Chapter XII: Book THREE: Encyclopedic Biographies, (5)

James Keteltas Hackett, one of the youngest of the prominent actors of America, and certainly the youngest actor-manager of note in this country, was born at Wolfe Island, Ontario, Canada, September 6, 1869. He is the son of the late James Henry Hackett, who in his time was also a notable figure of the American boards. After graduating from the College of the City of New York in 1891, he studied in the New York law school, but his inclination for the stage, which manifested itself almost as soon as he could talk, became more and more marked, and, abandoning the legal career which it had been intended he should follow, he gave himself up to studying for the stage. In 1892 he made his début in New York in the A. M. Palmer stock company. From the very first he gave unmistakable indications of his subsequent success. In four years—being then twenty-six years of age—he was leading man of the company in question, and was a star in the dramatic firmament of New York. From that time on his progress in his chosen profession has been unceasing. For some years he was under the management of Mr. Daniel Frohman, during which period he made distinctive hits in The Prisoner of Zenda and its sequel, Rupert of Hentzau, and The Pride of Jennico. Leaving Mr. Frohman’s management, he branched out for himself. As already intimated, he is as successful as he is popular. He married Mary Mannering, a well-known actress, whom he met during his association with the Frohman forces.

SIR HENRY BRODRIBB IRVING.

Sir Henry Brodribb Irving, who has created an era in theatrical art, did not attain his ambitions until he had experienced a full share of disappointments and privations. His name is now associated with all that makes for the splendor of the drama, spectacular and intellectual. But the time was with Sir Henry when the next meal was an unknown quantity, when his wardrobe was carried on his back, and when his future seemed to be without promise professionally or otherwise. But with him, as with other successful men, his belief in himself enabled him to combat stress of troubles and finally landed him at the goal of success. Apart from all else he has, through the medium of his masterly productions of Shakespeare’s plays, done more to revive an intelligent interest in the “Immortal Bard” than has any other manager-actor of this generation. His keenest critics admit his genius, even while they comment on his methods. Like most men of his type he has a marked individuality, and for this reason he has been accused of mannerisms. On the other hand, his admirers claim that his individuality is responsible for no small portion of the charm and power of his work. The actor was born in Keinton, near Glastonbury, England, February 6, 1838, his actual name being Brodribb. By permission of the English authorities in 1887 he was authorized, however, to continue the use of the adopted name of Irving. Educated in private schools in London, he, in 1856, went on the stage in the provinces. His first appearance before a public was a failure, pure, simple and absolute. The London stage first knew him in 1859; then he returned to the provinces, remaining therein until 1866, when he once more came to London, playing in several different theaters, but in minor rôles. At about this period his talents began to assert themselves, and since 1871 Sir Henry Irving has been successfully before the public at the Lyceum Theater, London, of which he was lessee and manager from 1878 until 1899. He is well known to play-goers in this country by reason of his several tours here. In recognition of his work for the betterment of the stage he was knighted by Queen Victoria in 1895. Sir Henry Irving is also an author, his most notable work being The Drama.

JOSEPH JEFFERSON.

Many ancestors of Joseph Jefferson followed the profession of acting. Both his father and mother were players. He was born at Philadelphia, February 20, 1829, was educated at home and first appeared on the stage as a child in the old-time favorite play of Pizarro. In 1843 his father died, and he joined a party of strolling players, who traveled through Texas and followed the United States army to Mexico. His first prominent rôle was that of Asa Trenchard, in Our American Cousin, which was first presented October 18, 1858, and continued for one hundred and fifty consecutive nights at Laura Keene’s theater in New York city. His other notable parts have been Newman Noggs, in Nicholas Nickelby; Caleb Plummer, in The Cricket on the Hearth; Dr. Pangloss, in The Heir-at-Law; and Dr. Ollapod, in The Poor Gentleman. But the public chiefly identify him with the title rôle of Rip Van Winkle, which he has played in every city in the United States, and also in England and Australia. He enjoys the distinction of having presented the character more times than any other actor has ever played a single character in the history of dramatics. Besides being one of the most popular actors of his times, Mr. Jefferson is a painter of considerable ability and is an author of some note. His “autobiography” is his most important work, but he has also contributed many articles to the magazines. He married, in 1848, Margaret Lockyer, and after her death took to wife Sarah Warren, in 1867.

EDWARD H. SOTHERN.

How many failures in life are caused by misfit occupations! The world would have perhaps never known of Edward H. Sothern if he had followed the wishes of his father in choosing a life career. This man, who has attained such prominence in the histrionic profession would probably have been doomed to obscurity had he become a painter. He was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, December 6, 1859, being the second son of Edward Askew Sothern, the famous comedian. At the age of five he was taken to London, where he received his education. He studied drawing for some time, his father wishing him to become an artist, but he seems to have inherited a predilection for the stage. It was during his two visits to the United States with his father in 1875 and 1879, that, in spite of his parents’ objections, he decided to become an actor, which he did, making his début as a cabman, in Sam, at the Park theater, New York city. Later he joined his father’s company, but shortly after resigned in order to become a member of John McCullough’s company. In 1883, after appearing for two years at the Criterion, Standard, Royalty and other London theaters, and traveling one year, in company with his brother, Lytton Sothern, he returned to this country, again entered the company of John McCullough, becoming its leading comedian. Subsequently Mr. Sothern played with Helen Daubray, in One of Our Girls; he first took a leading rôle as Jack Hammerton, in The Highest Bidder. Since that time he has starred with his own company in Lord Chumley, The Maister of Woodbarrow, Prisoner of Zenda, Under the Red Robe, etc. He married Virginia Harned, his leading woman. Mr. Sothern has had an adequate professional training and his creditable work proclaims him a master of his art.

