■ **iTif^ ■■ - . ."*— . - *. .: .'L-. ■ —ijlri ft ^ M In ■* ■ «^" ■« ■ ■■•■ ?ciiE!ii;.-viA:--ii.5:p..r!- ; . " ' ■-'■!!"-i a! S'TiTi "P't-"* S' Jb"' ■ «*•»»!■ S'rjn^ -jfl ;; i-^ ; ltKV- !*"l'rt.. I fr I 4.» ■ ^"l '.".y '*"-':. 'vT^^tS- ;''";"» If ••'■ 'm*^- 1 ■•«£!■.'>. .; m f3..fj»';-(i fV. ilP «■ xa.'s.;.'s. . i.!S«fosition that if she would go on a lecture tour I would manage it. She accepted it. That's where I first became a manager. Although she was to speak first in Washington, they were determined to hear her in Laramie and Denver en route. I got the schoolroom in Laramie, charged .f 1.60 a ticket, and sold four hundred tickets, and took in $600 that evening. Next, in Denver, she spoke in the 'Sew Baptist Church, the INTBODTICTION largest auditorium ia the city at that time. I remember the night she was to appear in Denver I went to the Inter-Ocean Hotel where she hoarded, to escort her to the church, and did not know her. She was dressed up, and — well, she looked very pretty. The leading Methodist minister — she had been converted by a Methodist, and they claimed her — introduced her to one of the largest audiences ever assembled in Denver. Armed with letters of introduction to Speaker James Gr. Blaine, President TJ. S. Grraut, and many members of Con- gress, we reached Washington, where we got into the Speak- er's room and she sent her card to Speaker Blaine. He was in the speaker's chair. He came out and shook hands with her and was half tempted to be a little bit funny and jocose, but he discovered at once that she was a lady, a woman with a cause, and an earnest one, and in a moment his attention was riveted. He did not go back to his chair but sent word to somebody else to take his place, and in a few minutes somebody else came into the speaker' s room, and in not over twenty minutes that room was packed with members of Con- gress. There was a stampede on the floor, and she held an ovation for two hours. Everybody wanted to see and hear her. Two days after that she did tell her story in Washing- ton. Forty-eight hoiirs later the Poland bill for the relief of the oppressed in Utah was a law. I will say now that in all my experience I have never found so eloquent, so interesting, so earnest a talker. I have heard a great many, too. She had a cause. She was in dead ear- nest. She could sway audiences with her eloquence. She was able in two years from that time to leave Utah with her children and her family, and she never returned. I took a desk in Mr. Eedpath's office in Boston and booked Mrs. Young's time in New England and the Eastern States, while, with an Eastern lady as chaperone, she travelled and lectured nightly to as large audiences as were being drawn by the most popular lecturers of that period, such as Gough, Phillips, Anna Dickinson, and Mary A. Livermore. At the end of the season she had earned over $20,000. INTRODUCTION I have frequently visited Utah on tours with some of my celebrities, and have found amongst the Mormon people as intelligent and interested listeners as are to be found in any other part of the United States. I do not believe there is a more critical or appreciative public in America. From the time of my first visit to Utah I have known and respected the Mormon people, and some of the best friends I now have are among them. I have always made it a rule to make special terms and prices for that public because of its universal intel- ligence and appreciation. In the spriug of 1899, it was my privilege to place F. Mar- ion Crawford with the Brigham^ Young Normal College at Provo, where I found over six hundred young men and maid- ens studying to become teachers and missionaries for the Mormon church. The president of that college, Mr. ClufE, I had known when a boy living near the spot where the col- lege now stands. His uncle, David Cluff, was a customer of mine in 1868. He kept a furniture store and was undertaker for the town of Provo. He had three wives living under the same roof. Over his store he had an assembly hall where the young people gathered for dancing, theatricals, and other amusements. I attended one of these dances while a guest of Mr. Cluff and was introduced to his wives and several of his children, a cousin of whom is now president of this great col- legiate institution. Mr. Cluff, senior, had come originally from Vermont. His first wife was also a New England girl. I think that I was the only gentile in Provo that night. I had driven forty miles by team from Salt Lake City the day before. I was made to feel perfectly at home in this Mormon family and met with all comforts of a home that reminded m.e of the old-time pioneer households in Western New York and Wis- consin. When the party assembled in the ball room, before the music started— the band was made up entirely of mem- bers of the Cluff family— Mr. Cluff opened the proceedings with prayer, as is the custom on all public occasions among the Mormons, One of the faculty of the Brigham Young College, a lady, INTRODUCTION is Mrs. Susa Young Gates, a daughter of Lucy and Brigham Young, one of the most prominent women in Utah and editor of The Young Woman's Journal of that State. I had never met Mrs. Gates until on this occasion, but she has been one of my correspondents in Utah for a number of years. She is well known as one of the leaders among women, and is identified with all the discussions and movements for their progress in the United States. I had thought favorably of trying to in- duce her to come East and lecture to women's clubs and asso- ciations. When we met, naturally the memory of Ann Eliza, who was my first star, was still green in this community, and she gently took me to task for having been opposed to her people and religion. To show that Ann Eliza had inflicted an injury to the cause and faith she believed in and followed, I submit the following extract from a letter Mrs. Gates wrote to me while I was in California with Mr. Crawford, shortly after leaving her : "Major Pond — I like the frank and manly way in which you speak of the unfortunate past and of your wish to help my people in the future. I applied to you simply as the greatest manager on earth ; and perhaps had resolved that all transactions should be kept on the strictest impersonal and business basis. But I became convinced after a few conver- sations with you that you had played an unwitting part in the great harm that Ann Eliza did my father and the whole people. I have been closely observing you. Major, while you were studying me. And I understand how with your gener- ous and chivalrous disposition you could champion the cause of one you esteemed at that time to be an oppressed woman. But Ann Eliza was untruthful. She was a jealous and un- scrupulous woman ! God forgive her and let Him deal with her. I have no bitterness in my heart for her. I love my religion too well to hold enmity to any one, however wilful and wicked they may be. My dear father was one of the purest and most unselfish of men as well as one of the great- est ; and you, Major, who are such a lover of heroes, would INTRODUCTION revere my father more and more if you would study him more. Yes, I accept ia good faith your candid offer, and will let God and the future prove if a Mormon's friendship is not as high and noble as that of any one on earth. My husband was very favorably impressed with your whole-hearted generous praise of all that you saw, and he stands with me in this offer to ' smoke the pipe of peace.' " It was while engaged in the Eedpath Bureau in Boston, booking Ann Eliza's time, that I became enamored of the busi- ness, and a year later, with Mr. George H. Hathaway, chief clerk of the bureai\, bought out James Eedpath and assumed the management of that fine business. After four years' most pleasant partnership, Mr. Hathaway and I separated, he re- taining the Eedpath Lyceum Bureau and its good name, and I moved to New York and established a bureau of my own, put my sign in the window, where it has remained twenty-two years and wiU probably stay as long as I care to work. I have endeavored to teU of the famous men and women, who have been lyceum favorites, that I have known and man- aged since I began with Mr. Hathaway in Boston in March, 1875, and most of whom it has been my pleasure to call my friends. Since I started out as a journeyman printer in 1856, I have realized that the best and most useful advice ever given to me was that of my employer whom I was about to leave. In bid- diag me good-by, he said: "Now, Jim, you are starting from this minute out into the world to look after yourself. Let me give you some advice. Always associate with people from whom you can learn something useful. The greater a man is, the easier he is of approach. You can choose your companions from among the very best, and a man is always known by the company he keeps. It is much easier to ride than to carry a load." This advice I never forgot. It was worth more to me than any I ever had. It has helped me always when I set out to try to secure some celebrity, and has invariably proved INTRODUCTION. true. I have never felt the slightest hesitancy in approaching any famous man or woman, and it never took long to ascer- tain whether the man was a gentleman or the woman a lady. In preparing this book I have told of the people as I knew them, and have avoided any attempt to over-estimate or be- little their genuine characters. ORATORS ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS THE TEIUMVIB.ATE OF LECTURE KINGS. THE great triumvirate of lecture kings consisted of Gough, Beecher, and Wendell Phillips. Other men for a sea- son, and sometimes for a few years, were as popular as any of them, but it was a calcium-light popularity, whereas the popularity of the "Big Three " endured for their entire lives. Phillips held his place the longest, beginning lyceum work about 1845, and contiauiag it to his death nearly forty years later. Gough was the most supremely popular — not the greatest of the three intellectually, but most level to the largest number of the plain people. Beecher came parallel with him and had a higher influence. His position during and after the Civil War reached the altitude of world influence. His command of the Plymouth pulpit was the most enormous mental leverage. Theodore Parker said of it as early as 1856, that its "sounding board was the Rocky Mountains" — the auditorium therefore was the continent. Beecher touched the hearts of men ; Gough held to the fear of the effects of wrong-doing; Phillips, through the intellect, reached the conscience of his generation. He was a name in Great Britain, a power in the Northern States. Beecher was a power on both sides ot the ocean, a person beloved on all sides. Who shall name other men who have filled the last half of the century with such enduring recognition? JOHN B. GOUGH. ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS JOHN B. GOUGH deserves the title of King of the Lec- ture World, if popularity be made the sole test, and only Mr. Beecher and Wendell Phillips had any claim to contest the title with him, if eloquence — the power to hold and charm audiences — be made the test. Mr. Gough was a more popular lecturer for a longer term of years than any other favorite of the lyceums. He was a born orator, with great dramatic power. Men of greater cul- ture but less natural ability used to be fond of attributing his success to the supposed fact that he was the "evangelical comedian," that the unco' good, whose religious prejudices would not suffer them to go to the theatre, found a substitute in listening to the comic stories and the dramatic delivery of Gough. This theory does not sufB.ce to explain the vmiversal and long-continued popularity of this great orator. He never faced an audience that he did not capture and captivate ; and not id the United States only, not in the North only, where his popularity never wavered, but in the South, where Yan- kees were not in favor, and in the Canadian Provinces, where they were disliked, and in every part of England, Scotland, and Ti-eland as well. He delighted not only all the intelligent audiences he addressed in these six nations — for during most of his career our North and our South were at heart two nations' making with Canada three nations on our continent, and the three distinct nationalities on the British Islands making up the six— but he delighted all kinds and condi- tions of men. He was at his best before an educated audi- ence in an evangelical community. But when he addressed a "mission" audience in North Street, Boston, or in the Five Points in New York, he charmed the gamin and the poorest classes who gathered there as much as he charmed the culti- vated assemblages in Music Hall, Boston, then admitted to be the finest audiences that Boston and its suburbs could turn out. ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS Mr. Gough never asked a fee in his life. He left Hs remu- neration to the public who employed him. It rose year after year, beginning with less than a dollar at times, until, when the bureau did his business for him, it reached from $200, the lowest fee, to $600 a night. In the last years of his life his income exceeded $30,000. He did more to promote the temperance cause than any man who ever lived. It is strange, but it is a fact, that although Gough never broke down in his life as an orator, and never failed to capture his audience, yet he always had a mild sort of stage-fright, which never went off until he began to speak. To get time to master this fright was the reason why he al- ways insisted on beiag " introduced " to his audiences before he spoke, and he so insisted even in places where the absurd custom had been abandoned for years. When the chairman was introducuig him, Mr. Gough was " bracing up " to over- come his stage-fright. And let me say right here that the phrase " bracing up " has two meanings ; that the slanderous statements often started against Mr. Gough, that he some- times took a drink in secret, were wholly and wickedly un- true. In his autobiography Mr. Gough has told the true story of his fall, his conversion, and his one relapse, and he has told it truthfully. He was absolutely and always, after his first relapse, a total-abstinence man in creed and life. There never lived a truer man. For forty years he held the reputation as first in the land as an orator and champion of temperance. He probably de- livered more lectures than any man who has lived in the pres- ent age. From a carefully kept record we find that from 1842 to 1852 he lectured on an average of 300 times a year, making 3,000 lectures. From 1862 to 1870 he aver- aged 260 times a year, or 2,080 lectures on temperance. Of these, 1,160 were delivered in Great Britain. After 1870 Mr Gough lectured on miscellaneous subjects. Each year he prepared a new lecture upon a fresh topic. Among the most taldng were: "Eloquence and Orators," "Pe- culiar People," "Fact and Fiction," "Habit," "Curiosity," ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS "Circumstances," " Will It Pay," "Now and Then," "Night Scenes," "Blunders," which was his last. From 1861 to the time of his death, February 11, 1886, he delivered 3,526 lectures, makiag in all 9,600 addresses before 9,000,000 hearers. Mr. Gough was a charming man personally : modest, unas- suming, kind-hearted, and sincere, always ready to help a worthy cause or a needy friend. He was a zealous Christian, but he never obtruded his religious belief offensively on oth- ers. One needed to see him in his home to know what a devoted Christian he was. John B. Gough was among the heroes of the nineteenth century. The incalculable good he did to his fellow-men can never be known. It is no idle statement when we say that he was the direct means, under God, of raising tens of thou- sands from degradation to be law-abidmg men and women. It was my privilege, in 1879, to see in Mr. Gough' s library four large books containing the names of over 140,000 men, women, and children who, by his own personal efforts, had been induced to sign the pledge. It was the habit of John B. Gough, for forty years, to carry two overcoats on his lecture tours. After his lectures he put both of them on — the first, a light one, which he buttoned up tight, and the second, a very heavy one, a sort of combination of heavy ulster and the regula- tion overcoat. His two-hour lecture was an unbroken succession of contor- tions and antics that left him di-ipping with perspiration. It required all this covering to protect his body from the air before he changed his wet clothing for dry. On his return to his hotel, Mrs. Gough was always in wait- ing with fresh clothing. A valet at once set to work rubbing him down, exactly as is the custom of grooming a racehorse at the end of the heat. After this process he appeared ap- parently as fresh as ever. He would eat a bowl of bread and mUk, and always wanted an old-fashioned bowl. Mrs. Gough was his constant companion, but did not attend ECCENTBICITimS OF GENIUS the lectures. During the last twelve years of their travel to- gether she did not hear him once. GOugh was a man of the people, the son of a workiagman and himself a workingman, self-educated but not what is technically called a scholar. WENDELL PHILLIPS ECCENTBICIIIES OF GENIUS WENDELL PHILLIPS was the bluest of the blue blood of New England. His forefather came over in the Arabella, the vessel that followed the Mayflower, and there was a clergyman in every generation from the iirst immigrant to Phillips himself. They were always prominent people. Phillips studied for the law and there was a brilliant career open for him. When he was at college, he showed no sym- pathy with any radical movement. On the contrary, he was a member of an exclusive set known as The Gentlemen's Club, and used to laugh at Sumner for taking Garrison's Liberator. But he happened one day to attend a meeting in Faneuil Hall, and heard the Attorney General of the State vindicate the murderers of Lovejoy, in Illinois, and say that Lovejoy died as the fool dieth. Young Phillips sprang to his feet at once and delivered a short speech which placed him at the head of the orators of New England, a position he kept until he lay stUl in death. That incident made him. an abolitionist for life. He abandoned all ideas of eminence in law or politics and determined to devote his whole life to the anti-slavery agitation. He was the most polished and graceful orator our country ever produced. He spoke as quietly as if he were talking in his own parlor, and almost entirely without gestures, yet he had as gi'eat a power over all kinds of audiences as any American of whom we have any record. Often called before howling mobs, who had come to the lecture-room to prevent him from being heard, and who would shout and sing to drown his voice, he never failed to subdue them in a short time. These were occasions when even such men as Garrison and Theodore Parker were as powerless as children and were forced to retire. One illustration of his power and tact oc- curred in Boston. The majority of the audience was hostile. They yelled and sang and completely drowned his voice. The reporters were seated in a row just under the platform, in the 8 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS place -where the orchestra play in an ordinary theatre. Phil- lips made no attempt to address the howling audience, but bent over and seemed to be speaking in a low tone to the reporters By and by the curiosity of the howling audience was excited : they ceased to clamor and tried to hear what he was sayiag to the reporters. Phillips looked at them and said quietly : "Go on, gentlemen, go on. I do not need your ears. Through these pencils I speak to thirty millions of people " If ot a voice was raised again. The mob had found its mas- ter and stayed whipped until he sat down. He was open and sympathetic to all appeals and causes, and this made him accessible always to the poorest of men. I knew that ia Boston among some of his most trusted intimates — men to whom he was always accessible — ^were workmen and laborers, who would hardly have been admitted at the kitchen doors of others of the " Brahmins " of that city. George Lowell Austin, in his " Life and Times of Wendell Phillips," says: " Among all the noble men ia Massachusetts who early came to the support of William Lloyd Garrison, in his war upon slavery, none came from a higher social plane, or parted with brighter prospects, or brought to the cause more brUliant abili- ties than did Wendell Phillips. He might have been congress- man, governor, senator of the United States, and, possibly, have risen higher still, had he allied himself to either of the great political pai-ties. In the Senate, had he reached that body, he would have ranked with Sumner and Conkling as an orator, and with Fessenden, Grimes, Douglas, and 0. P. Mor- ton as a debater. " Eloquent as he was as a lecturer, he was fai- more effective as a debater. Debate was for him the flint and steel which brought out all his fire. The memory of Mr Phillips was something wonderful. He would listen to an elaborate speech for hours, and, without a single note of what had been said, in writing, reply to every part of it as fully and completely as if the speech were writ- ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 9 ten out before him. Those who heard him only on the plat- form, and when not confronted by an opponent, have a very limited comprehension of his wonderful resources as a speaker. In his style as a debater he resembled Sir Robert Peel, in grace and courtliness of manner and in fluency and copious- ness of diction. He never hesitated for a word, or failed to employ the word best fitted to express his thought on the point under discussion. The great agitator's tact was only equalled by the serene humor and pleasant wit that he exhibited. An old friend has recently told me of Mr. Phillips questioning him as to the highest grade he had won in the Union army on the occa- sion of his going to the Federal capital just after muster-out, as a special correspondent. Mr. Phillips, knowing the young man's radical views, had given him. several letters of intro- duction and was writing one to Senator Sumner when he asked this question, remarking with a gentle laugh: "Yes, a title .has its value with my friend Charles." His unvarying ur- banity was in conspicuous contrast with the Senator's some- times unpleasant surliness. Mr. Phillips was decidedly old-fashioned in many of his ways. When at home, for example, he did his own market- ing, and he knew how to buy. His chief purchases, however, were always in the way of dainties for his invalid wife. His own table habits were of the simplest. He was quite apt to answer his own door bell. On the entrance to that quiet Boston house there was no door-plate— only the name painted in large black letters — PHILIilPS. I called on him one morning at his house. He answered the bell himself. I remarked : "Mr. Phillips, you have a very conspicuous sign on your door." He told me that as the door-plate had been torn off by van- dals he had decided to have his name painted on the door so 10 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS conspicuously that any one who wished to find his house could easily distinguish the name. A large commercial block now occupies the ground where the house stood. On the corner of this modern building there is a bronze tablet bearing the following inscription : 3)K HERE it^ WENDELL PHILLIPS RESIDED DURING FORTY YEARS, DEVOTED BY HIM TO EFFORTS TO SECURE THE ABOLITION OF AFRICAN SLAVERY IN THIS COUNTRY. THE CHARMS OF HOME, THE ENJOYMENT OF WEALTH AND LEARNING, EVEN THE KINDLY" RECOGNITION OF HIS FELLOW-CITIZENS, WERE BY HIM ACCOUNTED AS NAUGHT COMPARED WITH DUTY. HE LIVED TO SEE .lUSTICE TRIUMPHANT, FREEDOM UNIVERSAL, AND TO RECEIVE THE TARDY PRAISES OF HIS FORMER OPPONENTS. THE BLESSINGS OF THE POOR, THE FRIENDLESS, AND THE OPPRESSED ENRICHED HIM. IN BOSTON HE WAS BORN 29 NOVEMBER, 1811, AND DIED 2 FEBRUARY, 1884. THIS TABLET WAS ERECTED IN 1894, BY ORDER OF hotograph, I will pay for it." ]!ily ■;-,,^;:^ ,, J, ^ m.,-^-k 1 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 233 invitation seemed to have no effect until Mr. Eedpath inter- ceded. He was manager and owner of the bureau at the time, and on his invitation we all went to Warren's, and they sat for the picture, which is here reproduced. This picture has often been referred to as being in collec- tions belonging to other friends of the distinguished humor- ists, but I hardly think any of them ever knew how it came to he taken. There was a very large picture taken of the group at the same time, which was the private property of James Eedpath and sold with his collection. I never knew where it went. I wish I could find it, for it was a fine photograph, and I should like to own it. 2.34 ECCENTBJCITIES OF GENIUS " A /fAX O'EELL " (raul Elo 1\X is tlie only professional loiiet), tliat witty Frencliman, ily professional humorist tliat I ever im- ported, and is one of the humorous h'.eturers who always score a "platfornr success." He has made three successful lecture tours in America. From Xova Scotia to Xe"\r <_)rleans and from the At- lantic to the Pacific he has apipeared in all the large cities, and the immense au- diences that have welcomed him every"\\diere attest his success. His fun is contagious. Sociall}' he is one of the most entertaining of men, with a good st(.)ry apropos of nearly everything. He tells in his own most humorous way one instance of the Chicago reporter's impu- dence and enterprise. One night he had been in bed in the Grand racihc Hotel perhaps an luiur or so when there came a very decided rapinug at his chamber door. "Who's there? " called Max O'Roll. "A rei)oi'tcr," came the answer. " W(dl, 1 can't see you now. I'm in bed." Tlie |ih'eiu-lima,n lieard his door being pushed open, and the eba,ir which he had plared against it tunibh>d over. Someone advanced into the room, struck a, match, and jiroceeded to light tlie gas. "Well, well! Wliafll you have, sir. wliafll you have? " cried Max (J'Eell, indignant at this cool intruder. ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 236 The reporter tossed tlie match into the fireplace, and throw- ing himself into^a chair, said: "What' 11 1 have? Oh, I'll have a whiskey cocktail." He wrote a book entitled " America as Seen through Trench Spectacles. " If he had not written that book he would have been still more popular with the lyceum. He made a trip through Australia and wrote another book which the Austra- lians didn't like. Had he possessed Mark Twain's sagacity, sincerity, and love of his fellow-man, and had he seen things from their favorable point of view instead of from their objec- tionable side, he might certainly get as much fun out of it and his popularity would have continued. He left a riley wake clear around the world, whereas the American humorist made friends of all who met or heard or read him. I am very fond of Max O'Eell. At the same time, it is impossible to enjoy all his eccentricities. But I made allowance for all of his peculiarities, and my heart went out in sympathy for him when he was obliged to cut short his last tour and return to London because of ill health. He is the heroic mirth provoker of his time — unlike any other humorous lecturer. His audiences are kept in convul- sions of laughter from beginning to end. Occasionally one thinks he has found a let-up and that he is going to have a rest, when all of a sudden he is struck in another funny spot, and things go on that way until he has finished. I never could understand why he should not be one of the greatest natural platform attractions in the world, for I have never known a man to give an audience more delight. In his "Brother Jonathan and His Continent" he says: "Major Pond was the only man I met in America who was not a colonel." NYE AND RILEY ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 237 BILL NYE was an editor -when I first met him, and as I had been a printer, of course I felt akin to Mm. I had formed an attachment for him. that made me wish to know him, so when I found myself in Laramie, on a return trip from California, I improved the opportunity to make his ac- quaintance. The trains from East and West across the con- tinent met at Laramie, and made a stop of one hour, and Laramie was a lively city during that time. I used my ditiner hour to call on William. I asked a man to direct me to Bill Nye's office, and he replied, "Just over that livery stable," pointiug across the way. I started across the street. Just over the road doorway of the stable hung a sign painted in black letters on a plain board : "LAEAMlE BOOMERANG Walk Down the Alley Twist the Gray Mule's Tail Take the Elevator Immediately. " I went into the sanctum and found Nye writing at a plain table at the far side of the room, quite unaware of my pres- ence. From photographs and descriptions I knew him by his back, and at once exclaimed : "Hello, Bill!" Nye rose from his seat and replied smilingly : " Hello, Jim ! I guess this is Jim Pond. How are you. Major? " I told htm people were reading and talking of him all over the country, and that I believed he could make money lectur- ing. He replied that he had never given the matter a thought, and was trying to earn a living with his pen and through the Laramie postmastership, to which he had just been appointed. From that time on Bill Nye and I were close friends. When he came East to live, and purchased his Staten Island home, our wives and children became friends also, and we knew and loved one another, and that love never lost any of its ardor. 238 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS I did not see Nye again until about 1886. I was looking out of my office windcw in the Everett House in New York, and noticed a tall, straight, slim, fair-haired man, in a slouch hat, whose countenance wore an expression of inquiry, and who seemed to be trying to find the entrance to my place. We recognized "ourselves," and I beckoned to him, and told him to come around to the front door and have a bell-boy show him to my rooms. I added that there was no sign, or mule's tail to twist, or elevator to take. Bill came in and stared about at the pictures of great men and women on the walls as if he were a fresh, unsophisticated country boy — and so he was so far as experience was con- cerned. He told me that he had been engaged on the staff of the New York World and was going to move to New York. The hardest part was to accustom himself to the politics of The World, but he said he supposed he could become used to that as soon as he became acclimated. After a pleasant chat we dined together at Moretti's. Nye asked if he would be expected to learn to eat macai'oni like some of our Bohemian neighbors. This was his first Italian dinner ; it was all of great interest to him, all new, and he saw it from the standpoint of an inexperienced youth. I told him that now he was coming East to live I would make some money for him in the lyceum. He seemed doubt- ful, but said he would try it. His first lecture under my auspices was given in Bridgeport, Conn. A certain organization (the Y. M. C. A.) in that place seemed to think the name of Bill Nye would draw, and en- gaged to pay him $160 ; so Bill was fitted out with his con- tract, and went to Bridgeport. The committee met hun, and were very polite. The contract read : " In consideration for said lecturs the party of the first part agrees to pay to the party of the second part (Mr. Nye) $150 in currency on the evening of the lec- ture, before eight o'clock." Mr. Nye was on hand before the appointed time. A little after eight o'clock the president of the organization said: ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 239 " Mr. Nye, we are ready. Will you please follow nie to the stage? " Nothing was said about paymeut. Mr. Nye said he was ready, but that he must return to New York as soon as the lecture was over, and added that he hoped he would not be detained. The president made no response, but walked on, followed by Bill. The Opera House was crowded, and the president remarked to the speaker of the evening that it was the largest house they remembered having on an opening night. At the close of the lecture no one came to Mr. Nye to offer payment, and he was obliged to hint to the president that there was a little matter of business that had been forgotten. "Oh, yes," returned the president; "come with me to the box-office. " "It's twenty minutes to ten," said Nye, "and I must catch the ten o'clock train." When they reached the box-ofQce, the treasurer, who was counting the receipts of the evening, said : "Mr. Nye, shall we settle with you or with Major Pond? " " I have a copy of the contract, the same that you are hold- ing in your hand, which reads ' Settlement to be made in cur- rency with party of the second part before eight o'clock.' " "Oh, how much is it?" "One hundred and fifty dollars in currency," said Nye. "One hundred and fifty dollars! Why, who ever heard of so much money for only an hour's talk? " "Did you lose any money on the venture? " asked William. "Oh, no. The house was full; but we don't think you ought to exact such an exorbitant sum for an hour's talk." "Gentlemen, I must catch that train in ten minutes. Will you kindly settle with me? " "You will take our check, won't you, Mr Nye?" asked the treasurer. " Yes, if the contract says so. How does it read? " asked Mr. Nye, with impatience. "It does read currency. You won't take less than |160? " 240 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS Mr. Nye said notliing,_^and the treasurer counted out tlie money, for "which Nye signed a receipt. Then he said : " Gentlemen, I suppose you delayed this payment and de- coyed me in here for the purpose of making me angry, think- ing that when you gave me this money I would fling it back in your faces in a mad fit. You are mistaken. I'm a good- tempered man. " Mr. Nye, like every one human who attempts to make a whole evening of fun, found lecturing irksome. The audi- ence would fairly bubble over with laughter until every fun- liking muscle of their faces relaxed and left one sombre, wet- blanket expression all over the assembly ; and there they had to sit, and the humorist had to proceed to the end of the pro- gramme without a response. It was the same with Mark Twain until he took a running mate and interspersed pathos by introducing George W; Cable, and by means of a varied programme achieved the greatest success ever known in the way of a platform entertainment. ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 241 JAMES WHITCOMB EILEY'S recitals of his own pa- thetic and humorous dialect poems have touched the ten- der chords in the hearts of the people, and they have vi- brated in sympathy with the joys of his creations. His name is one of the best-loved household words in our cultivated American homes. A popular poet is not always a popular reader of his own poems, but Mr. Riley is fully as effective with his voice as with his pen. He is our American Burns, After he had acquired fame as a very successful reader of his poems, Mr. IN'ye thought that by combining with him they might be as successful as some others. So Riley was approached, and the result was a combination of humor and pathos for the season of 1888-9. Riley came to New York, and the arrangements were perfected in my oiHce. Nye and I were to be owners of the combination, and Riley, who al- ways declared, "I'm no business man," was to receive $500 a week and his hotel and travelling expenses. Advertising methods were next discussed. Something unique must be thought out. I suggested a short biographical sketch of each one. Mr. Riley said, " Bill, you write my au- tobiography, and I'll write yours." This was agreed upon, and the manuscript was put into my hands the next day. Finally, the programme had to be decided upon, and in an- other twenty-four hours that was mapped out. After it was finished and ready to send out I had the first copy framed, with a nice mat around it. When the mat was brought in, Riley asked me to let him see it. He took a pen, and in about an hour had decorated it with pen drawings worthy of an artist. It still hangs in my office. THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BILL NYE Written by Himself Through James Whitcomb Riley. Edgar Wilson Nye was born in Maine, in 1860, August 26th, but at two years of age he took his parents by the hand, and, 242 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS telling them that Piscataquis County was no place for them, he boldly struck out for St. Croix County, Wis., where the THE NYE-RILEY PROGRAM, WITH MR. RILEY'S DECORATIONS hardy young pioneer soon made a home for his parents. The first year he drove the Indians out of the St Croix Valley, and suggested to the ISTorthwestern Railroad that it would be a good idea to build to St. Paul as soon as the company could ECCENTBICITIES OF GENIUS 243 get a grant which ■would pay them two or three times the cost of construction. The following year he adopted trousers, and made $175 from the sale of wolf scalps. He also cleared twenty-seven acres of land, and raised some watermelons. In 1864 he established and endowed a district school in Pleas- ant A''alley. It was at this time that he began to turn his attention to the abolition of slavery in the South, and to write articles for the press, signed Veritas, in which he advocated the war in 1860, or as soon as the Government could get around to it. In 1865 he graduated from the farm and began the study of the law. He did not advance very rapidly in this profession, failing several times in his examination, and giving bonds for his appearance at the next term of court. He was, however, a close student of political economy, and studied personal economy at the same time, till he found that he could easily live on ten cents a day and his relatives. Mr. Nye then began to look about him for a new country to build up and foster, and, as Wisconsin had grown to be so thickly settled in the northwestern part of the State that neighbors were frequently found less than five miles apart, he broke loose from all restraint and took emigrant rates for Cheyenne, Wyo. Here he engaged board at the Inter-Ocean Hotel, and began to look about him for a position in a bank. ISTot succeeding in this, he tried the law and journalism. He did not succeed in getting a job for some time, but finally was hired as associate editor and janitor of the Laramie Sentinel. The salary was small, but Mr. Nye's latitude great, and he was permitted to write anything that he thought would please the people, whether it was news or not. By and by he had won every heart by his gentle, patient poverty and his delightful parsimony in regard to facts. With a hectic imagination and an order on a restaurant which advertised in the paper he scarcely cared through the livelong day whether school kept or not. Thus he rose to Justice of the Peace, and finally to an in- come reported very large to everybody but the assessor. 244 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS He is the father of several very beautiful children by his first wife, who is still living. She is a Chicago girl, and loves her husband far more than he deserves. He is pleasant to the outside world, but a perfect brute in his home. He early learned that, in order to win the love of his wife, he should be erratic, and kick the stove over on the children when he came home. He therefore asserts himself in this way, and the family love and respect him, being awed by his greatness and gentle barbarism. He eats plain food with both hands, conversing all the time pleasantly with any one who may be visiting at the house. If his children do not behave, he kicks them from beneath the table till they roar with pain, as he chats on with the guests with a bright and everflowing stream of hons mots which please and delight those who visit him to such a degree that they forget that they have had hardly anything to eat. In conclusion, Mr. Nye is in every respect a lovely charac- ter. He feared that injustice might be done him, however, in this sketch, and so he has written it himself. It is scarcely necessary to say that before these " autobi- ographies " were written the humorists exchanged life stories and personal data ; and in writing the sketches they adhered to the essential facts with reasonable fidelity. The idea proved a happy thought, and there was much comment upon it at the time. Of the two biographies, the one by Mr. Nye was conceded to have the keener edge. AUTOBIOGRAPHY OP JAMES WHITCOMB EILET Written hj Himself Through Edgar Wilson Nye The unhappy su]3Ject of this sketch was born so long ago that he persists in never referring to the date. Citizens of his native town of Greenfield, Ind., while warmly welcoming his advent, were no less anxious some few years ago to " speed the parting guest." It seems, in fact, that, the better they ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 245 caine to know him, the more resigned they were to give him up. He was ill-starred from the very cradle, it appears. One day, while but a toddler, he climbed, unseen, to an open window where some potted flowers were ranged, and while leaning from his high chair far out, to catch some dainty, gilded butterfly, perchance, he lost his footing, and, with a piercing shriek, fell headlong to the gravelled walk below ; and when, an instant later, the affrighted parents picked him up, he was — a poet. The father of young Eiley was a lawyer of large practice, who used, in moments of deep thought, to regard this boy as the worst case he ever had. This may have been the reason that, in time, he insisted on his reading law, which the boy really tried to do; but, finding that political economy and Blackstoue didn't rhyme, he slid out of the office one hot, sultry afternoon, and ran away with a patent medicine and concert wagon, from the tail end of which he was discovered by some relatives in the next town, violently abusing a brass drum. This was a proud moment for the boy ; nor did his peculiar presence of mind entirely desert him till all the coun- try fairs were over for the season. Then, afar off, among strangers in a strange State, he thought it would be fine to make a flying visit home. But he couldn't fly. Fortunately, ia former years he had purloined some knowledge of a trade. He could paint a sign, or a house, or a tin roof — if some one else would furnish him the paint — and one of Riley's hand- painted picket fences gave rapture to the most exacting eye. Yet, through all his stress and trial, he preserved a simple, joyous nature, together with an everwidening love of men and things ia general. He made friends, and money, too — enough, at last, to gratify the highest ambition of his life, namely, to own an overcoat with fur around the tail of it. He then groped his way back home, and worked for nothing on a little country paper that did not long survive the blow. Again ex- cusing himself, he took his sappy paragraphs and poetry to another paper and another town, and there did better till he spoiled it all by devising a Poe poem fraud, by which he lost 246 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS his job; and, in disgrace and humiliation shoe-mouth deep, his feelings gave "way beneath his feet, and his heart broke with a loud report. So the true poet was born. Of the poet's present personality we need speak but briefly. His dress is at once elegant and paid for. It is even less pic- turesque than all-wool. Not liking hair particularly, he wears but little, and that of the mildest shade. He is a good speaker — when spoken to — but a much better listener, and ■ often longs to change places with his audience so that he also may retire. In his writings he probably shows at his best. He always tries to, anyway. KJaowing the manifold /dMx^as and "breaks" ia this life of ours, his songs are sympathetic and sincere. Speakiag coyly of himself, one day, he said: " I write from the heart ; that's one thing I like about me. I may not write a good hand, and my ' copy ' may occasionally get mixed up with the market reports, but, all the same, what challenges my admiration is that humane peculiarity of mine — i. e. , writing from the heart — and, therefore, to the heart. " The Wye-Eiley combination started in Newark, N. J., No- vember 13, 1888. It was our trial venture. I was ill and unable to be present. The receipts were light, for both men were of Western fame, and had yet to acquire reputations in the East. They found some fault because I was not present, so I got out of bed and went the following evening to Orange, N. J., where we found a very small audiencej so small that Nye refused to go on, and wished to end the business then and there. It was not until after much persuasion that he consented to appeal'. The show was a great success " ai'tis- tically," but the box-office receipts were only fifty-four dol- lars. It was not a pleasant day, for the manager, that followed. The Actors' Fund had an entertainment in one of the theatres, and I had contributed these " Twins of Genius " as my share of the numerous attractions. They were the success of the occasion, and the newspapers so declared the next day. From that time, applications began to come in from all over the ECCENTBICITIES OF GENIUS 247 country, East, West, North, and Soutli. The first week's business showed a balance on the wrong side for the owners, but the "no-business man" did not show a sign of murmur- ing. Nye's humorous weekly syndicate newspaper articles made him. a drawing attraction, and Eiley's delightful readings of his dialect poems made the entertainment all that the pub- lic desired. I ran the show myself in Boston, securing Tre- mont Temple for the occasion. " Mark Twain " had come to Boston on purpose to attend the entertainment, as he had never heard these " Twins of Genius. " I caught him in the lobby of the Parker House, and told him that he must introduce them. He replied that he believed I was his mortal enemy and determined that he should never have an evening's enjoy- ment in. my presence. He consented, however, and conducted his brother humorist and the Hoosier poet to the platform. Mark's presence was a surprise to the audience, and when they recognized him the demonstration was tremendous. The audi- ence rose in a body, and men and women shouted at the very top of their voices. Handkerchiefs waved, the organist even opened every forte key and pedal in the great organ, and the noise went on unabated for minutes. It took some time for the crowd to get down to listening, but when they did subside, as Mark stepped to the front, the silence was as impressive as the noise had been, as Mark said afterward. At that su- preme moment nothing was heard but — ^^silence! I had en- gaged a stenographer to take down the speech, and this is what Mark said : " I am very glad indeed to introduce these young people to you, and at the same time get acquainted with them myself. I have seen them more than once, for a moment, but have not had the privilege of knowing them personally as intimately as I wanted to. I saw them first, a great many years ago, when Mr. Barnum had them, and they were just fresh from Siam. The ligature was their best hold then, but literature became their best hold later, when one of them committed an indis- cretion, and they had to cut the old bond to accommodate the sheriff. In that old former time this one was Chang, that one 248 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS was Eng. The sympathy existing between the two was most extraordinary ; it was so fine, so strong, so subtle, that what the one ate the other digested, when one slept the other snored, if one sold a thing the other scooped the usufruct. This inde- pendent and yet dependent action was observable iu all the details of their daily life — I mean this quaint and arbitrary distribution of originating cause and resulting effect between the two : between, I may say, this dynamo and this motor. Not that I mean that the one was always dynamo and the other always motor — or, in other words, that the one was al- ways the creating force, the other always the utiliziag force; no, no, for while it is true that within certain well-defined zones of activity the one was always dynamo and the other al- ways motor, within certain other well-defined zones these posi- tions became exactly reversed. For instance, in moral matters Mr. Chang Eiley was always dynamo, Mr. Eng Nye was always motor ; for while Mr. Ohang Eiley had a high, in fact an abnormally high and fine, moral sense, he had no machin- ery to work it within ; whereas Mr. Eng Nye, who hadn't any moral sense at all, and hasn't yet, was equipped with all the necessary plant for putting a noble deed through, if he could only get the inspiration on reasonable terms outside. In in- tellectual matters, on the other hand, Mr. Eng Nye was al- ways dynamo, Mr. Chang Eiley was always motor : Mr. Eng Nye had a stately intellect, but couldn't make it go; Mr. Chang Eiley hadn't, but could. That is to say, that while Mr. Chang Eiley couldn't think things himself, he had a mar- vellous natural grace in setting them down and weaving them together when his pal furnished the raw material. Thus, working together, they made a strong team; laboring to- gether, they could do miracles; but break the circuit, and both were impotent. It has remained so to this day ; they must travel together, conspire together, beguile together, hoe, and plant, and plough, and reap, and sell their public togeth- er, or there's no result. I have made this explanation, this analysis, this vivisection, so to speak, in order that you may enjoy these delightful adventurers understandingly. When ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 249 Mr. Eng Nye's deep, and broad, and limpid philosophies flow by in front of you, refreshing all the regions round about with their gracious floods, you -will remember that it isn't his water ; it's the other man's, and he is only working the pump. And when Mr. Chang Riley enchants your ear, and soothes your spirit, and touches your heart with the sweet and genuine music of his poetry — as sweet and as genuine as any that his friends, the birds and the bees, make about his other friends, the woods and the flowers — you will remember, while placing justice where justice is due, that it isn't his music, but the other man's— he is only turning the crank. " I beseech for these visitors a fair field, a single-minded, one-eyed umpire, and a score bulletin barren of goose-eggs if they earn it — and I judge they will and hope they will. Mr. James Whitcomb Chang Riley will now go to the bat. " It was a carnival of fun in every sense of the word. Bos- tonians will not have another such treat in this generation. It was Mark's last appearance in Boston. After the performance, the three invincibles went to the Press Club, where a shower of jokes, stories unpublished (and that never will be published), poems, and epigrams was poured into the Boston writers until all were full. The event is still fresh va. the memory of all who have survived it. They ap- peared in all the large cities before great audiences, and the season was financially successful up to the middle of April. For some weeks Mr. Riley had not been a well man, and it finally became necessary to cancel a long list of bookings. The stars returned to their homes, and settlements with dis- appointed committees and local managers absorbed all the profits. Pacific Coast correspondents still clamored for Nye, even if Riley were not available ; so it was arranged to give Mr. Nye a musical support instead of a poet, and resume the unfinished tour. Nye was well received everywhere, and wrote back cheerful accounts of the Bill Nye troupe from "ocean to ocean." But it had been the Nye-Riley combina- tion that the people wanted and expected, and in every city where they had appeared together the season before they were 260 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS wanted again. So we tried it once more, and in the season 1889-90 did a tremendous business in Washington and m tie South. The combination was a more profitable attraction than any opera or theatrical company. This tour ended my business relations with Bill Nye, but it did not end our love each other. James Whitcomb Riley and Nye were a peculiar pair. They were everlastingly playing practical jokes. I remember when we were riding together, in the smoking compartment, between Columbus and Cincinnati. Mr. Nye was a great smoker and Mr. Kiley did not dislike tobacco. An old farmer came over to Mr. Nye and said : "Are you Mr. Eiley? I heard you was on the train." "No, I am not Mr. Riley. He is over there." " I knew his father, and I would like to speak with him. " "Oh, speak with him, yes. But he is deaf, and you want to speak loud." So the farmer went over to him and said in a loud voice: " Is this Mr. Riley? " "Er, what?" "Is this Mr. Riley?" "What did you say?" "Is this Mr. Riley?" "Riley, oh! yes." "I knew your father." "No bother." "I knew your father." "What?" " I knew your father ! " "Oh, so did I." And in a few moments the farmer heard Nye and Riley talking ia ordinary tones of voice. Imagine his chagrin ! In an article published in the Sunday newspapers, Nye paid his gentle respects to James Whitcomb Riley as his " old com- rade and partner in the show business. " Remarking that some admirer gave Riley "the place left vacant by Doctor Holmes," he suggested that " we must pause to think how diEEerent the ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 261 two men ■were." While the Hoosier poet could "compare with Holmes in the size of audiences, the doctor's humor was of a more strictly Massachusetts character. He would be content with a pun or conundrum, while Eiley eTi\oje.A practi- cal humor." He proceeded to give an example by narrating how, upon one occasion, the manager warned the hotel man that nothing " but clean shirts and farinaceous food " was to be sent up to "No. 182." The poet, with "his keen sense of humor," as Nye termed it, found that the room communicated with No, 180, and that the man who was domiciled there had gone out for the evening, He stepped in and " at odd times used the bell of No. 180 with great skill, thereby irritating his manager so much that he returned to New York on the following day. Holmes," continued Nye, "had none of this dry, crisp humor, but cared more for a subtle and delicate play upon words than for a play upon a lecture manager or a hotel proprietor. " The letters which follow bring to me laughter, with the memory, also, of suffering which echoes behind the mirth. Nye caught the motes as they danced in the sunlight and held them up before us for common amusement. Their antics made him laugh, and he wished others to laugh also ; but he kept the sunshine Within its rays might be seen the dust and the rain; but the glow was always there. No human mote was ever hurt by impalement on his pen. Always hu- morous, he never failed in human kindliness. He made men laugh out of sheer sense of fun, never by a single shaft of malice. His "heart-easing mirth" was wrung quite often from personal suffering. Writing each week for a public that broadened with the enjoyment he gave, there Avas but little room for permanence in Nye's works, though his books still continue to sell. He always gave a great deal of credit to Mrs. Nye for the successful management of his business affairs. Some investments caused reverses, but the result was perhaps unavoidable under general business conditions at the tune. Mrs. Nye was once taken in by a real estate operator who secured confidence by assuming a religious character. 252 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS Nye never ceased to joke about it. The lots were found to be under water, and the humorist suggested the use of a diving bell ia locating them. In one of the earliest of Nye's letters he wrote; "I feel so kinky this spring that I believe that I am warranted ia au- thorizing you to make a limited number of dates not too far from New York for my new illustrated lecture on the New South, and other things. I will accompany the lecture with my voice, and you can say with safety that it will be gently facetious and mildly instructive. —Bill Nye." From St. Joseph, Mo., when nearing the close of a severe but successful tour, Nye wrote that Western managers all wished to arrange business for him. "But," he added, "I am quite doubtful whether I will make a show of myself any more. It may be gratifying to some, and surely if it be pleasant to be fgted, and fed, and wkied, and dined, and fined, from one end of the country to the other, I ought to be happy. But I do not pant for that kind of joy." He closed as usual with merry quip and kindly humor, by requesting that his kindest regards and deepest sympathies be given to Miss Glass (my secretary). "What a noble, seH- sacriScing girl she is ! to sit there day after day surrounded by such unpleasant associations, and printing stuff that ought to go into the waste-basket, yet never murmuring nor repia- ing." From Iowa City, early in the following year, he wrote : " I wish a good many times that I had you along to jump on various people with your ponderous weight and make them tired. More especially the fresh young man and the auto- graph fiend. The other night at Mankato we had the house stuffed full and the stage crowded with people. Then I had to hold an autograph recital after the show. It was a great success. Here 1 am slowly freezing to death as I write these lines. I am in room No. 6|. The stove is a boy's size hold- ing a pint of soft coal. The bed has no sheets or pillow slips, but the chambermaid who comes in every spring — into the room, I mean — says they expect some sheets some time ECCENTRICTTIES OF GENIUS 253 to-day, and tells me that no expense will be spared to make the hotel a success. " It is a great pleasure to get your letters when I land at a lonesome hotel which smells like the Dead Past and— cabbage , " In a letter written from The World office to me, in Califor- nia, in June, 1888, Mr. ISTye says that "it is funny that a lit- tle cuss like you should make such a cavity in New York when away from it." Telling of his remarkable success on The World and the increased payment given for the funny weekly paper he furnished, he added that " J. Pulitzer pressed me to go to Europe on Saturday with him, and said we would prac- tically own the steamer, which is true, as he draws $2,000 a day from The World and is really out of the reach of want, but I was afraid he would not like me as a travelling com- panion, and so remained at home. . . . More money here just now. . . . Saturday, the Authors' Club and self go up to Comwall-on-the-Hudson, to 'Miss' E. P. Eoe, who writes pieces for the papers. " lu a letter from Staten Island, where he was residing, he rather plaintively tells ho\7 the house was struck by light- ning. From Minneapolis he merrily tells of umpiring a base- ball match. Under date of September 28, 1888, he writes a letter headed " In Hospital, " closing thus : " Yours with a heart full of grati- tude and a system full of drugs, paints, oil, turpentine, glass, putty, and everything usually kept in a first-class drug store "Bill Nye "P.S.— Open all night." From Buffalo, without other date than Friday, 1889, he writes : " Considering the fact that I have written to you so seldom, you have been real kind to write right on. ' God bless you, ' as the feller says, ' for your kind but wabbly heart.' We are at the Iroquois, because it is ' absolutely fireproof.' We noticed that in Lynn and Boston the abso- lutely fireproof buildings were a little hotter while burning, and so we have chosen one for winter use whenever we could, " 254 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS One of his letters was written at a railroad junction in Minnesota where he was waiting for the next through traia to La Crosse, and had " only twenty-three and one-half hours to wait." The railroads were then running in the interest of the " Hotel and Eating-House, " and made it . a rule to avoid connections as much as possible. "My Dear Pond: " I am writing this at an imitation hotel where the roads fork. I will call it the Fifth Avenue Hotel, because the hotel at a railroad junction is generally called the Fifth Avenue, or the Gem City House, or the Palace Hotel. Just as the fond parent of a white-eyed, two-legged freak of Nature loves to name his mentally diluted son Napoleon, and for the same reason that a prominent horse owner in Illinois last year socked my name on a tall, buckskin-colore.d colt that did not resemble me, intellectually or physically — a colt that did not know enough to go around a barbed- wire fence, but sought to sift himself through it into an untimely grave — so this man has named his sway-backed wigwam the Fifth Avenue Hotel. " It is different from your Fifth Avenue in many ways. In the first place, there is not so much travel and business in its neighborhood. As I said before, this is where two raiboads fork. In fact, it is the leading industry here. The growth of the town is naturally slow, but it is a healthy growth. There is nothing in the nature of dangerous or wild-cat specu- lation in the advancement of this place, and while there has been no noticeable or rapid advance in the principal business here, there has been no falling oif at all, and the roads are forking as much to-day as they did before the war, while the same three men who were present for the first glad moment are still here to witness the operation. " Sometimes a train is derailed, as the papers call it, and two or three people have to remain over, as we did, all night. (Luckily this happens to be an ' open date ' for our combine.) It is at such a time the Fifth Avenue Hotel is the scene of great excitement. A large codfish, with a broad and sunny smile and his bosom full of rock salt, is tied in the creek to freshen and fit himself for the responsible position of floor manager of the codfish ball. A pale chambermaid, wearing a black jersey with large pores in it through which she is gently percolating, now goes joyously up the stairs to make the little post-office lock-box rooms look ten times worse than ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 265 they ever did before. She warbles a low refrain as she nim- bly knocks loose the venerable dust of ■ centuries and sets it afloat throughout the rooms. All is bustle about the house. Especially the chambermaid. We are put up in the guest's chamber here. It has two atrophied beds made up of pains and counterpanes. The light, joyous feeling which this re- mark may convey is wholly assumed on my part. "The door of our room is full of holes where locks have been wrenched oft' in order to let the coroner in. Last night I could imagine that I was in the act of meeting, personally, the famous people who have tried to sleep here, and who moaned through the night, and who died while waiting for the dawn. "This afternoon we pay our bills, as is our usual custom, and tear ourselves away from the Fifth Avenue Hotel. We leave at 2 :30. Hoping the roads may contiaue to fork just the same as though we had remained, and that this will find you enjoying yourself, lam, "Yours truly, "Edgar Wilson Nye." On the back of one of his letters was a peculiarly drawn sketch of an elongated hand and an extended index finger. Below was a burlesque advertisement of a certain " Postmas- ter-General and dealer in gents' fine underwear," and a variety of funny articles. He adds, " This space reserved at reason- able rates," and then, as I was still in England, asks me to give his regards to Stanley, with a funny addenda in messages also to "Victoria and P. Wales." I find a visiting-card left in my office about this period, on the back of which Mr. Nye had written: "10 p.m. — It is now too late to make more than three or four dollars at poker be- fore quitting-time, so I will go home. Bill." It must be said here that Nye was not a card-player, and this was only one of many references to things he never did. A letter from Arden, N. C. (the town where he died), was dated "Sabbath Morning, Just After Prayers." " I used to keep a scrap-book in which I glued the little printed statements about my having called and subscribed for the paper, or to the effect that I had just laid a porcelain egg on the editor's table measuring nine inches in circumference, 256 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS but tiie book warped and the glue in it turned sour, so that ■when I used to give it to my guests to read while I went up- stairs to dress, I noticed that they frequently opened the win- dow and sometimes went out for more air, strolling so far away from the house that they never got back. So 1 don't keep a scrap-book any more." Eef erring to his new play, "The Cadi," he wrote: "The prospects are fine. What the Vampire Press will say no one knows, but Eobson, Jefferson, among 'em, are hopeful and tickled. Let me know if you can come to the show so I can ' avoid the rush. ' " Nye's friendships were steadfast. He wrote once, after John Cockerill retired from the New York World : " The pa- per has wired me to 'reconsider.' But I would rather stick by Cockerill under all circumstances, as he has been my staunch friend always, and now I'm his'n." In 1892, Bill Nye was lecturing, and, as usual, quite suc- cessfully. At that time our business relations had ended, and he was under other management. He wrote to me from Chi- cago: "Everything is unsettled except my salary, which is paid every twenty-four hours. " Of a former experience he remarks: "I'd have done better to put in that spring cultivating colts. However, it is none cf my business this time. The ghost walks every night." Again during this tour he says: "I would enjoy your letters more if you would not refer to Chautauqua. I have always refused to lecture in the stockades. I've got a trunk full of their letters now asking me to speak a few words in absolute confidence to the United States in Foley's Grove, but I wUl not. I am saving my voice to cool my hot Scotches next win- ter. " He adds : " We had a long visit with Eiley last week. We had some old-fashioned fun, and I descended for the day to the realms of Poesy, where they chew ' star ' tobacco. Poesy is indeed a strange gift." In another letter he apologized for the smallness of the paper by saying : "This paper belongs to Mrs. Nye, and the envelope be- ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 257 longs to a man wlio wanted an autograph. So, you see, I am getting economical. It has a stamp. " Here is a letter wliicli lie illustrated in a humorous fashion : "Akden, N. C, May 23, 1895. "Mt Deak Junius Beutus Pond: "There's no use talking, with all your faults I enjoy the sight of your wild, unlicensed penmanship. ' Another season of pleasure and amusement stares us in the face,' as you so truly, so succinctly, and so merrily say ! Oh, it is fun to be merry all the time at so much per pop, is it not? " Merrily yours, "Little Billie Nye." "P.S. — We have just merrily passed through diphtheria, but all is serene again. " In another letter of a near-by date he wrote : " Tell Mark Twain that if he had not possessed the fatal gift of humor he might now be President of the United States, and if I could have had my way he should have been, anyway. " Mr. Depew told me that Garfield admitted to him many years ago that he (Garfield) was naturally a humorist, but had smothered the low, coarse impulse to be amusing in order that he might forward his political ambitions. And what was the result? He went down to his grave full of laudable puns, but Mark Twain will live forever in the glad hearts of a bil- lion people, and with all due respect to Max O'Eell, who, on rather small capital, has realized under your able management many a good American dollar, I am glad that the sage of Hartford spoke up to him. " Foreigners who come here and buy large fur overcoats and live on lobster a la Newburg for the first time, should not go home and speak lightly of our morals, either in France or England." A characteristic letter came to me from Buck Shoals, Arden, N. C, under date of July 4, 1894: "Dear Jamesib: " Your note of the 28th of June struck my thirsty soul like a drop of dew on the back of a somewhat feverish, warty toad, 258 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS and so now on this onr country's glorious natal day I take pen in hand to acknowledge receipt of same. " If ever a feller had his heartstrings strained to their ut- most limit for eight consecutive weeks, I have. "Mrs. Nye was for some days halting between life and death, and lost her big baby boy after all; then Bess came home from school with fever, and both she and her mother are barely out of the woods now. " In the midst of it all our house caught fire one fine night when I had gone to bed more dead than alive, but we cut open the wall and got at it with our amateur fire brigade before the whole structure had begun to blaze. "However, all is well now, and both the invalids will re- cover fully, directly. The insurance company paid up promptly, and once more I breathe a full, delicious breath of ' this justly celebrated climate.' " I did not write anything so all-fired mirthful during those weeks, but got through somehow, having five weeks ahead on the Sunday-letter job. I'm real tickled to know that you like the history, and you will be glad to know that she has an ever- increasing sale, one book seeming to call for another, as Uncle Sydney would put it. I shall look forward with joy to your forthcoming book, for I feel no little pride in my autograph collection of Hoosier poetry. " Poor old Burbank [at one time Mr. Nye' s " running-mate "] , I was about to say, but why should I say that when he is tak- ing a grand old rest after a rather thorny trip? There never lived a more unselfish gentleman than he. He was not brilliant as an originator, perhaps, but he honestly admitted it, and used to the utmost and best all the powers that God gave him. There are mighty few comrades who can go through dark alleys and dangerous stage entrances that are kept locked against the lecturer and only open to the call of the felonious loafer who comes to shift your scenery — only a few comrades, I say, who can go through frosty towns ajid bitter weather cheerily, as he did — noble old man. And there's no such test on earth to try a feller's mettle, is there? I think it's a good idea to reform and abandon such a life before the hearse is actually at the door waiting for one. I am cheerily prepar- ing to say farewell to these triumphal tours which wreck both soul and body at so much a pair. But I must close and re- light my punk. Good-by, old man, and ' take keer o' your- self.' Write to me whenever you are tempted to disobey your physician, and I will promptly respond. "Yours ever. Bill." ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 259 The personality of tlie professional humorist is often of a very diEEerent sort from that which those who know him only through his merry-making would naturally picture. The his- tory of one and another shows that they have turned their hright side to the world, have laughed and joked, and have so bubbled over with humor that they seem to have no serious side — all this with a background of physical disease, or a per- sonal sorrow, that made mental depression inevitable, and to be constantly fought against. BUI Nye, with whom the public smiled for so many years, kept alive his quaint humor in the face of bodily disability under which men of less courage would have succumbed at once. He had a happy spirit, a genuine humor, which can ill be spared. He said no ill-natured or malicious thing in all his writings, and, for one so quick to discover shams, this one fact speaks volumes for the sweetness of his soul. EXPLORERS, TRAVELLERS, AND WAR CORRESPONDENTS HENRY M. STANLEY ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 263 HENRY M. STANLEY was engaged by me in tlie sum- mer of 1886, while travelling in England with. Henry Ward Beecher. I was asked if I did not want Henry M. Stanley in America. I replied that Mr. Stanley had once made the attempt, and had been a most dismal failure. A day or two later, when I mentioned this circumstance to Mr. Beecher, he replied: "Get Stanley if you can He is one of the greatest men we have. I have been reading ' Through the Dark Continent ' ; it is a great book. He is doing good work for civilization. He is clean. " I arranged then to call upen Mr. Stanley at his apartments iu New Bond Street and learn what his ideas were in regard to revisiting the United States. There I saw him for the first time, and found a very quiet, unassuming little man with dark hair and penetrating light blue eyes, reticent, but very pleas- ant. He allowed me to do the talking. I related what I had heard Mr. Beecher say of hita, and saw at once that it pleased htm. It was about one o'clock. I asked him if he had lunched ; he had not, so I invited him to the Cafe Royal, where we lunched together. At luncheon I tried to entertain him with conversation, tell- ing of America and the changes that had taken place during his absence. He listened attentively, but made no response ; finally, in order to get him to speak, I began to put questions to him about Africa and its people. I then discovered that I had found and touched the proper key, and he was soon relat- ing to me wonderful accounts of his adventures. When we came to separate, I remarked that there was a great American comedian playing at the Gaiety Theatre, and asked if he would not like to see and hear him. He replied that he would be delighted, so the appointment was made, and we occupied a box at the Gaiety together that evening in company with a young English friend of mine. Mr. Stanley seemed to enjoy 264 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS the play very much, paying the closest attention until the curtain dropped. We parted at Charing Cross, Stanley saying, "Good-night- I am indebted to you for a very enjoyable evening," and started home. I don't know why, but as he turned the first corner I hurried after him. I have never told this before, and I cannot tell now why it was that I could not help following him. But he had produced a most remarkable impression upon me. I kept saying to myself : " That is Stanley ! Stan- ley, the wonderful explorer ! "What a life he has had ! How I should like to have shared with him his hazardous adven- tures ! How I should like to serve such a man ! " The next morning I received the following letter from Mr Stanley, which he must have written and mailed to me on his return from the theatre : "My Dbae Major Pond: " I am willing to go to America and deliver fifty lectures for you, beginning November 29th next, sis lectures a week, you paying me $100 a lecture and my travelling expenses from the date of the first lecture to the close of the tour, settlements to be made weekly. In case I am recalled by the King of the Belgians, I am to be allowed to return with- out let or hindrance. If this proposition meets your views, you may sign and return a copy of this letter, which I send in duplicate. " Yours very truly, "Henry M Staxley." I at once signed a duplicate copy of the letter, and then cabled to America that I had secured Stanley for a lecture tour. I returned home in October, and found a number of letters and inquiries relating to the lectures. MTien Mr. Stanley arrived in America, November 27, 1886, I had rented Chickering Hall, New York, for the first lecture of the tour. I secured Henry Ward Beecher to present Mr. Stanley, who had been interviewed fully by the reporters on his arrival. There were columns about him in all the news- papers in New York and adjoining cities. The evening came, but tickets had gone slowly. Mr, ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 265 Beecher introduced Mr. Stanley in a brief description of his remarkable career, paying a handsome tribute to his work for usefulness to mankind, and then followed the lecture entitled "Through the Dark Continent." It was descriptive of his mauy adventures in Central Africa, and proved to be thrilling and interesting in the extreme. Mr. Beecher had prophesied correctly. At the third lecture, given in New Haven, it became evident that Mr. Stanley would be a success. Mr. Beecher had been right. The next lecture was at Hartford. I could not get a hall or opera house, so I rented Unity Church. Here in Hart- ford Mr. Stanley was the guest of his friend S. L. Clemens (" Mark Twain "), who presided and introduced the explorer in a characteristic address of welcome to his city and his fireside. After the lecture, returning to Mr. Clemens' s home, I invited " Mark " to go to Boston with us on the following day and intro- duce Stanley, where I was sure of a great crowd. " Mark " said the only objection to accepting such an invitation was the " taking a feller so unawares, with no possible time to prepare , a suitable, impromptu, extemporaneous speech for so impor- tant an occasion." Mr. Stanley seemed pleased with the suggestion, and as the two men were great friends, the ar- rangement was made. As "Mark," Stanley, and I spent the time together after the Hartford lecture, each apparently unmindful of the coming event of the evening, the following introductory speech by Mark on that occasion will give an idea of his resources in an emergency. The humorist and the explorer walked on to the platform simultaneously — a com- bination such as a Boston audience has rarely met. " Mark " stepped to the front and introduced his friend as follows : " Ladies and Gentlemen : If any should ask, "Why is it that you are here as introducer of the lecturer? I should answer that I happened to be around and was asked to perform this function. I was quite willing to do so, and, as there was no sort of need of an introduction, anyway, it could be necessary only that some person come forward for a moment and do an unnecessary thing, and this is quite in my line. Now, to in- 266 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS troduce so illustrious a name as Henry M. Stanley by any de- tail of what the man has done is clear aside from my purpose • that would be stretching the unnecessary to an unconscionable degree. When I contrast what I have achieved in my meas- urably brief life with what he has achieved in his possibly briefer one, the effect is to sweep utterly away the ten-story edifice of my own self -appreciation and leave nothing behind but the cellar. When you compare these achievements of Lis with the achievements of really great men who exist in his- tory, the comparison, I believe, is in his favor. I am not here to disparage Columbus. " No, I won't do that ; but when you come to regard the achievements of these two men, Columbus and Stanley, from the standpoint of the difiB.culties they encountered, the advan- tage is with Stanley and against Columbus. Now, Columbus started out to discover America. Well, he didn't need to do anything at all but sit in the cabin of his ship and hold his grip and sail straight on, and Am.erica would discover itself. Here it was, barring his passage the whole length and breadth of the South American continent, and he couldn't get by it. He'd got to discover it. But Stanley started out to find Doc- tor Livingstone, who was scattered abroad, as you may say, over the length and breadth of a vast slab of Africa as big as the United States. " It was a blind kind of search. He was the worst scat- tered of men. But I will throw the weight of this introduc- tion upon one very peculiar feature of Mr. Stanley's character, and that is his indestructible Americanism— an Americanism which he is proud of. And in this day and tune, when it is the custom to ape and imitate English methods and fashion, it is like a breath of fresh air to stand in the presence of this untainted American citizen who has been caressed and com- plimented by half of the crowned heads of Europe; who could clothe his body from his head to his heels with the orders and decorations la\'ished upon him. And yet, when the untitled myriads of his own country put out their hands in welcome to him and greet him, ' Well done, ' through the Congress of the ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 267 United States, that is the crown that is worth all the rest to him. He is a product of institutions which exist in no other country on earth — institutions that bring out all that is best and most heroic in a man. I introduce Henry M. Stanley." After this Boston triumph, applications by telegraph and mail came pouring in from all parts of the country. Stanley saw that he was a success, and seemed pleased that his mana- ger was on the winniag side. He suggested that I might as well lay my season out for one hundred lectures, instead of fifty (singular, too, he did not suggest a rise in his fee), and so we agreed, and I hurried back to New York to complete the bookings for one hundred nights. Of course, in our contract, Mr. Stanley had stipulated that in case he was recalled by the King of Belgium he was to be allowed to return without let or hindrance, but that was not expected. Mr. Stanley was delivering his tenth lecture in Amherst, Mass., on Saturday evening, November 11th. I was in my office in New York writing letters. It was ten o'clock in the evening when I received the following telegram : "Amherst, Mass., November 11, 1886. "J. B. Pond, Everett House, New York. "Must stop lecturing. Recalled. Sail Wednesday at 4 a.m. "Henry M. Stanley." All my hopes dashed to the ground in a moment ! It was not the first disappointment in my life, however. I turned out my lights and retired, to try to rest and think. Stanley certainly would and must go, and no power on earth could prevent that. I determined to meet him cordially on his ar- rival, and to lend him all the aid in my power toward getting away on so short a notice. The next morning (Sunday, November 12th), about 6 o'clock, Mr. Stanley arrived, and came immediately to my room in my hotel to tell me that it required every moment of his time to get ready and sail Wednesday morning by steam- ship Eidler at four o'clock. His decorations and valuable pres- ents from Queen Victoria and other monarchs were at a jewel- 268 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS ler's on exhibition. He asked me to collect them personally, as he had a great deal to do. He had accepted a commission to go back to Africa at once, heading an expedition for the relief of Emin Pasha; there was no time to lose, for he must equip the expedition in the shortest possible time, as many lives were at stake. Early in the forenoon people began to call. There were representatives of the manufacturers of firearms and every sort of equipment necessary for the work. That evening, after a long day of consultations and dicta- tions of correspondence in preparation for his hurried depart- ure, after we had dined together, Mr. Stanley sat down in my oflB.ce for about two hours, smoking vigorously and uttering not a word. I knew he was undergoing a severe mental struggle. He realized the hazardous risk he was taking, the deprivation and suffering incumbent on such an expedition, with the chances, even the most favorable to be considered, against losing not only his own life, but the lives of many others. He finally spoke to me of the singular busiaess he had been engaged in during the day — that of examining and getting information as to which were the most effective fire- arms for the destruction of human life. As his and my experience in the Indian country had been somewhat similar, he asked me if I did not think, after all, that if we had pursued wholly peaceful tactics with the In- dians our Government would have been more successful with them. He was considering whether it was not best to under- take this mission across Africa with an unarmed company rather than to have the appearance of a body of armed invad- ers. So far as the natives were concerned, he had no mis- givings, but the army of slave-hunting Arabs under the leader- ship of Tippoo Tib were dangerous foes and must be resisted. I discovered in Mr. Stanley that night a good man, with a brave, sympathetic, tender heart. I know I felt a deep sym- pathy and love for him and confidence in him that has lasted ever since, and will last while I live. Monday morning Mr. Stanley and his stenographer were ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 269 at work early. People that lie had set to ■w:ork on Sunday- were going in and out, all busy carrying out instructions or orders for such arms and equipment as he wanted and could best get in this country. I know he ordered several hundred repeating rifles and a large stock of camp equipments. Monday night a dinner was given to Mr. Stanley at Del- monico's by his friend Mr. Henry S. Wellcome, an American merchant residing in London. It was a delightful occasion. All who were present knew Stanley well and expressed abso- lute faith in the ultimate success of this the most hazardous adventure the great explorer had ever attempted. As the Eidler was to sail at the unseasonable hour of 4 the next morning, we proposed to see Stanley on board the ship, so there was a long evening on hand. Stanley related many in- cidents of his African experiences, among them a visit among the Karaguas, a large and somewhat intelligent African tribe. There was a bulldog in his caravan which attracted the spe- cial admiration of a Karagua chief, who called attention to the fact that the white man's dog resembled his men more than the white man himself, for the dog's nose and the Karaguas' noses were very much alike, and the white man and the Kara- gua dogs were also very much alike, both having long noses. It was proposed that we adjourn to Madison Square Garden, to Buffalo Bill's Wild West. We occupied two boxes and enjoyed the performance to a late hour. And as it was not in the nature of Stanley to keep his friends waiting up all night, he insisted on a separation then and there, that he might go on board the steamer. As he and I shook hands when we parted, all that he said to me was : " I owe you eighty- nine lectures, which I will deliver if ever I return from Africa. " Stanley went to Africa ; three years rolled by, during two years of which no tidings were heard of hun or his expedi- tion. Finally the news came — he had reached the goal. Since his departure for Africa I had been non-committal in all of my correspondence for Stanley. I heard that his Lon- don agent was booking dates. I was satisfied that if such were the case he was doing it without authority, for no one 270 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS had had time to hear from him; besides, he was otherwise engaged. His friend Mr. Wellcome, in London, wrote me that he was sure Stanley would not lecture, as he had his book to write ; besides, he was such a hero now, and was re- ceiving so much recognition from royalty, that he could not lecture in public, for it would be undignified. The air was full of rumors, but remembering Stanley's last words, I had not the slightest fear of these rumors. In due time, after the explorer's arrival ia Zanzibar with Emin Pasha, I received a long letter from him, telling me that he had yet to finish his book ; that as soon as he got to London he would write me again. He reached there in April, 1890, after an absence of three and a half years. Business took me to London at that time, where I arrived on May 8, 1890. Stanley was the hero of the hour, and his name was on every tongue. Here let me say that at no time had I for one moment a doubt of his safe return to civilization, nor — a matter of much less moment — a single fear that when the time came he would fail me in renewing the broken lecture tour we were engaged in when he was called to take the lead- ership of the Emia Eelief Expedition. This brief statement will serve as a key to the little comedy that followed on my arrival. It was given out that Mr. Stanley would see no one. The book, which he himself considered as his report of the Emin Expedition, was being written, and the publishers natu- rally were pressing for "copy." There were other reasons for speech, as was seen when the cruel and strangely sad story of the rear guard had not only to be published, but more fully explained in its tragic features, because a concerted attack on Stanley's reputation in Great Britain was made. It came about when there was a possibility of its wrecking the lecture tour, which finally grew into the most successful lecture en- gagement ever made in the United States. I said nothing of all this in London, but at once called on Mr. Wellcome at his place of business there. I found him absorbed in preparation for a great dinner to be given to Henry M. Stanley by "Americans in London." He declared ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 271 himself glad to see me, but regretting that tie was too busy to give me any attention. I was at once informed that no one could see Stanley. He received no callers in his apartment, I was candidly told, and was so overwhelmed with letters and cards that none received attention except those under royal seal. I must wait until June 3d and see him at the banquet, where all would have an equal chance. There was no use in writing to him, for he opened no letters. So I must wait and take my chances with the crowd, according to this informa- tion. At the same time, I could see no reason why I should not drop Mr. Stanley a line of congratulation and let him know I was near him. This I did. The next morning came a rap on my door and a call, " Letter, sir." "Tuck it under the door," I replied. I took my time getting out of bed. When I did get up and opened the letter, I found it was from Mr. Stanley, dated the same evening I had written : "34 Devbee Gardens, S.W. "Dear Major Pond: I am glad to know that you are in London; come down and see me at eleven to-morrow. You will see ' Not in ' on the door. Get into the lift and come straight to my apartments. Will be glad to see you. "Henry M. Stanley." I was in that "lift" at exactly eleven o'clock on the morn- ing of May 14, 1890. The "lift" boy asked, "Is this Major Pond?" "Yes," I replied. "This way, please," and he opened a door. There stood Stanley ; not the Stanley of three and a half years ago. His black hair was now white. We grasped each other by the hand, and it was some time before Stanley said: "It's all right. Major. I am glad to see you. Sit down. " I replied that I did not want to occupy one mo- ment of his time. He assured me that I need not hurry. So for an hour he entertained me, relating much of his ex- perience ; how gratifying it was to return, and how much he would like to accept the generous hospitality and courtesies shown him on all sides, but he had his book to finish and some engagements to dine with friends, so with the coming 272 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS dinner by Americans he was filled up as far as he dared en- gage himself. Of course I said nothing about lecturing in America and soon arose to bid him "Good-by." He asked for my address, which was given, but I did not see him again until the American banquet. Then he discovered me in the crowd and sent for me, and in the presence of that great crowd of hero-worshippers and banqueters, introduced me to his offi- cers. Dr. Park, Stairs, Jephson, and Nelson, who were seated on the right and left of him. After that first interview I thought I would call on Mr. Wellcome again. I found him. still eagerly engaged in the preparations for the coming banquet. He was very cordial. I told him that I had called to see if I could ascertain any further news about our hero. He assured me that I should surely see him at the dinner ; but he could give me one piece of news : Stanley was not going to lecture. I did not tell him, or any one else, that I had seen Stanley. Business kept me fast in London until early in June. It was Friday, the 6th, when I received a telegram from Stan- ley at Ascot, asking me to meet him at his London apart- ments at five o'clock that day. I was there, and he met me cordially, saying: "Major Pond, on the 25th of September I am to be mar- ried, and on the 10th of October I take a degree at Gam- bridge. I owe you eighty-nine lectures. It is needless for me to tell you that I have received some very fabulous offers. I show you two of them, but I conceal the signatures." They were very dazzling. I recognized the writing of one of them. It was an offer of fifteen hundred dollars a lecture for one hundred lectures, and all expenses from London and return. " I have no thought of accepting them. I want you to go to your hotel and put your proposition in writing, whatever you wish ; do the best you can for me. Come Sunday at five o'clock and we will sign the papers. We will have a little dinner together. I will introduce you to the future Mrs. Stanley. Then you can go about your work. " ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 273 I was there with the propositiou made out in duplicate, and found a card on the door, which read as follows : " Majoe : Unavoidably called away. Put the papers under the door. I will sign and return them. " (jSTo signature.) I was disappointed, not distrustful. I had expected to meet Miss Tennant, of whom so much was being said and written. It was a lonesome walk back to my hotel. 1 did not care to visit the club and did not wish to talk, so I dropped into a Methodist meeting at St. James's Hall, heard the Eev. Hugh Price Hughes give a great crowd a real Cal- vinistie lashing, and then dined at the Cafe Eoyal, alone and gloomy and homesick. Reaching my hotel at ten o'clock I found a package in a large envelope waiting for me. It was the contract I had drawn up and left at Stanley's apartments, duly signed by Henry M. Stanley. It was for one hundred lectures, more or less, in America, to begin in New York, Tuesday, ISTovember 11, 1890. Not an alteration of any kind or a word of suggestion was made. I did smile all by myself that night, and the smile lingered on my face all the next day, when 1 called again on my friend Wellcome and told him I was going back home to America, asking him if he could possibly give me any encouragement about Stanley ; he replied that he could not. " It would not do for so great a man to disregard the general sentiment of royalty as to condescend to lecture for money, though he might obey royal command and speak for some charities." I told him that I was going on Wednesday to Glasgow (the Royal Scottish Geographical Society were to dine Stanley that night, and I had received an invitation from the president, of course at Stanley's request), and I wished that he, Villiers, and a few friends would dine with me at the Savoy on Tuesday. Wellcome accepted, and six of his friends and my friends had a jolly good time. During the evening Mr. Wellcome enter- tained us with talk about his friend Stanley. Everybody knew he was the nearest man to the hero of the hour. 274 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS During the evening Mr. Wellcome mentioned that Stanley- was going to be banqueted in Glasgow. I suggested (having an invitation in my pocket) that I should like to be there. He explained how impossible it was for any one not a mem- ber to obtain an invitation or to be admitted. After a long and to me enjoyable evening, when the gray dawn showed itself on the Thames embankment, the party broke up. I called Mr. Wellcome to one side and in strict confidence told him that I had a contract with Stanley for an American lecture tour ; that we had frequently been together ; that I was going to Glasgow to the Stanley dinner. He — well, he wilted! Stanley was something more than a lecturer to me. I had known of him over twenty years before in the West, as a newspaper correspondent. His graphic descriptions of West- ern events and scenes in which I was a small part always found favor in my sight because of their simple exactness. I had seen him in Omaha and also on the plains, in connection with the remarkable Indian campaigns of the later sixties, but never had the courage to approach him. I felt an awe and respect for him that held me aloof. And yet Stanley was the personification of modesty. At the dinner given by Americans in London to Stanley, the Rev. Dr. Joseph L. Parker, the famous London preacher, came up to me and said : " Major Pond, I wish you would introduce me to Stanley. " "I shall not have to go far to do that," said I; "the gen- tleman with whom you just saw me talking is the man himself. " "No, no," said Dr. Parker, "that can't be; why, that is a small man. Stanley must be a great big fellow. " The explorer is not more than five feet seven inches in height, but stocky and well set. A moment later Stanley advanced toward Dr. Parker, reached out his hand, and said : " I am very glad to meet you. Dr. Parker, and I am gratified that so eminent a man should have expressed a desire to be introduced to me. " As a mat- ter of fact, nothing of the sort had been intimated to Stanley ; ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 275 lie had simply overheard the remark about his size and at once had tactfully smoothed matters over. It was on his return from a trip to Aldershot, 1890, where he had been to visit the graves of some of his comrades, that he told me of his comiag marriage and the honor awaiting him at Cambridge. He then suggested a date for his de- parture to N"ew York after October 25th. " The Teutonic sails on October 29th," was my reply. His answer was: "That will do." The Teutonic arrived Novem.ber 6th, and was detained over night at quarantine on account of a heavy fog. The party consisted of Mr. Stanley and his bride, Mrs. Dorothy Tennant Stanley; Mrs. Tennant, her mother; Lieutenant Mounteney Jephson, and Hamilton Aide, a well-known London literary man, dramatic author, and critic. I met Stanley and his wife standing on the upper deck, and he greeted me very cordially, introducing me to Mrs. Stanley, who quietly remarked : "I don't like yon, Major Pond." " I'm very sorry, Mrs. Stanley. I think so much of your husband that it will be sad for me if I cannot have your friendship. " "That's why I'm sure I'll dislike you. "Why should you want him. more than I do? " "We'll see," I said. In a few minutes more we were all having a delightful conversation together. I was introduced to Mrs. Tennant, Mrs. Stanley's mother, and Mr. Hamilton Aide, her nephew. At the first word of the sighting of the Teutonic, the New York newspaper men, headed by Colonel Einley Anderson, of the United Press, Stanley's personal friend, came down to meet their distinguished fellow-craftsman. It was noticed that Mr. Stanley, in replying to Colonel Anderson's little speech of welcome, referred to his arrival as to a "home- coming." Then an appointment was made at my ofBce for five o'clock in the afternoon. The New York newspaper men were waiting in my oifice at the time set, but Stanley was then unaware of the important matter that they wished 276 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS to bring to Ms attention. A representative of the London Times awaited his arrival at the hotel with a cabled message from the Thunderer. While Stanley was on the ocean the English press had contained severe and somewhat startliag attacks on the truth of the famous chapter on the rear guard in his new book. In this the story of Major Bartellot and his death had been told, not to the credit of the deceased officer. I am not intending agaia to present the controversy that Bartellot' s family and Lieutenant Throop had launched with their volumes replying to Stanley's severe but restrained criticism of Bartellot' s actions and methods. A storm of al- most savage indignation against Stanley had been aroused thereby. The Times had cabled in full the article it had published, and had directed its representative in New York to obtain and cable Mr. Stanley's reply. The situation had become almost threatening. I did not doubt that Stanley would fully maintain his own honor, but I began to understand that such scandals were in- volved as might set the public mind against the whole business of African exploration. Stanley retired with The Times correspondent. It is a mat- ter of almost " ancient history " to recall the plain and simple, but able and courageous, frankness with which the Bartellot- Throop-Jamieson attacks were met. The explorer had en- deavored to hold back the personal misconduct, of which he knew the men intrusted with the command of the rear guard had been guilty. He now told the whole story, the details of which are still fresh in the public mind. Forced to defend himself, he did so with the same steady courage and direct- ness of will that had always marked his actions. He gave dates and names, as well as acts, and placed at the disposal of the London Times the complete evidence which he had heretofore been very desirous, because of the families and friends of the men, to keep from becoming public property. That interview was printed in The Times the next morning. It changed the situation almost immediately so far as English opinion was concerned. But it was the American press and ECCENTBICITIES OF GENIUS 211 what might follow of adverse criticism that affected me most closely. I dined with the party that evening, and Stanley was as jovial, cordial, and self -poised as I ever saw him. He showed no sign of the fatigue attending such a remarkable strain as that five hours of momentous tnterviewmg. In the interview of that evening Stanley was absolutely great. There were twenty-three reporters present, picked men of the great newspapers of New York, Philadelphia, Boston, and Chicago. One of the best-known men, Mr. Balch, was chosen to direct the questions. My rooms were packed. The men were all keen set and full of the historical significance, too, of their opportunity. Stanley seated him- self, smiling, and for three hours submitted to an intellectual ordeal which was simply astounding. The interviewers, with ample time to look up the issues, were prepared with keen questions, and, as he answered, others were called out on every side. Balch, an able man, declared it was a wonderful exhibition of knowledge and will power. " Stanley, " he said, "was the best witness I ever saw. He was armed at all points, and answered without a moment's hesitancy, never once crossing himself inthe slightest degree." During the latter part of the scene various gentlemen who had come to call on Mr. Stanley, among them Charles A. Dana and Murat Halstead, stood in the open hallway of my office, listening to the remarkable proceeding, and admiring the skill and power of the man who sat there with lighted eyes, animated features, and a live brain that burned through every movement and lighted up every word he uttered. The first Stanley lecture in New York in 1890 was a re- markable event. The interest was made greatly more active by publication on Friday, the 7th of November, of the remarkable series of interviews of which mention has been made. But no one anticipated its tremendous character. The gross receipts were $17,800. Such a jam never was known before, and the carriage crush about the building was almost beyond police control. The lecture originally an- 278 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS noimced was " The Belief of Emin Pasha. " At Mrs. Stan- ley's suggestion, "The March through the Forest" was chosen, which brought in the story of the pygmies and other remarkable discoveries made. The tour that followed this entree was like the march of a triumphal hero. Our evenings after the lecture were de- lightful, and the daily intercourse so long continued was per- sonally maintained without a jar or break of any sort. I found Mr. Stanley not only strictly honorable in business matters, but generous also. When for a brief period business was bad, he showed a marked disposition to make matters more even, though there was no necessity whatever, taking the tour as a whole, to make any change in the agreement made in London. Perhaps the most striking feature of the engagement was, so far as concerns Mr. Stanley, the remark- able fidelity that he gave to the work he had undertaken. He was constantly remoulding, polishing, and improving the lec- tures during the tour. Stanley is one of the most conscientious men I ever knew. While in Boston, after we had been about a week on the tour, the weather was fine and there was beautiful sleighing. Mrs. Stanley and the ladies of our party had come in from a de- lightful sleigh ride which some friends had tendered. They all looked so rosy and fresh, beaming with delight as they stepped from the sleigh, that we agreed then and there that Mr. Stanley really should lay aside his writing and take a sleigh ride too, behind that spanking four-horse team, and hear the jingle of the hundreds of sleigh bells. I said, " He must come and enjoy it." Mrs. Stanley said, "Let's you and I go fetch him. " We rushed up to his room ; he was working on his lecture, making some changes, when Mrs. Stanley, with cheeks like roses and charged with oxygen of the outdoor atmosphere, threw her fur-clad arms about his neck, saying : " 0, Biille- me-tal-ie (the name he is known by in Africa), come and have a ride and breathe the most delicious air under heaven. Do come ; it will do you so much good and help you for to-night. " ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 279 After listening to Mrs. Stanley's eloquent pleadings a mo- ment or two, he rose from his seat and said to me : " Major Pond, you are paying me a fabulous sum for my nightly services. Now it is my duty to do the best I can. If you say you are satisfied with my work as it now is, I will stop and go for a drive. " I could not answer his argument, and he did not take the sleigh ride. From the start until the finish, one hundred and ten lectures, Stanley showed signs of steady improvement. He was good at the start, but shortly became a fine speaker and then a better speaker, and before he had finished he was the best descriptive speaker I ever heard. He had overcome difi&culties that would discourage any other man; as Casati wrote of him (Casati, ten years with Emia Pasha in Africa) : " Jealous of his own authority, Stanley will not tolerate inter- ference, neither will he take the advice of any one. DiiRcul- ties do not discourage hiin, neither does failure frighten him, as with extraordinary celerity of perception he finds his way out of every embarrassment. " Henry M. Stanley was never fond of company. He appre- ciates friends, and those who know him intimately are very fond of him. He is generally cautious and sparing of words, especially when strangers are about. Receptions and dinners worry him, as he cannot bear being on exhibition under show- ers of forced compliments. His manners and habits are those of a gentleman. He shows great fondness for children, espe- cially young lads, who often approach him for his autograph. He will enter into conversation with them and question them as to their purposes in life, advising them as to the impor- tance of honesty and character as essential to success in life, and generally concluding with some incident in his experience that is sure to make a lasting impression. In our private car, where we lived for three months, were Mr. and Mrs. Stanley, Mrs. Tennant, Mrs. Pond and her sister, and often some vis- iting friends. Stanley would entertain us night after night with incidents of his wonderful experience that would make a far more interesting book than he has yet written. His 280 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS best sayings have been spoken in private. Mrs. Stanley, being a brilliant conversationalist, bad the bappy faculty of bringing out bis most interesting points. Stanley is one of the best-read men I have ever met. He is familiar with the histories of all civilized and uncivilized peoples. As a journalist he is appreciated by reporters and interviewers more highly than any man I ever knew except Mr. Beecher. IS'ever did he refuse to see a representative of the press who sent up his card. If busy, he would say: " Please make my compliments to the gentleman and say that as soon as I am disengaged I will be pleased to see him. " Altogether, I have never parted with a client with greater regret', or found one holding me in bonds of friendship and respect to so great a degree. Sir Henry Stanley does me the honor to regard me as a friend, and I am constantly indebted to him, and to Lady Stanley also, for delightful correspond- ence. Some extracts from the many letters in my possession will illustrate the value of the views expressed and the sound- ness of a judgment which has been almost wholly verified by events. I present without apology the extracts which follow. A capital letter from the Eichmond Terrace (London) home, under date of October 2, 1892, is of interest because of its description of electioneering in England : "I am pledged," he writes, "to many things in the comiug time — the contest at North Lambeth again, Bible Society, Missionary and anti-Slavery meetings, keeping up the Uganda question before the public, stimulating and comforting the Directors, and trivial things of this kind. They absorb time and keep a man from stagnating, and perhaps a modicum of good is extracted from the whole. " As regards the election, I fear on your side they do not understand anything about it. I sometimes see the cable- grams sent over from here, and I do not wonder that you. are all misled. I was asked at the last moment to stand ; there were only nine clear days for work and to get made known among 7,300 electors, to get offices, posters, pamphlets, and canvassers, and that entailed an amount of work that was appalling. My opponent had been at work three yfears, nurs- ing the constituency ; I had only nine days. The results were ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 281 that I was defeated by 130. Of course, the usual lying was resorted to. They can lie here with as much disregard to future torments as in New York, and they have introduced largely pernicious systems from America, which I know the Americans would gladly extinguish if they knew how. Added to these, the lower classes have something which is peculiarly their own : a noisy, brutal disposition which must relieve it- self by pounding or breaking something, while the intolerance they display toward their opponents is wholly unknown in America. When this temper is at the hottest, women go down before the brawny fist like sheep in the shambles, and bald heads often get seriously cracked. I used to think that Eng- land was a country of order and that only at Donnybrook would you meet with such scenes as I have witnessed. There is no attempt at order, there is no policeman present to pre- serve it. Only might is respected — clubs and arms. The doors are thrown open to all — the radical candidate seeks for a strong force of roughs by whom, when the Unionist pre- sents himself, he is greeted with a continuous uproar. If he persists in speaking, the mob advances and 'ware' heads then. This, in short, is politics at its worst over here, but homicide is much rarer than with you." A London letter of May 31, 1894, gives a still more vividly interesting account of electioneering methods. Mr. Stanley writes : " I see that you scarcely comprehend what the term elec- tioneering means in England. It would be impossible for a candidate to absent himself from his constituency for any longer period than the national holidays. He must hold him- self ready for any request from any of his supporters every day between the hours of 10 a.m. and 10 p.m. He, in the mean time, must visit every house in the borougK (7,200 houses in mine) to try to make the acquaintance of every voter and of some member of his family. He must contribute not only his services as patron (chairman, supporter of num- berless charities, meetings), but funds as well, whenever so- licited. But more than that, he must hold himself ready to exchange his services with those of fellow-candidates in the country. These various duties which fall upon the candidate must be performed cheerfully and with good will, otherwise it will be charged to him that he is indifferent to the cause and to the public he has affected to serve. I have as many as 282 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS eighty visits in a day, and if you will only take the trouble to calculate you will find that to visit 7200 voters requires a large number of days, and as visits can only be made iu the intervals between public functions of great variety, not more than 200 a week can be expected from the most active. You may fairly say that it requires a year's steady work to get through an ordinary constituency. Then, you know the fail- ing of the public is to forget your face and name, and to keep them in mind you will have to begia again and continue what is called the ' musing.' I need not say more. You will see why a candidate cannot absent himself for more than a fort- night or so from the duties he has undertaken, and I thiak your letter is thus fairly answered. We are waitmg to hear the sound of the trumpet to enter the lists. It may be heard any day, and we are on the tiptoe of expectation." From Richmond Terrace, under date of June 19, 1896, came an interesting letter which refers in the beginning to the death, then recent, of the late Colonel Thomas Knox. Stanley writes : "I had been much impressed by the aged appearance of Knox, but I did not expect so soon to hear of his deatK. He was a fine genial man, of grand appearance, and I always thought a dinner table enriched by his appearance. I am exceedingly sorry, for N"ew York is the poorer for his loss — for there is one friend less to me. . . . But it is thus we drop away one by one. " How suddenly that Venezuela business broke upon Eng- land ! I had been prepared for it by my visit to the States, and I had clipped dozens of newspaper articles bearing upon the subject while I was over there. About ten days after my arrival here I was visited by the manager of one of the prin- cipal newspapers here, and asked what I thought of the East- ern question, and I had answered that I was not much inter- ested in it, as I was interested in the squall brewing in the West. He asked me what I referred to, and I replied that we might expect a terrific explosion presently from America in regard to the Venezuela dispute. He was astonished, for he had not heard of it. I then gave him my clippings for his editor to study and prepare himself. Sixteen days after, the storm burst, taking England all aback. "Now, on this Venezuela subject, I am entirely on the side of America, but I must admit I am not surprised that the ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 283 English papers backed up Lord Salisbury and differed from me. Taught by the virulent remarks of your journals I had, of course, devoted much time to understanding it, whereas English editors were exceptionally ill-informed about the matter. There are two or three injudicious remarks in 01- ney's despatch which put British backs up, but after reflection it is wonderful how many have come round to my opinion— that, whatever the transgressions of Olney may be, there is a great deal of justice in the American demand. I feel quite sure, now that so much is admitted, it will not be long before the opiaion becomes general that we were iu the wrong m re- fusing arbitration, while the more I think of Ohiey's despatch, the more impressed I am that Olney could scarcely have writ- ten otherwise than he did. For I argue that had he contented himself with the usual suave tone of diplomacy he would not have succeeded in rousing the attention of the nation to the necessity of settlement. His despatch would have lain quietly m the archives of the Foreign Office, whereas now every Eng- lishman knows sufficient of the subject to distinguish right from wrong; and while there is still a majority who take the despatch to be an affront to British dignity, there is a minor- ity increasing in numbers who think that British honor would be consulted by considering the justice due to Venezuela, and that British interests would be promoted by acquiescing with the American demand. " But that all your journalists were wrong in assuming that we in this country entertained any other feeling than that of true affection for the Americans has been conclusively proved by the different receptions accorded the President's message and the German Emperor's telegrams to Kruger. On reading the first our people were simply astonished and grieved, but the other roused the war feeling from the Hebrides to the Channel Islands. I have never witnessed anything like it in England before. It was entirely unexpected from one whom we had made so much of. It was premeditated, also, and this is what enraged us. No one could conceive what busi- ness it was of Germany's to interfere with our Protectorate, nor how we had given any one a reason to suppose that, be- cause Jameson had been so mad, we were so lost to all sense of honor and justice as not to be willing to do what was right in the case. It will be a long time before we forgive Ger- many, you may rest assured, and every act of hers for years to come will be viewed with great suspicion. Personally, I do not know which was maddest, Jameson's ride for the gold 284 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS mines of Johannesburg or the Emperor William's attempt on the Protectorate of the Transvaal. Both were foolish." He closed this interesting letter with his always pleasant compliments and messages for my family. Prom Argelus-Gazoust, France, under date of August 5, 1898, in response to a letter suggesting a lecture on Anglo- Saxon relations, Stanley replies : " Yes, I quite agree with you that we have numerous highly endowed members of Parliament who would like to have the opportunity to address American audiences upon the Anglo- American alliance, or any other subject, but you see the fac- ulty of oratmg is born with them ; they can't help it. "WTiereas with me it is different. I can't speak unless I have some- thing to say and the time to say what is imposed upon me has come. "Now, with regard to this Anglo-American alliance. It is a good thing and a natural thing for both ■ nations to come together and shake hands and make a league of friendship. But the necessity for that is not imperative for either side. England is at peace with all the world, though she frets her- self now and then. America has her enemy at her mercy, and nobody is going to interfere with her. "\'\'here is the need for the hurry? Then, naturally, having passed the impres- sionable period of my life in America — and born in Britain, having an English wife and home — I feel able to see a trifle clearer than some of those who are all American or all Eng- lish. I have not a particle of prejudice, though my duty lies on this side. My opinion is we must not be too precipitate. The two nations are gravitating together. Trus friendship cannot be forced, but is a slow process, requiring time. There are many Americans who have not even thought of the sub- ject, there are English who cannot entertain the idea. If such people are spoken to about the alliance they are apt to say things neither kindly American nor kindly English would like to hear. " No ! AVisdom suggests we \ea,Ye the feeling to grow and solidify. If either country was in distress, that would be the proper time to breathe more life into that spirit of kinship and kindliness which we know exists, and bring the reserved and proud peoples together, but to-day there is no necessity for either nation to think particularly about the matter. One is fat and proud with its Bank of England and big navy, the ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 285 other is in a quiver of delight over Manila, and Santiago, and the heroes — Dewey, Schley, and Shafter. The time is not suitable for speaking of alliances. If you Americans will come out of that Contiuent and take your share of the Old World's concerns, you will know better what is meant by al- liances. Were I not in a dreadful hurry and every member of the family impatiently waiting for me, I could relate some curious thoughts of mine about that matter, but I am not allowed to form one connected sentence ia peace. I cannot offer myself for the Lyceum this term. " A fair picture, certainly, this of Ulysses the wanderer with the distaff in hand. Under date of February 6, 1899, the day before Parliament was to meet, Sir Henry writes that, looking roimd for arrear- ages of work, his eyes caught sight of my 1899 letter. " The year 1899 is starting so smoothly in England that the blank page might serve for a news letter. We have long ago calmed down about the mad French attempt on the Upper Nile, and we are so interested in the Czar's Peace Circular that we relaxed our attention to Russian misdoing in China With Germany we have no question, and America has civilly refrained from twisting our Lion's tail. Old Kruger is prob- ably more concerned with his personal infirmities and the Colonists are following their usually orderly habits, so that all around 1899 promises to be very quiet with us. " This was a promise that events soon proved was easily broken, but even Stanley could not foresee the sharp awaken- ing for England as well as ourselves. He proceeds : " I wish I could feel your prospects are also as satisfactory. I don't know what you think of it, but it seems to me this Imperialism is going to prove costly and disturbing to Amer- ica, and her well-wishers are in doubt whether it be wise in her to take upon herself the task of regenerating the Philip- pines. If you don't mind the expense and bother of reform- ing these barbarians and making them orderly, we will not do more than wish you well through the self-imposed task." Under date of November 24, 1899, Sir Henry M. Stanley replied to a letter of mine wherein, at the suggestion of an experienced editorial friend, I had pointed out to him the 286 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS vahie of a short lecture tour in the United States, during which no man could with such authority as himself point out to the American people the situation in South Africa. My adviser very strongly urged the fact that the views of Sir Henry M. Stanley would not only greatly affect opinion here, but would tend largely to extend his influence as a statesman in his own country. Stanley illustrates his own modesty by ignoring in toto my suggestion, and then thus frankly criticises the British-Boer situation at the date of his writing : " We are not doing so well in the Transvaal as I expected, but everything proves to me how really necessary it was that the evil humors which had been gathering for the last nineteen years should come to a head and be boldly dealt with. It proves, also, how remiss we have been in thus delaying in considering the Transvaal matters as serious. No people on earth are so averse to war as we are, and so prone to be guided by goody-goody sentiment. Being rich, prosperous, and con- tented, we seem to forget that all people are not so happy, and accordingly fail to provide against other people's discontent with us. " This sunny belief in the power of sentiment will certainly be our bane some day. From sentiment we left our African frontiers unprotected ; we left our garrisons in Natal open to an enemy that has been breathing nothing but threats for ever so long ; from sentiment we left the Afrikander Bund to make its preparations, diffuse its opinions, and conspire to oust us from South Africa ; from sentiment we allow Kruger to build his forts, arm his people with cannon and Mausers, and, nat- urally, when everything is ready for the crisis for which Kru- ger has been preparing, we profess to be surprised that Natal and Cape Colony have been invaded, and that the Boers have been able to present such a bold front to us. " That war itself and the small disasters we have met are the penalties we pay for the belief we profess that all men can be persuaded by reason or soothed by sentiment. By all means profess as loudly as you may the very best of senti- ments toward people with whom you desire to be on amicable terms, but don't forget that human beings are not angels or children, to be restramed by sentiment alone. If you have interests, no amount of sentiment will protect them, especially when they lie so temptingly close to another race. That is a paraphrase of the old saying : ' Pray to God, but keep your ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 287 powder dry. ' We have prayed both to God and the Boer, but in most reprehensible fashion we have forgotten all about the powder. " What is going to happen to us if we continue to be thus neglectful of the commonest precautions? Heaven only knows. In England we are so given to the cultivation of beautiful phrases and logic that no one of the simple kind can hope to have simple truths listened to. Our newspaper lead- ers are written in such Johnsonian-Gladstonese that plain peo- ple pass them over as being 'grand,' but they are scarcely understood by the many. In admiration of the sound we have lost the sense, and the direct, simple English has no chance in these libretto days. " In other ways we are also degenerate. Eancy ten thou- sand English soldiers, willing to be led anywhere, remaining penned up in that hollow of Ladysmith by a force of say even twenty thousand raw Boer militia! It is all of a piece with that grand strategic genius which chose a hollow for the South African Aldershot, with not even an intrenchment until it was too late." The following is a characteristic and forcible presentation of opinions which he of all men has the right to express ; " FuEZE Hill, Pbebkight, Surrey, October 10, 1899. "My Dear Major: Your introduction of Mr. Howland has resulted, as you are probably aware, in the publication of an article in his magazine (The Outlook) on Anglo-Saxon Re- sponsibilities. I have just seen it, and though it was written before the Transvaal crisis became acute, subsequent facts have, I think, borne my hints out. "The above is my present address, where I am simply roughing it, owing to the chaos prevailing inside and out. I am therefore in no condition for writing a letter for the public eye, as you yourself would be the first to admit if you could see my surroundings. Besides, I cannot see the object of interesting the public in anything just now, and the Anglo- Saxon relations are the topic of a thousand pens more or less capable of iustructing everybody who can read or think. Whether we shall fight or not depends upon Kruger. He alone has it in his power to stay the storm, but whether he will use that power or not, no one— probably not Kruger even —can say. My opinion of Kruger differs from almost every 288 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS writer in tlie fact that I say he is a confirmed ass, or if you prefer the true meaning of it — an obstinate old fool. " I wrote ' Through South Africa ' some two years ago, and if you will look at chapter seven, I think — I have not the book by me — you will see how the present crisis and the prob- able termination of it are fulfilling the prediction I made. " I really do not know which to pity most, the English who hate war and who would do anything in honor to avoid it — dragged to war and future trouble against their will — or the Boers, whose stupid obstinacy is likely to be their ruia. " A few years ago, before the Jameson raid, Kruger said, ' I will never give you anything, and now let the storm burst.' "It is a bad-tempered man who said that, and Kruger's bad temper is the most prominent characteristic of his nature. His sheer bad temper has caused all this row and will eventu- ally bring him to shame unless, may the gods grant it, he is thoroughly frightened by a stronger, sterner, fiercer will. " I have known individuals like Kruger before, and though their obstinate wills seemed adamantine, many yielded before a greater and superior will. "The South African war — should it take place — will prove the salvation of South Africa, if it is conducted rightly. We should have an overwhelming force over there, and the utmost energy should be employed to bring it to a perfect finale, where all white should be free and equal. The country should be given up to the people, and outsiders should refrain from meddling in their affairs. " At social functions given by the press in his honor Stanley was always at his best. He appeared among newspaper men as perfectly at home — one of the profession, claiming no hon- ors or no place that could or would not be attained by any live journalist should the occasion offer. It is this attitude that so helped to make of him in America the favorite hero of the pressmen of the land. ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 289 C^ EORGE KENNAN was introduced to me by Mr. Roswell J Smith, President of the Century Co. His letters on Siberia were appearing in Tim Centurij Jlur/aziin', and creating a great deal of interest. ]\Lr. Smith called on me one morning. I was somewhat un- der the weather, having been ill for some time. He asked me if I had heard of George Kennan. I told him I had known more or less of ]\Ir. Kennan ; that he had ])een a lecturer in a small "way before he went to Siberia. ^Ir. Smith told me that Kennan' s articles, he believed, had more than doubled the f circulation of the maga- zine, and that one oi' two editions had already been exhausted and they were obliged to r e p r o d u c e them. He suggested that I secure Mr. Kennan for some lectures, and gave me his ad- dress. I immediately wrote him asking if he would lecture, and got a favorable I'ejAy. I also sent out "feelers " to my cus- tomers, aird to my surprise applications came pouring in from all parts of the comrtiy. I saw that success was almost cer- tain, and proposed to Mr. Kennan a certain sum of money for two hundred lectures. I offered him $100 a lecture— $20,000 for two hundred lectures — and to pay all of his expenses, which he accepted. It was the season of 1889 and 1890. Mr, Kennan was in wretched health during the entire tour, devoting his nights to 290 ECGENTBIGITIES OF GENIUS writing letters and sending his earnings to the poor Siberian exiles whom he had known in that country. He was loaded down, and almost broken down, with sympathy for the poor people, whose cause he was so ably championing in this coun- try. But notwithstanding all of his other work, Mr. George Kennan travelled and lectured two hundred consecutive sec- ular nights, travelling almost every day. Not an audience was disappointed nor a railroad connection missed. Mr. Kennan cleared $20,000 that season from his lectures. The next season he did a very handsome business, and could have been much more popular had it not been for the revolt- ing stories he told of the wretched condition of those suffering Siberian exiles. Many of his stories were heart-sickening, and for that reason, I believe, more than any other, he is not to-day the most popular lecturer in America. His excellent voice, charm of manner, and grace of diction are all that is best in a platform speaker. ECCENTIUCITIES OF GENIUS 291 T^REDEEK'K YILLIEES, wai' artist, can lay claim to a 1 more varied experience in the iiekl tliaii perlia})s any of his fellows. The intimate friend of Archibald Forbes in seven campaigns, the fourth man in the quartette of war artists that followed the Russian army to the gates of Constantinople, he has also done service in Afghanistan , in Egypt, in the Soudan, in Servia, in Burmah ; and every- where he has been in the thickest of the fight. Of the group of war ai'- tists and correspondents in the battle of IMetem- meli, on the Nile, and the Egyptian campaign, he alone escaped un- scathed, while J. A. ('ameron, of the London Standard : St. L e g e r Herbert, of the London Moniiiit/ Post : Capt W. H. Gordon, of the Man- chester Guardian ; Col. Fred Burnaby, of the Morninrj Fimt, and Edward O'Donovan, of the London Fu'dy Nukh, were killed outright, and Colonel Burleigh, of the London Dailij Tdeijrwph, was wounded. Mr. Villiers was the only European war artist in the war between Japan and China. In 1895 lie started from New York on a lecture tour through America and Canada, and visited Australasia, lecturing in all the principal towns of Australia, New Zealand and Tasmania. He eventually returned to England via the Cape, lecturing m 292 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS Cape Colony and the Transvaal, and completing his second tour around the world. In the following year he visited Moscow a second time, for the coronation of the present Emperor, Nicholas II. In 1897 he acted as special correspondent for The Standard with the Greek army, and for that paper and The Illustrated London News during the 1897 Soudan campaign. He has been all through the recent Nile expedition, and was present at the capture of Khartoum in his capacity of cor- respondent for the Globe and Illustrated London News. When the South African War broke out Mr. Villiers was lecturing in Australia, with a tour booked around the world via Japan and across the American continent. He cancelled a long list of engagements from California to New England and went back to the latest war as correspondent for his London papers. He has again returned to England and is now lecturing on the Boer war. Villiers is one of the heroes of the present cen- tury. A man of remarkable coolness, he never flinched under fire and was always able to seize a vantage point for his work without undue recklessness. He was the artist and writer at all times in the field, never a volunteer fighter ; but always ready to help the wounded, if near, and occasion offered. Per- haps no man in his chosen work was always so ready for de- parture and so instantly able to compass the best methods of reaching his destination and of getting at work upon arrival. An excellent speaker, simple and straightforward, with much to tell, he goes at his audience just as he works on the scenes before him when on the march or under fire. ECCENTRlClTiEH OF GENIUS 293 DE. FREDERICK A. COOK, of Brooklyn— physician, anthropologist, Arctic and Antarctic explorer, author and lecturer— has not only made an enviable reputation for liimself along each of these varied lines, but is personally one of the most charming of men. He is as modest and unassum- hig as he is accomplished, although he has succeeded in doing some things which no other man before him ever did. From nearly 80 degrees north latitude to 71 degrees 3G min- utes south latitude is a long distance for a north- and-south journey, but Dr. Cook can say, as no other man li\'ing can : " 1 have done it. " He filled the position of surgeon and anthro- pologist with Peary's first Arctic expedition in 1891, and during 1893 and 1891 he was engaged in explorations of the west coast of G-reenland. Again in 1897 he joined the Belgian expedition which sailed on the Bel(iicii to explore the Antarctic continent and channels, being the only American in the party. For thirteen months their ship drifted in the pack ice, in which she had been caught, and was finally gf)t out only Ijy sawing a channel through the ice nine miles long. This expedition was the first, and Dr. Cook was the only American, that ever camped and sledged on the Antarctic continent. While in these far southern latitudes, Dr. Cook, as anthro- 294 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS pologist to the expedition, visited and described a cannibal tribe from whom no previous scientist had escaped alive. His lecture descriptive of his adventures has proven one of the most interesting yet offered to the lyeeum. It is illus- trated with photographs taken by the doctor himself, and these are as beautiful as they are unlike any others ever shown to the public. Dr. Cook is gifted with a fascination of description and a powerful voice which make his lecture even more interesting, if possible, than to read of his thrilling adventures in his book, recently published. Among polar explorers I do not regard any one as more bold, more to be depended upon for accuracy of statement, or whose scientific training better fits him rightly to appreciate the value of each new fact discovered, than Dr. Frederick A. Cook, our fellow-countryman. ECCENrRICITIES OF GENIUS 295 ROBERT E. PEARY, ('ml Engineer, U. S, Navy, re- tuiiied in the autumn of 1.S92 fi'oni his second Arctic exploration, bringing with him a number of dogs, the sledges on Avlueli he made his journej-s, and a, collection of Esquimau souvenirs, such as sledges, dog harness, <-lothing, tents, spears, fishing tackle, cooking uten- sils, and furniture, and gave an exliibition in the Acad- emy of ^lusic, T'hiladeli^hia, under the aiispices of the Academy of Science. I at- tended the lecture, or rather, exhiliition. ^Ir. Peary ap- peared in liis Ai'ctii- cos- tume, witli the dogs, sledges, tents, weapons, bear skins, and seal furs in great quantity and \-ariety on tlie stage — a sort of Esquimau village. It \vas an interesting exhibit. Mr. Reary gave a delightful lec- ture, illustrated with some of the finest stereoscopic views of Arctic scenery I had ever seen presented, views which he had himself taken while on the expedition. I tried my best to secure INIr. Peary for some lectures in New York, Boston, and other cities, liut, being an officer of the Government and under oi-ders, it was impossible to secure him. Later on he obtained leave of absence and permission to fit out a second expedition, and he could lecture from Jan- uary until April, so I arranged for what proved to be one of the most ^dgorous lecture campaigns that I had ever managed up to that time. 296 JECCENTBICITIES OF GENIUS We began iii the Academy of Music, Brooklyn, and up to the first of April (one hundred and three days) Mr. Peary gave one hundred and sixty-five lectures. The five dogs were as much a drawing feature as Peary himself, and were a great advertising card, especially where there was sleigh- ing, as Henson, Mr. Peary's colored servant, who had ac- companied him'bn the expedition, hitched them up and drove them about the cities wherever they went, attracting the at- tention and wonder of the entire communities. They seemed to take as much interest in the show as they probably had shown in their great overland journeys across the Greenland Ice Cap with their master. The dogs were very fond of being petted, and liked ladies and children. After the lecture they were brought on the stage and the children in the audience were allowed to rush forward and meet them. There was never an instance of the dogs showing the slightest ill temper or of objecting to be caressed or fed by the auditors. One remarkable thing about the dogs was that they would insist upon their rights and their share of the entertainment. They would wait very patiently until the time for Mr. Peary to fin- ish, but if he happened to speak a little longer than the usual time, the dogs would set up a howl so that he would have to stop. They never became uneasy until their own time arrived. It was a general tour, and Mr. Peary visited most of the large cities, two lectures a day. It was a great combination. Of all the tours I ever had the pleasure of managing none met with greater success on a short notice than this one. The profits for those few weeks were about $18,000. Yet Mr. Peary was disappointed, for he was fitting out a second Arctic expedition and needed something like $80,000 for his scheme. He admitted that under any other circumstances he would have considered the tour one of the most successful in the world, but because he could not make $2,000 or $3,000 a day it seemed a loss of time to him, and he was obliged to resort to other means to raise the funds that he needed. However, Mr. Peary never once complained, I never heard him speak an unkind word either to the employees or to his dogs. ECCENTBICITIES OF GENIUS 297 He is a great "woiker. His stenographer and typeivriter ac- companied liim, and he carried on an immense correspondence, together with his other work, perfecting all plans for his ex- ])edition. He met -with many misfortunes on the second expedition id' twenty-five months' stay in North Greenland in 1893-95, and his return to the lecture field proved not very remunera- tive, No doidjt this was ]>artly due to the fact that he under- took to give simply illustrated lectures, without the dogs and the other attractions which he had on the ])revii)us tour Mr, I'eary is one of the finest descriptive lecturers we have ever had, with his heart and soul in his work. If lu' succeeds in reaching the Pole (which we shall pnihahly know before this liook goes to press), tl}eii he will be the Ijig- gest attraction in the world. Otherwise, he will Ije classed as one of the great Arctic heroes who did his best and knows how to relate the accounts of his heroic adventures to as many auditors as still retain interest in Arctic explorations. Teary is a nineteenth-century he]'o, and will continue to push on because he cannot stop. In writing this book, I am n(jt making a programme, pre- paring a circular, or giving a list of speakers and entertain- ers. I recall only those names and \\'(n\ that come back most impressively, and any omission is not from lack of aji- ]ireciation, but one of memoiy only. Yet though the walls ai'e crowded, there is still room to give a name to one of the bravest. Another of the beloved women yet remams among 298 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS us. My reference is to Mrs. Peary, the wife of the famous Arctic explorer. She has not intellectual capacity alone, but more than womanly courage, as is proven by the years spent in Greenland wastes of ice and snow, the first woman of Cau- casian stock known to have wintered within the Arctic Circle. Later, the same high devotion made her take up the no less exacting task of raising funds for her husband's relief, the return of his belated expedition and the saving thereby of the important scientific results and personal fruits of the great and toilsome, as well as dangerous exploration work he has set himself to accomplish. Mrs. Peary entered the lecture field to accomplish and achieve this work of relief. She did it, too, and in so doing showed possession of a speaking talent that would have made her a permanent success. ErCEyTIUCITlKS OF GEXIUS 299 CAPT. JOSHUA SLOCFM, who conceived the idea that he could sail alune around the world, is about the new- est and most reniarkaljle of the small list of hazardous adven- turers who have done soinetliin'j that nn other man has sue- ceeded in aecomidhhlmj, and thereby acquired world-wide fame. He is well entitled to a place alongside the heroes Peary, ISTansen, and Dr. Cook. Captain Slocum comes of " a blue-nosed ances- try, witlr Yankee procli\'- ities," as he puts it. " Both sides of my family were sailors," says the captain " and if any Slocum should be found not seafaring, he will show at least an inclina- tion to whittle nrodels of boats and contemplate voyages. My father was the sort of man who, wrecked on a desolate island, would find his way home if he had a jack-knife and could find a tree." After following the sea twenty years as a shipmaster and losing his bark, Aquldnech, wrecked on the coast of Brazil, and making the voyage home with his family in a canoe, Cap- tain Slocum conceived the idea of building a boat and sailing alone around the world. Pie accomplished this remarkable feat, built the Spratj entirely with his own hands, launched, equipped, and sailed her by himself, over forty thousand miles, visiting many foreign jjorts, to the great amazement of the natives of every clime. In his voyage aroimd Cape Horn there were over seventy days during which he never heard 300 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS a sound except his own Toice, tlie "wind, and the lappiag of the waves. What is most remarkable of all is that Captaia Slocum is able to write and describe the incidents of the entire voyage and his wonderful experiences in a manner so graphic and simple that it absolutely charms and fascinates his hearers as few ever did or ever could do. The experiences of Captain Slocum have proved him to be one of the greatest navigators of the age. It is wonderful to listen to the descriptions of some of his hairbreadth escapes and to hear him answer, as quick as a flash, questions of every conceivable sort put to him by expert seafaring auditors. I have listened for hours to these seem- ing tournaments in navigators' skill, and never yet did the captain hesitate for an instant for a reply that went straight {o the mark like a bullet. 1 Captain Slocum' s book, " Sailing Alone Around the World," (published by The Century Company), has had a large sale, which is constantly increasing. Had all this occurred twenty years ago, it would have meant a fortune for Captain Slocum, and a stimulant for the lyceum such as it is impossible to secure tinder present conditions. "Because why? " you ask. Because under the present condi- tions, lecture courses are forced upon the communities by agents representing various lecture bureaus, who start out with sample photographs and circulars (regulation size), round up a committee of enterprising citizens who want to do some- thing for the town, and persuade them to go on a guarantee fund to secure a course of lectures and entertainments. They listen to the bureau agent's recommendations of "the greatest orator of the times, Mr. Breeze," and "the great traveller and adventurer, Mr. Push," "the latest and most original dialect poet, Mr. Verse," "Miss Wonder, whose dramatic recitations have captivated metropolitan audiences in all the lai"ge cities," and " Miss Good, who is a direct descendant of a great-grand- niece of Oliver Wendell Holmes's cousin. " The course is made up, and contracts are signed before the agent leaves town. ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 301 Then for six montlis the course is being talked up. The bu- reau agent remains for a few days to assist the local canvass- ers in getting started, telling them who the celebrities are that are to make the town so famous by their visit, etc. Over fifty such courses are already announced for the State of Michigan the coming autumn, August, 1900, over two hun- dred in the State of Illinois, nearly as many in Iowa, and so proportionately all over the country. More than $6,000 a week is now being disbursed by bureaus to agents "selling courses. " So when the newspapers and The Century Magazine, Mc- Cl II re's Magazine, and Harper's Magazine publish the accounts of such heroic adventures as Captain Slocum's, and a circular is sent out announcing his intention to relate from the lecture platform for the enlightenment of the public the story of his adventures, this local guarantee committee informs the cap- tain that they already have " a course " in their city, which means that an independent lecture or entertainment of any kind, no matter how meritorious, is boycotted by the local committee in every city in the Union of from 2,500 to 40,000. 30:; ECCEXTTIICITIES OF GENIUS JO MX L. STODDARD -n-as the most phenomenal success as a professional lecturer, pure and simple, that I have ever kno'wn. He began in Boston with the bureau in 1878, together with what he could do for himself, as the bu- reau did not see enough in his lectures to make him an offer for ^ . all of his time. I heard him sev^eral times in churches in and about Boston, and deelareil him a success. I want- ed to make him a bi.t; offer, but partnership stipulations — that our firm should not specu- late — ijrevented that. I went nightl}' to hear him and see his pictures. Two young men engageil him for a lecture iu jMusic Hall, Boston, and made a lot of money. V , They tried it again with the same result ; tlien in suburban towns. Until the warm summer days and short nights set in, crowds were limited to the capiacity of the aiulitorium. I have heard many lecturers whom I thought Stoddard's superior from a professional jioint of view, but no other lectui'cs ^\-ith illustra- tions have ever drawn ou(> quarter the people to hear them that his dul. He has ludd lirst place as a. stereopticou lecturer for twenty years and has retired \vitli a fortune. JMcu and women have said to nir : '-What is the secret of this man's success?" My only rc]dy IS : " The people like to hear him. 1 like to hear him. " ACTORS iVND DRAMATIC CRITICS ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 305 JOSEPH JEFFEESOX is an actor in whom the romantic ardur of cle\'otion to the dramatic art has never lan- guished. Youth is g'one, but not its enthusiasm, its faith, or its. fire. He still embodies Rip Van Winkle with a sincer- ity as intense and with an ar- tistic execu.tion as tliorough and as fresh as if the part were new, and as if he were playing it for the first time. The spontaneous drollerj-, the wildwood freedom, the endearing gentleness, the pi- quant, quizzical sapience, the unconscious humor, the pathetic blending of forlorn, wistful patience with awe- stricken apprehension, the dazed, sul)missive, drifting surrender to the current of fate, and the ap[)arently careless, but cdear-cut and beautiful method — all those attributes that bewitched the community long ago remain un- changed, and liave lost nu ]iarticle of their charm. One Sunday morning, in Plymouth Church, just as Mr. Beecher was about to liegin his sermon, and there was a deathly silence all over the house, Mr. Beecher said : " Yes, I have been to the theatre. Mr. Beecher has been to the theatre. Now if you will all wait until you are past sev- enty years of age and will then go and see Joseph Jefferson in 'Pap Van Winkle,' I venture the risk that it will not affect your eligibility for heaven if you do nothing worse." Mr. Jefferson can command $1,000 a night in the large cities, if he will only consent to lecture. He and Sir Henry Irving are overrun with invitations to appear before college audiences. 306 ECCENriilCLTIEH OF GENIUS "T T riLLIAM AVINTER Avas first called to my attention by V V Henry Ward l>eecln-r, in ISTC), while we were on the train between Fall Eix-er and Boston. iNIr. Beecher was read- ing the Ne\v Yiirk Trihinif. He usnally read his morning paper from lieginning to end, and tliis time he had got as far as the dranuitie criticism, when be said to me: " If 3-on want to have the trne estimate concerning tlie drama yon should read AA'illiam \Yinter in Tlie Tribune. He is the most graphic writer there is, and he is a fine critic and absolutely clean. Here's what he says of this 3-oiing actress, ilary Ander- son, as 'Juliet.' " ]\lr. Iieecher then read aloud to me a column proph- esying a lirilliant success, wliicli jiroved to be fully realized. Since that time 1 ]ia\e read everything ]\lr. A\'intcr h a s written. I watched and read and ad- mired the man. I noted the interest that he t.uik in all matters ]iertaining to the advanre- nient, culture, and education (d' the community where he lives, liis founding (d' the Arthur Winti'i- .Memorial Library at tlie Stateii Island Academy, witli a, ecntrilnition of rare books and gems (if literature that eouM haxc tieen collected only by one of fine gifts and refined tastes such as Mr. \Vinter jiossesses. Reading (it tills aeipiisition tc tic academy and the erection id' a hall for lectures, etc., I fell an interest in the success of tins niovement, and wmte my first letter to iNIr Winter, piro- posing to furnisli such of my stars as would contribute lec- tures and entertainments for his public. ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 307 A most gracious and appreciative letter of thanks came in return, which is one of my choicest delights. I so wrote him, and received another characteristic reply. So it has kept up ever since. I now, as far as possible, stipulate with my com- ing stars that they give one evening during their season to the Winter Memorial Library, and it has come about that they all look forward to that appointment with great expectation, because it is an audience that, for fine appreciation, is not to be excelled anywhere. Marion Crawford, Annie Grey, H. E. Krehbiel, and Ernest Seton-Thompson, all declare the Win- ter Memorial their ideal audience. For over thirty-five years (since August, 1865), Mr. Winter has been the dramatic critic of the New York Tribune, and during that time he has wielded an influence more potent in the advancement of the drama than that of all the other New York critics combined. He is incorruptible and not afraid of consequences. Once a very prominent manager, knowing that jMr. Winter and I were friends, came into my office and asked for a confidential talk, which was granted. He began like this : " You know William Winter well, do you not? " "I have very little association with him. I know him well enough to understand that he is my friend and would go as far to serve me as he would any friend. " " Is he well fixed or is he poor? " asked the manager. "He's not rich. How could he be, with only the resources of his pen as his income, and with a family of sons and a daughter to educate? " "Major, would $2,500 be any inducement for him to visit the Union Square Theatre to-morrow evening, and give that girl, the greatest actress in the world, a send off? " I said: "It would be a waste of time and money. You would be as safe in offering $60,000 as any other amount. If Mr. Winter goes there he will write as he sees, and will do the subject justice." The manager told me that he had made sure of every paper that he wanted but the Tribune, and he would give more for 308 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS that paper than for all the others, because whatever Winter wrote the public believed. He had already secured the next best dramatic writer for less than half he offered me if I could secure Winter. While I was writing this book, one of the other New York dramatic critics to whom that manager referred was in my ofB.ce, and we went out to lunch together. He wanted to borrow $2. He said that the New York newspapers of to- day would accept nothing from his pen, nor from other prominent old journalists, while William Winter seemed to be as much in evidence as ever. I couldn't help saying : "I will quote what a theatrical man- ager said to me twelve years ago : ' I secured the next best writer in New York for less than half what I would offer to Winter, but the public believes what Winter writes ' ; and it is true.'' In reply to a letter from him recommending a great Shake- spearean scholar and reader, I once wrote Mr. Winter that there was no public demand for a scholarly address on Shake- speare or any literary subject; that there was scarcely a statesman even, or any man of letters, that even colleges and institutions of learning cared to engage for commencements and other public occasions, but that I had letters from many leading colleges offering fabulous prices if I could secure Henry Irving or Joseph Jefferson for them, and on this en- couraging symptom I offered each of these great actors $10,- 000 if they would each give ten addresses on these occasions. Here is Mr. Winter's reply: "Septembers, 1896. "Mt Dear Major Pond: " I observed with some wonder your amazing offer of $1,000 a night to Irving and to Jefferson, for ten lectures, for college commencements. There must, of course, be some ' business ' in this, or you would not think of it, but I should be very glad to know what qualifications are possessed by these gen- tlemen, or by any other actors, which entitled them to this peculiar eminence. A university is a seat of learning, and I have always supposed that the honors and rewards of learning ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 309 are due to great scholars, whose lives have been passed in study, in thought, and in labor for the art of literature and the cause of education. Mr. Irving and Mr. Jefferson are masters of the art of acting, and no one admires them more than I do ; but I should hardly select either of them as mon- itors for a university commencement, any more than they would select me as a director of the stage. "Faithfully yours, "William Winter." One of Mr. Winter's most cherished friends was George William Curtis, and it is his ambition to add a George William Curtis Memorial Lyceum to the Staten Island Academy. He is sure to accomplish the work if he is spared another five years. He is the last of his kind. Only by his bravery and his fidelity to his profession could he survive the natural loneli- ness of his environment. There has been scarcely a great actor or actress or theatrical manager for the last forty years whom he has not known in- timately and who has not been his dear friend. Among this number must be included Joseph Jefferson, Sir Henry Irving, Edwin Booth, Lester Wallack, John McCuUagh, Lawrence Barrett, Barney Williams, W. J. Florence, William Weaver, John Gilbert, Adelaide ISTeilson, Ellen Terry, Charlotte Cush- man, and Augustin Daly. One can readily come in touch with the tender vibrations and longings of his heart by read- ing the following poem in memory of his friend Augustin Daly, Which is here reprinted by the kind permission of the Macmillan Co. : A. D. Died June 7, 1899. Long he slumbers ; will he waken, greeting, as he used to do, With his kindly, playful smile, his old companions, me and you? Long he slumbers — though the wind of morning sweetly blows to sea, Though his barque has weighed her anchor, and the tide is flowing free. Long he slumbers ; why, so helpless, doth he falter on the shore? Wherefore stays he in the silence, he that never stayed before? 310 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS "Do not wake me ! " Oh, the pity ! How shall we poor toilers striye If his strong and steadfast spirit keep not our frail hope alive? All his days were given to action, all his powers of mind and will : Now the restless heart is silent, and the busy brain is still. Gone the fine ideal fancies, glorious, like the summer dawn ! Ev'ry passionate throb of purpose, ev'ry dream of grandeur gone ! Courage, patience, deep devotion, long endurance, manly trust. Zeal for truth and love for beauty — gone, and buried in the dust ! Ah, what pictures rise in mem'ry and what strains of rausic flow. When we think of all the magic times and scenes of Long Ago ! When once more we hear, in Arden, rustling trees and rippling streams; When on fair Olivia's palace faint and pale the moonlight beams ; When the storm-clouds break and scatter, and o'er beach, and crag, and wave. Angels float, and heavenly voices haunt the gloom of Prosp'ro's cave I Well he wrought — and we remember ! Paded rainbow ! fallen leaf ! All fair things are but as shadows, and all glory ends in grief. Worn and weary with the struggle, broken with the weight of care, Low he lies, and all his pageants vanish in the empty air. Nevermore can such things lure us, nevermore be quite the same ; Other hands may gi'asp the laurel, other brows be twined with fame. Far, and less'ning in the distance, dies the music of the Past; In our ears a note discordant vibrates like an angry blast ; On our eyes the Future rushes, blatant, acrid, fraught with strife, AiTogant with tinselled youth and rank with flux of sensual lif^ Naught avails to stem the tumult — vulgar aims and commonplace, Greed and vice and dross and folly, frenzied in the frantic race. Naught avails, and we that linger, sick at heart and old and grim, Can but pray to leave this rabble, loving Art and following him. Very lonely seems the pathway ; long we journeyed side by side ; Much with kindred hope were solaced, much with kindred anguish tried ; Had our transient jars and murmurs, had our purpose to be blest, In our brotherhood of travel, in our dreams of age and rest, — ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 311 Yonder, where the tinted hawthorns scarlet poppyfields enfold, And the prodigal laburnum hloonas in clust'ring globes of gold. Ended all — and all is shadow, where but late a glory shone, And the wanderer, gray and fragile, walks the vacant scene, alone. Only now the phantom faces that in waking dreams appear ! Only now the aerial voices that the heart alone can hear ! Round and red the sim is sinking, lurid in his misty light ; Faintly sighs the wind of evening, coldly falls the brooding night. Fare thee well — forever parted, speeding onward in the day Where, through God's supernal mercy, human frailties drop away ! Fare thee well ; while o'er thy ashes softly tolls the funeral knell — Peace, and love, and tender memory ! so, forever, fare thee well ! William Winter. 311 ECCENTRiriTiEti OF GENIUS SIK HEISTRY IRVING' S advancement to the order of knighthood aroused great interest among theatrical jjeo- ple tlrrouglioLit the world. An honor has been conferred upon dramatic art, and it has fallen on the one person in the Eng- lish-spealcing world most fitted to bear it as the representative of all that is best in dra- nuitu' art. Honors of this kind have lieen bestowed with much freedom on painters, writers, and musicians, but never lief ore accorded to an actor. 'I'liis instance, therefore, iu- \-olves an unusual recogni- tion of the acted drama as the peer of its kindred arts, No actor is held in higher esteem l))- his fellow-actors than Sir Henry Irving. His high abilities are not more admired on the stage than his personal qualities in pri- ^■ate life. The congratula- tions he has recen'ed on this ad\'anceiuent are more general and more sincere than tiould have been bestowed on any other living actor. For the abo\'e reason, Sir Henry Irving is (iffered fal^ulous sums if he will lecture or give readings. I ottered him $10,000 it he would gi\-e ten readings before college s(.icieties. It was my privilege to introduce Henry Irving to. !Mr. Heecher during the simschi of the hitter's first ^'isit to this country. I accompanicil him and Miss Terry to Plymouth (), and found the little church and neighboring thorouglifares thronged with the sorrowing multitude waiting with the hojie of getting just one view of the casket which contained tlie re- mains of their departed friend. i\Iiss Cushman's nrem- oiy is still green. Her cottage at Newjjort and her grave at Mount Au- lium are auLong the first o)ij(^cts inquired for }>\ visitors to these plai-es. ^riie last few years of lier pulilic life wr-re de- voted to puljlic I'eading. In tliat department she was without a rival, — Fanny Kemble having retired to private life, — and in simplicity, personal magnetism, humor, and stalwart force of execution lier r(^adings have never ))een ec|ualled. In the autumn of 1874 she gave six readings in Chicago for INIessrs. (Carpenter & Sheldon, mana- gers of the Star Course, for which they jiaid her $5,000. The readings took ])lace in McCormick's Hall, on the nortli side of the city. The gi'oss receipts for those six readings aggregated upward of $17,000. 316 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS In 1867 a tramping jour printer had come from Kansas seeking employment on the daily papers in St. Louis. It was the year of the great financial panic. There were so many printers out of work that those having steady employ- ment yielded half of their time to "subs." At the house where I boarded I sat next to the prompter of the People's Theatre, an old man, the most popular prompter ever known to the profession, Jimmie Anderson. I took to the old fellow, and he was very nice to me. One evening he invited me to the theatre, on the stage, where I stood beside him and saw Neafie in the "Corsican Brothers." I walked home with him after the theatre. Before retiring that night he told me that the office of call-boy in the theatre was vacant, and I might have it — seven dollars a week. I be- gan the following Monday. Charlotte Cushman opened that night with Lady Macbeth. It was the first time I ever saw her. During the play Miss Cushman came to Mr. Anderson some- what excited, saying, " Jimmie " — they all called hun Jimmie — "the boy who carried my basket to-night loitered by the way. That basket contains most of my jewels. I must have somebody that I can rely upon who will walk faithfully by my side." Anxious to earn an exti'a dollar, I hunched old Jimmie, and he turned around and spoke very savagely to me : "Will you doit?" "Yes," said I. So that night I walked home with Charlotte Cushman, the great actress, carrying her basket to her room in the Plant- ers' House. I did this until Saturday, when I was taken ill and obliged to send a substitute, who brought the basket on Saturday night. After the play, when the lights were turned off with the exception of the star's dressing-room, I was curled up on the stage among a lot of scenery. I heard Miss Cushman, coming out of her room, say : ECCENTRICITIES OF GEXIU8 317 "AVhere is that boy who carried my basket? " I rejilied, " Here. " She walked across the stage, piloted by the night watchman with his lantern, and reaching out her hand to me said : "I hope you are not going to be ill," and placed a coin in my hands. I liurried to get to where there was sufficient light, to dis- cover that I was the owner of a twenty-dollar gold piece. That night I changed my lodging. I did not meet Miss Cushman personally after that until 1874-5. I was giving Sunday-night entertainments in Boston, which were meeting with very great success. I tliouglit of Charlotte Cushman, and telegraphed her at Newport, offering her $1,000 if she would give a reading in the Boston. She accepted. The night of the reading 1 was so busy that I did not have an opportunity to place in Miss Cushman' s hands the envelope containing the certified check for $1,000. It was not until after the performance that I went to her hotel and sent up my card. The bell-boy returned with the answer, " Miss Cush- man says show the gentleman up." ]\Iiss Cushman met me very cordially in her room. She was in a very happy mood, as the hall had been crowded with people. "Miss Cushman," I said, "I intended to hand this enveloije to you on the platform, but I was so busy in front of the house that I could not get an opportunity. Please pardon me." "Oh, that is all right, Major Pond. Sit down and have some supper. " ' (Stars always have supper after their per- formances.) During the conversation at the table I said: "Miss Cush- man, that $1,000 check of this evening is the interest on twenty dollars that you invested in me in 1867." Then I related the incident of the twenty-dollar gold piece which she gave me when I was sick back of the stage in St. Louis. 318 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS "Are you that boy? " she asked, with a reminiscent smile. "Yes," said I, smiling back, "the very boy." " Well, I am glad to see you. I have often wondered if you survived." We were both glad. ECCENTlilLlTlES OF GEXIUS ?19 MISS ELLEX TERRY, the greatest actvess of our times, jKissesses a iTiuarkable range (.)f [lowers frdia loiv eomedj' to the highest tragie toree, hut always suggesting a hiVely spirit behind tlie mask. At one moment she ean lie a (jueeii of traged}', at anotlier a boisterous hoy- den, at another a gentle, retlned, liigh-bred lady. Her mirth is perfeet glad- ness. In private or social lift-, m.) matter how select or dis- tinguished the surroundings or attractive the (■onn]aiiy, she eclipses every lady pres- ent, and is always the centre of attraction. Xo better estimate of the genius (d' iNliss Terry can be gi^'en than jNIr. AN'illiaiii Winter's descripti(.in of her in the cliaracter of Rosa- mund, in Tenny-son's "Beidvet,' sioii of the Macmillaii (Jo., from which I (piotc, liy permis- • Sliadows of the Stage " : "Teniiyson"s Rosamund is one of the loveliest creations in English literature. No character could be imagined in more complete unison with tlie nature and attributes disclosed in the acting of Ellen Terry. She embodied it in a ifuent and delicious vein of spontaiieit}-. In that part, as in Goethe s IMargaret, she conquered by^ simply allowing a ricli individu- ality to show itself through careless glee, confiding abandon- ment, and a s-weet bewilderment of tremulous apprehension, and once through the jjroud self-assertion of elemental nobil- ity. That seems not difficult in the saying, but, oliviously, it must be difficult to do ; for whenever, in acting, the effect of S20 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS nature is most absolute, there the means of art have been ap- plied with the most of glamour, and concealed with the best of disguise. Throughout her performance there was no effort. All was grace. In the fugitive scene with Becket, and in the affectionate prattle — half raillery, half fondness — in the bower scene with Henry, the conditions are so simple that the effect might have become insipid but for her sumptuous personality, her profound sincerity, the plenitude of her enticing • and piquant ways, the sunshine of her face, and the music of her delicious voice. During those scenes her preservation of girl- ish sprightliness never lapsed — till, with the final exclama- tion, 'Some dreadful truth is breaking on me,' she struck the chord of tenderest pathos, and showed herself all woman. Beauty and tenderness, in forlorn apprehension, overshadowed, shaken, and made half wild with nameless dread, constitute a conflicting image of lovely grief, such as Ellen Terry, beyond all the players of our time, is best fitted to impress upon the heart." I have frequently been offered $1,000 if I could secure Miss Terry for an afternoon's reading in the drawing-rooms of wealthy people in New York, Philadelphia, and Boston. LITERARY LECTURERS ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 323 MATTHEW AEXOLD fame to this oonntr}? and gave one hundred Lectures. ]N'oliody ever heard au^y of them, not even those sitting in the front row. At hrs first upijearance in Cliickering iiall every seat was sohl at a higlr l)riee. Cliauncey i\I. Depew introduced tlie speaker. I was loolcing after tlie liusiness nr tlie front of tlie Irouse. Tliere was not a seat t(.) be Irad excepting a few that were held by specu- lators on the sulewalk. As ^Ir. Depew and l^^at.- tliew Arnold appeared 1.1 e f o r e the aadien(.'e, somel.iody told nie that General and ^Irs. (irant had just airix'cd and had seats in the gallery. Imt some other jieople wei'c occnpying them. I im- mediately got a police- man, and w o r k in g through the standing crowd, found that they were the last two seats on the aisle in the gallery. We liad no diifii'ulty in getting the occupants to vacate as soon as they discovered who held the tickets. We had just heard the last few sentences of Mr. Depew's introduction when Matthew Arnold stepijed f(U'ward, opened out his manuscript, laid it (ui the desk, ;ind his lips be- gan to move. There was not the slightest sound audilile from where I stood. After a few minutes General Grant said to Mrs. Grant, "Well, wife, we ha\-e paid to see the htritish lion ; we cannot hear him roar, so we had better go home." They 324 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS left the hall. A few minutes later there was a stream of people leaving the place. All those standing went away very- early. Later on, the others who could not endure the silence moved away as quietly as they could. Matthew Arnold went to Boston, and some friends there urged him to take lessons in elocution, which he did. He engaged the well-known instructor, Mr. Marshall Wilder (not Marshall P. Wilder of vaudeville fame), but it only helped to make the performance appear more ridiculous than before. Mr. Arnold had his manuscript copied in very large letters on flat cap paper and bound in portfolio style, which he mounted on an easel at his right. He would throw his eyes on the manuscript and then recite a sentence to the audieiiCL^, turn his head for the next sentence and recite that in a loud, monotonous voice, and in that way to the end of the show. Notwithstanding all his eccentricities, the best people of America j)aid $2 a ticket to see and hear the great poet and critic, and he returned to England with a very handsome sum of money, which he must have needed or he never would have allowed himself to be subjected to so ridiculous a spectacle as he made of his performance. His own impressions of the success of the lecture are given in the following letter which he wrote to his daughter ; "The St. Botolph Club, 85 Boylstox Street, "Boston, November 8, 1883. "My Dearest Fan: " Here is Thursday and my Sunday letter has not yet been written; but you have heard from Flu, and she will have given you some notion of what our life here is. I hope, how- ever, to write once in every week to you. I wrote last from New York, before my first lecture. I was badly heard, and many people were much disappointed ; but they remained to the end, were perfectly civil and attentive, and applauded me when I had done. It made me doubtful about going on with the lecturing, however, as I felt I could not maintain a louder pitch of voice than I did in Chickering Hall, where I lectured, and some of the American halls are much larger. There is a ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 325 good deal to be learned as to the management of the voice, however, and I have set myself to learn it, though I am old to begin ; the kindness of the people here makes everything easier, as they are determined to like one. The strength of the feeling about papa, here m New England, especially, would gratify you ; and they have been diligent readers of my books for years. The number of people whom, somehow or other, I reach here is what surprises me. Imagine General Grant calling at the Tribune office to thank them for their good report of the main points of my lecture, as he had thought the line taken so very important, but had heard im- perfectly ! Now I should not have suspected Grant of either knowing or caring anything whatever about me and my pro- ductions. " Your ever affectionate "M. A." .■S26 ECCENrB.lCITlES OF GENIUS JOHX BOYLE O'REILLY, tlie poet, editor of the Boston Pilot, the leading ICouiaii Catholic newspaper uf >iew England, and the first weekly devoted to Catholic aiitl Irish interests ever published in. this country, was at the time of his death the iirost popular lecturer of his time with Cath- olic societies. Bojde OTvcilljr had passed an eventful life. Very early in his young man- hood he became identified with the Fenian Brotherhood, under James Stevens, the Irish leader who came so iii'arl}' organizing a successful ridjellion against British rule Ihat it is a matter of record lliat at one time there was a hcniaii Council organized in iii'arly every regiment ui the lU'itisli armv that permitted Irish recnrits, as well as in a large majority i f all Britisli sliips of war. (>'Eeilly en- ti'i'i'd the Xiiitli Hussars in order to learn military life and skill. He became ser- geant-niajdi', tlie highrst warrant jiosition obtainable m the rank and file He was so cnnipletely trust+'d that the Secret Service dete(dd\'e kept on duty in the regiment made him his confidant. The reginn'iit Avas (in duty at Dublin Castle when • lames Ste^'cns was captured and brought there a prisoner. Besides the Ninth Plussars, there '\\'as also a Highland regi- ment in the garrison. Stevens escajied, aided by the Fenians under O'Beilly and his regimental associates. The young •sergeant held high command in tlie brotherhood. A great commotion followed, and the Highlanders were put on guard ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 327 with orders to hold every Irishman withia the bounds. Be- fore this was made public, O'Reilly attempted to leave, carry- ing the despatch bag often entrusted to him. He was stopped at the Castle gates, an act which was apologized for at the time. Before night fell it was known that a Fenian Council was in existence there. Its membership was almost defined, but its leader's name still remained a secret. An order for summary execution of all was promulgated, martial law being in force, unless this name was given. Boyle O'Eeilly, to save his associates from this fate, made the announcement himself. His action being treasonable, the penalty was death, and Ser- geant O'Eeilly was tried at once, found guilty, and condemned. This sentence was commuted to penal transportation for life, and the young soldier was sent to Western Australia, the last of British convict settlements. He remained five years before making his escape and reaching America in safety. The qual- ity of manhood that Boyle O'Reilly possessed was displayed not only in the reckless courage and daring shown in the Fe- nian incidents, and in the patient, manly endurance exhibited in his years of prison servitude, but it reached a higher plane by far when he settled down to the life of a freeman and citizen in the metropolis of New England. With the maturity of his intellectual life intensified and deepened by the strange expe- riences through which he had passed, there came to him the conviction that conspiracy was personally demoralizing as well as futile as a policy. He felt that any genuine and sincere agitation could be best achieved in a free community by close adherence to the open ways that equal citizenship afforded. He never assumed, then, any other role than that of an Amer- ican, while faithful always to the better interests of his own people. Boyle O'Reilly easily became one of the most pop- ular nren and scholars of Boston. He took an active part in all public affairs, social and political, and soon became as " to the manor born." He was successful as a lecturer from the outset, for he had the genius of the poet, and the wit and warmth of an Irishman — qualities that, with a most attractive presence, made him popular always. But he cared more for 328 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS his home, his newspaper, and his library than for the plat- form. Nevertheless, he was able to do a good deal of lectur- ing, where the distances would permit, without neglecting his other duties. John Boyle O'Reilly, an Irishman and a Catholic, has been President of the Papyrus Club in Boston, a chair occupied ,by Webster, Lowell, Emerson, Whittier, and Oliver Wendell Holmes, and has a memorial niche in the new Public Library of Boston, where is to be found the finest collection of Irish literature in America. The accompanying picture he signed for me only a short time before his death. ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 329 M R. HAMILTON W. MABIE, associate editor of The Outlook, and autlior of several books that rank among the finer literature of our land, is one of our A'ery best public speakers. He is one of the first called upon to deliver ad- dresses on nearly all of the most important oc- casions, and his literary lectures are also in great demand. If the mantle of Ed- ward Everett has fallen upon any man of this generation, that man is Mr. Mabie. As an ora- tor he is popular in the same sense that Mr. Everett was. He pos- sesses more humor than Everett. But in his self command, in his reserve force, in the purity of his language, in his quiet intensity and refinement of appearance on the platform, he belongs to the same school, and to-day heads it. In dignity of bearing, in clearness of expression, in the fin- ish of his sentences, in the charm of his manner, Mr. Mabie is a model for all public speakers. Each season on the lecture platform has more firmly estab- lished his position as one of the foremost essayists, critics, and orators of this country. He has addressed and delighted the most cultivated audiences wherever he has appeared, and re- calls liave been numerous. His lectures have been received with special favor before colleges, literary clubs, and wherever substance and form of the very highest order are appreciated. 330 ECCEXTIUCITIES OF GENIUS RALPH WALDO E:\[ERS0^^ was a favorite of the lyceum for ueaiij' toit.y yeavs. He had finished his lectuiiiijf career when I took np the Ijnsiness, but liis memory was very green to all lecture committees that thronged our office in Boston year after year, and many urgent applications were made for him to appear after he hail retired to his home at Concord. One morning Mrs. Mary A. Livermore came into our office in Boston, some what disturbed by the fact that the newsi)apers that morn- ing had announced that the publishers of the Bostmi Hci'iihl had obtained an op- tion on the Old South :Meet- ing House, and that it was to bi' torn down, as tlie socict\' was going to build a new church on the liack Bay and were to sell the old structure. At that time the Redpath Lyceum Bureau was a sort of rendezvous for the leading men and women of letters. Very soon ]Mrs. Julia Ward Howe came in, accompanied by Father Neil, a jnitii- ar('hal minister of the llaptist iirofcssion, whose great wlute beard hung down to the skirts of his gaiments. There was a .gencraf feeling of indignation ex]n-ess(Hl In* every one present tliat this great ])ile was to lie desiu'rated or demolished, ^fr. Redpath came in late, and about the first word he uttered ^^'as: "Do you see the Old South Churcli is to go? It is sold to the Ill-mill coni]i;liiy . " Tliere was more nulignatiou generally expressed, and iMr. ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 331 Redpath went out to see the parties and to ascertain if the report was true. When he returned he reported that it was a fact that the parties had the option for sixty days, but were willing to release it if the citizens wished to preserve it. Then and there was an organization formed or talked of for the preservation of the church, and it was decided to get up an entertainment. Before the day was over some ladies came in and announced to IMr. Redpath that they were going to make the attempt to preserve the old pile, and thought of giving an entertainment in the church as soon as possible in order to start a fund for its preservation. What could the Redpath Bureau furnish that would draw a crowd that would pay a good price? We thought it all over, and it was decided to try Mr. Emerson, as he had not lectured in Boston for a number of years. It was my fortune to be sent to Concord, at Mr. Redpath' s suggestion, to see if Mr. Emerson would come in and give us a lecture. I went out and met the dear old man at the Manse House. He greeted me very cordially and gladly accepted the invitation to come in and lecture. The date was fixed; it was advertised in the newspapers ; tickets were put out at from one to three dollars, and many of the Boston ladies sold them. The afternoon for the lecture came. The Old Soi-ith was filled with as choice an audience of the blue blood of Boston as has ever assembled in that old chapel. Mr. Emerson came in and was introduced by Father Neil. As he began reading his lec- ture the audience was very attentive. After a few moments lie lost his place, and his grand-daughter, sitting in the front row of seats, gently stepped toward him and reminded him that he was lecturing. He saw at once that he was wandering, and with the most charming, characteristic, apologetic bow he resumed his place — an incident that seemed to affect the audi- ence more than anything that could possibly have occurred. A few moments later he took a piece of manuscript in his hand, and turning around with it, laid it on a side table. Just then one of the audience said to me (I think it was Mrs. Livermore or Mrs. Howe), "Please have the audience 332 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS pass right out," and rushing up to Mr. Emerson, said, "Thank you so much for that delightful lecture,'' then turning around, waved the audience to go out. He probably had been speaking about fifteen minutes. The audience passed out, many of them in tears. It was one of the most pathetic sights that I ever witnessed. It did not at- tract very much attention just then, and I never read any account of it in the newspapers. I suppose it was out of love and veneration for the dear man that the incident did not receive public mention, but there must be a great many still alive who were witnesses of that memorable scene. It was lialph Waldo Emerson's last public appearance. i.- ::'ril7t)\ WILLIAM DEAN HOWELLS ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 333 TT7ILLIAM DEAN HOWELLS, Mark Twain always in- V V sisted, would be a success on the platform if he would ever consent to go lecturing, and on that recommendation, more than my love for his books, few of which I have ever read, I have used my persuasive eloquence on him more than on any other American author. I had other reasons for im- portuning Mr. Howells. One was because so many applica- tions had come to me, year after year, from lyceums in all parts of the country, urging me to secure him and expressing wonder that he should refuse. Another was that every visit to the popular novelist increased my faith in the ultimate suc- cess of my object. He was always cordial and polite and seemmgly pleased that there was so much of a desire on the part of the public to see and hear him, not knowing whether he could entertain them or not. He always seemed to reason very encouragingly from a business standpoint, going into de- tails of probable results from a tour of from fifty to one hundred lectures, as compared with what he could earn by writing dur- ing the same length of time. He would like to try it, but there was the risk of health, and of giving up a certainty for what seemed to him an uncertainty. He felt sure that he could prepare a lecture that would please the people and give much information concerning the mysteries of his craft that he could not impart so well in any other way. He was more or less pessimistic concerning himself. Finally there was some prospective change at Harper's Weekly, to which he had regularly contributed so long, and to my delight, in the spring of 1899, he informed me that he would accept my offer, and that I might book fifty engagements for him to lecture, not more than four times a week, and not to go farther west than Kansas or Iowa. I think I never made an announcement that gave me more real inward satisfaction, for in all the years of my pursual of him I had come to learn 334 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS his painstaking habit of devotion to his work, and that what- ever he attempted would be sure of success. When Mark Twain learned that Mr. Howells had at last consented to undertake a lecture tour, he wrote me : " I am glad you have corralled Howells. He' s a most siaful man, and I always knew God would send him to the platform if he didn't behave." He went to his country place in Maine to prepare his lec- tures. I received frequent letters from him. telling me that he was taking easily to the work, and that I might feel satis- fied that his lecture would meet the public approval. His first lecture, "The Heroes and Heroines of Fiction," was given at my house. His first public lecture was in Ypsilanti, Mich., for I had planned to make the long rides and distant cities before cold weather set in. Prevented by sickness from accompanying him myself, I sent another gentleman with him. in my stead, and together they made a tour of the principal cities of the middle West. The newspaper criticisms of Mr. HoweUs' lec- tures were fine, and everywhere that he went he found large and enthusiastic audiences. He endeared himself to his hearers. A gentleman in Des Moines, la., after Mr. Howells' lecture there, sat down and wrote me a letter, from which I quote : "Dear Me. Pond: "I am led to address you in this familiar way out of the enthusiastic jDleasure which I have enjoyed over the visit of Mr. Howells, and I have thought it would be pleasing to you to know that his reception here was enthusiastic and apprecia- tive. It was my good fortune to have him, with President McLean of the State University, and Major Byers of this city, at a little one o'clock lunch at my home on Wednesday, 1st inst., and his stay there will always be remembered by us as a delight. He is one of the sweetest tempered and most lov- able men that I have ever known. The trait which, perhaps, first becomes noticeable when you have met him is his absolute honesty and faithfulness to the truth, and he carried out this principle in his lecture by making it not alone an effort to please, but by giving us an hotir of the most valuable instruc- ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 335 tion. It is not necessary for me to enlarge upon the impor- tance of this in a day so prolific of novels, and when it is so important that our novel reading should be well directed. Mr. Howells created a splendid impression in Des Moines, and has left the literary life of our city decidedly the better for his presence." The cordiality of the people he met throughout those mid- dle Western States was almost too much for Mr. Howells. He wrote me from Emporia, Kansas : "I had a great house — 1,300 or 1,400 — last night here, and only less quick and keen than in Topeka, where it was perfect. But I cannot stand the racket. I cannot sleep with- out drugs, and I will ask you not to make any more dates for me -after Hamilton, if you can get me there ; for I cannot promise to fill these; and I don't want to disappoint people. It is the kindness (as I foresaw) that kills. I cannot refuse people's hospitality, and it is simply disastrous." On his return to New York he brought up the subject again, by writing me : " The trouble with lecturing is the social side, which is es- sentially a part of it, and a very pleasant part. If I could lecture every night (which I cannot) and arrive every day too late for an afternoon reception, and get away as soon as I read my paper, it would be fine, but that is impossible." This tour, I believe, brought a great deal of pleasure and profit to the novel-reading public (and whom does that term not include?) who had their first opportunity to hear the great- est realist in American fiction explain the technique of his profession. It seems, too, that some of the experiences were an education to Mr. Howells, who wrote me : " G-rinnell was my first glimpse of the real West, and it is simply stupendous. The beauty and richness of the country are marvellous. Co-education is the true thing for the West. I have never met brighter minds than among the women mem- bers of the faculty. What charming people, all ! " But he got homesick for New York and his desk, and some weeks before the tour was completed, he countermanded his 336 ^ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS request to make engagements for him only every other day, and asked me to crowd in all the dates possible in November, so as to let him off early in December. Although in haste to escape from what he termed "the worst slavery I ever imagined," and to get back to his writing, he called a halt at Hamilton, Ohio, the town of his early boyhood. How much human nature and " boy " nature the following few words reveal : "Hamilton is my ' Boy's Town ' and I wish to go there on almost any terms. I could lecture there the night after Cin- cinnati, and I should like a day off there afterward. " He did stop off there, and preceding his regular lecture on "The Novel and Novel Writing," he delighted the people of Hamilton with some of his autobiographical remmiscenees. The town was proud of him, if one may judge from the ex- tended reports that appeared in the local papers. I have since made several attempts to induce Mr. Howells to fill lecture engagements and thus give pleasure to the many people who are constantly applying to me for him, but his prejudice against the platform seems adamantine. Here is a record of one such futile attempt : (Diet.) "May 24, 1900. " My Dear Mr. Howells : "Will you go to Wibnington, Del., and lecture for $350? I should think it would be splendid recreation for you. There are a great many people who have died for the want of platform ozone. " Sincerely yours, " J. B. Poxn. "Mr. W. D. Howells, 40 West 59th St., N. Y." "40 West 59th St., May 24, 1900. "My Dear Major: "I am not quite hungry enough yet. But I appreciate your kindness, and I wonder at Wilmington. " Yours truly, "W. D. HOWKLLS." ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 337 I wanted to say something of Mr. Howells — better than I knew how to write — so I asked my friend, Mr. George W. Cable, to write it for me, and here is what he has to say : Nearly twenty years ago, Mr. Thomas Sargent Perry wrote of Mr. Howells : " He has made over the American novel, • taught it gracefulness and compactness, and has given it a place in literature along with the best of modern work." This was far from the first word of praise and appreciation evoked by Mr. Howells, who, as editor of a leading literary magazine, as poet and as novelist, had already firmly estab- lished himself in the ranks of the writers of to-day. And since his name first became known it has grown constantly more familiar and more loved, until to-day it is regarded as that of the most typically American of American writers, without a rival in his particular field of work. This field of work has been the subject of more or less dis- cussion among his readers, regardiirg its merits and demerits. But however much discussion there may be, as to the subject he has chosen, there can be absolutely no doubt as to the ex,- cellency of his treatment of it. He has chosen, as Thomas Wentworth Higginson tells us : " To look away from great passions, and rather to elevate the commonplace by minute touches." He began by throwing aside all the meaningless conventionalities that then hung around the novel, boldly as- sertuig that, " As for him, he was a snapper-up of unconsid- ered trifles — an observer and a portrayer of the trivial com- monplaces of life." Yet in truth he is far more than this; to quote Mr. Perry again, Mr. Howells touches the reader's shoulder and points out the beauty hidden in simple actions, the pathos lurking beneath seemingly indifferent words— in short, the humanity of life." To " paint the thing as he sees it " has been and is ever Mr. Howells' s chief aim in his work. And because of his patient, conscientious adherence to this principle, he gives us life, his characters are not puppets, conjured from a wild imagination and moved mechanically by strings, but living, human men 338 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS and women, such as we meet any and every day — very ordi- nary, perhaps, and at times even uninteresting, except that, as Browning has it : "We're made so that we love First when we see them painted, things we've passed Perhaps a hundred times nor cared to see." It is as the leading exponent of realism in art that Mr. Howells stands to-day — for realism as opposed to romanticism, for living interest in the world around us instead of a vague, fanciful dreaming about the past. Mr. Howells himself has told us that we cannot have romanticism back because we live now in an age of hopeful doing and striving, not of mere dreaming. " Like Tolstoi and Ibsen," some one has written of him, "his types are drawn directly from the reality he knows, and have no prototypes in fiction. All romantic traditions are discarded and the story moves on, not only with the strictest regard for probability, but with the inevitableness of life itself." His " heavenly scorn " for conventions and traditions, for all that is second hand or sham, and his conscientious desire to set forth the truth and to show us life as he knows it, are the fundamental bases of his success. Yet I think he has become endeared to the American people even more through his pure, unqualified Americanism — his "contemporaneous- ness," as Boyesen calls it, when he says, "That good-natured disrespect toward the past, that humorous tolerance of amus- ing shams, that large-hearted sympathy and kindliness toward all humanity, which are the most characteristic qualities of the American people, have never before found so typical a representative in American literature." His men and women are not only real men and women of to-day, they are Ameri- can men and women ; and if he has been censured for giving us frivolous, inconsequent, nervously silly women, it is, as some one has said, because, "the vain and weak women intrude themselves a good deal in real life, while the Olive Hallecks and Penelope Laphams are content to keep a post of quiet ob- ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 339 servation farther back." His fine, pure, unselfish, women are not wanting any more than are his strong, noble men. He is too keen an observer to fail to recognize their existence even in the " every-day world " that he depicts, but his all-pervad- ing humor ferrets out weakness and inconsequence and folly, exposing them, not in an unfriendly way, but with a generous, sympathetic smile that makes even his victims smile with him. Still, even this kindly humor is far less noticeable in his later work than in his early writing. It has rather broadened into a large human sympathy, a genial love of his kind, and a keen appreciation of their merits as well as of their faults. When he moralizes, as he sometimes does, it is, as some one has said, in an " open and fearless treatment of the living prob- lems of the hour. . . . Underlying each of his later works is the thought of a perfect brotherhood. " To quote Thomas Sargent Perry again, than whose appre- ciation of Mr. HowelLs I know of none finer ; " That he has delighted us all, we all know. He has shown us how genu- ine, how full of romance, is the life about us which seems sordid and has a fine reputation for sordidness. It is the tone of the author's mind that makes the mark upon that of the reader, and who that knows Mr. Howells's work does not feel that he learns new sympathies and gentler judgment from his generosity and careful study? " Mr. Howells is not only one of the most prolific of all im- aginative American writers of the first rank, but within the last ten years or so he has come to be regarded as one of the foremost authorities, if not the very first, in the criticism of current poetry and romance. Hundreds of thousands of readers put themselves under the inspiration and leading of his printed talks upon books and writers of the day, and while he has been to our vast reading public one of the least seen of literary Americans, no portrait is better known than his, no man's utterance upon any subject of literary value is more widely or eagerly considered. All the more emphatically is this latter statement true of the subjects he has now chosen for his public lectures. These themes are peculiarly his own, 340 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS and the opportunity to see the very face and hear the living voice of the man himself is one that, it may safely be pre- dicted, the whole book -loving element of American society will avail itself of with a keen and affectionate delight. G. W. Cable. Northampton, Mass., July, '99. I want Mr. Howells to live to a good old age, as long as the great war horses of the platform lived. The people want to see and hear him most of all. Here is what his friend, JMark Twain, said of lecturing at the close of the American end of his tour around the world : "Lecturing is gymnastics, chest-expander, medicine, mind healer, blues destroyer, all in one. I am twice as well as I was when I started out. I have gained nine pounds in twenty- eight days, and expect to weigh six hundred before January. I haven't had a blue day in all the twenty-eight." ECCEXTlilCITIES OF IJEXIUS 341 C-^EOKGE WILLIAM CURTIS lias filled, as no other J Ameiicau man of letters of this generation, the ideal iif clear intellect, pure taste, moral purpose, chivalry of feel- ing, and personal refinement and grace. The grace and cul- ture he possessed were as natui'al as his courtesy and his faith in mankind. They were ingrained as part of his being, ^^•rought into e'S'ery strain and making the strands of his every-da}' life. From the moment of his entrance into public life as a speaker, now nearly fifty years ago, he entirely satis- fied the higher conception of purity, dignity, and sweet- ness. He was a lecturer of lieautiful jjresence and was superbly artificial, yet this artificiality was natural. His hair and beard were a lieautiful silver-gray, his face was pale, his manner studied, his voice cultivated. It was as enjoyable to hear him as to listen to an oj^era, and was a lesson in grand man- lu-'vs and elocution. His voice, like his manners and appearance on 'he platform, was ideal — clear, bell-like, silvery. He could be heard in the largest of halls without apparently any special effort. It was a delight to listen ; every syllable was distinct, yet there was no strain. The enunciation was perfect. The matter of his speeches was like the sound, perfect in sense, clear in mean- ing, as gi-acefid as the sjieaking, and always carrying the sense of conviction to the hearers. 342 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS A gentleman, and exclusive in bearing, Curtis was, never- theless, profoundly democratic. He believed in his fellow- men — that was the essence of his democracy — and, like Wen- dell Phillips, he illustrated in his manners and greeting that the noblest refinement was in all senses a part of the most complete faith in republican doctriae and in the essential equality of human beings. For twenty years Mr. Curtis com- manded the highest fees— about the same as Gough, Beecher, and Phillips. He always read his lectures from carefully prepared manuscripts. MISCELLANEOUS ECCENTBlClTlJiH OF OJiNlUS •m: HENRY WATTEES<")X I liave known for tlio twenty-iive years that lie lias Ixn-n coining t(j tlie E\'('i-ett House, Ni'w Viii-1<. i think 1 know liim better than many of those \\'lio eoiuit themselves intimate aequaintances ami friends. .My office has Leen his headquarters most of that time, where he has been in the habit of meeting all classes of political leaders, newspaper mana- gers, and editors, and where have been discussed all pm- gressive schemes in tlc^ in- terest of telegraph news. ])riiiting machinery, pajier manufaeture, and advance- ment in industry of all kinds, political, social, scientitic, and for the general good in all directions. A Democratic leader and editiir of the ncist intiueii- tial iia}ier in the. Simth, he lias counted such men as (Ireeley, E.ayiiKjiid, dames, Whitelaw Eeid, Dana, McGill, and John Swintou among his nearest friends and ad\'isers. He was looked upon by his political opponents as one of the safest of their advis- ers. I think I-lenry Watterson has had the entree to the White Hriuse during every administration since Grant's, ex- cepting Hayes, although I hardly think he and President Cleveland were over fond of each other. There are C(jnditions under which a close friend of the Oolo- iiel can learn all about him — his remarkable social experi- ences, especially among the men and women of the lyric; and dramatic stage. At one time he knew every great actor, ac- 346 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS tress, singer, and manager in the English-speaking ■world, and they were all his friends. Colonel Watterson has been a successful lecturer during the last two decades and has covered as much territory as any other man. He is equally popular in New England and in the South ; is a favorite in Texas, California, Arkansas, Kan- sas, Iowa, and all the Western States. He has given his lec- ture on " Abraham Lincoln " before crowded houses in South- ern cities where, when he was a rebel captain, he would joyfully have directed the Federal President's execution. Until 1894 he conducted the councils of his party in all national convent! ons, and has wielded an influence more po- tent in the advancement of the Democratic party than any other man of his time. He is a charming man personally, honest, kind-hearted, and sincere in every way (except at poker : I have known him to rake in all the chips in a three-round jack-pot, and raise out five good players— a Vice-President of the United States, a governor of a State, and three United States Senators— on a bobtail flush). His friends are legion. As a public speaker I think he is as bad as he is charming in private conversation. The secret of his universal popularity is his own magnificent self. ECCENTRICITIES OE GENIUS 347 TlIP] HON. AVILLTAM I'ARSOXS, a Duljlm barrister, 1VUS a s[ilemlid re i)i'eseiit.ative of a scliool of literary and historical lecturers, who, like Dr. Joliii Lord, followed the platform as a profession. Taking hini all in all, IMr. Parsons was decidedly the most satis- factory man to manager and audiences alike that has eonie from aliroad. His taking |iresence, charming manners, and well-e(_iuipped Ijrain, ad- iidi-ahly furnished, his ease of sjieech and pleasant, well- traineil \'i)ice, together with his I'eady Avit and careful scholarship, made him a favor- ite always during the twelve 3-eai's he was continuoush' coming liere for the lecture season. l>ut his voice was his hest tool ; it never wore on himself or tired his hearers. Fi'om 1873 to 1884, the Hon. A^'illiam Parsons made annual lecture tours in America. Next to Gough, he was aliout the first one to he booked for the following season wherever he appeared. Generally he returned after the close of a lecture tour witli his time for the following season all Imoked solid and contracts in his pocket. His lectures were biographical. .348 ECCENTRICITIES OF GEKIUS \T;^ILLTA:\[ E. GLADSTOXE couia net be prevailed V iiijuu to undertake a lectin's tour in Ameiica. I made Imu a tiual otter of £'4, 000 tni- twenty lectures. Of course he did not accept it; yet, if he had only known the reception he would have gotten in America, and the anxious, almost fever- ish desire that there was on the part of the people to see and hear him, I think he would have Ijeeu iii(dined to run across. There is no audi- torium in this cDunti'v that he could not have hlled nightly at log jirices. lint jiossibly the fear also of the leception may ha\e influenced his uega- ti\'e. It certainly did aft'ect .Idlin I'lright in the series of reliisals he made to uiy sev- eial su,L;\L;esti(His. 1 met ls\r. ( iladstone three times at his lunne ui Lnndun and sulimittcd propositions for a tour of fifty lectures. He did m)t discourage me at first, but later on sauI that he thought he was too (d hear "the great humbug," Barnuni. T remember Darling's Hall was packed. Tlie women speakers, to nij' eye, seemed very beautiful. I remember that the hair of one liung in long ringlets down each side of her face and neck, and her shoulders and arms were bare 1 She was very j)ieturesque. Then came the first gentleman, whom I diibi't care for; but at last came Bariium, "tlie humbug." The first handclap- ping and cheers that I ever remember hearing were for Bar- nuni. I didn't understand ^\•]lat it was all about. A hand- some, medium-sized man, in dark trousers, white vest, and a BCC1SNTRICITIE8 OF GENIUS 351 black sack coat, smooth shaven, with a wealth of curly black hair, and a smile all over his face, stepped forward on the platform. He prefaced his remarks by saying : "Yes, I am a 'humbug,' but the cause which I have cham- pioned in company with these friends is sincere. That is no humbug. I have consented to accompany them throughout your State to help, if possible, in establishing a law in this young State that may save thousands and tens of thousands from ruin. You have laws for the prevention of murder and of theft and of all other crimes, but no law for the prevention of a man's stealing and wasting his earnings in strong drink and impoverishing his family." He made a very eloquent appeal to our people, and closed his speech by reassuring his friends that he was no humbug, "but look out next year. I expect to send a show into this country. Then you may get humbugged." He retired with more cheers and applause. The next year Barnum's woolly horse was exhibited throughout the West, and everybody was humbugged. My father, at great sacrifice, took all his family, and all the settlement did likewise. I didn't see him after that until 1875 or 1876. While I was associated with Mr. Eedpath in Boston I en- gaged Mr. Bamum to give twenty lectures on temperance in New England, paying him $2,000 and his expenses. His first lecture was in. Music Hall, Boston, in the Eedpath Lyceum Course, before a very large audience. The day he arrived at Boston I met him and Mrs. Barnum, his new young wife, at the station. Each had small hand- bags. I asked him if he had any large baggage. He said they had none, excepting what they carried in their hands. I started to pilot them to a carriage, when Mr. Barnum said : " We wUl walk to the Parker House. It is not necessary to go to the expense of a carriage." I accompanied him. on his tour through New England, where he lectured in all the large towns, and he would never allow his manager to incur an extra expense for any unnecessary comfort. He was the most pru- dently economical man that I have ever known. It made no 352 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS difference to him who paid the expenses. If they were mmec- essary, he didn't want them iacurred. Invariably he walked from the station to the hotel. In business relations with him afterward I found that same rigid economy in all his dealings. He told me that the large full sheet lithograph of his own head cost him a little less than a cent and a half each ; I could not have got them at the time for less than eight cents. He also told me that his book, "The Life of P. T. Barnum," a bound volume of several hundred pages, was printed in Buf- falo, and cost him a trifle over nine cents each and sold for a dollar ; but he bought a million copies both of the book and of his lithograph. He always arranged to have his colored show bills made so as to answer the same purpose from one year to another. He seldom had a new drawing made, but, with the introduction of modern type descriptive bills, he could border the old colored posters and make a fine display. He had bill- posting reduced to a fine art. He claimed that there was only one liquid a man could use in excessive quantities without being swallowed up by it, and that was printer's ink. His house in Bridgeport was a museum of itself. All the gems of the old museum that were of extraordmary interest as curios were to be seen there. Although he cared nothing es- pecially for rare paintings, the things that he gathered about him seemed designed to attract the eye rather than the ear or the finer qualities of the mind. His band was composed of the cheapest musicians that could be hired. For his side shows he engaged people personally. I remember a man who had a special act of some kind that rather attracted Barnum's interest as a feature for a side show. The man spoke of a woman he knew with whom he did a double act which made a great hit. Mr. Barnum at once asked if she were his wife. The man said, "No." " Well, " says Barnum, " you must fix that. You will have to make arrangements to occupy the same berth in the sleep- ing car. We put four people in a section." Once I told Mr. Barnum of an experience a friend of mine had at his show in Milwaukee. There was a big crowd around ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 353 the ticket wagon, but he got through it and called for eight tickets, holding out a $50 bill to the agent, ■who seized it, handed him. eight tickets and a wad of money. After he got out of the crowd and counted his money he found that he was $20 short, and of course that spoiled the enjoyment of the show for' him. He seated his party, went back, and waited for an opportunity to get to the box office. The ticket seller just politely bluffed him off, insisting that he got his right change, and one or two "bouncers" around the office hustled the man away. Of course there was no recourse for him whatever. The story seemed to make no impression on Barnum at all. He simply said, " That was nothing; my man pays $5,000 a year for the privilege of selling tickets at my show." I asked him if that was the custom, and he said it was with all circuses and big shows on the road ; that the privilege of selling tick- ets was awarded to the highest bidder. For years he had never let it for less than $2,500. I afterward learned that that was indeed the custom. Mr. Barnum frequently gave me passes to his show, written out in his own handwriting and always on the cheapest kind of paper. I wish I had kept some of them. I have had as many as a dozen of them in my pocket at one time. He and I were one day sitting in the show in Boston a few minutes before the time for the performance to begin. The show peddlers came along crying, " Lemonade ! Lemonade ! " and, not recognizing Mr. Barnum, shouted in his face. Mr. Barnum said to them : "Go to the other part of the show. I don't want you to peddle these things anywhere within my hearing." That afternoon one of the Amazons in the great Amazon march, which was a feature that year, was run over and killed by a chariot near the entrance of the ring. Mr. Barnum did not move, and I said : "That is dreadful, isn't it? " "Oh," he replied, "there is another waiting for a place. It is rather a benefit than a loss." I think I never knew a more heartless man or one who 354 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS knew the value and possibilities of a dollar more than P. T. Barnum. I am told he left a very handsome fortune. He cut always with a gold knife. A more plausible, pleasant- speaking man was never heard. It was as good as the show itself to listen to him in conversation. He was familiar with every slightest detail of his great performance. I said to him once : " You utilized Jumbo's stampede in the Zoological Gardens, London, to pretty good advantage as an advertisement. " Barnum replied : " We did nothing. We could not help it. I had been to a thousand dollars' expense sending men to In- dia, and had sketches made of the scene of eapturiag this im- mense beast, and had started my man to Buffalo with draw- ings and orders for the printiag when I saw in the papers that Jumbo refused to leave the garden, and that there was a general uprising of the children of London, who were makrag a protest against his going. I had a cable proposition to buy him back, but I didn't sell. It never cost me a cent to ad- vertise Jumbo. It was the ' greatest free advertising I ever heard of." ECCENTRICITIES OE GENIUS 355 MK. GEOEGE H. DANIELS, general passenger agent of the Xew York Central & Hudson Eiver liailroad, is a many-sided man wlio lias added a new siiltject to tlie lecture platform. It is somewhat surprising that although almost every con- ceivable phase of art, literature, science, invention, ailventure, and philanthropy has been treated by lyceum lecturers, the almost limitless subject of tlie evolution of facilities for rapid and luxurious travtd lias Ijeen neglected. Yet it is a subject in which the great travelling ])uljlic is much interested. The development of the means of travel and commerce is so universally a pai-t rif daily lifi.' that we do lujt stop to realize the causes of tlie tremendous strides wliich have Ijeen made in these fields within a single lifetime. It remained for Mr. Daniels to introduce us to tliis interesting suljject. Early in the Civil War ]\Ir. Daniels left the pulilic scliool in Aurora, 111. , and enlisted in the marine artillery of New York, going to North Carolina with the Iturnside expedition, later becoming a government steamboat pilot for the inland waters of N(jrth Carolina and Virginia, serving in that capacity until the close of tlie war. After the war he became connected with Western railroads and has grown up in the transportation business, so that he has not only oljserved, liut lias had an important part in its de- velopment. In his sjiecial department he has shown a com- bination of rare executive ability which amounts almost to 356 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS genius. He is original in his way of doing things and is full of new and progressive schemes. Besides this, Mr. Daniels is a man of excellent literary ability, as well as originality of thought — a rare combination of qualities. His speeches are concise and to the point and crowded with information. He is the man to address railroad assemblies on all sorts of occasions, and is one of the most brilliant of speak- ers. If our lyceum managers could realize the great educative influence such lectures would have upon their community, they would not be long in restoring the lyceum platform to its origi- nal position when it stood for genius, ability, and education. In spite of his brilliant qualities as a writer and speaker, Mr. Daniels is satisfied with the very highest position in his profession, and is not ambitious to fill any other niche of pub- lie eminence. He has risen by sheer ability to the high posi- tion which he now occupies in his special line, and is con- tented to remain the "right file in the front rank," with the largest income of any general passenger agent in the world. Mr. Daniels, it is expected, will soon convey passengers from New York to Chicago between sunrise and sunset, via the New York Central Railroad. ECCEXTUICiTlK^ OF (lEXlUS 357 ME,. ED. HEKOX-ALLEN, who is now a barrister in London, was one of tlie most unique as well as most remarkable successes iu the way of a lyceuni novelty that I ever discovered. He came to me while I was iu Loudon with Mr. ISeecher in 18SG, and showed me a little book which he had written on the science of the hand. He at once impressed me as one of the most dashing and attractive yorrng gentle- men I had ever met, and I found that he was a favorite with many of the swell clubs and litei'ary societies. He was a young man ivith tremeirdous assurance, which at once inspired con- fidence on the pjart of whom- ever he met. H e wished to go to America and give lessons and lectures on the science of the hand, and went so far as to propose that he would hire a hall and give his lecture that I might judge of it for myself. He did so, and Mr. Beecher and I, with a numljer of his friends, attended the lecture in Hempstead, London. When he was eighteen years of age he was seut to the con- tinent to secure a collection of violins and other stringed in- struments for the Colonial Exhibition iu Loudon. His expe- dition was very successful, and he became so intensely enam- ored of his work that he wrote a book on violiir making, which is now a standard authority on the subject for all violin mak- ers. He seemed possessed of many most remarkable gifts. 358 ECGENTBICITIES OF GJENIUS Arrangements "were completed, and lie caxae to America on the same steamer on which. Mr. and Mrs. Beecher, my broth- er, and I returned. He was the most popular man on the boat, improvising a number of brilliant social affairs that added to the pleasure of the voyagers. On his arrival in New York, he took an extensive suite of parlors at the Everett House, and held a press reception, at which he examined the hands of many of the reporters and their friends, including several men of distinction, and wrote descriptions of the characters of many, to the wonder and ad- miration of his auditors. Within a week he was a favorite in New York's best society. He sent out his cards announcing that he would give lessons in the science of the hand, with charts and written descrip- tions accompanying them. One leading young ladies' school in New York arranged for seventy sittings of pupils, each of whom paid ten dollars. Their hands were examined, charts made, and a description of their character was written out, Ed. Heron- Allen was indeed a very busy young man. He em- ployed a stenographer to take down his descriptions of the hands and write them out to accompany the printed charts in which he himself inserted th^ lines of the hands he examiaed. He found a stenographer who could take down his descrip- tions with such accuracy that when he had finished his exami- nations the chart and descriptive paper were ready to hand over to the pupil enclosed in a cardboard roller and tied with a tasty bow of various-colored ribbons. In this way he was kept very busy for a number of weeks, and would often come down to my oiSce at the close of a day's work and turn in from $100 to $160 in cash, which he had taken in from visi- tors in a single day. He served a five-o'clock tea in his parlors every day, at which his fair pupils invariably assisted. In fact, it became a regular custom for the daily papers, under the head of "What is Going On in Society," to announce the name of the lady who was to "pour tea" at Ed. Heron- Allen's seance that day. ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 359 NotwithstaDiding the peculiarity of his profession, he had the entree to the very best families of New York. It was not long before there arose a jealousy of him among the young men of New York, and a great many of them were much opposed to him, but that made no difference to him. He was a favorite, and he knew it. He kept right along making friends and money. He went to Boston and repeated his successes there, with headc[uarters at the Vendome. Mrs. Jack Gardner took him up, which of course made him a social attraction there. Then he went to Chicago, Philadelphia, and back to New York. One day he and I, in company with a prominent citizen of Brooklyn, visited a famous violin maker in that city who was anxious to meet Mr. Heron- Allen. We found our way up to his studio or workshop, where he was hard at work ia his shirt sleeves and apron, and before him lay Ed. Heron- Allen's book on the violin. As he had not been apprised of Mr. Heron- Allen' s coming, the visit was a complete surprise ; but it was a very interesting meeting to hear those two experts discussing the mechanism of the violin, and reminded one of the oft-quoted saying, that " if you want something you must give something." Mr. Heron- Allen discovered we had a great violin maker in America, and the violin maker claimed he was greatly benefited by the visit from the man whom he consid- ered possessed the greatest knowledge of the violin of any one of his years. Cheirosophy became irksome to Ed. Heron- Allen in a short time, and he decided to turn his attention to literature. He told me that he was going to write a novel, that he had found a publisher who was to make an advance on royalties, and that he was going to try living the life of a Bohemian litterateur for two years, depending for his living entirely upon what he could make with his pen. He withdrew from society, took apartments in some obscure place in New York, and I didn't see him for some months. One morning I met him on Fourth Avenue, and he looked emaciated and hungry. He said he was going to get some breakfast. I invited him to breakfast 360 mCENTmCITIES OF GENIUS with me, but he declined, and said he was still engaged in his literary labors and depending upon them wholly for his sus- tenance. He did keep it up for two years, but came near starving to death. During that time he put out two books — one "The Kisses of Fate," the other I have forgotten. He afterward called upon me and told me that he was going back to London to take charge of his father's business, who was a well-established barrister in Soho. The season following I visited him at his office in London. He had some public position in the law courts, which I visited with him. He was not clerk of the court, but seemed in charge of the distribution of briefs and assignment of cases for the judge. He invited me inside the railing and iatro- duced me to the judge on the bench as Judge Pond of New- York, as coolly as though it were an indisputable fact. The judge welcomed me on the seat by his side, and was very chatty and agreeable to me. I managed in some way to mask my identity and to keep up the delusion until the hour for adjournment, when Mr. Heron- Allen and I walked out, he thanking the judge for his kindnsss to his friend. "When we got out on the street he nearly fainted with laughter over the practical joke and the way it had succeeded. On my last visit to London, in 1897, my wife and I dined at his house. He is happily married, owns a big establishment, has a fine profession, and has had some of the most wonderful experiences of any man I have ever known. He was a great friend of Sir Eichard Burton, who declared to me that of all the interesting and remarkable characters he had ever met, Ed. Heron- Allen was the most interesting, and suggested that he should have been a great soldier and leader of armies , His youthful appearance would lead one to believe him a mere boy. His manner and habits are those of a perfect gentle- man. Putney, London, was the home of his boyhood He was reared in affluence, and in the part of London where he lived he was known by all classes, rich and poor, as "The Pet of Putney." ECCEXTh'K'lTlKS OF (lEXIf'S o61 PATEICK SARSFIELD GILMORE was the greatest man- ager of Ids time, as well as the greatest military band- master. To him is due almost all the credit of making it possible to produce fine orchestral effects with a military band. Before his time military bauds were simply brass l)auds, and the introduction of wood instruments — the oboe, saxaphone, flute, piccolo, and clarinet — dates from the year of Gilmore's great Peace Jubilee. In 1859, in Salem, Mass., he organized Gil- more's Band, which he maintained until his death, Sept. 24, 1892. In Music Hall, Boston, Gilmore introduced the first Ijand concerts, at popular prices, that were self- sustaining. F o r years, in Boston and New England, Gilmore's Baud headed the great parades. He conceived and car- ried to a triumphant suc- cess the greatest musical jubilee festival ever known ui all the world— the World Peace Jubilee Festival of 1872, when it did seem that wars were over and all the world was at peace. The immensity of the scheme was all the product of Gilmore's brain. For over a year (1868-09) he found little encouragement. Business men scoffed at the wild idea and fairly laughed in his face at his persistence. "Finally," as he told me himself, "I found one Boston merchant who was willing to listen to me, 862 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS and as I unfolded the possibility and feasibilities of the plan and the great stimulus it would be to Boston trade, I saw- that he caught the idea and comprehended the situation. This was Mr. Eben Jordan, who then and there promised me his help. I had no trouble from that time on. Mr. Jordan raised and supplied the money. I set about the details, secured the ground, had plans for the great coliseum drawn, contracts awarded, and the work was progressing rapidly and to the sat- isfaction of all interested. The great arches were raised, and the immensity of the structure attracted much public attention. People came from far and near to see the monster auditorium that was rising above everything in Boston. I was about ready to start for Europe to secure musical talent for the event, when, one morning, I saw headlines in the papers: 'The Great Gil more Coliseum Levelled to the Ground by a Hurri- cane,' etc. I went out to the grounds and there everything lay flat. There was not a post standing. Those great arches were blown down and all was a hopeless wreck. " I did not lose my courage, but called on Mr. Jordan, -who listened to me as attentively as on the first occasion. I as- sured him that the accident was surely the most fortunate thing that could possibly have occurred. I had discovered, during the progress of this auditorium, which I had planned to seat 20,000, that it was inadequate, as the public attention which it was attracting warranted the fitting up of a building with three times that capacity. I was receiving orders from one end of the country to the other for blocks of seats, thou- sands of applications from singers to join the chorus, and there was not a military band leader in the country but had applied to join the great orchestra. We must have an audi- torium with a capacity of 50,000 — nothing less. I got that committee together, and before I slept that night had new plans matured and ready to announce the next morning. " New life was instilled into the great project. The acci- dent had provided the sure means of success. The whole com- mvmity was heart and soul in it. The new coliseum was built. I engaged leaders, got out books of music to be used ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 363 for choruses, and within three months singers were being drilled in all the New England cities." In 1871 Mr. Gikaore visited the capitals of Europe and suc- ceeded in accomplishing what no other man could have brought about. He obtained from the governments of England, Ger- many, France, Ireland, Russia, and Italy, their national bands, all composed of enlisted men, and these bands were sent at the expense of their respective governments to take part in the World's Peace Jubilee Festival. It was interesting to hear from Mr. Gilmore's own lips the accounts of his visits to the capitals and his arguments with the heads of governments when they tried to show the absurd- ity of granting leave of absence to enlisted men to visit our free country. Naturally, they said, the men would all desert, and quite naturally, too, the Americans would offer all induce- ments for them to desert — inducements quite irresistible, if all reports were true. Mr. GiLmore replied that he would put them on their honor ; that musicians were above the average of intelligence ; they were gentlemen, and they would never desert. The fact that their sovereigns put trust in them and granted this privilege, would test their honor and their pride. He proposed to make a competitive international military band tournament, and every musician would feel bound to see his band bring home the prize. Gihnore succeeded. Those foreign bands were a great fea- ture of the jubilee, and their respective nations took a patri- otic pride in seeing that nothing was lacking of perfect equipment for the visit. The greatest opera singer of that time was Mme. Peschka Leutiner, who was subsidized by and under contract with the German government. Consent of the German Emperor must be obtained to bring her to America. Gibnore's application for this great singer was refused. Nothing daunted, he se- cured an audience with Emperor William, and before leaving had obtained his consent, which meant an imperial order for Germany's greatest singer to take the leading part in the 364 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS World's Peace Jubilee. "I never will forget the kradness and courtesy I received from the great emperor, and the feel- ing of triumph I had as I left his august presence," said Mr. Gilmore afterward. Many an evening while on tour, over his bottle of cham- pagne after a concert (it was his custom to take a pint of champagne every night before going to bed), have I enjoyed Gilmore' s description of his successful visits to European capi- tals and the cordial receptions he had everywhere. The great Peace Jubilee was the talk of the world to a greater degree than anything that has since taken place except the World's Fair in Chicago. While the plans for it were in progress, Gilmore was con- stantly being told by musical friends that his ensemble was so large as to render impossible the harmony of 1,000 instru- ments and 10,000 voices. They would be necessarily so far apart that the time required for the sound to travel would produce discord. "I told them to wait and see," said Gilmore, "and when I stood before that orchestra and that vast chorus, on my twenty- foot elevated stand, with my ten-foot baton in my hand, and began the opening overture with one grand harmony over the great coliseum, my trium^Dh was complete. Major Pond, I would not have exchanged places with the greatest monarch living. " What a triumph ! THE WORLD'S PEACE JUBILEE IN BOSTON IN 1872. P. S. Gilmore, Director. Chorus: 10,000. Orchestra: 1,000. Orchestra leaders : Carl Zarrhan, Johann Strauss, and Dr. Tourjie. Pianist : Dr. Von Buelow. Soloists : Mme. Peschka Leutiner, Mme. Eudersdorff, and Miss Adelaide I'hillips. National bands : English, German, French, Italian, Russian, Irish, and American (the Marine Band, of Washington, D. C). ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 365 In 1873 Mr. Gilmore •went to New York with his band, which became the Twenty-second Regiment Band of that city. He remained its leader up to the time of his death and made annual concert tours all over the country. It was my privi- lege to conduct several of these tours ; in fact, I was his sole agent for booking his concerts until I was outbid by Mr. Blakely, who toured the band the four last years they were on the road. Gilmore' s Band, always one hundred strong, was at the head of aU great public parades. Its appearance along the line of march was the signal for great outbursts of ap- plause. Gilmore conceived the greatest and most popular schemes for hitting the music-loving as well as the patriotic masses. He was not a business man in the sense of loving to acquire money. In fact, he cared very little for money, but much for the fame of his band. He was a hard worker, and never left a rehearsal until everything was right. His musi- cians loved him and everybody respected him. Once he and I were walking together down Broadway and were speaking of Parnell, who was then in New York and booked to speak in the Academy of Music in Brooklyn that evening Mr. Beecher was to speak there also. Gilmore said to me: "Major, do you know Mr. Beecher real well; I mean well enough to ask a favor? I want to get a seat on the stage to- night to hear him. and Parnell, and it's too late to think of se- curing a ticket." "Do I know him? " I said. Just then I saw Mr. Beecher coming up Broadway toward us. Our eyes met, but each pretended not to see the other, and we came together co-chunk! We squared ofE at each other, and so stood a few seconds, to the surprise of passers- by. Then came Mr. Beecher' s laugh of recognition, and I said: "Mr. Beecher, to my- surprise, this man, P. S. Gilmore, says he never met you and asks if I know you well enough to introduce him to you. " "Well," said Mr. Beecher, "I know Mr. Gilmore, but it's 366 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS quite evident that a man of his fair reputation, and fane doesn't know the company he is in." Mr. Beecher invited Mr. Gil more to " come over early with Pond and take dinner, and if I get into the Academy you will." So we were there at the great Parnell meeting, and Mr. Gil more heard Mr. Beecher at his best, for that meeting is on record as an event in Mr. Beecher' s life. I went home with Mr. Beecher, and he and I sat in his din- ing-room for some time over a light supper, I listening to his conversation on the topic of the evening just past. I left him at about eleven o'clock for my home at the Everett House, New York. Mr. Gilmore then resided in New York, at 61 West 12th Street. On my way home it occurred to me that possibly Mr. Gilmore had not yet finished his bottle of cham- pagne, and so I rang his bell. It was just twelve o'clock. The colored boy opened the door and I asked if Mr. Gihnore were still up. He said, "Yes." I walked back to the dining room, and there he stood, telling Mrs. Gilmore about his expe- riences of the evening. He turned to me, saying : " Major, I'm glad you came in. I am telling Mrs. Gihaore that this evening has been the greatest of my life ; that Mr. Beecher' s speech to-night should be carved in letters of gold and placed in every schoolroom throughout the entire land." Mr. Gilmore and I were fast friends up to the time of his death. He had many eccentricities, some of which retarded his success. He was the man and the only man who should have had the direction of the musical features at the Chicago Exposition. He was ignored, and the whole affair turned out a diabolical failure, as everybody at all versed in the manage- ment of musical affairs knew and felt at that time. It broke Mr. Gilmore' s heart to see so great an opportunity lost, and I believe that was one of the causes that hastened his death. He left one of the finest musical libraries ever collected. I do not know who has it now. He had no successor. We have Sousa and his incomparable band, that is up to date and in keeping with the requirements of the time, but the two great leaders are not alike. ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 367 G-ilmore, often seen plodding in the mud through the streets of Boston at the head of a score of musicians, then conceiving and carrying to successful termination the greatest musical jubilee ever known, and making Puritan Boston bow the knee to him. Irishman and Catholic though he was. Sousa, an enlisted musician in the Marine Band at Wash- ington, becoming its leader, then, through Mr. Gilmore's for- mer manager, starred with a band of his own, and rising year after year, through the popularity of his own compositions and charming personnel as a conductor, to the highest place as a musician, bandmaster, and composer — not like Gilmore, but like what he is, and no one else can be — Sousa. 3G8 ECCENTRICITIES OE GENIUS ELBERT HUEBAED, editor of The PhUisthe, founder and owner of the Royeroft Shop in East Aurora, New York, is the most recent and unique development in the lec- ture tield. I wish that I were able to write of Mr. Hubbard as I should like, but as I cannot, I shall say nothing. He says it him- self. I hare read so many nice things of him in The Ehl/isfiiir, a few of them re- Y)rmts from other jiapers, that I think the entire euLj- gi,stic field is exhausted. I am one of the subscribers who pay for those puffs that he prints about himself. Notwithstanding all that, he is doing a mighty good work, and he is also letting the public into the secret about himself for a considera- tion . Not long ago he wrote me : " If I get down to busi- ness here and cut off all dis- tractions, I can make a name eipml to John Biuskin's or 'IMiDuias Carlyle's. lain i/n it, but 1 must keep out of sight in order to succeed. To merely talk is not to succeed, and tlie public is only a devil that takes a nn\n to the top of the mountain and then casts him on the stones beneath. So nnrke mj more lecture engagements for me." And so the lecture- going ]ml)lic will never know wlmt it has lost. (!(H)(1 bu'k to you, Elbert! jV liigh ambition is the chief Sjiur to success. Mr. Hubbard has received great praise for many of his "Lit- tle tlourm'ys to tlie Homes of Famous People, " and many of ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 369 them are truly delightful ; but, of course, visiting so many of these, he has been obliged to travel in all sorts of weather and at all seasons of the year. He must have visited the home of Eobert Burns just at the breaking up of a hard wiater or the opening up of spring, else his tracks could never have thrown up so much mud. The proportionate success of Hubbard to some of the other men of the platform may be inferred from The Philistine for April, 1900, where he says : "The week before I was in Des Moines, Dean Stubbs ex- ploited an audience in the same church. Stubbs had one hun- dred people ; I had a thousand, with just $500 in the box office, that's all. About an hour after the lecture the chair- man of the committee snipped a clove, and declared that Stubbs wasn't ia it with me — a proposition I did not argue." In a later number of The Philistine Mr. Hubbard went on to say : " I see that Dean Stubbs of Ely is out with a letter in the Pall Mall Gazette, denying that he ever said that Major Pond was the original David Harum. In this letter the Dean takes occasion to say his regard for the Major is very great, and fur- ther, that he fully endorses Hall Caine's project of placing in Westminster Abbey a memorial tablet to Major Pond. The leading literary men of England and several American authors also have made contributions for the purpose mentioned. AH those who contribute will have their names on the tablet, too, and beneath will be these words, 'It is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves.' " I was so elated to hear that the Dean had made nice mention of me, that I wrote to him, asking him to send me a copy of the Pall Mall, and here is his reply : " Of course I did not write a letter to the Pall Mall at all — on that or any other subject. I have not written a line about my American impressions in any English papers since my return, nor do I intend to do so. " With this letter from the Dean of Ely, how am I to realize my blasted hopes of being immortalized in Westmiuster Abbey? 370 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS I travelled with Mr. Hubbard on a little starring tour last spring (March, 1900). Everywhere we went he had some- thing nice to say to the porters, to the baggagemen, the hack- men, the street-car conductors, and the waiters in the hotels. He seemed incapable of hurting any one's feelings. Every- body was in love with him. His is a remarkable personality. But when he gets set down by himself with that caustic pen of his, the words of Scripture seem to take possession of him, and "Whom he loveth he chasteneth." I like the atmosphere of East Aurora and frequently visit the Eoycroft Shop. It is an object lesson in industry, frugal- ity, and nice manners. A common friend, writing from St. Louis, expresses a wonder that a man who naturally elicits so much adulation does not become conceited! Hubbard had the largest money audience of any " one-man show " in New York last winter, and the readers of The Phil- istine have been told all about it. That was his first New York audience. When the Dean of Ely gave a course of five lectures in the Lyceum Theatre, New York, the first one was not very largely attended. The second audience was larger ; the third larger still ; and at the fifth, the capacity of the house was reached. This information I give here, as my friend Hubbard has never been furnished with box-ofiice statements of that business. Yet, of the two, from a business standpoint, I would prefer the Eoycroft man for a series of one-night stands over the country in cities where he has never before appeared— and there are many such towns left. Mr. Hubbard's love of water and cleanliness is remarkable. Not satisfied with his daily morning baths, he wants them all through the day. As soon as he arrives at a hotel he must have his bath, and before starting out sight-seeing he wants another. Then on his return for luncheon he will take out his watch, and if there happens to be fifteen minutes to spare, he says, "Just time for a bath before luncheon," and off he goes for his tub. At the Eoycroft Shop he has had a number of bathrooms ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 371 built for the convenience of the employees. At first there was but one, and when Mr. Hubbard announced that any one coiild be excused from work, at any time, long enough to take a bath, the capacity of this one room was soon reached and the employees were found waiting in line for their turn. So this permission had to be withdrawn until additional bathrooms could be added. The supply of bathrooms is now adequate and appreciated, as well as remunerative, for it adds vigor and energy to the workers, and increases their earning capacity. In a sequestered bend of the brook, a few hundred yards from the back door of the Eoycroft Shop, is the Eoycroft swimming hole, which reminds the passer-by of a frog pond on a spring day, for the male Eoycrofters, old and young, can be seen and heard jumping into the water for the time being, until the curious visitor has passed beyond the range of view. "Cleanliness is godliness," says Hubbard. "This is part of our system of education. " Mr. Hubbard is without question the most amphibious man I ever knew — a sort of human sea lion— and I must say that when I saw him plunging around in the swimming hole at East Aurora, I was struck with the resemblance of his eyes to the beautiful, large, mild, liquid eyes of the California sea lion. AUTHOR READERS EDWIN ARNOLD ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 375 SIE EDWIN AENOLD is only one of many notable people ■with wliom I have enjoyed relations of a kindly and per- sonal character, but the enduring friendship with which he has honored me has been one of the pleasantest features of my whole life. Now that his public activity, in a personal sense, has ceased, one may measure his notable career by the large path- way it has blazed. He has had always the honors usually attendant upon an English literary career. Educated at two of the endowed schools, which in England are called "public," and of a legal family, he won a scholarship to University College, Oxford, where he graduated in 1854, taking in 1852 the Newdigate prize for an English poem. He was a second master in King Edward VI. School at Birmingham, but was soon appointed Principal of the G-overnment Sanscrit College at Eoona, in the Bombay Presidency, and was also made a Fellow of the Bombay University. He remaiaed until 1861, serving also as an editorial correspondent of English papers, when he returned to London as chief of the editorial staff of the London Telegraph, a position that he still holds (1900). It is certainly true, and I have had many evidences of it, that Sir Edwin Arnold has been and still is a political writer, a power to be counted with in British affairs. To him, per- haps, as political writer and Asiatic scholar and poet, is far more due the beginnings of present British Imperialism as a political condition than to either Chamberlain, as statesman, or Kipling, as singer of the " Greater Englanders." The lead- ing articles of the Telegraph have been a unique feature of that powerful journal, as much for the wide knowledge shown of imperial affairs as for the peculiarly rich and refulgent lit- erary merit they display. English editorials, though keen and incisive in logic, are usually colorless as to rhetoric and illus- tration. Arnold's leaders have been and continue the reverse of that. 376 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS His literary work and industry have also been as marked and extensive. His writings make a rich library, which cov- ers much of Asiatic life. There are ten volumes dealing with Sanscrit, Hindoo, and Persian subjects. His output has not only been splendid, but great in quantity, and one wonders how, with his unremitting daily labors on the Telegraph for the last forty years, he has been able to accomplish so much of permanent form and value. The poet-editor, like all notable workers I have known, has orderly habits and hours. His editorial room at the Telegraph office. Fleet Street, London, was a modest one, furnished in light oak ajid with walls of a soft gray tint. Sir Edwiu has kept but few books there, because he needed them little for reference, his wonderful memory having always placed dates and facts at command. Arnold has a contempt for f ussiness and keeps the newspa- per man's faculty of being able to prepare copy under any circumstances. He was always at work during the period of my personal knowledge. When on his Japanese "vaca- tion " he told me that he had " written some sixty-two columns in letters to the Telegraph, composed an epic poem longer than 'The Light of Asia,' and furnished articles besides for Scribner's Magazine that made a volume, learned to speak col- loquial Japanese, and to write the Kata Kara character." He added, "I was not so very idle, you will see. Major." "The Light of the World " went to press without his reading the last proofs, and the correctness of copy this shows is charac- teristic of all his work. His editorial " leaders " went to the printer's hand as he dropped his pen or ceased dictation. He once said : " I do not at any time force poetry. I must be thoroughly in the mood. These moods come imperatively, but very irregularly. My method is this : either I write first, and roughly, on scraps of paper, or my daughter takes it down from my dictation — she is the only one who can do so for me — as I walk up and down the room and smoke. I put the rough notes in my pocket until the next day. Then I read the verse over and over, correct and copy all out myself, alter- ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 377 ing it very much, and filling it up. These scraps I enter into a sort of day book or ledger untU. the work is nearly finished. I treat the matter thus compiled as the rough draft. I go over it myseK, polish it, and transcribe it into a second book, which may be called the poem itself, but still in a rough state. Then I copy it out again, and finally, ia a fair manuscript for the prrater. Every liae of the poem, therefore, passes through my mind three or four times. Sometimes the lines are impor- tunate and will be at once registered. Reading, smoking, driving, dressing for dinner — it does not matter how I may be then engaged, the verses will haunt and fascinate me, dance before my imagination, demanding to be fixed; and I must catch them then and there or they will go. Sometimes the right ideas will come as suddenly as if by electric message." The popularity of Sir Edwin Arnold as a poet was more widespread in the United States than in his own country when, in 1886, I first approached him with the proposition to make a reading tour on this side of the Atlantic. It is quite singu- lar to note how little personal and popular knowledge there is in Great Britain of the men who really mould intellectual thought. If we Americans do not personally know a man who has written books and sung poems for us, we do at least strive to know his face, by wide possession of a " counterfeit presentment." In our land John G-. Whittier's portrait hangs on the walls of many thousands of what the English call " middle-class " homes ; yet no English poet of equal rank finds such recognition in his own land. Tennyson and Brown- ing are far more widely known among us by their pictures than they are in England. It was a constant surprise to Sir Edwin Arnold to find himself recognized and his poems so extensively known in the United States. When he left our shores for Japan, and later resumed his editorial and literary labors at home, he was not only better known and appreciated as a poet than he was when he came to us, but he was person- ally better known to more thousands of cultivated people here than he was to scores in England. My earliest attempt to secure him for a lecture tour in this 378 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS country was unsuccessful, as the following quotation from his first letter to me shows : " 42 Denmark Villa, West Brighton, "December 31, 1886. " I thank you for the compliment conveyed in your letter of the 25th, and it is my wish and intention to visit America. It would, however, be impossible for me to go there now." The poet-editor was familiar enough with the United States, by marriage tie and several visits here, to understand our lec- ture platform and audiences, as well as our habits of travel and our needs. Mrs. Arnold was a Miss Channing of Boston. The present Lady Arnold is a member of a prominent and cul- tured Japanese family, who has become one of the most popu- lar hostesses in London. After Stanley's return to England at the conclusion of his most remarkable lecture tour (1890-91), the proposition to secure Sir Edwin was again broached, and was fully discussed between us, the Stanleys taking a very friendly interest iii the matter and declaring that they would do all in their power to influence the poet's decision. The accompanying letters show how thoroughly the great explorer fulfilled his promise, for under date of June 26, 1891, after writing relative to his pending lecture tour in Australia, he referred as follows to the Anglo- Indian poet, with whom I was then corresponding in relation to the proposed tour : " I had Edwin Arnold to lunch the other day and we all did our best to induce him to make you his agent, but I find he has already engaged himself to another man — if he lec- tures, of which he is not assured yet." This was not very encouraging, but I am not easily discom- fited. The negotiations proceeded, and an agreement was reached between the poet and myself. Stanley's generous and constant interest is shown by this letter, written Septem- ber 30, 1891 : " Yesterday Sir Edwin Arnold took tea with us, and natu- rally we talked of you and of his approaching departure for ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 379 America. I do not think you need have any fear that he will fail. He has an unusually flexible voice, which is entirely at his command, admirably suited for the drawing-room or for the platform. It is at its best to-day. The way he manages it to attract, soothe, or excite, proves that were he not a first- class poet, he would make a first-class actor. " I have often heard him. make after-dinner speeches, where- in he is different from most men. He always contrives to express graceful sentiments appropriate to the occasion, ut- tered in those benevolent tones which leave you most kindly disposed toward him. You find his speech seemingly unstud- ied — and spoken right on, pleasing to the ear, as his expres- sion charms the eye. He appears to be following a cue, which is to make every one feel pleasant and agreeable, andjbereave them of unkindiiess toward one another. At a dinner, for in- stance, you never detect in him a consciousness that he has something to say which must be said, and that he bides his time to say it, meantime silently revolving the subject. No, his speech drops sweetly on the hearing, smooth, bland, and the guests look up wistful for more, for it is so apt, so rich in thought and charity. His memory is stored with the flowers of literature and the sweetest blossoms of poesy, and they are presented to his hearers with the grace that marks the learned gentleman. " From this rapid sketch of Sir Edwin you have enough to measure him by. While he is in America he will only deem what is best in it worthy of his regard. He cannot forget that human nature is weak and vain, but he has a knack of shutting out observation of failings." It will be remembered, in passing, that Henry M. Stanley was sent to Africa by Sir Edwin's paper, the London Daily Telegraph, and by the New York Herald. I copy the last letter received from Sir Edwin before he sailed for America, as evidence of the spirit in which he came : "Daily Telegraph Office, " September 23, 1891. "Mt Deae Major Pond: " I have just received your kind and pleasant letter, and rejoice at your renewed health. I replied to it by a telegram indicating that although I cannot write anjrthing new in the way of lectures, it will be very easy to put together from my prose and verse iateresting discourses with poetical illustra- 380 BCCENTBICITIES OF GENIUS tions of ancient and modern India, Japan, etc. I enclose a rough sketch of the topics I would treat in this way. You need have no fear but that I shall hold and please your audiences. " Best thanks for your very hospitable iavitations as regards Miss Arnold. But I shall come quite alone, and shall put up at the Everett House, and always when we travel, as far as possible, at hotels. I have written to accept the very courte- ous invitation of the Lotos Club, but, as far as possible, I wish in America to preserve my time free from, social inter- ruption, and I shall ask you to help me in this. " Kindly arrange that we may commence as soon as pof5si- ble. But all these matters I gladly leave in your good hands. " There will be just time, I think, for you to send me be- fore I start some little sketch of what you have already planned. " Yours always sincerely, "Edwin AEisroLD." The engagement was for fifty "readings,"' a descriptive word inadequate to express what he gave. The term " lecture " certainly does not apply to the delightful entertainment that Sir Edwin Arnold presented. The descriptive talk which ac- companied each reading was so fresh and varied, and so full of the charm of scene and intimate knowledge, that it had almost the air of personal and fireside talks with his varied and delighted audiences. The man was felt so in it all — as traveller, observer, teacher, and poet — that you realized the atmosphere in which he had written, as well as the spirit of the poems which were its product. As he appeared to American audiences. Sir Edwin Arnold was of large frame and good stature, with an open face, strong features, expansive brow, and a broad, full, and well-rounded head, thickly covered with iron gray hair. His complexion was fair, his eyes blue, mild, and courteous in expression. His general air was one of kindness and good breeding. He was in personal manner quite free from self-consciousness, and on the platform was always absorbed in his task and by his audience. His speaking voice was melodious, excellent in compass and timbre. It was, in fact, among the very best ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 381 for use and wear that the lecture audiences had heard during twenty years. He has shown himself the respect of secur- ing a careful training for his voice, and he knows how to take care of it. It has much of the high-bred gentleness in it that made George William Curtis so great a favorite. In personal speech his English intonation was apparent, but when he read, it seemed as though the language lifted him above all such peculiarities. The modulation was perfect, and was indeed sometimes thrilling. He is one of the few poets that can both read and declaim their own poems. I was con- stantly reminded of Stanley's expression that if Arnold had not been a great writer and poet, he would most assuredly have been a great actor, for at fitting times the delivery be- came animated and dramatic. He usually held the book of selections in his hand, but sel- dom did more than glance at it; sometimes he laid it aside entirely, so that he could use gesture more freely. Occasion- ally he read from manuscript, but ordinarily he recited. The first line was enough to call up the entire poem from his phe- nomenal memory. He could repeat perfectly any poem that he had once heard. One evening in my library Sir Edwin was reclining on a lounge. I was holding a rare volume of Shake- speare, which he had been admiring and passed to me. " Now, Major," said he, " give the first line from any scene at random, and I'll give you the whole scene." I gave him a line from one of the least known of the plays, and, to my astonishment, he recited the entire scene. He told me afterward that he could recite Shakespeare from beginning to end. I believe it. It was this gift that made his readings so complete, for no public reader has ever been a more complete success, person- ally and artistically, than Sir Edwin Arnold. No better de- scription of the poet as a reader, or of his charm of voice and manner as a speaker, could be given than Stanley's words con- vey. I felt certain on reading them that our tour would be a success, as it indeed proved to be. How heartily the poet entered on his delightful task! It was, after all, a campaign of careful preparation and 382 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS hard "work, done assiduously and with the most distinct appre- hension on his part of what was due to the cordial audiences which were to give him such hearty welcome and earnest at- tention. He was a model to those who were to follow him. Begianing November 4, 1891, the tour closed February 15, ■ 1892. For seven weeks he filled completely the demands of the situation, working with unremitting patience and assiduity to make a complete success. The 21st of October, 1891, when he reached New York, was not an auspicious day for his landing in America — wind and rain all day. Yet he appeared in excellent health and very jolly. My office was the scene of another remarkable interview. Representatives from all the daily papers were there, and never has there been a more fascinated lot of re- porters than this crowd about Sir Edwin. For two hours he iaterested them, answering every conceivable question as promptly as though he had been prepared for it. He was interrogated upon all subjects, from the Whitechapel murders to the effect of the death of Parnell upon the status of the Irish factions. He discussed Kipling, "who has the magic secret of style " ; James Eussell Lowell, " the best judge of literature that he ever knew " ; and Emerson, " the ablest American writer. " He discussed Japan and theosophy. The only subject he refused to touch upon was English politics. Eichard- Watson Gilder, who was there, asked Sir Edwin if he had any favorite American poem. He replied, " ' Au-s from Arcady,' but I do not know who is the author of it." Mr. Gilder and Mr. Eobert U. Johnson, his colleague, were much pleased with his answer, for the author was their friend, H. C. Bunner, editor of Puck. When I went with Sir Edwin to Sarony's to sit for pictures, Sarony was in his element, for he found iti Sir Edwin a critic who thoroughly appreciated art. It was an interesting scene in that studio : the exhibition of Sarony's fine black and white drawings and the intelligent discussion of them. We next visited Tiffany's, and there Sir Edwin was again at home with Mr. George Kunz, the gem expert. I had to leave the two ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 383 critics, scholars, and experts for two hours and return to my work. A few days later Sir Edwin Arnold dined at our house, and after dinner entertained us with a reading from his "Light of the World," and made a great hit. My predictions o,f suc- cess were again confirmed. He is one of the most lovable and entertaining men, always even-minded and agreeable ; his tact is as invariable as his good humor, and both grow from tem- perament and quality rather than from habit or policy. On this occasion he presented Mrs. Pond with a copy of " The Light of the World, " bound in white seal, gold clasped, telling her that he had two copies bound alike, and that he had presented the other one to his queen. The inscription in the book reads : "To Mrs. Pond, with warm regards of the author." Before beginning the series of public appearances, he gave several other private readings that were most enjoyable. One evening he read a chapter from " The Light of the World " in the Everett House dining-rooms, before a select circle of friends. On another day Joseph Jefferson, W. J. Florence, St. Clair McKelway, Murat Halsted, Sir Edwin Arnold, and some of our personal friends dined with us at our house in Brooklyn. Jefferson and Elorence were playing at the Brook- lyn Academy of Music that week, and in order that we might have plenty of time, and that they should not miss their usual afternoon nap before going to the theatre, we had dinner at noon. We had a good time together. • Sir Edwin was at his best. He read selections from " Saadi in the Garden, " and some unpublished poems, to the delight of the two come- dians, who enthusiastically declared that they had never enjoyed anything more in their lives. It was after six when they left us — no sleep that afternoon. In the evening our en- tire party were in the theatre to see Jefferson and Florence in "TheEivals." The Lotos Club, on the 31st of October, honored Sir Edwin and its own members, by giving a dinner which, from the number participating and the high character of the addresses made, was generally conceded never to have been surpassed in 384 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS brilliancy in the history of the club. President Frank E. Lawrence occupied the chair, with the guest of honor on his right, and President Seth Low of Columbia College on his left. Among the other guests of the evening were George W. Childs, Eichard Henry Stoddard, Edmund Clarence Sted- man. Gen. Horace Porter, Paul Dana, Murat Halsted, E. B. Harper, W. H. McElroy, Arthur E. Bowers, Eobert Edwui Bonner, Ballard Smith, Walter P. Phillips, H. L. Ensign, Col. Thomas W. Knox, William Winter, Gen. C. H. Collis, Eich- ard Watson Gilder, Max O'Eell, St. Clair McKelway, and Col. E. C. James. The walls and alcoves were hung with emblems indicatiye of the honors borne by the club's distinguished guest. Siam- ese and Japanese flags predominated. On the wall at the poet's right hung a full-sized portrait of himself, done in cray- on by Sarony, and over the doorway which separated the parlors was draped a banneret showing the "Order of the White Elephant "—a Siamese decoration which had been con- ferred upon only four English-speaking persons : Queen Vic- toria, Sir Edwin Arnold, Gen. J. A. Halderman, and Col. Thomas W. Knox (the latter two, as it happened, being both members of the Lotos and present.) Sir Edwin wore on his breast his decorations, among which this order was conspicu- ous. Letters of regret were read from Oliver Wendell Holmes, Charles A. Dana, John G. Whittier, W. D. Howells, the Eev. John Hall, and George William Curtis. President Lawrence, in presenting the guest of the evening, referred to his many titles to distinction. " If there be one thing more than another," he said, in proposing Sir Edwin's health, " which is worth preserving in connection with the Lo- tos Club, it is our boast, for more than a score of years, to strive to be among the first to welcome to New York men of genius from foreign lands. This joyous custom has brought to our club many happy moments- — none more so than the present one. And so, when it became known that Sir Edwin Arnold was to visit our shores, it followed that the Lotos Club was to welcome him. As to his eminent graces of mind ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 385 and heart, I need not remind you or any otlier English-speak- ing people thereof. " He is, perhaps, best known to us as a poet. I should not say ' perhaps,' but that his many estimable qualities confuse me. He, more than any other man, has brought us near Asia — that Asia of which we know so little. We hear it said that the Laureate is in his declining days. We hear it asked, 'Who is to succeed him? ' Yet we know that the high stand- ard of English poetry will not die while the author of ' The Light of Asia ' lives. "But, gentlemen, it is not alone as a poet that we meet and greet him. to-night; it is as a journalist as well. Well do we remember his services as a m.oulder of public opinion in England. It was he, on behalf of the London Daily Telegraph and in connection with one of our own good Americans, who sent Stanley in search of Livingstone — all honor to that hu- mane undertaking. As a poet, as a journalist, and as a scholar ; as one who might talk to us, if he chose, in many mystical tongues, we welcome and we greet Sir Edwin Arnold. " The health of the club's guest was drunk, everybody rising and cheering. He showed the deep imipression made upon him as he gracefully bowed in acknowledgment of the cheers. His speech was one long to be remembered, both for the pleas- ing manner of delivery and for the apt and eloquent appropri- ateness of its matter. He said in part : " In rising to return my sincere thanks for the high honor done to me by this magnificent banquet, by its lavish opulence of welcome, by its goodly company, by the English so far too flattering which has been employed by the president, and by the generous warmth with which you have received my name, I should be wholly unable to sustain the heavy burden of my gratitude, but for a consideration of which I will presently speak. To-night must always be for me, indeed, a memora- ble occasion. Many a time and oft during the seven lustrums composing my life, I have had personal reason to rejoice at the splendid mistake committed by Christopher Columbus in discovering your now famous and powerful country. 386 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS " I have good reason to greet his name in memory owing, as I do, to him. the prodigious debt of a dear American wife, now with God, of children, half American and half English, of countless friends, of a large part of my literary reputation, and, to crown all, this memorable evening, Nox coenaque, Deum, which, of itself, would be enough to reward me for more than I have done, and to encourage me in a much more ardu- ous task than even that which I have undertaken. " Referring to America, he quoted the old poet, who sang : " Her likeness and brightness do shine in such splendor. That none but the stars are thought fit to attend her." He spoke of the recent passage of our international copy- right law, and half humorously suggested : " Personally I was never a fanatic on the matter. I have always rather had a tenderness for those buccaneers of the ocean of books who, in nefarious bottoms, carried my poetical goods far and wide without any charge for freight." Two of the most striking portions of his speech were his eloquent references to our common language, and to the feel- ing of kinship and unity between the great branches of the English-speaking race. " Let us all try," he said, " to keep in speech and in writing as close as we can to the pure English that Shakespeare and Milton, and in these later times Long- fellow, Emerson, Whitman, and Hawthorne have fixed. It will not be easy. Lord Tennyson recently expressed similar opinions to me when he said : It is bad for us that English will always be a spoken speech, since that means that it wi'l always be changing. The time will come when you and I will be as hard to read for the common people as Chaucer is to-day.' He then quoted Artemus Ward on Chaucer, ' The admirable poet, but as a spellist a decided failure.' " To the treasure house of that noble tongue, the United States has splendidly contributed. It would be far poorer to- day without the tender care of Longfellow, the serene and philosophic pages of Emerson, the convincing wit and clear criticism of my illustrious departed friend, James Kussell ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 387 Lowell, the Catullus-like perfection of the lyrics of Edgar Allan Poe, and the glorious, large-tempered dithyrambies of Walt Whitman." As he closed his speech, he said : "Between the two majestic sisters of the Saxon blood the hatchet of war is, please G-od, forever buried. We have no longer to prove to each other or to the world that Englishmen and Americans are high-spirited and fearless ; that English- men and Americans alike will do justice, and will have justice, and will put up with nothing else from each other and from the nations at large. Heartily, gratefully, and with a mind from which the memory of this glorious evening will never be effaced, I thank you for the very friendly and favorable omens of this banquet. " E. C. Stedman followed, paying a fine and appreciative tribute to his brother poet. President Seth Low referred to the connection of the guest of the evening with the cause of education, he having been at one time a college president. Paul Dana responded for the press. General Porter spoke as the all-round man of the world, soldier, statesman, and orator, in a speech full of wit, humor, anecdote, and hearty apprecia- tion of the guest. St. Clair McKelway made one of his bril- liant speeches, carrying the audience with him to the height of feeling and amusement rarely equalled. At the close of the banquet. Sir Edwin Arnold read his now-famous poem of "Potiphar's Wife," the manuscript of which he gave to the club as a souvenir of his visit. It is framed and hangs with his picture on the wall of the club house. This banquet will remain in the history of the literary events of New York one of the most notable ; and as one of the brightest pages to be recorded in the annals of the Lotos Club. When we went to Philadelphia we were met at the Lafay- ette Hotel by John Eussell Young, Henry Guy Carleton, and a number of newspaper men, among whom was Clark Davis, editor of the Public Ledger. It was an interesting evening. Sir Edwin read several poems, to the delight of reporters and friends present. 388 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS The following day Sir Edwin Arnold, John Eussell Young, and I went to Camden to call on the picturesque old poet Walt Whitman, who was living there in his own house. We were shown up a flight of stairs by the mistress of the house, to the bare front room, where, in the midst of a heap of news- papers, magazines, books, kindling wood, lamps, and old pic- tures, from one to six feet deep, the poet sat, in a high-backed chair, over which was thrown a goatskin robe, once white. The long hair of the poet and of the robe, and his great wide open shirt collar, made a picture unique beyond description. Back of his chair was a heap of newspapers which suggested the pile of cornstalks at an old-fashioned husking, where, when you husked the corn, the stalks and husks were thrown back over your shoulders until they formed a big stack. Walt had been accustomed to reading his morning papers and then throwing them back on this stack, until they had accumulated in this enormous mass fully as high as the back of his chair. That pile must have been the accumulation of several years. There was a different scene when the two poets, already known to each other by correspondence, exchanged greetings. They plunged into animated conversation at once, though the " good gray poet " was quite feeble. But his was a grand per- sonality indeed, as he leaned back against the deep back of his huge old rush-bottomed, wide-armed chair. Something was said of Whitman's poems, and Arnold took down "Walt Whitman's Complete Poems and Prose," a large octavo vol- ume, from a nearby shelf. 'The volume was uncut, and Whitman began looking for a paper-knife, saying, "Let me get you something to cut the leaves with. " "No, no. Never mind, Walt Whitman," replied Arnold. " I have no need to cut these leaves. I can see the first lines in the index. What poem would you like to hear? " A poem was named, and immediately the rich voice gave it vocal form, and that, too, with a perfection of rhythmic tone and shade which indicated the perfect mastery of a most diffi- cult subject. We spent an hour and a half. Sir Edwin and Walt quoting and commenting. It was a great day. l:CCENTRIClTiES OF GENIUS S8d In tlie afternoon we went to Bryn Mawr, and to Mr. George W. Childs' home, where we dined and Sir Edwin planted a tree. Here we met Mr. Clark Davis of The Ledger, Mr. Mc- Allister of Drexel Institute, Miss Thomas, dean of Bryn Mawr College, and Mrs. Childs. We then returned to the city, where the Penn Club gave Sir Edwin a grand reception. In the Philadelphia Academy of Music Sir Edwin Arnold made his first appearance on any stage. Although it was the evening of a hotly contested election, and there were bonfires and bands of music outside, and the streets were packed with crowds of excited people, we had a large house. The gross receipts were $1,317. The readings were a great success ; the audience was delighted. Arnold read two and a half hours, and held them all that time. The Philadelphia papers were enthusiastic. One critic wrote : " A grace of manner, genial presence, and a mellow, full voice are notable characteristics of the poet-scholar ; and the familiar poems which are not less known and loved in this country than in the poet's home, acquired new beauty from the author's wonderful reading of them. Without striving in the hackneyed way. Sir Edwin, by his expressive face and voice of many modulations, recites tales of love, pathos, or tragedy in a manner which many a trained actor might en'^'j'. " The first ISTew York reading, in Carnegie Hall, November 4th, was a tremendous success. I cannot recollect having ever before seen so large an audience in that hall and, for a reading, held so spellbound. The enthusiasm knew no limit. There had been a great demand for tickets for this perform- ance, and as the house was sold for the benefit of St. Mark's Hospital, Mr. A. B. de Erece, the vice-president of that asso- ciation, decided upon an auction sale of seats and boxes, which occurred in the hall on October 26th. Twenty-six boxes brought about J||il,500 premium. The great desire both to honor and to meet the poet was shown not alone in the sale of tickets, but even more in the eagerness of many people to be members of the committee of reception, which occupied seats 390 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS on the platform. Such, distinguished representatives of learn- ing and of letters were present as Edmund Clarence Stedman, Eichard H. Stoddard, Eichard Watson Gilder, William Win- ter, William Dean Howells, George William Curtis, Brander Matthews, the Hon. Seth Low, President of Columbia Univer- sity, and many others. Chauncey M. Depew, as chairman, made one of his happy speeches, referring to the event as of international significance, for " an English audience applauding James Eussell Lowell, and an American audience cheering Sir Edwin Arnold, pre- sent the unity in essentials of these great empires, and the possibilities which are before English-speaking peoples. Our language is conquering the earth. It is destined in the future to be for the East more than Buddha, ' the Light of Asia,' and to diffuse around the globe ' The Light of the World.' " The genial orator, always himself a luminous personality, made other appropriate remarks, and when the poet rose from the remarkable group of celebrities "who crowded the platform, he was cordially welcomed. His presence was a fine one for just such an occasion, and as he briefly thanked the introduc- tory speaker, he expressed the wish that the audience would do him tbs honor of encouraging the ancient and classic cus- tom of a poet's reading selections from works of his own crea- tion. Thus, from the first words, his appearance was a triumph. More than that, he was a delight. Eemcmbering other " read- ers " I had known. Sir Edwin Arnold's closing of the book he held in his hands, after one long and almost rapt glance at it, was, perhaps, the most delightful episode of the evening to me. He did not once refer to the book after that. He knew his own poems and was always accurate to the letter. He knew, too, the poems of other poets. His memory is remark- able, but his mastery of the words was no more complete than his absolute possession of the rhythm. His recitation was music itself. You felt the meaning in all the varying shades of that perfect modulation and intonation. I make no pre- tence to criticism, yet I think myself able to comprehend the capacity of a human voice. Sir Edwin Arnold's voice was, ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 391 for his purpose, a perfect instrument. The marvel was that only once before had he read in public. The following evening Sir Edwin rea,d in the Brooklyn Academy of Music before a magnificent audience, to which he was introduced by the Eev. Dr. Storrs. A Brooklyn critic wrote thus of his power of improvisation : " Sir Edwin, was not restrained by any idea of slavish fidelity to his own printed page. He gave himself up to the spirit of his poems and to the music of his verse, and his eyes were upon the audience rather than upon the book which he held. If one followed him in the text, it soon became evident that he had not prepared himself by committing the poems. There were hardly half a dozen lines in which the language was not varied. Once or twice he used a striking phrase too soon, and had to omit a line or two to avoid obvious repetitions. As he read, one wondered how a man could make the substitution he was making without breaking the rhythm or the sense, but he avoided any more serious entanglement than that of once or twice repeating a phrase." Our next point was Boston. Reporters of all the papers met us at the Parker House at about ten in the forenoon, and Sir Edwin entertained them with a delightful chat about Japan and India, closing the interview by reading a poem. He took well, and his reception by the Boston press was, in short, sim- ply a repetition of the scenes in Philadelphia and New York, though enhanced, if possible. Distinguished callers were constantly coming in, among whom were President Eliot of Harvard University, Edward Everett Hale, Oliver Wendell Homes, T. W. Higginson, John Holmes of the Herald, and Editor Clement of the Transcript. Dr. Edward Everett Hale introduced him at his first reading in Music Hall, and Col. T. W. Higginson at the second. The Herald critic grasped the true spirit of the occasion when he wrote : " The acts and tricks of the trained elocutionist were lack- ing, but in their place were a divine earnestness, a sincerity and force which would be lacking in an elocutionist. " 592 BCCHNTRICITIES OF GENIUS The, Transcript, at the end of a column and a half review, said: " The audience was simply held entranced and spellbound Hy the recital of thai impassioned ballad, ' He and She,' whose closing stanzas are : " ' The utmost wonder is this : I hear And see you, and love you, and kiss you, dear, And am your angel who was your bride. And know, though dead, I have never died. ' "The charm of presence is an especial gift of Sir Edwin's, and the entertainment was one of the most delightful ever en- joyed in this city." His readiness, his anxiety even, to vary and trighten his programme is shown in the following letter, which I received after I left Boston. It illustrates his conscientious spirit and sincere desire to meet all proper demands — a spirit which, like Sir Henry M. Stanley, he had to a marked degree : "Paeker House, Boston, Nov. 10, 1891. "My Deae Majoe Pond: " I miss you very much indeed, but Mr. Angleman is all that can be desired in the way of obliging and active friend- ship, and we had a splendid time in the City Hall, Springfield (see Republican). To-morrow I go at 10: 15 a.m. to ^Yelles- ley College, having just arranged this with one of the ladies ; and at night, to Smith College. "It is very difficult to devise a programme which does not' shut out something too good to lose. You see I must not quite fall into being merely a reciter of songs and ballads ! I am a serious and solid poet, and the people themselves like some of my graver writings. Still, I know you are right about these mixed audiences, that pieces too long waste time and strength ; so I have greatly cut down such items. The poems that always take are : "1. 'He and She.' "2. 'Egyptian Slippers.' "3. 'Eajput Nurse.' And the little beautiful Nume from ' Pearls of the Faith.' I will write on the other side my programme for to-night, and that for Wellesley College. ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 393 "For your unbounded kindness and dear Mrs. Pond's, my grateful thanks. I am too much, a Bohemian, I fear, ever to settle down again. "Yours always, "Edwin Arnold." As will be seen from the letter that I have just quoted. Sir Edwin lectured in Springfield on the evening of November 9th. A Springfield reporter wrote this striking review ; " When he [the poet] speaks in his own proper person, in preface to his poems, directly addressing his audience, the Englishman is recognized in his intonations ; but as soon as he begins to recite, he renders the English language in very beau- tiful modulation, with fitness to the characters who are intro- duced, and with rare dramatic expression. It is seldom that a reader like him is heard. The tricks of elocution are not his ; he often hesitates and pauses for a moment to recall the phrase, either from memory or from his text, but he puts the life of his deepest feeling into the recital, and the hearer drinks in the meaning with unalloyed content. The fervor of his declamation in certain passages of the talk of Pontius Pilate was thrilling; a better reading of tragedy than he gave to the story of the Kajput Nurse could hardly be ex- pected, and perhaps above these would be put the picture of 'Shah Jehan,' when he resists the temptation of the flesh through his faithfulness to Arjuna, for whom he built the Taj-Mahal." Before returning to New York, Arnold lectured with great success in Cambridgeport, Lowell, Hartford, New Haven, Utica, and Syracuse. One of the most effective descriptions appeared in a Syra- cuse daily, where the reporter said : "The speaker uttered the more powerful passages with his head thrown back, his body erect, and his chest heaving. The book was held in the left hand, the right, and occasion- ally both, being used for gestures. When he spoke of sorrow, his voice was pathetic almost to tears ; of joy, it thrilled with rapture ; of power and victory, it rang like a clarion ; and in 394 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS poetic description, it was as when 'the dewdrop slips into the shining sea.' " I give these bits of evidence from time to time as proof of Stanley's keenness of judgment, and in support of my own declaration that Sir Edwin Arnold was by far the best of au- thor-readers that England has given for our delight. Amer- ica has yet to produce his equal. After returning to ISTew York the Press Club of that city gave Sir Edwin a reception. Mr. Depew, a member of the club, in his spicy introduction, spoke of Sir Edwin as a fellow- journalist whom he was proud to welcome. Sir Edwin's reply was one of the brightest speeches that he made in America, as those privileged to be present will always remember. We were all much shocked when we learned of the death of W. J. Florence. Sir Edwin sent a wreath for his funeral, with the following words : " Sans Adieu. Edwin Aenold. " W. J. Florence, November 23, 1891." A new deal was made with Sir Edwin under which arrange- ment he was to continue one hundred nights, for which I was to pay him $20,000. He lectured in Albany, Rochester, Buffalo, Toronto, Detroit (twice). Grand Eapids, Pittsburg, Cleveland, Oberlin, Toledo, Cincinnati (twice) , Louisville, St. Louis, and Chicago. Excellent reports came in from all along the line. The day of our arrival in Chicago was an eventful one. Eepresentatives of the press thronged to see Sir Edwin all the morning at the Auditorium Hotel. He was in excellent condition. Although the weather was muddy, nasty, and foggy we visited the new Herald building, declared by Chi- cagoans to be the finest printing-oface in the world. Mr. Scott, president of the Herald Co., introduced Sir Edwin to the com- positors, and he made a little speech to them. Then a sump- tuous lunch in Scott's office, where Sir Edwin was introduced to the managing editors of each of the great Chicago daily papers. The party sat down to lunch at twelve. To every- body's surprise it was six o'clock when they separated. In ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 395 the evening a reception by the Chicago Press Club, where he made a handsome speech and read "Queen Arjamund and the Dagger. " At his j&rst public reading in Chicago — in Central Music Hall — the house was packed with a fine audience of Chicago's best. President Harper of Chicago University presided. Sir Edwin was in excellent form and scored another success. The newspapers contained columns of favorable notices, and never was a visitor more heartily welcomed. His whole Western tour was a series of triumphs. Milwau- kee, Chicago (again), Evanston, Kansas City, St. Paul, Min- neapolis, Janesville (Wis.), Rockford, Cedar Eapids, Des Moines, and Clinton, were all in the Western itinerary. Erom Chicago I returned to New York. During the trip I received the f oUowuig letter : "Milwaukee, Dec. 17, 1891. "My Dbae Major: " Thanks, many and sincere, for your flying note, full of kindness, like everything you say and do. I am afraid if I let go my audiences from the fine and subtle spell of poetry, I might lose command of them, like the juggler who leaves ofE blowing his reed. But I will bear your valuable advice in mind, if agaia my voice feels at all in need of resting. " I cannot thank you enough for the repeated kindness of your wish to keep me in America, and even under your own roof. I am touched to the heart by such generous friendship, which I heartily reciprocate; but, after this unwonted and difficult enterprise is concluded, let me fly away and find the repose and change for which I shall long with unspeakable desire. Perhaps after a period of quiet I shall feel even a strong wish to use again the experience acquired, and to do Australia with you, but my present feelings are concentrated upon getting through with this series in the very best manner I can, for your cause and my own, and then resting. "My very warmest regards to dear Mrs. Pond. I wish I could make millions of dollars for her and you. " Ever most sincerely yours, "Edwin Aenold." I had arranged five matinees for Sir Edwin at Daly's The- atre. He lectured here twice in the morning and in Philadel- 396 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS phia in the evenings of tlie same days. He was to lecture in Trenton on the following evening, but I was obliged to cancel this engagement because of his illness. This was the beginning of the end, as my diary shows. He was booked for New- ark, Baltimore, Washington, Middletown, New York (four times), Brooklyn, Portland, Providence, Lakewood, Montclair, Orange, and Worcester. Owing to the superior knowledge of a learned doctor, he was obliged to be ill. It came about in this way : Sir Edwin was sick with grippe at the Everett House, when his friend Andrew Carnegie called on him. The meeting was a very cordial one, as Sir Edwin declared that he was under everlasting obligations to Mr. Car- negie for the kindness he had shown to his son when on a visit to America. Mr. Carnegie insisted on Sir Edwin's seeing his doctor, a learned young Scotch physician, with titles too nu- merous to mention. He was the man who could tone him. up. Without waiting for Arnold to acquiesce, Carnegie sent him right around. The young physician told Sir Edwin that he was a sick man, that he had better have a nurse, that he must not appear on the platform the next day, and that he must cancel all his engagements. There was nothing for Sir Edwin to do but yield to whatever the physician prescribed, as his friend Mr. Carnegie had sent him. So the next day we were obliged to return about $1,800 at the box office at Daly's Theatre to a disappointed public, telling them that un- doubtedly Sir Edwin would be able to keep his next two en- gagements ; but that there was no chance for those particular ticket holders to hear him, as the seats for the remaining read- ings had been sold out. A few days later Sir Edwin finally told me that he could not go any further, and I consented to cancel our agreement if he would give me six more readings in New York after the pres- ent course. I then ai-ranged for this supplemental course at Daly's Theatre. On the day before the readings were to be resumed, Sir Edwin seemed in good spirits, but his doctor for- bade his reading the next day, and I was obliged to cancel all of his new dates. It made a difference of over $3,000 to me. ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 397 I could not win over the doctor. He worried Sir Edwin very badly. The latter said to me, " Oh, Major, if I don't get out of this country soon I will never be able to go at all." I know he frightened me too. If I had been in Sir Edwin's place I should have thought myself about to die. He told me that Sir Edwin was in exactly the same condition as a man who was just convalescing from a run of typhoid fever. When I gave back the money at Daly's to a great crowd of New York's best people, everybody expressed sympathy and regret that Sir Edwin was ill. I never witnessed a more pathetic scene around a box office, and I felt that the poet had a hold on New Yorkers that would surely last. A day or two later, while calling on Sir Edwin, Mr. Carnegie came in, and when he congratulated the poet on his good for- tune in having sent him. a physician who unquestionably saved his life, Sir Edwin gave me a side wink and a smile at Mr. Carnegie's absurdities. He then told Mr. Carnegie that he had decided to go to Japan, and should leave as soon as possi- ble. He did not care to stay longer in America. He thought that an ocean voyage would cure him of the grippe. Mr. Car- negie expostulated with him, but Sir Edwin said his mind was made up. The next day he left the Everett House to visit Mr. Andrew Carnegie, during the remainder of his stay. I called on him there and found him not in the best of spirits. He was lonesome and homesick. He would have been better off to have kept on with his readings, he said. On February 6th Sir Edwin gave the first of what promised to be a final series of four morning readings at Daly's Theatre. The house was packed. Immediately after the reading the box-office was besieged, and I saw at once that there would be a fine business. The next three readings were already an- nounced, but once more the doctor stepped in, and dates were cancelled. The Saturday before Sir Edwin was to sail, I called on him at Mr. Carnegie's house. He said to me : "Major Pond, I should like to tell the American people how much I think of them if ycu will give me a chance, but you 398 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS have only from now until next Monday to do it in. Take all tlie receipts ; I want nothing but the audience. " " All right, " I said. " Please send me a letter to that effect. " It was only a few minutes after returning to my ofBce that I received a letter authorizing me to go ahead and book the reading for the Monday morning following. The' letter was as follows : " 5 West 61st Street, jSTew York, Feb. 8, 1892. "My Deae Major Pond: " If it were possible to arrange for one more of my public readings in New York, I should regard the opportunity as a pleasure and a privilege. I am reluctant to quit, even for a time, the land where I have met so many and such generous and enlightened audiences, without some sign of the delight with which I should have continued to meet them — some oc- casion permitting me to acknowledge their good will toward me, interrupted only by my illness. It may be, moreover, that there are those who would like to hear me for the first time, albeit in a farewell reading, and briefly if it can be com- passed — you may count, before I leave New York, on the will- ing acceptance of " Yours always most sincerely, "ED^YIX Akxold." I had only Saturday night, Sunday, and Monday morning to advertise. The reading came ofE in Daly's Theatre, Monday morning, February 15th, at eleven o'clock. It was Sir Ed- win's -last appearance in New York, and the house was filled to its capacity. The audience was of the best, appreciative of all the poet's efforts, and in touch with every shade of expres- sion. He read the "Discourse of Buddha," and, as a sequel, the conversation between Mary Magdalen and the Magi, from "The Light of the World." "The Egyptian Slippers" was given from the manuscript copy. " The Renegade Lovers " was another of the poems not yet in print. The exquisite ballad of "He and She," one of the favorites, was also given. Before the programme closed he gratified his audience by a brief address, which was not merely eloquent in words, but most effective by the earnestness of his delivery. ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 399 " I ask your permission, before I conclude this last of my readings with, some verses from the Persian of Saadi, which explains and justifies my books, to offer first to you, and next, through you, to those sixty-five audiences which I have had the honor to address in various cities of the United States, my most respectful and heartfelt thanks for the grace and kind- ness of the reception which they have given me. I do not pre- sume to praise — what is far above my praise — the large- minded enlightenment, the glad interest in great thought which I have found everywhere existing and active in this country, evidenced to me in many clear and remarkable ways. But I will dare say that here, if anywhere in the world, the poet whose credentials are honest good-will toward his kind and firm faith in their glorious destiay, may fearlessly speak what is in his heart and brain, and be sure of an attention as gen- tle and as generous as it is cultivated. " I came to America her friend ; I go away her champion, her servant, her lover. I have the deepest conviction that the future history of the human race depends for its happy development upon that firm and eternal friendship of the great Eepublic and of the British Empire which is at once so nec- essary and so natural. Eesolve on your side of the Atlantic, along with us who know you on the other, to allow no igno- rance, no impatience, no foolish transient passion to share that amity. The peace and progress of the earth are founded upon it, and those who would destroy it are guilty of high treason against humanity. Accept, I pray you, and allow me to ex- press to others through this large and representative assem- blage, the sincere gratitude I feel for the unbroken goodness, the incomparable patience, the quick appreciation, and the 'sweet reasonableness' which I have met with universally among American audiences." The reading closed with the lines from Saadi, entitled, " In Many Lands." The enthusiasm was tremendous. People crowded around the stage to say good-by, and Sir Edwin was not able himself to carry away a tithe of the flowers that were heaped upon him. 400 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS The receipts were $1,851. I told Sir Edwin that there was $1,000 clear profit from the lecture, and I thought he was en- titled to it. "ISTot a penny, Major Pond. You have been dis- appointed and obliged to return many hundreds of dollars to a disappointed public. I only wish it were $6,000 for you in- stead of one." That evening he spent with us, appearing well and in excel- lent spirits. The next day he left for San Francisco, by way of New Orleans. He spent several days in California, at the Lick Observatory, in San Jose and in San Francisco, and then sailed for Japan, where he remained a number of months. He returned homeward in September through the United States, accompanied by Miss Arnold, his daughter, and the Japanese lady who is now his devoted wife. While in New York on this homeward trip he read in my office to a party of friends, principally connected with the New York newspapers, the greater part of a Japanese tragedy which he had written while in the Island Empire. It was entitled "Adzuma; or, the Japanese "Wife." Sir Edwin gave permission to publish but one passage, and that because it had previously been published in a Japanese news- paper. He dined at our house that evening, and the follow- ing day sailed for England. Friendly letters have passed between us at short intervals ever since. His letters to me are among my literary treasures. In 1897 Mrs. Pond and I visited England to attend the Queen's Jubilee. On our arrival in Glasgow, June 9th, I found a telegram from Sir Edwin Arnold, saying : " Have good places for you and Mrs. Pond to see procession. Let me know when you will be in London." I wrote him the time we expected to arrive, and when we reached London I found another telegram reading as follows : "You and Mrs. Pond breakfast with me at 225 Cromwell Koad at twelve to-morrow. Edwin Aknold." ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 401 My diary contains tlie following entry : "London, Saturday, June 19, 1897. "Breakfasted with Sir Edwin Arnold at 225 Cromwell Eoad at twelve, and a delightful visit it was. Sir Edwin welcomed us in his characteristic genial manner, which made us feel that the entire establishment was ours. His son, a young physician, with his wife, was there, also the Japanese lady whom we met at his house in 1891, and who is now the head of his household. She has mastered our language and is very refined and intelligent. Her name is Antomesan. " Sir Edwin presented me with a copy of his new book, 'Wandering Words,' and a guinea cigar. He also gave me two tickets on the first row of the Grand Stand in the tribune of St, Paul's Cathedral, for the grand parade. They were hundred-guinea tickets. "These seats were within fifty feet of where Her Majesty's carriage stopped during the services. I could look down on the bishops, and after the impressive service I met our Bishop Potter. " 'How came you in here? ' he exclaimed. 'Are you one of the nobility? ' " I think I was the only untitled man in that assemblage of people." In the light of the intimate and most friendly relations that have existed between us, and my high appreciation of the friendship with which Sir Edwin Arnold honored me, I shall perhaps be pardoned for quoting a few of the letters which I have received from him, some being in reply to my efforts to induce him to return to the United States and others being more purely personal in character. They are of especial value, perhaps, in view of the fact that the poet and editor is now and has been for nearly three years past confined to his residence. Under the dates given he has some pleasant things to say in the following letters : "225 Ceomwell Mansions, Kensington, S.W., "July 11, 1894. "My Ever Dear Major: " I am ashamed when I compare the date of your last kind letter with that of my reply. But one is borne in such a whirl 402 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS of politics and society in this London season that much may be forgiven. I was rejoiced to hear of the well-being of dear Mrs. Pond, the boy, and yourself ; and by no means surprised that you had developed as a great success upon the platform. Who, indeed, ought to understand that difficult business better than you, under the shadow of whose skill and kindness we have all graduated? I have no doubt you would succeed over here. " As for Dean Hole, I have the highest opinion of him ; and I believe he will delight his audiences. He is a genial Chris- tian gentleman, whose piety is bright with gay humor and the love of nature — the best judge of roses in the world, and in every way a fine specimen of the English Dean. " What a state you are in with your strikes and strikers ! "Give very kindest messages to Mrs. Pond and 'Bim,' and ever believe me, " Yours most sincerely, "Edwin Arnold." By his own permission, as with Henry M. Stanley, I was often privileged to ask questions relative to English gentlemen to whom attention was directed as available for our platform service. Here is a letter wherein a valuable suggestion was made, which could not be followed, however, in time : "Geand Hotel, Paris, Oct. 8, 1895. "Mt Evee Dear Major Pond: "In reply to your very kind letter from Paris— having just started for a little holiday trip to Spain, after a rather fatigu- ing spell of work in politics and literature. It delights me to hear that you and Mrs. Pond and the little one are all well. I note that you have been having a good time with Mark Twain, for whose misfortunes we have all— on this side— felt most deeply. I should think you could easily get Du Maurier, unless 'Trilby' has made him too rich. As for me, dear Major, it would be glorious to serve under your victorious flag again, but I must not encourage myself or you to expect that. However, I shall be back in England before Christmas and will write to you again. I thank you with all my heart for your friendly thoughts of me. Be sure they are cordially re- turned, and ever believe me, " Sincerely and affectionately yours, "Edwin Arnold." ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 403 Again he declines my request for another tour, and in do- ing so gives a glimpse of his own busy hours : "225 Ceomwell Mansions, Kensington, S.W., "April 30, 1896. "Mt Dear Major: " I have just returned from a month's holiday in the Canary islands. Hence the sad delay in replying to your kind and welcome letter of (alas!!) the 20th of March. It delighted me by its news that Mrs. Pond, and the ' laddie,' and your- self, were all well. So am I, but tremendously busy with politics, and also with preparations for a journey to Russia, whither I go to see the Tsar crowned. " I am sorry to say that I don't think Mr. IngersoU would 'catch on' over here. I know and admire his great abilities and eloquence, but our public is religious, orthodox, and con- servative — so far as the 'paying ' part of it goes. Your own lectures would be far more attractive. " For my humble self, I wish I could see my way to once more run round with you. At present I dream of being in India all next winter about some temple business and have de- clined some very honorable presidentships and appointments with that view. All the same, most heartily do I thank you for your kind proof of friendly opinion and confidence. " Love to your home circle. " Sincerely your very attached friend, "Edwin Arnold." From the office of the Daily Telegraph, under date of August 4, 1896, this letter of introduction came to me : "Mt Dear Major Pond-: " The bearer is our good and trusted colleague, Mr. Eller- thorpe, who goes to America to observe the social, political, commercial, and intellectual life of your great Republic, and to send letters to the Daily Telegraph upon these topics. Be so good as to receive and, if you can, to help him with useful in- troductions. He is a most worthy gentleman and I know you will do what you can for him for 'Auld Lang Syne.' " Yours affectionately, "Edwin Arnold." Later in April, 1897, comes a note introducing Mr. Edward Le Sage, son of the managing editor of the Daily Telegraph, 404 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS wlio visited the United States as a representative of that paper. I am asked " to be as good as ever I can " to the gentleman. Then came a pleasant reminder in the form of wedding cards, with the following very pleasant epistle as a friendly accom- paniment : "31 Bolton Gardens, London, S.W., "November 26, 1897. "Mt Dear Major: " The enclosed card will tell you, what you probably have long ago heard, that I have married the gentle and faithful Japan lady whom you saw with us. We have settled down very quietly in this new and pleasant house and only wish that you and dear Mrs. Pond were here to have a chat sometimes. " I have had lately a nasty bout of rheumatism, or gout, or something, which makes me a prisoner to my room, but am slowly getting 'better. I trust you are all very well. It is not impossible you may see me again in the States, for my doc- tor tells me to take rest and travel. "Yours always affectionately, "Edwin Arnold." This later letter I give explains itself, and refers to the pathetic physical condition which now aiiiicts Sir Edwin. "31 Bolton Gardens, S. Kensington, "London, S.W., Jan. 2, 1898. "My Dear Major: " Warmest thanks for your kind message, and most cordial returns of the same to you and yours ! " Your charming invitation is of course attractive, but at present I am the victim of some strange weakness of the lower limbs, which the doctors say may prove chronic, and which prevents me standing long or walking much. This will oblige me, I fear, to go into the East for sunshine, just before Lent, and at present I do all my daily work by carriage and driving. But I will write again and give you a later report. " Kindest regards to Mrs. Pond and Bim, in which Lady Arnold joins. "Ever yours affectionately, "Edwin Arnold." DR. JOHN WATSON ("IAN MACLAREN") ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 40; THE EEV. DE. JOHN WATSOIST ("IAN MAC- LAEEN ") made his first lecture tour in America be- tween October 1 and December 16, 1896, and I think I saw more happy faces while accompanying him than any other man was ever privileged to see in the same length of time. Dur- ing this period Dr. "Watson had ninety-six as large audiences of men and women as could be crowded into the largest public halls in the principal cities of the United States and Canada. These great multitudes, with bated breath and outstretched necks, sat and listened to him with intermingled laughter and tears, like sunshine making the rain radiant. Dr. Watson is a tall, straight, square-shouldered, deep- chested man of middle age, with a large, compact, round, and well-balanced head, thinly thatched with brown and grayish hair, well-moulded refined features that bear the impress of kindly shrewdness, intellectual sagacity, and spiritual clear- ness, tempered, too, with a mingled sense of keen humor and grave dignity. The eyes are open, fine, and clear in expres- sion, and thoughtful and observant to a controlling degree. He is sometimes called an Englishman, because he happened to be born in the county of Essex ; but he himself says : " I am a pure Highlander. My mother was a Maclaren, and came from Loch Tay and spoke the Gaelic tongue. My father was born at Braemar, and Gaelic was the language of my paternal grandfather." His father was a Free Church elder, and his mother a woman of strong religious character and great spirit- uality. He is himself a typical Scotch Highlander in appear- ance, with every movement indicating alertness and force. His voice is excellent, because its tones express the feeling to be conveyed. It is skilfully used, with fine inflections and tonal shadings that give emphasis and delicacy to his delivery. The doctor's mobile mouth easily lends itself to vocal changes. He- is not an orator in the usual sense of the word, but he is a 406 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS speaker wlio readily holds an audience to the last moment. No one leaves while he speaks, and that is the finest test. One day Horace Greeley, Henry Ward Beecher, and I were passing through Bridgeport. Mr. Greeley remarked : " This is Bridgeport. I had a successful lecture here once." Mr. Beecher said : " Greeley, what do you call a successful lecture? " "Oh, more people stayed in than went out." Dr. Watson's ten weeks were filled almost beyond belief. Yet his parting sermon at Plymouth Church was as fresh in matter and manner as when he began at- New Haven with his famous Yale lectures on preaching given before the Divinity School. In physique and in his mental spirit Dr. Watson recalls Mr. Beecher very distinctly. A broad sympathy with their fel- lows is their common inheritance. The rejoicing love of na- ture belongs to both lives. Dr. Watson illustrates, as Mr. Beecher did, in book, sermon, lecture, social intercourse, that he sees the best in all men, feels their moods, holds charity with errors, and joys with service, is touched by pathos and becomes tender with suffering. Dr. Watson brought a whole- some manhood as well as a gracious mind to the work he did, and has left a memory that all who heard him will continue to enjoy. America is richer by his visit, and he himself carried away the delight of sympathetic and genial associations. It is probable that Dr. Watson, or "Ian Maclaren," as he is more commonly called, would still have been nothing more than the pastor of a well to-do congregation in Liverpool if it had not been for one man. For many years Dr. Watson had been intimately acquainted with Dr. Eobertson Nicoll, editor of the British Week!;/ and The Bookman, and the latter, who has a keen eye for literary ability, discovered in his conversations with the Scotch minis- ter latent qualities which he determined to bring out. It hap- pened that at this time Dr. Nicoll was on a hunt for genius. It had been through his instrumentality that both J. IL Bar- rie and S. R. Crockett had been brought before the public, but ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 407 this same fickle public, having acknowledged the merit of these two writers, was already clamoring for something new. Dr. Nicoll realized that if he was to sustain his reputation he would be obliged to produce another genius without delay. Is it surprising, when he found in Dr. Watson what he was seek- ing, that he should pay no heed to either the man's age, his peace of mind, or the wishes of his family, but should de- termine to launch him, whether he desired it or not, upon the sea of letters? To this end the editor wrote to his intended victim, telling him of his unknown ability, and asking hun to contribute to the British WcL'ldy a few short stories, especially dealing with Scotch character. But Dr. Watson at the time was deeply engaged in an analysis of the character of the Jebusites, and Dr. Nicoll's request was unheeded. The latter, however, did not intend to forfeit his reputation for such a trifling cause. The letters and appeals which he sent to Liverpool gradually increased in number until Dr. Watson received one nearly every day. Before long letters were followed by tele- grams, and the fate of " The Bonnie Briar Bush " was finally settled by the weary minister at last consenting to attempt a short story. This was forwarded to Dr. NicoU, and was promptly returned, with the iatimation that it was not what was desired, while at the same time more explicit directions were given. Dr. Watson made another attempt, and the next week the first story of " The Bonnie Briar Bush " series ap- peared in print. The full significance of the title which Dr. Watson has given to his book is not generally understood. The Jacobites sang, "There grows a bonnie briar bush in our kailyard," and wore the white rose as their emblem. A Highlander with Jacobite traditions, Dr. Watson has always loved the simple, beautiful flower, which is found in many country gardens in Scotland. When a title was needed for his volume, the author chose this because the suggestion of the book is that in every garden, however small and humble, there may be a flower. The whole idea of his writing, Dr. Watson says, " is to show 408 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS the rose in places where many people look for cabbages." His mission is to set forth what plain people, who do not ana- lyze their feelings, really do and suffer. From my very first meeting with him, as he landed at New York from the Germanic, I liked him even more than I had expected. He impressed me at once as strong, yet refined and very natural. He was dressed in a plain business garb— rather more like a Scotch merchant than a minister — and ap- peared a simple, delightful man in every sense the word im- plies. I liked him then ; I love him now. With Mrs. Watson — a frail, little body, with black hair and eyes, and very quiet — we drove at once to the Everett House, where pleasant rooms were waiting. They lunched with me. I ordered a large double sirloin steak and hashed brown po- tatoes with cream — just what never fails to catch an English- man. My guests had never before seen the like. "A monu- mental steak," said the doctor to his wife. "I've heard of your American beefsteaks. The stories have not been over- drawn." After luncheon Dr. Watson and I called on Mr. John Sloane, who had invited Dr. and Mrs. Watson to spend the Sunday following with him at his home in Lenox. After a delight- ful chat for a few minutes and the completion of arrangements for the Lenox visit, we returned to my ofB.ce, where the report- ers from the New York, Brooklyn, Boston, and Philadelphia papers were waiting for an interview. The group was gath- ered about the same round table where the two Arnolds, Stan- ley, Max O'Eell, and Conan Doyle had been interviewed. It did not take the reporters long to discover that they had an ideal target for their ingenuity, and for two hours the air was full of sharp and brilliant sayings from the lips of my star. It seemed more like the Stanley epoch than any other, and, next to Stanley and Sir Edwin Arnold, best of all. The symp- toms were promising. I thought to myself that if he didn't make a clean sweep, then no man could. I went up to New Haven to hear him give the first of his course of lectures on "The Ethics of Preaching" before the ECCIINTRICITIES OF GENIUS 409 Yale theological students. It was a delightful address. His manner and expression were elegant. He was magnetic, brim- ful of wit and sparkling with humor, and he couldn't help it. I knew he would be a great go on the platform. Applications were coming in from all parts of the country for " Ian Maclaren. " The doctor allowed me three evenings between his Yale lectures for trial readings, so we opened up at Springfield. I rented the theatre there and advertised in the newspapers only — used no posters or circulars and had no local society to back it. I had not visited Springfield for some years, as nothing but a theatrical attraction seemed to draw there. The night of "Ian Maclaren' s" lecture, however, reminded me of the palmy days of Beecher and Gough. The theatre was full. President Gates and a large party of students from Amherst College were there, another party from Smith College, North- ampton, besides Springfield's best people. Dr. and Mrs. Wat- son were both very nervous, but he made a great hit. His entertainment was conversational and delightful. He had plenty of voice of a rich, carrying quality. After the reading the doctor seemed somewhat doubtful as to his success, but I was satisfied. Next morning the Springfield papers contained elaborate and very enthusiastic notices of " Ian Maclaren' s " performance the previous evening. The doctor himself paid very little atten- tion to his press notices, but Mrs. Watson read and enjoyed them, and instructed me to save a copy of each paper for her sons in Liverpool. The second of the "trial performances " was given in Unity Hall, Hartford, which has only seven hundred seats. Every seat was sold and all the standing room occupied. The doctor gave a lecture here, not a reading, on "Certain Traits of Scotch Character." Both audience and manager were de- lighted. We had planned to return to New Haven the same night, but our plan failed through a misadventure that was some- what amusing, although rather discomforting to me. We had 410 ECCENTBICITIE8 OF GENIUS boarded the New Haven train at about a quarter to eleven, and were very busily engaged in conversation. I was talking. The brakeman called out the name of a station, which I did not hear distiuctly, but looking at my watch I saw it was a quarter to twelve — the time we were due at New Haven. I jumped up, saying, " This is New Haven? " and we all hurried out, and the train moved on. The depot did not look familiar to any of us, and we did not see Professor Fisher's carriage, which we were expecting, to take Dr. and Mrs. Watson to his house, as they were his guests while in New Haven. There was no carriage and not a person to be seen. After some run- ning about, I found a policeman and asked him where we were. "You are in Meriden," said the ofEicer. " In Meriden ! " I exclaimed. " I thought this was New Haven. When does the next train go to New Haven? " " About six in the morning. " I can't describe my feelings. Dr. and Mrs. Watson over- heard the conversation, and I saw them look at each other and smile. I didn't know what to say, but Dr. Watson said: "Isn't there a public house where we can get a bedroom? " The policeman pointed out a hotel over the way, a good one, where we secured comfortable rooms. I sent a man out to bring in some oysters and sandwiches, and we all sat down to our late supper. Dr. Watson was never in better humor ; he was full of laughter and apparently amused at my embar- rassment. We sat and told stories until after one. I told the doctor .that his taking the blunder so pleasantly had made me feel worse than if he had pitched into me. He bade me good- night, saying, "Major, you may have something worse than this to put up with before you are through with me." The doctor must have told this story to all of his friends in England, for a year later when over there, I was often slyly asked by friends of his if I knew a town in Auierica called Meriden. After the Yale lectures were completed I arranged to have the doctor give one public lecture in New Haven. The Mc- Kinley-Hobart campaign was on. Here and the next night EGCENTBICITIES OF GUmUS 411 at Bridgeport we had Tom Eeed and his torchlight proces- sions — "vvhich took two hours to pass a given poiat — agaiast us, but it didn't seem to have any effect on our business. What other man could have drawn full houses under such conditions? Eeturning to New York, the doctor dined one eveniag with me and a party of friends at the Lotos Club. There were present Gen. Horace Porter, Seth Low, Frank E. Lawrence, William Winter, John Elderkin, and Hamilton W. Mabie. It was an enjoyable affair. There were bright sayiags, good stories, and flashes of wit that only such an occasion could produce. It was one o'clock when Dr. Watson and I reached the Everett House, he declaring, " You Americans are really a wonderful people." On the day following, Br. and Mrs. Watson were enter- taiaed by Frank H. Dodd, Bleeker Von Wagenen (of the firm of " Ian Maclaren' s " publishers) , and the Eev. Dr. Lyman Abbott, and their wives, with an excursion up the Hudson to West Poiat. On their return the doctor came iato my office , fairly bubbliug over with fun. He had been delightfully en- tertained and had enjoyed the magnificent scenery of "your beautiful Hudson Eiver. It is grand. " He sat and chatted with me for an hour and charmed me with his description of the day's outing. He saw the bright side of everything, and the humorous side too. He had brought with him and gave to me, fresh from the press, a copy of "Kate Carnegie," his new book, telluig me that this was the second copy out of the biadery; Mrs. Watson had the first copy. In the copy that he gave to me he wrote : "To Majoe J. B. Pond: " The second copy of this book is given by the author after the week of his American tour, durhig which he has already come to consider the Major his friend. "New York, October 10, 1896." One of the proudest days of my life was the f oUowiag Sun- day, when I accompanied Dr. and Mrs. Watson to Plymouth Church. I felt that the whole of that vast congregation must 412 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS envy me. My star was the centre of all eyes until the sermon began. Dr. Abbott was at his best, and Dr. Watson enjoyed him. "That's great preaching," he said to me at the close. Friends crowded around us in great numbers, and " Ian Mac- laren " must have " shaked hands " with hundreds. "Ian Maclaren's " American tour really began on the even- ing of October 12th, in the Academy of Music, Brooklyn, under the auspices of the Consumptives' Home, and under the supervision of Mr. S. V. White. Before Dr. Watson went on the stage Deacon White handed me a check for $1,000 — the fee for the lecture. The good old minister who introduced Dr. Watson took advantage of the occasion (it was probably the largest audience he had ever faced) to mate a twenty-min- ute speech. The audience of highly bred ladies and gentle- men endured it heroically. Almost any other audience in any other city would have given vent to their pent-up feelings and called, " Maclaren, Maclaren ! " but they patiently waited and suffered. Fiaally the speaker of the evening was iatro- duced, and for an hour and a half more that audience sat in breathless suspense, listening to a man who gave them as Jauch delightful pleasure as they had ever before enjoyed in that length of time. I saw that there was going to be lively work ahead of us for the next two months. The second lec- ture in America was in Carnegie Hall, New York, imder the auspices of the St. Andrew's Society. Sitting on the platform was a reception committee of over four hundred, includmg col- lege presidents, clergymen, judges, statesmen, lawyers, and men of letters, besides other prominent men. Chauncey M. Depew introduced the doctor in one of his delightful speeches. Dr. Watson's voice was distinctly heard in all parts of the great hall. He was a success in every way. The gross re- ceipts were $2,465.50. As the political cauldron was boiling in the States (the Me- Kinley campaign), I chose to fill in the early portion of our tour in Canada, and on our way up there we made one stop, at Burlington, Vt. It was the first ride either Dr. or Mrs. Watson had taken in a drawing-room car, and they enjoyed it ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 413 the more for having a sumptuous compartment all to them- selves. The doctor appeared tired but cheerful. I found him an athletic man with a perfect physique and no fear of being overworked, but Mrs. Watson seemed delicate and hardly fitted for suoh a rush as we were about enterrag on. Before reaching Burlington a committee of citizens came on board the train to welcome the doctor to Vermont. We ar- rived in the town at just eight o'clock in the evening, and were obliged to hurry from the hotel to the Opera House, where we found an immense jam in waiting. Even the stage was utilized by placing two hundred chairs there, which had been sold for a dollar apiece. At Burlington it was the initial experience of my friends in a typical American hotel, the Yan Ness. Mrs. Watson missed the bread plate and the two knives. She didn't enjoy spread- ing butter with the same knife that she used to cut her meat. The doctor learned to his surprise that preserves and jam arei one and the same, and he inquired if he were expected to spread his preserves on bread. If so, he wanted some bread. Owing to the necessity of an early start, we got only an hour or two of sleep that night. The Watsons were up on time — 2 :30 — and stood the unseasonable disturbance very gracefully and cheerfully. It seemed rough on the little lady, but she did not complain. All slept well into Montreal, where we en- joyed as good a breakfast at the Windsor Hotel as ever was set before hungry travellers. I noticed a look of pride and an at-home air about the Watsons as soon as they knew that they were in the Queen's dominions, and it seemed to give a relish to their food when I exclaimed, " God save the Queen ! " At Montreal there was a delegation of representative Scotch- men waiting to do honors to "Ian Maelaren." I don't think there was a man in the city that day who hadn't Scotch blood in him, at least I did not see one. The lecture was in the St. James Methodist church, an immense auditorium, with a seating capacity of about 2,300, but with reverberating acous- tics that enabled a speaker to hear the echo of his words five times repeated. I don't think very many could understand 414 ECCENTRICITIMS OF GENIUS the reading, and it was about tlie stupidest audience I ever saw for one so numerous. The lecture, however, was a great financial success. The local manager who had engaged the doctor for the lecture was an insurance agent. He tried to keep possession of Dr. Watson and worried him all day long. Dr. Watson was up very early the next morning and knocked at my door, saying : "Major, are you up? " "Come in," I said, throwing open my door, ready to go to breakfast. "Major, not a bad meeting last night. I see the papers are not unfriendly ; but oh ! that late supper. We will have no more of them." We went on to Ottawa by the Canadian Pacific Overland Express. The general manager of the road had set aside for Dr. and Mrs. Watson a drawiag-room car containing more photographs of scenery along the Canadian Pacific route than I think they could possibly have examined in a month, even had they done nothiag else. Dinner in the diaing car pleased them. They declared it a most iuterestiag way of enjoyiag a meal, and such a good meal, too ! Where could it possibly be prepared? There was a novel experience awaiting Dr. Watson in Ot- tawa. Mr". Knowles, the local manager, turned out to be a clerygman and rector of a church there. The lecture was in the Knox Presbyterian Church. Sir Wilfred Laurier, the Premier of Canada and a Eoman Catholic, presided. He is Canada's famous orator, and this was a great occasion for him. When the doctor was told that a Catholic would introduce him in a Presbyterian church, he was greatly surprised ; but he was in for it and bore it heroically, and made a very pretty allusion to it in his introductory speech. Later in the even- ing he said to me : "Major, isn't this a wonderful country? Think of it; I, a Scotch minister, have given readings for a clergyman of the Church of England, in a John Knox Presbyterian church, in- troduced by a Eoman Catholic ! " ECCENTEICITIES OF GENIUS 415 There were cheers and handclapping during the entire even- ing, closing with a motion for a vote of thanks, seconded by a speech, then a vote of thanks to the chairman and another eloquent speech, after which the doctor read "McClure's Last Ride," as an extra. What enthusiasm! I had hardly seen the doctor since our arrival. Friends had taken possession of him and he had done the town between 2 :30 and 6. When we got back to our hotel, the Eussell, we met Mr. Isaac Campbell and Hon. John Cameron, two prominent poli- ticians and thoroughbreds of Winnipeg, who had come all the way to see and hear " Ian Maolaren. " In company with Premier Laurier and Mr. Knowles, we went up to their rooms and spent about as interesting an hoxir as Dr. Watson experienced during the entire tour. It was a revelation to him; but he had been a boy himself once, and he learned one fact, that in the great and new West the boy nature predominates among the men to the end of their lives. These men were leading Canadian politicians, and the affairs of Canada were largely in the control of the set to which they belonged. There was a pretty intense political campaign on in Canada just at this time over the school question, and there was a desire on the part of the different partisans to explain to Dr. Watson why their particular party was right and how the salvation of the country depended upon the election of their man. He enjoyed it. We were obliged to start very early next morning for Kings- ton, and were glad to leave the old Eussell House. The dull porter directed us wrong, so that we were obliged to change cars twice, when we might have come direct in a parlor car. My travelling companions had a chance to experience the incon- venience of riding in the common day coaches of Canada, and for a short distance we were obliged to ride in the caboose of a freight train. It was not a delightful experience, but I heard not the slightest complaint. The doctor really got fun out of it. At Kingston we were met by Principal Grant, of Queen's College, who entertained the Watsons over Sunday. There 416 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS was a very large audience that evening at the Kingston Opera House, ■which made the local managers happy. Principal Grant presided at the lecture and afterward asked me if it were not possible to secure Dr. Watson to address the students at the college next morning. I told him the doctor had agreed to lecture twice a day for me if I would release him. from preaching, so I could not insist, though I thought he might have been willing to address the college to please a thousand students, many of whom had given up their hard earnings to hear him at the Opera House. But he is Scotch, and having said "no," he did "no," although he worshipped with the stu- dents at the college in the morning. The next day (Monday) we were due at Toronto. I drove a mile in a carriage to Principal Grant' s home at the college at about 1 a.m., found Dr. and Mrs. Watson waiting, and we drove out to Kingston Junction to get our train. It was an uncomfortable ride in a rickety old hack, with the thermome- ter at zero. I know that Mrs. Watson and I didn't enjoy it, but the doctor was as beaming as though he had had a normal night's sleep. "Jannie," said he, "I guess the boys are not thinking of where we are just now. If we hadn't promised them those bicycles we wouldn't be here." And so he kept the chilly air out by making sunshine at midnight. The fire had gone out in the stove in the station waiting room, and all the coal was locked up in the shed outside. The train was forty minutes late. It seemed the longest forty minutes of my life. A more unendurable position I never knew than waiting in a cold railway station at 2 a.m., in Canada, for a late train. "Ian Maclaren " found enjoyment in it. But when the train came we had a comfortable ride into Toronto, and were none the worse for our rough experience of the middle of the night. Here the Scotch were out in force again. Badges and in- signia of different societies were much in evidence. They all wanted to see "Ian Maclaren," and he was unable to see any of them. He accepted an invitation to lunch with Mr. E. Gurney, a prominent citizen and an old friend of Mr. Beecher's ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 417 and mine, and then he and Mrs. Watson were driven about the city all the rest of the day until it was time to lecture. Lord Aberdeen presided, and it is a matter worthy of record that the largest audience that ever attended any one-man en- tertainment in Massey Hall, Toronto, and paid high prices, was the one di'awn to hear "Ian Maclaren's" readings. A more enthusiastic demonstration of welcome one seldom sees, especially in America. It was more like Welsh enthusiasm. We were booked for Detroit the following day at eleven o'clock, and Grand Eapids at eight in the evening, so I had a lively time hustling the doctor from Massey Hall on board the sleeping car. We reached Detroit at 8 a.m. and breakfasted at the Eussell. The doctor gave his reading at eleven to an opera house full of Detroit's most select citizens. Colonel Livingstone, editor of the Detroit Journal, had arranged a luncheon party for the doctor at the Detroit Club at 12 :30, and we were to leave at 1 .-20 for Grand Eapids. A carriage was engaged during our stay in Detroit. Dr. Watson hurried from the hall over to the club. The luncheon was a magnifi- cent affair. About two hundred of Detroit's best men were there and made it a pretty lively thirty minutes for the Scotchman. I took a special carriage and hurried to the sta- tion and persuaded the conductor to hold the train five min- utes for us. Finally the doctor and Colonel Livingstone came. We jumped on the train just as it was starting and went bounding over the country for Grand Eapids. At Jackson we took on a special train carrying the generals of the army, who had enlisted in the Presidential campaign and were on their way to Grand Eapids for a grand mass meeting. As we entered that city there were brass bands playing, fireworks, and all sorts of demonstrations. I assured Dr. Watson they were not intended in his honor, and he quickly found out that he was a mighty small affair in the minds of that excited populace. It was "McKinley and Ho- bart " everywhere, and everybody was in some kind of uni- form carrying a torch. In due time my correspondent there appeared with a car- 418 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS riage and drove us to the Baptist Churcli, where a great cro-wd ■was waiting to welcome " Ian Maclaren. " It surprised the doctor. The lecture over, we went direct to the sleeping car, which we boarded at 11 p.m. for Chicago. We had been on the move at a very lively rate all day, but Dr. Watson's ability to see everything from the brightest side kept us all jolly. We had a very early breakfast in the Auditorium Hotel, ia the first sky dining room the Watsons had ever seen. Unfor- tunately, Lake Michigan, once to be seen only a short distance away, was completely hidden by the smoke. "How do you like this. Dr. Watson? " I asked. "Wait until I get my breakfast and I will tell you. Major," he said. Reporters came early and kept the doctor under cross-exam- ination for some time, not, however, to his discomfort. He enjoyed them, and they knew it, and helped to make things lively. The Eev. Dr. Gunsauluswas the first minister .to call. He drove the doctor out to the Armour Institute, where he ad- dressed the students that morning, and in the afternoon he took him for another drive to see Chicago. On his return his enthusiasm and wonder could hardly be expressed. "Major, these big stories we read about your Chicago and the West are not big stories at all. I have seen thirty miles of parks to-day, and I am told that not one of them is over twenty-five years old." In the evening he spoke before the Twentieth Century Club. At noon the next day the doctor lunched at the Union League Club with a party of leading spirits. The round table, with twenty-four men sitting about it, had been placed in the maia diniag room, where the distinguished party could be viewed from all sides. I noticed that Dr. Watson was dis- turbed. He was not very sociable, either, under the gaze of so many starers. It was an elaborate lunch, but there were glasses for water only. After we went out, Dr. Watson asked me if gentlemen were in the habit of lunching distmguished parties without wine. A friend of mine who was present as- sured the doctor that the absence of wine was entirely on EGCBNTBICITIES OF GENIUS 419 account of the presence of a distinguished miaister. Had he (Dr. Watson) been absent it would have been very different. That eveniag the lecture was in Central Music Hall, which was crammed. My Muineapolis correspondent, who had bought a single lecture for that city, was one of the doctor's enthusiastic auditors ia Chicago. I had originally planned that Dr. Watson should have an open date in Minneapolis for rest, as a neighboring miaister in Liverpool had written : " Watson, poor fellow, is not strong. He has had severe hemorrhages." But when I found that he was an athlete, with the power of endurance of a gladiator, and when he offered to keep all dates I made if I would release him. from preaching, I decided to fill in three more readings in Minneapolis and St. Paul. I felt all the more warranted in doing so as all the auditoriums in which Dr. Watson had spoken up to this time had been crowded to their full capacity. So I told my Minneapolis man that either he must arrange to fill in two matinees and the open evening, or I must buy him off and go back East, where we were sure of a much larger business. He demurred, but "it was to be," so he finally assented. Looking up my dates, I found that the day before election was open in Central Music Hall, Chicago, and I decided to place two return readings there for the afternoon and evening of that day. The local manager refused to have anything to do with it, so I did it myself, and enjoyed seeing him quite demoralized because he had not accepted my offer. That afternoon and evening Dr. Watson gave two readings, the gross receipts for which were over $4,000. What a delightful ride we had the next day on the fast ox- press from Chicago to Milwaukee, where I once worked as a printer on the Sentinel. At that time (1857-58) Milwaukee was the metropolis of the State ; now it is a suburb of Chicago. I called Dr. Watson's attention to the beautiful brick which is used here, and makes such handsome buildings. He thought them inferior in quality to the Scotch bricks, and I think he was right. 420 JBCCENTRICITmS OF GENIUS He lectured here in Plymouth Church, where I had been with Mr. Beecher and other stars. The church was crowded, and I was told that there had been no such enthusiasm since the palmy days of John B. G-ough. A supper after the lecture was attended by the leading minds of the city and State, among whom was my old friend F. N. Fiuney, son of the late Charles G. Finney of Oberlm. The Woman's Club, which had secured Dr. Watson for Milwaukee, entertained our en- tire party the next morning, showiug us the sights of the city, including a first-class art gallery and the largest, best-equipped brewery ia the world. We pushed on to Appleton, Wisconsin, where nearly the whole town was in waiting at the depot. The rest of the townspeople met us on the train before reaching the city. At the lecture that evening, the Congregational Church held the biggest crowd it ever had held up to that time. The next day (Sunday) was a proud day for me. " Ian Maclaren " preached for me in my father and mother's old chiirch, in order that my friends migL.t hear him. It was a great sernion and a great crowd, too. People came over two hundred miles to hear him, and filled the church both morning and evening, and all the surrounding streets as well. It was my second great triumph in Appleton. On a former occasion I had introduced Henry Ward Beecher to the same public, and Dr. Watson's reception was just as hearty as Beecher' s. In the evening I gave my Beecher lecture. Dr. Watson was a listener and gave me inspiration. I talked Beecher for an hour and a half, and was attentively listened to. The next day we went to Madison, Wisconsin, where Dr. and Mrs. Watson were the guests of President Adams of the Wisconsin State University. Mrs. Watson was unable to sit up. The doctor addressed the students of the University in the afternoon, and lectured in the First Congregational Church in the evening— the same place where, in 1879, Mr. Beecher had drawn exactly $1,200. The legislature was in session then, but now it was autumn, and no legislature. Dr. Wat- son drew just $1,000 even money. ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 421 We were obliged to take the midnight train from Madison to Minneapolis. When we went on board poor Mrs. Watson was almost broken down, but never a murmur escaped her. Dr. Watson nursed and cared for her all night on the cars as gently as a mother could have done. Still he couldn't help saying funny things. As she lay in agony ia her berth, he said : " Jannie, you must not forget ; the boys may get their wheels yet. The audience was not hostile." By the time we reached Minneapolis, Mrs. Watson was so feeble that she could hardly bear to be lifted from the car to a carriage ; still she did not complain. At the West Hotel we called in a physician, who declared that she was threatened with pneumonia. Colonel West and his daughters were very kind and attentive and relieved the doctor as much as possi- ble. The Caledonian Society and the St. Andrew's Society were in waiting to show honors to the distinguished visitor, and many other Scotch institutions were out in great force. The lobbies of the hotels were jammed. "Ian Maclaren " was the name on everybody's lips. He amused the audience at the beginning of one of his lec- tures by telling of a letter he had received, asking whether the first name of his pseudonym was pronounced Ian, Eean, Yan, Yon, Yane, John, Jan, or Jane. " In answer to this ques- tion," said Dr. Watson, " I would say that if you want to pro- nounce it like an Englishman, you will say I-an; if like a Scotchman, Ee-an; and if like a Highlander, Ee-on." A luncheon was given him by one society, and after the reading in the evening he had a banquet. I absolutely believed the doctor must be bewildered from so much increasing atten- tion. The smart reporters here got hold of him. His keen discernment enabled him to detect a different atmospherical condition about these and our Eastern newspaper men. There was a freshness and a keen assurance about the Minneapolis reporters that rendered them irresistible. He saw and enjoyed everything. Everybody was in love with him, and everybody wished to do something for him. Judge GilfiUan, of the United Scotch Societies, introduced 422 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS him at the first reading by declaring that it had been left to the lion of the eveniag " to show us the lights and shadows of Scottish character as they are exhibited in the simple, every- day scenes of life." The doctor stepped forward amid a wave of lasting applause. "It is my duty," he said, "to notice with a glow of heart the Scottish tone of this introduction, for, as I sat listening, I could scarcely realize that I was in the far Northwest and not in. my own country." Wherever he went he met Scotch people — some by descent, some by mar- riage, and one by virtue of the fact that her sister had been tended by a Scotch nurse. We gave three readings in Minneapolis, instead of one, as originally planned, and two in St. Paul. The afternoon in St. Paul was marked by almost as terrific a rain-storm as I ever remember witnessing. The water absolutely piled up in the streets for two or three hours. Through the invitation of Mr. I. W. Whitney of the Great Iforthern E.R. Co., Dr. Watson visited the residence of Mr. James Hill, president of the railroad, who has the finest collection of pictures west of ]N"ew York. Dr. Watson, who is an art critic and has seen all the famous collections of Europe, declared this the best-selected and choicest private collection of paintings that he knew of. We found Mrs. Watson more comfortable on our return, but the physicians said that she had a slight touch of pneumonia and must not be moved for a week, so we were obliged to leave her behind and go on to Des Moines without her. I • feared that the tour was about finished. I didn't see how the doctor could give his readings under such conditions, but he insisted that " Jannie " was a woman of wonderful wiU power and he was sure she would come through all right. To leave her among strangers, in a strange land, nearly five thou- sand miles from home, was not a cheering prospect, but Colo- nel West, owner of the West Hotel, and his daughters were very kind to her, and she was heroic and brave as well. " Good-by, Jannie. The boys will get their wheels," were the doctor's last cheering words as he came from her room and we took a carriage for the depot to go to Des Moines. ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 423 We left Minneapolis at about seven o'clock, having a Pull- man sleeping car all to ourselves. The weather was the most disagreeable possible — a cold, sleety rain, which later changed to a gale so severe as to impede the progress of the train. We lost time all day. When the conductor told the doctor that we were losing time on account of the wind, he exclaimed : "How absurd! Do you mean to tell me that any wind can retard the speed of a heavy locomotive and train like this? " The conductor assured him that nothing else had caused the lateness of the train. He insisted that it was ridiculous, and wouldn't listen to it ; but I have known a gale to lift a loco- motive and whole train off the track. Little he knows of the Iowa and Kansas zephyrs. When I saw that we were bound to be late, I telegraphed my correspondent in Des Moines that the train was losing time. All day we travelled over the boundless prairie, thickly dotted with frail frame houses that appeared hardly able to withstand the gale. This was the first real prairie country the doctor had ever seen, and it was a surprise to him. As there were no eating stations along the line and no food to be had on the train, we were obliged to go without eating all day, which the doctor did not relish, and declared that this was the last time he would be caught on a long journey with- out food. I told him that we would go right to the hotel as soon as we arrived and get something. He was obliged to dress on the sleeper, and was very much worried, because he was afraid he would have to lecture without his supper. I began to fear that he was right when he told me in Meriden I might sometimes have to put up with some very disagreeable things. It was after eight when we reached the hotel. The clerk told us that we could get nothing to eat, as the dining-room closed at eight (it is so with all provincial hotels), but the doctor rushed to the dining-room and made a loud noise on the door, which was opened by a man iu evening dress. He proved to be the head waiter. "I want some food immediately,'' said the doctor. The man stood paralyzed. 424 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS "I must have some food right away," the doctor repeated^ and rushed by the man to a table where were the remains of the dinner of the latest comer. He attacked it, and the head waiter tried to stop proceedings, but the doctor kept right on. He managed to get part of a meal, and hurried out, the man following him. In the carriage on the way to the Opera House the doctor told me that he hoped he had not perma- nently injured that man who persisted in trying to prevent him from eating what he could fiud. I think I never experi- enced a more amusing incident. It was nearly nine o'clock when Dr. Watson stepped upon the stage. I'll let the Des Moines Leader tell the story : "At five minutes before nine o'clock the lecturer came around the flies. During the long wait the audience was en- tertained with a violin solo and a piano solo. An impromptu choir on the stage started 'America,' and four verses were sung. Then came 'Annie Laurie,' and it was during the singkig of that that Dr. Watson took his seat. 'How appro- priate,' every one said to his neighbor, and the tedium of the long delay was forgotten. It was a gathering of which any person might be proud, and evinced extraordinary interest concerning the new star in the literary firmament, unknown except in his clerical capacity two years ago." The president of the Woman's Club, under whose auspices the lecture was given, introduced the speaker in a very few words of eulogy on the man and his work. She said, "The long-anticipated hour has come," and Dr. Watson stood up befcre the audience. He said that no one could convey a re- proach so delicately as a woman, and that when he heard the words " long-anticipated hour " combined with what was com- plimentary, it reminded him of his childhood days when medi- cine was administered in sweets. "Only the other day," he continued, " I was congratulating myself on never being late, either for pulpit or platform, but now the boast has come home to me, as such things usually do. " At 11 :30 we were again on board the sleeper bound for Galesburg. Our journey was interrupted by an enforced long ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 425 wait at Eoek Island— from 8 a.m. to 2:40 p.m. — but it proved a very delightful wait. We took a carriage and drove about the town, visiting the United States Arsenal, where arms and war equipments are manufactured. Through the politeness of the commanding officer, Colonel Buffington, Dr. Watson was most graciously entertained all the forenoon. At Eock Island, President John Finley of Knox College (then the youngest college president in America) met us with the private car of the superintendent of the road, to convey us to G-alesburg. The college students, male and female, had turned out en masse to meet " Ian Maclaren " at the station, and behind a band of music and the students our carriage was escorted to President Finley's house. Here was a telegram from Mrs. Watson telling her husband that she was much im- proved and would meet us in Chicago the next morning. "Astonishing," said the doctor, his face fairly beaming. " Can I send a telegram right away? " he asked. "I'll take it," said I, for I wanted to do something. He wrote a telegram after the English manner — as few words as possible — and this is the way it read : "Mrs. Watson, West Hotel, Minneapolis. "Much lifted. Watson." I made a copy of it, which I handed in at the office, retain- ing the original. I have never parted with a word of his or Mr. Beecher's manuscript. After dinner. Dr. Watson visited the rooms of the new " Abraham Lincoln Memorial to Art and Science." About a hundred young ladies were in waiting, dressed in white, with a little green ribbon about their necks and each one wearing a white rose. The doctor christened the new society, " Circle of the Order of the White Rose," and the occasion inspired him to make one of the sweetest addresses I ever heard. I did not know of a man since Mr. Beecher had gone who could rise to such an occasion as Dr. Watson did. The lecture that evening was to help establish a fund to aid in the objects of the new society. The Knox College students 426 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS completely filled the Opera House from floor to ceiling. As the doctor stepped upon the stage he was greeted with a West- em college cheer, given with a vigor that could not be excelled for volume. It seemed to inspire him. for the evening's work. This was one of the most hearty receptions he had in America. After the lecture we returned to Dr. Pinley's home, where flashlight pictures were taken of the party. By 11 :30 we were on the train for Chicago, Dr. Finley with us, arriving at 6 :30 Sunday morning. Our entire party were guests of my old friends, Mr. and Mrs. C. H. McConneU, on the South Side. Although it was such an unseasonable hour to disturb friends, Mr. McConneU met us at the door and wel- comed Dr. Watson with heart and hand in such a manner as to cause him to say before we fairly got into the house : "Major, I'm very glad we're here." At 8:30 A.M., Mrs. Watson arrived from Minneapolis. I met her a,t the train. She did look feeble, but she insisted on carrying her handbag to the carriage, and was very cheerful and anxious to know how everybody had gotten along without her. I assured her that she had been very much missed, and that from now on we were all right. That afternoon Dr. Watson preached in the Chicago Uni- versity for President Harper, and when he returned with Mr. and Mrs. McConneU, found Mr. Lyman Gage (later Secretary of the Treasury) waiting to escort him to his house to dinner. I suppose they went to Mr. Gage's and waited until the Sab- bath was over and then had a good time, because the doctor never visits on Sunday excepting on parishional work, and I heard him say on Monday morning at breakfast, " I've already given one reading this morning. " This Monday was our red-letter day in Chicago, when we took in over $4,000, at the matinee and evening reading; this, too, notwithstanding it poured all day and the audience came in carriages and under umbrellas, or dressed in waterproofs, and giving the lobby of Central Music Hall the appearance of a small river. Mrs. Watson was improving all the time, but we left her ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 427 and Mrs. Pond in Chicago with our friends the McConnells, to join us in Magara Falls the following Saturday night, where we would spend Sunday and see the falls. Dr. Watson and I went on to Oberlin, Pittsburg, and Cleveland. The strange old Lyceum course in Oberlin is one of the oldest in America, and the Park Hotel is the same old barracks that I have visited year after year with John B. G-ough, Beech- er. Twain and Cable, Gilmore's band, Clara Louise Kellogg, and many others. The people of Oberlin gave " Ian Maclaren" a grand ovation. It was the evening of election day, and some of the early election returns were announced at the lecture. It is a time-honored custom in Oberlin that lectures begin at 6 :30 in the evening, and invariably open with prayer, " I never before met a people who would pay an admission fee to hear a long prayer," said the doctor to me after the lec- ture. Dr. Watson was the guest of the college dean. I would not attempt to describe the impressions made on him while in Oberlm. It is an absolutely teetotal town and all dinners are dry. The election returns had brought the news of a McKin- ley landslide, and the students' enthusiasm knew no bounds. They surrounded the dean's house, where Dr. Watson was stopping, built a number of bonfires, and remained there most of the night, shouting, "What's the matter with McKinley? He's all right! " Dr. Watson never got over that. The day after the election, when we reached Cleveland, which is only seven miles from McKinley' s home, I doubt if there could be found a person there that day who was not hoarse. I never saw such a litter of debris before or since. The streets were covered with papers, old box and barrel hoop irons, ashes, and embers of bonfires, and hardly a soul was to be seen at ten o'clock in the morning. They were used up. It did look like the break up of a hard winter or the ruins of a burned district. In registering. Dr. Watson asked the clerk of the hotel, " What's the matter with McKinley? " and he got it good and strong: "He's all right!" Everybody in the room and vicinity shouted. He certainly had entered into the 428 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS spirit of that contest. Notwithstanding all this excitement, the people had roused up in the evening, and we had about $1,100 in cash in the big Music Hall there. There was no lack of excitement on this tour. The next day the doctor was down for two entertainments in Pittsburg, besides a luncheon and a dinner. We took an early morning train, reaching Pittsburg at noon, where we were met by a delegation of ministers and business men, with Andrew Carne- gie at the head. They had planned a luncheon for Dr. Wat- son, which was waiting, and then to lecture at two o'clock! I looked after the business while the doctor was entertained by his friends. We were getting nearly all we wanted of luncheons. One gentleman had assured Dr. Watson that Ma- jor Pond had made a great mistake in placing a matinee lec- ture, for the new Carnegie Hall could accommodate all the people, and as there was not a soul to be seen when the doctor and Mr. Carnegie drove up to the Opera House, the doctor said to me : " Major, you have made a great mistake here. One reading is enough. You have the^^stinacy of a Scot." " Have I? " I replied. "J^J^U, all you will have to do is to give your 'small audience ' a better lecture this afternoon." When he got around on the stage and faced the crowd, he found the most select audience Pittsburg could possibly muster. There was not a vacant seat, and " Standing Room Only " was on the signs in the lobby. We took in $1,800 that afternoon. He went to dinner with Mr. Carnegie, who introduced him to another audience that evening of over three thousand people. At the eating station in Oil City, the next day, while on our way to Jamestown, the doctor left his hat. I had to go into the baggage car and get his hat box, and he went all the way into Jamestown and Buffalo wearing his silk hat. We had one lecture at Jamestown, with no particular incident except that the President of the Y. M. C. A. kept the audi- ence in agony fifteen minutes with his introductory speech. The next day, in Buffalo, there were two lectures, a club luncheon, and a supper, after which we went by trolley to ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 429 Niagara Palls, where our -wives were soundly sleeping at 1 ;30 A.M. Sunday. I don't believe Dr. Watson had had ten spare minutes during the two weeks previous to that time. We saw the falls through disagreeable, mist and cold drizzly rain. A more uncomfortable day out of doors could not be, but Mr. Isaacs' s cosy Prospect House was unalloyed comfort. Once Mr. Beecher wrote me from this hotel : " Good room, good bed, good table, and good host. What a cluster of bless- ings ! Next to being at home is the blessedness of being away from home in a good hotel. " Two performances were given in Eochester, and here I succumbed. I could stand it no longer, but went to bed and sent for a physician. The ladies went directly to New York from the Palls, and the doctor " managed " for me, which kept him. pretty busy. He came to my room after the evenrag per- formance and wished to nurse me during the night. My phy- sician declared me in a serious condition and ordered me to take the first train home. Dr. Watson insisted that under such conditions I was too feeble to move, and ruled against the physician ; so I stayed in bed and left for New York the next morning, leaving the doctor in Syracuse to fill two engage- ments there. He spoke to two unusually large crowds in Syracuse ; at Ithaca the following noon, at Elhiira in the evening, and then back to New York. Twice a day he had been keeping up his readings while I dragged and pushed him. along, and a better- natured, more delightful spirit never was known. My busi- ness was to make the work as easy for him as possible, no matter what fatigue it caused the "manager." What else is a " manager " for? I was side-tracked at home two days. I had planned for several readings in Philadelphia, New York, and Boston. The biggest business was yet to come. The Watsons were our guests for a couple of days while I was laid up. One must entertain and house Dr. Watson under one's roof to know what a buoyant, soul-reviving, happy spirit he possesses. He was in excellent humor and entertained us all day long with 430 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS wltimsical descriptions of cranks who visit him — crank preach- ers from foreign lands who get their living by appeals in all directions for collections and opportunities to preach. It was certainly the most remarkable, inimitable, and side-splitting facial display of serio-comic genius I ever saw or heard. What an actor he would have made ! Our next stand was Philadelphia, November 14th, where Mr. Harold Pierce, the gentleman who had the doctor in charge for that Saturday afternoon and Sunday, prior to the doctor's lecture the Monday following, met us and took abso- lute charge of the doctor and his party. Pierce is a hero-wor- shipper, but a splendid fellow. Mr. John Eussell Young gave the doctor a luncheon at the Union League Club at one o'clock, at which were a number of Philadelphia's most distinguished men as guests. At the right of Mr. Young at the table was Dr. Watson; at his left. Archbishop Eyan. ISText to Dr. Watson was John Wana- maker. I don't think that any party has ever been privileged to listen to a more delightful theological discussion than that which took place between the Catholic archbishop and the Presbyterian Scotch minister. It was quite a display of wit and historical knowledge, which made the occasion intensely interesting. It was a protracted luncheon. We did not get up from the table until half -past three. Then the doctor went to the New Century Club for a reception. At least Pierce called it a reception. There was a large auditorium, every seat of which was occupied. The doctor was led out upon the stage and introduced to the audience. He gave there one of the brightest and most interesting lectures of his whole tour, not finishing until five o'clock. He was unprepared for a speech and was obliged to work out his salvation by thinking on his feet. He was equal to the occasion, and made his best speech in America there. He took a carriage direct to the station and went out to Pottstown, where he gave a lecture under the auspices of the Hill School, returning at mid- night to Philadelphia. The following Sunday he preached in Germantown, Philadelphia, in the morning. In the after- ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 431 noon, ■with. John Wanamaker, he was introduced to many Sun- day schools and saw the working of John Wanamaker' s fa- mous system for the Sunday religious instruction of the young. In addition to these duties the doctor had been interviewed by all the reporters in Philadelphia, and his face and Ms name were the prominent features in all the daily papers. At one of his interviews, speaking of the manner in which his short stories were written. Dr. Watson said : " Each one was turned over in my mind for months before I put pen to paper. It took a prodigious amount of mental la- bor before I even had a story formed in my head. Then I blocked it out at one sitting. Then the thing was put aside, while I went over and over in my mind each detail, — each line of dialogue, each touch of description, — determining on the proper place, attitude, share, color, and quality of each bit, so that the whole might in the end be a unit, not a bundle of parts. By and by came the actual writing, with the revision and the correction which accompanies and follows. The actual composition of ' The Bonnie Briar Bush ' stories occupied fifteen months. They were the more difficult, because in every case the character is revealed in dialogue exclusively. It.is different where the writer has a plot — a murder, for instance — because then there is something definite to hold the attention, and one can dash ahead compared with the slow progress I was forced to make." The lecture in Philadelphia, in the Academy of Music, on Monday, was attended by the largest and best-paying audience up to date, the gross receipts being $3,009.50 for a single night. Next came our visit to Washington, on wbich I had counted much, being well acquainted with nearly all the heads of de- partments, as well as with President Cleveland and every member of his cabinet. The Doctor was the guest of the Eev. Dr. McKaye Smith, a clergyman of much distinction and social influence, who is a relative of the Vanderbilts, and whose home in Washington is in keeping with the wealth at his com- mand. I had suggested to Dr. and Mrs. Watson that I hoped 432 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS to show them the Capitol that moming, and get some good snap-shots, as they had engaged to lunch early with the Pres- ident. There were to be two lectures, afternoon and evening. He informed me that he had accepted an invitation from an- other — a gentleman who knew everything and who had come from Philadelphia on purpose to show them the sights of Washington. I was disappointed, for I knew the gentleman to be one of the small class of hero followers that pursue celebri- ties and in many instances succeed in hypnotizing them to that extent that they can believe no one else, not even their well- known friends. This man turned out to be exactly what I tried to intimate to my friends, in as delicate a way as possi- ble and not offend them, what he really was. He has since fled the country, and I doubt if there is a pleasant recollection of him anywhere. Dr. and Mrs. Watson lunched at the Executive Mansion with President and Mrs. Cleveland, Secretary of State Olney and Mrs. Olney, Mr. H. T. Thurber, private secretary to the President, and Mrs. Thurber. In order to show further his admiration for the great Scotch writer, the President engaged seats for himself and his family, and the entire party attended Dr. Watson's lecture that evening. Prom Washington we went to Baltimore, where the doctor lectured under the auspices of the Peabody Institute and was the guest of President Gilman of Johns Hopkiiis University. As we had spent the day sight-seeing in Washington, we did not arrive in Baltimore until a quarter after eight, and the doctor proceeded at once to the great hall. We found a man at the door waiting to admit " Ian Maclaren " to the platform. He insisted that it was impossible for me to get inside the door, as there was not a place for me to stand ; and it proved abso- lutely true that every inch of available room was occupied by people standing as thick as they could be crowded in the aisles, around the platform, and against the door. The jam was so solid that it was all Dr. Watson could do to squeeze himself in and get to the rostrum. I did not see the audience or hear him that night. While standing outside, two well- ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 433 dressed young ladies came up to me and asked if I were not Major Pond. "Yes," I said. " We must see and hear Dr. Watson. Is it not possible? " "I cannot possibly get in myself," I said. "There is no earthly use for you to try. " " Can't you crowd that door open so we can get inside? " I said, "I'll try." I made an effort, and managed to squeeze them iaside, and the door was pressed against me. I never saw them after- ward and never knew whether they were able to see and hear the doctor, but such was the intense iaterest to hear him. He did not see his host until after the lecture, and it was past midnight when he arrived at President Oilman's house to have a late supper and a chat, and then to be called at 6 :30 the fol- lowing morning in order to lecture in Philadelphia at noon. The doctor stood the crowds and endured the high pressure very heroically, occasionally intimatiag to Mrs. Watson that " the boys' bicycles are pretty safe," and remarking to me from time to time, as we left one city for another, " The people are not unfriendly, Major." We still had ahead of us Boston and New England, which I believed would surpass everything else. At Providence we had two great crowds, afternoon and evening. The people were simply in love with " Ian Maclaren " ; somehow he takes hold of all hearts. Crowds followed him to the station, and the iaterest grew more intense as he neared Boston. In Boston, Dr. Watson was the guest of Mrs. James T. Pield. The crush at the box ofBce had been unbroken for a week. The advance sales were nearly $10,000. It was in Tremont Temple, Wednesday afternoon, November 26th, at two o'clock, that he made his first bow to a Boston audience, and the great house was overflowing with people who came to see and to hear — who remained to laugh and cry; and, when the lecture was at an end, to stand in their places for many 434 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS minutes with eyes and opera glasses levelled upon the tall and kindly visaged Scotchman. He bore "well the scrutiny of those thousands, for there were thousands present, as he shook hands with his brethren of the miaistry who occupied the platform seats. For three-quarters of an hour before two o'clock two solid masses of humanity wrestled for admission. Men and women, but mostly women, crowded up the two stair- ways, an eager, expectant throng. Presently all the seats on the floor and in the balconies were filled, and the E,ev. George A. Gordon of the New Old South, the Eev. Dr. Cuckson, the Eev. Alvah Hovey of Newton, and many other ministers of Boston and vicinity took seats on the platform. " Ian Mac- laren " was among them, but was not immediately recognized, as he kept well in the background. The Eev. Dr. Gordon stepped forward, and in his strong, sonorous voice, which re- verberated to the farthest portion of the great Temple, iatro- duced the lecturer with these words : " The hour — the expected moment — is comne — and now is — when we are to listen to him whose coming we have awaited expectantly — Ee-on Maclaren ! John Watson ! " Applause and cheers, waving of handkerchiefs and pealing of the organ were kept up, with now and then a fresh augmen- tation from some seemingly impossible source, until the full limit and capacity of the audience was exhausted. Then the doctor began : " You will understand me when I say no English-reading man can approach your city without pleased expectancy. Since our fathers taught us to read, we have known this city of Boston, and we have become familiar with many of the scenes and places of which your people have writteii. During the few days of my stay here I shall try to identify all the places the Autocrat has told us about, only sorrowing because I cannot see his well-beloved face." Then he referred to his intention to say something of the traits of his countrymen, of " an almost inarticulate nation," and the audience laughed, knowing now that it had come to hear a man of genial nature say things genially. ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 435 " A recent ■writer, whom I cannot identify and whose name I do not want to know, denies that there is anythiag in our hu- mor that is light in touch, delicate, and graceful. He asserts iastead that there is much that is austere and awkward, tire- some and unpleasant. Now each nation takes its humor in its own way, and, as might be expected, the Scotchman, on the surface, does take his seriously, severely, and austerely. None take humor so carefully and conscientiously as the Scotchman. "Whenever a humorous situation presents itself to the Southern miad it is embraced on the iastant, and it is taken home for the enjoyment of the family, and perhaps the neigh- bors hear it through the doors. Then for days afterward the man who captured it shares it with his fellow-passengers in conveyances, possibly impressing it forcibly upon them. " In the Scotch mind, when a jest presents itself, the ques- tion arises, 'Is it a jest at all? ' and it is given a careful and analytical examination; and if, after twenty-four hours, it continues to appear to be a jest, it is accepted and done much honor. " His final lectures in Boston were Saturday afternoon and evening, November 28th. Not even standing room was to be had at either of them. When the readings were over and Dr. Watson had taken his seat, the audience would not release him without a per- sonal word. In response to the Chautauqua salute he made a pleasant little speech. He had dreaded to come to Boston — he had heard so much of the city, its high standards, its se- vere judgment. But having come here he could say that no- where that he had lectured had he been more cordially and sympathetically received, and he would return to his home across the sea with brightest memories of Boston and its neighborhood. From Boston we returned to New York, where, on the 30th of November, I opened the first of a course of five readings at the Waldorf-Astoria, at eleven o'clock in the morning. At two in the afternoon Dr. Watson delivered the lecture on "Robert Burns" in the Empire Theatre before an immense 436 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS crowd. The evening of the same day he was the guest of the St. Andrew's Society, at their dinner at Delmonico's, where he made a great speech. We were in Troy and Albany on the 1st of December ; had two immense audiences and a private luncheon with the Eev. Dr. and Mrs. Hall, the former an old classmate of Dr. Watson's in Scotland. That evening at Albany the lecture was in Odd Fellows' Hall, a new magnificent lecture hall after the style of the former lyceum halls in N"ew England. It was refresh- ing and delightful to hear the speaker in this immense room, with its perfect acoustics and a large audience all apparently clustered around him. That evening the St. Andrew's Society gave him a decoration; then, in company with a party of friends, we visited the Orange Club, where we had supper and stories until after midnight. Then on to Schenectady, where, at one o'clock the next day, the doctor was introduced to a Union College audience by President W. V. Eaymond. He lectured in Utica in the evening. Everywhere the crowds were limited by the capac- ity of the auditoriums. We returned to New York, where on the following morning Dr. Watson lectured at the Waldorf and in the evening at Flushing, L. I. On Saturday, the 6th, he lectured at the Waldorf at eleven, and at Jamaica, L. I., at 2 :30. That evening occurred the Lotos Club dinner, which is still regarded as one of the greatest events in the history of the club. When introduced by President Frank E. Lawrence, Dr. Watson said : " Mr. President, and Gentlemen of the Lotos Club :— " Your president has referred to Bohemia and has indicated that he thinks there will be struck up an alliance between Scot- land and Bohemia— on first sight, one of the most unlikely alliances that ever could be consummated. (Laughter.) The president no doubt has many things in his eye, and when we remember the careless garb of a Bohemian and the kilt of Scot- land; when we remember a Bohemian's tendency to live, if he can, in a good-natured way upon his neighbors, and the ten- dency of my respected ancestors to take any cattle that they ECCENTRICITIES OE GENIUS 437 could see ; and ■when also we remember tliat a Bohem.ian' s sins are all atoned for by bis love of letters, and that all the hard- ness and uncouthness of Scotland may well deserve to be passed over because no country has ever loved knowledge or scholarship more than Scotland — I declare the president is predicting a most harmonious marriage. (Applause.) " Your kindness, gentlemen, is only crowning the great kindness which I have received during the past months — a kindness which I never expected, and a kindness which I am fully conscious I have never merited. Were I a lad of twenty- five, I declare it would be dangerous, for after the audiences that have been good enough to listen to me, and the favor I have received, also, at the hands of the distinguished men of letters, I declare, if I were twenty-five I might be confused about my position. But, gentlemen, when one receives as much kindness as one has in America, it doesn't — if you will excuse in this most cultured club an expression not quite within the range of literature— it doesn't swell one's head. (Laughter.) But, gentlemen, it does something better; it swells one's heart. (Applause.) "Any man who has only entered the republic of letters within a few years, and who is fully conscious of his imper- fections and has never counted on attaining to any great stand- ard of art, through his slowness in beginning and through the exigencies of his position, can yet obtain the favorable ear of the public simply because he deals with humanity. Hu- manity will add what is not possible to men richly endowed with the spirit of letters alone ; it will add to such an accom- plishment a grace that no recent recruit, no amateur writer, ever can. (Applause.) " I am convinced, Mr. President, that if those men whom we look up to and who sit in high places, whose witchery of style and magnificent genius we all respect, could withdraw themselves from the study of certain mottoes which they be- lieve are fantastic, and certain sides of humanity confined only to literary coteries and to great cities, the triumph they have won in the world of letters would be as nothing compared to 438 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS the triumph they would wiu if, with all their genius, they laid their hand upon the heart of the common people. (Loud applause.) "During these months it is impossible that one should travel to and fro without having formed impressions ; and it is pleasant to go back with such entirely friendly and kindly impressions of the nation whose best thought and feeling are represented in this room. One thing that profoundly im- pressed me — I am speaking in perfect seriousness — was the courtesy of your people. (Hear ! Hear !) Without any ques- tion — and I am not saying this for the saying's sake — your people are the most courteous people one could meet, whether he be travelling on the road or engaged in ordinary intercourse. Courtesy may be tried by various standards, and possibly the highest form of courtesy is respect to women. I have never seen anywhere, and certainly not among continental nations, who rather boast of their courtesy in this direction — I have never seen such genuine, unaffected, and practical courtesy paid to the weaker and gentler sex as I have seen in America. (Applause.) " Courtesy also can be tried by general agreeableness. Dur- ing my tour — and owing- to the arduous exercise of my friend. Major Pond, I have never stayed long in one place — I have travelled far and wide and haven't always been able to ride in parlor cars. I have, consequently, seen a great deal of peo- ple ; but with the exception of one single person, and she was an immigrant, and, I have no doubt, a delightful woman, although somewhat indifferent as to her personal appeai-ance, with the exception of that single individual, I have met no woman and no man in the cars with whom I would not be willing to sit in the same compartment or the same seat of the car during a day's journey. That seems to me a remarkable thing, but it may seem to you nothing. To us, from an Eu- ropean standpoint, it means a great deal. It means the com- fort of your people ; it means the self-respect of your people ; it means the manners of your people ; it means many things on which I congratulate you as a nation. (Applause.) ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 439 " And, sir, -what has interested me deeply is that while you are contending with the difficulties which fall to the lot, not only of a new and growing people, but of a nation into which is flowing the very refuse of Europe, there is throughout your people a great love of letters and of art. I have seen again and again in the houses of men who are, as they say ia Europe, seK-made, great evidence that their love is not set' merely on the things' that a man holds in his hand, but on the means of culture through which we see into the unseen and the beauti- ful. Some of the most lovely pictures which can possibly be obtained now are contained in the houses of those men. They do not have their pictures, gentlemen, merely as pieces of fur- niture, which they have bought for so much money, but the men who liave them, as I can bear testimony, are men who can appreciate the beauty of those pictures and who are in no mean degree art critics. On the other side I have been as- sured that if a bookseller has a rare book, one of those lovely books that we all like to have, with a creamy and beautiful binding like that of the past, and marked, perhaps, with a king's or a pope's arms, it is not in England that he finds a purchaser, but in America. And, Mr. President, I would con- gratulate you on the fact that to your high spirit and great enterprise you are also adding a love of the past, and espe- cially that love of letters and art which are surely the height of perfection. (Applause.) " I would only add, Mr. President, one other thing, and it is this, that while the good will between the old country and yours can be maintained and is going to be maintained by hon- orable international agreement, we are encouraged to cherish the hope that the two nations will be bound more and more closely together, until at last the day comes when from Wash- ington to London may go forth a voice on the great interna- tional question of righteousness that no nation will dare to pass by. (Applause.) While that can only be secured, and is being secured by the agreement of eminent statesmen, yet surely, gentlemen, the coming and going of individuals treated kindly and hospitably after a most friendly fashion on this 440 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS side, and I trust also treated after the same fashion on the other side, will weave together many bonds that will not only unite men of letters and men of grammars, but will also unite our two great nations with silken cords that can never be bro- ken. (Applause.) " The speech by William Winter which followed Dr. Wat- son's on this occasion is also well worth being recorded here nearly La full. He said : "You, my hearers, fortunate children -of the lotos flower, have had the singular happiness to come into personal com- munion with some of the foremost men of your time, whether in action or in thought ; with Froude, who depicted so royally the pageantry and pathos of the past ; with Grant, who led so superbly the warrior legions of the present ; with Mark Twain, the best of modern humorists; with Irving, the prince of actors, and with many more. I need not name them. You will recall them, you will remember them all with deep affec- tion ; and I am sure you will agree with me that in every case when the generous heart has paid its homage to a great man, the impulse is not that of adulation, but that of gratitude. (Applause.) " Such is the feeling of this hour when now you are assem- bled to pay honor to the finest literary artist in the art of mingled humor and pathos that has come into literature since Sir Walter Scott. (Applause.) " There are two canons of criticism to which I have fixed my allegiance — that it is always better to show mankind the things which are to be imitated, rather than the things which are to be avoided ; and since the moral quality is present in everything, whether as morality or immorality, penetrating all subjects and everything that can be imagined, no work of art should have any avowed and fixed moral. Those princi- ples are imitated in the writings of Dr. Watson. He has him- self told you that it is impossible to analyze a spiritual fact. We all know that his race are noble in their influence, that they have exerted a noble influence upon society. We do not not know the secret of his charm. I cannot tell it to you ; I BCCENTRIOITIES OF GENIUS 441 wish I could. I think perhaps it is that same inaccessible magic which I find ia ' King Lear,' which I find in the death speech of Brutus : " 'Night hangs upon mine eyes ; my bones would rest, That have labor'd to attain this hour.' '"This day breathed first; time is come round, And where I did begin there shall I end. ' " I find it in Robert Burns when he sang of the cavalier who 'turned his charger as he stepped upon the Irish shore, and gave his bridle rein a shake with adieu forevermore, my love, adieu forevermore.' (Applause.) I have felt it in many of the stories, the matchless American stories of Bret Harte. I feel it in that talk of poor old Bowes, the fiddler, when stand- ing on the bridge in the eveniag; I feel it in the Colonel's re- sponse when the chapel bell rings iu the old Charterhouse, and I say that there is but one step from the death-bed of William Lucian to the death-bed of William Maclure. All through literature runs that plaintive note, ' So from hand to hand the divine torch of genius has passed along.' When Rob- ert Burns died, in 1796, it might have been thought that the voice of poetry was done, but at that time Byron was playing along the banks of the Dee. Any one might have thought that all was ended; but then others were ripening for the work of generations to come. So when we look about us and see what has been done ; when we see Dr. Watson, and Barrie, and Hardy, we feel that the time of mourning for Dickens, and Thackeray, and G-eorge Eliot has come to an end. " I am not surprised to find that this voice comes from Scot- land. When I have stood on the old Calton hiU under a blue and black sky, and seen the drifting smoke from a thousand chimneys fall over Edinburgh ; when from the height of the necropolis I have looked down upon old Glasgow and the grim figure of Drumtochty ; when from the slopes of Ben Cruachan I have seen the sunsets fade and darken in the valleys ; when just before the dawn I have looked down upon the town slum- berin.g in darkness ; when I have been in the old broken cathe- 442 ECCENTRICITIES OP GENIUS dral of lona and have heard there the swashes of the murmur- ing sea, I have not wondered that Scotland has all the poetry, and that deep in the heart of every Scotchman there is a note which thrills to the melodies of Burns, of Hogg, Ramsay, and to the eternal memories of Scott. (Great applause.) Scot- land, its beauties, its glories, and its loves ! I will read a few- verses of mine, unknown, I thiak, to you, descriptive of my feelings when I parted from the most sacred of its shrines : "FAKEWELL TO lONA. I. " Shrined among their crystal seas — Thus I saw the Hebrides : All the land with verdure dight ; All the heavens flushed with light ; Purple jewels 'neath the tide ; Hill and meadow glorified ; Beasts at ease and hirds in air ; Life and beauty everywhere ! Shrined among their crystal seas — • Thus I saw the Hebrides. II. "Fading in the sunset smile — Thus I left the Holy Isle ; Saw it slowly fade away, Through the mist of parting day ; Saw its ruins, grim and old, And its bastions, bathed in gold, Rifted crag and snowy beach. Where the sea-gulls swoop and screech, Vanish, and the shadows fall. To the lonely curlew's call. Fading in the sunset smile- Thus I left the Holy Isle. III. "As Columba, old and ill. Mounted on the sacred hill, ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 443 Raising hands of faith and prayer, Breathed his benediction there — Stricken with its solemn grace — Thus my spirit blessed the place : O'er it while the ages range, Time be blind and work no change ! On its plenty be increase ! On its homes perpetual peace ! While around its lonely shore Wild winds rave and breakers roar, Round its blazing hearths be blent Virtue, comfort, and content ! On its beauty, passing all. Ne'er may blight nor shadow fall ! Ne'er may vandal foot intrude On its sacred solitude ! May its ancient fame remain Glorious, and without a stain ; And the hope that ne'er departs, Live within its loving hearts ! IV. " Slowly fades the sunset light. Slowly round me falls the night. Gone the Isle, and distant far All its loves and glories are : Yet forever, in my mind. Still will sigh the wandering wind. And the music of th^ seas, 'Mid the lonely Hebrides." (Very great applause.) Later in the evening Dr. Watson declared that Mr. Win- ter's speech was the most beautiful he had ever heard. I offered Dr. Watson $24,000 if he would give me twelve more weeks. I never could understand why he did not go on, 444 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS excepting that he had promised his people' he would come back, and he considered a promise worth more than $24,000 — this, too, at the close of the nineteenth century, although many of his parishioners told me afterward that they would have been glad to have had him remain longer if he wished. The doctor had such confidence in human nature that he would believe the very first man he met, a rather amusing in- stance of which occurred during our visit to Poughkeepsie. We arrived there shortly afternoon on the 9th of December, and were met at the station by the editor and owner of a prom- inent Poughkeepsie paper, with whom Dr. "Watson and I were to dine at one o'clock. As we were being driven from the station to his house, our host began entertaining his guest by regret- tiag that he was to have a small audience, because the lecture had not been properly advertised. This reminded me that when I had first announced that Dr. Watson was going to Poughkeepsie, this gentleman had written me asking if I had not better devote some extra space to advertising in his paper, to which I replied that the manager of the Opera House attended to that matter for me, and that whatever he did went. I said to the gentleman, "Is there no interest here? " He said, "None whatever. No advertising has been done." The doctor seemed chopfallen and showed me a rather im- kind look, as he had been hurried around in a lively manner that day. I didn't discuss the matter very extensively with our host, but on our way to his house I noticed that my three sheet posters announcing Dr. Watson were on all the bulletin boards, and that lithographs appeared in many of the windows along the streets through which we were driving. I called his attention to this, but he remarked that that kind of adver- tising had no effect in Poughkeepsie. We arrived at his house, where a number of local ministers and private friends were assembled to meet Dr. Watson at dinner. It was not the kind of meeting that would naturally inspire a man who had been speaking three times a day and travelling between times. I begged to be excused, and asked our host, inasmuch as he was ECCENTRICITIES OF GEKIUS 445 to preside and introduce Dr. Watson, if he would see to get- ting him to the Opera House at two o'clock, saying that if he would do so, I would go and look after the business. On my arrival at the Opera House at 1 :30 I found it packed with people. I hurried to the box office, and the manager told me that he was in trouble, as he had sold every seat in the house, and some of his best patrons, supposiag, of course, there would be no difficulty La securing seats, were bitterly disappointed ; that he was trying to arrange some chairs for them on the stage, but that they had some hesitancy ia going there. "Your house is sold out? " said I. " Yes, everything. Major. It is the greatest rush we have had for a long time." By two o'clock the house was entirely seated. There were many on the stage, and all the standing room in the galleries was occupied. The manager, against my wishes, made the prices 50 cents, 75 cents, and $1, which precluded there being a very large money house. It was a cold December day, and the disappointed ones hurried away from the theatre, so that when Dr. Watson and his host drove up there was not a soul in sight. When they entered the lobby I said to the editor : " Will you please step right through the lobby to the stage? There are no more people expected, and you might as well begin at once." He looked around to Dr. Watson, as much as to say : " You see. Doctor, it is as I told you ; you have not been advertised. " Then the Doctor gave me a very rebukeful look, and I said : "Please go on. Doctor. I remember what Mr. Beecher once said to me when I told him there was a very small audi- ence in front. He replied : ' That is not my part of it ; but I will try to give them a little better lecture.' " The gentleman led the Doctor through the alley to the stage door and on to the stage, and as they stepped into view the sight must have astonished him. The presence of " Ian Maclaren " of course brought a dem- onstration from that eager audience such as no man but he has ever heard in Poughkeepsie. He was unprepared for the ova- 446 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS tion, and I thought that he was rather at his wits' end to collect himself in order to begin as he wished. But he never was in a more delightful atmosphere. Poughkeepsie's best, and all of the Vassar girls, were there. There is an intelligent public in that Hudson Eiver town, a fact that is known nowhere better than among themselves. After the performance many nished to the stage and congratulated the Doctor. "How is this?" I asked the gentleman who had been so doubtful as to the size of the audience that would turn out to hear Dr. Watson. His reply was : " Major Pond, where in the world did these people come from? " "Why," I said, "somebody has told them about it. We don't have to advertise 'Ian Maclaren.' You just tell some- body he is coming, and he tells somebody else, and so it spreads around. I have just paid a bill of $60 for advertising this lecture, so you see even newspaper men are sometimes mis- taken." " How many people are there in here?" he asked, and I said: "I don't know exactly how many, but there is over $1,000 in the house, at $0.50, $0.75, and $1." "Well, Major," he replied, "this is the greatest thing I have ever known ia this city. ISaw, we want to take the Doctor out to Vassar." "Oh, my dear sir, do let the Doctor have one hour's rest before he takes the train for Kingston to-night. He has been on the move every moment, night and day, for the last two weeks. Won't you be merciful and let him rest quietly here in the green room? " No, he could not do that ; he had promised President Tay- lor to take him out to Vassar, and had a carriage in waiting. The Doctor finally yielded. We got into an old, cold, rickety carriage, with a pair of poor horses, and in that chilly after- noon drove four miles, not even having a lap robe. '\ATien we were in the carriage and stai-ted for Vassar College the Doctor said: ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 447 "Well, Major, it might have been worse." "Yes," I said, "Doctor, it might have been worse. We have got over $760 out of that $3 telegram which I sent some time ago, you will remember — and from utilizing the hours your New York friend wanted for a breakfast." Dr. Watson showed an expression of genuine satisfaction. Arrived at the college, there was just time to be introduced to President Taylor, see the pretty chapel of which they are so proud, a dormitory, and one or two classrooms. We drove back to the station, urging the driver and the poor horses to the extent of their capabilities, arriving there just in time to catch the train to Rhinecliff, which connected with the steamer to Eondout and the trolley cars to Kingston, arriving at 7 :30 P.M. We had draner, and at eight o'clock "Ian Maclaren" was addressing another great crowd. No better description of a lively week's work can be given than to copy verbatim from my diary the entries for the last week Dr. Watson spent in this country : " Thursday, Dec. 10, 1896. " Three lectures to-day. Waldorf at eleven, gross receipts were $1,498.50. It was the social event of the season. Had luncheon there with Dr. and Mrs. Watson, Professor Fisher of Yale, and Mrs. Pond. Then we rode in Andrew Carnegie's carriage to Brooklyn, where Oscar Murray had a $2,200 house waiting for us in the Academy of Music. Mrs. Howard, eighty-four years old — the only surviving charter member of Plymouth Church — came back on the stage to congratulate and thank Dr. Watson. Refreshments at the Hamilton Club, then Doctor and I went to Jersey City, where we all dined pre- vious to the lecture, with the Rev. Dr. Brett, in whose church the lecture was given. The gross receipts were $660. Every- body was very much pleased, and the Doctor never spoke better. Gross business to-day, $4,269.60. " To-day we have travelled on the trolley from Kingston to Eondout, by boat to Ehinecliff, cars to New York, cab to the Waldorf, carriage to Brooklyn, hack to the Annex Ferry, An- 448 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS nex boat to Jersey City, trolley to lecture hall, and the Doctor back by trolley, ferry, and elevated road to his hotel in New York. I am tired, but Dr. Watson is apparently as fresh as a morning lark. ' Major, the people are not unfriendly,' he remarked. ' I think the boys will get their bicycles.' " "Fkiday, Dec. 11th. " Three more speeches to-day ! Up at seven, at the oflB.ce at half -past eight, and at the Waldorf by ten. Lecture on Burns attracted a full house. Dr. Watson and I donated the net proceeds to the poor fund of St. Andrew's Society. After lunch at the Waldorf, we drove to the Amphion Theatre, Brooklyn, where he gave 'Annals of Drumtochty.' Then back to New York, and to Stamford, in the evening, where he gave a reading: The house was packed. "Through the kindness of George L. Connor, the Boston express stopped at Stamford at 10 :09 and took us back to New York. The Doctor in good form. Got home at 12 :30 a.m. As he returned he said to me : 'People are not unfriendly. Major; those bicycles are pretty certain.' " "Saturday, Dec. 12th. " Another three-timer, and the last day of the pleasantest, most vigorous, and most satisfactory short lecture tour I ever had the honor to manage. Dr. Watson addressed the students of the Union Theological Seminary in New York at ten, luncheon at 12 :30, lectured in Paterson at three, and Eugle- wood at eight. He is happy and jolly, and gives no sign of being tired in body or voice. Hundreds of thousands of peo- ple have been made happier and benefited by coming in con- tact with him. He has been the centre of loving hearts wherever he went. I love him, and almost envy him the abundance of love people show him, and am thankful that I have been so favored. I have' worked hard ; he has worked hard, too. It has paid us both, and him a thousandfold more than the thousands of dollars he has cleared in the two short ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 449 months. It is hard to part with him. How I shall miss him!" " Sunday, Dec. 13th. " Went to Plymouth Church. Dr. Watson was the preacher —his last public utterance in America. It was a great ser- mon. Thousands thronged the neighboring thoroughfares leading to the church, and long before the doors were thrown open to the public the line of anxious people extended from the church to Fulton Street on one side and past Hicks Street on the other. ITever did I see such a crowd excepting when the body of Mr. Beecher was lying in state. " "Monday, Dec. 14th. " Dr. Watson spent an hour with me in the office signing books and photographs, and telling us about his receptions and entertainments. He christened a Scotch child in Gaelic at eleven, signed a lot of books at Dodd, Mead & Co.'s, signed fifty more books and lithographs for me, attended a big lunch in his honor at the Union League Club, at four went to a re- ception given by Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Carnegie, and to even- ing dinner at the house of John Sloane. Everybody seems to want him, and the pressure is very great. His time is all filled between sunrise and midnight." "Wednesday, Dec. 16th. " It is very stormy. Snow-ploughs are at work in every street. Dr. and Mrs. Watson sailed at twelve on the Majes- tic. The Doctor made me a handsome present and wrote me a letter which is one of my most precious treasures. Here it is : "'6 West 61st Street, New York, "'Dec. 16, 1896. " ' Dear Major Pond : "'The day has come when we leave America and return home, and as I look back on our campaign I am much im- pressed by the ability with which you conducted the opera- tions from beginning to end, and your unfailing courage, good temper, and kindness. 450 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS " 'You -will forgive me if at times I was depressed or irri- table. It is a Celt's infirmity ; but I have never failed to note your care for our comfort and your sacrifices on our bebalf. " 'Accept -with this note a little case for your expeditions, and as often as you use it — out with some greater star— give a thought to Drumtochty and its story-teller. " 'Accept for Mrs. Pond and yourself this sincere assurance of our regard, and believe me ever, '"Yours faithfully, " 'John Watson.' "Dr. Watson's copy of 'The Bonnie Briar Bush' from ■which he read on the tour he inscribed to me as follows : "'With grateful thoughts for his best-natured friend, from afieryCelt.^ — Ian Maclaebn.' "He is a noble, man. My heart is too full for utterance. Our tour has been a great success. In ten weeks we have cleared $35,796.91. This beats all records except Stanley's, and I think I have seen more smiling and happy faces during the last ten weeks than any man has ever before seen in that length of time." On his return to Liverpool he wrote me the following letter : " Sefton Park Church, Liverpool. "Eev. John Watson, 18 Sefton Drive. "Jan. 1, 1897. "Mt Dear Major: " First of all let me wish you both a very Happy New Year, in which wish Mrs. Watson desires to join. May the 'Stars ' all be bright and shining this year ! We had rather a rough passage home, but after the first two days suffered nothing, and arrived home at 3 a.m. on the Thursday morning in good health, to get a warm welcome here. " A reception was held in the church that day, and an ad- dress was presented, with a bouquet of flowers to Mrs. Wat- son. Letters from all kinds of people poured in to welcome us. I send two papers. " We have suffered nothing from our journeys ; in fact peo- ple declare that we never looked better— so there is a feather ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 45i in your cap, Major; you did send us liome as ■well as we came. " My heart is warm to America, and I hope some day to see her good people again under your care ; but I fear the day is far off. With kindest regards, " Yours faithfully, "John Watson." 452 ECCEXTBICITIES OF GENIUS HALL CAIZ^TE is one of the most remarkable of personal- ities. A man of not over forty years, of slender frame, middle lieiglit, and having a slight stoop, he carries in all his movements the evidence of the intense nervous organi- zation -with wliich he is endowed. He is refined and gentle in speech and manner, low- voiced, with simple ways, giving at eA'ery turn evi- dences of kindliness of feel- ing and sensitiveness to all emotion. He is never fret- ful, though of so remark- aide a nervous temijerament. He dresses very quietly. As a sjjeaker he wou.ld be very effective if he left his manuscript alone entirely. His voice is low but clear, with a vilu'ant note of per- stmal apjieal in it. Toward the close of a reading or lerture it ^^•ould grow a lit- tle husk^y, and under the strain of feeling at times a trifle indistinct. (Jct-asionally he would i)ut his notes or manuscri])t aside and ajipeal directly to the audience, pouring out for a few miinites an electric, eloquent flood of sentences which would bring enthusiastic response. He is original, though not sensatioiuil, in manner. As an author-reader he followed 8ir Edwin Arnold in origi- nality Ijy having s])ecially prepared for reading an unpub- lished story — in sul)stance a condensed Udvel. His liand- writing is an imlex of his temperament, small, tine, and ner- vous in style. The play of " The Christian " was eutirelj^ written on tine ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 453 white note paper not over six by four inches in size. The writing is so small as almost to require a magnifying glass to read it, and it did not occupy more than two-thirds of the page, with the names of the characters, etc. , set on separate lines and running to the farther edge of the paper. I had been in correspondence with him for a number of years with the view of making him a star lyceum attraction. I never could get his consent, although I had very encourag- ing symptoms. We became great friends. While in Europe, Mrs. Pond and I visited him at Greba Castle on the Isle of Man, and declared it the most interesting part of our English journey that summer. I came home, however, with very lit- tle encouragement. He had just finished "The Christian," and the last page of copy had gone to the printer's. He was cleaning out his library and workshop, and there were thou- sands of manuscript pages that he had rewritten and cross- written which he was throwing away. I asked the privilege of saving a few, and am now sorry that I didn't take the whole barrel. I disliked to see them swept out. A year later Mr. Caiue came to this country to produce the play " The Christian." While that was being rehearsed there was hardly a day that he did not come to my ofiice, as many of his letters were addressed there and he stayed at the Everett House. He advised with me a good deal concern- ing many things, which I considered a very high honor. After the play had got thoroughly established, I persuaded him to consent to give a few readings in Boston, Albany, Rochester, Buffalo, Toronto, Detroit, Chicago, Cincinnati, Baltimore, and Washington. The overwhelming success of the play of " The Christian " had in some way led Mr. Caine to believe that there would be the same sort of rush of people to hear the author of " The Christian." While there were good-paying audiences and of the most select people, of course there were not galleries and big crowds such as Mr. Caine had been accustomed to see at performances of the play. The disappointment affected him very much. I had all I could do to keep htm cheered up. 454 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS At Albany and Troy the houses were very small. The play of " The Christian " had its first production m Albany, turn- ing people away, and with thirty curtain calls. There Mr. Caine had banked upon a great reception. The receipts were small, but he was making $500 a day on "The Christian." then running in New York. Why, I said, should he let a little thing like that worry him. I tried to convince him that so far as money was concerned he did not need it, and that it just happened to be an inopportune time that we visited Albany ; in other cities it would be all right. We had fair business in Rochester, a large house in Toronto, an overflowing house in Cleveland, and a matinfe in Detroit before a crowded house. Wherever Mr. Caine went, there were invitations for all sorts of social affairs, which he accepted and enjoyed very much. I learned, while on this trip, that to have him at his best was at a dinner or social club after his performance. There could not be a more delightful, brilliant, entertaining man in con- versation. In Chicago he reserved an evening for the Manxmen resi- dents of that city, who gave him a dinner. They were all from the Isle of Man, his native land. They talked Manx, ate Manx, and drank Manx (principally water). It was a strange crowd, and Mr. Hall Caine towered above everybody else in it. His was the only speech, as no one else there could talk. It was an interesting occasion. F. MARION CRAWFORD ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 455 FMAEIOIST CRAWFORD is a man I love very much. I . have the honor to call him friend. Had this popular author adopted a career of politics rather than the vocation of letters, he would have secured for himself a position in the councils of the republic almost equal in influence to that which he occupies as a writer of healthy and invigoratiag novels. Fortunate in possessing a commanding presence, he has added to this an uninterrupted flow of choice and vivid lan- guage, and natural gestures which emphasize his magnificent word-pictures and carry conviction to those who listen to his appeals to manliness and universal tolerance. He is a man who at all times has spoken his mind on religious subjects, with pride of strong conviction unmixed with defi- ance ; a lecturer who handles his subject in a manner that is at once captivating, judicious, and wisely moderate. Ke breathes the very spirit of his novels — the spirit of human brother- hood, with hatred for all things petty and mean. F. Marion Crawford carries his own stationery and pen and ink, and never writes with any other. He uses a " Falcon " pen, and has written every word of every novel with the same penholder. He was always writing. His " Ave Roma Im- mortalis " was written during this lecture tour. In a copy that he signed and presented to me he wrote. "To THE Major: "From his friend and old lecturer, "F. Marion- Crawford. "The chapter on Julius Csesar in this book was written chiefly on the train while we were travelling together in the West in 1898." The first thing upon entering his room at a hotel, Mr. Crawford arranges his writing materials, always in the same manner. The table is placed so that the light will fall from his left. He sits with his side to the table, his right arm rest- 456 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS ing on it, and the paper parallel with its length. He writes a very fine hand, and very rapidly, punctuating as he goes along. When a page is finished it is finished, and a work of art. He arranges his bath and toilet articles, also, in a uniform way invariably. He never patronizes a local laundry. He has two leather trunks, made to order, that hold two dozen shirts ; when one trunkful of shirts has been used he sends them to New York to be laundered, and the other trunk of fresh shirts arrives by express in time for his need. The novelist carries a hand valise that he had made to order, with very long handles, so that it barely clears the pave- ment when carried. This enables him to get through a crowd without annoying others with his valise, for it is never ia the way. His silver monogram is on every article of his toilet and writing equipment and his travelling-bags. He wants his room at a temperature of sixty degrees, and so has it. He is very kind and polite to servants, and sees to it that each one who serves him is justly rewarded, not only pecuniarily, but with ktad words. Mr. Crawford asks the name of every servant or waiter who attends him, and addresses him by his name ; and if he has occasion to refer to any hotel where he has been, he can recall the name of the one who served him. He always has a drawiag-room ia the sleepiag-car, and I know of only one instance, in a journey of seven thousand miles, where he failed to secure one. He arranges his draw- ing-room ia exactly the same methodical way as his hotel room. He has a hanging alarm clock that is always in sight. He sees the bright side of everything, and never says an ill-aatured word. He is not fond of company, and receptions are especially irksome to him ; but under such conditions he is always the perfect gentlemaii. It was a long time before I could persuade him to prepare a lecture and devote a season to the platform. In the spring of 1898 he called at my office and asked me what my proposi- tion was. I told him that I would do the same with him that I did with Stanley and others : make it a partnership arrange- ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 457 ment, he taking two-thirds of the projBt and I one-third, and I personally conducting the tour. So we began early in October of that season. He had pre- pared four lectures: "The Early Italian Artists," "Italian Home Life in the Middle Ages," "The Italy of Horace," and "Leo XIII. in the Vatican," and returned to Italy for the summer to fit himself for his platform tour. He began on the 28th of October in Bridgeport, Conn. , before one of the most select literary clubs in the country. I received a letter from the committee in Bridgeport which had engaged him, thank- ing me for the most delightful, scholarly lecture that club had ever offered to its members. I saw that Mr. Crawford was a success. His time was booked six nights a week, from November 1st to the following April. It was one of the most extensive and successful tours I have ever made with a star. He lectured before the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sci- ences, one of the most intelligent audiences in the country. The house was closely packed, and on the platform were a number of the leadmg citizens of Brooklyn, including St. Clair McKelway, Mayor Schieren, the Rev. Dr. Lyman Abbott, and Dr. Richard S. Storrs. Dr. Abbott said such nice things of the lecture at its close that I asked him if I might have the privilege of publicly quoting his words. In reply, he sent me the following letter : "Beookltn, N. Y., Jan. 19, 1898. "My Deae Major Pond: " I heard with great interest Mr. Crawford's lecture on ' Leo XIII. and the Vatican,' and am glad to be quoted anywhere as saying what I said at the close of that lecture, that I am sure wherever it is delivered it will help to remove prejudice of Protestants against Romanists and of Romanists against Protestants. "Mr. Crawford's literary skill needs no indorsement from me, and his ability in analysis of character and in portrait painting is seen to great advantage in his graphic picture of Leo XIII. Yours sincerely, "Lyman Abbott." 458 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS He lectured in the Northern cities until the 30th of January, and then made a tour through the principal cities of the South, and up through Texas and Kansas City, Mo., where I met hiia on the 12th of March and accompanied him across the continent to San Francisco and Southern California, back up the coast to Seattle, Victoria, B. C, Portland, Ore., Helena, Mont., and several other towns ia Montana, closing in Fargo, N. Dak., on the 27th of April. In our travel across the plains from Kansas City to Denver, I pointed out to Mr. Crawford where I had shot my first buf- falo and many scenes of Indian fights and adventure, all of which he seemed to enjoy just as much as I did. In all, we spent twenty-two weeks and travelled twenty-six thousand miles. Our journey across the continent, through California, and vip the coast was a succession of pleasurable events. With the exception of Mr. Beecher, I never had been associ- ated with a man who interested himself so much in everything in which I was interested. We were inseparable, and there were many incidents of our journey which were really memor- able in the cities where we visited. In the Brigham Young Normal College, Provo, Utah, where over six hundred young men and women were being taught as missionaries to go all over the world and make converts to the Mormon faith, Mr. Crawford gave his lecture on " Leo XIII. in the Vatican " to as attentive an audience as I have ever known, and what was remarkable to Mr. Crawford and me were the characteristic interruptions of the audience. These people are accustomed to being addressed constantly, as all Mormons are preachers or speakers. Mr. Crawford said that he had some of the keenest questions put to him in regard to characters in his book and religious arguments that he had ever encountered. He was so pleased that he gave the college library a complete set of his books, which he signed and for- warded to that institution on his return from the journey. Mr. Crawford's lecture in Salt City was largely attended by a most remarkable audience. The Roman Catholic bishop, four Mormon bishops, and clergymen of all the differ- ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 459 ent denominations residiag there, -were present. In the Meth- odist Church the lecturer was introduced by the Methodist pastor, and sixty per cent of the audience were Mormons, among whom were several of Brigham Young's daughters, sons, and daughters-in-law. The reception to the lecturer by the Ladies' Press Club was held in the historic Bee-hive House, the former home of Brigham Young, where Mary Ann Angel, his first, and, as he claimed in his will, his legitimate wife, and a number of other wives had lived. Mormons and Gentiles were about equally represented. Among those present were some of the prophet's daughters and many of his grandchildren and other former polygamous wives. There were army officers from Fort Douglas, with their wives, the Presbyterian and Episcopalian ministers and their wives, all mingling with one another with- out prejudice. From all appearances they were mutuklly en- joying the occasion. To me it seemed strange. The Mormon religion is as firmly founded and progressive as any. The Mormon people, trained in industry and fealty, are as sincere as ever. Many " Gentiles " of former days have married Mormon women and joined the church. They had to do it if they got the wives, for one of their religious tenets is to marry young and increase the church, and the women have never known any other religion. There are now over three thousand missionaries in various parts of the world preaching the Mormon faith and sending converts by thousands every year to Utah. All the valleys and mountain canons are becoming closely settled with homes made for these immigrant converts. They are spreading all over Nevada, Arizona, Idaho, Montana, Colorado, ISTorthem Mexico, and Manitoba. Industrious, hon- est, frugal, patiently toiling, they are enriching the great mountain country, and doing it quietly while they work un- ceasingly. What is to be the result? The Mormon religion is surely growing. The attendance was very great in Southern California, where Mr. Crawford met a large number of his readers and friends. What was particularly interesting on the tour was the great in- 460 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS terest taken in him. by all the Catholic priests. Invariably the leading priest called on him wherever he visited. Whenever we arrived at a city where there was a bishop, he would secure a carriage and his first call was on the bishop. He claimed that that was his duty. I had an opportunity to observe that among the . best-educated men in the land are the Catholic priests. At Riverside, Cal. , Father Sherman, the son of G-en. William T. Sherman, took great pains to entertain us ia that interesting city. I would not have missed the opportunity of meeting Father Sherman for a good deal, as his father had been one of my dearest friends. One night in San Francisco, after having returned from Oak- land, we were seated in the grill-room of the Palace Hotel, our supper partly finished, engaged in conversation, when I sud- denly said : " Mr. Crawford, are we in the dining-car? See how these dishes are dancing." Mr. Crawford pulled out his watch and said : "It's an earthquake. Major. Don't be frightened. I've been in fifty of them. It will only last twenty seconds. " Then I saw chandeliers swinging, heard glass falling, and saw sober people staggering ; meanwhile we were beiag shaken with vibrations like a milk shake, beginning slowly for, say ten seconds, then coming to the hardest part of the shock. Our table and chairs, and we in them, were being carried along the floor. Suddenly there was a great noise like a tremendous explosion, and then an atmospheric depression indescribable. All who could had rushed out into the streets. Had it not been for Mr. Crawford's apparent radifference there's no knowing where the writer would have been. It lasted only forty sec- onds, so all records agree, but, ah, it seemed a lifetime to most of those who got the benefit of it ; for there never could have been a more remarkably exciting scene than the court and corridors of the Palace Hotel presented from the time of the earthquake until daylight. In the grill room were a number of men gathered in groups, with exi)ressions on their faces that showed they were prepared for the worst. None of them ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 461 smiled or attempted to show unconcern except Mr. Crawford, wIlo kept continually assuring everybody tliat the whole thing was over — that if a return shock did not come within three minutes there would be none. Every man and woman that I saw was yawning. Whether it was because yawning is catch- ing, or an atmospheric condition caiised by the disturbance, it is not easy to tell, but such opening of mouths and such sallow, yellow and green countenances I never witnessed. The ele- vators began bringing guests to the ground floor, men, women, and children scrambling for the open — in all kinds of costumes that people sleep in, and some badly mixed up ; one lady was barefooted, in a man's overcoat; there were men in pajamas, trousers, and slippers, ia overcoats. One man in a simple undershirt tried to jump from the first balcony. He was a short, fat man, weighing, I should say, 360. I thought I recog- nized him as one of the staff of a certain New York magazine, and called Mr. Crawford's attention to the fact. He said: "Yes, that is poor W ." We hurried to him, only to learn that it was some other person. He was greatly frightened, and embarrassed, too, after coming to his senses ; for the un- dershirt could no more protect his shaking body than the tinfoil on the neck of a champagne bottle could conceal all the champagne. We were glad it was not our friend, but we could not smile for gladness. A smile and an earthquake never appear simultaneously. Two men fresh from their rooms, in sleeping garb, were supporting a young lady in angel clothes by both arms. They carried her bodily, as she had collapsed. It was pitiable, but not laughable, until next morning. Such calls as this : " Is there a doctor in the house? My wife is dying ! " " Oh, can't you get a doctor quick? I know my husband is dead or dying. Do try. Oh, what will become of us? " " Is there any train leavkig right away? " A woman caught hold of a man's arm, screaming, " Save me ! save me ! " He tried in his rush and fright to shake her off, but she again cried out : " Save, oh, save me! What shall I do? " Just then he loosened her grasp, saying, " Go to hell ! " and she fell prostrate. 462 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS Eeturning to our rooms, I found my bed in the middle of the floor and the centre-table very near the ■n^all ; both had moved about four feet. Water was running ia the bathroom. On the floor in the hallway lay a young man. I asked him if he felt badly or was ia paiu. He said: "ISTo, I am in no pain, neither am I frightened. I simply cannot get up. My legs refuse to carry me." We helped him to a sofa in the corridor, and there left him, at his request, with "Thank you. " We were to leave for Southern California the following morn- ing. I noticed that Mr. Crawford had some severe spells of coughing on the cars at night, and I thought that the earth- quake had affected him more severely than he had cared to tell me. Before retiring he told me that he was going to take me into his confidence, as we were partners and friends, and men- tioned the fact that he had been having a good deal of trouble coughing, and that he had had two hemorrhages since I had joined him; that his left lung was very sore, and he might be obliged to return home, but that he intended to finish the tour no matter what the sacrifice, if it were possible. In San Fran- cisco he had been in consultation with a physician who had been recommended to him by his New York physician, and he had been advised to close the tour then and there and return home ; but he was in hopes that Southern California might help him. This put a damper on further pleasure for me. I cared nothing whatever as to the business part of it— that never entered my mind ; but I assured Mr. Crawford that I would not be the means of his breaking down for a dozen for- tunes. He assured me that it was not my fault at all, and that he was going through. He had contracted a cold in New Or- leans, and at Pueblo, on a very windy day, he had visited a smelting-works and had inhaled so much of the gas that it had nearly killed him. He received the best of care. AVe visited Southern California with no serious mishap, went back up to San Francisco for two more lectures, and then to Portland, Ore. At Portland he was seriously ill, and I persuaded him to call in a local physician, who examined him thoroughly, and who told ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 463 me afterward that only a man of his perfect physique and iron constitution could possibly have continued lecturing. But Mr. Crawford was incorrigible, and insisted that he must be doctored up in order to iinish his tour. This physician assured me that the case was very serious, and gave me some medicine and some directions about how to act in case there should be further attacks. We continued on to Victoria, B. C, and back to Helena, Mont., a town that we had been advised to skip owing to its high altitude. The San Francisco doctor had insisted that it would not do for Mr. Crawford to venture twelve thousand feet above sea-level in Helena. It did no good. We went to Helena. Mr. Crawford gave two lectures there to the two largest audiences we had between the Paciiic Ocean and the Missouri Kiver. Then we wen.t on to Winnipeg, and home. I was satisfied that Mr. Crawford's days were num- bered. I had promised to say nothiug to any one about it, and I never did mention it, and would not do so now, were it not for the fact that Mr. Crawford has written me that he has fully recovered. During all the time Mr. Crawford kept up his writing, and was always cheerful. It was his wonderful power of abstraction and courage that carried him through this ordeal. We parted in Chicago. He was so anxious to hurry home that he took the fastest train, while I made $16 by arriving twelve hours later by another route. We exchanged several telegrams on our different routes. I put it down as one of the most enjoyable and delightful companionships that I have ever had. At the close of this six'months' tour Mr. Crawford sailed for his home in Italy, still in poor health. I hardly expected ever to see him again. I was lonesome without him, and busied myself at odd times with writing him. letters, which he never answered. I feared he was ill, or that I had hurt his feel- ings in some way, but, , to my delight, in due time the following letter came, which brought great joy to the Pond household : 464 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS " Saxt' Agnello di Sokkento, Italy, " Dec. 16, 1898. "Dear Old Major: " A Merry Christmas to you, and to Mrs. Pond, and Bim, and Miss Glass, and all the very best wishes of the season ! I am. not dead and buried, and as you may have supposed from a rude way I have of never answering a man's letters till he has written about six times. But I have been very busy with my work, and between times with enjoying a long spell of home with my wife and children. Knowing how you hate Mrs. Pond and Bim, you will probably find this most extraor- dinary ! You must try and get used to the idea. (This letter does not contain a request for a loan for five dollars at the end of it, so you may read it quite calmly— I just thought of that.) I look over my old note books of last year, and it hardly seems possible that I could ever have been the talking-piece of baggage that was sent flying over the country for six months to be wound up every day at the same hour. This is a good deal more comfortable, my friend, and there is less wear and tear on one's throat and good clothes — not to mention one's temper and digestion. All the same, I am glad I did it once, and saw the country from end to end and from top to bottom, and with a man who knows the West as you do. But if we ever do it again, I shall take a patent reversible india-rubber cofB.n which can be used as a bath, overcoat, or pulpit, and can be hermetically sealed so as to bring the lecturer home on ice from the point at which he dies ! " Well — I am all right again, thank goodness ! Whatever you do, my friend, 7iei'er let let your lecturer go and visit the smelting furnaces in Colorado. That was the beginning of my trouble, and you were not there on that day to prevent me from going. "We had a little earthquake here not long ago — a sort of little kitten earthquake — but it made me think of that evening in San Francisco, when the house rocked and the boy dropped the cheese into the ice box and ran ! That was a good supper, well shaken down — we shall probably never digest another so quickly. " I have discovered that the wicked Emperor Tiberius was left-handed — you and I are in good company. "This is just a Christmas greeting— a little less than a lec- ture, a little more than an autograph, from " Your friend and old lecturer, "P. Maeion Crawford." ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 465 GEN. LEW WALLACE lias made three distinct and creditable i-eputations, as a soldier in tlie "war for tlie Union, as a lawj^er and orator, and as an anthor. As a State lawyer and political speaker, he is confessedly one of the most distinguished at the bar and on the stump of Indiana. As a. novelist, he has made one of the most brilliant successes of late years. His " Ben Hur '' had only one rival in popu- larity in America — " Uncle Tom's Cabin." As a lecturer, he has proved one of the best attractions in the lycenm, and his popularity is increasing. After the success of "Ben Hur " he was called for from all parts of the land, espe- cially by the Young Men's Christian Associations. I don't know that anybody has been in so much demand since Gough's time for these soci- eties as General Wallace. After two or three years of earnest effort I succeeded in getting him to make a tour of one hundred lectures. The General was a pessimist in regard to lecturing. He did not think the people cared to hear him, and to some extent he was right. He surprised me by making the suggestion tliat instead of the regular fifteen pier cent commission for booking time, I should take twenty-five per cent; he thought that was little enough. That enabled me to put a good deal of extra spirit into my work. He kept the engagements, a hundred in num- ber. The tour proved very profitable. From a business 466 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS standpoint it was delightfully satisfactory. I could ask noth.- ing pleasanter in my life than to be constantly associated with Gen. Lew Wallace and to be his daily companion while he was travelling about the country delivering lectures. He had kind words for every person he met. They were genuine, too, and did not smack of the demagogue. During his engagements with me, Mr Klaw of Messrs. Klaw & Erlanger called on me several times and proposed that I should get General Wallace to consent to the dramatization of "Ben Hur," saying that they would pay any amount of money I wanted. I made this suggestion to General Wallace several times, and tried to point out to him the good it would do, and the profit that was to be realized from it, as these managers would spare no money in making the production a success. I pointed out to him that there was an opportunity in the chariot race for an unsurpassed scene and dramatic effect. The General would not listen to it, although I approached him from every standpoint possible. That suc- cess was not for me. Two years later I found that these same managers had obtained General Wallace's consent to drama- tize " Ben Hur " and to bring it out in New York. I never got over it; I entertained so high an opinion of the General's fair- ness, and felt so satisfied that our business relations had been the pleasantest in the world, and that he would not under any circumstances do me a wrong. I have never seen him or heard from him on the subject and I have never seen the play. If the General happens to read this he will know why I have never seen it. That was another of my escapes. Apropos of this, there is one other escape I had while in Bos- ton. Mr. Alexander Graham Bell came to me wanting to in- terest me in a new invention that he had by which he could hear in Lowell, or in any other town, a lecture delivered in Boston. I went out and heard a test of it with Mr. Bell. I suggested to him that it would be just the thing for communication between business offices and factories, livery stables and hotels. He wanted me to go into the business with him and urged me to do so. He spent an hour sitting by my desk talking about it. ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 467 I spoke about it to my partner, but lie reminded me that our business contract would not adm.it of speculation of any kind. I felt pretty certain tbat there was a fortune in the business, and came very near telling him that I would leave the lyceum and take the risk and go into the telephone business. As Mr. Bell was leaving my ofS.ce a gentleman from Providence, who ran a lecture course in that town, came in, and I said to Mr. Bell : "Here is the man you want for that business." Turning to the other gentleman, I said: "Grower, here's something that there's a fortune in. Now you go into this thing." Mr. Gower did his errand in a moment, and walked out of the office with Mr. Alexander Graham Bell. I never saw him afterward. Gower went up in a balloon in Paris and was never heard from. It was said that he was worth over a million dollars when he disappeared — all from the telephone business. At that time he was the husband of Lilian Norton — our Nor- dica. That was another narrow escape which I had. ISRAEL ZANGWILL HCCENTBICITIES OF GENIUS 469 ISEAEL ZANGWILL, author of "The Children of the Ghetto," is another of the unique characters that I have introduced to American audiences, and one who interested me deeply. Many inquiries about him had come from all over the country, especially from Jewish societies. I called on Mr. Zangwill at his home in London, in 1897, and was very cor- dially received. He had never lectured, but thought he could make a go of it, and after an hour's conversation with him I came to the conclusion that he could not fail to interest all who met him. It was a peculiar fascination, largely due, I think, to his indomitable assurance. He looked me right square in the eye when he talked, and whatever he said was so because he said so, although I knew better at the time. He showed me over his two rooms — one of them a library with book shelves on all sides filled with books that bore the marks of wear and tear, and arranged on these shelves ad lib- itum, or perhaps I should say disarranged. I asked him if he had saved press notices of his various books. He took me into the adjoining room and lifted the lid of a trunk which was stuffed full of press cuttings, with the Eomeike attach- ments. (There must have been $500 worth.) He had been in the habit of throwing them promicuously into the trunk and pressing them down or stamping on them, until it looked like a trunk packed full of old waste paper or refuse packing ma- terial. Zangwill had just got back from Jerusalem, and showed me another trunkful of unmounted photographs of the great paintings and architecture of all parts of Europe. There were thousands of them, — most of them very beautiful too, — but they were almost ruined by the rough way in which they had been carelessly thrown into the trunk. One very peculiar photograph was of the mummy of Pharaoh. I asked hiro. to let me take a snapshot of it, and got him to hold the photo- graph up against the window-silL 470 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS It seemed almost impossible to come to any kind of un- derstanding with Zangwill. He thongM that there was a great public waiting for him over here, and I also thought so to a considerable extent. But he couldn't understand why he should come over to America and draw great crowds and I get a third of the profits from his eamiags ; so nothing was defi- nitely settled at that interview. I came away knowing well enough that he intended to visit the United States, and to get all that there was iu it if he did come. Weeks went by, and nothing was satisfactorily arranged between us. He kept me informed of his movements. He was to sail in August in the steamship Lucania in company with his friend Judge Sulz- burger of Philadelphia, whose guest he was to be while over here. He arrived on the morniug of September 27th, and I met him at the steamer. We had made no arrangement, and he was not under my direction or under any obligation to me in any way. Still, I knew he had made no other arrangements. Several Jewish friends met him and took possession of him. I asked him if he would see reporters, and he said that he would be glad to meet them at any hour I might name. He went with me to the Everett House, leaving his other friends to call for him to go to Long Branch at five in the afternoon. He met the press representatives in my offtce, all gathered around the same table where many other English men of let- ters had been on the stand. There was great interest in him. The reporters recognized a brilliant subject, and succeeded in getting about as rich material for " space " as they had encoun- tered for some time. Zangwill answered questions of every conceivable sort, and returned the fire from his assailants with vigor. The reports in all the papers the next day were excel- lent, and the interest in the great Jewish novelist was mani- fest everywhere. Lecture committees called and letters of inquiry came pour- ing in, but as yet I could give no answer. In the interviews the day before he evaded all questions as to his plans, and so it went on until October. Many excellent applications had to ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 471 be rejected because no definite answer could be given. The result was that when an understanding was finally reached, nearly all the lyceum courses in the country were made up, and the only way to book Zangwill was to hire halls aad speculate or accept certainties wherever they came from. After our contract was duly signed, I at once engaged the Lyceum Theatre ui New York for his initial performance ia America. It took place on the afternoon of October 11th, 1898. The pretty theatre was crowded with as intelligent and fash- ionable an audience as New York could turn out to welcome a stranger. " The Drama as a Piae Art " was the subject chosen by Mr. Zangwill. He told me that he would speak without notes, as he had been assured that to attempt to read a lecture to s' New York audience was fatal. There was no use of arguing this with him. It was with some difficulty that he got under way, but the lecture itself was a shower of epigrams interspersed with sparkles of wit that carried his audience with him from the beginning to the very last word. Not until the close of the lecture did a single person leave the house. The speaker was recalled and cheered vociferously for a long time. The lecture was a severe criticism of the dramatic critics, and most of our New York critics were there. The only one of whom Zangwill had spoken kindly was William Winter, on whom the compliment was lost because the latter had ceased long ago to take interest in such affairs. Many of New York's best people rushed upon the stage to congratulate Zangwill on his real success. Some of the most prominent Jewish citizens were there — among them Mr. Selig- man and Mr. Isidor Straus. The latter, who sat by me, de- clared that I had certainly found a winner. I don't think I ever knew an audience to be more delighted. Yet the papers the next morning, much to my surprise, were not very complimentary of Mr. Zangwill' s criticism, and when Zangwill and I met to join Hall Caine and Judge Sulzburger, with whom we were to lunch that day at the Waldorf, he wore about as dejected an expression as I have ever seen. Mr. Caine' s play "The Christian" was receiving very vigorous 472 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS treatment at the hands of the New York papers about this time, and when he and Mr. Zangwill met at the lunch table, I think Judge Sulzburger must have noticed that the two men were in so chopfallen and dejected a state of mind that they might have put pepper iu their coffee instead of sugar without ever having known the difference. If the reporters could have heard that little interchange of opinions of the American press from two such brilliant minds, their story would have delighted the general public if not the journalists themselves. I had little di£3.culty in booking Zangwill. After New York, Boston, and Philadelphia, he went to Buffalo, Cincin- nati, Cleveland, Chicago, St. Louis, and Memphis ; from there to Birmingham, Ala., Atlanta, and back to New York, mak- ing a succession of the longest rides that ever a lecturer attempted in this country. Everywhere Zangwill met big crowds, and his audiences were delighted. On his return in November he gave a series of three lec- tures in the Waldorf-Astoria ; but the newspapers had suc- ceeded in creating a prejudice against the speaker, and these lectures were very poorly attended. I booked him for a Sunday night in Boston, and there was a large advance sale up to the Friday evening before the lec- ture. Then came a blizzard, and not another ticket was sold until the night of the lecture, when only $2 was taken in at the box office. It was one of the historic blizzards of Boston. The advance sale had been $480 up to Friday, and Sunday night it was swelled to $482, but very few of the people who had purchased tickets in advance were able to get to the the- atre. Arrangements were made for another Sunday night in Bos- ton three weeks later, but the public proposed to wait until the night came before buying their tickets, as many of them had been disappointed on the last occasion. On the Saturday before this Sunday another blizzard set in. Mr. Zangwill was on hand and filled the bill, but the house was empty. No- body could get there. Mr. Zangwill and I had rented the ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 473 theatre and were speculating. Our loss "was about $80, but Mr. Zangwill wrote me a letter declaring he thought he must have been the Jonah on this occasion, and insisted on paying all the loss out of his own pocket. The two leading Jewish clubs in New York, the Harmony Social and the Freundschaft, each paid him $600 for a lecture on Sunday evening, and I don't believe Mr. Zangwill or any- body else ever faced a more cultivated or appreciative audience than on these occasions. Many offers were made to Mr. Zangwill for his literary work, and he accepted a dazzling proposition from Harpers to write a novel, and withdrew forever from the platform, as he said. I tried very hard to secure Mr. Zangwill for another season, as his lectures had given great satisfaction in the large cities which he visited and they had been extensively reported. He was about the best-advertised man in the country, and the pub- lic had learned that he had something to give for the money which the American public has always been willing to pay un- der such conditions. But it was no use. Theatrical managers were after him to dramatize "The Children of the Ghetto." Mr. Zangwill was a great dramatic critic, and he believed he could write a great play, and managers had the same belief, which they were ready to back up with large sums of money. He came over again in 1899 and produced the play in Wash- ington in October of that year. There were fine criticisms and every prospect of a fortune iu sight ; but it was not what New York wanted, and so, after a long and fair trial, it was with- drawn from the boards of the Herald Square Theatre. Zangwill is a good lecturer, because his subject-matter is educational to a great degree, and his copious flow of English and epigrammatic sentences render it as entertaining and novel as it is instructive. There is good money for him in America whenever he wishes to set aside the time for it ; bat he will not do it. He cannot jump on a steamer and come over here, give a few lectures and run back again, without notifying the people in advance that he is coming. 474 ECCENTRICITIES OE GENIUS. TT nLLIAir WEBSTEE ELLSAVOETH is a man whose \ V fame as a lecturer was not acquired tiirougli Tlie Ccii- tiiri/ M(i(ji(f:iiie, but who has helped to make Tlie Cmfun/ what it is at this tune. He has been secretary of the great corporation which publishes The Centurij since its establish- ment by Eoswell Smith. ]N[r. Ellsworth is of Pur- i t a n stock, a g r e a t- grandson of (?hief Jus- tice Ellsworth and of Noah AVebster, and lie was reared in Connecti- cut, a stamping - ground of Revolutionary heroes. A few j-ears ago he found himself a recognized au- th oritur on Eevoluticiuarjr subjects. It came about, I IjclicA-e, through a pub- '^\ ' lisher's suggestion to an «y* author. ]Mr. Ellsworth asked Elbridge S. Brooks to write a book iov boys and girls on the lie\'(ilutiiin, proposing that it should take the form of a trip to tlie battleiiclds, and he offered to go ^vith Air. r>r(Hilcs. They maih- the trip together, and the lihdtngraplis taken liy ]\Ir. Ellsworth were used as illustrations fi:ir " The Century Bnok of the Anuulcan Eev(duti()n," and were afterward made the basis of a lecture l)y :\fr. hnisworth whicli many of the societies of Sons aud Daughters of the American Eevolution promptly asked to hear. His position gave bun access to piivate ami ]iulili(^ collecti(ms of luanuscripts and printing, and with his heart in tlie subject Jlr. Ellsworth has brought to light moi'e interesting documents and pictures thaa ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 475 were ever supposed to exist. Scores of lyceum, patriotic, and historical societies have had his two lectures, one on the Eevo- lutionary War, and the other on "Arnold and Andre: the Story of the Treason," which he prepared two years ago. During the last two years he has made discoveries and brought to light much interesting new material relating to the early history of George Washington. A new lecture has been . prepared by Mr. Ellsworth on the subject, which I was invited to hear at his home, Esperanza Farm, near New Hartford, Conn., in August, 1900. This has certainly proved the most interesting and charming of all. Gifted with a descriptive voice that is strong, resonant, and absolutely faultless in de- livery, with the personal magnetism that is so essential to a lecturer's success, Mr. Ellsworth is unquestionably one of the best-equipped men for an instructive and entertaining lecture that the lyceum has yet produced. From one of Mr. Ellsworth's lectures the rising generation can obtain more knowledge of the early history of our nation than from a whole winter of hard study. School boards and teachers are beginning to find out that one of the simplest and most thorough means of instruction nowadays is the lecture plat- form. In the city of New York there is hardly a public school that does not have a large hall set aside for lectures. Last year over three thousand free lectures were given in the public schools in Greater New York on nearly every possible educational topic, generally illustrated with stereopticon pic- tures which greatly enhanced their value. In this special line great advances are being made, and they are due to the fact that such men as Mr. Ellsworth, who have something to give in return for what they receive, are available for the work. ANTHONY HOPE HAWKINS ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 477 ANTHONY HOPE HAWKINS was discovered by Eob- ert Barr, who first went to London in tlie interests of the Detroit Free Press. One night Barr, then editing The Idler with Jerome K. Jerome, met a thin, pale, bald young barrister who talked so charmingly about books that Barr, who is big, burly, bouncing, and straightforward, asked him : " Do you do anything of the sort? " Mr. Hawkins confessed, with a blush, that he did when not painfully busy. "I'll come and read some of 'em to-morrow," said Barr. And he did. After he had read the last sheet he said : " Say, Hawkins, how much have you got like this? " "Considerable." "Want to sell it?" "Why— why, yes, I'd like to." "How much do you want a thousand words? " Hawkins was amazed. "Oh, I don't know," he said. " Would a pound be too much? " Barr laughed. " You don't know much about this business, do you? " he asked. " Absolutely nothing. " " Well," drawled Barr, " I'll give you several pounds a thou- sand, and we'll start publishing right away." Beneath the title of each sketch Mr. Hawkins had written : "By Anthony Hope." " Ought I to put my last name there? " he asked. "It doesn't make any difference about the name," answered Barr; "it's the stuff that counts." And count it did. Anthony Hope Hawkins is an English gentleman in every sense that the words implies. I cannot say that I ever asso- ciated with a man whom I held in higher esteem. He sees everything from the most agreeable point of view. He has one of the most delightful laughs iu conversation that ever I 478 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS heard, aiid I made it my business to excite as often as possible the vein in his nature that brought it out. He has the better qualities of the English voice, its softer tones and accents. Owing to its richness, he can be heard distiactly by every auditor. Although monotonous ia his delivery, because of his distinct enunciation and the sweetness of his voice, the monotony is not objectionable. He charms invariably his audiences, because he feels his characters and is able to exploit them. I shall never forget Mr. Hawkins' first appearance in Amer- ica. It was really his first regular platform appearance any- where. We had spent the previous night at the Parker House, Boston, and some of the members of the Woman's Club of Lowell, Mass., under whose auspices he was to read next day, telephoned me to know if we would not come early, that they might give him a little reception before the reading. Mr. Hawkins declined. He said he preferred to be by him- self until he was introduced to the public. On our arrival at Lowell we went directly to the hall. He met the committee of ladies, who escorted him to the platform, and as he went on he shook hands with me, saying : " Good by, Major. I may never see you again. " I felt so nervous for him that I really didn't know whether he had made a hit or not; but as soon as his voice was heard there was the closest attention, and an expression of satisfaction appeared on every face in front of him. He could not possibly have escaped the infection. I saw his beautiful face light up with a gleam of real satisfac- tion. His voice rolled out in resonant tones, and the hearty response from his hearers gave him. what I believe was the most satisfactory hour of his life. His readiiag of the " Dolly Dialogues " on that occasion was one of the finest efforts that I remember. He enjoyed his audiences very much when the benches were full in front of him, but a small audience and a rcw of empty benches disheartened him. On two occasions he urged me to return the money to the auditors ; but he filled every date, and on those two occasions I think he was as well pleased after the ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 479 performance as where he had had more and less enthusiastic hearers. Just after our train drew out of Boston on our way to Hart- ford, I ordered luncheon in the buffet car, for we were both desperately hungry. The composite cook, waiter, and porter promised us some royal chicken, which he was able to furnish, he said, as good as we could get anywhere. We came near getting it. We saw it as it was set before us just as we arrived at Willianiantic, where we were obliged to change cars. I leave it to an anonymous journalist, who happened to be on the car, to describe the incident as he wrote it up for the New York Eocning Sun: " Persons who met Mr. Hope on his way to Boston last Wednesday remarked how fine and hearty he was looking. And yet at the same hour a day later, when Hope boarded the New York train to go to Hartford, his next stand, he looked almost an old man. His color was gone and there were circles round his eyes. Whether the two receptions he had to attend or twelve hours of Major Pond's consecutive conversation had brought Hope to this condition, none can say. But compara- tively speaking he looked a wreck, and no sooner was he on board the train than he and the Major waylaid the waiter of a buffet car and ordered an elaborate breakfast. Broiled Phila- delphia chicken was the star attraction of the bill of fare, and the Major, in his loudest tones, ordered that two broiled Phil- adelphians should be sacrificed at once. " Having had nothing to eat since the night before, the au- thor and the manager awaited their meal expectantly. At the end of the first hour Mr. Hope looked up and inquired good- naturedly : " ' Don't you think it's about time for that chicken? ' For answer the Major hurried to the kitchen, and there was the making of a first-rate dialect story in the sounds which emerged from that vicinity within the next few minutes. Presently the Major came back looking so pleased with himself that Hope lay back in his chair and hoped once more. Another half-hour passed. Again the Major repaired to the kitchen. 480 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS This time Hope made notes of the conversation on the back of his cuff. " Ten minutes later came the waiter bearing a three-foot tray. Hope's eyes were dancing, the Major smacked his lips as he grabbed the carving knife. Just then from the end of the ear the conductor cried, ' Willimantic ! ' Surely the part- ing between the Princess Plavia and Eassendell was a mere farce comedy to Hope's adieu to that chicken. His first im- pulse was to seize a drumstick and run, but the Major restrained him. "The manager's practised eye had noticed a crowd of Wil- limantic belles on the platform intent upon catching a glimpse of Hope gratis. It would never do for his star to make his ddbnt in Willimantic drumstick in hand. So gently, but firmly, he persuaded Hope to renounce the chicken's leg in favor of his satchel. Hope, however, as he left the car, had the good taste to do his swearing under his breath. " On the platform the Major met the waiter, who thrust the bill into his hand. The Major stamped on it and said he'd see him in Philadelphia first. Neither of them had one mouthful, and he was going to report the matter to Chauncey Depew. " It may interest Mr. Hope to know, however, that as soon as the train started, two drummers bought his chicken at an advance on regular rates, and one of them, with a gallantry worthy of the Dolly Dialogues hero himself, had the wish-bone of Mr. Hope's chicken polished, and presented it to his sweet- heart as a souvenir." Mr. Hawkins and I made the tour together, visiting Mon- treal, Ottawa, Toronto, Detroit, Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul, Minneapolis, and Philadelphia, and everywhere he was the recipient of the choicest honors that I have ever known a man of letters to receive. His readers were of the most se- lect literary class we have. His audiences varied in different cities more than did those of some others, but where he had been secured in a regular lyceum course and in clubs, they were invariably large. ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 481 To him were tendered many of the most delightful ban- quets that I have known any foreigner to get. The leading clubs in Toronto, Montreal, and Ottawa entertained him. He was the guest of the Governor-General of Canada — ^Lord Aberdeen. In Chicago the Lawyers' Club gave him a break- fast, attended by the leading members of the bar of that city, a distinction that no other literary man has had that I remember. At Detroit, after the reading, the Fellowcraft Club gave Mr. Hawkins a supper, with an elaborate menu. It was Eobert Barr's home, and Mr. Barr had undoubtedly warned his fel- low-citizens of the character of the expected visitor, and they were prepared to meet him and do him honor, which they did. I don't believe the good fellows of Detroit ever had a better time. The speeches and stories of that occasion would make a rare book, and I should like to own the copyright. It will never be printed. Colonel Livingstone, editor of the Detroit Journal and president of the Fellowcraft Club, is "equalled by few and excelled by none " as a club president. Mr. Hawkins is not superstitious. A few years ago he moved from his lucky chambers in the quiet Middle Temple, London, where he practised law without clients, and has work- ing offices on Buckingham Street, near the Strand — much as one might say West Tenth Street, near Broadway. The house is old and dark and dingy. It overlooks the London lodgings of Benjamin Franklin and the rooms of Peter the Great of Eussia when they were in the city. It is on the site of the famous York House, home of Bacon. Hope's lodgings are full of books ; on the mantel there are original drawings by Charles Dana Gibson, and there are many pipes, and other convivial equipments. In Washington Mr. Hawkins was met on his arrival by the Hon. John Eussell Young, librarian of Congress, who enter- tained and showed him through that magnificent library and about the Capitol, introducing him to many of the judges of the Supreme Court, and then going to the White House, presented him to President McKinley, who entertained him 482 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS about an hour in social chat, while politicians in waiting fairly congested the waiting-room outside. After the evening read- ing, Mr. Thomas Nelson Page gave him a supper at his beauti- ful Washington home, where were present Mr. Lyman Gage, Secretary of the Treasury, Mr. Theodore Eoosevelt, Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Mr. James Lane Allen, and Mr. John Fox, Jr., the two most prominent Southern novelists, and several other gentlemen whose names I cannot now recall. I am unable to describe this occasion, although one of the hon- ored guests. One can imagrue the charming intellectual at- mosphere of such an event. It seemed that there must have been some fault in the reckoning of time, for it was four o'clock when the party reluctantly dissolved. Everywhere we went Mr. Hawkins was the honored guest of the choicest of our American men of letters. In Indian- apolis two social events in one day : the afternoon was a recep- tion at the "Woman's Club, where Mrs. Harrison, wife of the ex-President, received; and m the evening the largest audi- ence of the beauty and fashion of the Hoosier capital packed th3 hall, being welcomed by James Whitcomb Riley, the Hoo- sier-poet. In Boston, among the first callers besides the press representatives were Col. T. W. Higginson, Thomas Bailey Aldrich, Edward Everett Hale, and Judge Holmes, son of Dr. Oliver AVendell Holmes, and many of the Harvard faculty. I copy from my diary the following notes : " Mr. Hawkins and I visited the Academy of Fine Arts, Trinity Church (formerly Phillips Brooks'), the Boston Public Library, where we were shown over all parts of the library and introduced to all the modern systems of its wonderful operations ; the new court house, where Judge Holmes person- ally condi^cted us through the different courts, and we sat half an hour listening to a judge charge a jury. Missed our lunch. Hurried to depot, just caught train for Hartford, and missed lunch on buffet car, owing to the incapacity of the composite cook and portei-. Eeached Hartford, the Hublein, 6:30. Reading at 8 :30 finished in an hour. Joe Jefferson against us at Perkins' Opera House, but we had $360 in Unity ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 483 Hall. Joe Jefferson had reserved a box for us, and we saw nearly all of ' Lend Me Five Shillings.' Then we all had supper together, Joe Jefferson, his three sons, and the wife of young Jefferson. Joe was at his best, as he is a lover of Anthony Hope's writings, and they had never met before, and it seemed as though they never meant to part ; for it was far beyond midnight when the weary waiters were relieved, and a tired but happy crowd went to bed." "Good-night, Maior," said Anthony Hope; "you Ameri- cans are too much for us Englishmen. " I think the last speech that Mr. Hawkins made in New York was at a public dinner given him by the Lotos Club, which is the most famous of all our American clubs for its re- ceptions and dinners to men of letters. On this occasion he said : "Mr. President and Gentlemen:— "I am too well aware of the history of your club and of the distinction of the guests whom you have entertained before, not to rise on this occasion with perhaps more than usual — shall I say trepidation or dis- comfort? — which possesses an after-dinner speaker. I have received here to-night an appreciation which would have been wholly delightful if I were not persistently haunted with the idea that it is too excessively indulgent. " As I crossed the Atlantic Ocean, feeling less at ease than I usually do on land, an intelligent sailor came up to me and told me that we were in the Gulf Stream. The consolation was slight, because the Gulf Stream seemed to me as turbu- lent as any other part of the ocean. But it has occurred to me since, that he spoke, as it were, in a metaphor, and that what he really referred to was the gulf stream that flows be- tween here and England; of the gulf stream of sympathy which unites the two countries, and which, unlike the merely . physical and uncomfortable stream, flows both ways, from us to you and from you to us. (Applause.) " It is indeed, in a way, strange for an Englishman to make his first visit to this country. I was asked by a cynical friend before I started why I was going, and he referred not ob- 484 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS scurely to the hopes I entertained of paying my expenses. (Laughter.) "Well, gentlemen, the ancient epigram forbids us to say that it is necessary to lire; but I am stilL among those who consider that it is desirable. (Laughter.) I agree with a clergyman in my own country who said that the Scriptures teach that the laborer is worthy of his hire, but that, for his part, he thought it ought to be paid free of income tax. (Laughter.) "But that was not the sort, not exclusiTcly the sort, of American gold which was in my mind ; and if it had been when I started, I should before now have found out my mis- take. Better than that, gentlemen, is the gold of your cordial reception, which still sits on my heart as too much unde- served. " But to come here is indeed, in the old phrase, the experi- ence of a lifetime. It has been my fate — I don't know whether you will be surprised about it — to be asked quite three or four times already what were my impressions of America. (Laughter.) When in Quarantine I was asked first ; and my only impression then was that I should never get here. I was asked again at the landing, when my sole feeling was that I was very glad to get here. (Laughter and applause.) " The question I have not yet answered. It is difficult to answer. One comes to a country that is unfamiliar, and yet not strange ; that is new, and yet recalls every moment the things that are old ; that is foreign, and yet is distinct with a separate, individual, and proud nationality. (Applause.) " And as with your nationality, so, if I may say so, it seems to me, with your literature. It has its roots where our litera- ture has ; but patriotic as I am, I must admit that a brighter sun has shone upon it, copious rain has nourished it, it has its own fruit and its own flavor ; and thus it enhances and glori- fies the English language, in which both itself and our litera- ture on the other side of the Atlantic are expressed. (Ap- plause.) ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 485 " It is far from my desire to speak to you long to-nigM, but it is impossible for me to sit down, "without at least trying to say to you how very deeply I feel the generosity and the kind- ness of this greeting, and to say also how I have felt for years back the kindness and the readiness with which the public of America greets us English writers. (Applause.) " We come here with no credentials save that our country has played in the past a part which our country would not re- peat in the future. (Applause.) But if you do not forget that — and perhaps you do not forget it — you are at least will- ing to forgive it ; and as members of the same family, we re- member, not the occasions on which every now and then, per- haps from living too close together, we fell out, but rather the time when we made friends again and celebrated the event by a cordial dinner. (Applause.) "Gentlemen, I thank you." (Loud and continued ap- plause.) From October 17, 1897, to January 13th following, Mr. Hawkins and I travelled together, visiting sixty different cities, and he gave seventy-six readings. He saw the lace of America's book-loving public. He spent Christmas at my home, making it a memorable day in our household. On New Year's day, in company with his publisher, Mr. Fred. A. Stokes, John S. Wise, and his son, of Virginia, Mr. William Carey of the Century Magazine, and Mr. George F. Foster of Stokes & Co., and me too, Mr. Hawkins was given a Chinese dinner in Mott Street, the Chinese quarters of New York. The menu was in Chinese hieroglyphics, and as far as any of us could tell the dinner was as much hieroglyphic as the menu. The host, Mr. Stokes, had anticipated the inability of the party to make out or digest the Oriental spread, and took with him a satchel filled with sandwiches, cigars, and a canteen or two of pure water, and this, with the stories, supplied the neces- saries of the day and occasion, both of which are not easy to forget, for the delight they gave. Since Mr. Hawkins' return to England we have frequently corresponded, and many of the letters that I have received from 486 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS him illustrate so well the genial spirit of the man that I take the liberty of reproducing a few of them by his kind permission. '■25th Jan., '98, " 16 Buckingham Street. "My Dear Majoe: " A peaceful, prosperous voyage ! The old ship rolled a bit, but my colors were not lowered. We got in at two on Satur- day — since when I have been overwhelmed with work which had accumulated here. Your album delights my father and family — not least your inscription at the end — which delights me too. , I feel myself a very much travelled man, although you made light of my wanderings. I wish you well through yours in the West and look forward to yours here in the East. I hope all does go well — and I think of you and drink to your health. "Your ever, "A. H. H." "17th May, '98, "16 Buckingham Street, Strand. "My Dear Major: " You have found out by now what a bad correspondent I am — for your cable from San Francisco came and was appre- ciated and yet not answered — but your letter reaches me to- day and I must congratulate you on your safe achievement of your big journey and your return home. Our little trip to- gether sinks quite into insignificance, doesn't it? I'm afraid you'd have found me a very lazy and trying companion for so long a jaunt. If you weren't devoted to moving, I would wish you a good long rest at home now, but, since you're the man you are, I'll wish a good and speedy voyage to Emjhwd, with Mrs. Pond and your boy this time, ^^'e have a good many of your folks here— among them Cable, who is being well treated, I think ; he's giving some public readings and I'm going to hear him in about a fortnight in one of them. Our thoughts have been much with you all in the war. I feel it even as I should an English war, and I'm sure the great— the vast — majority over here are of the same way of thinking. But I think you' ve done enough fighting for your country and naay fairly let the boys have a look in this time— or ai-e you pining to be in Cuba with your scouts? I am living my usual quiet life, writing and reading proofs— and, I must add, din- ing out— when I talk quite learnedly about America on the ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 487 strength of my journey with you. The Critic printed my letter all right — in fact I was very well treated, smoothed down, and complimented, and called a real gentleman, and everything that was nice. So that's all over and all is well. And, to prove I think so, I've been advising more than one eminent gentleman to go out and do a trip with you. "You must read 'fiupert of Hentzau' when it comes — we consider it rather a good yarn. "Give Mrs. Pond all my remembrances — just as cordial as you know how to make them. So, my dear Major, " Ever yours, "Anthony H. Hawkins." "22dSept., '98, 16 Buckingham Stebbt, Steand. "My Dbae Majoe: " I was very glad to get your letter — but why haven't you been over? I've been expecting, or at least hoping, to hear of your coming all the summer. Thanks for your news of 'Ur- sula' — it seems to have made a good beginning — here we are busy rehearsing it and hope to do as well in London. I'm back from my holiday for this purpose — also to have teeth out — for the holiday was spoilt by a violent attack of toothache. I had a face like a turnip— thankful am I that this didn't hap- pen while I was with you, or we should have had to ring the curtain down for a fortnight at least. But I got a run in France and another in Scotland, so I mustn't complain. Only just now I'm a wreck from that dentist's nefarious deeds! " I think you ought to have a success with Zangwill — he's an interesting personality. Tor me— well, I hope indeed to come over again, but I doubt whether the reading desk will see me any more— they like my books better than they like me, and I am very content to have it so. But I wouldn't have missed the tour we did together and the experience of it. Just now I'm doing nothing — except the aforesaid rehearsals. All inspiration for new work tarries. It'll come some day perhaps. Congratulations that you are well and prosperously through the war ! The feeling here has surprised me by its warmth and generality. So there's one good result, anyhow. "My best remembrances to Mrs. Pond. No, I didn't solve the riddle and had to look ! I suppose it's no good hoping for you here before next summer now, but then you must come at all risks. "Yours ever, my dear Major, "Anthony H. Hawkins." 488 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS "SOtliDec., '98, "16 Buckingham Street, Strand, W.C. "My Dear Major: " Most cordial tliaiiks to you for your greetings — and the best of good wishes to you and yours for the New Year. On Christmas day I did not fail to remember our cheery banquet under your roof a year ago, and I drank your health and Mrs. Pond's — hoping you were drinking mine out of a certain mug! [A loving cup which Mr. H. presented me, and which I found on my desk after he had sailed, inscribed, " Here's Your Good Health, Major."] I hope all goes well with you in health. For success, your letter seems to tell of a good season — you'll have made more than I could make for you — though upon my word I don't believe that would prevent you from having me over again. I am glad to hear that Caine and Zangwill both did so well — they are both very interesting people, so it's small wonder. I have been rather ill this ' fall ' (you see I don't forget the language). . . . That little play I brought over to New York in my portmanteau has come to the rescue and I come out at the right end. It's capital news that you hope to come over in the summer. I am sure to be here, I think, and we'll fight our battles over again. We are all Americans here now — a development of feeling that gives me the heartiest pleasure. But whether the nations go on loving one another or not, your welcome here is safe whenever you come. " Kindest remembrances to Mrs. Pond and your son — and I am, my dear Major, with friendliest thoughts, "Ever yours, "Anthony H. Hawkins." "26th July, '99, "16 Buckingham Street, Strand, W.C. "My Dear Major: " I am the basest of men in that I never answered your very pleasant letter. The only excuse is that I have been buried ia a new story and came up to the surface only yesterday ! Moreover— yes, here's another— I've a vivid recollection that you were coming over this summer and have hoped to hear your knock on my door. You haven't come— and I suppose won't now? ^'For me? Well, I was nearly tempted over to New York —just for fun— but prudence stepped in and I stuck to work. That's done, and I've a series of little holidays before me, ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 489 broken by the task of rehearsing a play in the end of August. I am well, but tired— amiable but irritable (as you may re- member!) — and shall be very much better for a month of the country. Except geographically, I have been living in Amer- ica — so many pleasant friends from your side of the water have been here and so much dissipation have they led me into. People keep turning up whom we met on our journey- ings together. They asked me if you worked me very hard, and I have to confess that I gave you a much worse time than you succeeded in inflicting on me. "What a splendidly successful season you seem to have had! You will hear with complete resignation that I don't think I shall ever face the footlights again, although I do by all means intend to find myself in America again, and that be- fore very long. But I've read here once or twice — oh, so badly ! I believe I need the stimulus of your kindly but criti- cal eye on the back benches of the hall ! •'•'My best remembrances and regards to Mrs. Pond, and to yourself always good wishes and most friendly memories. " Yours, "Anthony Hope Hawkins." I quote from my diary of January 15, 1898 : " Saw my dear friend Anthony Hope Hawkins on board the Umhrla, bound for England. Sorry to part with him; never had a better time in any man's company for three months. He is an honor to his profession, his country, and his race. This evening I join F. Marion Crawford for a three-months' tour to the Pacific coast. " 490 JiCCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS GEOEGE W. CABLE, with his "Okl Creole Days" and his Southern stories, and George Keuiiau, with his "Travels and Exjilorations Among the Cou^dct Colonies in (Siberia, " are the only public favorites as readers and lecturers that hare been brought into prominence through magazine articles almost exclusively. Both of these gentlemen were introduced to me hj Roswell Smith, President of the Century Muijaxlne Com- pany. (_)ne morning ]\[r. Smith called at my oftice to ask me if I had read George "\V. ( 'able's Creole stories, whitdi were appearing in the Cmi- iiinj. I told him that I had lujt, but that I had heard INIr. Ueeclu'r speak of Mr. Cable, and was ^'cry anxious to meet liiiu. jMr. Eeeclier had men- tioned him to me as having " dm-el(;)]^^)ed great literary- ability," and ad\ised me to go and hear him read "just for till', sake of tlie enjoyment." ]\[r. Smith said he would bring liim in and introduce him, which he did a day or two later. I found him a charming gentleman, and I know that he nuide a very line impression on me at the tiuu\ He told me that he luid 1)een reading in liostou and had met with great success; that he had gi\-en ti\e readings in (.'bickering Hall which, to liis surprise, lurd netted him akout !ifl,000 profit. This cer- tainly was an excellent re]iort for an authm- reader. I asked him if hi' would gi\e a ]>id)lic reading for me before lie re- turned South. He said he would. I at once arranged for an ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 491 appearance in the Long Island Historical Society Hall in Brooklyn, and asked Mr. Beecher if lie would preside ; bnt a lecture engagement in Boston prevented his being able to in- troduce Mr. Cable, much as he ■would have liked to present him to the Brooklyn public. He said, however, that he would make an announcement of the reading from his pulpit on Sunday, which he did in the following words, taken down at my request by Mr. Ellingwood (Mr. Beecher' s stenographer) : "Mr. George W. Cable will give a reading from his own works to-morrow evening in the Hall of the Historical Soci- ety, at eight o'clock. Admission, including reserved seat, one dollar. I give notice of this, not because it is for any chari- table purpose, but because I am very glad to mark, and to asked you to observe, the fact that our literary treasures are not confined to the North, nor to the Middle States, nor are they all of Yankee blood. Next Friday and Saturday even- ings are to be given to the New England Societies of Brooklyn and New York, when we shall prove that there is nothing good on the face of the earth that did not come from New England blood. But until that is proved, it is worth your while to believe that God has made some smart men some- where else besides in New England and the Middle States. After the period of separation between the North and the South, now happily passed, it ought to be a pleasure to every generous man to greet every returning sign of amity and friendship. When a man, born and bred in the South, has, under the providence of God, developed great literary talent, especially given to America an entirely new vein of dramatic interest, and brought it out with delicacy and richness, and with very great power, as Mr. Cable has' — all of whose works I believe I have read, and read with the utmost relish and delight — when such a man appears among us, our hospitality ought to be so marked that there shall be one man, at any rate, from the South who will admit that Yankees have got hearts, and that they are not cold. Besides all this, if you want to know what an enjoyable evening is, go, just for the sake of the enjoyment." 492 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS I told Mr. Cable of the pleasant things Mr. Beecher had said to me about him, of his regret at not being able to intro- duce him in Brooklyn, and of the cordial announcement made from his pulpit. Mr. Cable made no response whatever — was absolutely silent — and I was rather surprised, as the indorse- ment of Mr. Beecher assured success in Brooklyn. The night of Mr. Cable's appearance, Historical Hall was crowded. He walked on to the platform alone. There was no introductory speech, but, instead, a round of applause — I think about as hearty as Mr. Cable ever had. He began his programme, and then everybody listened attentively to the sim- ple readings and delineations of the characters that he had created, and the quaint singing of the Creole-African songs. I am bound to say that never in my life have I witnessed an audience more absolutely charmed than this one, by these simple natural readings. It was a revelation to them. Mr. Cable was obliged to return to New Orleans the next day, to be absent three weeks. Meanwhile I made arrange- ments for a course of five readings in New York, Philadelphia, and neighboring cities, I to accompany him on the tour. Somehow I never could get a response from him when Mr. Beecher' s name was mentioned, and yet he must have realized Mr. Beecher' s part in the hearty reception that he had received in Brooklyn. On the day after Mr. Cable returned from New Orleans to begin his course of New York readings in Chiekering Hall, he said to me : "Major Pond, you must have noticed that whenever you have mentioned Mr. Beecher to me I have never said very much. As you know. Southern public opinion is very hostUe to him, and I am well aware that all accounts I have had of him, or virtually all, were colored by hostile prejudice ; but it is already known of me, as far as I am known at all, that I am not always guided by Southern opinion. I have never allowed myself to form a fixed opinion of Mr. Beecher. I have read writings, sermons, and speeches of his, but I have never heard him. preach, and I should like to do so to-morrow. ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 493 If you can secure me entertainment for to-night (it was Sat- urday) and to-morrow, I will go and hear him. I would not go from New York on Sunday, as I never travel in public con- veyances on the Sabbath." This delighted me, and I at once telegraphed a common friend, of Mr. Beecher's and mine, in Brooklyn (a lady who had a fine home on Columbia Heights and who was a promi- nent member of Plymouth Church), asking if she would enter- tain Mr. George W. Cable over Sunday, as he wished to hear Mr. Beecher preach. A very hearty invitation came at once, and a carriage was sent to the Everett House for Mr. Cable to take him to Brooklyn. The next day he and I sat in Mr. Beecher's pew, and he lis- tened to the first sermon he ever heard the Plymouth pastor preach. It seemed to please him greatly. After the sermon he very cordially approached Mr. Beecher and told him how delighted he was with the sermon, and told him then and there that he had never before felt entitled to form a fixed opinion of him. Mr. Beecher said to me : "Pond, will you please escort Mr. Cable to my house? I want you both to remain and take dinner with us. I have a committee meeting which will occupy about ten minutes, and I will join you." Turning to Mr. Cable, he said, " My family are all anxious to meet you, Mr. Cable." All of Mr. Beecher's family were at home to dinner and they had all read Mr. Cable's stories, and his characters were brought into discussion and comment in a way that only the Beecher family could do it. It must have been very satisfac- tory to the author. Mr. Beecher left the table about two o'clock for his accustomed afternoon sleep, and the party dissolved, Mr. Cable and I returning to the home of his Brooklyn hostess. I felt much gratification at seeing Mr. Cable's silent neu- trality change to outspoken friendship. After that, Mr. Cable and Mr. Beecher were very fast friends, and when Mr. Cable brought his family North and settled in Northampton, Mass., I arranged for Mr. Beecher to lecture in that city with the 494 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS view that Mr. Cable and his family should hear him, It was quite an occasion in Northampton. Mr. Cable invited some friends to meet Mr. Beeoher at his house, and the after- noon before the lecture Mr. Beecher planted an elm, which is now a handsome tree on Mr. Cable's beautiful place in North- ampton, and is known as "The Beecher Elm." Among the first letters that I received at the time of Mr. Beecher' s death were the two following from Mr. Cable: "Northampton, Mass., "March 7, 1887. "Dear Major: " Can the sad rumor be true — that Mr. Beecher is stricken with apoplexy? It is dreadful as a mere possibility. How shall one express the feeling of loss that comes to every hearer of such tidings? How shall we send words of sympathy to the family when as to him we are all in a greater degree than of any other one man, his children? He is — I trust we need not yet say was — the fatherliest man to the whole people our land has given us. You will know whether to show this to Mrs. Beecher or not. Yours truly, "G. W. Cable." "P. S. — I have just read the sad, sad news. — G. W. C." "Northampton, Mass., " March 8, 1887. "Dear Major Pond: "Your letter of March 6th, written at Mr. Beecher' s desk, touches me deeply. I know you are losing in his death the best friend you ever had ; a man who had the art of being a friend as few have it. May God turn this great loss to your spirit's gain, as only He can. I wish you had written me more ; but I hope to hear from you again very soon. " The blow seems to strike everywhere. No one fails to feel that the world is losing one of its greatest lights. •'•' This evening I go to read in Meriden. To-morrow I shall be back here. I hope you will find opportunity to come up soon and let me help you in the work — more a labor of love to you now than ever before — which you had projected. " Four of my children are confined with scaiiet fever, but the cases are light, and I can assist you, though not in my own house. Yours truly, "G. W. Cable." ECCENTBICITIES OF GENIUS 495 Wlieii Mr. Cable first began to give public readings he bad so little voice that he could not comfortably make himself heard by an audience of two hundred and fifty. He decided that the first thing to do was to secure a training of his voice, which all his life he had been using so itijuriously, because so faultily. Many of his friends advised him not to take elocu- tion lessons, but he persisted, with the end in view just men- tioned. Mr. Cable's singing of Louisiana folk-songs was a charming, quaint, and fascinating feature of his entertainment, and was so commented on by the newspapers everywhere. It never failed to awaken applause from his audiences, who would have had him sing the songs over and over again had he been will- ing to humor his appreciative listeners. Yet he rarely sang more than one in an evening and almost never more than two. For a long time he omitted them entirely from his programmes, because, as he said, " he felt jealous for the readings when re- porters spent their praises on the songs." One season he thought of preparing a lecture on these Creole songs, to be illustrated by singing a number of them interspersed through the lecture ; but when Mr. Gilder told him " it seemed hardly to comport with his dignity as an author," he took the same view, and never prepared the lecture. Of late Mr. Cable has gotten back to his original usage, giv- ing to the public what they ask — the Creole. songs and stories as he originally sang and told them. Two years ago he gave them in Great Britain with all the attractive naturalness of his maiden efforts. As a reader of his own stories, George W. Cable is among the greatest of lyceum favorites. These creations are unique, and he alone gives them full value. But he is also highly es- teemed as a lecturer. In that field he makes his own road also, just as he has done in realistic and character-making literature. The essentials for a platform entertainment were so aptly and ably suggested in one of Mr. Cable's letters that, for the benefit of committees, associations, and managers they are sub- mitted: 496 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS "New Yokk, Feb. 10, 1886. "My Dear Major Pond: " To make an end of all misconceptions, let us write a list of things we have to have and of things we would be happy with- out. For instance, among the essentials it is probably not unreasonable to demand a platform, brightly lighted and fur- nished with a table, which is all the better if it is decidedly heavy, so that one can freely lean against it without its starting away on its castors. Also, one chair, light enough to be freely lifted about by the speaker with one hand. A comfortable retiring room one need hardly mention ; it is nearly always supplied. Foot-lights, if practicable. These are really about all that one need say are important to have. " But there are other things that gladden one by their ab- sence. One doesn't want any lights behind the speaker, un- less they are high overhead ; nor any light on the table ; nor any reading desk. Much less any sort of railing in front of the speaker ; and still less a water pitcher and glass. Even less than these, any orchestra or band of music ; and least of all, any species ot performance, amateur or professional, long or short, musical or unmusical. And one thing which can be dispensed with even joyfully is sitters on the platform — except in the event of a crowded house ; when everybody is welcome everywhere. " Once more : Often there are those who would like to make certain non-essential yet pleasant additions to the appoint- ments of the stage if they only knew what would be acceptable. We owe it to such kind friends to say what luxuries of the platform are to our taste. It is pleasant, for instance, but not imperative to have a space on the platform of about fifteen feet square or its equivalent. A carpet is always far pleas- anter than a bare floor. An introduction to the audience is acceptable, yet of no importance. "\'\l-iere practicable, it is very pleasant to have an enclosed scene set, say a drawing- room, library, or study. A few books in modest bindings, inkstand, pen-rack, etc. , decorate the table agreeably. Floral decorations had better be scanty than too abundant. A taste- ful programme free from advertisements and printed on card- board is a comfort. These trifles are real helps, and add to the pleasures of the evening both on the platform and beyond it. Yet there is almost nothing that cannot be dispensed with if not procurable. Yours truly, "G. W. Cable." ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 497 TT TALT WHITMAN gave a iew readings under my man- VV agement during liis life. Tliey were mostly testi- monials from friends, and iDeneiits given in the theatres of Xew Yorlc City. On one occasion INIr. Carnegie took a box for $500. I think the receipts were |1,800. It was a per- formance well worth attending, and attract- ed a strange audience, consisting mostlj^ of poets, literary lights, and licli people who ailmired the writings of the "Good Gray Poet." It was indeed a pic- turesijue spectacle at Walt's last appearance in the Madison Square Tlieatre, on Lincoln's birthday. Just as he was about to recite "jMy Captain,'' a little girl, the granddaughter of Edmund Clarence Stedman, walked out upon the stage and presented him with a beautiful bouipiet of roses. "Walt Whitman's Camden home seemed to be a Tvlecca for the litterateurs of Europe who visited this country. Both Matthew Arnold and Sir Edwin Arnold visited him tliere, and a number of other distinguished men as well. It was during Sir Edwin Arnold's last visit to New York that he suggested he would like to call on Walt Whitman again. He and I went to Philadelphia together, and, with John Paissell Young, took a carriage at the Lafayette Hotel about noon and drove to his Camden home. Whitman, who of course knew of Sir Edwin 498 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS Arnold, and he seemed cheered and pleased by the attention. I had planned the visit the night before by telegraph to Mr. Young, saying that we would surprise Walt. He had no m- timation of our coming until we arrived. The aged poet sat in his bedroom. He was wrapped in a big blanket, upon which his gray beard, that of a typical sage, flowed. The floor was littered with books and papers, almost blocking our approach. Sir Edwiii Arnold managed to wade through the literary debris, and stood in the full light of the window before his host. An inexpressible flood of delight passed over the face of the American poet as he beheld his great English confrere. Sir Edwin rushed toward him and exclaimed, " My dear friend, I am delighted to see you." " Arnold, I did not expect you ; how kind and considerate ! " was the surprised exclamation of the aged poet as he held out his hand. But there was more than the usual hand- shaking. The greeting was a literal embrace, for the two poets loved each other in the strictest literary sense. Sir Ed- win had always been infatuated with Walt \^1iitman' s poetry, and the American bard found equal delight in the productions of the former. It was the second time that the two had met. Sir Edwin Arnold's visit to this country in 1892 was made expressly to see Walt Whitman. After the two poets had embraced, Walt "V^Tiitmau received John Russell Young and me with aji effusive greeting. For the next hour and a half the talk ran fast and without intermission. Walt had much to tell, and so had Sir Edwin; it was a shower of literary epigrams. Sir Edwin was very sorry that his friend was not in the best of health. "If I had hold of you," said Sir Edwin, pointing his finger affectionately, "I'd soon get you well. You are not sick; why, if I could only have you, I wager that I could make you young again. Seventy-three years— that' s not much. You' re certainly good for fifteen years more, and during that time you can keep me delighted with books of new verse." "Oh, what beautiful things you say of me," responded ECCENTRICITIES OE GENIUS 499 Walt; "and Arnold, how can I repay you for that splendid little tribute to me at the Lotos Club? You don't know how it pleased me. It stirs the cockles of my blood to read the nice things you say of me." The two sat alongside of each other and began talking about American and English poetry. "Arnold, we're a lively, hustling people," said the Amer- ican bard, "and we're too practical yet to appreciate the full sentiment of our verse. What a wealth has been written! Yes, we have not the high poetical spirit of the Japanese ia this country. Over there in Japan there is so much sentiment — so much that is ideal." Sir Edwin said he hoped that the day would not be far distant when the people of America would have a very soft poetical glow to their temperament. "Americans," said he, " are a great people, of remarkable intellect. What a future they have ! " Sir Edwia and his host next fell to musing over the great men of the country. They talked about Washington, Lincoln, and Grant, whose characters and deeds Sir Edwin avowed he was always fond of reading about. Then the pair had a liter- ary treat by talking of Emerson, Longfellow, and other Amer- ican poets. Each quoted many selections. Sir Edwin then asked Whitman if he should not recite from memory some of the latter' s gems. "Have you some of my poetry in your memory? " exclaimed the aged poet. " Well, I will guarantee to be able to recite at least half of what you have written," replied Sir Edwin playfully. '■'Now let me try you." Sir Edwia then stood up when he was asked to recite a por- tion of Walt Whitman's verse on the death of Lincoln. The famous English bard's eyes twinkled, and he began: "Come early and soothing Death. Undulate round the world, severely arriving, arriving, In the day, in the night, to all, to each, Sooner or later, delicate death." 600 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS Sir Edwin kept on reciting until tears filled the eyes of the American poet and he reached forth his hand thankfully. Sir Edwin recited several more selections, and then his host re- peated many lines from Sir Edwin's works. Before the party arose to take their departure, Walt "Whit- man had three volumes brought to him by a servant. Each volume was very large, and contained all of his productions ia verse and prose. He jotted down his autograph on each, and as he handed them to his guests he spoke like a playmate to his companions: "I won't say that I will write to you fel- lows; it's all inside the book." " God bless you and keep you safe and well ! " responded Sir Edwin, and the visit came to an end. Sir Edwin spoke thus of Walt Whitman: "Great, good poet that he is, he stands next to Emerson." WALT WHITMAN. Gone has the savor from the salt With Walt. An untamed stallion, strong and sure, He galloped through our literature ; No critic trainer had the grit To tame him to the bridle bit, No rein his headlong speed could halt, Unharnessed Walt. A man of many a flaw and fault Was Walt. He never tried to train his thought To blossom in a flower pot ; With careless hand he flung his seeds, And some grew roses, some grew weeds. And some rich flowers of purple blood Sprung from the mud. O'er custom's fence, with easy vault, Leaped Walt. The pedant's gown he would not don. Nor hold his pen with handcuffs on. His rhythm, like a fetterless sea. Broke in mad music and debris Against the bowlders of his age With giant rage. BCCENTKICITIES OF GENIUS 601 We shall not find 'neath heaven's vault Another Walt. He gave a gift beyond all pelf, Man's greatest gift— he gave himself. Then bear, with dead hands on his breast, This shaggy old man to his rest. A strong, audacious soul has fled. Now Walt is dead. — Sam Walteb Foss. A. CONAN DOYLE ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 603 DE. A. CONAN DOYLE came to this country in Octo- ber, 1894, and gave forty public readings. Had it not been for Ms invalid wife, with whom he had promised to spend Christmas, he could have continued during the season and returned home with a small fortune in American dollars. There was something about his personality that attracted people, and still he was not what I would say the most satis- factory reader of his writings. There was something about him that fairly charmed his audiences, and many of his great admirers were seriously disappointed when they found that as soon as the lecture was over the Doctor had made his escape from the stage door, so that those friends who had rushed to meet him and congratulate him could not do so. I remember that I made a promise to a group of very prom- inent New York ladies, who had made a special request to meet the Doctor after his reading, that they could have the privilege of being introduced to him. While in the wings as he was stepping on the stage I told the Doctor what I had done and asked him to please wait and meet them. He re- plied: "Oh, Major, I cannot, I cannot. What do they want of me? Let me get away. I haven't the courage to look any- body in the face." He was a pessimist in regard to the satis- factoriness of his entertainment. He is a gentleman with very hot blood. He seldom wears an overcoat, even in the coldest weather. He seemed to like everybody he met and everything he saw in America excepting our heated hotel lobbies, public halls, and railway cars. When he had a matinee lecture he removed his vest and buttoned his Prince Albert coat close to his body. This he could not very well do in his evening dress. Dr. Doyle comes of a family of artists and literary men, his grandfather having been a famous caricaturist, and one of his uncles the famous Eichard Doyle of the early days of London Punch, and another, James Doyle, the historian. He studied 504 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS medicine, and at nineteen went to the Arctic regions as medical officer to a whaler. On Ms return to Edinburgh he continued his medical studies and there inet Dr. James Bell, the emiuent surgeon, the man who suggested " Sherlock Holmes," his most famous character. Like most literary men, he makes few close friends. He is a golf fiend, and will spend all the time possible, cold, wet, raia or shine, on the links. He is an ideal travelling companion. I think that Dr. Doyle was tendered more honors from clubs and societies generally than any other Englishman I have known, hundreds of which he was obliged to decline. He was one of the most appreciative Englishmen that ever came to this country. American institutions and American customs did not seem to cause imkiad remark or to surprise him as they have many others. He was a great favorite with the newspaper men, and they were always ready and williag to say nice thiags of him. As for his impression of America generally, I don't know that I can do better than to give his own story as he told it at a dinner given in his honor by the Lotos Club, New York, on the 17th of November, just before his return home. Two hundred members and guests of the Lotos Club gath- ered to greet him. President Lawrence made a highly flat- tering address of welcome, and, when he presented Dr. Doyle, the latter was blushing at the kind things said of him. He began by saying : "There was a time in my life which I divided among my patients and literature. It is hard to say which suifered most. But during that time I longed to travel as only a man to whom travel is impossible does long for it, and most of all I longed to travel in the United States. Since this was impos- sible, I contented myself with reading a good deal about them, and building up an ideal United States in my own imagina- tion. This is notoriously a dangerous thing to do. I have come to the United States, I have travelled from five to six thousand miles through them, and I find that my ideal picture is not to be whittled down, but to be enlarged on every side. ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 505 I have heard even. Americans say that life is too prosaic over here. That romance is wanting. I do not know -what they mean. Romance is the very air they breathe. You are hedged in with romance on every side. I can take a morning train in this city of New York, I can pass up the historic and beautiful Hudson, I can dine at Schenectady where the Huron and the Canadian did such bloody work, and before evening I have found myself in the Adirondack forests, where the bear and the panther are still to be shot, and where within four gen- erations the Indian and the frontiersman still fought for the mastery. With a rifle and a canoe you can glide into one of the back eddies which has been left by the stream of civiliza- tion. I feel keenly the romance of Europe. I love the mem- ories of the shattered castle and the crumbling abbey ; of the steel-clad knight and the archer ; but to me the romance of the red-skin and the trapper is more vivid, as being more recent. It is so piquant also to stay in a comfortable inn, where you can have your hair dressed by a barber, at the same place where a century ago you might have been left with no hair to dress. " Then there is the romance of this very city. On the first day of my arrival, I inquired for the highest building and I ascended it in an elevator — at least they assured me it was an elevator. I thought at first that I had wandered into the dy- namite gun. If a man can look down from that point, upon the noble bridge, upon the two rivers crowded with shipping, and upon the magnificent city with its thousand evidences of energy and prosperity, and can afterward find nothing better than a sneer to carry back with him across the ocean, he ought to consult a doctor. His heart must be too hard or his head too soft. And no less wondei :ul to me are those Western cit- ies, which, without any period of development, seem to spring straight into a full growth of every modem convenience, but where, even among the rush of cable cars and the ringing of telephone bells, one seems still to catch the echoes of the woodsman's axe and of the scout's rifle. These things are the romance of America, the romance of change, of contrast, of 506 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS danger met and difficulty overcome ; and let me say that we, your kinsmen upon the other side, exult ia your success and in your prosperity, and it is those who know British feeling, true British feeling best, who will best understand how true are my words. I hope you don't thiuk I say this, or that I express my admiration for your country, merely because I am addressing an American audience. Those who know me bet- ter on the other side will exonerate me from so unworthy a motive. It is a subject upon which I feel deeply. I am. aware that the division of opinion among us at the time of your civil troubles has been taken to mean lack of sympathy with you. Par from being so, it was exactly the contrary. Our sympathies are so close and vital that when you are rent in two we are rent in two, and with a bitterness and complete- ness which was the counterpart of your own. So it would be to-morrow, and when it ceases to be, it will be a proof that we have finally lost touch with you. It is only when a great American or an Englishman dies, when a mighty voice is hushed forever, a Tennyson, a Lowell, or a Holmes, that a thrill through both countries tells of that deep-lying race feel- ing in the development of which lies, I believe, the future history of the world. Little waves and eddies may disturb the surface, but there is an unseen current there a. thousand fathoms deep, which sweeps us onward to the same goal. And the proudest thought of a literary man is that he, too, in his infinitesimal way, is one of the forces which make for unity of feeling amongst the English-speaking races, and for that ' peace and good will to all men ' which such a unity of feeling would entail. " Gentlemen, I thank you once more for your great kindness to me." President Seth Low of Columbia University, Hon. Abram S. Hewitt, W. Bourke Cockran, David Christie Murray, Bar- tow S. Weeks, and William H. McElroy also spoke. The menu had in its upper right-hand corner a portrait of Dr. Doyle, and on its border characters and scenes from his novels. ECCBNTRICITIES OF GENIUS 607 The night before Dr. Doyle sailed for England, Friday, December 6, 1894, the Aldine Club gave him a farewell dinner. Hamilton W. Mabie presided and iatroduced the guest of the evening, who had just arrived from Boston. It was a literary crowd of our choicest men of letters. Dr. Doyle seemed to have no set speech, but prefaced his reply to Mabie with an account of his arrival in Boston : "I arrived in Boston and alighted from the train almost into the arms of a dozen cabbies. One of them had a dog- eared book peeping out of his pocket, and I instinctively called him, saying as I got in : ' You may drive me to Young's, or Parker's — perhaps.' "' Pardon me,' said the cabbie, ' I think you'll find Major Pond waiting for you at Parker's, sir.' " What could I do but stare and acquiesce by taking my seat speechlessly? We arrived, and the observant cabman was at the door. I started to pay my fare when he said, quite re- spectfully : " ' If it is not too great an intrusion, sir, I should greatly prefer a ticket to your lecture. If you have none of the printed ones with you, your agent would doubtless honor one of your visiting-cards, if pencilled by yourself.' " I had to be gruff or laugh outright, and so said : " 'Come, come, I am not accustomed to be beaten at my own tricks. Tell me how you ascertained who I am, and you shall have tickets for your whole family, and such cigars as you smoke here in America, besides.' "'Of course we all knew that you were coming on this train — that is, all of the members of the Cabmen's Literary G-uild,' was the half -apologetic reply. 'As it happens, I am the only member on duty at this station this morning, and I had that advantage. If you will excuse other personal remarks, your coat lapels are badly twisted downward, where they hfive been grasped by the pertinacious New York reporters. Your hair has the Quakerish cut of a Philadelphia barber, and your hat, battered at the brim in front, shows where you have tightly grasped it, in the struggle to stand your ground at a Chicago 608 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS literary luncheon. Your right overshoe has a large block of Buffalo mud just under the instep, the odor of a Utica cigar hangs about your clothing, and the overcoat itself shows the slovenly brushing of the porters of the through sleepers from Albany. The crumbs of doughnut on the top of your bag- pardon me, your luggage — could only have come there in Springfield, and stencilled upon the very end of the "Welling- ton," in fairly plain lettering, is the name, "Conan Doyle.'" " Now I know where Sherlock Holmes went when he died. That leaves me free to write any more adventures of his that I wish as long as I locate them in Boston. '" Dr. Doyle heard some fine speeches that evening after he had finished. Bill Nye was the first to follow him ; then Ed- ward Eggleston, Thomas Nelson Page, Charles Dudley War- ner, P. Hopkinson Smith, James Lane Allen, and others ; but the intellectual part of the feast was listening to Dr. Doyle's story-telling. He has a brilliant capacity for telling a true story with absolute correctness of historical detail and with anything but historical dulness. After Dr. Doyle returned to his home he was, of course, obliged to say something of the impressions left by his visit. Among other things that he said, he made a remark to the effect that an English author should come here with the pri- mary purpose of seeing the country and not of making money. This was immediately seized upon as a hint that his own tour had not paid. The following letter put that idea at rest : "To THE Editors of "The Critic," New York: " I notice that you allude to my recent lecturing tour in America as though it had been unsuccessful. In justice to my most able manager. Major J. B. Pond, will you allow me to say that it was successful beyond all possible expectation, that I had crowded houses nearly everywhere, and that I could have easily doubled the list of my engagements? My remarks about American lecturing were impersonal, and I repeat that an English author should go there with the primary idea of seeing the country and the people, and that the making of money should be a secondary one. A. Coxan Doyle. "Maloja, Switzerlaxd, Sept. 2, 1895." ECCENTRIGITIEH OF GJENIUS 609 The warm feeling of friendship he felt toward America and the American people is well illustrated by the following letter which he wrote me some time after his American tour : "UsDEKSHAW, Hind HEAD, Haslemerb. "My Deae Major: "It was quite a pleasure to me to see your handwriting again. I shall always regret that I did not see you when you came to London. Pray give my kindest remembrances to Mrs. Pond and the little man. You will, I am sure, be glad to hear that my wife's health has much improved. "Has not the Anglo-American entente cordiale which I preached when I was in the States grown since 1894? It is the best and healthiest sign in the waning century. Bat we have much still to do. Yours always, "A. CoNAN Doyle." I would give him more money to-day than any Englishman I know of if he would return for a hundred nights. He must be a great disappointment to his old teacher. When he had finished school the teacher called the boy up be- fore him and said solemnly : " Doyle, I have known you now for seven years, and I know you thoroughly. I am going to say something which you will remember in after-life. Doyle, you will never come to any good. " 510 ECCENTIUCITIES OF GENIUS JOAQUIN MTLLEE, the poet of tlie Sierras, when he first ajipeared made a great sensation, and it was l.jelii-ved tliat a second Byron liad been added to the list of our poets. Jle was l)orn in Indiana, Imt was taki^i to (_)regon when aniere infant. He spent part of his Ijojdiood with a trilieof Indians, and there took tlie name of a well-l^nown higliwa3-man or "road agent." It was a mere eajiriee on tlie b(iy's part, hnt tlie mime stnek to him and he stuck to the name. After leaving the Indians he went to the mines, and liis life there is descrdied in his novel "The Danites," Avhicli furnished the plot and character for his phi}- of the same name. He soon tired of diggmg for gold, and estaldished an ex- press, whiili consisted of a few teams that took and lirought ]iarcels from the nuning camp to the nearest town. Then he took to law, practised before the territorial courts, ami subsequently was elected a judge. Of course he contributed to the territorial newspapers — everybndy did A\ho liad any talent for writing; but unlike most froidier \\-ritevs his contributions soon attracted notice outside of the Territory, and he soon found himself famous. Tliat made it certain in those days that he wo\dd be invited to lecture. He did lecture a few tinu'S in California, and Www ca,nie Eiist, liut jn-oeeedcd to London before attempt- ing to lecture in New I'higlaud. Hi' found himself iiidvuown in London, and adopted a A'cry original scheme for becomuig ECCENTRICITIES, OF GENIUS 511 known. He issued an edition of his poems of the Sierras — just enough to send to the leading newspapers. He instantly became famous, and was courted by "society." He accepted numerous invitations to parties in high life, and went to splen- did aristocratic residences clad in red shirt, slouch hat, and with his trousers tucked into his boots. He wore his hair long and exaggerated the manners of the far West. The result was to make hrm the lion of the season. He reaped a rich harvest from fabulous fees for readings from his Western poems, and relating incidents of his adventures in the Eocky Mountains. When he returned to the United States he lectured a little, but did not make a hit, and he soon returned to the coast, and has since depended almost solely on his pen for a living. Later he went to the Klondike, and after his return lectured in the States on his experiences there ; but his former friends were not around, and the present public did not know him, so his venture was a failure. 61i ECCKNTRICITIES OF GK^UUS ALEXAXDER BLACK is guilty of a new invention for drawing audiences. He wrote the story of "Miss Jerry," and not being in a position to engage a company to pro- duce it tlirougliout the country, induced a number of excellent actors to give the play in costume, and while it was being acted photographed every scene and incident. Then he develojied the pictures, put them on lantern slides, and with the stereopticon rein-oduces tlie play in every respect but the speaking, which j\Ir. Black does himself. This stroke of genius is making Mr. Black rich, as well as surprising the public with an absolute novelty. He has since produced two other picture plays. In "The Capital Court- ship " the scene is laid in "\^'ashington, and the i-haracters in the play call on the President in his oflice and in his parlors at the White House. They also visit many of the cabinet ministers, all of whom must have consented to pose sj^ecially for these illustrations. 80 givat has been jMr. Black's success with the Brookljai Institute of Arts and Sciences that the manager of tliat institution, ]\rr. Eranklin AV. Hooper, paid him l.'-'.OO for his initial performance of "The Capital Court- ship," ami wrote me that this picture i)lay of INir. Black's had brouglit many thousands of dollars to the institute. The third year INIr. Black produced another play, " IMiss America," which luis met AA'ith eipml siiccess. There is hardly an estalilished I^c.muu in the Hiiited States where he has not appeared, and what is particularly interesting in these times is ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 513 that Mr. Black is recalled more thaa any other stereopticon entertainer. He was originally a journalist, and retired from that call- ing to become a showman. He spends his summers in prepar- ing some new scheme for the edification and instruction of his myriads of friends throughout the length and breadth of the land. As I am not Mr. Black's manager, it can be seen that I pay him this tribute disinterestedly. ERNEST SETON-THOMPSON ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 615 EENEST SETON-THOMPSON is a practical demonstra- tion of what I have ever declared : that there always has been and always will be some one coming to the front whom the general public wants to see and hear. That some- body must do something good enough to attract general atten- tion and render an equivalent return for what the patrons wiP give. The name of Seton-Thompson had been on my list for a sea- son. He frequently called at my oflB.ce and gave me newspa- per notices, and told me of the pleasant things that had been said to him where he had given lectures for small lyceums at a moderate fee. He presented me with a copy of his book, "Wild Animals I have Known," which interested me im- mensely, and I was satisfied that he was not lecturing or read- ing for revenue only, but that he had a cause, was fond of animals, that his life had been associated with them, and that he showed clearly that every living creature had paternal and family instincts the same as human beings. I asked him if he would give a lecture in Jersey City, near my home, so that I could hear it, which he consented to do. I then discovered that he was certainly a big attraction. I had booked him with a kindergarten society of New York for a lecture at Carnegie Lyceum, which I attended. Although I went early, I found the box ofBce crowded with women and children trying to secure admission ; but the man in the office had no more tickets to sell. The young lady who had charge of the affair came to me in great tribulation ; there were a lot of people who wished to get in, and all the tickets she had put out among her friends had been sold and she didn't know what to do. I hurried to the box office and asked the ticket agent to sell the people something that would admit them to the place, charging a dollar each, and I told the young lady to let everybody in and secure all the money she could. The 616 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS result was about f 160 more than the original sale of tickets that had been counted upon. Then I suggested to Ernest Seton-Thompson that he and I give lectures in partnership in that hall as often as we could. I secured a number of dates, — ^I think eight in all, — the first one being one week from the afternoon just mentioned. I went to Carnegie Lyceum, that afternoon and found every seat had been sold. The profits of the lecture were over $500. I asked Mr. Thonipson if that wasn't the largest day's work he had ever done. He seemed very much flattered, and acknowl- edged that it was. We went from there to Boston, Philadel- phia, "Washington, and Baltimore, giving afternoon and even- ing entertamments. The matinees were arranged so as to take place after school hours, generally from 4 :30 to 5. These were invariably the largest attended. It was surprising to find the number of chil- dren who had read Mr. Seton-Thompson' s book and how famil- iar they all were with the names of Lobo, Wahb, Mollie Cotton- tail, Blanca, Silver Spot, Vixen and Tip, The Wild Mustang, and especially Little Johnny. The appearance of any one of them on the screen was the signal for shouts of laughter from the children. Lobo and Little Johnny seemed to please them the most. No man has risen more rapidly ui public favor than Mr. Seton-Thompson, as regards both his writings and his lectur- ing. At the present time there are more engagements booked for him at high prices than for any other platform attraction in the country. Mr. Seton-Thompson demonstrated that the hunting of wild animals with a camera, instead of with a rifle to destroy their lives, is fully as enjoyable, and possesses much more satisfac- tory final results. He has also taught us that the animals instinctively avoid man because they are being hunted for their lives ; but in communities where the shooting of animals is prohibited, the creatures become tame and almost sociable. In the Yellowstone Park, where no firing is allowed or has been for years, the bears and the wolves, the cattle and the ECCENTBICITIES OF GENIUS 517 horses, and the children, mingle together undisturbed, and chil- dren, colts, wolves, and lambs are as safe as though in their natural homes. Mr. Seton-Thompson is a delightful man personally. Chil- dren have no hesitancy in ajaproaching him or writing to him. He has received thousands of letters from children in all parts of the land telling him how they have enjoyed his books, and of the animals they have known that he must have heard of, or he could not have given their characters so graphically. The most interesting reading that I have found for a long time is among Mr. Seton Thompson's letters from children. Here is one : " August 6, 1899, San Francisco, Cal. "My Dear Mr. "'Wild Animals I have Known' is the best and truest book I know. I have read it twice, each time feeling its trueness more and more. In the simple way the book is written it helps you to understand the delicate and finer parts of animal and bird life. " The book appeals to you because it is true and just in all it says. I think it keen in detail, liberal and fair to every ci'eature in it, beautiful in its style. The style that fascinates you yet not a novelist's fascination. Original in every way and no quoting or phrases of other men, but just the Author's own original and simple words, and on the whole it is a fine book that couldent be matched in beauty and style. The Au- thor must lead a beautiful life in the woods and on the plains and in animals resting places, feeling at home with them and learning their ways, and I guess we all thank him -for his toil and labor to compleat such a fine book. I like the Pacing Mustang and his glorious gate, as everlasting as steel. Bingo and lots of other stories. The Don Valley Partridge in which Mr. Thompson speaks of the cruel hunter who hunted Redruff. I had a simeler experience but not a brutal one for it turned out all right. My, Uncle, a boy friend of mine, and myself with our rifels and a pistol, (we were with a party of others going for a ducking in Eel Eiver) we three were ahead, and just as we turned a curve we saw a Father quail with six or seven young ones, we were all seized with an impulse to shoot him although it was out of season. I shot between his toes, then my uncle shot and it kept it hot. I shot twice again but 518 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS all tlie time my friend was shooting and the dust was flying, there the quails stood untouched, and unmoved he waited till all the young were hid and then he hid himself. It was about five minutes that we had been shooting. I stopped and thought of Mr. Thompson's book. I tried to stop the others, and I did. When we left the spot there was one boy ashamed of his shoot- ing, a man glad he dident kill the quaile, but ashamed of his shooting, and last of all I with a wreath of happiness round my head and glad I didn't kill the biped. Mr. Thompson saved his life (The quail' s) by writing that fine book of his, and he made me happy the rest of the day, and put the cruel hunting spirite out of my head. " Hoping Mr. Thompson will write many more books, " I am yours sincerely, "A W ." (Twelve years old.) It is surprising to learn, within two or three months after Mr. Seton-Thompson's success, how many people have been interested in the same way, and are ready to make sacrifices by writing books and lecturing on wild animals. He is a benefactor and has a cause. Fame and fortune are assured to him, which he justly deserves. At present writing Mr. Seton-Thompson is speaking twice a day in order to comply with the demand for his services. Everywhere crowded houses welcome him, and always on afternoon occasions the greater portion of the audience is com- posed of children. The whole human family is his public, be- cause every human being loves wild animals ; the rich and the poor, the learned and the unlearned, are alike interested and enthusiastic, auditors. All of Mr. Seton-Thompson's writings and drawings de- scriptive of the personality of wild animals are enhanced many fold by his inimitable description of them from his own lips. It is seldom that an author-artist is gifted with the ability to entertain upon the lecture platform, but Mr. Ernest Seton- Thompson is as clever with his voice as with his pen and pencil. ECCENTEICITIKH OF GENIUB 519 WILLIAM HEXEY Dr.U:MMOND, D.D., author of '■ De Habitant " and other French-(_'auadian poems, has lived virtually all his life with tlie Freucli-Canadian peo- ple, and while most of the English-speaking public know the French-Canadians of the cities, they have had little opportu- nity of knowing the haliitant as does the doctor. lie knows them, and they know and love him so well that he allows them to tell their tales iir their own way as they would relate them to English-speaking auditors not conversant with the French tongue. As James "\'\niitcomb Kiley's Hoosier dialect poems have charmed the American people, so have Dr. Driimmond's won the hearts of the Canadians. He reads as charmingly as he writes. For the sake of those who are not familiar with his work, I quote (by permission of Cr. V verses from his poem, "De Haliitant.' Putuam's Sons) a few "De place I get born me, is up on de reever Near foot of de rapide dafs call Cheval Blanc, Beeg mountain behin' it, so lii^h you can't climb it, An' whole place slie's mebbe two lionder arpent. "De fader of me, lie was habitant farmer, Ma gi-an'fader too, an' liees fader also, Dey don't mak' no monee, but dat isn't fonny, For It's not easy get ev'ryt'ing, you mus' kuow^ 520 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS "All de sam' dere is somet'ing dey got ev'rybody, Dat's plaintee good healt', wat de monee can't geev, So I'm workin' away dere, an' happy for stay dere On farm by de reever, so long I was lee v." "0 ! dat was de place w'eii de spring tarn she's comin', W'en snow go away an' de sky is all blue — Wen ice lef ' de water, an' sun is get hotter, An' back on de medder is sing de gon-glou — "W'en small sheep is firs' comin' out on de pasture, Beir nice leetle tail stickin' up on deir back, Dey ronne wit' deir nioder, an' play wit' each oder, An' jomp all de tarn jus' de sam' dey was crack." ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 621 THOMAS NELSON PAGE has been the most successful of the Southern authors who have read from their own writings. He has done more to preserve the traditions of the old South, the old negro character, and the interior home life before the war, than any one else. I wish that I were able to write well enough to say what I would like to of this Southern gentleman of letters. He seems to convey all that is best in a character, whether master or slave, and in such a way that every one who reads his charming descriptive novels is made •familiar with life in the South as it actually was before the war. Shortly after " Marse Chan " made its appearance, I received letters from all parts of the country asking if Thomas Nelson Page, the author of that story, could be secured to give read- ings. It was some time before I obtained a favorable reply to my many invitations for him to let himself be seen as well as read. He was very shy and quite averse to making an exhi- bition of himself, claiming that he was not gifted with voice or histrionic ability. He did consent to give joint readings with E. Hopkinson Smith for a short tour, beginning in Bos- ton, January 12, 1892, in cosy little Chickering Hall. I had hoped for a big success financially, but the fame of the two Southern authors had not preceded them at the Hub. They opened with a small audience ; but the newspapers gave excel- lent reports the following day, which assured success for the balance of the season. A Boston success means a success in New England, but I had struck high for large cities. We went to Chicago, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Washington. The readings were attended by the choicest literary public in each city. Eeturn engagements were made invariably, which were very remunerative, and there was a good deal of money in sight. Mr. Page was paving the way for a magnifi- cent success another season, as was evident from the number of applications that came from every city where he had appeared. Unfortunately, that season I made one engagement too many 522 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS in Chicago, for from there I received notice froia Mr. Page that he would not give another season to the platform under any conditions. Very shortly afterward I learned that in Chicago he had made the acquaintance of one of the most charming ladies in that city, who seemed to have more influ- ence over him. than the alluring promises of lyceum readings. To make a long story short, Mr. Page changed his manager. He is now living in Washington, and I am happy to say that I can count him as one of my best friends. Three years ago I was a guest at a dinner at his house given to Anthony Hope, where were present the Hon. Lyman Gage, Secretary of the Treasury, Theodore Roosevelt, Assist- ant Secretary of the Navy, and James Lane Allen and Mr. John Fox, Jr., the two famous Southern novelists of the time. One can imagine the charming intellectual atmosphere of an occasion like this; none present but that felt there must have been some fault in the reckoning of time, for it was 4 a.m. when the party reluctantly dissolved. Mr. Page has a beautiful home in Washington, and I know of no one better fitted for such charming surroundings. He is as delightful as a host and in his every-day conversation as he is as a reader of his fascinating Southern stories. One can spend a day with Mr. Page in ordinary travel and conversation and attend his readings at night, and find that he has been as delightfully entertained in the ordinary speech as by the pub- lic reading. He has the sweetest-speaking voice that I ever heard. There is no music more delightful to listen to. Por one reason I am glad that I was deprived of his services as a star. Had he continued on the platform he never would have written " Red Rock," a book which has met with an enor- mous sale and which gives the most graphic picture of the trials that the Southerners endured during and after the war. It is probably because I had been a soldier four years and had known nearly every character exactly as Mr. Page has pre- sented it to the present generation and preserved it for por,- terity that I enjoyed it so much. Thomas Nelson Page cer- tainly has not lived in vain. J'JCCENTJUCITIES OF GENIUS A TE. JOHX FOX, JE., is a yomig friend of Mr. Page's 1>J. of vlujiu I like to write. He is a Kentuckian, a Harvard man, lawyer, New York newspaper man, all- around atklete, and author of "The Cumljerland Vendetta,'' "Hell for Sartain," and "Tlie Keutuckians," which have won him a position among the best writers of America and Europe. In Thomas X e 1 s o n Page's letter introducing ]Mr. Fox to me, lie writes ; " Get John Fox some engagements. He is going to be a srrceess, and some one else will secure h i m. Mr. Tlieodore Roosevelt was praising him to jue the other night in a way to warm my heart." Mr. Fox is surely one of the nr o s t popular Southern authors of the time, and is very much appreciated in the South on account of his nativity as well as because of the high character of his literary work; Init he has appeared be- fore the most cultivated literary circles in all of the larger cities of the E"orth, giving his dialect readings from his own sketches of life in the Cumberland Mountains. He discovered a dialect and lots of good in -the humble people who inhaljit tliat mountainous region, and who are the least known of any of the inhabitants of our country. For the class he presents he is as thoroughly sympathetic as Thomas N"elson Page is for the old-time Virguiia negro " uncles " and "aunties" he so charmingly describes. I do not know a more natural and, in a refined sense, unconventional man on the platform and before his audience than this handsome, well- 624 ECCENTRICITIES OE GENIUS bred, easy youngish gentleman from Bourbon County, Ken- tucky. The Cumberland tableland, which is the scene of hia stories, divides the Blue Eidge or Cumberland Mountains in East Tennessee from the " basin, " or central and western sec- tions of that State, and runs, a rugged formation, into South- east Kentucky. " Charles Egbert Craddock," as Miss Murfree signs herself, has preceded John Eox in the same field, but the latter brought to his later task of dialect and character portraiture the physical sense of companionship from his abil- ity to actualize ia his own life the Cumberland mountaineer's rugged out-of-door existence. In my own wanderings as printer, soldier, and later lecture manager, I have often felt the variant charm of the many- sided life of our land. Often, too, have I wondered at men going abroad to find romance and striking character, when so much of it is to be readily seen at home. The Cumberland mountaineers, generally of non-slave-holding stock, hunters even more than farmers, strong Union men in days of need, as a rule, but intensely Southern, nevertheless, afford a field for the story-teller's art which seems to me of the most iuter- esting and unique character. John Fox has won its secret and knows how to make others understand. He has a capital presence, a magnetic force and manner, and a most telling voice at his command. On the platform he is pretty much what he is off it, except that he is sensitively watchful of doing his work well. William Dean Howells declares that Fox brings a "fresh vision" and a " novel touch " in the seeing and presenting of his scenes and characters.