Chapter I: Front Matter

ECCENTRICITIES OF GENIUS

PRINTED BY
SPOTTISWOODE AND CO. LTD., NEW-STREET SQUARE
LONDON

_Faithfully Yours
J. B. Pond_
]

ECCENTRICITIES
OF GENIUS

BY

MAJOR J. B. POND

WITH 91 PORTRAITS

LONDON

CHATTO & WINDUS

1901

COPYRIGHT, 1900, BY
G. W. DILLINGHAM COMPANY, NEW YORK

To

GEORGE R. PECK.

A TRUE FRIEND,
A TRUE GENTLEMAN,
A GREAT LAWYER,
AND MY IDEAL ORATOR,

I Dedicate this Book.

J. B. POND.

CONTENTS

ORATORS

PAGE

The Triumvirate of Lecture Kings, 1

John B. Gough, 3

Wendell Phillips, 7

William Lloyd Garrison, 13

Charles Sumner, 14

Chauncey M. Depew, 17

Gen. Horace Porter, 23

Col. Robert G. Ingersoll, 27

Frederick Douglass, 29

Booker T. Washington, 31

PULPIT ORATORS

Rev. Henry Ward Beecher, 37

Rev. Dr. Lyman Abbott, 77

Rev. Newell Dwight Hillis, 83

Rev. Dr. Joseph Parker, 85

Rev. T. De Witt Talmage, 91

Rev. Charles H. Spurgeon, 112

Rt. Rev. Bishop Henry C. Potter, 121

Very Rev. S. Reynolds Hole, 122

Rt. Rev. Dr. Boyd Carpenter, Bishop of Ripon, 130

Very Rev. Charles William Stubbs, D.D., 132

WOMEN LECTURERS AND SINGERS

Susan B. Anthony, 144

Julia Ward Howe, 147

Anna E. Dickinson, 152

Mary Livermore, 155

Lucy Stone, 161

Clara Louise Kellogg, 163

Emma Abbott, 166

Helen Potter, 170

Annie Grey, 172

Maud Ballington Booth, 177

Mary Proctor, 178

HUMORISTS

Josh Billings, 185

Thomas Nast, 188

Petroleum V. Nasby, 192

Samuel L. Clemens, 197

Mark Twain and George W. Cable, 231

Mark Twain, Nasby, and Josh Billings, 232

Paul Blouet (Max O’Rell), 234

Bill Nye, 237

James Whitcomb Riley, 241

EXPLORERS, TRAVELLERS, AND WAR CORRESPONDENTS

Sir Henry M. Stanley, 263

George Kennan, 289

Frederick Villiers, 291

Dr. Frederick A. Cook, 293

Robert E. Peary, 295

Capt. Joshua Slocum, 299

John L. Stoddard, 302

ACTORS AND DRAMATIC CRITICS

Joseph Jefferson, 305

William Winter, 306

Sir Henry Irving, 312

Charlotte Cushman, 315

Ellen Terry, 319

LITERARY LECTURERS

Matthew Arnold, 323

John Boyle O’Reilly, 326

Hamilton W. Mabie, 329

Ralph Waldo Emerson, 330

William Dean Howells, 333

George William Curtis, 341

MISCELLANEOUS

Henry Watterson, 345

The Hon. William Parsons, 347

William E. Gladstone, 348

P. T. Barnum, 350

George H. Daniels, 355

Ed. Heron-Allen, 367

Patrick Sarsfield Gilmore, 361

Elbert Hubbard, 368

AUTHOR READERS AND LECTURERS

Sir Edwin Arnold, 375

The Rev. Dr. John Watson (“Ian Maclaren”), 405

Hall Caine, 452

F. Marion Crawford, 455

Gen. Lew Wallace, 465

Israel Zangwill, 469

William Webster Ellsworth, 474

Anthony Hope Hawkins, 477

George W. Cable, 490

Walt Whitman, 497

Dr. A. Conan Doyle, 503

Joaquin Miller, 510

Alexander Black, 512

Ernest Seton-Thompson, 515

William Henry Drummond, D.D., 519

John Fox, Jr., 523

Thomas Nelson Page, 521

Rudyard Kipling, 525

GENERAL SURVEY OF THE LYCEUM FIELD

James Redpath, 533

The Lyceum, 539

Ole Bull, 545

Index, 555

