The times., 1899-11-12
PRESS AGENTS. ROUND TABLE.

That artist Of Mark Twain who devoted
his time and attention to the manufacture
of excavated Greek statues is not the only
curio-exploiter known to fact or fiction
whose bent lay toward deception Leon
Victor. the youthful man ahead" Of
Have You Seen SMITH" came across
what promised to be an even greater
fake last summer in Virginia, and is
still relating the anecdote. il was in
very small town. famed for about twenty
miles around for its marvellous natural
bridge The structure, a rock formation
binding together two sides of 9 miniature
canyon is no. of sufficient consequence to
have attracted much attention from the
outside world, but it is one OF the original
seven wonders 10 the country people. and
dr. Victor. upon coming into the vicinity
had il described 10 him at great length.
So glowing was The account given, in
deed, that the publicity promoter deter
mined upon having a look at the oddly
united precipiCes. and with that end in
view jOuneyed to the village. An amateur
guide took him 10 the famous spot and
waited for expressions of admiration
Mr. Victor walked about the pace,
which was really weI kept and did ad-
llilAt Lt4 It Hlh ENA4tLii4llA Lil.At 40
tCnished kim. Il was high up the rocks
but. even from below. could be made o-t
TO be a sort OF plaque. His curiosity
aroused. the tourist disregarded the re-
moustranCes of his Comr2de aud devoted
day 10 climbing the mountain. Once al
the celebrated jointure, he found at
what he had discovered really was q sign
a large iron sign Natural Bridge, II
read. Built by Ridgeway & Son, Rich
rr7c11- aEagqf
somewhat mitigated by the guides assur-
ance that the nrm named had only repair
ed the bridge when il was about TO fail
but be is not get quite convinced, and VOWS
that when Have You Seen Smith ?" reach
es the Virginia capital. be VIII make
search for Ridgeway d Son with the rur-
pose Of investigation.
This experience, however. is as n-thing
to a story which Press Agent Henderson
relates en- John Jack. of the My Son Ben"
company. MT. Jack was with Mrs. Fiske
for q couple Of seasons and his scholarly
disposition is a satisfactory endorsement
for the anecdote.
According to Mr.. Henderson. the actor is
a conscientious collector Of curios and his
rooms in New York are crowded with
miscellaneous lot Of ancient and modern
implements. There are machetes from
Cuba and vases from China and gods from
Africa and stone tools from Jamaica. There
are Italian pictures and French wines and
German wCcd-carvings and Turkish silks.
Persian rugs lay next to tiger skins from
India; japanese pistols hang a few feet
away from cavalry carbines, and Mexican
spurs dangle from dainty Venetian slip
pers. Mr. Jack has devoted years to the
work CT gathering these things and natu-
rally is proud Of his apartments-especially
proud that every solitary article in them
is genuine.
Last June the player was in London and,
while strClling about came across little
shop in New Oxford Street The keeper
was a witheTedup individual and he soon
became acquainted with Mr.. Jack He, too,
was possessed of d fine collection Of oddi-
ties and these he showed lovingly Par
ticulariy bCastful was he of q war club,
fashioned Of great stone bound TO a stick
with a hide thong. The old fellow got
down a geological volume and by it proved
ccaclusively that this rock was of a sort
found nowhere since the primal quarry
gave out, some two centuries ago in an
extreme corner Of Greece. From This he
deduced that there had been barbarians
in the land Of Homer even as late as 1T00
and that they had fought savagely. The
weapon had been bought for $500 from
a traveller and, after due persuasion, the
delighted Mr.. Jack was permitted to pur-
chase it for an equal amount from the
Jradesmau. The probable history of the
club was gilded in fine letters on a card
and, upon the actors return home. both
were hung On the walls. There they re-
mained until September.
In that month friend of Mr.. Jack-a
wandering idler-dropped in for a visit
He spied the rock. stick and thong, and
walked to them enthusiastically not even
deiguing TO notice the card. Sure of the
chum's knowledge, Mr. Jack felt repaid
for the trouble to which he had been put
in carrying the Greciau relic across seas.
The guest surveyed the article. "Ah,
said he al last, now you have something
worth having. 1 believe in devCting one
attention 10 the wonders about him. DO
YOU know that kind of stone curiously
enough, is found in great abundance some
ten miles down the Hudson, and nowhere
else il the world? Queer isn't it,"
Mr.. Henderson declares that Mr.. Jack
was minutes recovering from the shock
He is going TO London as soon as My
Son Ben closes, and then there viii be
/ eXplalatiOns-or trouble.
The man ahead" of Williams and Walk
e- has @ yarn which ne does not relate as
his personal experience, and for which he
dos not even claim newness. He simply
( saws that the repartee is the best he ever
heard and that he believes the story TO be
wcrth either telling or retelling. BY mis-
Z account. a we'll known San Francisco cIer-
gyman was strolling down Market Street
/ one afternoon when he was confronted by
a loudly dressed individual who inspected
4 MIN carefully, and. after following him for
block walked ahead stopped short. and
+ SO forced the minister TO pause Then