52 Reminiscences of 



attention they were attracting. This became so conspic- 

 uous that finally Booth paused in the midst of the part 

 he was playing, and, advancing toward the box and 

 pointing his hand toward it, said, in his dramatic man- 

 ner, which brought down the house: "When this side- 

 play is over, we will proceed." It required a little time 

 for the audience to settle down to the regular bill of 

 the evening, while the box players retired from the 

 front to the obscurity of the rear. 



I did not see Edwin again until a number of years 

 had passed, when he had become famous, meeting 

 him at the Tremont House in Boston, where I was 

 residing, and there became acquainted with his wife, 

 his mother, and sister Rosalie, and his brothers, 

 John Wilkes and Joseph. John Wilkes Booth, after- 

 ward so infamous as the assassin of our President 

 Lincoln, appeared to me as very companionable and 

 cheerful, and many pleasant smokes I had with him, 

 Uttle suspecting that he would achieve the infamous 

 notoriety he did. Though having some extrava- 

 gant and peculiar ways, they were less conspicuous 

 than those which Edwin evinced, or those seen in 

 two others of the family. There was, however, a strain 

 of peculiarity in the children, doubtless inherited from 

 the father, which was quite evident. But if I had 

 been asked to designate one of the children most free 

 and sensible, I should have given John Wilkes, for 

 despite his somewhat rollicking and moderately reck- 

 less way, he seemed very sensible. He was then 

 playing an engagement, as was Edwin, in the city. 

 Both were handsome and attractive, and received 

 many missives from the gentler sex, who admired 

 them. To those Edwin gave little attention, not only 



