Omaha daily bee., 1899-12-12
SPEAKS TO CROWDED House
F. Hopkinson Smith Entertains Large
Omaha Audience.
CHARMS ALL WITH HIS WRIsU GIFTS
AusDIcious Opening of the Young
Mems Christian Association En-
tcrtninmcnt Course--Outline
of the Authors Talk,

f. Hopkinsou Smith, artist, author and
civil engineer, with no mean gifts as an
actor and elocutionist, appeared at Boyd's
theater Monday night before one OF the larg-
est audiences Of the season. The Young
Mems Christian association, which has un.
deTtaken a lecture course as an experiment
was Obliged to ask its friends to discontinue
the sale Of tickets. The initial engage
ment will be followed by six other concerts,
lectures and other attractions lasting
through the winter.
Following a brief introduction by Secre-
tary Willis OF the Young Mems Christian as
sociation, MIR. Smith entered puon an in
formal discussion OF Colonel Carter of Car
tersvllle,' the work to which he owes his
first literary reputation. IL have often been
asked whether there was real Colonel
Carter" " he said, land in a way there was;
at least the character is made up of frag
ments from the living world and resembles
chiefly an old uncle in Baltimore. His ne
gro body servant did know and the excur-
sons which made in his arms are among
my earliest recollectlons.
" Colonel Carter is type OF the thor
oughbred Virginian gentleman proud of his
ancestry and state, with well-hdden con-
viction that all the poor trash of the earth
dwell in the region outside OF Fairfax
county"
Mr.. Smith then read the chapter, "a Visit
from the Grocer" delineating the true breed
ing and open, innocent heart of the colonel
which turned a surly tradesman pressing a
bill into lasting friend.
Passing on to TON Grogan," Mr. Smith
said that he knew the exact counterpart
Of that noble character, with a woman's S
heart and mans hand. During the twenty
FIVE years, Mr.. Smith said, which he had
spent in his profession as a marine engineer,
he has never seen any one on sea or land
with such qualities OF courage and self-sac-
rifce as those exhibited in the woman
who inspired Tom Grogan." After pass
ing through untold hardships," he added,
with an undaunted spirit which has
brought her happily to her sixty sixth year,
she now sits in the shadow Of life with
her grandchildren about her." The author
read description OF the woman as she
stood among her men, directing her teams
with voice of unquestioned authority
wrapped in a long ulster, her head enveloped
in a hood and rich, silk scarf.
In his reading of "a Kentucky Cinderella"
Mr.. Smith proved himself an accomplished
dialect artist, in addition to his other at
tanments. He depicted Aunt Cloe" with
an absolute truth and described the scenes
surrounding the life of the ill-treated Miss
Mamie" with pathos that made visible
impression. His acting in these passages
would have done credit to a stage profess
sional and put new meaning into words
which lacked lustre on the written page.
The versatile author then transferred the
scene to Venice and passed from the Ken
lucky dialect TO that Of the thrifty farmer
from Unionville, N. Y. He read extracts
from the humorous sketch, THE Other Eel
low" describing the disgust Of the uncul-
tured American in place where there
isn't a horse in the town and the cellars
are half full of water