the  same  ground,  from  1822  to  1841, 
though,  in  the  main,  it  is  Wemyss's  autobiography, 
beginning  in  1797  and  ending  in  1846.  Those  writers 
were  associated  for  several  years.  Wood,  who  had  long 
been  employed  in  Wignell's  company,  became  stage- 
manager  of  the  Chestnut  in  1806,  and  a  partner  with 
Warren  in  the  management  in  1809.  Wemyss  was 
engaged  for  the  Chestnut  company,  by  Wood,  in  1822, 
and  after  Wood  had  retired  he  became  the  stage-manager 
under  Warren,  in  1827.  To  both  writers,  accordingly,  the 
affairs  of  the  theatre  were  well  known.  They  were  not 
harmonious  spirits,  as  their  respective  memoirs  show ;  but 
they  concur,  with  reference  to  Jefferson,  in  admiration 
for  his  character  and  for  his  great  abilities  as  an  actor. 

Jefferson's  first  appearance  under  Mrs.  Wignell's  man- 
agement was  made  as  Don  Manuel,  in  Gibber's  comedy 
of  She  Would  and  She  Would  Not.  He  was  seen  at 
Baltimore  1  as  well  as  at  Philadelphia,  "  at  once  estab- 
lishing," says  Wood,  "  a  reputation  which  neither  time 
nor  age  could  impair."  During  the  season  of  1808  he 
acted  ten  times,  as  Sir  Oliver  Surface,  Charles  Surface, 
and  Crabtree.  His  personation  of  Sir  Peter  Teazle  was 

1  The  managers  of  the  Chestnut  had  a  theatrical  circuit  which  included 
Baltimore  and  Washington,  and  they  were  accustomed  to  make  regular, 
periodical  visits  to  those  cities.  Cowell,  in  his  Thirty  Years,  makes  a 
characteristic  jibe,  in  referring  to  this  fact :  "  Baltimore  had  for  years  been 
visited  by  Warren  and  Wood,  with  the  same  jog-trot  company  and  the  same 
old  pieces,  till  they  had  actually  taught  the  audience  to  stay  away."  The 
allusion  is  to  a  later  period. 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  71 

highly  approved,  but  it  appears  to  have  been  accounted 
inferior  to  that  of  Warren,  —  probably  because  it  excelled 
in  quaintness  and  sentiment,  rather  than  in  the  more 
appreciable  qualities  of  uxorious  excess  and  rubicund 
humour.  In  1810-11  the  performance  for  his  benefit, 
at  Baltimore,  yielded  $1403;  in  1814,  $1221;  in  1815, 
$1618;  in  1816,  $1009;  in  1822,  $697.  "The  starring 
system,"  Wood  says,  "now  began  to  show  its  baleful 
effects  on  the  actors,  whose  benefits,  after  a  season  of 
extreme  labour,  uniformly  failed."  In  the  season  of 
1 8 1 5-16,  TheEthiop  and  Zembuca 1  were  among  the  pieces 
presented  at  the  Chestnut,  and  Wood  records  that  — 

"  Much  of  their  success  was  owing  to  the  taste  and  skill  of  Jeffer- 
son, in  the  construction  of  intricate  stage  machinery,  of  which,  on 
many  occasions,  he  proved  himself  a  perfect  master,  not  unfrequently 
improving  materially  the  English  models.  These  valuable  services 
were  wholly  gratuitous,  all  remuneration  being  uniformly  declined. 
He  felt  himself  amply  repaid  for  the  exercise  of  his  varied  talent  by 
the  prosperity  of  the  establishment  of  which  for  twenty-five  years  he 
continued  the  pride  and  ornament.  .  .  .  The  Woodman's  Hut? 
with  an  effective  conflagration  scene  designed  by  Jefferson,  produced 
several  houses  of  $700  each.  .  .  .  Holcroft's  admirable  comedy 
of  The  Man  of  Ten  Thousand  was  revived  for  Jefferson's  benefit, 
with  unusual  effect,  to  $1009." 

The  first  Philadelphia  performance  of  Charles  Lamb's 
farce  of  Mr.  H.  was  given  at  the  Chestnut  Street  thea- 
tre on  February  19,  1812,  with  Wood  as  Mr.  H.,  and 
Mrs.  Jefferson,  the  grandmother  of  our  Rip  Van  Winkle, 
as  Melesinda.  Lamb's  farce  was  originally  presented 
on  December  10,  1806,  at  Drury  Lane,  with  Elliston  as 

1  Zembuca,  a  melodrama,  by  Isaac  Pocock,  was  first  produced  on  March 
27,  1815,  at  Covent  Garden.     Emery  and  Listen  were  in  the  first  cast. 

2  The  Woodmaris  Hut,  melodrama,  by  Samuel  James  Arnold,  son  of 
Dr.  Arnold,  the  musician.     First  produced  at  Drury  Lane,  April  12,  1814. 


72  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

Mr.  H.  and  Miss  Mellon  as  Melesinda,  and  it  was 
hissed,  —  the  author  participating  in  the  sibilation.1  It 
is,  nevertheless,  a  droll  composition,  and  it  has  long  been 
valued  as  one  of  the  curiosities  of  the  theatre.  The  first 
American  edition  of  it  was  published  in  Philadelphia,  in 
1813, — that,  indeed,  being  the  first  production  of  Lamb's 
printed  in  this  country.  That  edition  is  exceedingly 
scarce.  A  copy  of  it  was  recently  (1894)  bought  by  an 
admirer  of  Lamb,  who  paid  $25  for  it,  and  who  said  he 
had  been  searching  for  it  more  than  ten  years.  The 
following  is  a  fac-simile  of  the  title-page,  and  to  that  are 
appended,  as  dramatic  curiosities,  the  cast  with  which 
it  was  acted  at  the  Chestnut,  and  the  official  advertise- 
ment of  its  production  :  — 

1  On  the  next  day  Lamb  wrote  to  Wordsworth :  "  Mr.  H.  came  out  last 
night,  and  failed.  I  had  my  fears :  the  subject  was  not  substantial  enough. 
John  Bull  must  have  solider  fare  than  a  letter.  We  are  pretty  stout  about 
it ;  have  had  plenty  of  condoling  friends ;  but  after  all  we  had  rather  it 
should  have  succeeded.  You  will  see  the  prologue  in  most  of  the  morning 
papers.  It  was  received  with  such  shouts  as  I  never  witnessed  to  a  prologue. 
How  hard  !  —  a  thing  I  did  merely  as  a  task,  because  it  was  wanted,  and  set 
no  great  store  by;  and  Mr.  H.! !  The  number  of  friends  we  had  in  the 
house  —  my  brother  and  I  being  in  public  offices,  etc.  —  was  astonishing, 
but  they  yielded  at  length  to  a  few  hisses.  A  hundred  hisses  (damn  the 
word,  I  write  it  like  kisses  —  how  different !),  a  hundred  hisses  outweigh  a 
thousand  claps.  The  former  come  more  directly  from  the  heart.  Well, 
'tis  withdrawn,  and  there  is  an  end."  —  The  hissing  is  thus  described : 
"  By  this  time  I  had  become  acquainted  with  Charles  Lamb  and  his 
sister ;  for  I  went  with  them  to  the  first  performance  of  Mr.  H.  at  Covent 
Garden.  .  .  .  The  prologue  was  very  well  received.  Indeed,  it  could 
not  fail,  being  one  of  the  very  best  in  our  language.  But  on  the  disclos- 
ure of  the  name  [Mr.  Hogsflesh],  the  squeamishness  of  the  vulgar  taste  in 
the  pit  showed  itself  by  hisses;  and  I  recollect  that  Lamb  joined,  and  was 
probably  the  loudest  hisser  in  the  house.  The  damning  of  this  play  be- 
longs to  the  literary  history  of  the  day,  as  its  author  to  the  literary  mag- 
nates of  his  age."  —  Henry  Crabb  Robinson,  Reminiscences,  chap.  x. 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  73 

[THE  FIRST  AMERICAN  EDITION  OF  CHAS.  LAMB'S  FARCE.] 

MR.  H. 

OR, 

BEWARE   A    BAD    NAME. 

A   FARCE  IN  TWO  ACTS. 
[Anonymous.] 

As  performed  at  the 
PHILADELPHIA    THEATRE. 


PHILADELPHIA  : 

PUBLISHED  BY  M.  CAREY,  122  MARKET  STREET. 

A.  Fagan,  Printer. 

1813. 

l8mo^>.  36. 


74 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 


DRAMATIS  PERSONS. 


MEN. 


Mr.  H. 
Mr.  Belvil     . 
Landlord  Pry 
ist  Gentleman 
2<3  Gentleman 
David  . 
Jonathan 


Mr.  Wood. 
Barret. 
Blisset. 
Spiller. 
Downie. 
Harris. 
Durang. 


Waiters,  Messrs.  F.  Durang,  Lucas,  Jones,  &c. 


WOMEN. 


Melesinda 

Old  Lady      .         ... 

ist  Lady 

2d  Lady 

3d  Lady 

4th  Lady 

5th  Lady 

Betty,  maid  to  Melesinda 


MRS.  JEFFERSON. 

Simpson. 

Blisset. 

Seymour. 
Miss  White. 
Mrs.  Bray. 
Miss  Pettit. 
Mrs.  Francis. 


SCENE  —  Bath. 
[Copy  right  secured  according  to  act  of  Congress.] 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  75 

[From  The  Aurora,  Philadelphia,  January  5,  1812.] 

NEW    THEATRE. 


MR.  JEFFERSON'S   BENEFIT. 

THIS    EVENING,  [Monday^  February  17.  [1812.] 

Will  be  presented,  (not  acted  here  these  seven  years) 

an  Historical  Play,  interspersed  with  Songs,  called 

THE   HERO   OF   THE   NORTH. 

Founded  on  the  Life  of  Gustavus  Vasa,  the  Swedish  Hero. 
Written  by  Mr.  Dimond  Junr. 

End  of  the  Play  —  the  comic  song  of  "  The  Tidy  One,"  by  Mr.  Jefferson. 

An  Epilogue  on  Jealousy,  by  Mrs.  Twaits. 
" How  to  Nail  'Em"  a  comic  song  by  Mr.  Jefferson. 

To  which  will  be  added  a  Comic  Opera  (never  performed  here)  called 

THE   COMET; 

Or,  He  Would  Be  An  Astronomer. 

Written  by  the  late  Wm.  Milne,  Esq. 


On  Wednesday,  (not  acted  here  these  5  years)  the  celebrated 

play  of  THE  CURFEW  — or,  The  Norman  Barons,  with 

(for  the  First  Time}  the  new  Farce  of 

MR.  H; 

OR,   BEWARE  A   BAD   NAME, 
for  the  Benefit  of  Mrs.  Wood. 


76  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

[The  Aurora,  Philadelphia,  Monday,  February  17,  1812.] 

NEW    THEATRE. 


MRS.   WOOD'S   BENEFIT. 


Wednesday  Evening,  February  19.  [1812.] 

Will  be  presented,  (not  acted  here  these  five  years) 

a  celebrated  Comedy,  in  5  acts,  called 

THE   CURFEW; 

OR,    THE    NORMAN    BARONS. 

Written  by  the  late  JOHN  TOBIN,  author  of  the  HONEY-MOON, 

performed  at  the  Theatre  Royal,  Drury  Lane, 

•with  the  most  unbounded  applause. 

NORMANS. 

Hugh  de  Tracey,  a  Baron Mr.  Calbraith. 

Robert,  his  son Mr.  Jefferson. 

Walter,  toller  of  the  Curfew Mr.  Blissett. 

Matilda,  the  Baron's  wife Mrs.  Twaits. 

Florence,  his  daughter  ' Mrs.  Mason. 

DANES. 

Fitzharding,  leader  of  a  banditti Mr.  Duff. 

(His  second  appearance  here.} 

To  which  will  be  added,  a  New  Farce,  in  2  acts,  never  acted  here, 

(performed  in  London  and  N.  York,  with. great  applause.) 

CALLED 

MR.  H; 

OR,    BEWARE    A    BAD    NAME. 

Mr.  H Mr.  Wood. 

Mr.  Belville Mr.  Barrett. 

Landlord  Pry Mr.  Blissett. 

Melesinda ....  Mrs.  Jefferson. 

On  Friday  [Saturday],  a  Comedy  (translated  from  the  French) 

called  THREE  &  DEUCE,  with  (by  desire)  the  BRIDAL  RING. 

For  the  Benefit  of  Mrs.  Twaits. 


"  MR.  H."  was  performed  "  for  the  2d  time  here,  by  desire  of  many  ladies  and 
gentlemen,"  for  the  Benefit  of  MRS.  TWAITS,  which  occurred  Saturday  evening 
(not  on  Friday  as  previously  announced),  February  22,  1812. 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  77 

One  of  the  Chestnut  casts  of  The  School  for  Scandal 
shows  the  great  strength  of  it§  company  :  — 

Sir  Peter  Teazle Warren. 

Sir  Oliver  Surface Francis. 

Charles  Surface Wood. 

Joseph  Surface H.  Wallack. 

Sir  Benjamin  Backbite      ....  Johnson. 

Crabtree     . Jefferson. 

Rowley Hathwell. 

Moses T.  Burke. 

Careless Darley. 

Trip John  Jefferson. 

Snake Greene. 

Lady  Teazle Mrs.  Wood. 

Lady  Sneerwell Mrs.  Lafolle. 

Mrs.  Candour Mrs.  Francis. 

Maria Mrs.  H.  Wallack. 

Maid Mrs.  Greene. 

This  is  given  according  to  Wood's  record.  That  of 
Wemyss  also  gives  it,  assigning  Sir  Benjamin  Backbite 
to  Thomas  Jefferson. 

Sol  Smith,  in  his  Theatrical  Management  in  the  West 
and  South  for  Thirty  Years,  mentions  a  memorable 
Chestnut  cast,  which  he  saw  in  1823.  "I  witnessed 
that  night,"  he  says,  "the  performance  of  The  Fortress^ 
and  A  Roland  for  an  Oliver.  The  afterpiece  was  a  rich 
treat  to  me.  How  could  it  be  otherwise,  with  such  a 
cast  as  the  following  :  — 

Sir  Mark  Chase Warren. 

Fixture Jefferson. 

Alfred  Highflyer       Wemyss. 

Selbourne Darley. 

Maria Mrs.  Darley. 

Mrs.  Selbourne Mrs.  Wood. 

Mrs.  Fixture Mrs.  Jefferson." 

1  The  Fortress  is  a  musical  drama,  by  Theodore  Edward  Hook,  first 
acted  at  the  Haymarket,  London,  in  1807. 


78 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 


The  company  engaged  at  the  Chestnut,  for  the  season 
that  opened  on  December  4,  1826,  with  The  Stranger, 
included  :  — 


Bignall. 


Joseph  L.  Co  well. 
John  Darley. 
William  Forrest. 

Garner. 

John  Hallam. 
Hamilton  Hosack. 
Lewis  J.  Heyl. 
James  Howard. 
Joseph  Jefferson. 
John  Jefferson. 
William  Jones. 
-  Klett. 

Meer. 

Murray. 

Parker. 

Charles  S.  Porter. 
George  Singleton. 
William  Warren. 
William  B.  Wood. 
F.  C.  Wemyss. 
Charles  Webb. 
J.  Wheatley. 

N.  M.  Ludlow,  in  his  Dramatic  Life  as  I  Found  It, 
published  in  1880,  glances  thus  at  the  character  of 
Jefferson's  acting :  — 

"While  in  Philadelphia,  in  1826,  I  had  the  pleasure  of  beholding 
a  performance  of '  Old  Jefferson,'  as  he  was  then  called.  ...  I  had 
seen  him  in  New  York  when  I  was  a  youth  of  seventeen,  early  in 
the  year  1812,  when  Wood  and  Jefferson  came  to  New  York  to  per- 
form, while  Cooper  and  others  went  from  New  York  to  Philadelphia 
for  a  like  purpose.  I  was  delighted  with  Jefferson  when  I  saw  him 
then,  as  a  boy.  I  was  not  less  so  when  I  now  beheld  him  with  pro- 


Mrs.  Anderson. 

Mrs.  Co  well. 

Mrs.  Darley. 

Mrs.  Greene. 

Miss  Hathwell. 

Mrs.  Joseph  Jefferson. 

Mrs.  John  Jefferson. 

Mrs.  Meer. 

Mrs.  Murray. 


LIFE   OF  JEFFERSON  79 

fessional  eyes  and  some  experience.  The  comedy  that  I  saw  played 
in  Philadelphia  was  by  Frederic  Pillon,  and  entitled  He  Would  be  a 
Soldier,  with  the  following  cast  of  characters :  Sir  Oliver  Oldstock, 
Warren ;  Captain  Crevett,  George  Barrett,  for  many  years  well  known 
as  a  genteel  comedian ;  Caleb,  Jefferson ;  Charlotte,  the  beautiful 
Mrs.  Barrett.  All  are  now  dead.  In  Jefferson's  acting  there  was  a 
perfection  of  delineation  I  have  seldom,  if  ever,  seen  in  any  other 
comedian  of  his  line  of  character ;  not  the  least  attempt  at  exagger- 
ation to  obtain  applause,  but  a  naturalness  and  truthfulness  that 
secured  it,  without  the  appearance  of  any  extraordinary  efforts  from 
him.  The  nearest  approach  to  his  style  is  that  of  his  grandson,  of 
the  same  name." 

Macready  came  to  act  at  the  Chestnut  in  the  season 
of  1826-27,  and  on  the  clay  of  his  arrival  was  entertained 
at  dinner  by  the  manager,  Wood, — Jefferson  being 
one  of  the  guests.  The  next  morning  a  rehearsal  of 
Macbeth  occurred,  and  Jefferson,  who  was  lame  with 
gout,  appeared  with  a  cane.  That  was  an  infraction 
of  a  well-known  rule,  but  it  was  understood  in  the 
company  that  Jefferson  was  ill,  and  therefore  the 
breach  of  stage  etiquette  was  not  regarded.  The 
comedian  was  to  enact  the  First  Witch.  Macready,  — 
a  very  tyrannical  and  passionate  man,  with  a  talent  for 
profanity  seldom  equalled,  —  observed  the  cane,  and, 
with  his  customary  arrogance,  determined  to  assert 
himself.  "  Tell  that  person,"  he  said,  "  to  put  down  his 
cane."  The  prompter,  thus  commanded,  delivered  his 
message.  "Tell  Mr.  Macready,"  said  Jefferson,  "that  I 
shall  not  act  with  him  during  his  engagement "  ;  and  he 
left  the  stage.  "  Mr.  Macready  had  a  right,"  he  after- 
wards remarked,  "to  object  to  the  carrying  of  a  cane  at 
rehearsal ;  but  it  was  obvious  to  me  that  this  was  not 
his  point.  He  chose  to  disregard  the  fact  that  we  had 


80  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

met  as  social  equals,  and  to  omit  the  civility  of  a  word 
of  inquiry,  which  would  have  procured  immediate  expla- 
nation. His  purpose  was  to  overbear  and  humiliate 
me,  so  as  to  discipline  and  subjugate  the  rest  of  the 
company.  It  was  a  rude  exercise  of  authority,  and  its 
manner  was  impertinent." 

It  is  recorded  of  Joseph  Jefferson  and  Euphemia 
Fortune,  whom  he  wedded,  that  they  were  born  on  the 
same  day  of  the  same  month  and  year, — one  in  Eng- 
land, the  other  in  America.  Their  marriage  proved 
fortunate  and  happy.  They  were  blessed  with  nine 
children  (Cowell  erroneously  says  thirteen),  and  the 
death  of  the  husband  followed  that  of  the  wife, 
within  eighteen  months.  All  their  children,  with 
two  exceptions,  adopted  the  stage.  One  died  in  in- 
fancy. The  following  is  a  record  of  those  descend- 
ants :  — 

1 .  THOMAS,  the  eldest  son,  went  on  the  stage  in  his  fourteenth 
year,  rose  to  a  good  position,  and   died,  in  1824,  at  the  age  of 
twenty-seven.     He  was  never  married. 

2.  JOSEPH,  1804-1842.     He  was  the  father  of  Rip  Van  Winkle 
Jefferson.     His  career  is  made  the  subject  of  a  separate  chapter. 

3.  JOHN  was  accounted   the  most  brilliant  of  this  family.     He 
was  remarkably  handsome   and   athletic.     He   received  a  careful 
education,  and  he  displayed  astonishing  talents.     Had  he  lived,  and 
continued  to  improve,  he  would  have  become  a  great  actor ;  but  he 
was  prematurely  broken  down  by  conviviality,  and  he  died,  sud- 
denly, at  Lancaster,  Pa.,  in  1831,  aged  twenty-three. 

4.  EUPHEMIA,  her  father's  favourite  daughter,  was  correct  and 
pleasing  on  the  stage,  and  a  most  estimable  woman.     She  married 
WILLIAM  ANDERSON,  —  described  by  Ludlow  as  "  a  good  actor  in 
heavy  characters,  tragedy  villains,  and  the  like,"  —  but  he  was  an 
unworthy  person,  and  he  embittered  her  life.     Her  marriage  was 
a  grief  to  her  father.      She  was  a  member  of  the  dramatic  com- 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  81 

pany  at  the  New  York  Park  theatre  in  1816,  and  of  the  Chestnut 
Street  theatre,  Philadelphia,  in  1817.  "Mrs.  Anderson,  late  Miss 
Jefferson,"  says  Wood,  in  his  Personal  Recollections,  "  was  now 
added  to  the  company,  and  shortly  reached  a  high  place  in  public 
favour."  She  died  in  1831,  leaving  two  daughters,  Jane  and  Eliza- 
beth.—  JANE  ANDERSON,  born  in  February,  1822,  appeared  at  the 
Franklin  theatre,  New  York,  August  15,  1836,  as  Sally  Giggle,  in 
Catching  an  Heiress.  She  had  a  bright  career  on  the  stage,  begin- 
ning in  1829,  and  she  was  a  superior  representative  of  old  women. 
She  became  MRS.  GREENBURY  C.  GERMON,  and  was  long  a  resident 
of  Baltimore.  She  retired  from  professional  life  in  1889-90.  Miss 
EFFIE  GERMON,  born  at  Augusta,  Ga.,  on  June  13,  1840,  and  long  a 
sparkling  soubrette  of  Wallack's  theatre,  is  her  daughter,  and  thus 
a  descendant  of  Thomas  Jefferson.  The  father,  G.  C.  GERMON,  the 
original  Uncle  Tom,  in  Uncle  Tom's  Cabin,  died  at  Chicago,  in 
April,  1854,  aged  thirty-eight.  —  ELIZABETH  ANDERSON  began  at 
the  Franklin  theatre,  August  i,  1836,  as  Mrs.  Nicely,  and  she  also 
had  a  good  theatrical  career.  She  was  married  in  1837,  to  Jacob 
W.  Thoman,  and  subsequently,  as  MRS.  THOMAN,  she  became  a 
favourite  in  Boston.  She  accompanied  Thoman  to  California, 
where  she  obtained  a  divorce  from  him ;  and  afterwards  she  again 
married,  becoming  MRS.  C.  SAUNDERS.  Both  Jane  and  Elizabeth 
Anderson  had  played,  as  early  as  1831,  in  the  theatre  at  Washington, 
managed  by  their  uncle  Joseph.  Elizabeth,  although  very  young, 
acted  old  women.  She  was  at  the  Walnut  Street  theatre,  Philadel- 
phia, in  1835.  —  WILLIAM  ANDERSON,  the  father  of  those  girls,  after 
a  career  of  painful  irregularity,  ending  in  indigence,  died,  in  1869, 
at  a  hospital  in  Philadelphia.  Cowell  remarks  that  Jemmy  Eland's 
answer,  —  when  adrift  in  the  words,  —  to  the  question,  "  Who  is 
this  Coriolanus  ?  "  exactly  describes  Anderson  :  "  Why,  he's  a  fel- 
low who  is  always  going  about  grumbling,  and  making  everybody 
uncomfortable." 

5.  HESTER  became  MRS.  ALEXANDER  MACKENZIE,  first  wife  of 
the  actor  and  manager  of  that  name,  once  prominent  in  the  West. 
Mackenzie  was  a  cousin  to  Joseph  Neal,  author  of  Charcoal 
Sketches.  Mrs.  Mackenzie  began  to  act  in  1831,  and  attained  to 
a  good  rank  as  a  general  actress.  She  died  at  Nashville,  Tenn., 
February  3,  1845,  much  lamented. 


82  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

6.  ELIZABETH.    Mrs.  CHAPMAN-RICHARDSON-FISHER.    A  bril- 
liant and  popular  actress  at  the  New  York  Park,  in  its  great  days. 
Her  story  is  told  in  a  separate  chapter. 

7.  MARY  ANNE.     She  became  the  wife  of  DAVID  IN  ERSOLL,  a 
tragedian,  of  great  promise,  who  died  at  St.  Louis  in  1837,  aged 
twenty-five.     She   subsequently   married  JAMES   S.   WRIGHT,  for 
many  years  prompter  at  Wallack's  theatre.     She  was  a  member  of  the 
Bowery  theatre  company,  New  York,  in  1834,  and  she  was  a  favour- 
ite in  theatres  on  the  western  circuit.     James  S.  Wright  died,  in 
New  York,  June  27,  1893,  aged  79.     Mrs.  Wright  is   still   living 
(1894). 

8.  JANE  is  remembered  as  a  lovable  girl,  devoted  to  her  family. 
She  never  went  on  the  stage,  but  died,  aged  seventeen,  in  1831. 

Lives  that  do  not  imprint  themselves  on  the  passing 
age  are  lost  so  quickly  and  so  irretrievably  that  it  seems 
as  if  they  never  had  existed.  There  is  something  for- 
lorn in  the  few  slight  and  scattered  memorials  that 
remain  of  those  persons ;  all  of  them  at  one  time  auspi- 
cious, and  actuated,  no  doubt,  by  a  high  ambition. 
Thomas  Jefferson,  as  a  lad,  appeared  at  the  Park 
theatre,  New  York,  on  May  27,  1803,  as  the  Boy,  in 
The  Children  in  the  Wood,  —  a  drama  by  Thomas 
Morton,  the  music  by  Dr.  Arnold,  first  acted  at  the 
London  Haymarket,  in  1793,  and  made  memorable  by 
the  great  success  of  John  Bannister  as  Walter,  —  and 
he  was  seen  at  the  Chestnut,  Philadelphia,  January  i, 
1806,  as  Cupid,  in  the  pantomime  of  Cinderella,  his 
father  playing  Pedro  and  his  mother  Thisbe ;  but  his 
first  important  effort  was  made  on  October  7,  1811,  in 
his  fifteenth  year.  The  play  was  The  Merry  Wives  of 
Windsor.  Warren  acted  Falstaff ;  Jefferson,  Sir  Hugh 
Evans ;  Blissett,  Dr.  Caius ;  Mackenzie,  Ford ;  and 
young  Thomas  Jefferson  came  on  as  Master  Slender. 
The  result  was  recorded  by  a  contemporary  writer, 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  83 

S.  C.  Carpenter,  the  dramatic  censor  of  The  Mirror  of 
Taste  (Vol.  IV.,  p.  297)  :  - 

"  The  chief  novelty  of  the  night,  and  on  many  accounts  a  most 
pleasing  one,  was  Mr.  Jefferson's  eldest  son,  in  Master  Slender. 
...  A  fine  boy,  and  the  son  of  one  of  the  greatest  favourites  of  the 
people  of  Philadelphia.  .  .  .  There  was  no  blind,  undistinguishing 
enthusiasm  exhibited  on  the  occasion.  .  .  .  The  audience  chose 
rather  to  reserve  their  praise  till  it  would  do  the  youth  substantial 
credit,  by  being  bestowed  only  on  desert ;  and  in  the  full  truth  of 
severe  criticism  we  declare  that  of  the  loud  applause  bestowed  upon 
the  boy  there  was  not  a  plaudit  which  he  did  not  deserve.  From 
this  juvenile  specimen  we  are  disposed  to  believe  that  he  inherits 
the  fine  natural  talents  of  his  father." 

In  1817  the  three  brothers,  Thomas,  Joseph,  and 
John,  acted  together,  in  Valentine  and  Orson,  In  1821 
James  H.  Caldwell  (1793-1863),  the  pioneer  theatrical 
manager  in  the  South  and  West,  —  next  after  "  old  man- 
Drake,"1  as  the  actors  commonly  called  him,  and  like- 
wise after  the  veteran  Ludlow,  —  had  a  good  dramatic 
company,  at  Petersburg,  Va.,  which  included  (according 
to  James  Rees,  Dramatic  Authors,  p.  58)  Mrs.  Anderson, 
Mrs.  Benton,  Mr.  Cafferty,  Mr.  Gray,  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Hughes,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hutton,  Mr.  Jefferson,  Mr.  Lud- 
low, Miss  Eliza  Placide,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Russell,  Mr. 
Scholes,  Miss  Tilden,  and  Mr.  West.  Miss  Eliza 
Placide,  sister  to  Henry  and  Thomas  Placide,  became 
Mrs.  Mann  and  mother  of  Alice  Placide  Mann.  The 
Mr.  Jefferson,  no  doubt,  was  Thomas.  In  1825,  at 
Washington,  the  elder  Joseph  Jefferson  and  his  son 
John  acted  in  Cherry  and  Fair  Star,  which  was  set  in 

1  SAMUEL  DRAKE,  1772-1847,  was  the  only  manager  in  the  West,  as 
late  as  1816.  He  made  his  first  appearance  on  the  American  stage,  in 
1809,  at  the  Federal  Street  theatre,  Boston, 


84  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

scenery  painted  by  the  younger  Joseph.  Bombastes 
Furioso  was  likewise  presented,  the  elder  Jefferson 
acting  Bombastes,  and  both  John  and  Joseph  co-operat- 
ing as  actors  in  the  performance.  Joseph,  our  Jeffer- 
son's father,  was  then  regarded  as  mainly  a  scenic 
artist. 

The  untimely  death  of  Thomas  Jefferson  was  caused 
by  an  accident  on  the  stage,  when  he  was  doing  a  service 
for  a  brother  actor.  That  was  the  vocalist  and  comedian 
John  Barley  (1780-1858),  father  of  the  artist  Felix  O.  C. 
Darley,  both  of  whose  parents  were  ornaments  of  the 
early  American  theatre ;  his  mother  being  Miss  Ellen 
Westray.  John  Darley  was  playing  Paul,  in  the  opera 
of  Paul  and  Virginia,  and,  not  wishing  to  make  the  leap 
from  the  rock,  he  asked  young  Jefferson  to  make  it  for 
him.  The  youth,  who  was  playing  the  slave  Alhambra, 
acceded  to  his  request,  plunged  from  the  scenic  preci- 
pice, and  in  so  doing  broke  a  blood-vessel  in  his  lungs. 
That  injury  resulted  in  consumption,  and,  after  a  linger- 
ing illness,  he  died  in  Philadelphia  on  September  16, 
1824.  "He  had  been  afflicted  for  some  time,"  said  a 
writer  in  the  National  Intelligencer  (September  21), 
"  with  a  pulmonary  complaint,  which  he  bore  with  forti- 
tude. His  end  was  calm  and  resigned.  .  .  .  His  friends 
valued  him  ;  their  regret  is  mingled  with  the  tears  of 
his  family ;  and  his  remembrance  is  drawn  on  a  tablet 
whence  passing  occurrences  cannot  easily  efface  it." 

Hester  Jefferson,  Mrs.  Mackenzie,  seems  to  have 
possessed  the  same  patient,  submissive  nature.  A 
Nashville  journal,  recording  her  death,  says  that  "she 
bore  a  severe  illness  with  Christian  serenity,"  and  that 
she  was  "  a  lady  graced  by  many  accomplishments,  but 


LIFE   OF  JEFFERSON  85 

still  more  by  virtues  which  conciliated  the  esteem  and 
affection  of  all  who  knew  her."  "There  are  many 
friends  of  her  late  father,"  adds  that  obituary  tribute, 
"and  of  his  family,  in  different  parts  of  the  Union,  to 
whom  this  brief  notice  will  recall  many  affecting  asso- 
ciations. It  will  be  a  solace  to  them  to  know  that  she 
passed  to  the  portals  of  the  tomb  in  the  full  and  joyous 
assurance  of  a  blessed  immortality." 

The  Chestnut  Street  theatre,  established  by  Thomas 
Wignell,  in  1792-94,  stood  in  Chestnut  street,  next  to 
the  west  corner  of  Sixth  street,  and  was  the  pride  of 
Philadelphia.  In  April,  1820,  it  was  burnt  down,  and  the 
accumulations  of  the  finest  dramatic  temple  in  America 
were  lost.  It  was  rebuilt  and  reopened,  but  it  never 
recovered  its  former  glory.1  A  change  in  the  public 
taste  as  to  theatrical  matters  was  maturing  at  about 
that  time,  and  players  who  had  long  been  favourites, 
were  losing  their  -hold  upon  popularity,  in  the  gradual 
waning  of  the  generation  to  which  they  belonged. 
Jefferson,  a  continual  sufferer  from  hereditary  gout,  had 
begun  somewhat  to  decline,  alike  in  personal  strength 

1  An  article  in  the  New  York  Clipper,  1893,  descriptive  of  the  veteran 

actor  John  Roland  Reed,  1808 ,  records  that  about  1824  "Mr.  Reed 

contracted  to  light  the  three  principal  theatres  in  Philadelphia,  —  the 
Chestnut,  under  the  management  of  Wood  &  Warren;  the  Arch,  under 
the  management  of  '  the  three  Bills,'  William  Forrest,  brother  of  Edwin 
Forrest,  William  Duffy,  and  William  Jones;  and  the  Walnut,  under  the 
management  of  Wemyss.  The  lamps  were  made  in  acorn  shape,  the  foot- 
lights representing  one  hundred  and  fifty  lamps.  All  were  filled  with  oil. 
When  a  dark  scene  was  necessary,  at  a  signal  from  the  stage-manager 
the  lights  were  lowered  under  the  stage.  Around  the  boxes  there  were 
chandeliers,  presenting  three  lamps  on  three  prongs. .  When  severe  cold 
weather  came,  the  oil  would  freeze,  and  the  lights  would  go  out.  Then 
Mr.  Reed  had  to  go  around  with  hot  irons  and  thaw  the  oil." 


86  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

and  popular  favour.  During  the  season  of  1821,  Jeffer- 
son, Francis,  Wheatley,  and  others  of  the  Chestnut  com- 
pany, were  ill  almost  one-third  of  the  time,  and  could 
not  appear.  In  the  season  of  1823-24,  at  Baltimore, 
Jefferson  was  ill  nine  nights,  and  did  not  act.  The 
final  scenes  of  his  life's  drama  were  ushered  in  by  those 
warnings  of  decay.  Wood  refers  to  unfriendly  machina- 
tions against  himself,  which  presently  parted  him  from 
Warren,  who  was  thus  left  alone  in  the  management,  in 
1826;  and  thereafter  the  business  grew  worse  and  ever 
worse,  the  receipts  falling  as  low  as  $98,  $90,  $61.50, 
and  even  $20.75  a  night,  till  at  last  Warren  left  the 
theatre,  utterly  ruined,  in  1829. 

"  Jefferson's  last  benefit,"  writes  Wood,  "  took  place  on  December 
23,  1829,  and,  being  suddenly  announced,  failed  to  attract  his  old 
admirers  to  the  house.  He  was  now  infirm  and  in  ill  spirits,  from 
domestic  distresses,  as  well  as  the  breaking  up  of  the  old  manage- 
ment, and  the  gloomy  professional  prospects  which  that  event  placed 
before  him.  The  play,  A  School  for  Grown  Children,  had  originally 
failed  here,  being  remarkably  local,  and  proved  a  singularly  bad 
choice." 

That  was  a  comedy  by  Morton,  which  Burton  once 
gave  in  New  York,  under  the  name  of  Begone  Dull 
Care. 

Similar  testimony  is  borne  by  Wemyss  :  — 

"  Jefferson,  whose  benefit  was  announced  with  the  new  play  of 
A  School  for  Grown  Children,  could  scarcely  muster  enough  to  pay 
the  expenses,  and  resolved  to  leave  the  theatre.  The  manager,  hav- 
ing demanded  and  received  the  full  amount  of  his  nightly  charge  on 
such  occasions,  offered  him  but  half  his  income,  at  the  treasury  on 
Saturday.  This  was  a  blow  the  favourite  comedian  could  not  brook. 
The  success  of  Sloman,  an  actor  so  greatly  his  inferior,  had  irritated 
him  both  with  his  manager  and  the  audience.  But  what  must  have 
been  the  apathy  of  the  public  towards  dramatic  representation,  when 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  87 

such  a  man,  whose  reputation  shed  lustre  on  the  theatre  to  which  he 
was  attached,  was  permitted  to  leave  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  with 
scarcely  an  inquiry  as  to  his  whereabouts  ;  two-thirds  of  the  audience 
ignorant  of  his  departure!  The  last  time  he  acted  in  Philadelphia 
was  for  my  benefit,  kindly  studying  the  part  of  Sir  Bashful  Constant, 
in  The  Way  to  Keep  Him,1  which  he  played  admirably." 

Cowell's  Thirty  Years,  a  useful  though  censorious 
book,  contains  a  kindred  reference  to  the  last  days  and 
the  character  of  Jefferson.  Cowell  was  the  father  of 
Samuel  Cowell,  a  once  popular  actor  and  comic  singer, 
and  of  Sydney  Frances  Cowell,  who,  as  Mrs.  Hezekiah 
L.  Bateman,  became  known  as  a  dramatic  author,  and 
as  the  mother  of  "  the  Bateman  children,"  Kate,  Ellen, 
and  Virginia.  Cowell  succeeded  Wood,  as  stage  man- 
ager of  the  Chestnut,  and  it  is  to  that  period  he  refers 
(Vol.  II.,  chapter  8),  when  writing  of  Jefferson  :  — 

"Jefferson  was  the  low  comedian,  and  had  been  for  more  than 
five  and  twenty  years.  Of  course  he  was  a  most  overwhelming 
favourite,  though  at  this  time  drops  of  pity  for  fast-coming  signs  of 
age  and  infirmity  began  to  be  freely  sprinkled  with  the  approbation 
long  habit  more  than  enthusiasm  now  elicited.  .  .  .  Literally  born 
on  the  stage,  he  brought  with  him  to  this  country  the  experience  of 
age  with  all  the  energy  of  youth,  and  in  the  then  infant  state  of  the 
drama,  his  superior  talent,  adorned  by  his  most  exemplary  private 
deportment,  gave  him  lasting  claims  to  the  respect  and  gratitude, 
both  of  the  profession  and  its  admirers.  And,  perhaps,  on  some 
such  imaginary  reed  he  placed  too  much  dependence ;  for  the  whole 
range  of  the  drama  cannot,  probably,  furnish  a  more  painful  yet  per- 
fect example  of  the  mutability  of  theatrical  popularity  than  Joseph 
Jefferson. 

1  The  Way  to  Keep  Him.  Comedy,  by  Arthur  Murphy :  Drury  Lane, 
1761.  "Sir  Bashful  Constant  is  a  gentleman  who,  though  passionately 
fond  of  his  wife,  yet  from  a  fear  of  being  laughed  at  by  the  gay  world,  for 
uxoriousness,  is  perpetually  assuming  the  tyrant,  and  treating  her,  at  least 
before  company,  with  great  unkindness." 


88  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

"  When  Warren  left  the  management,  younger,  not  better,  actors 
were  brought  in  competition  with  the  veteran,  and  the  same  audience 
that  had  actually  grown  up  laughing  at  him  alone,  as  if  they  had 
been  mistaken  in  life  talent  all  this  time,  suddenly  turned  their  smiles 
on  foreign  faces  ;  and,  to  place  their  changed  opinion  past  a  doubt, 
his  benefits,  which  had  never  produced  less  than  twelve  or  fourteen 
hundred  dollars,  and  often  sixteen,  fell  down  to  less  than  three. 
Wounded  in  pride,  and  ill  prepared  in  pocket  for  this  sudden  reverse 
of  favour  and  fortune,  he  bade  adieu  forever  to  Philadelphia.  With 
the  aid  of  his  wife  and  children  he  formed  a  travelling  company,  and 
wandered  through  the  smaller  towns  of  Pennsylvania,  Maryland,  and 
Virginia,  making  Washington  his  headquarters.1  Kindly  received 
and  respected  everywhere,  his  old  age  might  still  have  passed  in 
calm  contentment,  but  that '  one  woe  did  tread  upon  another's  heel, 
so  fast  they  followed.1  His  daughter,  Mrs.  Anderson,  and  his 
youngest,  Jane,  died  in  quick  succession,  after  torturing  hope  with 
long  and  lingering  disease.  His  son-in-law,  Chapman,  was  thrown 
from  a  horse,  and  the  week  following  was  in  his  grave.  His  son 
John,  an  excellent  actor,  performed  for  his  father's  benefit,  at  Lan- 
caster, Pa.,  was  well  and  happy,  went  home,  fell  in  a  fit,  and  was 
dead.  And  last,  not  least,  to  be  named  in  this  sad  list,  the  wife  of 
his  youth,  the  mother  of  his  thirteen  [error :  he  had  but  nine]  chil- 
dren, the  sharer  of  his  joys  and  sorrows  for  six  and  thirty  years, 
was  '  torn  from  out  his  heart.' " 

To  Wood  the  inquirer  is  indebted  for  an  account  of 
the  closing  days  and  the  death  of  Jefferson,  containing 
discriminative  observations  on  his  character.  Though 
not  a  sympathetic  man,  Wood  has  no  word  for  Jeffer- 
son, except  of  profound  respect  and  cordial  kindness. 

1  The  comedian  had  long  been  accustomed  to  make  periodical  trips 
to  Washington,  and  he  knew  his  ground,  therefore,  on  going  into  exile. 
"Washington  city,"  says  the  same  writer  [  Thirty  Years,  Vol.  II.,  chapter  10], 
"  could  then  (1827)  boast  of  only  a  very  small  theatre,  in  a  very  out-of-the- 
way  situation,  and  used  by  Warren  and  Wood  as  a  sort  of  summer  retreat 
for  their  company,  where  the  disciples  of  Izaak  Walton,  with  old  Jefferson 
at  their  head,  could  indulge  their  fishing  propensities." 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  89 

"At  an  early  age  Jefferson  anticipated  the  inheritance  of  his 
father's  complaint,  gout,  and  vainly  endeavoured,  by  a  life  of  the 
severest  care  and  regimen,  to  escape  its  assaults.  For  many  years 
the  attacks  were  slight,  but  with  increasing  age  they  increased  also, 
and  at  length  became  so  frequent  and  violent  as  to  undermine  his 
health  and  spirits.  The  decline  of  Warren's  fortunes  greatly  dis- 
tressed him.  His  associates  of  thirty  years  were  disappearing  from 
his  side,  and  he  retired  suddenly  from  a  stage  of  which  for  a  quarter 
of  a  century  he  had  been  the  delight,  ornament,  and  boast.  ...  I 
unexpectedly  met  him,  subsequently,  at  Washington.  He  was  en- 
gaged, along  with  John  Jefferson,  Dwyer,  Mills,  and  Brown,  in  a  tem- 
porary establishment,  the  manager  of  which  had  invited  Mrs.  Wood 
and  myself  to  a  short  star  engagement.  The  company  was  suffi- 
ciently strong  to  present  a  few  plays  creditably,  but  could  not  have 
afforded  either  a  suitable  recompense  or  scene  for  his  remarkable 
and  finished  powers.  On  our  final  night  at  Washington,  Jefferson 
roused  himself  to  an  effort  which  astonished  us.  Though  now  grown 
old  and  dispirited,  and  with  a  theatre  very  different  from  the  one 
which  had  formerly  inspired  his  efforts,  his  performance  of  Sir  Peter 
Teazle  in  The  School  for  Scandal,  and  of  Drugget,  in  Three  Weeks 
After  Marriage,  was  nearly  equal  to  his  finest  and  early  efforts. 
This  was  the  last  time  we  ever  met.  I  understood,  that,  after  this, 
he  became  engaged  with  a  company  at  the  town  of  Harrisburg,  Pa., 
and  appeared  occasionally.  .  .  .  Many  and  severe  domestic  afflic- 
tions were  added  to  his  bodily  sufferings,  and,  worn  out  with  physical 
and  mental  distress,  he  there  closed  his  pure  and  blameless  life.  .  .  . 
Nobody  of  just  feelings  could  know  Jefferson  as  long  and  intimately 
as  I  knew  him,  and  have  any  estrangement  with  him,  about  anything ; 
for  he  was  a  man  at  once  just,  discreet,  unassuming,  and  amiable.  .  .  . 
Studious  and  secluded  in  his  habits,  and  surrounded  by  a  numerous 
family,  he  had  neither  the  wish  nor  leisure  for  general  society.  A 
few  select  friends  and  the  care  of  his  children  occupied  the  hours 
hardly  snatched  from  his  professional  duties.  He  felt  an  unconquer- 
able dislike  to  the  degradation  of  being  exhibited  as  the  merry-maker 
of  a  dinner  party,1  and  sometimes  offended  by  his  perseverance  on 

1  This  was  also  true  of  his  contemporary  and  associate,  Francis  Blissett, 
and  the  same  trait  has  shown  itself  in  the  character  of  Joseph  Jefferson, 
his  grandson. 


90  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

this  point.  He  was  frequently  heard  to  observe. that  for  any  dinner 
entertainments  there  were  plenty  of  amateur  amusers  to  be  found, 
without  exhausting  the  spirits  and  powers  of  actors  who  felt  them- 
selves pledged  to  reserve  their  best  professional  efforts  for  the  public 
who  sustained  them.  To  an  excellent  ear  for  music,  he  added  no 
inconsiderable  pretensions  as  a  painter  and  machinist.  Incapable 
alike  of  feeling  or  inspiring  enmity,  he  passed  nearly  thirty  years  of 
theatrical  life  in  harmony  and  comfort.  It  is  painful  to  contrast 
those  with  the  misfortunes  of  his  later  years." 

Among  contemporary  opinions  of  Jefferson,'  that  of 
John  P.  Kennedy,  the  novelist,  author  of  Horse-shoe 
Robinson,  etc.,  is  significant:  — 

"  He  played  everything  that  was  comic,  and  always  made  people 
laugh  until  the  tears  came  in  their  eyes.  ...  I  don't  believe  he 
ever  saw  the  world  doing  anything  else.  Whomsoever  he  looked 
at  laughed.  .  .  .  When  he  was  about  to  enter,  he  would  pronounce 
the  first  words  of  his  part,  to  herald  his  appearance,  and  instantly 
the  whole  audience  set  up  a  shout.  It  was  only  the  sound  of  his 
voice.  He  had  a  patent  right  to  shake  the  world's  diaphragm, 
which  seemed  to  be  infallible.  When  he  acted,  families  all  went 
together,  old  and  young.  Smiles  were  on  every  face ;  the  town  was 
happy." 

"  In  low  or  eccentric  comedy,"  says  Ireland,  "  he  has  rarely  been 
equalled ;  yet  his  success  in  other  lines  was  very  great." 

"In  the  days  of  Salmagundi,  in  the  days  when  the  leaders  of 
intellect  and  of  society  were  frequenters  of  our  theatres,"  said  the 
poet  N.  P.  Willis,  "  flourished  Jefferson ;  and  there  are  some  yet 
living  who  will  speak  to  us  with  all  the  fondness  of  early  recollec- 
tions, connected  with  the  freshness  of  life,  of  one  who  now  lies 
mouldering  beneath  the  sod." 

Those  tributes  are  examples  of  the  general  testimony 
of  his  time,  with  reference  to  Joseph  Jefferson.  He 
was  a  man  of  original  mind,  studious  habits,  fine  tem- 
perament, natural  dignity,  and  great  charm  of  charac- 
ter, and  his  life  was  free  from  contention,  acrimony, 
and  reproach. 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  91 

An  instructive  description  of  Jefferson  as  an  actor  is 
given  by  Wemyss  :  — 

"  Joseph  Jefferson  was  an  actor  formed  in  nature's  merriest  mood. 
....  There  was  a  vein  of  rich  humour  running  through  all  he  did, 
which  forced  you  to  laugh,  despite  of  yourself.  He  discarded  gri- 
mace as  unworthy  of  him,  although  no  actor  possessed  a  greater 
command  over  the  muscles  of  his  own  face,  or  the  faces  of  his  audi- 
ence, —  compelling  you  to  laugh  or  cry,  at  his  pleasure.  His  excel- 
lent personation  of  old  men  acquired  for  him,  before  he  had  reached 
the  meridian  of  life,  the  title  of  '  Old  Jefferson.'  The  astonishment 
of  strangers,  at  seeing  a  good-looking  young  man  pointed  out  in 
the  street  as  Jefferson,  whom  they  had  seen  the  night  previous  at 
the  theatre,  tottering  apparently  on  the  verge  of  existence,  was  the 
greatest  compliment  which  could  be  paid  to  the  talent  of  the  actor. 
His  versatility  was  astonishing  —  light  comedy,  old  men,  panto- 
mime, and  occasionally  juvenile  tragedy.  Educated  in  the  very 
best  school  for  acquiring  knowledge  in  his  profession,  .  .  .  Jeffer- 
son was  an  adept  in  all  the  trickery  of  the  stage,  which,  when  it 
suited  his  purpose,  he  could  turn  to  excellent  account.  He  was  the 
reigning  favourite  of  the  Philadelphia  theatre  for  a  longer  period 
than  any  other  actor  ever  attached  to  the  city,  and  left  it  with  a 
reputation  all  might  envy.  In  his  social  relations  he  was  the  model 
of  what  a  gentleman  should  be,  —  a  kind  husband,  an  affectionate 
father,  a  warm  friend,  and  a  truly  honest  man." 

A  tribute  to  Jefferson  and  to  his  associate  Francis, 
occurs  in  James  Fennell's  Apology  for  the  Life  of  an 
Actor,  pp.  418,  419:  — 

"  My  next  excursion  was  to  Alexandria,  where  I  completed  my 
engagements  under  the  direction  of  Messrs.  Francis  and  Jefferson. 
I  cannot  reflect  on  the  conduct  of  these  gentlemen  without  compar- 
ing it  with  my  own :  nothing  has  impeached  their  characters  during 
their  residence  in  the  United  States,  but  much  has  occurred  to  exalt 
them.  No  instability  has  marked  their  dispositions ;  with  steady 
industry,  perseverance,  and  prudence,  they  have  attached  themselves 
closely  to  the  profession  they  had  chosen  and  the  city  which  was 
originally  their  promised  land,  and  in  which  they  are  now  (1813)  in 


92  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

happy  possession  of  competency  and  respect ;  —  the  one,  the  friend 
and  protector  of  the  orphan ;  the  other,  the  father  of  a  numerous 
family,  under  the  guardianship  of  himself  and  his  amiable  consort,  well 
educated  and  well  instructed.  Neither  one  nor  the  other  entered 
this  new  world  (they  will  pardon  the  remark)  with  the  advantages 
I  possessed,  nor  has  either  of  them  received  a  fourth  part  of  the  sum 
of  money  that  I  have,  from  the  patronage  of  Americans.  What, 
then,  has  made  them  rich  ?  Prudence.  What  has  reduced  my 
state  ?  Imprudence.  Jefferson  !  the  amiable  father  of  an  amiable 
offspring ;  Francis !  the  protector  of  the  unprotected,  permit  me  to 
offer  you,  poor  as  it  is,  my  homage." 

Fennell  seems  to  have  been  the  Micawber  of  actors, 
long  before  the  character  was  created.  He  was  born 
in  London,  December  n,  1766;  made  his  appearance 
on  the  American  stage  in  1794;  and  was  excellent  in 
the  tragic  parts  of  Zanga  and  Glenalvon.  He  lived  a 
wild  life,  and  wrote  an  account  of  it ;  and  he  died  in  Phila- 
delphia, a  pitiable  imbecile,  in  1816. 

A  Philadelphia  writer,  whose  name  is  unknown,  gives 
this  glimpse  of  the  personal  appearance  of  Jefferson  :  — 

"  He  was  scarcely  of  medium  height,  not  corpulent,  elderly,  with 
clear  and  searching  eyes,  a  rather  large  and  pointed  nose,  and  an 
agreeable  general  expression.  But  never  was  a  human  face  more 
plastic.  His  natural  recognition  of  each  personage  in  the  mimic 
scene,  his  interest  in  all  that  was  addressed  to  him,  the  plan  or 
purpose  of  what  he  had  to  say,  his  coaxing,  quizzing,  wheedling, 
domineering,  and  grotesque  effects,  were  all  complete,  without  the 
utterance  of  words  ;  yet  it  was  said  that  in  these  particulars  he  never 
twice  rendered  a  scene  in  precisely  the  same  manner.  In  singing, 
his  voice  was  a  rich  baritone,  and  in  speech  it  was  naturally  the 
same.  He  was  so  perfect  an  artist  that,  although  always  faithful  to 
his  author,  he  could,  by  voice  or  face  or  gesture,  make  a  point  at 
every  exit." 

Edwin  Forrest,  who  had  known  Jefferson  and  was 
familiar  with  his  acting,  spoke  of  him  with  earnest  ad- 
miration :  — 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  93 

"One  morning  ...  he  began  relating  to  Oakes  .  .  .  his  recol- 
lections of  old  Joseph  Jefferson,  the,  great  comedian.  He  told  how, 
when  a  boy,  he  had  visited  that  beautiful  and  gifted  old  man ;  what 
poverty  and  what  purity  and  high  morality  were  in  his  household ; 
how  he  had  educated  his  children;  and  how  at  last  he  had  died 
among  strangers,  heart-broken  by  ingratitude.  He  told  how  he 
had  seen  him  play  Dogberry,  in  a  way  that  out-topped  all  compari- 
son ;  how  at  a  later  time  he  had  again  seen  him  play  the  part  of  the 
Fool,  in  Lear,  so  as  to  set  up  an  idol  in  the  memory  of  the  beholders, 
for  he  insinuated  into  the  words  such  wonderful  contrasts  of  the 
greatness  and  misery  and  mystery  of  life,  with  the  seeming  ignorant 
and  innocent  simplicity  of  the  comments  on  them,  that  comedy 
became  wiser  and  stronger  than  tragedy.  —  His  listener  afterwards 
said,  'We  two  were  alone.  Never  had  I  seen  him  so  deeply  and  so 
loftily  stirred  in  his  very  soul  as  he  was  then,  about  Jefferson.  His 
eulogy  had  more  moral  dignity  and  intense  religious  feeling  than 
any  sermon  I  ever  heard  from  the  pulpit.' "  —  Life  of  Edwin  Forrest. 
By  William  Roimseville  Alger,  Vol.  II.,  pp.  827-28. 

Jefferson  resided  for  many  years  at  No.  10  Powell 
street,  Philadelphia.  The  house  is  still  standing,  but  a 
change  in  the  enumeration  of  the  houses  in  that  street 
has  made  it  number  510.  In  company  with  Rip  Van 
Winkle  Jefferson  I  visited  that  house,  in  September, 
1880.  Upon  Jefferson's  saying  that  his  grandfather 
once  lived  there,  the  occupants  courteously  invited  us 
to  enter,  and  we  passed  a  little  time  in  the  rooms  on  the 
second  floor,  which  the  comedian  remembered  as  asso- 
ciated with  his  ancestor;  and  he  recalled  having  been 
held  up,  at  the  front  window,  a  child  in  his  grandfather's 
arms,  to  watch  the  heavy  raindrops  pattering  in  the  pools 
of  water  in  the  street  below,  — which  drops  the  old  gen- 
tleman told  him  were  silver  pieces,  and  said  he  should 
presently  go  and  get  them.  That  anecdote,  told  then 
and  there,  seemed  very  suggestive  of  the  kind,  playful 
nature  always  ascribed  to  "old  Jefferson." 


94  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

There  was  a  strong  personal  resemblance  between 
President  Jefferson  and  the  comedian,  and  this  indica- 
tion confirmed  their  belief  that  they  had  sprung  from 
the  same  origin.  They  were  friendly  acquaintances  and 
occasionally  met ;  but  the  actor,  who  shrunk  with  hon- 
ourable pride  from  even  the  appearance  of  courting  the 
favour  of  the  great,  was  always  shy  of  accepting  the 
attentions  of  the  President.  A  book  had  appeared, 
written  by  an  Englishman,  in  which  it  was  asserted,  in 
a  spirit  of  ridicule,  that  the  President  of  the  United 
States,  while  in  the  morning  he  would  write  state 
papers  and  attend  to  the  affairs  of  the  nation,  could  at 
night  be  seen  at  the  theatre,  with  a  red  wig  on  his  head, 
bowing  responsive  to  the  applause  that  he  got  while 
making  the  people  laugh,  in  a  farce.  That  was  suffi- 
ciently childish  satire,  and  it  is  not  to  be  supposed  that 
any  person  seriously  regarded  it.  Yet  it  was  not  wholly 
without  effect  on  the  sensitive  mind  of  the  comedian. 
He  entertained  a  profound  respect  for  the  republican 
ideas  of  his  adopted  country,  and  for  the  exalted  office 
of  its  chief  magistrate  ;  and  this,  conjoined  with  the 
self-respecting  dignity  of  his  character,  made  him  ex- 
tremely punctilious  as  to  all  social  intercourse  outside 
of  his  own  class  and  rank.  The  President  and  himself 
were  not  able  to  trace  their  relationship,  but  both 
believed  it  to  exist,  although  the  ancestry  of  the  former 
was  Welsh,  while  that  of  the  latter  was  English.  The 
actor,  however,  said  that  his  gratification  in  their  alli- 
ance would  be  marred  if  the  matter  were  made  known, 
as  an  avowal  of  it  might  be  misunderstood.  President 
Jefferson  presented  to  the  actor  a  court-dress,  as  a  mark 
of  his  respect  and  admiration.  This  was  highly  valued 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  95 

by  the  recipient,  and  was  left  by  him  to  his  son  Joseph, 
who  also  inherited  Garrick's  -Abel  Drugger  wig.  Those 
relics  formed  part  of  the  wardrobe  entrusted  to  Joseph 
Cowell,  and  by  him  stored  in  the  St.  Charles  theatre, 
New  Orleans,  which  was  burnt,  with  its  contents,  on 
Sunday  night,  March  13,  1842. 

One  of  the  biographers  of  President  Jefferson  de- 
scribes that  remarkable  man  in  language  which  might 
equally  well  apply  to  the  great  actor  who  was  his  con- 
temporary :  — 

"  He  was  a  tender  husband  and  father,  a  mild  master,  a  warm 
friend,  and  a  delightful  host.  His  knowledge  of  life,  extensive 
travels,  and  long  familiarity  with  great  events  and  distinguished 
men  rendered  his  conversation  highly  attractive  to  social  visitors. 
His  scientific  acquisitions  and  the  deep  interest  which  he  took  in  all 
branches  of  natural  history  made  his  society  equally  agreeable  to 
men  of  learning.  Many  such  visited  him,  and  were  impressed  as 
deeply  by  his  general  knowledge  as  they  were  by  the  courtesy  of  his 
demeanour." 

Jefferson  was  buried  in  the  grounds  of  the  Episcopal 
church  at  Harrisburg,  at  the  rear  of  the  building  ;  and 
there,  in  1843,  a  memorial  stone  was  placed  over  him, 
by  Judge  Gibson l  and  Judge  Rogers,  of  the  Supreme 

1  JOHN  BANNISTER  GIBSON  was  distinguished  as  a  jurist  of  high  ability. 
He  was  a  native  of  Pennsylvania,  born  in  1780,  being  the  son  of  Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel Gibson,  who  was  killed  in  battle  with  the  savage  Indians, 
in  St.  Clair's  expedition  against  them,  in  1791.  He  was  admitted  to  the 
bar  in  1803,  and  subsequently  was  several  times  elected  to  the  State  legis- 
lature. In  1813  he  was  appointed  presiding  Judge  of  one  of  the  judicial 
districts  of  Pennsylvania,  and  in  1816  he  became  Associate  Justice  of  the 
Supreme  Court  of  that  State.  In  1827  he  became  Chief  Justice,  succeeding 
Judge  Tilghman.  He  was  deprived  of  his  seat  in  1851,  when  a  change  in 
the  Constitution  of  Pennsylvania  made  the  judiciary  an  elective  institution. 
He  was,  however,  elected  an  Associate  Justice  in  the  same  year.  He  died 


96  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

Court  of  Pennsylvania.  The  inscription  upon  it,  written 
by  Judge  Gibson,  is  as  follows  :  — 

* 

BENEATH  THIS  MARBLE 
ARE  DEPOSITED  THE  ASHES  OF 

JOSEPH   JEFFERSON: 

AN   ACTOR  WHOSE  UNRIVALLED   POWERS 
TOOK   IN   THE  WHOLE   RANGE   OF   COMIC   CHARACTER, 

FROM   PATHOS   TO   SOUL-SHAKING   MIRTH. 
HIS   COLOURING   OF   THE   PART  WAS   THAT  OF  NATURE,  —  WARM, 

PURE,   AND  FRESH  ; 
BUT  OF  NATURE   ENRICHED  WITH   THE  FINEST   CONCEPTIONS  OF 

GENIUS. 
HE  WAS  A   MEMBER   OF   THE  CHESTNUT   STREET   THEATRE, 

PHILADELPHIA, 
IN  ITS   MOST   HIGH   AND   PALMY   DAYS, 

AND   THE   COMPEER 

OF  COOPER,   WOOD,   WARREN,   FRANCIS, 
AND   A   LONG  LIST  OF  WORTHIES 

WHO, 

LIKE   HIMSELF, 

ARE  REMEMBERED   WITH   ADMIRATION   AND   PRAISE. 
HE  WAS  A   NATIVE  OF   ENGLAND. 

WITH   AN   UNBLEMISHED   REPUTATION  AS  A   MAN, 

HE    CLOSED    A    CAREER    OF    PROFESSIONAL    SUCCESS, 

IN   CALAMITY   AND  AFFLICTION, 

AT   THIS   PLACE, 
IN  THE  YEAR    l832. 

"  /  knew  him,  Horatio :   a  fellow  of  infinite  jest ;   of  most 
excellent  fancy" 

* 

in  Philadelphia  in  1853,  having  been  eminent  on  the  bench  for  forty 
years.  An  eloquent  eulogy  on  him  was  delivered  by  Chief  Justice  Jere- 
miah Black,  which  may  be  found  in  the  seventh  volume  of  Harris's  Penn- 
sylvania State  Reports. 


LIFE   OF  JEFFERSON  97 

There  is  an  authentic  tradition  that  the  clergyman 
who  read  the  burial  service  .over  the  remains  of  Jeffer- 
son, knowing  that  he  had  been  an  actor,  and  disapprov- 
ing of  that  circumstance,  altered  the  text  of  the  ritual, 
substituting  the  phrase  "this  man"  for  "our  deceased 
brother,"  in  the  solemn  passage  beginning  "  Forasmuch 
as  it  hath  pleased  Almighty  God,  in  his  wise  providence, 
to  take  out  of  this  world  the  soul  of  our  deceased  brother, 
we  therefore  commit  his  body  to  the  ground  —  earth  to 
earth,  ashes  to  ashes,  dust  to  dust."  That  proceeding, 
which  was  observed  at  the  time,  and  which  can  only  be 
viewed  as  an  act  of  bigotry,  done  with  intent  to  cast  a 
sort  of  ecclesiastical  indignity  upon  the  dead,  has  been 
remembered  by  the  descendants  of  the  noble  and  blame- 
less person  whose  dust  was  thus  disparaged.  The 
present  Joseph  Jefferson,  whose  spotless  character  and 
beneficent  life  are  their  own  sufficient  praise,  is  not  a 
member  of  the  church.  It  is  by  acts  like  that,  with 
which  its  history  has  often  been  sullied,  that  the  church 
has  suffered  the  alienation  of  many  true  hearts. 

After  nearly  forty  years,  the  remains  of  Joseph  Jeffer- 
son were  removed  from  the  Episcopal  churchyard  to  the 
Harrisburg  cemetery,  and  again  laid  in  the  earth.  The 
same  stone  that  marked  their  first  sepulchre,  marks  their 
final  place  of  rest.  This  disturbance  of  them  was  com- 
pelled, through  the  conversion  of  a  part  of  the  church- 
yard into  a  building  plot.  In  the  absence  of  the  pres- 
ent Jefferson,  the  removal  to  a  temporary  sepulchre  was 
effected  by  Attorney-General  Benjamin  F.  Brewsterand 
Senator  Cameron,  of  Pennsylvania ;  but  on  returning 
from  Europe,  Jefferson  personally  supervised  the  final 
burial. 


98  LIFE   OF  JEFFERSON 

It  is  my  privilege  to  present  a  compendium  of  PER- 
SONAL RECOLLECTIONS  OF  JOSEPH  JEFFERSON,  given  to 
me  by  his  daughter,  ELIZABETH  JEFFERSON,  —  Mrs. 
Chapman-Richardson-Fisher.  These  recollections  were 
written  at  my  request,  in  1869-70.  They  came  to  me 
in  the  form  of  rough  memoranda,  the  manuscript  being 
entitled  Notes  from  Memory,  and  they  were  found 
to  need  revision.  Accordingly,  with  their  respected 
writer's  consent,  I  carefully  pruned,  condensed,  and 
paraphrased  her  narrative,  preserving  her  facts,  strictly 
adhering  to  the  spirit  of  her  statements,  and,  where- 
ever  possible,  using  her  words.  A  sketch  of  Elizabeth 
Jefferson's  life  is  given  in  a  separate  chapter  of  this 
biography.  Her  reminiscences  are  appended  :  — 

"  My  father  was  genial  and  social,  but  reserved  in  manner.  He 
never  allowed  theatrical  matters  to  be  discussed  in  his  presence ; 
not  from  dislike  of  his  profession,  but  because  his  life  was  so  entirely 
wrapt  up  in  it  that  he  needed  relief  from  reference  to  the  subject  of 
his  constant  study  and  thought. 

"  Hodgkinson  was  most  liberal  to  my  father  in  professional  busi- 
ness, and  in  a  very  little  time  after  they  came  together  gave  up  to 
him  the  low-comedy  parts.  This  soon  made  him  a  leading  feature 
of  the  John  Street  theatre,  and  a  great  favourite  with  the  public. 
One  night,  when  it  chanced  that  his  first  child  was  very  ill,  he  had 
gone  to  the  theatre  much  depressed,  though  not  apprehensive  of 
bereavement.  While  dressing  himself  for  a  farce,  he  received  news 
that  his  child  was  dead.  The  love  of  children  was  a  ruling  passion 
with  my  father,  and  to  lose  his  own  and  (then)  only  one,  was  an 
overwhelming  grief.  Hodgkinson  went,  before  the  curtain  to  state 
the  reason  of  the  delay  that  had  been  caused  by  this  news,  and 
to  beg  of  the  audience  to  allow  another  farce  to  be  substituted 
for  the  one  announced ;  but  the  whole  house  rose,  and,  with  a 
cry  of  'No  farce!1  left  the  theatre.  This  was  an  unusual  compli- 
ment. 

"  Considerations  of  economy  were  among  the  reasons  that  induced 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  99 

my  father  to  remove  from  New  York  to  Philadelphia,  where  his  name 
became  a  household  word.  No  man  ever  held  more  esteem  and 
affection  than  followed  him.  His  wife  lived  but  in  him  ;  his  children 
idolised  him  ;  his  servants  worshipped  him  ;  his  nature  was  one  that 
inspired  not  only  respect  but  love ;  his  fondness  for  children  was 
extreme,  and  I  have  seen  our  parlour  at  home  filled  with  little  ones, 
—  children  of  neighbours,  whose  names  even  he  did  not  know,  — 
but  they  flocked  around  him  as  if  he  were  something  more  than  mor- 
tal, and  he  never  tired  of  amusing  them.  A  great  tease  he  was  to 
them,  —  but  they  preferred  to  be  teased  by  him  rather  than  petted 
by  others. 

"There  was  a  simplicity  in  our  household  that  I  have  seldom  met 
with  since.  In  affairs  of  business  my  father  would  often  take  us  all 
into  his  council.  One  instance  of  this,  which  is  singular  and  amus- 
ing, I  particularly  recall.  A  neighbour  of  ours  was  in  the  habit  of 
lending  money  at  interest,  —  a  proceeding  which  we  had  been  taught 
to  regard  as  almost  as  bad  as  robbery,  —  and  a  merchant  of  Phila- 
delphia, who  was  in  need  of  money,  had  come  to  him  to  borrow  it. 
The  usurer  chanced  to  be  insufficiently  supplied,  and  he  mentioned 
this  exigency  to  my  father,  saying  that  a  certain  very  high  rate  of 
interest  could  be  obtained  upon  a  loan.  My  father  answered  that 
he  would  consider  the  proposition,  and  communicate  his  decision  on 
the  morrow.  He  then  called  a  family  council  and  apprised  us  of  his 
opportunity  to  profit  by  usury.  He  dwelt  long  and  earnestly  on  the 
merchant's  distress.  We  all  exclaimed  in  horror  against  the  idea. 
I  vividly  remember  the  impression  I  received  that  he  was  about  to 
become  a  Shylock,  and  that  he  might  be  tempted  to  end  by  cutting 
a  pound  of  flesh  from  the  breast  of  the  impoverished  debtor.  But 
we  kept  our  father  from  that  shocking  crime,  which,  of  course,  he 
had  not  dreamed  of  an  intention  to  commit,  and  blessed  him  that 
he  was  not  a  Shylock.  His  waggish  way  of  enforcing  a  moral  lesson 
was  to  be  realised  afterward,  in  memory.  I  do  not  suppose  that 
there  ever  was  a  man  who  lived  more  entirely  t  unspotted  from  the 
world.1 

"  In  matters  relative  to  the  stage  he  was  scrupulously  careful  and 
thorough.  His  wigs  were,  with  a  few  exceptions,  invented  and 
made  by  himself.  He  hit  upon  the  idea  of  a  wig  that  should  be 
practicable,  —  the  hair  upon  it  rising  at  fright.  He  had  undertaken 


100  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

a  part  in  a  piece  entitled  The  Farmer?  but  not  being  particularly 
struck  by  it,  he  set  about  the  study  of  what  could  be  done  to 
strengthen  it.  It  was  then  that  he  hit  upon  the  expedient  of  mak- 
ing the  wig  do  what  the  part  could  not,  and  he  was  richly  repaid  by 
the  laughter  of  the  audience.  I  was  present,  and  I  remember  hear- 
ing the  people  around  me  saying,  'Now  look  at  Jefferson's  wig,1  in 
a  certain  scene  of  the  piece  ;  and,  indeed,  this  comic  wig  saved  the 
play. 

"  His  varied  talent  was  turned  to  every  line  of  acting,  except 
tragedy.  On  one  occasion  Mrs.  Wood,'2  the  leading  lady  of  the 
Chestnut  Street  theatre,  wife  of  the  manager,  William  B.  Wood,  was 
joking  with  him,  saying  that  he  had  mistaken  his  calling,  and  that 
his  line  was  tragedy,  and  she  persuaded  him  to  play  for  his  benefit 
Old  Norval,  in  John  Home's  tragedy  of  Douglas.  I  have  heard  him 
declare  that  he  really  intended  to  act  that  part  seriously,  but  he  said 
that  the  audience  had  been  so  accustomed  to  laughing  whenever  he 
appeared  that  they  would  not  accept  him  soberly,  and  when  he  made 
his  entrance  in  this  tragic  character,  he  was  greeted  with  a  shriek 
of  laughter.  He  tried  to  be  solemn,  but  it  was  of  no  use.  The 
spectators  had  determined  to  laugh  at  Jefferson,  and  laugh  they  did. 
Mrs.  Wood  always  said  that  he  did  something  on  the  sly  to  provoke 
the  laughter,  but  he  would  not  acknowledge  this.  I  suspect  him, 
though,  —  for  his  sentimental  acting,  as  it  occasionally  occurred  in 
comedy,  was  touching  and  beautiful. 

"  After  my  father's  death,  when  I  was  alone  in  New  York,  I  was 
requested  to  give  permission  for  the  removal  of  his  remains  from 
Harrisburg  to  Philadelphia,  where  it  was  said  a  monument  should 
be  erected  to  his  memory.  But,  knowing  what  sorrow  he  had  suf- 
fered at  the  neglect  he  received  in  Philadelphia,  towards  the  end  of 
his  career,  and  knowing  also  his  aversion  to  all  disturbance  of  the 
grave,  I  refused  to  sanction  this  proceeding.  His  ideas  were  peculiar 
as  to  death.  When  I  wished  him  to  see  my  mother,  after  she  was 
dead,  he  would  not  be  persuaded.  '  How  can  you  ask  me,"1  he  said, 

1  The  Farmer.  A  musical  farce,  in  two  acts.  By  John  O'Keefe. 
Covent  Garden,  1787. 

2/"  January  3Oth,  1804.  Married  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Abercrombie;  Mr. 
W.  B.  Wood,  to  Miss  Juliana  Westray,  both  of  this  (the  Chestnut)  thea- 
tre."—  Wood's  Personal  Recollections,  page  101. 


LIFE   OF  JEFFERSON  101 

-  to  turn  with  disgust  from  a  face  which  for  so  many  years  has  been 
my  pride  and  my  pleasure  ? '  And  until  a  year  before  his  death  he 
never  saw  a  corpse.  The  first  and  only  dead  face  he  ever  looked  on 
was  that  of  his  son  John.  His  wish  was  to  be  buried  in  a  village 
churchyard,  with  no  stone  to  mark  the  place.  But  this,  it  seems, 
could  not  be,  for  two  of  his  old  friends,  judges  of  Pennsylvania, 
erected  a  stone  at  his  head,  in  Harrisburg,  where  he  died. 

