Class. Book. Ui aAstejfru,tU4 1863. Educated in the public schools. Banker and broker; President of the Philadelphia Stock Exchange, 1906-07. Coughlin, John P. Born in Philadelphia, February 1, 1870. Graduated from La Salle College, Philadelphia. Admitted to the Bar in 1897. Da Costa, J. Chalmers. Born in Washington, D. C, November 15, 1863. M. D., LL.D., Samuel D. Gross Professor of Surgery in the Jef- ferson Medical College; Attending Surgeon to the Jefferson Medical College Hospital; Consulting Surgeon to St. Joseph's Hospital. Author of "Manual of Modern Sur- gery"; Editor of "American Edition of Gray's Anatomy." 16 BIOGRAPHY OF PARTICIPANTS Daly, Thomas A. Born in Philadelphia, May 28, 1871. A.M., Fordham University, 1901; Litt.D., Fordham University, 1910. Poet- humorist, "Evening Ledger." Author: "Canzoni," "Car- mina," "Madrigali," "Little Polly's Pomes," "Songs of Wedlock." Deeter, Paxson. Born in Reading, Pa., December 23, 1880. B.S., 1903, and LL.B., 1906, University of Pennsylvania. Member of the Philadelphia Bar Eckel, John C. &$ Born in New York, August 18, 18S6, but spent his early days in Illinois, where he taught school and was admitted to the bar. Entered the newspaper business in 1885. Has been city editor and managing editor of several Chicago dailies. Also held executive positions on W. R. Hearst's publica- tions in New York. Joined the "North American" staff in January, 1901, on which paper he has been night editor since 1904. Under authority from the London parent body he became the founder of the Philadelphia Branch of the Dickens's Fellowship in 1906. He was its first presi- dent. In 1913 he published a Bibliography of Dickens's First Editions. Elk ins, George W. Born in Philadelphia, September 26, 1858. Educated in public and private schools. Officer and Director of many corporations. Also identified with numerous charitable institutions. Elkin, John P. Born in West Mahoney Township, Indiana County, Pennsylvania, January 11, 1860. Early education received in the public schools of the country. Graduated from Indiana Normal School, became a teacher, entered Law Department of the University of Michigan in 1882, grad- uated 1884. Admitted to the Bar in 1885. One year before his admission he was elected to the Legislature, and in 1886 was returned by an increased majority. In 1895 he was appointed Deputy Attorney-General, and four years later Governor Stone appointed him Attorney-General. In 1904 he was nominated as one of the Justices of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. Ellison, William Rodman. Born in Philadelphia, April 11, 1856. Educated at the Protestant Episcopal Academy of Philadelphia, and at Geneva, Switzerland. Merchant 17 BIOGRAPHY OF PARTICIPANTS Folwell, Nathan T. Born in Philadelphia, March 21, 1847. Manufacturer and dealer in textiles. President of the Manufacturers' Club. Author of pamphlet on "Protection of American Industries." Gest, John Marshall. Born at Philadelphia, March 17, 1859. A.B., 1879; A.M. and LL.B., 1882, University of Pennsylvania. Admitted to the Philadelphia Bar, April 1, 1882. Judge of the Or- phans' Court since 1911. In 1909 published "Practical Suggestions for Drawing Wills, &c, in Pennsylvania." In 1913 "The Lawyer in Literature" and numerous papers in legal magazines. Gribbel, John. Born in Hoboken, N. J., March 29, 1858. A.M., Wesleyan University. Publisher; Officer and Director in various cor- porations. Elected President of the Union League in 1914. Hanson, M. F. Born in Philadelphia, February 16, 1867. Connected with the "Philadelphia Record" for twenty-six years. Harrison, Charles Custis. Born in Philadelphia, May 3, 1844. Educated at the Academy of the Protestant Episcopal Church, Philadel- phia; A.B., 1862, and A.M., 1865, University of Pennsyl- vania; LL.D,, Columbia University, 1895; Princeton, 1896; Yale, 1901; University of Pennsylvania, 1911. Provost of the University of Pennsylvania, 1894-1911. President of the Municipal Art Jury of Philadelphia. Publisher of Provost's Reports, 1895-1908. Hart, Levi. Born February 5, 1851, at Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia. Educated in the public schools, and Bryant and Stratton's College. Member of the Twenty-first Sectional School Board for twenty-three years. Member of Common Council. Cryer of the Court of Oyer and Terminer and Quarter Sessions of the Peace of Philadelphia County for twenty- five years. Compiled forms used in the Court of Oyer and Terminer in the trial of Murder Cases. Hetherington, Albert Gallatin. Born in Clarion, Pa., April 11, 1852. A graduate of Bucknell University. Has taken an active interest in artistic and literary life in Philadelphia. Director Educa- tion and Art to Pennsylvania Panama Commission. 