MEMOIR ANI) THEATRICAL CAREER OF IRA ALDRIDGE, THE AFRICAN ROSCIUS. “ Mislike me not for my complexion, The shadowed livery of the burnished Sun.” Shakspeare. LONDON: PUBLISHED BY ONVYIIYN, CATHARINE STREET, STRAND ; AND PRINTED BY FREDERIC LEDGER, 3, CATHARINE STREET, STRAND. PRICE SIXPENCE.MEMOIR THEATRICAL C A R EE R IRA ALDRIDGE, THE AFRICAN ROSCIUS. “ Mixlike me not for my complexion, The shadowed livery of the burnished Sun.” Shakspeare. LONDON: PUBLISHED BY ONWIIYN, CATHARINE STREET, STRAND ; AND PRINTED BY FREDERIC LEDGER, 3, CATHARINE STREET, STRAND. PRICE SIXPENCE. AND OFTO SIR EDWARD LYTTON BULWER LYTTON, BART., M.P., * Distinguished Philanthropist, Author, and Friend to the Drama, THIS MEMOIR IS DEDICATED, With the Liveliest Feelings of Respect and Admiration, BY THE AUTHOR.To the > philosopher, the philanthropist, the physiologist—to the man interested in the whole human family, and capable of drawing liberal con- clusions from the various characteristics which, under different aspects, it exhibits, this brief memoir of one- who stands forth a conspicuous specimen of a “ distinct ” and “ marked ” race, and a living illustration of their intel- lectual capabilities, will be peculiarly acceptable. It will tell of an Ethiopian—“ a black ”—who, notwithstanding the abject state in which most of his kind “ Live, and move, and have their being,” has obtained, and maintains among us Europeans—“ whites ”—who deem ourselves to be the most civilized and enlightened people upon God’s earth, a reputation whose acquisition demands the highest qualities of the mind and the noblest endowments of the person. The acquirements of a scholar, the conception of a poet, and the accom- plishments of a gentleman, must be united in one individual before he can become eminent as an actor. These mental and physical advantages have been found to exist in an African; and to such a degree are they by him exhibited, that he, in his single person, and as a champion of his sable brethren, gives the lie direct to the most “refined” among us who, in his prejudice, his exclusiveness, and his ignorance, shall harbour the remotest doubt of an African being, to all intents and purposes, “ A man and a brother.” It is not, however, the present endeavour of the writer to “ point a moral and adorn a tale;” but to give, in the fewest possible words, a concise history of one whose career, describe it as you may, cannot fail to fill the reflective mind with thoughts of deepest interest. It is impossible to regard one man of colour as a being of extraordinary faculties, possessing a soul capable of appreciating, and endowments equal to the representation of immortal Shakespeare’s great creations, and not sigh in serious contem- plation of the wrongs of thousands of his countrymen, treated by their paler brethren as mindless, heartless, soulless, feelingless clay, bearing the cor- poreal impress of humanity, but cruelly or thoughtlessly denied its spiritual attributes. No : a moral lesson will present, and even intrude itself with the simple fact, that the swarthy native of Africa is as capable of cultivationas the fairest son of Albion : a fact in which the better portion of mankind rejoice, and one from which the advocate of slavery turns, but turns in vain, for Truth must in time prevail. Mr. Ira Aldridge, the gentleman whose memoir is here given, has been long celebrated in the provinces, and not altogether unknown in London, as a performer of surpassing excellence. His fame as an actor has extended far and wide throughout Great Britain, but not until now has the Metropolis become .perfectly acquainted with his singular merits. His recent appear- ance at the Surrey Theatre has created not only a sensation in the theatrical world, but a degree of curiosity throughout society in general; and the novelty of his performances, and his unequivocal success, arc matters so striking and suggestive, that a brief account of his origin and pro- fessional progress, requires 110 apologetic preface; and we verily believe that the Anti-Slavery Society have not published a tract containing more incontrovertible evidence of the African’s natural claims, than may be found in these pages. Well-informed people need not be told that a great amount of the highest order of human intelligence is to be met with in people of colour. We have Africans who have attained eminence in the arts and sciences. In the Church, the Law, and in Medicine—in all our professions and trades, have they won honours and wealth; and the hue of the skin is known to be 110 natural impediment to the acquirement of learning, the cultivation of inge- nuity, and the practice of virtue; but Mr. Aldridge is, we believe, the first born negro who has earned for himself a reputation in the highest walks of the Drama, and lie deserves all the credit of having so signalized himself. We cannot pay to the inky-visaged children of the Sun those personal compliments which are often lavished upon fairer faces. There is black marble as well as white; but those varied tints which captivate the eye— the beauties of colour—that are not even “ skin deep,” and such as the rose, the lily, the violet, and other flowers display, are peculiar to European countenances. The “ pure red and white,” however, even in contrast to the blackness with which the Devil is painted, what are they in reality to the scientific and philosophic observer?—what are they in the eye of our common Creator? With such disadvantages as strongest prejudice can create, and generous natures cannot entirely overcome, it is 110 small triumph to Mr. Aldridge that the following lines have been addressed to him by one of our countrywomen who, in a spirit liberal and commendable, has availed herself of language which, we think, 110 impartial witness of the African’s performances can say is misapplied ;— “ Thine is the spell o’er hearts Which only Acting lends ; The youngest of the Sister Arts, There all their beauty blends : For ill can Poetry express Full many a tone of thought sublime, And Painting, mute and motionless, Steals but a glance of time. But by the mighty Actor brought, Illusion’s perfect triumph’s come : Verse ceases to be airy thought And Sculpture to be dumb.” Ridicule, that powerful weapon even in the hands of fools, assails those who wear “ The shadowed livery of the burnished Sun,” more than all the other sons of man upon the face of the globe. Itis only in their vilest degradation and deepest misery—it is only in pic- turing Blacks torn from their homes and dying by dozens in the foetid hold of a ship, or suffering the crudest tortures of slavery, that the generality of people cease to laugh at them. Their very virtues are turned against them in the shape of distorted or exaggerated facts, and from a long- established custom it has become almost a fashion to indulge in lampoons against the sable fraternity, to exult in caricatures of nigger peculiarities. But they are destined to outlive every prejudice. The author of the latest burlesque of the day says, in “ The Golden Branch,” and in reference to the once-popular, but foolishly-worded ballad of “ Cherry Ripe,” “ Must it yield the prize of song To ‘ Lucy Neal ’ and ‘ Lucy Long ’ ? ” That it has done so is very certain, for “ The Ethiopian Serenaders ” have lately created among us quite a rage for such productions as the latter; and their performance of nigger melodies and pourtrayal of nigger character have delighted, day after day, and night after night, without intermission, crowded audiences, principally consisting of the nobility and gentry of this country. “ It takes a clever man to make a clown;” and the acuteness, humour, drollery, and downright absurdity of the negro are all evidences of his superior capabilities, the more striking when we compare them with the stolid natures of our own peasantry, and that “ gentle dulness” to be found among others whose lack of brilliancy is not because no pains have been bestowed upon them in the way of polishing—people whose opaque qualities are eclipsed by the native lustre of the “ black diamond.” As the foulest waters in time purify themselves, and, in their natural transparency show that which polluted them collected at the bottom, so shall we in time see the character of the man of colour divested of the ignorance, the absurdity, and the humiliation with which it is associated. His simplicity, his fidelity, shrewdness, conscientiousness, gratitude, and even his piety, have never been questioned. These “ harmless qualities” of the head and heart have been allowed him, while higher attributes—if higher there be—have been denied, and his aspirations have been the con- stant theme of broad satire and vulgar personality. Man is the creature of imitation ; but an African’s emulation, according to the notions of many, must be limited to the prejudice, caprice, and fastidiousness of white men. Such barriers, however, give way, when Education, with indiscriminate hand, comes to the help of the most despised, and brings them to their proper level:— “ For ’tis the