Evening star., 1922-10-25

l how often wish is really proph-
| ecy-the most unlikely wish COM
ing true in the course of the
years. l am reminded of a talk
! had with my younger brother in
| He was then a subaltern of gunners
fresh from WooIwich, and l had asked
| him to be my travelling companion
One day we talked very earnestly Of
the senseless dissensions which at
that time were very apparent between
the two countries. ! remember that
| said, with some earnestness: well
Innes, l only hope that in your mill
tary career you will some day find
yourself leading British soldiers
! shoulder to shoulder with American
! soldiers in just cause-and may
| be there to see"
! Could any wish have been more gro
| tesquely impossible, and yet / must
have spoken with some strange con-
viction. since the words remain so
! clear to me after all the years. But
see how it turned out. Upon the 27th
of September, 1918, standing on the
! top tread of an upended tank, ! sa "
| the 9th and Goth divisions of the
American Army helping the Austria
lians to break the Hindenburg line,
| while my brother was in high com
|
| was advancing on their left How
can one explain such thing as that?
! Surely ii is far beyond coincidence
! But II not then are our paths in life
! SO accurately mapped that even
| twenty-four years before the outcome
| can be seen.
Our Stages Perplex Doyle.
At one matinee lecture at Philadel-
! phia l had an amusing experience-at
| Z a Sf6 h. H.
! with a huge drop curtain of canvas
| behind me. When l had made my
| bow walked off. but found that
| there was no exit on the right side.
| turned and walked across the pros
| cenium, but again to my surprise was
! faced with rigid canvas. / then con-
| cluded l was mistaken in my first
| venture. SO ] again crossed but found
i 1t quite impossible. J then wandered
down the face Of the curtain amid
| sympathetic laughter from those who
| observed my dilemma. until at last /
| saw a slit and the agitated hand OF
| Widdecombe. This queer bolt hole
| a bout a third of the way across
| formed entrance and exit. though |
! had not observed it in coming on.
| The adventure was not SO funny as
| one which occurred in my first lecture
| tour when l bustled on to the stage
| a Daley's Theater with several books
| under my arm. 1t was stage door
with small sill of wood over which
| tripped. SO that from the point of
/: view of the audience l came cantering
| DOWN tn. SIoring stag cluiching
at my dropping books. There was a
! general desire for an encore.
| When l returned from Philadel-
phia l had planned a few days of
! rest. but l found that the demand
/. had interpolated two repetitions OF
the Photographic lecture. which
| meant that these proofs were Set be-
| fore the eyes of 1000 more people. |
| had come to the conclusion that il
| was best to occupy half the lecture
| in giving a synopsis of the phIioSo-
| ply of the subject. which is quite
| enough to convince and satisfy a
| reasonable mind without any phenom-
ena at all, and then to show the
photographs of actuals happenings.
| explaining that they are quite sec
| ondary and that this side of the
question had had far $40 much at
; ter1ion paid it. because IT happens to
! appeal to our lower dramatic in
! stincts rather than to our reason l
continued now TO follow TINS course
during the remainder of my tour
Summons Spirit Power.
An interesting example of spirit
| York lectures l caught laryngits IN
acute form, there being an epidemic
of it at the time. The result of it
was that l lost my voice entirely-so
much so that ! could not make my
wife understand me across the bed
! room was in no way perturbed
, though l had to address a great meet
ing that afternoon, and if l consulted
DR. Colby. the able specialist. ii was
rather to satisfy my manager than
myself. When the hour came ]
walked to the front of the platform,
and with an effort l croaked out.
loud enough for all to hear me. Il
have quite lost my voice. SO as sign
of my confidence in spiritual power
II propose today to give A quarter
of an hours extra lecture"
1t seemed a strange mon sequitur.
but 1 actually spoke for one and
, three-Quarters hours, getting clear
and better all the time. though l re-
lapsed at once when the lecture was
| over. These forces will never fail
us so long as we are engaged upon