Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-03-01
AN ALL-NIGHT CROWD,
Waiting to Secure Tickets to the
StOddard Lectures.

Tickets-tickets for good seats and tick
cts for bad ones, tickets for the gallery.
tickets for the balcony, tickets for the
floor. tickets of any sort. just so they
were tickets for the magnetic Stoddard,
were the pot of gold which made the
Academy of Music the Mecca Of an eager
crowd through the long hours of last night
and most of this morning.
Stoddard is a great man to draw
crowd and the rush for seats is never
mere interesting in this city than it is
to hear him. At about 8 o'clock last night
policeman pushed man who said he
had been laying round there since yes
terday into the door and made him the
head of the line which then began to form
and continued to grow all night. AT about
l. o'clock there We're perhaps fifty people
in line, mostly colored, but every man
representing thirty seats, the largest num-
Der that could be taken by one person.
Probably not any of them were there to
get seats for themselves, and very few
of them had any money anyhow. Some
were hired to go there by persons who
had received orders to buy seats and would
take their places in the morning; some
were there on private speculation, while
others were there merely to wait 1t out
and sell their places to any one who want
ed to buy in the morning. Most Of them
for awhile, during which their fellow
workers would get something" around the
corner.
1t was a pretty jolly crowd for a while,
singing snatches of comic songs and guy
ing one another. The police were there
to keep order and see that all was done
fair and above deck.
"How much will you sell out for?'
A storm of answers arose Fifteen dol
lars sah," right down this way for soft
place to stand" femme buy your tickets.
mistah." Then some one cut the price to
81. You could probably have got a pretty
good place for 81.
Two darkies were discussing Stoddard
They seemed to be little groggy on the
details of his life. and not quite up to date
on his lecture, although very original in
their views
"Stoddahd, who doan know who Stoddahd
is?" said q loud-voiced fellow as he blew
the fumes of two for five into the face
of his questioner. why. he hes been moh
you was bohn. He has been to New York,
Boston and other turin countries, he has,"
Go on. nigah, doan L know that" re-
piled his companion grandly. Il knows
mob than you does about him, you black
skinned colored nggah, you"
At about $50 this morning a section Of
the people at the front were let in. The
place of the man at the head of the line
was taken by a woman, who marched in
as proudly as general at the head Of bis
troops. Sad to relate. many who had gone
into the line to sell their places got stuck,
and owing to the glut in the market
there all night found no purchasers for
their places. They had no money either
and so were ruthiessly run OUT by the
police, to turn homeward much sadder,
much wiser and with a profusion of lam
guage never heard inside a Sunday school.
Some who bought tickets to Stoddard will
hear him, some who specialized will come
out even, some perhaps will be out of
pocket, but others will pull in enough dust
to be joyful on for some days and nights
to come.