18 BIOGRAPHY OF PARTICIPANTS Huneker, John F. Born at Philadelphia, October 29, 1851. Educated Roth's Academy, Philadelphia. Shipped to sea in his early 20's, and saw considerable of the world, and later called to take up his father's business and subsequently became Presi- dent of the Chapman Decorative Company. Always took interest in sport and became active in the Schuylkill Navy in both rowing and official work, representing the Malta Boat Club, on the Schuylkill Navy Board for many years, and was Vice-Commodore, 1881-82, also represented Phila- delphia on the national Executive Committee of Amateur Rowing. Was one of the founders of the Athletic Club of the Schuylkill Navy, in 1884, and Captain of that Club for several years, during part of its successful athletic career. Contributed several times to papers and maga- zines on amateur sport. Jastrow, Morris, Jr. Born in Warsaw, Poland, August 13, 1861. Educated at private schools, 1877, and the University of Pennsyl- vania. B.A., 1881, University of Pennsylvania; Ph.D., 1884, University of Leipzig; LL.D., 1914, University of Pennsyl- vania. Professor of Semitic Languages and Librarian at the University of Pennsylvania. Publisher of "Religion of Babylonia and Assyria"; "Study of Religion"; Religion Babyloniens und Assyriens (German) ; Aspects of Reli- gious Belief and Practice in Babylonia and Assyria; He- brew and Babylonian Traditions; Babylonian and Assyrian Birth-omens and their Cultural Significance; Civilization of Babylonia and Assyria. Johnson, Alba B. Born in Pittsburgh, Pa., February 8, 1858. Educated at the public schools and Central High. LL.D., Ursinus Col- lege. Director of many corporations and President of the Baldwin Locomotive Works. Kane, John Kent. Born in Wilmington, Del., September 3, 1873. Graduated from Harvard in 1893; University of Pennsylvania (Law), 1897. Admitted to the Bar in 1897. Kavanagh, Rt. Rev. Monsgr. Charles F. Born in Philadelphia, 1867, educated in Public Schools and in La Salle College, Philadelphia. Entered St. Charles' Seminary, Overbrook, September 2, 1887, ordained to the Priesthood June 12, 1897. Catholic University, Washington, 1897-1898. Assistant Priest, St. Vincent's, Minersville; Holy Family, Manyunk; St. Francis Xavier, Philadelphia and the Cathedral; Secretary of Diocese of Philadelphia, 1906-1911; Chancellor, 1911-1914. Rector of St. Stephen's, Port Carbon and St. Katharine's, Wayne, Pa. Master of 19 BIOGRAPHY OF PARTICIPANTS Arts, La Salle College; Bachelor of Theology, Catholic University, Washington. Made Domestic Prelate, with the Title of Monsignor by His Holiness, Pope Pius X on the 3d day of February, 1912. Kendrick, George W., Jr. Born Philadelphia, July 31, 1841. Educated in public schools; graduated from Central High School, 1858; mem- ber of Board of City Trusts; banker and director of many corporations. King, James W. Born in Philadelphia, October 5, 1858; died February 24, 1915; educated in Philadelphia, graduating from High School. City Editor and Managing Editor of "The Press" for a number of years. Admitted to Philadelphia Bar; ap- pointed by Governor Tener a member of the Pennsylvania Panama-Pacific Commission and acted as its Counsel; member of the Executive Committee of Archbishop Ryan's Silver Jubilee; received an honorary degree from Lafay- ette College. Krusen, Wilmer. Born in Bucks County, May 18, 1869. M.D., Jefferson Medical College, 1893; Instructor at Jefferson Medical College 1894; Vice-President and Professor of Gynecology at Temple University; Director of Health and Charities of the City of Philadelphia; Fellow of the College of Phy- sicians of Philadelphia; Fellow of American College of Surgeons. Lewis, Francis A. .born in Philadelphia, October 1, 1857. B.A., LL.B., M.A., University of Pennsylvania. Attorney-at-Law retired. Director of many corporations. Editor Smith's Leading Cases, Law of the Stock Exchange; author of many pam- phlets, chiefly on Ecclesiastical Subjects. Long, John Luther. Born in Philadelphia, 1861. Admitted to Philadelphia Bar. Author of Madame Butterfly (1898), The Fox Woman (1900), The Prince of Illusion (1901), Naughty Nan, The Dragon Fly (1905), Billy Boy, The Way of the Gods (1906), and, in collaboration with David Belasco, The Darling of the Gods (1902). Lovett, Henry. Born in Langhorne, Pa., December 5, 1865. M.D., Jeffer- son Medical College, 1888. President of Peoples National Bank, and of the Langhorne Spring Water Company. McFadden, John H. Born in Philadelphia, Dec. 3, 1850. Educated in the Episcopal Academy. Graduated in 1868. Well known in art, scientific and commercial circles throughout the world. 