New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1853-12-02
Tile AUDIENCE.
by OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES.

Last evening. DR. Holmes delivered lecture on tho
above subject the Brooklyn Institute before crowded
audience Who received his address with many marks OF
arrreoation and favor He said Ii is rather free ana
easy m, de- Of proceeding for lecturer to take his CON
stituency for his subject planter about 10 puIeg
slave NAV examine him closely he peases butfor the
object If sale 10 open the mouth and punch the RIOS OF inc
buyer would be considered somewhat unusual YET |
think the lecturer might undertake to analyze his audi
ence IN quiet way aud with soft glove. Boxers, before
setting 10, shake hands in friendly way II the auience
like tie move. spiritual expression OF their approval
would ask them TO knock on the next hard oDec, Al manu-
IApIlau e. The process mean TO pursue Will be found
nofersive, il net exharating. Dr. Holmes here deaieu
his rerience as lecturer. Last season he had deV
cred II lectures which he ella sed Some were delivered
in snail and some in large communities. lie sxeched III
udicrous style some of the incidents attending their DC
livery Let ms le continued begin with dehntio - and
in what an audience consists 1t IS sad tfes eogI~'
faci,nt-three make college; but 10 make an audience
two and a half are enOugh-a man, woman, ana q
boy This is the theoretical number; but practically
We NAV multiply BY 10 100 II is no small matter
TO make en- audience feel a single person. but tight
squeezing il very useful in bringing out the senDities
Before the lecturer appears the audience in the expect
spt state hen there is little hustle the lecturer enters
bis lectur .' head, ozenge in his mouth and per-
hars bis b." to unless ne has learned by practice 10
keep il VII 30 . "uglt TO be He is examined by the AT
d;ence sOt ke aud some dislike him for other rea
son except That natural attraction and repuson which
cannot be- controlled The first judgment is great deal,
ard a well noduated voice cannot fail TO please Wnie
the audience making their minds about the lecturer
the lecturer is making up his mind about the audience;
be is not necessarily nervous man who has some
such ndisputabe truth 70 assert as that man is ra
tional animal or this il an age of progress need
not he much hgrried in utteriny it, even
before that great poypu each OF whose limbs Is human
being Tie audience is like the night blooming ceres,
which OPENS between ard in the evening. and fades
he fore morning; there be other flowers and other audi
.ences but this Audiences differ according To
their place in cities they are gay IN The country they
keep silence profound enough TO make the lecturers
hair turDeray there too. couple IF cents each wall pay
for the candles and the lecturer which somewhat cheap
err than first class monkey ard hand organ lhere are
l. 1fglt ia M aud
preciatirc listener the resisting listener, the newspaper
critic and The man that goes ont The fret L. generally
young and pretty female; but not always Inc lecturer
j. drawn by intellectual sympathy to this listener but
there is terrible cOunterpoise in the resisting ist
euer; he is always male and his face is perpetu-
al uegaion of all you assert. The lecturer lpOAs on
him because he cannot help !, but there is no use in
irving to impress who has nervous system, or
nervous system which You cannot get at The reporters
ore generally ether friendly or Indifferent yet beng yo
minutes in not enough 10 enable one to report an
that is said and sometimes when manuscript is lent in
which are passages marked not to be read the lecturer
next morning graed by finding in print those portions
which he considered too trashy 10 be spoken before hs
audience Tie critic is harder 10 deal with every wen
appointed paper has competent one but when the worN
Is len TO q chance correspondent it is poorly done. Some
times pleasng lecture is objected to as not being
rractical-but it would be blessing to the AIneri
con people to get rid, for an hour oil ,het od man OF
their practical disposition As to the fourth class there arc
some people who must out such as those who are under
parole 10 wife or mother for limited period buthe class
refer TO are those who organic law The qles
ton was investigated at National COUNCIL Of Lecturers
Some thought the habit due TO natural inirmltyi but
that could not be- az 1t was frequently Observed m able
bodied men and II suggested thett might be
owing 10 the lecture being stupid, but thar idea was
proved false by the President who remarked no had
people go ont at lecture OF hisown Toe conela-
sion was that the habit owing b consenital dig
proportion, The mind Of the erout being able 20
contain only half lecture-so he went when has mind
full A the audiences existence advances
mauf SITS various diseases the chief OF which is care
the merchant thinks Of bis loses the mother OF her baby
then the best il to tell story Toward the close
Of the hour rev element appears in the audence-hoPe
was always known, but il IS better reaezei that
tho lecture shave end Woman is the best t'ner-
woman Of whom the American traveller, Ledyard heaut
fully SAVE that in all his wanderngs her kindness never
filled him An audience must hear lecture in proper
sirit TO get the good Of it lecture can be perfect
pro ducton suit every taste but every lecturer should
exercise on tie hearers mind stimuldnt power urging
him to improve its suggestions for his own behoof