The New York herald. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1920-1924, 1922-09-10

gard from people the world over. Every
where men and women like to sit and be
entertained or enlightened by one speaking
with authority. If We had Mark Twain
he would draw just as big audiences in
Europe now as the greatest Europeans
have drawn over here. Capt 4Amundsen
had fine tour in this country in 1918.
but when he went to Germany he did even
better Sir Rabindranath Tagore had a good
reception here on his first trip, but the
second time he Internationally gave of
Tense and was rather failure Yet
when l was in Germany in 1919 they were
making more of a fuss over him than we
ever d1d. Peary had good audiences in
Europe. The man who has achieved some
thing worth while and has a happy way
of telling about it is in demand every
where"
Mr.. Keedick sees no reason to revise his
opinion, voiced some time ago, that the
war lecture will find no market for sew
eral years to come. He thinks that when
popular interest in the war revives. as it
is bound to do eventually, the secret his
tory of the conflict rather than stories Of
fighting will be sought after.
We have already referred to the fact that
American gold is not always sufficient to en-
tice foreign lecturers away from their ma
tive lands. For many years Charles Dickens
was numbered with these. When he finally
did come, in order to place his family be-
yond the reach of poverty. he had an ex-
perience the like OF which has not been
known in our day. Think of lines of ticket
applicants stretching half mile from the
box office, of hundreds of persons Juggling
mattresses from their homes and sleeping
on the pavements in order to be sure of
getting an opportunity to listen to a man
read stories which could have been bought
for dollar or two and enjoyed in comfort
at home, We have seen something like
this on the eve of world series baseball
games, but never of lectures or any other
kind of entertainment provided in public
halls
Tickets for the first readings in Boston
were put on sale in November, 1867, az 50.
intending purchasers" wrote Dolby in
his book. Charles Dickens as / Knew
Him. sent their clerks, servants and
others to take their places outside the
store of Messrs. Ticknor & Fields.
supplying each of them straw mattress.
blankets, food and in many cases with
tobacco and creature comforts of an alco-
holic description
The receipts for the four readings in
Music Hall were $4,000 Spectators. who
were as rapacious then as they are now
got as much as s26 for ticket. The
scenes in New York when the sale was
opened for readings in Steinway Hall were
even liveler.
My hotel was within fifty yards of the
scene of-action." Dolby reported. "and the
shouting, shrieking and singing of the
crowd suggested the night before an exc
cution in Old Bailey"
Tickets for the first four New York read
ings brought more than $4,000 Specu-
lators exacted enormous premiums. One
of them got $50 and brandy cocktail for
two tickets for three readings.
Dickens's state, of health was such that
he had to decline nearly all offers of hos
pitality. He could not sleep at night and
ate little. An egg beaten in sherry and
taken every night between parts of the
reading helped him to get through. He
visited Philadelphia. Washington. Balti-
more, Syracuse, Rochester, Hartford. Prov
idence, Worcester, Springfield and New
Bedford, but gave up the idea of going to
Chicago. and again cut down his schedule.
He sailed for England on April %. 1868.
He gave series of readings in England
the following winter, further impaired his
health by the nervous force he put into
the murder scene from "Oliver Twist
and died of apoplexy on June g. 1870.
Dickenss '.readingsn wore such only hr