St. Paul daily globe. [volume], April 08, 1894, Page 18, Image 18

About St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896

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LECTURERS AND LYCEUMS.
The Former Not as Popular as
they Were in the Past.
PHILLIPS ANO OTHER PLATFORM STARS.
Tlie Requisites to Success as a Lec
turer at the Present Time — The
Growth oi the Lecture Bureau—
The Local Lyceum and its
Lucrative Field.
A quarter of a century ago, when Wendell
Thillips, Beecher, John B. Gough and men of
- that stamp were still in their, prime, they.
• could fill the largest halls, even yvith a circus
in opposition, and they and their managers
• made money. The success of such lecturers
led hundreds of men, whose abilities yvere
not commensurate yvith their vanity and am
bition, to enter the field, and who through
their vapid - mediocrity brought the name
lecture into disrepute, particularly in the
large cities, wiiere people in search of amuse
ment can find every variety.
Educational and literary societies still give
winter courses of lectures in cities like New
York, Philadelphia and -ioston, but it is the
subject treated rather than the ability of the
lecturer that draws. Outside of these lecture
courses, the people can be drawn to hear a
\
JOHN B. GOUfiH.
a *.vTorm speaker by one or tyvo motives ; first
to see a man whose life in other fields has
been famous or notorious, or to hear a man
whom the world recognizes as a great humor
ist, like Mark Twain, or a great orator like
Colonel Ingersoll.
John B. Gough was an actor rather than an
. orator. He was one of the most superficial of
men intellectually, yet he could tell a story
and act it. in a way that would have given
him equal fame as a comedian ; and by the
energy of his declamation, and an enthusiam
with which he had power to fill is' audi
ences, he could work them up to the highest
pitch of excitement, or move them to tears.
Were another like him to appear, he could
..achieve an even greater success, for that
church-going constituency, who regard the
, theatre as wicked are not averse to acting like
Gough 's, that is staged in the garb of propriety
. and with the name of a high purpose behind
it _' ...; v^-':;'. ■ : .
A gentleman, himself a yy ell-known lecturer
and who has studied this question closely for
years, but does hot wish me to. use liis name
in this connection, says: "But few people,
■' outside of the business, have any idea of the
number of men engaged the year round as
lecturers, or the perfection of the machinery
through which these lecturers are brought
before their audiences. They have something
like this, but in a much smaller way in Eng
land and her .Australasian colonies, but the
lecture system, as we understand it, isa thing
/unknown on the continent of Europe."
From the same authority I learned that
there are scores of local "lyceum bureaus" to
be found in all our large cities, that the busi
ness for the whole country is done by four
large, well organized and splendidly equipped
concerns. Tliese are the liedpath of Boston,
r with a branch in Chicago; the Slayton of
' ' Chicago witb a branch in Now York ; the Star
* Bureau of New York, and Major Pond's bureau
in the same city. These four concerns have a
national reputation, and to use their phrase
' ology, "they handle such attractions only as
have a national interest."
'Before speaking more fully of Lecturers and
Lyceums in the broader sense, it may be well
to glance at the smaller agencies that are to
be found in all our cities and yvhich are ready
on the shortest notice to supply "talent" for
one night or for a regular course, for the
public hall or for the club house and the par
lor. In all the small towns clustering about
our larger cities, there are literary or social
associations that give public entertainments,
for the sake of the amusement they afford, or
in order to replenish their treasuries. The
same is true of many of the city and country
churches in the yvinter season, so that there.
' is a constant demand for illustrated lectures,
often witli the addition of music, or for enter
tainments of a more varied character, in
which a Dumber of attractions appear.
The committee, representing the commun
ity to be amused, or the organization to be
benefitted financially, calls on the manager of
the lyceum or entertainment bureau in the
Nearest city, or communicates yvith him by
correspondence, and agree yvith him upon the;
time, the "talent" to be supplied and the,
terms. . With such people the lecturer, who
. requires the whole evening to himself, is not
popular, they yvant variety, and the lyceum \
manager finds it to his advantage to supply
It. A "musical "quartette," each usually "a
distinguished soloist," or a musical phenome
non on many instruments," "a story teller,"
"a reader," yvith a ventriloquist, or sleight of
hand perform make up the talent furnished
by the bureau tor from fifty to one hundred
or more dollars a night. The bureau mana
ger pays his artists from five to twenty dol
lars a night net, depending on their popular
ity, but he always manages it so that not less
than ton per ceut. of the receipts come to
himself. As he may have from one to ten or
. more parties out every night in season, the
profits of a properly managed local bureau
are not insignificant. Track is kept of the
talent, and someof these people are "booked"
for weeks or months ahead, and very often
ability developed through the lyceums, finds
a larger field on the recognized stage.
Americans are not only the best story tellers
in the world, but they delight in stories more
than any other people. This fact is so well
understood by those journalists who keep
abreast of the times, that stories, humorous
graphic or dramatic, find a place in our most
crowded newspapers. Indeed, every separate
report in a newspaper has come to lie known
as "a story." The public entertainers have
availed themselves of this taste, and the con
.sequence is an ever- increasing supply of
"story tellers," good, bad and indifferent,
principally the latter, who are ready to mar
ket their mimetic and narrative powers. A
few of these platform story tellers, like Alfred
E. Pearsall and Marshall P. Wilder,^ aro men
:of marked ability, but it must be confessed
the great majority are a delusion and a snare, .
and might be' eliminated-' from the crudest
programme to its great advantage.
