Life of Edwin Forrest, the American Tragedian. Volume 2 (of 2)Alger, Horatio, Jr.
General
Life of Edwin Forrest, the American Tragedian. Volume 2 (of 2)
Alger, Horatio, Jr.
Forrest, Edwin, 1806-1872
“I am compelled to address you, by reports and rumors that reach me
from every side, and which a due respect for my own character
compels me not to disregard. You cannot forget that before we parted
you obtained from me a solemn pledge that I would say nothing of the
guilty cause; the guilt alone on your part, not on mine, which led
to our separation; you cannot forget that, at the same time, you
also pledged yourself to a like silence, a silence that I supposed
you would be glad to have preserved; but I understand from various
sources, and in ways that cannot deceive me, that you have
repeatedly disregarded that promise, and are constantly assigning
false reasons for our separation, and making statements in regard to
it intended and calculated to exonerate yourself and to throw the
whole blame on me, and necessarily to alienate from me the respect
and attachment of the friends I have left to me. Is this a fitting
return for the kindness I have ever shown you? Is this your
gratitude to one who, though aware of your guilt and most deeply
wronged, has endeavored to shield you from the scorn and contempt of
the world? The evidence of your guilt, you know, is in my
possession; I took that evidence from among your papers, and I have
your own acknowledgment by whom it was written, and that the
infamous letter was addressed to you. You know, as well as I do,
that the cause of my leaving you was the conviction of your
infidelity. I have said enough to make the object of this letter
apparent; I am content that the past shall remain in silence, but I
do not intend, nor will I permit, that either you, or any one
connected with you, shall ascribe our separation to my misconduct.
“I desire you, therefore, to let me know at once, whether you have
by your own assertions, or by sanctioning those of others,
endeavored to throw the blame of our miserable position on me. My
future conduct will depend on your reply.
“Once yours,
“EDWIN FORREST.”
To this the writer received immediate response:
“I hasten to answer the letter Mr. Stevens has just left with me,
with the utmost alacrity, as it affords me, at least, the melancholy
satisfaction of correcting misstatements, and of assuring you that
the various rumors and reports which have reached you are false.
“You say that you have been told that I am ‘constantly assigning
false reasons for our separation, and making statements in regard to
it intended and calculated to exonerate myself and throw the whole
blame on you;’ this I beg most distinctly to state is utterly
untrue.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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