Smyrna times., 1869-02-24
AnecdOte of the Elder Booth.

Mr.. Elihu Burritt contributes to the Febru-
ary number Of Pdckdrd$ N0nthly an interest
ing article under the title Of Breathing a
Living Soul into Dead Words" in which the
following annecdote is told of the elder Booth
"The elder Booth was man who threw in
to his impersonatlOns an amount of heart and
soul which his originals could scarcely have
equalled. He did Richard Ill to the life, and
more. He had made human passions, emo
tions and experiences his life's study. lie
could not only act but feel rage, love, despair,
hate, ambition, fury, hope and revenge with
depth and force that amazed his auditors
He could tranSmute himself into the hero of
his impersOnatiOn, and he could breathe a pow
er into other mems written words which per-
haps was never surpassed And what is rath-
er remarkable, when he was inclined to give
illustrations of this faculty to private circles of
friends, he nearly always selected some paSsa-
ges from Job, David, or Isaiah, or other holy
men of old. Whcnan aspiring young professor
of Harvard University went to him by night,
to ask little advice or instruction in qualify
ing himself for an orator, the veteran tragedi-
an opened the Bible and read few verses
from Isaiah in a way that made the Cambridge
scholar tremble with awe, as If the prophet
had risen from the dead and were utterlng his
sublime visions in his ears He was then re-
siding in Baltimore and pious, urbane old
gentlemen OF that city, hearing of his wonder
tul power OF elocution, one day invited him to
dinner, although strongly dcprccating the stage
and all theatrical performances.
| "A large company sat down to the table, and
on returning to the drawing room one of them
requested Booth, as a special favor to them all,
to repeat the Lords Prayer lie signited his
willingness to crafty them, and all eyes were
! fixed upon him. lie slowly and revcrentially
arose from his chair, trembling with the bur
den of two conceptions. He had to realize the
character, attributes and presence of the Al
mighty Being he was to address. He was to
transform himself into poor, sining, stumb-
ling, benighted, needy suppliant offering hon.
age, asking bread, pardon, light and guidance.
Says one of the company present: 1t was won
derful to watch the play of emotions that con-
vulsed his cOuntenance. He became deathly
pale, and his eyes, turned tremblingly upwards,
were wet with tears. As yet he had not spoken.
The silence could be felt; it had become abso-
lutely painful, until at last the spell was broken
as if by an electric shock, as his rich-tOned
voice, from white lips, syllablcd forth Our
Father, which art in Heaven, &c, with a
pathOs and fervid solemnity that thrilled all
hearts. He finished; the silence continued
not voice was heard nor a muscle moved in
his rapt audience, until, from a remote corner
of the room, subdued sob was heard, and the
old gentleman (the host) stepped forward, with
streaming eyes and tottering frame, and seized
Booth by the hand. Sir said he, in broken
accents, you have afforded me pleasure fol-
which my whole future life will feel grateful
l am an old man, and every day, from boyhoot
to the present time, l thought had repeated
the Lords Prayer; but l never heard it before
never
"' You are right replied Booth. TO reat
that prayer as it should be read caused me th'
severest study and labor for thirty years, ant
| am far from being satisfied with my render
ing of that wonderful production. Hardly on,
person in ten thousand comprehends how mucl
beauty, tenderness and grandeur can be con
densed in a space so small and in words so sim
pie. That prayer itself sufficiently illustrate
the truth of the Bible, and stamps upon it tn,
seal of divinity SO great was the effect pro
duced, says our informant, that conversation
was sustained but short time longer in sub
dued monosyIlables, and almost entirely ceased
and soon after, at an early hour, the compan.
broke up and retired to their several homes
with sad faces and full hearts"