| Share page | Visit Us On FB |
|
STORIES OF
Payne, I may add, was an intimate friend of Charles Lamb, who conducted much of his play business in London for him, while he was abroad.
A pleasing incident recorded by the " Phila-delphia Record" may fittingly close this account. " No common poet ever received a more enviable compliment than one paid to John Howard Payne by Jenny Lind, on his last visit to his native land. It was in the great National Hall of the City of Washington where the most distinguished audience that had ever been seen in the capital of the Republic was assembled. The matchless singer entranced the vast throng with her most exquisite melodies—' Casta Diva' the 'Flute Song,' the 'Bird Song,' and the ' Greeting to America.' But the great feature of the occasion seemed to be an act of inspira-tion. The singer suddenly turned her face to the part of the auditorium where Payne was sitting and sang 'Home, Sweet Home,' with such pathos and power that a whirlwind of excitement and enthusiasm swept through the vast audience. Webster himself almost lost his self-control, and one might readily imagine that Payne thrilled with rapture at this unexpected and magnificent rendition of his own immortal lyric."
30 |
||