, 1885-01-08
HALL
The Gracious Compliments Of an
English Actor.
1EIenes. OF the Country and Push OF
the PeopIe-surpri.fngiy Large
cities and Wonderful
Bridzcs-


william Terrisa in st. stephena' Review.l
You have asked me to give my impressions
OF the states, and, 30 far as / can, l gladly
nccede TO your request. Naturally / re-
garded tho Inhabitants through the actors
speetacles, and II my lens did not play me-
false. / consider that Americans are az a
p~lny-going race fonder, far fonder, OF all
that pertains TO the dmma than we arc over
hsre They are quicker at catching pointz
There Is an earnest spontaneity about their
applause which spells REAL In big capitals,
and that actor must have a sluggish liver IN
deed who Is not stirred to something like re-
ciprocity when an American audience Arises"
at him ~
/ found the American race one OF the most
hospitable and free hearted sections OF the
worlds teeming millions I have ever met,
and as have explored a good many sections
OF our planet during the last twenty years, I
am able to draw contrasts from experience,
They ars warm-hearted and impulsive, and /
can conceive Of no finer pleasure excursion
for an actor-at least a juvenile ~acfor-than
a short playing tour from New York to San
Frnncisco. The broad, burly. arms OF
Americas Bohemians arc hsld out, and
there arc hand-grips and pleasant
greetings from jolly good, albeit
loigh "humans' you have never met
before, but who mean all they say. This
large class OF society eagerly welcomes you.
makes much Of you, and, what Ia better than
all else, you feel that It Is not the lionizinR
sentiment which Is ~actuating your host, but
tho wish TO make a fellow feel at homo three
thousand odd miles away from his own
hearthstcnA Personally, I take this oppor-
tunity. late In tho day though It be. Of ex.
pressing my sense Of gratitude to the whole
American public for the manner In which
they received me. and l hops / shall not be
accused OF doing It in any other spirit than
that Of sincerity.
rs one travels through the states the i'm
mensity Of the country impreasss- In Great
Britain, the run from Aberdeen 10 Euston
makes one begin to feel that the right little
tight little island Is a bit OF a misnomar after
all. and that the Alitfle7 Is an adjective that
could with safety be omitted, but In the
states the distances are appalling. or course
one knows the actual linear measurement in
miles and furlongs between New York and
Chicago, but try the journey, and tho feel
ing Of space begins to grow on one until the
min can occupy itself with little else.
Every man should love his native land and
feel proud OF 1t, but the American does mere,
he rovels In the vastness OF his; and no one
who has travarsed IL can wonder at the
boastfnlness which sometimes makes a full
blooded Yankee believe that the world be-
gins at Manhattan and ends ut the port OF
Monterey. Ipassed through q great many
large towns whose names are nevsr or seldom
heard of over here. yet whose Dimensions
from the railway suggested places as large
rs Bristol, Leicester or Nottingham; and
this Is a point which I defy any average
Englishman 10 miss noting with surprise.
Again, tho confidence Of the American In
himself and his country, but particularly In
himself, is a feature which is bound 10 at
tract the most unohservnnt mind. A slight
Incident which I noticed repeatedly will
serve to illustrate my meaning. I saw a lad
OF about 10 or Il complacently driving a
high-spirited animal along the public high
why at quite fourteen miles an hour, with
all the sane<pid Of a WAGNER jogging
along a Kentish turnpike at three, In Eng
land such furious driving is confined to
butcher boys in London and suburban
thoroughfares, whom tho policeman Is con.
vcniently absent. In the states II seems
the rule. The engineering feats, again,
are something astounding to witness.
Ono Is absolutely lost in wondermont when
contemplating the Brooklyn bridge, those
gigantic structures thrown across tho Missis-
sippi at St. Louis, tho truly marvellous
bridges across Niagara and the monster
hotels everywhere. which surpass the hugost
carnvansaries of fairydom- We think q
good deal of Richmond and Windsor parks
at least l debut after seeing several lovely
specimens OF Yankee parks lone OF which /
thought Of exploring and walking through,
until I ( md It was n~inety-hve miles In cir
cumferenco) Windsor and Richmond suffer
considerably, though their trees and gladss
have yet 70 DO beaten out west
Thu go-ahead characteristics Of tho nation
speak out In every city, street and sidewalk.
Nothing Is old-al new, all fresh-delight-
fully fresh-like spring. Can ! put the case
more forciblyi Everything they do Is great;
their chief trait-a trait I admire, Ike all
people who possess but little OF it-energy.
Their perseverance, Is q national character
istic, one Of their strongest points, and they
are proud Of 1t. The dogged pcrtinacity that
one hundred years ago gained them their in
dependence and which again two decades
since stamped out the blot Of their escutch-
con OF liberty at the cost OF a warfare which
for duration and obstinacy recalls the Punic
campaigns OF classic lore, Is a. rampant as
ever. IL is that very perseverance whic b
will one day mako them ono OF the greatest,
II not the greatest, power in tho world. q
really think l must have borrowed some Of
their perseverance, to nave ~,ritten so length-
ily.l may add that, finally, / shall not rest
satisfied till Ihaye once again Waited my
friendr in the dear now world. IIItF