mind that makes the body rich.” And yet amid all our moral, social, and religious improvements, how many of us may be shamed by the untutored child of nature—the wildest savage of the uncultivated wilderness ! More rude, however, than we have been 110 Hottentot can ever be ; but m the most primitive specimens of the latter tribe are to be found attributes that adorn humanity, and few in comparison that disgrace it. Some of our sweetest and most plaintive melodies take their origin from the original compositions" of the Blacks, especially those of the West India plantations, where no labour is performed without a vocal accompaniment. The writer of these lines has heard them join in choruses of rude, but perfect harmony, to verses, con- structed for the occasion just as the leader’s mind may be prompted by external objects, but never without some rhyme and reason, and a strong dash of poetic fancy. No man can be more in earnest at one time and more in joke at another b 2than the regular Coast of Guinea nigger: the very essentials of genius. The Red Indian has no fun in him ; the like may be said of many a narrow- minded man of business, who has no soul for anything approaching the ridiculous—aye, or the sublime either; and, consequently, but little soul at all. The Indian’s character, however, wild as it is, is trained to seriousness and self-command. Not so the Negro. He is more a child of nature than the sojourner in the solitary woods: more so than the Hindoo or any of the East Indian tribe; and, unfortunately, less respected, because less dangerous; but he is more to be depended upon, and more tractable, than any other uncultivated being. Thus are his good and amiable qualities taken advantage of by his cruelest enemies, among whom we may reckon a considerable portion of a country—the United States—which boasts of its love of freedom, and bawls aloud its desire to cultivate universal fraternity, liberty, and equality! Thus premising, in order that the reader may attach some importance to the subject before him, we commence the history of the African Rosciits, as Mr. Aldridge has been styled from his early assumption of the sock and buskin. We must first, however, refer to his progenitors. His forefathers were princes of the Fulah tribe, whose dominions were Senegal, on the banks of the river of that name, on the west coast of Africa, to which shore one of our early missionaries found his way, taking charge of the father of Mr. Aldridge, in order to qualify him for the work of civilising his countrymen. From what we can gather, his grandfather was more enlightened than his subjects, probably through the instruction of the missionary, and proposed that his prisoners taken in battle should be exchanged, and not, as was the custom, sold for slaves. This wish interfered with the notions and per- quisites of his tribe, especially his principal chiefs, and a civil war raged among the people. During these differences, the father of Mr. Aldridge, then a promising youth, was taken to America by the missionary, and sent to Schenectady College, near New York, to receive the advantages of a Christian education. Three days after his departure, the revolutionary storm which was brewing, broke out openly, and the advocate of humanity, the reforming Prince, was, together with his whole family, and personal attendants and connexions, savagely butchered; the missionary escaping with his young charge just in time to avoid a similar fate. Mr. Aldridge’s father remained in America until the death of the rebellious chief who had headed the conspiracy, and reigned instead of the murdered prince. During the interval he had become a minister of the gospel, and Avas regarded by all classes as a man of uncommon abilities. He Avas, however, desirous to establish himself at the head of his tribe, possess himself of his birthright, and advance the cause of Christianity among his countrymen. For this purpose he returned to his native country, taking with him a young wife, one of his OAvn colour, whom he had but just married in America. To this step he was prompted by the advice of his Avhite friends, who, doubtless, looked forward to his reign as one calculated to encourage the growth of those “ Gospel seeds ” which religious zeal had planted among the children of the Fulah tribe. Their pious hopes and intentions were frustrated. Mr. Aldridge, sen., no sooner appeared among the people of his slaughtered father, than old disagreements revived, and tAvo opposition parties were formed. Civil war again broke out, and in tho struggle of contending chiefs, the enlightened African Avas defeated, barely escaping from the scene of strife with his life, and for some time unable to quit the country, which was Avatched by numerous enemies anxious for his capture. During the first month of the arrival of Mr. Aldridge’s parents, he, thosubject of this memoir, was born; but nine years elapsed before the pro- scribed family escaped to America. All this time they were concealed in the neighbourhood of his foes, enduring vicissitudes and hardships that can well be imagined, but need not be described. As is always the case under such circumstances, for all men, more or less, depend upon one another, there was a faithful adherent, whose services mainly helped to save the lives of the rejected prince, and his wife and son. He accompanied those whom he so served to America, and there Air. Aldridge, sen., returned to his ministerial duties, influencing aright the minds of people of his own complexion, in that country instead of his own. The present Mr. Aldridge recollects that when a child, some eight years old, playing at the door of a hut where he resided, some warriors belonging to his father’s enemies were passing that way, and noticed his resemblance to their fugitive chief who was then, unknown to them, in the neighbourhood. Upon their making inquiries about the boy, the woman of the hut, without betraying alarm, claimed him as her daughter’s child, and he was unmolested. A narrow escape for the future African Roscius. Thus was he saved in his infancy to vindicate in his manhood the cause of his whole race; thus was he snatched from after participation in, or falling a victim to, the tragedies of real life practised by his countrymen, that he may among more civilised people, and before applauding numbers, revel in mimic strife! The Negro- boy of Senegal, whose life was so in jeopardy, had a strange career before him! There may be something suggestive of ridicule in the thought of a black preacher, and Heaven knows there have been enough burlesques written and drawn to associate the idea with preposterously absurd notions of “nigger” eloquence and theology; be that as it may, it should be remembered that sterling merit ought to be measured by the means possessed for working good, rather than by the amount obtained, and Mr. Aldridge’s father did not live in vain. Here is a notice of his death, as it appeared in the public papers so late as 1840 :— “ At New York, on the 27th of September, the Rev. Daniel Aldridge, father of Mr. Ira F. Aldridge, the celebrated African Roscius. There are few indi- viduals who have been more generally useful than the Rev. Mr. Aldridge, and whose loss will be more severely felt in New York among his coloured brethren, to whom he was endeared by his faithful discharge of the duties incumbent on him as a Christian minister.” Wo now come more immediately to the career of the African lioscins. His mother died in 1818, leaving but two surviving children, out of a numerous family. One of these, Mr. Aldridge’s remaining brother, was murdered at New Orleans some few years ago. He incurred the anger of some Whites, in a gambling-house, and, during a quarrel, one of the “free and enlightened citizens ” gave him his quietus with a bowie-knife. Being a “ nigger,” of course no inquiries into the transaction were made, and no inquest was held upon the body. Mr. Ira Aldridge was intended by his father for the Church. Many a white parent has “ chalked out ” in vain for his sou a similar calling, and the best intentions have been thwarted by an early predilection quite in an opposite direction. In sober seriousness wo can well account for the father’s choice, one so in keeping with his own aspirations; and we can easily imagine his disappoint- ment upon abandoning all hope of seeing one of his blood and colour rivalling in reason and rhetoric the most favoured servants in the service of his great Master. The son, however, began betimes to show his early preference andultimate passiou. At school he was awarded prizes for declamation, in which he excelled; and there his curiosity was excited by what he heard of theatrical representations—representations, he was told, which embodied all the fine ideas shadowed forth in the language he read and committed to memory. It became the wish of his heart to witness one of these perform- ances, and that wish he soon contrived to gratify. His first visit to a theatre fixed the great purpose of his life, and established the sole end