They took all these small mishaps in the best possible humor, as a part
of life’s comedy. Joe Jefferson had substituted a red bandanna
handkerchief for the lost hat and treated the whole affair as a
delightful joke. Presently we all sat down to a luncheon elegant and
elaborate, after the fashion of the time, the table being faultless in
its service and appointments.
Joseph Jefferson was brilliant and delightful, evidently enjoying the
conversation. The geniality and cheeriness of his stage characters were
but a reflection of his own sunny disposition. If he had stood in the
shoes of Rip Van Winkle, Caleb Plummer, or Bob Acres, he would have
taken life as cheerfully as they did. After seeing him in private life I
understood better the spirit of his acting. The Jefferson of the parlor
was the Jefferson of the stage, save that the man himself was more
brilliant, more original than the men of a simple type whom he
habitually portrayed. He possessed that highest form of art which
conceals itself. At the Booth luncheon he talked of many things—of art,
his pictures, the proper light for the stage, his children, his farm in
Florida, his delight in roaming through the woods with his fishing-rod.
We enjoyed hearing many theatrical anecdotes which gave us peeps behind
the scenes. Mr. Jefferson told us of a mistake he once made in “Lend Me
Five Shillings.” Forgetting that he had already delivered certain lines,
he repeated them—no applause followed! Just as he was wondering what the
matter was, the actress with whom he was playing whispered, “You have
repeated your lines.” William Warren confessed that he had had a
somewhat similar experience in “Our American Cousin,” when he struck a
match by the right end, lighting it, to his horror and surprise.
According to the play, he should have struck the wrong end—and the
mistake drove his part out of his head for a moment, when a fellow-actor
gave him his lines, in a stage whisper! William Warren, “the Boston
favorite,” was a relative of Joseph Jefferson or of Mrs. Jefferson. They
called him “Uncle William,” and all treated him with the most
affectionate respect. He was the eldest of the three actors, and already
in failing health. Hence he was grave and quiet in manner when we saw
him in private life, although inimitably funny on the stage. It seldom
happens that so excellent an actor is content to remain all his life a
member of a stock company, performing in a single city—but this was
Warren’s choice. The strong affection in which he was held was doubtless
a compensation to this inimitable actor for the loss of a wider fame. He
died not long after this time.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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