But •while the entertainment bureaus fre
quently employ a lecturer and the great lec
urebureaus frequently send cut"a combina
tion their methods and the fields of their
enterprise are entirely different. Each annu
ally sends out voluminous and . handsomely
printed catalogues of their attractions, with
the prices and press puffs attached. "Old
favorites" can always find a profitable mar
ket, but no matter the talent, in the lyceum,
as in the library price popularity counts for
everything, nor is this popularity :an invari
able indication of the genius of the enter
tainer.
The four bureaus of national reputation
manage betweeu them something like 230 lec
turers, and 45 ■ musical people and readers.
These give during the year over 5,000 enter
tainments, the. prices f or .; which, for . talent
alone, vary from $100 to $1,000 a night. But
few of the popular, lecturers on . the platform
at this time, are such by profession. There
are a few scientists— least popular, unless
their fame like Tyndall and Huxley's is world
wide — but 'as, might be . supposed a majority
of the successful platform- speakers are
. preachers . or. lawyers. Curiously i enough,
though the medical profession has given many
able men to general ; literature, there is no
physician to be found among the list cf public
lecturers. This may be accounted for by the
exacting nature of their professional duties
that keep them necessarily near home.
As these bureaus are managed on strictly
business principles, the prices paid lecturers
are gauged by their drawing powers rather
thau their actual abilities, or the amount of
thought and culture jjiveii to their speeches.
The men yvho draw best are those who have
made a reputation in other than the lecture
field, and to see whom there is much curios
ity. Horace Greely, while one of the most
forceful writers in th? country, yvas a notori
ously bad speaker! He hemmed and hawed
as if about to forget tlie whole speech, he yvas
uncouth in his manners', and set all the rules
of elocution and the thei>rios of Delsarte at .
defiance, yet, because it was Horace Greely,
the abolitionist, the socialist, the free thinker
and fearless writer, the people swarmed out
to see him, and left delighted, though they
could not recall a striking sentence that he
uttered. But the bureau liked Greely, for he
spoke to crowded houses' while men of de
cided oratorical ability were too often called
ou to harangue empty chairs in the halls and
a gorgeous array; of red plush in the theatres.
Henry M. Stanley made the fortune of Ma
jor Pond and largely increased his own bank
account by his last tour in America. Wher
ever he went he drew croyvded houses, yet he
was but a little worse speaker than Greeley.
He lacked tact ; he had no conception of elo
quence, but such' a high conception of him
self as to offend good taste. But the secret
of his drawing poyvers is not far to seek. He
had been a famous traveler; for years the
newspapers had teemed with stories of his
exploits in a dangerous aud unknown land,
and the people flocked to see the man, rather
than to hear what he had to say.
General Grant "was a very indifferent speak
er, yet if in the days of his adversity he
could have gone on the platform, he would
have drawn such audiences as never gathered
to hear the greatest orator in America or any
other land," and his manager could have
charged "opera prices." I see someone who
understands the public talks of taking Queen
Liliuokalani through the United States on a
lecture tour. From .two interviews had with
her majesty since she 'was forced from the
toy throne of Hawaii, I can affirm that her
person is not attractive," her culture is not of
a high order, arid her knowledge of English
scarcely adequate to carry on the most ordi
nary conversation.- Yet "if she had been
brought before the public soon after she had
expressed to' Willis her anxiety to do the
Herodias act on a large scale with the heads
of her opponents, she would have been a
drawing card.' Imagine the fortune there
would be in Queen Victoria, at ten per cent,
of the gross receipts, if her majesty could be
induced to sit on a stage for two hours every
night, with her crown on her head and her
scepter held in the" regulation way. Such at
tractions, however, would not pay if taken
over the circuit a second time.
Up to 1872 lecturers had to make their own
arrangements, and apart from earning much
less thau now, they were at a great disad
vantage. To the" foresight and organizing
ability of the late James Bedpathi himself a
most interesting speaker and a polished gen
tleman, the existing methods of - the great
lecture* bureaus are entirely due. Prior to
'■ this, Wendell Phillips, the prince of platform'
speakers, yvas willing to talk for $250 anight
-and expenses, but though by no means a mer
cenary man, he made no objections yvhen Mr.
Bedpath's system enabled him to collect $200
every night in the week;
Like* John B. Gough, Phillips was an excep
tion to the rule as to the ; repetition of lect
ures. His addresses on "Daniel O'Connell,"
"The Lost Arts," and "Touissant L'Over
teure" were delivered each as - often as
twenty times :in the same place, and
largely before the same audiences,- but peo
ple never wearied of them, all of which goes
to prove the high excellence of his art.
A curious thing in this connection is the
fact that one speaker yvill be a great favorite
in one toyvn or section, and in the next town
or another section he is regarded with indif
ference. Tlie Southern states have never
•
HENRY M. STANLEY.
been a profitable field for lecturers. Henry
Ward Beecher could not have paid his ex
penses on an . extended tour through the
South, while Dr. Talmage, who is not so pop
ular in the Eastern states, draws crowds in
the South and West. The political prejudices
of the people have no*doubt much to do with
the varying ..popularity, of the clergymen
mentioned.