"  I  never  but  once  saw  my  father  out  of  temper :  and,  indeed,  he 
could  not  have  borne  to  be  so  ;  his  naturally  equable  temper  was  essen- 
tial to  his  health.  During  Mr.  Wemyss's 1  stage  management  of  the 
Chestnut  Street  theatre  (1827-30),  that  gentleman  went  abroad  to 
try  to  engage  a  company  that,  in  fact,  was  not  wanted.  Among  other 
importations  that  he  brought  back  was  Mr.  John  Sloman,  a  comic 
singer,  together  with  his  wife,  as  stars.  Mr.  Sloman  was  a  good 
comic  singer,  but  as  an  actor  was  execrable.  In  my  father's  con- 
tract with  the  theatre  it  was  expressly  stipulated,  and  had  been  so 
for  years,  that  all  plays  or  farces  in  which  he  was  desired  to  appear 
should  be  sent  to  him,  so  that  he  might  choose  his  part.  This 
arrangement  seemed  to  hurt  the  self-love  of  some  of  the  actors ; 
but,  as  it  was  a  rule,  Mr.  Wemyss  did  not  attempt  to  break  it. 
Nevertheless,  after  Mr.  Sloman  had  made  a  hit  with  his  comic  sing- 
ing, Mr.  Wemyss  harboured  the  idea  that  the  American  public  would 
also  accept  him  as  an  actor ;  and  so  all  the  new  pieces  that  came 
from  England  that  season  were  given  to  Sloman,  on  the  pretext  that 
he  was  a  new  star,  and  that  they  were  his  property.  My  father 
made  no  protest,  feeling  sure  that  neither  Mr.  Wemyss  nor  Mr. 
Sloman  could  depose  him  from  his  place  in  the  public  regard.  On 
an  occasion  of  Mr.  Warren's  benefit,  Sloman  volunteered  his  ser- 
vices, and  my  father  was  to  act  in  a  new  farce.  I  was  in  the  green- 

1  FRANCIS  COURTNEY  WEMYSS  (1797-1859),  author  of  a  Theatrical 
Biography.  In  chap.  xiii.  of  that  work  Mr.  Wemyss  refers  to  this  sub- 
ject as  follows :  "  We  proceeded  as  usual  to  Baltimore  for  the  spring  season, 
and  while  there  I  was  taken  one  morning  by  surprise,  by  an  offer  from  Mr. 
Warren  to  accept  the  acting  and  stage  management  of  the  theatres  under 
his  direction;  to  cross  the  Atlantic,  and  recruit  his  dramatic  company  by 
engaging  new  faces  from  England.  ...  I  therefore,  on  May  6, 1827,  made 
an  engagement  for  three  years  with  Mr.  Warren.  .  .  .  On  June  20, 1  sailed 
from  Philadelphia." 


102  LIFE   OF  JEFFERSON 

room  that  day,  and  I  never  shall  forget  my  father's  face  when  he 
saw  the  announcement.  This  proclaimed,  first,  a  five-act  tragedy  ; 
then  six  successive  songs  by  Sloman  ;  then  a  farce  for  Sloman  ;  and 
finally  his  own  feature,  The  Illustrious  Stranger. v  Mr.  Wemyss  hap- 
pened to  enter  the  room  at  this  moment.  My  father  said  to  him, 
'Good  morning,  sir;  that  bill  must  be  changed.1  'Why,  Mr.  Jeffer- 
son,' he  replied, '  it  is  impossible :  we  could  not  have  new  bills  printed 
by  night.1  '  I  don't  care  what  you  do,'  answered  my  father ;  '  I  want 
the  order  of  those  pieces  changed.  I  have  spent  time  and  thought 
upon  my  part,  and,  damn  it,  sir,  I  won't  have  it  wasted.1  The  man- 
ager's face  was  a  picture.  An  oath  from  the  lips  of  Jefferson  fright- 
ened us  all ;  but  his  farce  was  placed  immediately  after  the  tragedy, 
and  I  remember  that  it  was  a  success.  I  never  heard  my  father  use 
a  profane  word,  except  on  that  occasion. 

"The  Chestnut  Street  theatre  was  now  declining  in  prosperity. 
Mr.  Warren,  my  uncle,  was  soon  declared  insolvent.  This  new 
company,  which  his  stage-manager,  Mr.  Wemyss,  had  engaged, 
was  to  have  raised  the  theatre  to  the  pinnacle  of  success ;  but  it 
proved,  as  sensible  observers  had  feared,  the  ruin  of  the  house.2 
My  father's  benefit,  always  good  before'  this,  now  turned  out  a  fail- 
ure. Edwin  Forrest,  then  the  rising  star,  chanced  to  be  acting  at 
the  Walnut.  On  my  father's  benefit  night  the  opposition  managers 
had  put  up  Forrest's  name  for  a  benefit,  and  the  young  favourite 
proved  the  success.  While  we  were  sitting  that  day  at  dinner,  a 
letter  was  brought  from  Forrest,  stating  that  the  writer  had  not 
been  aware  of  the  employment  of  his  name  to  oppose  that  of  the 
elder  actor,  and  that  he  hoped  the  blame  might  be  laid  where  it 
was  due ;  and  he  offered  to  give  my  father  a  night,  whenever  he 
might  choose  to  name  the  time,  to  prove  his  respect  and  apprecia- 
tion. My  father  deemed  the  young  actor  somewhat  presumptuous, 
in  taking  so  much  for  granted ;  but  a  few  hours  sufficed  to  teach 
him  the  bitter  lesson  of  waning  popularity.  On  the  night  of  that 
last  benefit  in  Philadelphia,  he  made  up  his  mind  to  leave  that  city 
and  never  return  to  it. 

1  The  Illustrious  Stranger,  or  Married  and  Buried.     Musical  farce. 
By  James  Kenney.     Drury  Lane,  1827. 

2  The  instructions  to  engage  this  company  emanated  from  Mr.  Warren, 
of  whose  plans  Mr.  Wemyss  was  the  executor,  not  the  originator. 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  103 

"  At  a  later  time,  when  my  father  was  acting  and  managing  in 
Washington,  Forrest  came  there  ,as  a  star,  and  he  then  actually 
refused  one  night's  emolument.  He  had  said  that  he  would  play 
one  night  for  Jefferson,  and  he  insisted  on  keeping  his  word.  The 
money  was  sent  after  him,  when  this  was  discovered,  but  he  returned 
it,  and  positively  refused  to  receive  it.  Efforts  were  made,  from 
time  to  time,  to  induce  my  father  to  return  to  Philadelphia.  For- 
rest's brother,  at  the  Walnut,  made  him  a  most  liberal  offer,  with- 
out conditions.  Wemyss  also  came,  offering  anything.  But  this 
was  in  vain.  The  heart  and  the  pride  of  the  actor  had  been 
wounded  to  death.  He  never  went  back,  and  he  soon  died. 

"  Of  all  my  father's  children  the  most  talented  was  John.  He 
was  the  pride  of  our  family.  A  classical  scholar,  proficient  also  in 
modern  languages,  a  clever  artist,  an  accomplished  musician,  a  good 
caricaturist,  an  excellent  actor,  he  was  one  of  the  most  talented  men 
of  his  day.  Playing  seconds  to  my  father,  he  had  caught  his  thor- 
oughness of  style,  without  becoming  a  servile  imitator.  He  was 
a  good  singer  and  a  graceful  dancer.  He  possessed  every  attribute 
essential  to  an  actor.  But  his  attractive  disposition  and  his  brilliant 
talents  soon  gave  him  an  exacting  and  perilous  popularity.  Gay 
company,  and  the  dissipation  that  it  caused,  injured  his  health, 
though  to  the  last  he  never  was  known  to  fail  in  professional  duty. 
The  last  performance  he  ever  gave  was  in  Lancaster,  Pa.  When 
my  father  left  Philadelphia,  John,  who  had  acted  both  at  the 
Chestnut  and  Walnut,  resolved  to  turn  manager,  and,  for  some  time 
after  that,  he  managed  theatres  at  Washington  and  Baltimore,  mak- 
ing summer  trips  to  Harrisburg,  Lancaster,  Pottsville,  and  other 
places.  It  was  while  we  were  playing  at  Lancaster  that  John  died. 
The  pieces  that  night  were  The  School  for  Scandal  and  The  Poor 
Soldier.  Part  of  the  cast  of  the  former  was  as  follows :  — 

Sir  Peter  Teazle Joseph  Jefferson,  Sr. 

Sir  Oliver  Surface John  Jefferson. 

Rowley      Joseph  Jefferson,  Jr. 

Lady  Teazle Mrs.  S.  Chapman  (Elizabeth  Jefferson). 

Mrs.  Candour Mrs.  Joseph  Jefferson,  Jr. 

Lady  Sneerwell Miss  Anderson. 

Maria Miss  Jefferson. 

"  The  Miss  Anderson  was  Jane  (afterwards  Mrs.  Germon),  the  eld- 
est daughter  of  my  sister  Euphemia ;  the  Miss  Jefferson  was  my  sis- 


104  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

ter  Mary  Anne  (afterwards  Mrs.  Wright)  ;  Mrs.  S.  Chapman  was  my- 
self; so  this  was  indeed  a  theatrical  family  party.  In  mounting  the 
stone  steps  of  the  hotel,  on  our  return  from  the  performance,  my 
brother  John  slipped  on  a  bit  of  orange  peel,  and  fell  heavily,  strik- 
ing his  head,  and  fracturing  his  skull.  He  was  taken  up  insensible, 
and  he  never  spoke  again.  My  father  never  rallied  from  the  shock 
of  that  calamity.  In  this  son  his  chief  hopes  had  been  centred. 
He  believed  that  John  was  destined  to  great  honour  and  fame,  and 
that  he  would  keep  the  name  of  Jefferson  distinguished  upon  the 
stage.  After  this  my  father  refused  to  act  in  any  of  the  plays  in 
which  John  had  been  accustomed  to  act  with  him,  and  in  less  than 
a  year  he,  too,  went  to  his  rest. 

"My  nephew,  Joseph  Jefferson  (Rip  Van  Winkle),  bears  a 
striking  resemblance  to  my  father.  He  was  a  wonderfully  preco- 
cious child  :  all  who  remember  his  childhood  say  this.  When  little 
more  than  two  years  old  he  gave  an  imitation  of  Fletcher,1  the 

1  JOHN  FLETCHER,  said  to  have  been  born  in  that  part  of  London's 
historic  fortress  called  the  Bloody  Tower,  appeared  at  the  London  Adelphi 
in  1831,  showing  the  Venetian  statues;  came  to  America;  appeared  at 
Boston,  November  28,  1831,  —  at  the  Bowery  theatre,  New  York,  December 
13,  1831,  and  at  the  Walnut  Street  theatre,  Philadelphia,  January  5,  1832. 
Joseph  Jefferson  (Rip  Van  Winkle)  was  born  in  Philadelphia,  February 
20,  1829,  and  consequently  was  less  than  three  years  old  when  Fletcher 
first  performed  in  that  city.  It  must  have  been  his  own  mother  who  ob- 
served his  precocious  endeavours  and  who  made  the  statue  dress  for  him, 
—  because  Elizabeth  Jefferson's  mother  died  in  January,  1831.  The  lad 
was  very  early  taken  on  the  stage,  at  the  theatre  in  Washington,  as  Cora's 
Child,  in  Pizarro,  —  that  being  his  beginning  in  the  profession ;  but  his 
first  regular  appearance,  in  a  speaking  part,  was  made  at  the  age  of  four, 
1833,  when  he  was  carried  on  as  little  Jim  Crow,  by  Thomas  D.  Rice,  at 
Washington.  He  then  danced  and  sang.  His  appearance  in  the  statues 
preceded  his  appearance  as  little  Jim  Crow. 

A  passing  glimpse  of  that  juvenile  statue  episode  is  given  in  an  article 
that  was  published  in  the  New  York  Times,  June  5,  1881,  descriptive  of  an 
interview  with  the  aged  actor  Edmon  S.  Conner,  then  72  years  old,  since 
dead :  — 

"  Mr.  Conner  recalls  a  circumstance  regarding  Joseph  Jefferson.  He  says  that  the 
great  comedian  was  a  remarkably  small  child  at  the  age  of  seven  (?),  being  hardly  larger 
than  other  children  at  three,  but  that  he  was  beautifully  formed.  A  man  named  Fletcher 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  IDS 

statue  man,  and  it  was  indeed  an  astonishing  feat.  My  mother 
chanced  to  notice  the  child,  in  a  corner  of  the  room,  trying  this 
experiment,  and  she  called  him  to  her  side,  and  found  that  he  had 
got  all  the  "  business  "  of  the  statues,  though  he  could  not  have  pro- 
nounced the  name  of  one  of  them.  She  made  him  a  dress  similar 
to  that  worn  by  Fletcher,  and  he  actually  gave  these  imitations  upon 
the  stage  when  only  three  years  old.  Rice  came  to  Washington  to 
sing  his  Jim  Crow  songs,  and  little  Joe  caught  them  up  directly, 
and,  in  his  baby  voice,  sung  the  songs,  although  he  could  not 
correctly  pronounce  the  words  that  he  sung.  His  taste  for  drawing 
and  painting  showed  itself  at  an  early  age.  My  father  could  not 
keep  his  drawing-box  away  from  the  boy.  Joe  was  in  his  fourth 
year  when  my  father  died.  The  old  gentleman  idolised  him.  I 
remember  his  almost  daily  salutation  would  be,  '  Joe,  where 's  my 
paint  ?'  'It's  gone,'  said  the  child.  'Yes,  sir,  I  know  it's  gone; 
but  where  ?  where  ? '  '  Him  lost,'  was  Joe's  reply.  '  Yes,  sir,  I 
know  it 's  lost  and  gone ;  but  how  and  where  ? '  The  boy  would 
look  up,  roguishly,  and  say,  '  Him  hook  um ' ;  and  then  his  grand- 
father would  prophesy  what  a  great  artist  that  child  would  one  day 
become,  and  say  that  he  was  '  the  greatest  boy  in  the  world,'  and 
let  him  destroy  any  amount  of  anything  he  chose.  The  inheritance 
of  talent  was  never  more  clearly  shown  than  in  the  case  of  the 
present  Joseph  Jefferson :  his  habits,  his  tastes,  his  acting,  —  all  he 
is  and  does  seems  just  a  repetition  of  his  grandfather." 


The  professional  life  of  Joseph  Jefferson  exemplified 
a  wide  versatility  of  shining  intellectual  power  and  great 
and  zealous  artistic  labour.  The  specification  of  some 
of  the  parts  that  he  acted  will  supply  an  eloquent  testi- 

had  then  just  introduced  into  this  country  living  tableaux  representing  renowned  statu- 
ary of  the  Old  World.  They  had  created  a  great  sensation.  During  a  certain  summer 
season  Mr.  Conner,  with  others,  was  in  Wilmington,  Del.  One  of  the  most  attractive 
features  of  their  entertainments  was  that  furnished  by  little  Joe,  who,  in  white  fleshings, 
white  wig,  and  chalked  face,  was  placed  upon  a  small  round  table,  and  gave  imitations  of 
Fletcher's  statuary,  —  'The  Discobolus,'  '  Ajax  Defying  the  Lightning,'  etc.  He  was 
hardly  longer  than  the  legs  of  the  table,  but  so  admirably  he  struck  the  attitudes,  and  so 
perfectly  proportioned  was  he,  that  the  audiences  were  charmed  with  the  graceful,  lovely 
boy." 


106  LIFE   OF  JEFFERSON 

• 

monial  to  the  force  and  brilliancy  of  his  talents  and  to 
his  studious  energy.  He  appeared  in  more  than  two 
hundred  characters,  and  the  list  is  by  no  means  com- 
plete. It  is  by  records  of  this  kind,  carefully  examined 
and  considered,  that  the  judicious  observer  is  able  to 
gauge  the  actors  of  the  past,1  and,  at  the  same  time,  by 
remarking  the  changes  which  occur  in  the  public  taste, 
to  trace  the  dramatic  movement  from  age  to  age,  and 
thus  to  sharpen  his  perception  and  broaden  his  grasp  of 
the  march  of  civilised  society :  for  the  accepted  drama 
of  a  nation  is  always  a  significant  sign  of  the  condition 
of  its  people.  Subjoined  is  a  partial 

REPERTORY   OF  JOSEPH   JEFFERSON 

A. 

Adonis,  alias  Joe  the  Shepherd,  in  Poor  Vulcan,  or  Gods  upon 
Earth.  Burlesque.  By  Charles  Dibdin.  Covent  Garden,  1778. 

Alibi,  in  The  Toy,  or  The  Lie  of  the  Day.  Comedy.  By  John 
O'Keefe.  Covent  Garden,  1789. 

1  The  old  theatrical  chronicler,  Downes,  in  a  note  to  his  Roscius  Angli- 
camts,  edition  of  1789,  p.  63,  says,  of  Betterton :  — 

"  Nothing  shows  the  richness  of  this  actor's  genius  so  much  as  the  variety  of  different 
characters  that  he  represented.  The  first  tragedian  of  the  age  acting  the  solemn  coxcomb 
would  appear  surprising  to  us  had  we  not  seen  Mr.  Garrick  perform  Sir  Anthony  Bran- 
ville,  in  The  Discovery.  The  accomplished  actor  is  master  of  the  whole  business  in  his 
profession,  and  no  one  excepting  Mr.  Garrick  performed  such  a  number  of  different  char- 
acters as  Betterton." 

The  veteran  Macklin  presented  one  hundred  and  sixty-five  characters. 
The  actor  who  has  played  the  greatest  number  of  parts,  however,  is  Henry 
Irving,  —  who,  between  the  time  of  his  first  appearance  on  the  regular 
stage,  September  29,  1856,  at  Sunderland,  and  that  of  his  departure  from 
Edinburgh,  for  the  Princess's  theatre,  London,  September  13,  1859,  played 
four  hundred  and  twenty-eight  parts.  [See  Biographical  Sketch  of  Henry 
Irving.  By  Austin  Brereton.  1884.]  Since  1859  the  list  of  parts  played 
by  Irving  must  have  been  largely  extended.  Henderson  played  one  hun- 
dred and  fifteen  parts. 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  107 

Acres,  in  The  Rivals.  Comedy.  By  Richard  Brinsley  Sheri- 
dan. Covent  Garden,  1775. 

Apollo  Belvi,  and  also  Buskin,  in  Killing  No  Murder.  Farce. 
By  Theodore  Hook.  Haymarket,  1809.  The  elder  Mathews  was 
the  original  Buskin. 

B. 

Bluntly,  in  Next  Door  Neighbours.  Comedy.  By  Elizabeth 
Inchbald.  Haymarket,  1791. 

Bombastes  Furioso,  in  the  burlesque  tragic  opera  of  that  name. 

Bobby  Pendragon,  in  Which  fs  the  Man?  Comedy.  By  Mrs. 
Hannah  Cowley.  Covent  Garden,  1783. 

Block,  in  Where  is  He?    Farce.     By  William  Dunlap.     1801. 

Bras  de  Fer,  in  Tekeli,  or  The  Siege  of  Montgatz.  Melodrama. 
By  Theodore  Edward  Hook.  Music  by  the  elder  Hook.  Drury 
Lane,  November  24,  1806. 

Bribon,  in  Columbus. 

c. 

Cloten,  in  Shakespeare's  tragedy  of  Cymbeline. 

Cloddy,  in  The  Mysteries  of  the  Castle.  By  Miles  Peter  Andrews. 
Covent  Garden,  1795. 

Count  Cassell,  in  Lover's  Vows.  Drama.  Adapted  from  Kotze- 
bue  by  William  Dunlap.  New  York  Park,  1799. 

Clown,  in  Harlequins  Vagaries.  —  There  are,  of  course,  many  old 
plays  implicating  the  Italian  masques.  The  Biographia  Dramatica 
mentions  no  less  than  sixty,  relative  to  Harlequin. 

Charles,  in  Know  Your  Own  Mind.  Comedy.  By  Arthur  Murphy. 
Covent  Garden,  1777.  The  character  of  Dashwould,  in  this  piece, 
was  intended  to  portray  Foote,  the  actor  and  dramatist. 

Conrad,  in  The  Stranger's  Birthday,  a  sequel  to  Kotzebue's  play 
of  The  Stranger. 

Carlos,  in  The  Man  of  Fortitude.  Drama,  1797.  Alleged  author, 
Hodgkinson  ;  but  Dunlap  claimed  the  piece  as  his,  under  the  name 
of  The  Knight's  Adventure,  and  said  that  Hodgkinson  made  use  of 
his  manuscript. 

Carlos,  in  The  Blind  Boy.  An  alteration,  made  by  Dunlap,  of 
Kotzebue's  The  Epigram. 


108  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

Cadi,  in  //  Bondocani.  Comic  Opera.  By  Thomas  Dibdin, 
1801.  Music  by  Boieldieu.  Afterwards  played  as  The  Caliph  of 
Bagdad. 

Colin,  in  The  Irish  Mimic,  or  Blunders  at  Brighton.  Musical 
Farce.  By  John  O'Keefe.  Covent  Garden,  1795. 

Captain  Copp,  in  Charles  the  Second.  Comedy.  By  John 
Howard  Payne. 

Caleb,  in  He  Would  Be  a  Soldier.  Comedy.  By  Frederick 
Pillon.  Covent  Garden,  1786. 

Captain  Flash,  in  Miss  in  Her  J^eens.  Farce.  By  David  Garrick. 
Covent  Garden,  1747. 

D. 

Don  Ferolo  Whiskerandos,  in  The  Critic.  Farce.  By  Richard 
Brinsley  Sheridan.  Drury  Lane,  1779. 

Diego,  in  The  Virgin  of  the  Sun.  Drama.  Translated  from 
Kotzebue.  Jefferson  also  acted,  later,  Orozembo,  in  Pizarro,  or  The 
Death  of  Rolla,  —  another  version  of  the  same  piece. 

Dogberry,  and  also  Verges,  in  Shakespeare's  comedy  of  Much 
Ado  About  Nothing. 

Davy,  in  Bon  Ton.     Farce.     By  David  Garrick.     Drury  Lane, 

1775- 

Dickey  Gossip,  in  My  Grandmother.  Farce.  By  Prince  Hoare. 
Drury  Lane,  1796. 

Dorilas,  in  The  Whims  of  Galatea,  or  The  Power  of  Love.  Jeffer- 
son painted  the  scenery  for  this  piece,  at  the  John  Street  theatre, 
New  York,  March,  1796. 

Don  Vincentio,  in  A  Bold  Stroke  for  a  Husband.  Comedy.  By 
Mrs.  Hannah  Cowley.  Covent  Garden,  1783. 

David  Mowbray,  in  First  Love,  or  The  French  Emigrant.  Com- 
edy. Drury  Lane,  1795.  Dora  Jordan  was  admirably  good  as 
Sabina  Rosni.  The  part  was  acted  in  America  by  Mrs.  Hodg- 
kinson. 

Drugget,  in  Three  Weeks  After  Marriage.  Comedy.  By  Arthur 
Murphy.  Covent  Garden,  1776. 

Don  Manuel,  in  She  Would  and  She  Would  Not.  Comedy.  By 
Colley  Gibber.  Drury  Lane,  1703. 

Doctor  Last,  in   The  Devil  upon    Two  Sticks.     Comedy.     By 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  109 

Samuel  Foote.  Haymarket,  1768.  The  original  Doctor  Last  was 
Weston.  Foote  acted  the  Devil. 

Dromio  of  Syracuse,  in  Shakespeare's  Comedy  of  Errors.  Cowell 
was  the  other  Dromio. 

Dubois,  in  The  Abbe  de  L'Epee,  or  Deaf  and  Dumb.     1801. 

Don  Guzman,  in  The  Follies  of  a  Day.  Comedy.  By  Thomas 
Holcroft.  Covent  Garden,  1785.  Adapted  from  La  Folle  Journee* 
by  Beaumarchais. 

Dominique,  in  the  opera  of  Paul  and  Virginia.  By  James  Cobb. 
Music  by  Mazzinghi  and  Reeve.  Covent  Garden,  1800. 

Dr.  Smugface,  in  A  Budget  of  Blunders.  Farce.  By  Prince 
Hoare.  Covent  Garden,  1810.  Jefferson,  in  Dr.  Smugface,  wore  a 
false  nose,  skilfully  made  of  wax,  which  increased  the  comicality  of 
his  aspect  in  that  irascible  character. 

Dr.  Lenitive,  in  The  Prize,  or  2-5-3-8. 

Dominie  Sampson,  in  Guy  Mannering.  Musical  Play,  on  Sir 
Walter  Scott's  novel.  By  Daniel  Terry.  Covent  Garden,  1816. 

Dr.  Petitqueue,  in  The  Toothache.     Farce.     By  John  Bray. 

E. 

Edward,  in  The  Haunted  Tower.  Comic  Opera.  By  James 
Cobb.  Drury  Lane,  1789. 

Endless,  in  The  Young  Quaker.  Comedy.  By  John  O'Keefe. 
Haymarket,  1783. 

Ennui,  in  The  Dramatist.  Comedy.  By  Frederic  Reynolds. 
Covent  Garden,  1789. 

Ephraim,  in  The  school  for  Prejudice.  Comedy.  By  Thomas 
Dibdin.  Covent  Garden,  1801.  An  enlargement  of  its  author's 
previous  comedy  of  Liberal  Opinions. 

F. 

Frank,  in  Half  an  Hour  After  Supper.     Haymarket,  1789. 

Farmer  Ashfield,  in  Speed  the  Plough.  Comedy.  By  Thomas 
Morton.  Covent  Garden,  1800. 

Ireland  cites  a  critical  opinion  on  Jefferson's  personation  of  Farmer 
Ashfield,  which  is  suggestively  descriptive  of  his  quality  and  style  :  — 

"  No  man  possessed  such  happy  requisites  for  exhibiting  this  character  in 
the  true  colours  of  nature  as  Mr.  Jefferson.  In  the  rustic  deportment  and  dia- 


110  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

lect,  in  the  artless  effusions  of  benignity  and  undisguised  truth,  and  in  those 
masterly  strokes  of  pathos  and  simplicity  with  which  the  author  has  finished  the 
inimitable  picture,  Mr.  Jefferson  showed  uniform  excellence ;  and  as,  in  the  hu- 
morous parts,  his  comic  powers  produced  their  customary  effect,  so,  in  the 
serious  overflowings  of  the  honest  farmer's  nature,  the  mellow,  deep,  impressive 
tones  of  the  actor's  voice  vibrated  to  the  heart,  and  produced  the  most  intense 
and  exquisite  sensations."  — Mirror  of  Taste,  Vol.  I.,  p.  75. 

Ferrett,  in  The  Horse  and  the  Widow.  Farce.  Altered  from  the 
German  of  Kotzebue,  by  Thomas  Dibdin.  Covent  Garden,  1799. 

Fool,  in  The  Italian  Father.  Drama.  By  William  Dunlap. 
Park,  1799. 

Frank  Oatland,  in  A  Cure  for  the  Heartache.  Comedy.  By 
Thomas  Morton.  Covent  Garden,  1797.  This  was  among  Jeffer- 
son's best  performances. 

Francis,  in  Shakespeare's  King  Henry  IV. 

First  Witch,  in  Macbeth. 

Fixture,  in  A  Roland  for  an  Oliver,     Comedy,  1819. 

G. 

Gregory  Gubbin,  in  The  Battle  of  Hexham.  Drama.  By  George 
Colman.  Jr.  Music  by  Dr.  Arnold.  Haymarket,  1789.  Story  of 
Margaret,  Queen  to  Henry  VI.,  befriended  by  a  bandit. 

Grime,  in  The  Deserted  Daughter.  Comedy.  By  Thomas  Hoi- 
croft.  Covent  Garden,  1795.  This  piece  was  sometimes  acted 
under  the  name  of  The  Steward.  Item,  in  this,  was  also  one  of 
Jefferson's  characters. 

Gregory,  in  The  Mock  Doctor,  or  The  Dumb  Lady  Cured.1  Farce. 
By  Henry  Fielding.  Drury  Lane,  1732. 

1  That  piece  was  taken  from  Le  Medecin  malgre  Lui.  by  Moliere,  — 
originally  named  Le  Fagotier.  The  story  is  that  the  wife  of  a  wood-cutter, 
in  order  to  be  revenged  on  her  husband  for  his  ill  treatment  of  her,  told 
two  strangers  that  he  was  a  learned  physician,  who  would  not,  however, 
give  his  medical  knowledge  and  care,  until  he  had  been  soundly  thrashed; 
whereupon  they  compelled  him  first  to  attempt  the  cure  of  a  girl  who  had 
been  feigning  dumbness  in  order  to  avoid  an  obnoxious  marriage,  and  next 
to  assist  in  an  elopement.  The  situations  had  previously  been  used,  in 
Love's  Contrivance  (1703),  by  Susanna  Centlivre,  and  The  Dumb  Lady 
(1672),  by  John  Lacy.  The  subject  has  been  treated  in  an  opera  by 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  111 

Guillot,  in  Richard  Cceur  de  Lion.  Historical  Play.  By  Gen. 
John  Burgoyne.  Drury  Lane,  1786. 

Gil  Bias,  in  pantomime  play  of  Gil  Bias. 

H. 

Hans  Molkin,  in  The  Wild  Goose  Chase.     Translated  by  Dunlap. 

Herbert,  in  The  Man  of  Ten  Thousand.  Comedy.  By  Thomas 
Holcroft.  Drury  Lane,  1796. 

Hurry,  in  The  Maid  of  the  Oaks.  Farce.  By  Gen.  John  Bur- 
goyne. Drury  Lane,  1774.  Covent  Garden,  with  Mrs.  Abington 
in  it,  1782.  The  author  was  the  British  commander  who  capitu- 
lated to  General  Gates,  at  Saratoga,  in  1777,  —  prompting  Sheridan's 

couplet :  — 

"  Burgoyne  defeated  —  oh,  ye  Fates, 
Could  not  this  Samson  carry  Gates !  " 

Humphrey  Grizzle,  and  also  Frank,  in  The  Three  and  the  Deuce. 
Comedy.  By  Prince  Hoare.  Haymarket,  1795.  This  piece  is  sug- 
gestive of  both  the  Comedy  of  Errors  and  She  Stoops  to  Conquer. 

Gounod,  produced  at  the  Theatre  Lyrique,  Paris,  January  15,  1858,  and  at 
the  Princess's  theatre,  London,  early  in  1865. 

It  is  recorded  that  David  Garrick,  before  he  decided  to  adopt  the  dra- 
matic profession,  chose  The  Mock  Doctor,  to  test  his  powers.  The  particu- 
lars are  given  as  follows :  — 

"  The  place  was  the  room  over  St.  John's  Gate,  Clerkenwell.  .  .  .  The  time  was 
soon  after  Garrick's  friend  and  tutor,  Samuel  Johnson,  had  formed  a  close  intimacy  with 
Cave,  the  printer  and  publisher  of  the  Gentleman's  Magazine,  and  while  Garrick  was 
still  in  the  wine  trade,  with  his  brother  Peter,  and  secretly  meditating  a  withdrawal  from 
it,  in  order  to  adopt  the  congenial,  but,  in  the  opinion  of  his  friends,  the  disreputable,  call- 
ing of  an  actor.  The  audience  was  composed,  first  of  Cave  himself,  who,  though  not  a 
man  given  to  mirth,  or  with  an  idea  beyond  his  printing  presses,  had  been  tickled  by 
Johnson's  description  of  his  young  townsman's  powers.  .  .  .  Then  there  was  the  burly 
lexicographer,  —  in  those  days  very  shabby  and  seedy  indeed,  but  proudly  battling  his 
way  in  the  world.  .  .  .  Several  of  Cave's  literary  handicraftsmen  were,  doubtless,  among 
the  audience:  Webb,  the  enigma  writer,  Derrick,  the  pen-cutter,  and  '  Tobacco'  Browne, 
whose  serious  poetry  even  the  religious  Johnson  himself  confessed  he  was  unable  to  read 
with  patience.  The  actors  who  assisted  Garrick  were  some  of  Cave's  journeymen  printers, 
who  had,  for  the  time,  laid  aside  their  composing  sticks,  and  read  or  recited  the  parts 
allotted  to  them,  as  best  they  could.  Garrick  played  the  involuntary  physician  Gregory, 
as  Fielding  renamed  him;  and  we  have  all  read  how  Johnson,  in  his  later  years,  return- 
ing from  the  Mitre,  or  the  Cheshire  Cheese,  with  Boswell,  in  the  early  morning,  would 
grasp  the  street-post  by  Temple  Gate,  and  send  forth  a  peal  of  laughter,  which  echoed 
and  re-echoed  through  the  silent  streets,  as  he  recalled  the  irresistible  humour  of  his  clever 
iriend  little  Davy." 


112  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

The  comic  effect  is  obtained  by  means  of  complications  arising  out 
of  the  bewildering  resemblance  between  three  brothers,  —  each  being 
mistaken  for  another,  and  all  displayed  at  cross  purposes  with  the 
rest  of  the  characters.  Frank  is  a  rustic,  of  the  Zekiei  Homespun 
stripe.  Humphrey  Grizzle  is  an  opinionated,  cranky,  eccentric  old 
servant,  whose  perplexity  affords  much  amusement.  The  three 
brothers,  —  Percival,  Peregrine,  and  Pertinax  Single,  —  who  "  raise 
the  Deuce  "  by  being  alike  in  appearance  but  diverse  in  character 
and  conduct,  are  acted  by  one  and  the  same  person. 

I. 

Ibrahim,  in  Blue  Beard,  or  Female  Curiosity.  Musical  Extrava- 
ganza. By  George  Colman,  Jr.  Drury  Lane,  1798. 

J- 

Jasper  Lunge,  in  A  Good  Spec  —  Land  in  the  Moon.  Farce. 
1797. 

Jacob  Gawky,  in  A  Chapter  of  Accidents.  Comedy.  By  Miss 
Sophia  Lee.  Haymarket,  1780. 

Jaques.  and  also  Rolando,  in  The  Honeymoon.  Comedy.  By 
John  Tobin.  Drury  Lane,  1805. 

Jeremy  Diddler,  in  Raising  the  Wind.  Farce.  By  James  Ken- 
ney.  Covent  Garden,  1803.  Lewis  was  the  original  Jeremy.  — 
"  Diddler  has  been  attempted  by  many  celebrated  comedians,  but 
by  none  so  successfully  as  by  Jefferson,  who  exhibits  the  various 
dispositions  of  Jeremy  with  admirable  effect."  —  The  Thespian 
Monitor. 

John  Lump,  in  The  Review,  or  The  Wags  of  Windsor.  Musical 
Farce.  By  George  Colman,  Jr.  Haymarket,  1808. 

Jargon,  in  The  Bulse  of  Diamonds,  or  What  is  She?  [By 
Dr.  Doddrell  ?J 

John,  in  The  Wheel  of  Truth.  Farce.  By  James  Fennell,  the 
actor.  New  York  Park,  1803.  . 

Job  Thornbury,  in  John  Bull.  Comedy.  By  George  Colman, 
Jr.  Covent  Garden,  1805. 

Jack  Stocks,  in  The  Lottery.  Farce.  By  Henry  Fielding. 
Drury  Lane,  1731- 

Justice  Greedy,  in  A  New  Way  to  Pay  Old  Debts.  Comedy. 
By  Philip  Massinger.  Acted  at  the  Pho3nix  in  Drury  Lane,  1633. 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  113 

John,  in  False  Shame.  Drama.  Adapted  from  the  German,  by 
Dunlap. 

Jack  Meggott,  in  The  Suspicious  Husband.  Comedy.  By  Dr. 
Benjamin  Hoadly.  Covent  Garden,  1747.  Garrick  was  famously 
good,  in  this  piece,  as  Ranger.  George  the  Second  sent  the  author 
one  hundred  pounds,  as  a  compliment. 

Jack  Arable,  in  Speculation.  Comedy.  By  Frederic  Reynolds. 
Covent  Garden,  1795. 

James,  in  Bourville  Castle.  Musical  Drama.  By  Rev.  John 
Blair  Linn.  1797. 

Jack  Bowline,  and  also  Captain  Bertram,  in  Fraternal  Discord. 
Drama.  Adapted  from  the  German  of  Kotzebue,  by  Dunlap.  John 
Street  theatre,  1800. 

Jack  Acorn,  in  Columbia's  Daughters.  Drama.  By  Mrs.  Susanna 
Rowson,  author  of  The  Female  Patriot,  Slaves  in  Algiers,  Charlotte 
Temple,  Americans  in  England,  and  other  pieces.  1800. 

Jew,  in  Self-Immolation,  or  Family  Distress.  Drama.  Adapted 
from  Kotzebue,  by  Dunlap. 


Kourakim,  in  The  Captive  of  Spilsberg.  Drama.  By  Prince 
Hoare.  Drury  Lane,  1799. 

Kit  Cosey,  in  Town  and  Country.  By  Thomas  Morton.  Covent 
Garden,  1807. 

Kudrin,  in  Count  Benyowski.     Drama.    By  Dunlap.    Park,  1799. 


Louis,  in  The  Robbery.      Drama.     By  Monvel.     Translated  by 
William  Dunlap. 

Lackbrain,  in  Life.     Comedy.     By  Frederic  Reynolds.     Covent 
Garden,  1801. 

Lord  Listless,  in  The  East  Indian.     Comedy.     By  M.  G.  Lewis. 
Drury  Lane,  1799. 

Launcelot  Gobbo,  in  The  Merchant  of  Venice. 

Lord  Grizzle,  in  The  Life  and  Death  of  Tom  Thumb,  the  Great. 
Burlesque.     1785. 

La  Fleur,  in  Siemens  Maria,  or  The  Vintage.    Opera.    By  Dunlap. 
Music  by  Pellesier.     1799- 
H 


114  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

Leopold,  in  The  Siege  of  Belgrade.  Comic  opera.  By  James 
Cobb.  Music  by  Stephen  Storace.  Jefferson  painted  scenery  for 
this  piece. 

Lieutenant,  in  The  Archers,  or  The  Mountaineers  of  Switzerland. 
Opera.  By  Dunlap.  Called,  also,  William  Tell,  or  The  Archers. 

La  Gloire,  in  The  Surrender  of  Calais.  Play.  By  George  Col- 
man,  Jr.  Haymarket,  1791.  Based  on  a  French  novel. 

Lord  Dartford,  in  The  Fair  Fugitive,  or  He  Forgot  Himself. 
This  was  The  Fair  Fugitives,  a  musical  extravaganza,  by  Miss  Anna 
Maria  Porter.  Music  by  Dr.  Busby.  Acted  at  Covent  Garden,  1803. 

Lord  Foppington,  in  The  Relapse.  Comedy.  By  Sir  John  Van- 
brugh.  Drury  Lane,  1708.  Altered,  and  named  The  Country 
Heiress. 

Lodowick,  in  Adelmorn,  The  Outlaw.  Drama.  By  M.  G.  Lewis. 
Drury  Lane,  1801. 

La  Fleur,  in  Animal  Magnetism.  Farce.  By  Elizabeth  Inch- 
bald.  Covent  Garden,  1788.  Of  French  origin. 

M. 

Michael,  in  The  Adopted  Child.  Musical  piece.  By  Samuel 
Birch.  Drury  Lane,  1795. 

Memno,  in  Aballino.  Drama.  By  Dunlap,  from  the  German 
of  Zsokke. 

Motley,  in  The  Castle  Spectre.  Drama.  By  Matthew  Gregory 
Lewis.  Drury  Lane,  1798.  —  "A  story  has  been  told  that  about 
the  end  of  the  season  (this  piece  having  proved  very  successful), 
Mr.  Sheridan  and  the  author  had  a  dispute  in  the  green-room  ;  when 
the  latter  offered,  in  confirmation  of  his  arguments,  to  bet  all  the 
money  which  The  Castle  Spectre  had  brought,  that  he  was  right. 
'  No,'  said  Sheridan:  '  I  cannot  afford  to  bet  all  it  has  brought ;  but 
Til  tell  you  what  I'll  do  —  I'll  bet  you  all  it  is  worth.'"  —  Biogra- 
phia  Dramatica. 

Mercutio,  and  also  Peter,  in  Romeo  and  Juliet.  The  former 
part  Jefferson  acted,  for  the  first  time,  at  the  Chestnut  Street  theatre, 
Philadelphia,  in  the  season  of  1815-16. 

Matthew  Mug,  in  A  House  to  Be  Sold.  Musical  piece.  By 
James  Cobb.  Music  by  Kelly.  Drury  Lane,  1802.  Altered  and 
enlarged  from  a  French  piece,  entitled  Maison  a  Vendre. 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  115 

Michelli,  in  A  Tale  of  Mystery.  Melodrama.  By  Thomas  Hoi- 
croft.  Covent  Garden,  1802.  Jefferson  also  acted  Francisco,  in 
this  piece. 

Mawworm,  in  The  Hypocrite.  Comedy.  By  Isaac  Bickerstaff. 
Drury  Lane,  1768.  An  alteration  of  Gibber's  The  Nonjuror. 

Mendoza,  in  The  Duenna.  Comic  opera.  By  R.  B.  Sheridan. 
Covent  Garden,  1775. 

Muley  Hassan,  in  Fiesco.  Drama.  From  the  German  of 
Schiller.  1796,  1798. 

Marshal  Ingelheim,  in  The  Harpers  Daughter,  or  Love  and 
Ambition.  Called,  also,  The  Minister.  Drama.  Adapted  by 
M.  G.  Lewis,  from  Love  and  Intrigue,  by  Schiller. 

N. 

Nicholas  Rue,  in  Secrets  Worth  Knowing.  Comedy.  By 
Thomas  Morton.  Covent  Garden,  1798. 

Nicholas,  in  The  Follies  of  Fashion.  Comedy.  By  Leonard 
McNally.  Original  title,  Fashionable  Levities.  Covent  Garden, 
1785. 

Nipperkin,  in  The  Sprigs  of  Laurel.  Comic  Opera.  By  John 
O'Keefe.  Covent  Garden,  1793.  Afterwards  acted  under  the  title 
of  The  Rival  Soldiers. 

o. 

Osman,  in  The  Two  Misers.  Farce.  By  Kane  O'Hara.  Covent 
Garden,  1775. 

Officer,  in  The  Independence  of  America.     Pantomime.     1796. 

Old  Rapid,  in  A  Cure  for  the  Heartache.  Comedy.  By  Thomas 
Morton.  Covent  Garden,  1797. 

p. 

Polonius,  and  Osric,  in  Hamlet.  — "  Jefferson  was  the  best 
Polonius  that  ever  trod  the  American  stage.  No  other  actor  ever 
succeeded  so  well  in  combining  the  courtier  and  the  gentleman  with 
the  humourist.  He  gave  elegance  and  dignity  to  the  character." 
—  Old  N.  Y.  Spirit  of  the  Times. 

Plainwell,  in  A  Quarter  of  an  Hour  Before  Dinner.  Farce.  By 
Rev.  John  Rose.  Haymarket,  1788. 


116  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

Peter,  in  The  Stranger.     Dunlap's  version  of  Kotzebue's  drama. 

Pero,  in  The  Spanish  Castle,  or  The  Knight  of  Guadalquivir. 
Musical  Drama.  By  William  Dunlap.  Music  by  Hewitt.  1800. 

Papillion,  in  The  Liar.  Comedy.  By  Samuel  Foote.  Covent 
Garden,  1762. 

Paulo,  in  The  Italian  Monk.  Drama.  By  James  Boaden. 
1797.  Founded  on  Mrs.  RadcliftVs  novel  of  that  name. 

Precipe  Rebate,  in  Retaliation.  Farce.  By  Leonard  McNally. 
Covent  Garden,  1782. 

Peter  Postobit,  in  Folly  as  It  Flies.  Comedy.  By  Frederic 
Reynolds.  Covent  Garden,  1802. 

Pedro,  in  Cinderella.     Pantomime. 

Philosopher,  in  The  Merry  Girl,  or  The  Two  Philosophers. 

Q- 

Quillet,  in  Hear  Both  Sides.  Comedy.  By  Thomas  Holcroft. 
Drury  Lane,  1803. 

R. 

Robert,  in  The  Prisoner.    Musical  Piece.    By  John  Rose.    1792. 

Realize,  in  The  Will.  Comedy.  By  Frederic  Reynolds.  Drury 
Lane,  1797. 

Ralph,  in  Lock  and  Key.  Musical  Farce.  By  Prince  Hoare. 
Covent  Garden,  1796-97. 

Roderigo,  in  Othello. 

Robert  Grange,  in  Delays  and  Blunders.  Comedy.  By  Frederic 
Reynolds.  Covent  Garden,  1803. 

s. 

Sir  William  Howe,  in  Bunker  Hill,  or  The  Death  of  Warren. 
Drama.  By  John  D.  Burke.  1797. 

Samuel,  in  The  Indians  in  England,  or  The  Nabob  of  Mysore. 
Drama.  Adapted  from  Kotzebue,  by  Dunlap. 

Stephano,  in  Shakespeare's  comedy  of  77te  Tempest. 

Soleby,  in  The  School  for  Soldiers.  Play,  from  the  French,  by 
Dunlap. 

Sambo,  in  Laugh  When  You  Can.  Comedy.  By  Frederic 
Reynolds.  Covent  Garden,  1799. 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  117 

Sir  Matthew  Maxim,  in  Five  Thousand  a  Year.  Comedy.  By 
Thomas  Dibdin.  Covent  Garden;  1799. 

Sir  Shenkin,  in  Fontainebleau,  or  Our  Way  in  France.  Comic 
Opera.  By  John  O'Keefe.  Covent  Garden,  1784.  The  sub-title 
given  to  that  piece  when  it  was  acted  in  America  was  John  Bull  in 
Paris.  The  part  of  Sir  Shenkin  Ap  Griffin  was  subsequently 
changed  by  the  author  to  Squire  Tallyho. 

Septimus,  in  The  Doldrum.  Farce.  By  John  O'Keefe.  Covent 
Garden,  1796. 

Sir  Samuel  Sheepy,  in  The  School  for  Arrogance.  Comedy.  By 
Thomas  Holcroft.  Covent  Garden,  1791. 

Sir  Stately  Perfect,  in  The  Natural  Daughter.  Comedy.  By 
Dunlap.  1799-  New  York  Park  theatre. 

Stephen,  in  Every  Man  in  His  Humour.  Comedy.  By  Ben 
Jonson.  1598. 

Sir  Peter  Curious,  in  The  Telegraph.  Comedy.  By  John  Dent. 
Covent  Garden,  1795. 

Silky,  in  The  Road  to  Ruin.  Comedy.  By  Thomas  Holcroft. 
Covent  Garden,  1792. 

Sancho,  in  Love  Makes  a  Man,  or  The  Fop's  Fortune.  Comedy. 
By  Colley  Cibber.  Drury  Lane,  1701. 

Sir  Adam  Contest,  in  The  Wedding  Day.  Comedy.  By  Eliza- 
beth Inchbald.  Drury  Lane,  1794. 

Sadi,  the  Moor,  in  The  Mountaineers,  or  Love  and  Madness. 
Play.  By  George  Colman,  Jr.  Haymarket,  1795.  Based  on  the 
episode  of  Cardenio,  in  Don  Quixote.  —  "Jefferson  as  Sadi  was 
universally  admired  and  applauded.  The  music  of  the  piece  he  is 
perfectly  acquainted  with,  and  his  manner  of  delivering  the  duets, 
in  conjunction  with  Mrs.  Wilmofs1  notes,  in  Agnes,  communicated 
the  highest  gratification  and  delight."  —  Thespian  Monitor,  Decem- 
ber 1 6,  1809. 

1  MRS.  WlLMOT,  originally  Miss  Webb,  was  first  known  as  Mrs.  Mar- 
shall. She  came  from  England  in  1792,  with  Marshall,  and  both  were 
speedily  accepted  as  favourites.  Mrs.  Marshall  was  reputed  the  best 
chambermaid  actress  of  her  time.  "A  pretty  little  woman,"  says  Dunlap, 
"  and  a  most  charming  actress,  in  the  Pickles  and  romps  of  the  drama." 
She  was  much  admired  by  Washington.  She  returned  to  England,  left 
Marshall,  wedded  Wilmot,  came  back  to  America,  and  here  died. 


118  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

Sir  Harry  Harmless,  in  /'//  Tell  You  What.  Comedy.  By 
Elizabeth  Inchbald.  Haymarket,  1785-86.  Colman  named  this 
piece. 

Sir  David  Daw,  in  The  Wheel  of  Fortune.  Comedy.  By  Rich- 
ard Cumberland.  Drury  Lane,  1795. 

Sebastian,  in  The  Midnight  Hour.  Comedy.  By  Elizabeth  Inch- 
bald.  Covent  Garden,  1788.  From  the  French  of  M.  Damaniant. 

Squire  Richard,  in  The  Provoked  Husband,  or  A  Journey  to 
London.  Comedy.  By  Colley  Gibber.  Drury  Lane,  1728. 

Sampson  Rawbold,  in  The  Iron  Chest.  Tragedy.  By  George 
Colman,  Jr.  Drury  Lane,  1796. 

Stave,  in  The  Shipwreck.  Comic  Opera.  By  S.  J.  Arnold. 
Drury  Lane,  1796. 

Solus,  in  Every  One  Has  His  Fault.  Comedy.  By  Elizabeth 
Inchbald.  Covent  Garden,  1793.  A  fine  portrait  of  Jefferson,  as 
Solus,  appears  in  the  Wemyss  collection  of  theatrical  portraits. 

Sir  Benjamin  Dove,  in  The  Brothers.  Comedy.  By  Richard 
Cumberland.  Covent  Garden,  1769. 

Sharpset,  in  The  Votary  of  Wealth.  Comedy.  By  J.  G.  Hoi- 
man.  Covent  Garden,  1799. 

Sir  Robert  Bramble,  and  also  Dr.  Ollapod,  in  The  Poor  Gentle- 
man. Comedy.  By  George  Colman,  Jr.  Covent  Garden,  1802. 

Sir  Peter  Teazle,  Sir  Oliver  Surface,  Charles  Surface,  Crabtree, 
and  Moses,  in  The  School  for  Scandal.  By  Richard  Brinsley 
Sheridan.  First  acted,  May  8,  1777,  at  Drury  Lane. 

Sheepface,  in  The  Village  Lawyer.     Farce.     From  the  French. 

'795- 

Sir  Hugh  Evans,  in  Shakespeare's  The  Merry  Wives  of  Windsor. 
Sir  Owen  Ap  Griffith,  in  The  Welsh  Girl.     Vaudeville. 
Scaramouch,  in  Don  Juan. 

T. 

Toby,  in  The  Wandering  Jew,  or  Lovers  Masquerade.  Comedy. 
By  Andrew  Franklin.  Drury  Lane,  1797. 

Toby  Allspice,  in  The  Way  to  Get  Married.  Comedy.  By 
Thomas  Morton.  Covent  Garden,  1796. 

Tom  Seymour,  in  Fortune's  Fool.  Comedy.  By  Frederic 
Reynolds.  Covent  Garden,  1796. 


LIFE   OF  JEFFERSON  119 

Tom  Holton,  in  Tell  Truth  and  Shame  the  Devil.  Comedy. 
By  Dunlap.  John  Street  theatre,  New  York,  1797.  Reduced  to 
one  act,  and  played  at  Covent  Garden,  London,  May  18,  1799,  for 
benefit  of  Mrs.  Johnson. 

Touchstone,  Adam,  Le  Beau,  and  William,  in  As  You  Like 
It. 

Toby  Thatch,  in  The  London  Hermit,  or  Rambles  in  Dorset- 
shire. Comedy.  By  John  O'Keefe.  Haymarket,  1793. 

Tagg,  in  The  Spoiled  Child.  Farce.  Drury  Lane,  1790.  At- 
tributed to  Isaac  Bickerstaff. 

Tallboy,  in  The  Spanish  Barber.  Musical  Farce.  By  George 
Colman,  Sr.  Haymarket,  1777. 

Tristram  Fickle,  in  The  Weathercock.  Farce.  By  J.  T.  Ailing- 
ham.  Drury  Lane,  1806.  —  "Jefferson's  Tristram,  lively,  active, 
and  productive  of  real  merriment." —  Thespian  Monitor,  December 
13,  1809. 

Tim  Tartlet,  in  The  First  Floor.  Farce.  By  James  Cobb. 
Drury  Lane,  1787. 

Tom  Starch,  in  The  Wise  Man  of  the  East.  Play.  By  Elizabeth 
Inchbald.  Adapted  from  Kotzebue.  Covent  Garden,  1799. 

Thomas,  in  The  Good  Neighbor.     Farce. 

Timothy  Quaint,  in  The  Soldier's  Daughter.  Comedy.  By 
Andrew  Cherry.  Drury  Lane,  1804.  Edwin  Forrest,  in  his  youth, 
often  acted  Malfort,  in  this  piece.  The  Soldiers  Daughter  was 
revived  in  Boston,  at  the  Globe  theatre,  in  June,  1872,  but  it  did 
not  please  the  public. 

v. 

Varland,  in  The  West  Indian.  Comedy.  By  Richard  Cumber- 
land. Drury  Lane,  1771. 

w. 

Williams,  in  He^s  Much  to  Blame.  Comedy.  By  Thomas 
Holcroft.  Covent  Garden,  1798. 

William,  in  the  opera  of  Rosina.  By  Mrs.  Brooke.  Covent 
Garden,  1783.  Bible  story  of  Boaz  and  Ruth. 

Witzki,  in  Zorinski.  Drama.  By  Thomas  Morton.  Hay- 
market,  1795. 


120  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 


v. 


Young  Scharfeneck,  in  The  Force  of  Calumny .  Drama.  Adapted 
from  the  German,  by  Dunlap. 

Young  Clackett,  in  The  Guardian.  Comedy.  By  David  Gar- 
rick.  Drury  Lane,  1759,  1773.  Based  on  La  Pupille,  by  M.  Fagan. 


Zekiel  Homespun,  in  The  Heir  at  Law.  Comedy.  By  George 
Colman,  Jr.  Haymarket,  1797. 

Born  in  1774,  five  years  before  the  death  of  Garrick, 
and  dying  in  1832,  one  year  before  the  birth  of  Edwin 
Booth,  Joseph  Jefferson's  lifetime  covered  much  of  the 
period  of  the  Kembles  and  Edmund  Kean,  in  England, 
and  of  Dunlap,  Wignell,  Warren,  Wood,  and  others  who 
aided  to  build  the  foundations  of  the  stage  in  Amer- 
ica. He  saw  the  rise  and  fall  of  Hodgkinson  and  of 
Fennell,  and  the  advent  of  Cooper,  Junius  Brutus  Booth, 
Maywood,  Conway,  Hamblin,  and  Forrest.  He  acted  in 
the  same  company  with  the  beautiful  Anne  Brunton 
and  the  wonderful  Mary  Duff.1  He  made  his  advent  in 

1  MARY  A.  D.  DUFF,  1794-1857.  —  She  was,  probably,  the  greatest  tragic 
actress  that  ever  trod  our  stage.  It  was  to  her  that  the  poet  Moore  re- 
ferred, in  his  lovely  song,  "  While  gazing  on  the  moon's  light."  She  was 
born  in  London;  married  John  R.  Duff,  of  the  Dublin  stage;  came  with 
him  to  America  in  1810;  and  in  subsequent  years  had  a  career  of  astonish- 
ing brilliancy,  —  darkened,  however,  by  much  misfortune.  She  died,  of 
cancer,  at  No.  36  West  Ninth  street,  New  York,  and  is  buried  in  Green- 
wood (lot  8999,  grave  805).  Her  life  has  been  affectionately  written  by 
Ireland.  Ludlow  describes  her  as  "refined,  yet  powerful;  not  boisterous, 
yet  forcible;  graceful  in  all  her  motions,  and  dignified  without  stiffness." 
She  had  lived  a  Catholic  all  her  days,  but  she  became  a  Methodist  toward 
the  last,  after  her  marriage  with  Mr.  J.  G.  Sevier,  of  New  Orleans.  Her 
death  and  burial  were  obscure,  and  for  many  years  her  fate  remained  un- 
known, —  some  of  her  relatives  being  averse  to  the  association  of  her  name 
with  the  stage,  and  desirous  of  leaving  the  subject  in  oblivion.  She  was  a 


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LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  121 

the  second  term  of  the  presidency  of  Washington,  when 
the  American  Republic  consisted  of  only  sixteen  States 
and  contained  a  population  of  barely  four  millions,1  and, 
living  through  the  terms  of  Adams,  Jefferson,  Madison, 
Monroe,  and  John  Quincy  Adams,  he  died  in  the  first 
term  of  Andrew  Jackson.  It  was  a  courtly  period  in 
American  history,  and  Joseph  Jefferson  was  one  of  its 
most  conspicuous  ornaments.  He  differed  materially 
from  his  father,  not  in  worth  or  honour,  but  in  important 
personal  attributes  and  in  the  general  character  of  his 
life.  He  was  less  sturdy,  less  bluff,  less  genial  and  com- 
panionable, less  a  man  of  the  world,  and  more  a  studious 
recluse.  His  temperament  was  more  delicate,  his  nat- 
ure more  reticent,  his  mind  more  ambitious,  his  faculties 
more  nimble  and  more  brilliant ;  and  his  life  seems  to 
have  been  carefully  planned  and  rigidly  governed.  He 
saw  at  an  early  age  both  the  direction  of  his  talents 
and  the  goal  of  his  desires ;  and  thereafter,  in  a  spirit  of 
simple  self-devotion,  he  moved  forward  to  the  attainment 
of  high  and  honourable  ends.  He  was  essentially  a 
virtuous  person,  acting  always  from  the  monitions  of 
principle,  never  from  the  promptings  of  impulse  or  the 
fickle  whims  of  expediency  or  of  social  custom.  His 
consideration  for  others  was  an  exact  regard  for  their 
rights  and  a  tender  sympathy  with  their  feelings.  He 
was  unselfish,  devoid  of  conceit  and  affectation,  and  he 
loved  the  dramatic  art  more  than  he  loved  himself.  His 
wish  was  to  live  the  life  of  a  good  man  and  to  win  the 

good  woman  as  well  as  a  great  actress.  See  my  Shadows  of  the  Stage, 
Vol.  II. 

1  In  1790  the  population  of  those  States  was  3,929,214.     The  city  of 
New  York,  as  late  as  1807,  contained  scarcely  more  than  80,000  persons. 


122  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

success  of  a  great  comedian,  and  that  wish  was  nobly 
accomplished.  For  business  enterprise  he  had  but  little 
either  of  taste  or  talent,  and  his  mental  constitution  was 
such  as  required  that  personal  advancement  should  be 
the  result  of  personal  desert  and  worthy  achievement. 
His  ambition  was  to  grasp  success  itself,  and  not  to 
grasp  merely  its  emoluments,  and  he  would  have  been 
made  miserable  by  honour  and  wealth  that  he  had  not 
merited.  That  fine  nature,  flowing  into  all  his  works 
and  ways,  inspired  his  acting  with  lovely  and  winning 
attributes,  —  those  indefinable  charms  which  far  tran- 
scend words  and  actions,  in  the  expression  of  the  soul. 
His  lack,  if  such  it  may  be  deemed,  was  one  that  is  nat- 
ural and  usual  in  a  comedian,  —  a  lack  of  passion.  No 
deadly  conflict  could  ever  have  raged  upon  the  theatre 
of  that  serene  spirit  ;  no  pall  of  tempest  could  ever 
have  lowered  over  its  pure,  pellucid  depths.  He  felt  no 
wounds  but  those  that  strike  the  heart.  His  private 
life  was  lived  in  the  affections ;  his  public  life  in  that 
realm  of  dramatic  art  which  requires,  exclusively,  ob- 
servation mingled  with  invention,  eccentricity  tempered 
by  fancy,  and  humour  touched  with  tenderness.  As  an 
actor  his  superiority  appears  to  have  consisted  in  his  ex- 
traordinary thoroughness  and  felicity  of  treatment.  His 
genius  did  not  overwhelm,  but  it  always  delighted  and 
satisfied.  His  contemporaries  universally  commended 
him  as  a  natural  actor.  His  artifice,  accordingly,  must 
have  been  perfect,  and  must  have  been  employed  with 
consummate  skill ;  for  no  actor  ever  yet  produced  the 
effect  of  nature  by  being  perfectly  natural.  He  pos- 
sessed, in  ample  variety,  the  rich  treasures  of  wise  and 
safe  tradition,  but  he  used  those  treasures  with  the  bold- 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  123 

ness  of  an  original  mind ;  and  therefore  he  left  upon  his 
age  the  impression,  not  of  a'  copyist,  but  a  creator.  His 
artistic  ancestors,  if  conjecture  be  not  idle,  were  Robert 
Wilks  (1670-1732)  and  Thomas  Dogget  (obiit  1721). 
He  had  the  deep  feeling,  the  delicacy,  the  versatility 
and  the  dash  of  Wilks,  and  he  had  more  than  Dogget's 
glowing  humour  and  consistent  and  polished  art.  "  I 
can  only  copy  nature  from  the  originals  before  me,"  said 
Sir  Godfrey  Kneller,  to  Dogget ;  "  but  you  can  vary 
them  at  pleasure,  and  yet  preserve  the  likeness."  That 
was  likewise  true  of  Jefferson  ;  and  there  can  be  no  tes- 
timonial more  explanatory  of  his  charm,  or  more  signifi- 
cant of  his  exalted  powers  and  achievements,  alike  in 
the  conservation,  the  improvement,  and  the  transmission 
of  the  best  tradition  of  comedy-acting  on  the  English 
stage,  than  the  eloquent  fact  that  the  actors,  who  are 
habitually  severe  censors  of  each  other,  —  actors  like 
Hodgkinson,  Cooper,  Kean,  and  Forrest,  —  heartily,  and 
with  one  accord,  pronounced  him  the  finest  comedian  of 
the  age  in  which  he  lived. 


Ill 

ELIZABETH    JEFFERSON 

1810-1890 

ELIZABETH  JEFFERSON,  whose  recollections  have  been 
incorporated  in  my  sketch  of  her  father,  was  born  in 
Philadelphia,  about  the  year  1810,  and  in  the  spring  of 
1827,  when  seventeen  years  of  age,  was  presented  at  the 
Chestnut  Street  theatre  as  Rosina,  in  The  Spanish  Bar- 
ber}- She  had  a  lovely  voice,  and  had  been  carefully 
instructed  and  trained  in  music ;  but  her  timidity  and 
inexperience,  on  the  first  night,  marred  her  efforts,  and 
her  attempt  was  accounted  a  failure.  Cowell,  who  pre- 
ceded Wemyss  in  the  stage  management  of  the  Chest- 
nut, when  Warren  and  Wood  dissolved  their  partner- 
ship, in  1826,  had  the  superintendence  of  the  effort,  and 
he  has  left  this  record  of  it,  in  his  Thirty  Years,  Vol. 

II,  p.  9:- 

"During  this  season,  1826-27,  I  had  the  gratification  of  intro- 
ducing two  of  the  '  fairest  of  creation,1  as  candidates  for  histrionic 
fame  —  a  daughter  of  old  Warren,  and  a  daughter  of  old  Jefferson. 
They  were  cousins,  and  about  the  same  age.  Hetty  Warren  had 
decidedly  the  best  of  the  race  for  favour  at  the  start,  but  Elizabeth 

1  The  Spanish  Barber.  Comedy,  with  songs,  by  George  Colman. 
Haymarket,  1777.  Taken  from  Le  Barbiere  de  Seville,  by  P.  A.  C.  de 
Beaumarchais. 

124 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  125 

Jefferson  soon  shot  ahead,  and  maintained  a  decided  superiority. 
Poor  girls !  They  were  both  born  and  educated  in  affluence,  and 
both  lived  to  see  their  parents  sink  to  the  grave  in  comparative 
poverty.  Hetty  married  a  big  man  named  Willis,  —  a  very  talented 
musician,  —  much  against  the  will  of  her  doting  father ;  and,  like 
most  arrangements  of  the  kind,  it  proved  a  sorry  one.  Elizabeth 
became  the  wife  of  Sam  Chapman,  in  1828.  He  was  a  very  worthy 
fellow,  with  both  tact  and  talent  in  his  favour,  and  her  lot  promised 
unbounded  happiness." 

Wemyss,  who  saw  Elizabeth  Jefferson's  first  appear- 
ance, gives  concurrent  testimony,  in  his  Theatrical  Biog- 
raphy, chap.  13: — 

"  For  the  benefit  of  Mr.  Jefferson,  whose  name  was  sure  to  fill 
the  house,  his  daughter,  Miss  E.  Jefferson,  made  her  first  appear- 
ance upon  any  stage  as  Rosina,  in  The  Spanish  Barber.  If  Miss 
Warren  was  the  best  debutante  I  had  ever  seen,  Miss  Jefferson  was 
decidedly  the  worst.  She  spoke  so  low,  and  so  completely  lost  all 
self-possession,  that,  had  it  not  been  for  her  father,  she  would  scarcely 
have  escaped  deris'ion.  The  only  redeeming  point  was  her  song  of 
An  Old  Man  would  be  Wooing,  in  which  she  was  feebly  encored. 
From  such  an  unfavourable  beginning  little  was  to  be  expected. 
But,  in  the  race  commenced  between  Miss  Warren  and  herself, 
although  distanced  in  the  first  attempt,  she  soon  outstripped  her 
rival,  in  her  future  career,  rising  step  by  step,  until  she  became,  as 
Mrs.  S.  Chapman,  the  leading  actress  of  the  American  stage,  in  the 
Park  theatre  of  New  York/' 

After  a  dull  beginning  Miss  Jefferson  put  forth  her 
powers  with  augmented  resolution,  and,  —  at  the  Chest- 
nut, and  in  those  wandering  theatrical  expeditions  with 
which  her  renowned  father  closed  his  professional 
career,  —  she  soon  acquired  the  experience  essential 
to  her  success.  Thus  equipped,  she  came  forward  at 
the  Park  theatre,  New  York,  on  September  I,  1834, 
as  Ophelia,  and  there  was  accepted  as  an  actress  of  the 
finest  powers.  She  had  in  the  mean  time  been  married, 


126  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

in  Philadelphia,  to  Samuel  Chapman,  a  young  and 
clever  actor,  who  seems  to  have  been  a  favourite  with 
"old  Jefferson";  but  he  had  died1  shortly  after  their 
marriage,  and  she  was  now  a  widow.  The  bills  an- 
nounced her  as  Mrs.  S.  Chapman.  The  stock  company 
in  which  she  took  her  place  included  T.  H.  Blakeley, 
John  H.  Clarke,  John  Fisher,  H.  B.  Harrison,  Henry 
S.  Hayden,  John  Jones,  W.  H.  Latham,  John  Kemble 
Mason,  Gilbert  Nexsen,  Henry  Placide,  Thomas  Placide, 
T.  Povey,  Henry  Russell,  Peter  Richings,  William 
Wheatley,  Mrs.  Archer,  Mrs.  Durie,  the  lovely  Mrs. 
Gurner,  Mrs.  Harrison,  the  Misses  Turnbull,  Mrs. 
Vernon,  and  Mrs.  Wheatley.  James  William  Wallack 
acted  Hamlet,  to  open  the  season,  and  in  its  course 
Sheridan  Knowles  appeared,  in  a  round  of  his  own 
characters.  Mrs.  Chapman's  success  was  uncommonly 
brilliant. 

"No  actress  who  ever  preceded  or  followed  her  on  the  Park 
stage,"  says  Ireland,  "  excelled  her  in  general  ability,  and  she  was 
the  last  stock  actress  attached  to  the  establishment  fully  competent 
to  sustain  equally  well  the  leading  characters  in  the  most  opposite 
walks  of  the  drama.  Devoid  of  stage  trickery,  artless,  unaffected, 
and  perfectly  true  to  nature,  not  beautiful  in  feature,  but  with  a  coun- 

1  SAMUEL  CHAPMAN.  — "  The  Reading  mail  stage,  with  nine  male 
passengers  and  the  driver,  was  stopped  by  three  foot-pads,  a  few  miles 
from  Philadelphia,  in  the  middle  of  the  night.  .  .  .  Chapman,  who  was 
extremely  clever  at  dramatising  local  matters,  took  a  ride  out  to  the  scene 
of  the  robbery,  the  better  to  regulate  the  action  of  a  piece  he  was  pre- 
paring on  the  subject,  was  thrown  from  his  horse,  and  slightly  grazed  his 
shoulder.  He  had  to  wear,  that  night,  a  suit  of  brass  armour,  and,  the 
weather  being  excessively  hot,  he  wore  it  next  his  skin,  which  increased 
the  excoriation,  and  it  was  supposed  the  verdigris  had  poisoned  the 
wound.  At  any  rate,  he  died,  in  a  week  after  the  accident.  .  .  ."  — 
Cowell's  Thirty  Years,  Vol.  II.,  chap.  9. 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  127 

tenance  beaming  with  beauty  of  expression,  in  whatever  character 
cast,  she  always  succeeded  in  throwing  a  peculiar  charm  around  it, 
and  in  making  herself  admired  and  appreciated.  Her  performance 
of  Julia,  in  The  Hunchback,  first  stamped  her  reputation  as  an  artist 
of  the  highest  rank.  Her  engagement  was  a  continued  triumph, 
and  her  retirement  from  the  stage,  in  the  spring  of  1835,  on  her 
marriage  with  Mr.  Richardson,  a  source  of  deep  and  earnest 
regret." 

The  marriage  was  contracted  with  Mr.  Augustus 
Richardson,  of  Baltimore.  Cowell  mentions  him,  as  "  a 
clever  young  printer,"  whom  he  met,  in  company  with 
Junius  Brutus  Booth,  at  Annapolis,  in  1829.  Mr. 
Richardson,  like  his  matrimonial  predecessor,  died  sud- 
denly, in  consequence  of  an  accident ;  and  his  widow, 
returning  to  the  stage,  was  again  seen  at  the  Park.  She 
subsequently  went  into  the  South,  joining  her  brother 
Joseph  and  other  relatives  and  connections.  After  her 
brother's  death,  in  1842,  she  managed  for  a  time  the 
theatre  at  Mobile;  and  at  that  place,  in  1849,  sne 
was  married  to  Charles  J.  B.  Fisher,  —  brother  to  the 
famous  vocalist,  Clara  Fisher,  —  whose  death,  in  1859, 
aged  fifty-four,  left  her  again  a  widow.  Those  bereave- 
ments were  not  her  worst  afflictions.  One  of  her  sons 
was  murdered  in  New  Orleans,  and  another,  Vernon, 
became  insane  from  a  fall,  and,  after  lingering  for  many 
years  in  lunacy,  expired  in  an  asylum.  Her  own  death 
was  stated,  in  Brown's  History  of  the  American  Stage, 
p.  310,  to  have  occurred  in  1853,  but  that  was  an  error. 
A  strong  will,  an  intrepid  spirit,  and  a  magnificent 
constitution,  sustained  her,  in  patience  and  steadfast 
industry,  to  a  great  age.  For  many  years  she  was  a 
teacher  of  music  ;  and  one  of  her  daughters,  —  Clara 
Fisher,  named  after  her  distinguished  relative,  now 


128  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

(1894)  Mrs.  Maeder,  —  was  favourably  known  as  a 
vocalist.  Charles  J.  B.  Fisher's  first  appearance  on 
the  stage  was  made  at  the  Mobile  theatre,  in  1842,  as 
Dazzle,  in  London  Assurance. 

The  musical  style  of  Elizabeth  Jefferson  was  based 
on  that  of  the  beautiful  Garcia,1  whom  she  saw  at  the 
New  York  Park  theatre  in  the  season  of  1825,  having 
been  sent  from  Philadelphia  to  observe  and  study  that 
incomparable  model.  When  only  eleven  years  old  she 
was  elected  an  honorary  member  of  the  Musical  Fund 
Society,  of  Philadelphia.  John  Sinclair,  the  vocalist, 
father  of  Catherine  Sinclair,  who  became  the  wife  of 
Edwin  Forrest,  repeatedly  designated  her  the  best  singer 
in  America,  and  more  than  once  offered  her  a  star  posi- 
tion in  his  musical  company.  Had  she  devoted  herself 
exclusively  to  either  the  lyric  or  dramatic  stage,  and  re- 
sisted the  allurements  of  ideal  domesticity,  she  might  have 
reached  the  greatest  eminence.  Before  she  came  to  the 
Park  theatre,  Henry  J.  Finn,  the  comedian,  had  assured 
Edmund  Simpson,  the  manager,  that  she  was  beyond 
rivalry  as  a  comedy  actress ;  and  Finn  had  offered  her 
the  leading  business,  on  her  own  terms,  at  the  St.  Charles 
theatre,  New  Orleans.  Tyrone  Power  had  also  spoken 
of  her,  with  unstinted  admiration.  Edwin  Forrest,  in 

1  SIGNORINA  MARIA  FELICIT&  GARCIA.  —  Born  in  1808.  Made  her  first 
appearance  in  1823,  at  Covent  Garden.  Appeared  at  the  Park  theatre, 
New  York,  November  29,  1825,  as  Rosina.  Was  married  on  March  23, 
1826,  to  Eugene  Malibran.  Made  her  last  appearance  in  America,  Octo- 
ber 28,  1827,  at  the  Bowery  theatre,  New  York,  as  the  Princess  of  Navarre, 
in  John  of  Paris.  Went  to  Europe  and  had  great  success  as  Mme.  Mali- 
bran.  Obtained  a  divorce  from  her  husband  and  married  the  violinist  De 
Beriot.  Died  September  17,  1836,  at  Manchester,  England,  in  her  twenty- 
eighth  year,  and  is  there  buried.  She  was  a  wonder  of  genius  and  beauty. 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  129 

whose  support  she  had  acted,  at  Washington,  declared 
her  to  be  the  best  tragic  actress  on  the  stage.  "  She 
is  the  best  Lady  Macbeth  we  have,"  he  said,  "  and  the 
only  Pauline."  Somebody  asked  Simpson  how  he  had 
happened  to  hear  of  her  as  an  actress.  "  I  have  heard 
of  nobody  else  for  two  years,"  he  answered.  During 
the  Park  engagement  of  Sheridan  Knowles,  she  acted 
in  all  the  plays  produced  for  him,  —  The  Hunchback. 
William  Tell,  Virginius,  The  Wife,  etc.,  —  and  the 
famous  author  was  fascinated  with  her  loveliness  and 
her  genius.  Ever  afterward,  in  writing  to  her  from 
England,  he  addressed  her  as  Lady  Julia  Rochdale,  and 
signed  his  letters,  "Your  father,  Walter."  It  was  as 
Julia  that  she  made  her  first  hit  at  the  Park ;  and  her 
popularity  there  was  so  great  that  every  omission  of 
her  name  from  the  bill  would  cause  a  serious  fall  in  the 
receipts.  Yet  she  was  only  a  member  of  the  stock  com- 
pany, receiving  a  salary  of  $30  a  week  ;  and  the  receipts 
from  her  farewell  benefit  performance  were  only  $882. 
Elizabeth  Jefferson  (she  acted  as  Mrs.  Chapman  in  1834, 
and  as  Mrs.  Richardson  in  1835  and  1837)  was  the 
original  representative  in  America  of  several  important 
characters  in  modern  comedy,  vaudeville,  and  burlesque- 
A  few  of  those  parts  may  be  named  :  — 

Bess    ....     in  .  .  The  Beggar  of  Bethnal  Green. 

