The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1888-02-17
John a. COUGHS LAST. ANIL
HEsT BOOK. PLATFORM
ECHOES."

This new and splendidly illustrated
volume is the last book written by the
world famous John b. Cough, and was
completed by him just previous to his
death. Every one is familiar with the
story OF his early life, and of his rescue
from drunkard's grave, and how this
once wretched and despised sut became
one OF the most famous men OF our time.
For seven years he stood amid the hor-
rors OF deiirlum 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 burning words. He
swaved brilliant audiences of royalty
and fashion; spoke in State prisons,
jails, poor-houses, penitentiaries, reform
schools. and houses of correction; to the
deaf, and dumb, and blind; to audiences
composed wholly of outcasts; and to
audiences numbering thousands of chill
dren. AT his feet more than ten million
people sat and listened in admiration
and wonder. In his library may be seen
Il set of large volumes-a far better me-
mortal of his life and labors than any
monument Of marble or bronze-con-
tanning 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-be-
dewed and written with trembling hand
represent 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 curtain on
| life's stage and show its tragedy and
comedy; and to draw Giving truths
from the lessons thus taught, and bring
them home to every heart, is the prime
object of this volume 1t also contains
the history of Mr.. Coughs life and ca
reer, from the cradle to the grave, and
the story of his death told by Rev. DR..
Lyman Abbott, the eminent editor and
| divine.
Platform Echoes" is John b. Cough
in print. Stranger stories are here told
! thar romance ever dreamed of. every
one of them drawn from real life by a
master hand. In every chapter he
weaves in anecdote after anecdote, incl
dent after incident, story after story
and underneath them all lie "Livine
Truths" that stand out as beacon lights
He plays upon the readers feelings az
with an enchanter's wand, at one time
filing his heart with gladness, at anoth'
er binding his eyes with tears. At his
bidding, hearts are melted, and stern
strong men, as well as sensitive women
week tears of compassion, are aroused
to indignation, or moved to uncontrolla
BILE laughter in spite of every effort tC
control their feelings. .....
Its illustrations are the best we have
ever seen. 1t contains two hundred and
twenty seven fine engravIngs by the
best artists and engravers in the world
Many of these illustrations are "too fun
ny for anything" while others depic
wretchedness and woe. Sixteen of these
engravings are full-page ones, and are
magnificent specimens of art. Two hun
dred and nine are text illustrations
There are two fine steel. plate portraits
One is from a life-size full length paint
ing, showing Mr.. Cough as he appeared
shortly after his rescue. The other il
from photograph taken just before hi'
death. All in all. it is one of the fines
ever produced by the American press
We advise our readers to buy "Plat.
form Echoes" at the first opportunity
They can, in our opinion, much better
afford to dispense with dozen Other
books than not possess this. Once be
gun it will not willingly be laid aside til
the last page is finished.