VIII
CHICAGO UNIVERSITY
Irving addressed the University of Chicago twice.
The first was on 17th March 1896, when he repeated his lecture on “Macbeth.” The second on April 25, 1900, when he repeated the lecture which he had given in 1895 at the Royal Institution: “Acting: an Art.” Both addresses were given in the Kent Hall, which was on each occasion crowded to excess.
The University of Chicago might well be taken as an illustration of the rapid growth possible in America. In the fall of 1893 the ground on which it stands was a section of the World’s Fair, what was called “The Midway Pleasaunce.” In the spring of 1896, less than two years and a half, the University was built, organised and furnished with students to its full capacity.
IX
PRINCETON UNIVERSITY
The last address which Irving gave in America was at Princeton University, where on March 19, 1902, he read a paper on the subject of “Shakespeare and Bacon,” an eloquent and logical defence of Shakespeare against his detractors.
X
LEARNED BODIES AND INSTITUTIONS
The following is a list of various addresses given by Irving at Institutions and before learned Bodies other than Universities:
“The Stage.” Perry Bar Institute, near Birmingham, 6th March 1878.
“The Stage as it is.” Philosophical Institute, Edinburgh, 8th November 1881.