The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1900-02-04
= = = !
SEVERAL CLEVER
CTIURERS HERE {. Re.
Glance at Some Of the Celebrities.
Heard This Season.
.zANGWlLL AND HIS HUMoR.
An Ingenious Word Painter and His
Remarkable Power-Senator Dan
icl Greatly Pleased the Ladies.
Avery Interesting Woman.
Glance at Some Of the Celebrities
..zANGWlLL AND HIS HUMoR.
An Ingenious Word Painter and His

Avery Interesting Woman.
In these days when the one-absorbing
thought is how to be amused and enter
tanned, and we realize how much graft
tude we owe to the Lyceum Board Tor
bringing the foreign and domestic ceie-
brities for our especial delectation. II IS
perhaps we'll to take a glance backward
at the said celebrities for q while.
With the exception of Zangwill. the
parties of the first part OF the course
have been of the home variety; those
from distant shores are still to come. and
we are ready for them
+. Zangwill was No. 1 on the seasons
programme. His lecture on "Ffction, the
Highest Form of TRUTH" was, so the lee
turer said himself. the most Intellectual
effort he has ever made on the platform.
The address was q most thoroughly scien-
tific reasoning of why we Should not
reason scientihcally-why we should not
permit ourselves the extreme felicity of
delving into the why's and wherefores Of
existing truths. There are great many
people. Of my personal acquaintance, who,
since that brilliant talk, have persuaded
themselves that Zangwill is right, and
have denied themselves the pleasure of
analyzing chemically each glass of water
of which they have since partaken. Such
noble sacrifice! Like the lion he describes
In one Of his recent stories, he had 20
''sooti-na turedIy extend his paw at re-
ception he was called upon to undergo
later in the evening.
STILL A MAN.
He had remarked in his lecture that
people never seem to realize that 4 great
man is still a 1nan-ard the truth of this
was evidenced at the reception by the
number of questions hurled at the author
1,,- NTH Mr.
Zangwill, the man. than for "zingwill.
the great One lady was heard to make
the modest inquiry:
.'How old are you, Mr.. Zangwill?'
''Thirty-fve, madame came the
answer.
why, I read in a magazine that you
were twenty-nine, she responded
1T must have been a very old maga-
zine madame" replied the author, with
inrpurturable good humor.
While here. he expressed desire to
read 1.-THE Phases of an Inferior Planet"
and some one sent him that work of our
authoress. Miss Glasgow. The letter OF
acknowledgment was characteristic. and
read: Many thanks. I think the IRON
masters daughter is a master of irony"
But Zangwill is nothing if not quota
BILE and one anecdote "does tread upon
another's heel, SO fast they follow" that
it is best to proceed to our next lion,
Mr.. Robert McIintirc.
WORD PICTURES.
He talked to us about "Buttoned-Up
People," of which he was assuredly not
one il language be counted in, for more
| unbuttoned, fowery, flowing language has
been seldom heard here, 1t is safe to say.
He described the Chicago fire SO wildly
that every moment a panic in the Acad
envy was looked for: one could almost see
the flames. Then he cooled you down by
| L. Nh -
strawberries in the world. only to disap-
point his audience when they realized
that they We're merely words.
Mr. Jacob a. Riis had pictures not so
charming to show us, for in the Battle
With the Sums we were transported
to the day-down depths of New York, with
all their sorrow, misery and crime
1t couldn't be called exactly pleas
ing, but it was probably a.
conspiracy to cheer, our hearts. adorn
our morals and make us settle back to
our h,lmdrum lives in a spirit of happi-
ness and content at the contrast
Mr.. Riis brought us into closer touch
with the low-downness of life than most
of us had ever been placed before, and
it was hard to realize that the scenes de-
picted on canvas could really exist in
this dawnIng of the nineteenth century.
PROPHET IN HIS OWN COUNTRY.
Our own John! W. Daniel came next,
and the Richmond people proved by their
approval of the popular Senator and ora
tor that in spite of all said to the con-
trary a man is a prophet in his own coun-
try. The ladies thought John W. Daniel
was a bit '.politicatngy," but, then, it
was John w. Daniel, and even the ladies
could stand it from him, especially as it
was all so good. He said when Dewey
cabied that he had fetched the Philip
pines every man. woman and child like
wise fetched their maps and tried to
find where in the mischief the Philip
pines are, anyway" l have heard tell
they are still hunting and haven't found
yet where they really are
All, and then the author, architect,
painter, lecturer, F. Hcpkinson Smith.
He has the appearance of 4 man of the
world, and knows how to wear a dress
suit. He possesses wonderful mus
tache a little gray, but that only makes
him more distinSue, and is altogether very
good TO look upon. He delivered a most
picturesque lecture on the Quality of
the Picturesque" and gave forth such
long sentences, without pauSing. that
many of his audience found themselves
catching their breath to help him along.
Mark Twain tells a pretty good story
on the Observation-Disclosures
that when he was In Ireland sketchinS
calseways. castles. barney stones, and
the like, he seated himself one day on a
tiny cliff overlooking a tiny lake In
the middle of painting some lovely bit of
landscape he fell asleep-took tumble
got a wetting. Three feet of muddy
water! Help yelled Smith.
Two old Irishmen fastened to the res
cue One knew Smith. They watched
him shake himself, then start out on a
dead run for his lodgings.
.'Who wuz it?' asked the Irishman who
didn't know.
THAT A1isther Smith, was the reply.
can who the devils her
"He's author
can pl1awt's he written ?"
"a book about a diver,
The Irishman who didn't know grinned.
AN phawt dye :s'pose he wor dom
down thayre, Morgan, collectin' material
fur another man .,
WOMAN IN THE CROWD.
After Mr. Smith came the woman in
the crowd. Lots of people said: "Oh!
what's the use going-it's only a5woman,
and she won't be any good''-and lots
Of them stayed away. but she fooled
en- ard the next day they were sorry.
Miss Renfrey had a charming personal
50 at nav