Semi-weekly south Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1883-1889, 1886-09-21
JOHN B. COUGHS LAST AND
BEST BOOK.
Platform Echoes.

oG0i oSS4A'
Platform Echoes.
This new and splendidly illustrated |
volume is the last book written by |
the world-famous John i. Cough,
and was completed by him just prev
ious to his death. Every one is IA
miliar with the story of his early life,
and of his rescue from drunkard's !
grave, and how this once wretched
and despised sot became one Of the
most famous men Of our time, For
seven years he stood amid the hor-
rors of delirium tremens, an abJect
slave to the bottle; and his condition
and wretched appearance were such
as to cause people to exclaim, There's
the man who has been in hell" The
rich and poor, the high, the low, the
learned and unlearned, have been
alike thrilled and moved by his burn
ing words. lie swayed brilliant au-
diences of royalty and fashion; spoke
in State prisons, iails, poor houses,
penitentiaries, reform schools, and
houses of correction; TO the deal, and
dumb, and blind; to audiences COM
posed wholly of outcasts and to au-
diences numbering thousands OF
children. At his feet more than ten
million people sat and listened in adj
miration and wonder. In his library
may be seen set of large volumes
Far better memorial Of his life and
Iabors than any monument OF marble
or bronze-containing the original
signatures of one hundred and fifty
thousand men and women who were
induced to sign the pledge through
his personal efforts. These names
many of them tear believed and
written with trembling hand-repre-
sent stories of happiness and woe, of
ruin and remorse, of blighted hopes
and wasted lives, of battles fought
and victory won. To give some of
these thrilling life histories to depict
scenes of joy and sadness to lift the
certain OH lile's stage and show its
tragedy and comedy; and to draw
''living truths" from the lessons thus
taught, and bring them home to every
heart, is the prime object of this vol
ume. 1t also contains the history of
Mr.. Coughs life and career with the
story of his death, by Rev.Dr. Lyman
Abbott, the eminent editor and di-
vine.
"Platform Echoes" is John B.
Cough in PRINT. In it he has given
to the world in permanent form his
, best thoughts, his most touching
tales, his most stirring anecdotes and
, incidents, his most telling stories. AS
story teller he has never been
equailed. But whether he narrates g
: story of mirth or of sorrow, it is al
i ways to illustrate great and living
truths. Stranger stories are herr
e told than romance ever dreamed of
every one of them drawn from rea
fe by master hand. In ever.
), chapter he weavesin anecdote afte
v anecdote, incident after incident, stO
ry after story, and underneath then
9 all lie Living Truths" that stant
a out as beacon lights. lie plays upoi
i, the readers feelings as with an en-
\ chanter's wand, at one time tillinI
% his heart with gladness, at anothe
" binding his eyes with tears. AT hi
# bidding, hearts are melted, and sterI
: strong men, as well as sensitive VIC
70 men, weep tears. of compassion, ar
Il aroused to Indignation, or moved
10 uncomfortable laughter in spite {
" every effort to control their feeling
in Now that the silver tongue is s
70 lent, "Platform Echoes" is the richie
70 literary legacy of John B. Goug
ny The aroma of his inimitable hume
no the felicity of his descriptions, Il
~ adroitness and skill which euab
ID him to captivate and then captu
in hearts OH both sides of the sea are +
" produced upon these pages. The o
n ator and dramatist, the philanthrol
in list and the reformer, for he was a
~ these, are portrayed here in the fire.,
g dom and spontaneity of autObit
~ graphy. The book is what its nan
- indicates real "Echos" of the ma
"a whose death humanity mours.
~ lis illustrations are the best v
ID have ever seen. 1t contains tN
nv hundred and twenty-seven fine e.
~ cravings by the bost artists and e.
o C grayers in the world. Many af the
u illustration are "too funny for an
thing" while others depict wretche,
,s ness and woe. Sixteen of these e.
,is cravings are full-page ones, and a
" magnificent specimens of art. Tv
- hundred and nine are next illustr
~, tons. There are two fine steel-pla
no portraits. One is from life-size flu
VIZ length painting, showing Mr.. Goue
M as he appeared shortly after h
80 rescue. The other is from pilot
IN graph taken just before his deaf
~ All in all, it is one of the finest ev,
-, produced by the American press.
ns We advise our readers to buy Pla
ne form Echoes at the first opportunit
Of They can, in our opinion, much be
o o ter afford to dispense with a doz,
,m other books than not possess tn
Of Once begun it will not willingly
laid aside fill the last maze is finishe