Southern orator Dr. George Waverley Briggs

              A SOUTHERN ORATOR.
Dr. Geo. Waverley Brigg's.
SUBJECTS:
POPULAR.
"The American Girl."
"When a Woman's Single."
"The Gilt on the Ginger Bread."
"Happy, though Married."
"The Humors and Eccentricities of the Pulpit.'
"The Tune the Cow died of."
MORAL AND RBLIOIOU5.
i.    "Shipwreck "
2.    "A Plea for the Black Sheep."
3.    "Fighting in the Ranks."
4.    "The Real Robinson Crusoe"
5.    "The Making of a Regiment."
6.    "Five Minutes after Death.'*
Under Sole Management
Southern Lyceum Bureau,
Louisville,
Atlanta,
Dallas.
Geo. Waverley Briggs
CHIS Splendidly equipped Lecturer whom we present for the fifth season is, first of all a born orator. As will be seen from the testimonials below, the universal witness is, that his eloquence is of the very highest grade. But it is not every great orator who can succeed on the lecture platform. For this, other qualifications are neces¬sary. There must be a culture that is up to date; a knowledge of men as well as of books; an insight into the comedy as well as the tragedy of life; together with a certain histrionic power of making all this effective. But when to the natural gift of eloquence these powers are added, then, as in this instance, the great orator becomes the great Lyceum Lecturer—Strong, sympathetic, irresistible !
 "A man of rarest gifts."—Nashville Christian Advo¬cate.
" An orator of unrivaled power."—Atlanta Constitu¬tion.
" One of the most brilliant and magnetic speakers of this generation."—Chicago Inter-Ocean.
" That rara avis :—A born orator with surpassing common sense."—Toronto Mail and Express.
" Dr. Briggs came, saw, and conquered."— IV. A. Hester, Supt. Evansville (fnd.) Schools.
" He is the greatest orator of the South to-day."— /as. McGinniss, Sec'y. Southern Educational Society.
" He is certainly one of the greatest platform men in America."—Liberty (fnd.) Herald.
" Briggs is one of the brightest men and finest orators Alabama has produced since the days of William L. Yancey."—Alabama Chautauquan.
" On the platform he is a master holding his audi¬ences in superb control to the very last syllable."— LaFayette {Ind) Courier.
" Dr. Briggs made a profound success, and ranks with Wendling, Conwell, Nourse, and such men, who are fix¬tures on the platform."—Cincinnati Enquirer.
" The lecture was brilliant. Dr. Briggs is one of the few great orators now on the platform."—C. L. Boothby, Rensselaer, N. Y.
" It surpassed any lecture that has ever been heard in Rockport."—F. S. Morganthaler, Supt. Rockport {Ind.) Public Schools.
" He more than meets expectation each time he comes before an audience."—Owensboro {Ky.) Messen¬ger.
" He is one of the greatest orators it has ever been my pleasure to hear."—E. E. Stacey, State Secretary Indiana Y. M. C. A.
" Unquestionably the greatest pulpit orator that has been heard in this city for years."—Louisville Courier-Journal.
Dr. Briggs' subject last night, was " The Broken Cable." He is a happy combination of the student, the orator and the entertainer.—The Shelby Sentinel, Ky.
The last lecture of the course was universally con¬ceded to be the finest of the season. Dr. G. W. Briggs was the orator.—Sullivan {lnd) Union.
No lecturer at the Piedmont Chautauqua, drew bet¬ter audience than Dr. Briggs; and none pleased them more entirely. He is certainly a man of unusual power on the platform.—Atlanta (Ga.) Constitution.
"A gentleman and a Christian ," and what is perhaps of less significance one of the ablest preachers in Ameri¬can Methodism.                        Bishop E. E. HOSS,
M. E. Church, South.
" Chautauqua Assemblies have few such men on their programs as Dr. Briggs. No one has ever so com¬pletely captivated our audiences."—Beardstown Chau¬tauqua.
" His addresses abound in illustrations drawn from experience and observation in the South, and, delivered as they are in his inimitable style, they have a peculiar charm for a Northern audience."— Western Christian Advocate, Cincinnati, Ohio.
" His audience laughs as heartily at one moment as they at another moment weep in sympathy at one of those strokes which make the whole world kin. His powers of portrayal are rare indeed, and his audience sees with him the scenes his fancy pictures."—Middle-town (O.) Signal.
11 His humor is bewitching and his eloquence un¬rivaled. But there is an added something not to be described in words—a mysterious personal force that annexes every thing in its neighborhood. He has not talked twenty minutes before he is the king and you are the subject, and glad to have it so:'—Austin {Tex) Statesman.
The equal of Dr. Briggs has rarely been heard from the stage of the Grand Opera House. Under the spell of his words his hearers took no note of how the time sped. His flights of eloquence were answered with bursts of applause. The reception at the close of the lecture was a high compliment.—Evansville, {Znd.) Tribune.
