and Eva Mary. E. H. Sothern became prominent on the American stage. Sothern's house in Kensington, London was a resort for people of fashion, and he was as much a favourite in America as in the United Kingdom. Practical jokes Sothern was known as a sportsman and bon vivant and became famous for his magic tricks, conversation and, especially, his practical jokes (he was born on April fool's day), his passion for which amounted almost to a mania. He would often falsely announce the death of a friend or send people on fool's errands. Sothern and his friends would demand that clerks sell them goods not carried by the store in question, stage mock arguments on public omnibuses, run fake advertisements in newspapers, pay street urchins to annoy passers-by and so forth. At one restaurant, Toole and Sothern removed the silver and hid under the table. When the unfortunate waiter found the dining room empty and the silver gone, he ran to report the theft. By the time he returned, Toole and Sothern had re-set the table as if nothing had happened. Among his most elaborate practical jokes was the following. When the husband of actress Adelaide Neilson, Philip Henry Lee, visited New York in the mid-19th century, he had been warned about the wild, bohemian behaviour of American authors, but expressed his doubt as to the veracity of the stories. Sothern assured him it was true and arranged a private dinner for Lee with twelve "writers and critics", who were really actors. During the dinner, a quarrel arose over literary matters, culminating in a fight breaking out. The men, apparently drunk, brandished an axe, knives and revolvers. The room was filled with shouts, shots and struggle. Someone thrust a knife into Lee's hand, saying, "Defend yourself! This is butchery, sheer butchery!" Sothern advised him to "Keep cool, and don't get shot", before the joke was exposed. Notes References Brown, T. A. History of the American stage (1870) Marston, J. W. Our recent actors, 2 vols. (1888) Michael Diamond (2003). Victorian Sensation, pp. 265–68, Anthem Press . Odell, George Clinton. Annals of the New York Stage: Volume VI (1850–1857). New York: Columbia University Press (1931) Odell, George Clinton. Annals of the New York Stage: Volume VII (1857–1865). New York: Columbia University Press (1931) Pascoe, C. E. ed. The dramatic list, 2nd edn (1880) Pemberton, T. Edgar (1890). A Memoir of