ACTRESSES.

MAUDE ADAMS.

Maude Adams is descended from a long line of theatrical people. She was born at Salt Lake City, Utah, November 11, 1872. Her mother was the leading woman of a stock company in that city, and at a very early age Miss Adams appeared on the stage in child’s parts. Her school days were scarcely over when she joined the E. H. Sothern Company. She afterward became a member of Charles Frohman’s stock company, and still later was leading lady for John Drew. Her most pronounced success was as Babbie, in The Little Minister and another as the title rôle of l’Aiglon. She also received much publicity as the model for the silver statue which was exhibited at the World’s Fair, Chicago. Miss Maude Adams has established herself permanently in the good-will of American play-goers.

VIOLA ALLEN.

Viola Allen was born in the south, but went to Boston when three years of age. She was educated in that city and at the Bishop Strachan school, Toronto, Canada. Her début was made at the Madison Square theater, New York, in Esmeralda, in 1882. During the season of 1883 and 1884 she was leading lady for John McCullough, and afterward played classical and Shakespearian rôles. She was a member of the Empire theater stock company in 1892, but her principal success was in creating the character of Gloria Quayle, in The Christian, which had a long run in New York in 1898, succeeded by a tour through the principal cities of the country. Miss Allen’s private charities are many, and she is identified with those phases of church work which have to do with the bettering of the conditions of the poor.

ETHEL BARRYMORE.

Ethel Barrymore, one of the youngest stars in the theatrical profession, was born in Philadelphia in 1880. She comes of a professional family, and when, while yet a child, gave to those who were responsible for her first appearance behind the footlights assurance of innate talent. Miss Barrymore was by no means unknown to Metropolitan play-goers prior to the time when, under Mr. Charles Frohman’s management, she made her stellar début a few years since. The young actress is a finished comedienne and is a member of that modern school of comedy that cultivates repressed effort.

MRS. LESLIE CARTER.

David Belasco, playwright and manager, has been uniformly successful with his plays and his stars. A case in point is that of Mrs. Leslie Carter, who has been connected in a professional capacity with Mr. Belasco for some years. Stepping from social circles in Chicago to the stage, she was in the first instance a somewhat indifferent specimen of the crude amateur actress, but Mr. Belasco detected in her undeveloped talent, and the rest is professional history. Under his guidance as tutor and manager she holds a prominent place in the theatrical world. Her first success was made in the Heart of Maryland and her last and most notable in Du Barry.

ELEANORA DUSE.

Eleanora Duse, the Italian tragedienne, who is Signora Cecci in private life, was born, in 1861, in Vigovano, Italy. At an early age she gave indications of those histrionic talents which subsequently made her famous. For many years she was one of the most notable figures on the stage of her country. She made her American début in 1893 at the Fifth Avenue theater, New York. While there is no gainsaying the sincerity and finish of her art, yet at the same time there are not a few critics who take exception to it on the score of the sombre plays and methods of the actress. Since her début she has visited the United States on more than one occasion, and in each instance her following in this country have accorded her the welcome which is due to her as an artiste and a woman.

MAY IRWIN.

“Blessed are the laughmakers,” is one of the later beatitudes, and on that score May Irwin will certainly receive her share of blessings. She was born at Whitby, Ontario, Canada, in 1862, and made her début at the Adelphi theater, Buffalo, in February, 1876. Later, with her sister Flora, she became a member of Tony Pastor’s company, and shortly afterward joined Augustin Daly’s company. She ranks as one of the wholesome mirth-making actresses of the American stage. The plays in which she has starred include The Widow Jones, The Swell Miss Fitzgerald, Courted Into Court, Kate Kip, Buyer, and other farcical comedies. In 1878 she was married to Frederick W. Keller, of St. Louis, who died in 1886.

VIRGINIA HARNED.

Virginia Harned was born at Boston, and, at the age of sixteen, made her début as Lady Despar, in The Corsican Brothers. She first played in New York city in 1890 at the Fourteenth street theater in a play entitled “A Long Lane or Green Meadow.” In this play she made so good an impression that she was engaged by Daniel Frohman as leading woman for E. A. Sothern. In 1896 she was married to Mr. Sothern and has since appeared in leading parts in his company. Probably her greatest success was in the creation of the title rôle of Trilby.

MRS. LILLIE LANGTRY.

Mrs. Lillie Langtry, if she has done nothing else, has proven that a woman can command admiration even when she is no longer in the first flush of her youth or in the full bloom of her womanhood. This statement is made in view of the public regard which she still enjoys as an actress, in spite of the fact that she first saw the light in 1852, in Jersey, Great Britain. Her father was connected with the Established church of England. She married an officer in the English army and subsequently settled in London. Domestic differences ensuing, she went upon the stage. Her American début, as an actress, was made in 1893 at the Fifth avenue theater, New York. Since then she has visited this country on two or three occasions. Mrs. Langtry is popularly known as the Jersey Lily. She was married for the second time in 1899.