Eliza   .     .     .     .     «  .  .  The  Dumb  Belle. 

Gabrielle ..."  .  .  Tom  Noddy's  Secret. 

Gertrude  ..."  .  .  The  Loan  of  a  Lover. 

Julia    .     .     .     .     "  .  .  The  Hunchback. 

Lydia  .     .     .     .     "  .  .  The  Love  Chase. 

Lissette  Gerstein    "  .  .  The  Swiss  Cottage. 

Marianne      .     .      "  .  .  The  Wife. 

Oliver  Twist  "  .  .  Oliver  Twist. 

i 


130  LIFE  OF   JEFFERSON 

Pauline    ...     in     .     The  Lady  of  Lyons. 
Perseus    ...     "     .     The  Deep,  Deep  Sea. 
Smike      ...     "     .     Nicholas  Nickleby. 

Her  repertory  also  included,  aside  from  more  conspicu- 
ous characters  :  — 

Amina     ...  in  .  The  Somnambulist. 

Cinderella    .     .  "  .  Cinderella. 

Esmeralda    .     .  "  .  The  Hunchback  of  Notre  Dame. 

Helen  Worret  .  "  .  Man  and  Wife,  or  More  Secrets  than  One. 

Jenny      ...  "  .  The  Widow's  Victim. 

Maria      ...  "  .  Of  Age  To-morrow. 

Mimi  ....  "  .  The  Pet  of  the  Petticoats. 

Mrs.  Budd    .     .  "  .  My  Wife's  Mother. 

Mrs.  Lynx    .     .  "  .  Married  Life. 

Mme.  de  Manville  "  .  Married  Lovers. 

Myrtello  ...  "  .  The  Broken  Sword. 

Rosina    .......  The  Barber. 

Therese  ...  "  .  Secret  Service. 

Vettoria  ...  "  .  The  Knight  of  the  Golden  Fleece. 

A  complete  list  of  her  embodiments  would  fill  several 
pages.  Her  range  extended  from  Little  Pickle  to  Lady 
Macbeth,  and  in  all  that  she  attempted  she  was  excel- 
lent. Time  makes  sad  havoc  with  beauty  and  popularity. 
In  those  bright  days  of  the  old  Park  theatre  when 
Elizabeth  Jefferson  walked  abroad,  her  footsteps  were 
followed  by  the  admiring  glances  of  hundreds  of  wor- 
shippers. There  came  a  time  when  her  slight  and  faded 
figure,  clad  in  the  sable  garments  of  grief,  would  flit 
by  unnoticed  in  the  crowd.  She  passed  some  time, 
toward  the  close  of  her  life,  at  St.  John,  Newfoundland, 
where  she  gave  instruction  in  music.  She  died,  at 
No.  139  West  2Oth  street,  New  York,  on  November  18, 
1890,  closing  in  poverty  and  oblivion  a  career  most 
sadly  admonitive  of  the  evanescence  of  human  happi- 
ness, worldly  fortune,  and  theatrical  renown. 


IV 

JOSEPH   JEFFERSON 

1804-1842 

JOSEPH  JEFFERSON,  the  father  of  our  Rip  Van  Winkle, 
lived  an  uneventful  life,  the  story  of  which  naturally 
takes  the  form  of  a  tribute  to  beauty  and  worth  of  char- 
acter rather  than  a  narrative  of  achievements  that  con- 
cern the  world.  Joseph  Jefferson,  the  third  of  the  Jeffer- 
son  Family  of  Actors,  was  born  at  Philadelphia,  in  1804, 
and  in  that  city  he  received  his  education  and  grew  to 
manhood.  While  a  boy  he  did  not  evince  a  taste  for 
the  stage,  but  preferred  the  study  of  architecture  and 
drawing ;  and  that  he  pursued  diligently  and  with  suc- 
cess. In  those  branches,  and  also  in  painting,  he  was 
instructed  by  Robert  Coyle,1  an  English  scenic  artist,  of 
repute  at  that  period.  There  is  no  positive  record  of 
his  first  appearance  upon  the  stage,  but  it  is  remembered 
that  he  sometimes  played  such  parts  as  the  First  Mur- 
derer, in  Macbeth,  while  yet  a  youth.  His  name  appears 
in  the  playbills  of  the  Chestnut  Street  theatre  as  early 
as  1814,  and  it  is  known  that  when  finally  he  had  adopted 

1  ROBERT  COYLE  was  killed  by  an  accidental  fall  from  a  wagon,  his 
horse  having  suddenly  started  in  fright.  A  performance  for  the  benefit  of 
his  widow  occurred  at  the  Bowery  theatre,  New  York,  August  22,  1827. 


132  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

the  dramatic  profession,  he  made  himself  a  good  actor  in 
the  line  of  old  men.  In  1824,  he  was  a  member  of  the 
dramatic  company  of  the  Chatham  Garden  theatre,  New 
York,  under  the  management  of  Henry  Barriere.  That 
company  comprised  Andrew  J.  Allen,  George  H.  Bar- 
rett, Thomas  Burke,  John  M.  Collins,  C.  Durang,  Thomas 
Kilner,  who  was  stage-manager,  Henry  George  More- 
land,  William  Oliff,  once  prompter  at  the  old  Park  thea- 
tre, W.  Robertson,  Alexander  Simpson, Spiller, 

Somerville,  John  Augustus  Stone,  —  who  after- 
ward wrote  Metamora,  for  Edwin  Forrest,  —  Henry 

Wallack,  Williamson,  Mrs.  Allen,  Mrs.  Burke, 

Mrs.  P.  M.  Clark,  Mrs.  Durang,  Mrs.  Entwistle  (who 
had  been  Mrs.  Mason  and  who  became  Mrs.  Crooke), 
Miss  Henry,  afterward  famous  as  the  beautiful  Mrs. 
Barrett,  Mrs.  Kilner,  Miss  Oliff,  Mrs.  Spiller,  Mrs.  H. 
Wallack,  Mrs.  Walstein,  and  Mrs.  Caroline  Placide  War- 
ing,1 widow  of  Leigh  Waring,  and  afterwards  the  wife 
of  William  Rufus  Blake.  The  theatre  was  opened  for 
its  third  season  on  May  17,  1824,  with  The  Soldier's 
Daughter  and  Raising  the  Wind,  and  the  casts  of  the 
night  set  Jefferson's  name  against  the  characters  of 
Woodley  and  Fainwould.  His  acting,  on  that  and  sub- 
sequent occasions,  was  thought  to  give  a  promise  of 
excellence.  He  did  not  long  remain  in  New  York,  but 
went  back  to  Philadelphia ;  and  there,  and  in  Washing- 
ton, Baltimore,  and  the  adjacent  region,  he  fulfilled  dis- 

1  ANN  D.  WARING,  daughter  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Leigh  Waring,  became 
the  wife  of  James  W.  Wallack,  Jr.,  son  of  Henry  Wallack,  and  by  the  mar- 
riage of  Blake  to  Mrs.  Waring,  James  W.  Wallack,  Jr.,  became  Blake's 
step-son-in-law,  —  a  relationship  between  those  actors  which  was  ever  the 
cause  of  some  mirth.  Ann  D.  Waring's  first  husband  was  William  Sefton. 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  133 

cursively  his  theatrical  duties.  In  1826,  at  the  age  of 
twenty-two,  he  was  married'  to  Mrs.  Thomas  Burke, 
whom  he  had  first  met  at  the  Chatham  Garden  theatre, 
and  who  was  eight  years  his  senior.  That  was  a  love- 
match,  and  the  marriage  proved  exceptionally  happy 
and  fortunate.  After  his  father  left  Philadelphia,  in  the 
season  of  1829-30,  he  managed  for  him,  in  Washington, 
Lancaster,  Harrisburg,  and  other  cities,  and  he  remained 
with  him  till  the  end.  During  the  season  of  1831-32 
he  directed  the  theatre  in  Washington.  During  the 
seasons  of  1835-37  ne  was  connected,  successively,  with 
the  Franklin  theatre,  at  No.  175  Chatham  street,  New 
York,  and  with  Niblo's  Garden.  At  the  Franklin  he 
was  scene-painter  as  well  as  actor.  Mobb  the  Outlazu, 
or  Jemmy  Twitcher  in  France,  a  version  of  Robert 
Macaire,  was  given  there,  on  May  2,  1836,  with  new 
scenery  painted  by  him.  On  May  25,  he  acted  King 
Arthur,  in  the  travestie  of  Tom  Thumb.  On  June  I, 
The  Hunchback  was  performed,  for  his  benefit,  with  his 
sister  Elizabeth  as  Julia,  and  with  his  wife  in  the  bill, 
for  a  song.  The  latter  had  been  absent  about  ten  years 
from  the  New  York  stage,  and  it  was  observed  that  her 
voice  and  person  had  been  impaired  by  time.  On  March 
i,  1837,  Jefferson  took  another  benefit,  the  bill  compris- 
ing The  Lady  of  the  Lake,  The  Forty  Thieves,  and  a 
vaudeville  entitled  The  Welsh  Girl,  in  the  latter  of  which 
pieces  he  represented  Sir  Owen  Ap  Griffith.  Mrs.  Jef- 
ferson appeared  as  Blanche  of  Devon,  and  as  Morgiana. 
Charles  Burke,  her  son,  then  a  lad  of  fifteen,  took  part 
in  the  exercises,  singing  a  song  entitled  The  Beautiful 
Boy.  The  fourth  Jefferson,  Rip  Van  Winkle,  then  eight 
years  old,  was  present  at  that  performance.  For  a  few 


134  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

weeks  during  the  summer  of  1837  Jefferson  and  John 
Sefton  managed  a  vaudeville  company  at  Niblo's  Garden, 
and  produced  musical  farces.  Miss  Jane  Anderson,  Miss 
De  Bar  (first  wife  of  J.  B.  Booth,  Jr.),  Mrs.  Bailey, 
Alexina  Fisher  (afterward  Mrs.  Lewis  Baker),  Mrs.  Gur- 
ner,  Mrs.  Harrison,  Mrs.  Henry,  Mrs.  Knight,  Mrs. 
Maeder  (Clara  Fisher),  Mrs.  Richardson,  and  Mrs.  Watts 
appeared  in  that  company,  as  also  did  T.  Bishop,  William 
Edwin,  William  Henry,  Joseph  Jefferson,  W.  H.  Latham, 

Lewellen,  Cramer  Plumer,  John  Sefton,  Edward 

Thayer,  Jacob  Thoman,  J.  W.  Wallack,  Jr.,  and  P.  Wil- 
liams. The  season  ended  on  September  16,  1837,  and 
that  proved  Jefferson's  farewell  of  the  New  York  stage. 
He  proceeded  with  his  family  to  Chicago,  there  joining 
his  brother-in-law,  Alexander  Mackenzie ;  and  the  rest 
of  his  career  —  made  up  of  wandering  and  vicissitude 
—  was  accomplished  in  the  West  and  South,  in  a  primi- 
tive period  of  the  American  theatre.  He  seldom  met 
with  prosperity,  but  he  possessed  the  Mark  Tapley  tem- 
perament, and  his  spirits  always  rose  when  his  fortunes 
were  at  the  worst.  He  was  manager,  actor,  scene-painter, 
stage-carpenter,  —  anything  and  everything  connected 
with  the  art  and  business  of  the  stage.  He  understood 
it  all,  and  in  every  relation  that  he  sustained  toward  it 
he  was  faithful,  thorough,  and  adequate  to  his  duties. 
The  dramatic  chronicles  give  but  little  attention  to  his 
proceedings ;  yet  they  bear  invariable  testimony  to  his 
personal  charm,  winning  simplicity,  and  intellectual  and 
moral  worth.  His  trials  were  bravely  met ;  his  hard- 
ships were  patiently  borne  ;  and,  to  the  end,  he  laboured 
in  steadfast  cheerfulness  and  hope,  making  good  use  of 
his  talents  and  opportunities,  and  never  repining  at  his  lot. 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  135 

"  The  father  of  our  Rip  Van  Winkle  "  —  so,  in  a  letter  to  me, 
wrote  the  veteran  manager,  John  T.  Ford  —  "was  one  of  the  most 
lovable  men  that  ever  lived.  He  acted  occasionally,  painted  almost 
constantly,  and  when  he  had  a  theatre,  as  sometimes  happened,  he 
managed  his  business  with  that  careless  amiability,  almost  amount- 
ing to  weakness,  that  was  inseparable  from  his  nature.  Once,  when 
he  was  managing  in  Washington,  he  was  so  poor  that,  wanting 
Edwin  Forrest  to  act  there,  he  had  to  walk  to  Baltimore,  forty 
miles,  and  did  so,  to  solicit  him.  He  enjoyed  life,  in  a  dreamy 
way,  and  his  only  anxiety  was  for  his  children." 

Another  kindly  picture  of  him  is  afforded  by  his  sis- 
ter Elizabeth,  who  wrote  to  me  as  follows  :  — 

"  My  brother  Joe  was  a  gentle,  good  man,  true  and  kind  in  every 
relation  of  life.  He  was  very  like  his  father,  —  so  much  so  that,  in 
the  play  of  The  Exile,1  when  the  latter  had  to  dance  in  domino,  Joe 
would  often,  to  save  his  father  the  trouble,  put  on  the  dress  and 
dance  the  quadrille,  and  no  spectator  could  tell  the  difference,  or 
was  aware  of  the  change  of  persons.  He  was  fond  of  his  fireside, 
serene  in  adversity,  humble  in  prosperity,  affectionate  in  tempera- 
ment, and  beloved  by  all  who  knew  him.  Painting  was  his  great 
passion.  He  became  a  very  good  actor  in  old  men.  He  was  an 
inveterate  quiz.  I  have  se'en  him,  —  when  he  was  manager  as  well 
as  actor,  —  after  making  a  mistake  on  the  stage,  fix  his  composed 
and  solemn  gaze  magisterially  upon  some  one  of  the  supers,  till  the 
poor  fellow  came  really  to  think  that  the  blunder  had  been  made  by 
himself,  and  trembled  lest  he  might  be  discharged.  Joe  married 
Mrs.  Burke,  who  was  a  great  singer.  No  voice  that  I  ever  heard 
could  compare  with  hers,  except,  possibly,  that  of  Parepa.  My 
father  feared  that,  as  Joe  was  so  much  younger  than  his  wife,  the 
match  might  not  turn  out  well ;  but  there  never  was  a  happier 
marriage.  Indeed,  it  could  not  be  otherwise ;  for  Joe  was  all  sun- 
shine, and  she  loved  him,  and  that  says  all." 

Jefferson  was  not  self-assertive,  and,  apparently,  one 
reason  why  he  did  not  take  a  high  rank  in  the  public 

1  The  Exile,  or  The  Desert  of  Siberia.  Musical  Play,  in  three  acts. 
By  Frederic  Reynolds.  Covent  Garden,  November  10,  1818. 


136  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

estimation  was  that  he  did  not  care  to  make  the  essen- 
tial effort.  His  philosophic,  drifting,  serene  disposition 
is  aptly  illustrated  in  this  incident.  An  old  friend  of 
his,  hearing  that  he  had  met  with  great  misfortune 
in  business,  and,  in  fact,  become  bankrupt,  called  at  his 
dwelling  to  cheer  him,  and  was  told  by  Mrs.  Jeffer- 
son that  her  husband  had  gone  fishing.  He  expressed 
surprise,  and,  with  some  vague  apprehension  that  all 
might  not  be  well,  went  to  the  .river  in  search  of  him. 
The  object  of  his  solicitude  was  soon  found,  sitting 
composedly  in  a  shady  nook  on  the  bank  of  the  Schuyl- 
kill,  humming  a  tune,  and  sketching  the  ruins  of  a  mill 
on  the  shore.  Cordial  greetings  having  been  exchanged, 
the  sympathetic  visitor  could  not  conceal  his  aston- 
ishment that  a  crushing  trouble  should  be  accepted 
so  cheerfully.  "  Not  at  all,"  said  Jefferson  ;  "  I  have 
lost  everything,  and  I  am  so  poor  now  that  I  really 
cannot  afford  to  let  anything  worry  me." 

A  few  of  the  characters  that  were  acted  by  the  third 
Jefferson  are  specified  here  :  — 

Admiral  Franklin,  in  Sweethearts  and  Wives. 

Baron  Vanderbushel,  in  The  Sentinel. 

Baptisto,  in  The  Hunter  of  the  Alps. 

Crabtree,  in  The  School  for  Scandal. 

Dogberry,  in  Much  Ado  About  Nothing. 

First  Grave-digger,  in  Hamlet. 

Gratiano,  in  The  Merchant  of  Venice. 

John  Bull,  in  Colman's  comedy  of  John  Bull. 

King  Arthur,  in  Tom  Thumb. 

M.  de  Villecour,  in  Promotion,  or  The  GeneraVs  Hat. 

Mr.  Coddle,  in  Married  Life. 

Memno,  in  Abcellino. 

Naudin,  in  Tom  Noddy"1*  Secret. 

Norfolk,  in  Gibber's  version  of  Shakespeare's  Richard  the  Third. 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  137 

Polonius.  In  the  unconsciously  humorous  sapience  and  half- 
senile  prolixity  of  that  part  he  must,have  been  exceptionally  excellent. 

Raff,  in  The  Conquering  Game. 

Reef,  in  Ambrose  Givinett.     Melodrama.     By  Douglas  Jerrold. 

Sentinel,  in  Pizarro. 

Sentinel,  in  The  Wandering  Boys.     By  M.  M.  Noah. 

Sir  Robert  Bramble,  in  The  Poor  Gentleman. 

Spinoza,  in  Venice  Preserved.  Tragedy.  By  Thomas  Otway. 
1682.  It  is  interesting  to  consider  that  Garrick  placed  the  plays  of 
Otway  next  to  those  of  Shakespeare,  as  to  dramatic  qualities. 

Stanon,  in  The  Blind  Boy.  By  William  Dunlap.  Altered  from 
Kotzebue. 

Tapwell,  in  A  New  Way  to  Pay  Old  Debts. 

Witch,  in  Macbeth. 

Abczllino  was  a  conspicuous  example  of  the  "  wretched 
Dutch  stuff"  that  Dunlap's  actors  despised.  In  later 
days,  at  the  Chatham  Garden  theatre,  it  gave  occasion 
for  a  facetious  exploit  by  Jefferson  and  his  comrades, 
to  the  discomfiture  of  Andrew  Jackson  Allen  (1776- 
1853),  who  was  the  guy  of  the  company.  That  per- 
former was  a  maker  of  ornaments,  of  gold  and  silver 
leather,  for  stage  dresses  ;  and  it  was  he  who  once  as- 
tonished Edwin  Forrest  by  the  inquiry,  "  I  should  like 

to  know  what  in your  Richard  the  Third  would 

amount  to,  without  my  spangles  ? "  Allen  was  partial 
to  the  play  of  Abcellino,  and  he  chose  it  for  his  benefit. 
One  situation  in  it  presents  all  its  persons  on  the  scene, 
and  at  a  certain  moment  they  are  to  exclaim,  "  Where 
is  Abaellino?"  But  Jefferson's  sportive  plan  had  ar- 
ranged that  the  company,  at  this  supreme  moment, 
should  stand  immovable  and  speechless.  Abaellino, 
his  head  darkly  muffled  in  his  cloak,  for  a  while  awaited 
the  cue.  At  last  he  was  heard  to  mutter,  several  times, 
"  Somebody  say,  '  Where's  Abaellino  ! ' '  There  was  no 


138  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

response,  and  the  house  was  already  in  a  titter.  The 
dilemma  was  finally  broken  by  Allen  himself,  who 
loudly  cried  out,  "  If  you  want  to  know  where's  Abael- 
lino,  here  he  is,"  —  and  threw  off  his  disguise,  amid 
general  laughter. 

In  Cowell's  Thirty  Years  there  is  a  glimpse  of  Jeffer- 
son's last  days.  Cowell  had  repaired  to  Mobile,  after 
the  burning  of  the  St.  Charles  theatre,  New  Orleans,  in 
1842,  and  he  refers  to  the  theatre  which  he  there  joined, 
—  a  property  at  the  corner  of  Royal  and  St.  Michael 
streets,  owned  by  James  H.  Caldwell,  leased  in  that 
year  to  Messrs.  E.  De  Vendel  and  Dumas,  and  managed 
for  them  by  Charles  J.  B.  Fisher,  brother  to  Clara 
Fisher,  the  once  famous  singer,  now  Mrs.  Maeder. 
Cowell  says:  — 

"Charles  Fisher,  being  very  desirous  of  proving  his  friendship 
for  the  Jefferson  family,  engaged  all  the  immediate  descendants  of 
'  the  old  man '  now  alive,  and  as  many  of  the  collateral  branches  as 
were  in  want  of  situations.  Mrs.  Richardson  had  been  in  Mobile 
the  season  before,  and  therefore  she  was  the  nucleus  around  whom 
were  clustered  her  two  sisters  and  their  husbands,  Messrs.  Mackenzie 
and  Wright,  her  brother  Joseph  and  his  two  very  clever  children, 
and  her  niece  Mrs.  Germon  and  husband.  The  company,  in  conse- 
quence, was  literally  a  family,  with  the  exception  of  James  Thome 
and  myself,  Mrs.  Stewart,  Morton,  and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hodges:  so 
that  when  poor  Joe  Jefferson  died  the  theatre  had  to  be  closed  two 
nights ;  for  without  the  assistance  of  the  chief  mourners  we  could 
not  make  a  performance." 1 

1  "  OLD  JOE  COWELL  was  an  envious  man,  who  looked  on  the  actions  of 
his  fellow-men  with  an  eye  of  sarcasm,  and  was  ready  at  all  times  to  pick 
a  flaw  in,  and  to  turn  to  ridicule,  their  best  efforts."  —  Ludlow's  Dramatic 
Life,  p.  528.  That  is  found  to  be  true  in  reading  Cowell's  book,  for  the 
spirit  of  the  writer  shines  through  his  words.  Nevertheless,  he  affords  an 
occasional  detail  that  is  of  advantage  to  this  picture  of  the  past. 


LIFE   OF  JEFFERSON  139 

Jefferson's  death  occurred,  suddenly,  at  Mobile,  Ala., 
at  midnight  on  Thursday,  -November  24,  1842.  He 
died  of  yellow  fever,  and  his  remains  were  buried  the 
next  day.  His  grave  is  in  Magnolia  Cemetery,  at 
Mobile  (Square  number  6,  Lot  number  32),  and  it  is 
marked  by  a  white  marble  headstone,  inscribed  with  his 
name,  the  date  of  his  death,  and  the  number  of  his 
years.  He  was  only  thirty-eight.  The  stone  to  com- 
memorate him  was  erected  in  1867,  by  his  son  Joseph, 
and  at  the  same  time  a  wooden  grave-mark,  which  had 
originally  designated  the  spot  (the  sole  tribute  that 
poverty  then  permitted  filial  reverence  to  offer),  was 
brought  away  by  him  and  buried  in  the  earth,  at  his 
home  in  Hohokus,  N.J., — an  estate  that  has  since 
passed  out  of  his  possession. 

The  subjoined  reflections  upon  the  death  of  Jefferson 
were  published,  at  the  time,  in  the  Mobile  Adver- 
tiser:— 

"  Joseph  Jefferson  was  the  second  son  and  the  namesake  of  that 
distinguished  comedian  so  many  years  the  pride  and  ornament  of 
the  Chestnut  Street  theatre  in  Philadelphia,  whose  unblemished 
private  life  was  a  moral  sanction  for  his  public,  reputation ;  and 
never  did  the  unostentatious  virtues  of  a  father  more  purely  descend 
upon  his  offspring  than  in  the  person  of  the  deceased.  He  was  an 
actor  of  great  talent,  and  an  artist  of  unquestioned  excellence. 
Though  living  in  the  public  world,  it  was  not  there  that  his  true 
merit  was  seen ;  and  one  who  has  known  him  many  years,  in  every 
relation  of  life,  may  be  permitted  to  say  that,  as  a  son,  a  brother,  a 
father,  a  husband,  and  a  friend  he  has  left  none  purer  to  lament  his 
death  or  attest  his  virtues.  Guileless  as  a  child,  he  passed  through 
life  in  perfect  charity  to  all  mankind,  and  never,  by  his  nearest  and 
dearest,  was  he  known  to  utter  an  unkind  word  or  entertain  an  illib- 
eral opinion.  .  .  .  His  blameless  nature  was  as  free  from  a  thought 
or  act  of  dishonour  as  the  diamond  is  free  from  alloy." 


140  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

A  portrait  of  Joseph  Jefferson  appears  in  the 
Autobiography  of  his  son,  our  Rip  Van  Winkle,  pub- 
lished in  1889-90.  A  silhouette  likeness  of  him  and 
of  his  wife  is  also  extant.  A  water-colour  portrait 
of  him,  made  by  a  Philadelphia  artist,  named  Wood, 
was  long  in  existence.  It  was  in  a  circular  frame, 
marked  with  masonic  emblems.  It  disappeared,  with 
other  possessions  of  the  family,  in  a  western  city, 
about  1840-42.  Jefferson  was  an  uncommonly  hand- 
some man,  self-contained,  placid,  and  singularly  interest- 
ing. With  the  person,  manners,  and  serene  and  gentle 
temperament  of  an  Addison,  the  actor  was  an  inveter- 
ate wag.  That  ideal  is  the  clearest  image  of  him  that 
lives  in  memory,  and  various  anecdotes  are  told,  to  give 
it  proof.  On  an  occasion,  at  the  Washington  theatre, 
the  play  of  Tekeli  was  presented,  under  Jefferson's  man- 
agement, with  a  melodramatic  actor  named  Dan  Reed 
as  the  hero.  Reed  was  a  large  man,  tall  and  formidable, 
wore  a  tremendous  wig  of  black  hair,  and  spoke  in  tones 
of  thunder.  On  that  occasion  he  was  drunk ;  so  that, 
when  the  first  curtain  fell,  Jefferson  thought  it  best  to 
withdraw  him  from  the  performance.  There  was  a  stage- 
struck  tailor  in  the  theatre,  the  keeper  of  the  wardrobe, 
a  little  man  with  a  small  round  head,  entirely  bald. 
That  person,  seeing  his  opportunity,  offered  himself  as 
a  substitute  for  the  stalwart  and  vociferous  Reed,  —  and 
the  occasion  instantly  became  one  that  Jefferson  could 
not  resist.  He  seized  Reed's  wig,  put  it  on  the  bald 
head  of  the  tailor,  and,  without  a  word  of  explanation  to 
the  audience,  sent  him  on.  The  business  requires  that 
Tekeli  shall  be  brought  upon  the  scene,  in  act  second, 
upon  a  litter,  and  that  he  presently  shall  declare  his 


LIFE   OF  JEFFERSON  141 

identity.  The  little  tailor  rose  to  the  occasion,  assum- 
ing a  fine  attitude,  and  squeaking,  in  a  thin,  shrill  voice, 
"  Hi  ham  Teakaylee  !  "  At  the  same  instant  the  great 
shaggy  wig  dropped  from  his  pate,  and  revealed  that 
object,  hairless,  and  shining  like  a  soap-bubble,  while  a 
deep  voice  from  the  gallery,  improving  the  ensuing 
moment  of  startled  silence,  clearly  ejaculated,  "Great 
Gosh,  what  a  head ! "  The  audience  shrieked  with 
laughter.  Jefferson's  enjoyment  of  the  scene  would, 
naturally,  have  been  profound.  He  kept  a  grave  exte- 
rior, but  he  was  ever  willing  to  gild  the  dulness  and 
drudgery  of  life  with  innocent  merriment.  The  jocose 
element  was  commingled  in  him  with  pensive  gravity 
and  gentleness.  His  character  had  the  calm  beauty  of 
an  autumn  landscape,  of  wooded  hills  and  browning 
meadows,  when  the  sun  is  going  down  :  but  his  achieve- 
ment as  an  actor  was  colourless,  and  he  exerted  no 
appreciable  influence  upon  the  stage. 


CHARLES  BURKE 

1822-1854 

IT  is  the  testimony  of  judicious  observers  who  remem- 
ber Charles  Burke,  that  he  was  pre-eminently  a  man  of 
genius  in  the  dramatic  art ;  but  his  life  was  so  brief,  his 
health  so  delicate,  his  temperament  so  dream-like  and 
drifting,  and  his  experience  so  sad,  that  he  neither  made 
a  rightfully  ample  impression  upon  his  own  period,  nor 
left  an  adequate  memory  to  ours.  Charles  Saint  Thomas 
Burke,  deriving  the  name  of  Saint  from  his  god-father, 
and  that  of  Thomas  from  his  mother,  was  the  son  of 
Thomas  Burke  and  his  wife,  Cornelia  Frances  Thomas, 
and  was  born  in  Philadelphia,  March  27,  1822.  When 
three  years  old  he  was  introduced  upon  the  stage,  being 
utilised  in  a  line  of  infantile  parts,  according  to  the 
custom  of  theatrical  families  in  those  days ;  and  from 
that  time  he  was  devoted  to  a  theatrical  career.  As  a 
lad  he  was  exceedingly  apt  and  intelligent.  He  saw, 
and,  although  very  young  at  the  time,  he  could  in  some 
measure  appreciate,  the  acting  of  the  second  Jefferson, 
and  of  John  and  Thomas  Jefferson,  his  connections,  — 
not  to  speak  of  other  worthies  of  the  Chestnut  Street 
theatre, — and  in  that  good  school  he  was  carefully 

'142 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  143 

trained.  In  the  summer  of  1836,  when  in  his  fifteenth 
year,  he  appeared  at  the  National  theatre,  New  York,  as 
the  Prince  of  Wales,  in  Richard  the  Third.  The  elder 
Booth  was  acting  Gloster.  Later  in  the  season  Burke 
was  seen  as  Prince  John,  in  Henry  the  Fourth,  and  as 
Irus  in  Ion,  —  the  former  play  having  been  produced 
for  J.  H.  Hackett,  as  Falstaff,  and  the  latter  for  George 
Jones,  subsequently  known  as  Count  Joannes.  Burke 
also  occasionally  sang  in  public,  and  he  was  esteemed 
clever  in  comic  vocalism.  Long  before  that  time  his 
mother  had  married  Joseph  Jefferson  (they  were  wedded 
in  1826),  and  when,  at  the  end  of  1837,  his  step-father 
removed  from  New  York  into  the  West,  Burke  went 
with  the'  rest  of  the  family ;  and  he  shared  the  vicissi- 
tudes and  hardships  of  the  wandering  life  which  ensued, 
—  at  first  in  the  dramatic  company  formed  by  Jefferson 
and  his  brother-in-law  Alexander  Mackenzie,  and  after- 
wards with  Sol.  Smith  and  others.  He  was  not  seen 
again  in  New  York  till  1847,  when,  on  July  19,  he 
appeared  at  the  Bowery  theatre,  acting  Ebenezer  Calf, 
in  Ole  Bull,  and  Dickory,  in  The  Spectre  Bridegroom. 
There  he  remained  about  a  year,  and  he  established 
himself  as  a  local  favourite.  In  the  summer  of  1848  he 
joined  his  friend,  Frank  S.  Chanfrau,1  at  the  New  Na- 

1  FRANCIS  S.  CHANFRAU,  one  of  the  most  versatile  and  brilliant  actors 
of  his  time,  was  born  in  New  York,  on  February  22,  1824.  His  father 
was  a  French  sailor;  his  mother  an  American,  a  native  of  West  Chester 
county,  N.Y.  In  boyhood  he  learned  the  trade  of  a  ship  carpenter.  He 
early  drifted  to  the  stage,  and  I  have  heard  him  say  that  he  profited  much 
by  the  training  that  he  received  at  the  hands  of  Mitchell,  at  the  old 
Olympic  theatre.  That  house  was  No.  444  Broadway,  and  it  was  first 
opened  on  September  13,  1837,  by  Henry  E.  Willard  and  William  Rufus 
Blake.  It  subsequently  passed  to  William  Mitchell  (1798-1856),  who 


144  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

tional  theatre,  formerly  the  Chatham,  which  was  opened 
on  August  14,  in  that  year,  with  Burke  as  acting- 
manager  ;  and  with  that  house  he  was  associated,  inter- 
mittently, for  two  or  three  seasons.  There  is  a  record 
of  his  having  appeared  at  Burton's  theatre,  in  the  spring 
of  1849,  as  Billy  Bowbell,  in  The  Illustrious  Stranger: 
but  Burton  was  jealous  of  him,  as  a  possible  rival  in 
popularity,  and  subsequently  used  effective  influence  to 
exclude  him  from  the  theatres  of  the  West  Side ;  so 
that  Burke  was  banished  to  the  Bowery,  and  ever  since 
has  commonly  been  named,  not,  as  he  should  be,  with 
Twaits,  Blissett,  Warren,  Jefferson,  Finn,  Burton,  and 
Blake,  but  with  comedians  of  the  somewhat  less  intel- 
lectual quality  of  Barnes,  Gates,  Sefton,  and  Hadaway. 

conducted  it  from  December  9,  1839,  until  March  9,  1850.  Chanfrau  was 
for  some  time  a  member  of  Mitchell's  company,  —  an  organisation  which, 
first  and  last,  included  some  of  the  most  sparkling  and  choice  dramatic 
spirits  of  the  age.  Among  them  were  Benedict  De  Bar,  James  Dunn, 
Augustus  Fenno,  George  Holland,  John  Nickinson,  Charles  Walcot  the 
elder,  Mary  Gannon,  the  bewitching  Mary  Taylor,  the  beautiful  Mrs. 
George  Loder,  Mrs.  H.  C.  Timm,  and  Mrs.  Watts,  afterward  Mrs.  John 
Sefton.  Chanfrau  made  an  extraordinary  hit,  at  the  Olympic,  on  February 
15,  1848,  as  Mose,  the  fireman,  in  A  Glance  at  New  York,  by  B.  A.  Baker, 
—  a  paraphrase  of  Tom  and  Jerry.  Chanfrau  told  me  that  the  first  per- 
formance was  not  auspicious,  and  that  the  play  was  repeated  only  because 
of  Mitchell's  rule  that  every  piece  produced  at  his  theatre  should  be  acted 
at  least  twice.  On  the  second  night  the  success  was  prodigious,  and 
shortly  afterward  Chanfrau  was  acting  Mose,  nightly,  at  two  theatres,  the 
Chatham  as  well  as  the  Olympic,  —  the  run  lasting  over  three  months,  at 
both  houses.  On  July  23,  1858,  he  married  Miss  Henrietta  Baker, 
daughter  of  Mrs.  Alexina  Fisher  Baker.  He  had  a  long  and  prosperous 
career.  He  died,  suddenly,  at  Taylor's  Hotel,  Jersey  City,  on  October  2, 
1884,  and  was  buried  in  the  cemetery  of  the  West  End  Methodist  church, 
at  Long  Branch,  N.J.  There  also  rest  the  ashes  of  those  esteemed  actors, 
William  R.  Floyd,  who  died  on  November  25,  1880,  aged  48,  and  George 
Ryer,  who  died  on  April  26,  1882,  aged  74. 


LIFE   OF  JEFFERSON  145 

The  last  three  years  of  Burke's  life  were  mainly  spent 
in  professional  travel.  Ludlow  saw  him  in  St.  Louis, 
in  his  latter  days,  and  Edwin  Booth  and  David  Ander- 
son entertained  him  at  their  ranch  in  California  in 
1852-53.  He  worked  hard,  and  found  favour  and  made 
friends ;  but  he  met  with  scant  prosperity,  and  he  suf- 
fered from  failing  health  and  waning  spirits.  His  last 
appearance  on  the  stage  was  made  where  his  professional 
life  began,  —  at  the  Chestnut  Street  theatre,  Philadel- 
phia, on  February  11,  1854;  and  the  last  character  that 
he  personated  was  Ichabod  Crane,  in  Murrell,  the  Land 
Pirate.  He  was  twice  wedded,  but  left  no  children. 
Both  his  marriages  were  unfortunate.  His  first  wife, 
Margaret  Murcoyne,  a  native  of  Philadelphia,  born  in 
1818,  died  in  that  city,  in  1849.  His  second  wife,  Mrs. 
Sutherland,  survived  him,  but  has  since  passed  away. 
Both  those  ladies  were  on  the  stage.  The  latter  was 
the  mother  of  lone  Sutherland,  who  adopted  her  step- 
father's name,  and,  as  lone  Burke,  had  a  brief  theatrical 
career,  —  mostly  at  Laura  Keene's  theatre  and  at  Wai- 
lack's,  —  terminating  in  marriage ;  after  which  she 
found  a  home  in  England.  Charles  Burke  died  in  the 
old  Florence  Hotel,  corner  of  Broadway  and  Walker 
street,  New  York,  November  10,  1854,  in  the  thirty-third 
year  of  his  age,  and  was  buried  in  the  same  grave  with 
his  mother,  in  Ronaldson's  cemetery,  at  Philadelphia. 
He  died  in  the  arms  of  his  brother,  Joseph  Jefferson, 
and  his  last  words  were,  "  I  am  going  to  our  mother." 

The  testimonials  that  exist  to  the  loveliness  of 
Burke's  character  and  to  the  strength  and  versatility 
of  his  genius,  are  touched  equally  with  affection  and 
tender  regret. 


146  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

"He  grew  up,"  said  Elizabeth  Jefferson,  "to  be 
one  of  the  best  actors  we  ever  had.  As  a  boy  he  was 
full  of  promise ;  and  when,  after  fifteen  years,  I  saw 
him  act,  in  Mobile,  I  was  struck  with  what  seemed  to 
me  a  revival  of  the  old  time.  A  more  talented  and 
kind-hearted  man  than  Charles  Burke  never  lived." 

His  old  comrade,  Frank  S.  Chanfrau,  wrote  to  me  in 
the  same  strain  :  "  Burke  was  a  great  actor  and  a  true 
man.  One  cannot  say  too  much  of  his  talents  and  his 
worth.  He  could  do  many  things  in  acting,  and  was 
wonderful  in  all  that  he  did." 

In  person  Burke  was  tall,  slender,  and  extraordinarily 
thin ;  and  his  long,  emaciated  figure  —  agile,  supple, 
and  graceful  —  seemed  made  for  comic  contortions  and 
grotesque  attitudes.  His  countenance  was  capable  of 
great  variety  of  expression,  ranging  from  ludicrous 
eccentricity  to  pensive  sadness,  and  he  had  it  under 
such  complete  control  that  it  responded,  instantly  and 
exactly,  to  every  changing  impulse  of  his  mind  and  feel- 
ings ;  so  that  he  had  a  new  face  for  every  part  that  he 
played.  The  boys  of  the  Bowery  pit  firmly  believed 
him  to  be  the  original  of  the  long-legged  figure  in  the 
comic  almanac. 

"  I  knew  Charles  Burke  well,  in  my  early  manhood," 

—  so  said  the  lamented  John  T.  Ford,  writing  to  me  on 
February  26,  1894,  only  sixteen  days  before  his  death, 

—  "and  saw  him  act,  last,  on  April  i,   1850  (?),  under 
singular  circumstances.     He  was  then  comedian  of  the 
Richmond  theatre,1  and  a  very  great  favourite.     Very 

1  Burke  filled  an  engagement  at  the  Richmond,  Va.,  theatre,  with 
Chippendale  and  John  Sefton,  in  1849,  and  acted  Mose.  On  December 
17,  1852,  he  received  a  benefit,  at  the  Arch  Street  theatre,  Philadelphia, 


LIFE   OF   JEFFERSON  147 

homely  in  the  face.  Much  like  his  father  in  person, 
and  his  mother  in  artistic  endowment." 

In  the  course  of  thirty  years  many  parts  were  acted 
by  Charles  Burke,  of  which  a  few  may  serve  to  indicate 
his  artistic  attributes  and  affinities  :  — 

REPERTORY   OF   CHARLES   BURKE 

Acres,  in  The  Rivals. 

Billy  Bowbell,  in  The  Illustrious  Stranger. 

Baillie  Nicol  Jarvie,  in  Rob  Roy. 

Billy  Lackaday,  in  Sweethearts  and  Wives. 

Caleb  Scrimmage,  in  Jonathan  Bradford,  or  The  Roadside 
Murder. 

Clever,  in  Woman's  Wit.  Acted  under  the  name  of  Slander. 
By  Sheridan  Knowles. 

Clod  Meddlenot,  in  The  Lady  of  the  Lions.     Burlesque. 

Captain  Tobin,  in  The  Mysteries  and  Miseries  of  New  York. 
By  H.  P.  Grattan.  Based  on  a  story  by  u  Ned  Buntline  "  (E.  C.  Z. 
Judson). 

Cloten,  in  Cymbeline. 

Caleb  Plummer,  in  The  Cricket  on  the  Hearth. 

Dromio  of  Syracuse,  in  The  Comedy  of  Errors. 

Deuteronomy  Dutiful,  in  The  Vermont  Wool  Dealer. 

Darby,  in  The  Poor  Soldier.  Comic  Opera.  By  John  O'Keefe. 
Covent  Garden,  1793. 

Dickory,  in  The  Spectre  Bridegroom.  Farce.  By  W.  T.  Mon- 
crieff.  Drury  Lane,  1821. 

Dr.  Ollapod,  in  The  Poor  Gentleman. 

Ebenezer  Calf,  in  Ole  Bidl.     Farce. 

Thomas  T.  Hemphill  being  then  the  manager,  and  was  seen  in  Rip  Van 
Winkle,  Murrell  the  Land  Pirate,  and  The  Idiot  Witness.  In  1852 
he  applied  to  J.  W.  Wallack  for  an  engagement,  and  was  refused.  Burke 
received  $2655  for  six  nights  in  San  Francisco,  in  1852-53.  His  second 
wife,  Mrs.  Sutherland,  had  been  divorced  from  A.  B.  Sutherland,  an  actor, 
who  subsequently  was  allied  with  the  handsome,  talented,  and  eccentric 
Charlotte  Crampton. 


148  LIFE   OF  JEFFERSON 

Ensign  Jost  Stoll,  in  Jacob  Leisler,  or  New  York  in  ibgo.  His- 
torical Drama.  By  Cornelius  Matthews.  Bowery  theatre,  1848. 

First  Grave-digger,  in  Hamlet. 

Grumio,  in  The  Taming  of  the  Shrew. 

Grandfather  Whitehead,  in  the  drama  of  that  name.  By  Mark 
Lemon.  Henry  Placide  was  the  original  in  America  (1843). 

Horsebeam  Hemlock,  in  Captain  Kid.  Drama.  First  acted  at 
the  Park,  New  York,  in  1839,  with  Peter  Richings  as  Robert 
Lester,  alias  Kid,  Mrs.  Richardson  as  Kate,  and  Charlotte  Cushman 
as  Elspy. 

Isidore  Farine,  in  The  Pride  of  the  Market.  Mary  Taylor  acted 
with  Burke,  as  Marton. 

Ichabod  Crane,  in  Murrell  the  Land  Pirate,  or  The  Yankee  in 
Mississippi.  Drama.  By  Nathaniel  Harrington  Bannister  (1813- 
1847),  author  of  about  one  hundred  plays. 

lago,  in  a  travestie  of  Othello. 

Jemmy  Twitcher,  in  The  Golden  Farmer.  Gates  was  the  orig- 
inal in  America  (1834). 

Jonathan  Ploughboy,  in  The  Forest  Rose,  or  American  Farmers. 

John  Duck,  in  Cavaliers  and  Roundheads. 

Launce,  in  The  Two  Gentlemen  of  Verona. 

Launcelot  Gobbo,  in  The  Merchant  of  Venice. 

Mr.  McGreedy,  in  a  burlesque,  by  Charles  Burke,  satirising 
W.  C.  Macready. 

Mesopotamia  Jenkins,  in  The  Revolution.  Play.  By  Charles 
Burke.  Bowery,  1847. 

Mettaroarer,  in  The  Female  Forty  Thieves.  Burlesque.  In  that 
part  Burke  gave  a  comic  imitation  of  Edwin  Forrest,  as  Metamora. 

Moses,  in  The  School  for  Scandal. 

Marrall,  in  A  New  Way  to  Pay  Old  Debts. 

Mock  Duke  Jaques,  in  The  Honeymoon. 

Mark  Meddle,  in  Boucicault's  comedy  of  London  Assurance. 

Paul  Pry,  in  the  comedy  of  Paul  Pry.     By  John  Poole. 

Rip  Van  Winkle,  in  a  drama  on  that  subject,  by  himself. 

Seth  Slope,  in  the  farce  of  Seth  Slope. 

Selim  Pettibone,  in  A  Kiss  in  the  Dark. 

Stitchback,  in  Hofer,  the  Tell  of  the  Tyrol. 

Splash,  in  The  Young  Widow. 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  149 

Solon  Shingle,  in  The  People's  Lawyer.  Farcical  play.  By  Dr. 
J.  S.  Jones. 

Slender,  in  The  Merry  Wives  of  Windsor. 

Sir  Andrew  Aguecheek,  in  Twelfth  Night. 

Sudden,  in  The  Breach  of  Promise. 

Timothy  Toodle,  in  the  farce  of  The  Toadies. 

Toby  Veck,  in  The  Chimes.  Drama.  Based  on  the  Christmas 
story  by  Charles  Dickens. 

Touchstone,  in  As  Yoii  Like  It. 

Zekiel  Homespun,  in  The  Heir  at  Law. 

An  instructive  article  by  L.  Clarke  Davis,  published 
in  Lippincotfs  Magazine,  July,  1879,  entitled  At  and 
After  the  Play,  incidentally  shows  Burke  as  dramatist 
and  actor,  embodies  a  pleasing  reminiscence  of  him  by 
the  famous  humourist  and  comedian  John  S.  Clarke,  and 
places  Burke  and  Jefferson  before  the  reader  in  their 
sacred  relation  of  affectionate  brotherhood.  Burke  made 
a  version  of  Rip  Van  Winkle,  and  acted  Rip.  Mr.  Davis 
compares  the  more  recent  Boucicault  version  with  that 
of  Burke :  — 

"  Burke's  play  follows  closely  the  story  of  the  Sketch-Book,  and 
lacks  altogether  the  sweet,  tender  humanity  and  the  weird  spiritual- 
ity which  pervade  the  combined  work  of  Jefferson  and  Boucicault : 
it  makes  nothing  of  the  parting  from,  or  the  meeting  with,  the  child 
Meenie ;  but  much  of  the  dialogue,  which  was  Burke's  own,  has 
been  wisely  retained.  The  speech  containing  the  notable  line,  'Are 
we  so  soon  forgot  when  we  are  gone  ?  '  is  Burke's,  not  Boucicault's, 
though  Jefferson  has  transposed  and  altered  it  for  the  better.  It  is 
introduced  in  the  original,  when  Rip,  returning  to  his  old  home,  is 
told  that  if  he  be  Rip,  and  not  an  impostor,  some  one  of  his  old 
cronies  will  surely  recognise  him.  He  answers:  'To  be  sure  dey 
will!  Everyone  knows  me  in  Catskill.1  {All  gather  around  him 
and  shake  their  heads.)  '  No,  no,  I  don't  know  dese  peoples  —  dey 
don't  know  me  neither;  and  yesterday  dere  was  not  a  dog  in  the 
village  but  would  have  wagged  his  tail  at  me  ;  now  dey  bark.  Dere 


150  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

was  not  a  child  but  would  have  scrambled  on  my  knees :  now  dey 
run  from  me.  Are  we  so  soon  forgotten  when  we  are  gone  ?  Already 
dere  is  no  one  wot  knows  poor  Rip  Van  Winkle.' 

"We  never  saw  Charles  Burke  play  this  part,  though  we  have 
seen  him  play  many  others,  and  can  testify  to  the  greatness  of  his 
genius  and  the  perfection  of  his  art.  .  .  .  How  he  spoke  that  speech 
we  have  been  told  by  John  Sleeper  Clarke,  who  is  so  just  a  man,  and 
so  free  from  professional  jealousy,  that  he  could  not,-  if  he  would, 
praise  the  dead  at  the  expense  of  the  living.  Mr.  Clarke  says  that 
in  the  delivery  of  those  lines  no  other  actor  has  ever  disturbed  the 
impression  that  the  profound  pathos  of  Burke's  voice,  face,  and  ges- 
ture created :  it  fell  upon  the  senses  like  the  culmination  of  all  mor- 
tal despair,  and  the  actor's  figure,  as  the  low,  sweet  tones  died  away, 
symbolised  more  the  ruin  of  the  representative  of  a  race  than  the 
sufferings  of  an  individual :  his  awful  loss  and  loneliness  seemed  to 
clothe  him  with  a  supernatural  dignity  and  grandeur,  which  com- 
manded the  sympathy  and  awe  of  his  audience.  Mr.  Clarke  played 
Seth  with  Mr.  Burke  for  many  consecutive  nights,  and  he  relates 
that,  on  each  succeeding  night,  though  he  was  always  aware  of  what 
was  coming,  even  watching  for  it,  when  those  lines  were  spoken  his 
heart  seemed  to  rise  in  his  throat,  choking  him,  and  his  cheeks  were 
wet  with  tears ;  for  Burke's  manner  of  pronouncing  them  was  so 
pathetic  that  not  only  the  audience  but  even  the  actors  on  the  stage 
were  affected  by  it. 

"  Mr.  Jefferson,  remembering  how  his  brother  spoke  that  speech, 
has  adopted  a  different  mode :  '  It  is  possible  that  I  might  speak  it 
as  he  did,  but  — '  He  leaves  the  sentence  unfinished,  the  reason 
untold ;  but  it  is  an  open  secret,  to  those  who  know  how  deep  is  the 
reverence  of  the  living  Rip  for  the  dead  one.  They  know  that 
there  are  tones  of  Charles  Burke's  voice  even  which  are  held  in  too 
sacred  a  memory  by  his  brother  ever  to  be  recalled  by  him  upon  the 
stage.  In  speaking  of  him,  Mr.  Jefferson  said  :  '  Charles  Burke  was 
to  acting  what  Mendelssohn  was  to  music.  He  did  not  have  to  work 
for  his  effects,  as  I  do.  He  was  not  analytical,  as  I  am.  Whatever 
he  did  came  to  him  naturally,  —  as  grass  grows  or  water  runs.  It 
was  not  talent  that  informed  his  art,  but  genius.'" 


LIFE   OF   JEFFERSON  151 

The  memorials  that  remain  of  Burke  are  few  and  un- 
substantial. Those  playgoers  who  remember  a  French 
comedian  named  Leduc,1  who  acted  at  the  theatre  in 
Fourteenth  street,  New  York,  when  La  Grande  Duchesse 
was  first  presented  in  America,  October,  1867,  possess 
at  least  a  suggestion  of  Burke's  likeness.  The  French 
actor  was  one  of  the  company  that  Hezekiah  L.  Bate- 
man  brought  from  Paris  to  co-operate  with  Mile.  Toste'e, 
in  the  introduction  of  Opera  Bouffe  upon  the  American 
stage.  Leduc  acted  Prince  Paul,  and  subsequently 
Menelaus,  in  La  Belle  He"lene.  He  was  of  a  winning 
personality.  He  never  obtruded  himself.  He  drifted 
in  and  out  of  the  scenic  spaces  like  a  star  among  the 
light  clouds  of  a  summer  night.  His  art  concealed  every 
vestige  of  effort.  He  was  the  perfection  of  grace.  And 
through  all  the  gentle  drollery  of  his  seemingly  uncon- 
scious action  there  ran  a  vein  of  wistful  sensibility,  which, 
without  being  sadness  itself,  produced  the  momentary 
effect  of  sadness.  It  was  my  fortune  often  to  see  that 
refined  actor,  with  our  Joseph  Jefferson  as  a  compan- 
ion spectator,  and  to  enjoy  in  his  acting  a  great  delight, 
—  because  of  that  thoroughness  of  dramatic  art  which  is 
nature  transfigured.  Jefferson  said  that  Leduc  was 
more  like  Charles  Burke  than  any  man  he  had  ever  seen. 
But  Burke,  he  added,  had  tragic  power  as  well  as  humour, 
and  would  often  astonish  his  associates  and  spectators, 
who  had  been  thinking  only  of  his  drollery,  by  a  sudden 
tragic  passion,  or  by  his  marvellous  poise  in  the  realm 
of  pathos.  Burke  as  an  actor  had  the  mental  constitu- 
tion of  Hood  as  a  poet,  —  who,  in  one  mood,  could 

1  The  comedian  Leduc  is,  I  am  informed,  still  living,  (1894).     He  was 
associated,  not  very  long  ago,  with  the  Municipal  theatre,  at  Toulon. 


152  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

chuckle  over  the  farcical  theme  of  Miss  Kilmansegg, 
and,  in  another,  could  melt  the  heart  with  The  Bridge 
of  Sighs,  or  awe  the  fancy  with  the  sombre  image  of 
Eugene  Aram,  or  wake  the  spirit  of  melancholy  regret 
with  Inez,  or  thrill  the  deep  foundations  of  imagina- 
tion with  the  weird,  poetic  atmosphere  of  The  Haunted 
House. 

In  the  days  of  his  prosperity  as  Mose,  Frank  S. 
Chanfrau  opened  a  theatre,  in  Brooklyn,  called  The 
Museum,  with  Charles  Burke  as  stage-manager.  On 
the  opening  night  Burke  acted  the  chief  comic  part  in  a 
new  piece,  and  spoke  the  tag.  Chanfrau,  who  had  been 
acting  elsewhere,  hurried  thither  as  soon  as  his  per- 
formance was  ended,  impatient  to  learn  the  result  of 
the  new  venture.  That  result  was  disaster.  The  piece 
had  been  coldly  received,  and  all  Burke's  efforts  had 
failed  to  save  it.  Chanfrau  went  at  once  to  the  stage. 
The  curtain  had  fallen.  The  actors  had  dispersed. 
Burke  alone  remained  upon  the  scene.  He  was  stand- 
ing in  the  centre  front  of  the  stage,  exactly  where  he 
had  stood  when  the  curtain  fell.  Motionless,  with  head 
bowed,  with  hands  clasped,  unconscious  of  all  around 
him,  the  comic  genius  stood  there,  in  the  shadow,  with 
bitter  grief  in  his  heart,  and  with  tears  slowly  trickling 
down  his  face.  He  could  not  speak.  His  sensitive 
spirit  had  taken  upon  itself  the  blame  and  the  blight 
of  a  failure.  So,  transfigured  by  loss  and  sorrow,  he 
stands  forever  in  the  pantheon  of  memory  ;  and  round 
him  the  withering  leaves  of  autumn  fall,  and  cold  winds 
sigh  in  the  long  grasses,  and  twilight  slowly  deepens, 
and  the  world  is  far  away. 


VI 

JOSEPH   JEFFERSON 

RIP    VAN    WINKLE 
1829 

THE  maternal  ancestry  of  Joseph  Jefferson,  the 
present  representative  (1894)  of  the  Jefferson  Family  of 
Actors,  the  famous  Rip  Van  Winkle  whom  everybody 
knows  and  loves,  is  French ;  and  of  him,  as  of  Garrick, 
it  is  to  be  observed  that  the  blood  of  three  nationalities 
flows  in  his  veins.  French,  English,  and  Irish  were  the 
currents  that  mingled  in  Garrick :  French,  English,  and 
Scotch  are  the  currents  that  combine  in  Jefferson.  The 
inquirer  finds  Jefferson's  French  ancestry  in  the  island 
of  St.  Domingo.  There,  about  the  beginning  of  the 
nineteenth  century,  living  in  affluence  upon  his  planta- 
tion, dwelt  M.  Thomas,  a  gentleman  newly  arrived  from 
France.  Little  is  known  about  him ;  but  it  is  remem- 
bered that  he  was  a  person  of  winning  manners,  cheer- 
ful fortitude,  and  resolute  mind.  He  had  paused  for  a 
while  in  New  York,  with  his  wife,  on  their  journey  from 
France  to  St.  Domingo  to  take  possession  of  an  in- 
herited estate;  and  in  New  York,  on  October  i,  1796, 
was  born  their  daughter,  Cornelia  Frances.  In  the 
next  year  they  were  established  in  their  new  home,  and 

'S3 


154  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

there  they  resided  till  the  period  of  the  negro  insurrec- 
tion led  by  Dessalines.  At  that  crisis  they  had  a 
narrow  escape  from  murder,  in  the  massacre  of  the 
white  population  by  which  that  revolt  was  attended. 
The  first  rising  of  the  negroes  against  the  French  in 
St.  Domingo  occurred  in  1791-93,  and  it  was  succeeded 
by  the  temporary  government  of  Toussaint  L'Ouverture, 
—  to  whom  Wordsworth  addressed  a  sonnet,  and  whom 
Wendell  Phillips  canonised.  The  second  rising,  which 
resulted  in  either  the  murder  or  expatriation  of  the 
French  residents,  was  effected  in  March,  1804,  and  it 
was  then  that  M.  Thomas  and  his  family  were  in 
peril.  They  escaped,  however,  by  favour  of  a  negro 
slave,  named  Alexandre,  who,  impelled  by  affectionate 
fidelity,  gave  warning  of  their  danger,  just  as  it  was  at 
hand ;  but  it  was  only  by  precipitate  flight  that  M. 
Thomas  was  able  to  elude  the  doom  of  slaughter  which 
had  been  pronounced  against  him  and  his  household. 
He  fled  by  night;1  and,  after  many  perils,  escaped  to 
sea,  in  an  open  boat,  accompanied  by  his  wife  and 
daughter,  and  by  the  faithful  servant  who  had  saved 
their  lives.  The  exiles  were  picked  up  by  an  American 
vessel  and  carried  into  Charleston,  S.C. 

M.  Thomas  was  now  poor,  and  the  rest  of  his  life  was 
passed  in  poverty  and  labour.  At  first  he  attempted  a 
minor  shop-keeping  industry,  but  that  did  not  succeed. 
His  wife  soon  died,  and  his  daughter  remained  his  chief 
care.  One  day,  in  a  Charleston  street,  he  chanced  to 

1  Jefferson's  mother  told  him  that  she  could  distinctly  remember  that 
night,  and  the  dreadful  moments  of  breathless  suspense  while  the  barbar- 
ous and  bloodthirsty  negroes  were  beating  the  bushes,  to  discover  the  fugi- 
tives in  their  concealment. 


LIFE   OF  JEFFERSON  155 

meet  Alexander  Placide,  whom  he  had  known  in  France, 
and  who  welcomed  him  as  an  old  friend.  Placide,  popu- 
lar as  an  athlete  and  a  rope-dancer,  —  the  father  of 
Henry,  Thomas,  Caroline,  Eliza,  and  Jane  Placide,  all 
known,  in  later  days,  upon  the  stage,  —  was  then  man- 
ager of  the  Charleston  theatre,  and  in  that  theatre  M. 
Thomas  found  employment.  He  never  attempted  act- 
ing ;  but  his  daughter,  who  became  a  pet  with  the  Pla- 
cide family,  was  soon  brought  forward,  in  the  ballet, 
and  presently  was  entrusted  with  minor  parts  in  plays. 
That  was  her  school,  and  there  she  grew  up,  an  actress 
and  a  singer,  early  winning  a  good  rank  in  the  profes- 
sion,—  especially  as  a  vocalist, — which  she  maintained 
almost  to  the  end  of  her  life. 

"Possessing  a  fair  share  of  ability  as  a  comic  actress,"  says 
Ireland,  "  with  a  pleasing  face  and  person,  and  an  exquisite  voice,  — 
which,  in  power,  purity,  and  sweetness,  was  unapproached  by  any 
contemporary,  —  she  soon  eclipsed  all  rivalry  in  vocalism ;  and,  till 
the  more  cultivated  style  of  Italy  was  introduced,  was  considered 
the  model  of  all  excellence.  She  was  attached  to  the  Park,  New 
York,  for  two  or  three  seasons,  and  afterwards  removed  to  Philadel- 
phia, where  she  became  an  equally  distinguished  favourite." 

The  first  husband  of  Cornelia  Frances  Thomds  was 
the  Irish  comedian,  Thomas  Burke,  to  whom  she  was 
married  in  her  girlhood.  Burke  was  noted  for  his  fine 
talents,  handsome  person,  and  ill-ordered  life.  He 
was  on  the  Charleston  stage,  where  Miss  Thomds  first 
met  him,  as  early  as  1802.  He  first  appeared  in  New 
York,  on  April  29,  1811,  at  the  Park,  and  subsequently 
he  fulfilled  several  New  York  engagements.  At  a 
later  period  he  resided  in  Philadelphia,  where  he 
became  a  favourite  with  playgoers,  as  the  dashing 


156  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

Irishman.  His  death  was  caused  by  delirium  tremens, 
in  1824,  in  Baltimore.  W.  B.  Wood  says  he  died  on 
June  6,  1825.  However  that  may  be,  his  demise  was  a 
relief  to  those  who  were  best  acquainted  with  him  ;  and 
on  July  27,  1826,  his  widow  became  the  wife  of  Joseph 
Jefferson,  the  third  of  the  line  of  actors  commemorated 
in  this  biography. 

A  pleasant  glimpse  of  the  mother  of  our  Jefferson  is 
given  in  N.  M.  Ludlow's  Dramatic  Life  (1880)  :  — 

"Finding  matters  so  dull  in  New  York  (1826),  my  wife  and  I 
went  to  Philadelphia,  to  pay  a  visit  to  our  much-esteemed  friend, 
Mrs.  Cornelia  Burke,  after  whom  our  first  daughter  was  named. 
We  found  the  lady  recently  married  again,  to  Mr.  Joseph  Jefferson, 
scenic  artist,  afterwards  father  of  Joseph  Jefferson,  of  Rip  Van  Win- 
kle renown.  .  .  .  Our  meeting  with  this  lady  was  a  very  pleasant 
one :  we  had  not  seen  her  since  the  voyage  we  made  with  her  to 
Virginia,  from  New  Orleans,  in  the  summer  of  1821.  We  presented 
to  her  the  little  namesake,  then  five  years  of  age,  who  was  greatly 
admired  by  Mrs.  Jefferson  and  her  friends.  (Now,  1894,  Mrs. 
Matthew  C.  Field,  an  old  lady,  resident  in  the  .West.) 

"  We  passed  a  very  pleasant  week  in  Philadelphia,  occasionally 
visiting  Mrs.  Jefferson,  who  was  always  excellent  company  herself; 
and,  in  addition  to  this,  we  often  met  with  very  agreeable  persons 
at  her  house,  who  were  in  the  habit  of  visiting  her.  Mrs.  Jefferson 
was  of  French  parentage.  .  .  .  Her  first  efforts  on  the  stage  were 
in  singing  characters,  such  as  Rosina,  in  the  comic  opera  of  Rosina, 
or  the  Reapers ;  Countess,  in  John  of  Paris ;  and  Virginia,  in  Paul 
and  Virginia,  and  the  like.  I  remember  with  much  pleasure  her 
singing,  in  those  English  operas.  She  performed  Blanche  of  Devon, 
in  the  melodrama  of  The  Lady  of  the  Lake,  on  the  night  when  I 
made  my  first  appearance  in  Mr.  Caldwell's  company,  in  New  Orleans, 
in  1821.  She  also  performed  speaking  characters  very  well.  The 
first  time  that  I  remember  to  have  seen  her  was  at  Albany  (1814- 
15),  in  the  character  of  Susan  Ashfield,  in  Speed  the  Plough,  on  the 
occasion  when  I  made  my  clandestine  appearance  as  Bob  Handy's 
servant,  and  was  complimented  on  it  by  Mr.  Thomas  Burke." 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  157 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Burke  had  one  son,  Charles  Saint 
Thomas  Burke.  He  became  a  fine  comedian,  but,  as 
already  shown,  he  died  too  soon  for  his  fame  and  for 
the  happiness  of  his  generation.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Jeffer- 
son had  four  children,  two  of  whom  died  in  infancy, 
while  two  have  survived  to  the  present  day  (1894) : — 

1.  JOSEPH  JEFFERSON.  —  This  is  our  Rip  Van  Winkle. 

2.  CORNELIA  JEFFERSON.  —  She  was  born  in  Baltimore,  October 
i,   1835,   and  went    on  the  stage    in    childhood,   performing    in 
the  travelling  company  of  which   her  parents  were  members,  at 
Chicago,  Galena,  and  other  places  in  the  West  and  South,  after  the 
year  1837.     She  accompanied  her  relatives,  in  their  various  profes- 
sional wanderings,  during  the  next  twelve  years.     On  May  17,  1849, 
she  appeared  in  New  York,  at   Chanfrau's   National   theatre,   in 
Chatham   street,  acting   Little  Pickle,  in   The  Spoiled  Child,     In 
1857  and    1858   she  was  a  member  of  the  dramatic  company  of 
Laura   Keene's  theatre,  and   she  was  seen  on  that  stage  after  it 
became  the  Olympic,  —  being  the  second  house  of  that  name  in 
New  York,  —  in  the  autumn  of  1867,  as  Titania,  in  A  Midsummer 
Nighfs  Dream.     (The  Olympic,  which  had  been  opened  in  1863, 
by  John  A.  Duff,  —  its  first  manager  being   Mrs.  John  Wood, — 
was,  in   1867-68,  managed   by  James   E.   Hayes,   a   noted   scene- 
painter,  who  had  married  one  of  Mr.  Duff's  daughters,  and  who 
died  in  New  York,  May  7,  1873.     Mr.  Duff  died,  in   New  York, 
March   31,    1889.)      Cornelia  Jefferson  visited   England  in    1877. 
She  is  the  widow  of  Charles  Jackson,  and   has  one  son,  Charles 
Jackson,  who  is  on  the  stage.      She  has   long  been  living  in  re- 
tirement. 

The  mother  of  Charles  Burke  and  Joseph  Jefferson 
died,  at  Philadelphia,  in  November,  1849,  and  her  grave 
—  which,  in  1854,  became  also  that  of  the  former  of  those 
sons — is  in  Ronaldson's  cemetery,  corner  of  Bainbridge 
and  Ninth  streets,  in  that  city.  In  company  with  Joseph 
Jefferson,  I  once  visited  that  place  of  rest,  and  found  it 
thickly  overgrown  with  flowering  shrubs  and  climbing 


158  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

roses.  A  large  white  stone  marks  the  spot,  inscribed 
"TO  OUR  MOTHER  AND  OUR  BROTHER.  CORNELIA  F. 
JEFFERSON.  CHARLES  BURKE." 

In  that  little  graveyard  rest  other  members  of  the 
dramatic  profession,  admired  in  their  day,  but  mostly 
forgotten  now.  The  sumptuous  Josephine  Clifton,  who 
died  in  1846,  is  buried  there,  together  with  her  sister, 
Louisa  Missouri  Miller,  and  there  was  entombed  Samuel 
Chapman,  the  first  husband  of  our  Jefferson's  aunt  Eliza- 
beth. The  grave  of  William  Jones,  commonly  known 
as  "Old  Snacks,"  who  died  in  Edwin  Forrest's  house, 
in  1841,  aged  sixty,  is  also  in  that  cemetery. 

The  fate  of  M.  Thomas,  the  French  ancestor  of  Jeffer- 
son, was  tragic.  He  survived  till  1827,  living,  toward 
the  last,  in  his  daughter's  household.  During  his  latter 
years  he  was  in  continual  suffering,  from  incurable  gout. 
He  bore  his  agonies  patiently,  till  he  could  bear  no 
more :  the  constant  torture  drove  him  to  despair.  In 
that  condition,  —  frantic  with  pain,  hopeless,  and  miser- 
able, —  the  poor  old  gentleman  drove  out,  one  morning* 
to  the  Market  street  bridge,  over  the  Schuylkill  river, 
dismissed  his  carriage,  and,  as  soon  as  he  was  left  alone, 
sprang  over  the  parapet  and  was  drowned. 

JOSEPH  JEFFERSON,  the  representative  American  come- 
dian of  our  time,  was  born  at  Philadelphia  on  February 
20,  1829,  in  a  house  which  still  is  standing,  — unchanged 
except  that  a  shop  has  been  opened  on  the  ground-floor 
of  it,  —  at  the  southwest  corner  of  Spruce  and  Sixth 
streets.  In  childhood  he  gave  indications  of  an  excep- 
tional mind  and  character,  and  of  artistic  abilities.  He 
was  reared  amidst  theatrical  surroundings,  and,  in  1833, 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  159 

when  only  four  years  old,  was  carried  upon  the  stage,  at 
the  Washington  theatre,  by  Thomas  D.  Rice,  a  famous 
delineator  of  negro  character.  That  comedian,  on  a 
benefit  occasion,  introduced  the  child,  blackened  and 
dressed  like  himself,  into  his  performance  of  Jim  Crow. 
Little  Joe  was  taken  upon  the  scene  in  a  bag,  and 
emptied  from  it,  with  the  couplet,  — 

"  Ladies  and  gentlemen,  Td  have  you  for  to  know 
IVe  got  a  little  darkey  here,  to  jump  Jim  Crow." 

A  witness  of  that  scene  —  the  veteran  actress,  Mrs. 
John  Drew1  —  says  that  the  boy  promptly  assumed  the 
attitude  of  Jim  Crow  Rice,  and  sang  and  danced  in  imi- 
tation of  his  sable  companion,  and  was  a  miniature  like- 
ness of  that  grotesque  person. 

Thomas  D.  Rice,  thus  associated  with  Jefferson,  was 
a  remarkable  man  and  had  a  singular  career.  He  was 
born  in  New  York  on  May  20,  1808,  and  died  there,  on 
September  19,  1860.  When  a  boy,  he  was  employed  as 
a  supernumerary  at  the  Park  theatre.  Afterwards  he 
went  into  the  West.  Cowell  met  him,  at  Cincinnati,  in 
1829,  "a  very  unassuming,  modest  young  man,  little 
dreaming  then  that  he  was  destined  to  astonish  the 
Duchess  of  St.  Albans,  or  anybody  else  ;  he  had  a  queer 
hat,  very  much  pointed  down  before  and  behind,  and 
very  much  cocked  on  one  side."  The  same  writer  says 
that  Thomas  H.  Blakeley  was  the  first  to  introduce 
negro  vocalism  on  the  American  stage,  and  adds  that 
Blakeley's  singing  of  the  Coal  Black  Rose  set  the  fashion 

1  "  The  first  time  I  acted  in  Washington  was  in  a  company  with  which 
Joseph  Jefferson  made  his  first  appearance,  at  the  age  of  four,  as  the  baby 
in  Jim  Crow  Rice's  negro  sketch."  —  Mrs.  John  Drew,  in  the  Baltimore 
American.  Friday,  February,  1 6,  1894.  See  note  on  p.  104. 


160  LIFE   OF  JEFFERSON 

which  Rice  followed.  G.  W.  Dixon,  known  as  Zip 
Coon,  and  notorious  as  a  newspaper  libeller,  was  a 
pioneer  in  that  form  of  public  entertainment ;  and  he 
closed  a  disreputable  life,  in  a  charity  hospital,  at  New 
Orleans,  in  1861.  Wemyss,  however,  declares  that 
the  original  Jim  Crow  was  a  negro,  at  Pittsburgh,  Pa., 
named  Jim  Cuff.  The  veteran  actor,  Edmon  S.  Conner, 
in  an  article  published  in  the  N.  Y.  Times,  June  5,  1881, 
asserts  that  it  was  an  old  negro  slave,  owned  by  Mr. 
Crow,  who  kept  a  livery-stable  in  the  rear  of  the  thea- 
tre, in  Louisville,  Ky.,  managed  by  Ludlow  and  Smith,  in 
1828-29,  and  that  the  slave  adopted  his  master's  name, 
and  called  himself  Jim  Crow.  Conner  adds  :  — 

"  He  was  much  deformed,  the  right  shoulder  being  drawn  high 
up,  the  left  leg  stiff  and  crooked  at  the  knee,  giving  him  a  painful 
but  laughable  limp.  He  used  to  croon  a  queer  tune  with  words  of 
his  own,  and  at  the  end  of  each  stanza  would  give  a  little  jump,  and 
when  he  came  down  he  set  his  '  heel  a-rockinV  He  called  it '  jump- 
ing Jim  Crow.'  The  words  of  the  refrain  were :  — 

'  Wheel  about,  turn  about, 

Do  jes  so, 

An'  ebery  time  I  wheel  about, 
I  jump  Jim  Crow ! ' 

"  Rice  watched  him  closely,  and  saw  that  here  was  a  character 
unknown  to  the  stage.  He  wrote  several  stanzas,  changed  the  air 
somewhat,  quickened  it,  made  up  exactly  like  the  old  negro,  and 
sang  to  a  Louisville  audience.  They  were  wild  with  delight,  and 
on  the  first  night  he  was  recalled  twenty  times." 

Rice  went  to  England  in  1836,  and  soon  became 
prominent  on  the  London  stage.  He  married  Miss 
Gladstane,  daughter  of  the  manager  of  the  Surrey 
theatre.  His  profession  yielded  him  a  large  income. 
It  was  one  of  his  fancies  to  wear  gold  pieces  on  his  coat 


161 

for  buttons  ;  and  sometimes  he  was  first  stupefied  with 
wine  and  then  robbed  of  those  ornaments.  He  was  a 
capital  actor,  in  such  parts  as  Wormwood,  in  Buck- 
stone's  farce  of  The  Lottery  Ticket,  Old  Delf,  in  Family 
Jars,  Ginger  Blue,  and  Spruce  Pink,  in  The  Virginia 
Mummy.  He  took  hints  from  actual  life,  but  he  was  an 
interpreter,  not  a  photographer ;  and,  in  that  sense,  he 
was  the  original  of  whatever  he  did.  The  moment  any 
man  accomplishes  anything  that  is  out  of  the  ordinary 
rut  of  mediocrity,  numerous  observers  strive  to  detract 
from  his  merit  by  impugning  his  originality.  Well 
and  wisely  did  Falstaff  say  that  "honour  is  a  mere 
scutcheon."  Rice  wrote  the  negro  burlesque  opera 
called  Bone  Squash,  and  also  a  Travesty  of  OtJiello. 

