The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1873-09-27 00:00:00

°*ocat `,l;letes.

LECTURE ON "NOTHING LIKE
LEATHER."

A lecture on the abovesubject was delivered in
the Congregational Sehool-toom, High-street, on
Monday evening last, by the Bev. de Kewer
Williams. The chair was taken by Mr. 11. Billing.
ham, and there was a fair attendance...
_ . _ .

,
In introducing the lecturer to his audience, Mr.
Billinghani said Mr. Williams was well known to
most of those present, and therefore would not
require touch introduction to them, and he was
sure that those who had heard him on other
occasions would have no doubt about his ability
to make his subject of that evening a thoroughly
interesting one. He did not know what Mr.
Williams would tell them that evening about
leather. Leather had many colours, or he was
quite sure the ladies would not use it on their
hands with the many varied coloured clothes they
wore. It is also varied in its texture, so that
whilst it is fexible and worn on the hand it is also
worn on the feet. After a few other remarks,
Mr. Williams arose to address those present.
He said he was expected always to bow to the
chair when he addressed a public meeting and in
fact he always did bow to it even when there was
only a thing in it. and that happened on some oe-
easions—(laughter). He did it, however, with
much greater pleasure when there was an intelli-
gent gentleman iii the chair like the one who
occupied the position on thatoccasion. He must,
however, demur to a remark of the chairman that
leather it 118 "like everything else." Now, if there
was nothing like leather—and the title of his
lecture Was to that effect—they couldnot agree to
that. They would now proceed to the business of
the evening. No doubt it would be a source of
wonder to many of them as to what could have
induced him, a dementia, to select such a subject
for a lecture in such a place. He would tell them.
It arose from the. following circumstance. A
lady called upon him one morning, and began to
talk to him about tho one groat topic which is in
everybody's mouth—namely, the weather. Ile
had heard people complain of the variablenees of
our climate, and express a wish that it were not
so changeable, butt he did not agree at all with
them as we should lose half of our conversation if
it were not for the weather. On this occasion
they discoursed of the weather and some other
common-place subjects, when after a time his fair
friend suddenly addressed him with "I suppose,
Mr. Williams, you have heard?" He replied that
he must confess his ignorance of what the lady
was alluding to. She said "Well, then, I am
engaged to Mr. Simmons. Of course he congratu-
lated her; but as the young lady was 52—we
always call ladies young until they are married—
(laughter)—and the young gentleman was only
five-and-twenty, he did not think that he con-
gratulated him—(renewed laughter). He asked
her what profession her husband was of. Of
course he knew that he might be a tradesman,
but with a view of putting the beat face upon it,
he used the word" profession." After some slight
hesitation, she said well, she believed he was some-
thing in the leather way. He immediately re-
joined, " Oh, well, there is nothing like leather,
you know"—(laughter). She replied that some
one had said the same thing to her before. At
this he told her that he felt rather hurt, as he
understood that he was the first person whom she
had favoured with the intelligence. It appeared
that on that occasion he (the lecturer) was not
original. Moat men liked to appear original, even
if they had to copy some one else. In that place
he might discourse of proverbs. He thought it
was probable that many of the proverbs of Solo-
mon were not the invention of his own brain, but
rather sayings which he had collected together.
But what he contended was that proverbs were
always true, as notwithstanding the " fall " there
wasistill a hankering after truth in mankind, and
nothing that was not true would stand. So he
might say there was nothing like leather. There
was also a certain writer once who wrote the
history of a town, and the name of ethat
town was "Mans Soul." In that town
there were five gate-ways. They were called
by different names such as eye-gate, ear-gate, de.,
asid it was by these gates that the enemy gained
admission to the town. These gateways repre-
sented the five aenses. In speaking of the enemy
which surrounded this town they would recollect
that some gained entrance by nose-gate. Now,
at the present day, there were many who were led
by the nose. They could not wonder at this for it
was a very prominent feature. He remembered
being at Exeter Hall on one occasion, when there
was a large meeting being held there in reference
to the City Mission. Lord Shaftesbury was in the
chair. There was a city missionary put up to
describe his work, as it was, of course, thought
that he would be able to give them a better idea