20 BIOGRAPHY OF PARTICIPANTS McMaster, John Bach. Born in Brooklyn, N. Y., June 29, 1852. Graduate Col- lege of the City of New York, 1870. Litt.D., University of Pennsylvania, 1894; LL.D, Washington and Jefferson College, 1901 ; LL.D., University of Toronto, 1907. Author 1883-1913, A History of the People of the United States, 8 vols.; 1887, Benjamin Franklin as a Man of Let- ters; 1902, Daniel Webster; 1896, With Its Fathers; Sketches in American History; Origin, Meaning and Ap- plication of the Monroe Doctrine; 1897, School History of the United States; 1901, A Primary History of the United States; 1903, Chapters IX, XI and XII, in Vol. 7, Cam- bridge Modern History; 1903, Social, Industrial and Politi- cal Rights of Man in America. Miller, Charles R. Born in Chester County, Pennsylvania, September 30, 1857. B.L. Swarthmore College, 1879, LL.B. University of Pennsylvania, 1881. Admitted to the Philadelphia Bar, 1881. Governor of Delaware, term 1913-17. Miller, Leslie W. Born in Battleboro, Vt., August 5, 1848. Educated at the Massachusetts Normal Art School and Boston Museum of Fine Arts. Principal since 1880 of the Pennsylvania Museum and School of Industrial Art. Lecturer on Art at Swarthmore College. Author of "Essentials of Perspective" and many lectures and addresses on Art and Education. Murphy, Thomas Edward. Born in Louisville, N. Y., July 18, 1859. Educated in the public schools of Portland, Maine; attended the Union Law School of Chicago; completed his legal education with Mr. W. Horace Rose, of Johnstown, Pa. Admitted to the Bar in Johnstown, Pa. Appointed by Governor Tener Aide-de- Camp, iStaff Commander-in-Chief, January, 1911, with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel; re-appointed by Governor Brumbaugh in January, 1915. Norris, J. Parker. Born in Philadelphia, November 3, 1847. Educated in private schools in this city and graduated from University of Pennsylvania with the degree of A.B. Admitted to the Philadelphia Bar, March, 1870. Shakespearean authority and author cf several books on Shakespeare. Has a large collection of Shakespeareana which is the result of years of research work. Ober, Thomas Kerr. Born at West Troy, N. Y., January 17, 1837. Educated in public and private schools. Business man. 21 BIOGRAPHY OF PARTICIPANTS Qberholtzer, Ellis Paxson. Born in Chester County, Pa., in 1868. A.B., Ph.D., Uni- versity of Pennsylvania. Editor, historian, Master of Pageants. Author of "The Referendum in America"; "Robert Morris, Patriot and Financier" ; Abraham Lincoln ; Henry Clay; The Literary History of Philadelphia; Jay Cooke, Financier of the Civil War (2 vols.) ; Philadelphia, a history of the City and Its People (4 vols.). Editor "American Crisis Biographies" (20 vols.). Patterson, John M. Born in Philadelphia, March 4, 1874. Educated in the public schools; graduated from Law Department, Uni- versity of Pennsylvania, 1896. Author of "Lawyers of Dickens' Land"; "Dickens and Christmas," and several legal essays published in the American Law Register; the Green Bag and Chicago Law Journal. Trustee of Temple University, Garretson Hospital, Samaritan Hospital; Direc- tor of Maternity Hospital. Served with the First Penn- sylvania Volunteers during the Spanish-American War from May 11, 1898, to October 15, 1898. Appointed Assistant City Solicitor April, 1902; Assistant District Attorney November, 1904; elected to the Common Pleas bench of Philadelphia County in 1913. Pennypacker, Samuel W. Born in Phoenixville, Pa., April 9, 1843. LL.B., Univer- sity of Pennsylvania; LL.D., University of Pennsylvania, Franklin and Marshall College, Mulhenberg College. Veteran of the Civil War; member of the Board of Public Education; President