J. Everist Cathell, S.T.D: lecturer

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J. Everist Cathell, S.T.D. Lecturer
A BROCKWAY ATTRACTION



A Great Lecture on
Abraham Lincoln
By Dr. J. Everist Cathell
Dr. Cathell has prepared a lecture of careful study of Abraham Lincoln, the subject of more interesting and varied discussion than has been expended upon any other historical character of this country.  It is more than a generation since Abraham Lincoln became of much note in the world, but he yet stands apart in striking solitude — an enigma!  Of each person who endeavors to write or speak of him it is eagerly asked: Can you explain this man?  Have you solved aught of the mystery?  What light do you bring?  The centennial of his birth has inspired a new study of the circumstances which so converged upon a single person and upon a special national crisis as to invest them with the splendid importance which crystallized about Abraham Lincoln and his most difficult time.


Personal and Press Commendations

LOU J. BEAUCHAMP.
Hamilton, Ohio, Sept. 17, 1908.

There are many lectures on Abraham Lincoln, given by many notable persons, but it seems to me that the lecture by Dr. J. Everist Cathell on that subject gives us pre-eminently the real Lincoln, the man of the tender heart as well as the great, strong soul, the man who was so tenderly human, and yet so superhuman in many of his attributes—as none of the other lecturers seem to do.  Dr. Cathell thrills with much of his story of the great Commoner's public life, yet before you are aware of it, the tears are flowing as though the one wept for was a close personal friend just passed away.  It is a masterly production, this lecture of Dr. Cathell's, and gives many new views of the times that tried all hearts in the '60's, and of the wonderful character who was so manifestly the man of the hour.



RICHMOND (IND.) DAILY MORNING NEWS.
December 5, 1908.

Dr. J. Everist Cathell's lecture on Lincoln, delivered to a representative audience of eight hundred persons last evening in the Coliseum, was one of the most brilliant and entertaining addresses given in Richmond for a long time, Dr. Cathell's oratorical gifts and his comprehensive knowledge of his subject making for its successful presentation.  Dr. Cathell was introduced by Judge D. W. Comstock, who made a happy introductory speech.  The lecturer reviewed the life of Lincoln and the history of the period in which he became so dominant a figure in a picturesque and dramatic manner, interspersed the more serious narrative with many amusing anecdotes and much delightful and most instructive comment.  The relation of his intercession, as a boy of twelve, for the release of his father, who had been falsely arrested soon after the beginning of the war, and his personal interview with President Lincoln, thrilled his audience, which punctuated his entire address with frequent and appreciative applause.



BOWLING GREEN (KY.) TIMES-JOURNAL.
January 9, 1909.

There was a large audience at Vanmeter Hall last night to hear Dr. J. Everist Cathell's lecture on Abraham Lincoln.  It was a scholarly effort, replete with valuable information, enlivened with humor, and delighted the audience immensely.  The consensus of opinion is that Dr. Cathell is one of the most powerful, fascinating and irresistible platform orators ever heard in this old college town.



INDIANA ASSOCIATION OF SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS TEACHERS.
Indianapolis, Ind., Dec. 18, 1908.

On the evening of Dec. 4, 1908, I had the pleasure of listening to a lecture on Abraham Lincoln by Dr. J. Everist Cathell.  Never before had Abraham Lincoln been anything to me more than an historical character.  I hope every school boy and school girl in our land may hear this lecture and learn to love this Man of Sorrows.  Nothing can kindle a greater love of country than to hear a lecture like this.  In listening to this lecture, the lecturer was entirely forgotten, so rapt became the listener in the great subject.  This is the highest tribute I can offer.  The lecture is a masterpiece, delivered with matchless eloquence, in faultless English.

J. F. THOMPSON, Secretary.



T. HENRY DAVIS, M. D., Indiana State Board of Health.
Having had the pleasure of listening to Dr. J. Everist Cathell's lecture on Lincoln last evening, I take this first opportunity of stating that when I entered the lecture room, I was not aware of what a rare treat was in store for me.  His rendition of the character and personality of Lincoln was unique and away from the ordinary.  The lecture was a succession of agreeable surprises.  The heretofore unwritten phases of his character were developed in such an agreeable manner, my only regret was that the hour demanded the ending of the eloquent and instructive address.