The audience which greeted Dr. George W. Briggs' lecture on " Black Sheep " last Wednesday night, was, owing to the threatening condition of the weather, somewhat limited; but those who did attend were re¬paid by listening to one of the rarest literary and ora-torical treats which the Osceola public has ever had; and by far the best of the series so far secured by the Lyceum Association.—Osceola {Ark) Times.
Sept. 18, 1902. In the pulpit or on the platform, Dr. Geo. Waverley Briggs, is a brilliant orator who never fails to charm, entertain and edify. A brilliant mind, a genial spirit and a broad sympathetic heart constitutes the man. His superior before an audience is not within the com¬pass of my acquaintance.
W. H. PINKERTON, Pastor of the First Christian Church, Paducah, Ky.
AUBURN SEMINARY, Auburn, Ky.               Nov. 2, 1901.
Dr. G. W. Briggs appeared in the Auburn Seminary Lyceum Course, in 1900. He captivated his audience and made himself the favorite lecturer of the season. He appeared again in October, 1901. His audience re¬garded the latter lecture as superior to the first. He drew for the local management a larger gross receipt than any talent that ever yet appeared.
CHAS. E. BATES, Pres.
" Those who were not present at the opera house last night missed one of the rarest lectures that Hopkins-ville people have had an opportunity to hear. Few public speakers are so capable of thoroughly satisfying an audience as Dr. Briggs. And the lecture, " How to Be Happy Though Married," was a masterpiece. While it sparkled with humor and never dragged, there was an underlying current of pathos and sentiment that could not fail to morally uplift the hearer."—Hopkinsville <A>.) New Era.
Dr. G. W. Briggs' lecture at the court house last Thursday night was well attended and highly enjoyed and it was conceded by all to have been the best thing of the kind ever heard here. Parts of it were very touching and brought tears to the eyes of many pres¬ent. It was a masterly presentation and abounded in telling points of eloquence and pathos. Dr. Briggs is dearly beloved in Hartford, and his recent visit but served to more firmly seal the bond of friendship.— Hartford {Ky) Herald
On Tuesday evening, Jan. 24, Dr. Geo. Waverley Briggs gave the closing lecture of the course at Dayton. He spoke in the Baptist church. A former Superinten¬dent of the Dayton Schools furnishes the following vivid sketch of him: " He is a man of marvellous power; as full of courtly grace as Edwin Booth, with descriptive powers akin to those of John B. Gough. The simplicity and elevation of his style remind me of Bishop Simpson; yet he is almost as full of side-splitting humor as Sam Jones.—Cincinnati Inquirer.
MR. J. M. Cor,DWEiyi„ Louisville, Ky.
DEAR SIR :—I see that Dr. Geo. Waverley Briggs, of Paducah, is under the management of the Southern Lyceum Bureau. I want to say that as a preacher and lecturer I have never heard his superior. His discour¬ses, whether sermons or lectures, abound in beautiful metaphors and apt illustrations that never fail to rivet the attention and fix the point indelibly in the mind of the hearer. No one can hear him without profit. Yours very truly,            W. S. JOHNSON,
Ex. Pres. Henderson, Ky., Lecture Club.
Dr. Briggs is an unusual man. He is of Southern birth and training. His speech is of the South land, full of that delightful Southern cadence and enriched with localisms of phrasing that are always pleasing to Northern ears. But the mental and spiritual qualities of the man rather than the adventitious peculiarities of tongue and manner command attention. There is noth¬ing of the mounte-banks trickery in his work. It is of the very highest class. It is doubtful if another man has been heard here who has the same delightful au¬thority over the minds of others.—Lafayette {Ind) Call.
On Thursday night of last week the last lecture of the course was delivered at the Presbyterian church to a good house by Dr. George Waverley Briggs. This lecture was like dessert. It was best and saved for the last. When the lecture was over Dr. Briggs, in speaking privately to a small company, said he had never spoken to a more appreciative and attentive audience. The re¬ply was, " Doctor, we could not help ourselves. You captured us body and soul." And that is true. He commands attention by his eloquence and histrionic power.
The general sentiment was, " It was the best I ever heard."—Sullivan {Ind) Times.
No retraction need be made of anything the Journal has said in announcing the visit of Dr. Geo. W. Briggs. As a matter of fact since he has been heard it is seen that much more might have been said in his praise, and the truth would have been told. The large Auditorium filled rapidly and the galleries came into requisition for the accommodation of many. His appearance on the platform is one of ease and grace, his personel pleasing, his eyes beam with the light of sincerity, intellect stamps his forehead. His enunciation is perfect to a degree and a tinge of the Southern dialect makes every thing he says pleasing to the ear. His eloquence cannot be overestimated.—Evansville {Ind.) Journal.
CARTERSVH,I,E, GA., Oct. 9, 1902. SOUTHERN LYCEUM BUREAU, Louisville, Ky.