JULIA MARLOWE.

That tender and graceful exponent of some of Shakespeare’s women, Julia Marlowe, was born at Coldbeck, Cumberlandshire, England, August 17, 1870. She came with her parents to this country when she was five years of age. After a period spent in Kansas, the family removed to Cincinnati, where she attended public school until she was twelve years of age. She then became a member of a juvenile opera company which produced Pinafore, Chimes of Normandy, etc. After several years of arduous work and study, she appeared in New York, but was a failure. Not discouraged, however, she went to work to study again, and in the spring of 1897 attained that recognition from a metropolitan audience for which she had striven so faithfully. Since that time she has advanced in her profession and has secured a prominent place among the leading actresses of to-day.

ORGANIZERS AND LECTURERS.

CYNTHIA MAY WESTOVER ALDEN.

Mrs. Cynthia May Westover Alden is an example of the possibilities of journalism as a vocation for women. She was born at Afton, Iowa, May 31, 1862, being the daughter of Oliver S. and Lucilda (Lewis) Westover. After a period spent in local common schools, she graduated from the Colorado state university and the Denver business college. Subsequently she taught geology, book-keeping and vocal and instrumental music. The owner of an excellent voice, she was for some years a soprano soloist in several church choirs in New York. In 1887 she was appointed United States inspector of customs at the port of New York, and during her term of service as such made many important seizures. She was also secretary in a municipal department of New York, and for a time was an employee of the New York state museum of natural history, resigning therefrom to engage in journalism. After editing the woman’s department of the New York Recorder, she took charge of a similar department on the New York Tribune. She is now on the editorial staff of the Ladies’ Home Journal. Mrs. Alden is also the founder and president-general of the International Sunshine society. Her life has been as busy as useful, and she has made for herself a large circle of friends who, though not knowing her personally, are nevertheless acquainted with her through the medium of the kindly and helpful journalism with which she is so generally identified.

CLARA BARTON.

That most noted and beloved of humanitarians, Clara Barton, is of Puritan ancestry, being born in Oxford, Massachusetts, in 1830. She was the daughter of Captain Stephen and Sally Stone Barton, and was educated at Clinton, New York. When still very young she founded a seminary for girls at Elizabethtown, New Jersey. Later, she became principal of the first public school in Bordentown, New Jersey, resigned through sickness and was the first woman to hold a regular clerical position under the government, afterward being appointed to the patent office at Washington, District of Columbia. During the Civil war she was instrumental in forming the famous sanitary commission which did such magnificent work for the sick and wounded at Bull Run, Antietam, Spottsylvania and many other battlefields of the war. When the Andersonville prisoners were released they received timely aid through her relief work, and by her earnest efforts the fate of over thirty thousand missing men was ascertained by means of the bureau of records which she organized at Washington. During the Franco-Prussian war she and her assistants nursed the sick and wounded in Strasburg and Metz. In the days of the Commune she entered Paris, distributing food and clothing to the hungry and starving. On her return to the United States in 1873, she started the successful movement to obtain recognition of the projected Red Cross society from the government. In 1882 the society was organized and she became its first president. In that capacity she has superintended the work of giving help to sufferers from the Michigan forest fires, the earthquake at Charleston, floods on the Ohio and Mississippi, 1884; the Johnstown flood, the Galveston disaster, 1900, etc. Wherever there has been a cry from the sufferer, Clara Barton, often in the face of almost insurmountable difficulties and constant danger, has ever responded to the call of duty.

FRANCIS EDWARD CLARK.

Francis Edward Clark, the president of the United Societies of Christian Endeavor comes of New England stock, although he was born in Aylmer, province of Quebec, September 12, 1851. His parents died when he was a child, and his uncle, the Rev. E. W. Clark, adopted him and took him to Claremont, New Hampshire. Thus it was that he acquired a new name and country. Education and home influence inclined him to the ministry, and he early decided to become a clergyman. After an academic and college course—the latter at Dartmouth—he studied theology for three years at Andover, and was later appointed pastor of Williston church, Portland, Maine, a small mission from which he built a large Congregational church. One of his many ideas was the exaction of a pledge of faithful Christian endeavor from the members of his Bible classes. The results were of so marked a nature that the well-known society of which he is president was a consequence thereof. Churches of many denominations endorsed the idea, and within a few years national conventions of the organization were held which made the world think that a tidal wave of religious enthusiasm was sweeping over it. An organ of the movement was founded, entitled “The Golden Rule,” with Dr. Clark as editor-in-chief. The work continued to grow, and finally he was compelled to resign from the pastorate in order to devote himself to the needs of the society. The movement has extended all over the world, and in connection with it he has organized other societies, such as The Tenth Legions, The Macedonian Phalanx, The Christian Association, and Quiet Hour. Dr. Clark was married in 1876 to Harriet E. Abbott. He is the author of several books dealing with his life work.

MARY LOWE DICKINSON.

Mrs. Mary Lowe Dickinson, the well-known authoress, was born in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, in 1897. She received a preparatory education in the common schools, then was placed under the instruction of private tutors, and subsequently studied art and literature abroad. Returning to this country, she became head assistant in the Chapman school, Boston, taught for some time in the Hartford female seminary and finally was made principal of the Van Norman institute, New York. Marrying John B. Dickinson, a New York banker, she on his death some years since became professor of belles lettres, emeritus professor and lecturer at Denver university. She is now connected in an official capacity with a number of philanthropic and religious institutions, is the editor of Lend a Hand Magazine, and for ten years has edited The Silver Cross. She has written poems and works of fiction which are illustrative of various lines of philanthropic work.