THE SUBJECTS OF OTHER LECTURES:

The Meaning of Education
Ultimate (American) Christianity
Oratory and Orators
Jews and Jewels
Reminiscences of the Civil War and Its Personnel

(After July 1) Daniel Webster

BROCKWAY LYCEUM BUREAU
6101 Penn Ave.,   Pittsburg, Pa.





PERSONAL AND PRESS COMMENDATIONS OF
Dr. J. Everist Cathell

THE JACKSON (MICH.) PATRIOT.
December 8, 1908.

Dr. J. Everist Cathell spoke for two hours to a very large audience at the First M. E. church last evening as a number of the lecture course.  The subject was Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War.  For the benefit of those not present, it may be stated that Dr. Cathell is nearly 60 years of age, a clergyman built on lines which suggest a very portly business man.  Dr. Cathell is as brainy as he is large, and to any who have a liking for historical references as matters of interest and entertainment, the smooth, scholarly address regarding Lincoln and his connections with the war must certainly have appealed.  Dr. Cathell did not so state, but it is evident that an incident in the life of Dr. Cathell which caused him to always read every word printed regarding Lincoln and his connection with the war, even to records at Washington which have never been given great publicity, and it is a safe statement that, but for the incident referred to, there would have been no such brilliant lecture on the subject by Dr. Cathell.  Being thus full of the subject with which he dealt, and possessing an easy delivery, the speaker was able at all times to hold the strict attention of his hearers, and it is more than likely that the majority of the audience would have been satisfied to have remained a further hour with a continuation of the address.  The life of Lincoln and the history of the war are familiar subjects, but some of Dr. Cathell's points which were made most acceptable are, briefly, the good-for-nothing character of Thomas Lincoln, the father of an immortal son, and the pure and noble woman, Nancy Hanks, the mother of Lincoln; Thomas Jefferson, the forerunner of Lincoln as an opponent to slavery; the close connection of the advance in the cotton industry and the growth of slavery; Lincoln, the true physician to diagnose the disease in the body politic; nomination and election of Lincoln repudiated by leaders in his own party, and the loneliness of the man in the trying times of the war, with many public men against him, but the hearts of the people with him.  Contrary to most references to Lincoln, the speaker only in passing referred to Lincoln as a story teller and a man of humor.  He played strongest with the feature of distrust and annoyance thrust at Lincoln while piloting the nation through its crisis of civil war.



HON. J. B. SULLIVAN OF IOWA.
Dr. J. Everist Cathell is not alone an effective orator and pleasing speaker, but first of all is a scholar of ripe experience.  His studious habits have led him to become familiar with questions that are today agitating the public mind.  He was recently invited by the Board of Education to deliver the commencement address to the three hundred members of the graduating class of the Des Moines High Schools.  He chose as his subject, The Meaning of Education.  The address was one worthy of the speaker and of the occasion.  In clear and incisive manner, he set forth what education means in a way that was striking, cumulative and forcible, the thought being, that true education is not book learning only, but also the knowledge of life and the relationship of man to society.  Dr. Cathell is a worthy citizen and gentleman of high order.

J. B. SULLIVAN.



MEDFORD (OKLA.) PATRIOT STAR.
Thursday, Nov. 19, 1908.

The lecture on Abraham Lincoln, delivered by Dr. J. Everist Cathell at the opera house last Monday evening as the second number of the lecture course, was a treat to lovers of history.  Living in Washington at the time the great events transpired which immortalized the martyred Lincoln; of an age when deep impressions were made upon his mind; it is congruous that Dr. Cathell should speak of this great historical character in an interesting manner.  The portrayal of scenes so closely connected with the civil war, which cannot be presented without referring to Lincoln, recalled to the aged members of the audience the years that stirred the nation to its foundation.  Many incidents were related by Dr. Cathell not given in history, yet which came under his own observation.  To the younger members of the audience it was a lesson long to be remembered.  Dr. Cathell is a pleasant and impressionable speaker.  He speaks fluently without notes, having the data of his lecture thoroughly in mind and being able to present it in an attractive and interesting manner.