A well-known manager. assures me that he
stands ready to pay Chauncey M. Depew $600
a night and expenses for one hundred nights,
or about four months' work ; but the chief of
post-prandial orators is satisfied with his
present income and the daily growth of his
fame. George W. Cable is a native of Louis
iana, and the foremost literary man produced
by the South since the war. Ho is one of
the most popular lecturers and readers in
the Northern states to-day, yet the people in
the land of his birth . decry his talents, and
would not go to hear him talk if the admis
sion yvere free; another .case .where prejudice
blinds to the recognition of talent.
George Kennan, the Siberian traveler, is
one of our most popular lecturers. He is
not a strong man, but if his health permitted
he could make $250 a night for ten months in
the year, and as it is he has saved enough to
- guard him against the unproductive days of
old age. Colonel Ingersoll has been offered
$50,000 and expenses for a two months' tour
in Australasia, but he does not care for trav
eling, and, as he says, "the American field is
yet far from being -exhausted." He, like
many of the other successful the most suc
cessful lecturers, indeed — regards , public
speaking as "a side issue and; a recreation."
Doctor Talmage largely manages himself,
and he is quite as competent to attend to the
business as he is to the platform , end of the
work. He averages • $GOO ;a' night, and it is
said, in addition to his other sources of rev
enue, he clears not less . than $30,000 a year
by his lectures. In June he starts for a four
months' tour via Australasia and ; India, and
he has $25,000 assured ■ before he packs his
trunk. . .' .. ..' . y ft .V. ...... ..... v _,. . .;.•.- ... '...
The combination lecture is a neyv thing in
this . form .of entertainment . ; .Mark Twain
THE SAINT PAUL MILY GLOBE: BL^D.W~l\fO?vyT\^7^r^Trry~!^
and George W. Cable ; have appeared ; on tho
same platform, and Bill Nye and James Whit
comb Riley - have : made one of the . most at
tractive teams that has been brought before
the public for years. '. -'"■ '. -"---'- ■-■'■• -. -
Paul . Blouet (Max O'Bell) has made a great
deal out of ! his satirical brochures, but much
more out of his lectures, ' which, r despite his
French accent, or it may- be because of it,
have brought him in a great deal of money.
He made some $12,000 in seven yveeks during
his last tour here, and he " has just finish**!
eighteen months in Australasia and ; South
promising lecture fields, from yvhicb
he took back to France about $70,000 in cash
' Among the women lecturers Anna ' Dickin
son was once one of the best cards. Susan
B. Anthony, Miss Frances Willard, Mrs. Liv
ermore and Mrs. Cady Stanton, although
harping . on , one string, continue c to . do it
to the tune of $200 a night. But .there are
no new women entering the higher walks of
this most attractive and lucrative field, and
when they do, it is to be hoped that their
themes yvill be less hackneyed and didactic.
"The Woman of the Future," "What Shall
We Do With Our Daughters? " "Temperance
in the Home," and so on are, or rather were,
important themes before use had made them
threadbare and repetition reduced to the level
of the trite and platitudinous. .
One of the most lucrative fields for the ac
complished lecturer is the Young Men's Chris
tian Associations. These are well organized.
As a rule they are well housed, they give in
telligent audiences, and they pay good prices
for good work, though unfortunately they do
not permit a latitude of treatment that makes
them familiar with the very ablest men,:.-",- •";
S[jL \f '"&$&
CECBGE WILLIAM CUKTIS. i-
The drawbacks to taking up public lectur
ing as a profession, oven yvhere one has the
ability and the story to tell, is the fact that to
win immediately on the platform, one must
have achieved distinction in -■' another and
often an entirely different fielder The lectur
ers like Stoddard, yvho dopond.as much on
the beauty of their lantern pictures as on
yvhat they have to say or how they say it, are
more closely allied to the showman than to
the teacher," though they certainly afford an
entirely harmless if not an exhilarating form
of entertainment. 7 . . ... ,
Thoso yvho have won and are" winning
should oncourago men and yvoinen with the
proper gifts to study oratory ; " Groat rewards
await thoso who have a story to toll that will
interest humanity, and the recitation ;of
which will thrill the audience' and impress
them with the honesty and intense earnest
ness of tho speaker. '.;"• '.' i T-_Z'!:'Z. t
Alfred B. Calhoun. j
Opium Joint*. "' *
Why should there be such a prejudice
against opium joints, yvhen Now York states
men run gin mills under sanction of the law?
Opium pays its duty, and tho foot that it is
recognized, like yyhlaky, as an article of com
merce, implies that it will bo consumed;
The polloo get cheap glory by raiding opium
joints, yvhere the people who "hit tlio pipe"
are as harmless — except to themselves — as
sheep, but the gin mill yrlioro all tho erlinos
are encouraged, is fostered by law, for tho
profit of tho vote-commanding statesman,'
Consistency might bo a jewel, If we could
find it. 'i'Z-'i'':Z.i
Women Writers Not Always Pure,
A professional reader for some of tho load
ing publishing houses in New York, says; that
the manuscript sent in by men is morally
cleaner than that submitted by yvomau. "I
have always had a ehlvalic respect for the sex
of my mother," he says, "but I must confess
that in the intimations, tho impure sugges
tions, and the voluptuous pictures that affect
the imagination, particularly of the young,
women rush in where men yvould not dare to
tread. Beading manuscrips has lessoned my
respect for the sex, and I am sorry to have'
my idols shattered and my ideals dispelled."
Brevet Widows Who Deserve a Pension.