Jefferson's  beginning  as  little  Jim  Crow  is  mentioned, 
together  with  other  matters  illustrating  his  juvenile 
talent,  in  the  Notes  from  Memory  that  were  written 
for  me  by  his  aunt  Elizabeth  :  while  William  Warren, 
his  second  cousin  and  old  comrade,  told  me  a  quaint 
story  suggestive  of  a  certain  sapient  maturity  in  his 
childhood.  That  rare  comedian,  Henry  J.  Finn,1  going 
into  the  green-room  one  night  at  the  Washington  thea- 
tre, dressed  for  the  part  he  was  to  act,  observed  little 
Joe,  wrapped  in  a  shawl,  sitting  in  a  corner.  After 
various  flourishes  of  action  and  mimicry,  for  which  he 
was  admirable,  he  paused  in  front  of  the  boy,  and,  not 

1  FINN  was  indeed  one  of  the  most  extraordinary  men  that  have  ap- 
peared upon  the  stage.  He  was  thoroughly  educated,  a  ripe  scholar,  an 
excellent  writer,  —  both  serious  and  comic,  —  a  good  dramatist,  a  skilful 
painter,  and  a  clever  editor;  and  as  an  actor,  he  succeeded  in  both  trag- 
edy and  comedy.  He  was  born  at  Cape  Breton,  in  1790,  had  his  career 
both  in  England  and  America,  and  perished  in  the  burning  of  the  steamer 
Lexington,  in  Long  Island  Sound,  in  January,  1840. 
L 


162  LIFE   OF*  JEFFERSON 

dreaming  that  such  a  tiny  creature  could  make  any 
reply,  solemnly  inquired,  "  Well,  my  little  friend,  what 
do  you  think  of  me  ?  "  The  child  looked  at  him,  with 
serious  eyes,  and  gravely  answered,  "  I  think  you  are 
a  very  wonderful  man."  And  Finn  was  impressed,  and 
a  little  disconcerted,  by  that  elf-like  quaintness  and 
judicial  sobriety  of  infancy. 

In  1837,  when  eight  years  old,  the  little  lad  was  at 
the  Franklin  theatre,  New  York,  with  his  parents, 
and  it  is  recorded  that  he  appeared  upon  the  stage, 
September  30,  in  a  sword-combat,  with  Master  Titus.1 
Young  Jefferson,  on  that  occasion,  personated  a  pirate, 
while  young  Titus  opposed  him,  in  the  character  of  a 
sailor ;  and,  at  the  end  of  a  spirited  encounter,  the 
miniature  pirate  was  prostrate,  and  the  miniature  sailor 
bestrode  him  in  triumph.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Jefferson  left 
New  York  at  the  end  of  the  season  of  I83/-38,2  tak- 

1  The  Master  Titus  who  figured  in  that  scene  was  a  bright  boy,  the 
son  of  an  officer  at  the  New  York  City  Hall,  but  his  career  was  prema- 
turely ended,  shortly  after  that  time,  by  the  accidental  explosion  of  a  gun, 
which  blinded  him.     He  was  acting  in  Matteo  Falconi,  with  Mr.  William 
Sefton,  when  the  disaster  occurred. 

2  In   a   letter    to   J.    H.    McVicker,    which    got    into   print,   Jefferson 
said :  — 

"  I  am  not  sure  that  I  remember  dates  and  circumstances  in  their  exact  form.  My 
father  and  his  family  arrived  in  Chicago,  by  way  of  the  lakes,  in  a  steamer,  somewhere 
about  May  in  the  year  1838.  He  came  to  join  Alexander  Mackenzie,  my  uncle,  in  the 
management  of  his  new  theatre.  Mackenzie  had  been  manager  of  the  old  one,  the  sea- 
son before:  I  think  the  new  theatre  was  the  old  one  refitted.  [An  error.]  I  know  it  was 
the  pride  of  the  city  and  the  ideal  of  the  new  managers,  for  it  had  one  tier  of  boxes  and  a 
gallery  at  the  back.  I  don't  think  that  the  seats  of  the  dress-circle  were  stuffed,  but  I  am 
almost  sure  that  they  were  planed.  The  company  consisted  of  William  Leicester,  William 
Warren,  James  S.  Wright,  Charles  Burke,  Joseph  Jefferson,  Thomas  Sankey,  William 
Childs,  Harry  Isherwood,  Joseph  Jefferson,  Jr.,  Mrs.  Mackenzie,  Mrs.  J.  Jefferson,  my 
mother,  Mrs.  Ingersoll,  and  Jane  Germon.  I  was  the  comic  singer  of  this  party, — 
making  myself  useful  in  small  parts  and  first  villagers  :  now  and  then  doing  duty  as 
a  Roman  Senator,  at  the  back,  wrapped  in  a  clean  hotel  sheet,  with  my  head  just  peering 
over  the  profile  banquet  table.  I  was  just  nine  years  old.  I  was  found  useful  as  Albert 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  163 

ing  their  children,  —  Charles  Burke,  and  Cornelia  and 
Joseph  Jefferson,  —  and  went  to  Chicago;  and  for  the 
next  twelve  years  the  family  led  the  life  of  the  strolling 
player,  wandering  through  the  West  and  South,  and 
even  following  the  armies  of  the  Republic  into  Mexico ; 
so  that,  until  he  came  forward  at  Chanfrau's  New  Na- 
tional theatre,  as  Jack  Rackbottle,  in  Jonathan  Brad- 
ford, September  10,  1849,  Jefferson  was  not  again  seen 
in  New  York.  Those  intervening  years  were  crowded 
with  vicissitude  and  privation.  Often  the  youthful  Jef- 
ferson participated  in  performances  that  were  given  in 
the  dining-rooms  of  country  hotels,  without  scenery, 
and  with  no  adjunct  to  create  the  illusion  of  a  stage, 
except  a  strip  of  board,  nailed  to  the  floor,  sustaining  a 
row  of  tallow  candles.  Not  the  less  were  those  represen- 
tations given  with  the  earnestness,  force,  and  fidelity  of 
accomplished  actors.  That  kind  of  experience,  indeed, 
was  not  uncommon  with  the  players,  in  the  early  days 
of  the  American  stage,  when  strolling  actors  drifted  in 
flat  boats  down  the  great  rivers  of  the  West,  and  now 
and  then  shot  wild  beasts  upon  their  banks,  and  often 
performed  in  the  barns  of  the  frugal-minded  farmer. 
Land  journeys  from  town  to  town  were  made  in  wag- 
ons or  on  foot,  while  cold  and  hunger  not  infrequently 
were  the  harsh  companions  of  that  precarious  life. 
Once  the  Jefferson  company,  roaming  in  a  region  far 

and  the  Duke  of  York.  In  those  days  the  audience  used  to  throw  money  on  the  stage, 
either  for  comic  songs  or  dances,  and,  oh,  with  that  thoughtful  prudence  which  has  char- 
acterised my  after  life,  how  I  used  to  lengthen  out  the  verses!  The  stars,  during  the  sea- 
son, were  Mrs.  McClure,  Dan  Marble,  and  A.  A.  Adams.  Some  of  the  plays  acted  were 
The  Lady  of  Lyons,  The  Stranger,  Rob  Roy,  Damon  and  Pythias,  Wives  as  They 
Were  —  Maids  as  They  Are,  and  Sam  Patch.  The  theatre  was  in  Randolph  street  — 
at  least  it  strikes  me  that  was  the  name.  [It  was  in  Dearborn  street.]  The  city,  about 
that  time,  had  from  3000  to  4000  inhabitants.  I  can  remember  following  my  father  along 
the  shore,  when  he  went  shooting,  in  what  is  now  Michigan  avenue." 


164  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

from  any  settlement,  had  found  a  more  than  commonly 
spacious  barn,  and  a  farmer  of  more  than  commonly 
benevolent  aspect,  and  it  was  thereupon  resolved  to 
give  a  performance  in  that  auspicious  spot.  Written 
handbills,  distributed  through  the  neighbourhood,  pro- 
claimed the  joyous  design.  There  was  a  cordial  re- 
sponse. The  farmers  and  their  wives  and  children, 
from  far  and  near,  came  to  see  the  play.  The  receipts 
were  twenty  dollars,  and  that  treasure  was  viewed  as 
a  godsend  by  the  poor  players,  who  saw  in  it  the 
means  of  food,  and  of  a  ride  to  the  next  town.  But  no 
adequate  allowance  had  been  made  for  the  frugality  of 
the  genial  owner  of  the  barn.  "  I  guess  that  pays  my 
bill,"  he  said,  as  he  put  the  money  into  his  pocket;  and 
so  the  venture  was  settled,  and  the  rueful  comedians 
walked  away.  On  another  occasion,  in  Mississippi,  they 
had  hired  a  wagon  to  carry  them  from  one  town  to 
another,  fifteen  miles  distant,  and  their  driver,  after  pro- 
ceeding about  half  way,  demanded  payment  of  his  due ; 
when,  being  told  that  it  would  be  paid  out  of  the  pro- 
ceeds of  their  next  performance,  he  turned  them  from 
his  vehicle,  and  left  them  in  a  forest  road,  in  a  rain- 
storm ;  from  which  predicament  they  were  rescued, 
after  some  hours,  by  a  friendly  ox-cart.  Amid  scenes 
of  that  kind  young  Jefferson  learned  to  be  an  actor ; 
and,  aside  from  barely  three  months  at  school  which  he 
once  enjoyed,  that  was  the  only  kind  of  training  he  ever 
received.  In  Mexico,  when  the  war  occurred,  in  1846, 
he  was  among  the  followers  of  the  American  army,  and 
gave  performances  in  tents.  He  saw  General  Taylor  on 
the  banks  of  the  Rio  Grande ;  he  heard  the  thunder  of 
the  guns  at  Palo  Alto ;  he  stood  beside  the  tent  in 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  165 

which  the  gallant  Major  Ringgold  lay  dying;  he  wit- 
nessed the  bombardment  of  Matamoras,  and,  two  nights 
after  the  capture  of  that  city  (May,  1846),  he  acted  in 
its  Spanish  theatre.  Those  were  the  days  when  he 
wore  the  gypsy  colours,  and  knew  the  gypsy  freedom, 
and  saw  the  world  without  disguise. 

The  principal  features  of  the  cast  of  Jonathan  Brad- 
ford, in  which  Jefferson  acted  at  Chanfrau's  New  Na- 
tional theatre,  when  he  came  home  in  1849,  were 
these :  — 

Jonathan  Bradford John  Crocker. 

Dan  McCraisy Redmond  Ryan. 

Jack  Rackbottle Joseph  Jefferson. 

Caleb  Scrimmage     .     .     ...     .     .  Charles  Burke. 

Anne  Bradford Mrs.  H.  Isherwood. 

Sally  Sighabout Mrs.  Sutherland. 

In  and  Out  of  Place  was  also  acted,  with  Mrs.  Charles 
Mestayer  as  Letty.  That  lady,  formerly  Miss  Pray,  then 
Mrs.  C.  Mestayer,  and  finally  Mrs.  Barney  Williams,  was 
in  the  bloom  of  her  buxom  vivacity.  In  The  Poor  Sol- 
dier, which  completed  the  bill  for  that  night,  Charles 
Burke  appeared  as  Darby,  and  Miss  Lockyer  as  Norah. 
Cupid,  also,  seems  to  have  been  present ;  for  Mrs.  Suth- 
erland was  afterwards  wedded  to  Burke,  and  Miss  Lock- 
yer to  Jefferson.  The  season  lasted  from  September  10, 
1849,  to  July  6,  ^50,  and  among  the  players  who  ap- 
peared during  that  time,  and  with  whom,  accordingly, 
Jefferson  was  associated,  were  Mrs.  D.  P.  Bowers  ;  Miss 
Sarah  Crocker,  afterwards  Mrs.  Frederick  B.  Conway, 
sister  to  Mrs.  Bowers ;  Frank  S.  Chanfrau,  then  popular 
as  Mose  ;  Anna  Cruse,  afterwards  Mrs.  William  Cowell ; 
Fanny  Herring  ;  Emily  Mestayer  ;  Mrs.  Helen  Muzzy ; 


166  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

Wyzeman  Marshall ;  Barney  Williams ;  and  Harry 
Watkins, —  who  died  at  463  West  Twenty-third  street, 
New  York,  February  5,  1894,  aged  sixty-nine.  The 
elder  Booth  acted  at  the  National,  in  those  days  ;  the 
inveterate  wag,  Harry  Perry,  was  seen  there ;  Edwin 
Booth  made  his  first  New  York  appearance  on  that 
stage ;  Joseph  Proctor  there  presented  the  avenging 
Jibbenainosay ;  John  R.  Scott  exhibited  there  the  exu- 
berant melodrama  of  the  past ;  George  L.  Fox  began  his 
metropolitan  career  in  that  theatre;  the  fascinating  Julia 
Pelby  passed  across  its  scene,  in  The  Child  of  the  Regi- 
ment;  Charles  Dibdin  Pitt  displayed  his  fine  figure  and 
plastic  art  as  Virginius  ;  and  Yankee  Locke,  James  H. 
McVicker,  and  Jim  Crow  Riee  there  let  slip  the  spirits 
of  their  humour,  and  paid  their  tribute  to  the  rosy  gods 
of  mirth.  In  other  quarters  Burton,  Blake,  and  Mitchell 
were  the  sovereigns  of  laughter;  Hamblin,  Conner, 
and  Forrest  were  the  kings  of  tragedy ;  and  John 
Brougham,  Lester  Wallack,  and  George  Jordan  held 
the  field  of  elegant  comedy  against  all  comers,  and 
felt,  with  Alexander,  that  "  none  but  the  brave  deserve 
the  fair." 

On  leaving  the  National  theatre,  in  the  autumn  of 
1850,  Jefferson  and  his  wife  went  to  Mitchell's  Olympic, 
where  they  acted  in  November;  and  about  that  time 
the  young  comedian  applied  for  a  position  in  Brougham's 
Lyceum,  —  opened  December  23,  that  year.  He  wished 
to  be  stage-manager ;  and  had  he  been  accepted  the 
fate  of  that  theatre,  and  the  subsequent  career  of 
the  loved  and  lamented  John  Brougham,  might  have 
been  different  from  what  they  were,  — an  almost  contin- 
uous tissue  of  misfortunes.  In  the  season  of  1851-52, 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  167 

Jefferson  was  attached  to  the  company  of  Anna  Thillon 
and  the  Irish  comedian'  Hudson,  who  gave  musical 
plays  at  Niblo's  Garden  ;  and  shortly  afterward  at  that 
theatre  he  was  associated  with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  John 
Drew,  William  Rufus  Blake,  Lester  Wallack,  Mrs.  Ste- 
phens, Mrs.  Conover,  afterwards  Mrs.  J.  H.  Stoddart, 
and  Charles  Wheatleigh.  He  then  formed  a  partner- 
ship with  John  Ellsler,  and  took  a  dramatic  company 
through  a  circuit  of  theatres  in  the  South, — visiting 
Charleston,  Savannah,  Macon,  Atlanta,  Augusta,  Wil- 
mington, and  other  cities.  After  that  tour  was  ended 
he  settled  in  Philadelphia,  and  then  in  Baltimore,  — 
first  at  the  Holliday  Street  theatre,  and  then  at  the 
Baltimore  Museum,  corner  of  Baltimore  and  Calvert 
streets,  where  he  was  stage-manager.  In  the  summer  of 
1856  he  made  a  trip  to  Europe,  to  study  the  acting  then 
visible  in  London  and  Paris.  On  November  18, 
1856,  the  beautiful  Laura  Keene  opened  her  theatre, 
afterwards  the  second  Olympic,  at  622  and  624  Broad- 
way, New  York,  and  Jefferson  was  soon  added  to  the 
force,  already  strong,  of  her  recruits, — a  company  that 
included,  among  others,  James  G.  Burnett,  George  Jor- 
dan, T.  B.  Johnston,  Charles  Peters,  James  H.  Stoddart, 
Charles  Wheatleigh,  Ada  Clifton,  afterward  Mrs.  Ed- 
ward Mollenhauer,  Cornelia  Jefferson,  Mrs.  Stephens 
(died  July  29,  1858),  Charlotte  Thompson,  and  Mary 
Wells.  The  second  season  opened  on  August  31,  1857, 
with  The  Heir  at  Law,  and  Jefferson  made  a  hit  as  Dr. 
Pangloss.  On  the  opening  night  of  the  third  season 
(1857-58)  he  appeared  as  Augustus,  in  The  Willow  Copse. 
Charles  W.  Couldock  acted  Luke  Fielding,  Edward  A. 
Sothern,  Sir  Richard  Vaughan,  and  Laura  Keene,  Rose 


168  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

Fielding.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  W.  R.  Blake,  Sara  Stevens,  Effie 
Germon,  and  Charles  Walcot  joined  the  company  in  that 
season  ;  and  it  was  then  that  Blake,  —  a  good  actor,  but 
one  who  had  a  tendency  to  coarseness, — being  resent- 
ful of  Jefferson's  custom  of  expunging  indelicate  lines 
from  the  old  comedies,  made  a  vain  attempt  to  stigma- 
tise him  as  "the  Sunday-school  comedian."  There  was 
a  scene  in  the  green-room,  and  Blake  was  discomfited. 
"You  take  an  unfair  and  unmanly  advantage  of  people," 
said  Jefferson,  "when  you  force  them  to  listen  to  your 
coarseness.  They  are,  for  the  time,  imprisoned,  and 
have  no  choice  but  to  hear  and  see  your  ill-breeding. 
You  have  no  better  right  to  be  offensive  on  the  stage 
than  you  have  in  the  drawing-room."  On  October  18, 
1858,  for  the  first  time  anywhere,  was  presented  Tom 
Taylor's  comedy  of  Our  American  Cousin,  which  brought 
the  flood-tide  of  fortune  in  Jefferson's  professional  life. 
He  acted  Asa  Trenchard  and  he  was  famous.  Seldom 
has  an  actor  found  a  medium  for  the  expression  of  his 
spirit  so  ample  and  so  congenial  as  that  part  proved  to 
be  for  Jefferson.  Rustic  grace,  simple  manliness,  un- 
conscious drollery,  and  unaffected  pathos,  expressed  with 
artistic  control  and  in  an  atmosphere  of  repose,  could 
not  have  been  more  truthfully  and  beautifully  combined. 
The  piece  ran  for  one  hundred  and  forty  consecutive 
nights,  until  March  25,  1859,  —  a  long  run  for  that 
epoch,  —  and  it  made  the  success  of  the  year  and  of  the 
theatre.  It  was  then  also  that  Sothern,  reluctantly 
accepting  the  trivial  part  of  Lord  Dundreary,  afterwards 
much  elaborated  by  him,  laid  the  foundation  of  his 
fortune  and  fame,  —  presenting,  in  a  vein  of  delicate 
caricature,  a  new  and  perfect  type  of  whimsical  humour. 


JOSEPH  JEKKERSON 
At  the  age  of  28. 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  169 

This  was  the  cast  of  Our  American  Cottsin :  — 

Asa  Trenchard Joseph  Jefferson. 

Lord  Dundreary Edward  A.  Sothern.1 

Sir  Edward  Trenchard Edwin  Varrey. 

Lieutenant  Vernon Milnes  Levick. 

Capt.  de  Boots Clinton. 

Coyle James  G.  Burnett.1 

Abel  Murcot Charles  W.  Couldock. 

Binney Charles  Peters.1 

Buddicombe Henry  McDouall.1 

Florence  Trenchard Laura  Keene.1 

Mrs.  Mountchessington      ....  Mary  Wells.1 

Augusta Effie  Germon. 

Georgina Mrs.  E.  A.  Sothern.1 

Mary  Meredith Sara  Stevens.1 

Sharp Miss  Flynn.1 

Skillet Mrs.  M.  Levick. 

The  season  of  1858-59  at  Laura  Keene's  theatre 
lasted  till  July  14,  when  Jefferson's  relations  with  her 
company  were  ended,  and  on  September  14,  1859,  ne 
appeared  in  the  dramatic  company  engaged  by  Dion 
Boucicault  and  William  Stuart  for  the  Winter  Garden 
theatre,  then  opened  with  Boucicault's  adaptation  of  The 
Cricket  on  the  Hearth,  entitled  Dot.2  That  theatre, 
originally  called  Tripler  Hall,  had  been  known  as  the 

2  This  was  the  cast  of  characters  in  Dot :  — 

John  Perrybingle Harry  Pearson.1 

Edward A.  H.  Davenport.1 

Tackleton T.  B.  Johnston.1 

Dot        Agnes  Robertson. 

Bertha       Sara  Stevens.1 

Mrs.  Fielding Mrs.  W.  R.  Blake.1 

Tilly  Slowboy Mrs.  John  Wood. 

Caleb  Plummer Joseph  Jefferson. 

1  Dead. 


170  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

Metropolitan,  under  William  E.  Burton's  management, 
and  later  as  Laura  Keene's  Varieties.  It  was  in  Broad- 
way, on  the  west  side,  opposite  the  end  of  Bond  street. 
Jefferson  appeared  as  Caleb  Plummer,  and  also  as  Mr. 
Bobtail ;  and  in  the  course  of  the  ensuing  six  months 
he  was  seen  as  Newman  Noggs,  Salem  Scudder,  Granby 
Gag,  Sir  Brian,  and  Rip  Van  Winkle.  The  first  presen- 
tation of  Boucicault's  drama  of  The  Octoroon,  Decem- 
ber 5,  1859,  was  an  important  incident  of  the  season; 
and  on  February  2,  1860,  a  new  theatrical  version  of 
Dickens's  novel  of  Oliver  Twist,  made  by  Jefferson, 
was  for  the  first  time  presented, — the  withdrawal  of 
Boucicault,  who  left  the  theatre  suddenly,  on  a  disagree- 
ment, having  opened  the  way  for  it.  James  W.  Wallack, 
Jr.,  a  superb  romantic  actor  and  one  of  the  most  in- 
teresting of  men,  made  an  astonishing  success,  as  Fagin, 
the  Jew,  while  Matilda  Heron  acted  with  a  wonderful 
wild  power  as  Nancy.1  There  were  in  the  Winter 

1  The  chief  features  of  the  cast  of  Oliver  Twist  show  the  diversified 
strength  of  the  company  and  the  good  judgment  with  which  that  strength 
was  directed :  — 

Brownlow James  H.  Stoddart. 

Bumble George  Holland.1 

Sikes George  Jordan.1 

Fagin James  W.  Wallack,  Jr.1 

The  Artful  Dodger T.  B.  Johnston.1 

Oliver  Twist lone  Burke. 

Nancy Matilda  Heron.1 

Mrs.  Corney Mrs.  W.  R.  Blake.1 

From  October  I,  1860,  till  March  9,  1861,  Charlotte  Cushman  acted  at 
the  Winter  Garden  theatre,  giving  forty-eight  performances,  and  in  the 
course  of  that  engagement  Oliver  Twist  was  presented,  and  Miss  Cushman 
acted  Nancy,  —  a  part  originally  played  by  her  many  years  before,  and  in 
which,  probably,  she  never  had  an  equal. 

'  Dead. 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  171 

Garden  company,  at  one  time,  A.  H.  Davenport,  George 
Holland,  Joseph  Jefferson,  George  Jamieson,  T.  B.  John- 
ston, George  Jordan,  Harry  Pearson,  —  who  died  in 
May,  1884, — James  H.  Stoddart,  James  W.  Wallack,  Jr., 
Mrs.  J.  H.  Allen,  lone  Burke,  Mrs.  W.  R.  Blake,  Matilda 
Heron,  Sara  Stevens,  and  Mrs.  John  Wood.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Boucicault  had  retired,  —  proceeding  to  Laura 
Keene's  theatre,  where  they  remained  from  January  9 
to  May  12,  1860.  There  Boucicault  produced,  for  the 
first  time,  his  plays  of  The  Heart  of  Midlothian,  Jan- 
uary 9,  and  The  Colleen  Bawn,  March  29.  The  Winter 
Garden  season,  meantime,  was  further  signalised  by  the 
production,  February  19,  of  Mrs.  Sidney  Frances  Cowell 
Bateman's  play  of  Evangeline,  —  a  work  based  on  Long- 
fellow's poem,  —  in  which  Miss  Kate  Bateman  began  the 
more  mature  portion  of  her  professional  career,  and  in 
which  Jefferson  acted  the  humorous  character  —  not 
much  to  the  author's  satisfaction.  "  It  is  the  best  comic 
part  my  wife  ever  wrote,"  Bateman  said ;  and  "  It  is  the 
worst  comic  part  I  ever  played,"  was  Jefferson's  reply. 
He  withdrew  from  the  Winter  Garden  in  the  spring  of 
1860,  and  on  May  16  opened  Laura  Keene's  theatre  for 
a  summer  season,  which  lasted  till  August  31.  The 
pieces  presented  were  The  Invisible  Prince,  Our  Jap- 
anese Embassy,  The  Tycoon,  or  Young  America  in  Japan, 
and  Our  American  Cousin.  Jefferson,  Sothern,  and 
Couldock  reappeared,  acting  their  original  parts,  in  the 
latter  piece,  while  Mrs.  Wood  enacted  Florence.  In 
Jefferson's  dramatic  company,  at  that  time,  were  lone 
Burke,  James  G.  Burnett,  Mrs.  Henrietta  Chanfrau, 
Cornelia  Jefferson,  James  H.  Stoddart,  Mrs.  H.  Vincent, 
Hetty  Warren,  and  Mrs.  John  Wood.  In  those  seasons 


172  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

at  the  Winter  Garden  and  Laura  Keene's  theatre,  the 
foundations  of  Jefferson's  fame  were  completed  and  the 
building  of  its  noble  structure  was  well  begun. 

Early  in  1861,  being  much  oppressed  by  a  domestic 
bereavement  and  by  failing  health,  Jefferson  was 
persuaded  to  seek  relief  in  travel  and  new  scenes. 
He  formed  at  that  time  the  resolution  to  appear  on 
the  London  stage,  and  he  planned  the  career  which 
he  has  since  fulfilled.  There  has  not  been  much  of 
either  luck  or  chance  in  Jefferson's  life,  and,  though  a 
fortunate  man,  he  is  pre-eminently  a  man  who  has  com- 
'  pelled  fortune,  by  acting  with  resolution  upon  a  wise 
and  definite  purpose.  At  first  he  went  to  California, 
arriving  in  San  Francisco  on  June  26,  1861,  and  on 
July  8  he  made  his  first  appearance  in  that  city,  at 
Maguire's  Opera  House,  in  Washington  street.  His 
California  season  lasted  till  November  4,  when  he  made 
his  farewell  appearance.  The  next  day  he  sailed  for 
Australia,1  and  in  that  country  —  enchanted  with  its 
magnificent  climate,  its  beautiful  scenery,  its  progres- 
sive civilisation,  and  its  intelligent,  kindly  people  —  he 
passed  four  prosperous  and  beneficial  years.  There  he 
recovered  his  health,  and  there  he  won  golden  opinions 
by  his  acting  of  Asa  Trenchard,  Caleb  Plummer,  Bob 
Brierly,  Rip  Van  Winkle,  Dogberry,  and  many  other 
characters.  He  also  gained  hosts  of  friends.  Among 

1  Jefferson  was  accompanied  on  that  expedition  by  Mr.  James  Sim- 
monds,  who  remained  in  those  colonies  and  died  there,  at  Auckland, 
New  Zealand,  early  in  1871.  Mr.  James  Simmonds  was  well  known  as  an 
actor  and  a  manager.  At  one  time  he  managed  the  Eagle  theatre,  in  Sud- 
bury  street,  Boston,  Mass.  He  was  the  author  of  several  songs,  one  of 
which,  entitled  Speak  of  a  Man  as  You  find  Him,  has  enjoyed  much 
popularity. 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  173 

his  comrades  at  that  time  were  Benjamin  L.  Farjeon, 
the  novelist,  Henry  Edwards,  George  Fawcett  Rowe, 
famous  as  Micawber,  Louis  A.  Lewis,  the  composer, 
and  James  Smith,  the  brilliant  editorial  writer.  One 
notable  incident  of  his  professional  life  at  Melbourne 
was  the  success  of  Rosa  Dunn,  Mrs.  Lewis,  who  acted 
Mary  Meredith  in  Our  American  Cousin,  Hero  in  Much 
Ado,  and  kindred  characters,  and  showed  herself  to  be 
a  lovely  actress.  From  Melbourne  he  went  to  Tas- 
mania, where,  among  what  Henry  J.  Byron  called  the 
Tasmaniacs,  he  met  with  prodigious  favour.  His  per- 
formance of  Bob  Brierly,  on  one  occasion,  at  Hobart 
Town,  drew  an  audience  that  included  upward  of  six 
hundred  ticket-of-leave  men ;  and,  though  at  first  they 
viewed  him  with  looks  of  implacable  ferocity,  they  ended 
by  giving  him  their  hearts,  in  a  hurricane  of  acclamation. 
Leaving  Tasmania,  he  sailed  for  Callao,  and  passed  a 
little  time  on  the  Pacific  coast  of  South  America  and 
at  the  Isthmus  of  Panama.  Daniel  Symons,  remem- 
bered for  his  piquant  acting  of  Dr.  Cains,  accompanied 
him  from  Australia,  and  was  thenceforth  for  a  time  the 
companion  of  his  travels.  (Mr.  Symons1  died  in  1871.) 
At  Panama  Jefferson  took  passage  for  England,  and  on 
arriving  at  London  he  commissioned  Boucicault  to  recast 
and  rewrite  the  old  play  of  Rip  Van  Winkle,  for  produc- 
tion in  the  English  capital. 

The  story  of  Rip  Van  Winkle  is  suffused  with  the 
wildness  of  gypsy  life,  and  it  arouses  the  imagination  at 
the  same  time  that  it  touches  the  heart.  The  famili- 

1  For  the  benefit  of  Mr.  Daniel  Symons,  on  June  29,  1871,  at  the 
Olympic  theatre,  New  York,  Jefferson  acted  Mr.  Golightly  and  George  L. 
Fox  acted  Gregory  Thimblewell,  the  Tailor  of  Tamworth,  in  State  Secrets. 


174  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

arity  and  the  ascendency  with  which,  in  the  contempo- 
rary mind,  it  has  been  endued,  are  attributable  less  to 
Washington  Irving's  sketch  than  to  the  influence  of 
the  actor,  by  whom  the  name  of  Rip  Van  Winkle  has 
been  written  on  the  tablet  of  human  affection,  all  over 
the  world.  Irving's  sketch,  while  felicitous  both  in 
atmosphere  and  style,  is  but  a  faint  and  dim  fore- 
shadowing of  Jefferson's  vital  creation.  The  regnancy 
of  Rip  Van  Winkle,  the  fact  that  the  character  has 
become  a  part  of  actual  life,  is  due  to  the  stage.  It 
had  existed  for  centuries :  it  never  really  lived  until  it 
was  vitalised  by  the  dramatic  art.  The  legend  is  Greek. 
The  original  Rip  was  a  Grecian  youth,  named  Epimeni- 
des,  who  was  sent  into  the  mountains  to  hunt  for  a  stray 
sheep,  and  who  fell  asleep  in  a  cave,  at  mid-day,  and 
slept  for  fifty-seven  years ;  so  that,  when  he  returned, 
his  home  and  his  people  were  gone,  and  he  was  a  stran- 
ger among  strangers  —  «ntil  recognised  by  his  younger 
brother,  now  become  an  old  man.  That  legend  appears 
again  in  remote  German  literature.  Washington  Irving 
gave  it  a  local  habitation  among  the  Catskill  Mountains, 
and  in  that  way  it  has  been  known  to  the  reading 
world  since  The  Sketch-Book  was  published,  in  1819. 
Irving's  narrative  is  brief,  and  Irving's  vagabond  is 
"a  thirsty  soul,"  who  haunts  taverns  and  who  is  by  no 
means  the  romantic  and  poetic  vagabond  of  Jefferson. 
The  beauty  of  the  sketch  is  felicity  of  description. 
The  possible  element  in  the  legend  that  inspired  Irv- 
ing's fancy  was  the  association  of  a  spectral  presence 
with  the  midnight  storm  among  the  mountains.  No 
thought,  in  particular,  was  expended  by  him  upon  the 
character  ;  and  the  commendation  that  has  from  time 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  175 

to  time  been  bestowed  upon  Jefferson,  for  his  fidelity  to 
Irving,  in  the  delineation  of  Rip  Van  Winkle,  is  there- 
fore comical.  The  hero  of  the  sketch  is  an  amiable 
sot :  the  Rip  embodied  by  Jefferson  is  a  dream-like, 
drifting,  wandering  poet  of  the  woods.  No  two  persons 
could  be  more  unlike.  Artistic  minds  everywhere  have 
felt  the  influence  of  Jefferson's  genius,  and  have  been 
stimulated  to  take  especial  note  of  the  subject,  and  to 
view  it  through  a  haze  of  the  imagination.  The  actors, 
however,  were  first  in  the  field. 

The  first  recorded  play  on  the  subject  was  produced 
at  Albany,  on  May  26,  1828,  and  the  first  Rip  was 
Thomas  Flynn  (1804-1849),  the  intimate  friend  of 
Junius  Brutus  Booth,  and  the  man  from  whom  the  late 
Edwin  Booth  derived  his  middle  name  of  Thomas  (not 
Forrest,  as  often  incorrectly  stated).  In  my  former 
account  of  the  Jeffersons,  1881,  I  indicated  Charles  B. 
Parsons  as  probably  the  first  representative  of  Rip  Van 
Winkle  upon  the  stage.  That  was  an  error ;  he  was 
the  second ;  and  I  am  indebted  to  the  research  of  that 
careful  theatrical  scholar,  H.  P.  Phelps,1  of  Albany,  for 
the  conclusive  evidence  that  Flynn  was  the  first. 

The  Albany  Argus  of  May  24,  1828,  contained  the 
following  paragraph  :  — 

"MRS.  FLYNN'S  BENEFIT. 

"  This  interesting  and  favourite  actress  (late  Miss  Twibell)  takes 
her  benefit  on  Monday  evening  next,  when  will  be  performed  for 

1  Mr.  Phelps,  in  addition  to  his  Players  of  a  Century,  published  in 
1880,  being  a  record  of  the  Albany  stage,  and  a  very  useful  book,  has 
begun  the  publication  of  The  Stage  History  of  Famous  Plays,  —  a  work  of 
obvious  value  and  special  interest,  —  of  which  the  first  volume,  1890,  is 
devoted  to  Hamlet,  and  contains  numerous  contemporary  testimonials  as 
to  various  representatives  of  the  character. 


176  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

the  first  time  an  entirely  new  melodrama,  written  by  a  gentleman 
of  this  city  and  called  Rip  Van  Winkle,  taken  from  Washington 
Irving's  novel  of  that  name.  The  piece,  we  understand,  has  been 
several  days  in  active  preparation,  and  is  pronounced  by  competent 
judges  to  be  replete  with  wit  and  humour,  which,  added  to  the 
locality  of  the  piece  in  a  story  which  is  familiar,  cannot  fail  to  draw 
a  full  house." 

"I  can  find  no  notice  of  its  production,"-  — so  Mr. 
Phelps  writes  to  me,  —  "  but  it  must  have  been  played, 
for  it  is  announced  for  the  second  and  last  time,  May  28, 
1828,  in  an  advertisement  in  which  it  is  called  Rip  Van 
Winkle,  or  the  Spirits  of  the  Catskill  Mountains. 

The  principal  parts  were  cast  as  follows,  and  the  cast 
was  advertised  :  — 

Derrick  Von  Slous Parsons.1 

Knickerbocker Phillips. 

Rip Flynn. 

Lowenna Mrs.  Flynn. 

Alice Mrs.  Forbes. 

A  prologue,  by  "a  gentleman  of  this  city,"  introduced 
the  piece,  with  these  propitiatory  rhymes  :  — 

"  If  scenes  of  yore,  endeared  by  classic  tales, 
The  comic  muse  with  smiles  of  rapture  hails  ; 
If  when  we  view  those  days  of  Auld  Lang  Syne 
Their  charms  with  home,  that  magic  name,  combine ; 
May  we  not  hope,  kind  friends,  indulgence  here? 
Say,  (for  I  speak  to  yonder  fat  mynheer,) 

1  Parsons  became  a  clergyman,  and  it  is  mentioned  that  he  preached 
the  funeral  sermon  of  Danford  Marble,  —  one  of  the  most  distinctive  of 
American  comedians,  —  who  died  of  Asiatic  cholera,  at  Louisville,  Ky., 
in  1849.  Parsons  was  born  in  1803  and  died  in  1871.  The  Phillips 
mentioned  in  this  cast  was  Moses  S.  Phillips,  of  Philadelphia,  commonly 
called  "  Nosey,"  for  the  reason  that  his  nose  was  prodigious.  He  was 
born  in  1798,  and  died  in  1854,  at  New  York. 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  177 

Say,  shall  our  burgomasters  smile  to-night? 
Shall  Sleepy  Hollow's  fairy  scenes  delight? 
Shall  they  from  woe-worn  care 'divert  one  wrinkle 
To  crown  our  hero,  far-fam'd  Rip  Van  Winkle? 
Shall  Knickerbocker's  sons,  that  gen'rous  race, 
Whose  feelings  always  beam  upon  their  face, 
Excuse  the  efforts  which  the  muse  affords 
And  greet  each  buskin'd  hero  on  these  boards  ? 
Shades  of  the  Dutch  !     How  seldom  rhyme  hath  shown 
Your  ruddy  beauties,  and  your  charms  full  blown  ! 
How  long  neglected  have  your  merits  lain,  — 
But  Irving's  genius  bids  them  rise  again. 

"  To  you,  Albanians,  grateful  as  we  are, 
We  offer  tremblingly  our  bill  of  fare. 
Yours  was  the  soil  of  Dutchmen.     Here  they  trod, 
When  leaving  Hudson's  waves,  fair  freedom's  sod. 
'Twas  here  a  Stuyvesant  and  Chrystyon  came, 
And  kept  their  honour  and  their  unstained  name. 
Oranje  Boven  be  their  motto,  too, 
And  be  their  sons  like  them,  to  freedom  true. 
Let,  then,  our  generous  friends  one  smile  bestow  ! 
Friends  perched  aloft  and  you,  my  friends  below, 
Save  us,  we  ask  you,  from  the  critic's  paw : 
We  know  your  answer ;  'tis  a  cheering  Yaw." 

The  second  representative  of  Rip,  Charles  B.  Parsons, 
played  it  at  Cincinnati,  in  the  season  of  1828-29.  The 
version  that  Parsons  used  was  bought  in  New  York, 
in  the  summer  of  1828,  and  carried  to  the  West  by  the 
theatrical  manager,  N.  M.  Ludlow.  Still  another  ver- 
sion was  presented,  on  October  30,  1829,  at  the  Walnut 
Street  theatre,  Philadelphia,  with  William  Chapman  as 
Rip.  Mrs.  Samuel  Chapman  (Elizabeth  Jefferson), 
Miss  Jane  Anderson  (now,  1894,  Mrs.  Germon),  and 
J.  Jefferson,  probably  John,  were  in  the  cast.  That 
piece  is  thought  to  have  been  one  that  was  made  in 


178  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

England  by  a  dramatist  named  Kerr;  but  possibly  it 
may  have  been  another  draft  of  the  same  play  that 
Ludlow  had  produced  in  Cincinnati.  James  H.  Hack- 
ett,  afterward  so  widely  celebrated  as  Falstaff,  produced 
Rip  Van  Winkle  at  the  Park  theatre,  New  York,  on 
April  22,  1830,  and  played  the  chief  part.  His  version,- 
which  he  again  presented  on  August  10,  1830,  at  the 
Bowery  theatre,  may  have  been  written  by  himself  r  he 
was  a  good  writer.  On  April  15,  1831,  however,  he 
acted  Rip,  at  the  Park,  in  a  version  "altered"  by  him- 
self "  from  a  piece  written  and  produced  in  London." 
In  1832  he  went  to  England,  —  making  his  second  expe- 
dition to  that  country,  —  and  at  that  time  Bayle  Bernard 
made  a  new  draft  of  the  play  for  him,  in  which  he 
appeared  in  London  ;  and  upon  his  return  to  America, 
he  brought  out  Bernard's  version  at  the  New  York 
Park  on  September  4,  1833,  and  that  he  continued  to 
present  for  several  years.  Bernard  had  made  an  earlier 
version  for  Yates,  which  was  acted  in  1831-32  at  the 
London  Adelphi,  with  Yates,  John  Reeve,  J.  B.  Buck- 
stone,  O.  Smith,  W.  Bennett,  and  Miss  Novello  in  the 
cast.  Flynn,  acting  at  the  Richmond  Hill  theatre,  New 
York,  played  Rip  on  July  29,  1833,  keeping,  no  doubt, 
the  draft  that  he  had  originally  offered  at  Albany. 
A  version  by  John  H.  Hewitt,  of  Baltimore,  was 
performed  at  the.  Front  Street  theatre  in  that  city,  in 
the  season  of  1833-34,  with  William  Isherwood  as  Rip.1 
Charles  Burke  made  a  play  for  himself  on  the  subject, 
and  brought  it  forward  at  the  Arch  Street  theatre,  Phil- 

1  Harry  and  William  Isherwood  were  the  managers  of  the  Front  Street 
theatre,  Baltimore,  in  1833-34.  William  Isherwood  played  leading  parts, 
and  Harry  Isherwood  painted  the  scenery. 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  179 

adelphia,  in  1 849.  Burke  acted  Rip,  and  Jefferson  acted 
the  inn-keeper,  Seth.  Burke's  version  was  subsequently 
amended  and  improved  by  him,  and  on  January  7,  1850, 
he  acted  in  it  at  the  New  National  theatre,  New  York. 
Burke's  play  seems  to  have  been  based  upon  the  earliest 
versions,  used  by  Flynn  and  Parsons,  but  it  was  largely 
the  work  of  his  own  hands.  The  material  appears  to 
have  been  viewed  as  common  property.  Flynn,  Par- 
sons, Chapman,  Hackett,  Yates,  Isherwood,  and  Burke 
were  predecessors  of  Jefferson  as  Rip  Van  Winkle ; 
but  when  Jefferson  arose  he  treated  the  part  in  an 
original  manner,  lifting  it  into  the  realm  of  poetry,  and 
making  it  substantially  a  new  character.  Down  to  1866 
the  best  known  and  most  widely  accepted  Rip  Van 
Winkle  was  Hackett ;  but,  in  melancholy  illustration 
of  the  mutability  of  human  affairs,  the  fame  of  Hackett 
declined  as  that  of  Jefferson  advanced,  till  at  last  there 
came  a  time  when  the  old  actor  of  Rip  laid  aside  the 
part,  and  was  content  to  sit  among  the  admiring  specta- 
tors of  the  favourite  of  a  new  age.  Jefferson's  perform- 
-ance  is  different  from  Hackett's  and  a  greater  work, 
but  not  less  sad  was  the  moral  of  that  spectacle  :  — 

"  'Tis  certain,  greatness,  once  fall'n  out  with  fortune, 
Must  fall  out  with  men  too  :  What  the  de'clin'd  is 
He  shall  as  soon  read  in  the  eyes  of  others 
As  feel  in  his  own  fall.  .  .  . 
The  present  eye  praises  the  present  object." 

Thus  through  a  period  of  more  than  two  generations 
the  stage  has  been  illuminating  and  enforcing  the 
romantic  aspects  of  the  story  of  Rip  Van  Winkle.  It 
was  the  stage  that  suggested  how  much  that  theme  con- 
tains. All  the  salient  extremes  of  a  representative 


180  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

picture  of  human  experience  are  found  in  it :  —  fact  and 
fancy  ;  youth  and  age  ;  love  and  hatred  ;  loss  and  gain  ; 
mirth  and  sadness  ;  humour  and  pathos  ;  rosy  childhood 
and  decrepit  senility ;  lovers  with  their  troubles  which 
will  all  be  smoothed  away,  and  married  people  with  their 
anxieties  which  will  never  cease ;  life  within  doors,  and 
life  among  trees  and  mountains ;  the  domestic  and  the 
romantic ;  the  natural  and  the  preternatural ;  and, 
through  all,  the  development  and  exposition  of  a  humor- 
ous, cheering,  romantic,  restful  human  character.  Such 
a  theme  cannot  be  too  much  commended  to  thoughtful 
consideration.  It  is  prolific  of  lessons  for  the  conduct 
of  life.  It  teaches  no  direct  moral ;  but  its  power  is  in 
its  influence,  —  to  lure  us  away  from  absorption  in  the 
busy  world,  and  to  make  us  hear  again  the  music  of 
running  water  and  rippling  leaves,  the  wind  in  the  pine- 
trees,  the  surf  upon  the  beach,  and,  under  all,  the  distant 
murmur  of  that  great  ocean  to  which  our  spirits  turn 
and  into  which  we  must  vanish. 

Jefferson,  beginning  with  Burke's  method,  but  soon 
veering  into  his  own,  had  long  acted  Rip,  though  he  did 
not  become  conspicuous  in  it  till  the  time  of  his  visit  to 
England  in  1865.  The  piece  that  he  put^nto  the  hands 
of  Boucicault,  for  revision,  was  the  old  piece  made  by 
Charles  Burke ;  and  further  to  stimulate  the  plan  of 
that  ingenious  dramatist  he  indicated  a  plan  for  revising 
and  rewriting  it.1  In  particular  he  suggested  that  the 

1  "  He  asked  Boucicault  to  reconstruct  it.  Many  of  the  suggestions  of 
changes  came  from  Jefferson,  and  one  at  least  from  Shakespeare.  Bouci- 
cault shaped  them  in  a  week,  .  .  .  but  he  had  no  faith  in  the  success  of 
his  work,  and  told  Jefferson  that  it  could  not  possibly  keep  the  stage  for 
more  than  a  month.  While  much  of  the  first  and  third  act  was  the  con- 
ception of  Burke,  part  of  each  was  Jefferson's.  .  .  .  The  impressive  end- 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  181 

spectres,  in  the  midnight  encounter  on  the  mountain, 
should  maintain  a  cold  and  awful  silence,  and  that  only 
the  environed  and  bewildered  man  should  speak.  Bouci- 
cault  adopted  that  idea,  and  contributing  the  scheme 
of  Gretchen's  second  marriage,  and  annexing  a  diluted 
paraphrase  of  the  recognition  of  Cordelia,  in  King  Lear, 
he  made  a  new  version  of  the  old  play,  and  with  that, 
Jefferson  sought  the  favour  of  the  London  audience,  — 
appearing  at  the  Adelphi  theatre  on  September  4,  1865. 
His  success  was  great,  and  it  has  ripened  into  a  renown 
as  wide  as  the  world. 

1  On  the  night  before  his  first  appearance  in  London, 
Jefferson,  who  was  nervous  and  apprehensive,  retired  to 
his  apartment,  in  a  house  in  Regent  street,  and,  in  a 
mood  of  intense  thought  and  abstraction,  proceeded  to 
"make  up"  for  the  third  act  of  Rip  Van  Winkle.  That 
done,  and  quite  oblivious  of  his  surroundings,  he  began 
to  act  the  part.  Dominie  Sampson  himself  was  never 
more  absent-minded.  The  window-curtains  happened 
to  be  raised,  and  the  room  was  brightly  lighted,  so  that 
the  view  from  without  was  unobscured.  Not  many 

ing  of  the  first  act  is  wholly  Boucicault's,  but  the  climax  of  the  third  — 
the  recognition  —  is  Shakespeare's.  ...  In  Rip  Van  Winkle  the  child 
struggles  to  a  recognition  of  her  father,  while  in  Lear  the  father  struggles 
to  recognise  his  child.  Compare  the  two  situations,  —  that  of  Lear  and 
Cordelia  with  that  of  Meenie  and  Rip,  —  and  the  source  of  Boucicault's 
inspiration  will  be  apparent;  and  only  as  Shakespeare  is  greater  than 
Boucicault  is  the  end  of  the  fourth  act  of  Lear  greater  than  the  third  act 
of  Rip.  It  is  the  most  beautiful  of  all  human  passions,  —  the  love  between 
father  and  child,  —  which  informs  them  both,  and  which  makes  them  both 
take  hold  upon  the  heartstrings  with  a  grasp  of  iron.  The  second  act  of 
Rip  Van  Winkle,  which  is  remarkable  as  being  wholly  a  monologue,  is 
entirely  Jefferson's  conception." — L.  Clarke  Davis,  in  Lippincotfs  Maga- 
zine, July,  1879. 


182  LIFE  OF   JEFFERSON 

minutes  passed  before  it  began  to  be  utilised,  —  and 
a  London  crowd  is  quick  to  assemble.  Inside,  the  ab- 
sorbed and  inadvertent  comedian  unconcernedly  went 
on  acting  Rip  Van  Winkle :  outside,  the  curious  multi- 
tude, thinking  him  a  comic  lunatic,  thronged  the  street 
till  it  became  impassable.  The  police  made  their  way 
to  the  spot.  The  landlady  was  finally  alarmed ;  and  the 
astonished  actor,  brought  back  to  the  world  by  a  clamour 
at  his  door,  inquiring  if  he  was  ill,  at  length  compre- 
hended the  situation,  and  suspended  his  rehearsal. 

An  incident  kindred  with  this,  as  to  comicality, 
attended  one  of  Jefferson's  performances  of  Rip,  at 
Charleston,  South  Carolina.  He  had  reached  the  first 
scene  of  the  third  act,  and  the  venerable  Rip,  just 
awakened  from  his  long  sleep,  was  slowly  and  painfully 
raising  himself  from  the  earth.  The  house  was  hushed, 
in  anxious  and  pitying  suspense.  At  that  moment  the 
heavy,  floundering  tread  of  a  drunken  man  was  heard 
in  the  gallery.  He  descended  in  the  centre  aisle, 
reached  the  front  row,  and  gazed  upon  the  stage. 
Then,  suddenly,  was  heard  his  voice,  —  distinctly  audible 
throughout  the  theatre, — the  voice  of  interested  curi- 
osity, tipsy  gravity,  and  a  good-natured  thirst  for  knowl- 
edge :  "  What  in is  that  old  idiot  tryin'  to  do  ? " 

The  British  public  took  Rip  Van  Winkle  to  its 
heart.  "In  Mr.  Jefferson's  hands,"  wrote  the  liberal 
and  kindly  John  Oxenford,  "  the  character  of  Rip  Van 
Winkle  becomes  the  vehicle  for  an  extremely  refined 
psychological  exhibition."  "Mr.  Jefferson  achieved  a 
triumphant  success  on  the  night  of  his  first  appearance 
in  London "  [C.  E.  Pascoe's  Dramatic  List,  p.  190], 
"and  he  has  now  the  reputation  of  being  one  of  the 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  183 

most  genuine  artists  who  have  at  any  time  appeared  on 
the  English  stage." 

Jefferson  sailed  from  Liverpool  on  July  30,  1866, 
arrived  in  New  York  on  August  13,  and  on  September 
3  appeared  at  the  Olympic  theatre.  His  performance 
of  Rip  was  received  with  delight,  and  the  fame  of  its 
beauty  soon  ran  over  the  land.  During  that  engagement 
he  also  acted  Asa  Trenchard,  Caleb  Plummer,  Mr.  Wood- 
cock, and  Tobias  Shortcut.  It  was  my  good  fortune  to 
witness  those  performances,  and  to  make  this  record  of 
them,  at  the  time,  in  the  New  York  Tribune :  — 

'  Our  American  Cousin  was  revived  (October  15)  at  the  Olympic 
theatre,  and  it  was  played  before  a  large  audience.  It  is  a  favourite 
play  with  the  multitude.  Its  half  sentimental,  half  melodramatic 
story  appeals  to  sympathy,  while  its  central  character  —  the  mag- 
nanimous Yankee,  whose  outside  is  rough,  but  whose  heart  is  noble, 
who  does  justice  to  an  injured  woman,  and  who  copiously  chaffs 
the  British  aristocrat  —  is  a  pleasing  personage  to  many  minds. 
The  puerility  of  the  incidents  and  dialogue  and  the  exaggerations 
of  character  seem  to  pass  unnoticed,  or,  if  noticed,  are  tolerated  for 
the  sake  of  the  hero.  Mr.  Jefferson  as  Asa  Trenchard  displayed 
winning  humour,  delicate  sentiment,  and  delightful  precision.  The 
charm  of  his  personation  is  the  fine  individuality  with  which  he 
invests  the  character.  The  quality  of  manliness  was  prominently 
indicated,  so  that  Asa's  self-sacrifice  seemed  the  natural  act  of 
a  magnanimous  man,  and  not  the  phenomenal  generosity  of  a 
buffoon.  In  the  scene  with  Mary  Meredith,  where  the  will  is  burned, 
Mr.  Jefferson  captivated  his  hearers  by  his  perfectly  natural  expres- 
sion of  the  pure  tenderness  of  homely  simplicity.  In  the  comic 
dialogues  he  was  irresistibly  humorous.  His  personation  is  more 
highly  polished  than  it  was  of  old,  but  the  art  is  well  concealed 
and  the  effect  is  admirable.  Next  to  Mr.  Jefferson  as  Asa  was 
Charles  Peters  as  Binney,  —  a  perfect  type  of  the  stolid  British  ser- 
vant. J.  H.  Stoddart  was  Abel  Murcott,  and  he  played  it  with 
strong  emotion  and  good  art.  Charles  Vandenhoff,  a  new  actor, 
made  his  first  appearance  as  Lord  Dundreary,  following  the  old 


184  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

model  and  playing  well.  Miss  Kate  Newton  enacted  Mary  Mere- 
dith, and  Miss  Caroline  Carson,  Florence. 

'Jefferson's  personation  of  Caleb  Plummer  (October  17)  was 
worthy  of  his  genius.  The  gentle  old  man  of  Dickens's  story  lives 
again  in  him,  and  touches  every  heart  by  his  sweet  self-sacrifice. 
Jefferson's  sensibility  makes  him  sympathetic  with  the  character, 
while  his  admirable  art  enables  him  to  embody  it  with  thorough 
precision  of  detail.  There  is  no  elaboration  in  his  acting. 
Jefferson's  Caleb  is  deeply  touching,  and  the  story  of  the  drama 
is  beautiful  in  its  purity,  simplicity,  and  humanising  sentiment. 
J.  H.  Stoddart's  Tackleton  exhibited  close  fidelity  to  the  original. 
Charles  Vandenhoff  made  a  pleasant  impression  as  John  Perry- 
bingle,  as  also  did  Miss  Carson  as  Dot.  Tilly  was  Mrs.  Saunders, 
who  has  delightful  whimsicality.  Blanche  Gray  as  Bertha  evinced 
a  quick  sympathy  with  the  part.  May  Fielding  was  personated 
by  Miss  Telbin ;  Dot  by  Miss  Alice  Harrison,  a  charming  actress ; 
and  Edward  Plummer  by  Charles  Barron. 

*  Jefferson,  at  the  Olympic  (October  22),  kept  his  audience  in  a 
state  of  happy  laughter  for  several  hours.  Woodcock's  Little  Game 
is  a  cross  between  comedy  and  farce,  and  is  very  bright ;  and  The 
Spitfire  is  one  of  the  most  delicious  of  farces.  Jefferson  acted 
admirably.  His  manner,  when  issuing  the  command  to  "  weigh  the 
anchor,"  and  then  "come  and  tell  me  how  much  it  weighs,"  was 
ludicrous  beyond  description,  —  an  assumption  of  sapience  that  no 
gravity  could  resist,  it  was  at  once  so  earnest  and  so  comical.' 

Washington  Irving  (1783-1859)  did  not  live  to  be 
a  witness  of  the  success  of  Jefferson,  in  the  character 
of  Rip ;  but  Irving  saw  Jefferson  upon  the  stage, 
and  remembered  his  grandfather,  and  appreciated  and 
admired  the  acting  of  both.  The  following  mention 
of  them  occurs  in  the  Journal  of  the  last  days  of 
Washington  Irving,  kept  by  his  nephew,  Pierre  M. 
Irving,  and  published  in  1862  :  — 

"September  30,  1858.  —  Mr.  Irving  came  in  town,  to  remain 
a  few  days.  In  the  evening  went  to  Laura  Keene's  theatre  to  see 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  185 

young  Jefferson  as  Goldfinch,  in  HolcrofVs  comedy  of  The  Road 
to  Ruin.  Thought  Jefferson,  the  father,  one  of  the  best  actors 
he  had  ever  seen ;  and  the  son  reminded  him,  in  look,  gesture,  size, 
and  make,  of  the  father.  Had  never  seen  the  father  in  Goldfinch, 
but  was  delighted  with  the  son.  — Life  and  Letters  of  Washington 
Irving.  Vol.  IV.,  p.  253. 

The  grandfather,  and  not  the  father,  evidently,  was 
meant  in  this  reference.  Irving  had  seen  old  Jefferson, 
in  the  days  of  Salmagundi.  It  is  doubtful  whether  he 
ever  saw  the  father  of  our  comedian. 

At  the  close  of  that  engagement  Jefferson  departed, 
on  a  tour  of  the  West  and  South  ;  but  in  1867  he  was 
again  at  the  Olympic,  from  September  9  to  October 
26,  playing  only  Rip,  which  drew  crowded  houses. 
James  E.  Hayes  —  succeeding  Leonard  Grover,  who 
was  the  successor  of  Mrs.  John  Wood  —  had  then 
assumed  management  of  that  theatre,  with  Clifton 
W.  Tayleure  as  his  assistant,  and  with  a  dramatic 
company  comprising  William  Davidge,  William  Daly, 
Charles  K.  Fox,  T.  J.  Hind,  Owen  Marlowe,  Edmund 
Milton  (Holland),  Horace  Wall,  Miss  Bessie  Foote, 
Miss  Alice  Harrison,  Mrs.  T.  J.  Hind,  and  Miss 
Cornelia  Jefferson.  Miss  Foote,  a  handsome  woman, 
from  the  London  stage,  made  her  first  appearance 
on  September  9.  Jefferson  took  a  benefit  on  October 
19,  and  closed  on  October  26,  leaving  on  the  Olympic 
stage  A  Midsummer  Night's  Dream  (produced  on 
October  28),  with  a  fine  panorama  by  W.  Telbin,  which 
he  had  brought  from  London.  Cornelia  Jefferson 
assumed  the  character  of  Titania,  giving  a  performance 
that  was  remarkable  for  poetic  feeling  and  delicate  sen- 
timent. George  L.  Fox  impersonated  Bottom.  That 


186  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

beautiful  play  had  a  hundred  consecutive  representa- 
tions. During  his  tour  of  the  country  in  1867  Jefferson 
put  into  rehearsal,  at  the  Varieties  theatre,  New  Orleans, 
then  managed  by  the  sparkling  light  comedian  William 
R.  Floyd  (died  November  25,  1880),  the  comedy  of 
Across  the  Atlantic,  by  Robertson  ;  but,  feeling  dissatis- 
fied with  himself  in  the  character  of  Colonel  White,  he 
sent  back  the  piece  to  its  author,  with  a  forfeit  of  $500, 
and  Robertson  subsequently  sold  it  to  Sothern,  by  whom 
it  was  produced  at  the  London  Haymarket,  under  the 
title  of  Home.  Lester  Wallack  afterward  presented  it 
in  New  York,  and  Colonel  White  was  one  of  the  happiest 
impersonations  of  that  polished  comedian.  The  summer 
of  1868  was  passed  by  Jefferson  among  the  mountains 
of  Pennsylvania;  but  on  August  31,  he  began  a  new 
season,  appearing  at  McVicker's  theatre,  Chicago.  Rip 
ran  for  four  weeks,  drawing  and  pleasing  crowds  of 
people,  and  then,  on  October  3,  was  succeeded  by  The 
Rivals,  in  which  the  comedian  made  a  marked  hit,  as 
Acres.  In  1869  he  bought  an  estate  near  Yonkers,  on 
the  Hudson  river,  an  estate  at  Hohokus,  N.J.,  in  the 
peaceful  valley  of  the  Saddle  river,  and  still  another, 
a  lonely  and  lovely  island,  ten  miles  west  of  New 
Iberia,  in  Louisiana,  hard  by  the  prairie  home  of  the 
exiled  Acadians  of  Evangeline.  On  May  4,  1869,  he 
began  an  engagement  in  Boston,  and  from  August  2  till 
September  18  he  was  at  Booth's  theatre,  New  York 
(opened  for  the  first  time  on  February  3,  1869),  still 
acting  Rip.  Early  in  1870  he  went  into  the  South,  to 
visit  his  Iberian  plantation.  He  was  heard  of  in  New 
Orleans  about  the  middle  of  February,  and  towards  the 
end  of  February  he  was  in  Mobile,  and  quite  ill.  He 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  187 

came  north  in  March,  acted  in  Boston  toward  the  end 
of  April,  and  subsequently  appeared  in  Louisville,  in 
Philadelphia,  and  elsewhere,  —  repairing  finally  to  Hoho- 
kus,  N.J.,  where,  in  1869,  he  had  established  his  home. 
On  August  15  he  again  came  forward  at  Booth's 
theatre,  making  his  fourth  visit  to  the  capital,  with  Rip ; 
and  he  filled  an  engagement  lasting  till  February  7, 
1871,  —  nearly  five  months,  and  steadily  prosperous 
from  beginning  to  end.  By  the  middle  of  December, 
1870,  Rip  had  been  seen,  at  Booth's  theatre,  by  more 
than  150,000  persons.  Between  Jefferson  and  Edwin 
Booth — whom  no  man  ever  knew  well  except  to  honour 
and  love,  and  whose  great  services  to  the  stage  were 
equally  a  blessing  to  his  countrymen  and  a  source  of 
pure  renown  to  himself  —  there  existed  an  affectionate 
friendship,  and  the  fact  has  its  peculiar  significance,  that 
no  scrap  of  writing  was  ever  used  between  them,  in  the 
business  of  those  engagements. 

On  January  19  and  21,  1871,  performances  were  given 
in  New  York  for  the  benefit  of  the  widow  and  children 
of  the  veteran  actor,  George  Holland  (1791-1870),  and 
Jefferson,  who  had  delayed  his  departure  from  the  capi- 
tal for  that  purpose,  participated  in  them.  The  farce  of 
Lend  Me  Five  Shillings  was  acted,  and  Jefferson  ap- 
peared as  Mr.  Golightly.  The  other  parts  were  presented 
by  Blanche  de  Bar,  Frank  Chapman,  James  Dunn,  Effie 
Germon,  W.  J.  Leonard,  Thomas  E.  Morris,  George 
Parkes,  and  Mr.  Peck.  Jefferson  was  greeted  with  great 
delight.  To  note  the  glad  faces  of  the  multitude  that 
gazed  on  him  with  such  lively  interest,  and  followed  the 
current  of  his  droll  humour  with  so  much  sympathy  and 
pleasure,  was  to  see  that  he  had  won  the  affection  not 


188  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

less  than  the  admiration  of  the  public.  The  spirit  of 
his  impersonation  of  Mr.  Golightly  was  perfectly  cor- 
rect, and  the  method  was  as  delicate  and  as  precisely 
adjusted  as  the  mechanism  of  the  finest  watch;  and  over 
all  there  was  the  charm  of  a  genial,  gentle  personality. 

In  1872  the  comedian  was  attacked  with  glaucoma;1 
but  a  skilful  operation  on  his  left  eye,  performed  early 
in  June,  by  Dr.  Reuling  of  Baltimore,  averted  blindness, 
and  soon  restored  his  health.  He  reappeared  upon  the 
stage,  January  i,  1873,  at  Ford's  Opera  House,  Balti- 
more, and  was  received  with  an  affectionate  greeting,  in 
which  the  whole  country  joined.  On  July  9,  1873,  ac- 
companied by  his  wife  and  by  William  Warren,  the 
comedian,  his  second  cousin,  he  sailed  for  England,  but 
he  did  not  act  while  abroad.  The  return  voyage  began 
on  August  1 6,  and  on  September  I,  Rip  was  again  seen 
at  Booth's  theatre.  On  September  3,  1874,  at  the  same 

1  In  June,  1872,  Jefferson  wrote  to  a  friend  as  follows:  — 

"  My  left  eye  has  been  overcast  by  a  mist,  for  some  time;  the  pain  became  so  intense 
that  I  was  alarmed,  and  called  upon  Dr.  Chisolm,  one  of  the  celebrated  oculists  of 
Baltimore,  who  told  me  that  I  was  threatened  with  the  loss  of  sight  in  one  eye,  and 
possibly  in  both.  To-day  I  had  another  examination  under  the  ophthalmoscope,  by  the 
eminent  oculist  Dr.  Reuling,  and  I  regret  to  say  he  gives  me  the  same  cheerless  intelli- 
gence. Nothing  can  save  my  sight  unless  at  once  I  give  up  my  profession  and  submit  to 
an  operation,  which  will  not  only  keep  me  in  bed  for  two  days,  but  confine  me  in  darkness 
for  a  longer  time.  Dr.  Reuling,  who  will  at  once  perform  the  operation,  gives  me  every 
hope  of  recovery,  by  attending  to  my  case  in  this  its  early  stage,  but  cannot  take  the 
responsibility  if  I  expose  my  eye  to  the  continual  glare  of  the  light,  or  delay  in  at  once 
submitting  to  an  operation.  I  would  have  informed  you  before,  but  I  am  only  just  in 
possession  of  the  serious  fact." 

The  necessary  surgical  operation  was  performed  by  Dr.  Reuling,  at 
Jefferson's  home,  at  Hohokus,  N.J.,  on  June  13,  and  in  August  the 
comedian  thus  announced  his  recovery :  — 

"  I  have  just  returned  from  a  visit  to  Dr.  Reuling,  at  Baltimore.  He  made  a  final 
examination  of  my  eye  and  gives  me  the  pleasing  intelligence  that  all  traces  of  the 
disease  have  entirely  disappeared.  I  no  longer  wear  glasses,  and  in  fact  am  as  good 
as  new.  The  Doctor  says  I  could  act  to-night,  without  the  slightest  risk." 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  189 

house,  he  began  his  farewell  engagement,  and  in  June, 
1875,  he  went  to  England,  on  a  professional  expedition. 
He  remained  abroad  two  years  and  a  half,  his  first 
London  engagement,  at  the  Princess's,  extending  from 
November  i,  1875,  to  April  29,  1876,  and  his  second, 
from  Easter,  1877,  to  the  ensuing  midsummer,  when  he 
went  to  the  Haymarket  for  a  brief  season  of  farces, 
Lend  Me  Five  Shillings  and  A  Regular  Fix,  under  the 
management  of  John  S.  Clarke, — after  which  he  re- 
turned to  America,  and  here  he  has  ever  since 
remained.1 

Jefferson  arrived  home  on  October  17,  1877,  and  on 
October  28,  at  Booth's  theatre,  under  the  management 
of  Augustin  Daly,  again  accosted  his  countrymen,  as 
Rip.  A  warm  welcome  greeted  him,  and  he  made 
another  successful  tour  of  the  United  States.  Early  in 
1878  he  paid  a  second  visit  to  California,  and  on  Decem- 
ber 1 6,  1878,  he  acted  in  New  York,  at  the  Fifth  Avenue 
theatre,  then  under  the  direction  of  Daniel  H.  Harkins 
and  Stephen  Fiske.  After  that  he  was  absent  from 
the  metropolis  till  October,  1879,  when  he  appeared  at 
the  Grand  Opera  House.  On  September  13,  1880,  he 
effected,  at  the  Arch  Street  theatre,  Philadelphia,  a 
careful  and  brilliant  production  of  The  Rivals,  and  made 
an  extraordinary  hit  as  Acres,  —  a  part  in  which  he  first 
gained  distinction  in  his  youth ;  and  his  professional 
exertions  have  since  been  divided  between  Acres  and 

1  "  Mr.  Jefferson's  departure,"  said  the  London  Telegraph,  "  means  the 
loss  of  one  of  the  most  interesting  and  intellectual  forms  of  amusement. 
.  .  .  His  picture  is  engraven  on  our  memories.  .  .  .  There  will  be  no 
lack  of  smiling  faces  when  London  is  once  more  favoured  with  the  pres- 
ence of  so  genial,  accomplished,  and  sympathetic  an  artist." 


190  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

Rip.  Those  two  characters,  together  with  Asa  Trench- 
ard,  Caleb  Plummer,  Dr.  Pangloss,  Dr.  Ollapod,  Bob 
Brierly,  Mr.  Golightly,  Tobias  Shortcut,  Hugh  de  Brass, 
the  First  Grave-digger  in  Hamlet,  and  Tracy  Coach  are 
the  only  parts  that  Jefferson  has  acted  since  1880. 
The  story  of  his  life,  indeed,  since  that  time,  is  mainly 
a  record  of  pleasant  professional  wanderings  with  Rip, 
Acres,  and  Dr.  Pangloss.  He  has  acted  but  a  part 
of  each  season,  preferring  to  live  mostly  at  home  and 
devote  his  attention  to  the  art  of  painting.  All  his 
life  he  had  been  accustomed  to  sketch  and  to  paint 
in  water-colours,  as  a  diversion  ;  but  some  time  after 
1880  he  began  to  manifest  not  only  great  enthusiasm 
but  remarkable  talent  for  oil  painting,  in  the  depart- 
ment of  landscape.  In  that  art  he  has  found  much 
happiness,  and  his  achievements  have  aroused  the 
interest  and  commanded  the  respect  of  many  competent 
judges.  Several  of  his  works  have  been  exhibited. 
Some  of  them  have  been  circulated,  in  etchings.  The 
charm  of  his  pictures,  like  that  of  his  acting,  is  tender- 
ness of  feeling,  combined  with  a  touch  of  mystery,  —  an 
imaginative  quality,  kindred  with  the  freedom  and  the 
wildness  that  are  seen  in  the  paintings  of  Corot.  In 
that  field  Jefferson  has  accomplished  more  than  perhaps 
his  contemporaries  are  likely  to  recognise,  — -  for  no 
man  must  succeed  in  more  than  one  art,  if  he  would 
satisfy  the  contemporary  standard  and  retain  the  good- 
will of  the  present  age. 

In  1869  Jefferson  began  to  make  a  home  for  himself 
upon  a  magnificent  estate  about  ten  miles  west  of 
Iberia,  and  not  far  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  in  Louis- 
iana. He  possesses,  indeed,  a  fine  dwelling,  upon  a 


LIFE   OF  JEFFERSON  191 

breezy  upland,  at  Buzzard's  Bay,1  in  Massachusetts ; 
but  his  southern  plantation,  which  is  devoted  to  oranges, 
flowers,  sheep,  and  sport,  is  his  more  characteristic 
retreat.  It  is  a  place  where  any  man  might  be  happy. 
It  is  an  island  in  the  prairie,  but  high  and  variegated, 
containing  more  .than  six  hundred  acres  of  land,  and 
isolated  by  a  broad,  shining,  steel-blue  lake,  and  by  an 
arm  of  one  of  the  bayous  of  that  well-watered  country, 
—  the  country  associated  with  Longfellow's  Evangeline, 
and  in  which  still  may  be  found  the  race  of  the  exiled 
Acadians.  Almost  every  kind  of  wood  that  grows  may 
be  found  growing  upon  that  estate.  Some  of  its  trees 
are  nearly  three  hundred  years  old,  and  in  summer  the 
great  spreading  boughs  of  those  giants  are  profusely 
draped,  in  many  a  green  dell,  not  only  with  the  long, 
funereal  moss  of  the  South,  but  with  brilliant  and 
odorous  tropical  flowers.  Orange  groves  are  scattered 
over  the  island ;  many  kinds  of  wild  fowl  live  in  the 
woods  and  swamps  and  on  the  lake  ;  and  often  the  blue 
waters  are  cleft  by  the  rapid  canoe  of  the  sportsman. 
In  one  wild  part  of  that  gorgeous  solitude  an  eagle  has 
made  its  nest,  on  the  peak  of  a  stalwart  pine-tree. 

1  Jefferson's  home  at  Buzzard's  Bay  is  called  "  Crow's  Nest,"  and  is  not 
distant  from  "  Gray  Gables,"  the  home  of  his  friend,  President  Cleveland. 
The  comedian  built  it  in  1889,  and  there  collected  a  number  of  excellent 
paintings,  a  fine  library,  and  many  interesting  memorials  and  relics.  On 
April  I,  1893,  in  consequence  of  an  accident  to  a  gasoline  tank,  the  house 
caught  fire  and  was  burnt  down.  Among  the  paintings  that  were  con- 
sumed was  a  portrait  of  Mrs.  Siddons  by  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds;  a  portrait 
of  himself  by  Sir  David  Wilkie;  a  portrait  of  a  lady  by  Sir  Thomas  Law- 
rence; and  pictures  by  Corot,  Daubigny,  Troyon,  Van  Marke,  Michel, 
Rousseau,  Diaz,  A.  Maure,  Coutourier,  and  Montecelli.  An  old,  attached, 
and  much-esteemed  servant,  Miss  Helen  McGrath,  perished  in  the  flames. 
"Crow's  Nest"  has  been  rebuilt,  1894. 


192  LIFE   OF  JEFFERSON 

Jefferson's  dwelling,  a  mansion  embowered  by  large 
trees,  stands  upon  an  eminence,  looking  southward,  and 
commands  an  unbroken  prospect  of  miles  of  lonely 
prairie,  over  which  the  dark  buzzards  slowly  sail  and 
the  small  birds  flit  merrily  about,  and  on  Which  herds 
of  roving  cattle,  seen  in  the  distance  as  black  and 
formless  shapes,  roam  lazily  around,  making  a  changeful 
picture  of  commingled  motion  and  peace.  There,  with 
his  wife  and  children,  his  books,  his  pictures,  the  art  of 
painting  for  an  occupation,  and  the  memories  of  a  good 
and  honoured  life  for  a  solace,  the  veteran  may  reap 
"the  harvest  of  a  quiet  mind,"  and  calmly  look  onward 
to  the  sunset  of  life. 