of the Law Academy; Judge Common Pleas Court of Philadelphia County, 1889; President Judge, 1896; Governor of the State of Pennsyl- vania, 1903; Trustee of the University of Pennsylvania; President of many societies. Author Digest of the English Common Law Reports, Pennsylvania Colonial Cases, 4 vols, of Pennypacker's Supreme Court Reports, 45 vols., Weekly Notes of Cases; Annals of Phoenixville; Historical and Biographical Sketches; Settlement of Germantown; Penn- sylvania in American History, etc. Pepper, George Wharton. Born in Philadelphia, March 16, 1867. A.B., University of Pennsylvania, 1887; LL.B., 1889; admitted to the Bar, 1889; LL.D., University of Pennsylvania, 1907; D.C.L., University of the South, 1908; LL.D., Yale, 1914; Algernon Sydney Biddle Professor of Law, University of Pennsyl- vania, 1893-1910; Trustee of University of Pennsylvania; Lyman Beecher Lecturer for 1915 in Yale University; Trustee of the Carnegie Institution. Author of the Border- land of Federal and State Decisions, 1889; Pleading at Common Law and Under the Codes, 1891 ; Digest of the Laws of Pennsylvania, 1700-1901; Digest of Decisions and 22 BIOGRAPHY OF PARTICIPANTS Encyclopaedia of Pennsylvania Law, 1754-1898; The Way, 1909; A Voice From the Crowd, 1915. Rogers, Joseph P. Born in Tamaqua, Pa., March 17, 1876. Admitted to the Philadelphia Bar in 1899; appointed Assistant City Solicitor in 1901; Assistant District Attorney, 1911; elected to the Common Pleas Bench of Philadelphia County, 1915. Rosenbach, A. S. W. Born in Philadelphia, July 22, 1876; B.S., University of Pennsylvania, 1898; Ph.D., 1901; Secretary of The Rosen- bach Company; Collaborator with Austin Dobson of Dr. Johnson's Prologue Spoken at the Opening of the Theatre in Drury Lane, in 1898; compiler of the Catalogues of the Works of Robert Louis Stevenson in the collection of the late H. E. Widener, 1913, etc., etc. Ross, Ernest N. Born in Prescott, Arizona, October 26, 1878. Educated in the Philadelphia public schools, Drexel Institute, Tem- ple University and under private tutelage. Admitted to the Philadelphia Bar, 1893. Official Stenographer, Common Pleas Court, Philadelphia County, since 1897. Author of text-book, "Scenario Writing." Rotan, Samuel P. Born in Philadelphia, January 9, 1869. A.B., A.M., Central High School; LL.B., University of Pennsylvania. Admitted to the Bar in 1892; District Attorney of Phila- delphia since 1907. Author, in conjunction with Judge Patterson, of "Rights and Duties of Magistrates." Ryan, James J. Born in Ireland in 1848; came to the United States in 1869; general contractor, retired in 1910. Philanthropist; member of the Board of Inspectors of Philadelphia County Prisons. Knight of Saint Gregory. 1907, and Knight of the Grand Cross of Saint Gregory, 1912, conferred by Pope Pius X. Scorer, John G. Born in England in 1859. Educated in America; Ph.D. Educator and Lecturer; newspaper and magazine editor. Special writer on educational topics. Author of "Scorer's Principles of Oratory." Scott, John R. K Born at Bloomsburg, Pa., July 6, 1873. Educated in the public schools; graduated from the Central High School of Philadelphia in 1893; entered the law school of the University of Pennsylvania; admitted to the Bar in December, 1895; member of the House of Representatives of Pennsylvania session of 1899; again elected in 1908 and 1910; re-elected November, 1912; elected as Congressman- at-Large from Pensylvania in November, 1914. 23 BIOGRAPHY OF PARTICIPANTS Search, Theodore C. Born in Southampton, Pa., March 20, 1841. A.M., Brown University, 1885. Manufacturer. President of the Penn- sylvania Museum and School of Industrial Art, Philadel- phia. Sessler, Charles. Born at Vienna, November 5, 1854. Educated in the public schools, graduating from the Royal High School; took a practical course in banking. Came to the United States in 1880, entering the book business at once, estab- lishing the present rare book center, specializing in first editions of Dickens, colored plate books, etc. Throughout his experience, he has been of assistance in the formation of bibliographical works on the subjects in which he spe- cializes. Smith, Edgar Fahs. Born York, Pa., May 23, 1856. B.S., Pennsylvania College, 1874; Ph.D., Goettingen, 1876; Sc.D., University of Pennsylvania, 1899; University of Dublin (Ireland), 1912; Yale University, 