The Prester John discussion motivates me to mention that the most-often
given speech in US history, Russell Conwell's Acres of Diamonds (given
on the Chatauqua circuit from about 1965 to 1915), was centered on the
story of an Indian (subcontinent) prince who searched the world for
wealth, only to return home, broken, to discover that diamonds had been
discovered on his ancestral lands. Conwell was a minister who used the
proceeds of the speech to found Temple University, but I have no
evidence that he knew of the Prester John or related passages.
Dale Hample
Dept. Communication
Western Illinois U.
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