_Reproduced from an approved print in the possession of the Lenox
Library._]
_The Best Ophelia of My Life_
When I played Ophelia for the first time in Chicago, I played the part
better than I had ever played it before, and I don't believe I ever
played it so well again. _Why_, it is almost impossible to say. I had
heard a good deal of the crime of Chicago, that the people were a rough,
murderous, sand-bagging crew. I ran on to the stage in the mad scene,
and never have I felt such sympathy. This frail wraith, this poor
demented thing could hold them in the hollow of her hand! The audience
seemed to me like wine that I could drink, or spill upon the ground....
It was splendid! "How long can I hold them?" I thought. "For ever!" Then
I laughed. That was the best Ophelia laugh of my life--my life that is
such a perfect kaleidoscope, with the people and the places turning
round and round.
At Chicago I made my first speech. The Haverley Theatre, at which we
first appeared in 1884, was altered and rechristened the "Columbia" in
1885. I was called upon for a speech after the special performance in
honour of the occasion, consisting of scenes from "Charles I.," "Louis
XI.," "The Merchant of Venice," and "The Bells," had come to an end. I
think it must be the shortest speech on record:
"Ladies and Gentlemen, I have been asked to christen your beautiful
theatre. 'Hail Columbia'!"
[Illustration: SIR HENRY IRVING