Jefferson  has  been  twice  married.  His  ftrst  wife,  to 
whom  he  was  wedded  on  May  19,  1850,  in  New  York, 
was  Margaret  Clements  Lockyer,  a  native  of  Burnham, 
Somersetshire,  England,  born  September  6,  1832,  and 
brought  to  America,  by  her  parents,  while  yet  a  child. 
Miss  Lockyer  went  on  the  stage  when  about  sixteen 
years  old,  and  early  in  her  career  was  connected  with 
the  Museum  at  Troy,  N.Y.  Ireland  mentions  that  she 
appeared  at  the  Bowery  theatre,  New  York,  on  Novem- 
ber 6,  1847,  on  the  occasion  of  a  benefit  of  Thomas  H. 
Blakeley.  "  Chanfrau  and  Mrs.  Timm,  from  the  Olym- 
pic, enacted  Jeremiah  Clip  and  Jane  Chatterly,  in  The 
Widow's  Victim,  and  a  pas  de  deux  was  executed  by  the 
Misses  Barber  and  Lockyer.  The  latter  was  young  and 
talented."  She  is  mentioned,  on  another  occasion,  as 
having  acted  Norah,  in  The  Poor  Soldier}-  After  her 

1  The  Poor  Soldier.  Comic  opera,  by  John  O'Keefe.  1798.  Altered 
and  improved,  by  the  author,  from  his  earlier  farce  (1783)  of  The  Sham- 
rock. Wood  says  it  was  a  favourite  with  George  Washington. 


JEFFERSON    FAMILY    QFtOUF> 
At   Orange    Island,    La. 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  193 

marriage  she  did  not  continuously  pursue  the  dramatic 
profession,  nor  did  she  at  any  time  acquire  exceptional 
distinction  as  an  actress.  Her  death  occurred  on  Feb- 
ruary 1 8,  1 86 1,  in  Twelfth  street,  New  York,  and  she 
was  buried  at  Cypress  Hills,  Long  Island. 

The  children  of  Jefferson's  first  marriage  are  :  — 

1.  CHARLES  BURKE  JEFFERSON.  —  Born  at  Macon,  Ga.,  March 
20,1851.     He  adopted  the  stage,  and  made  his  first  regular  pro- 
fessional appearance,  November  26,  1869,  at  McVicker's  theatre, 
Chicago.     The  occasion  was  that  of  his  father's  benefit,  and  Charles, 
a  handsome  youth  of  eighteen,  acted  Dickory,  in  77ie  Spectre  Bride- 
grpom.     He  has  acted  other  parts,  but  has  not  steadily  pursued  the 
art. 

2.  MARGARET  JANE  JEFFERSON.  —  Born  at  New  York,  July  4, 
1853.     She  never  was  on  the  stage.     She  is  the  wife  of  Benjamin 
L.  Farjeon,  the  distinguished  English  novelist,  to  whom  she  was 
married,  in  London,  in  June,  1877. 

3.  FRANCES  FLORENCE  JEFFERSON.  —  Born  at  Baltimore,  Md., 
July  9,  1855  ;  died  there,  December  12,  1855. 

4.  JOSEPH  JEFFERSON,  JR.  —  Born  at   Richmond,  Va.,  in  Sep- 
tember, 1856;  died  there,  in  1857. 

5.  THOMAS  JEFFERSON.  —  Born  in  New  York,  in  1857.     In  boy- 
hood  he  attended  school    in   London,   and  afterward,   in   Paris. 
Having  adopted  the  stage,  he  made  his  first  regular  professional  ap- 
pearance, at  Edinburgh,  in  the  character  of  Coccles,  in  Rip  Van 
Winkle,  in  1877,  acting  in  his  father's  theatrical  company.     He  was 
engaged  at  Wallack's  theatre,  New  York,  for  the  part  of  Anatole,  in 
A  Scrap  of  Paper,  appearing  on  January  5,  1880,  and   he  again 
played  the  same  part  there,  March  28,  1881.     When  his  father  re- 
vived The  Rivals,  September  13,  1880,  at  the  Arch  Street  theatre, 
Philadelphia,  he  was  cast  for  Fag,  and  in  that  mercurial  type  of 
bland  mendacity  and  good-natured  assurance  he  made  a  pleasing 
impression.      On   August   21,    1879,   at   Hohokus,   N.J.,    Thomas 
Jefferson  was  married  to  Miss  Eugenia  Paul. 

6.  JOSEPHINE  DUFF  JEFFERSON.  —  Born  at  New  York,  November 
10,  1859.     She  never  was  on  the  stage. 

N 


194  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

The  second  marriage  of  Jefferson  occurred  on  Decem- 
ber 20,  1867,  at  Chicago,  when  he  was  wedded  to  Miss 
Sarah  Isabel  Warren,  a  daughter  of  his  father's  cousin, 
Henry  Warren  (died  1894),  brother  of  William  Warren, 
the  once  famous  comedian.  The  children  of  his  second 
marriage  are :  — 

1.  JOSEPH  WARREN  JEFFERSON.  —  Born  at  New  York,  July  6, 
1869.     Married,  June  13,  1891,  to  Blanche  Beatrice  Bender.     Has 
adopted  the  stage  and  is  a  member  of  his  father's  company  (1894). 

2.  HENRY  JEFFERSON.  —  Born  at  Chicago,  111.     Died,  at  London, 
England,  November  5,  1875.     Buried  at  Cypress  Hills,  Long  Island, 
N.Y. 

3.  WILLIAM  WINTER  JEFFERSON.  —  Born   in    Bedford    House, 
Tavistock  Square,  London,  April  29,  1876,  and  christened,  on  June 
27,  the  same  year,  in  the  Church  of  the  Holy  Trinity,  —  the  Shake- 
speare church,  —  at  Stratford-on-Avon.     Is  on  the  stage. 

4.  FRANK  JEFFERSON.  —  Born   at  New  York,   September   12, 
1885. 

The  fourth  Jefferson,  resembling  his  grandfather  in 
this  as  in  some  other  particulars,  has  shown  remarkable 
versatility  in  the  dramatic  art,  not  only  by  the  wealth 
of  contrasted  attributes  lavished  by  him  upon  Rip  Van 
Winkle,  which  he  has  made  an  epitome  of  human  nature 
and  representative  experience,  but  by  the  number  and 
variety  of  the  parts  that  he  has  acted.  More  than  a 
hundred  of  them  are  recorded  here,  and  in  many  of 
them  his  acting  has  been  so  fine  that  he  would  have 
been  recognised  as  a  rare  and  admirable  comedian, 
even  though  he  had  not  acted  Rip  at  all.  It  is  either 
ignorance  or  injustice,  accordingly,  that  —  with  the 
intention  of  disparagement  —  designates  him  as  "  a 
one-part  actor."  Yet  certainly  he  has  gained  his  place 
mainly  by  acting  one  part,  and  that  fact  has  been 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  195 

noticed  by  various  observers;  in  various  moods.  "  I  am 
glad  to  see  you  making  your  fortune,  Jefferson,"  said 
Charles  Mathews,  "but  I  don't  like  to  see  you  doing 
it  with  one  part  and  a  carpet  bag."  Mathews  was  • 
obliged  to  play  many  parts,  and  therefore  to  travel 
with  many  boxes  of  wardrobe  ;  whereas  the  blue  shirt, 
the  old,  rusty  leather  jacket,  the  red-brown  breeches, 
the  stained  leggings,  the  old  shoes,  the  torn  red  and 
white  silk  handkerchief,  the  tattered  old  hat,  the  guns 
and  bottle,  and  the  two  wigs  for  Rip  can  be  carried 
in  a  single  box.  The  comment  of  Mathews,  however, 
was  meant  to  glance  at  the  "  one-part "  policy,  and 
Jefferson's  reply  to  that  ebullition  was  alike  significant 
and  good-humoured.  "  It  is  perhaps  better,"  he  said, 
"  to  play  one  part  in  different  ways  than  to  play  many 
parts  all  in  one  way."  That  sentence  explains  his 
artistic  victory.  A  few  of  Jefferson's  characters  are 
designated  here :  — 

REPERTORY   OF  JOSEPH   JEFFERSON 

[Rip  VAN  WINKLE.] 

A. 

Acres,  in  The  Rivals. 
Andrew,  the  Savoyard,  in  Isabel. 

Asa  Trenchard,  in  Our  American  Cousin.  Domestic  drama. 
By  Tom  Taylor.  Laura  Keene's  theatre,  New  York,  1858. 

B. 

Beppo,  in  Fra  Diavolo.     Burlesque.     By  H.  J.  Byron. 

Box,  and  also  Cox,  in  Box  and  Cox.  Farce.  By  J.  M.  Morton. 
London,  Haymarket,  1847.  Jefferson  was  the  original  Cox,  in 
America,  and  Burton  the  original  Box  —  at  the  Arch  Street  theatre, 
Philadelphia,  in  1848. 


1%  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

Bob  Trickett,  in  An  Alarming  Sacrifice.  Jefferson's  first  wife 
played  Susan  Sweetapple. 

Bob  Brierly,  in  The  Ticket-of- Leave  Man.  Drama.  By  Tom 
Taylor.  1863. 

Bob,  in  Old  Heads  and  Young  Hearts.  Comedy.  By  Dion 
Boucicault. 

Bobtail,  in  Bobtail  and  Wagtail. 

c. 

C.  T.  Item,  and  also  The  Tycoon,  in  The  Tycoon,  or  Young 
America  in  Japan.  Burlesque.  By  William  Brough.  Adapted 
by  Fitz-James  O'Brien  and  Joseph  Jefferson.  Olympic,  New  York, 
1860. 

Caleb  Plummer,  in  Dot,  or  The  Cricket  on  the  Hearth.  Drama. 
By  Dion  Boucicault.  Based  on  Christmas  story  by  Charles  Dickens. 

Crabtree,  Moses,  and  Trip,  in  The  School  for  Scandal. 

Caleb  Quotem,  and  also  John  Lump,  in  The  Review,  or  The 
Wags  of  Windsor.  Farce.  By  George  Colman,  Jr.  Haymarket. 
Authorised  edition,  1808.  Fawcett  was  the  original  Caleb  Quotem. 
Junius  Brutus  Booth  sometimes  acted  John  Lump,  and  Jefferson 
acted  with  him  as  Caleb. 

D. 

Dr.  Botherby,  in  An  Unequal  Match.  Comedy.  By  Tom 
Taylor. 

Dard,  in  White  Lies.  Drama.  By  Cyril  Turner.  Based  on 
novel,  of  French  origin,  by  Charles  Reade. 

Dick,  in  Paddy  the  Piper.  Drama.  By  James  Pilgrim.  New 
National  theatre,  New  York,  October  6,  1850. 

Dr.  Smugface,  in  A  Budget  of  Blunders.  Farce.  By  Prince 
Hoare.  Covent  Garden,  1810. 

Dr.  Pangloss,  in  The  Heir  at  Law. 

Dan,  in  John  Bull.  Comedy.  By  George  Colman,  Jr.  Covent 
Garden,  1805. 

Donaldbain,  Malcolm,  and  each  of  the  Three  Witches,  in  Mac- 
beth. 

Dickory,  in  The  Spectre  Bridegroom. 

Dr.  Ollapod,  and  also  Stephen  Harrowby,  in  The  Poor  Gentleman. 

Dogberry,  and  also  Verges,  in  Much  Ado  About  Nothing. 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  197 

F. 

Figaro,  in  The  Barber  of  Seville. 
Fixture,  in  A  Roland  for  an  Oliver. 

Fainwould,  in  Raising  the  Wind.     Farce.     By  James  Kenney. 
Covent  Garden,  1803. 

Francis,  in  Shakespeare's  Henry  the  Fourth. 

G. 

Gloss,  in  Doublefaced  People.     Comedy.     By  H.  Courtney. 
Granby  Gag,  in  Jenny  Lind. 

Goldfinch,  in  The  Road  to  Ruin.     Comedy.     By  Thomas  Hoi- 
croft.     Covent  Garden,  1792. 


Hans  Morritz,  in  Somebody  Else. 

Hugh  Chalcote,  in  Ours.    Comedy.    By  Thomas  W.  Robertson. 


Isaac,  in  Lucille. 

J- 

Joe  Wadd,  in  The  Hope  of  the  Family. 

James,  in  Blue  Devils. 

John  Quill,  in  Beauty  and  the  Beast. 

Joshua  Butterby,  in  Victims.     Comedy.     By  Tom  Taylor. 

Jaques  Strop,  in  Robert  Macaire. 

Joe  Meggs,  in  The  Parish  Clerk.  Drama.  By  Dion  Boucicault. 
Acted  at  Manchester,  England.  Contains  one  excellent  scene. 
Has  not  been  acted  in  America. 

K. 

Kaserac,  in  Aladdin.  , 

•    L. 

La  Fleur,  in  Animal  Magnetism.  Farce.  By  Elizabeth  Inch- 
bald.  Covent  Garden,  1788. 

Lord  Mayor,  Catesby,  Oxford,  the  Prince  of  Wales,  and  the  Duke 
of  York,  in  Cibber's  version  of  Shakespeare's  Richard  the  Third. 


198  LIFE   OF  JEFFERSON 

M. 

Mr.  Woodcock,  in  Woodcock's  Little  Game. 

Mr.  Gilman,  in  The  Happiest  Day  of  My  Life. 

Mr.  Timid,  in  The  Dead  Shot. 

Mazeppa,  in  the  burlesque  of  Mazeppa.     By  H.  J.  Byron. 

Mr.  Fluffy,  in  Mother  and  Child. 

Mr.  Brown,  in  the  farce  of  My  Neighbours  Wife. 

Mr.  Lullaby,  in  A  Conjugal  Lesson. 

Mr.  Golightly,  in  Lend  Me  Five  Shillings. 

N. 

Newman  Noggs,  in  Nicholas  Nickleby.     Drama.     By  Dion  Bou- 
cicault.     Based  on  the  novel  by  Dickens. 
Niken,  in  The  Carpenter  of  Rouen. 

o. 

Old  Phil  Stapleton,  in  Old  Phil's  Birthday. 

Oliver  Dobbs,  in  Agnes  de  Vere. 

Oswald,  in  King  Lear. 

Osric,  and  also  the  Two  Clowns,  or  Grave-diggers,  in  Hamlet. 

p. 

Pierre  Rough,  in  The  Husband  of  an  Hour.  Drama.  By 
Edmund  Falconer. 

Pierrot,  in  Linda,  The  Pearl  of  Chamoitni. 

Prop,  in  No  Song  no  Supper. 

Pan,  in  Midas.  Burlesque.  By  Kane  O'Hara.  Covent  Garden, 
1764-1771. 

Pillicoddy,  in  Poor  Pillicoddy.     Farce.     By  J.  M.  Morton. 

Peter,  and  also  Paris,  in  Romeo  and  Juliet. 

Peter,  in  The  Stranger. 

R. 

Robin,  in  The  Waterman,  or  The  First  of  August.  Ballad  opera. 
By  Charles  Dibdin.  Haymarket,  1774. 

Roderigo,  in  Othello. 

Rip  Van  Winkle,  in  the  romantic  and  domestic  drama  of  that 
name.  Old  version  by  Charles  Burke.  1849.  New  one  by  Dion 
Boucicault.  Adelphi,  London,  1865. 


LIFE   OF  JEFFERSON  199 

S. 

Septimus,  in  My  Son  Diana. 

Salem  Scudder,  in  The  Octoroon.  Drama.  By  Dion  Boucicault. 
Based  on  novel  by  Captain  Mayne  Reid.  Winter  Garden,  New 
York,  1859. 

Slasher,  in  Slasher  and  Crasher.     Farce.     By  J.  M.  Morton. 

Sheepface,  in  The  Village  Lawyer.     Farce.     1795. 

Simon,  in  7 he  Rendezvous. 

Sir  Brian,  in  Ivanhoe.     Burlesque.     By  the  Brough  Brothers. 

Sampson  Rawbold,  in  The  Iron  Chest.  Tragedy.  By  George 
Colman,  Jr.  Drury  Lane,  1796.  Music  by  Storace.  Kemble  was 
the  original  Sir  Edward  Mortimer.  The  piece  was  based  on  Wil- 
liam Godwin's  novel  of  Caleb  Williams,  and  may  be  contrasted  with 
that  tale,  for  an  illustration  of  the  difference  between  narrative  and 
dramatic  writing. 

Slender,  in  The  Merry  Wives  of  Windsor. 


The  Steward,  in  The  Child  of  the  Regiment. 

Tracy  Coach,  in  Baby. 

Toby  Twinkle,  in  All  that  Glitters  is  not  Gold. 

The  Infant  Furibond,  in  The  Invisible  Prince. 

The  Sentinel,  in  Pizarro. 

Tony  Lumpkin,  in  She  Stoops  to  Conquer.  Comedy.  By  Oliver 
Goldsmith.  Covent  Garden,  1773. 

Tobias  Shortcut,  in  The  Spitfire.  Farce.  By  J.  M.  Morton. 
Covent  Garden,  1838. 

Touchstone,  in  As  You  Like  It. 

w. 

Wyndham,  in  The  Handsome  Husband. 
Whiskerandos,  in  The  Critic. 

Y. 

Yonkers,  in  Chamooni  the  Third.  Burlesque.  By  Dion  Bouci- 
cault. Winter  Garden,  New  York,  1859. 

In  Joseph  Jefferson,  —  fourth  of  the  line,  famous  as 
Rip  Van  Winkle,  and  destined  to  be  long  remembered 


200  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

by  that  name  in  dramatic  history  —  there  is  an  obvious 
union  of  the  salient  qualities  of  his  ancestors.  The 
rustic  luxuriance,  manly  vigour,  and  careless  and  adven- 
turous disposition  of  the  first  Jefferson,  the  refined 
intellect,  delicate  sensibility,  dry  humour,  and  gentle 
tenderness  of  the  second,  and  the  amiable,  philosophic, 
and  drifting  temperament  of  the  third  reappear  in  this 
descendant.  But  more  than  either  of  his  ancestors, 
and  more  than  most  of  his  contemporaries,  the  pres- 
ent Jefferson  is  an  originator  in  the  art  of  acting. 
The  comedians  of  the  Burbage  and  Betterton  periods 
were  rich  in  humour,  and  a  few  of  them  possessed 
superb  artistic  faculty  in  its  display ;  but  the  inquirer 
will  -read  many  volumes  of  theatrical  history,  and 
traverse  a  wide  field  of  time,  before  he  will  come 
upon  a  great  representative  of  human  nature  in  the 
realm  that  is  signified  by  Touchstone,  or  Jaques,  or 
the  Fool,  in  King  Lear.  Wilks,  certainly,  must  have 
been  a  great  comedian.  He  had  serious  power,  too, 
and  tenderness,  and  his  artistic  method  was  studiously 
thorough ;  but  it  was  in  gay  parts  that  he  was  best,  — 
in  Sir  Harry  Wildair  and  the  wooing  scene  of  Henry 
the  Fifth.  The  comedians  of  the  Garrick  period, 
aside  from  its  illustrious  chieftain,  made  but  little  ad- 
vance upon  those  of  the  Restoration.  The  parts  that 
were  simply  humorous  continued  to  be  the  parts 
that  were  acted  best.  Even  Garrick  mostly  kept  his 
pathos  for  his  tragedy :  it  was  the  glittering  splendour 
of  vitality  that  dazzled,  in  his  Don  Felix,  and  it  was  the 
various  and  wonderful  comic  eccentricity  that  delighted, 
in  his  Abel  Drugger.  The  growth  of  comedy-acting, 
nevertheless,  took  the  direction  of  the  heart.  King,  the 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  201 

first  Sir  Peter  Teazle,  had, at  least  a  ray  of  pathetic 
warmth.  Holcroft  and  the  younger  Colman,  breaking 
away  from  the  influence  of  Congreve  and  Wycherley, 
set  the  example  of  writing  in  a  vein  that  elicited  the 
humanity  no  less  than  the  humour  of  the  comedians. 
The  influence  of  tragic  genius,  like  that  of  Barry, 
Henderson,  Mrs.  Crawford,  and  Mrs.  Siddons,  lent  its 
aid  to  foster  the  development  of  its  sister  art.  Munden, 
Dowton,  and  kindred  spirits  came  upon  the  scene;  and 
it  was  soon  proved,  and  felt,  and  recognised  that  humour 
is  all  the  more  humour  when  it  makes  the  tear  of  pity 
glisten  through  the  smile  of  pleasure.  From  that  day 
to  this  the  stage  in  England  and  America  has  presented 
an  unbroken  line  of  comedians,  who  —  possessed  of 
diversified  humour,  ranging  from  that  of  Rabelais  to  that 
of  Sterne  —  have  also  possessed  the  generous  warmth  of 
Steele,  the  quaint  kindliness  of  Lamb,  the  pitying  gentle- 
ness of  Hood,  and  the  sad-eyed  charity  of  Thackeray. 
From  that  day  the  art  of  comedy-acting  has  been  allied  to 
a  purpose  that  aimed  higher  than  to  make  the  world  laugh. 
In  the  second  Jefferson  that  growth  attained  to  a 
splendid  maturity,  and  pathos  and  humour  were  per- 
fectly blended.  It  remained  that  a  rare  form  of  genius 
should  irradiate  mirth  and  tenderness  with  the  light  of 
poetic  imagination.  The  fulfilment  came  with  Jeffer- 
son in  Rip  Van  Winkle.  Most  other  comedians  suggest 
their  prototypes  in  the  past.  Burton,  Bass,  Florence, 
Owens,  and  Setchell  are  names  that  point  to  a  fine  lin- 
eage, calling  up  the  shades  of  Wright,  Reeve,  Suett, 
Liston,  Nokes,  Kempe,  and  Lowin.  The  elder  and 
the  younger  Warren,  Hackett,  Davidge,  Parselle,  and 
Le  Moyne  were  descendants  of  Quin.  The  honoured 


202  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

name  of  John  Gilbert  was  long  since  written  with  those 
of  Webster,  Farren,  and  Munden  ;  and  to  that  family 
belonged  the  courtly  Placide,  the  polished  and  com- 
manding Sedley,  the  versatile  and  gentle  Charles  Fisher, 
and  the  hearty,  robust,  and  human  Mark  Smith. 
Sothern,  that  prince  of  elegant  caricature  and  soul  of 
whimsical  fun,  was  of  the  line  of  Foote,  Tate  Wilkin- 
son, Finn,  and  Mathews;  while  in  many  attributes  John 
T.  Raymond  and  George  Fawcett  Rowe  were  of  the 
same  lineage.  James  Lewis  suggests  the  spontaneity 
of  Weston,  the  versatile  humour  of  Estcourt,  and  the 
finish  of  Blissett.  Lester  Wallack,  the  most  picturesque 
figure  of  a  famous  race,  was  in  the  brilliant  comedy 
group  of  Mountfort,  Elliston,  Lewis,  and  Charles  Kem- 
ble  ;  while  John  S.  Clarke  is  the  heir,  in  comic  eccen- 
tricity, of  Woodward  and  John  Emery.  But  Joseph 
Jefferson  is  unlike  them  all,  —  as  distinct  as  Charles 
Lamb  among  essayists,  or  George  Darley  among  lyrical 
poets.  No  actor  of  the  past  prefigured  him,  —  unless, 
perhaps,  it  was  John  Bannister, — and  no  name,  in  the 
teeming  annals  of  modern  art,  has  shone  with  a  more 
tranquil  lustre,  or  can  be  more  confidently  committed 
to  the  esteem  of  posterity. 


VII 

RIP   VAN   WINKLE 

EVERY  reader  of  Washington  Irving  knows  the  story 
of  Rip  Van  Winkle's  adventure  on  the  Catskill  Moun- 
tains, —  that  delightful,  romantic  idyl,  in  which  char- 
acter, humour,  and  fancy  are  so  delicately  blended. 
Under  the  spell  of  Jefferson's  acting  the  spectator 
was  transported  into  the  past,  and  made  to  see,  as 
with  bodily  eyes,  the  orderly  Dutch  civilisation  as  it 
crept  up  the  borders  of  the  Hudson  :  the  quaint  vil- 
lages ;  the  stout  Hollanders,  with  their  pipes  and 
schnapps ;  the  loves  and  troubles  of  an  elder  genera- 
tion. It  is  a  calmer  life  than  ours  ;  yet  the  same  ele- 
ments compose  it.  Here  is  a  mean  and  cruel  schemer 
making  a  heedless  man  his  victim,  and  thriving  on 
the  weakness  that  he  well  knows  how  to  betray.  Here 
is  parental  love,  tried,  as  it  often  is,  by  sad  cares ;  and 
here  the  love  of  young  and  hopeful  hearts,  blooming 
amid  flowers,  sunshine,  music,  and  happiness.  Rip 
Van  Winkle  never  seemed  so  lovable  as  in  the  form  of 
this  great  actor,  standing  in  poetic  relief  against  the 
background  of  actual  life.  Jefferson  has  made  him 
our  familiar  friend.  We  see  that  Rip  is  a  dreamer, 
fond  of  his  bottle  and  his  ease,  but  —  beneath  all  his 
rags  and  tatters,  of  character  as  well  as  raiment  —  essen- 

203 


204  LIFE   OF  JEFFERSON 

tially  good.  We  understand  why  the  children  love  him, 
why  the  dogs  run  after  him  with  joy,  and  why  the  jolly 
boys  at  the  tavern  welcome  his  song  and  story  and 
genial  companionship.  He  has  wasted  his  fortune  and 
impoverished  his  wife  and  child,  and  we  know  that  he  is 
much  to  blame.  '  He  knows  it  too ;  and  his  talk  with 
the  children  shows  how  keenly  he  feels  the  consequence 
of  a  weakness  which  yet  he  is  unable  to  discard.  It  is 
in  those  minute  touches  that  Jefferson  denoted  his  sym- 
pathetic study  of  human  nature  ;  his  intuitive  percep- 
tion, looking  quite  through  the  hearts  and  thoughts  of 
men.  The  observer  saw  this  in  the  struggle  of  Rip's 
long-submerged  but  only  dormant  spirit  of  manliness, 
when  his  wife  turns  him  from  their  home,  in  night  and 
storm  and  abandoned  degradation.  Still  more  vividly 
was  it  shown  in  his  pathetic  bewilderment,  —  his  touch- 
ing embodiment  of  the  anguish  of  lonely  age  bowed 
down  by  sorrow  and  doubt,  — when  he  comes  back  from 
his  sleep  of  twenty  years.  His  disclosure  of  himself  to 
his  daughter  marked  the  climax  of  pathos,  and  every 
heart  was  melted  by  those  imploring  looks  of  mute  sus- 
pense, those  broken  accents  of  love  that  almost  fears  an 
utterance.  Perhaps  the  perfection  of  Jefferson's  acting 
was  seen  in  the  weird  interview  with  the  ghosts.  That 
situation  is  one  of  the  best  ever  devised  for  the  stage; 
and  the  actor  devised  it.  Midnight,  on  the  highest  peak 
of  the  Catskill,  dimly  lighted  by  the  moon.  No  one 
speaks  but  Rip.  The  ghosts  cluster  around  him.  The 
grim  shade  of  Hudson  proffers  a  cup  of  drink  to  the 
mortal  intruder,  already  dazed  by  supernatural  surround- 
ings. Rip,  almost  shuddering  in  the  awful  silence, 
pledges  the  ghosts  in  their  liquor.  Then,  suddenly  the 


LIFE   OF  JEFFERSON  205 

spell  is  broken  ;  the  moon  is  lost  in  struggling  clouds  ; 
the  spectres  glide  away  and  slowly  vanish  ;  and  Rip  Van 
Winkle,  with  the  drowsy,  piteous  murmur,  "  Don't  leave 
me,  boys,"  falls  into  his  mystic  sleep. 
_  The  idle,  dram-drinking  Dutch  spendthrift  —  so  per- 
fectly reproduced,  yet  so  exalted  by  ideal  treatment  — 
is  not  an  heroic  figure,  and  cannot  be  said  to  possess  an 
exemplary  significance,  either  in  himself  or  his  experi- 
ence. Yet  his  temperament  has  the  fine  fibre  that 
everybody  loves,  arid  everybody,  accordingly,  has  a 
good  feeling  for  him,  although  nobody  may  have  a 
good  word  for  his  way  of  life.  All  observers  know 
that  order  of  man.  He  is  generally  poor.  He  never 
did  a  bad  action  in  all  his  life.  He  is  continually 
cheering  the  weak  and  lowly.  He  always  wears  a 
smile,  —  the  reflex  of  a  gentle  heart.  Ambition  does 
not  trouble  him.  His  wants  are  few.  He  has  no 
care,  except  when,  now  and  then,  he  feels  that  he  may 
have  wasted  time  and  talent,  or  when  the  sorrow 
of  others  falls  darkly  on  his  heart.  This,  however,  is 
rare  ;  for  at  most  times  he  is  "  bright  as  light  and  clear 
as  wind."  Nature  has  established  with  him  a  kind  of 
kindred  that  she  allows  with  only  a  chosen  few.  In 
him  Shakespeare's  rosy  ideal  is  suggested  :  — 

"  Suppose  the  singing  birds  musicians  ; 
The  grass  whereon  thou  tread'st,  the  presence  strew'd ; 
The  flowers  fair  ladies ;  and  thy  steps,  no  more 
Than  a  delightful  measure,  or  a  dance." 

Nobody  would  dream  of  setting  up  Jefferson's  Rip 
as  a  model,  but  everybody  is  glad  that  he  exists.  Most 
persons  are  so  full  of  care  and  trouble,  so  weighed 
down  with  the  sense  of  duty,  so  anxious  to  regulate  the 


206  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

world,  that  contact  with  a  nature  which  is  careless  of 
the  stress  and  din  of  toil,  dwells  in  an  atmosphere  of 
sunshine  idleness,  and  is  the  embodiment  of  careless 
mirth,  brings  a  positive  relief.  This  is  the  feeling  that 
Jefferson's  acting  inspired.  The  halo  of  genius  was  all 
around  it.  Sincerity,  humour,  pathos,  imagination,  —  the 
glamour  of  wild  flowers  and  woodland  brooks,  slumber- 
ous, slow-drifting  summer-clouds,  and  soft  music  heard 
upon  the  waters,  in  star-lit  nights  of  June,  — those  are 
the  springs  of  the  actor's  art.  There  are  a  hundred 
beauties  of  method  in  it  which  satisfy  the  judgment  and 
fascinate  the  sense  of  symmetry  ;  but  underlying  those 
beauties  there  is  a  magical  sweetness  of  temperament, 
a  delicate  blending  of  emotion,  gentleness,  quaintness, 
and  dream-like  repose,  which  awakens  the  most  affec- 
tionate sympathy.  Art  could  not  supply  that  subtle, 
potent  charm.  It  is  the  divine  fire. 

In  his  embodiment  of  Rip  Van  Winkle  Jefferson 
delineates  an  individual  character,  through  successive 
stages  of  growth,  till  the  story  of  a  life  is  completely 
told.  If  the  student  of  acting  would  appreciate  the  fine- 
ness and  force  of  the  dramatic  art  that  is  displayed  in 
the  work,  let  him  consider  the  complexity  and  depth  of 
the  effect,  as  contrasted  with  the  simplicity  of  the  means 
that  are  used  to  produce  it.  The  sense  of  beauty  is 
satisfied,  because  the  object  that  it  apprehends  is  beau- 
tiful. The  heart  is  deeply  and  surely  touched,  for  the 
simple  and  sufficient  reason  that  the  character  and  expe- 
rience revealed  to  it  are  lovely  and  pathetic.  For  Rip 
Van  Winkle's  goodness  exists  as  an  oak  exists,  and  is 
not  dependent  on  principle,  precept,  or  purpose.  How- 
ever he  may  drift,  he  cannot  drift  away  from  human 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  207 

affection.  Weakness  was  never  punished  with  more 
sorrowful  misfortune  than  his.  ^Dear  to  us  for  what  he 
is,  he  becomes  dearer  still  for  what  he  suffers,  and,  in 
the  acting  of  Jefferson,  for  the  manner  in  which  he  suf- 
fers it.  That  manner,  arising  out  of  complete  identifi- 
cation with  the  part,  informed  by  intuitive  and  liberal 
knowledge  of  human  nature,  and  guided  by  an  unerring 
instinct  of  taste,  is  unfettered,  graceful,  free  from  ef- 
fort;  and  it  shows  with  delicate  precision  the  gradual, 
natural  changes  of  the  character,  as  wrought  by  the 
pressure  of  experience.  Its  result  is  the  winning  em- 
bodiment of  a  rare  type  of  human  nature  and  mystical 
experience,  embellished  by  the  hues  of  romance  and 
exalted  by  the  atmosphere  of  poetry  ;  and  no  person  of 
imagination  and  sensibility  can  see  it  without  being 
charmed  by  its  humour,  thrilled  by  its  spiritual  beauty, 
and,  beneath  the  spell  of  its  humanity,  made  deeply 
conscious  that  life  is  worthless,  however  its  ambition 
may  be  rewarded,  unless  it  is  hallowed  by  love. 

There  will  be,  as  there  have  been,  many  performers 
of  Rip  Van  Winkle;  there  is  but  one  Jefferson.  For 
him  it  was  reserved  to  idealise  the  subject;  to  elevate 
a  prosaic  type  of  good-natured  indolence  into  an  emblem 
of  poetical  freedom  ;  to  construct  and  translate,  in  the 
world  of  fact,  the  Arcadian  vagabond  of  the  world  of 
dreams.  In  the  presence  of  his  fascinating  embodiment 
of  that  droll,  gentle,  drifting  human  creature,  —  to  whom 
trees  and  brooks  and  flowers  are  familiar  companions, 
to  whom  spirits  appear,  and  for  whom  the  mysterious 
voices  of  the  lonely  midnight  forest  have  a  meaning 
and  a  charm,  —  the  observer  feels  that  poetry  is  no 
longer  restricted  to  canvas  and  marble,  but  walks  forth 


208  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

crystallised  in  a  human  form,  spangled  with  the  diamond 
light  of  morning,  mysterious  with  spiritual  intimations, 
lovely  with  rustic  freedom,  and  fragrant  with  the  in- 
cense of  the  woods. 

v  Jefferson's  acting  is  an  education  as  well  as  a  delight. 
It  especially  teaches  the  imperative  importance,  in  dra- 
matic art,  of  a  thorough  and  perfect  plan,  which  yet, 
by  freshness  of  spirit  and  spontaneity  of  execution, 
shall  be  made  to  seem  free  and  careless.  Jefferson's 
embodiment  of  Rip  has  been  prominently  before  the 
public  for  thirty  years,  yet  it  is  not  hackneyed,  and  it 
does  not  grow  tiresome.  The  secret  of  its  vitality  is  its 
poetry.  A  thriftless,  commonplace  sot,  as  drawn  by 
Washington  Irving,  becomes  a  poetic  vagabond,  as 
transfigured  and  embodied  by  the  actor ;  and  the  dig- 
nity of  his  artistic  work  is  augmented  rather  than 
diminished  from  the  fact  that  he  plays  in  a  drama 
throughout  which  the  expedient  of  inebriety,  as  a 
motive  of  action,  is  exaggerated.  Boucicault,  working 
under  explicit  information  as  to  Jefferson's  views  and 
wishes  with  reference  to  the  part,  certainly  improved 
the  old  piece ;  but,  as  certainly,  the  scheme  to  show 
the  sunny  sweetness  and  indolent  temperament  of  Rip 
is  clumsily  planned,  while  the  text  is  devoid  of  literary 
excellence  and  intellectual  character,  —  attributes  which, 
though  not  dramatic,  are  desirable.  The  actor  is  im- 
mensely superior  to  the  play,  and  may  indeed  be  said 
to  make  it.  The  obvious  goodness  of  his  heart,  the 
deep  sincerity  of  his  moral  purpose,  the  potential  force 
of  his  sense  of  beauty,  the  supremacy  in  him  of  what 
Voltaire  was  the  first  to  call  the  "faculty  of  taste,"  the 
incessant  charm  of  his  temperament,  —  those  are  the 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  209 

means,  ruled  and  guided  by  clear  vision  and  strong  will, 
and  made  to  animate  an  artistic  figure  possessing  both 
symmetry  and  luxuriant  wildness,  that  make  the  great- 
ness of  Jefferson's  embodiment  of  Rip.  He  has  created 
a  character  that  everybody  will  continue  to  love,  not- 
withstanding weakness  of  nature  and  indolent  conduct. 
Jefferson  never  had  the  purpose  to  extol  improvidence 
or  extenuate  the  wrong  and  misery  of  inebriety.  The 
opportunity  that  he  discerned  and  has  brilliantly  im- 
proved was  that  of  showing  a  lovely  nature,  set  free 
from  the  shackles  of  conventionality  and  circumscribed 
with  picturesque,  romantic  surroundings,  during  a  mo- 
mentous experience  of  spiritual  life,  and  of  the  muta- 
bility of  the  world.  The  obvious  defects  in  the  structure 
are  an  undue  emphasis  upon  the  bottle,  as  poor  Rip's 
failing,  and  an  undue  exaggeration  of  the  virago  quality 
in  Gretchen.  It  would  be  easy,  taking  the  prosy  tone 
of  the  temperance  lecturer,  to  look  at  Jefferson's  design 
as  a  matter  of  fact  and  not  of  poetry,  and,  by  dwelling 
on  the  impediments  of  his  subject  rather  than  the  spirit 
of  his  art  and  the  beauty  of  his  execution,  to  set  his 
beautiful  and  elevating  achievement  in  a  degraded  and 
degrading  light.  But,  fortunately,  the  heart  has  its 
logic  as  well  as  the  head,  and  all  observers  are  not  with- 
out imagination.  The  heart  and  imagination  of  our 
age  know  what  Jefferson  means  in  Rip,  and  have  ac- 
cepted him,  therefore,  into  the  sanctuary  of  affection. 

The  world  does  not  love  Rip  Van  Winkle  because  of 
his  faults,  but  in  spite  of  them.  Underneath  his  defects 
the  human  nature  is  sound  and  bright ;  and  it  is  out 
of  this  interior  beauty  that  the  charm  of  Jefferson's 
personation  arises.  The  conduct  of  Rip  Van  Winkle  is 


210  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

the  result  of  his  character,  not  of  his  drams.  At  the 
sacrifice  of  comicality,  here  and  there,  the  element  of 
inebriety  might  be  left  out  of  his  experience  and  he 
would  still  act  in  the  same  way,  and  possess  the  same 
fascination.  The  drink  is  only  an  expedient,  to  involve 
the  hero  in  domestic  strife  and  open  the  way  for  his 
ghostly  adventure  and  his  pathetic  resuscitation.  The 
machinery  is  clumsy ;  but  that  does  not  invalidate  either 
the  beauty  of  the  character  or  the  supernatural  thrill 
and  mortal  anguish  of  the  experience.  Those  elements 
make  the  soul  of  this  great  work,  which,  while  it  capti- 
vates the  heart,  also  enthralls  the  imagination, — lifting 
us  above  the  storms  of  life,  its  sorrows,  its  losses,  and 
its  fret,  till  we  rest  at  last  on  Nature's  bosom,  children 
once  more,  and  once  more  happy. 


VIII 

9 

ACRES 

IN  1880  Jefferson  complied  with  a  desire,  which  had 
been  generally  felt  and  frequently  expressed,  that  he 
should  appear  in  some  other  part  than  Rip  Van  Winkle. 
He  had  not  tired  of  that  character  any  more  than  the 
public  had  tired  of  it ;  but  he  felt  the  mental  need  of  a 
change,  and  he  recognised  the  claim  of  a  new  genera- 
tion of  playgoers  upon  that  versatility  of  art  and  those 
resources  of  faculty  and  humour  which  had  given  en- 
joyment to  theatrical  audiences  of  an  earlier  time,  and 
laid  the  basis  of  his  professional  renown.  He  was  not 
unwilling  to  correct  a  mistaken  impression,  current  to 
some  extent,  that  he  was  only  a  one-part  actor.  In 
former  days,  before  he  adopted  Rip  Van  Winkle,  Jeffer- 
son acted  many  parts  ;  and  early  in  his  career  he  was 
recognised,  by  the  dramatic  profession  and  by  the  more 
discerning  part  of  the  public,  as  an  actor  of  much  versa- 
tility. His  personations  of  Asa  Trenchard,  Caleb  Plum- 
mer,  Dr.  Pangloss,  Dr.  Ollapod,  Salem  Scudder,  Mr. 
Golightly,  Mr.  Lullaby,  Newman  Noggs,  Goldfinch,  Bob 
Brierly,  the  burlesque  Mazeppa,  Dickory,  and  Tobias 
Shortcut  delighted  old  playgoers,  and  by  them  were 
remembered  only  to  be  admired  and  extolled.  But 
after  his  return  from  England,  in  1866,  he  seldom 


212  LIFE   OF  JEFFERSON 

acted  anything  but  Rip  Van  Winkle,  so  that  the  public 
conception  of  him  as  a  general  actor  had  grown  dim,  or 
altogether  faded.  In  reviving  TJie  Rivals,  and  appear- 
ing as  Acres,  he  afforded  refreshment  to  his  mind ;  he 
lessened  the  possibility  of  making  Rip  Van  Winkle 
tedious  ;  he  satisfied  a  craving  for  novelty  on  the  part 
of  his  admirers ;  he  revived  a  just  sense  of  the  breadth 
of  his  scope  as  a  comedian  ;  and,  keeping  pace  with 
modern  taste,  he  gave  his  public  a  new  pleasure,  a  new 
picture  in  dramatic  art,  and  a  new  subject  for  study  and 
thought. 

The  professional  career  of  Jefferson  has  been  marked, 
all  along  its  course,  by  wisdom.  He  came  to  the  capi- 
tal at  the  right  time,  and  in  the  right  way.  He  early 
applied  to  the  old  comedies  the  right,  because  the  pure 
and  poetic,  method  of  treatment.  He  could  look  far 
ahead  for  the  results  of  his  labour  and  devotion,  and 
he  made  fidelity  to  the  highest  ideal  of  art  the  first 
object  of  his  life.  He  understood  perfectly  well  the 
nature  of  the  structure  that  he  was  rearing,  and  he 
never  trusted  anything  to  chance.  It  was  he  who 
caused  the  production  of  Our  American  Cousin,  at 
Laura  Keene's  theatre,  in  New  York,  October  18,  1858, 
and  so  made  one  of  the  best  dramatic  successes  of 
which  there  is  a  record.  He  had  the  foresight  to  select, 
while  yet  a  young  man,  the  character  in  which  his 
powers  were  destined  to  find  their  amplest  expression, 
—  the  character  of  Rip  Van  Winkle;  and  for  that  he 
conceived  an  ideal  and  devised  a  treatment  so  original, 
poetic,  and  lovely,  so  unlike  and  so  superior  to  the 
man  in  Washington  Irving's  sketch  and  to  the  em- 
bodiment of  previous  actors,  that  he  may  be  said  to 


LIFE   OF  JEFFERSON  213 

have  created  the  part.  He  left  America  and  visited 
Australia  at  a  favourable  period  for  such  an  expedition, 
and  with  a  practical  view  to  subsequent  success  upon 
the  London  stage.  He  sagaciously  resorted  to  Dion 
Boucicault,  in  London,  when  he  deemed  it  essential 
that  a  new  play  should  be  built  upon  the  basis  of  the 
old  one,  and  he  furnished  to  that  practical  dramatist  a 
general  outline  of  the  piece,  the  drift  of  the  central 
character,  and  the  great  situation  in  the  second  act  of 
Rip  Van  Winkle  as  it  now  stands,  —  a  dramatic  idea 
which  of  itself  would  suffice  to  prove  him  a  man  of 
genius.  He  returned  home  opportunely,  after  his  ex- 
traordinary success  in  Great  Britain ;  and  the  fame 
and  fortune  he  has  since  acquired,  the  affection  with 
which  his  renown  is  cherished,  and  the  joyous  admira- 
tion with  which  his  name  is  spoken  throughout  Amer- 
ica amply  indicate  that  his  conduct  of  the  artist-life, 
since  then,  has  been  no  less  prudent  and  right  than 
kindly,  modest,  gentle,  and  sincere.  It  is  not  caprice 
which  shapes  such  a  career  as  that  of  Jefferson,  nor 
is  it  accident  that  has  crowned  it  with  the  laurels  of 
honour. 

The  sagacity  of  the  comedian  was  shown  in  the  choice 
he  made  of  a  piece  and  a  character  to  contrast  with  Rip 
Van  Winkle.  Of  all  the  old  comedies,  The  Rivals  is 
obviously  the  best  that  this  actor  could  have  selected, 
with  a  view  of  making  his  particular  part  in  the  per- 
formance the  apex  of  the  entertainment.  The  piece 
is  one  that  has  not  become  antiquated.  Its  picture  of 
life  and  manners  is  as  modern  and  as  vital  as  it  is  clear, 
richly  coloured,  humorous,  and  brilliant.  The  spirit  of 
it,  moreover,  is  human,  kindly,  and  pure.  There  is  no 


214  LIFE   OF  JEFFERSON 

taint  of  indelicacy  in  the  plot,  —  no  blur  of  licentious- 
ness, such  as  smirches  the  mirror  of  its  great  companion- 
piece,  The  School  for  Scandal, — and  in  the  style  there 
is  but  little  of  that  elaborate,  brittle  wit  which  some- 
times seems  to  impart  to  Sheridan's  writings  a  tire- 
some glitter  of  artifice.  The  play 'is  genial,  sprightly, 
and  droll ;  it  has  interest  of  story,  alert  movement,  and 
substantial  and  well-contrasted  characters ;  and  its 
theme,  incidents,  and  atmosphere  are  suited  to  Jeffer- 
son's simple  artistic  method.  He  obtained  in  his  choice 
of  it  a  means  of  expression  by  which  he  could  seize 
and  hold  the  sympathy  of  the  spectator,  all  the  while 
that  he  was  scattering  over  him  the  flowers  of 
mirth,  and  waking  in  his  heart  the  echoes  of  happy 
laughter.  It  would  be  hard  to  find  another  comedy 
equally  sparkling  with  life,  delightful  in  colour,  and 
merry  and  gentle  in  influence,  in  which  a  single,  and 
that  a  comic,  character,  —  one  of  a  group,  yet  drawn 
and  kept  in  harmony  with  its  surroundings,  —  could 
thus  be  made  tributary  to  the  idiosyncrasies  of  an  actor, 
and  thus  elevated  into  shining  prominence,  without 
injury  to  its  form  or  to  the  symmetry  of  the  play. 
After  seeing  The  Rivals,  as  Jefferson  presented  it,  the 
spectator  felt  a  great  kindness  for  the  old  piece,  and 
had  the  conviction  that,  in  Jefferson's  performance  of 
Acres,  he  had  seen  a  slight  character  made  fascinating 
by  drollery  of  spirit,  sincerity  of  feeling,  and  grace  of 
expression.1 

1  The  several  parts  were  dressed  in  a  correct  and  sumptuous  manner, 
though  with  some  intentional  inaccuracy  as  to  powdered  hair.  The  repre- 
sentation was  marked  by  clearness  of  outline,  brilliancy  of  colour,  and 
harmony  of  effect.  The  characters  in  The  Rivals,  when  Jefferson  first 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  215 

When  The  Rivals  was  first  produced  (1775),  it  had  to 
be  cut,  in  a  ruthless  manner,  before  it  could  be  made  to 
succeed.1  The  author,  then  but  twenty-three  years  old, 

produced   his  adaptation  of  it,  September  15,  1880,  at  the  Arch  Street 
theatre,  Philadelphia,  were  cast  as  follows  :  — 

Acres Mr.  Jefferson. 

Sir  Anthony  Absolute Frederick  Robinson. 

Captain  Absolute Maurice  Barrymore. 

Sir  Lucius  O'Trigger Charles  Waverley.1 

Falkland Henry  F.  Taylor. 

Fag Thomas  Jefferson. 

David James  Galloway. 

Mrs.  Malaprop Mrs.  John  Drew. 

Lydia  Languish Rosa  Rand. 

Lucy Adine  Stephens. 

Jefferson  produced  The  Rivals  and  personated  Acres,  at  the  Union 
Square  theatre,  New  York,  on  September  12,  1881.  That  was  his  first 
presentation  of  the  subject  in  New  York,  subsequent  to  the  Philadelphia 
revival.  The  cast  of  characters  then  was :  — 

Acres Mr.  Jefferson. 

Sir  Anthony  Absolute Frederick  Robinson. 

Captain  Absolute Mark  Pendleton. 

Sir  Lucius  O'Trigger Charles  Waverley. 

Falkland Henry  F.  Taylor. 

Fag        Thomas  Jefferson. 

David James  Galloway. 

Mrs.  Malaprop Mrs.  John  Drew. 

Lydia  Languish       Rose  Wood. 

Lucy Eugenia  Paul. 

1  The  partial  failure  of  The  Rivals,  when  first  acted,  was  due  in  part  to 
its  inordinate  length,  and  in  part  to  its  incompatibility  with  the  taste  then 
prevalent,  which  preferred  sentimental  plays,  harmonious  with  the  manners- 
of  the  time.  Falkland  and  Julia  were  approved,  but  Mrs.  Malaprop,  being 
a  humorous  caricature,  was  condemned.  An  interesting  reference  to  this 
subject  is  made  by  Bernard  {Retrospections,  Vol.  L,  p.  86),  who  saw 


1  Charles  Waverley  was  a  conscientious  actor  and  notable  for  refinement.  His  per- 
ception of  character  was  keen,  and  in  parts  of  a  demure  or  playful  order  he  could  be  very 
agreeably  droll.  He  was  a  man  of  steadfast  principles  and  amiable  disposition,  and  was 
modest  and  sympathetic.  He  died,  in  London,  in  August,  1883. 


216  LIFE   OF  JEFFERSON 

had  written  it  with  exuberant  spirits,  and  it  contained 
substance  enough  for  several  plays  rather  than  one. 
Jefferson  did  not  hesitate  to  cut  it  still  further,  and 
slightly  to  change  its  sequence  of  action,  and  here  and 
there,  in  the  character  of  Acres,  to  deepen  traits  that  the 
author  has  only  outlined,  to  add  new  business,  —  always, 
however,  in  harmony  with  the  original  conception,  — 
and  to  give,  by  occasional  new  lines,  an  added  emphasis 
and  prolongation  to  the  humorous  strokes  of  Sheridan. 
Those  parts  of  plays  which  are  not  essential  may 
well  be  spared,  unless  they  can  be  done  perfectly  well. 
The  last  of  the  four  great  soliloquies  of  Hamlet  is 
invariably  omitted  ;  and  no  one  of  Shakespeare's  plays 
is  ever  acted  exactly  as  it  stands,  because  there  are 
lines  that  cannot  be  spoken,  and  because  the  necessity 
of  certain  other  lines  is  obviated  by  the  resources  of 
modern  stage  scenery.  The  author  of  The  Rivals 
would,  probably,  have  been  the  first  to  favour  any 
change  that  might  improve  its  effect,  —  for,  as  stated 
by  Moore,  on  the  authority  of  Lady  Cork,  he  "  always 
said  that  The  Rivals  was  one  of  the  worst  plays  in  the 
language,  and  he  would  give  anything  if  he  had  not 
written  it."  Jefferson  gave  the  comedy  in  three  acts, 
—  the  first  curtain  falling  upon  the  exit  of  Sir  Anthony 
Absolute,  after  his  choleric  scene  with  his  son  ;  the 
second  upon  the  exit  of  Acres,  at  the  words,  "Tell 
him  I  kill  a  man  a  week";  and  the  third  upon  the 
close  of  the  piece,  with  a  tag  that  the  actor  added. 
The  character  of  Julia  was  omitted  and  that  of  Falk- 

the  performance,  and  who  declares  that  the  ascription  of  the  partial 
failure  to  the  inefficient  acting  of  Lee,  as  Sir  Lucius  OTrigger,  was  unjust 
and  ungenerous. 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  217 

land  considerably  reduced.  Those  parts  are  only 
pleasant  when  acted  by  players  of  the  first  class, 
such  as  can  no  longer  be  led  to  undertake  them. 
(Mrs.  Siddons  once  played  Sheridan's  Julia,  but  a 
walking  lady  would  hardly  accept  it  now.)  The  loose 
lines, as  well  as  what  Moore  called  the  "false  finery  and 
second-rate  ornament,"  were  shorn  away.  Two  of  the 
scenes"  of  Acres  were  blended  into  one,  so  that  the  vain 
and  timorous  squire's  truculence,  when  writing  the 
challenge,  might  be  made  the  more  comical  by  imme- 
diate contrast  with  his  dismay  and  gradually  growing 
cowardice,  as  he  begins  to  realise  its  possible  conse- 
quences. In  other  respects  there  was  no  change. 

Jefferson's  felicity  in  light  parts,  whether  of  comedy, 
burlesque,  or  farce,  resides  in  his  application  to  them  of 
an  intense  earnestness  of  spirit  and  a  poetic  treatment,1 
—  by  which  is  meant  a  treatment  that  interprets,  illus- 
trates, and  elevates  the  character.  In  that  way  he 
embodied  Acres.  The  first  of  the  three  scenes  in  which 
he  appeared  was  that  of  the  call  which  is  made  by  Acres 
at  the  lodging  of  Captain  Absolute,  where  he  meets 
Falkland ;  the  second,  that  of  his  reception  of  Sir  Lucius 
O'Trigger,  at  his  own  chambers,  when  he  writes  the 
challenge  to  the  mythical  Beverley,  is  frightened  by  the 

1  In  1871,  on  the  occasion  of  the  Holland  Benefit,  in  New  York,  Jeffer- 
son charmed  a  great  audience  with  his  representation  of  Mr.  Golightly; 
and  that  exquisite  work  he  gave  later  (1877),  in  London,  on  the  occasion 
of  a  benefit  to  the  impoverished  and  dying  veteran,  Henry  Compton,  when 
his  success  was  such  that  John  S.  Clarke  immediately  proposed  to  him 
a  season  of  farce  at  the  Haymarket,  —  a  season  devoted  to  Mr.  Golightly 
and  Hugh  de  Brass,  —  in  which,  while  the  treasury  neither  gained  nor 
lost,  fastidious  critics  of  the  British  capital  enjoyed  a  kind  of  acting 
which  they  conceded  to  be  kindred  with  the  best  upon  the  light  comedy 
stage  of  Paris. 


218  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

terror  of  his  bumpkin  servant,  David,  and,  at  last,  with 
rueful  reluctance,  entrusts  the  warlike  missive  to  Cap- 
tain Absolute;  and  the  third,  that  of  the  frustrated 
meeting  in  King's  Mead  meadows,  when,  in  the  extrem- 
ity of  fear,  his  "  valour  oozes  out  at  the  tips  of  his 
fingers,"  and  the  snarl  that  young  Absolute  has  woven 
is  happily  disentangled.  The  variety  that  he  evoked 
from  those  scenes  was  little  less  than  wonderful.  At 
first  it  seemed  as  if  he  had  overladen  the  character  with 
meaning  and  lifted  it  too  far.  But,  when  the  work  was 
studied,  it  was  seen  that  the  actor  had  only  taken  the 
justifiable  and  admirable  license  of  deepening  the  lines 
and  tints  of  the  author,  and  of  endearing  the  character 
by  infusing  into  it  an  amiable  and  lovable  personality. 
That  this  was  not  clearly  intended  by  Sheridan  would 
not  invalidate  its  propriety.  The  part  admits  of  it,  and 
is  better  for  it ;  and  this  certainly  would  have  been 
intended  had  it  been  thought  of,  — for  it  makes  the  play 
doubly  interesting  and  potential.  That  Acres  becomes 
a  striking  figure  in  the  group,  and  a  vigorous  motive  in 
the  action,  is  only  because  he  is  thus  vitalised.  If  the 
other  parts  were  animated  by  an  equal  genius  in  the 
performance  of  them,  it  would  be  seen  that  he  has  no 
undue  prominence. 

Jefferson  considered  that  a  country  squire  need  not 
necessarily  reek  of  the  ale-house  and  the  stables;  that 
Acres  is  neither  the  noisy  and  coarse  Tony  Lumpkin 
nor  the  "horsey"  Goldfinch;  that  he  is  not  less  kindly 
because  vain  and  vapid ;  that  he  has  tender  ties  of 
home,  and  a  background  of  innocent,  domestic  life ; 
that  his  head  is  completely  turned  by  contact  with 
town  fashions ;  that  there  may  be  a  kind  of  artlessness 


JEFKERSON    AND    FLORENCE    IN    THE    RIVALS 

H1  roii  i   .-i    |  il  ii  >ti  ij^r.-i  ]  >1  i   1  >v    K.-ilU. 


LIFE   OF  JEFFERSON  219 

in  his  ridiculous  assumption  of  rakish  airs ;  that  there 
is  something  a  little  pitiable  in  his  bombast ;  that 
he  is  a  good  fellow,  at  heart ;  and  that  his  sufferings 
in  the  predicament  of  the  duel  are  genuine,  intense, 
and  quite  as  doleful  as  they  are  comic.  All  this  ap- 
peared in  the  personation.  You  were  impressed  at 
once  by  the  winning  appearance  and  temperament,  and 
Acres  got  your  friendship,  and  was  a  welcome  presence, 
laugh  at  him  though  you  might.  Jefferson  introduced 
a  comic  blunder  with  which  to  take  him  out  of  the 
first  scene  with  Absolute,  and  also  some  characteristic 
comic  business  for  him,  before  a  mirror,  when  Sir 
Lucius,  coming  upon  him  unawares,  finds  him  practis- 
ing bows  and  studying  deportment.  He  did  not  seem 
contemptible  in  those  situations ;  he  only  seemed  ab- 
surdly comical.  He  communicated  to  every  spectator 
his  joy  in  the  success  of  his  curl-papers ;  and  no  one, 
even  amidst  uncontrollable  laughter,  thought  of  his  pen- 
ning of  his  challenge  as  otherwise  than  a  proceeding  of 
serious  import.  He  was  made  a  winning  human  being, 
with  an  experience  of  action  and  suffering;  and  sympa- 
thy with  him,  on  his  battle-field,  would  have  been  really 
painful  but  that  the  spectators  were  in  the  secret.  The 
spirit  of  Jefferson's  impersonation  was  humanity  and 
sweet  good  nature,  while  the  traits  that  he  especially 
emphasised  were  ludicrous  vanity  and  comic  trepida- 
tion. He  left  no  moment  unfilled  with  action,  when  he 
was  on  the  scene,  and  all  his  by-play  was  made  tribu- 
tary to  the  expression  of  those  traits.  One  of  his 
deft  touches  was  the  trifling  with  Captain  Absolute's 
gold-laced  hat,  and  —  obviously  to  the  eye  —  consider- 
ing whether  it  would  be  suitable  to  himself.  Nothing 


220 

could  be  more  humorous  than  the  mixture  of  assurance, 
uneasy  levity,  and  dubious  apprehension,  at  the  mo- 
ment when  the  challenge  has  at  last  and  irrevocably 
found  its  way  into  Captain  Absolute's  pocket.  The 
rueful  face,  then,  was  a  study  for  a  painter,  and  only  a 
portrait  could  do  it  justice.  The  mirth  of  the  duel  scene 
it  is  impossible  to  convey.  It  must  be  supreme  art 
indeed  which  can  arouse,  at  the  same  instant,  as  this 
did,  an  almost  tender  solicitude  and  inextinguishable 
laughter.  The  little  introductions  of  a  word  or  two  here 
and  there  in  the  text,  made  at  this  point  by  the  come- 
dian, were  very  happy.  To  make  Acres  say  that  he 
does  not  care  "  how  little  the  risk  is"  was  an  inspiration ; 
and  his  sudden  and  joyous  greeting,  "  How  are  you, 
Falkland?" — with  the  relief  that  it  implies,  and  the 
momentary  return  of  the  airy  swagger, — was  a  stroke 
of  genius. 

The  test  to  which,  in  his  success,  a  comedian  proves 
equal  was  suggested,  in  all  its  clear  and  cold  severity, 
by  that  extraordinary  work.  No  tragic  actor  is  ever  so 
rigidly  judged ;  or,  in  the  nature  of  the  case,  ever  can 
be.  It  may  be  as  difficult  to  act  well  in  tragedy  as  in 
comedy ;  but  it  is  always  easier  to  produce  successful 
effect  by  tragedy  than  by  comedy ;  and  tragedy  can 
often  be  made  to  disguise  imperfect  acting.  The 
spectator  of  a  tragedy  soon  becomes  excited,  sympa- 
thetic, and  responsive,  under  the  stress  of  the  tragic 
subject  itself,  and  out  of  his  own  imagination  and 
feeling  he  will  often  supply  the  charm,  and  perfect 
the  illusion,  which  it  may  happen  that  the  tragedian 
can  neither  exert  nor  create.  The  comedian,  on  the 
contrary,  derives  no  such  aid  from  his  subject  or  from 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  221 

his  audience.  The  spectator  of  a  comedy  is  placid  :  he 
does  not  laugh  until  something  laughable  occurs,  and 
he  casts  no  glamour  of  emotion  or  fancy  around  the 
artist  before  him.  The  expedient  known  as  "mugging" 
may,  indeed,  beguile  a  vulgar  taste  into  the  mood  of 
laughter;  but  with  "the  judicious"  it  never  will  supply 
the  humour  that  is  essential  in  comedy,  nor  obtain 
acceptance  as  a  substitute  for  art  in  acting.  Further- 
more, the  composition  of  a  piece  of  comedy-acting  is  a 
mosaic,  —  made  of  many  details,  tints,  and  tones,  — 
whereas  an  embodiment  in  tragedy  may  be  achieved 
with  large,  imposing  strokes,  and  masses  of  colour. 
Never  was  a  truer  word  spoken  than  that  of  Garrick, 
when  he  said  that  comedy  is  serious  business.  It  may 
not  be  so  noble  to  act  Don  Felix  as  to  act  Hamlet ; 
but,  in  art,  it  is  more  difficult  to  make  a  great  effect 
with  the  former  than  with  the  latter.  Jefferson  ex- 
pended rare  intellectual  force  and  exuberant  humour 
upon  the  fabric  of  Acres,  and  in  that  respect,  while 
giving  much  pleasure,  taught  a  valuable  lesson. 

Mrs.  Drew  treated  in  the  same  earnest  spirit  the 
character  of  Mrs.  Malaprop.  The  dressing  was  appro- 
priately rich,  and  in  suitable  taste ;  the  manner  de- 
corous and  stately ;  the  personality  formidable ;  the 
deportment  elaborate  and  pretentious,  as  it  should  be ; 
the  delivery  of  the  text  exquisite  in  its  accuracy  and 
finish,  and  in  its  unconscious  grace,  —  the  word  being 
always  matched  by  the  right  mood,  and  not  a  single 
blunder,  in  what  that  eccentric  character  calls  her 
"orthodoxy,"  made  in  any  spirit  but  that  of  fervent  con- 
viction. Merely  to  hear  her  say,  "  He  has  enveloped  the 
plot  to  me,  and  he  will  give  you  the  perpendiculars," 


222  LIFE  OF   JEFFERSON 

was  to  apprehend  the  character  in  a  single  sentence. 
Her  illustrative  stage  business  with  the  letter,  —  giv- 
ing to  Absolute,  by  mistake,  one  of  the  love-letters  of 
OTrigger,  instead  of  the  intercepted  epistle  of  Bever- 
ley,  and  then  hastily  reclaiming  it,  —  was  done  with  a 
bridling  simper  and  an  antique  blush  that  were  irre- 
sistible. The  pervasive  excellence  of  the  work  was 
intense  sincerity,  and  that  redeemed  the  extravagance 
of  the  character  and  the  farcical  quality  of  its  text. 
For  the  first  time  it  seemed  as  if  Mrs.  Malaprop  might 
exist.  The  part  was  finely  acted,  in  earlier  days,  by 
Mrs.  Vernon  ;  but  Mrs.  Drew  made  it  rational. 

Frederick  Robinson,  as  Sir  Anthony  Absolute,  was 
admirable  for  choler,  captivating  warmth  of  humour,  and 
clever  management  of  the  dubious,  pausing  moments  of 
suspicion,  in  Captain  Absolute's  hoodwinking  scene  with 
his  father.  Thomas  Jefferson  was  a  gay  and  effective 
figure,  as  Fag,  and  he  made  his  satirical  exit  with  skill 
and  effect,  worthy  of  a  comedian.  Jefferson's  pre- 
sentment of  The  Rivals  showed  what  thoroughness  and 
sincerity  can  accomplish  in  the  ministry  of  art.  Never 
to  slight  anything,  but  to  go  to  the  depth  and  height  of 
the  subject,  and  bring  out  all  its  meaning  and  all  its 
beauty, — that  was  the  suggested  moral  of  his  splendid 
success  with  one  of  the  everyday  plays  of  the  theatre. 
The  wild  flower  that  grows  by  the  wayside,  if  you  but 
nurture  it  aright,  will  reward  your  care  a  hundredfold 
in  loveliness  and  bloom. 


IX 

CALEB   PLUMMER   AND   MR.   GOLIGHTLY 

IN  the  characters  of  Caleb  Plummer  and  Mr.  Golightly 
Jefferson  touched,  in  his  true  and  delicate  manner,  the 
springs  of  tears  and  laughter.  There  are,  indeed,  re- 
sources in  the  comedian's  nature  upon  which  neither 
of  them  makes  any  demand.  His  deep  sympathy  with 
whatever  is  weird,  romantic,  and  picturesque  remained 
unaffected  by  those  characters.  His  sense  of  spiritual 
sublimity  was  not  awakened.  His  imagination  rested. 
Yet  it  would  be  difficult  to  select  two  parts  more  com- 
modious or  more  apt  for  the  exhibition  of  his  humanity 
and  his  humour. 

In  Caleb  Plummer,  an  infirm  old  man,  oppressed  with 
poverty  but  sustained  by  inherent  patience  and  good- 
ness, the  attribute  to  be  exemplified  is  the  possible 
unselfishness  of  human  nature,  under  serio-comic  condi- 
tions. In  Mr.  Golightly, — which  the  comedian  made  a 
gem  of  comedy  in  a  setting  of  farce,  — the  spirit  is  that 
of  joyous  animal  mirthfulness  shining  through  comic 
perplexity.  Jefferson's  acting  has  always  been  remark- 
able for  tenderness  of  heart,  which  no  man  can  convey 
who  does  not  possess  it,  and  for  the  spontaneous  droll- 
ery, the  condition  of  being  an  amusing  person,  which 
comes  by  nature,  and  which  cannot  be  taught.  His 

223 


224  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

investiture  with  the  individuality  of  that  character  was 
"a  property  of  easiness."  He  has  often  attained  to  a 
loftier  height  than  is  reached  in  those  works.  His 
crowning  excellence  as  a  comedian  is,  that  he  can  sus- 
tain himself  in  the  realm  of  the  ideal, — that  he  does 
not  stop  at  being  a  photographic  copyist  of  the  eccen- 
tric, the  rustic,  the  ludicrous,  and  the  grotesque  in 
human  life.  His  scene  with  the  ghosts,  in  Rip  Van 
Winkle,  his  night-talk  in  the  empty  schoolhouse  of  The 
Parish  Clerk,  his  letter-scene  with  Mary  Meredith,  in 
Our  American  Cousin,  each,  in  a  different  way,  exempli- 
fied the  power  of  the  actor,  when  feeding  the  heart 
from  the  fountain  of  the  imagination,  to  sublimate 
human  feeling  and  to  create  and  personify  a  splendid 
ideal.  The  level  upon  which,  however,  he  more  habitu- 
ally treads  is  that  of  humanity,  in  its  laughable,  mournful 
admixture  of  weakness,  suffering,  patience,  amiability, 
despondency,  hope,  and  endeavour.  Simple,  tender, 
pensive,  bright,  and  droll,  the  comedian  assumes  with 
perfect  readiness  the  guise  of  a  nature  kindred  with  his 
own.  And,  after  all,  nothing  is  more  clearly  proved,  by 
all  that  is  known  of  actors,  than  the  truth  that  an  actor 
makes  his  most  substantial  success  in  a  character  that 
implicates  his  essential  individuality.  He  may  display 
mechanical  versatility  in  a  hundred  types,  but  into  that 
type  he  will  pour  the  golden  life-blood  of  his  heart. 
Jefferson's  achievements,  which  are  those  of  the  imagi- 
nation, have  not,  perhaps,  been  appreciated  as  such, 
except  by  a  few  persons.  His  Rip  Van  Winkle,  to 
most  observers,  is  a  young  man  merrily  tipsy  and  an 
old  man  wretchedly  desolate ;  and  it  makes  them  laugh 
and  cry,  —  and  there  is  an  end  of  the  matter.  They  do 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  225 

not  consider  that  Rip,  when  .confronting  the  beings  of 
another  world,  —  the  spectres  that  encircle  him  on  the 
lonely  mountain  top  and  in  the  depth  and  mystery  of 
the  night,  —  is  in  a  position  analogous  to  that  which  in 
Hamlet  is  awful  beyond  expression.  They  are  aware, 
indeed,  that  the  illusion  is  sustained ;  but  they  take  no 
thought  of  the  profound,  exalted,  tremulous,  poetic  sen- 
sibility which  sustains  it.  Jefferson's  achievements  of 
the  heart  are  much  more  obvious,  and  those  and  his 
humour  have  always  been  understood.  In  that  way, 
doubtless,  his  memory  will  live,  in  the  years  to  come. 
Many  of  his  admirers  have  long  regarded  his  Caleb 
Plummer  as  the  best  of  his  embodiments.  The  right 
method  of  estimating  the  full  stature  of  an  actor  is  to 
deduce  it,  not  from  one  of  his  works,  but  from  all  of 
them.  The  performance  of  Caleb  Plummer  was  a 
touching  exemplification  of  dramatic  art  applied  to  the 
expression  of  simple  tenderness  ;  but  it  revealed  only 
one  phase  of  the  actor's  strength.  Caleb  Plummer  is  a 
more  pathetic  person  to  think  about  than  to  see.  You 
cannot  read  his  story  without  tears.  But  the  moment 
the  actor  makes  him  visible  he  runs  the  risk  of  ab- 
surdity or  of  tediousness  in  the  result ;  for  he  must 
make  the  personality  amusing,  and  he  must  make  the 
self-sacrifice  beautiful.  The  audience  must  be  made  to 
laugh  at  him,  —  and  to  love  him  while  they  laugh.  Jeffer- 
son's sincerity  was  not  more  obvious  than  his  consum- 
mate skill.  He  lived  in  the  character.  He  never  lapsed 
out  of  the  feeling  of  it.  He  kept,  with  nature's  precis- 
ion, the  woful  face  and  the  forlorn,  blighted  figure,  —  a 
being  sequent  on  years  of  penury.  He  sustained,  in  a 
vein  of  irresistible  pathos,  the  artificial,  jocular  man- 


226  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

ner.  It  was  easy  to  see  that  the  whole  of  that  nature 
and  experience  was  developed  by  him  from  within,  — 
that  in  the  infirmity  and  the  grief  of  the  heroic  old  man 
it  was  the  heart  that  trembled,  and  not  merely  the  fin- 
gers. And  yet,  behind  the  spontaneousness  of  identi- 
fication, the  actor  must  have  kept  his  mind  and  nerves  in 
repose  and  control.  There  was  not  a  false  tone,  a  wrong- 
gesture,  an  excess,  or  any  flaw  of  form  in  the  work,  and 
it  held  its  audience  in  eager  suspense.  A  tragedian 
may  sometimes  reach  that  effect  with  his  subject;  a 
comedian  never  reaches  it  except  with  his  soul. 

Jefferson  gave  a  neat  theatrical  version  of  The  Cricket 
on  the  Hea.'tJiy  in  three  acts,  using  the  text  of  Dickens, 
and  braiding  deftly  together  the  affairs  of  Dot  and 
John  Perrybingle,  Caleb  Plummer  and  blind  Bertha, 
the  returned  sailor-boy,  old  gruff  Tackleton  and  Tilly 
Slowboy.  In  the  second  act  occurs  the  pious  decep- 
tion of  Bertha,  and  the  old  man  makes  merry,  with  his 
quavering  song, — an  effect  produced  with  sweet  and 
touching  quaintness  by  Jefferson.  In  the  third  act  the 
righteous  deceit  of  Caleb  is  confessed,  with  a  pathos 
certainly  equal  to  that  of  the  recognition  scene  of  Rip 
Van  Winkle,  long  peerless  among  scenes  of  domestic 
tenderness  upon  the  stage. 

The  farce  of  Lend  Me  Five  Shillings  is  notable  for 
unflagging  vivacity  of  incident  and  language.  Jefferson 
as  Golightly  presented  a  good  fellow,  of  vivacious  man- 
ners, beset  with  little  troubles,  through  which  he  makes 
his  way  with  mirth  and  grace,  alternating  with  a  most 
comical  denotement  of  serio-comic  perplexity. 


CALEB 


X 

DR.  PANGLOSS  AND  THE  HEIR  AT  LAW 

ONE  of  the  peculiarities  of  Jefferson  as  a  comedian  is 
that  he  thinks  in  an  original  way  and  strikes  out  for 
himself  new  pathways  and  new  methods.  The  char- 
acter of  Rip  Van  Winkle  had  been  presented  by  several 
good  actors  before  he  assumed  it,  but  it  never  became  a 
representative  character — comprehensive  of  many  con- 
trasted elements  of  human  nature  and  human  experi- 
ence —  until  it  was  refashioned  and  newly  embodied 
by  him ;  and  the  reason  of  his  surpassing  success  with  it 
is  that  he  treated  it  in  a  poetical  and  not  in  a  literal 
manner.  The  character  of  Acres,  in  The  Rivals,  had 
always  been  treated  as  a  low-comedy  character,  until 
Jefferson,  in  his  memorable  revival  of  that  comedy  at 
the  Arch  Street  theatre,  Philadelphia,  in  1880,  embodied 
it  in  such  a  way  as  to  make  it  rueful,  sweet,  and  sympa- 
thetic to  the  feelings,  as  well  as  quaint,  ludicrous,  and 
effective  to  the  sense  of  comic  humour.  Censors  of  the 
acted  drama  said,  indeed,  that  he  took  .an  unjustifiable 
liberty  with  the  old  piece  :  William  Warren,  the  veteran 
comedian,  playfully  remarked  that  he  was  giving  The 
Rivals  "  with  Sheridan  thirty  miles  away  "  :  yet  it  was 
found  that  the  character  of  Acres  would  bear  that  con- 
struction, and  that  the  practical  result  was  a  more  effec- 

227 


228  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

tive  performance  of  the  part  than  had  before  been  seen, 
—  because  for  the  first  time  the  auditor  was  made  to 
sympathise  with  Acres  in  his  serious  perplexity  and 
well-grounded  apprehension,  as  well  as  to  laugh  at  his 
ridiculous  bravado  and  comic  cowardice.  Here,  then, 
was  an  independent  intellect  operating  in  an  original 
manner,  refreshing  an  old  and  almost  worn-out  stage 
figure,  and  commending  it  to  the  practical  appreciation 
of  the  living  age.  Lester  Wallack,  re-enforced  with  the 
great  prestige  of  his  father's  name,  and  potential  with 
his  own  brilliant  ability  and  reputation  and  his  capital 
stock  company,  could,  toward  the  last  of  his  career, 
accomplish  nothing  with  the  old  comedies ;  and,  seeing 
himself  gradually  deserted  by  the  public,  he  withdrew 
from  the  field.  Jefferson  has  kept  The  Rivals  steadily 
in  his  working  repertory,  and  everywhere  has  had  prac- 
tical success  in  the  presentation  of  it.  The  new  time 
cares  not  for  the  conventional  methods  of  the  old. 
Whoever  would  succeed  with  an  old  stock  comedy  must 
suffuse  it  with  the  alert,  nimble,  sparkling  spirit  of  the 
life  of  to-day,  must  brush  away  from  it  the  moss  and 
lichen  of  the  past,  and  so  must  make  it  appreciable  by 
the  mood  if  not  actually  applicable  to  the  experience  of 
the  passing  hour.  That  is  what  Jefferson  has  done  for 
The  Rivals,  and  for  Colman's  still  more  recondite 
comedy  of  The  Heir  at  Law. 