MEMPHIS (TENN.) COMMERCIAL APPEAL.
The Commercial-Appeal, in commenting upon the lecture of Dr. Cathell on Oratory and Orators at the Goodwyn Institute of that city, spoke as follows: Dr. Cathell is a very interesting speaker.  His whole heart and his every effort is centered on his subject.  His plea for the preservation of the old school of oratory was a forceful one.  His history of oratory, dealing with it from the time the world was created until the present day, is an ample proof of years of deep study.  Dr. Cathell is full of originality.  His stories for the greater part have a touch of pathos which wins the hearts of his hearers and enlists their sympathy.



GOODWYN INSTITUTE.
Memphis, Tenn., Dec. 9, 1908.

Rev. J. Everist Cathell.

My Dear Dr. Cathell. — I write to express my appreciation of the splendid lecture you gave our audience in Goodwyn Institute Monday night on Oratory and Orators.  I consider it a privilege to have met you, and am glad that Goodwyn Institute had the opportunity of presenting your lecture to one of our Memphis audiences.  With best wishes for your continued success, I beg to remain,

Sincerely yours,
C. C. OGILVIE, Superintendent.



STATE NORMAL SCHOOL, BOWLING GREEN, KY. H. H. Cherry, President.
January 9, 1909…

Rev. Dr. J. Everist Cathell gave us a splendid lecture last night.  We have heard here many of the most celebrated lecturers of the age.  Dr. Cathell is the peer of any I have ever heard.  His lecture on Lincoln is a masterpiece in conception, diction and delivery.

J. M. GUILLIAMS, Professor of English.




S. R. LYONS, D. D., Pastor Reid Memorial Church.
Richmond, Ind., March 10, 1909.

The lecture by Dr. J. Everist Cathell, last night, at the English Lutheran church, on Oratory and Orators I count a fine specimen of what the lecture platform ought to furnish.  He gave us a fine definition of a great art; his illustrations brought us close to the heart of some of the world's great orators; he himself, the while, being the true orator.  Best of all was the uplift, the inspiration of it, giving us what no money can buy, the strength and beauty of another man's spirit.



PADUCAH (KY.) SUN.
July, 1908.

Abraham Lincoln, the Keystone of the American Historical Arch, was the subject of a most admirable and illuminating lecture at the Chautauqua pavilion last evening by Dr. J. Everist Cathell of Richmond, Indiana.  His audience was among the best since the Chautauqua opened, and although he brought a northern subject into a southern community, he was most cordially received.  Dr. Cathell began by picturing the setting for Lincoln's early life, the beautiful rural districts of Kentucky, his humble origin, his scanty facilities for self-improvement, his ungainly natural endowments, and all of those adverse conditions which are more or less familiar to every American.  Then he showed Lincoln surmounting each obstacle in the way of the expression of his innate character, coming out of an environment comparable to the middle ages, into a complete sympathy with modern civilization at fifty years of age.  How the economic phase of slavery gained the ascendancy in the minds of the southern half of the republic, among a people of no less natural spirituality than the north, was graphically described, and how Lincoln saw the fatality of a house divided against itself and strove ever to preserve the union, was clearly portrayed.  Lincoln inaugurated his administration with his own party divided against itself as to policy, and by the giant strength of his own splendid common sense he guided the ship of state through its worst civil gale.  Lincoln was of a religious temperament, Dr. Cathell said, and he told incidents from his personal acquaintance with the martyred president to illustrate his point.  Southern sentiment has always felt kindly toward Lincoln, and lectures like Dr. Cathell's tend more to eliminate sectional feeling.



KENYON COLLEGE. Rooms of the President.
Gambier, Ohio, Feb. 22, 1909.