and aim of his existence. He would be an actor. He says at this hour that he was bewildered, amazed, dazzled, fascinated, by what to him was splendour beyond all that his mind had imagined, and mimic life so captivating, that his own real existence would be worthless unless he in some way participated in such imitations as he witnessed. An actor lives to pourtray other’s feelings, not his own; Hamlet describes him. To those who have not visited the United States, the full extent of young Aldridge’s presumption cannot be easily comprehended. In that “ Land of Liberty” the coloured portion of the population are denied all opportunity of advancement in common with their more fortunate, because paler, brethren. To be of African origin, is to be a “nigger,” a conventional term of reproach and contempt; and “niggers,” in America, are excluded those places of public entertainment and public worship wherein “pale faces” assemble. In one theatre only (the Park) an obscure portion of a highest gallery is set apart for people of colour, and there they may be seen, a dark mass of shining ebony faces, relieved by the ivory teeth shown upon every slight incitement to risibility. Here the most respectable are expected to herd with sweeps and pickpockets. No other places must they occupy. So young Aldridge was cut off from witnessing the best performances, and in common with many of his colour, felt severely the distinction which unjustly marked the difference which God’s hand had made, and no mortal endeavour could remove. The sons of “the star-spangled banner” which “Liberty uprearcd,” designedly conspire to humiliate and keep in degradation the race over whom that banner waves in vain, as though they feel convinced that the only difference between the Yankees and their slaves, lies in their relative social positions, and to allow the blacks the chance of improving their condition, would be the sure means of raising them in every respect to a level with the whites. It is, on the other hand, but natural in man to hate those whom they injure: hence we may account for the contumely invariably thrown upon a person of colour by a veritable Yankee. But there is nothing that the enthusiast will not attempt. Difficulties but “spur the sides of his intent,” and despite his one personal disadvantage, and, among other numerous and serious impediments, and with a slight hesitation in his speech, Mr. Aldridge became a candidate for histrionic fame. “ Go-ahead ” is the word in America, where people act more than they think. Our stage-struck hero was not singular as to progression. He fell to work, and studied the part of Rolla, in the play of “ Pizarro,” and in that character he made his “first appearance on any stage.” This was at a private theatre, where he was singularly successful, and all his fellow- performers were of his own complexion ; and, to use his own words, “ the gentle Cora was very black, requiring no small quantity of whiting, yellow ochre, and vermillion to bring her cheek to the hues of roses and lilies,” —such a face as Sheridan describes in the text. There are many among us who would gladly witness the endeavours of such a company. Shakespere decidedly never wrote for such a troupe, but he deigned to draw the Moor, Othello, one of his choicest creations, and in pourtraying theimmortal part of man he described what was universal. But fancy a black Juliet! And why not ? May there not be an Ethiopian Juliet to an Ethiopian Romeo ? So reasoned and so felt the coloured members of the amateur corps, when Mr. Aldridge undertook to perform the love-sick swain in a sable countenance. Certain Yankees, with a degree of illiberality pecu- liar to some “ Liberals,” had no notion of such indulgences being allowed to “ niggers,” whose “ tarnation conceit and considerable effrontery licked natur slick outright.” One Stephen Price, a manager of some repute, became actually jealous of the success of the “real Ethiopians,” and emissaries were employed to put them down. They attracted considerable notice; and people who went to ridicule, remained to admire, albeit there must have been ample scope for the suggestion of the ridiculous. Riots ensued, and destruc- tion fell upon the little theatre. Of course there was no protection or redress to be obtained from the magistracy (for, unhappily, they were whites), and the company dissolved, much to the chagrin of the Juliet elect, who declared that nothing but envy prevented the blacks from putting the whites com- pletely out of countenance. It was about this time that the celebrated and inimitable mimic and comedian, Mr. Mathews, was on a tour through the United States, from which he brought materials for making many a night “ At Home,” before an Adelphi audience. He chanced to see Mr. Aldridge on the stage, and made the most of what he saw. The African Roscius thus, at a public dinner in this country, gave his version of the story :— “ Mr. Mathews paid a visit to the theatre on one of the evenings of my performance, and this occurrence he has made the vehicle for one of the most amusing anecdotes in his well known ‘ Trip to America.’ There is certainly a good deal more in the manner of his telling the story, than in the matter, and he has embellished the whole circumstance with a great many fictitious variations, not the less amusing because untrue, but which are pardonable enough in such a work as Mr. Mathews’s, the materials of which are acknowledged to have been made up as much of fiction as of truth. He says that 011 the occasion alluded to I played Hamlet, and in the celebrated soliloquy, ‘ To be, or not to be,’ on my coming to the passage ‘ and by opposing end them,’ the similarity of the sound of the words reminding the audience of the negro melody of ‘ Oppossum up a gum tree,’ they loudly called for it, and the polite request Mr. Mathews makes me accede to in the following elegant language :—‘ Well den, ladies and gemmcn, you like Oppos- sum up a gum tree better den you like Hamlet ? me sing him to you;’ which I, according to the anecdote, did three or four times, much to the exquisite edification of my black hearers, and then resumed my part of the pensive prince. Tho truth, however, is, that I never attempted the character of Hamlet in my life, and I need not say that the whole of the ludicrous scone so well and so humorously described by Mr. Mathews, never occurred at all.” Mr. Aldridge was bent upon witnessing the performances which took place in the country of his father’s adoption, and opportunities for so doing presented themselves under the following, to him fortuitous, circumstances:— He had a school-fellow who ivas in the habit of taking Mr. Henry Wallack’s dresses to the Chatham Theatre, and tho acquaintance of this boy he assiduously cultivated. With a little contrivance and the assistance of this privileged individual, young Aldridge obtained an intro- duction to the mysteries of the Stage. The boy soon after died of the yellow fever, and the coloured aspirant eagerly tendered his services, and obtained the wished-for entree to “behind the scenes,” by becoming the bearer of the leading actor’s dresses, and making himself generally useful in theway of running to and fro. This employment, if known to his father, was not that in which he wished to see his son engaged; but amply was that son repaid for his services, by being permitted to gaze upon the scenes which presented themselves. It has been said by goodnatured people who rejoice in distorting facts to the prejudice of those to whom they can be disadvantageously applied, that Mr. Aldridge, when a youth, was the errand-boy of Mr. II. Wallack, and in that capacity picked up whatever theatrical knowledge he acquired. There is no doubt but he availed himself as much as possible of whatever lessons fell in his way, and the greatest actor of any age must have done something of the kind; with this difference, that others had less difficulty in obtaining instruction. Young Aldridge derived no pecuniary profit from his services, but was too happy to render them in exchange for the delight he ex- perienced in gaining admission to the precincts of what he most admired. There the young Roscius hung about the “wings,” receiving iutoxicating pleasure, listening with rapture to the wildest rant, and strengthening his hopes of emulating the most admired actors who presented themselves. But a sudden termination was put to his nightly enjoyment; through the interest of Bishops Breutou and Milner, he was entered at Schenectady College, near New York, in order to prepare himself for the ministry; and here for awhile he entered into theological studies. Notwithstand- ing the progress he made in learning, he lacked advancement in his religious profession. No qualities of the mind could compensate in the eyes of Americans for the dark hue of his skin; the prevailing prejudice, so strong among all classes, was against him, and it was deemed advisable to send him to Great Britain. He was accordingly shipped for the Old Country, and entered at the Glasgow