THOMAS DIXON, JR.

Thomas Dixon, Jr., lecturer, writer and clergyman, was born in Shelby, North Carolina, January 11, 1864, his father being the Rev. Thomas Dixon. He graduated from Wake Forest college, North Carolina, in 1883, from the Greensboro, North Carolina, law school in 1886, and from Johns Hopkins university in 1899. Harriet Bussey became his wife on March 3, 1886, in Montgomery, Alabama. He was a member of the North Carolina legislature from 1884 to 1886. Resigning in order to enter the ministry, he was ordained a Baptist clergyman in 1887, taking a pastorate at Raleigh, North Carolina, and late in the same year accepted a call to Boston. Two years later he came to New York, where he has become noted by reason of his pulpit treatment of topics of the day in a manner uniquely his own. He is the author of several works on religious and social problems, one of which, The Failure of Protestantism in New York, which was published in 1897, has attracted much attention. Mr. Dixon is a forceful speaker, a man of magnetic presence, and possesses the courage of his convictions to a high degree.

HERBERT HUNGERFORD.

Herbert Hungerford was born at Binghamton, New York, February 22, 1874. He was brought up on a farm, obtained the groundwork of his education in district schools, and graduated from the academy at Windsor, New York, in 1895. The following year he entered Syracuse university, but was compelled to leave at the close of the freshman year on account of illness. Serving as a private in the First Regiment of New York volunteer infantry during the Spanish-American war, he, while the regiment was stationed at Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands, established, edited and published the News Muster, which was a unique contribution to the curiosities of journalism, being the first illustrated newspaper published by a body of soldiers in the field. At the close of the war he returned to Binghamton and there organized the initial branches of the Success league. Later he was called to New York to further and take charge of the development of the organization in question, which is a federation of literary, debating and self-culture societies. The league has developed rapidly under his direction, now having branches in every state and in nearly every city and town of importance in the United States. He was married, in 1898, to Grace M. Whipple, of Binghamton, New York.

JOHN MITCHELL.

The story of the early struggles of the labor leader, John Mitchell, is both pathetic and inspiring. A son of the common people, he has risen from being a poor door-boy in the coal mines of Illinois, to a position of great trust and general honor. Mr. Mitchell was born in Braidwood, Brill county, Illinois, February 4, 1869, being the son of Robert and Martha Mitchell. Compelled to leave school at the age of ten, his subsequent education was obtained by night study. He afterward studied law, worked on a farm, became coal miner and was finally attracted to the labor movement, which at that time was directed by the Knights of Labor. In 1888 he took an active part in trade union affairs as president of the local organization of the Knights. Knowing that knowledge is power, he read everything that came within his reach and joined debating societies, athletic associations, independent political reform clubs and various other organizations, in order to take advantage of the several opportunities that they presented to him. When, in January, 1890, the order of United Mine Workers of America was organized, he was among the first to be enrolled, and in January, 1898, was elected its vice-president. He has been re-elected every year since, is also second vice-president of the American Federation of Labor and a member of various committees at the National Civic Federation. During the five years of his leadership the union has grown from a membership of forty-three thousand to a membership of over three hundred thousand. He has brought about many reforms in the interests of labor. His chiefest achievement is that of securing a settlement of the recent great coal mine strike through the arbitration commission appointed by President Roosevelt. He has demonstrated anew the force of the maxim that “It is to him only who has conquered himself it is given to conquer.”

ERNEST THOMPSON-SETON.

Historians of the Wild—of the denizens of fields and woods and rivers—there are and have been, but in the majority of instances their work has been confined to mere descriptions of the personalities of birds and beasts and fish from the standpoint of the museum, rather than from that of the interested, if unscientific, observer. Ernest Thompson-Seton, however, naturalist and artist, has, through the medium of his books, managed to so wed popular interest and scientific data that the result is fascinating in the extreme. He has shown, too, that to a man of talent there is always a new field to be discovered amid the old ones, which, apart from all else, is a lesson that no one can afford to ignore. Thompson-Seton was born in South Shields, England, August 14, 1860. He is a descendant of the famous Setons of Scotland, Thompson being a _nom de plume_. Coming to this country when a boy, he at first lived in the backwoods of Canada and also had experiences on the plains of the then far west. He was educated at the Toronto collegiate institute and also at the Royal academy, London, England. In 1896 he married Grace, daughter of Albert Gallatin, of San Francisco. His qualifications as a naturalist becoming known to the government of Manitoba, he was made official naturalist therefor, subsequently publishing works on the birds and mammals of that territory. He studied art in Paris and was at one time one of the chief illustrators of the Century dictionary. His works on natural history topics are well known. Thompson-Seton is what may be called a psychological naturalist, inasmuch as he analyzes the mentalities of his subjects. The results are seen in such books as The Biography of a Grizzly, The Trail of the Sand Hill Stag, Wild Animals I Have Known, etc.

CANADIANS.

SIR WILFRID LAURIER.

