The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1884-03-18 00:00:00

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MK SHORLAND APLINS " EVENING
WITH rENN Y SON."

A correspondent writes :—ln the Userdeas of Much
6.b thole appenrel a rep at of the " Evenius with
Teusys,in," which Mr. J. Shorland Aplfn o ,nduoted
CL the Bmak-Joildiugs Chapel on Idond.iy, the 3:d
lost.

---furely a ammo who publiehm • rep irt and criticism
of thle Meld ehould be able to exprm. hie thoughts in
correct. if out elegem, English. 13ut what do we hod?
In the first place, our c 1141.3 says that Mr. Aplin was
favoured with the preached of • large audience. Such
an expression may Out be absolutely incorrect, but
MAI, to my mind, it savour, of tautology.
deconally, he makes the chairman say (and Mr.
Trafford, be it remembered, always 'peak. with
marked correctness), that "one of the great difficulties
which in.. felt was the providing, Ac." Wm they
Dear me For the rule as to the agreement of.
verb with its nominative let him refer to any grammar
for beginners.
Tuird/y, he gays (or make+ the chairman say)" that
was especially found to be difficult in connection with
the young people, kc." Surely he means not
' 09eMally found," but "li...tad i be especially
dffilcult, La."
Fourthly, he says, "He (Mr. Trafford) did nit
know that it was the duty of a Leiner to provide
isitmtainments but when they could do no be thought
leo were quite within tkir sphere." A minister is
not usually spoken of am " they." Perimpe, however,
' they" is in to,. cane Weymouth for "he."
be says that Mr. Aplin "ham a meek feeble
VAC'. 'The use of synonymous worda does not
a.aii• the writet'. criticism m.re forcible then it would
bail only one were used, but rather detract* from any
power it may a .stain.
Sixthly, and lastly, the sentence--" He lacks the
natural ability, and actriired qualifications which
marled a person to style their (ants as a high Claill
literary entertainment," contain., at the most suaer-
ficial reader will at once see, two glaring errors, and
as for the expremion " high clue literary entertain.
meat,' everyone must admit that Tenuyson's poetry
is high clam lit-rature, and the way in which it is
recited cannot affect its literary merit..
I would add that Mr. Aplin an amateur elocu-
tirniet, wherem the critic is a professiona/ j iurnalist,
and, as such, oh .uld really be able to frame better
sentences than Duo* I bare been considering.
His criticism is, however, to a certain extent correct.
That the way in which Mr. Alain handled his subje•t
pleas'.' his auditory, the frequent applause tes,itied,
but his delivery we, by no means perfect. But in
criticising it two thing. must be borne in mini, via ,
that Mr. Aplio ha• app 'area iii t'iis way het re the
public only six times and that lie is not yet twenty-
two years of ago. With Inc, eased practice he will no
doubt considerably improve hit elocution, and as ha
gate older he will ac' iire that c ortidence whicia is
neceseary to enture perftct dr.:natio style. I am
glad to think that advtrae criticism will, instead of
discouraging him, atimolate him to greater tff lit..
and I trust that his 'Vaulting .tiuhition (bye the
bye the writer in the Intrdion, if I remember
rightly, uses n ,t only bad Eoglisl3, bat *leo incorrect
quotations) wid lead him to great succeu.
It would be a pity if, with his asam..my, he were to
li. idle.