The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1891-12-01

yeHTS eUlCOT Ol udS lnct
most of the men that have been prominent
during the last quarter of a century and
had an intimate acquaintance with many oil
them. In recent conversation he said:
''I knew Wendell Phillips well, and saw
him many times at his house in Boston.
In talking with him / always used to try
to get a position between him and the
| light, in order that l might the better
watch the play of his features. No other
! face that | have ever seen remains so
| well pictured in my mind as his. He
was dignifled in manner, but kind and
sympathetic. In private conversation be
| spoke in a low tone and without emotion,
and but for the occasional flashes in his
eye one would not suspect the fires that
| burned within him. While on the public
! platform no term of reproach was too Sc
we're for the man whose course he dis
| liked; in the privacy of his own house no
one could be more gentle in speaking of
an opponent. He was perfectly aware of
the pleasing qualities of his figure and
voice, and was almost jealous of them;
that is, he was annoyed because his audi
ences were conscious of them. He wished
his bearers to be entirely occupied with
the thought that he had to express.
'Oratory tn his mind was means, not
an end, and when it made itself apparent
to the eye and the ear it was in his judg-
ment oYerdone On one occasion he said
to me: Il have never gone before the pub
lie till have become so full of a subject
that | could contain my feelings no longer.
Then | have tried to speak very directly
and simply, as though / were talking to a
small company of friends, but always the
newspapers the next day have said that
have made another great oratorical effort. ;
"Henry Ward Beecher was certainly the
most interesting man that l have ever
met. While in the cases of most persons
of reputation the greatness that COM
mandS admiration at first loses something
of its impressiveness upon acquaintance,
Mr. Beecher'S strength constantly grew
upon one as time gave the opportunity to
see the many sides of his wonderfully
original mind. AT bis Brooklyn house he
always received his more intimate friends
in the family sitting room, declaring that
he never felt quite at home in the drawing
room. There, curled up at one end of a
sofa, with his visitor before him at the
other, he would give full vent TO his bril-
liant conversational powers, playing all
over and about a subject, as though he
thoroughly enjoyed to make use Of his
ready command of language.
"Once l said to him, perhaps little flip
PANTY, that certain theological positions
that he had been stating were not very well
established, when he retorted instantly,
We'll, what is well established" and he
took up all the popular scientific and philo-
sOphical theories IN turn, and poured upon
them such a food of witty criticism that
at the time felt that | could never after
ward quite safely put trust in any teaching.
He always intended to fix upon the subject
of his Sunday mornings discourse early in
the week previous, in order that ne might
have several days in which to turn it over
in his mind, but on one Saturday morning
he told me that he had not the smallest
idea as to what he should speak upon on
the next day. l asked him how he sue
ceeded In such cases, and he answered, Obi
l come out all right. When | hear that
great organ behind me, and see before me
all those expectant eyes, l always find some
thing to say
"He could, he said, speak safely without
preparation on any ordinary occasion, pro-
vided that at the beginning he had clearly
in mind the conclusion TO which he wished
to arrive. He declared, however, that he
was never altogether free from stage
fright; that his knees always shook little
when he went upon platform. In few
instances he had become completely en-
tranced while speaking, losing hot only
consciousness of all surrounding objects,
but the power to remember afterward
what he had said. He told me that his
sensations on those occasions were of a rush
of blood upward as new ideas came to him,
and then feeling that he had lost his
body and had only head. Afterward he
would find himself seated, covered with
cold perspiration, and see his hearers lean
ing forward in their seats and looking at
him with close attention.
"He was known to disbelieve the doc
trine of everlasting future punishment,
and I urged him to state his views at length
in the periodical that was then conduct
ing. He consented on condition that a
paper defending the dogma should be OBJ
tanned from DR.. Shedd and published in
advance of his own. Or. Shedd prepared
his argument at once, but Mr.. Beecher de-
layed, and finally | adopted the plan of
dunuing him regularly, wherever he might
be, for the promised article. He made a
when he reached Leadville, Colo, he found
one >of my reminders of his delinquency
awaiting him He answered: L have re.
ceived your telegram, again beseeching me
to explode hell. But have been to Salt
Lake City, and am now at Leadville, and
am not half so sure of my ground as was.
After all, Shedd may be right
Professor Z. l. Youmans, the founder
4 e. d.
Ilar Science Monthly, short time before |
his death told me an interesting mentalex- |
perience that he had had. Before Richard |
Proctor's popular scientific books had |
appeared or any other important effort had 1
been made to treat astronomical facts in |
way to interest the general public, the pro- |
lessor delivered, for the benefit of some |
worthy cause, in little chapel in Brook |
yu, lecture on the SUI. II described |
With a great dea, of enthusiasm SONS stcik- |
ng discoyscies that had theu just beea /
made, AMI produced a great impression |
lpon his hearers. Sooa afterv4ci ap- /
,earsd in Nav York city man from oae |
# the large towns in the western part OF |
he state. representing q lyceum that had
ost its leading speaker by il.aess jus, on
he eve of the beginning OF its yearly |
curse.
This man applied to Cough, Beecher,
Phillips and the other lyceum stars of the
ime, aud found them ali engaged; then he
leard of the Brooklyn lecture on the sun,
md called upon Professor Youmans. The
professor WAS reluctant to speak under
uch circumstances. He declared that ne
vas not professional lecturer, aud that
lie should be sure TO disappoint an audi
nee that was accustomed to hear an orator
u an opening night