Not one of the swarm of reporters who thronged the Philadelphia Centennial had regarded the telephone as a matter of any public interest.

But when a column of news was sent by telephone to The Boston Globe, the whole newspaper world was agog with excitement.
A thousand pens wrote the name of Bell.

Requests to repeat his lecture came to Bell from Cyrus W.Field, the veteran of the Atlantic Cable, from the poet Longfellow, and from many others.
As he was by profession an elocutionist, Bell was able to make the most of these opportunities.

His lectures became popular entertainments.

They were given in the largest halls.