University, where, under Professor Sandford, he obtained several premiums and the medal for Latin com- position. Here he remained about eighteen months, when he broke entirely from the scholastic thraldom imposed upon him. Even religious pursuits could not damp his ardour for the Stage. His early preference “grew with his growth and strengthened with his strength and while yet young he started for England, determined to make an attempt to appear in public before an audience who, whatever the severity of their criticism, he believed, would not condemn him on account of colour. It was in the year 1825 the African Roscius came to England—the Old Mother Country whom he had so often heard reviled in the New World, but to which, in common with every American (whatever they may affect to the contrary), he looked with respect and deeply-rooted interest: feelings more or less disguised and suppressed among the free and enlightened Yankees, as men are wont to hide what does not agree with their vanity. He brought with him no transatlantic recommendations. An actor of colour was a novelty in this country not tolerated in that. Here we have distinctions without differences—there they have no distinctions but differences that are exceedingly great. “ Without a friend,” we arc told, “ the world is but a wilderness.” There is much truth in the saying, for whatever our station, we are never wholly independent of one another in a social community. A man, nevertheless, may be his own friend to a very great extent, and Mr. Aldridge found that he had few others than himself to rely upon. He brought with him, however, a letter of introduction from Mr. Henry W allack, whose knowledge of him and his character has been already alluded to. He had now to hammer his way into the theatrical world, and sought an opening for applying “ the wedge.” A very small aperture presented itself, but that was enough, for, as in rending timber, all depends upon thopower and skill that are applied to the opening; and public opinion, however hard and stubborn, seldom fails to yield to the force of merit, provided it be properly and perseveringly brought into action. Mr. Aldridge commenced at the Royalty, at the East End, under the management of Mr. Dunn, where he first felt the British pulse, and found it favourable to his pretensions. This was in 1826, soon after his arrival from Glasgow. He made his debut as Othello, in which he was highly successful. Thus encouraged and strengthened he procured an engagement at the Cobourg, where Messrs. Leclerc, Davidge, Hornblower, and Beugough, were the managers; here he played Oroonoko, Gambia, Zarambo, and or two charac- ters, and obtained great applause. While there, he entered into an engagement—a solemn one, which, when once made, is peculiarly and particularly binding on both sides— he entered “ the holy bonds of matrimony,” and undertook to perform the part of a good husband for the rest of his life, to an English lady of respectability and superior accomplishments. The manner in which the match came about has a dash of romance in it, and may be thus briefly told. Mr. Aldridge, after performing Gambia, in “ The Slave,” was invited by a friend to visit a private box, to receive the congratulations of a party who had witnessed his acting, and, from the interest he had excited in their minds, had expressed a desire to see the hero of the play in propria persona. The actor was formally introduced, and in that short interview commenced an intimacy which, six weeks after, ended in his marriage with a lady who w'as present, the natural daughter of a member of Parliament, and a man of high standing in the county of Berks. The lady played, to some extent, a modern Desdemona to Mi1. Aldridge’s Othello, for he unexpectedly had the power to say, in reply to relations— That I have ta’en away this old man’s daughter, It is most true; true I have married her. He was not accused of using “ drugs, charms, conjuration, or mighty magic,” in obtaining the lady whose aftections came to him— ----------By request and such fair question As soul to soul affordeth. But her father was much after Brabantio’s way of thinking. Ilis eyes mental and physical were not like those of the Duke, who said:— If virtue no delighted beauty lack, Your son-in-law is far more fair than black. Mrs. Aldridge “ saw her husband’s visage in his mind,” and that, we can venture to say, if it has changed at all, has improved by time and trial. Ever since her marriage she has accompanied her husband upon his pro- fessional journeys, and his theatrical campaign has been a long one, for there is no British town containing a respectable theatre which has not been crowded to witness his mimic art. Thence Mr. Aldridge went to Sadlers’ Wells, where he performed for a few nights in several leading parts; and next to the Olympic. Thus he modestly and hesitatingly, as it were, edged himself in, tremblingly alive to the prejudice with which he had previously had to contend—a prejudice to which, indeed, he had from infancy been taught to submit, however keenly ho felt its influence and however plainly he saw its cruel injustice. But he was young; and a genial soil and atmosphere soon causes a sapling tree to take root and spread forth its branches. He had found the true Laud of Liberty, and he saw a fair b 5prospect of prospering in it. Having, one may say, felt his way thus far in comparative obscurity, he withdrew into the provinces, the better to fit himself for a greater trial in the metropolis. He accordingly took a country tour, acting in succession at Brighton, Chichester, Leicester, Liverpool, Manchester, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Exeter, Belfast, and so on, returning to London after a lapse of seven years, an apprenticeship which he had turned to good account. During this time Mr. Aldridge had studied deeply and laboured hard at his profession. In every provincial town that he had visited his reception had been flattering in the extreme; and his fame as a country actor, as is generally the case in such instances, had reached the capital. Notwithstanding the favourable impression “ The African Kean," as he was then termed, made wherever he appeared, he repeatedly failed in pro- curing an engagement at Dublin. Mr. Calcraft, the spirited and accom- plished manager of the Theatre Royal, could not be prevailed upon by letter to accept the services of the man of colour, at a venture: there was “ some- thing so absurd about it.” Mr. Aldridge, therefore, went there at his own cost, and had an interview with the manager. The result was favourable to his ambition, and he was engaged “ for a limited number of nights," as the saying goes, establishing a popularity which has never since abated. Edmund Kean had been previously secured to appear at this theatre; and the management endeavoured to disuade Mr. Aldridge from taking the part of Othello, as the celebrated tragedian was known to com- plain if his favourite characters were played just previously to his acting them himself. Mr. Aldridge was urged to come forward as Zanga, but he persisted in playing Othello, and had his way. He performed as Othello in December, 1831, and made a great hit. The Dublin people were surprised and delighted. His “ sable suit ” gave him additional interest in the eyes of the warm-hearted Hibernians, and the newspapers spoke in glowing terms of his rare abilities. This was the first hold that he took upon tho British public, because his first appearance before an important tribunal belonging to it. He subsequently ran through his list of favourite characters, viz.: Zanga, Rolla, Gambia, Alhambra, Mungo, &c., in all of which he gained enthusiastic applause. From the many favourable critiques which appeared at the time, we will only quote the following, which by no means contains the greatest amount of praise :— Mr. Aldridge’s first appearance was in a character in every respect suited to his genius, and most strongly calculated to draw forth those extraordinary powers, of which this actor is so distinguished a master. In all those parts where Desdemona calls into action on the part of the noble-minded Moor the softer and finer feelings of the heart, as, for instance, when she pleads for the restoration of Cassio, his responses were delivered in a manner so chaste, tender, and affectionate, that they were deeply felt by the whole audience. Many of those passages expressive of the finer feelings of our nature were most beautifully delivered in a softly subdued tone of voice, which was remarkable for its clearness and distinctness of tone. It was not, however, until Iago had roused his mind to jealousy that the actor became truly terrible and sublime. Beautifully and appropriately as were the softer feelings displayed and expressed, it was in the expression of the strong passions of jealousy and revenge that were raging in the bosom of the distracted Moor that Mr. Aldridge rose to a degree of excellence that we have never seen surpassed, albeit that we have seen the first of his contemporaries in the