Dr. J. Everist Cathell lectured before Kenyon College on the subject Abraham Lincoln.  The lecture was delivered on the Larwill foundation and deeply impressed the audience.  Dr. Cathell is an interesting and effective speaker and has his subject thoroughly in hand.  His information is extensive, and personal reminiscence and experience add to the interest of his tribute.  The treatment of Lincoln's character and work must prove interesting and inspiring to any American audience.

WILLIAM F. PEIRCE.



L. H. STEVENS, Pastor M. E. Church.
Clarkston, Mich., Dec. 28, 1908.

The lecture on Abraham Lincoln, delivered by Dr. J. Everist Cathell, was very highly appreciated by the large number of people who heard him last Monday night.  It gives me personal pleasure to say, that it is one of the very best lectures I ever heard—certainly a feast of good things.  There was not a moment during the two hours of its delivery when the audience was not interested very deeply.



HON. JOHN BELL KEEBLE, President Monteagle Assembly.
I had the pleasure of hearing the lecture on Abraham Lincoln, delivered by Dr. J. Everist Cathell at the Monteagle Assembly this summer.  Dr. Cathell presented in a forceful way the heart side of Lincoln.  Such a treatment of this phase of Lincoln would not be possible except from a man who had had personal contact with him.  I am sure that the people of the South especially, will be glad to hear this expression of a great phase of a great man's character.



THE LAW SCHOOL. Vanderbilt University.
Nashville, Tenn., Aug. 15, 1908.

Dr. J. Everist Cathell recently delivered his lecture on Abraham Lincoln before a representative southern audience at the Monteagle Assembly.  Dr. Cathell has a pleasing manner and a delightful voice for lecture work and received a number of commendations upon his effort.  He made a pleasant impression upon our people.  He made a pleasant impression upon our people.  Wishing you much good luck, I am yours truly,
ALLEN G. HALL, Superintendent Summer Schools and Platform Manager Monteagle Assembly.



WISCONSIN LEGISLATURE. Assembly Chamber, Madison.
Grand Rapids, Wis., Feb. 7, 1909.

This city was favored, last evening, with a literary treat of unusual merit.  Dr. J. Everist Cathell of Richmond, Indiana, spoke for over two hours before a large and appreciative audience on the subject of Abraham Lincoln, and he held his audience fascinated by his realistic descriptions of the many traits of character of our martyred president.  Dr. Cathell possesses the rare gifts of the natural orator—entertaining, brilliant, dramatic and witty.  Coupled with these qualities, he has a deep human sympathy which gives him rank among America's greatest platform speakers.  Dr. Cathell became so realistic in his vivid portrayal of Lincoln's character, citing many personal reminiscences, that the audience was made to feel the living presence of his great subject.  I consider his lecture among the best that I have ever heard, bringing, as he did, the great Commoner close to the hearts of all of us in admiration, sympathy, communion.

GEO. P. HAMBRECHT.




THE REV. ALFRED WILSON GRIFFIN, Chaplain of Kemper Hall School.
Kenosha, Wis., March 12, 1909.

We are still talking of your visit to Kemper Hall and of the pleasure and profit we derived from your lecture and your sermon on Sunday.  Not often in our School Lecture Course have the subject and the speaker combined to furnish an evening of such an intense and absorbing interest as in your lecture on Abraham Lincoln.  Your personal recollection of him made him seem so much more real than any of us had ever been able to conceive of him.  A student audience, and especially of girls and young women, is not the least difficult that a lecturer may be called upon to face, but you were able to hold the attention and interest of even the little girls in the front row, and that certainly was quite a triumph for you.  I am sure that all the girls will be most grateful as the years pass that they were privileged to get at first hand from an eye-witness so clear and sympathetic and real an estimate of the life and character of the greatest American—Abraham Lincoln.



BANK OF GRAND RAPIDS.
Grand Rapids, Wis., Feb. 7, 1909.

