preparing for wider fields. Then he acted the rollicking Irishman to
perfection; the real live Yankee, with his genuine mannerisms and
dialect, with proper spirit and without ridiculous exaggeration, and the
Negro, so open to burlesque. The special charm of his acting in those
characters was his artistic execution. He never stooped to vulgarities,
his humor was quaint and spontaneous, and the entire absence of apparent
effort in his performance gave his audience a most favorable impression
of power in reserve. His favorite characters were Salem Scudder in THE
OCTOROON, and Myles Na Coppaleen in COLLEEN BAWN.

In April, 1862, Mr. Thompson started for the mother country, and there
his reception was worthy a returning son who had achieved a well-earned
reputation. His opening night in London was a perfect ovation, and
during his engagement the theatre was crowded in every part. He met with
flattering success during his brief tour, performing at Edinburg and
Glasgow before his return to Toronto the following fall.

From that time must be dated the career of Mr. Thompson as a _star_
or leading actor and manager, at first in low comedy, so called, or
eccentric drama, and later, in what he has made a classic New England
drama.

Mr. Thompson is the author of several very pleasing and successful
comedies, but the play JOSHUA WHITCOMB is the best known and most
popular. The leading character is said to have been drawn from Captain
Otis Whitcomb, who died in Swanzey in 1882, at the age of eighty-six. Cy
Prime, who "could have proved it had Bill Jones been alive," died in
that town, a few years since, while Len Holbrook still lives there.
General James Wilson, the veteran, who passed away a short time since,
was well known to the older generation of today. The last scene of the