The Arkansaw traveler., 1889-01-26
Recited to the Criminals.
New York Tribune.

New York Tribune.
George Riddle, the Boston elocutionist. went up
to the Elmira reformatOry the other day To talk
TO the prisoners. The experience a novel one.
Tribune reporter met Mr.. Riddle at the Lyceum
theatre day or two ago, and heard all about il
from his own lips. This is what he said
81 have read nearly a thousand times before all
kinds OF audiences. | frightened before my
first public reading, terrified before the first per-
Torrance of tie Greek play, nervous when read
to the occult Browning society of Boston; but
can't recall a state of fear and apprehension that
would express my condition when realized that
had accepted the invitation TO appear before the
500 or more inmates of the reformatory.
Il promised to give one reading sunday after
noon and another in the evening. The first ques-
ton that bothered me was, What shall read?'
Mr.. Brockway, the superintendent, assured me that
the audience would be attentive, and that no one
could go out. Knowing that human nature is the
same everywhere. | decided to start with some
thin" humorous. and chose IIowels' Sleeping Car
TO put my hearers in good humor.
1.-The reformatory is n half hours drive from
Elmira and as | approached the browning walls of
the prison my first impulse was TO drive back to
the city nj once. IL suddenly occurred TO me that
nearly every selection that | had made contained
illusions TO burglars and robbers. | remembered
the caution of the physicians at lunatic asylum
where once read not to give any thing containing
mention of home and | remembered also that a
lunatic insisted on believing that the pope of
Rome, and would not be comforted until | had
blessed her. SO my mind WAS filled with anxiety
until was assured by the genial Mr.. Brockway
that the prisoners not sensitive about illusions
TO burglars, robbers, and so forth.
Il assembled 10 the lecture room in the same
elevator in which Grover Cleveland stuck fast
when, as governor, he visited the reformatory
What sight the audience was! Eight hundred
Young men. most of them between the ages of
thirteen and thirty, sat before me- Only the pris-
oners of the third lowest grade, wore the regu-
lation conviets' garb and must say that the Vene-
tan reds of their dress were picturesque The reds
were in a body on my left, and the pale blue uni
on the right, while the gallery filled with men
of the second grade. Most of the faces keen
and intelligent, and | noticed the fresh, healthy
compilations of the men, which were in marked
contrast TO the usual solemn hue of prisoners
"'Men, give you a riddle TO guess was the
introduction | received to my audience. a recep-
ton? Well, rather. | was put at my ease at once
! opened, as | had intended, with the Sleeping
Car and Mr.. Howells' farce never had more
appreciatiye hearing. The allnsion 10 train rob
bers received with yells of delight But the
climax of applause was reserved for Shakespeare
and Browning's How They Brought the Good
News For moment | thought myself in Bos-
ton. 'Wolsey's Downfall and Marc Antonys
Speech over Caesars Body were also received with
rapture. The cries of the mob in the latter piece
seemed TO please the audience particularly and the
final shouts of PLUCK down forms, benches, any
thing were almost drowned by the apparent
element of the men.
sympathetic galley gods Here Pelion
O:sa, with Ossa a wart in comparison. In The
Boat Race from Robert Grants Jack Hail. i
introduced some of the late election cries, such
in the soup and Hes all right The audience
was perfectly familiar with them. In fact, moth
ing had to be explained in the entire programme"