The man who stands before the world as Canada’s most distinguished statesman is Sir Wilfrid Laurier, Premier of the Dominion. Sir Wilfrid has very broad and very optimistic ideas as to the destiny of Canada, and these he expresses with a poetic eloquence which never fails to arouse enthusiasm. His oratory takes lofty flights.

Sir Wilfrid was born in the Province of Quebec in 1841. French was the language of his childhood. He went to school in his native parish, and later took the classical course at L’Assomption College. He began in 1860 to study law in the office of the late Hon. R. Laflamme, Q. C., who was Minister of Justice for the Dominion and one of Sir Wilfrid’s colleagues at Ottawa, when the latter became a member of Parliament. He was admitted to the bar in 1864. Eager to succeed, he devoted himself so zealously to his legal work that after three years of practice his health gave way, and he was forced to retire to the country. In the town of L’Avena he became editor of _Le Defrecheur_, a journal devoted to political and social reform. It was in this work that he first actively interested himself in politics. His articles in the journal were full of the earnestness, enthusiasm and eloquence which have since brought him fame.

Country air agreed with the young lawyer and writer. He regained his health, and opened a law office at St. Cristophe, now Arthabaskaville, where he made his home until he removed to Ottawa as Prime Minister of Canada. He first held office in 1871, when he was elected to the Quebec Assembly. He resigned his seat in the general elections of 1874, was elected by the same constituency to the Dominion House of Commons, and when Parliament assembled was given the honor of seconding the address in reply to the speech from the Throne. His burst of oratory on the occasion attracted wide attention and caused prophecies to be freely made that he was destined for great things.

It was only two years afterward, in 1876, that he attained the distinction of a position in the Cabinet, being appointed Minister of the Internal Revenue in the Mackenzie administration. His constituency did not support him in the next general election, but he was returned to Parliament from Quebec East, which constituency has ever since been his political sponsor. When the Mackenzie government was defeated in the elections of 1878, Mr. Laurier, who had by this time become the acknowledged leader of the Liberal party in Quebec, joined his friends in Opposition and waited for eighteen years for his party’s return to power. This came in 1896. Mr. Laurier was then supreme in the House of Commons, and was called upon to organize a new government. Thus it was that he rose to the exalted position of Premier of Canada and found the opportunities which have given him so high a place among the world’s statesmen.

Perhaps the most important policy which he inaugurated upon his rise to power was that of a preferential tariff in favor of Great Britain. It was due to this policy, as well as to his high position in the affairs of Canada, that when he went to England upon the occasion of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in 1897 he was received with distinguished honor. The Queen made him a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St. Michael and St. George. Oxford and Cambridge Universities conferred upon him honorary degrees. Upon a visit to the Continent of Europe during this trip abroad he was entertained by President Faure of France and was received by the Pope at Rome. When he returned to Canada he was greeted with great enthusiasm by all classes. In the general election of 1904 Sir Wilfrid’s administration gained a triumphant endorsement at the polls.

LORD STRATHCONA.

One of the foremost of Canada’s great workers is Lord Strathcona, who, as Donald Smith, was born in Scotland in 1820. He received his preliminary education in the common schools. He gave up the law, and became, when he was eighteen, an employee of the Hudson Bay Company on the bleak coast of Labrador.

Here he remained for thirteen years, becoming one of the company’s most valued traders. From Labrador he went, in 1851, into the wilderness of the Northwest, where he rose through the grades of trader, chief trader, factor and chief factor. In 1869 he reached the top rung of the ladder in the Hudson Bay Company, receiving the appointment of resident governor.

He established himself in Montreal, but when the half breeds and Indians under the leadership of Louis Riel rose in rebellion against the project of transferring to the Crown the vast tracts of territory belonging to the Hudson Bay Company, Donald Smith again utilized his remarkable skill and experience in dealing with these children of nature. He went to the seat of the trouble at Red River Settlement, where he was made a prisoner and threatened with death. He obtained his liberty, and through his strong but adroit attitude toward the rebels was able to keep them in check until the arrival of troops. As a reward for this achievement he was elected to the Dominion House of Commons, and became a zealous supporter of the administration of Sir John McDonald.

In the early seventies Donald Smith undertook to raise the very large amount of capital necessary for the new Canadian Pacific railroad across the continent. On more than one occasion the enterprise threatened ruin for those connected with it, but Donald Smith eventually triumphed, and in 1885 the road was completed to the Pacific. The man who had commenced life as an humble trader had become by this time a celebrated and very important man in Canada, and in recognition of his services Queen Victoria bestowed on him in 1886 the Grand Cross of the Order of St. Michael and St. George. Upon the occasion of the Queen’s Jubilee in 1897, being then Lord High Commissioner of Canada, Sir Donald was raised to the peerage, and became Lord Strathcona. In commemoration of the Jubilee he gave in the same year, jointly with Lord Mount Stephen, the sum of one million dollars to the Royal Victoria Hospital in Montreal, and eight hundred thousand dollars more to endow the institution, which, through his generosity, has become one of the best equipped hospitals on the continent. Lord Strathcona has also given at least a million dollars to education in Canada, most of the money going to McGill University. He has also contributed largely to the Royal Victoria Hospital for Women in Montreal. Lord Strathcona’s philanthropy is made the more notable by the fact that while he has large means, he does not possess the immense wealth of some of the American financiers. In addition to his railway and numerous other interests in Canada, he is president of the Bank of Montreal, which is one of the largest banking institutions in the world.

