The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1894-02-17
THE LECTURE FIELD.
Passing Away of n Once Popular Form of
Entertainment.
Especial Correspondence

Especial Correspondence
BOSTON, Feb. The passing away of
the lecture rs n popular form of entertain.
ment has been II favoritc subject for news.
paper leader writers for some time, and there
is little doubt that from frequent writing
thereof many editors have come to believe
the story true. In Il certain sense it is true
That is, no lecturer of these days is able to
arouse such general interest, not to say on
thusasm, as was felt i'll the platform talks
of Mrs. Livermore, John b. Cough, Henry
Ward Beecher and the other stars of the
old time galaxy.
But 1t is also true that there are more lee
turcrs makinga living now than there ever
were i'll the past, and it is quite likely that
they are earning in the aggregate. even dur
ing this winter of financial shortage, all
round, Il greater sum of money than fell to
to the galaxy of the winter Of say, 1870
man who was famous manager of fn-
nous lecturers in the days when people
used to fight to yet reserved seats to hear
John Is. Cough eXtol the desirability of
water as Il beverage over wine, or Mrs Liv-
ermore set forth the need of emancipating
our wives and sisters and daughters from
the chains of social bondage, said few
days ago:
"There are so mediocre lecturers today to
OhS tSiNf'c oiC ~ CdIS Fstcn Oh tne oil
is probably making n fair years income
net, during the season, and in the total the
earnings of the present SO are perhaps
greater than the one of the past, but there
Is vast difference between the lecture de-
livered then and the lecture delivered now. :"
In this last the old time manager is fright
as usual" but he is not right if he holds
that there are no good lecturers NOWADAYS
There were never more informing lectures
than those delivered by Lieutenant Peary
the arctic explorer, who is now in the
frozen regions on his second trip of ex-
ploration. Peary did a good business
too-a business that Melted him enough
as has often been stated in print, to
pay the expenses of his present trip.
Henry NJ. Stanley is also still making
money, and so are Eli Perkins, the truth
full man, and George KEENAN,, the Sibe-
rian traveller Mrs. French Sheldon, the
only woman who has travelled alone among
the African savagcs, gathers IL good annual
income from the people who go to hear
lectures, and IL hos L OF lesser lights are prof
itably in the field on every conceivable sub
ject.
The club course" of lectures is q great
thing nowadays, whereas it was hardly i'm
evidence III all a score of years ago. and the
private lcctrrc' has similarly increased
vastly i'll popularity The army of persons
who auissi ~ managers aud attaches of
lecturc bureaus j. an evidence of the con-
tinnr'l PROSPERITY OF The business In the
seventies thcic Was but one lecture bu-
re'iu worth. mentioning. Now there are
probably -.
y lcaiGrc ct tIic lecture business of today
Is ;hc greater practical character of the lee
lures aiiG lie larger percentage of women
who pace iie platform. \ very large num-
Der OF our speaking sisters devote their talk
10 physical culture in one form or another.
and another portion speak upon such prac-
tichl questions rs housewives desire To re-
ccvc instruction upon. But the lecture hat
strives to be simply amusing appcats To be
In the serc and yellow leaf, Bill Nye being
almost the only very successful speaker of
this sort PAU. MENTOR.