DEAR SIRS:—It gives me real pleasure to commend Dr. Geo. Waverley Briggs, through you gentlemen to the public. He is one of the most magnetic, gifted platform speakers on this or any other continent. He is held in highest esteem by those who have heard him most. He captivates and the audience capitulates and then there is an hour of splendid entertainment and enjoyment.
You can sell him on a guarantee or trade him on a forfeit to Chautauqua and Lyceum courses and come out on top every time.               Yours truly,
SAM P. JONES.
" The lecture room of the Broadway Methodist church was taxed to its utmost capacity last night by a representative audience to hear Dr. Geo. W. Briggs in his lecture, ° The American Girl." It was a taking sub¬ject and was handled by the speaker with inimitable skill. The lecture abounded in humor, as well as rare imagery, unusual eloquence and earnest thought, and charmed all who heard it. Dr. Briggs brings to bear on any subject he considers not only the witchery of the born orator, but the skill of the vigorous thinker, the cultured scholar and the broad-minded man. His audi¬ence last night proved that the church lecture room will be too small for any future lectures of his, and that he can command an audience when he likes even with other attractions in the city."—Paducah Sun.
Those who failed to hear Dr. Briggs, last night missed as powerful and as dramatic a representation of a well chosen theme as has ever been heard here. His voice was a wind harp or war-bugle, just as he chose or the movement of his thought demanded. His hearers trod with him the soft valleys where the heartsease bloomed, and the thunder scarred Alps where the storms hurled. It was good to see him fling oratory to the winds in his determinations to make his listeners see what he saw and see it as he saw it. And he did it too. Full of tie wild rollicking fun of it they rode with him after the red fox, and could hardly restrain themselves from join¬ing in the old Southern "View-halloo!" out of which was born the famous " Rebel Yell!" They crept with him down the awful face of the Matterhorn and hardly dared to breathe until they stood safely in the valley 7000 feet below.—Lafayette {Ind.) Journal.
Ascension day services were fittingly celebrated by LaValette commandery No. 15 on Thursday evening. Trinity church was filled at 8 o'clock as the valiant knights in uniform filed in. Rev. Sir George W. Briggs,
of Kentucky, made the address and it was the gem of the evening. The ascending life, as patterned by Jesus Christ, the ideal of Templarism, was the theme, Jesus was the first great idealist. The man who puts the stamp of the loftiest ideal on every thought and action i in life is living the ascending life. Dr. Briggs illus-trated his theme by pointing to the great philanthro-pist. Peabody, as the idealist in business, Horace Greely in the newspaper world and Abraham Lincoln in politics. He said the American people were naturally idealists. The speaker noted only one failure in Ameri¬can manhood—the inability to meet personal defeat, disaster and shame. Statistics show a terrible increase in suicides, running up to 6,000 in 1897.—Evansville {Ind.) Courier.
The altar of the Broadway Methodist church was draped in black, with no flowers or color to relieve the sable folds. Miss Julia Scott sang very beautifully the touching hymn, "Lead Kindly Light" which was the martyred president's favorite hymn. " Nearer My God to Thee "was also sung by the choir. The theme of Dr. Briggs' address was " The Vacant Chair," not only the vacant chair in the White House, but the " vacant chair on the porch at Canton," and the " vacant chair in the quiet Methodist church at Canton," thus emphasiz¬ing President McKinley's home and religious life.
Over this vacant chair, he said, should be written the words " Obedience," " Trust," " Serenity "—the key notes of William McKinley's life. The address closed with these vivid words :
" He is dead—but in dying he discredits death. In¬stinctively we resent and repudiate the power of death over such a man. Is this the end ? Those eyes!—some men's eyes gleam like sword blades; they tell us his were more like beacon lights, or the glowing windows of a house of refuge from the storm; shall the fires within them never be kindled again? The lips !—now ringing with honest laughter, now curling with honest scorn ; now warm with the kiss of love, now cold with suffer¬ing ; from which came music, thunder, the cooing of doves, the shout of battle—anything, everything, but the cry of the coward, the sneer of the cynic, and the curse of the blasphemer—shall they never speak again ? The hands, ready to grasp at the beginning if need be, the tools of the iron master, but destined to higher things:—the soldier's musket, the sword, the pen, in time the helm of the ship of state ; the hands that have waved such welcomes, given such hand grasps; now lifted in clenched fists up to his honest eyes when de¬nouncing some wrong against his fellow man, now drop¬ped in playfulness to the curly head of a child; is there nothing more for them to do? The man !—with a heart wide as the summer sky, who moved among us clothed with th^ hate of hate, the scorn of scorn and the love of love, and who lost his life at last through his devotion to the only principle on which free governments can be founded, namely, that the people must be trusted—is this, for him and us, the end? As Matthew Arnold said when his great father died : ' Somewhere, somewhere surely, afar is practiced that strength, noble, beneficent and mild.' "—Paducah {Ky) Sun.