There are to-day in the North and South
thousands of unmarried yvomen between the
ages of forty and fifty-five, whom Major Cal
houn calls "Brevet Widows." He claims
their husbands yvere among the 500,000 young
unmarried mon yvho yvore killed In battle or
• died of cams disease during the war. He
says "these women deserve a pension far
more than mady women who are getting
■ one." Some of these brevet widows know of
. their loss, but, happily, the majority are in
ignorance of it.
Tlie Origin of the Fan.
The following pretty story, translated from
the Chinese gives the origin of the fan, which
if not true, deserves to be : A famous prince j
counted as not the least of his treasures a
beautiful daughter. In those days it was the
custom for all Chinese ladies to wear masks
in publlo. At the Feast of Lanterns, the
great holiday of the empire, the princess was
so overcome with the ' heat, that sho was
forced to move her mask ; but she held it be
fore her face, and while doing so moved it.
The attendant ladies followed her example,
and from this came the Idea of the fan, which
in China, at least, soon took the place of the
mask. .;"","
"Hello John, how do you feel to-day?"
John. "With my fingers, as usual."
- New York and Brooklyn undertakers are
about to shut down on Sunday burials ; those
contemplating a near * demise will please
govern themselves accordingly.
President Carnot of France has a salary of
$250,000 a year, five times that of our presi
dent, in addition to which he is allowed ser
vants and carrioges innumerable and the use
of a number of urban and rural palaces.
■'■ The one man in the senate who is greater
than his party and greater than the senate, is
John Sherman of Ohio— by the way there is
no other John Sherman, and it is doubtful if
there ever will be, for men with dormant im
pulses and ever active brains are phenominal.
A Chicago man stole a frame house, moved
it fourteen blocks and then sold it. He was
not so very, very bad, for he considerately
left the cellar." ■ .l_
Corey's army, as he is learning, is. like a
sack ; it can get along without legs, arms, or
a head, but it cannot move save on • its : belly,
and that belly must be kept full. -.-.-. -.•' .-. j -.^i.
It is said Queen Lil of "Hawaii is coming
over here to lecture, and, to make her pres
ence more royally realistic,' she is to wear.' a
crown while; speaking, "just as she does at
home"— except when . the - royal brain is
wooing repose and wears a night cap. . .'-ii '_
If Colonel Breckenridge had it to , do over
again,' yvell — he wouldn't do it. ' /
BRITAIN'S PRIMROSE PREMIER
Lord; Roseberry Who Has Suc
ceeded the Grand Old flan; '£; .'.', Z
HE'S A SHREWD BRAINY SCOTCHMAN.
¥-''- - .'
Uls Views on Imperil federation and
Kindred Topl^4ato^r He Regards
„. the Home Utile -Question - Hl*
f Resemblance tooPalmerston
ff .-'•'i.:; His Private Life.
-■ ■■-.--■ -rr ■.-:Qz£? i l£Tc :-'-"■-'-:-
London, April L— Now -that the fever of
uncertainty . regarding the retirement =of .
. Gladstone is ended, and the young Primrose
peer, Lord Roseber^/iiHhstalled as his sue- :
cessor, Englishmen-*.!^ beginning to breath
easier. . They are $low congratulating
themselves oh theg^ct^fiat: neither Morley
nor Harcourt wer^jSselegpied, as," in the pres
ent condition of home and foreign affairs, the
choice of RosebenyVa&4he safest that could
have been advised^ Archibald Philip Prim
rose, the new premier, is the fifth Earl of
Boseberry, the sonof the late Archibald, Lord
Dalmeny, a Scottish peer, and Lady Cather
ine Lucy Wilhelmina) daughter of Earl Stan
hope. He was born in London in 1847, and
educated "at Eton and Christ Church. ' He
succeeded to the title on 1 the death of his
grandfather, the fourth Earl of Boseberry, in
1868. The first time he spoke in public yvas
in 1871, when at the opening of parliament,
he was selected by Mr. Gladstone to second
the address in reply to the speech from the "
throne. The young nobleman took a decided
position on the question of ; national educa
tion and other measures, and gave evidence
of high talent for' statesmanship. He held
various important posts between 1874 and
1885, and in 1886 on the accession to power of
Mr. Gladstone, Boseberry filled the post of
secretary of foreign affairs, which office he
held only six months, until the fall of the
Gladstone ministry. '[[ In that short time he
won general approval for the firmness with
which he conducted the ' different questions
arising out of ' the Servo-Bulgarian war and
other European questions. When Mr. Glad
stone again became prime minister, in 1892,
Boseberry was reappointed secretary for for
eign affairs. As a debater he is both eloquent
and humorous, and Mr. Gladstone has pub
licly spoken of him as destined to play a
~ groat part in the history of the country. He
is a strong advocate of imperial federation,
and takes a great interest in all movements
for the improvement of the social condition
of the masses. c '
'An event that demonstrated Lord Rose
berry's capacity as a manager of public affairs
was his settlement of the great English coal
strike in November last. For four months
the strike had wrought misery and suffering
among the working classes. It had reached
tho proportions of a great national calamity.'.