1914; L.H.D., Muhlenberg College, 1911; Chem.D., University of Pittsburgh, 1915; LL.D., Uni- versity of Wisconsin, 1904; University of Pennsylvania, 1906; Pennsylvania College, 1906; Franklin and Marshall College, 1910; Rutgers College, 1911; University of Pitts- burgh, 1912; University of North Carolina, 1912; Prince- ton, 1913; Wittenberg, 1914; Brown University, 1914; Allegheny College, 1915. Blanchard Professor of Chemis- try and Provost, University of Pennsylvania. Author of Classen's Quantitative Analysis, Clinical Analysis of Urine (with Dr. J. Marshall), Richter's Inorganic Chemistry, Smith & Keller's Chemical Experimentation, Richter's Or- ganic Chemistry, Electro-Chemical Analysis, Oettel's Practical Exercises in Electro-Chemistry, Oettel's Electro- Chemical Experiments, Elements of Chemistry, Shorter Course Chemical Experiments, Theories of Chemistry, Ele- ments of Electro-Chemistry, Chemistry in America. Solis-Cohen, Solomon. Born in Philadelphia, September 1, 1857. A.B., Central High of Philadelphia, 1872; A.M., 1877; M.D., 1883, Jef- ferson Medical College; Professor Clinical Medicine, Jef- ferson Medical College, since 1902; Emeritus Professor of Medicine and Therapeutics, Philadelphia Polyclinic. Author of "Essentials of Diagnosis"; "Therapeutics of Tuber- culosis." Editor and part author of "A System of Physi- ologic Therapeutics." Editor or contributing editor of various medical periodicals. Author of various mono- graphs on medical subjects; contributor to medical and general encyclopedias; contributor of essays and verses to literary periodicals. 24 BIOGRAPHY OF PARTICIPANTS Staake, William H. Born in Brooklyn, N. Y., December 5, 1846. A.B., A.M., Central High of Philadelphia; L.L.B., University of Penn- sylvania. Judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Phila- delphia County. Author of many papers and addresses. Stuart, Edwin S. Born in Philadelphia, December 28, 1853. LL.D., Lafay- ette, University of Pennsylvania and University of Pitts- burgh. Merchant, President of the Board of Directors of City Trusts; Deputy Governor and member of Board of Directors of Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. Mayor of the City of Philadelphia, 1891-95 and Governor of the State of Pennsylvania, 1907-11. Thomson, John. Born in England, 1830. Educated in London. He came to Philadelphia in 1881. For eight years private Librarian to Clarence H. Clark, and three years to Jay Gould. Has been Librarian of the Free Library of Philadelphia since its organization. In 1904 he sought the co-operation of Andrew Carnegie and obtained a gift of $1,500,000 to be used in erection of thirty branch libraries throughout the city. Author of "Descriptive Catalogue of the Library of C. D. Clark"; "Catalogue of the Library of Jay Gould"; descriptive catalogue of the works of Sir Walter Scott; and the Library of Old Authors printed for the free library; and catalogues of the libraries of Thomas Dolan and the Rittenhouse Club; essays on "Black Books," de- livered before the Antiquarian Society, and a volume en- titled, "Hither and Thither," being a collection of essays on books, issued in book form in 1906. One of the found- ers of the Philobiblon Club, in 1904, and served continu- ously as its curator. Tilden, William T. Born St. George, Delaware, March 9, 1855. A.B. Central High School, Philadelphia, 1872. Merchant. President of Union League, 1912, 13, 14. Died July 29, 1915. Tompkins, Rev. Floyd. Born New York, February 7, 1850; A.B. Harvard, 1872; P.D. Gen. Theological Seminary, N. Y., 1875 (S.T.D.U. of Pa., 1901; LL.D. Temple College, 1903; D.D. University of the South, 1911) ; Church of Holy Trinity, Philadel- phia since 1899. Author of many books. Tower, Charlemagne. Born in Philadelphia, April 17, 1848. Graduated Har- vard University, 1872; LL.D., 1897, Lafayette; 1903, Uni- versity of Chicago; 1901, University of Glasgow (Scot- land) ; 1903, University of St. Andrews (Scotland); 1909, 25 BIOGRAPHY OF PARTICIPANTS Hamilton College. Admitted to the Philadelphia Bar in 1878. Publisher of "The Marquis de La Fayette in the American Revolution," 1895. "Essays, Political and His- torical," 1914. United States Minister to Austria-Hun- gary, 1897. Ambassador to Russia, 1899. Ambassador to Germany, 1902-1908. Walton, Henry F. Born in Stroudsburg, Pa., October 2, 1858. LL.D., At- torney-at-Law ; Assistant