I had the extreme pleasure last night of listening to Dr. J. Everist Cathell in his lecture on Lincoln.  It has not been my pleasure ever to have spent a pleasanter evening.  Dr. Cathell is so filled with his subject, so full of the days of Lincoln, so amusing in his quiet wit, that he had the people with him from the moment he commenced his lecture.  A man with no knowledge of the Civil War, giving any attention to what the doctor had to say, would get a very complete impression of it.  The doctor makes his pictures so real, he himself having come in such close life with Lincoln, that after listening to him last night for over an hour and a half, the audience couldn't believe that he had finished, but lingered several minutes thereafter, thinking to be living with Lincoln, until the realization came over them that it was really ended.

ISAAC P. WITTER, President Bank of Grand Rapids.



Statement of Charles H. Joseph, Vice-Chairman of the Temple Course, Pittsburg, Pa., Concerning the Lecture of J. Everist Cathell on Lincoln.
Pittsburg, Pa., Feb. 27, 1909.

No other Lecture Course in America has enjoyed the presence of so many noted men and women as the Temple Course of Pittsburg.  Dolliver, Watterson, Griggs, Folk, Johnson, Mrs. Booth, Lorado Taft, Gov. Glenn, Booker T. Washington, and others of like standing have spoken for us, but I must say that none have appealed to our audience with as much interest as Dr. J. Everist Cathell in his lecture on Lincoln on Feb. 10th.  For over two hours our audience, one of the most critical in the country, was thrilled and entertained by Dr. Cathell's remarkably human story of the lights and shadows in the life of the great emancipator.  It was the best Lincoln lecture ever heard in Pittsburg and the highest evidence of our appreciation is shown in the fact that Dr. Cathell was the first lecturer engaged in our course for next season.



KENYON COLLEGE. Department of English.
Gambier, Ohio.

For almost two hours the audience gave the closest attention to Dr. Cathell's lecture before the students and citizens of Gambier.  By exposition, dramatic description and personal narrative Dr. Cathell aroused an interest attaching to an unusual point of view, for he introduced surprising evidence regarding Lincoln and his times, and enforced it eloquently.  The lecture is sure to stir up wholesome interest and debate, and no one can hear it without feeling a compelling desire to read widely about Lincoln.

W. P. REEVES.



PITTSBURG (PA.) JEWISH CRITERION.
February 13, 1909.

We feel sorry for those subscribers to the Temple Course who failed to attend the lecture of Dr. J. Everist Cathell on Abraham Lincoln, on Tuesday evening.  There have been men of fame on that platform, but it is safe to say that no man ever commanded his audience as completely as did Dr. Cathell.  Watterson and Dolliver and Ward and Mrs. Booth and Gov. Glenn and all the other eminent public speakers have interested and thrilled our audiences, but it was left to J. Everist Cathell to hypnotize them by his remarkably dramatic and soul-stirring story of Abraham Lincoln.  Representatives of the various lecture bureaus located in different parts of the country were of one opinion, that the story of Lincoln had never been so graphically or so sympathetically interpreted.  It was a revelation to the audience.  This man, whose name was not even known to the majority present, who had not been heralded in flambuoyant style, came quietly and unassumingly and completely captured one of the most critical audiences after he had been speaking five minutes.  For two hours and five minutes Lincoln the boy, the man, the lawyer, the debater, the slave fighter, the president, the emancipator, the ruling genius of the American people, were presented to us in a manner that invited laughter and tears.  Dr. Cathell has the dramatic instinct highly developed, and he has the mechanics of public speaking developed to a high degree, and these qualifications, coupled with a beautiful speaking voice, made him master of his audience.  He threw many sidelights on incidents in connection with Lincoln's public life heretofore unknown.  And the most interesting and dramatic feature of the entire lecture was the story of his visit to Mr. Lincoln at the White House.  When he had finished every one was visibly affected by the new light that had been thrown upon the character of the great and good man.  It would be useless to attempt to give even an outline of the lecture.  Only Dr. Cathell's personality and eloquence could lend it the proper charm and interest.  We are happy to have heard this man, and count it a rare privilege.  In this statement we know that every one who heard the matchless address on Tuesday evening will heartily concur.  Dr. J. Everist Cathell has the right to take the foremost rank on the American platform.