Broun (with whom I have
unfortunately not the honour of an acquaintance) will forgive me
for calling his attention to what is indeed a serious, and I
might say, unbelievable, misstatement. In my younger days, now
long past, it was not considered infra dig for a critic to reply
to such letters as this, and I hope that Mr. Broun will deem this
epistle worthy of consideration, and recognize the justice of my
complaint.
I remember well a controversy that raged between critic and
public for many weeks in the days when Joe Jefferson was playing
Rip Van Winkle. Ah, sir, do you remember (but, of course, you
don't) that entrance of Joe in the first act with his dog
Schneider? That was not my first play by many years, but I
believe that it is still my favorite. I think the first time I
ever attended a dramatic performance was in the winter of '68
when I was a student at Harvard College. Five of us freshmen went
into the old Boston Museum to see Our American Cousin. Joe
Chappell was with us that night and the two Dawes boys and, I
think, Elmer Mitchell. One of the Dawes twins was, I believe,
afterwards prominent in the Hayes administration. There were many
men besides Will Dawes in that Harvard class who were heard from
in later years. Ed Twitchell for one, and "Sam" Caldwell, who was
one of the nominees for vice president in '92. I sat next to Sam
in "Bull" Warren's Greek class. THERE was one of the finest
scholars this country has ever produced--a stern taskmaster, and
a thorough gentleman.
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