^ If that is true of his books, it is more eminently so of his readings and lecture descriptions. He has no man- nerisms and gives no evidence of effort. He simply tells and lives in ■ the telling. What he gives is truly his own work. His dialect is perfect, but it is human and actual, not a mere caricature. The figures he gives are wholesome and clean, as is the man who presents them. ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 625 RUDYARD KIPLING and I have exclianged a number of letters, but up to the day before he was stricken with his late illness we had never met. After several attempts through his friends aud publishers, members of the Century Co., to get an introduction to him, a common friend of the editorial staff said to me : "Major, it's no use; Kipling won't see you." "A^Tiat have I done?" I asked. "Nothing," replied my friend. "He says that he has been told that if he meets you he will go lecturmg, and he doesn't purpose to expose him- self." And although his New York house was within a block of mine, lie managed to keep out of my sight, much as I tried to meet him. In 1895, while crossmg the contuient with Mark Twain on his lecture tour around the world, Mr. Kipling was often men- tioned by Mark as the greatest "card " in the world, and I was urged to try to get him. " I am told he is the finest reader and mterpreter of his own writings of all of us. Get him," said Mark. So, on my return from Victoria, 11. C, after ha\dng seen Mark and his wife and daughter sail out on the Warriinoo for Australia, I determined to call on Mr. Kipling at his home in Vermont, hoping that, on Mark's suggestion, I might capture him. I received no reply to my various tele- grams that I would call on such a day, but I had determined to make the effort. Yet when I started from Montreal to Brattleboro my courage failed. I did not stop, but wrote Mr. 526 ECCENTRICITIES OE GENIUS Kipling immediately on my arrival in New York, and received tlie following reply : "Beattlbboeo, Vt., Sept. 30, 1896. "Dear Mb. Pond: "I am much obliged to you for your letter, but I can't say that I can see my way to the ententement you propose. There is such a thing as paying one hundred and twenty-five cents for a dollar, and though I suppose there is money in the lec- turing business, it seems to me that the bother, the fuss, the being at everybody's beck and call, the night journeys, and so on, make it very dear. I've seen a few men who've lived through the fight, but they did not look happy. I might do it as soon as I had two mortgages on my house, a lien on the horses, and a bill of sale on the furniture, and writer's cramp in both hands ; but at present I'm busy and contented to go on with the regular writing business. You forget that I have already wandered over most of the States, and there isn't enough money in sight to hire me to face again some of the hotels and some of the railway systems that I have met with. America is a great country, but she is not made for lecturmg in. With renewed thanks for your very kind letter, believe me, " Yours sincerely, "E.UI1YAED Kipling." Later I sent a complete set of his books, with a request that he favor me with his autograph in each volume (about twenty books). He unpacked, signed, and repacked them, and here is what he wrote : "Dear Majok Pond: " Your order of the 22d instant has been filled, we trust to your satisfaction, and the stuff is returned herewith. "We did not know that there would be such a mass of lum- ber to put through the mill; and we note also that your order covers at least two supplementary orders — (a) in the case of a young lady aged nineteen (not in original contract) and (A) an autograph work for which we have supplied one original hardwood case. " Our mills are running full time at present, in spite of busi- ness depression ; but we are very reluctant to turn away any job that offers under these circumstances, and making allow- ance for time consumed, sorting, packing, crating, and return- ing finished goods, we should esteem it a favor if you would see ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 527 your way to forwarding an additional ten ($10) dollars to the Tribune Fresh Air Fund. " Very sincerely yours, "R. Kipling & Co." (Autographs supplied on moderate terms ; guaranteed senti- ments to order. Verse a specialty. No discount for cash.) MY "BENEFIT" EXPERIENCE. I had never believed in benefits for managers, for it is gen- erally looked upon as a sort of give-away — an acknowledg- ment of an impecunious condition, like the beggar who stands on the street holding out his hat or taming a little hand-organ, labelled with the sign, "I am blind" — and one's friends are liable to cut an old comrade in the street, or pass by on the other side, as an after-effect of such an appeal to the public. It had been a hard season, and some of my friends had reaped pretty fair profits and urged me to accept a compli- mentary benefit, tendering their services and assistance gratui- tously. My friend Bill Nye visited the proprietors of Chick- ering Hall and obtained from them the free use of that edifice for the entertainment, and my printers went so far as to vol- unteer to furnish programmes, tickets, and such advertising material as I wished. The newspapers, however, didn't open their advertising columns gratuitously, as that would have been an innovation and an instance unparalleled in that de- partment of newspaperdom, but the editors were very gener- ous with their puffs. So it was suggested by my friends George W. Cable, Max O'Rell, Bill Nye, and James Whitcomb Riley that I accept a testimonial. It was arranged that George W. Cable should be introduced by his friend Roswell Smith, president of the Century Co. ; that Max O'Rell should be introduced by his friend, Gen. Horace Porter; Bill Nye by Col. John A. Cock- erell, editor of the New York World, and one of the finest editor-orators of the time; and James Whitcomb Riley was to 628 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS be introduced by Dr. Edward Eggleston, the Hoosier novelist, author of "The Hoosier Schoolmaster" and "The Hoosier Schoolboy." Each one of these introducers was considered an attraction in himself. The occasion was well advertised, circulars were sent out, and I think I never had a more copious response by mail than I had at that time from my friends, all asking for one or two tickets — complimentary, of course. The time arrived, and my old friends turned out in full force— the old free list. The expenses were about $200, and the receipts about $110. I pocketed my loss of $90, and have discouraged every suggestion of a "benefit" offered since that time. The entertainment was delightful. No audience ever went out of Chickering Hall with more beaming countenances, and I had congratulations from all my friends. I was asked by one friend, who had paid for her ticket, if I contemplated a tour to Europe. I certainly could afford it after receiving such a rousing benefit I In an appropriate speech, Mr. Eoswell Smith introduced his friend George W. Cable as the most successful magazine writer of his time, and dwelt upon the good fortune his writings had brought to the Century Co., of which he had the honor to be known as president. His speech brought a hearty round of applause to Mr. Cable, as he stepped forward and read "Posson Jone'," his favorite Creole story. Then Col. John Cockerell, in his characteristic eloquence, presented his pet humorist. Bill Nye, who had come from the West on his invitation and accepted a position on the editorial staff of the New York World, and whose writings had quadru- pled the circulation of the Sunday edition of that paper. He was eloquent in his eulogistic introduction, and Nye caught the inspiration as he wabbled down to the front of the stage. Without uttering a word he had the audience convulsed for a long time, and when he did begin his story of how he earned his first dollar, the audience fairly bubbled over, while there ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 529 ■was not tlie slightest ripple on the speaker's round counte- nance. Nye was bald-headed all over, and more so when in front of an audience. Then Edward Eggleston, the Hoosier noyelist, introduced James Whitcomb Eiley, the Hoosier poet, with many happy turns on the term Hoosier and the Hoosier State. Eoswell Smith was from Indiana, Nye was part Hoosier, and every one down on the programme was Indianian to some degree ex- cept possibly Max O'Eell, the French humorist. Mr. Eggleston' s introduction of James Whitcomb Eileyput the poet in trim for his best Hoosier interpretations, and be- fore he had finished his recital everybody in that audience was Hoosier more or less. General Porter was saved for the last. His witty iatroduc- tion of the French humorist was the climax of the day. There had been so much Indiana and Hoosier in the pro- gramme, he said, that he felt a little embarrassed and dis- couraged, as the only novelty about his candidate for the audience's amusement was that he was not from Indiana. It was an interesting two hours' display of ability and genius, wit and humor, such as would be difiScult to reproduce at the present time. GENERAL SURVEY OF THE LYCEUM FIELD ECCEXTIilCITIES OF GENIUS 633 Ji\.!MES KEDPATH. — Xo reference to the American lyceiim, its lecturers or lectures, would be complete without tell- ing something about the many-sided man who picked up the famous old lyceuni system that had done so much to " educate and agitate " back in the fifties and sixties, and who created out of its wonderful fragments the equally notaljle plan of entertainnrent and lecturing which then took its place. Previous to Mr. James Redpath's establishment of the Ptedpath Lyceum Bu- reau, the entertainment agency system of to-day had no existence; and to Mr. James Eedpath, in connec- tion with his energetic part- ner, Mr. George L. Fall, de- ceased, Ijelongs the credit of uistituting the liureau system, by means of whicli nearly all the lecture busi- ness of the country is now coirducted. That I have had so much to do with this more latterly is due largely to my good fortune in knowing so well his methods, while win- ning and holding the personal friendship of the founder (jf "Redpath's Lyceum Bureau." Mr. James Redyiath was born in Berwick-on-Tweed, Eng- land, August 24, 1833, coming to this country in 1848 with his family. For two or three years he worked as a printer at Kalamazoo, Detroit, and Chicago, then went to New York, where he began to write for the daily and weekly press, and 634 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS soon afterward became editorially connected -with the New York Tribune. His health failing, in 1864 he started on a tour on foot through the Southern seaboard States to see with his own eyes what slavery was. When winter set in he renewed his jour- ney, partly on foot and partly by railroads and steamers, until he reached New Orleans. Duriug all this long journey he talked with the slaves, slept in their cabins, ate of their hum- ble fare, and listened to their distressiag revelations. These conversations Mr. Eedpath took down in shorthand, and sent a series of letters, descriptive of his walks and talks, to the New York Anti- Slavery Standard (William Lloyd Garrison's paper) — letters which were afterward collected and published, and which elicited the highest praise of the leaders of the anti- slavery party. From New Orleans Mr. Eedpath went to St. Louis, where he at once obtained a position as reporter on the Missouri Democrat, a Eepublican daily paper. In 1856 the proprietors of that journal sent him to Kansas to report the proceedings of the " bogus legislature " convened at the Shawnee Mission. His reports of its proceedings aiid his descriptions of the scenes which took place were copied far and wide by the Eepublican press, and gave him at once a national reputation. I was an awkward boy of eighteen, working at the " case " in beleagured Lawrence, Kansas Territory, during the summer of 1866, and was drawn to the keen-witted, brave, friendly, and untiring young fellow who was constantly on the move as special correspondent of the New York Tribune and of the old Missouri Democrat of St. Louis. I had been reared on the old Try-bune up in the Wisconsin pioneer home where my boy- hood was passed. That's why I found myself out there m that Kansas summer of danger, ^^lien Eedpath asked me to go to Prairie City with him — he was intending to interview John Brown, and it was dangerous —I was eager to go, because his articles in the Tribvne had caused me to look upon him. almost as a god, and where he went it was my ambition to follow. ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 535 In October, 1856, during the time of the blockade of the Missouri River by the border rufl&ans, Mr. Eedpath led in an armed company of immigraats, whom he had brought overland from Illitiois, and succeeded iu locating them on the free soil of Kansas. He remained there for some months, taking an active part in Free State politics, and still acting as corre- spondent of the Missouri Democrat, the Chicago Tribune, and the New York Tribune. Early in 1867 he left Kansas for Massachusetts, married, and resided at Maiden, near Boston, until 1875, when he moved to ISTew York. In the fall of 1857 he went to Kansas to establish a weekly newspaper, and at Doniphan, December 16th, he issued the first number of The Crusader of Freedom. It was a radical anti-slavery journal ; but owing to the failure of parties who had agreed to support him to fulfil their pledges, he was obliged to discontinue it, after three months' publication, and returned to Boston. At the time of John Brown's raid at Harper's Ferry, the press of all parties cried out against the act, and denounced old John Brown as a madman and a murderer. Mr. Eedpath, who had long been on terms of intimacy with Brown, published a series of articles in his defence, and indorsed the step he had taken. These letters were followed by a " Life of John Brown," which was written in three weeks. It was published in December, 1859, and had a sale of forty thousand copies. It was followed by the "Echoes of Harper's Ferry," which was a collection of the best speeches, sermons, articles, etc., relating to John Brown's raid, and by "Southern Notes for National Circulation," a large pamphlet exhibiting the charac- ter of the Southern people as seen by their acts following the execution of John Brown and some of his captured followers. In 1863 Mr. Redpath began business as a publisher ; but finding it uncongenial to his tastes, he soon abandoned it. His life from the fall of 1864 to 1866 was spent in the South, chiefly as army correspondent of Northern journals. He was at Atlanta with General Sherman, at the battle of Nashville with General Thomas, and with General Steadman and Colonel 536 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS Kousseau in their movements to flank General Hood. Having accepted an offer from the ISTew York Tribune to join Sherman's army, Mr. Redpath arrived in South Carolina in time to send the first report of the capture of Charleston to the North. General Sherman having gone forward, Mr. Eedpath was appointed to superintend the white and colored schools of that city, and resigned his office as correspond- ent. During his three or four months' stay in Charleston he organized all the day schools, and established night schools for adults ; he instituted a public reading-room and library for the freedmen, recruited the first colored militia companies, founded an asylum for colored orphans, and established the custom, which has since become national, of decorating the graves of those who fell in the war. He was the founder of Decoration Day. On its first celebration, which occurred in Charleston, S. C, on the first day of May, 1865, upward of ten thousand persons, with a full battalion of soldiers, were present, and advantage was taken of the occasion to consecrate the ground where the martyrs of the Civil War were buried, the ground having been previously enclosed by the colored people of the district. Mr. Eedpath was afterward appointed General Superintendent of Education of the Freedmen for the "Department of the South," which included South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida ; but he did not accept the position, as business affairs obliged him to leave that part of the country. On his return to the North, Mr. Redpath devoted himself exclusively to journalism, and contributed to the leading news- papers of New York and Boston until 1868. In that year he established the Boston Lyceum Bureau — now the Redpath Lyceum Bureau — in conjunction with Mr. George L. Fall, and up to October, 1874, was engaged chiefly in this sphere of labor. The bureau, it is now generally admitted, has done more than any other agency to revive the lecture system, which was rapidly dying out all over the country. Since the establishment of the bureau, the number of lectures given in the United States has increased tenfold, chiefly under the im- pulse which it gave to the system. It has more than quad- ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 537 rapled tlie number of lectures that were given in New England when it was organized. " Jim " Redpath did several first things, to some of which I have already made reference. He was also the first "inter- viewer " iu the United States, as his " interview " (as he called it in the Tribune) with old John Brown, which I witnessed, giving the Puritan leader's account of the fight with Henry- Clay Pate at " Black Jack " — one of the memorable events of the "Free State" struggle — was the earliest of actual news- paper interviews. He afterward popularized this form of getting at public men' s opinions in an easy way by calling those he had early in the Civil War days with Charles Sum- ner, "Stump Speeches in Slippers." As I think of my friend, whose name to the public was per- haps written in water, I wonder why he was not wider, better, and more enduringly known. Some one has told me of an old clergjrman who in his later years had slipped from all organization and yet managed to keep actively engaged in sermonizing and teaching. Some one asked him what church he was "ministering to." His reply was, "The Church of Divine Fragments." The last words seem to me always to fit the years and career of James Eedpath. His days and his intellect were made indeed of "divine frag- ments." Every ethical breath or cause seemed to draw him, but he did not remain to round out either the cause or his own work. But what a lot of service, according to his light, he rendered ! The anti-slavery struggle captured his clear-brained youth. His courage, moral and physical alike, was beyond compare. The remarkable series of letters that he wrote, " un- signed," from the slave States in the winter of 1855-66, of the long journeys " a-f oot " that he made among the slaves and non-slave-holding whites, would have made him world-famous could they have fitted to and happened in these days. Then his equally remarkable journeys in Ireland, nearly thirty years later, during the early Land League agitation, the account of which also appeared in the New York Tribune, were almost equal to them for the peril encountered and the high courage 638 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS displayed. Between these two poiats Redpath had been the first superintendent of non-racial public schools in Charleston, S. C, and had also been the first Northern journalist to inter- view Jefferson Davis, whom he invited to a lecture tour in the Union States. His life was full of large beginnings and alive with " divine fragments, " dramatic contrasts, and active with vigorous work, so that while he moved, and where he did so, he for the time being filled the centre of the stage. Yet he has left little behind him, and that little is fading. He published "The Roving Editor," a record of his audacious journeys and insurrectionary agitation in the seaboard slave States — a book that is quite forgotten and of which copies are not easily to be found. He wrote "The Public Life of John Brown," which was published within twenty days of the latter' s execution in Virginia, and during the last year of his life he wrote " The Life of Jefferson Davis." At one time Eedpath entered the service of "The Black Republic " — Hayti — ^plannuig an exodus to it of our free col- ored people and, siib rosa, it has been said, an extended slave insurrection, which Fort Sumter made nugatory. Yet he had no war record, civic or military, except for a brief space as a recruiting officer of colored troops. It is reported that he got possessed with some Tolstoian views against war, yet there never lived a braver man than James Redpath. In his last years he identified himself with Henry George's single-tax views, after he had been managing editor, under Thorndyke Rice, of The North American Review. But his enduring public monument is the early shaping of the American lecture-platform system as we now see it, and the enduring personal, even tender regai-d with which all who knew James Redpath continue to hold him in memory. No man was more loved and admired by those who knew him well. Even those who in later years differed widely from him on personal grounds speak of him still in terms of lingering affection and loving regret. ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 639 THE LYCEUM. THE lyceum platform stands for ability, genius, educa- tion, reform, and entertainment. On it the greatest readers, orators, and thinkers have stood. On it reform has found her noblest advocates, literature her finest expression, progress her bravest pleaders, and humor its happiest transla- tions. Some of the most gifted, most highly educated, and warmest-hearted men and women of the English-speaking race have in the last fifty years given their best efforts to the lyceum, and by their noble utterances have made its platform not only historic, but symbolic of talent, education, genius, and reform. Until the Redpath Lyceum Bureau was founded by James Eedpath in Boston, in 1867, lecture committees were in the habit of applying to lecturers or readers direct. These com- mittees were usually made up from the leading citizens of the town, with a view to securing the services of the ablest men and women of letters for the entertainment of their public. The fee was generally nominal, but sufficient to cover the act- ual expenses of the star and furnish a small honorarium. Edward Everett, Ealph Waldo Emerson, John B. Gough, Wendell Phillips, George William Curtis, Garrison, Sumner, Lowell, Edward Everett Hale, Bayard Taylor, Frederick Douglass, Dr. Chapin, Henry Ward Beecher, Julia Ward Howe, Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Anna E. Dickinson, and Mary A. Livermore were the principal men and women of letters obtainable on these conditions. Among the great readers who could attract large metropoli- tan audiences year after year were George Vandenhoff and James E. Murdoch — famous Shakespearian actors in their day — Professor Churchill of Andover, Prof. Eobert E. Eay- mond, and Charlotte Cushman. All of these were attractions wherever they appeared. Mr. Shillaber (" Mrs. Partington ") as a humorous lecturer was also very popular. Of course 640 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS there were many lesser lights, but the platform stars available before the war could almost be numbered on one's fingers. The lyeeum had never been regarded by these gifted advo- cates of reform and progress from the point of view of " reve- nue only." In every city and village there was a lyeeum, sustained by the people for the purpose of furnishing the best courses of lectures and entertainments. The expenses for talent being light, and attractions of the highest class being popular, most lyceums were financially prosperous. At that time music had not been introduced into the courses, which were at once the pride and the boast of every community. Then the music hall and town hall were considered the only proper places for wholesome entertainments, such as concerts and lectures. The religious element predominated in getting up courses of lectures. New England town and public halls were all arranged for lectures and concerts, with an express proviso that no entertainment should be given that required a drop-curtain. A year or two after the war, when over a mil- lion men had returned from military strife to civil pursuits, having been through four years of excitement that rendered it next to impossible to settle quietly down, there came an un- precedented demand for entertainments and amusements. The men and women nearest to the hearts of the public were those whose patriotism and ability had made their names household words during the war, and they were sought after for lectures all over the country. It was about this time (1867) that James Eedpath, one of the earliest founders of "The Freedman's Bureau," a jour- nalist and father of many brilliant thoughts, conceived the idea of making and booking engagements for lectures. His bureau revolutionized the lyeeum and lecture field. It created a profession, and made the management of the work a business requiring skill and systematic care. Eedpath was the friend of Phillips, Garrison, Sumner, G-ough, Emerson, Whittier, Mrs. Livermore, Mrs. Stanton, Miss Anthony, Anna Dickin- son, and other patriotic platform heroes and heroines. Before that time our great lecturers were satisfied to receive from $50 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 541 to $100 a night and their expenses. Even John B. Gough never accepted a higher fee. When Charles Sumner was paid $600 for a lecture in Providence, such a fee was unprec- edented. Even Wendell Phillips used to lecture for $25 or $50, and seemed to be willing to do so for that sum quite as eadily as for $500 afterward. He wished the people to hear him, and he spoke for a cause. -One morning Mr. Phillips came into our office in Boston to get his list of appointments. I said : "Mr. Phillips, we have an open date. Springfield offers $250 for it. Natick^wants it, but they can pay only $75." "What's the population of the two towns?" asked Mr. Phillips. We looked it up, and gave him the census report of each town. " Natick offers more in proportion to its number of inhabi- tants than Springfield. Let Natick have it," he said. Mr. Redpath satisfied these lecturers that he could save them the trouble and annoyance of voluminous correspondence, and at the same time could obtain such fees as the lectures were worth, a suggestion which seemed to meet with general favor. By paying Eedpath ten per cent, on all their business transac- tions they could be relieved of the care of bookings, and their income would not be diminished, to say the least. Eedpath' s Bureau took charge of Mr. Gough' s business, and he cleared $40,000 for the season of 1871 and 1872, and during the last decade of his life his income was never less than $30,000, thus showing what could be done with experience and good manage- ment. Mr. Redpath was the first manager to pay a lecturer a $1,000 fee. He paid it to Mr. Beecher for a lecture in Music Hall, Boston, in 1872. The gross receipts were over $3,000. When the Redpath Bureau took Wendell Phillips' business, he could easily get from $260 to $500 a night. There were several men who could command these figures. Men like Beecher, Chapin, Phillips, Sumner, Gough, and Emerson did not lecture merely for the money they made out of it. They 542 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS put a good deal of love of their ideas, cause, or purposes into their work. There are men. now who could make large in- comes by lecturing if they would. There are almost daily calls for Seth Low, Chauncey M. Depew, Gen. Horace Por- ter, Bourke Cockran, and St. Clair McKelway, but they are not available. Eedpath would have been unsuccessful if he had depended upon himself for the management of the details of the busi- ness ; but he was fortunate in associating with him. his friend Mr. George Fall, a man of remarkable executive ability, who at once grasped the magnitude of the scheme and assumed the direction of the business details. It was to be the Eedpath Lyceum Bureau (Eedpath & Tall, proprietors) . Circulars were sent out over the country an- nouncing the list of lectures to be secured. The newspapers talked about the plan, saying that every city. East and West, could have a lecture course of the best talent in the world by merely addressing the Eedpath Lyceum Bureau. In the town in which I lived (Janesville, Wis.), John B. Gough and Anna Dickinson were secured. Each received $400 per night. Tickets sold at from $1 to $5, and the local lyceum cleared about 1600, after paying all expenses. It was the same way all over the country. There was not a town which could not afford a great lecturer, but experience and ability were required to secure one. About this time (1867-68) Petroleum V. Nasby was a great attraction and money-maker. Such a thing as losing money on a big lecture course seemed impossible. Carpenter & Shel- don, managers of the Star Course in Chicago, secured every lecturer and reader that the bureau had at its command, and they paid the highest prices. Their " Chicago Star Course " tickets invariably sold at a premium. Long before the date of the first lecture of the course there was not a ticket to be had. It was the same in Cleveland, Detroit, Buffalo, Roches- ter, Pittsburg, Columbus, Cincinnati, and St. Louis. Every- where the star course was the fad. One Sunday in Eochester I attended a Baptist Sunday-school. Two of the prizes for ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 543 some specially meritorious object were tickets to the Athe- naeum Star Course, in Corinthian Hall, where the holders could hear John B. Gough, Mary A. Livermore, Mrs. Scott- Siddons, the Eev. George Dawson of England, and the Hon. William Parsons of Ii-eland, and Ann Eliza Young of Utah. The list of lecturers was printed on the ticket and read off by the superintendent. T. B. Pugh's Star Course in Philadelphia, was considered a greater property than any theatre in that city. He gave an annual course, of ten lectures and concerts, and sold every seat in the great Academy of Music, from orchestra to amphithe- atre (all reserved), just as soon as the tickets could possibly be passed out to the waiting crowd. The prices ranged from $3 to $8. It was the same with Hathaway & Pond's Star Course in Music Hall, Boston, and with the Eranklin Lyceum in Providence ; in fact, all the large cities looked to the star lecture courses for the highest class of entertainments, and they surely had them. Lyceum treasuries were full, the peo- ple were liberal ia their patronage, and the public was satis- fied. It was a marvellous iatellectual movement, and that it no longer exists in this shape must be looked upon with sin- cere regret by those who watch the progress of the age. The first hard blow that the lecture platform got was from the clear, humorous light operas of Gilbert and Sullivan. People went to hear them who would not previously go to the theatre. To a large extent they took the place of the lec- turers in New England, causing the public halls to be re- modelled ; and the curtain went up where previously it had been forbidden. The fun and the good music were popular, wholesome, and profitable; but when less gifted imitators sent out poor companies, not so clean, with poor music, there was a reaction, and the lecture-concert system began to regain some of its lost ground, and the poor trash of the show busi- ness had to go under. During the years between 1871 and 1877 the lyceum flour- ished. It began to show weakness in 1874-76. There were not enough good lecturers. The war-horses of the platform 544 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS ■were disappearing. Sumner died. Emerson was worn out. Curtis had assumed the editorship of Harper's WeeMy. Gough's throat was thickening up, and it was an effort to listen to him. Douglass had gone as minister to Hayti. Henry Ward Beecher's lecture engagements must bend to his church obligations at home. He was a preacher and the pas- tor of a church. Anna Dickinson got to scolding her audi- ences; besides, she had a craze for the stage. Mrs. Liver- more could lecture only six nights a week. She had over eight hundred applications for a single season, more than she could accept, not only from lyceums, but from churches, col- leges, temperance and women's societies. About the same conditions obtained with Mrs. Julia Ward Howe. There were over five hundred lyceums to be supplied. The great champions of woman's right had said and told all that there was to say. Nast had abruptly stopped in the very zenith of his popularity. Spurgeon, Gladstone, and John Bright re- fused to consider fabulous offers inviting them to come to America. There must be something to make the courses attractive or they would go under. It was determined to augment them with music. I went to New York and arranged for a grand concert; company to open the principal courses in the large cities. It had to be composed of the leading stars in the profession, and nothing but the very best would do. One season we paid Max Strakosch $10,000 for ten concerts to be given in the leading star courses in Boston, Portland, Providence, Worcester, Springfield, Hartford, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington. That company consisted of Clara Louise Kellogg, Anna Louise Cary, George Conley, basso, Brignoli, tenor, Alfred Pease, pianist, George W. Colby, accompanist. We used one of these concerts for the star course in Boston. I ran one independently on Sunday night in the Boston theatre. They were sold to each of the other courses for $200 more than we paid Strakosch. It was the finest vocal quartette available in America, and I would like to see it " bested " now under conditions similar to those then existing. ECCEXTIUCITIES OF GEXIUS -Ao Next caiae a great lyeeuiu star, (Jle liiill, tlie most j)opular violinist ever known. His name assureil tlie success of almost any course where tliere ^^'as an auilitorum of ample capacity. I paid him $500 a concert every time lie played for me. The great ISTorwegian "fiddler," as musicians called him, had not appeared in public for several years. It was almost acciden- tal that I secured him. He was at the Tarker House, Itos- tun, on his way from his home in Xorway to Madison, \\'is., his American home. 1 met him in the elevator, and asked if he were not going to play in Boston. His wife, who was with him, replied that he would not play in Boston until he could receive $500 a con- cert. Boston had never ap- preciated him I was looking for a sub- stitute for one of the attrac- tions that had disappointed us for the star course in Boston, the date being the following Tuesday. I told Mr. Bull that our house was sold out, being in the star course, and that there was no way of making it possible for him to draw a great crowd on his merits. The audience, however, would be of more than average intelligence, and would be appreciative. I offered to give him $250 and all the money taken in at the door on the night of the concert. He accepted at once, saying that was fair enough. Mrs. Bull did not like it, and was persistent in insisting that her husband ought to have $500. We left the matter as Mr. Bull and I had agreed They returned to New York that day (it was Friday). I announced in the papers that Ole Bull would play in the star course the Tuesday following. The ne.xt evening 546 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS I got a note from tlie manager of Music Hall asking me to send around the tickets for the Ole Bull concert. He said that over four hundred applications had come in, and one es- pecially, from Henry W. Longfellow, for six seats. What ■were we to do? There were four rows of seats under the back gallery that we had never put on sale, because no one could ever hear a speaker from that part of the hall. We concluded to number and sell those seats at $1. 50 each. We also figured that we could put three hundred chairs on the stage, and four hundred " standees " wherever they could get in. On Sunday before the concert, Mr. and Mrs. Bull arrived in Boston. I called and found Mrs. Bull still determined that Mr. Bull must have $500. I did not tell her that under the present arrangement he would get twice that sum, but I gave her a check for $500, and took her receipt. The sale, in addition to the course tickets, was over $1,100. I afterward paid Ole Bull $25,000 for fifty concerts, and made a handsome profit. Concerts and novelties were now called for in courses. In consequence, the call for lectures was much dimiuished. Gil- more' s band was a strong attraction for large cities, but too expensive for the average lyceum, so we made a feature for two seasons of Mme. Camilla Urso, the violinist, and a sup- porting company, which proved very profitable, not only to lyceums, but to the star. Adelaide Phillips, the popular con- tralto, was another great lyceum favorite, supported by Tom Karl, then the handsomest young tenor, and with the ladies the greatest favorite in the profession. It was found neces- sary that a new attraction for a feature of courses must be produced every season, and that feature music. Eedpath had another thought — opera; English opera in lyceums, so " The Eedpath English Opera Company " was organized with this original announcement : " To meet a long-felt want in lyceums for an entertainment which would combine exquisite music and dramatic situations, to take the place of the miscellaneous concerts which have be- come almost as unpopular as readings," etc. ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 647 This little company consisted of a quartette of young singers. They gave Flotow's opera, "Martha," complete, omitting the choruses. The orchestra was a piano only. They were beau- tiful singers. Miss Clara Nichols, soprano ; Flora E. Barry, contralto; G-eorge H. Clark, tenor; Edward Payson, basso; John Howard, piano. This was the most delightful hit of that season (1875-76). We could give a whole opera, without a chorus, for $250, and if necessary for much less. Every lyceum applied for it. In many places it could not be given, because the drop-curtain was the dividing line in classifying the character of the enter- tainment to be given in the public halls. In Worcester, Providence, Salem, Clinton, Natick, and suburban cities, where we could not use scenery, we produced the opera without. It gave great delight, and seemed to whet the ap- petite for richer feasts of real opera, and the advancement of the drama, which now so largely occupies the field of amuse- ments. The bureau made about eighteen thousand dollars for that little opera company the first season it was out. It was the pioneer English opera company outside of the largest cities. In less than two years there were scores of English opera companies. But the intellectual character of the lyceum entertainments has been gradually falling. There is seldom a lecture course nowadays that can get support from the general public as in former times. There will always be some one person more famous and universally popular than all the rest. Samuel L. Clemens (Mark Twain) is such a man. His books are in every home, and his name has been a household word for a genera- tion, wherever the language is English. He could command a greater fee now than ever before in his life, but he says "No." Of those who are actively engaged in platform work, the one who to-day (1900-01) has reached the highest point of popularity— and that, too, by a sudden bound— is Ernest Seton-Thompson, the author of "Wild Animals I have Known." 648 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS To be attractions, heroes must make the history they relate. There will never be another Stanley, unless Peary finds the North Pole. I doubt if there will be another George Kennan, who delivered two hundred lectures on two hundred consecu- tive secular nights, the season after his return from Siberia, and who is about as good a lecturer as we now have. Peary's adventures have been the most hazardous and the most suc- cessful of any of our Arctic explorers. Here is Dr. Cook, the first man to set foot on the Antarctic continent. But his unique success does not create the excitement it merits. Times have so changed that it is impossible to bring this, one of the bravest of our young heroes, into public demand. 0,"' late our people have had so much to read about and to tali about that even heroes are common. In the palmy days of the lyceum great magazines were of limited circulation. Now their circulations are incalculable. The Sunday newspapers employ a hundred writers where they had one twenty years ago, and the facilities for the manufac- ture of printing paper have increased in proportion to the writers. The machinery for printing one thousand newspa- pers an hour was considered wonderful twenty-five yeais ago. Now a hundred thousand is expected to be printed in the same space of time, and all this paper contains almost everything to be said on the subjects of progress, genius, education, re- form, and entertainment that was formerly the function of the lyceum. Opera houses have taken the places of magnificent halls. The greatest actor has been knighted, thereby compelling recognition of the acted drama as a peer of all other arts ; the minister's family goes to the theatre while he attends his prayer meeting up-town, and then calls for his family on his way home, and sees the last act of the play. The theatre is attractive, and its prices are no higher than the prices of the best lecture, while the public halls receive so little patronage that it does not pay to make them inviting by keeping them in order. Right here I quote from United States Senator Albert J. ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 649 Beveridge's article on public speaking, recently printed in the Saturday Evening Post, Philadelphia : " What nonsense the repeated statement that public speak- ing has had its day, that the newspaper has taken its place, and all the rest of that kind of talk. Public speaking will never decline until men cease to have ears to hear. How hard it is to read a speech — how delightful to listen. Speaking is nature's method of instruction. It begins with the mother to child ; it continues with teacher to pupil ; it continues still in lecturer or professor to his student (for the universities are all going back to the old oral method of instruction) ; and it still continues in all the forms of effective human communication. " The newspapers are a marvellous influence, but they are not everything and they do not supply everything. For ex- ample, it is commonly supposed that they absolutely and ex- clusively mould and control public opinion. But they do not. When all has been said, the most powerful public opinion, after all, is that from mouth-to-mouth public opinion — that living, moving opinion which spreads from neighbor to neighbor, and has fused into it the vitality of the personality of nearly every man — yes, and woman, don't forget that — in the whole com- munity." The veteran theatrical manager, Mr. J. H. McVicker, was in my office about twelve years ago, and said to me : " Pond, have you any idea how many travelling operatic and theatrical combinations are on the road? " I replied that I had not, but possibly there might be fifty. "Well," he said, "there are over eighty ! " It surprised me. To-day there are probably fifteen hundred travelling shows going from town to town do- ing "one-night stands," though most of them are making lit- tle or nothing. In cities like New Haven, Hartford, Springfield, Worces- ter, Holyoke, Lowell, Pitchburg, Salem, Fall Eiver, and all over the country, theatres book time solid with these " com- binations " from August to May. It is only through accident to some standard attraction or some disappointment that a big lecturer or concert company can find an open date. The 550 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS best theatres ■will not risk losing a week for any good lecturer or concert company, consequently the lyceum attraction must secure a church, rink, armory, or some unfrequented barracks, or stay away. This overdoing of the " show business " has proved poor judgment on the part of local managers, with disastrous results to many of the combinations, and a loss of faith on the part of the public. The men and women who have long been able to hold the public attention on questions outside such subjects as litera- ture, historical themes, poetry, drama, exploration, adven- ture, science, or their own writings and personality, have been those who with eloquence and learning, or exceptional capac- ity and repute of some kind, have devoted themselves to a cause or question which, while it aroused public interest, did not at the time command access to the ordinary channels of discussion by the press partisan or other conventional proce- dure and methods. In fact, the lyceum and lecture platform, outside of its instruction and entertainment features, has al- ways been more or less a field of propaganda. It illustrates the broadness of the American character that the people are willing to pay largely for the best presentation to them of causes and issues, even isms, which are held only by the mi- nority. Intellectual curiosity, as well as an active sense of mental fairness, has a good deal to do with this fad. It is one that was more apparent thirty years since than it is to- day, yet it is still strong enough to be an important factor on the business side of the lecture management. There is still a demand for good lecturers, as may be seen from the fact that I am regularly corresponding with some three thousand different persons associated with the manage- ment of lectures and platform entertainments, and at least sixty per cent, of them are women. Lecturers who interest people and do not offend the public taste (which I have always found to be very nearly a correct measurement also, apart from the rule of profit) can find constant occupation. Clergymen are quite naturally among the successful lectur- ers. Of Americans, Dr. Hillis is now in the lead, Talmage ECCENTBICITIES OF GENIUS 551 next, and Gunsaulis next' — the present triumvirate of Ameri- can lecture kings. The Eev. Dr. John Watson ("Ian Mac- laren ") is the best England has yet produced, and his popu- larity is still very great ; and there are clerygmen of the Church of England that would be as successful as any yet imported if they would only accept the invitation to come. There is no other profession or occupation which has given more bril- liant and scholarly minds to this division of the people's uni- versity, the lecture platform, than the ministry. Going back briefly to the decade preceding the Civil War, in which the early lyceum obtained its largest development, memory recalls most readily, as among formative and direct- ing minds, both in civic and educational influence, the names of such preachers and teachers as Theodore Parker, Thomas Starr King, Henry Ward Beecher, his brother Edward, Ed- ward Everett Hale, John Lord, Eobert CoUyer, Dr. Chapin, Thomas Wentworth Higginson, Dr, Vincent, Robert Laird Col- lier, and Bishop Simpson, among others who are also worthy of remembrance. The war period did not lessen the lyceum' s influence, but it vastly intensified the power of those who had become its leading lecturers and orators. The church bodies and the associated religious societies which have grown from them have, from the earliest ly- ceum beginnings, been among its chief mainstays. During the culminating period of the slavery debate, the churches were, as a rule, conservative, and as such did not lend them- selves heartily to either side of the great agitation. There were, as all know, many clergymen who did, and who, in so doing, were strong enough to carry their congregations with them. But at that date religious denominations were not lec- ture and platform builders. They are now. Nor were col- leges and educational institutions then, in general, favorable to the secular teacher. INow the reverse is the case. The old star courses have mainly passed away. The dependence of the average and smaller lecture and entertainment courses to-day throughout the land, though largely arranged by indi- viduals, may be found in the churches and colleges, or in the 552 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS active bodies grouped around them. The Young Men' s Chris- tian Associations, the Christian Endeavor Societies, Epvorth Leagues, Women's Clubs, and Societies of Sons and Daughters of the Eevolution, with many literary and educational societies which pastors now so carefully foster, are active centres of support to systematic lecturing and entertainments throughout the United States, and the same is largely true also of Great Britain and Canada. The Australian colonies appear to de- pend more directly upon individual enterprise for such forms of mental catering as I am considering. One result of this condition is seen in the increased attention to personal charac- ter on the platform. The ethical need is marked by the social one. The old and enthusiastic agitating spirit has virtually departed. Instruction and amusement of a worthy character are more sought for. There is one result, however, in later days which is to be regretted, and that is in the very marked decrease of the scale of remuneration among the large number of small lyceum organizations that call for such service. These two factors, the lessened interest in the discussion of disturbing public questions, and the decreased financial remuneration, have worked notable changes. What has taken the place of the aggressive spirit is a desire for an intelligent, broad, ethical insight on disputed issues. Controversial sub- jects are not popular. The platform teaching to-day must be imbued with the scientific spirit. Audiences want to know the why and wherefore of things set forth or brought before them. Lecturers are thrown back not only upon their elo- quence of advocacy and sincerity of conviction, but upon com- prehensive experiences and the thoroughness of knowledge. Lecturers do not succeed as pessimists merely. American audiences, if critical, are optimistic also. The merely gro- tesque, odd, or unusual, unless related to live interests, does not hold them long. All this is not due to indifference. It comes in reality from knowing more — at least more thoroughly — what they do assume to know. After the Civil War and the era of strife that political re- construction produced, there was a period of several years ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS 653 when even the soberest of lecture audiences desired far more to be amused than instructed. Yet live characters and strong brains that had learned, seen, and known the wider forces in the world's activities, soon began again to have ample recog- nition. The men who tried to wrest the secrets of Polar seas from the grip of cosmic ice and snow ; those who toiled under equatorial suns to win the unknown areas to the ser- vice of man; soldiers and sailors who dared all in supreme struggle for their several causes ; all who had some genuine theme to offer, so that the minds of their hearers might grow, received an abounding welcome. The men of action are es- pecially in demand. Thus there has grown again, slowly but surely, that new life of the platform that is now beginning to be more clearly seen and felt. Audiences are eager to hear those who tell of the great historical past, as well as of the living present. The platform compels illustration by voice and picture alike. But the mere pictorial lecture is losing popularity. Poets and novelists are drawn from personal re- tirement as never before. The humorists and wits are at the service of delighted thousands who listen just as they read, with enthusiasm guided by an increasing critical acumen. There is a healthy, gracious, normal loosening, too, of Puri- tan harness. The lyceum brings wholesome laughter and pleasure to vast audiences throughout the land. It is clean and human; it clears the brain while it cheers the heart. You cannot fit scandal to this platform, but you can make its audiences grow jolly and laugh with wholesome glee. There is no room for innuendo, and there is little of false modesty either. Nearly a quarter of a century of work in supplying the de- mands of such bodies as gather about the lyceum and the plat- form has enabled me to judge clearly of a decided growth of keen intelligence and solid morality. The American lyceum entertainers are more than a popular match for the London music-hall artists or the Parisian chansonists. Excellent music is required, only good singers are the vogue, while those who read or give recitals must be of the best type 554 ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS More than all do I find a steady growth, on the ethical side of things. A man or a "woman who, like Mrs. Booth, has a cause to present which appeals to human sympathy is sure of a hearing. But the public demands of even such a lecturer accurate information and wealth of illustration. Only a clear demonstration of the fitness of the appeal, with positive evi- dence of the due relation of the cause to common needs and daily requirements, will command continued attention. More than all these, there must be a looking forward to growth and upward to the sunlight. Such a speaker must believe as well as know, and must link his cause to the historical past as well as to the evolutionary future. The spirit of our lecture audi- ences demands inquiry with hope, knowledge with faith. An examination of themes and topics, as well as of names and capacity during my managerial experience, covering, as it does, so long a time, convinces me of the correctness of the cheering vein thus taken. Concerning the busiuess side of my life, I would lilte to say that the object of my work has never been simply to make money. If it had been money alone that I sought iu my deal- ings with the talented people whose tours and business I have managed, I would very soon have found myself fa l l i ng short of my ambition. A manager must be kiud and liberal, and as far as he himself is concerned, the money consideration must be kept in the background. I have never desired to make great laoney. My object has been the approbation of those I served. I can say honestly that that has been the height of my ambition, and is at present as much as ever. That is why I am in love with my business, I suppose. I am thoroughly satisfied with the results, and would not exchange the friends that I have made for the wealth of many of our merchant princes. THE END Il^DEX Abbott, "Honest Little Emma," 166 ; her success, 168 Abbott, Eev. Lyman, when I first met him — his love for Mr. Beecher^Mr. Beecher's ap- preciation of his friend — his wonderful resources as a preacher, writer, lecturer, edi- tor, and business manager, 77- 83 ; surprised religious world, 83, 84, 411, 412 Adams, Major, 49 Aide, Hamilton, 275 Aldrich, Thomas Bailey, 183 Allen, James Lane, 482, 508, 522 Allon, Rev. Dr. Henry, 65, 67, 116 Anderson, Finley, meets Stanley on Teutonic, 275 Anderson, Major Thomas, 47 Anthony, Susan B., 144-146, 539, 540 Arnold, Brother of Sir Edwin, 127 Arnold, Lady, 378 Arnold, Matthew, 116, 323-325, 487, 497 Arnold, Mrs. , 378 Arnold, Sir Edwin, 375-404; where educated, 375 ; editor London Telegraph, ST 5 ; Lotos Club speech, 385 ; last ap- pearance in America, 398 ; visited him in London, 401 ; last letters from him, 402- 409, 497; visits Walt Whit- man, 498 Austen, Colonel, Brooklyn 13th, 58 Austin, George Lowell, on Phil- lips, 8 Bailey, Banks, and Biddell, 57 Balch, Reporter, 277 Barnaby, Frederick, War Corres- pondent, 291 Bamum, P. T., xxiv, 92, 94, 96: as a lecturer, 350-354 Barr, Robert, 477, 481 Barry, Flora, 547 Barton, Clara, 141 Baxter, Rev. Dr., of London, 106, 107, 108 Beecher, Col. H. B., 313; and family, 73 Beecher, Dr. Lyman, 39 Beecher, Henry Ward, Plymouth pulpit, 1 ; on Depew, 17, 19 ; Major Pond's tribute to, 37- 75; when he came to Plymouth Church, 38 ; doctrine of for- giveness, 38 ; earliest recollec- tion of the man, 39 ; first lec- ture for me, 39 ; in Nashville and Memphis, 40-42 ; speech in Plymouth prayer meeting on the first visit South, 42- 44 ; last photograph taken of him, 41 ; in Richmond, his first lecture South of Mason and Dixon's line, 41 ; his triumph in Richmond, 44-47 ; in Davenport, Iowa — meeting 656 INDEX former Brooklyn friends on the oars — ooUecting of hairs on his overcoat collar, 47-49 ; in Topeka, Kans., meets for- mer old servants, 48-50 ; bap- tizes baby in Butte, Mont., 52; in Bloomington, 111., 54; red-hot poker, 55 ; marries C. P. Huntington, 55, 56; Chap- lain Brooklyn 13th Regiment, 58-60; his Peekskill home and farm dairy, 61-62 ; in England, 1863, 6.3-65; last visit England, 1886, 64 ; Fri- day evening meeting night before sailing, 64; in Liver- pool—hear Gladstone, 65 ; first lecture in England, 65; first sermon in London, 67 ; ad- dresses theological students in London, 68 ; closes English tour in Dublin, 70-72 ; arrives home from England, 72 ; last days and death — entries in my diary, 72-74; Dr. Abbott's relations with him, 77-82, 84, 85, 86 ; comparison with Park- er, 87-112, 115 ; first sermon in London, July 4, 116 ; charged with preaching the Gospel for money, 116, 117, 153, 168, 210 ; advised me to get Stanley, 257 ; 306, 357, 358, 366, 406, 427, 490, 492-494, 539, 544, 551 ; dead, 74 Beecher, Mrs. Henry Ward, 55, 211, 313 Beecher, Rev. Dr. Edward, 551 Beecher, William C, 814 Bell, Alexander Graham, invents telephone, 466 Bellows, Henry W., 155 Benefit experience, 527 Berry, Rev. Charles, 79 Billings, Josh, his lecture, 185- 187, 226 Black, Alexander, guilty of a new invention, 512 Blaine, Speaker James G., xxii, 21 Bonner, Robert Edwin, 384 Booth, Edwin, 309 Booth, Maud Ballington, 177 Boutwell, L. J., 164 Boutwell, Secretary of Treasury, 190 Bowers, Arthur ¥., 384 Bradley, Dean of Westminster, 67 Briggs, R. E.,202 Bright, John, on Beecher as an orator, 38 Brignoli, the great tenor, 544 Brooks, Arthur, 123, 126 Brooks, Phillips, 137 Brown, Col. Gratz, 190 Brown, George McL., 223 Brown, John, xx, 39, 535, 537, 538 Buffalo Bill's Wild West, 269 BufBngton, Colonel, 425 Bull, Mrs. Die, 555, 556 Bull, Ole, the violinist, 455, 459 Banner, H. C.,382 Burt, Lieutenant-Colonel, 216 Byers, Major, 334 Cable, George W., 337, 840, 427, 486 ; first appearance in Brook- lyn, 491 ; how I met him, 490, 527, 528; visits Beeoher's church and hears him preach for the first time, 493 ; letters on Beecher's death, 494 ; sug- gestions as to platform, 496 Caine, Hall, remarkable personal- ity, 452 ; his reading tour, 454 ; lunch with Zangwill, 471 Cameron, J. A., 291 Cameron, John, 415 INDEX 557 Campbell, Isaac, 415 Carleton, Henry Guy, 387 Carlyle, Thomas, 368 Carnegie, Andrew, 396-398, 428 Carpenter & Sheldon's star course, 315 Carpenter, Bishop Boyd, of Eipon, 14, 130 Cary, Anna Louise, 143, 551 Gary, William, 485 Casati, with Emin in Africa, 279 Chapin, Rev. Dr., 539, 551 Charles, W. G., 218 Chase, W. G., 224 Childs, George W., 384, 389 Christie, Gerald, 170, 174 Churchill, Professor, of Andover, 539 Chute, 6. Y., 419 Clark, James Edward, Christian World, 116 Clarke, James Freeman, 147, 148 Clay, Henry, 13 Clemens, Miss Clara, 200, 207, 208, 214 Clemens, Mrs., 206, 213, 218, 219, 224 Clemens, S. L. (Mark Twain), 197 ; a genius, 197 ; how a lecture manager swindled him, 197 ; General Grant and Mark great friends, 197 ; a printer, 198; Mark Twain becomes a lecturer, 198 ; starts on tour around the world to pay his debts, 200 ; diary of the tour across the continent, 200-220 ; great crowd in Cleveland, 200 ; on steamer, 199; in Mackinac, 203 ; Petosky, 204 ; inDuluth, 205; Minneapolis, 206; St. Paul to Winnipeg, 206, 207 ; Crookston, 207 ; Great Falls, 209; Butte, 210; Anaconda, 210 ; Helena, where old friend comes to settle old score, 212 ; arrested at Fort Missoula, 213 ; Spokane receivers every- where, 215, 216 ; Seattle, the "Flyer" to Tacoma, 217 ; Port- land and Olympia, 215, 216 ; Tacoma Press Club, 219 ; ar- rival in Vancouver — Mark ill, 221-223; sails from Vic- toria, 224, 225 ; as a letter writer, 226, 228, 229, 333, 427, 523, 547 ; introduces Nye and Riley in Boston, 247, 248 ; en- tertains Stanley and intro- duces him, 257 Cleveland, President Grover, 33, 431 Clifford, Rev. Dr., Westborn Park Chapel, 116 Cluff, David, of Provo, Utah, xxiii Cookerell, Col. John, 527, 528 Cockran, W. Bourke, 506, 542 Colby, George W. , 544 Cole, Dr. C. K., 213 Collis, Gen. H. C, 384 Collyer, Rev. Dr. Robert, 551 Conly, George, 544 Cook, Dr. Frederick A., Antarctic explorer, 293, 294 Cooper, J. Eenimore, 125 Corwin, Thomas, 166 Ci:aigie, Mrs. ("John Oliver Hobbes"), 127 Crawford, F. Marion, xxiv, 148 ; a man I love very much, 455 ; how he travels and works, 456, 456 ; his lecture tour, 457-459 ; Dr. Abbott on his lecture, 457 ; reception and lectures in Utah, 458 ; in an earthquake, 460, 461 ; letters to me from Italy, 485-489 Crickson, Rev. Dr., 434 568 INDEX Curtis, George William. 341, 881, 384, 390, 539 Cushman, Charlotte, 141, 309 ; her career, 315-318, 539 Daly, Augustin, 309 Dana, Charles A., 279, 345 Dana, Paul, 384 Daniels, George H., of New York Central Kailroad, 355, 356 Davis, J. Clark, 389 Davis, Jefferson, 538 Dawson, Rev. George, 118 De Freeoe, A. B., 389 Depew, Hon. Chauncey M., 17, 390, 394, 412, 542; as an orator, 19, 21 ; lecture before Twentieth Century Club in reply to JohnFiske, 22 ; intro- duced Matthew Arnold, 323 Dewey, Admiral, Stanley refers to, 287 Dickens, Charles, 123, 124 Dickens, Charles, Jr., 207 Dickinson, Anna E., xxii, 152, 640, 544 Dix, Rev. Morgan, rector Trinity Church, 123-126 Dodd, Frank H., 411 Donald, Rev. Dr. , 137 Douglass, Frederick, 8; tribute, 29, 30 ; 143, 539 Doyle, Dr. A. Conan, came to America, 503 ; described, 503- 505 ; dined and speech at Lotos Club, 504 ; in Boston, 507 ; letter to The Critic, 508 ; letter to Major Pond, 509 Drummond, Dr. William Henry, author of "De Habitant," 519, 520 Eccentricities of Genius, 1 Eggleston, Edward, 508, 528, 529 Elderkin, John, 411 Eliot, President of Harvard Col- lege, 391 EUingwood, T. J., stenographer, 491 Ellsworth, W. W., sketch of, 474; as a lecturer, 474, 475 Emerson, Ralph Waldo, 330, 539 ; last lecture, 331, 386 Everett, Edward (mention), 329, 539 Explorers, travellers, and war cor- respondents, 262 Fall, George L., 33, 542 Farrar, Canon, 116, 120 Field, Mrs. James T., 434 Finley, John, President Knox Col- lege, 425 Finney, Charles G., Jr., xx Finney, F. N., 420 Finney, President Charles G., of Oberlin College, 39, 420 Fisher, Professor, 410 Fiske, John, 19, 20 Florence, W. J., 309, 383, 394 Foss, Sam Walter, poem on Walt Whitman, 500 Foster, George F. , 485 Foster, M., 160 Fox, John, Jr., 482, 522; tribute, 523, 524 Frame, W. F., Scotch singing comedian, 175 Gage, Hon. Lyman J., 426, 482 Gardner, Mrs. Jack, 369 Garrison, William Lloyd, sketch, 13, 147, 226, 534 Gates, Lizzie Young, of Utah, xxiii George, Henry, single tax, 588 Gibson, Charles Dana, 481 Gibson Brothers, 208 INDEX 559 Gilbert, Jolm, 309 Gilder, Richard Watson, 382, 384, 390, 495 Gilflllan, Judge, of Minneapolis, 421 Gilman, President Johns Hopkins University, 432, 433 Gilmore, P. S., greatest manager of his time, 361 ; organizes Gilmore's band, 361 ; con- ceives and carries to success the World's Great Peace Jubi- lee, 361-369 Gladstone, 65 ; my three visits to him, 348, 349 Gordon, Capt. W. H., 291 Gordon, Rev. Dr. George H., 434 Gough, Beecher, and Philips, tri- vunvirate of lecture kings, 1 Gough, John B., xxii ; as a lec- tiurer, 1-6, 420, 427 ; as a man, 5, 141, 170, 193, 539, 540, 541, 542 Grant, General TJ. S., xxi, 20, 21, 323-325 Grant, Principal, 415, 417 Greeley, Horace, 189, 190, 191, 346 Greer, Rev. Dr. David H., 123, 126 Grey, Annie, Scotch minstrelsy, 172 ; many American tri- umphs, 174^176 ; made Scot- tish chief in Boston, 174 Grey, Madame Ogilvie, 172 Grey, Rev. Dr. Richmond, 45 Gunsaulus, Rev. Dr., 418, 551 Halderman, J. A., 384 Hale Edward Everett, 391, 482, 539, 551 Hall, Rev. Dr. Charles H., 74 Hall, Rev. John, 384 Halsted, Murat, 277, 383, 384 Harper, President Chicago Uni- versity, 395 Hathaway and Pond, 543 Hathaway, George H., xxv, 38, 40 Hawthorne, 125, 386 Henson, Peary's servant, 298 Herbert, M. Ledyer, 31 Heron - Allen, London barrister, 357 ; heard him in London, 357 ; New York society favor- ite, 358 ; chirosophist, 358 ; novelist, 359 ; pet of Putney, 360 Hewitt, Abram S., 506 Higginson, T. W., 174, 391-551 Hill, James, 422 Hillis, Rev. Newell Dwight, 82, 83; estimate, 83, 84, 139, 550 Hinton, Richard J., 190 Hoge, Jane 0., 155 Hole, Dean of Rochester — his visit to America — visits Sarony — king of rose growers, 122 ; speech at Lotos Club dinner, 124 ; Mrs. Pond and I visit Rochester, 127 ; a dean behind the scenes, 128 Holmes, John, Editor Boston Her- ald, 391 Holmes, Judge, 482 Holmes, Oliver Wendell, 125, 384, 483 Hood, General, 536 Hooper, Franklin W. , 6J2 Hope, Anthony, how discovered, 477 ; first American appear- ance, 478 ; incidents of tour, 479-481; in Detroit, 481; speech before Lotos Club, 483 ; Chinese dinner, 485 ; letters to Major Pond, 486, 487, 522 Houston, Col. Sam, 147 Hovey, Rev. Alva, 434 Howard, John, pianist, 547 560 INDEX Howe, Julia Ward, 143, 147, 539, 544; tribute to, 147-151; speech at Medal of Honor Legion, 149, 150, 228 ; "Battle Hymn of the Republic," 151, 380 Howells, William Dean, Mark Twain's prophecy, 383; his Western success, 840, 524; letters to Major Pond, 836, 384 Howland, William B., 81 Howson, Dean of Chester, 68 Hubbard,Elbert,described, 368-371 Hudson, "Sol," 80 Hughes, Eev. Hugh Price, 273 Huntington, C. P., 55, 56, 57 Huxley, Professor, 116 Ingersoll, Robert G., tribute, 27, 28 Irving, Sir Henry, 182 ; advance- ment to knighthood, 812 ; visits Beecher, 309, 313 Irving, Washington, 123 Isaacs, Prospect House, Niagara Falls. 428 James, Col. E. C, 384 Jefferson, Joseph, 229, 305, 809, 383, 482 Jephson, Lieutenant, 272 Jerome, Jerome K. , 477, 478 Jordan, Ebin, 362 Johnson, Governor of Alabama, 33 Johnston, R. U. , 382 Karl, Tom, 169 Kellogg, Clara Louise, 143 ; first appearance in opera, 163 ; her home, 163; her brilliant ca- reer, 164, 207, 427 Kendall, Mr. and Mrs. , 128 Kennan, George, 289, 290, 548 King, Thomas Star, 551 Kingsley, Canon Charles, 118, 123, 188 Kipling, Eudyard, 227, 525; letter to Pond, 526 Klaw and Erlanger, managers, 466 Klopsch, Talmage's Boswell, 111 Knowlea, Judge, 213 Knowles, Rev. Ottawa, 414, 415 Knox, Col. Thomas W., 384 Kruger, Stanley's letter on, 285, 289 Labouchere, London Truth, 117 Latham, Owner Gad's Hill, 127 Lam-ier, Sir Wilfrid, 414, 415 Lawrence, Frank E., 123, 384, 411, 436, 504 Lee, William, 105 Leech, John, artist, 123 Le Sage, of London Daily Teh- graph, 175 Letitia, old servant, 50, 51 Lincoln, Abraham, 155, 194 Literary lecturers, 323 Livermore, Mary A., xxii, 143; first saw her, 155; her great work, 155-160 ; letters to J. B. Pond, 159, 160, 228, 330, 539, 540, 544 Livingstone, Colonel William, of Detroit Journal, 481 Lobb, John, 92, 94 Lombard, Frank, 166 Longfellow, Henry W., 125, 556 Lord, Dr. John, lecturer, 551 Low, Seth, President Columbia University, 384, 390, 411, 506, 542 Lowell, James Russell, 135, 138, 382, 390, 539 Mabie, Hamilton W., 81 ; as a lec- turer and orator, 329, 411, 507 INDEX 561 MoArthur, Rev. Dr. James, 123 McCaxthy, Justin, 175 McConnell, C. H., 426, 427 McCullagh, John, 309 MoElroy, William H. , 384, 506 McGill, James, 345 MoKean, Chiei Justice Utah, xxi McKean, James, 149 McKelway, St. Clair, 383, 384, 387, 542 MoKinley, President, at Tuskegee, 32, 481 McLean, Iowa State University, 334 McMeakin, 49 MoQuade, Hugh, 213 MoVioker, J. H., 549 Maginnis, Major, 213 Matthews, Brander, 390 Mayo, Frank, 228, 229 Miller, Joaquin, poet and lecturer, 510, 511 MoSett, Sam, 221 Moretti's, at dinner, 238 Morrison, Rev. S. G., 70, 210 Morton, 0. P., 8 Murdoch, James E., 539 Murphy, John Miller, 216 Murray, David Christie, 506 Nansen, explorer, 299 Nasby, Petroleum V. (David S. Locke), 192, 226, 542 Nast, Thomas, caricaturist, 188 ; how he came to lecture, 189- 192 Neil, Father, 330 Neilson, Adelaide, 309 Nelson, Captain, 272 Nichols, Miss Clara, 547 NicoU, Dr. Robertson, 406, 407 Norton, Lillian, singer, 467 Nye and Riley, 242-259 ; scene on cars, 250 36 Nye, Bill (Edgar Wilson Nye), 237 ; first meeting — Laramie Boomerang, 237 ; first visit to New York, 237 ; lecture in Bridgeport, 238 ; autobiog- raphy, 241 ; Nye's letters to me, 244-249, 508, 527 0' Donovan, Edward, 290 Ogden, Willis L., 149 Olivier, Herbert, artist, 123 Olney, Secretary of State, 283, 432 O'Rell, Max (M. Paul Blouet), 234, 235, 384, 527 ; his Chicago surprise, 227, 408 O'Reilly, John Boyle, 326-328 Osborn, Gov. Thomas A. , 49 Page, Thomas Nelson, 227, 482, 508, 521, 522, 523 Park, Dr., with Stanley, 272 Parker, Rev. Dr. and Mrs. Joseph, 63, 114 Parker, Rev. Dr. Joseph, City Temple, 66, 67, 85 ; Mr. Beech- er's friend — eulogy on Beech- er in America, 79 ; lecture tour, 85-89 ; comparison with Beecher, 87, 95, 108, 112, 276 Parker, Theodore, 1, 11, 39, 147, 551 Parnell, Charles Stewart, 365 Parsons, Hon. William, 347 Pasha, Emin, 270, 278 Pate, Henry Clay, 537 Payson, Edward, 547 Peary, Mrs., 297, 298 Peary, Robert B., explorer, 293, 295, 296, 297, 299, 548 Peck, George R., to whom this book is dedicated, 49 Peel, Sir Robert, 9 Perry, Thomas Sargent, 337-339 Peschka, Leutiner, Mme., 364 662 INDEX Phillips, Adelaide, 364, 556 Phillips, Walter P., 384 Phillips, Wendell, xxii 1 ; tribute as lecturer and orator, 7-12; his memory, 8 ; his door-plate, 8 ; tablet to his memory on site of old homestead, 10; rep- ertoire of lectures ; 11,18,141, 226, 539, 540, 541 Pierce, Harold, 430 Pond, J. B., autobiography, xvii; printer's devil, xvii, xix; journeyman printer, xx ; letter to The Baptist on Spur- geon and Beecher, 116 Pond, Mrs., 279 Poor, Ben Perley, 190 Porter, Gen. Horace, as an orator, 23-26 ; speech before Lotos Club, 24-26, 411, 527, 529, 542 Potter, Bishop Henry C, 121 Potter, Helen, 143 ; Lyceum im- personator, 170 Powell, W. T., Richmond theatre, 43, 44, 45 Prescott, C. H., 215 Proctor, Miss Mary, 143, 178 ; her sudden fame, 179 ; her many charms, 180, 181 Proctor, Richard A. , great astrono- mer, 178 Pugh, T. B., 543 Raymond, Henry J. , 345 Raymond, Robert R., 539 Raymond, W. W. V., 436 Redpath, James (Lyceum Bureau), xxi, XXV, 12, 39, 40, 188, 189, 194, 220, 226, 330, 331 ; U-ibute to, 199, 533-588, 540 Reed, Thomas, 411 Reid, Whitelaw, 345 Richards, John Morgan, 127 Riley, James Whitoomb, author reader, 241 ; autobiography, 244; programme, 242, 519, 527, 529 Roosevelt, Theodore, 482, 522 Rosseau, Colonel, 536 Rossington, 49 Rudersdorfi, Mme., 364 Rugfeles, Adjutant-General, 214, 215 Ruskin, John, 368 Ryan, Archbishop, 430 Sanders, Senator of Montana, 211- 213 Schley, Admiral, 285 Schurmau, President Cornell Uni- versity, 125; speech at Dean Hole dinner, 126 Scott, Benjamin, presides in Lon- don, 66 Scott, Lady John, author of " An- nie Laurie," 171 Searle, Dr. W. S., says "He is dead," 74 Seligman, A. J., 213 Seton-Thompson, Ernest, — Wi Id Animals— 515, 516, 517, 518, 547 Shafter, General, 285 Shaftesbury, Lord, 98 Shearman, Thomas G., 81 Sherman, Father, John, 460 Sherman, Gen. W. T., 460, 5.35 Shillaber ("Mrs. Partington"), 539 Simon, Rev. Dr., Westminster Chapel, 116 Simpson, Benjamin, of Kansas, 49 Sizer, Frank L., 208,' 213 Sloan, John, 408 Slocum, Capt. Joshua, 299, 300 Smith, Ballard, 384 Smith, F. Hopkiuson, 222, 227, 508, 521 INDEX 563 Smith, Joseph, Mormon prophet, XX Smith, Rev. M'Kaye, 431 Smith, Roswell, 289, 490, 627 Sousa, J. Philip, 367 Spencer, HeTbert, 118 Spurgeon, Rev. C. H., portrait, 112 ; attempt to see the great preacher — his letter, 113 ; hear him preach in tabernacle, 114; letter refusing to see me, 115, 119, 544 Spmrgeon's tabernacle, 95 Stairs, Lieutenant, 272 Stanley, Dean of Westminster, 118 Stanley, Henry M., African ex- plorer, how I first met him, 263; first proposition to lec- ture in America, 264 ; comes to America to lecture, 264 ; guest of Mark Twain in Hartford, 265 ; Mark introduces him in Boston, 265, 266 ; recalled to Africa — stops lecturing, 287 ; Karagua Club, 269 ; returned to Africa — three years roll by, 261, 271, 273, 276, 278, 279; letter, 281-285; letters, 286- 288 ; interest in Arnold, 378 Stanley, Mrs., first meets Major Pond, 275, 279 Stanton, Elizabeth Cady, 141, 142 Steadman, General, 535 Stedman, Edmund Clarence, 384, 387, 390 Steele, A. J. , 213 Stoddard, JohnL., 302 Stoddard, Richard Henry, 384, 390 Stokes, Fred A., 485 Stone, Lucy, tribute, 161, 162 Storrs, Rev. Dr. R. S., 78, 391 Stratton, Rev. C. C, xx Straus, Isidor, 471 Strauss, Johann, 364 Stubbs, Rev. Charles William, Dean of Ely, 130, 132 ; speech at Lotos Club, 133, 134; in Chicago, 139, 140, 159; in Columbus, Ohio, 138 ; letter to Pond, 140 ; Hubbard on, 369 ; course of lectures, 370 Sulzberger, Judge, 471 Sumner, Charles, 8, 9; "Hon. Charles," 14, 15, 147, 195, 539 Swinton, John, 345 Talmage, Miss, 98, 99 Talmage, Mrs. Dr., 93, 98, 102, 103 Talmage, Rev. T. De Witt, 88, 89 ; lecture tour in England, 91- 110 ; telegraphs from Birming- ham "stop everything," 103; strikes for second increase of salary, 105 ; revulsion of pub- lic opinion ; its cause, 108 ; means of disseminating ser- mons, 109; TAe Congregation- alist on. 111, 550 Taylor, Bayard, 539 Tennant, Dorothy, 267, 273 Tennant, Mrs. Stanley's mother, 275-279 Tennyson, quoted by Dean Hole, 126 Terry, Ellen, 309, 312, 313; the greatest actress of the time, 319 Thackeray, 123, 124 Thomas, Chester, 49 Thomas, Gen. George H., 535 Thompson, Denman, 128 Thorn, Charles, 92 Thorn, Henry, 92, 94, 97 Thurber, H. T., 432 Tipoo Tib, 262 Toombs, Robert, 147 Tourjie, Dr., 364 Twain and Cable, 291 564 INDEX Twain, Nasby, and Josh Billings, 232, 233 Urso, Camilla, 546 Vanderhoff, George, 539 Van Wagneu, Bleeker, 411 VllUers, Frederick, war artist and lecturer, 291 Vincent, Bishop, 551 Wadhams, Lieutenant-Command- er, 214 Walker, L. A., 208 Wallace, Gen. Lew, soldier, law- yer, orator, novelist, 465-467 Wallaek, Lester, 809 Wanaraaker, John, 430 Ward, Artemus, 126, 386 Ward, Herbert, 175 Warner, Charles Dudley, 508 Warsham, Mrs., 55 Washington, Booker T., president Tuskegee Normal Industrial Institute, with portrait, 31-33 Watson, Mrs., 408, 409, 411 Watson, Rev. Dr. Jo^in (Ian Mac- laren) , 132 ; account of first American tour, 405-445 ; de- scription of the man, 405 ; "You are in Meriden," 410; in Montreal, 413 ; in Chicago, 418, 419; in Appleton, 420; in Minneapolis, 421 ; in Des Moines, 423 ; in Galesburg, 425; in Pittsburg, 428; Ni- agara Falls, 429 ; Washington — lunch with President Cleve- land, 431, 432 ; in Boston, 433; Lotos Club speech, 436- 440 ; in Poughkeepsie, 444 ; last week in America, 447 ; sails for England, 449 ; letter from Liverpool, 450, 551 Watterson, Henry, 345, 346 Webster, C. L. & Co., 197, 198 Webster, Daniel, 13 Weed, Thurlow, 39 Weeks, Barlow S. , 506 Wellcome, Henry S., 269, 270, 272, 274 West, Colonel, of West Hotel, Min- neapolis, 421 Wetherel, Eugene, 168 Whipple, Rev. E. P., 147 White, Deacon S. V., 86, 412 Whitman, Walt, 386, 388; "Gone," poem, Sam Walter Eoss, 500; described, 497- 499 ; gave readings, 497 Whitney, J. W., 422 Whittier, John G., 125, 377, 384 Wilder, Marshal P., 324 Williams, Barney, 309 Willis, 125 Winde, Frederick, 70 Winter Memorial Library, 306 Winter. William, 136, 138, 175, 176 ; tribute to, 306, 307, 384, 390, 411, 440; farewell to lona, 142, 143; letter, 308; " Died," Augustin Daly poem, 309. Wood, Rev. Charles, 108 Woods, Governor of Utah, xxi Young, Ann Eliza, xx; portrait, xxi, xxiv Young, Brigham, xx; normal college, xxiii, 176 Young, John Russell, 387, 388, 430, 481, 498 Zangwill, Israel, 175; author, 469; I visit him in London, 469; arrives in America, 470 ; first lecture, 471 ; lecture torn', 472, 473 Zarrhan, Carl, 364 j-;;^ (f^ '!-»-, -•'j.^^v''' ■■ « ^ r M£fa ^f^ *- -^^1* ' "<* ■".'''/ J-fr^flrf -' .-.r,- .: 1 ****