City Solicitor; member of the Legislature, 1891, 1893, 1895, 1903, 1905, 1906; Chairman of the Republican State Committee, 1909, 1910; Speaker of the House of Representatives, 1895, 1903, 1905, 1906; Prothonotary of the Courts of Common Pleas of Philadel- phia County. Wheeler, Arthur L. Born in Philadelphia, May 11, 1873. Attended St. Paul's School, Concord, N. H. B.S. at Princeton University, 1896. Engaged in the manufacturing business. Wheeler, Walter S. Born at Bryn Mawr, July 31, 1875. Educated at Haver- ford School and by private tutors. Banking and manufac- turing; extensive traveler; Fellow Royal Geographical Society, etc. Editor of "The Optimist." White, J. William. Born in Philadelphia, November 2, 1850, M.D., Ph.D. Uni- versity of Pennsylvania, 1871, LL.D. Aberdeen, 1906. Con- nected with many hospitals and medical colleges, Fellow of College of Physicians of Philadelphia, Honorary Fellow, American College of Surgeons. Publications: American Text Book of Surgery, Genito-Urinary Surgery, Human Anatomy, numerous surgical articles and text books on surgery and systems of surgery ; Text Book of the War for Americans. Woodin, P. S. Born in Seville, Ohio, August 21, 1873. Educated in the public schools of Akron, Ohio; student in Butler Academy and under private tutelage. Certificate to teach, Empor- ium, Kansas, 1889-1890; Philadelphia. 1892, Principal; 1895, Supervisor; student Post-Graduate Department, University of Pennsylvania; Ph.D. course, 1894-1897; Temple Uni- versity Law Course, 1905-1908. Admitted to practice, 1909. Successively Principal and Supervisor, Maple Grove. Watson Comly, Olney, and Marshall Public Schools, 1892-1912. 26 (Otfu-c nf ilir liilu-an.iu (L!ic "Bietotiral ^ar«tij of JJcnnoiillinittM ^lnl;ii>rlfilu;t May 5, 1914. Hon. John M. Patterson, Court of Common Pleas, City Hall, Philadelphia, Dear Judge Patterson:- At the suggestion of President Sam- uel W. Pennypacker, I am writing to request you to send us all the printed literature relating to the Trial of John Jasper, for preservation in this Society. Ycurs v c -ry truly, L^-^ Librarian, j3Lx\sia_^- Introduction BY JOHN M. PATTERSON We are told that the people of ancient Thebes were at one time in great fear of a certain monster which infested the highroad. It had the body of a lion and the upper part of a woman. It lay crouched on the top of a rock and arrested all travelers that came that way, proposing to them a riddle, with the condition that those who would solve the riddle should pass safely, but those who failed, should be killed. This monster was called a Sphinx, and has ever since been regarded as a fit emblem of mystery Yet, the riddle of the Sphinx was solved by ffidepus. This so mortified the Sphinx that she cast herself down from the rock and perished. The mistake that the Sphinx made was in not asking (Edepus the right question. Had she, or he, or it, only thought to inquire about the Mystery of Edwin Drood, the monster might have been alive to-day and (Edepus would not have been the cause of such a flood of dreadful woes as Mr. Sophocles describes. Unfor- tunately for the Sphinx, and, perhaps fortunately for us, the Mystery of Edwin Drood was unheard of until A.D. 1870. In that year England's great novelist propounded a riddle which no one has yet been able to solve. A great deal has been written about and con- cerning Dickens's last book. One writer after an- other has endeavored to fathom the mystery. Amongst those who have attempted the task, per- haps the most prominent have been the late Richard A. Proctor, Mr. J. Cuming Walters and Andrew Lang. Each of these had his pet theory. Proctor, in a small book entitled "Watched by the Dead," claimed that Drood was not murdered, but, after disappearing for a while returned in disguise, and 27 / / TRIAL OF JOHN JASPER assumed the name of Datchery. J. Cuming Walters has written several articles on the subject. He con- tends that Drood was murdered, but his endeavors to explain the "mystery" have not been very satis- factory. Andrew Lang has written a very clever little volume entitled "The Puzzle of Dickens's Last Plot," in which he argues that Edwin Drood does not die by the hand of John Jasper, but, after dis- appearing for a time, returns alive to take up his occupation as a civil engineer. Besides these efforts to explain "The Mystery of Edwin Drood," there