Not only had it paralyzed one of the greatest
. industries, but it had blighted the numerous
trades whose continuance depended on a
cheap and abundant supply of fuel. A con
ference of coal-oyvners and miners, with a;
view to a settlement; was 'called, .Lord j
Boseberry, representing the government, pre
sided. After a sitting extending ' over four '■
hours and a half, it was agreed that the men
should resume work at once at the old rate :
of wages until February 1, 1894, at which
time a board of conciliation would determine j
'the rate. Before this settlement many pro
' posals and counter-proposals were made and \
discussed. Delegated on both sides spoke;
in high terms of Roseberry's impartial con- !
duct and the settlement was received' with j
great satisfaction, especially in the colliery
districts. In many places "' the ' church bells j
were rung to celebrate the event.
:r. It is well knoyvn in England that Roseberry j
was placed in the cabinet by the) direct in- ;
,- fluence of the queen, aud for the purpose of j
' maintaining conservative, traditions. „ He was \
known to bo a thorough stahvart, and al- ;
though Gladstone wanted Lord Kimberly, the •■
queen 'preferred •"Ro6eberry7 and so had her |
! . way. A repeated experience with the young, j
capable and ambitious statesman, awoke in ■
. Gladstone toward him a warm feeling of
friendship, and as the outgoing premier, ac- .
cording to ancient usage, has the privilege of |
selecting his successor, the "Grand Old Man" '
chose his younger colleague, although it was ;
; the choice least expected by many. . ;.::■ ;*. ~{
.■...': Bold though not brilliant, a master of tact,
. and with a thorough training in that school
. of diplomacy upon which England, more than :
any other European ri nation, relies for her '
future statesmen, Earl Roseberry is by.no
means to be regarded as unworthy to sit in :
the chair of Palmerston, Disraeli and Glad
at^***- Indeed, his character shows some
rORD ROSEBERRY.
remai.'ltably Palmerstonian traits, for he has
the courage of his own opinions, and he is
even apt to take a high-handed course with
parliament, on provocation. - He has the pe
culiar British bluntness which overrides
forms and ceremonies, and hits the bull's-eye
in its own way. It used to be related of Pal
merston that, when he was ambassador to
Turkey, he instructed an attache to convey
to the ',' Sultan, England's remonstrance at
some offensive official , act that had been
committed. "In English," he said, ad
dressing the attache, "You tell the Sultan
that if he doesn't come to our terms, we will
pitch him into the 101 " 118 ' Of course,"
he added, seeing a^look of pained . astonish
ment on the face of -the official, "you will tell
him this in diplonififie language." Boseberry
would be quite likely to ; follow a similar
sturdy policy in an emergency, and woujd
make little either of parliamentary or cabinet
opposition at a real pinch.
Boseberry rarely attended the meetings of
the Gladstonian cabinet, and was almost al
ways in the minority. It was the rule, rath
er than the exception, to find him opposing
Gladstone, for he iilon almost all foreign-af
fairs a stubborn ..conservative. It was an
open secret in upp^ij political circles, that the
terms upon whicii entered the. cabinet .
were that he should exercise no influence in
antagonism to Home Bule, and he, in return,
demanded that no one should interfere with
him in the foreign office. He kept ■ the for
eign policy of the. government in his own
hands, and interfered :- as little \as possible
with home affairs. : \ With Home Bule as advo
cated by Gladstone, he had no sympathy, but
Lord Lome's scheme for the complete federa
tion of the British Empire had." his .warmest
approval ; in other words." while he could not
, bring himself to support' the plan to give tho
Irish a parliament of their own, he yvas will
ing to endorse such a measure, if it were
broadened out to include parliaments for
Scotland, . for : England, for India, for Aus
tralia and for Canada. ;He held that, from
tach separate parliament, there should !**
- .. • ... .- . - - .-'zr*. - ':'■''"-." -.'•_''
elected a House to which : only peers, or men
of £ certain --'standing, should be eligible,* and
that the people^ of : these several countries
should select a Loyver House, to which
anybody they might choose should ' be : eligi
ble— these two august bodies to assemble in
parliament house asa federal council for the
whole v empire. ' His theory of government
was founded on the model of the American
constitution? 'When Lord Lome was gover
nor-general of Canada, Roseberry came over
for the purpose of studying the American
.system, - and so convinced was he .of its = ap
plicability, in a modified form, to' Britain,
that he has practically advocated the adop
tion of the federal plan ever since. His con
tention is that unless some such system is
adopted, the present structure of imperial
administration in Great Britain will fall to
• pieces of its own yveight, and the historical
experience of Rome will be repeated.
Regarding the peerage, too, the . new pre
mier holds views that shock not a few of the
bluest-blooded families in the "tight little is
land" kingdom. . Once, he even went so far
as to suggest that it might be a good plan to
leave the election of peers to the house of
commons. He is stoutly opposed to the her-
PBINCESS MAUD OF WALES.
edifary . peerage system, and believes . that
. such honors , ought to come only as the re
j cognition of most distinguished services to
the nation, if at all. To obviate the heredit
ary stumbling-block, he has even suggested
the institution of a "life-peerage" system as
a reward for eminent service. Although not
yet disposed to fully pledge himself to a pro
position so radical, still he is honestly In fav
or of the reform- of the house of lords as It
now stands, and boliovos that the desired
end might be ; reached by having members
elected to the upper house, as is now done in
Scotland," instead of hereditary membership.
It is no wonder, therefore, in vieyv of thoso
opinions, that Lord Boseberry should bo
. somewhat ofan enigma; even to his friends.
