fifteen minutes past seven o'clock
A student of the drama , had he been present , might have been carried back in thought a century or over , when many of the great players of days that are no more had to go through somewhat similar experiences . The Booths , the Cookes , the Keans , the Kembles , the Forrests , the Jeffersons , the Wallacks , and other great actors whose names are written on the imperishable tablets of fame have traveled over just such roads . Smith and the company , after a good night 's rest and a hearty breakfast , reached Gotown early in the forenoon . At fifteen minutes past seven o'clock the doors of the Metropolitan Academy of Music were thrown open , and at eight o'clock there was not an unoccupied space in the house . The Handel and Hayden Philharmonic musicians took their places in front of the stage and began the overture . It consisted of a medley of familiar airs . The audience was so well pleased with what they heard that the musicians had to let them have it again .