But since the American has to live alongside the negro, would it not be worth his while to treat him politely and honestly, give him his due as an equal, if not in his eyes, at any rate in the eyes of the law? Would it not be worth his while to remember that the "darky" cannot be gradually disposed of like the Indian, for Sambo adapts himself to his surroundings, multiplies apace, goes to school, and knows how to read, write, and reckon. Reckon especially.
It might be well to remember, too, that all the greatest, bloodiest revolutions the world has ever seen were set on foot, not to pay off hardships, but as revenge for injustice. "Uncle Tom's Cabin" was called a romance, nothing but a romance, by the aristocratic Southerners; but, to use the Carlylian phrase, their skins went to bind the hundreds of editions of that book. Another "Uncle Tom's Cabin" may yet appear.
America will have "to work her thinking machine" seriously on this subject, and that before many years are over. If the next Presidential election is not run on the negro question, the succeeding one surely will be.
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MR. AND MRS. KENDAL IN NEW YORK--JOSEPH JEFFERSON--JULIAN HAWTHORNE--MISS ADA REHAN--"AS YOU LIKE IT" AT DALY'S THEATER.
The New York papers this morning announce that the "Society of Young Girls of Pure Character on the Stage" give a lunch to Mrs. Kendal to-morrow.
Mr. and Mrs. Kendal have conquered America. Their tour is a triumphal march through the United States, a huge success artistically, financially, and socially.
I am not surprised at it. I went to see them a few days ago in "The Ironmaster," and they delighted me. As _Claire_ Mrs. Kendal was admirable. She almost succeeded in making me forget Madame Jane Hading, who created the part at the Gymnase, in Paris, six years ago.
This morning Mr. Joseph Jefferson called on me at the Everett House. The veteran actor, who looks more like a man of fifty than like one of over sixty, is now playing with Mr. William J. Florence in "The Rivals." I had never seen him off the stage. I immediately saw that the characteristics of the actor were the characteristics of the man--kindness, naturalness, simplicity, _bonhomie_, and _finesse_. An admirable actor, a great artist, and a lovable man.