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

J. B. Pond, _Frontispiece_

PAGE

Ann Eliza Young, xxi John B. Gough, 2 Wendell Phillips, 7 William Lloyd Garrison, 13 Charles Sumner, 14 Chauncey M. Depew, 17 Gen. Horace Porter, 23 Col. Robert G. Ingersoll, 27 Frederick Douglass, 29 Booker T. Washington, 31 Henry Ward Beecher, 37, 41 Lyman Abbott, 77 Newell Dwight Hillis, 83 Rev. Dr. Joseph Parker, 85 T. DeWitt Talmage, 91 Charles H. Spurgeon, 112 Rt. Rev. Henry C. Potter, 121 Very Rev. S. Reynolds Hole, Dean of Rochester, 122 Dr. Boyd Carpenter, Bishop of Ripon, 130 Very Reverend Charles William Stubbs, D.D., Dean of Ely, 132 Susan B. Anthony, 144 Julia Ward Howe, 147 Anna E. Dickinson, 152 Mary A. Livermore, 154 Miss Lucy Stone, 161 Clara Louise Kellogg, 163 Emma Abbott, 167 Miss Helen Potter’s Impersonation of John B. Gough, 170 Annie Gray, 172 Mrs. Maud Ballington Booth, 177 Miss Mary Proctor, 178 Josh Billings, 185 Thomas Nast, 188 Petroleum V. Nasby, 192 Mark Twain, 197 Keeping the Letter of the Contract, 208 The Last Snapshot Before the _Warrimoo_ Sailed, 224 Mark Twain and George W. Cable, 231 Mark Twain, Nasby, and Josh Billings, 232 Max O’Rell (Paul Blouet), 234 Nye and Riley, 237 The Nye-Riley Program, with Mr. Riley’s Decorations, 242 Henry M. Stanley, 263 George Kennan, 289 Frederick Villiers, 291 Dr. Frederick A. Cook, 293 Robert E. Peary, 295 Mrs. Peary, 297 Capt. Joshua Slocum, 299 John L. Stoddard, 302 Joseph Jefferson, 305 William Winter, 306 Sir Henry Irving, 312 Miss Charlotte Cushman, 315 Miss Ellen Terry, 319 Matthew Arnold, 323 John Boyle O’Reilly, 326 Mr. Hamilton W. Mabie, 329 Ralph Waldo Emerson, 330 William Dean Howells, 333 George William Curtis, 341 Henry Watterson, 345 Hon. William Parsons, 347 William E. Gladstone, 348 P. T. Barnum, 350 Mr. George H. Daniels, 355 Mr. Ed. Heron-Allen, 357 Patrick Sarsfield Gilmore, 361 Elbert Hubbard, 368 Sir Edwin Arnold, 375 Dr. John Watson (“Ian Maclaren”), 405 Hall Caine, 452 F. Marion Crawford, 455 Gen. Lew Wallace, 465 Israel Zangwill, 469 William Webster Ellsworth, 474 Anthony Hope Hawkins, 477 George W. Cable, 490 Walt Whitman, 497 A. Conan Doyle, 503 Joaquin Miller, 510 Alexander Black, 512 Ernest Seton-Thompson, 515 William Henry Drummond, D.D., 519 Thomas Nelson Page, 521 John Fox. Jr., 523 Rudyard Kipling, 525 James Redpath, 533 Ole Bull and His Wife, 545

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.

I want to acknowledge, with thanks, the kind permission of _The Cosmopolitan Magazine_ and _The Saturday Evening Post_ to reprint in this book parts of articles originally published in those periodicals; also the kind permission of the photographers, Rockwood and Falk, of New York; Gutekunst, of Philadelphia; Wood, of Chicago; Taber, of San Francisco; Elliott & Fry, Lombardi & Co., Alfred A. Ellis, Barraud, and Window & Grove, of London, to reproduce several of their copyrighted photographs for this book.

J. B. POND.