The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1903-05-22
A "REMINISCENCES.

copyright. l9O3 by w. r. Hearst.
L see they are going to build a memo
fial to Henry Ward Beecher," said my
white-haired southern friend, who, in
spite of his soft voice and gravely gen
tie demeanor had been fire-eater in the
old days. tits time they did, and 1
shall send in my subscription
I looked up surprised-"I thought you
fought for the other side during the warp
so I did, and perhaps that's why I
know he deserves q monument" said the
colonel, smiling. IT know he was the
greatest orator who ever lived"
"Demosthenes and Cicero amt in it, 1
suppose"
mot with him." the colonel insisted.
'Let me tell you a story to prove it,
So I settled back in my armchair-the
colonePs "reminiscences were always a lit
tie vacation in my worz-a-day life.
You know during the war 1 was sent
to England by the confederacy to work UP
public sentiment for our side Well, there
were number of us, and we worked up
a good deal of sentiment, 50 much that
ABE Lincoln began to take notice of it,
and after awhile he sent Beecher over to
make some speeches against us.
When Beecher landed in Liverpool the
town was already billed for his first
speech, and we were already there in
force to see that he shouldn't make it.
The night came and the hall was packed,
largely with our sympathizers and with
men whom we had scattered through the
audience and hired to boot and make cat
calls and utterly drown out the speakers
voice 1t wasn't exactly generous, 1 ad-
NIT, put you know those were desperate
days.
so when he entered it was pandemoni-
racket He had to come in at the rear
and walk the whole length Of the hall
down the middle aisle through a bowling
mob of enemies I can see him now as
he braced himself, shook that name of
his. walked slowly to the front, and
climbed the platform. He took off his
overcoat deliberately and put it and his
hat on a chair; ne tested reading desk
that stood in the middle, found it loose
and carried it out Of his way. Then he
turned, walked slowly to the front, faced
the whirlwind a minute, and then said in
a voice that went through our yelling
like cannon ball through a cotton field :.
Boys, this amt fair!'
we forgot to yell for minute STONED
to draw breath against him. And in that
pause he hurled upon us the most wonder
tul sentence that ever fell from the lips
OF mortal man. A thousand times I have
tried to re-word it, but always in vain, I
know only that it appealed to the English
love of fair play, to the old, historic Brit
lsh sense of Justice. And I know that
from that first moment every man of us
forgot who was there-utterly forgot him
self and his country, and know also that
within ten minutes we were breaking the
hush With cheers that took the roof off
tCheers, yes, sir, we who were there to
silence him, who hated him and his cause!
lie held US there cheering for two hours
and not till it was all over and we had
left the place of magic did we begin to
come to ourselves, to realize what we had
done. If you can find in all history such
another miracle wrought by an orator ia
like to know Of it.
tell you he was forever hurting thun-
oerbolts that night-there were lightnings
flashing from him. He was not like 4.
man, but some supernatural power. Ey-
cry soul there fell under the SMELL even
the reporters. The London papers all sent 3
their best men with orders to take
verbatim report of the speech, and mt
ae e q linen, Lnen got beyond Boys, this amt
falr The London Times actually dis
charged its representative because 'of rig
failure. f1F's - nis
e Afterwards Mr.. Beecher made man.
speecnes IN england, and good ones-vo,,
can read them if you care to sec X 5bn,,,
ne, as think, saved the day for the
,is'tl over there. But none of these was
s'tSSSLl WHICH tried tO
silence-I am sure nothing anywbers ws ~
ever like it. 80 + = = - - 4 YES !" a.
len or fifteen years later I met Beech
er and told him so. He agreed Wifi, ~,
that that night in Liverpool was the
great t, moment Of his life. SAID chat then
anu then only. he had felt as though Dos.
s ,,sss ny. god as though uttering, not
ms own ,s words, but those of some arch
angelic I,sls power. He regretted deeply nat
ne me one speech by which he would like to
&c remembered should have persisted IN
the utterance.', "a ' 4 !, - SO : - -
e But Y is not that usually the wav Wiz
me nneses things? asked. '..Who can
perpetuate rapture-the orators voice. h,
me. singers song, the souls supreme de-
Monroe i1arrles
Not So Much.
tune - -
Really! Well, she could swear Off
all taxes on it with perfectly clear