At the outbreak of the war between Great Britain and the Boers Lord Strathcona further increased his usefulness to Canada and the Empire by the organization of a body of mounted troops called “the Strathcona Horse.” These men, many of whom were recruited from the Northwest, and who represented the flower of Canadian horsemanship and valor, went to South Africa, and greatly distinguished themselves in the service of the Queen. Their work at the front was not as important, however, as was their influence in the direction of solidifying the union between the mother country and the colony.

In spite of the fact that he is now eighty-four years old, Lord Strathcona is still a restless and energetic spirit. He has residences in Montreal, Winnipeg, Nova Scotia, Scotland and London, and divides his time between them. In London he is fond of entertaining the leaders in political and commercial life. He spends much of his time in Canada, however, and often makes trips across the continent. In many respects he is Canada’s most remarkable citizen.

ILLUSTRATORS.

WILLIAM DE LEFTWICH DODGE.

Among the American mural decorators who have achieved a reputation which is not confined to the land of their birth, is William de Leftwich Dodge. Some of the principal decorations of the Boston public library and the capitol of Washington are the outcome of his genius. He has also executed a number of private commissions, and in each and every instance has given evidence of fertile imagination and forceful execution. It is perhaps too much to say that Mr. Dodge has inaugurated or suggested a new school of mural art, but it is certain that he has so modified accepted methods that the results are practically without precedent as far as his special line of work is concerned. He was born in Liberty, Virginia, and, after a preliminary art education in this country, studied in Paris and Munich. He began his career proper as an illustrator, but it was not long before he realized that his future lay along the lines of decoration rather than in the pages of publications, and, as has been intimated, his successes have vindicated the wisdom of his decision. He has been awarded the third medal of the Concours d’Atelier, Paris; the gold medal, Prize Fund exposition, 1886; three medals Cours Yvon, 1887; Prix d’Atelier, 1888, and medal of the Columbian exposition, 1893.

CHARLES MENTE.

Charles Mente, a popular illustrator, comes of a musical family, and so narrowly escaped being a musician instead of an artist. He was born in New York city, educated in the public schools and afterward learned wood-carving, making figureheads and ornamental work on furniture. This work was not to his taste, however, so he entered the credit department of A. T. Stewart’s store, New York city. This was even more distasteful, and, resigning, he spent his evenings attending Cooper institute art classes, and later the art students’ league. At that time all illustrations were drawn on wood. Mr. Mente’s first drawing was for Harper & Brothers, and was successful, and for two years he worked for that firm. By the end of that period he had managed to save about $1,500, with which he went abroad to study in Munich at the Royal academy. There he received a medal, with honorable mention. Coming back to New York, he was engaged as a teacher of painting at the Gotham art students’ league, but gave up this position to devote himself to painting and illustration. He has received first prize at the exposition of the Chicago society of artists, a gold medal of the Art club of Philadelphia in 1895, and a diploma of excellence and silver medal at the Cotton States’ international exposition, Atlanta, Georgia, in 1895. Mr. Mente’s reputation rests to a great extent on his pictures based on inspirational subjects.

THURE DE THULSTRUP.

The vigor of the work of Thure de Thulstrup is known to the reading public mainly through his illustrations in metropolitan magazines, but he has also painted a number of canvases which show that he is as much at home with the brush as with the crayon or pencil. Thulstrup was born in Stockholm, Sweden, and, after graduating from the Royal Swedish military academy, was commissioned a lieutenant of artillery in the army of that country. But being of an adventurous spirit, he went to Algiers, where he enlisted in the First Zouave Regiment of the French army, saw some service in Northern Africa, and was afterward given a commission in the Foreign Legion. While a member of that body, he took part in the Franco-German war of 1870-’71, and also assisted in crushing the Commune in Paris. In 1872 he set sail for Canada, where he obtained a position as civil engineer. From his boyhood he had delighted in sketching, and it was about this time that he determined to put his artistic gifts to practical use. His début as an illustrator was with the New York Daily Graphic in the 70’s. Subsequently he became connected with the Frank Leslie Magazine and with Harper & Brothers, and it was his work with the last named firm that established his reputation as an illustrator. He has painted a number of military pictures, including a series of twelve which have to do with stirring events of the Civil war in this country. Recently he has been engaged on canvases which illustrate cavalier life in Virginia in the middle of the eighteenth century. He has drawn the pictures of a number of books.

CARTOONISTS.

T. S. ALLEN.

One of the artists whose purpose in life seems to be smile-breeding is T. S. Allen. Well known in connection with his work in the columns of the New York American, his studies of and contingent jokes on “tough” youngsters under the caption of “Just Kids” are full of genuine humor. Mr. Allen was born in 1869, in Lexington, Kentucky, and was educated at Transylvania university, of that state. After some years spent in writing jokes, jingles, etc., for local and New York newspapers, he began to illustrate the same in a manner which quickly caught the attention of editors. To-day he has an established reputation as a graphic humorist, and his work finds a ready and remunerative market.

CHARLES G. BUSH.

Charles G. Bush, the cartoonist of the New York World, is an example of success achieved comparatively late in life. His early work consisted for the most part of magazine illustrations of a serious nature. After studying in Paris, under Bonnat, he, on his return to America, endeavored to follow a career of painting, but fate willed it otherwise. In 1895 Mr. Bush drew a cartoon in which David B. Hill was the principal figure. The New York Herald accepted the picture, and the next morning Mr. Bush woke up to find himself famous as a cartoonist. From thence on his career has been one of more or less constant successes.

