528 APPENDIX. 



and responsible duties of an editor. At this work he continued about 

 five years, when, finding it both wearisome and unprofitable, he aban- 

 doned it and resumed his profession. A good classical scholar, and a 

 tolerable linguist, with a decided bent for the pursuits of literature, his 

 mind was well stored with the classics, both ancient and modern; and 

 amid the vexations and drudgery of a daily newspaper, he wooed the 

 muses with considerable success. Perhaps to the discipline which 

 editorship necessarily imposes, and the promptness which it requires, 

 may in part be attributed the great facility he possessed in composition. 

 While engaged in the duties of a profession, generally considered un- 

 congenial to the successful prosecution of literary adventure, he pro- 

 duced a number and variety of pieces, both in prose and verse, which 

 showed considerable versatility of talent. His favorite study was the 

 drama, and with this department of literature he was thoroughly 

 familiar. With the dramatists of all nations he had an extensive 

 acquaintance, and in the dramatic history of England and France 

 he was profoundly versed. Perhaps there are few who studied the old 

 English masters in this art with more devoted attention, and with a 

 keener enjoyment of their beauties. But it is not alone in the keen 

 enjoyment and appreciation of others that he deserves attention. He 

 has given ample evidence that he possessed no ordinary power for 

 original effort in this most difficult department of literature. 



We do not know how many plays he has produced, but the following, 

 all from his pen, have been performed at different periods, and in most 

 instances with complete success: "Quite Correct;" "Eighth of Jan- 

 uary;" "The Disowned; or, the Prodigals;" "The Deformed; or, 

 Woman's Trial;" "A Wife at a Venture;" "The Sentinels;" "Wil- 

 liam Penn;" "The Triumph of Plattsburg;" " Caius Marius;" "The 

 Water Witch;" "Is She a Brigand? " " My Uncle's Wedding; " "The 

 Daughter;" "The Actress of Padua;" "The Bravo." 



As an evidence of his facility in composition, it may be mentioned 

 that several of his pieces have been written and performed at a week's 

 notice. The entire last act of "William Penn" was written on the 

 afternoon of the day previous to its performance, yet this hasty produc- 

 tion ran ten successive nights, drawing full houses, and has since been 

 several times revived. His "Deformed" and "Disowned," two dramas 

 which may be compared favorably with any similar production of this 

 country, were both performed with success in London. 



In 1 83 1 Mr. Smith published a work in two volumes, called the 

 "Forsaken," the scene of which is laid in Philadelphia and the adjoin- 

 ing country during our Revolutionary struggle. Many years ago Ameri- 

 can novels — with the exception of Cooper's — were not received with 