have also been written several so-called sequels to the unfinished story. One of these is entitled "The Cloven Hoof," by Orpheus C. Kerr. Another is called "John Jasper's Secret," by Henry Morford, often erroneously attributed to Charles Dickens's eldest son and Wilkie Collins. Another is known as "The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Complete," wherein spiritualism is called upon to unravel the "mystery." The attempt to have com- munication with the spirit of Charles Dickens, and thus obtain a direct explanation of what the writer really meant, appears to have been successful. Still another sequel entitled "A Great Mystery Solved," by Gillan Vase (Mrs. Richard Newton), appeared. So one can see that "The Mystery of Edwin Drood" is a real "mystery" indeed. For a most comprehensive survey of the Drood controversy, as well as a full list of the books on the subject, see "The Complete Edwin Drood," by J. Cuming Walters. Now the history of the "mystery" may be divided into four parts. First — the writing of the unfin- ished book by the great novelist, ending in June, 1870. Second — the literary controversy as to whether Drood was murdered or not, ending in January, 1914. Third — the trial of John Jasper, by Justice Gilbert K. Chesterton and a British jury, 28 INTRODUCTION on the 7th of January, 1914, at the King's Hall, Covent Garden. Fourth — the subsequent escape of Jasper to America, and his trial by Justice John P. Elkin, and a jury of Philadelphia's most prominent citizens, including a number of well-known profes- sional and literary men at the Academy of Music, on the 29th of April, 1914. Taking these four events in the order named, let us consider them. First, the writing of the book. It was a most unfortunate thing that Dickens did not finish the story, because it gave promise of being one of his best novels. "I hope his book is finished," Longfellow, the poet, wrote when he received the intelligence of Dickens's death, "it is certainly one of his most beautiful works, if not the most beauti- ful of all. It would be sad to think the pen had fallen from his hand, and left it incomplete." We all know, or think we know, that Drood was murdered by his uncle, Jasper, but the means and the method of the murder still remain obscure. There is not one note of death in aught that Edwin Drood does or says, nor is there any direct evidence that he is really dead, or even that his life was attempted by Jasper. Everything is circumstantial. There is no doubt, however, that Dickens intended to convey the impression that Edwin Drood was murdered by Jasper. As to the books which have been written, the most that can be said of the best of them is that they are clever. None of them is convincing, because all of them are simply speculations and theories. The very fact that the case, when tried in London, excited so much interest, indicates that the various controversial book-writers had been unable to con- vince many people. Ordinarily the verdict of a British jury satisfies the British public. But the verdict of "man- slaughter," which was rendered against John Jas- 29 TRIAL OF JOHN JASPER per, instead of satisfying the public, only left con- fusion more confounded and added to the uncer- tainty already existing. Not only did the English people declare that the verdict meant nothing, but the entire Dickensian world protested that Jasper should have been convicted of murder, or else ac- quitted. He was guilty, or not guilty, and a verdict in the Pickwickian sense would never do, even if Bernard Shaw were foreman of the jury which rendered such a verdict. It was not with any idea of absolutely settling the question, one way or another, that the Philadelphia Branch of the Dickens Fellowship decided to have John Jasper tried for the murder of Edwin Drood. In the opinion of the writer the question will never be satisfactorily settled for many reasons. It may even be doubted if Charles Dickens really knew what the final outcome of the story was to be. The object of the trial was simply to present the facts set forth in the book, and no others, to a jury of twelve intel- ligent and representative citizens; to have those facts presented by learned and experienced advo- cates in the same manner that facts are presented in a court of justice and subject to the rules of judicial evidence; and to have those advocates