Old  playgoers,  familiar  with  this  comedy,  know  how 
far  removed  it  is  from  the  knowledge  and  from  the  prob- 
able liking  of  the  present  day.  Its  ground-plan,  indeed, 
would  always  be  effective,  —  a  plan  that  had  frequently 
been  used  before  Colman  used  it,  and  has  repeatedly 
been  used  since.  That  plan  comprehends  the  invest!- 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  229 

ture  of  a  low  character  with  the  state  and  embellish- 
ments of  high  social  life,  and  the  deduction  therefrom 
of  incongruities  that  are  comical.  Shakespeare  employed 
that  device  in  Christopher  Sly.  Burton's  performance 
of  the  Parvenu  was  a  modern  example  of  it.  But  that 
well-approved  expedient  of  humour  was  not  handled  by 
Colman  with  exceptional  brilliancy,  and,  aside  from  its 
felicitous  equivoke,  the  piece  is  not  one  of  robust  merit. 
Sentimental  comedy  had  not  entirely  gone  out  of  fashion 
in  England  when  this  play  was  written,  and  Colman  — 
harsh  satirist  though  he  was,  and  of  the  rough  school  of 
Peter  Pindar  —  deemed  it  still  essential  to  temper  his 
satire  with  a  little  of  the  current  popular  sentiment. 
The  impoverished  young  lady  who  is  an  orphan,  and 
who  is  attended  in  her  poverty  by  one  faithful  old  ser- 
vant, finds,  accordingly,  a  place  in  the  piece,  and  is  at 
once  the  occasion  and  the  vehicle  of  amiable  platitudes. 
Nor  is  her  devoted  lover  omitted  from  the  scene,  —  the 
rightful  heir  to  the  estate  and  title  that  have  fallen  to 
the  old  tallow-chandler,  who  will  be  permitted  to  enjoy 
them,  in  the  company  of  his  absurd  wife  and  his  cox- 
combical son,  for  only  a  few  ridiculous  days.  Caroline 
Dormer  and  the  Irish  Kendricks  and  Henry  Moreland 
and  Mr.  Steadfast  are  wooden  persons  that  long  had 
served  the  English  stage  before  Colman  again  enlisted 
them.  But  the  humour  of  The  Heir  at  Lazv  is  genuine, 
and  it  far  exceeds  the  conventional  sentiment,  while  the 
situations  are  neatly  made,  and  frequently  are  droll,  and 
the  drawing  of  the  characters  is  equally  true  and  bold. 
This  much  might  always  have  been  said  of  it ;  and,  in- 
deed, average  modern  critical  opinion,  reverential  of 
time,  commonly  refers  with  particular  respect  to  this 


230  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

piece  and  to  many  of  its  kindred,  although  the  custom 
of  going  to  see  them  would  lapse  altogether,  if  it  were 
not  for  the  occasional  rejuvenating  influence  that  is 
exercised  upon  them  by  living  genius. 

The  Heir  at  Law  was  first  acted  on  July  15,  1797,  at 
the  Haymarket  theatre,  London,  and  there  is  a  certain 
significance  in  the  fact  that  it  still  lingers  upon  the  stage 
when  now  almost  a  hundred  years  have  passed  away. 
The  original  cast  is  a  strong  one,  and  the  performance 
must  have  been  excellent.  Dr.  Pangloss  was  played  by 
Fawcett ;  Daniel  Dowlas,  alias  Lord  Duberly,  by  Suett ; 
Dick  Dowlas,  by  Palmer ;  Zekiel  Homespun,  by  Mun- 
den  ;  Henry  Moreland,  by  Charles  Kemble ;  Steadfast, 
by  J.  Aikin ;  Kenrick,  by  Johnstone ;  Cicely  Home- 
spun, by  Mrs.  Gibbs ;  Deborah  Dowlas,  alias  Lady 
Duberly,  by  Mrs.  Davenport ;  and  Caroline  Dormer,  by 
Miss  De  Camp.  Almost  every  name  in  that  cast  is  a 
famous  one.  On  its  first  production  the  piece  was  acted 
twenty-eight  times,  and  on  December  12,  the  same  year, 
it  was  revived  at  Covent  Garden,  with  Quick  as  Daniel 
Dowlas,  Knight  as  Dick,  and  Munden,  Fawcett,  John- 
stone,  Mrs.  Gibbs,  and  Mrs.  Davenport  in  their  original 
characters.  After  that  it  seems  to  have  been  neglected  ; 
but  it  came  again  on  May  2,  1808,  at  Drury  Lane,  and 
the  chief  features  of  the  cast  were  once  more  remark- 
able. Dr.  Pangloss  was  acted  by  Bannister ;  Dowlas, 
by  the  elder  Mathews  ;  Dick,  by  Russell ;  Zekiel,  by 
De  Camp ;  Cicely,  by  the  fascinating  Dora  Jordan  ;  old 
Deborah,  by  Mrs.  Sparks ;  and  Caroline  Dormer,  by 
Mrs.  H.  Siddons.  On  February  6,  1823,  the  piece  was 
done  at  Drury  Lane,  with  Harley  as  Dr.  Pangloss,  Lis- 
ton  as  Dowlas,  S.  Penley  as  Dick  Dowlas,  Knight  as 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  231 

Zekiel,  and  Mrs.  H.  Hughes  as  Cicely.  The  Heir  at 
Law  was  introduced  upon  the  American  stage  at  the 
old  Park  theatre,  New  York,  on  April  24,  1799,  and  it 
has  remained  a  fixture,  although  not  often  produced 
with  a  great  cast.  Dunlap  opened  the  season  of  1799- 
1800  with  it,  November  18,  1799,  at  the  Park,  on  which 
occasion  Zekiel  Homespun  was  acted  by  the  present 
Joseph  Jefferson's  grandfather,  Dr.  Pangloss  was  as- 
sumed by  the  brilliant  John  Hodgkinson,  and  Cicely  by 
his  wife,  while  old  Dowlas  was  taken  by  the  elder  Hal- 
lam,  and  Henry  Moreland  by  the  younger.  That  excel- 
lent annalist,  Ireland,  has  preserved  a  notable  cast  with 
which  the  comedy  was  performed  at  the  Richmond  Hill 
theatre,  New  York,  on  July  6,  1832:  Dr.  Pangloss, 
Hilson ;  old  Dowlas,  John  Barnes ;  Zekiel,  Thomas 
Placide ;  Dick  Dowlas,  Clarke ;  Kenrick,  Greene ; 
Deborah,  Mrs.  Walstein ;  Caroline,  Miss  Smith ;  Cicely, 
Mrs.  Hilson.  In  later  times,  Burton,  John  Brougham, 
John  E.  Owens,  William  Warren  and  John  S.  Clarke 
have  gained  particular  distinction  as  Dr.  Pangloss. 
Jefferson  acted  Dr.  Pangloss  for  the  first  time  in  New 
York  on  August  31,  1857,  at  Laura  Keene's  theatre, 
making  a  decisive  hit. 

Jefferson  has  applied  to  Dr.  Pangloss  the  same  subtle 
method  of  interpretation  that  he  applied  to  Acres.1 
The  part  was  obviously  intended  as  a  harsh  and  bitter 
satire  upon  a  class  of  unworthy  persons  numerous  in 
Colman's  time,  —  imposters  in  religion  and  morality, 
and  more  pretentious  than  sound  in  scholarship, — who, 
as  parsons  or  as  tutors,  were  willing,  for  a  consideration, 

1  For  further  consideration  of  Jefferson  as  Dr.  Pangloss,  see  my  Shadows 
of  the  Stage,  Vol.  I. 


232  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

to  become  the  companions  of  wealthy  vice.  Dr.  Pan- 
gloss  possesses  a  smattering  of  learning,  a  little  Latin, 
less  Greek,  a  shrewd  perception  of  character,  and  abun- 
dant knowledge  of  the  fashionable  world.  He  is  not, 
however,  burdened  with  moral  principle  or  refinement 
of  character.  He  will  serve  Lord  Duberly  for  one 
salary  and  Lady  Duberly  for  another,  and  the  Hon.  Mr. 
Dowlas  for  a  third,  knowing  all  the  while  that  they  are 
at  cross-purposes,  and  meaning  to  be  true  to  neither, 
but  absolutely  and  entirely  to  serve  his  own  interest. 
The  quality  that  chiefly  stamps  him  in  the  printed  page 
is  waggish  alacrity.  On  the  stage  he  has  usually  been 
depicted  as  a  fantastical  comicality,  ludicrous  but  unreal. 
It  was  enough  if  he  got  the  response  of  laughter.  Jef- 
ferson, making  him  exceedingly  comical,  made  him  also 
human,  natural,  probable,  real,  and  even  established  him 
in  a  kindly  regard.  You  not  only  laughed  at  Dr.  Pan- 
gloss,  you  liked  him.  N  He  did  not  impress  you  as  a 
rogue.  He  was  never  mischievous,  never  unamiable. 
He  was  a  scholar  who  has  had  hard  times ;  he  meant  to 
do  well  by  all  those  absurd  people  who  employed  him ; 
and  his  light  heart,  gay  disposition,  and  jocular  humour 
seemed  to  endear  him  to  all  the  characters  with  whom 
he  came  into  contact,  and  they  endeared  him  to  his 
audience. 


XI 

SOME   OF   JEFFERSON'S  CONTEMPORARIES 

A  COMPREHENSIVE  view  of  Jefferson's  period  should 
include  certain  parallel  careers  with  which  his  own 
has  been  associated.  One  of  the  most  important  of 
them  was  that  of  Sothern,  whose  eminence  as  Lord 
Dundreary  was  at  one  time  very  high,  and  whose  name 
assuredly  will  live  in  the  history  of  the  stage.  Edward 
Askew  Sothern  was  born  at  No.  I  Parliament  street, 
Liverpool,  England,  April  I,  1826.  His  father  was  a 
rich  colliery  proprietor  and  ship-owner.  The  family 
consisted  of  nine  children.  Edward  was  the  seventh, 
and  the  only  member  of  the  family  that  adopted  the 
stage.  His  parents  had  died  before  he  made  choice  of 
that  profession.  He  was  educated  under  the  charge  of 
a  private  tutor,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Redhead,  rector  of  a  church 
in  Cheshire.  Reverses  of  fortune  which  befell  his 
father,  and  then  the  death  of  his  parents,  broke  up  the 
family  and  dissipated  his  prospects,  and  this  led  to 
his  adoption  of  the  stage.  He  was  then,  in  1854,  a 
medical  student  in  London  ;  but  he  was  conscious  of  a 
strong  predilection  for  the  drama,  and  presently  he  con- 
sorted with  amateurs  who  paid  for  the  privilege  of  play- 
ing at  the  King's  Cross  theatre,  and  so  he  embarked 
on  his  career.  His  first  regular  engagement  was  at  a 
theatre  in  Guernsey,  and  the  first  salary  he  ever  received 

233 


234  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

was  fifteen  shillings  a  week.  The  characters  in  which 
he  there  began  his  career  were  the  Ghost,  Laertes,  and 
the  Second  Actor  in  Hamlet.  To  facilitate  his  proceed- 
ings in  those  three  parts,  which,  of  course,  required 
change  of  dress,  he  wrote  three  slips,  for  identification, 
and  pinned  one  on  each  wig.  A  sportive  individual 
changed  them,  and  the  consequent  mixing  up  of  Laertes 
with  the  scenes  allotted  to  the  Ghost  produced  a  re- 
markable effect,  and  the  young  actor  was  thereupon 
discharged  for  incapacity.  He  then  visited  the  theatres 
of  Plymouth,  Weymouth,  Wolverhampton,  and  Birming- 
ham, and  finally  emigrated  to  America. 

In  1862  he  appeared  at  the  National  theatre,  Hay- 
market  Square,  Boston,  as  Dr.  Pangloss  in  The  Heir  at 
Law,  and  met  with  a  failure.  His  stage  name  then  was 
Douglas  Stuart,  and  this  he  continued  to  use  till,  in 
1856,  by  the  advice  of  the  veteran  J.  W.  Wallack,  he 
discarded  it  and  took  his  own.  The  first  performance 
that  he  gave  under  his  own  name  was  in  the  character 
of  Wilson  Mayne,  in  Lester  Wallack's  comedy  of  First 
Impressions,  produced  at  Wallack's  theatre,  September 
17,  1856.  From  Boston  he  removed  —  after  his  failure, 
which  he  had  the  sense  to  recognise  and  accept  —  to 
Barnum's  Museum,  in  New  York,  1853,  where  he  took 
a  utility  engagement  to  play  all  sorts  of  parts  and  to 
appear  twice  every  day.  That  was  a  rough  school,  but 
a  good  one,  and  he  rapidly  improved  under  the  discipline 
of  industry.  Those  were  the  times  to  which  Artemus 
Ward  referred,  when  he  commended  the  actors  as  "a 
hard-working  class  of  people  "  — visible  every  morning, 
"with  their  tin  dinner-cans  in  their  hands,"  on  the  way 
to  the  scene  of  their  toil. 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  235 

While  at  Barnum's  Museum,  Sothern  made  so  good  an 
impression  that  he  attracted  the  notice  of  E.  A.  Mar- 
shall of  the  Broadway  theatre,  who  presently  engaged 
him  to  play  light  comedy  and  juvenile  business  at 
Washington.  After  a  few  months  in  the  capital,  he 
joined  Laura  Keene,  at  the  Charles  Street  theatre,  Bal- 
timore, and  thence  he  went  to  Wallack's,  in  New  York, 
then  in  Broadway,  near  the  corner  of  Broome  street. 
His  first  appearance  there  was  made  as  Lord  Charles 
Roebuck,  in  Old  Heads  and  Young  Hearts,  September 
9,  1854,  and  there  he  remained  four  years,  acting  various 
parts,  —  walking  gentlemen,  heavies,  and  broad  low 
comedy.  In  December,  1857,  he  was  selected  for  Ar- 
mand  Duval,  to  the  Camille  of  Matilda  Heron,  and  from 
that  time  he  steadily  moved  upward  in  professional  rank. 
In  the  next  year  he  joined  Laura  Keene's  theatre,  — 
afterwards  the  Olympic,  destroyed  August  10,  1880, 
—  acting  juvenile  and  comedy  business.  When  Our 
American  Cousin  was  brought  out  there,  October  18, 
1858,  Laura  Keene  asked  Sothern  to  try  and  do  some- 
thing with  a  "  fourth-class  dyed-up  old  man,"  who  had 
about  seventeen  lines  to  speak.  The  actor  assented,  on 
condition  that  he  might  be  permitted  to  try  an  experi- 
ment. That  was  the  beginning  of  his  success  in  Lord 
Dundreary.  "  I  do  and  say  nothing  in  Dundreary," 
Sothern  once  wrote,  "that  I  have  not  known  to  be,  in 
some  form  or  another,  done  and  said  in  society  since  I 
was  five  years  old."1 

1  The  subjoined  statement  was  made  by  Sothern,  in  one  of  the  news- 
papers, with  reference  to  his  design  and  method  in  his  acting :  — 

"  In  Dundreary  I  desired  to  illustrate  the  drawling,  imbecile  dandy.  That  required 
the  rewriting  and  large  extension  of  a  part  originally  of  but  a  few  lines.  I  have  tried  to 
make  the  type  of  character  ridiculous,  and  to  minister  to  innocent  amusement  in  so 


236  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

In  1861  he  went  to  the  Haymarket  theatre,  London, 
appearing  November  1 1  as  Lord  Dundreary,  and  from 
that  time  onward  his  career  was  one  of  almost  unvary- 
ing prosperity.  In  July,  1867,  he  acted  in  Paris,  but  was 
not  much  commended  there.  He  became  a  favourite 
at  the  London  Haymarket,  where  he  fulfilled  many  en- 
gagements, and  at  one  time  he  was  associated  with  its 
management.  He  there  brought  out  Aunt's  Advice, 
adapted  by  himself  from  the  French ;  and  he  there  ap- 
peared as  David  Garrick,  1864;  Frank  Jocelyn,  in  The 
Woman  in  Mauve,  1865;  Hon.  Sam  Slingsby ;  Marquis 
Victor  de  Tourville,  in  A  Hero  of  Romance ;  Colonel 
John  White,  in  Home;  Hugh  de  Brass;  Charles  Chuckles, 
in  An  English  Gentleman;  Sidney  Spoonbill,  in  A  Hor- 
net's Nest,  and  Fitzaltamont,  in  The  Crushed  Tragedian. 
Those,  together  with  Frank  Annerly,  in  The  Favourite 
of  Fortune,  Mulcraft,  Chuckfield,  and  Laylot,  in  Barwises 

doing;  but  more  has  happened  than  I  at  first  expected.  I  have  found  the  character  a 
vehicle  for  many  hits,  conceits,  and  odd  jumbles  and  devices,  and  I  have  had  to  vary  the 
lines  repeatedly,  preserving  only  the  characteristics  and  the  central  purpose.  That  pur- 
pose is  intellectual,  and  only  incidentally  comical.  Every  speech  in  Dundreary  is  a  hit 
at  himself  or  at  social  follies.  The  secret  of  wit,  which  is  surprise,  is  cultivated  in  the 
putting  of  things,  and  the  purpose  of  satire  is  served  by  the  effect  of  the  scheme,  events, 
and  lines  on  the  audience.  There  is  a  large  superficial  but  sympathetic  class  who  are 
mainly  interested  in  the  story;  for  them  I  bring  the  character  to  success  and  happiness 
both  through  and  in  spite  of  his  seeming  blunders.  But  I  have  them  very  little  in  mind 
in  acting.  I  think  of  the  most  intellectual  persons  I  can  presume  to  be  present  and  play 
to  them.  They  see  the  inner  purpose.  The  general  effect  lifts  the  rest. 

"  The  purpose  I  have  in  The  Crushed  Tragedian  is  to  portray  and  extinguish  the 
much  too  serious  and  eminently  ridiculous  heavy  striders  and  posers  of  the  stage.  It  is 
not  a  caricature.  In  some  parts  of  the  English  provinces,  as  we  call  the  regions  out  of 
London,  and  in  parts  of  America  remote  from  great  cities,  the  play  has  been  taken  as  a 
serious  one.  They  have  thought  The  Crushed  was  like  many  actors  they  were  used  to 
seeing,  though  perhaps  a  very  bad  case  himself;  but  they  have  paid  me  the  compliment 
of  taking  me  to  be  as  poor  and  misplaced  a  person  in  my  profession  as  the  one  I  was  try- 
ing to  portray.  My  make-up  in  that  play  had  no  reference  to  George  Jones,  The  Count 
Joannes.  I  acted  the  part  over  100  nights  before  I  ever  saw  him.  I  never  modified 
my  manner  or  make-up  after  I  saw  him,  and  never  thought  of  him  before  I  saw  him.  The 
resemblance  was  in  the  type.  He  and  not  I  was  responsible  for  that." 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  237 

Book  and  The  Burrampooter,  Harry  Vivian,  in  A  Lesson 
for  Life,  and  Robert  Devlin,  in  A  Wild  Goose,  were  his 
characters.  But  his  chief  works  were  Lord  Dundreary 
and  David  Garrick.  These  called  into  play  his  wonder- 
ful skill  in  caricature  and  his  slender  powers  in  senti- 
ment, together  with  his  genuine  earnestness  and  fine 
artistic  method. 

After  passing  about  ten  years  in  England,  Sothern 
returned  to  America  in  1871.  His  farewell  benefit  at 
the  Haymarket  occurred  on  October  5,  that  year,  and 
on  October  23  he  came  forward  as  Dundreary,  at 
Niblo's.  In  the  fall  of  1872  he  played  a  long  engage- 
ment at  Wallack's  theatre,  —  November  11,  1872,  to 
May,  1873,  a  period  of  twenty-nine  weeks.  His  first 
appearance  in  America  as  David  Garrick  was  made  on 
February  10,  1873.  The  following  summer  he  visited 
California,  returning  to  Wallack's  in  the  autumn.  On 
August  15,  1874,  he  sailed  for  England,  but  he  was 
again  in  New  York  two  years  later,  and  filled  a  fine 
engagement  at  the  Fifth  Avenue.  In  the  autumn  of 
1877  ne  took  an  active  part  in  organising  and  conduct- 
ing benefits  for  his  much-loved  friend  and  comrade 
Edwin  Adams, — himself  giving  performances  in  New 
York,  Philadelphia,  and  Boston, — and  no  one  who  was 
associated  with  him  in  that  enterprise  (as  I  was)  will 
forget  the  persistent  energy,  patient  kindness,  and  whole- 
hearted, unselfish  zeal  with  which  he  laboured  for  his 
dying  comrade,  or  the  honest  pride  and  joy  that  he  felt 
in  the  success  of  the  project.  The  performance  in  New 
York  occurred  on  October  12,  at  the  Academy,  when 
Sothern  appeared  as  Othello,  with  W.  J.  Florence  as 
lago,  Mrs.  John  Drew  as  Emilia,  and  Miss  Lotta  as 


238  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

Desdemona,  in  the  third  act  of  the  tragedy,  and,  con- 
trary to  the  public  expectation,  gave  a  performance  of 
the  Moor  which  was  just  in  design  and  good  in  method. 
Mrs.  Adams  received  $9381.  In  the  same  year  he  was 
seen  in  a  round  of  parts  at  the  Park  theatre  ;  and  at 
later  as  well  as  earlier  times  he  made  prosperous  starring 
tours  of  the  United  States  and  Canada.  During  the 
summer  of  1879  ne  passed  several  weeks  on  the  Resti- 
gouche  River,  near  Quebec,  in  company  with  the  Duke 
of  Beaufort,  Sir  John  Rae  Reid,  W.  J.  Florence,  Col. 
E.  A.  Buck,  and  other  friends.  The  Duke  is  the  sole 
survivor  (1894)  of  that  merry  company.  Sothern's  last 
engagements  in  New  York  were  filled  at  the  Park 
theatre  and  the  Grand  Opera  House,  in  September  and 
December,  1879,  an^  n^s  last  appearance  was  made 
on  December  27,  1879,  at  the  latter  house. 

The  acting  of  Sothern  formed  a  subject  of  attractive 
and  singular  study.  He  was  a  thorough  artist  in  every 
word  and  action.  He  laboured  over  his  characters  with 
a  microscope.  He  was  perpetually  studying,  —  perpet- 
ually on  the  watch  for  peculiarities  of  character  and  of 
its  expression,  whether  in  himself  or  others.  He  was  a 
master  of  the  realm  of  whim,  — as  true  and  fine,  within 
his  especial  field  of  dramatic  art,  as  even  Laurence 
Sterne  in  the  wider  field  of  creative  literature.  He 
committed  to  memory  all  the  parts  in  every  play  that  he 
acted,  and  he  laboured  to  make  each  part  complemen- 
tary of  the  others,  and  thus  to  produce  a  perfect  mosaic 
picture  of  human  nature  in  social  life.  His  particular 
aptitude  was  for  comedy,  and  that  of  a  whimsical 
character.  His  sentiment,  though  truly  felt,  was  far 
less  free  in  expression,  and  indeed  had  a  forced,  unnatural 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  239 

effect.  He  read  many  books  .and  was  fond  of  the  hard 
work  of  thinking,  which  most  persons  shun.  He  wrote 
well,  though  slowly  and  but  little ;  yet  each  of  his 
characters  owed  something  to  his  own  invention. 
Dundreary  was  almost  entirely  his  own  ;  and  he  wrote 
in  Robertson's  comedy  of  Home  the  best  part  of  the 
love  scenes.  He  wrote  a  portion  also  of  a  comedy 
called  Trade,  which,  in  later  years,  has  been  acted 
by  his  son,  E.  H.  Sothern,  under  the  name  of  The 
Highest  Bidder.  He  had  studied  the  acting  of  Rachel, 
whom  he  ranked  above  all  other  actresses.  His  nature 
was  deeper  in  human  tenderness  than  it  seemed  to 
be  in  the  eyes  of  most  persons.  He  could  be  selfish, 
icy,  and  stern  ;  but  it  usually  was  when  confronted  with 
selfishness  in  others.  At  the  same  time  it  is  to  be 
admitted  that  he  grew  cynical  in  his  ideas  of  human 
nature  as  he  grew  older,  and  as  he  bitterly  realised  and 
condemned  his  own  faults  and  saw  how  little  there  is 
in  the  world  of  absolutely  unselfish  goodness.  Yet  he 
was  by  nature  of  an  affectionate,  kindly  disposition, 
and  he  honoured  integrity  wherever  found.  The  senti- 
ments that  David  Garrick  utters  to  Ada  Ingot,  in  the 
last  scene  of  the  comedy,  were  those  in  which  he  truly 
believed.  His  habitual  mood,  however,  was  one  of 
levity,  and  he  was  apt  to  prove  fickle  in  his  superficial 
friendships.  He  loved  and  trusted  but  few  persons.  It 
suited  his  humour  to  jest  and  to  seek  excitement  and 
distraction;  first  because  his  temperament  naturally 
bloomed  in  a  frolic  atmosphere,  and  then  because  he 
wished  to  suppress  melancholy  feelings  and  a  gloomy 
proneness  to  self-reproach  and  saddening  introspection. 
In  his  domestic  life  he  was  unfortunate ;  and  he  lived 


2-10  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

to  learn  —  as  all  must  do  who  depart  away  from  inno- 
cence—  that  the  wrong  that  is  done  to  the  affections 
can  never  be  righted  on  earth.  Outwardly  he  was  the 
gayest  of  the  gay :  at  heart  he  was  an  unhappy  man, 
and  he  suffered  much.  But  he  fulfilled  his  work  and 
his  destiny  —  which  was  his  character.  He  made  the 
world  laugh.  He  exemplified  anew,  for  artists  and 
thinkers,  the  beauty  of  thorough  artistic  mechanism. 
He  impressed  the  men  of  his  time  with  a  profound  and 
abiding  sense  of  the  power  of  intellectual  purpose.  And 
he  left  to  his  friends  the  remembrance  of  a  strange, 
quaint,  sweet  comrade,  at  whose  presence  the  sunshine 
sparkled  and  the  flowers  bloomed,  and  life  became  a 
holiday  of  careless  pleasure.  He  died  at  No.  I  Vere 
street,  London,  January  20,  1881,  and  was  buried  in 
the  cemetery  at  Southampton. 

Laura  Keene,  with  whom  Jefferson  was  conspicu- 
ously associated  in  the  production  of  Our  American 
Cousin,  was  of  English  origin,  and  was  born  in  1820. 
At  an  early  age  she  acted,  under  the  management  of 
Madame  Vestris,  at  the  London  Olympic  theatre,  where 
she  attracted  attention  and  esteem  for  various  efforts  in 
light  comedy.  One  of  her  most  pleasing  personations 
was  Pauline  in  The  Lady  of  Lyons.  In  1852  she  was 
engaged  by  J.  W.  Wallack  for  his  new  theatre,  then 
just  opened,  near  the  corner  of  Broome  street  and 
Broadway,  New  York ;  and  on  October  20,  that  year, 
she  made  her  first  American  appearance,  acting  Albina 
Mandeville,  in  The  Will.  Her  success  was  immediate 
and  decided.  She  soon  left  Wallack's  theatre,  though, 
and  took  to  strolling  as  a  star.  In  1854  she  visited 
San  Francisco,  and,  in  company  with  Edwin  Booth, 


LIFE   OF  JEFFERSON  241 

D.  C.  Anderson,  and  others,  made  a  trip  to  Australia. 
In  November,  1855,  she  was  again  in  New  York,  and 
managed  the  Metropolitan  theatre,  afterwards  called 
the  Winter  Garden,  styling  it  the  Varieties.  A  little 
later  she  took  the  management  of  the  Olympic,  which 
was  then  newly  built,  in  Broadway,  on  the  east  side, 
between  Bleecker  and  Houston  streets,  and  she 
opened  it  on  November  18,  1856,  with  As  You  Like  It. 
That  house,  known  as  Laura  Keene's  theatre,  she 
continued  to  direct  for  four  or  five  years,  but  with 
dubious  judgment  and  variable  success.  At  times  its 
fortunes  sank  to  a  low  ebb.  At  one  of  those  times 
Our  American  Cousin  was  brought  out,  and  Jefferson 
made  a  great  hit,  and  averted  disaster,  by  his  per- 
formance of  Asa  Trenchard.  In  1860  Miss  Keene 
became  the  wife  of  Mr.  John  Lutz,  with  whom  she 
had  been  for  some  time  associated.  One  of  her  last 
ventures  at  Laura  Keene's  theatre  was  a  spectacle 
play,  called  The  Seven  Sisters,  by  Thomas  Blades  de 
Walden,  which  was  considered  rubbish,  but  which  ran, 
from  November  26,  1860,  one  hundred  and  sixty-nine 
nights.  For  a  long  time  after  leaving  that  theatre  Miss 
Keene  was  inconspicuous  in  theatrical  life,  but  it  was 
vaguely  known  that  she  was  roaming  the  country  with 
a  travelling  company.  She  was  acting  at  Ford's  theatre, 
Washington,  on  April  14,  1865,  in  Our  American  Cousin, 
at  the  time  of  the  dreadful  and  afflicting  tragedy  which 
bereaved  the  Republic  of  Abraham  Lincoln.  In  1870 
she  united  with  William  Creswick  in  the  production  of 
a  piece  called  Nobody  s  CJdld,  at  the  Fourteenth  Street 
theatre,  but  her  presence  upon  the  stage  was  not  pro- 
pitious to  the  success  of  that  effort,  and  it  was  speedily 
Q 


242  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

discontinued.  Her  latest  success  in  New  York  was 
obtained  in  Boucicault's  drama  of  Hunted  Down,  which 
she  produced  at  the  theatre  in  Broadway  known  for 
a  while  as  Lina  Edwin's,  and  ultimately  burnt  down. 
Her  last  New  York  engagement  was  played  at  Wood's 
Museum. 

In  person  Miss  Keene  was  slender  and  graceful. 
She  had  an  aquiline  face,  delicate  features,  dark  eyes, 
and  a  musical  voice.  She  was  lovely  to  see,  in  statuesque 
characters  and  attitudes.  She  often  dressed  in  white 
garments,  and  she  seemed  to  enjoy  heightening  as 
much  as  possible  the  effect  of  the  spiritual  attribute  in 
her  personal  appearance.  She  had  a  swift,  gliding 
motion,  and  a  strange  trick,  in  the  expression  of  feeling, 
of  continually  winking  both  her  eyes.  As  an  actress, 
she  was  best  in  the  utterance  of  despairing  delirium. 
Moments  of  woe  and  of  pathetic  recklessness  com- 
mended themselves  to  her  temperament.  One  of  her 
most  successful  performances  was  that  of  Marco  in  The 
Marble  Heart.  She  was  very  good  as  Becky  Sharp,  in 
Vanity  Fair.  At  the  highest  she  was  a  clever  actress 
of  brilliant  comedy  ;  but  she  wasted  her  talents,  and 
came  at  last  to  be  only  an  experimenter  in  the  hydraulic 
emotional  school.  She  died  of  consumption,  at  Mont- 
clair,  N.J.,  on  November  4,  1873,  in  her  fifty-fourth 
year.  To  old  playgoers  her  death  was  a  mournful 
reminder  of  the  flight  of  time  and  the  rapid  extinction 
of  their  favourites.  In  the  prime  of  her  beauty  and 
talent,  she  enjoyed  almost  boundless  favour  with  the 
public,  but  she  outlived  her  popularity  and  sunk  into 
comparative  oblivion  ;  so  that  the  news  of  her  death 
scarcely  caused  a  ripple  of  feeling,  outside  of  a  narrow 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  243 

circle  of  professional  contemporaries  and  theatrical  fol- 
lowers. The  moral  of  her  experience  was  not  wholly  the 
evanescence  of  popularity.  Public  life  may  be  mutable, 
but  solidity  of  character  and  talents  well  used  upon 
the  stage  do  not  fail  to  win  for  their  possessor  a  place 
of  permanence,  at  least  in  the  memory  of  the  passing 
generation.  Neither  was  possessed  by  Laura  Keene, 
and  hence  her  contemporaries  scarcely  heeded  the 
sound  of  her  passing  bell. 

Another  conspicuous  career,  contemporary  with  that 
of  Jefferson,  was  that  of  Raymond,  a  comedian  with 
whom  Jefferson  sometimes  acted,  and  whose  friendship 
he  possessed  to  the  last.  John  T.  Raymond,  long  and 
widely  distinguished  as  Colonel  Sellers,  was  born  at 
Buffalo,  N.Y.,  on  April  5,  1836,  and  died  at  Evansville, 
Ind.,  on  April  10,  1887,  having  just  entered  on  his 
fifty-first  year.  His  family  name  was  O'Brien.  He 
received  a  common-school  education,  together  with  some 
training  in  mercantile  pursuits  ;  but  at  the  age  of  seven- 
teen he  ran  away  from  home  to  go  upon  the  stage.  "  I 
knew  no  more  about  the  theatre  then,"  he  once  said, 
"than  I  did  about  the  moon."  His  first  appearance 
was  made  on  June  27,  1853,  at  a  theatre  in  Rochester, 
N.Y.,  under  the  management  of  Carr  and  Henry 
Warren,  and  he  came  forward  in  the  part  of  Lopez  in 
The  Honeymoon.  He  was  almost  paralysed  with  stage 
fright  on  that  occasion,  and  as  the  condition  of  Lopez 
is  mostly  that  of  comic  vacuity,  he  made  an  accidental 
hit  in  the  part ;  but  on  the  following  night,  when  he 
undertook  to  play  one  of  the  soldiers  in  Macbeth,  his 
inexperience  was  painfully  revealed.  From  Rochester 
he  went  to  Philadelphia,  where  he  appeared  as  Timothy 


244  LIFE   OF  JEFFERSON 

Quaint,  in  The  Soldier  s  Daughter,  on  September  20, 
1854.  A  little  later  he  was  engaged  by  John  E.  Owens 
for  the  Charles  Street  theatre,  Baltimore,  and  for  several 
seasons  after  that  he  was  employed  on  the  circuit  of  the 
Southern  theatres,  acting  in  Charleston,  Savannah, 
Mobile,  and  New  Orleans. 

Raymond  first  became  known  in  New  York  in  1861, 
when  he  appeared  at  Laura  Keene's  theatre,  as  the 
successor  to  Jefferson,  in  low  comedy  and  character 
parts.  He  acted  Asa  Trenchard  in  Our  American 
Cousin  at  that  time.  On  July  I,  1867,  he  appeared  in 
London,  at  the  Haymarket  theatre,  acting  that  part 
in  association  with  Sothern,  and  in  company  with  that 
famous  actor  he  subsequently  visited  Paris  and  acted 
there,  and  likewise  made  a  tour  of  the  British  provincial 
theatres.  In  the  autumn  of  1868  he  reappeared  in  New 
York,  playing  Toby  Twinkle  in  All  that  Glitters  is  not 
Gold.  A  little  later  he  went  to  San  Francisco,  where, 
on  January  18,  1869,  he  made  his  first  appearance  at  the 
California  theatre,  acting  Graves  in  Bulwer's  comedy  of 
Money.  There  he  remained  for  several  seasons,  steadily 
advancing  in  public  favour  and  appreciation.  He  was, 
in  fact,  a  great  favourite  in  California,  but  being  am- 
bitious to  extend  the  field  of  his  activity  and  conquest, 
he  presently  left  the  stock  company,  returned  to  the 
eastern  seaboard,  and,  after  various  efforts,  at  length 
made  a  conspicuous  and  brilliant  hit  in  the  character  of 
Colonel  Sellers,  in  a  play  based  on  Mark  Twain's  story 
of  The  Gilded  Age.  That  piece  was  brought  out  at  the 
Park  theatre,  Broadway  and  Twenty-second  street,  which 
was  burned  down  in  the  fall  of  1882.  With  that  char- 
acter Raymond  made  himself  known  throughout  the 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  245 

Republic  and  Canada,  and  in  that  part  he  appeared,  but 
not  with  success,  before  the  public  of  London  in  1880. 

For  several  seasons  Colonel  Sellers  prospered  abun- 
dantly, but  after  a  time  it  began  to  grow  hackneyed, 
and  Raymond  was  constrained  to  seek  a  new  character. 
He  played  at  Wallack's  theatre  as  Ichabod  Crane,  in 
a  drama  by  George  Fawcett  Rowe,  on  the  basis  of 
Washington  Irving's  story  of  Wolf  erf  s  Roost,  and  this  is 
justly  remembered  as  one  of  the  most  quaint,  humorous, 
and  touching  performances  that  have  graced  the  comedy 
stage  in  our  time.  After  that  he  travelled  every  season 
with  more  or  less  success  throughout  the  country,  vary- 
ing his  performances  of  Colonel  Sellers  with  such  parts 
as  the  old  shoemaker,  in  My  Son;  the  politician,  in 
D.  D.  Lloyd's  For  Congress ;  and  Montague  Joliffe,  in 
Pinero's  In  Chancery.  In  1886  he  played  in  the  prin- 
cipal cities  of  the  Union  in  Pinero's  amusing  farce 
of  The  Magistrate.  His  professional  career  extended 
over  a  period  of  thirty-two  years,  and  in  the  course 
of  that  time  he  acted  all  the  parts  that  usually  fall 
to  the  lot  of  a  low  comedian.  He  was  seen  in  Acres, 
Asa  Trenchard,  Dickory,  Goldfinch,  Lullaby,  Ollapod, 
Pangloss,  Pillicoddy,  Roderigo,  Salem  Scudder,  Toby 
Twinkle,  Tony  Lumpkin,  Toodle,  and  many  kindred 
characters.  By  nature  and  by  purpose  he  was  a  thought- 
ful comedian,  —  one  who  desired  to  identify  himself  with 
important  eccentric  characters  in  rational  drama  ;  but 
his  excessive  animal  spirits  and  a  certain  grotesque  ex- 
travagance in  his  temperament  and  manner  affected  the 
public  more  directly  and  powerfully  than  anything  that 
he  did  as  a  dramatic  artist.  "  When  I  remain  in  the 
picture,"  he  said  to  me,  "the  public  will  not  accept  me, 


246  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

but  the  moment  I  get  out  upon  the  frame  they  seem  to 
be  delighted."  For  this  reason  Raymond  usually  got 
"out  upon  the  frame."  His  humour  was  rich  and  jocund. 
He  had  a  peculiar  and  exceptional  command  over  the 
composure  of  his  countenance.  He  could  deceive  an 
observer  by  the  sapient  gravity  of  his  visage,  and  he 
exerted  his  facial  faculty  with  extraordinary  comic  effect. 
He  was  possessed  of  consummate  audacity  in  the  per- 
petration of  practical  jokes.  His  mood  was  eager,  san- 
guine, and  hopeful,  and  it  sometimes  painted  the  future 
in  rosy  hues  ;  but  he  was  subject  to  melancholy,  which 
he  carefully  concealed.  He  was  impetuous  in  temper 
but  affectionate  in  disposition,  and  his  private  life  was 
marked  by  acts  of  kindness  and  generosity.  As  an 
actor  he  gave  innocent  pleasure  to  thousands  of  people, 
and  lightened  for  many  hearts  the  weary  burden  of  care. 
His  professional  lineage  is  that  of  such  ancestors  as 
Foote,  Finn  and  Sothern,  though  to  some  extent  he 
lacked  the  artistic  finish  of  those  renowned  models. 
Raymond  was  twice  married,  his  first  wife  being  Marie 
E.  Gordon,  an  actress  known  upon  the  stage  since  1864, 
now  dead.  They  were  legally  separated.  His  second 
wife  was  the  daughter  of  Miss  Rose  Eytinge,  long  a 
prominent  and  successful  actress.  At  the  time  of  his 
second  marriage,  the  comedian  obtained  legal  authority 
for  the  change  of  his  name  from  John  O'Brien  to  John 
T.  Raymond. 

A  most  interesting  comedian,  one  of  Jefferson's  prom- 
inent contemporaries,  and  one  of  his  prized  and  honoured 
friends,  was  Mark  Smith.  That  actor  was  the  son  of 
the  veteran  Sol  Smith  (1801-1869),  and  was  born  at 
New  Orleans  on  January  27,  1829.  He  played  juvenile 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  247 

characters  at  his  father's  theatre  while  yet  a  boy.  At 
fifteen  he  went  to  sea,  but  he  soon  grew  weary  of  marine 
toil,  and  in  1849  ne  formally  adopted  the  profession  of 
the  stage,  and  that  he  followed  all  his  days.  On  March 
1 8,  1862,  he  appeared  at  Wallack's  theatre,  New  York, 
as  Sir  William  Fondlove,  in  The  Love  Chase,  and  made 
a  brilliant  hit,  and  from  that  time  onward  he  maintained 
a  high  professional  rank,  and  had  the  cordial  esteem  of 
the  public.  In  1863  he  was  associated  with  the  English 
actress  Emily  Thorne  in  performances  of  musical  bur- 
lesque at  the  Winter  Garden.  In  1866  he  was  a  partner 
with  Lewis  Baker  in  the  management  of  the  New  York 
theatre.  In  1869  he  was  a  member  of  Edwin  Booth's 
company,  at  Booth's  theatre,  and  later  he  was  connected 
with  the  St.  James  theatre  in  London,  and  with  Albert 
M.  Palmer's  Union  Square  theatre,  New  York.  He 
died  suddenly  in  Paris,  France,  on  August  n,  1884,  and 
his  remains  were  sent  home  and  buried  in  the  Belle- 
fontaine  cemetery,  at  St.  Louis. 

Mark  Smith  was  a  man  of  unique  individuality  and 
large  intellectual  resources.  He  had  developed  slowly 
and  thoroughly,  —  though  not  yet  entirely,  —  and  had 
steadily  risen,  and  was  fitted  still  to  rise,  in  an  art-growth 
that  never  paused.  He  was  a  student  and  a  thinker. 
He  aimed  high,  and  he  was  content  with  nothing  less 
than  superlative  excellence.  He  possessed  by  nature 
both  the  actor's  faculty  and  the  literary  spirit.  An 
atmosphere  of  art  surrounded  him  as  naturally  as  foliage 
surrounds  a  tree.  No  one  could  be,  even  temporarily, 
his  companion  without  perceiving  in  him  an  innate  and 
profound  love  for  letters;  a  rare  and  subtle  apprehen- 
sion of  the  beauty  and  the  significance  of  artistic  forms ; 


248  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

an  ample  and  exact  knowledge  of  many  books ;  keen 
intuition  combined  with  wide  store  of  wise  observation 
upon  human  nature ;  and  the  spontaneous  delight  alike 
of  the  child  and  the  philosopher  in  things  that  make 
human  life  radiant  and  lovely.  Those  faculties  and 
qualities  he  had  done  much  to  cultivate.  The  in- 
fluence that  radiated  from  his  character  was  singularly 
charming.  It  was  the  sympathetic  force  of  a  thoroughly 
honest  nature,  good,  tender,  cheerful,  responsive  to 
virtue  and  simplicity,  and  exalted  and  made  picturesque 
and  zestful  by  the  thrill  of  imaginative  and  aspiring 
intellect.  Mark  Smith  was  not  the  kind  of  good  man 
whose  worth  is  tedious  and  stupefying,  —  and  therein 
may  injure  virtue  almost  as  much  as  if  he  were  a  profli- 
gate. In  him  the  every-day  virtues  grew  brilliant, — 
taking  on  a  rosy  grace  from  the  piquant  loveliness  of 
his  character,  —  and  his  comrades  not  only  rested  on  his 
perfect  probity,  but  found  continual  delight  and  com- 
fort in  his  presence. 

No  one  could  see  him  act  without  being,  in  quite  an 
equal  degree,  conscious  of  this  personal  charm.  The 
attribute  of  winning  goodness  that  endeared  him  in 
private  life  was  the  attribute  that  shone  through  his 
acting  and  endeared  him  upon  the  stage.  As  an  actor, 
he  was  the  Cheeryble  Brothers  rolled  into  one, — and 
that  one  was  endowed  with  a  commanding  intellect  and 
polished  taste  as  well  as  with  helpful  and  lovable  benig- 
nity. When  Mark  Smith  was  upon  the  scene, —  as  Squire 
Broadlands,  or  April,  or  Harmony,  or  Col.  Damas,  or 
Sir  Oliver  Surface,  —  the  spectator  involuntarily  felt  that 
every  ray  of  manly  worth,  joyous  serenity,  and  human 
feeling  that  flashed  through  the  character  had  its  native 


LIFE   OF  JEFFERSON  249 

source  in  the  heart  of  the  man  himself.  This  was  the 
attractive  power  of  his  heart ;  and  the  attention  which 
he  thus  captivated  his  versatile  mimetic  talents  and  his 
fortunate  personal  characteristics  never  failed  to  repay. 
It  would  be  almost  impossible  to  name  an  actor  so 
thoroughly  satisfactory  as  Mark  Smith  was,  in  many 
sorts  of  character.  His  range  of  Shakespearian  parts 
included  Polonius,  Friar  Lawrence,  Kent,  Brabantio, 
Duncan,  Hecate,  Casca,  Autolycus,  the  Host  of  the 
Gartar,  the  Duke  of  Venice,  Adam,  Dromio,  Shallow, 
Verges,  Sir  Toby  Belch,  Bardolph,  and  Dogberry.  He 
did  not  play  them  all  equally  well,  but  in  each  one  of 
them  he  was  an  artist ;  and  outside  of  Shakespeare,  his 
range  touched  at  one  extreme  Sir  Peter  Teazle  and  at 
the  other  Diggory  and  Powhatan.  One  of  the  most 
complete  pieces  of  acting  that  have  adorned  our  stage 
was  his  impersonation  of  the  •  vain,  amorous,  rickety, 
polished  old  coxcomb,  Sir  William  Fondlove,  in  which 
he  made  his  first  appearance  at  Wallack's  theatre,  on 
March  17,  1862.  Another  characteristic  and  charming 
work  was  his  Doctor  Desmerets  in  The  Romance  of  a 
Poor  Young  Man.  Old  Rapid,  Hardcastle,  Sir  John 
Vesey,  Stout,  Haversac,  De  Blossiere,  in  Henriette, 
Lord  Plantagenet,  Solomon,  Bob  Tyke,  Mr.  Ironsides, 
Lord  Duberley,  and  many  more  testified  to  his  versatile 
abilities,  and  afforded  channels  of  observation  through 
which  might  be  traced  the  peculiarities  of  his  mind  and 
the  springs  of  his  art. 

Whatever  defects  there  were  in  his  acting  arose  from 
over-correctness  and  inflexibility.  He  was  a  formal 
actor,  and  sometimes  he  was  hard  and  dry.  But  that 
was  a  good  defect,  since  it  arose  out  of  his  profound 


250  LIFE   OF  JEFFERSON 

desire  and  scrupulous  care,  first  of  all,  to  be  true ;  and 
it  was  a  defect  he  was  outgrowing,  and  would  inevitably 
have  outgrown,  with  the  acquisition  of  perfect  mastery 
of  himself  and  of  the  methods  of  his  art.  Those  who 
saw  his  stately,  sweet,  and  tender  personation  of  Jaques 
Fauvel,  at  the  Union  Square  theatre,  saw  clearly  enough 
how  much  the  angular  precision  and  set  utterance  of 
earlier  days  had  faded  away,  and  how  richly  his  nature 
was  developing  in  the  direction  of  flexible  and  free 
humour  and  pathos.  It  is  easy  to  go  astray  in  attempt- 
ing to  define  a  human  being  and  to  indicate  the  results 
of  circumstance  likely  to  flow  out  of  the  tendencies  of 
a  character ;  but  there  is  no  doubt  that  Mark  Smith  was 
richly  endowed,  and  there  seems  reason  to  say  that  if 
he  had  lived  to  complete  his  experience  he  would  have 
become  one  of  the  great  actors  of  his  time.  His  fidelity 
to  nature  was  as  accurate  as  a  reverent  intention  could 
make  it.  He  was  a  graphic  delineator.  He  was  a  rosy 
and  jolly  and  yet  a  human  and  refined  humourist.  He 
possessed  unusual  natural  dignity  of  mind;  so  that,  while 
he  respected  the  real  worth  of  old  models,  he  thought 
for  himself  and  struck  out  a  pathway  of  his  own.  His 
human  sympathies  were  comprehensive  and  warm.  He 
had  a  remarkably  keen  intuitive  perception  of  the  shades 
of  character,  and,  as  his  Country  Squire  alone  was  suffi- 
cient to  prove,  he  had  the  delicate  and  trained  capacity 
to  make  them  seen  and  felt.  That  hard,  genial,  stub- 
born, yielding,  eccentric,  simple,  bluff,  hospitable,  per- 
emptory English  gentleman  has  no  representative  on 
the  American  stage  now  that  Mark  Smith  is  gone.  If 
any  actor  known  to  this  country  could  have  put  Sir 
Roger  de  Coverley  into  the  theatre,  and  made  him  as 


LIFE   OF  JEFFERSON  251 

fine  and  as  lovable  there  as  he  is  in  the  pages  of  Addi- 
son,  Mark  Smith  was  the  man.  This  points  to  his 
quality  and  his  rank,  and  explains  the  affectionate  re- 
membrance in  which  he  is  held.  He  belonged  to  the 
school  of  actors  that  Munden  made  distinctive,  and  that 
Burton,  Blake,  Gilbert,  and  Warren  illustrated  so  well. 
He  was  not  as  droll  as  Blake,  nor  did  he  possess  as 
juicy  a  humour;  but  in  serious  moments  he  resembled 
him ;  and  as  to  severe  accuracy  of  form,  he  often  sur- 
passed him. 

The  breadth  of  his  scope  is  indicated  in  the  number 
and  variety  of  parts  that  he  could  adequately  play.  The 
field  of  art  in  which  he  stood  alone  is  that  which  Eng- 
lish literature  has  peopled  with  characters  representa- 
tive of  ambient,  large-hearted  hospitality,  tinged  with 
sentiment  and  eccentricity.  His  imagination  took  de- 
light in  images  of  good-cheer  and  scenes  of  kindness. 
The  prattle  of  children  and  the  soft  laughter  of  young 
lovers  sounded  in  his  mind  and  gladdened  it.  He  was 
at  home  on  the  green  lawn  of  the  ancient  manor-house, 
under  the  immemorial  elms,  crowning  the  feast  with 
welcome,  amid  the  blessings  of  music  and  sunshine, 
and  fragrant  summer  wind,  with,  over  all,  a  hazy,  tran- 
quil air  of  restful  antiquity  and  gentle  romance.  So 
he  has  passed  into  the  region  of  storied  memories  and 
taken  his  place  forever,  —  the  noblest  type  our  stage  has 
presented  of  the  pure  and  simple  country  gentleman ! 
Scott  and  Irving  would  have  loved  that  healthful 
nature,  and  honoured  it  and  anchored  by  it,  amidst  the 
shams  and  fevers  of  a  weary  world.  Primrose  and  the 
Village  Preacher  lived  again  in  him,  —  with  other  man- 
ners, indeed,  and  wearing  another  garb,  and  fettered  and 


252  LIFE   OF  JEFFERSON 

veiled  ;  but  the  same  in  soul.  He  adorned  the  stage ; 
he  comforted  and  benefited  his  fellowmen ;  he  won  an 
affection  and  left  an  ideal  that  will  not  die ;  and  he  rests 
after  an  honest,  useful,  stainless  life. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  friends  of  Mark  Smith,  held  at 
Booth's  theatre,  on  September  i,  1884,  A.  Oakey  Hall 
presiding,  arrangement  was  made  for  a  performance  for 
the  benefit  of  his  widow  and  children,  —  which  subse- 
quently occurred,  —  and  the  following  resolutions, 
written  by  me,  were  adopted  :  — 

Whereas,  In  the  wisdom  and  love  of  God,  —  which,  whether  it 
bless  us  or  whether  it  afflict,  we  but  dimly  understand  and  can 
never  fathom,  —  our  beloved  friend  and  comrade,  Mark  Smith, 
has  been  taken  from  the  life  of  this  world  into  the  life  that  is 
eternal ;  and 

Whereas,  We,  his  friends,  members  of  the  stage  and  the  press, 
amidst  our  personal  sorrow  under  a  bitter  bereavement  and 
affliction,  are  mindful  that,  in  the  death  of  Mark  Smith,  the  pro- 
fession which  he  adorned,  and  this  community,  which  he  so  often 
charmed  and  benefited,  have  sustained  a  loss  so  grievous  and 
extraordinary  that  some  formal  commemoration  of  it  ought  to  be 
made  ;  therefore,  be  it 

Resolved,  That  while  we  bow  in  humble  reverence  before  the 
awful  will  of  heaven,  —  striving  to  keep  in  mind  the  belief  that  all 
things  are  ordered  for  the  best,  —  we  yet  deplore,  in  this  death,  the 
loss  of  one  of  the  best  and  dearest  of  our  fraternity,  in  the  removal 
of  whom  from  the  scenes  of  his  usefulness  and  from  our  companion- 
ship we  feel  the  pangs  of  a  calamitous  and  overwhelming  affliction. 

That  we  remember  Mark  Smith  as  one  who  wore  with  purity  and 
honour  the  noble  name  of  gentleman ;  whose  character  was  lovely 
in  its  simplicity  and  modest  worth  ;  whose  life  was  virtuous  ;  whose 
mind  was  well  stored ;  whose  talents  were  unusual  and  brilliant, 
and  were  always  used  for  good  and  never  for  evil ;  and  who  did  his 
duty  faithfully,  thoroughly,  and  cheerfully,  under  every  condition. 

That,  when  we  recall  Mark  Smith  as  an  actor,  we  think  of  one 
who  loved  his  profession  with  all  his  heart,  and  served  it  with 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  253 

all  his  strength  ;  whose  versatility  and  thoroughness  were  extraor- 
dinary ;  who  enriched  the  stage  with  many  delightful  personations 
of  humorous  and  eccentric  character ;  and  who  was  especially  noble 
and  impressive  in  parts  emblematic  of  manly  worth,  human  senti- 
ment, rosy  and  jolly  humour,  and  the  graces  of  domestic  life. 

That,  equally  in  his  profession  and  his  private  walks  and  ways, 
Mark  Smith  illustrated  integrity  of  principle  that  never  swerved, 
and  gentleness  of  life  that  never  tired,  —  setting  an  example  of 
honour  and  goodness,  and  leaving,  now  that  he  is  dead,  the  memory 
of  a  character  and  a  career  that  were  founded  on  justice  and  kind- 
ness and  hallowed  by  virtue,  humanity,  charity,  and  good  fellowship. 

That  we  deeply  sympathise  with  the  afflicted  widow,  children, 
and  relatives  of  the  deceased  actor,  —  commending  them  to  seek 
comfort,  as  we  do,  in  the  thought  of  his  goodness,  and  of  the 
universal  esteem  in  which  he  was  held  and  in  which  he  is  remem- 
bered, and  to  rest  with  patient  trust  upon  the  Divine  will. 

George  Holland,  still  another  of  Jefferson's  com- 
rades, was  born  in  London,  England,  on  December  6, 
1791.  His  father  was  a  tradesman.  The  boy  was  first 
sent  to  preparatory  schools  in  Lambeth,  and  afterwards 
to  a  boarding-school,  kept  by  an  eccentric  scholar,  Dr. 
Dupre*e,  at  Berkhampstead,  Hertfordshire.  He  did  not 
prove  a  devoted  student.  He  was  more  remarkable  for 
his  pranks  than  for  his  proficiency  in  learning.  But 
he  became  distinguished  as  a  cricket-player,  and  he  laid 
the  foundation  of  good  health  by  abundant  indulgence 
in  that  sport.  At  Dr.  DupreVs  school  he  passed  two 
years,  at  the  end  of  which  time  he  was  taken  home 
by  his  father  and  set  at  work  in  the  silk  and  ribbon 
warehouse  of  Hill  &  Newcombe,  Wood  street,  Cheap- 
side,  London.  Prior  to  going  thither,  though,  he 
enjoyed  a  vacation  of  six  weeks  and  had  his  first 
experience  of  the  stage.  Astley's  amphitheatre  existed 
then,  and  was  conducted  by  Grossman,  Smith  &  Davis. 


254  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

One  of  those  managers,  Smith,  happened  to  be  a 
friend  of  the  Holland  family,  and  by  him  young 
George  was  frequently  taken  to  the  rehearsals.  Les 
Ombres  Chino.is  was  the  name  of  the  entertainment, 
—  a  show  consisting  of  pasteboard  figures  of  men  and 
animals,  worked  with  wires,  behind  an  illuminated 
screen.  An  incidental  dialogue  was  delivered,  corre- 
spondent to  the  action  of  those  dummies.  That  exhi- 
bition so  delighted  the  boy  that  he  made  an  imitation 
of  it,  and  so  good  a  one  that  it  made  a  hit  in  the  home 
circle.  With  the  silk  mercers  young  Holland  passed 
six  months,  selling  silk  and  ribbons  and  silk  hats,  the 
latter  articles  having  then  only  just  come  into  fashion. 
Not  liking  that  pursuit,  he  next  procured  work  in 
a  banking  house  in  Cornhill.  His  post  was  that  of 
an  out-of-door  clerk,  and  his  duty  required  him  to  walk 
ten  miles  a  day.  This  made  an  invalid  of  him  and 
laid  him  up  for  two  months.  After  that  he  passed 
six  months  in  a  bill-broker's  office  and  acquired  acquaint- 
ance with  the  volatile  art  of  "kite-flying."  Then  came 
another  illness,  on  recovering  from  which  he  found 
himself  a  wanderer  in  London.  Accident  now  brought 
him  into  association  with  the  once  famous  Newman, 
who  established  Newmans  Echo,  —  a  cheap  sheet,  pre- 
senting an  epitome  of  the  advertisements  of  "wants  " 
and  "situations"  originally  published  in  the  expen- 
sive newspapers  of  the  day.  Reading  was  costly 
in  those  days,  and  poor  men  could  get  the  news 
only  by  dropping  into  an  alehouse  and  paying  for  the 
privilege  of  taking  a  turn  at  the  paper.  This  was  the 
cheapest  way.  Newman's  Echo  placed  a  certain  class 
of  information,  gleaned  from  all  the  current  journals, 


LIFE   OF  JEFFERSON  255 

within  everybody's  reach.  So  good  an  idea  could  not 
fail  at  the  start.  Holland  worked  at  it  with  equal 
fidelity  and  energy,  and  Newman  soon  grew  rich.  Then 
he  speculated  with  his  money  and  was  ruined,  and  the 
^Echo  ceased  to  be  heard. 

Once  more  at  leisure,  and  waiting  for  something  to 
turn  up,  young  George  now  devoted  some  time  to  the 
art  of  fencing.  This  he  learned  from  his  brother,  who 
was  under  the  tuition  of  Professor  Roland,  then  a 
distinguished  practitioner  with  the  sword.  At  the 
age  of  nineteen  George  was  apprenticed  to  Thomas 
Davison,  at  Whitefriars,  to  learn  the  trade  of  a  printer ; 
and  in  a  somewhat  vain  pursuit  of  skill  in  that  vocation 
the  unfledged  actor  spent  two  years.  While  the  boy 
did  not  perfect  himself  as  a  printer,  he  gained 
positive  distinction  in  sparring  and  rowing.  He  was  a 
member  of  a  boat-club ;  he  could  —  and  frequently  did 
—  row  from  London  Bridge  to  Richmond  and  back 
again,  twenty  miles  each  way ;  he  frequented  the  Free 
and  Easy,  and  learned  and  sang  comic  songs  therein  ; 
he  made  the  illustrious  acquaintance  of  Tom  Cribb, 
Molineaux,  Tom  Belcher,  Dutch  Sam,  Iky  Solomons, 
and  other  champions  and  bruisers  ;  and  he  was  him- 
self known  in  that  peculiar  society  as  "the  Comic 
Chattering  Cove."  Thus  early  did  those  vigorous 
animal  spirits  and  that  overwhelming  propensity  to 
fun  find  vent,  which  afterward,  for  so  many  years, 
gave  brightness  to  the  stage  and  pleasure  to  multitudes 
of  its  supporters.  Young  Holland's  way  of  life,  how- 
ever, did  not  prove  salutary  to  the  printing  business, 
and  when  twenty-one  years  of  age  he  was  fortunate 
enough  to  get  his  indentures  cancelled,  and  thereafter 


256  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

he  followed  a  natural  and  independent  course,  which 
is  the  only  sure  road  to  genuine  success.  His  wan- 
derings first  took  him  to  Liverpool.  There  he  found 
no  employment,  but  had  a  sharp  experience  of  poverty. 
From  Liverpool  he  took  passage  for  Dublin,  where  he, 
found  his  father's  old  friend,  Smith,  of  Astley's  am- 
phitheatre, —  now  riding-master  at  the  Castle  School, 
a  noted  institution  of  the  Irish  capital.  By  Smith 
he  was  kindly  received,  and  under  his  direction  he 
made  himself  useful  in  the  riding-school,  and  became 
proficient  as  a  rider  and  a  manager  of  horses.  The 
evenings  he  passed  at  the  Crow  Street  theatre.  This 
equestrian  and  dramatic  period  of  his  life  was  brief,  as 
he  now  became  a  commercial  traveller,  in  the  employ- 
ment of  Nunn  &  Co.,  dealers  in  thread-lace.  For 
two  years  George  Holland  drove  a  mercer's  cart 
through  Ireland ;  and  in  every  town  he  was  successful 
and  popular.  One  can  readily  imagine  that,  as  a  wit 
on  the  box  and  a  songster  in  the  tavern  parlour,  he 
would  have  a  great  success ;  for  good  humour  is  a 
greater  conqueror  in  the  battle  of  life  than  Caesar  in 
the  battle  of  nations.  In  1816,  Holland,  at  the  age  of 
twenty-five,  was  set  up  in  business  for  himself,  to  sell 
bobbinet-lace,  manufactured  in  Nottingham.  His  shop 
was  in  Crow  street,  Dublin,  near  the  Crow  Street 
theatre,  and  immediately  opposite  to  a  favourite  haunt 
of  jolly  boys,  called  Peter  Kearney's  Inn.  To  that 
resort  George  frequently  repaired,  and  there  he  made 
many  theatrical  acquaintances.  The  bobbinet-lace  busi- 
ness lasted  six  months,  when  George  settled  his  affairs, 
took  down  his  sign,  and  returned  to  England,  —  to 
embark  on  that  theatrical  current  which  continued, 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  257 

through  many  vicissitudes  of  fortune,  to  the  end  of  his 
days.  George  Holland  was  fifty-three  years  an  actor. 
More  than  half  a  century  of  entrances  and  exits ! 

The  first  engagement  that  Holland  secured  was 
made  with  Samuel  Russell,  familiarly  known  as  "Jerry 
Sneak  Russell,"  the  stage-manager  for  Robert  William 
Elliston, — that  Elliston,  the  Magnificent,  for  whom,  as 
Charles  Lamb  wrote,  "  the  Pauline  Muses  weep."  The 
engagement  was  to  last  six  weeks,  till  the  close  of  the 
season  at  the  London  Olympic.  Elliston  then  offered 
Holland  an  engagement  at  the  Birmingham  theatre, 
to  begin  six  weeks  later.  That  interval  the  actor,  now 
regularly  embarked,  spent  in  travelling,  on  foot,  from 
London  to  Birmingham,  in  company  with  a  friendly 
Lanville,  or  Folair,  and  exhibiting  Les  Ombres  CJiinois 
at  towns  on  the  way.  This  enterprise,  carried  on  in 
frolic,  beguiled  the  tedium  of  the  journey,  and  ended 
in  a  good  supper.  Arrived  at  Birmingham,  Holland 
found  Elliston  grandly  forgetful  of  the  promised  en- 
gagement, but  ultimately  he  succeeded  in  getting  a 
post  in  the  great  manager's  company,  with  a  salary  of 
fifteen  shillings  a  week.  On  May  19,  1817,  the  theatre 
opened  with  Bertram  and  The  Broken  Sword.  Hol- 
land was  cast  as  one  of  the  monks  in  the  former  play, 
and  as  the  Baron  in  the  latter.  With  the  monk  he 
prospered  well ;  but,  having  permitted  a  couple  of 
brother  actors  to  "  make  up  "  his  face  and  head  for  the 
Baron,  —  which  they  did  with  a  pantaloon  wig  and  all 
the  colours  at  hand,  —  he  went  on  in  the  second  piece 
an  object  of  such  absurdity  that  he  was  literally  laughed 
and  hooted  from  the  stage.  A  dark  Baron  would  have 
answered  every  purpose  ;  but  a  red,  white,  and  blue 


258  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

one  was  too  much  for  the  British  public.  For  a  long 
time  after  that  adventure  the  unlucky  comedian  was 
known  as  "Baron  Holland."  For  many  days  —  so 
great  was  his  mortification  —  he  kept  away  from  the 
theatre,  having,  indeed,  set  up  a  school  for  teaching 
fencing  and  boxing.  So  at  length  the  old  sports  be- 
came useful  auxiliaries  in  the  serious  labour  of  life. 
At  last  Holland  had  an  explanation  with  Elliston,  was 
reinstated  in  the  company,  and  was  made  prompter. 
Brunton  was  then  the  stage-manager  of  the  Birming- 
ham theatre,  —  the  father  of  the  afterwards  famous 
Miss  Brunton,  who  finally  became  the  Countess  of 
Craven,  and  of  that  other  Miss  Brunton,  Anne,  who 
married  in  succession,  Merry,  Wignell,  and  Warren, 
and  was  once  the  chief  actress  of  the  American  stage. 
While  Holland  was  prompter,  Macready  came  to  the 
Birmingham  theatre,  and  played  Rob  Roy.  Other 
stars  came  also,  and  among  them  Vincent  de  Camp, 
with  whom  he  formed  an  acquaintance  that  was  destined 
to  be  of  much  value  to  him.  Holland  was  now  offered 
an  engagement  at  the  theatre  in  Newcastle-on-Tyne, 
accepting  which  he  went  to  London,  and  thence  pro- 
ceeded to  Newcastle  by  a  sailing  vessel,  that  being  the 
cheapest  route.  On  that  voyage  he  met  Miss  Povey, 
afterwards  Mrs.  Knight,  and  Junius  Brutus  Booth, 
together  with  other  theatrical  performers,  bound  to  the 
same  place.  With  Booth  he  formed  a  friendship  which 
lasted  all  the  days  of  the  latter  actor's  life,  and 
which  the  comedian  always  cherished  in  tender  recol- 
lection. After  finishing  his  engagement  at  Newcastle, 
Holland  went  to  Manchester,  with  Usher,  and  there 
played  as  Harlequin.  That  was  in  1819,  the  year  of 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  259 

certain  local  disturbances  known  and  remembered  as 
the  Peterloo  riots.  In  December  of  that  year  Holland 
returned  to  Newcastle,  which  thenceforward,  during  five 
seasons,  he  made  his  home.  The  season  in  those  times 
began  in  December  and  ended  in  May.  During  the 
summer  Holland  travelled,  acting  wherever  occasion 
offered.  While  he  was  acting  at  the  Newcastle  theatre, 
in  one  of  his  annual  engagements,  his  fondness  for 
practical  jokes  and  deviltry  of  all  sorts  —  frequently 
illustrated  in  mischievous  adventures  —  brought  a  tem- 
porary disaster  upon  him ;  for,  snipping  at  his  nose 
one  night,  with  a  large  pair  of  shears,  for  the  amuse- 
ment of  an  enlightened  public,  he  cut  that  useful  organ 
very  nearly  into  two  pieces.  It  was  well  mended, 
though,  and  the  wound  left  no  visible  scar.  Holland's 
exceedingly  natural  acting  on  this  occasion,  nobody  in 
front  knowing  what  ailed  him,  was  the  subject  of 
universal  commendation,  particularly  from  the  manager, 
who  sent  an  urgent  request  that  the  comedian  would 
nightly  repeat  his  spirited  and  remarkable  performance. 
In  the  season  of  1825-26  Holland  was  engaged  at 
the  London  Haymarket  theatre,  under  the  manage- 
ment of  T.  P.  Cooke.  At  a  later  period  he  fulfilled  an 
engagement  at  the  Surrey  theatre.  But  his  English 
career  was  now  drawing  to  a  close.  At  Christmas, 
1826,  Junius  Brutus  Booth,  then  stage-manager  of  the 
Chatham  Street  theatre,  New  York,  sent  a  letter  offer- 
ing him  an  American  engagement.  That  epistle  —  in 
the  earnest,  simple  style  characteristic  of  all  the  writings 
of  the  great  tragedian  —  gives  interesting  details  with 
reference  to  the  condition  of  the  New  York  stage  in 
1826,  when  Edwin  Forrest  was  a  rising  young  actor, 


260  LIFE   OF  JEFFERSON 

and  Lester  and  J.  W.  Wallack,  Jr.,  were  boys,  and 
Joseph  Jefferson  and  Edwin  Booth  were  yet  unborn. 
(It  is  reprinted  among  the  memorials  in  this  volume, 
see  p.  293.)  Holland  did  not  at  once  come  over,  but 
the  allurement  proved  strong,  and  in  the  following  year 
he  accepted  an  engagement  at  the  Bowery  theatre. 
It  was  in  August,  1827,  in  the  ship  Colttmbia,  that  he 
sailed  for  New  York. 

The  Bowery  theatre,  then  called  the  New  York 
theatre,  was  an  important  institution  in  the  dramatic 
world  when  Holland  came  to  America,  and  his  appear- 
ance there,  on  September  12,  1827,  naturally  attracted 
attention.  He  acted  in  A  Day  After  the  Fair,  then 
a  favourite  farce,  and  made  a  decided  hit.  It  was  a 
long  time,  though,  before  the  comedian  settled  into 
a  permanent  position.  For  years  after  he  arrived  in 
America  he  led  the  nomadic  life  of  his  tribe.  I  trace 
him  to  the  Tremont  theatre,  in  Boston,  then  managed 
by  Pelby.  Afterwards  he  played  at  the  Federal  Street 
theatre,  in  the  same  city,  —  long  a  favourite  shrine  of 
the  dramatic  muse,  but  now  gone.  Then  he  returned 
to  New  York,  and  established  his  residence  at  Yorkville. 
Then  he  performed  at  Albany.  On  January  21,  1829, 
he  made  his  first  appearance  at  New  Orleans,  in  the 
Pearl  Street  theatre,  afterwards  called  the  Academy 
of  Music.  In  the  same  year  he  acted  at  Louisville, 
Cincinnati,  Natchez,  Vicksburg,  Montgomery,  Mobile, 
Philadelphia,  Boston,  Salem,  and  Providence.  This 
record  shows  how  an  actor  was  obliged  to  flit  about 
in  old  times,  and  how  hard  he  had  to  work ;  for  travel- 
ling was  not  then  what  it  is  now,  nor  could  the  country 
boast  such  theatres  anywhere  as  now  adorn  it  in  almost 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  261 

every  city.  On  September'  30,  1829,  Holland  took  a 
benefit  at  the  Bowery  theatre,  New  York.  Immedi- 
ately afterwards  I  trace  him  on  another  expedition,  this 
time  in  company  with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Blake,  with  T.  A. 
Cooper  as  manager,  —  and  a  powerful  combination  it 
was,  and  a  jovial  time  they  must  have  had.  In  June, 
1830,  the  comedian  occupied  what  was  known  as 
Holland's  Cottage,  at  Yorkville,  N.Y.  That  was  a 
snug  suburban  inn  and  one  that  enjoyed  much  favour. 
Holland,  indeed,  was  always  a  popular  man,  and  if 
his  business  capacity  had  kept  pace  with  his  profes- 
sional success  he  would  have  gained  a  fortune.  That 
success  never  waited  on  his  efforts.  As  a  worker  he 
began,  and  to  the  last  he  lived  in  harness  and  ready 
to  do  his  best.  Leaving  the  Yorkville  cottage  in  the 
fall  of  1831,  he  once  more  went  out  with  Cooper. 
That  season  of  roving  began  on  October  10,  in  that 
year,  and  lasted  till  April  10,  1832.  Hamblin  and 
John  Henry  Barton  accompanied  the  party,  and  they 
played  at  Augusta,  Savannah,  Charleston,  and  New 
Orleans.  Holland's  portion  of  the  entertainment  was 
entitled  Whims  of  a  Comedian.  It  was  a  medley  and 
included  feats  of  ventriloquism,  for  which  this  actor  was 
celebrated.  "The  whole  of  this  performance,"  said  the 
programme,  "  will  be  recited,  acted,  sung,  and  gesticu- 
lated by  Mr.  Holland  alone."  The  bill  of  the  play  con- 
tained eight  distinct  features,  and  the  price  of  admission 
was  fixed  at  $i,  which  was  a  high  price  in  those  days. 