A poor opposed" to all the privileges peers
p have clung to with such tenacity for genera
• tions, a Conservative at heart, yet with strong
- ly pronounced Liberal ings, a foe to feud
alism and' land oppression, yet the uncom
;•• promising opponent of Home Bule on the
"piece-meal plan," he certainly possesses the
elements for statesmanlike surprises when
occasion Offers, and they may bo expected
during hi 3 premiership. He has, at different
times, been written down as a Badleal and.
t-a Tory ; but it is probably nearer the truth;
to say. that, while he is a Conservative out
-? right "as regards England's foreign policy, in
all else he is as progressive as the foremost
'■ Liberal. l - ; - "?~-: : - 'Tr-T' -'.
■•■';' Boseberry. is now forty-seven and looks !
younger than his age. For many years de- ;
voted to the turf, he has of late, and espec- |
ially since he "became a widower, yvithdrawn
from such pleasures to devote himself more
exclusively t©. political affairs. Whether .he
will per able, with his undoubted powera of '
". leadership and organization, to hold together
the elements of the Glajlstonian party, is
very generally doubted ; but his real political
career only begun, and he is a leader of
many resources. It has been said that Bose
berry thrives on opposition. He stands for
the empire and for the "Greater England,''
and if - his presence in Gladstone's cabinet
was the means of reassuring the country as
to the firmness and wisdom of the foreign
policy of the government, so in all likelihood,
'his premiership will still more strongly chal
lenge the public support, especially in view
of the present ' condition of affairs abroad.
Strong in nearly all points wherein Gladstone
was weak, he has the. confidence of the upper
classes and the undisguised admiration of a
very large proportion of the whole people.
The married life of Lord Boseberry, while
it lasted,. was . like a romance. Hannah de
Bothschild, his wife, to whom he was wedded
in 1878, was the only child of . the late Baron
Mayer de Bothschild. She died in Novem
ber, 1890. She was the first Jewish lady to
wed a British peer. . Her great wealth — esti
mated at $20,000,000— magnificence of
her town residence in London, and the
splendid, castle-like establishment " she in
herited at Mentmore, in Buckinghamshire,
added to her husband's brilliant political po
sition and prospects, would have afforded
most women an enviable field for display and
influence.. But Lady Boseberry did not care
; to become a factor in society, and although
amiable and accomplished, she preferred tiie
domestic circle to , publio life. She wor
• shipped her husband, adored her two sons
and daughters, and concerned herself much
with charities, to which she was a most lib
eral patroness. A recent rumor runs to the
effect that Lord Boseberry will soon wed the
Princess Maud of Wales. However, it lacks
confirmation and should be taken with a lib
eral grain of allowance.
: : T -';'.'." r r" . Edward HILDANE.
The Germans have alwas been, and are
now, the most skilful wood engravers in the
world. "
One can always tell . a New York - anglo
maniac by the exuberance of his spirits when
ever there is a particular heavy fog. .■ . ■ ■
It is said that male mosquitoes do not bite,
' from which scientific fact it is safe to infer
that the males die in. early childhood, and
that.none are born in New Jersey. - ** . ; :
-." William Waldorf Astor, who receives from
his American tenants $27,000,000 a year, has
become disgusted with the United States and
will henceforth make his home in England, j
Henry Irving and his company during
the past twenty-six weeks have taken in over
$500,000 of good American money. Of course,
he likes this country and he is . coming back
next year with an English company as usuaL
; Portias are bobbing up irrepressibly. A.
Lancaster (Pa.) girl has been permitted to
register as a law student. . ,Let the magnani
mity of man give the girls all the rope they
; yvant, even if they do hang themselves with
it. And since this matter of woman's rights
is to the fore, let her stand for . the - right to
■ dangle from a strap in a street car. The gen
erous sort of a man yvill recognize her equality.
In France the only presents a young woman j
• will receive from her fiance are flowers, and
she does J hot look for. them in the winter
season when they come high. We do j not
; 100k ._' favorably on French fashions or cus
: toms," but in the interest of impecunious
. lovers, and * that means t the „ : majority, we -
j strongly advocate the introduction of this in
! expensive, poetic, and altogether delightful
EDISON'S LATEST INVENTION.'
The Kinetoscope and the Marvels
it Accomplishes.
INTERESTING CHAT WITH THE WIZARD.
He Galls His Latest Work a Toy Bnt
. Grows Enthusiastic Over What he <
Hopes todo With it in tlie Tittup ■
—Some of its Uses Forecast ■-■'-':
by. the Wizard
"The kinetoscope does for the eye what
the phonograph does for the ear." That is a
phrase yvhioh has . often been on the lips of
Thomas A. Edison during the ; past several
weeks, and it conveys an idea which has been
very much in his mind for several years. It
is a' perfect epigrammatic, definition of his
latest invention, for it is a fact that the kino
toscope reproduces the eye effect of motion
Justus the phonograph reproduces to the ear
the effect of sound. ■ How this is done and
what the machine that does it is like, it is tlio
purpose of this article to tell. "~
, Several days ago the writer called by ap
,. pointment at the Edison laboratory in West
. Orange, N. J., and sent his card up to Mr.
