Life of Edwin Forrest, the American Tragedian. Volume 1 (of 2)Alger, Horatio, Jr.
General
Life of Edwin Forrest, the American Tragedian. Volume 1 (of 2)
Alger, Horatio, Jr.
Forrest, Edwin, 1806-1872
"On Friday last, the day named by Mr. Forrest, this gratifying
testimonial of regard for an individual whose character as a citizen,
not less than his genius as an actor, has insured for him general
respect, was carried into effect at the City Hotel. The repast
provided for the occasion by Mr. Jennings, the accomplished director
of that establishment, displayed all that taste and splendor for which
his entertainments are remarkable. At six o'clock a very numerous
company, comprising a large number of our most distinguished and
talented citizens, sat down to the table. The Honorable Wm. T. McCoun,
Vice-Chancellor, presided, assisted by General Prosper M. Wetmore, Mr.
Justice Lownds, and Alderman Geo. D. Strong as Vice-Presidents. On the
right of the President was seated the guest in whose honor the feast
was provided, and on his left the Honorable Cornelius W. Lawrence,
Mayor of the City. Among the guests were the managers of the several
principal theatres in the United States in which the genius of Mr.
Forrest has been most frequently exercised, together with several of
the most esteemed members of the theatrical profession; among them the
veteran Cooper and the inimitable and estimable Placide.
"On the removal of the cloth the following regular toasts were
proposed:
"REGULAR TOASTS.
"1. _The Drama._--The mirror of nature, in which life, like Narcissus,
delights to contemplate its own image.
"2. _Shakspeare._--Like his own Banquo, 'father of a line of
kings'--monarchs who rule with absolute sway the passions and
sympathies of the human heart.
"Previous to offering the third toast, the chairman, Chancellor
McCoun, addressed the company in the following terms:
"To your kindness and partiality, gentlemen, I owe it that the
pleasing duty devolves upon me of consummating the object for which
we are this day met together. To render a suitable acknowledgment
to worth is one of the most grateful employments of generous minds.
But with how much more alacrity is such an office undertaken when
the worth is of so mingled a character that it equally commands the
admiration of our intellects and the applause of our hearts, and when
it is to be exercised not for merit of foreign growth and already
stamped with foreign approbation, but for the offspring of our own
soil and nursed into fame by our own encouragement.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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