The herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1893-1900, 1898-07-11

MY voice Is beginning to trouble me-" he
said. land when at Ogden a short time ago
I finished an eight months lecturing trip,
concluded to accept an invitation and
come to Southern California. was here
| once before and have always wanted to
come back. 1 would like to stay here, and,
perhaps-no one can tell what may be ones
future-but nothing could be lovelier than
a life spent here.
IT have four lectures, Good Material
Advice to a Young Man. The Survival of
the Unfittest,' and The Rise and Fall of
the Mustache.' He pronounces the last
word with the accent strongly on the
'tache." II used to pronounce 1t as most
people do, accenting the first syllable, but
a reporter took me to task for 1t once and
1 looked 1t up and found he was right, as
men of your craft are apt to be-" he ex-
planned. II am working to bring out an
other book-poetry this time. I know it
sounds bad to mention poetry to a news
paperer, but have arrived at that time of
life when feel justified in taking liberties.
after all, it is not what a fellow writes
that pays the best. 1t Is the spoken word
which makes profit. My old lecture, The
Mustache, is an example Of this 1t is one
wrote twenty-five years ago, and 1t is
still making me money.
'"Talmage gave me an instance of this
fifteen years ago, it must be, one time il
Brooklyn. He wrote a labored article once
and sent 1t to magazine and said 1t could
have 1t for $3.50. He got 1t back. Then he
sent 1t to a weekly paper and asked only
fOr o
sent it to the Eagle of his city. and they sent
it, and that was on the supposition that it
was not to be paid for. He then took 1t and
made lecture out of it and called it The
Bright Side of Things and at the time 1
speak Of 1t had paid him $SO00 and was q
source of revenue for years afterward as
we'll
Lectures do not grow old and audiences
change so that they can be repeated in the
same place. Twenty years ago or more the
first lecture delivered was in Keokuk, and
1 was introduced by young lawyer who
had just stuck up his single. A short
time ago I went back for the first time
since then and gave the same lecture. I
was introduced by the same man. but now
he is Judge McCrary of the state supreme
court. Then, again, after the lecture.
lady came up and introduced herself to
me and said: 'Mr. Burdette, I was in the
audience when you lectured here the last
time, over twenty years ago, and was
a little girl then. I want you to meet my
little girl, who has been with me this time
to hear the man her mother heard when she
was In short dresses That's the way;
nothing stands still-except, perhaps, my
lectures
This morning met my old teacher here,
Mr. Human. He was the man who Is re-
sponsible for making me a lecturer, guess.
When 1 went to his school back in Pennsyl-
yania, we had to speak pieces, and we re-
solved to strike, So when the speaking day
came we agreed that none of the scholars
should respond. One of the boys, whose
name commenced with A was the first called
ON and he weakened and spoke his piece. l
was next, and 1 said: Mr.. Human, there
amt going to be no more pieces spoke here
"Why not?" said Human.
"Wel," replied, 1--WE have decided that
we won't say any more"
"Oh, you have" he answered, well, I
opine that there will be some more" and
he took me by the collar and with a good
thick strap argued the matter with me, and
ever since then 1 have not been able to stop
speaking pieces. The only satisfaction I
got out of that strike was to lick the A boy
who gave In. In fact, believe the whole
school licked him. and he has never spoken
since in any audience of which I was part
anyway.
1.-THE only disagreeable part of the bust
ness is when the papers roast us. recall
the last time l appeared in Toronto. Bill
Nye had preceded me, and the papers SIM
ply crucifed him. He was followed by James
Whitcomb Riley, and they went for him
worse than they did for Nye. But when l
arrived 1 made up my mind that would win
and l tried my best to succeed, and talked
my loveliest. l felt SO sure of the result
that for once broke my rule not to read a
paper before breakfast, and ordered up the
Empire. Well, son, that was the worst roast
that any man ever got. 1t made me sick.
I could not eat, and was actually all
broken up over it. The editor was
a man named E. E. Sheppard, whom
I had known in the states. He was
a southerner and had gone to Canada
after the war. but he had been a friend, and
to think that man with whom had bro
ken bread and eaten salt could treat me so
was simply unbearable. I don't know to
this day whether he saw the article or not,
but it was regular cruel scorcher. packed
up at once and left, and down at Peoria
happened to pick up a paper few days
after and read dispatch to the effect that
the Empire office had been destroyed by
fire the night before. headed straight for
telegraph office and sent this message:
Dear Sheppard: How do you like roast
yourself?' I did not get an answer, but 1t
was consolation to me, admit.
O o o
Eyes, preach when get chance. 1 am
not an ordained minister, but am licensed
to preach by the Baptist church, and at my
home at Brin Mawr, near Philadelphia,
have little chapel where have services
when I am at home. though that is all too
seldom. unfortunately"
| Mr.. Burdette talks like the lovable. amia-
| BILE man that he is and keeps your face smil-
| ing all of the time If his sermons are pro-
vocative of as much good as his CONVERSE
ton is Of pleasure he is indeed blessing to
mankind.
Telephone Girls in France
The managers of the telephone company
operating the system at Versailles, France,