LOUIS DALRYMPLE.

Louis Dalrymple, the illustrator and cartoonist, was born at Cambridge, Illinois, January 19, 1861. After receiving a common school education, he entered the Pennsylvania academy of fine arts, graduated from it with credit and later studied at the art students’ league of New York. Subsequently he branched out for himself and began to submit drawings to the metropolitan comic publications and newspapers. Work of this kind secures immediate recognition for an artist who can comply with the public demands of the moment. Mr. Dalrymple being not only clever but shrewd, it came about that within a very short time he was kept busy in executing commissions. His work is characterized by a delicacy and acumen that prove that he thinks as well as he draws.

SYDNEY B. GRIFFIN.

When the modern daily newspaper began to add to its news columns the so-called supplement, there was a coincident demand for artists who had the gift of humor. Sydney B. Griffin was one of such, and for some years past his supply of unique ideas seems to have been inexhaustible. He was born October 15, 1854, of English and Scotch parents, attended public schools at Detroit, Michigan, and, in 1888, came to New York. When his first ideas were presented to Puck they were declined, but upon his taking them to Judge they were accepted forthwith. Mr. Griffin took the trouble to inform the Puck people of his success with their rivals, whereupon he was told that his work had been refused for the simple reason that it was so excellent that it was feared that it was not original. However, Puck made the amende honorable by engaging him forthwith. Mr. Griffin’s style is bold and slashing and his drawings are full of point and power.

R. F. OUTCAULT.

In the world of illustrators, the man who can originate an idea which excites the laughter and holds the attention of the public is indeed fortunate. Such an individual is R. F. Outcault, the artistic father of the “Buster Brown” series which appear in the Sunday New York Herald. He is also the author of the “Yellow Kid” and “Hogan’s Alley” pictures of the Sunday New York World, and of equally laughable creations in the New York American and other publications. Born in Lancaster, Ohio, January 14, 1853, he was educated in that town. In 1888 he secured a position with Edison, and went to Paris in the inventor’s employ. Returning to this country, he illustrated for some time with a fair degree of success, but it was not until 1894 that he made his first distinctive hit as a comic artist. Mr. Outcault’s personal description of his daily life is interesting. He says: “I have flowers, a garden, a dog and a cat, good music, good books, light stories, draw pictures, smoke a pipe, talk single tax theories, am a member of a couple of clubs, lead the Simple Life.”

CARL E. SCHULTZE.

Humor, strenuous and wholesome, marks the work of Carl E. Schultze. His name is literally a household word in this country by reason of that quaint conceit, “Foxy Grandpa,” of which he is the creator. He was born on May 25, 1866, Lexington, New York, and was educated in the public schools of that town and at Cassel, Germany. On his return to America he studied art under Walter Satterlee, of New York. For some time later he seems to have been undecided as to how to apply his gifts, but an accidental sketch submitted to a Chicago paper, resulted in his being forthwith engaged by that publication. After remaining in Chicago on several newspapers for some years, he took a trip to California, doing further artistic work in San Francisco. At length he determined to beard the metropolitan journalist lions in their dens. After a struggle, during which he did work on Judge and other New York publications, he became a member of the staff of the Herald, where, thanks to an accidental inspiration, “Foxy Grandpa” came into existence. Later he became connected with the New York American. Mr. Schultze is a man of magnificent physique, and is held in high esteem by those who know him. He is the author of several works of comic drawings, and “Foxy Grandpa” has been dramatized.

EUGENE ZIMMERMAN.

Eugene Zimmerman’s cartoons in Judge are characterized by an insight into the political questions of the hour which is assisted rather than hindered by the sheer humor of his work. He was born at Basel, Switzerland, May 25, 1862. While yet a baby his parents came to the United States and settled at Paterson, New Jersey, where he received his education in the public schools. After leaving school, he was in turn a farmer’s boy, an errand boy in a store, a fish peddler, a baker and a sign painter, but sketched and drew continuously. In 1882 he secured a position in the art rooms of Puck, and after doing considerable work for that publication left it in order to join Judge. He has also illustrated books and articles by Bill Nye and James Whitcomb Riley. As a caricaturist pure and proper he is almost without a rival in this country.

HUMORISTS.

GEORGE ADE.

George Ade has an established reputation among those who are lovers of wholesome humor. His sketches, given in a picturesque dialect, are characterized by a freshness of observation which is aided rather than marred by the so-called slang in which they are written. Born at Kentland, Newton county, Indiana, February 9, 1866, he graduated from the University of Lafayette, Indiana, and subsequently became reporter and telegraph editor on the Lafayette Evening Call. In 1891 he went to Chicago, as a member of the staff of the Daily News of that city, and afterward joined the forces of the Tribune. After establishing a reputation as a humorist, he turned playwright and has scored several metropolitan successes. His Fables in Slang, issued in 1899, and More Fables are the best known of his pen products.

JOHN KENDRICK BANGS.

