The Actor Valedictory Stanzas to J. P. Kemble, June, 1817, by Thomas Campbell
His was the spell o’er hearts
Which only Acting lends—
The youngest of the sister arts,
Which all their beauty blends:
For ill can Poetry express
Full many a tone of thought sublime,
And Painting, mute and motionless,
Steals but a glance of time,
But by the mighty actor brought,
Illusion’s perfect triumphs come—
Verse ceases to be airy thought,
And Sculpture to be dumb.
_______________________________ Endnotes: [1] This took the form as “The Players”; its home, 16 Grammercy Park, New York, was a gift from Mr. Booth. It had long been his residence, and there he passed away. [2] The late Professor Peirce, professor of mathematics in Harvard University, father of Professor James Mills Peirce.