h._--Rehearsed "Romeo and Juliet" with all my heart. Oh,
light, life, truth, and lovely poetry! I sat on the cold stage,
that I might hear them even mumble over their parts as they do. My
father seemed to me very weak, and not by any means fit for his
work to-night. After dinner went over my part again, and went to
the theater at half past five. My new dress was very handsome,
though rather burly, in spite of which Dall said it made me look
taller, so its rather burliness didn't matter. John Mason played
Romeo for the first time; he was beautifully dressed, and looked
very well; he acted tolerably well, too. He has a good deal of
energy and spirit, but wants feeling and refinement; his voice,
unfortunately, is very unpleasant, wiry, harsh, and monotonous; of
the last defect he may cure by practice. I came to the side scene
just as my father was going on, to hear his reception; it was very
great, a perfect thunder of applause; it made the tears start into
my eyes. Poor father! They received me with infinite demonstrations
of kindness too. I thought I acted very well; I am sure I played
the balcony scene well. When the blood keeps rushing up into one's
cheeks and neck while one is speaking, I wonder if that ought to be
called acting. To be sure, Hamlet's player's face turned pale for
Hecuba; so Shakespeare thought acting might make one change color.

I cannot get over the _sensibleness_ of Henry Greville, who was in
the pit again to-night. Upon my word! he deserves to see good
acting. After the play dear William and Mary Harness came home to
supper with us, and we all got into a long discussion about
Shakespeare's character, John maintaining that his views of life
were gloomy and that he must himself have been an unhappy man. I
don't believe a bit of it; no one, I suppose, ever thinks this
world, and the life we live in it, absolutely pleasant or good, but
the poet's ken, which is as an angel's compared with that of other
men, must see more good and beauty, as well as more evil and
ugliness, than his short-sighted fellows, and the better elements
predominating over the worse (as they do, else the world would fall
asunder). The man who takes so wide a view as Shakespeare, whatever
his judgment of parts, must, upon the whole, pronounce the whole
good ra