John Kendrick Bangs occupies a distinctive position in the domain of humor. To use the vernacular, he is in a class by himself, and so the products of his pen can hardly be referred to or compared with that of any other of the writers of to-day. He was born in Yonkers, New York, May 27, 1862, his father being Francis N. Bangs, who for many years was the president of the Bar association of New York. Mr. Bangs graduated from Columbia university in 1883 and entered his father’s office, but his humor would not down, and so it was that he shortly deserted the law in order to become the associate editor of Life. This was in 1884. Since that time he has held many responsible journalistic positions in New York, and in his present capacity as editor of Harper’s Weekly has added much to the reputation which is deservedly his.

SAMUEL LANGHORN CLEMENS.

Samuel L. Clemens, who is better known as “Mark Twain,” was born in Monroe county, Missouri, November 30, 1835, and received his education at the village schools. On his father’s death, which took place when he was twelve years of age, he went to work in order to contribute to the support of his mother and little brothers and sisters. As an apprentice in the office of the Hannibal (Missouri) Courier, he laid the foundations of his reputation as author and journalist. Within the following twenty-five years he was steamboat pilot, soldier, miner and editor. His first contributions under his famous nom-de-plume appeared in 1862, in the newspaper, The Virginia City Enterprise. Since 1872 he has devoted himself to literary work, lecturing occasionally, and making frequent trips to Europe. It is said that nearly a million copies of his works have been sold. Space will not permit of a full list of them, but Roughing It, The Prince and the Pauper, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, and Pudden-Head Wilson are classics whose popularity bids fair to last as long as American literature itself.

FINLEY PETER DUNNE.

The author of the immortal “Mr. Dooley” is Finley Peter Dunne, who began life as a Chicago reporter, but is now under contract to Harper Brothers to write exclusively for their publications. He was born at Chicago, July 10, 1867, was educated in local public schools and began his reportorial life in 1885. After serving on the staffs of several Chicago papers he became editor of the Journal of that city in 1897. It was about this time that he conceived “Mr. Dooley.” The reputation which that unique character brought him resulted in his being engaged to contribute to a syndicate of New York, Chicago and San Francisco newspapers, and later to form his current connection with the Harpers.

SIMEON FORD.

Simeon Ford, the after-dinner speaker and raconteur who, so it is said, can look more sad and at the same time talk more humorously than any other man before the American public, was born in Lafayette, Indiana, in 1856. After an education received in the public schools of the town of his birth he studied law, but finding that there was but little merriment in Blackstone and briefs, abandoned his first intentions, and after plunges into various businesses, drifted to New York, where, in 1883, he fell in love with and married Julia Shaw, the daughter of the proprietor of the Grand Union hotel. He forthwith became a partner with his father-in-law, and from thence on has been as successful as a hotel manager as he is famous as an after-dinner speaker.

ELIZABETH MERIWETHER GILMER.

Elizabeth Meriwether Gilmer, whose nom-de-plume is “Dorothy Dix,” was born in Montgomery county, Tennessee, November 18, 1870. She was married November 21, 1888, to George O. Gilmer. In 1896 she became the editor of the woman’s department of the New Orleans Picayune, and contributed to that paper a series of articles called Dorothy Dix Talks, which won her immediate recognition as a humorist. In 1900 she joined the New York American and Journal staff as a writer on special topics, which she treats in a breezy, snappy fashion.

GEORGE V. HOBART.

George V. Hobart, the humorist and librettist, who is well known to the newspaper public under his nom-de-plume of Dinkelspiel, was born at Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. When a boy he studied telegraphy and obtained a position as an operator on one of the Cumberland (Maryland) newspapers. One day between the clicks of his instrument he wrote a humorous story, and handed it to the editor, who remarked, “I want more of that.” That was the beginning of the famous Dinkelspiel sketches. Mr. W. R. Hearst, of the New York American, saw Hobart’s work, called him to New York. He is the author of several comedies and books of musical productions.

MELVIN DE LANCY LANDON.

Melvin De Lancy Landon, “Eli Perkins,” was born at Eaton, New York, September 7, 1839. After a course of preparation in the public schools he entered Union college and graduated in 1861. One week later he received an appointment from the United States treasury, but soon resigned his position to enlist in the Union army to take part in the Civil war. He left the army, in 1864, with the rank of major. Next he became a cotton planter in Arkansas and Louisiana. Later he traveled in Europe and was secretary of the United States legation at St. Petersburg. In 1877 he was married to Emily Louise Smith. He has written copiously for magazines and other publications. But it is his books, Wit, Humor and Pathos, Franco-Prussian War, Wit and Humor of the Age, Kings of Platform and Pulpit, and Thirty Years of Wit, upon which his reputation as a humorist rests.

JOURNALISTS AND WRITERS.

STEPHEN BONSAL.

A most industrious contributor to magazines and writer of short stories is Stephen Bonsal. He was born in Virginia in 1863, and educated in St. Paul’s school, Concord, New Hampshire. After finishing his studies in this country he went to Gottingen and Heidelberg, Germany. Returning to this country, he entered journalism. In this connection he is best known as representing the New York Herald during the Bulgarian-Servian war. In the service of that newspaper, he also went to Macedonia, Morocco and Cuba. Leaving newspaper work, he next entered the United States diplomatic service and was secretary of legation and chargé d’affaires in Pekin, Madrid, Tokio and Corea from 1890 to 1896. Besides his magazine work, he is the author of several books, including Morocco As It Is and The Real Condition of Cuba.

RICHARD HARDING DAVIS.