The autobiography of Joseph Jefferson . ticular request. Now if Hamlet can be acted without the hero,why may not Pocahontas be played without theheroine ? You all know that * Pocahontas is amuch finer play than Hamlet; and if you do not,I do, for I wrote it myself Will you permit us tomake the experiment ? The cries of Certainly, Go on ! were so encouraging that Broughamretired amidst applause and the curtain was rungup. The burlesque proceeded admirably until themusic was played for the entrance of the absentsquaw. The audience wondered what Broughamcould possibly do. He was acting the father


The autobiography of Joseph Jefferson . ticular request. Now if Hamlet can be acted without the hero,why may not Pocahontas be played without theheroine ? You all know that * Pocahontas is amuch finer play than Hamlet; and if you do not,I do, for I wrote it myself Will you permit us tomake the experiment ? The cries of Certainly, Go on ! were so encouraging that Broughamretired amidst applause and the curtain was rungup. The burlesque proceeded admirably until themusic was played for the entrance of the absentsquaw. The audience wondered what Broughamcould possibly do. He was acting the father, Pow-hatan, and was on the stage awaiting the approachof his daughter. He immediately addressed theaudience somewhat in the following words : Ladiesand gentlemen, that is the sweet strain which issupposed to bring Pocahontas on the stage; youare aware that she is at present in Baltimore, andthe law of the land will not permit a Christian,much less a savage, to be in two places at can yourselves vouch for the alibi; but if she. T. W. ROBERTSON. OF JOSEPH JEFFERSON 317 were here she would say — and here assumingthe look and tones of the absentee, Brougham spokeher part first, then assumed his own character, andso kept up the dialogue. The audience were con-vulsed with laughter at the admirable imitation,and by their applause acknowledged that Broughamhad outdone himself through the wit with whichhe had mastered the difficulty. Among the many new friends I made in Lon-don none was more delightful to meet than TomRobertson. During my engagement at the Adel-phi he was writing his domestic comedies for thePrince of Waless Theater, then under the manage-ment of that vivacious actress and industrious littlemanager Marie Wilton. Robertsons plays were nearly all successful, anddeservedly so too, for they contained original char-acters, bright and witty dialogue, and were entirelyfree from the French coarseness that had character-ized so many of their predecessors. All honor t


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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjectjeffers, bookyear1890