The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1852-10-29
THE URE SEAS ON.
mr., oliver Wendell Holmes on Lccturing
and Lecturers.

wednesday evening Al nail past seven O'Clock, Mr..
Oliver Wendell Holmes delivered lecture the above
subject at the Broadway Tabernacle This the nrst of
series of lectures which to be delivered weekly
during fall and winter large and highly respect
able audience were present The Rev Dr. Burchead oc-
cupied the chair
The CHAIRMAN said after introducing Mr. Holmes to
the meeting that II had been announced that Professor
Agasz would deliver lecture Wednesday evening
but that gentleman having other engagements he could
not possibly be present bat would address them Fri
dsy evening next.
Ladies and Gentlemen-sptech and printed thought
are the elementary in the world Of intellect
Speech like the power of the atmosphere-it Is
still II embraces and tends move all things
in all places at all times 1t carries alb out all good and
bad influences 1t scatters the germ OF every men.
tai and moral growth. 1t drives the electric
cloud Of passion 1t brings the heavenly tears of mer
oy carries the thoughts of person into the bo
of another. The greatest effort Of human audacty
defeated not by the thupderbot earthq or de-
LUCE, but by introducing cultural sounds or combine
tons into theta of the wcIkmen There is resisting
the little organ that laps the lips that talk the pa
late tslegraphng souls out of bodies into the
atmosphere The whole story of love, for instance Is
told in two lines.
For his bride soldier sought her,
And winning tongue had he"
Whether the rhyme in the original daughter :
"caught her. there is little doubt that the matter
ended in point Of fact such trials are to-the
winning tongue won the game and the pretty maiden
paid the forfeit daughter But the Of this deli
cately suspended and easily vibrating not being
confined to the rougher the gallant soldier probably
took his defeat later in the shape Of
curtain lecture that compensation which pays off
many Of the political and social wrongs of womanhood
For after all, II would know what the tongue do
must go to the mattresses, and not the masters Of
creation whether it be to to comport command
80 to raise mortal to the skies or bring angel down
We need not go to Lady Macbeth, or to that
Daughter Herodas, the piebeian princess who year
after year has been eoading her patient cousin to
Next after speech. and With long interval between
them must come the power OF printed Thought This has
ter obvious enough certain places of
action 1t works by perpetual wearing and perpetual
cumustion. No individual is match for instance
the most Indifferent newspaper that has any motive for
wearing him out by hosries = because not
adamant resist atrton. The press again
has its periodical ebb and flow like the Its
imprisoned in artificial channels, and made to turn the
wheels of POLITICAL machinery Public opinion has its
factories spinning It's long and short manuactur
ing stuff Of descriptions with large consumption of
chemical products bleaching salts for one use dyestus
for another and little e occasionally to help along the
process (Laughter.) Let nov CONS to a view of
tboe public assemblies out of which has grown a
natural consequence that ecuriug system with which
more particularly concerned What is the frat
product of American civilization 1t is not church for
a
qures children 1t is acs- knife for that being
matter Of the first necessity jonathan avs has
although he would sit down and white out a handle If
that was all yet he viii not be quite ready to
psf steel head to It, Of his own manufacture.
The first product of American civilization is.
paiked-what The has doubtless been anti.
cpated by all 1t is evidently stump. What is the
fret intellectual product of American civilization
10 get upon 1t ana make ape-ch ii may be about
shooting the Indians building the church, school
house, or choosing representative but speech
ethDg other The stump speaker is the father of
American civilization Political life has of offered
the amplies field for the deveopement Of the powers
called out in these first ruder efforts Of forming society
most freely into the broades of the fairly
laid open TO people until the birth OF this vast confeie
rated government to oil whose deep banks aud speed
whose reess current the minds or the whole people
become trbutaryas the streams that flow eastwardly
from the Rocky Mountains and wetwardly from the Al
legsnea their strength directly the they
have chosen into the turbulent bosom OF the Father Of
wsters. OF all modes Of operation, public speeches,
whether delivered from the Dative stump drapered only
with flowing moses the same stump sawed planed,
polished and cushioned found the effective
The les on was not lost on those outside the political
arena-the moral reforner learned 1.-THE borrowed
the town hall, the pulpit, the school house, and
startled the apathy Of the somnoent public with
his bitter and vehement eloquence always with
some living principle throbbiDg under its seemingly
capricious manifestations, Aud, with this new ee
ment there always must come, diseases of
the moral nature must borrow the language of phyi
clans to indicate of promip emit In.
fammaton of The conscience the most prevalent in
ternal affection characterized by great tenderness epe
deplstion from the pooket in the shape Of a
subscription paper. There was also peculiar malignant
versions OF language When person. affected, called
another base and low minded rufan ght mean for
instance that he differed in opinion from the indvidu
al making the remark II the subject of the
lady was editor, h always kept string of words
steieotJped, to the trouble of setting them
up, he wanted them every day-such words
villain, traitor, cold blooded miscreaut vile
mercenary and the like. all uoicsting the thing
precisely. namely. difference OF opinion That ecturng
has succeeded establishing Itself fifth estate there
be doubt A The lecturins interest has estab
become organized. Ii has IL markets its brokers
it's price current lis rise and fall Of particular
stocks, its reasons Of general buoSancy and de
preston a given lecturer, even. may establish
reputation Independent OF the lecturers general standard
One thing l. oertaiu-a lecturer must kuog what he is
talking about be must be determined that others
shall, and be must be dent that he makes them.
This confidence produces its impression in moment not
only on nan but on the whole animal creation Ladies
and gen'lemen-It il the custom of some of our cid
call Cd aFphca ion This supposed to be graduated TO
the particular wants Of the individuals present. who hav
ing been by what hls gone before caught at
last in the apex OF the nsrroGins triangle and finished
whs few straight hits between the very eyes of the
science 1t will be most gratifying 10 me could suit the
application OF this disc the particular assembly be-
fore Wereit composed ofyoung merchants ofmem-
bers of political party Of religious other
special organization speaker might gsess how to strike
and where IL hit; it Is there is only thing your
speakers be ofthat he Is in the great city Of the
Union. talking TO audience scoopeo as ! may say,
out Of the mighty stresm Of life running in every
channel Of the Western continent New Yorkis getting
to great extent to enjoy the metropolitan luxury of
being the country large Audiences in many
other places swallow for the most part what put before
them But here much must be applied 10 the palate and
rejected Like the officials in the wine shment
toned by Sir Francis Head, they must throw out much
Of what they try or they would get more into their
heads than would be good for them much the better
We want 3 tribunal somewhere In music. in art, in
every germ Of literature in science, of the
of this country that there Ia nothing like scale by
which anything BE- CLASSIFIED There individuals
enough II is true capable Of forming sound opinions in
each department bat where there i such there
five hundred that have only two marks their thermo
meters Of merit-the boiling point first rate and the
lin Inlua cine gf
speakers, and that the drama begun is just
closing. They take each others hands retreating
backwards In graceful line the principal character
Of the evening itle In advance With his hand upon
his heart The green curtain begins slowly 70 moye-t
falling The tall clergyman only from his white
peckcoth downwsrds-falling falling, Il has devoured
the black stock Of the magstraeit Is swallowing the