same character. When lago began to pour his domestic poison into the ears of Othello, ami he became alternately jealous of Desdemona’s virtue and doubtful of Iago’s honesty, his hursts of feeling, succeeded by fierce ebullitions of passion, were at once masterly, grand, and peculiar ; and when in the agony of his soul, lie gave vent to the passage, “ Who doats, yet doubts ; Suspects, yet strongly loves,”there was not one solitary individual amongst the audience whose heart did not feel, and whose hands did not applaud to the very echo, the soul-stirring eloquence with which the passage was delivered, whilst the dark and broad features of the actor presented to all who beheld them a faithful index of the contending passions which had placed his soul upon the rack. His seizure of Iago, when he seeks to extort from him some proof of Desdemona’s dishonesty was also quite original, and well executed. Indeed, his entire representation of Othello is a masterly performance, as cleverly executed as it is originally conceived, and one which will never fail to convince any intelligeut audience that the actor possesses a genius not unworthy of the fame he has acquired. Edmund Kean came to Dublin while the African was there and saw him act, upon which, with the goodnature conspicuous in all he did, he gave him a letter of recommendation to the manager of the Bath Theatre, to the following effect:— “ Dublin, January 3, 1832. “ Dear Bellamy,—I beg to introduce to your notice Mr. Aldridge, the African Roscius, whose performances I have witnessed with great pleasure. He possesses wondrous versatility, and I am sure, under your judicious generalship, will prove a card in Bath. I have not yet recovered from the fatigues of my journey, but hope to be myself in a day or two. “ I remain, dear Bellamy, truly yours, “ E. Kean.” Upon referring to the playbills of the day, we find that which was issued for Mr. Aldridge’s benefit, on Wednesday, December 21, 1831, contains this heading:— “ The African Roscius having been received by the Dublin Audience on each evening of bis performance with enthusiastic applause, will ever feel most grateful for the honour conferred upon him, and considers the approbation of the Irish Public as one of the proudest and most distinguished testimonies which has ever been bestowed upon his professional exertions.” Upon this occasion he performed Gambia, in “ The Slave,” and Mungo, in “The Padlock;” and, in the latter character, he introduced, “ by particular desire,” the comic nigger song of “Oppossum up a Gum-tree.” At Bath Mr. Aldridge was, if possible, more successful than in Dublin. It is, however, unnecessary to follow his every footstep from town to town during his continued successes. At Belfast Charles Kean played Iago to his Othello, and he Aboan to Charles Kean’s Oroonoko. Sheridan Knowles was among those who at that period complimented and encouraged the “ only actor of colour upon the Stage.” And the testimonials and letters of congratulation and approval which he then received would fill a book, while provincial criticism was uniformly in his favour. We may here extract from a paper a specimen of the general tone of reviews which his acting elicited:— “ Our theatrical campaign opened on Monday evening, with every promise of success, as it introduced to a "Wexford audience the celebrated African Roscius, Mr. Aldridge, who appeared as Zanga, in Young’s celebrated tragedy of ‘ The Revenge.’ We cannot, indeed, find language sufficiently strong to dtf justice to this inimitable actor. His opening scene was powerful and affecting, and at once proved to his admiring auditory his just conception of the difficult character he had to sustain. In the third act, when lie worked up Alonzo to the assassination of his friend Don Carlos, by planting in his heart the seeds of jealousy, the manner in which'he delivered the few lines, ending with ‘ to tread upon the Greek and Roman names,’ was electrical; and in the last act, where he had completely wrought his victim to his fiendish and hellish purpose, in order to satiate his revenge; and saw Alonzo prostrate—his hellish joy—the self-satisfaction at the wish of destruction he caused bespoke at once the genius of this mighty actor. During the whole of the last scene there was a breathless silence in the house—so anxious was every one to hear every word he uttered, and pay that respect which transcendent meritdeserves. This gentleman is tall in stature, stoutly built, with a strong caste of face of the African mould ; his action is most graceful and becoming ; his pronunciation clear and distinct, with a deep and mellow tone of voice; in short, Nature has stamped this man as an actor of the first order. The other characters of the play were most respectably sustained by the company. The evening’s entertainments concluded with the farce of ‘The Padlock:’ the part of Mungo by the African Roscius. Here again did we experience a new scene of delight upon his imper- sonation of this character. If the author of the piece were alive, and after seeing our hero in it, he would say—‘ that is the man for whom I wrote the piece.’ Suffice it to say, he is the first Mungo in the British dominions. The only way to appreciate the character of this man, and to estimate his towering genius, is to go to the theatre and see him. Our old and respected favourite, Mr. J. W. Potter, who is the manager, deserves well of the Wexford people for introducing to them this celebrated character—we trust he will be well repaid for his exertion by full attendance at the theatre during his stay.” The followiug season Mr. Aldridge returned to Dublin, and, after going through his limited round of characters, acted in a translation of Schiller’s “ Fiesco,” by General D’Aguillar, which had a good run. The following is a notice relating to him, which appeared in Saunders' Dublin News Letter, January 12, 1833:— “ Theatre-Royal. — Last night, Young’s tragedy of ‘ The’Revenge ’ was performed, and the African Roscius played Zanga with a degree of native force and spirit-stirring fidelity that might have made ‘ Afric and her hundred thrones rejoice,’ could they have beheld their princely representative: his dark features are gifted with an expression that peculiarly fits him for the personation of characters like Zanga, with whose existence all the stronger and darker passions are so closely interwoven, and who are so well described as ‘ Souls touched with fires, and children of the sun, With whom revenge is virtue’— an expression, savage, perhaps, in its origin, and its fiery development, yet con- veying sentiments and sensations with a power that ‘ Etfrope and her pallid sons ’ in vain attempt to equal.” At this time M. Laporte, the lessee of the Italian Opera House and Covent Garden, made the African Roscius an offer, which he accepted. Ilis opening was fixed for Wednesday, April 10, 1833 ; and, after adding to his laurels at Edinburgh, where he played Shylock among other characters, on that night he made his bow for the first time upon the boards of the great “patent theatre,” Covent Garden. The Standard of April 14, 1833, thus alludes to the circumstance:— “ Theatre-Royal, Covent Garden.—We made a point of being present, for the last three evenings, to witness the performance of that singularly-gifted actor, the African Roscius, who is the first performer of colour that ever appeared on the boards of any theatre in Britain. He had chosen the part of Othello for his first appearance—an undertaking which at present was most hazardous ; but, not- withstanding the impression which the inimitable Kean has created in this character, and the genius by which lie has made it peculiarly his own, the result showed that the African Roscius was fully justified in making the bold attempt. We at once gladly express our unqualified delight with his delineation of this masterpiece of the divine Shakspere. To attempt a minute description would be as superfluous as difficult; he succeeded in deeply affecting the feelings of his audience, and the representation all through was watched with an intense stillness, almost approaching to awe. At the conclusion, the African Roscius was called for by the unanimous acclamation of the whole house, who, upon his appear- ance, rose en masse to receive him with bursts of applause, waving of hats, hand- kerchiefs, (fee., &e. The debutant, evidently deeply affected, expressed his grateful thanks in a very modest and feeling manner, and retired amidst enthusiastic cheering.”Nothing could have been more complete than his success. But there were circumstances against him, and he lost the immediate benefit to which that success entitled him, whilst others, with only half as much, have prospered. The fact of his having appeared as Othello two successive nights before a London audience is one evidence of his triumph, but it was not lasting. The tide of fortune was in his favour, but not “ taken at its flood,” and hostile and adverse breezes set in to keep him back. Theatres were not doing well, and the “ legitimate ” business was particularly low. lie performed but four nights at Covent Garden; and then his name was withdrawn from the bills. This sudden and extraordinary termination to what was an unequivocal realization of all that could have been hoped of him, may be variously accounted for. M. Laporte was himself capricious, and a manager’s motives, aims, plans, contrivances, impulses, decisions, and arrangements, are all his own. The public can seldom see or comprehend them; and managers are very often at a loss to account to themselves for what they do, while to the looker-on their conduct is, in nine cases out of ten, inexplicable. Certain of the public press—a few individuals—were inimical to the histrionic pretensions of the African. There was but little opportunity for assailing him directly and seriously, for in this country men must give something like a reason for what they say in earnest. Ridicule, however, is within the reach of the most unscrupulous and unthinking, and where it can be applied, nothing is more effective. Miss Ellen Tree was the Desdemona of Mr. Aldridge’s Othello, and certain admirers of that lady, (who was then unmarried, and, as now, a special favourite), were envious of the Moor’s familiarity with her fair face, and ridiculed his privilege. Burnt cork and grease, an imitative and dirty dye, upon a tallowy skin, were, in their fastidious and jaundiced eye, unobjectionable as compared with a veritable and natural hue of our Creator’s own painting. Men, who have since grown older, and, if we may judge from their literary pursuits, wiser, took a pleasure in scoffing at “the idea” of “a nigger” filling an intellectual character, and surpassing themselves among others in his delineation of poetry, pathos, and passion. It was “ the idea ” alone which warped their better taste and judgment, for in reality there was nothing to mock. Had Laporte persisted in his undertaking, Mr. Aldridge would soon have been established as a generally known, popular, and extraordinary actor ; but he did nothing of the kind. Prejudices, too, will come even across the great Atlantic. “ Ccelum non animum mutant qui trans mare currunt.” And of this fact Mr. Aldridge has been repeatedly reminded upon coming in contact with actors from the United States. They have been ready to forget the immeasurable distance between themselves and the man of colour, physiologically considering one and the other, and, although engaged to perform minor parts to his more prominent ones, they have had the effrontery to assume the hectoring practised xipon “ Pompeys ” in their own country (a kind of bearing at once contemptibly dictatorial and vulgarly familiar), as though they had luckily fallen upon an object so void of self-respect and self-defence, that they may for once indulge in their nationality with im- punity. Mr. Aldridge, however, has been too long admired and patronised in Great Britain, and too long absent from “the country of his early adoption,” to submit to or tolerate the slightest Yankeeism of that kind, lie is perfectly conscious of his own moral and physical powers as compared with those of men who would avail themselves of the mere force of pre- judice to “put him down;” and the quiet dignity of manners, gentle- manly address, and deportment of the African, seldom fail to check conduct the very reverse—as is usually the case among men; for, let everybodyuse liis own weapon, aud the polished and best-tempered has the advantgc, especially in a cool hand. American actors, and some actors who have been in America, to this very day, scoff at tho African “ I3ecau.se that he is black,” while they themselves are but little admired for all their whiteness. We can very easily understand the latent animosity and open hostility that one performer feels for and shows to another, according to the circumstances which call forth such sentiments; but we have more difficulty in account- ing for the unprovoked, uncharitable, unreasonable, and unjustifiable attacks made upon an individual by educated men whose interests can never clash with his, whose profession teaches liberality, and whose prin- cipal boast is strict impartiality. But there are many mysteries as to theatrical criticism that puzzle the uninitiated. Be that as it may, tho respectable portion of the press, with one consent, extolled the African Roscius during his exceedingly brief engagement at Covcnt Garden. Our hero went straight from Covent Garden to the Surrey Theatre, upon which occasion the following announcement in the playbills heralded his appearance there:— “ Mr. Aldridge, a native of Senegal, and known by the appellation of “The African Roscius!” is engaged at this theatre for two nights; and will have the honour of making his first appearance on Monday next, April 22, in Shakspeare’s play of “ Othello.” N.B.—The circumstance of a man of colour performing Othello, on the British Stage, is, indeed, an epoch in the history of theatricals ; and the honour conferred upon him, in being called for last week, at Covent Garden Theatre, after the performance, by the unanimous voice of the audience, to receive their tribute of applause, is as highly creditable to the native talent of the sunny climes of Africa, as to the universal liberality of a British Public.” There lie likewise performed Oroonoko, Alambra, in “ Paul and Vir- ginia,” Mungo, and other characters. Ilis stay at the Surrey Theatre was not long. Mr. Aldridge then again left London, and with an improved reputation, lie had stood the test of a London audience, and had not failed; and his value was enhanced among country managers. No performer has ever enjoyed more local celebrity than Mr. Aldridge has obtained from the period of his quitting the metropolis to this present period of his return to it. From time to time critiques of his performances, setting forth the excellence of his natural and acquired abilities, have reached London, and his name has become familiar to all who take any interest in theatrical matters. Agaiu and again lie visited all the principal towns in the United Kingdom, increasing in popularity wherever he ap- peared. A file of bills containing his performances, and newspapers con- taining criticisms upon them, is before us: these are so many repeated evidences of his continuous successes. The one announcing how The singular novelty of an actor of colour, personating the routine of Moorish and African characters, has rendered the performances of the African Roscius highly attractive in the theatres in which he has appeared ; and the mighty plaudits with which he had uniformly been honoured by crowded audiences, evince the estimation in which his talents are held by the public; and tho other, eulogizing his various efforts in such terms as the following, which we take—as the landlady, in the song, took the uose of her guest— ‘ As a sample for all the rest.’ TIPPERARY THEATRICALS. THE AFRICAN ROSCIUS AND AMATEURS. This highly-gifted individual, Mr. Aldiidge, the celebrated African Roklushas been sojourning in Tipperary for the last week, and has received from the inha- bitants of the town generally, as well as of the surrounding country, a tribute of respect seldom tendered to any of the Thespian fraternity. But we do not evince any degree of surprise at Mr. Aldridge’s warm reception in Tipperary—that town has always been celebrated for its love of the Drama, for its admiration and encouragement of the talents of any eminent performer, and the due appreciation of their merits. In the present instance we hesitate not in saying that, as a repre- sentative of the “ Great Avon Bard,” Mr. Aldridge in few characters has ever been excelled —nor in his just conception of the writings of that immortal poet have any of his predecessors shown so perfect an intimacy with, or so deep a knowledge of, the intentions of the great dramatist. On the boards, as the personator of the avaricious Shylock, the jealous Othello, or the vengeful Zanga, in Dr. Young’s “ Revenge,” he has no competitor, and we may justly say, in Shakspeare’s words, “We ne’er shall look upon his like again.” In private life, the pleasing and happy manners—the gentle and unassuming deportment—the suavity and grace with which Mr. Aldridge is endowed—have won for him many friends, whose esteem will, we trust, be as permanent as his theatrical fame will be pre-eminently lasting. As the above is an Irish tribute, let us extract a few lines from the more cool, calculating, and matter-of-fact Scotch. The Caledonian Mercury, of March 20, 1833, contains the following remarks:— We had the pleasure last night of being present at the representation of Othello by the celebrated African Roscius, and were at once surprised and delighted with the originality and beauty of his reading of the jealous Moor: whether in the pas- sages which are distinguished by feeling or passion, he showed a command over the sympathies of his auditors, which none but an actor of the first order is possessed of. He reminded us of Kean in many of his best passages, and when time may have deprived