of what there was to do than anyone else. In the
course of his speech he had occasion to refer to a
locality known as Plum Tree Court, and when he
did so those present might have observed that ex-
pressive organ—Lord Shaftesbury's nose—to give
a peculiar curl. All those who had seen Lord
Shaftesbury would be able to bear him out when
he said that his lordship's nasal organ was of tine
aristocratic proportions, not at &A like his—(the
lecturer's). So they would know what sort of an
expression would be displayed by that feature
e-hen his lordship made the following remark, at
the conclusion of the city Missionary's address.
He said "I know Plum Tree Court by sight and
by smell"—(loud laughter). He the speaker knew
London. Perhaps one reason for his knowing it
was that he happened to be born and had lived
there nearly ever since. Well, if he knew London
he might say of Bermondsey, as Lord Shaftesbury
said of Plum Tree Court, he knew it by sight and
by smell—especially by smell. And certainly it
was to be known by smell even by persons who
go by rail past that district. Persons when pass-
ing that spot wouldsteldenly have their olfactories
.ittackett by a strong odour, and would exclaim,
" Dear me, what a smell." That smell arose from
the tanning of leather which was cairied on to a
geeat extent there, and doubtless some of those
who were informed that this Was the source of the
pungent odour would exclaim. " Well, there's
nothing like leather." The manufacture of leather
was the great staple trade of Bermondsey; so
they would see it was a very interesting place.
They used to make a great deal at Birmingham
once, but whether their olfactories were more
' sensitive there than at Bermondsey he did not
know; but the fact remained that the Birmingham
trade had nearly all been transferred to more con-
genial quarters at Bermondsey. He must say
, that however useful it was, with persons of delicate
nasal organs the trade was certainly in had odour
—(laughter). They had had the Japanese Ambas-
;adore over here a short time ago, and they had
told ue how the trade at tanning was carried on
in that country. In Japan the tanners are also
the public executioners, and are compelled to live
in the immediate vicinity of the gallows. That is
the tyranny of the nose, and one may be very glad
hat it is not allowed to rule in this country.
They must ask "What is leather ?" There was
a great advantage in addressing such an intelli-
gent audience as that before hint. However, there
was Dr. Johnson, who would tell them all about
it. He said leather was the dried skins of animals.
There was also Doan Swift who had given a defini-
tion of it; but as he was not one of those who
spoke after the manner of Swift he would not
trouble his hearers with it. He also gave a defini-
tion of McCulloch, and another which w
given
in Chambers's Journal; the latter stating that
"leather was the tannate of gelatine." But_this
definition applies only to leather which is tanned
and all leather is not tanned; some is "tawed,"
The leather, for instance, which is used in ladies'
gloves is tawed. This tearing consists in giving
the skins a feed of salt, pickle, and seine other
things which he could not mention without bring-
ing a blush to the cheeks o' the ladies present.
One of the ingredients largely used in tawing,
however, were the yolks of eggs. People might
think how wasteful they mast be to use only the
yolks; but it was not so. The timers advertise
for a gallon of yolks, and then the photographers
take the whites; so the egg is divided nicely
between these people half of whom want the
white and the other half the yolks. He should
not go into the classification of the different kinds
of leather. He would confine himself to telling
them that the skins of animals consisted of three
distinct parts ; the epidermis, or outer hard skin,
the reticulated network, and the true skin. The
epidermis was of too tough and hard a nature to
be of any service, whilst the reticulated net-work
was of a very perishable nature, and would go
had and spoil the trite skin, which was under it,
and which was the portion of the skin of which
leather was made. He then referred to the
different animals whose skins were used to make
leather, and said, hard fate, though it seemed the
skins of horses were used to make leather for
saddlers. What would be the feelings of a horse
could he but know that his trappings were some of
them made from the skins of animals similar to
himself. Amongst other things he described some
of the processes which the skins go through after
they are nude into leather, and said that 'after
shoes, were worn out they were, in London, taken
to some persons in St. Giles's called "translators,"
whore they were minded, in fact, "translated"
, into new shoes again. But a:length they became
so old that even the translators could do nothinr
with them. Were they done with then. Nothing