Democratic standard. [volume] (Georgetown, Brown County, Ohio) 1837-1850, 1844-04-30

effect produced by this short sentence
unless you perfectly conceive the whole
manner Of the man, as we'll as the pecu
liar crisis in The discourse. Never be-
fore did | completely understand what
Demosthenes meant by laying such stress
on delivery.
You are to bring before you the Vener
able figure Of the preacher, bis blindness
constantly calling TO your recollection
old Homer, Ossian, and Milton, and sssO.
ciating with his performance the mel
ancholly grandeur OF their geniuses,
you are TO imagine tibet YOU hear the
slow solemn, we'll accent enuncia:On and
his voice of affecting, trembling melody,
yoI aIe to remember the pitch or a pas.
sion and enthusiasm to which the con.
gregation were raised, and a few mo.
ments of portenliOus, deathlike silence,
which reigned throughout the house, the
preacher removing his white handker.
chief from his aged face,(eVen yet wet
from the recent torrent Of his palsied
hand which held il, begins the sentence,
-"Socrares died like a philosopher
then pausing and raising his other hand
with warmth and energy,to his breast lift
Jag his "sightless balls" TO heaven, and
pouring his whole soul into his tremN
uIous voice.-"but Christ died Ike a
God"
If he had been in ndeed,an in truth an
angel Of light, the effect could scarcely
have been more divine. Whatever had
been able to conceive Of the subIimuy OF
Massillon or the force Of BourdalhOe had
fallen short of the power which felt
from the delivery of this simple sen.
tence.
If this description gives you an impres
sion that this Incompatible minister had
any thing Of shallow theatrical trick in
his manner. it does him great injustice.
/ never saw in any orator such union
Of simplicity and majesty. He has not
a gesture. and attitude, or an accent, 10 |
which he does not seem forced by the
sentiment he is expressing. His m;ndis
too serious, too earnest, too solicitOus,
and at the same time, 100 dignifed TO sOop
10 Sri6ce.
Although as far removed from ostenta'
lion as man can be, yet il is clear from
the train, the style, and substance Of his
thought, that he is not only polite scho'
lar, but man of profound eru1itiOn!
was forcibly struck with a short, yet
beautiful character which he drew Of
yuul learned Sir Robert Boyle; he spoke
Of him as if his "nOble mind had, even
before DEATH divested itself Of all inhu
ence from his Grail tabernacle OI flesh,"
and called him, in his peculiar emphat-
ic and impressive manner, "pure in
a link between man and all
gels"
This man has been before my imagin.
atiun almost ever since. A thousand
times, as | rode along, dropped the
relns Of my bride, stretched forth my
hands, and tried TO initiate his quotation
from 2osseau, q thousand times aban
,oned the attempt in dispair, and fell per
suaded that his peculiar manner and
power arose from an energy OF soul
which nature could give, but which no
being could justly copy. As | recall at
this moment, several Of his awfnlly stri.
king attiludes,the chilling tide with which
my blood begins to pour along my arteries
reminds me of the emotions produced by
the first sight Of Gray's introductory pic
lure of his Bard