us of that great master, the African Roscius will not be an unworthy successor. He was loudly applauded in all his points by a crowded and very fashionable audience, among whom we perceived many of the most eminent literary and professional characters in the city. A score of other Scotch papers spoke of him in similar terms. Like the great Garrick, we find him equally happy in deepest tragedy and broadest farce. In the former, he is even Richard the Third and Bertram (we don’t see a Romeo—a character, by the way, Edmund Kean could not personate) ; in the latter, lie is, among other suitable characters—(this is not meant as a pun) —Jim Crow, Ginger Blue, the Virginian Mummy, singing nigger songs and dancing nigger dances, and now then giving lectures in defence of the Drama, in such language as the following, which we copy from a report:— Bigotry and fanaticism have excited themselves in all possible shapes to annoy the professors of the dramatic art; but, fortunately for the honour of the Stage and dignity of human nature, it has found patrons and friends in the persons of the greatest and most learned men in the most enlightened periods of the world’s history. Nothing can more strongly prove the importance of dramatic amusements than the d ametrically opposite opinions that have been entertained upon the sub- ject—opinions that have uniformly run like parallel lines for centuries—unbending, and without the smallest inclination to converge. From a reflecting mind, this view of it alone must claim the most serious investigation. Sculpture, painting, ■and music, are still cherished, and have also been appreciated and esteemed com- mendable by all, with the miserable exception of the most ignorant; and the Drama, when viewed in its proper light, will stand as high as the loftiest of the arts and sciences. Like every other art and science, however, profession or trade, it has its opponents and its enemies. Among these are many who argue for their opinions on fair, reasonable, and honourable terms. There is also another class, twenty times more numerous, more inimical, but less injurious, to the cause of the Drama than the first, and this last class, founded their animosity on a basis of folly, ignorance, and bigotry, combine in crying it down with the utmost avidity and bitterness. Ithas also, along with its truly great and eloquent supporters, many unthinking, ill-judging, and ill-advised friends, such as are common in every state, station, business, and degree of life, whose ill-digested arguments in its favour are more destructive to its success than otherwise, and, consequently, are of that description which, as Hamlet says, “ would be much more honoured in the breach than the observance.” Luther, upon most subjects, would be attended to with respect, if not conviction, and one would imagine his view of the Stage alone would induce the serious part of the community to attend to the directions of the Stage, not to its destruction. He says, in comedies, particularly those of the Roman writers, the duties of the various situations of life are held out to view, and, as it were, refl ected from a mirror. The office of parents and the proper conduct of children are faithfully delineated, and, what to young men may be advantageous, the vices and characters of profligate women are exhibited in their true colours; excellent lessons given to them how they should conduct themselves towards virtuous women in courtship; strong exhortations to matrimony are brought forward, without wffiich no state, no government, can subsist. We find him acting in plays written expressly for him, with gentlemen amateurs, and, at fashionable watering-places, among, and patronised by, select assemblies. Amidst a mass of testimonials to his public and private worth, are letters written by such distinguished individuals as the fol- lowing:— Sir D. Brewster, Principal of St. Andrew’s College, to Professor Fleming, King’s College, Aberdeen. The Right Hon. the Earl of Chesterfield to the Marquis of Waterford. The Hon. the Provost of Wick. E. M‘Ivor, Esq., Banker, to George Murray, Esq., Provost of Tain. Miss O’Neill. Madame Malibran. Mrs. Hannyngton, of Dungannon Castle, to Captain Algeo. President of Clongowes College. President of Carlow College. Mrs. Lyons, to Mrs. Bond, of Derricor Castle. The Hon. the Provost of Dundalk. The Rev. Michael Coghlan. Alexander Gair, Esq., Banker, Tain, to P. M‘Lachlan, Esq., Wick. His Grace the Archbishop of Tuam. All of whom commend and recommend him in the strongest possible terms We extract a couple of the most important:— Manchester, April 18, 1834. Madame Malibran presents her grateful respects and compliments to the African Roscius, for the high treat afforded her last night, in his intellectual personation of Othello. Madame Malibran never witnessed, in the course of her professional career in both hemispheres, a more interesting and powerful perform- ance, marked throughout by that strict adherence to nature which should be the characteristic of every dramatic portraiture. In returning the volume so kindly lent by Mr. Aldridge, she begs to tender her best thanks and sincere wishes for his continued success. The Clonmel Advertiser says:— After the great concurrence of the United Kingdom having acknowledged him to be the greatest actor of the present age, we feel it perfectly unnecessary for us to oiler a single recommendatory remark in his favour; it would be, in fine, as much a work of supererogation, as if we were “to gild refined gold.” We feel extreme pleasure, notwithstanding, in placing upou public record the opinion given of him, on a very recent occasion, by Lady Wrixon Beecher, late Miss O’Neill :—“ I have seen him in Cheltenham and Cork, and, during iny profes- sional as well as private life, I never saw so correct a ‘ portraiture of Othello’ amidst the principal luminaries of my day. It is true Kean reserved himself for particular passages, which wrere made to tell with startling effect; but, as a whole, bis performance was not superior to the Roscius, whose acting, throughout, is transcenuently uniform.”Among other high compliments that have been paid him, the House oj Representatives of St. Domingo passed an unanimous vote in 1838, com- plimenting him on his successful progress in contradicting the assertion that his race is incapable of mental culture, and bestoiving upon him a com- mission, with the rank of Captain, and Aide-de-Camp Extraordinary to his Excellency the (then) President Boyer. This honour was delivered to Mr. Aldridge through the consul in London. Many addresses have been written for him, and to him. From among the former we extract the following clever poetic effusion, from the pen of Mr. Stirling Coyne, a dramatic author of some metropolitan celebrity—one who has contributed largely to the best productions of the Adelphi, and the writer of its latest successful pieces:— ADDRESS. u Othello’s occupation’s gone!” — ’tis o’er; The mask has fall’n—I’m actor here no more. But still your pupil—protege—whate’er Your kindness made me, and your fostering care, “ This mourning suit” perchance offends your sight; But Nature triumphs, and asserts her right; Expands my heart, and bids my tongue explain The pride—the gratitude that swells each vein, That floods unseen my dusky cheek—and dwells Enshrin’d within my bosom’s deepest cells ; “ Nurs’d in the land, where rolls the giant tide, Of sluggish Senegal, through deserts wide, Where every tainted breeze comes winged with death, And Nature sickens in the poison breath ; Amid such scenes the Negro strays alone In happy innocence—untaught—unknown : Happy because that desert’s faithless sand He claims his own, his long-loved native land. But soon the white man comes, allured by gain, O’er his free limbs fling slavery’s galling chain; Robs him of heaven’s best gift—and casts him then Forth from his equal rank with fellow-men; Transforms him to a brute—or worse—a slave : Who loathes to bear the life that Nature gave. Oh ! justice heaven;—but list, the time is nigh : Freedom approaches from the western sky— Sheds her bright glory tow’rd the Indian Seas, And shakes her banner o’er the Carribees. The tortured black man hears her thrilling voice, And checks his groans one moment to rejoice: Forgive me, generous friends, nor rashly deem ; My tongue too long has lingered on this theme. You, who have long loved liberty so well, The strong emotions of my soul can tell. But there’s a warmer, deeper feeling here, Which gushes like the desert waters, clear : That fount is gratitude—it flows for you To whom the tribute of my thanks is due; You, who espousing injured Afric’s cause, First cheered my efforts by your kind applause; O’erlook’d my errors, taught my mind to soar, And op’d my*path to England’s genial shore. Though we must part, my best protectors, still My heart will cherish till its pulse is still. Its proudest record—the fresh memory, That here the sable African was freeFrom every bond—save those which kindness threw Around his heart—and bound it fast to you. This