At twenty-two (nearly twenty-three) Edwin is now in charge. He moves the family back to Baltimore, where he begins almost immediately to perform at the Front Street Theatre. He takes on many of his father’s old roles, appearing before the audiences that knew his father best. Perhaps he hasn’t yet attained his father’s genius. No one cares, they love him so. He plays to packed houses.

—

In July 1857, the following ad will appear in the Bel Air Southern Aegis.

FOR RENT—the splendid and well-known residence of the late J. B. Booth, in Harford County, about three miles from Bel Air, on the road leading to Churchville. This place will be rented to a good tenant if immediate application be made. There is 180 acres of land, 80 of which is arable. John Booth, Baltimore, Md.

No Booth will ever live on Father’s farm again.

BOOK FOUR

The senator from South Carolina has read many books of chivalry, and believes himself a chivalrous knight, with sentiments of honor and courage. Of course he has chosen a mistress to whom he has made his vows, and who, though ugly to others, is always lovely to him; though polluted in the sight of the world, is chaste in his sight;—I mean the harlot Slavery.

—Charles Sumner

Four years have passed since the Booths last lived in Baltimore. In many ways, the city is the same. The O’Laughlens still live across the street; the little Struthoff grocery is still next door. The parlor in which Father’s body once lay is still wallpapered in flocked yellow, lace curtains at the window, green shutters outside. Pigs still wander at will and remain a contentious political issue. Are they a public menace? Or are they public servants, keeping the streets free of garbage with their omnivorous ways? Visitors from England find them charming, a touch of the Old World, the fairy-tale village here, in a city sometimes referred to as Mobtown.

Because in other ways, Baltimore has changed. The Cock Robins, the Gumballs, and the Neversweats have grown-up and become the Calithumpians, the Rip Raps, the Plug Uglies, the Blood Tubs, the Rosebuds, and so many more. Streetlights have been installed all over the city and that soft glow now drifts in the windows at night, dimming the stars, and puddling on the floors. These streetlights are intended to reduce the danger of being abroad after dark. Forty-two lamplighters have been hired and they are almost never beaten and robbed as they go about their work.

Since the municipal elections of 1854, the anti-immigration American Party, the party of the secretive Know-Nothings, has been in charge of the city. Their agenda includes reforming the police, improving the water supply, and staying in power. These all require muscle, but especially the last. In polling places controlled by the gangs, only members of the party are allowed to cast a ballot. Others may try on pain of death.