From  New  Orleans  the  party  went  up  the  Missis- 
sippi, and  so  to  Pittsburg,  where  Holland's  engagement 
terminated.  He  then  went  to  Cincinnati  and  to  Louis- 
ville, and,  in  association  with  N.  M.  Ludlow,  gave  enter- 


262  LIFE   OF  JEFFERSON 

tainments  in  the  principal  towns  of  Kentucky  and 
Tennessee.  Subsequently,  combining  forces  with  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Knight,  he  visited  Nashville,  and  gave  per- 
formances during  one  week,  which  were  successful. 
This  was  in  the  cholera  season  of  1832,  and  here,  as 
afterwards  at  New  Orleans,  the  performances  given  by 
Holland  exerted  a  cheering  and  reassuring  influence 
over  the  public  mind,  inclined  as  it  was  to  panic,  in  the 
presence  of  the  baleful  disease.  In  1834  Holland  was 
associated  with  old  Sol  Smith  in  the  management 
of  the  theatre  at  Montgomery,  Ala.  Allusion  is 
made  to  this  fact  on  p.  103  of  Sol  Smith's  Theatrical 
Management:  "The  season  in  Montgomery  this  year 
(1834)  commenced  on  the  i6th  of  January.  The  cele- 
brated George  Holland  joined  me  in  the  management, 
and  the  firm  was  Smith  &  Holland.  .  .  .  My  business 
connection  with  George  Holland  was  a  very  pleasant 
one.  We  parted  at  the  close  of  the  season  with  mutual 
good  feelings."  Jane  Placide  and  George  H.  Barrett 
were  members  of  the  company  at  the  Montgomery 
theatre.  Holland  went  back  to  New  Orleans  on 
leaving  Sol  Smith,  and  was  there  made  secretary  of 
the  New  Orleans  Gas-light  and  Banking  Company. 
Not  long  afterward  he  accepted  the  post  of  private 
secretary  to  J.  H.  Caldwell,  and  treasurer  of  the  St. 
Charles  theatre.  That  was  in  the  season  of  1835-36, 
which  began  on  November  30,  1835,  with  Miss  Cush- 
man  as  the  star.  She  played  Patrick,  in  The  Poor 
Soldier,  Helen  Macgregor,  in  Rob  Roy,  Peter  Wilkins, 
Lady  Macbeth,  and  other  characters.  During  the  same 
season  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Keeley,  J.  W.  Wallack,  C.  K. 
Mason,  Finn,  A.  A.  Adams,  and  Madame  Celeste 


LIFE   OF  JEFFERSON  263 

filled  engagements  at  the  -St.  Charles,  and  with  all 
those  theatric  luminaries  Holland  had  friendly  re- 
lations in  his  capacity  as  treasurer.  An  opera  troupe, 
including  Adelaide  Pedratti,  G.  B.  Montressor,  Antonio 
de  Rosa,  and  others,  came  on  Sunday,  March  6,  1836, 
and  again  on  December  4.  In  the  mean  time  Holland 
had  been  very  ill,  so  ill,  indeed,  that  he  was  not  ex- 
pected to  recover,  but  a  trip  to  Havana  restored 
him  to  health,  and  after  six  months  in  that  lovely 
island  he  came  back  with  renewed  vigour  to  his 
labours  at  the  St.  Charles.  The  Jewess,  after  fifteen 
months  of  preparation,  was  produced  with  success  on 
December  25,  1837,  and  the  season  closed  on  April  29, 
1838.  During  the  following  season  performances  were 
given  there  by  Forrest,  Booth,  J.  R.  Scott,  Finn,  J.  M. 
Field,  Farren,  Sam.  Cowell,  Ellen  Tree,  Celeste,  and 
Josephine  Clifton.  Those  details  suggest  what  the 
theatre  was,  in  old  days,  in  the  matter  of  acting,  and 
they  also  suggest  the  associations  into  which  George 
Holland  was  thrown, — associations  whereby,  when  old, 
he  was  a  "  mine  of  memories."  On  one  of  the  bills 
of  the  St.  Charles  appeared  these  notices,  which  may 
indicate  what  were  the  manners  of  the  time,  among 
theatre-going  people  :  "  It  is  particularly  requested  that 
dogs  will  not  be  brought  to  the  theatre,  as  they  Cannot 
be  admitted.  Peanuts  are  proscribed."  In  the  sea- 
son of  1840  Fanny  Ellsler  appeared  at  the  St.  Charles, 
engaged  for  $1000  a  night,  and  a  benefit,  on  which 
latter  occasion  she  was  to  have  all  the  receipts  except 
$500.  Those  terms  were  made  by  Holland,  in  the 
absence  of  Caldwell,  to  secure  the  great  attraction  and 
keep  it  out  of  the  rival  theatre.  On  the  first  night  the 


264  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

receipts  were  $3446.50,  and  for  the  ten  nights  of  Fanny 
Ellsler's  engagement  the  average  receipts  were  $2597.35. 
The  benefit  brought  in  $3760.  Holland  paid  to  the 
great  dancer  $10,000  for  the  ten  performances;  $3260 
for  her  benefit;  and  $1192  for  half  benefit  to  Avalini 
and  Silvani,  her  companions,  —  in  all,  $14,453.  Yet 
this  enterprise  was  a  thorough  success  to  the  theatre. 
On  March  13,  1842,  the  St.  Charles  theatre  was  burned, 
and  so  ended  Holland's  connection  with  the  most  pros- 
perous establishment  in  which  he  had  ever  been  en- 
gaged. Caldwell,  the  manager,  survived  his  losses,  and 
was  a  wealthy  man  to  the  last,  dying  in  New  York  in 
the  autumn  of  1863. 

After  the  St.  Charles  had  been  destroyed,  Holland 
made  a  trip  with  Dr.  Lardner,  who  gave  a  series  of 
lectures  and  illustrated  them  with  pictures.  The  party 
visited  Mobile,  Natchez,  Vicksburg,  Jacksonville,  Nash- 
ville, St.  Louis  (at  which  place  they  found  Gentleman 
George  H.  Barrett  keeping  a  restaurant),  Louisville,  Cin- 
cinnati, and  Buffalo.  From  the  latter  place  to  Troy, 
Holland  sailed  in  a  canal-boat.  Arrived  in  New  York, 
he  found  his  old  acquaintance,  Mitchell,  engaged  in  the 
management  of  the  Olympic  theatre.  He  had  known 
Mitchell  since  the  year  1818,  when  both  were  members 
of  De  Camp's  theatrical  company  at  Newcastle.  By 
Mitchell  he  was  engaged,  and  in  the  Olympic  com- 
pany he  remained,  constantly  acting  and  always  a  pub- 
lic favourite,  from  1843  to  1849.  His  first  appearance 
at  the  Olympic  was  made  on  September  4,  1843,  in  A  Day 
After  the  Fair  and  The  Bill  of  Fare.  In  the  summer 
of  1844  he  acted,  with  Mitchell's  company,  at  Niblo's, 
as  Lobwitz,  in  The  Child  of  the  Regiment,  Hassarac  in 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  265 

Open  Sesame,  and  divers  other  characters.  In  1849 
Holland  accepted  an  engagement  at  the  Varieties 
theatre,  New  Orleans,  and  there,  says  Sol  Smith,  "he 
enjoyed  a  popularity  never  perhaps  achieved  by  any 
other  actor  in  that  city."  Thomas  Placide  was  then 
the  manager  of  the  Varieties.  In  1853  Holland  was  a 
member  of  Burton's  company,  in  New  York.  On 
August  10,  that  year,  on  the  occasion  of  the  opening 
of  the  theatre,  he  acted  Sunnyside,  in  A  Capital 
Match,  and  Thomas,  in  The  Secret.  In  the  mean  time, 
Wallack's  theatre,  at  first  called  Wallack's  Lyceum, 
had  been  opened,  on  September  8,  1852;  and  in  the 
third  season  Holland  was  added  to  the  company,  ap- 
pearing on  September  12,  1855,  as  Chubb,  in  John 
Brougham's  Game  of  Love.  With  Wallack's  he  re- 
mained connected  —  seceding  only  once,  which  was  in 
the  panic  days  of  1857,  when  he  joined  Christy's  Min- 
strels—  until  the  end  of  the  season  of  1867-68.  His 
last  engagement  was  made  with  Augustin  Daly,  and 
in  the  season  of  1869-70  he  acted  several  times  at 
the  Fifth  Avenue  theatre.  His  last  professional  ap- 
pearance was  made  there  on  January  12,  1870,  as  the 
Reporter,  in  Miss  Olive  Logan's  farcical  comedy  of  Surf. 
Subsequently,  on  May  16,  on  the  occasion  of  his  benefit, 
the  veteran  appeared  before  the  curtain,  not  having 
taken  part  in  the  presentation  (the  play  was  Fron- 
Frou],  and  made  a  brief  but  touching  speech,  con- 
sisting of  three  words,  "  God  bless  you !  "  He  died, 
at  309  Third  avenue,  New  York,  on  Tuesday,  Decem- 
ber 20,  1870.  His  death  had  been  expected  for  a  long 
time.  During  many  months  he  clung  to  life  by  the 
slenderest  thread.  When  at  last,  about  five  o'clock 


266  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

in  the  morning  of  December  20,  he  fell  into  his  final 
sleep,  he  sunk  away  so  calmly  that  his  friends  who 
surrounded  him  were  unaware  of  his  decease.  He  was 
eighty  years  old.  The  most  of  his  long  life  was  passed 
in  active  industry.  His  last  days  were  much  oppressed 
by  the  suffering  incidental  to  infirmity.  He  bore  those 
trials  well,  however,  and  flashes  of  his  characteristic 
drollery  and  delightful  humour  often  enlivened  the 
gloom  of  the  closing  scenes.  The  refusal  of  a  promi- 
nent clergyman  of  New  York  to  allow  Holland's  funeral 
in  his  church,  for  the  reason  that  he  had  been  an  actor, 
coupled  with  a  mention  of  a  "little  church  around  the 
corner,"  prompted  Jefferson's  exclamation,  "God  bless 
the  little  church  around  the  corner,"  and  made  that  the 
church  of  the  actors,  for  all  time.  Holland  was  buried 
from  the  church  of  the  Transfiguration,  in  Twenty-ninth 
street,  New  York,  the  Rev.  George  H.  Houghton 
reading  the  service.  Performances  for  the  benefit  of 
his  widow  and  children,  given  at  the  instance  and 
mainly  under  the  care  of  the  present  writer,  produced 
a  fund  of  $13,608.41. 

Holland's  life  was  full  of  strange  vicissitudes ;  but  it 
was  animated  by  honest  principle  and  characterised  by 
faithful  labour  and  spotless  integrity.  Holland  was  a 
good  man.  He  attained  a  high  rank  in  his  profession, 
largely  by  reason  of  his  skill  as  an  artist,  but  more 
largely  by  reason  of  his  natural  endowments.  He  was  a 
humourist  of  the  eccentric  order.  To  the  comedian 
is  accorded  the  happy  privilege  of  casting  the  roses  of 
mirth  on  the  pathway  of  his  fellowmen,  making  glad 
their  hearts  with  cheerful  and  kindly  feeling  and  light- 
ing up  their  faces  with  the  sunshine  of  innocent  pleas- 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  267 

ure.  In  the  exercise  of  that  privilege  George  Holland 
added  in  no  inconsiderable  degree  to  the  sum  of  human 
happiness.  He  honoured  his  vocation.  He  respected 
himself.  He  performed  his  duty.  This  is  no  slight 
victory,  in  a  world  of  strife,  vicissitude,  care,  and  pain  ; 
but  it  is  the  rightful  reward  of  goodness,  devoted 
labour,  and  genuine  talent.  It  is  the  crown  of  honour, 
and  that  veteran  actor  wore  it  with  equal  right  and 
grace. 

One  of  Jefferson's  special  friends,  and  one  whose 
name  occupies  a  conspicuous  place  in  the  annals  of  the 
American  stage,  was  John  T.  Ford,  long  the  leader  of 
theatrical  management  in  the  Southern  States  of  the 
American  Union.  He  was  not  an  actor,  but  as  the 
friend  and  companion  of  actors  throughout  the  genera- 
tion now  closed  or  closing,  and  as  one  of  Jefferson's 
comrades  from  the  first,  he  should  be  commemorated 
in  this  chronicle. 

John  T.  Ford  was  born  in  Baltimore,  Md.,  April  16, 
1829,  and  his  youth  was  trained  in  the  public  schools  of 
that  city.  It  is  remembered  that  he  was  a  pupil  at 
Grammar  School  No.  6,  in  Ross  street,  now  Druid  Hill 
avenue,  and  that  William  R.  Creery,  now  dead,  was  his 
teacher,  a  gentleman  and  a  scholar,  who  afterward  be- 
came superintendent  of  the  Baltimore  public  schools, 
and,  to  the  last,  enjoyed  honour  in  that  community. 
Successful  men  owe  much  to  their  good  teachers,  and 
the  name  of  such  a  teacher  should  not  be  forgotten. 
While  yet  in  his  teens,  the  youthful  Ford  was  employed 
by  his  uncle,  William  Greanor,  a  prosperous  tobacco 
merchant  of  Richmond,  Va. ;  but  the  boy  did  not  like 
that  business,  and  he  relinquished  it  and  went  into  the 


268  LIFE   OF  JEFFERSON 

book  trade.  That,  too,  was  presently  abandoned,  and 
in  1851,  having  returned  to  Baltimore,  he  became  the 
agent  for  the  Nightingale  Serenaders,  a  minstrel  troupe 
organised  by  George  Kunkel.  With  that  he  travelled 
during  several  seasons,  visiting  all  the  cities  between 
the  Atlantic  and  the  Mississippi,  the  St.  Lawrence 
river  and  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  At  that  time,  also,  he 
wrote,  as  correspondent  of  The  Baltimore  Clipper.  In 
1854-55  Ford  became  manager  of  the  Holliday  Street 
theatre,  Baltimore,  —  a  house  with  which,  fifty  years 
before,  his  maternal  grandmother  had  been  associated, 
when  Warren  and  Wood  first  managed  it,  —  and  that 
field  of  labour  he  continued  to  cultivate  for  more  than 
twenty  years.  Louisa  Pyne,  Adelina  Patti,  Edwin  For- 
rest, Charles  Kean,  and  many  other  artists  were  there 
presented,  under  his  management.  Rachel  was  en- 
gaged by  him  to  act  there,  but  when  the  time  arrived 
she  was  too  ill  to  appear.  Jefferson,  Edwin  Adams, 
and  John  McCullough  won  early  successes  in  the  old 
Holliday  Street  theatre,  and  many  new  plays  —  by 
George  H.  Miles,  Edward  Spencer,  Clifton  W.  Tayleure, 
Annie  Ford,  and  other  distinctively  Southern  authors 
—  were  originally  produced  there.  In  1871  Ford  built 
the  Grand  Opera  House,  Baltimore,  and  there  his  atten- 
tion and  labour  were  centred,  though  not  to  the  neglect 
of  many  important  outlying  enterprises.  Baltimore  was 
always  Ford's  home,  and  in  that  city  he  filled  many 
offices  of  trust  and  honour.  He  served  as  acting  mayor 
of  Baltimore,  member  and  president  of  the  city  council, 
president  of  the  Union  Railroad  Company,  many  times 
foreman  of  the  grand  jury  in  both  the  state  and  county 
courts,  president  of  a  land  association,  director  of  the 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  269 

Maryland  Penitentiary,  and  president  of  the  Society  for 
providing  Free  Summer  Excursions  and  Food  for  the 
Poor.  Every  year  he  gave  a  performance  in  aid  of  the 
latter  association,  and  the  proceeds  each  year  exceeded 
$2000.  Ford  always  had  the  esteem  and  affection  of 
his  neighbours,  as  a  just,  generous,  public-spirited 
man. 

Ford's  first  theatrical  venture  in  Washington  was 
undertaken  in  1854,  and  from  that  time  he  conducted 
dramatic  enterprises  in  that  city.  He  built  three  thea- 
tres in  Washington,  —  two  in  Tenth  street,  and  one  at 
the  corner  of  Ninth  street  and  Louisiana  avenue,  named 
Ford's  Opera  House.  His  first  theatre  in  Tenth  street 
was  burned  down,  and  on  the  site  of  it  he  built  the 
house  known  as  Ford's  theatre,  and  associated  with  one 
of  the  most  terrible  and  afflicting  tragedies  of  modern 
times.  At  the  time  of  the  murder  of  Lincoln,  Ford  and 
his  brother  Henry  were  for  thirty-nine  days  detained  in 
the  Capitol  prison ;  but,  having  been  fully  exonerated, 
they  were  released.  The  theatre  was  seized  by  the 
United  States  government,  and  an  order  was  issued 
prohibiting  forever  its  use  as  a  place  of  amusement. 
Ford  received  from  the  National  Treasury  $100,000  in 
payment  for  the  building.  It  was  used  for  public  offices, 
and  in  1893  it  fell  and  killed  many  persons.  After  his 
twenty  years  of  theatrical  management  in  Washington, 
The  Evening  Star,  a  leading  journal  of  the  Capitol, 
described  Ford's  business  proceedings  there  as  having 
been  marked  by  "  rare  integrity,  indomitable  will,  and 
great  sagacity." 

Previous  to  the  establishment  of  his  theatre  in  Wash- 
ington, Ford  had  often  visited  the  city  as  an  itinerant 


270  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

manager,  and  at  a  very  early  time  in  his  theatrical 
career  he  had  broken  ground  for  enterprises  along  the 
Southern  circuit.  As  long  ago  as  1857  he  was  associ- 
ated with  the  management  of  the  theatre  in  Richmond, 
Va.,  and  had  Joseph  Jefferson  for  stage-manager 
and  Edwin  Adams  for  leading  man.  John  Wilkes 
Booth  was  a  member  of  his  company  at  that  theatre 
in  1858.  For  nearly  thirty  years  Ford  furnished  the 
Southern  people  with  theatrical  exhibitions.  Edwin 
Booth,  Joseph  Jefferson,  Charlotte  Cushman,  Madame 
Janauschek,  Madame  Modjeska,  Mary  Anderson,  and 
many  other  celebrated  actors  travelled  through  the 
South  under  his  guidance.  In  1878  he  assumed  the 
management  of  the  Broad  Street  theatre,  Philadelphia, 
owned  by  John  S.  Clarke,  the  comedian.  The  place 
had  been  thought  unfortunate.  Heavy  losses  had  been 
incurred  there  by  previous  managers.  The  season  of 
1878-79  was,  generally,  bad;  but  Ford  prospered, 
and  the  engagements  of  Booth,  Jefferson,  the  Hess 
English  Opera  Company,  and  finally  the  Pinafore 
carried  him  buoyantly  through  the  year.  Ford's  pro- 
duction of  Pinafore  was  the  earliest,  after  that  of 
Montgomery  Field  at  the  Boston  Museum.  Attentive 
care  was  bestowed  upon  its  musical  requirements,  and 
Ford  was  the  first  manager  in  America  to  offer  com- 
pensation to  the  authors  of  the  piece.  Their  pleasant 
memory  of  that  proceeding  doubtless  prompted  Gil- 
bert and  Sullivan,  in  coming  to  America  with  a  new 
opera,  to  entrust  their  business  interests  to  his  hands, 
whereupon  he  leased  the  Fifth  Avenue  theatre,  New 
York,  and  there  produced  The.  Pirates  of  Pensance,  in 
the  season  of  1879-80. 


LIFE   OF  JEFFERSON  271 

The  death  of  Ben  de  Bar,  August  28,  1877,  left  Ford 
the  oldest  living  manager  in  America.  For  thirty  years 
the  entire  line  of  theatres  on  the  Southern  circuit, 
from  Baltimore  to  New  Orleans,  was  largely  subject 
to  his  administration  of  affairs.  He  wielded  a  greater 
power  than  was  possessed  by  either  Caldwell  or  de 
Bar.  He  was  the  last  of  the  former  generation 
of  theatrical  directors, — the  Hodgkinsons,  Hallams, 
Warrens,  Woods,  and  Barrys  of  long  ago.  Ford  was 
married  when  young,  and  he  reared  a  family  of  eleven 
children.  The  sudden  death,  in  1878,  of  his  daughter 
Annie,  a  lovely  and  talented  lady,  was  a  heavy 
affliction.  His  children,  educated  in  close  association 
with  the  theatre,  are  an  honour  and  credit  to  their 
parents  and  their  vocation.  His  son,  Charles  E. 
Ford,  worthily  succeeded  to  his  father's  dramatic 
enterprises.  Beginning  business  life  with  scarcely 
a  dollar,  Ford  lived  to  control  some  of  the  wealthiest 
interests  of  his  State,  and  where  he  once  worked  for  a 
pittance  built  houses  costing  half  a  million.  Baltimore 
was  never  accounted  a  good  theatrical  city,  its  inhabi- 
tants being  largely  engrossed  with  social  pleasures  and 
home  life  ;  yet  there  Ford  reared  and  sustained  the 
stage,  as  one  of  the  first  and  best  of  contemporary  insti- 
tutions. He  long  resided  in  a  fine  mansion,  in  the 
northwest  part  of  his  native  city,  overlooking  the  town, 
the  forest,  and  the  distant  bay ;  and  there,  surrounded 
by  books  and  friends,  he  viewed  serenely  the  results  of 
a  well-spent  life  and  the  advance  of  an  honourable, 
peaceful  age.  He  died  suddenly  on  March  14,  1894, 
and  was  buried  at  Greenmount. 


XII 
STAGE   ART 

JEFFERSON  is  an  actor  in  whom  the  romantic  ardour 
of  devotion  to  the  dramatic  art  has  never  languished. 
Youth  is  gone,  but  neither  its  enthusiasm,  its  faith, 
nor  its  fire.  He  still  embodies  Rip  Van  Winkle  with  a 
sincerity  as  intense  and  with  an  artistic  execution  as 
thorough  and  as  fresh  as  if  the  part  were  new,  and  as  if 
he  were  playing  it  for  the  first  time.  The  spontaneous 
drollery ;  the  wildwood  freedom ;  the  endearing  gentle- 
ness ;  the  piquant,  quizzical  sapience ;  the  unconscious 
humour;  the  pathetic  blending  of  forlorn,  wistful  patience 
with  awe-stricken  apprehension  ;  the  dazed,  submissive, 
drifting  surrender  to  the  current  of  Fate  ;  and  the  appar- 
ently careless  but  clear-cut  and  beautiful  method,  —  all 
those  attributes,  that  bewitched  the  community  long 
ago,  remain  unchanged,  and  have  lost  no  particle  of 
their  charm.  The  details  of  those  familiar  attractions 
—  the  discomfiture  of  craft  by  simplicity,  the  expulsion 
from  a  desolated  home,  the  flight  into  the  night  and  the 
tempest,  the  aged  wanderer's  return,  the  recognition 
between  father  and  daughter  —  are  matters  of  general 
knowledge.  Irradiated  as  they  long  have  been  by  the 
genius  of  Jefferson,  they  could  not  be  forgotten.  It  is 
forty  years  since  he  played  the  part  for  the  first  time ; 

272 


RIP  VA1SI  WINKLE 
a  photograph,  by  Sarony. 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  273 

and  although  at  the  outset  his  performance  was  viewed 
with  indifference,  it  is  now  recognised  throughout  the 
world  as  a  great  achievement.  Most  persons  who  have 
seen  Jefferson  as  Rip  would  probably  name  that  achieve- 
ment as  essentially  the  most  natural  piece  of  acting  ever 
presented  within  their  observation.  In  its  effect  it  is 
natural ;  in  its  method,  in  the  process  by  which  it  is 
wrought,  it  is  absolutely  artificial.  In  that  method 
—  not  forgetting  the  soul  within  that  method  —  will  be 
found  the  secret  of  its  power ;  in  the  art  with  which 
genius  transfigures  and  interprets  actual  life ;  and  in 
that,  furthermore,  dwells  the  secret  of  all  good  acting. 
If  you  would  produce  the  effect  of  nature,  in  dramatic 
art,  you  must  not  be  natural ;  you  must  be  artificial,  but 
you  must  seem  to  be  natural.  The  same  step,  the  same 
gesture,  the  same  tone  of  voice,  the  same  force  of  facial 
expression  that  you  involuntarily  use  in  the  proceedings 
of  actual,  every-day  life  will  not,  upon  the  stage,  prove 
adequate.  They  may  indicate  your  meaning,  but  they 
will  not  convey  it.  Their  result  will  be  tame,  narrow, 
and  insufficient.  Your  step  must  be  lengthened  ;  your 
tone  must  be  elevated ;  your  facial  muscles  must  be 
allowed  a  freer  play ;  the  sound  with  which  you  in- 
tend to  produce  the  effect  of  a  sigh  must  leave  your 
lips  as  a  sob.  The  actor  who  is  exactly  natural  in  his 
demeanour  and  speech  upon  the  stage  —  who  acts  and 
speaks  precisely  as  he  would  act  and  speak  in  a  room  — 
wearies  his  audience,  because  he  falls  short  of  his  object 
and  is  indefinite  and  commonplace.  Jefferson,  as  Rip, 
has  to  present,  among  other  aspects  of  human  nature,  a 
temperament  that,  to  some  extent,  is  swayed  by  an  in- 
firmity, —  the  appetite  for  intoxicant  liquor.  That,  in 


274  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

actual  life,  is  offensive  ;  but  that,  as  shown  by  Jefferson, 
when  it  reaches  his  auditors  reaches  them  only  as  the 
token  or  suggestion  of  an  amiable  weakness ;  and  that 
weakness,  and  not  the  symptom  of  it,  is  the  spring  of 
the  whole  character  and  action.  The  hiccough  with 
which  Rip  looks  in  at  the  window  of  the  cottage  where 
the  offended  Gretchen  is  waiting  for  him,  is  not  the 
obnoxious  hiccough  of  a  sot,  but  the  playful  hiccough 
of  an  artist  who  is  only  suggesting  a  sot.  The  effect  is 
natural.  The  process  is  artificial.  Jefferson  constantly 
addresses  the  imagination,  and  he  uses  imagination  with 
which  to  address  it.  In  actual  life  the  garments  worn 
by  Rip  would  be  soiled.  In  Jefferson's  artistic  scheme 
the  studied  shabbiness  and  carefully  selected  tatters  are 
scrupulously  clean  ;  and  they  are  made  not  only  harmo- 
nious in  colour, — and  thus  so  pleasing  to  the  eye  that 
they  attract  no  especial  attention, — but  accordant  with 
the  sweet  drollery  and  listless,  indolent,  drifting  spirit 
of  the  character.  No  idea  could  easily  be  suggested 
more  incongruous  with  probability,  more  unnatural  and 
fantastic,  than  the  idea  of  a  tipsy  vagabond  encircled  by 
a  ring  of  Dutch  ghosts,  on  the  top  of  a  mountain,  -in  the 
middle  of  the  night;  but  when  Jefferson  —  by  the  deep 
feeling  and  affluent  imagination  with  which  he  fills  the 
scene,  and  by  the  vigilant,  firm,  unerring,  technical  skill 
with  which  he  controls  his  forces  and  guides  them  to 
effect  —  has  made  that  idea  a  living  fact,  no  spectator 
of  the  weird,  thrilling,  pathetic  picture  ever  thinks  of  it 
as  unnatural.  The  illusion  is  perfect,  and  it  is  perfectly 
maintained.  All  along  its  line  the  character  of  Rip  — 
the  impossible  hero  of  an  impossible  experience —  is  so 
essentially  unnatural  that  if  it  were  impersonated  in  the 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  275 

literal  manner  of  nature  it  would  produce  the  effect  of 
whirling  extravagance.  Jefferson,  pouring  his  soul  into 
an  ideal  of  which  he  is  himself  the  creator, — an  ideal 
which  does  not  exist  either  in  Washington  Irving's 
story,  or  Charles  Burke's  play,  or  Dion  Boucicault's 
adaptation  of  Burke,  —  and  treating  that  idea  in  a  poetic 
spirit,  as  to  every  fibre,  tone,  hue,  motion,  and  attitude, 
has  made  Rip  as  natural  as  if  we  had  personally  partici- 
pated in  his  aimless  and  wandering  life.  So  potent, 
indeed,  is  the  poetic  art  of  the  actor  that  the  dog 
Schneider,  who  is  never  shown,  possesses,  all  the  same, 
a  positive  existence  in  our  thoughts.  The  principal 
truth  denoted  by  Jefferson's  acting,  therefore,  is  the 
necessity  of  clear  perception  of  what  is  meant  by 
"  nature."  The  heights  are  reached  only  when  inspira- 
tion is  guided  by  intellectual  purpose  and  used  with  ar- 
tistic skill.  Shakespeare,  with  his  incomparable  felicity, 
has  crystallised  this  principle  into  diamond  light :  — 

"  Over  that  art, 

Which  you  say  adds  to  nature,  is  an  art 
Which  nature  makes." 

The  same  law  should  decide  the  question  of  correct- 
ness in  the  staging  and  dressing  of  plays.  Correctness 
is  essential,  but  it  can  be  carried  too  far.  Cardinal 
Wolsey  had  only  one  good  eye,  —  a  peculiarity  that  is 
thought  to  account  for  the  fact  that  he  was  always 
painted  in  profile;  but  the  stage  representative  of  Car- 
dinal Wolsey  could  scarcely  be  expected  to  extinguish 
an  optic  for  the  sake  of  perfecting  his  resemblance  to 
that  historical  person.  It  would  be  natural  and  correct 
for  Queen  Katherine  to  resort  to  her  pocket-handker- 
chief. Few  ladies  have  been  furnished  with  better 


276  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

reason  for  tears.  But  if  that  deposed  and  afflicted 
monarch  were  to  sound  a  bugle  note  in  the  vision  scene 
of  King  Henry  VIII.  it  is  obvious  that  the  illusion  would 
be  destroyed.  If  the  plays  of  Macbeth  and  Lear  were 
to  be  dressed  in  strict  accordance  with  the  custom  of 
their  respective  periods,  some  of  the  persons  in  them 
would  appear  in  skins, —  chiefly  their  own.  There  is  no 
wisdom  in  an  over-scrupulous  fidelity  to  fact.  When 
Henry  Irving  accomplished  his  beautiful  production  of 
Charles  the  First,  which  opens  with  a  scene  at  Hampton 
Court,  showing  the  artificial  lakes  girded  with  superb 
trees,  as  they  are  at  present,  one  sapient  observer 
promptly  advised  him,  by  post,  that  he  had  made  a 
serious  mistake,  because  there  were  no  trees  at  Hamp- 
ton in  Charles's  time.  No  such  consideration  is  of  the 
least  importance.  Upon  the  stage,  where  the  story  of 
a  life  or  of  a  long  historic  period  must  be  told  in  two  or 
three  hours,  the  essential  result  is  effect.  To  that  must 
be  sacrificed  correctness  and  all  that  is  ordinarily  meant 
by  "nature."  The  actor  will  not  make  his  audience  cry, 
if  he  unrestrictedly  cries  himself.  He  will  not  make  his 
audience  feel,  if  his  own  feeling  escapes  from  his  control. 
Munden's  answer  to  the  youthful  aspirant  who  had  an- 
nounced his  purpose  to  be  "natural"  in  comedy  was 
peremptory,  but  sensible  :  "  Nature  be  damned  !  You 
make  your  audience  laugh!"  Garrick,  when  playing 
King  Lear,  would  walk  up  the  stage,  while  waiting  for 
the  applause  to  subside  after  one  of  his  tempestuous 
outbursts  in  that  character,  and  with  a  grimace  and  a 
chuckle,  whispering  to  the  Fool,  —  played  by  Austin,  — 
would  say,  "Joe,  this  is  stage  feeling."  Yet  Garrick 
had  a  command  over  the  emotions  of  his  auditors  such 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  277 

as  no  other  actor  has  surpassed,  and  few  have  ever 
equalled.  Mrs.  Siddons,  when  playing  Constance,  wept 
over  Prince  Arthur  to  such  an  extent  that  his  collar  was 
wet  with  her  tears  ;  yet  when  she  rushed  from  the  stage, 
in  the  full  tide  of  overwhelming  anguish,  as  Constance 
or  Belvidcra  or  Mrs.  Beverley,  she  would  walk  placidly 
to  the  green-room,  taking  snuff  with  the  utmost  com- 
posure. Once,  addressing  an  associate  who  was  per- 
forming with  her,  in  The  Deserter,  she  gravely  added, 
after  praising  his  performance :  "  But,  Kelly,  you  feel 
too  much.  If  you  feel  so  strongly  you  will  never  make 
an  actor."  One  of  Talma's  best  effects  in  acting  was 
obtained  by  his  use  of  a  cry  of  anguish  which  he  had 
first  uttered  on  suddenly  hearing  of  his  mother's  death, 
—  and  which  he  had  immediately  committed  to  memory. 
Edmund  Kean  gave  a  certain  sob,  when  he  said, "Othello's 
occupation's  gone,"  which  was  irresistibly  affecting, 
until  he  fell  into  the  custom  of  using  it  too  often. 
"They  have  found  me  out,"  he  said,  on  one  occasion, 
when  it  was  hissed.  Mrs.  Mowatt  records  that  once 
when  she  was  acting  Mrs.  Haller,  with  Mr.  Moorhouse 
as  the  Stranger,  in  the  most  pathetic  passage  of  that 
play,  the  audience  being  in  tears,  the  afflicted  Stran- 
ger murmured  in  her  ear,  "They  are  sending  round 
umbrellas."  The  most  comical  wink  I  ever  saw  was 
bestowed  upon  me,  as  an  auditor  on  the  front  seat,  by 
that  great  actor  Edwin  Booth,  who,  in  the  terrible  char- 
acter of  Richard  III.,  was  standing  upon  the  stage  and 
just  about  to  interrupt  the  funeral  procession  of  King 
Henry  VI.  Those  illustrations  indicate  the  first  princi- 
ple of  dramatic  art,  —  absolute  self-command.  Those 
players  were  not  insincere.  Mrs.  Siddons  was  not  less 


278  LIFE   OF  JEFFERSON 

in  earnest  because  she  did  not  allow  herself  to  be  swept 
away  by  her  feelings.  There  never  was  a  greater  artist. 
"Cooke,"  said  Lord  Byron,  "was  the  most  natural  actor, 
Kemble  the  most  supernatural,  Kean  the  medium  be- 
tween the  two;  but  Mrs.  Siddons  was  worth  them  all 
put  together." 

In  dramatic  writing  the  primal  necessity  is  the  same. 
The  first  things  to  be  considered  are  action  and  effect. 
Dion  Boucicault  —  who  was  not  remarkable  as  a  writer, 
and  who,  as  an  actor,  was  technical,  mechanical,  and 
imitative  —  possessed  a  rare  and  fine  talent  for  compo- 
sition essentially  dramatic.  His  little  play  of  Kerry  is 
an  alteration  and  rearrangement  of  a  well-known  French 
comedy,  Le  Joie  Fait  Peiir,  and  his  performance  of 
Kerry  was  an  Irish  copy  of  an  embodiment  that  he  saw 
given  by  a  good  French  comedian.  His  fine  drama 
of  Daddy  O1  Dowd  was  deduced  from  the  much  older 
play  of  The  Porter's  Knot,  and  his  performance  as 
O'Dowd  was  an  Irish  copy  of  Benjamin  Webster.  His 
excellent  impersonation  of  the  Shaughraun  —  by  which 
he  was  best  known  and  by  which,  probably,  he  will  be 
best  remembered  —  was  an  Irish  copy  of  Jefferson's 
Rip  Van  Winkle,  in  the  youthful  part  of  it.  If  Bouci- 
cault had  not  known  the  one  —  originated  and  suggested 
to  him  by  Jefferson — he  would  not  have  thought  of  the 
other.  There  is  abundant  discrepancy  between  the  two 
figures,  but  the  spirit  and  the  dramatic  purpose  are  the 
same  in  both.  Boucicault  almost  always  knew  a  good 
thing  when  he  saw  it,  and  his  instinct  as  to  dramatic 
effect  was  inerrant.  In  his  play  of  The  Octoroon, — 
based  on  one  of  the  stories  of  Captain  Mayne  Reid,  — 
the  action  is  so  copious  and  so  incessant  that  the  piece 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  279 

may  be  said  actually  to  lack  the  relief  of  sufficient  words. 
It  was  in  that  piece  that  the  daguerreotype  was  first 
used  as  a  dramatic  expedient.  It  is  left  for  a  moment 
exposed  in  a  lonely  place,  and  in  that  moment  it  catches 
the  visage  of  a  murderer  in  the  very  act  of  his  crime,  — 
a  picture  to  be  subsequently  used  with  fatal,  irresistible 
effect.  No  one  who  ever  saw  that  piece  will  forget  the 
sudden  parting  of  the  cane-brake  in  the  swamp,  the 
swift  appearance  of  the  avenging  Indian,  his  momentary 
pause,  and  then  his  stealthy,  implacable,  terrible  exit, 
upon  the  track  of  the  assassin.  In  his  play  of  Jessie 
Brown,  —  which  illustrates  that  fictitious  story,  wholly 
a  newspaper  invention,  about  the  Scotch  girl  who  heard 
afar  off,  and  before  any  one  else  could  hear  it,  the  slogan 
of  the  Macgregor,  at  the  Relief  of  Lucknow, — there  is 
a  wonderful  dramatic  moment,  and  it  is  a  moment 
entirely  without  words.  It  is  the  moment  when  the 
suspicious  Nana  Sahib,  impassive  but  malignant  and 
sinister,  pauses  watchfully  beside  the  captive  Jessie, 
who  is  sitting  upon  the  floor,  upon  a  bit  of  carpet  that 
covers  the  hole  through  which  the  English  soldiers  are 
presently  to  make  their  entrance.  Those  soldiers  have 
mined  a  passage  beneath  the  palace,  and  the  desired 
relief  is  close  at  hand.  The  least  symptom  of  discom- 
posure on  the  part  of  the  girl  would  now  be  fatal.  She 
sits  there,  upon  the  brink  of  the  deadliest  peril,  and  as 
she  sways  her  body  gently  to  and  fro,  she  softly  sings 
the  melody  of  the  Blue  Bells  of  Scotland,  while  the 
fateful  eyes  of  the  impacable  Indian  gaze  on  her  in  mute 
deliberation  and  reptile  menace.  The  suspense  of  that 
situation  cannot  be  conveyed  in  words,  —  it  must  be 
felt.  That  is  true  drama.  Another  illustration  of  it 


280  LIFE   OF  JEFFERSON 

would  be  found  in  Boucicault's  play  of  Belle  Lamar. 
That  piece  opens  with  a  moonlit,  rustic  scene  on  the 
banks  of  the  Potomac.  A  Federal  soldier  is  pacing  up 
and  down  in  the  silence,  —  a  sentry  at  his  post.  Pres- 
ently, thinking  perhaps  of  his  sweetheart  at  home,  he 
breaks  into  song,  and  then  he  is  again  silent.  In  the 
stillness  that  follows,  high,  clear,  vibrant,  the  voice  of 
an  unseen  Confederate  sentinel,  across  the  river,  peals 
out  the  silver  melody  of  Maryland,  My  Maryland,  while 
the  Federal  picket  stops  on  his  beat  and  listens.  In 
that  effect  was  instantly  crystallised  the  whole  idea  of 
opposition  and  contrast  in  the  Civil  War.  It  was,  in  a 
modified  form,  an  application  of  Shakespeare's  thought, 
in  the  prelude  to  Act  IV.  of  Henry  V. :  — 

"  Now  entertain  conjecture  of  a  time 
When  creeping  murmur  and  the  poring  dark 
Fills  the  wide  vessel  of  the  universe. 
From  camp  to  camp,  through  the  foul  womb  of  night, 
The  hum  of  either  army  stilly  sounds, 
That  the  fixed  sentinels  almost  receive 
The  secret  whispers  of  each  other's  watch. 
Fire  answers  fire :  and  through  their  paly  flames 
Each  battle  sees  the  other's  umber'd  face. 
Steed  threatens  steed,  in  high  and  boastful  neighs, 
Piercing  the  night's  dull  ear ;  and  from  the  tents 
The  armourers,  accomplishing  the  knights, 
With  busy  hammers  closing  rivets  up, 
Give  dreadful  note  of  preparation." 

In  another  of  Boucicault's  plays,  The  Long  Strike,  — 
which  was  based  on  a  novel  by  Mrs.  Gaskell,  —  there  is 
a  remarkably  felicitous  illustration  of  the  dramatic  prin- 
ciple. A  benevolent  but  crusty  old  bachelor  lawyer, 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  281 

Mr.  Moneypenny, — beautifully  acted  by  James  H.  Stod- 
dart,1  —  is  disturbed  at  his  evening  fireside  by  the  visita- 
tion of  a  poor  girl,  who  has  been  waiting  at  his  door  for 
some  hours  in  the  cold,  who  seems  very  wretched,  and 
who  will  not  go  away.  For  a  brief  time  he  is  resolute, 
and  he  will  not  allow  her  to  come  in.  But  he  cannot 
compose  himself  and,  after  much  grumbling,  he  permits 
her  approach.  The  girl  is  in  great  trouble.  Her  sweet- 
heart is  accused  of  murder.  He  is  innocent.  The  tes- 

1  James  H.  Stoddart,  a  native  of  Barnsley,  Yorkshire,  England,  was 
born  October  21,  1827.  His  father  was  an  actor,  and  for  twenty-five  years 
was  associated  with  the  Theatre  Royal  at  Glasgow,  under  the  management 
of  John  Henry  Alexander.  In  that  theatre  Stoddart  began  his  career, 
while  yet  a  boy,  —  going  on  as  page,  peasant,  juvenile  lord,  or  other  such 
subsidiary  person,  receiving  one  shilling  a  night  when  he  had  a  speaking 
part,  and  sixpence  a  night  when  he  was  not  required  to  speak.  He  did 
not,  however,  long  remain  there,  but,  in  association  with  a  younger 
brother,  formed  a  company  at  Aberdeen,  and  thence  wandered  for  a  time 
through  the  north  of  Scotland.  At  Aberdeen,  in  November,  1848,  he 
played  Hamlet.  He  was  subsequently  associated  with  theatres  in  York- 
shire, and  thence  he  went  to  Liverpool,  and  in  1854  he  came  to  America. 
His  first  appearance  was  announced  at  Burton's  theatre,  September  6,  1854, 
as  Sir  Anthony  Absolute,  but  he  appeared  at  Wallack's,  September  7, 
as  Sowerberry,  in  A  Phenomenon  in  a  Smock  Frock.  He  has  been 
associated  with  Laura  Keene's  theatre,  the  Olympic,  the  Winter  Garden, 
the  Union  Square,  the  Madison  Square,  and  Palmer's  theatre.  In  a  letter 
about  his  early  days  Stoddart  wrote  (December  3,  1892)  as  follows:  — 

"  Alexander  in  the  course  of  his  seasons  played  a  great  many  patriotic  Scotch  dramas 
in  which  my  oldest  brother  and  myself  were  often  opposed  to  each  other  in  deadly  strife. 
We  were  quite  celebrated  for  our  combats,  two  up  and  two  down  sort  of  thing.  He  being 
the  older,  always  killed  me,  but  even  in  defeat  I  came  off  with  the  honours,  for  when  I 
was  stabbed  I  used  to  pause  for  a  moment,  make  myself  quite  rigid,  and  then  fall  back- 
wards; it  always  got  a  recognition,  and  I  obtained  quite  a  reputation  for  my  back  falls  : 
so  much  so  that  my  brother  wanted  to  be  the  defeated  party,  but  I  would  not  have  it. 
My  brother  and  I  were  together  in  Glasgow  for  many  winters,  wandering  through  the 
smaller  places  in  the  north  of  Scotland  the  other  portion  of  the  year.  The  dear  lad  is 
long  since  dead.  I  still  look  back  to  the  wanderings  of  my  boyhood  life  as  the  happiest 
of  all  my  theatrical  career." 


282  LIFE   OF  JEFFERSON 

timony  of  one  man,  and  that  only,  can  save  his  life.  The 
man  is  a  sailor,  on  board  of  a  ship  that  has  just  sailed 
from  Liverpool.  If  that  sailor  can  be  recalled,  the  girl's 
lover  can  be  vindicated  and  rescued.  The  old  lawyer 
becomes  interested.  There  is,  he  explains,  one  chance. 
The  telegraph  from  Liverpool  may  stop  that  ship  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Mersey.  That  chance  shall  be  taken.  The 
scene  changes  to  the  office  of  the  telegraph.  The  old 
man  and  the  girl  enter,  among  others,  and  the  lawyer 
offers  his  dispatch.  The  clerk  declines  it.  The  station 
at  the  Heads,  he  declares,  has  long  been  closed  for  the 
night.  The  dispatch  of  a  message  would  be  useless. 
The  lawyer  pleads.  The  operator,  at  first  impatient, 
then  more  considerate,  finally  assents  to  his  request. 
He  will  signal  the  seaside  station.  This  he  proceeds  to 
do.  There  is  no  response.  The  office  is  about  to  close. 
All  the  people  are  gone,  except  the  operator,  the  lawyer, 
and  the  girl.  There  is  a  moment  of  dead  and  despairing 
silence.  In  that  moment,  suddenly,  — vibrating  through 
the  stillness  with  a  quick,  sharp,  decisive  sound  that 
makes  every  heart  leap  with  joy,  —  comes  the  click  of 
the  telegraph,  answering  from  the  coast.  The  operator 
is  by  chance  still  there ;  the  message  can  be  sent,  and 
the  ship  can  be  stopped.  What  follows  is,  of  course, 
happiness.  No  other  effect  in  any  of  Boucicault's  plays 
is  commensurate  with  that  of  the  telegraph,  and  it  would 
be  hard  to  find  any  other  effect  so  dramatic  in  any  mod- 
ern play.  It  applies  to  domestic  drama  the  principle  so 
superbly  denoted  by  Shakespeare  in  the  knocking  at  the 
gate  in  Macbeth. 

It  is  not  pretended  that  excellence  in  the  drama  is 
dependent  upon  mechanical  devices.     The  stage-carpen- 


LIFE   OF  JEFFERSON  283 

ter  cannot  take  the  place  of-  the  dramatist.  It  is  only 
meant  that  there  is  a  dramatic  way  of  telling  a  story, 
and  that  the  narrative  way  —  which  is  the  way  natural 
to  most  writers  —  does  not  produce  a  dramatic  effect. 
If  everything  could  be  put  into  words  there  would  be 
no  need  of  the  stage,  and  the  occupation  of  the  actor 
would  be  gone.  Dramatic  art  supplies  an  element  that 
nothing  else  can  give.  You  can  read  and  enjoy  Hamlet 
in  your  library ;  but  you  will  enjoy  it  much  more  if, 
having  read  it,  you  see  it  rightly  acted.  Consider,  for 
example,  the  startling  significance  of  the  first  line  in 
that  tragedy.  In  Hamlet  the  ghost  of  a  king,  who  has 
been  murdered,  haunts  the  castle  of  Elsinore.  That 
ghost  is  supposed  to  have  been  seen  before  the  piece 
opens.  The  time  is  midnight;  the  place,  a  platform  in 
the  castle.  A  sentinel,  Francisco,  is  alone,  on  guard. 
We  do  not  know  that  he  has  seen  the  spectre.  We  do 
not  know  that  he  has  heard  of  it.  His  fellow-soldiers, 
Bernardo  and  Marcellus,  however,  have  seen  it,  and 
they  may  have  whispered  of  it.  There  is  an  influence 
about  the  place,  an  atmosphere,  —  a  brooding,  ominous, 
stealthy,  sinister  dread.  Francisco  feels  that  influence. 
The  night  is  cold.  There  is  no  light  but  that  of  stars, 
and  there  is  no  sound  but  that  of  the  moaning  wind. 
Suddenly  something  like  a  footstep  startles  the  sentry, 
and  his  quick  challenge  is  the  first  line  of  the  play, 
—  "Who's  there?"  In  those  two  words  Shakespeare 
strikes  the  key-note  of  his  tragedy.  The  whole  opening 
colloquy  is  thrilled  with  "supernatural  soliciting."  It 
is  Bernardo  who  approaches,  who  has  seen  the  ghost, 
and  who  has  no  mind  to  be  left  alone.  "  Have  you  had 
quiet  guard  ? "  he  says  ;  and,  later,  — 


284  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

"  If  you  do  meet  Horatio  and  Marcellus, 
The  rivals  of  my  watch,  bid  them  make  haste? 


The  full  effect  of  that  scene  can  only  be  communicated 
by  interpretation.  The  moment  is  an  awful  one. 
Words  cannot  express  it.  Action,  and  that  only,  can 
awaken  the  awe  and  terror  that  it  ought  to  inspire. 
That  is  stage  art. 

In  the  production  of  Twelfth  Night,  as  that  was 
accomplished  at  Daly's  theatre,  in  the  season  of  1892- 
93,  —  a  production  of  extraordinary  beauty,  in  which 
Miss  Ada  Rehan  attained  to  the  summit  of  excellence 
as  a  poetic  actress,  presenting  the  beautiful  character  of 
Viola,  —  there  was  a  striking  illustration  of  the  dramatic 
method,  as  contrasted  with  that  of  words.  The  scene 
is  Olivia's  garden.  The  time  is  evening.  Viola,  dis- 
guised as  the  minstrel,  Cesario,  having  received  an 
intimation  that  perhaps  her  brother,  Sebastian,  has  not 
been  drowned,  has  spoken  her  joyous  soliloquy  upon 
that  auspicious  thought,  and  has  sunk  into  a  seat,  in 
meditation.  The  moon  is  rising  over  the  distant  sea, 
and  in  the  fancied  freshness  of  the  balmy  rising  breeze 
you  can  almost  hear  the  ripple  of  the  leaves.  The  love- 
lorn Orsino  enters,  with  many  musicians,  and  they 
sing  a  serenade,  beneath  the  windows  of  Olivia's  palace. 
The  proud  beauty  comes  forth  upon  her  balcony,  and, 
parting  her  veil,  looks  down  upon  Viola,  —  whom  she 
loves,  supposing  her  to  be  a  man.  Meantime,  Orsino  is 
gazing  up  at  Olivia,  whom  he  worships ;  while  Viola 
is  gazing  on  Orsino,  whom  she  adores.  Not  a  word  is 
needed.  The  garden  is  all  in  moonlight ;  the  delicious 
music  flows  on ;  and  over  that  picture  —  entirely  dra- 


LIFE   OF  JEFFERSON  285 

matic,  crystallising  into  one  diamond  point  the  whole 
meaning  of  the  comedy  —  the  curtain  slowly  falls. 

It  will  be  observed  that  these  expedients  of  dramatic 
treatment  derive  their  force  from  their  harmony  with 
the  purpose  of  the  play.  One  of  the  most  touching  and 
beautiful  effects  that  I  ever  saw  accomplished  in  acting 
was  accomplished  by  Charles  Dillon,  an  actor  almost 
forgotten  now,  who  came  to  America  many  years  ago 
(1866),  and  represented,  among  other  characters,  Belphe- 
gor,  in  The  Mountebank,  Belphegor  is  a  strolling  player, 
a  good  fellow,  very  poor,  who  has  married  a  girl  of  good 
family,  whom  he  loves  to  idolatry.  It  is  his  wife's 
birthday.  He  wishes  to  signalise  it,  and  he  has  saved 
a  few  bits  of  money  and  bought  a  shawl.  On  this 
day  his  wife  —  persuaded  by  her  wealthy  relatives,  and 
because  her  little  daughter  is  starved  —  leaves  in  their 
lodging  a  letter  of  farewell  for  her  husband,  and  goes 
away.  The  room  is  empty.  Dillon  came  into  that  room, 
eager,  exultant,  bringing  his  gift,  and  guarding  it  as  if 
it  were  the  treasure  of  the  world.  He  was  in  ecstasy 
at  being  able  to  offer  that  little  token  of  love  and 
remembrance.  He  found  the  letter  and  read  it :  his 
figure  drooped ;  the  whole  man  seemed  to  collapse ; 
the  light  faded  out  of  his  face ;  he  said  nothing,  but, 
as  he  walked  feebly  up  the  room,  the  shawl,  or  mantle, 
dropped  from  his  arm,  unrolling  itself  as  it  fell,  and  was 
negligently  trodden  under  his  feet.  It  is  impossible  to 
express  the  pathos  of  that  simple  action.  There  was 
the  touch  of  genius  in  it,  that  captures  every  heart.1 

1  Poor  Dillon  had  the  infirmity  of  drink,  and  his  life  was  in  a  great 
degree  wasted.  He  was  born  in  1819,  and  he  began  as  an  actor  in  Rich- 
ardson's Show.  He  fell  dead  in  the  street,  at  Harwick,  England,  in  1881. 


286  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

A  companion  effect  to  that  was  wrought  by  Jefferson, 
in  a  play  by  Boucicault,  called  The  Parish  Clerk,  —  never 
acted  in  America,  but  presented  by  Jefferson,  many 
years  ago,  at  Manchester,  England.  The  Parish  Clerk 
is  a  gentle,  generous  young  fellow,  a  teacher  in  an 
English  village  school.  He  loves  a  girl  of  the  village, 
and  he  wishes  to  ask  her  to  become  his  wife ;  but  the 
local  Doctor  —  who  also  loves  that  beautiful  girl,  and 
who  wishes  to  get  his  rival  out  of  the  way  —  apprises 
the  Parish  Clerk  that  his  health  is  broken,  and  that  he 
will,  probably,  die  within  a  year.  The  poor  teacher, 
believing  this,  and  knowing  his  health  to  be  frail,  de- 
termines that  it  would  be  wrong  for  him  to  ask  the  girl 
to  share  his  lot,  and  decides  that  he  must  remain  silent 
and  go  away.  Then  comes  a  scene  intrinsically  dra- 
matic and  of  great  value.  The  time  is  night.  The 
stage  displays  the  rough  and  simple  interior  of  a  rustic 
school-house.  Through  a  large  window  at  the  back  the 
moonlight  streams  in  upon  the  scrawled  and  notched 
benches,  the  ink-stained  forms,  the  school-master's  desk, 
the  coarse  floor,  and  the  common  walls.  The  room  is 
vacant.  Soon  the  figure  of  the  teacher,  visible  through 
the  window,  appears  in  the  road,  outside.  He  comes 
to  the  door,  unlocks  it,  enters,  and  takes  his  place  at 
the  desk.  He  has  come  there  to  take  his  last  look  at 
the  room,  and  to  say  his  farewell  words  to  the  children 
whom  he  loves.  Those  children  are  present  only  in 
his  fancy.  He  calls  them,  one  by  one ;  he  speaks  of 
their  pranks  and  mischief,  their  toys  and  their  play, 
their  studies  and  their  future ;  he  bids  them  good-bye  ; 
he  breaks  down,  sobbing,  and  rushes  away  into  the 
night ;  and  over  his  exit  the  curtain  falls.  There  are 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  287 

but  two  or  three  lines  in  the  text  for  the  Parish  Clerk 
to  speak.  Jefferson  said  whatever  he  happened  to  think 
of  and  to  feel.  It  was  not  essential  to  be  coherent. 
There  was  the  situation  for  the  actor,  and  there  was 
the  actor  to  fill  it.  No  narrative,  no  literary  style,  no 
language.  But  there  was  the  dramatic  presentment  of 
character  and  life,  under  ideal  conditions  ;  and  the 
audience  was  overwhelmed  by  it.  The  same  cause  will 
always  produce  the  same  effect.  The  play  of  Rip  Van 
Winkle,  as  interpreted  by  Jefferson,  contains  that  same 
dramatic  quality ;  and  it  produces,  accordingly,  the 
same  potent  result. 

The  province  of  stage  art  is  not  to  interpret  and 
glorify  the  artist,  ministering  to  his  vanity  and  ending 
in  the  barren  commodity  of  human  admiration,  but  to 
spiritualise  and  ennoble  the  auditor.  That  province  it 
fulfils  by  the  communication  of  beauty  and  power.  The 
true  artist  cares  not  for  either  censure  or  praise.  His 
object  is  expression,  and  in  the  pursuit  of  that  object 
he  obeys  an  impulse  as  deep  as  the  centre  of  the  world. 
He  is  the  minister  of  beauty  and  power,  and  precisely 
in  proportion  to  his  fidelity  is  the  value  of  his  utterance 
to  others.  The  songs  of  Burns  are  precious  to  our 
hearts  forever,  not  because  they  are  the  expression  of 
the  poet,  but  because  they  are  the  expression  of  our- 
selves. The  emotion  of  Gray's  immortal  Elegy  is  ele- 
mental in  the  human  soul,  and  hence  that  superb  and 
supreme  utterance  of  it  is  the  fulfilment  of  our  desire. 
Those  artists  and  others  of  their  kindred  have  spoken 
for  us,  fully  and  finally,  and  in  a  manner  far  beyond  our 
faculties  of  speech,  the  feeling  that  we  should  like  to 
have  uttered  for  ourselves.  When  you  read  Words- 


288  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

worth's  great  Ode  on  Immortality  the  mists  are  dispersed 
from  your  mind,  and  you  hear,  in  the  temple  of  your 
soul,  the  voice  not  only  of  serene  spiritual  hope  but  of 
exultant  conviction.  While  I  listened  to  the  funeral 
sermon  on  General  Grant,  in  Westminster  Abbey,  I  was 
unmoved ;  but  when,  at  the  close  of  that  discourse,  the 
glorious  strains  of  Handel's  Dead  March  burst  forth 
from  the  great  organ  and  soared  beneath  the  fretted 
vault  of  that  sublime  cathedral,  my  spirit  seemed  borne 
away  to  heaven,  and  all  that  I  could  feel  or  dream  of 
glory  was  expressed.  The  great  composer,  the  artist  in 
music,  had  fulfilled  his  mission.  Emerson,  in  his  large, 
fine  manner,  has  designated  the  poet  as  "a  man  without 
an  impediment."  It  is  a  definition  that  covers  all  the 
arts,  —  for  they  are  sisters  and  inseparable,  —  and  it  is 
because  so  many  spirits  are  imprisoned  in  silence  that 
the  vocal  spirit  is  so  gratefully  and  gladly  heard.  The 
poet  Holmes  has  said  this,  in  words  of  tender  grace  :  — 

"  A  few  can  touch  the  magic  string, 

And  noisy  fame  is  glad  to  win  them : 
Alas  for  those  that  never  sing, 

But  die  with  all  their  music  in  them!" 

As  with  the  arts  of  poetry  and  music,  so  also  is  it  with 
the  art  of  acting,  —  the  art  not  simply  of  imitating 
human  nature  and  human  life,  but  of  transfiguring  and 
interpreting  them  in  forms  of  beauty  and  power.  The 
actor  who  presents  himself  merely  from  the  impulse  of 
personal  vanity,  and  whose  quest  is  merely  the  admira- 
tion of  others,  is  like  a  painter  who  offers  a  gilded  frame 
instead  of  a  picture.  He  brings  no  message.  He  has 
nothing  to  communicate.  Like  a  bubble  he  floats  and 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  289 

glistens,  and  like  a  bubble  he. disappears.  But  the  actor 
of  authentic  genius,  the  actor  who  is  faithful  all  his  days 
to  the  service  of  ideal  beauty,  comes  upon  our  lives 
as  a  joy  and  a  comfort,  and  lives  in  our  memories  as  a 
perpetual  benediction. 

"  The  music  in  my  heart  I  bore, 
Long  after  it  was  heard  no  more." 


MEMORIALS 


MEMORIALS 

OUR    STAGE    IN    ITS    PALMY    DAYS 

UPON  the  state  of  the  stage  in  America,  early  in  the  nine- 
teenth century,  —  viewing  it  as  an  institution  existing  broadcast 
and  only  prosperous  at  special  places,  and  making  allowance 
for  the  eccentricity  of  the  writer,  —  some  useful  light  is  thrown 
by  a  letter  which  was  addressed  by  Junius  Brutus  Booth,  father 
of  Edwin  Booth,  to  the  comedian  George  Holland,  in  1826. 
A  copy  of  that  manuscript  was  given  to  me  by  Holland,  in 
1870,  and  by  me  was  first  published,  in  July  of  that  year. 

J.  B.  BOOTH  TO  GEORGE  HOLLAND. 

NEW  YORK,  Xmas  Eve,  1826. 
but  direct  y'r  letter  to  the  Theatre  Baltimore  U  States. 

MY  DEAR  SIR  :  Messrs.  Wallack  and  Freeman,  a  few  days  since,  shewed 
me  your  letter,  with  the  inclosure  sent  last  winter  to  you  at  Sheffield. 

It  is  requisite  that  I  inform  you  Theatricals  are  not  in  so  flourishing  a 
condition  in  this  Country  as  they  were  some  two  years  ago.  There  are 
four  Theatres  in  this  City  each  endeavoring  to  ruin  the  others,  by  foul 
means  as  well  as  fair.  The  reduction  of  the  prices  of  admission  has 
proved  (as  I  always  anticipated  from  the  first  suggestion  of  such  a  foolish 
plan)  nearly  ruinous  to  the  Managers.  The  Publick  here  often  witness  a 
Performance  in  every  respect  equal  to  what  is  presented  at  the  Theatres 
Royal  D.  L.  and  C.  G.  for  these  prices.  Half  a  Dollar  to  the  Boxes  and  a 
quarter  do.  to  the  Pit  and  Gallery  ! 

The  Chatham  Theatre  of  which  I  am  the  Stage-Manager,  at  these  low 
prices  [holds]  one  thousand  Dollars.  —  Acting  is  sold  too  cheap  to  the 
Publick  and  the  result  will  be  a  general  theatrical  bankruptcy. 

Tragedians  are  in  abundance  —  Macready  —  Convvay  —  Hamblin  — 
Forrest  (now  No.  i)  Cooper,  Wallack  —  Maywood  and  self  with  divers 

293 


294  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

others  now  invest  New- York.  But  it  won't  do;  a  diversion  to  the  south 
must  be  made  —  or  to  Jail  three-fourths  of  the  Great  men  and  Managers 
must  go. 

Now  Sir,  I  will  deal  fairly  with  you.  If  you  will  pledge  yourself  to  me 
for  three  years,  and  sacredly  promise  that  no  inducement  which  may  be 
held  out  by  the  unprincipled  and  daring  speculators  which  abound  in  this 
country  shall  cause  you  to  leave  me,  I  will,  for  ten  months  in  each  year, 
give  you  thirty  dollars  per  week,  and  an  annual  benefit  which  you  shall 
divide  with  me.  Beyond  this  sum  I  would  not  venture,  the  privilege  of  your 
name  for  Benefits  Extra  to  be  allowed  me  —  and  I  should  expect  the  terms 
on  which  you  would  be  engaged  to  remain  secret  from  all  but  ourselves. 

Mind  this  —  whether  you  play  in  my  Theatres  or  elsewhere  in  the 
U  States,  I  should  look  for  implicit  and  faithful  performance  of  your  duty 
toward  me  or  my  colleagues!  In  case  I  should  require  you  to  travel, 
when  in  the  United  States,  which  is  most  probable,  I  will  defray  all  the 
charges  of  conveyance  for  you  and  your  luggage  —  your  living  would  not 
be  included  either  by  land  or  water  —  Boarding  (three  meals  a  day,)  and 
your  Bed  room,  may  be  had  in  very  respectable  houses  here  &  in  Baltimore 
at  from  four  to  six  dollars  per  week  —  "  Lodgings  to  let  "  are  very  scarce 
and  expensive,  and  the  customs  of  this  country,  in  this  respect,  are  essen- 
tially different  to  those  of  the  English. 

The  M.  S.  and  music  of  Paul  Pry,  with  Faustus's  music  Do.  and  Book 
of  the  Pilot,  the  M.  S.  and  Do.  of  a  piece  played  some  few  years  back  at 
Sadlers  Wells,  call'd  "  the  Gheber  or  the  Fire  Worshippers,"  two  or  three 
of  Liston's  new  pieces  I  should  advise  you  to  bring.  And  particularly  the 
Gheber,  for  me.  The  Mogul  Tale  here  is  out  of  print. 

In  the  Exeter  Theatre  last  January  were  two  actresses  that  I  should  like 

to  engage.  Miss  P (not  the  Miss  P.  formerly  of  Drury  Lane)  and 

Miss  H.  If  you  will  inquire  after  them  —  I  will  thank  you.  To  each  of 
these  ladies  a  salary  of  fifteen  dollars  a  week  I  can  venture  offering —  15 
dollars  are  upward  of  three  Guineas  and  Benefit  annually. 

Now,  Sir,  I  have  offered  to  you  and  those  Ladies  as  much  as  I  can  in 
honesty  afford  to  give,  their  travelling  expenses  to  and  from  Theatres  in 
the  United  States  (not  including  board)  I  should  defray,  as  I  told  you 
respecting  your  own  —  and  the  use  of  their  names  for  benefits  on  Stock 
nights.  —  Your  line  of  business  would  be  exclusively  yours.  For  the  ladies 
I  would  not  make  this  guaranty — The  greatest  actress  in  the  World  I  may 

say  is  now  in  this  city  (Mrs.  D )  and  several  very  talented  women  — 

besides  I  would  endeavor  to  make  such  arrangements  for  Miss  P and 

Miss  II as  would  not  be  very  repugnant  to  their  ambition. 


LIFE   OF  JEFFERSON  295 

The  reason  Mrs.  D does  not  go  to  London  is  my  strenuous  advice 

to  her  against  it.  —  The  passages  from  Europe  I  should  expect  repaid  to 
me  out  of  the  salaries,  by  weekly  deductions  of  three  dollars  each.  The 
captain  of  the  ship  would  call  upon  the  parties  or  you  might  write  to  them 
on  his  visit  to  you.  Everything  on  board  will  be  furnished  that  is  requisite 
for  comfort,  and  the  expenses  I  will  settle  for  here  previous  to  starting. 
Mind  the  ship  you  would  come  over  in  is  one  expressly  bargained  for,  and 
will  bring  you  where  I  shall  (if  living)  be  ready  to  welcome  you  — 

Let  me  recomend  you  to  Economy  —  see  what  a  number  of  our  breth- 
ren are  reduced  to  Indigence  by  their  obstinate  Vanity  —  I  have  here  Mr. 

D who  was  once  in  London  the  rival  of  Elliston,  and  is  now  a  better 

actor  —  approaching  the  age  of  sixty,  and  not  a  dollar  put  by  for  a  rainy 
day  —  too  proud  to  accept  a  salary  of  twenty  dollars  per  week  in  a  regular 
engagement  —  he  stars  and  starves.  Many  have  been  deceived  and  misled 
in  their  calculations  in  coming  to  this  country  —  some  have  cut  their 
throats  &c  from  disappointment  —  Mrs.  Romer  (once  of  the  Surrey)  Mrs. 
Alsop  Mr.  Entwistle  —  Kirby  the  Clown  —  are  all  on  the  felo  de  se  list  — 
with  others  I  now  forget  — 

The  temptations  to  Drunkenness  here  are  too  common  and  too  power- 
ful for  many  weak  beings  who  construe  the  approval  of  a  boisterous  circle 
of  intoxicated  fools  as  the  climax  of  everything  desirable  in  their  profes- 
sion—  What  do  they  find  it,  when  a  weakened  shattered  fraim,  with  loss 
of  memory  and  often  reason,  are  the  results  —  The  hangers  on  —  drop 
astern  —  and  the  poor  wreck  drives  down  the  Gulf  despised  or  pitied,  and 
totally  deserted. 

If  you  choose  accepting  my  offer  —  get  for  me  those  ladies.  Sims  can 
perhaps  tell  you  where  they  are,  and  I  will  on  the  first  occasion  send  for 
you  and  them,  with  the  articles  of  agreement  to  be  signed  in  London  and 
legally  ratified  on  your  arrival  in  America  —  recollect  this  —  the  Passages 
in  Summer,  owing  to  the  calms  are  longer  in  performing,  but  they  are 
much  safer,  and  the  Newfoundland  Bank  is  an  ugly  place  to  cross  in 
Winter,  though  it  is  often  done,  yet  still  it  is  a  great  risk. 

The  Crisis  which  left  London  Docks,  last  January,  with  all  her  passen- 
gers, after  being  out  for  68  days,  and  being  spoken  to  on  the  banks  by  another 
vessel  —  is  not  yet  come  or  will  she  ever  —  The  icebergs  no  doubt  struck 
her,  as  they  have  many  —  and  the  last  farewell  was  echoed  by  the  waves.  — 

Write  to  me  soon  and  glean  the  information  I  ask  for  — 

The  letter  bag  for  United  States  vessels,  from  London,  is  kept  at  the 
North  American  Coffee  House  near  the  Bank  of  England. 

Yours  truly,  BOOTH. 


296  LIFE  OF   JEFFERSON 


MR.    H 

Notice    of    the    First    Performance   of    Charles 

Lamb's  Farce,  Mr.   H,  at  Drury  Lane 

Theatre,  London. 

December  10,  1806.  MR.  H.  Under  this  singular  title  a 
farce  was  produced  on  this  evening,  preceded  by  an  excellent 
prologue.  ...  It  is  a  farce  of  very  broad  humour,  and  quite 
sui  generis.  The  decision,  though  ultimately  unfavourable, 
should  not  discourage  the  writer,  who,  as  we  understand,  is  a 
gentleman  in  the  India  house.  The  whole  turns  upon  a  man's 
dislike  to  his  own  name,  and  after  numerous  whimsical 
embarrassments,  occasioned  by  his  persisting  to  call  himself 
MR.  H.,  with  his  servants,  the  lady  to  whom  he  is  attached, 
and  in  public  company,  he  inadvertently  discovers  that  his 
name  is  HOGSFLESH.  The  house  was  convulsed  with  laughter 
through  the  whole  of  the  first  act.  In  the  second  the  incidents 
increased  in  extravagance,  and,  a  few  coarse  expressions 
occurring,  those  who  came  to  laugh,  and  had  laughed  most 
immoderately,  exercised  their  remaining  privilege,  less  grateful 
to  an  author's  feelings,  and  the  curtain  dropped  amidst  so  much 
disapprobation  that  the  piece  was  withdrawn  by  the  writer, 
after  having  been  a  second  time  announced  in  the  bills.— 
The  Monthly  Mirror,  Vol.  XXII.,  p.  420,  London,  1806. 

Lamb's  Prologue  to  his  farce  of  Mr.  H. 
Spoken  by  Elliston. 

If  we  have  sinn'd  in  paring  down  a  name, 
All  civil  well-bred  authors  do  the  same. 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  297 

Survey  the  columns  of  our  daily  writers  — 

You'll  find  that  some  initials  are  great  fighters :  — 

How  fierce  the  shock,  how  fatal  is  the  jar, 

When  Ensign  W.  meets  Lieutenant  R., 

With  two  stout  seconds,  just  of  their  own  gizzard, 

Cross  Captain  X.  and  rough  old  General  Izzard ! 

Letter  to  letter  spread  the  dire  alarms, 

Till  half  the  alphabet  is  up  in  arms. 

Nor  with  less  lustre  have  initials  shone, 

To  grace  the  gentler  annals  of  Crim  —  Con., 

Where  the  dispensers  of  the  public  lash, 

Soft  penance  give  —  a  letter  and  a  dash  — . 

Where  vice,  reduced  in  size,  shrinks  to  a  failing, 

And  loses  half  its  grossness  by  curtailing. 

Faux-pas  are  told  in  such  a  modest  way  — 

"  The  affair  of  Colonel  B.  with  Mrs.  A." 

You  must  excuse  them  —  for  what  is  there,  say, 

Which  such  a  pliant  vowel  must  not  grant 

To  such  a  very  pressing  consonant ! 

Or  who  poetic  justice  dares  dispute 

When,  mildly  melting  at  a  lover's  suite, 

The  wife's  a  LIQUID  —  her  good  man,  a  MUTE  ! 

Even  in  the  homelier  scenes  of  honest  life, 

The  coarse-spun  intercourse  of  man  and  wife, 

Initials,  I  am  told,  have  taken  place 

Of  deary,  spouse,  and  that  old-fashioned  race : 

And  Cabbage,  ask'd  by  brother  Snip  to  tea, 

Replies,  "I'll  come  —  but  it  don't  rest  with  me  — 

"  I  always  leaves  them  things  to  Mrs.  C ." 

O  should  this  mincing  fashion  ever  spread 
From  names  of  living  heroes  to  the  dead, 
How  would  ambition  sigh  and  hang  her  head, 
As  each  lov'd  syllable  should  melt  away, 
Her  Alexander  turn'd  into  great  A. 

A  single  C her  Csesar  to  express  — 

Her  Scipip  shorten'd  to  a  Roman  S  — 

And,  nick'd  and  dock'd  to  these  new  modes  of  speech, 

Great  Hannibal  himself  a  Mr.  H 


298  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

WILLIAM   WARREN 

1812-1888 

MY  chronicles  of  the  Jefferson  Family  of  Actors,  when,  in 
another  form,  they  were  first  published  (1881),  were  dedicated 
to  the  comedian  William  Warren,  now  dead  and  gone.  That 
dedication,  together  with  Warren's  letter  accepting  it,  may 
appropriately  be  preserved  in  this  place. 


fKemorial  of  the  Mfersons 

IS   DEDICATED   BY   ITS   AUTHOR 
TO   THEIR   FAMOUS   KINSMAN 

WILLIAM   WARREN, 

ACTOR,    SCHOLAR,   AND   COMRADE, 

WHOSE 
QUAINT  AND   TENDER   GENIUS 

IN  DRAMATIC   ART 
HAS   GIVEN   HAPPINESS  TO  THOUSANDS, 

AND 
WHOSE   EXALTED  VIRTUES  AND   GENTLE   LIFE 

HAVE  MADE   HIM 

AN   EXAMPLE  AND  AN   HONOUR 

TO   THE   STAGE   AND   THE  COMMUNITY. 

* 

"AUGUSTA,  MAINE,  May  31,  1881. 

"  MY  DEAR  WINTER  :   Your  kind   letter   came  to   me  last  night,  at 
Bangor.     I  do  accept,  with  my  best  thanks,  the  proffered  courtesy  of  the 
dedication  of  your  coming  book,  the  Biography  of  the  Jefferson  Family  of 
Actors.     Wishing  you  every  success,  in  that,  and  all  things, 
Believe  me,  ever  yours, 

WILLIAM  WARREN." 


