Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1877-10-04
Lawrence Barret's Estimate of Forrest.

/
As his life had been made solitary by
misfortune, so Death found him alone,
coming one early morning into his
silent chamber, and summoniug him to
that rest which the world had denied
him.
The great actor slept, leaving behind
him a charity which he had hoped to
perfect before he died, by which his fel,
lows might be made happier, leaving
behind him fame such as no Ameri-
can may expect to rival for many gener-
ations, out taking with him power
and a manliness which he could not be-
queath, royalty OF soul which despised
all cowardice where the dramas inter
ests were involved, and scorn for pro-
| fessional meanness Of every kind.
can testify to the warm interest
which Mr. Forrest took in all young
actors who seemed earnestly to desire
advancement, and were willing to labor
for that end While | was fulfilling an
engagement at the Chestnut street
theatre, in Philadelphia many years
ago, Mr.. Forest, then at home for va
vacation, occupied box nearly every
evening curing my performances and
between the acts would send me few
lines, upon card, OF an encouraging
character, OF point out some error which
he had detected. / was only too happy
/ to be thus instructed, and felt deeply
the compliment paid to me in this way
In all his suggestions and corrections
| found him to be In the right. [ never
rebelled but once, and he kindly re-
! ferred to me to the authorizes upon the
subject. when | was taught hum lily,
and my apology and thanks covered
| the shame Of my rebellion. During
this engagement | saw uch of him
socially, and rarely discovered any OF
| those harsh features of character for
which he was roted among men. He
spoke invariably OF his fellow actors
with tenderness; and when he had been
deceived, o. his confidence had been
abused, ne silently passed the offender
/ by. In this respect, lptesume, his con
! duct had undergone change from ea--
tlierha5:s; success had made him egg
tistical certainly, and this egotism
| showed itself sometimes in a humorous
way, sometimes in a serious one.
| He often declared that to be a success
| full actor man must have acquired a
! liberal education IN the progress of his
professional wo k. He certainly was
an excellent illustration of his own
theory. He owed books keenly, and
knew them too.
In summing up lie like this, vine e
/ strength and weakness are in forcibn
contrast, is impossible to deny that q.
man had appeared before his time who
was destined to exercise so great an in
fluence upon the drama as he did. He
I loved his art with all the fondness of a
woman and he gave his lie and fortune
/ to it. Possessing the grandest qualfica-
/ ton of an actor, he omitted no labor to
improve himself, scornin9 alike the eva
sions OF the sluggaId and the tricl1ery
| OF the charlatan.
To the indolent and unworthy his
wrath was sudden and unsparing; to the
earnest student he was as gentle as a
| child. All the stories of his crueltes
splang from his unsparing hatred OF
halfness in his profession. Studious and
constant himself, he could tolerate nc
indifference in others. He has lelJ a
/ space which it is scarcely possible to
! NIL. Many nave Strlyen to possess
themselves Of the cast-of robes of the
/ dead king. But how shrunken and
! shrivelled do their lean anatomies ap-
pear in those ample garments! They
copied only his defects and fancied they
grasped his excellencies. But all actors
may hope to profit by his instructive
career; preserving the same high aim
fer the Drama; laboring to keep the
actors fame as spotless as his calling;
striving with the same honest purpose
and fidelity to attain deserved rewards
and scorhing all those external means
Of notoriety by which an ephemera'
success, is gained, at the cost of sin
cerIty, truth. and the very integrity o.
the drama itself.-The GALAXY for Octo
| Der.