use their utmost ability in endeavoring to convince the twelve jurors that the facts either showed, or failed to show, that John Jasper murdered Edwin Drood. Surely such a proceeding was as likely to shed light upon the question as any other method. Of course, in addition to this, there was also the desire to entertain the audience, and to widen, if possible, the interest in the writings of Charles Dickens. It should also be remembered that the average man or woman has never seen the trial of a murder case, and it was intended to give the public a correct representation of a murder trial. There is always something fas- cinating about such a case. It is hard to tell to what 30 INTRODUCTION this interest is due. It may be due to the fact that crime represents something abnormal — something which expresses the exact opposite to the almost exaggerated routine of a well-disciplined existence — or perhaps it may be due to those vehement and irregular passions of men which are so unexpectedly brought to the surface. Perhaps a little of both, or perhaps it is occasioned by that manifestation of the element of error and uncertainty which ever and anon seems to mock, as with the silent laughter of a Sphinx, the most cautious and deliberate in- quiry into a few meagre facts which seem to evi- dence a crime. Nevertheless the interest exhibited by all sorts and conditions of men and women in the outcome of a criminal trial is so common, and so keen, that it really helps to make the whole world kin. We never tire of reading, again and again, the his- tory of celebrated trials, whether they be of real personages or of creatures of the imagination. No less a personage than Edmond Burke once said: "I have often wondered that the English language contains no book like the causes celebres of the French. Such a collection would exhibit man as he is in action and principle, and not as he is usually drawn by poets and speculative philos- ophers." To-day there are many books which deal with cele- brated trials both in Europe and America. Most of us are familiar with accounts of the trials of Sir Walter Raleigh, of Thomas, Earl of Strafford, of the poet, Richard Savage, of the Salem Witches, of War- ren Hastings, of Aaron Burr, of Professor Webster, of Alfred Dreyfus, and a host of others too nu- merous to mention. These cases not only created a lively interest at the time, but have been able to retain a place in the pages of books still worth read- ing. 31 TRIAL OF JOHN JASPER Then there are those celebrated trials to be found in the great works of fiction. Shakespeare has given us a wonderful trial scene in the Merchant of Venice. Bulwer and Hood have spun their webs of romance around the schoolmaster of Lynn, until it is hard to tell where fiction begins and history ends. In The Heart of Midlothian, the Wizard of the North has made Effie Deans the central figure in a most stirring picture of court room proceedings. There never was a better stage presentation of a court proceeding than that which took place at the American Academy of Music on the evening of April 29th, 1914. The old Academy had been the scene of many extraordinary performances in the past. From July 26th, 1855, when the cornerstone was laid in the presence of Mayor Robert T. Conrad, and a great gathering of the patrons of the opera, until the night of the famous Jasper Trial, the stage of this historic building has echoed the foot-falls of many of the world's celebrities. On January 26th, 1857, the formal opening was celebrated by a magnificent ball, at which the wealth and fashion of Philadelphia gathered in full force. The house was opened for its legitimate use by E. A. Marshall, with Verdi's "II Trovatore," sung by Max Maretzek's opera troupe, of which the famous Mad- ame Marietta Gazzaniga was the prima donna; the full cast being as follows: Leonora, Madame Gaz- zaniga; Azucema, Mile. Aldini; Maurico, Sig. Brig- noli; Count di Luna, Sig. Amodio; Ferando, Sig. Coletti ; Old Gypsy, Sig. Muttro. In 1860 a great ball was given at the Academy in honor of the Prince of Wales, later Edward VII. He was delighted at the architectural splendors of the building, and said so in unequivocal terms. Too exhaustive is the list of world renowned singers who have gained additional laurels on the stage of this great play-house. Suffice to say that 32 u, o c o a is < S