Evening journal., 1914-10-20
New News Of Yesterday
[-
Famous Men Subject to
Stage Fright
By Holland.

The late Parke Goodwin, who in the
mid-year of the past century was as
sociated with George William Curtis
as editor of Putnam's Magazine and in
that connection was brought into in
innate companionship with Thack-
cray. at the time of the nOvclist's sec
ond visit to The United States, told me
some TWO years before his death that
Thackeray had said 10 him that he
had never known the sensation which
is called stage fright when he was de-
livering his lectures on the -Four
Georges" or the English HumOr-
lists" Thackeray told him, however
that he had heard that Dickens was
sometimes afflicted with this nervous
weakness for a few moments before h'
began his after-dinner addresses. Mr.
/ Goodwin opened a subject which wal
Of much interest to me because / haG
! heard some who had gained reputa
/ ton as after-dinner orators say tha
they were frequently almost overcome
with stage fright before they began
to speak
knew that Mr.. Goodwin himself had
been numbered among the popular
ltNAuINIn vi AilN NiNilI MAtlA NlAt ~
ceum platform was a well-established
American institution. and / thought he
might be able to tell me whether any
OF the lecturers of his time was thus
afflicted He said in answer to my
inquiry:
never had stage fright, but George
William Curtis sometimes found him
self a little nervous before he began
to deliver a lecture. He told me. how
ever. that he was not troubled i'm that
way when he spoke before a political
convention. He was then able absO-
lutely TO forget himself
stage fright is a purely nervous af-
Fiction. II is like that curious nervous
sensitiveness which is far removed
from fear from which many persons
suffer when a thundershower is com
ing up.
There various forms of IT, Wash
ington Irving broke down completely
at the first dinner to Charles Dickens
in New York. although he had careful
ly prepared his speech of welcome
and apparently had not the slightest
nervous trepidation when he began to
speak. His attack of nerves came as
soon as he heard the sound of his
own voice, and il overcame him.
81 have been told that Hawthorne
was so fearful that he would be un-
able to stand before an audience and
make even a few remarks that he al
ways declined invitations of that sort.
Yet Hawthorne made a brilliant and
purely extempOraneOus speech upon
one occasion while he was in England
and when he was the guest at some
function given in his honor. pre-
sumo he did not have time to think of
himself. and probably the associations
were perfectly congenial
81 remember TO have been told that
Emerson was incapable of making an
impromptu speech, and that whenever
he did speak. he always prepared him.
self beforehand. He did not have
stage fright, but apparently he lacked
an eXtemporaneous address. He was
once called upon to speak at a literary
gathering in Boston. He arose. looked
at each face he saw before him. and
then. after a few moments of silence.
sat down. His silence was perhaps
was more impressive than anything he
could have said. II was not stage
fright, but curious incapacity TO
formulate his thoughts into words
while on his feet Just think OF it,
Here we're Washington Irving, Haw-
thorne, and Emerson, the three fore
most men of American letters of their
time. who for different reasons never
theless found themselves incapable OF
making an impromptu address or of
delivering. as was the case with r.
wing. an address which had been care
fully prepared"
downright 1914 nv L. U'd.rardc