Edison, -Mr. Edison sent, back word that
W. lv, L, Dickson would ahoy? and explain
the kiuetosoope to me and that afteryvard he
himself would talk with me about it, Mr
Dickson is one of Mr. Edison's right-hand
men, and a history of the kinetoscope would
be incomplete without seme account of hia
connection wilh it. Ho is an electrical engi
neer, and has had much to do with the devel
opment of the ore separator on which Mr,
Edison is now ; working, t He is also a flue
chemist, and one of the greatest experts in
photography in the world, A flno biography
. of Mr, Edison hits recently oome from his
. pea and that of his sister, Mi.as Autonia Dick,
eon, Between six and . seven years ago Mr,
Edison formulated the problem the result of
" whioh is the kinetoscope, and communicated
it to Mr. Dickson. - Binoe then thoy have
boon developing the idea, and although their
experiments are not yet carried to their con
clusion, they have reached a point where Mr,
Edison is yvilling that the publio should see
what they have done, '.-• '
Mr. Diekson greeted . me cordially, and
pointed to an oak cabinet .standing in tha
middle of one of > the rooms of the photo
graph department," It yvas the kinetoscope
In appearance It is very like the nlckei-in-the-.
Slot phonograph, .with yvhioh most yeopb tU'd
0 * vll
' .-•' ' !::• i . ■'-: ' ."" ' :'■ :'"■.■
THOMAS A. -EDISON,
airoaay familiar, : .If an oak • parlor organ
with the keys 'covered were reduced some
what in size, it would look somewhat like the
kinetosoopo.y Mr. Dickson took a piece of
brass exactly the size of a nickel and dropped
it into the slot, while I looked into a glass in
top. An electric light yvas burning inside,
and the noise of rapidly running machinery
was audible. \ The scene that yvas reproduced
was that of a harbor shop, and a placard on
the wall Informed the observer that It was
; "The Latest Wonder, Shave and Haircut for
" a Nickel." •' It pictured .a. man . being shaved
while two others eat by and enjoyed a joke
which one of them had discovered in a comlo
paper. All the movements of the different
persons seen were reproduced clearly and
precisely as they took place before tho cam
era. This ia the picture that has been shown
oftenest to those who have looked into the
kinetoscope. Many other pictures are ready
to bo put into the marvelous instrument, and
before long twenty-five of the machines will
have boon sold and stationed In public places,
where any one may enjoy thorn for five cents
a look.
The kinetoscope Is a sequel to the kineto
graph, the invention of which yvas announced
some time ago. The business of the kineto
graph is to take the pictures, and tlie func
tion of the kinetoscope is to display thorn to
the eye, one after another, so rapidly that
they all seem like one scene, with the figures
moving about as they do in actual life. The
forerunner of these inventions was the zeo
trope, a child's toy which passed bofore the
gaze of the beholder four pictures in a seo
ond, and created a semblance of the effect of
motion. Then Muybrldge got a battery of
cameras that would take from eighteen to
twenty impressions in a second. But neither
of these was quick enough to deceive the
human eye that is to say, If eighteen or
twenty pictures a second were presented to
the sight the eye could easily detect when
one went and another came.' Mr. Edison
discovered that, in order to create the illu
sion of a stationary or continuous picture,
forty-six views would have to be presented
every second, and each one of them would
have to pause about the one-forty-sixth part
of a second, and then be replaced by the next
in the one hundred and eighty-fifth part of a
second. This is the rate at which the im
pressions are received by the kinetograph,
and reproduced by the kinetoscope. In the
■ kinetoscope every picture must stop in ex
actly the same place as every other picture.
If it did not there would be a tremor which
the eye would notice, and the illusion would
be dispelled. . [ . Z ' Zi i'^'i
Suppose, for example, it were desired to
show a man in the act of taking" a step. While
he was moving his foot through the air a
EDISON'S BLACK MARIA.
number of pictures would be recorded, each
one of which would' show the foot and the
whole of his body in a slightly different posi
tion, as the step progressed. The series of
pictures would- be' passed before the eye so
rapidly that only one picture would appear,
and there would be a perfect reproduction of
the step. '.'• ' ■" * '■ 14;' '■•'.--.-■; '■
The kinetoscope runs about thirty seconds
every time" a nickel is dropped into it, and in
that time, it will be seen, more than a thou
sand separate views are slid under the little
glass window in the top. ' ; i ■.':■''_'. ' "■ '-*'", -
As we left the building in which the kineto
scope stood Mr. Dickson pointed -' to the re
markable photographio theatre in which the
kinetograph does 1 its work. It is called the
"Black Maria," and It is so arranged upon a
pivot and a track that one can easily move lt
around to the position required to meet the
light of the sun. We : then - walked .to tha
room on ; the second floor of the laboratory in
which Mr. Edison was sitting. , *;■&?■ i*v*f ''
l He was deep in thought, and did not seem
to notice that we had entered ; but when Mr.
Dickson spoke ■'. to him he . drew two chairs
close together, sat down ; on one, bade me be
seated on the other, and signified that he was
ready to be questioned. .I--
It is said to be a peculiarity of Mr. Edison's
habit of thought that he cares comparatively
little for yvhat he has done, and . dwells yvith
pleasure on the prospect of what he is about
to do. This would seem, to be true with re
gard to his estimate of the kinetoscope.. He
speaks of the niekel-in-the-slot machine that
we have just been considering as though it
were a mere toy, but becomes enthusiastic in
unfolding the future greatness of the inven
tion.
