The examiner. [volume] (Louisville, Ky.) 1847-1849, 1848-06-10


7 Scarcely ever did we EMO! gsater pleasure,
: than when we heard these textures. When MI.
II. went TO Boston, he took Letters totwoor three
! gentlemen who exerted themselves TO get him an
I audience. They succeeded 30 far ak to bring To-
/ gether about thirty persons. The nett evening a
few more attended; and the number continued
10 increase every evening, till the large room in
the fremont Temple was completely filed. We
happened 10 be in Boston at the time, and were
amused TO see the eject his style CT lecturing
produced. Persons Of fastidious taste at first
looked upon him as a kind Of monster. You
went into the lecture room, and saw on thestand
one who seemed to be doing anything but deliv-
ering lecture. You heard from his mouth a Sc
ries of syllables, poured forth in nlonotonous
dow till he was within few words OF the close OF
The sentence, when his voice fell aboutfiye notes.
He then rose TO his former elevation, and con-
| tinued till near the close of another sentence,
when down he fell again. You felt an almost If
reslstible tendency to laugh out. Bur brilliant
thought flashed upon you, and was followed by
fash after fash in so rapid succession that your
eyes were dazzled, and You could no longer see
the defects of manner. Antithesis, Wit,
| casm, Illuminated almost every sentence When
YOU recovered your judgment, the only fault
seemed TO be, that there had been too much
splendor.
Since the first delivery of these lectures, Mr..
Hudson has in some degree modified the style,
and rendered IT more ohaste. Through the kind
ness of a friend we have before us the lecture ON
Hamlet, which was published in a ma game,
and we present some extracts TO cur readers.
We thought of selecting the character OF Ham
let; but we find it would occupy too much space
10 give the whole, and we do not like to abrdge
it. We give some extracts from the remarks on
Polonius, who has more representatives in our
day than Hamlet has. To many persons the
character of Polonius has presented inconsistent
cies; Mr.. Hudson, we think, has. given a salts
| factory explanation Of the difficulties.
'Polonius is, in nearly all respects, the an
| iIthesis OF Hamlet, though Hamlet doubtless in
cludes hlm, as the heavens include the earth.
tie Is a sort of political ossifcation OF petrlfac
| ton, whose soul, If he ever had one, has got
wholly abSorbedin his understanding. A man of
but one method, that of Intrigue, and of but one
motive, that of interest; wholly gwen up to the
arts of management; with his fingers always
itching TO pull the wires of some intricate plot
and without any sense orperception Of the fitness
of times and occasions; be is called TO act IN
matter where such arts and methods are espe-
clsilY inappropriate and unayaillng, and there
fore be only succeeds, Of course, in oveueach-
ing and circumyentlng himself. In this fanati-
clsm Of intrigue, surviving the powers irom
which il Onglnally sprung lies the explanation,
not only of his character, but of class of char
acterS, which is as immortal as human folly.
Thus in PolOnius we have the type OF a politi-
clan IN hls dotage; and all his iolhes and blum
ders ase from his undertaking TO act the pollti-
clan where he is especially required 10 be a man
This, we are aware, Is making him out a can
catuIe, rather than a character, for man of but
one motive or one feature Is a oaHcatuIe; but IL |
is such a cancature as is occasionally % be met |
with in actual life.
True to the principles and practices Of his or |
der Polonius studies and deals with Inen, not to
make them wiser OF better but only TO make |
himself better oil out Of them: and has, therefore,
acquired, in the greatest abundance, just such |
knowledge of human nature as degrades himself, |
and enables him TO degrade OtheIss-the same
knowledge, for ali the world, that politicians |
nowadays seek-and get, and use too. His |
very trade, indeed, brings him to know men only |
IN conditions where the springs and CAUSES Of
their actions lie out Of themselves. |
"of those innate and original springs Of ac-
ton, which originate and shape the movements 4
Of men in spheres of disinterestedness, he has i
no insight, or even conception Always look |
ing through his politicians spectacles, he sees
men only where, and when, and so far, as they |,
are machines, capable of being played into Civ |
en- set Of motions by given set Of motives; and |
a long course of observation and experiment has /
taught him how 10 adjust and apply, with won |
a II 4
will set them agoing as he desires. From stu |
dying nothing but the mechanics Of human ma |
ture, he has come TO regard men as nothing but
machines; for what is itself divine, Is not to be
discerned but by divine faculties; and he pre- |
sumes men TO be nothing but aocoun .ants, be-
cause, forsooth, he has none but counting house
faculties to view them with.
In matters Of calculation, therefore, Polonius
is a sage; in matters of sentiment and magma
ton he is a Ounce. lie always succeeds in arts
Of policy, because he never tries to rise above
them; like the demagogue who leads the people
by first watching their course, and then adroit-
liz rushing ahead of them; thing that requires
long legs, short head, and little or no heart
PolOnius, accordingly, has made success his test
Of merit, and success has made him seli-concet-
ed. For such Is apt to be the case with artful,
intriguing men; generally succeeding, as the
world counts success, they naturally estimate
merit by success, and thus become as conceded
as they are successful They deserve to be con-
ceited."
"To such mind, or rather, balf-lnind, the
character Of Hamlet must needs be profound
enigma. II takes whole man to know such
being as Hamlet; aud Polonius is but the attic
story Of man. or course he cannot ind
| heart or a soul in Hamlet, because he has none
himself 10 find them with; for IL always takes
| heart to find heart a soul to find soul those
who have them not always think, and deserve
| TO think, that others are without them As in
Polonius' mind, the calcIlative faculties have
eaten out the perceptive faculties, so, of course,
his premises sre seldom right, and his irferen-
| ces seldom wrong. Assuming Hamlet TO be
thus and thus, he reasons and acts most aanlra-
bly, in regard to him; but the fact is, he has no
eye for the true premises Of the case; he cannot
| see Hamlet, cannot understand him; and his
premises being wrong, the very correctness oil
| his logic makes him seem the more ridiculous.
Wherefore, knowing the prince can hope &c
make nothing by marrying his daughter, he
cannot conceive why he should woo her, unless
from dishonorable intentions. And he falls in
to similar mistake in regard to Ophelia. lie
thinks she il in danger from Hamlet's addresses
10 her, that she will fall a victim TO some inhu.
man arts, because he is insensible to her real
power: to him she appears all weakness and ex'
posure, because he has no eye to discern her
true strength. But, to such man a, Hamlet,
man Of heart, of soul, of honor, of religion, oil
Il manhood, she Is the concentration OF whatever
is most powerful, and most formidable: her viz
gin Innocence, her gentleness, her maiden hon.
or, her sweet, sacred defencelessness, "creaie an