V 


WILLIA.M 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  299 

Some  account  of  Warren  has  -been  given  in  this  book  (see 
pages  56,  57).  On  October  27,  1882,  the  comedian  com- 
pleted his  fiftieth  year  upon  the  stage.  Commemorative  per- 
formances were  given  at  the  Boston  Museum,  on  Saturday 
afternoon  and  evening,  October  28.  Warren  played  Dr. 
Pangloss  in  the  afternoon  and  Sir  Peter  Teazle  at  night ;  and 
after  the  public  ceremonials  were  ended  a  party  of  his  friends 
waited  upon  him,  at  his  lodgings,  No.  2  Bulfinch  place,  and 
conveyed  to  him  a  loving-cup,  made  of  silver  and  gold, 
bearing  this  inscription  :  — 

TO 
WILLIAM   WARREN, 

ON   THE   COMPLETION  OF   HIS   FIFTIETH   YEAR 
UPON  THE   STAGE, 

OCT.    27,    1882. 
FROM 

JOSEPH   JEFFERSON  JOHN  McCULLOUGH 

EDWIN   BOOTH  LAWRENCE   BARRETT 

MARY  ANDERSON 

The  committee  having  charge  of  this  gift  comprised  James  R. 
Osgood,  Nathan  Appleton,  F.  G.  Vinton,  R.  M.  Field,  T.  R. 
Sullivan,  and  the  writer  of  this  biography,  who  spoke  as  follows  : 

SPEECH   AND   POEM   BY   WILLIAM   WINTER. 

It  is  our  desire  that  the  ceremonial  to  which  we  now  ask 
your  attention,  while  it  possesses  all  the  earnestness  appropriate 
to  a  manifestation  of  affectionate  friendship,  shall  not  be  em- 
barrassed by  even  the  slightest  tinge  of  painful  formality.  For 
this  reason  we  have  sought  you  in  your  home,  instead  of  accost- 
ing you  upon  the  stage,  amid  the  festivities  of  this  brilliant  and 
auspicious  day.  Your  friends  in  Boston  (which  is  equivalent  to 


300  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

saying  Boston  itself)  have  had  a  golden  opportunity,  and  have 
improved  it  in  a  glorious  manner,  of  expressing  their  personal 
good-will,  their  esteem  for  your  character,  their  appreciation 
of  your  achievements,  and  their  just  and  natural  pride  in  your 
renown.  It  is  no  common  triumph  to  have  gained  such  a 
reputation  as  yours,  in  such  a  city  as  Boston.  But  the  fame  of 
your  genius  and  the  knowledge  of  your  deeds  and  virtues  are 
not  confined  to  the  city  of  your  residence.  A  great  actor 
belongs  to  the  nation  and  to  the  age.  In  every  theatre  in  the 
United  States,  and  at  thousands  of  hearthstones,  alike  in  your 
own  country  and  in  the  lovely  motherland  beyond  the  sea,  — 
where  your  line  was  so  honourably  and  famously  founded,— 
your  name,  to-night,  has  been  spoken  with  tender  respect  and 
unaffected  homage.  In  order  that  you  may  be  reminded  of 
this,  and  may  be  cheered,  not  alone  with  present  plaudits,  but 
with  happy  remembrance  of  the  absent  friends  who  are  thinking 
of  you  now,  I  have  been  commissioned  by  five  of  the  leading 
members  of  your  profession,  —  Joseph  Jefferson,  Edwin  Booth, 
Mary  Anderson,  Lawrence  Barrett,  and  John  McCullough, — 
to  come  into  your  presence  and,  in  their  names  and  with  fer- 
vent assurance  of  their  affection  and  sympathy,  to  beg  your 
acceptance  of  this  loving-cup,  which  is  their  gift.  It  is  less 
bright  than  their  friendship ;  it  is  less  permanent  than  their 
sense  of  your  worth  and  their  esteem  for  your  virtues.  Accept 
it,  with  all  that  it  denotes,  of  joy  in  the  triumph  of  the  actor 
and  of  pride  in  the  gentle,  loving,  blameless  character  and  life 
of  the  man. 

Roses  have  ever  been  esteemed  the  pledges  and  emblems  of 
faithful  love.  In  the  name  of  your  absent  friends,  in  the  name 
of  the  thousands  whom  in  time  past  you  have  delighted  and 
cheered,  in  the  name  of  your  comrades  of  the  Boston  Museum, 
with  whom  you  have  been  so  long  and  so  pleasantly  associated, 
and  finally,  in  the  name  of  the  friends  now  clustered  around 
you  in  affection  and  gladness,  I  cast  these  roses  before  you ; 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  301 

and  I  am  bold  enough,  —  presuming  on  your  patience,  and 
remembering  the  many  years  through  which  we  have  been 
friends,  —  to  add  my  personal  tribute,  in  the  lines  which  I  now 

read. 

Red  globes  of  autumn  strew  the  sod, 

The  bannered  woods  wear  crimson  shields, 
The  aster  and  the  golden-rod 
Deck  all  the  fields. 

No  clarion  blast,  at  morning  blown, 

Should  greet  the  way-worn  veteran  here, 
Nor  roll  of  drum  nor  trumpet-tone 
Assail  his  ear. 

No  jewelled  ensigns  now  should  smite, 

With  jarring  flash,  down  emerald  steeps, 
Where  sweetly  in  the  sunset  light 
The  valley  sleeps. 

No  bolder  ray  should  bathe  this  bower 

Than  when,  above  the  glimmering  stream, 
The  crescent  moon,  in  twilight's  hour, 
First  sheds  her  beam. 

No  ruder  note  should  break  the  thrall, 

That  love  "and  peace  and  honour  weave, 
Than  some  lone  wild-bird's  gentle  call, 
At  summer  eve. 

But  here  should  float  the  voice  of  song — 

Like  evening  winds  in  autumn  leaves, 
Sweet  with  the  balm  they  waft  along 
From  golden  sheaves. 

The  sacred  past  should  feel  its  spell, 

And  here  should  murmur,  soft  and  low, 
The  voices  that  he  loved  so  well,  — 
Long,  long  ago. 

The  vanished  scenes  should  give  to  this 

The  cherished  forms  of  other  days, 
And  rosy  lips  that  felt  his  kiss 
Breathe  out  his  praise. 


302  LIFE   OF  JEFFERSON 

The  comrades  of  his  young  renown 

Should  proudly  throng  around  him  now, 
When  falls  the  spotless  laurel  crown 
Upon  his  brow. 

Not  in  their  clamorous  shouts  who  make 

The  noonday  pomp  of  glory's  lord 
Does  the  true  soul  of  manhood  take 
Its  high  reward. 

i 

But  when  from  all  the  glimmering  years 

Beneath  the  moonlight  of  the  past 
The  strong  and  tender  spirit  hears 
"Well  done,"  at  last; 

When  love  looks  forth  from  heavenly  eyes, 

And  heavenly  voices  make  acclaim, 
And  all  his  deeds  of  kindness  rise 
To  bless  his  name; 

When  all  that  has  been  sweetly  blends 

With  all  that  is,  and  both  revere 
The  life  so  lovely  in  its  ends, 
So  pure,  so  dear; 

Then  leaps  indeed  the  golden  flame 

Of  blissful  pride  to  rapture's  brim  — 
The  fire  that  sacramental  fame 
Has  lit  for  him ! 

For  him  who,  lord  of  joy  and  woe, 

Through  half  a  century's  snow-white  years 
Has  gently  ruled,  in  humour's  glow, 
The  fount  of  tears. 

True,  simple,  earnest,  patient,  kind, 

Through  griefs  that  many  a  weaker  will 
Had  stricken  dead,  his  noble  mind 
Was  constant  still. 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  303 

Sweet,  tender,  playful,  thoughtful,  droll, 

His  gentle  genius  still  Has  made 

Mirth's  perfect  sunshine  in  the  soul, 

And  pity's  shade. 

With  amaranths  of  eternal  spring 

Be  all  his  life's  calm  evening  drest, 
While  summer  winds  around  him  sing 
The  songs  of  rest ! 

And  thou,  O  Memory,  strange  and  dread, 

That  stand'st  on  heaven's  ascending  slope, 
Lay  softly  on  his  reverend  head 
The  wreath  of  hope ! 

So  softly,  —  when  the  port  he  wins, 

To  which  life's  happiest  breezes  blow,  — 
That  where  earth  ends  and  heaven  begins 
He  shall  not  know. 


HACKETT    IN    ENGLAND 

JEFFERSON'S  most  popular  predecessor  in  the  character  of 
Rip  Van  Winkle  was  James  H.  Hackett.  Mention  has  been 
made  of  his  visit  to  England  in  1832.  He  returned  to 
America  in  the  summer  of  1833.  A  memento  of  that  English 
visit  —  being  also  an  illustrative  document  of  a  distant  time 
—  may  not  be  deemed  inappropriate  here.  This  is  one  of 
the  Hackett  playbills  of  1832-33,  and  it  is  a  curiosity :  — 

THEATRE    ROYAL,     COVENT     GARDEN. 

To-morrow,  THURSDAY,  March  14,  1833,  (36th  time)  the  Drama  of 
NELL     GWYNNE 

The  Scenery  painted  by  Mr.  GRIEVK,  Mr.  T.  GRIEVE,  Mr.  W.  GRIEVE,  and 

assistants. 

King  Charles  the  Second,  Mr.  JONES,     Sir  C.  Barkeley,  Mr.  FORESTER 
Charles  Hart,  \  Managers  of  the  King's  Theatre,,  /  Mr.  DURUSET, 
Major  Mohun,  /  '  Dni'ry-Lane,  1667,  \Mr.  PERKINS. 

Betterton  (Manager  of  the  Duke's  Theatre,  Lincoln' s-Inn)  Mr.  PIDDEAR 


304  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

Joe  Haines  (late  of  Drury-Lane)     Mr.  MEADOWS, 
Counsellor  Crowsfoot,  Mr.  BLANCHARD,    Stockfish,  Mr.  F.  MATTHEWS 

Nell  Gwynue,    Miss  TAYLOR, 
Orange  Moll,    Mr.  KEELEY  Mrs.  Snowdrop,  Mrs.  DALY. 

Scenery  painted  for  this  Piece— 

EXTERIOR  OF   DRURY  LANE  THEATRE  in  the  TIME  OF  CHARLES  II. 
LOBBY   LEADING  TO  THE   PIT  OF  DRURY-LANE  THEATRE. 

INTERIOR  OF  THE   MITRE  TAVERN. 

PROSCENIUM,  AND  ROYAL   BOX  AT  DRURY   LANE. 

Preparatory  to  "  The  Prologue  by  Mrs.Ellen  Gwynne,in  a  broad-brimmed 

Hat  and  Waist  Belt.'1'1 (Vide  Dryden's  Conquest  of  Granada.) 

After  which,  (4th  time)  A  NEW  FARCE,  called  The 

KENTUCKIAN; 
Or,  A  Trip  to  New  York. 

Col.  Nimrod  Wildfire,      (a  Kentuckian)      Mr.   H  A  C  K  E  T  T, 

(Performed  by  him  withuniversal  applause  throughout  the  United  States  of  America) . 

Freeman,     (a  New  York  Merchant")     Mr.  F.  MATTHEWS, 

Percival,     (an  English  Merchant)     Mr.  DURUSET, 
Jenkins,  (under  the  assumed  name  of  Lord  Granby)  Mr.  FORESTER, 

Csesar,   (a  Free  Slack  Waiter  at  the  Hotel)   Mr.  TURNOUR, 

Tradesman,  Mr  PAYNE,  Countryman,  Mr  ADDISON,  Servant,  Mr  HEATH 

Mrs.  Luminary     (a  Tourist  and  Speculator)     Mrs.  GIBBS, 

Mrs.  Freeman,     Mrs.  VINING,  Caroline,    Miss  LEE, 

Mary,         Mrs.  DALY,  Waiting  Woman,         Mrs.  BROWN 

To  conclude  with  the  Opera  of 

FRA-DIAVOLO: 

Or,  THE  INN  OF  TEBEACINA 
With  the  Whole  of  the  MUSIC,  composed  by  Auber, 

Arranged  and  adapted  to  the  English  stage  by  M.  ROINO  LACY. 
Fra-Diavolo   (disguised  as  the  Marquis  of  San  Carlo)    Mr.  WILSON, 

Lord  Allcash,        Mr.  DURUSET, 

Lorenzo,     (Captain  of  Carbiniers)     Mr.  I.  BENNETT, 

Matteo,     Mr.  MORLEY,  Beppo,    Mr.  G.  STANSBURY, 

Giacomo,        Mr.  RANSFORD. 

Francesco,  Mr.  CHICKINI,  First  Carbinier,   Mr.  MEARS, 

Second  Carbinier,   Mr.  HENRY,  Third  Carbinier,   Mr.  IRWIN, 

Lady  Allcash,  Miss  INVERARITY. 

Zerlina,     (Matteo's  Daughter)        Miss    E.    ROMER. 

In  Act  III. 

AN  INCIDENTAL    BALLET, 

in  which  Moiis.  A.  ALBERT,  and  Mad.  PROCHE  GIUBIL.EI  will  appear. 
PLACES  for  the  BOXES  to  be  had  of  Mr.  NOTTER,  at  the  Box -Office,  Hart-Street, 

from  Ten  till  Four. 

OPERA  GLASSES  lent  in  the  Theatre,  by  Mr.  HUDSON,  28,  Henrietta-street, 
Cavendish-square. 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  305 

REPUTATION ;  or  the  State  Secret, 

having  been  again  received  with  the  most  enthusiastic  applause,  will 

be  repeated  on  Saturday  and  Tuesday  next. 
Hugo  Istein,  Mr.  CHARLES   KEAN. 

MR.   HACKETT 

continuing  to  be  honoured  with  rapturous  approbation  in  the  character 
of  Colonel  Nimrod  Wildfire,  and  the  whole  performance  having 
been  received  with  incessant  bursts  of  laughter  and  applause, 

The  New  Farce  of  The 

KENTUCKIAN  or  A  Trip  to  New  York, 
will  be  repeated  To-Morrow,  Saturday,  and  Monday  next. 

On  Friday,  (Last  Night  but  Four)  the  highly  popular  New  Dramatic  Oratorio,  called 

The  Israelites  in  Egypt ;  or,  the  Passage  of  the  Bed  Sea. 
Moses,  Mr.  H.  PHILLIPS,     Aaron,  Mr.  WILSON,      Pharaoh,  Mr.  E.  SEGUIN, 

Amenophis,  Mr.  WOOD,      Siuai'de,  Miss  SHIEEEFF,     Annai,  Mrs.  WOOD. 
On  Saturday,  (7th  time)  REPUTATION,  or  the  State  Secret. 
After  which,  the  New  Farce  of  The  Keiituckian,  or  A  Trip  to  New  York. 

With  The  WATERMAN.  Tom  Tug,  Mr.  H.  PHILLIPS. 

On  Monday,  the  Play  of  The  HUNCHBACK. 

With  (6th  time)  The  New  Farce  of  The  Kentuckian,  or  A  Trip  to  New  York. 

To  conclude  with  the  Grand  Ballet  of  M ASANIEL.LO. 

Printed  by  W.  REYNOLDS,  9,  Exeter-street,  Strand. 


NOTABLE    EARLY   CASTS   OF   RIP   VAN   WINKLE 

The  Kerr  version  of  Rip  Van  Winkle  was  presented  at 
the  Walnut  Street  theatre,  Philadelphia,  on  October  30, 
1829,  with  this  announcement  and  cast:  — 

"  Positively  for  the  last  time,  a  new  melodrama,  founded  on  Washington 
Irving's  celebrated  tale  of  Rip  Van  Winkle,  or  the  Demons  of  the  Catskill 
Mountains. 

CHARACTERS   IN  ACT  I. 


Derrick  Van  Slous  .  .  Mr.  Porter 
Herman  (his  son)  .  .  .  Mr.  Read 
Knickerbocker  .  Mr.  J.  Jefferson 
Rory  Van  Clump .  .  .  Mr.  Greene 
Nicholas  Vedder  .  .  Mr.  (J.)  Sefton 
Clausen Mr.  James 


Swag  de  Grain  ....  Mr.  Wells 
Gustaffe  (aged  7)  .  .  Miss  Anderson 
Lowenna  (aged  5)  .  .  Miss  Eberle 
Rip  Van  Winkle  Mr.  W.  B.  Chapman 
Dame  Van  Winkle  Mrs.  B.  Stickney 
Grubba  .  .  Miss  Hathwell 


(  Messrs.  Garson,  Thompson,  Bloom,  Miller,  James, 
Jones,  Williams,  and  Johnson. 

u 


306 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 


CHARACTERS   IN  ACT  II. 


Allemaine  (Grand  Judge)  Mr.  James 
Herman  ....  Mr.  Greenwood 
[probably  this  should  be  Read] 
Van  Knickerbocker  Mr.  J.  Jefferson 
Nicholas  Vedder  .  .  .  Mr.  Sefton 
Gustaffe  .  Mr.  Greenwood 


Rip  Van  Winkle  Mr.  W.  B.  Chapman 
Lowenna    ....     Miss  Chapman 

Jacintha Miss  Hathwell 

Alice  (now  Mrs.  Van  ')  Mrs.  S.  Chap- 
Knickerbocker)      /       man 


The  J.  Jefferson  was  the  father  of  the  present  Rip. 
Miss  Anderson  was  Jane,  now  Mrs.  G.  C.  Germon.  A  letter 
to  me  from  that  venerable  lady,  dated  Baltimore,  April  29, 
1894,  says :  "  I  was  the  child.  My  sister  Elizabeth,  now 
Mrs.  Saunders,  did  not  go  upon  the  stage  till  some  time  after, 
although  older  than  myself.  I  played  all  the  children  that 
season,  1829-30,  and  then  joined  my  mother,  in  Baltimore, 
playing  the  Duke  of  York,  with  the  elder  Booth,  in  Richard 
the  Third." 

The  characters  in  Rip  Van  Winkle,  when  it  was  acted  for 
the  first  time  at  the  Park  theatre,  New  York,  on  April  22, 
1830,  were  cast  thus:  — 


Rip  Van  Winkle  .  .  Mr.  Hackett 
Knickerbocker  .  .  .  Mr.  Placide 
Nicholas  Vedder  Mr.  Chapman,  Sr. 
Von  Slous Mr.  Blakeley 


Herman Mr.  Richings 

Dame  Van  Winkle .      Mrs.  Wheatley 

Alice Mrs.  Hackett 

Lowenna    .  .  Mrs.  Wallack 


Hackett  brought  out  the  old  version  of  Rip  Van  Winkle  at 
the  Bowery  theatre,  New  York,  on  August  10,  1830,  when  he 
was  joint  manager  of  that  house  with  T.  S.  Hamblin,  casting 
the  parts  as  follows  :  — . 


Rip Mr.  Hackett 

Knickerbocker    .    .    .  Mr.  Roberts 

Nicholas  Vedder     .    .  Mr.  C.  Green 

Herman Mr.  Lindsley 


Derrick  Van  Slous .    .    .     Mr.  Wray 
Dame  Van  Winkle      .  Mrs.  W.  Jones 

Alice Mrs.  Hackett 

Lowenna Miss  Waring 


A  bill  of  the  Park  theatre,  for  April  15,  1831,  makes  this 
announcement :  — 

"  To  conclude  with  the  popular  melodrama  of  Rip  Van  Winkle,  or  the 
Legend  of  the  Catskill  Mountains,  altered  by  Mr.  Hackett  from  a  piece 


LIFE   OF  JEFFERSON  307 

written  and  produced  in  London,  and  founded  on  Washington  Irving's 
well-known  tale  of  that  name." 

CHARACTERS  IN  ACT  I. 


Derrick  Van  Slous  .  .    Mr.  Blakeley 

Herman  (his  son)   .  .      Mr.  Nexsen 

Knickerbocker    .    .  .    Mr.  Richings 

Nicholas  Vedder     .  Mr.  Woodhull 

Rory  Van  Clump    .  .     .    Mr.  Povey 


Swag  de  Grain  ....  Mr.  Collet 
Rip  Van  Winkle  .  .  Mr.  Hackett 
Gustaffe(aged  7)  MissEmmaWheatley 
Lowenna  (aged  5)  Miss  Julia  Turnbull 
Dame  Van  Winkle  .  Mrs.  Wheatley 


Claussen Mr.  Hayden       Alice Mrs.  Hackett 

CHARACTERS   IN   ACT   II. 


(Grand 

Herman Mr.  Nexsen 

Van  Knickerbocker  .  Mr.  Richings 
Nicholas  Vedder  .  .  Mr.  Woodhull 
Gustaffe  Mr.  T.  Placide 


Rip  Van  Winkle     .    .     Mr.  Hackett 

Alice  (now  Mrs.  Van  "1 

„:,,.,        >  Mrs.  Hackett 
Knickerbocker) .     J 

Lowenna Mrs.  Wallack 

Jacintha Mrs.  Durie 


A  version  of  Rip  Van  Winkle  by  John  H.  Hewitt  was 
presented  at  the  Front  Street  theatre,  Baltimore,  in  1833, 
with  this  cast :  — 

ACTS    I.    AND  II. 

Rip  Van  Winkle  (aged  35) William  Isherwood 

Brom  Dutcher  (aged  35)  C.  Durang 

Peter  Vanderdonk  (aged  23) —  Lear 

Derrick  Van  Brummel  (aged  30) Joseph  Jefferson 

Rip  Van  Winkle,  Jr.  (aged  8) Master  Rogers 

Nicholas  Vedder J.  Stickney 

Capt.  Hendrick  Hutson    )  Mountain  Spooks  .  -  Garner 

Hans  Dundervelt       .       )  ....     —  Lawson 

Dame  Van  Winkle  (aged  30) Mrs.  Anderson 

Judith  Van  Winkle  (aged  6) 


ACT  III. 

Rip  Van  Winkle  (aged  55) William  Isherwood 

Brom  Dutcher  (aged  55) C.  Durang 

Peter  Vanderdonk  (aged  43) —  Lear 

General  Van  Brummel  (aged  50) Joseph  Jefferson 

Capt.  Van  Winkle  (aged  28) —  Greenwood 


308 


LIFE   OF  JEFFERSON 


Jonathan  Doolittle A.  Byrnes 

Judith  (aged  26) Mrs.  Durang 

Capt.  Hutson  and  Spooks 

The  Joseph  Jefferson  in  this  cast  was  the  father  of  our  Rip. 
Mr.  Hewitt,  in  a  letter  written  at  Baltimore,  May  18,  1887, 
says  :  — 

"  My  adaptation  differed  from  all  others  that  I  have  since  witnessed. 
I  introduced  Captain  Hutson  and  his  elfin  crew  upon  the  stage,  and  gave 
them  excellent  exercise  in  their  game  of  bowls  amid  sheet-iron  thunder, 
rosin  lightning,  and  weird  music.  Their  chorus,  led  by  Mr.  Garner,  then 
a  well-known  Baltimore  vocalist,  was  descriptive  of  the  noisy  game.  The 
managers,  not  being  able  to  raise  a  chorus  of  dwarfs,  were  compelled 
to  substitute  a  ship's  crew  of  jolly  jack-tars,  picked  up  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  Fell's  Point." 

Flynn,  the  original  performer  of  the  part,  played  Rip  Van 
Winkle  at  the  Richmond  Hill  theatre,  New  York,  on  July  29, 

1833- 

On   September  4,  1833,  when   Mr.  Hackett,  at  the   Park 

theatre,  presented  the  drama,  as  altered  and  improved  for 
him,  in  London,  by  Bayle  Bernard,  the  characters  were 
cast  as  follows  :  — 

Rip  Van  Winkle  (ist  appearance  since  return  from  Europe)       .     Mr.  Hackett 

District  Judge  .  .  .  Mr.  Blakeley 
Perseverance  Peashell  .  Mr.  Povey 
Dame  Van  Winkle  .  Mrs.  Wheatley 

Alice Mrs.  Wallack 

Gertrude    .  Miss  Rae 


Derrick  Van  Tassell  .  .  Mr.  Clarke 
Nicholas  Vedder  .  Mr.  John  Fisher 
Brom  Van  Brunt  .  .  Mr.  Harrison 

Herman Mr.  Keppell 

Arthur    .  .  Mr.  Rae 


The   cast   subjoined  is   from  a   bill   of  the   Park   theatre, 
for  October  16,  1834:  — 

ACT   I. 


Rip  Van  Winkle  .  .  Mr.  Hackett 
Derrick  Van  Tassell  .  .  Mr.  Clarke 
Nicholas  Vedder  .  .  Mr.  Blakeley 
Brom  Van  Brunt  .  Mr.  John  Fisher 
Rory  Von  Clump  .  .  Mr.  Russell 


Hendrick  Hudson  .    .      Mr.  Hayden 

Richard  Juet Mr.  Harvey 

Dame  Van  Winkle     .  Mrs.  Wheatley 
Alice  .    .    .      Mrs.  Gurner 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 


309 


ACT  II. 


Rip  Van  Winkle     .    .     Mr.  Hackett 
Young  Rip     ....     Mr.  Bancker 

Herman  Van  1      ,.,    ,,,       ,,,,      ., 

v     Mr.  Wm.  Wheatley 
Tassell       f 

Abram  Higginbottom 
(late  Van  Brunt) 

Bradford   (probably")  -.     _   _.     ., 

'  v  Mr.  T.  Placide 
Gustaffe)  .    .       / 


f 


Perseverance  PeasheH      .    Mr.  Povey 

Hiram Mr.  Collett 

Ebenezer Mr.  Russell 

District  Judge     .    .     .     Mr.  Blakeley 
Dame  Higginbottom  .     Mrs.  Gurner 

(formerly  Alice  Van  Winkle) 
Gertrude    .  .  Miss  Turnbull 


Rip  Van  Winkle  was  announced  at  the  New  National  or 
New  Chatham  theatre,  New  York,  January  7,  1850,  with  this 
cast :  — 


Rip  Van  Winkle  .  Mr.  Charles  Burke 
Knickerbocker     .    .    .  Mr.  Jefferson 

(the  Rip  of  our  day) 
Nicholas  Vedder  .    .    Mr.  J.  Herbert 
Herman  .  .    Mr.  Crocker 


Van  Slous  ...     Mr.  C.  W.  Taylor 

Ganderkin Mr.  Seymour 

Dame  Van  Winkle  .     .      Mrs.  Muzzy 

Alice Mrs.  Sutherland 

Lowenna    .    .    .   Mrs.  H.  Isherwood 


On  September  27,  1855,  an  opera  on  the  subject  of  Rip 
Van  Winkle,  —  the  music  by  George  Bristow,  the  words  by 
J.  H.  Wainwright,  —  was  produced  by  the  Pyne  and  Harrison 
Opera  company,  and  it  was  much  liked  and  admired.  The 
parts  were  cast  thus  :  — 


Rip  Van  Winkle       .    .    Mr.  Stretton 

Gardinier Mr.  Harrison 

Villecour      ....    Mr.  Horncastle 
Nicholas  Vedder      .     .     .  Mr.  Hayes 


Van  Brummell  .  .  .  Mr.  Setchell 
Dame  Van  Winkle  .  Miss  S.  Pyne 
Alice  Miss  L.  Pyne 


JEFFERSON    AS    A    LECTURER 


ON  April  27,  1892,  Jefferson  appeared  for  the  first  time  as  a 
lecturer.  The  place  was  the  Art  Gallery  of  Yale  University,  at 
New  Haven.  The  subject  was  Dramatic  Art.  The  present 
biographer  was  in  the  audience,  and  subsequently  wrote  the 
following  dispatch,  which  was  printed  in  the  New  York  Tribune 
the  next  morning  :  — 


310  LIFE  OF   JEFFERSON 

'  When  the  popularity  of  Sir  Walter  Scott  as  a  poet  began 
to  be  affectedv  by  the  sudden  advent  of  Byron  with  Childe 
Harold,  the  Wizard  of  the  North  waved  his  wand  in  another 
direction  and  presently  produced  the  Waverley  Novels.  It  is 
good  to  have  resources.  Jefferson,  in  his  delivery  of  his  dis- 
course on  acting,  made  it  evident  that,  if  he  were  to  leave 
the  stage,  he  would  still  have  at  his  command  the  influences 
of  the  lyceum.  He  spoke  for  more  than  an  hour,  in  a  fluent 
and  sparkling  strain  of  clear  comment  on  the  art  that  he 
represents,  always  wise  and  often  humorous,  —  giving  evi- 
dence of  the  versatility  of  his  mind,  while  affording  conclusive 
illustration  of  the  importance  of  his  profession.  The  manner 
of  his  discourse  can  be  but  faintly  noted  in  descriptive  words. 
His  instinct  as  to  effect  guides  and  sustains  him  equally  as  a 
speaker  and  an  actor.  The  foreground  of  his  speech  was 
chiefly  composed  of  comic  anecdote,  —  apt,  pungent,  and 
effective.  When  he  reached  the  more  serious  portion  of  his 
address,  the  geniality  of  the  actor  gave  unconscious  emphasis 
to  every  truth  he  uttered.  His  distinction  between  oratory 
and  acting  was  incisively  made,  and  every  auditor  must  have 
appreciated  the  subtle  discrimination  as  to  the  relative  value  of 
tragedy  and  comedy,  viewed  with  regard  to  the  question  of 
difficulty.  How  much  may  be  achieved  by  a  glance,  or  by  an 
inflection  of  the  voice,  was  no  less  potently  shown  than  deftly 
urged.  In  response  to  questions  that  were  asked,  after  his 
lecture  had  ended,  he  dwelt  instructively  upon  the  position  of 
the  actor,  who  must  at  once  please  at  least  three  orders  of  the 
public  intelligence,  and  whose  dilemma  is  that  he  can  neither 
be  too  refined  for  one  class,  nor  too  crude  for  another,  nor  too 
unconventional  for  a  third.  Much  instruction  was  imparted  by 
Jefferson,  and  still  more  of  suggestion  was  given,  —  and  all  with 
the  simplicity  which  is  the  crowning  grace  of  his  art.  No 
surrounding  could  have  been  desired  of  a  more  felicitous  char- 
acter than  was  provided  in  the  Art  Gallery  of  Yale,  hung  with 


LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON  311 

portraits  of  old  renown  ;  nor  could  a  more  learned  or  a  lovelier 
audience  be  anywhere  assembled  than  was  provided  by  New 
Haven  on  this  occasion.  The  incident  is  not  without  a  special 
significance.  Neither  theatre  nor  actor  was  permitted  in 
Connecticut  until  within  about  fifty  years.  Jefferson  was  intro- 
duced to  his  audience  by  President  Dwight,  of  Yale,  and 
a  speech  in  his  honour,  spoken  by  Prof.  John  Weir, 
was  heartily  cheered.  The  ancient  social  prejudice  against 
the  stage  is  melting  away;  more  and  more  the  learned 
and  the  thoughtful  classes  of  society  feel  its  potency  and 
realise  the  importance  of  guiding  it  aright,  and  of  utilising 
for  the  public  benefit  its  subtle,  comprehensive,  far-reaching 
influence.  The  practical  example  and  the  monitions  of 
such  men  as  Jefferson  stimulate  that  tendency  and  help  to 
neutralise  the  base  influence  of  the  speculators  and  triflers, 
whose  unrestricted  exertions  would  soon  bring  it  into  irre- 
trievable disgrace.  From  Jefferson's  doctrine  that  acting  is 
more  a  gift  than  an  art,  many  listeners  might  be  disposed  to 
dissent ;  but  the  capacity  for  any  art  is  a  gift,  and  that,  prob- 
ably, is  all  that  he  intended  to  maintain.  The  true  actor  is 
born,  not  made ;  yet,  on  the  other  hand,  if  he  have  not  art,  he 
is  a  natural  force  wasted.  No  actor  ever  gave  a  more  decisive 
proof  than  Jefferson  himself  afforded  of  the  power  that  genius 
derives  from  command  of  the  resources  of  art.  He  closed 
his  discourse  with  some  playful  verses,  in  satire  of  Ignatius 
Donnelly's  crazy  theory 1  that  Shakespeare's  works  were  written 
by  Francis  Bacon.' 

1  Every  reader  who  happens  to  be  specially  interested  in  the  question 
of  Shakespeare's  authorship  of  his  works  should  read  the  refutation  of 
Donnelly's  Cryptogram,  written  by  Rev.  A.  Nicholson,  of  St.  Alban's 
church,  Leamington,  and  published  under  the  title  of  No  Cipher  in 
Shakespeare.  It  completely  destroys,  upon  mathematical  grounds,  the 
whole  structure  of  Donnelly's  argument.  A  reply  was  attempted  by 
Donnelly,  but  it  was  so  effectually  answered  by  Mr.  Nicholson  that  the 
cryptogram  has  been  a  laughing-stock  ever  since.  There  never  was  the 


312  LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 


CHRONOLOGY  OF  THE   LIFE  OF  JEFFERSON 

1829  .  .  .  Joseph  Jefferson  born,  February  20,  in  Philadelphia. 
1833  .  .  .  Made   his   first   appearance   on   the   stage,  at   the   theatre   in 
Washington,  with  Thomas  D.  Rice,  as  Jim  Crow. 

1837  .  .  .  Acted  at  the  Franklin  theatre,  New  York. 

1838  .  .  .  Was  removed  to  Chicago. 
1846  .  .  .  Acted  at  Matamoras,  Mexico. 

1849  •  •  •  September  10.     Appeared   in  New  York,  at  Chanfrau's   New 

National  theatre,  as  Jack  Rackbottle. 

1850  .  .  .  May  19.     Married   to   Margaret  Clements  Lockyer,  who  died 

on  February  18,  1861. 
Appeared  at  Mitchell's  Olympic. 
Acted  in  the  South  with  John  Ellsler. 

1856  .  .  .  Made  voyage  to  Europe. 

Joined  Laura  Keene's  theatre,  New  York. 

1857  .  .  .  August   31.     At   Laura   Keene's   theatre   made   a  hit   as   Dr. 

Pangloss. 

1858  .  .  .  October   18.     First  time  of  Our  American  Cousin,  at  Laura 

Keene's     theatre.        Jefferson     won     distinction     as     Asa 
Trenchard.     Piece  ran  till  March  25,  1859. 
1 86 1   .  .  .  Appeared  for  the  first  time  in  San  Francisco,  July  8. 

November  5.     Sailed  for  Australia,  where  he  passed  four 
years. 

1865  .  .  .  Appeared  as  Rip  Van  Winkle  at  the  Adelphi  theatre,  London, 

September  4. 

1866  .  .  .  September  3.    Reappeared  in  America,  at  the  Olympic  theatre, 

New  York,  as  Rip. 

1867  .  .  .  December  20.     Was  married  to  Sarah  Isabel  Warren. 

least  reason  to  suppose  that  Shakespeare  did  not  write  the  works  ascribed 
to  him,  or  that  Francis  Bacon  was  concerned  with  them  in  any  way. 
Donnelly's  pernicious  defamation  of  the  dead,  —  for  his  book  casts  a 
blight  of  obloquy  as  well  upon  Bacon  as  upon  Shakespeare,  —  could  affect 
only  the  ignorant,  the  credulous,  and  the  mean.  Most  scholars  have 
naturally  viewed  it  with  contempt.  It  is,  however,  pleasant  to  know  that, 
in  a  scientific  point  of  view,  that  fabric  of  folly  has  been  completely 
demolished. 


LIFE   OF  JEFFERSON  313 

1869  .  .  .  Appeared  at  Booth's   theatre,  New  York,  as    Rip,  August   2. 

Bought  Orange  Island,  Iberia,  La.,  and  estate  at  Hohokus, 
NJ. 

1870  .  .  .  Appeared  at  Booth's  theatre,  as  Rip,  August  15,  and  acted  that 

part  till  February  7,  1871. 

1871  .  .  .  January  20.     Acted  for  benefit  of  George  Holland's  family. 

1872  .  .  .  Cured  of  glaucoma  by  surgical  operation. 

1873  .  .  .  January  I.     Reappearance  at  Ford's  theatre,  Baltimore. 

July  9.     Sailed  for  England. 

September  i.    Reappeared  at  Booth's  theatre,  New  York,  as  Rip. 
1875  .  .  .  Acted  at  the   Princess's  theatre,  London,  from  November  I, 
1875,  to  April  29,  1876,  as  Rip. 

1877  .  .  .  Midsummer   engagement  with   J.   S.   Clarke,   at    the    London 

Haymarket  theatre,  in  farces. 

October  28.     Reappeared  at  Booth's  theatre,  New  York,  as 
Rip,  under  management  of  Augustin  Daly. 

1878  .  .  .  Revisited  California. 

1880  .  .  .  Produced  The  Rivals,  at  the  Arch  Street  theatre,  Philadelphia, 

and  made  a  hit  as  Acres. 
1889  .  .  .  Established,  at  Buzzard's  Bay,  his  home,  called  Crow's  Nest. 

1891  .  .  .  April  I.     Crow's  Nest  was  burnt  down.      It  has  been  rebuilt. 

1892  .  .  .  April   27.     Made  his  first  appearance  as  a  lecturer,  at  Yale 

University,  delivering  address  on  acting.     Received  degree 
of  LL.D.  from  Yale. 

1893  .  .  .  March   i.      Delivered  discourse  on  the  Drama,   at  Carnegie 

Music  Hall,  New  York,  for  the  benefit  of  the  Kindergarten 
Association. 
Elected  President  of  The  Players,  succeeding  Edwin  Booth. 


Jefferson's  AUTOBIOGRAPHY,  originally  published  [1889-1890]  in  the 
Century  Magazine,  fills  a  handsome  volume,  of  about  500  pages,  from 
the  press  of  the  Century  Company.  Its  characteristics  are  those  of  its 
writer,  —  originality,  simplicity,  gentleness,  humour,  and  charm.  A  dis- 
quisition upon  that  book  may  be  found  in  my  SHADOWS  OF  THE  STAGE, 
Vol.  I.,  Chapter  vii.,  together  with  essays  on  Jefferson's  Acting. 


INDEX. 


Abington,  Frances,  27;  described  by 
Henry  Crabb  Robinson,  28. 

Acting  in  comedy  and  tragedy  com- 
pared, 220. 

Action  and  effect  in  dramatic  writing, 
278. 

Allen,  Andrew  J.,  137. 

Andrews,  William,  19. 

Barry,  12,  30. 

Bateman,  Kate,  171. 

Bernard,  John,  21,  23,  64. 

Blissett,  Francis,  67,  68. 

Boucicault,  Dion,  his  version  of  Rip 
Van  Winkle,  180;  talent  for  dra- 
matic composition,  278. 

Bowery  theatre,  19. 

Brett,  Miss,  60. 

Brunton,  Anne,  65. 

Brunton,  Louisa,  66. 

Burke,  Charles,  described  by  Elizabeth 
Jefferson,  146 ;  described  by  Frank 
S.  Chanfrau,  146 ;  his  parentage,  142, 
157;  manager  of  the  Museum, 
Brooklyn,  152;  personal  appearance 
of,  146 ;  professional  career  of,  143- 
145 ;  repertory  of,  147 ;  version  of 
Rip  Van  Winkle  by,  149. 

Burke,  Mrs.  Thomas,  described  by 
Elizabeth  Jefferson,  135  ;  described 
by  I  reland,  155 ;  described  by  Lud- 
low,  156 ;  her  marriage,  157 ;  her 
parentage,  155. 

Butler,  Samuel,  18. 

Butler,  Samuel  W.,  described  by  Ire- 
land, 19;  epitaph  by  Charles  Swain, 
20. 


Caleb   Plummer,   as  impersonated  by 

Jefferson,  223. 

Chanfrau,  Francis  S.,  143,  146,  152. 
Chapman,  Samuel,  126. 
Chatham  Garden  theatre,  132. 
Chestnut  Street  theatre,   Philadelphia, 

64,  85,  124,  131-145. 
Clarke,  John  S.,  149,  189,  270. 
Colman's  Heir  at  Laiv,  227  ;  first  acted 

in  London,  230. 

Contemporaries  of  Jefferson,  233. 
Cooper,  Thomas,  56,  58,  59,  63. 
Cowell,  Joseph,  5,  124,  138. 
Coyle,  Robert,  131. 
Crow  Street  theatre,  Dublin,  n. 
Covent  Garden,  8. 
Cushman,  Charlotte,  170. 

Daly,  Augustin,  284. 

Davies,  Mrs.,  9. 

Davies,  Thomas,  9. 

Dillon,  Charles,  285. 

Douglas,  David,  49,  52. 

Douglas,  Mrs.,  52. 

Drake,  Samuel,  83. 

Dramatic  art  in  composition,  illustrated 
in  Boucicault's  The  Octoroon,  279; 
in  his  Belle  Lamar,  280 ;  in  his  '1'he 
Long  Strike,  281. 

Dramatic  method  supplies  an  element 
not  to  be  given  by  words,  283 ;  as  in 
the  opening  scenes  of  Hamlet,  283 ; 
or  of  Twelfth  Night,  284. 

Drew,  Mrs.John,  as  Mrs.  Malaprop,  222. 

Drury  Lane  theatre,  49. 

Drury  Lane,  Thomas  Jefferson's  ap- 
pearances with  Garrick  in,  5,7,  8. 


3'5 


316 


INDEX, 


Duff,  Mary  A.  D.,  120. 
Dunlap,  William,  54. 

Federal  Street  theatre,  64. 

Feeling  in  acting,  276;  illustrated  by 
anecdotes  of  Mrs.  Siddons,  277 ;  of 
Edmund  Kean,  277. 

Fennell,  James,  his  life,  92 ;  his  tribute 
to  Jefferson  and  Francis,  91. 

Fidelity  to  fact  in  acting  undesir- 
able, 273. 

Finn,  Henry  J.,  161. 

First  dramatic  performance  in  Amer- 
ica, 50. 

Fisher,  Charles  J.  B.,  138. 

Fletcher,  John,  104. 

Foote,  Samuel,  n. 

Ford,  John  T.,  describes  Charles 
Burke,  146 ;  describes  Joseph  Jeffer- 
son, 2d,  135 ;  first  theatrical  venture 
in  Washington,  269;  professional 
career  of,  in  Baltimore,  268 ;  in 
Philadelphia,  270;  through  the 
South,  270. 

Ford's  theatre,  seized  by  United  States 
government,  269. 

Fortune,  Esther,  56. 

Fortune,  Euphemia,  56;  her  marriage 
to  Joseph  Jefferson,  ist,  80. 

Forrest,  Edwin,  92,  102. 

Fraser,  Simon,  Lord  Lovat,  7. 

Garcia,  Maria  Felicite,  128. 

Garrick,  David,  and  Thomas  Jefferson 
compared,  45 ;  their  first  meeting, 
3,  8  ;  manager  of  Drury  Lane,  8,  49. 

Gibson,  John  B.,  95 ;  his  epitaph  on 
Joseph  Jefferson,  ist,  96. 

Goodman's  Fields  theatre,  9,  49,  51. 

Hackett,  James  H.,  178 ;   in  England, 

3°3- 

Hallam,  Lewis,  51. 
Hallam,  Thomas,  51. 
Hallam,  William,  49,  51. 
Havard,  William,  9. 
Haydon,  Benjamin,  26. 
Haydon,  Benjamin  R.,  27. 
Haymarket  theatre,  7,  27. 


Henderson,  12. 

Heron,  Matilda,  170. 

Hodgkinson,  John,  and  Hallam,  53; 
described  by  Bernard,  61 ;  described 
by  Elizabeth  Jefferson,  98 ;  his  pro- 
fessional career,  60,  61. 

Holland,  George,  253 ;  vocations  prior 
to  going  on  the  stage,  254  ;  close  of 
his  life,  in  New  York,  266 ;  first  en- 
gagement, 257 ;  his  English  career, 
257 ;  invited  to  America  by  Junius 
Brutus  Booth,  259,  293 ;  personal 
character,  266;  wanderings  in  the 
United  States,  260. 

Irving,  Washington,  184. 

Jefferson,  Charles  Burke,  193. 

Jefferson,  Cornelia,  157. 

Jefferson,  Elizabeth  (Mrs.  Chapman- 
Richardson-Fisher),  82;  marriage 
with  Mr.  Chapman,  126;  with  Mr. 
Richardson,  127 ;  with  Mr.  Fisher, 
127 ;  described  by  Wemyss,  125 ; 
family  bereavements,  127;  first  ap- 
pearance at  the  Chestnut  Street 
theatre,  124;  her  success  described 
by  Ireland,  126 ;  her  repertory,  129 ; 
the  close  of  her  life,  130. 

Jefferson,  Euphemia  (Mrs.  Ander- 
son), 80. 

Jefferson,  Frances  (Mrs.  Butler),  28. 

Jefferson,  Frances  Florence,  193. 

Jefferson,  Frank,  son  of  Joseph  Jeffer- 
son, 3d,  194. 

Jefferson,  Frank,  son  of  Thomas  Jef- 
ferson, 2,  18. 

Jefferson,  George,  18. 

Jefferson,  Henry,  194. 

Jefferson,  Hester  (Mrs.  Mackenzie), 
81,  84. 

Jefferson,  Jane,  82. 

Jefferson,  John,  SQJI  of  Thomas  Jeffer- 
son, 14. 

Jefferson,  John,  son  of  Joseph  Jeffer- 
son, ist,  80;  described  by  his  sister 
Elizabeth,  103. 

Jefferson,  Joseph,  ist,  23,  47,  57 ;  ad- 
vent in  America,  48 ;  and  Francis, 


INDEX. 


317 


91 ;  anecdote  illustrating  his  power 
in  old  men's  parts,  62;  as  an  actor, 
described  by  Wemyss,  91 ;  at  Park 
theatre,  58 ;  his  character  described 
byCowell.Sj;  described  by  Dunlap, 
54 ;  his  closing  days,  89 ;  his  epitaph 
by  Judge  Gibson,  96;  his  last  benefit, 
86;  Kennedy's  opinion  of,  90;  in 
Albany,  64 ;  personal  characteristics, 
121 ;  recollections  of,  by  his  daughter 
Elizabeth,  98 ;  repertory  of,  59,  106; 
under  Mrs.  Wignell's  management, 
70. 

Jefferson,  Joseph,  ad,  80 ;  described  by 
Elizabeth  Jefferson,  135  ;  described 
by  John  T.  Ford,  135 ;  his  birth- 
place in  Philadelphia,  131 ;  his 
children,  157;  his  death,  139;  his 
marriage  with  Mrs.  Thomas  Burke, 
133,  156;  his  repertory,  136;  mem- 
ber of  the  dramatic  company  of 
the  Chatham  Garden  theatre,  132. 

Jefferson,  Joseph,  3d,  104;  acting  in 
Australia,  172 ;  as  a  lecturer,  309 ; 
as  Acres  in  The  Rivals,  214;  as 
Caleb  Plummer,  223 ;  as  Dr.  Pan- 
gloss,  229 ;  as  Mr.  Golightly,  223 ; 
at  Booth's  theatre,  186,  188,  189; 
at  Ford's  Opera  House,  Baltimore, 
188 ;  at  McVicker's  theatre  in 
Chicago,  186 ;  at  the  New  National 
theatre,  165 ;  at  the  Olympic  theatre 
in  1866  and  1867,  183;  chronology 
of  the  life  of,  312;  experiences  as  a 
strolling  player,  163 ;  his  birthplace, 
158 ;  his  business  sagacity,  212 ;  his 
California  season,  172;  his  changes 
in  the  text  of  The  Rivals,  216 ;  his 
children,  193 ;  his  first  presentation 
of  Asa  Trenchard,  168 ;  his  imper- 
sonation of  the  character  of  Rip  Van 
Winkle,  203 ;  his  Louisiana  home, 
191 ;  his  marriage  with  Miss  Lock- 
yer,  194;  his  marriage  with  Miss 
Warren,  194 ;  his  maternal  ancestry, 
153;  his  place  among  his  associates, 
202 ;  his  repertory,  195 ;  his  trium- 
phant success  in  the  character  of 
Rip,  on  the  night  of  his  first  appear- 


ance in  London,  182;  later  parts, 
190;  personal  characteristics,  200; 
under  Burton's  management,  170; 
under  Miss  Keene's  management, 
168. 

Jefferson,  Joseph,  4th,  193. 

Jefferson,  Joseph  Warren,  194. 

Jefferson,  Josephine  Duff,  193. 

Jefferson,  Margaret  Jane,  193. 

Jefferson,  Thomas,  founder  of  the 
Jefferson  family,  i ;  as  Horatio  at 
the  Haymarket,  7 ;  his  exodus  from 
Ripon  to  London,  6;  his  first  ap- 
pearance on  the  stage,  9;  his  first 
meeting  with  Garrick,  3,  8 ;  his  pro- 
fessional rank,  12,  13 ;  last  appear- 
ance on  the  stage,  22;  personal 
appearance  described  by  Drink- 
water  Meadows,  2;  personal  char- 
acteristics, 31,  44;  repertory  of,  38; 
theatrical  manager,  7,  u,  17;  with 
Garrick  at  Drury  Lane,  5. 

Jefferson,  Mary  Anne  (Mrs.  Ingersoll- 
Wright),  82. 

Jefferson,  Thomas,  son  of  Joseph  Jef- 
ferson, ist,  80,  82,  84. 

Jefferson,  Thomas,  son  of  Joseph  Jef- 
ferson, 3d,  193. 

Jefferson,  Mrs.  Thomas  (Miss  May), 
14;  Davies's  account  of  her  death, 
15 ;  described  by  Wilkinson,  17. 

Jefferson,  Mrs.  Thomas  (Miss  Wood), 
18. 

Jefferson,  William  Winter,  194. 

John  Street  theatre,  52,  53,  56,  60. 

Keene,  Laura,  167 ;  as  manager  of  her 
theatre,  241 ;  early  engagements, 
240 ;  personal  appearance,  242 ;  pro- 
fessional career,  241. 

Kennedy,  John  P.,  90. 

Knowles,  Sheridan,  129. 

Kotzebue,  A.  F.  F.  von,  58. 

Lamb's  farce  of  Mr.  H.  acted  by  the 
Jeffersons  in  Philadelphia,  71 ;  no- 
tice of  first  performance  of,  296; 
prologue  to,  296. 


318 


INDEX. 


Lockyer,    Margaret    Clements    (Mrs. 

Joseph  Jefferson) ,  192. 
Lovat,  Lord,  7. 
Ludlow,    N.    M.,    his    description    of 

J.  Jefferson's  acting,  78. 

Mackenzie,  Alexander,  143. 
Macklin,  Charles,  9.  13,  30,  51. 
Macklin,  Maria,  9. 
Macready,    at    the    Chestnut    Street 

theatre,  79. 
Mattocks,  Mrs.,  51. 
Meadows,  Drinkwater,  i,  23. 
Memorials,  293. 
Merry,  Robert,  65. 
Miller,  J.  D.,  55. 
Moody,  John,  15,  48. 
Mossop,  Henry,  12,  30,  32. 
Mount  Vernon  Gardens,  62. 
Munden,  Mrs.,  60. 

Palmer,  9. 

Park  theatre,  19,  56,  64. 
Placide,  Alexander,  155. 
Powell,  C.  S.,  47. 
Power,  Tyrone,  128. 
Pritchard,  Mrs.,  9,  30. 

Quin,  James,  29,  45. 

Raymond,  John  T.,  professional  career, 
243 ;  as  Colonel  Sellers,  245 ;  per- 
sonal character,  245. 

Reddish,  Samuel,  17. 

Rehan,  Ada,  284. 

Rice,  Thomas  D.,  159. 

Rip  Van  Winkle,  the  story  of,  174 ;  first 
play  on  the  subject,  175 ;  the  char- 
acter of  Rip  Van  Winkle,  203 ; 
Bernard's  versions,  178 ;  Burke's 
version,  179 ;  Hewitt's  version,  178 ; 
the  version  used  by  Parsons,  177 ; 
by  Chapman,  177 ;  by  Hackett,  178 ; 
notable  early  casts  of,  305 ;  Bouci- 
cault's  revision,  180. 

Robinson,  Frederick  C.  P.,  as  Sir  An- 
thony Absolute,  222. 

Ryley,  Samuel  W.,  25. 


Self-control  in  acting,  276;  illustrated 
by  anecdotes  of  Mrs.  Siddons, 
Kean,  and  others,  277. 

Sheridan,  Thomas,  8,  12. 

Shuter,  Edward,  16. 

Simmonds,  James,  172. 

Sinclair,  John,  128. 

Sloman,  John,  101. 

Smith,  Mark,  246;  personal  character, 
247 ;  professional  career,  247 ;  reso- 
lutions passed  at  the  time  of  his 
death,  232 ;  scope  and  quality  of  his 
acting,  248. 

Smock  Alley  theatre,  Dublin,  8,  32. 

Sothern,  Edward  A.,  168 ;  his  parent- 
age, 233 ;  his  adventures  before 
emigrating  to  America,  233;  early 
appearances  in  Boston  and  New 
York,  234;  under  Laura  Keene's 
management,  235;  his  success  as 
Lord  Dundreary,  236 ;  his  repertory, 
236;  at  the  Haymarket,  London, 
236;  his  return  to  America  and  last 
engagements,  237 ;  his  art,  238 ;  his 
personal  character,  239. 

Stage  art,  272;  its  province,  287;  com- 
pared with  the  arts  of  poetry  and 
music,  288. 

Stage,  the,  in  its  palmy  days,  293. 

Stoddart,  James  H.,  281. 

Suett,  Richard,  55. 

Thomas,  M.,  153 ;  his  escape  from  St. 
Domingo,  154 ;  his  death,  158. 

Thomas,  Cornelia  Frances,  her  mar- 
riage with  Thomas  Burke,  155  ;  de- 
scribed by  Ludlow,  156 ;  her  death, 

157- 

Tilt-yard  coffee-house,  7. 
Tower  Hill,  7. 
Twaits,  William,  68. 

Wallack,  James  W.,  170. 
Waring,  Ann  D.,  132. 
Warren,  Hetty,  124. 
Warren,  William,  56,  57,  188,  298. 
Webb,  Miss  (Mrs.  Marshall- Wilmot), 
117. 


INDEX. 


319 


Wemyss,  Francis  Courtney,  70,  101. 
Westray,  Juliana  (Mrs.  Wood),  100. 
Wignell,  Mrs.,  65. 
Wilmot,  Mrs.,  117. 
Wilkinson,  Tate,  17,  32. 
Winter  Garden,  171. 


Wplfe,  21,  47. 
Woffington,  Mrs.,  7,  30. 
Wood,  William  B.,  70. 

Yates,  9. 
Yates,  Mrs.,  30. 


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traits in  Character  and  Other  Illustrations. 


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Uniform  with  the  i8mo.  edition  of  Mr.  Winter's  Works. 
With  a  Portrait. 


"  Mr.  Winter's  book,  aside  from  the  great  interest  of  its  subject  proper, 
and  without  considering  its  beauties  of  style  and  richness  of  material,  is 
valuable  for  the  many  fine  glimpses  it  gives  of  Booth's  contemporaries  in 
this  country  and  in  England.  Nor  are  these  glimpses  confined  to  the 
theatrical  life.  Many  of  the  most  distinguished  artists,  literary  men  and 
women,  editors,  statesmen,  and  scholars  were  his  friends,  and  delighted  in 
his  company.  The  frontispiece  of  the  book  is  a  striking  full-length  portrait 
of  Booth."  —  The  Independent. 


MACMILLAN   &   CO., 

66    FIFTH    AVENUE,    NEW   YORK. 


SHAKESPEARE'S   ENGLAND. 

With  numerous  full-page  and  vignette  illustrations  and  a  photogravure 
portrait  of  the  author  by  ARTHUR  JULE  GOODMAN. 

i2mo.    Full  gilt,  ornamental  cover.    $2.00. 


Also  without  illustrations  in  the 

Uniform  Edition  of  Mr.  Winter's  Works. 

i8mo.    Cloth.    Gilt  top.    75  cents. 


"  Mr.  Winter's  sympathy  with  English  antiquity  is  profound ;  he  writes 
reverently,  meditatively,  and  eloquently.  As  an  interpreter  of  the  thoughts 
and'  feelings  of  Americans  who  approach  historic  and  literary  England 
with  intelligent  appreciation  of  what  it  all  stands  for  to  them,  he  is  delightful, 
wise,  and  impressive."  —  New  York  Times. 

"  In  the  graceful  English  of  which  Mr.  Winter  is  a  master,  he  discourses 
as  only  a  poet  could,  and  surely  as  Shakespeare  himself  would  have 
desired,  on  Stratford-on-Avon  and  its  environs  —  the  most  satisfactory 
account  of  the  place  we  recall  —  and  on  the  kindred  topic, '  The  Shrines  of 
Warwickshire.'  Other  chapters  describe  with  the  same  enthusiasm  and 
delicate  appreciation  the  old  churches  and  literary  shrines  of  London, 
Westminster  Abbey,  Canterbury,  Stoke-Pogis,  Windsor,  and  other  historic 
places.  Every  lover  of  Shakespeare  should  own,  or  at  least  read,  the 
book."  —  Art  Amateur. 

"  He  offers  something  more  than  guidance  to  the  American  traveller. 
He  is  a  convincing  and  eloquent  interpreter  of  the  august  memories  and 
venerable  sanctities  of  the  old  country."  —  Saturday  Review. 

"  Enthusiastic  and  yet  keenly  critical  notes  and  comments  on  English 
life  and  scenery."  —  Scotsman. 

"  The  book  is  delightful  reading.  ...  It  is  a  delicious  view  of  England 
which  this  poet  takes.  It  is  indeed  the  noble,  hospitable,  merry,  romance- 
haunted  England  of  our  fathers,  —  the  England  which  we  know  of  iri  song 
and  story."  —  Scridner's  Monthly. 


GRAY   DAYS   AND  GOLD. 

New  Edition.     i8mo,  cloth,  gilt  top,  75  cents. 

"  This  book,  which  is  intended  as  a  companion  to  '  Shakespeare's  Eng- 
land,' relates  to  the  gray  days  of  an  American  wanderer  in  the  British 
Islands,  and  to  the  gold  of  thought  and  fancy  that  can  be  found  there. 
Mr.  Winter's  graceful  and  meditative  style  in  his  English  sketches  has 
recommended  his  earlier  volume  upon  [Shakespeare's]  England  to  many 
readers,  who  will  not  need  urging  to  make  the  acquaintance  of  this  com- 
panion-book, in  which  the  traveller  guides  us  through  the  quiet  and  roman- 
tic scenery  of  the  mother-country  with  a  mingled  affection  and  sentimerit 
of  which  we  have  had  no  example  since  Irving's  day." — The  Nation. 

"  No  more  delightful  guide  to  the  homes  and  haunts  of  genius  could 
any  reader  desire." — Kilmarnock  Journal. 

"  For  those  who  are  unable  to  visit  the  scenes,  and  have  to  be  content 
with  seeing  through  the  eyes  of  others,  a  better  description  would *be  diffi- 
cult to  find  ;  and  to  those  who  propose  to  visit  the  districts  no  more  useful, 
informing,  and  pleasant  companion  could  be  recommended." — Glasgow 
Herald. 

"  Mr.  Winter,  whether  he  writes  in  simple  prose  or  tuneful  verse,  is 
always  poetical,  and  it  is  one  of  his  chief  characteristics,  as  it  is  his  great- 
est charm  as  a  writer,  that  he  not  only  perceives  the  poetic  beauty  of  the 
scenes  he  visits,  but  that  he  makes  his  readers  perceive  it.  There  are  more 
golden  than  gray  days  in  this  book,  for  Mr.  Winter's  thought  is  like  to  an 
Eldorado  in  its  natural  opulence  of  wealth  ;  it  is  always  bright,  warm, 
glowing  with  color,  rich  in  feeling.  .  .  .  They  who  have  never  visited  the 
scenes  which  Mr.  Winter  so  charmingly  describes  will  be  eager  to  do  so  in 
order  to  realize  his  fine  descriptions  of  them,  and  they  who  have  already 
visited  them  will  be  incited  by  his  eloquent  recital  of  their  attractions  to 
repeat  their  former  pleasant  experiences. " — Public  Ledger,  Philadelphia. 

"They  show  at  their  best  their  author's  quick  sympathy  and  clear  in- 
sight into  the  essential  in  the  works  and  the  lives  of  those  who  have  made 
recent  English  literature  what  it  is — Burns,  Scott,  Byron,  Matthew  Arnold, 
Clough,  and  many  others.  He  has  followed  where  they  walked,  has  sat 
beside  their  graves,  has  entered  into  their  spirit." — Evangelist. 

"  Much  that  is  bright  and  best  in  our  literature  is  brought  once  more  to 
our  dulled  memories.  Indeed,  we  know  of  but  few  volumes  containing  so 
much  of  observation,  kindly  comment,  philosophy,  and  artistic  weight  as 
this  unpretentious  little  book." — Chicago  Herald. 

"  Is  as  friendly  and  good-humoured  a  book  on  English  scenes  as  any 
American  has  written  since  Washington  Irving." — Daily  News,  London. 


OLD  SHRINES   AND   IVY. 


i8mo,  cloth,  gilt  top,  75  cents. 

"This  volume,  in  harmony  with  the  edition  of  Mr.  Winter's  selected 
essays  and  poems  published  by  Macmillan  during  this  past  year,  contains 
some  of  his  most  charming  work.  The  essays  he  lays  as  offerings  upon 
the  shrines  of  history  and  of  literature.  Mr.  Winter  may  have  gone  in 
search  of  history,  but  his  offerings — praise  be  to  history  that  they  lie  upon 
her  shrine — are  bits  from  his  wanderings  in  England,  Scotland,  and 
France,  and  of  his  'lingering  in  lovely  Warwickshire.'  Here  he  medi- 
tated— and  the  thread  runs  through  all  the  book — upon  the  divine  poet  with 
whose  story  and  spirit  the  region  is  hallowed."— -Journal  of  Education. 

"It  is  a  thoughtful  book,  full  of  tender  and  reminiscent  ideas  strung 
together  on  the  thread  of  history." — Appeal  Avalanche. 

"  We  are  glad  to  have  these  gatherings  and  meditations  of  a  pure  and 
classic  dramatic  scholar  saved  from  the  fate  of  what  are  aptly  called 
'  fugitive  '  productions." — New  York  Observer. 

"  The  sketches  are  written  with  the  grace  and  sentiment  that  charac- 
terized so  happily  '  Gray  Days  and  Gold,'  and  the  shining  thread  of  the 
author's  Shakespearianism  runs  through  them." — Nation. 

"  A  decidedly  choice  specimen  of  good  literature  is  '  Old  Shrines  and 
Ivy,'  by  William  Winter,  devoted  at  the  outset  to  English  Cathedrals,  the 
pleasing  views  along  the  road  to  them,  the  historical  associations  of  the 
great  buildings  and' their  relations  to  Shakespeare's  plays,  and  adding 
instructive  critical  notes  on  some  of  the  plays  and  on  Sheridan's  '  School 
for  Scandal,'  and  closing  with  a  very  hearty  personal  tribute  to  Mr.  Long- 
fellow. " — Christian  Intelligencer. 

"  It  is  pleasant  to  visit  Arden  in  such  sympathetic  company  as  that  of 
William  Winter."— .SV.  Paul  Pioneer  Press. 

"Those  loving  Shakespeare  and  his  lovers  should  certainly  see  to  it 
that  this  dainty  little  book  is  not  only  on  their  shelves,  but  thoroughly 
read  and  re-read." — American  Hebrew. 

"  No  one  else  could  have  written  these  letters  and  essays.  They 
are  instinct  with  poetry,  and  they  breathe  that  reverence  for  the  great 
names  of  history  and  literature  which  seems  almost  to  have  been  crushed 
out  by  the  present  idolatry  of  material  achievement." — San  Francisco 
Chronicle. 


SHADOWS  OF  THE  STAGE. 

FIRST   SERIES. 

i8mo,  cloth,  gilt  top,  75  cents. 
*#*  Also  a  limited  large-paper  edition,  $2.00. 

"  His  stage  memories  are  models  of  the  best  dramatic  criticism,  not 
only  in  sympathetic  understanding  of  the  subject,  but  in  perfect  courtesy 
and  appreciation.  "—Journal  of  Education. 

"  Mr.  William  Winter's  impressionable  genius  has  seized  upon  the 
'shadows'  of  the  stage,  transforming  them  into  enduring  pictures  of 
reality  in  this  charming  little  book,  in  which  we  find  chapters  on  Jefferson, 
Edwin  Booth,  McCullough,  Adelaide  Neilson,  Irving,  Ellen  Terry,  Mary 
Anderson,  the  Florences,  Ada  Rehan,  and  others  ;  and  the  volume  is  one 
of  present  interest  and  future  value." — Boston  Budget. 

"Taken  one  by  one,  and  regarded  in  the  light  of  their  original  inten- 
tion, Mr.  Winter's  essays  present  features  of  very  high  merit.  He  pos- 
sesses a  full  vocabulary,  and  uses  it  with  freedom  and  vigour.  His 
impulsive  eloquence  gives  powerful  and  picturesque  expression  to  catholic 
sympathies  and  cultured  taste." — Saturday  Review. 

"  Mr.  Winter  has  long  been  known  as  the  foremost  of  American 
dramatic  critics,  as  a  writer  of  very  charming  verse,  and  as  a  master  in  the 
lighter  veins  of  English  prose." — Chicago  Herald. 

"  He  has  the  poise  and  sure  judgment  of  long  experience,  the  fine  per- 
ception and  cultured  mind  of  a  litterateur  and  man  of  the  world,  and  a 
command  of  vivid  and  flexible  language  quite  his  own.  One  must  look 
far  for  anything  approaching  it  in  the  way  of  dramatic  criticism ;  only 
Lamb  could  write  more  delightfully  of  actors  and  acting.  .  .  .  Mr.  Winter 
is  possessed  of  that  quality  invaluable  to  a  play-goer,  a  temperament  finely 
receptive,  sensitive  to  excellence  ;  and  this  it  is  largely  which  gives  his 
dramatic  writings  their  value.  Criticism  so  luminous,  kindly,  genial, 
sympathetic,  and  delicately  expressed  fulfils  its  function  to  the  utmost." — 
Milwaukee  Sentinel. 

"  This  little  book  is  in  every  way  delightful.  It  gives  us  charming 
glimpses  of  personal  character,  exquisite  bits  of  criticism,  and  the  indefina- 
ble charm  of  stage  life.  .  .  .  No  transcript  of  American  life  of  to-day  would 
be  complete  without  these  pictures,  and  Mr.  Winter  has  in  a  sense  done  a 
service  to  history  in  this  exquisite  little  book."—  Appeal  Avalanche. 


SHADOWS  OF  THE  STAGE. 

SECOND   SERIES. 
i8mo,  cloth,  gilt  top,  75  cents. 

*#*  Also  a  limited  large-paper  edition,  $2.00. 

"  The  reader  is  thrilled  almost  into  the  belief  that  he  himself  has  seen 
and  heard  these  great  ones,  so  illuminating  is  the  touch  of  this  biographer. 
How  fine  are  his  discriminations  ;  how  kindly  is  his  severest  censure  !" — 
Philadelphia  Record. 

"  Mr.  Winter's  exquisite  style  lends  a  charm  to  every  page  of  the 
'  Shadows,'  and  there  are  many  passages  of  analytical  criticism  that  make 
it  a  valuable  contribution  to  stage  literature." — Dramatic  Mirror. 

"  It  contains  sketches  of  the  elder  Booth,  who  was  probably  the  most 
original  actor  ever  seen  in  America ;  of  Forrest ;  of  James  H.  Hackett, 
celebrated  for  his  personation  of  Falstaff ;  of  John  E.  Owens ;  of  John 
Brougham  ;  of  Modjeska,  and  of  twenty  others,  either  in  some  special  or 
general  aspect.  An  appreciative  chapter  is  on  Ada  Rehan's  acting." — 
Chicago  Herald. 

"  The  essays  .  .  .  are  significant  not  only  as  containing  on  the  whole 
the  best  literary  criticism  of  the  drama  in  our  language  to-day,  but  as 
forming  with  the  first  series  under  its  title,  already  published,  a  tolerably 
complete  history  of  the  American  stage.  .  .  . 

"  Mr.  Winter's  rare  gifts  of  insight,  and  his  faculty  of  felicitous  ex- 
pression are  nowhere  more  conspicuous  than  in  these  papers,  which  em- 
brace a  wide  range  of  subject  in  their  treatment  of  dramatic  themes,  and 
in  their  comment,  commemorative  and  historical,  upon  actors,  most  of 
them  contemporary,  but  not  a  few  of  whom  have  already  joined  the 
'shadows'  on  the  other  shore." — New  York  Home  Journal. 

"  An  exceedingly  entertaining  contribution  to  the  history  of  the  Amer- 
ican drama." — Boston  Beacon. 

"  As  long  as  men  and  women  will  want  to  hear  and  read  about  the 
kings  and  queens  of  tragedy  and  comedy,  these  memorials  of  the  American 
stage  with  which  Mr.  Winter  has  been  contemporaneous  will  be  read  with 
delight.  ...  It  is  a  rare  intellectual  pleasure  to  read,  couched  in  this  pure 
and  crystalline  English,  the  calm  judgments  of  a  man  who  is  so  unmistak- 
ably facile  prin ceps  in  his  art." — Newark  Daily  Advertiser. 


WANDERERS. 

BEING  A  COLLECTION  OF  THE  POEMS  OF  WILLIAM  WINTER. 

New  Edition,  Revised  and  Enlarged.     With  a  Portrait  of  the 
Author.     i8mo,  cloth,  gilt  top,  75  cents. 

%*  Also  a  limited  large-paper  edition,   printed  on  English 
hand-made  paper.     Price,  $2.50. 

"  Free  from  cant  and  rant — clear-cut  as  a  cameo,  pellucid  as  a  moun- 
tain brook.  It  may  be  derided  as  trite,  bornf,  unimpassioned ;  but  in 
its  own  modest  sphere  it  is,  to  our  thinking,  extraordinarily  successful, 
and  satisfies  us  far  more  than  the  pretentious  mouthing  which  receives  the 
seal  of  over-hasty  approbation. " — AtJtenceum. 

"  They  evince  the  true  poetic  spirit,  and  for  daintiness,  combined  with 
elegance,  depth,  and  power,  rank  with  many  of  the  best  poems  of  the  cen- 
tury. To  any  one  unfamiliar  with  Mr.  Winter's  peculiar  gift  this  appears 
to  be  strong  praise,  but  in  his  little  volume  will  be  found  many  gems  of 
rare  purity  and  sentiment." — Minneapolis  Tribune. 

"  A  most  graceful  and  felicitous  poet  of  occasions,  Mr.  Winter  is  yet 
more.  He  has  the  poet's  temperament,  with  all  its  delicacy  of  intuitive 
insight,  its  susceptibility  to  beauty,  and  its  ardent  emotion.  His  music  is 
all  in  minor  chords,  and  if  it  is  not  the  heroic  call  to  life,  the  triumphant 
faith  in  the  life  to  come,  it  is  so  sympathetic  and  so  sweet  in  its  sadness 
that  it  charms  the  imagination  like  a  plaintive  melody  heard  in  the 
shadowy  twilight." — Boston  Budget. 

"Mr.  Winter  has  gone  back  for  his  inspiration  to  the  English  lyrical 
poets  of  the  Elizabethan  period  and  their  successors,  who,  in  spite  of 
many  changes  in  taste,  still  retain  a  secure  place  in  our  affections ;  and 
their  sweetness,  simplicity,  and  spontaneity  are  easily  traceable  in  his 
limpid  verse." — Home  Journal  (New  York). 

"Whatever  the  theme  of  his  song,  he  gives  it  that  exquisite  finish  and 
imparts  to  it  that  true  poetic  touch  that  cannot  fail  to  charm  the  reader 
who  is  blessed  with  a  keen  appreciation  of  the  high,  beautiful,  and  true 
elements  of  poetry.  He  is  graceful,  harmonious,  spontaneous,  apprecia- 
tive, and  strong." — Boston  Home  Journal. 

"...  A  collection  of  some  poems  as  true  as  any  that  have  been 
penned  in  the  language  for  a  century.  The  commendation  is  a  strong 
one,  but  it  is  only  just.  Mr.  Winter  in  every  verse  gives  full  testimony  of 
the  possession  of  the  real  poetic  spirit." — Chicago  Times. 


GEORGE  WILLIAM  CURTIS. 

With  Portrait.     18mo,  cloth,  75  cents. 

"  Mr.  Winter  easily  ranks  among  the  most  justly  appreciative  of 
critics  and  the  most  graceful  of  writers,  and  also  was  intimately  ac- 
quainted with  Mr.  Curtis.  From  any  point  of  view  this  eulogy  com- 
mands a  high  degree  of  admiration,  and  will  he  read  with  wide  atten- 
tion and  interest.  It  is  a  literary  treasure  in  itself  apart  from  its  theme." 
—  Congregationalist. 

"  It  is  the  affectionate  tribute  of  one  who  was  a  firm  and  intimate 
friend  of  the  dead  scholar  and  who  knew  the  good  qualities  which  were 
his.  It  is  eloquent  and  pathetic  in  many  instances,  and  full  of  reminis- 
cence." —  Chicago  Times. 

"  A  splendid  tribute  to  one  of  the  foremost  men  of  letter  America 
has  produced."  —  Chicago  Herald. 

"  William  Winter's  tender,  appreciative,  eloquent,  and  just  eulogy  on 
George  William  Curtis  is  rightly  published  in  book  form  and  will  be 
read  and  cherished  by  thousands  of  earnest  Americans.  .  .  .  Mr. 
Winter  has  drawn  a  portrait  full  of  color  and  feeling."  —  Boston 
Beacon. 

"  A  fragrant  tribute  that  now,  embalmed  between  the  covers  of  a 
book,  will  shed  lasting  sweetness."  —  Philadelphia  Record. 

"  Mr.  Winter's  tribute  to  the  memory  of  his  lifelong  friend  is  not  a 
task  done  perfunctorily.  Manifestly  his  heart  inspired  the  words  that 
he  spoke.  The  verdict  of  the  future  respecting  Curtis's  rank  as  an 
author,  as  a  man  of  letters,  as  an  oratcir,  and  as  a  citizen,  can  hardly  be 
made  up  without  a  reference  to  this  tiny  volume;  for  it  embodies  from 
the  experience  and  observation  of  a  clear-sighted  contemporary  a  sum- 
mary of  the  moral  and  intellectual  forces  that  environed  Curtis  from  his 
youth  up.  It  shows  that  a  thorough-going  biography  of  the  man  would 
mean  a  history  of  the  literature  and  politics  of  the  nation  during  a  most 
important  period." — New  York  Tribune. 


MACMILLAN   &   CO., 

66   FIFTH   AVENUE,    NEW  YORK. 


PN  Winter,  William 

2287      Life  and  art  of  Joseph 

J4.W5  Jefferson 

1894 


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