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Editorial
Whether or not EDWIN BOOTH is dangerously ill, the speech made by his "colleague" in the Rochester theatre last night is astonishing, and, we believe, without precedent.  It has never been customary to tell the whole truth plainly on such occasions, but LAWRENCE BARRETT seems to have told more, for the startling statment that Mr. BOOTH would probably never act again was certainly unjustifiable in view of the facts. Mr BOOTH has been taken ill before on the stage,  but this, as far as far as we remember, is the first time that Mr. BARRETT has so completely succumbed in public to the stress of mental excitement. Mr. BOOTH was entertained at supper at Delmonico's on Saturday night. He seemed to be in perfectly good health then--his physical condition has, indeed, been seemingly uch better than Mr. BARRETT's lately--and enjoyed himself rationally among his friends until a late hour. Mr. BOOTH is only 55 years old, and judging from the latest news from Rochester, we are justified in the belief that he will continue in the pracitce of his art for many years to come. [[?]]

BOOTH's SUDDEN ILLNESS
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AN ATTACK FROM WHICH HE WILL PROBABLY SOON RECOVER
ROCHESTER, N. Y., April 3.-The Lyceum Theatre was crowded to-night with people gathered to see Booth and Barrett in "Othello."  They experienced a sensation and bitter disappointment.  Booth went on in the first act as Iago and spoke his lines without apparent difficulty.  At the end of the second act, when it was time for him to go on again, a slight dizziness, which had troubled him for two or three days, began to be serious, and a physician was called. He pronounced the illness of Mr. Booth too serious to permit him to go on with the performance. The doctor expressed fear that he had sustained a shock of partial paralysis, which so alarmed Mr. Barrett that he determined to dismiss the audience.
Mr. Barrett was greatly overcome by what he considered the dangerous illness of his colleague, and when he stepped before the curtain it was evident that he was greatly excited.  Mr. Barrett, during his short address to the audience, was frequently choked by his emotion.  He said:
LADIES AND GENTLEMAN: I am called upon to perform the most painful duty of my life.  My colleague has shown symptoms of breaking down for three or four days past, and his condition is so serious that it is impossible for him to act.  We had hoped that he would rally from the attack and that he would be able to play his part tonight, but one of your physicians, Dr. Sumner, says that it would be perilous for him to attempt it.
Mr. Booth has sustained a partial stroke of paralysis, and we fear that this is the beginning of the end.  I cannot express to you the deep sorrow with which I make this sad announcement.  The world has probably heard for the last time the greatest actor who speaks the English language.  We shall, of course, cancel all engagements, and I hope that we shall be able to remove Mr. Booth to his home.  It pains me to speak these words.  I am sorry to disappoint this great audience, but the play cannot go on.  It would be presumptuous for me to undertake to fill the place of this great man whom you have come to see and hear, and it would be worse than useless to attempt to proceed further.  I know you will be indulgent and that you will fully appreciate the sad plight in which we are placed.  The management will make such arrangements as may seem best for refunding your money.
The condition of Mr. Booth, it seems, did not fully justify the speech.  There had been no attack of paralysis, and the actor was suffering no pain.  He walked from the theatre to his carriage and was driven to his hotel, where he walked without apparent difficulty from the carriage to the elevator and to his room.  Reporters were not allowed to see Mr. Booth, and Mr. Barrett refused to talk, but Mr. Bromley, business manager of the company, said that Mr. Booth's illness was not serious enough to justify alarm.  He said that the company's engagements for the rest of the week, and possibly next, would be canceled, but he hoped to go on as usual after Mr. Booth had been given a brief rest. 
Mr. Barrett later requested that the following dispatch be sent:
Since his return to the hotel Edwin Booth is easier, and the doctor gives every assurance that a week or ten days of absolute rest will restore him to his usual health.   LAWRENCE BARRETT.
The company arrived in this city this morning and Mr. Booth passed the day lying down in his room, but did not seem to be suffering except from the weariness of travel.   Messrs. Booth and Barrett will leave here for New-York at 10:30 to-morrow morning, and Mr. Booth will be placed at once in charge of his own physician.
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At the Players' Club last night all that had been heard of Mr. Booth was that he had been taken ill.  When he left the city he appeared in his usual health.

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