"Mr. Edison," said I, "what do you expeot
to accomplish in the development of the
kinetoscope?"' ' Z'ZZZH
"I expect to be able to reproduce a whole
opera, showing the people on the stago in
their natural size and moving around, and to
make their voices heard just they sang and
talked. I expect to be ablo to show any cele
brated orator on the platform delivering a
speech, so that people may see how lie looked
and acted. and hoar the sound of his voice.
This I will do by throwing the scenes from
the kinetoscope on a large screen by means
of a steroopticon, and having the sounds is
sue from a phonograph at tho proper moment
to comport with the movements of those who
made them.
"I may say that this has already been done.
Doyyu in the library perhaps you noticed a
large white screen, extending across one end
of tho room, wound upon a ratchet roller.
I have also a stereopticon, and with these,
the ldiietosoope and the phonograph, we have
reached some very satisfactory results. It
will be some time, however, before we secure
tliat absolute perfection which we. aim to
achieve before yye give any public exhibi
tions, You should see the figures on the
screen," said he, with a glow of pardonable
pride, showing that he contemplated that
part of hia yvork yvith sincere pleasure,
"The pictures that are taken at present for
the kinetoscope are one Inch by throe-quar
ters of an inch in size. The difficulty in
creases with the dimensions of the picture,
because the larger the picture Is the further
it must move during the fraction of a second
that elapses botween the time one view dis
appears and another takes its place. We ex
pect, however, to bo able to work success
fully with pioturos au inch and a half high,
and that, we think, will be tlio limit of the
possibilities of the kinetoscope." . [■_■ .> :
"Do you expect to make any money out of
this invention?" ,- r
"No, I do not see yvhere there Is anything
to be made out of it, I liavo boon largely in
fluenced by sentiment in the prosecution of
this design. But," said he, yvith; a merry
twinkle in his eye, "as I have no steam yacht,
or fast horses, or anything of that sort, I
thought I could afford to sink a little money
in tho kinetoscope, . . >?c ! ;>- -;i
"Although it occurred to me six or seven
years ago that something might be done in
this way, tlie broad idea, as I have stated it
to you, came to me only four or five years
ago, and for the past two years wo have boon
working at it diligently. My. first experi
ments in this direction were conducted with
a phonograph and a micro-camera. ..
"That little niekel-in-the-slot affair is only
intended to let the people know.-what our
ideals." " ■:':'; : j:-'. :-'.-.;■ -';.; ...,. .-.- :
Two men engaged in wrestling are shown
in one of the series of illustrations that accom
pany the klnetoscopee. They were photo
graphed in the "Black Maria" by the kineto
graph and the kinetoscope portrays the yvhole
bout from beginning to end, with overy move
that tho yvrostlers made. As the struggle
carried them about over considerable space
they were placed at quite a distance from the
camera, and their figures aro smaller than
those of Sundow, whioh form another series
of illustrations. 'Z -Z-- •■<•& -.■"'•': "•-:'.'
Sandow, the strong man, is an intimate
friend of Mr. Dickson, which accounts for
his being the first celebrity to have his fame
/ s^~ " S \^ «K>( ' "in ••
I \\ V* v
■ • '
SANDOW.
perpetuated by the kinetoscope. ; The pictur
shown herewith is only one of a hundred
of which include Sandow's ;: complete per
formance. It has been stated tliat Sand
was photographed while holding Mr. Edison
out at arm's length with one finger, but this
is not true. Sandow could easily have done
it, even had Mr. Edison been a much heavier
man than he is, aud during his visit to the
laboratory it was suggested that such a pict
ure should be taken, but for some, reason or
other the idea was not carried out.
During the experiments that were made
with the kinetograph an incident occurred
that was calculated to test the nerves of those
who took, part in it. It was decided to at
tempt to photograph a bullet fired from a
rifle while it was flying through the air, and
this was accomplished; but as the same
thing has been done by others, Mr. Edison
and Mr. Dickson claim no credit for original
ity in their success. A bullet was heated
white-hot, and a charge of poyvdor was
poured into a rifle barrel. The bullet was
then put into the muzzle of the gun and al
lowed to roll until it reached the poyvder,
which instantly ignited and sent the ball fly
ing through the room yvithin range of the
kinetograph. This delicate operation had to
be repeated three times before a good im
pression could be obtained, and, as may be
imagined, it was mighty ticklish busin
These inventions, the kinetograp?^ he
kinetoscope and the phono-kinetoscope, put
Mr. Edison as certainly in the foremost place
among photographers and electro-photogra
phers as the other products of his genius
entitle him to rank first in the school of elec- .
tricians. It is difficult, while the revelation
is fresh in our thoughts and neyv to our un
derstanding, to estimate what -the kineto
scope yvill contribute to the progress of sci
ence and the education of man. It will dis
close movements that hitherto have eluded
the eye, and as to which speculation has been
misleading, and it will make the great loaders
of the present live again in the future as
their contemporaries see and know them.
What other uses will be foiuid for it it is too
early to say. That it will ; enhance Mr. Edi
son's fame and increase _ the sum of the
world's debt to him is beyond question".
._£.,_ - George M. Smith. ,
One of the best remedies for a sore throat
is four teaspoonfuls of cider vinegar, four of
water, one of salt and a small pinch of pep
per. Gargle every hour. ..,- • .... . ..~~~ "" .
j General McClellan's son is acting i mayor of
New York, an excellent young man, but bis
■ political promotion is not due to his excell
ence.' "And yet we cry down . hereditary',
rulers.' . - iii_. : [[i. ' ■
■IT