was spoken upon his leaving Dublin to appear at Covent Garden. In the midst of his provincial career, however, but while he was resting for awhile upon his well-earned laurels, the following paragraph went the round of the papers :— “ DEATH OF THE AFRICAN ROSCIUS. A melancholy and fatal accident occurred to Mr. Aldridge, the African Roscius, last week. Mr. Aldridge was returning in his carriage from the seat of Colonel Powell, when, within half a mile of Llandillo, one of the horses took fright at the blaze of light from the iron-works with which the county is studded ; this occurred on the brink of a precipice, over which the carriage swerved with its inmate, dragging the horses and postilion. The footman had a most providential escape. He was in the act of alighting to seize the horses’ heads as the carriage was pre- cipitated over the cliff. It is needless to add, that Mr. Aldridge, the postilion, and the horses were killed on the spot—the carriage being dashed to atoms. Tlie place where this frightful accident occurred is 120 from the summit to the bottom.” The success of a hoax of the above kind depends more upon its apparent seriousness than evident probability, and the particulars of “ the melancholy and fatal accident ” were so gravely and minutely set forth, that nobody doubted them. The author knew well how to lie, but we do not envy him his merit, nor the satisfaction he derived from his vicious invention. In all probability', he was a Yankee who forged the falsehood, for such hoaxes have come from that country until the cry of “Wolf!'’ would not be be- lieved in this, were it ever so well founded. Mr. Aldridge, however, was not injured by the groundless report in question. On the contrary, it made his name the more known, increased the interest which those who knew him took in his welfare, and served as a strong advertisement in widely circu- lating his fame. In time it became generally known that the African Roscius was alive and still prospering; and, coming to a later date, such notices as the following appeared, which we quote from The Era, a London Aveckly newspaper, which regularly reports all the theatrical business of the provinces:— “ The African Roscius, Mr. Aldrulge, performs during the next week at Rich- mond. Those of the metropolis who have a wish to witness his acting, with a view to engaging him, have now an opportunity of so doing, as he will appear in Othello, and other characters which have gained him a great celebrity throughout the provinces. All the local papers, without one exception, describe him as an actor of extraordinary talent, both in tragic and comic business, and it is said, we believe with truth, that his appearance on a London stage would be very attractive.” Mr. Aldridge never abandoned the desire of making himself generally known and popular in London. To that end he has studied deeply and laboured long in his profession. The lapse of some years had wiped him from the memories of the comparative few who had seen him act in the metro- polis, and curiosity concerning him was very often expressed. Not uncon- scious of his only natural disadvantage—that of his colour, he waited, with characteristic modesty, the invitation to appear again, to which his provincial reputation entitled him ; but the legitimate Drama has been long at a discount. One or two managers lacked, to say the least of it, the moral courage to engage him, when opportunity occurred. The success of Mr. Brooke, however, at the Olympic, a gentleman with whom Mr. Aldridge had often acted in the country, drew him nearer London, and the manage- ment of the Surrey Theatre having offered him tempting terms, he accepted them, and his name again figured “ on the Surrey side.” We believe that, notwithstanding the entire absence of all that bad taste andWorse feeling which were displayed in certain comments, which, during his previous visit, reflected more upon his race and their Creator than Mr. Aldridge himself, and, on the other hand, the high encomiums that the press bestowed upon him, his appearance at the Surrey this time has been attended with some disappointment. In the first place, the house is itself essentially a veritable “minor,” whatever be the performers or performances introduced there. In the second place, the management evinced no spirit in bringing him forward. There were neither advertisements, placards, nor posters, to announce the fact, nor any stir made to circulate it, while those who “ supported him ” ranted so as to mar one moment the interest excited by Mr. Aldridge in another. Yet his usual share of commendation was given him. The following are extracts from notices of Mr. Aldridge’s acting, which have appeared in different newspapers upon this his latest appearance before a London audience :— From the Morning Post, March 21, 1848 : Mr. Ira Aldridge is a bond fide African, of mulatto tint, with woolly hair; his features are capable of much expression, his action is unrestrained and picturesque, and his voice clear, full, and resonant. It was interesting to witness the acting of Mr. Ira Aldridge, a native of Africa, giving utterance to the wrongs of his race in his assumed character, and standing in an attitude of triumph over the body of one of its oppressors. Mr. Ira Aldridge is an intelligent actor, and his elocutionary powers are admirable. Compared with the people by whom he was last night surrounded, he might with strict justice be considered a true Roscius. From the Morning Herald, of March 22, 1848 : A mulatto, of the name of Aldridge, appeared on Monday night at the Surrey Theatre, in the character of Zanga, meeting with all the success which cleverness and considerable experience would be likely to ensure. Mr. Aldridge is evidently a man of intelligence, and his personation of the revengeful hero of Young’s dis- agreeable tragedy was discriminative, energetic, and disfigured by no clumsinesses or incongruities of elocution. He was loudly applauded; and upon being called before the curtain, propitiated the countenance of the audience in a neat and well-turned address. He afterwards appeared in “The Padlock’’ — playing the part of Mungo with much drollery. From the Morning Advertiser, March 21, 1848 : He achieved complete success, and it is nothing more than justice to his merits to say he deserved it. He has a clear and flexible voice, which he uses with great judgment and taste; he can infuse great expression and feeling into his intonation ; his emphasis is judicious ; and his transitions natural and appropriate. His acting was excellent throughout. Without attempting to institute a comparative criticism between the performance or merits of this gentleman and any of those who might be considered to be his competitors, we may venture to say that he stands, without question, in the first class. In the farce of “ The Padlock,” his per- formance of the part of Mungo was equal to anything we ever witnessed, displaying great humour and histrionic art in setting forth the salient points of that very facetious specimen of sable servants. The greatest applause accompanied his efforts. If this gentleman has assigned to him characters equally well calculated to call forth his abilities, he cannot fail to be a great acquisition to the theatre, and to attract good houses, which, after all, is the great desideratum in these cases. From the London Telegraph, March 29, 1848 : A native-born African appearing on our Stage is somewhat of a curiosity in histrionic annals ; and it afforded us a pleasing proof of the wearing away of that prejudice against men of a colour different from our own, which has long lurked in the hearts of nearly all of us, that Mr. Aldridge, the “ African Roscius,” who on Monday night performed the part of Othello at this theatre, was, by a numerous and respectable audience, most favourably received. Mr. Aldridge’s impersonationof the brave man who loved “not wisely but too well,” is a treat of a high order. With the similitude of country and complexion, the illusion becomes exceedingly strong, whilst the critic has not to object to a defective knowledge of the language in which our great dramatist originally introduced this splendid conception. In the expression of love, rage, jealousy, and despair, this performance presented the skill of a consummate knowledge of the human passions, wrought, as it were, to a powerful and fearful reality, From the first moment in which the poison of jealousy taints his heart, till the “ green-eyed monster ” marked him for its own, in the progress of the passion, its deep workings, until he raged in the convulsions of agonising thoughts and convictions, the interest never flagged for a moment. Some passages merit the warmest praise, amongst which we may select the pathetic re- ference to his personal disadvantages. The scene in which Iago first attempts to excite his jealousy, when as yet “ He doubts—yet doats—suspects, yet strongly loves,” and the solemn impressiveness with which he declares, “ I had rather be a toad and live upon the vapour of a dungeon,