ry high,
and the sums offered to distinguished stars in order to attract them
thither were immense. Mr. Jefferson reaped a fair share of this golden
harvest, and at the close of his Australian engagements found himself
the possessor of a handsome sum. It was this which formed the basis of
his large fortune; for, unlike his father, he is a man of excellent
business capacity, and understands how to care for the rewards of his
labors, so that they shall be a certain protection to him in his old
age, and an assistance to those whom he shall leave behind him.

Returning to the United States, Mr. Jefferson appeared with increased
success in the leading cities of the Northern and Western States. His
principal success at this time was won in the character of Asa
Trenchard, in the play of "Our American Cousin." His personation of the
rough, eccentric, but true-hearted Yankee was regarded as one of the
finest pieces of acting ever witnessed on the American stage, and drew
crowded houses wherever he went. His range of characters included the
most refined comedy and the broadest farce, but each delineation bore
evidence of close and careful study, and was marked by great originality
and delicacy. There was in his performances a freshness, a
distinctiveness, and, above all, an entire freedom from any thing
coarse or offensive, which charmed his audiences from the first. One of
his critics has well said of him: "As Caleb Plummer he unites in another
way the full appreciation of mingled humor and pathos--the greatest
delicacy and affection with rags and homely speech. As Old Phil
Stapleton he is the patriarch of the village and the incarnation of
content. As Asa Trenchard he is the diamond in the rough, combining
shrewdness with simplicity, and elevating instead of degrading the
Yankee character. As Dr. Ollapod, and Dr. Pangloss, and Tobias Shortcut,
he has won laurels that would make him a comedian of the first rank. His
Bob Acres is a picture. There is almost as much to look at as in his Rip
Van Winkle. There is nearly the same amount of genius, art, experience,
and intelligence in its personation. Hazlitt says that the author has
overdone the part, and adds that 'it calls for a great effort of animal
spirits and a peculiar aptitude of genius to go through with it;' Mr.
Jefferson has so much of the latter that he can--and to a great extent
does--dispense with the former requisite. His quiet undercurrent of
humor subserves the same p