The daily exchange. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1858-1861, 1858-11-29

, AtoN ..
| Wallis, Esq The subject of the lecture was, I'll
forms and uses Of Speech indicating and aectin
National Character. Language was treated as
monument and teacher-as a reflection of the PEG
pie who use it, and in its turn, influencing ant
fashioning the thoughts and sentiments of men
The history of nation is to be learned far NOR,
accurately from the monuments which it leaves be
hind it, than from the books of its chronicers
Language is one of the most durable of such monu
ments and is far truer historian than the records
which men make in its words. The fidelity witt
which language reflects national traits and charac
teristics was illustrated by the different words
which different nations had hit upon to express the
idea of riraLy competition in business. The
French, Spaniards, and Italians had borrowed from
the Latin, the words concarrena, concurrence, sig
nifying running 'cih or alongside of each other.
That was their idea of competition. The Anglo
Saxon, from the same Latin source, had selected
the word opposition, meaning to not loih or
alongside of his rival, but against him. Attention
was next called to what Dean Trench has styled
'the morality in words"-the morality which they
teach, as well as that which they represent.
The national tendency to hyperbole and exag-
geration illustrated by numerous common ex-
pressions in daily use amoug u.s. which involve de-
parture from the standard of truth. With indivd
ual instances of falsehood, hypocrisy and deception
the lecturer had no concern. His endeavor was he
sad to test and weigh the current coin of the whole
community, which all men give and all men take
| debased currency, made standard bya demoralized
public opinion As illustration of this corruption
language, and of that decentralization of thought
from which it proceeds. The popular phrase "ma-
king capital particularly "politica capital" was
cited. The national tendency to run into extreme
opinions was next touched upon, and the Lecturer
here took occasion to refer to the congressional
obituary speeches, and said it would be curious to
look at these documents for the last twenty wears
and see how large 4 number of ''great men, and
''sages' we have lost, and how many voids there
have been in the National Councils that never could
be filed but which, if we judge from the ovations
to corners, were more than filed the next day.
The evil effect of all this alluded to-the conse-
quent confusion of right and wrong, truth and
falsehood, and the corruption of public taste by
lowering its standard Of truth and virtue, and
teaching it to acqusece in what is known to be an
imposture. The evanescent and ephemera character
of the literature most admired in our country was
commented upon, and reference made to the good
service which literary art was rendering abroad to
the cause of public morals, by illustrating and ex-
PSSAt'E
dered fiction.
MIR. Thackerays novels cited as the best illus
trations of this kind of writing and the wish was
expressed that American Thackeray-born on
our own soil-knowing us well-knowing our faults
and loving us well in spite of them-might arise to
lay bare national and social pretensons and i'm
postures and make us so ashamed of them, that we
should grow wiser and better The want of a
in
at us, and scourge us, was also alluded to
and the claims of satire and rdcule to be consider
ed part of the detectire police of TRUTH asserted and
defended The example and the history of the old |
Republics were referred to- for our admonition and
our warning. The downfall of their freedom and |
their greatness was preceded and occasioned by |
just such vices and corruptions as we are now be-
ginning to manfest-when in the spread of power,
and growth Of empire, the swell and outbreak of
luxury and corruption debased the organs of pub
lie Speech and they in their turn, sent back upon
the people the tide of their own corruption. The
facility with which good men acquiesce in this
state of public decentralization, and the apathy
which they manifest with respect to any remedial
measures that may be proposed, were next advert
ed to, and gave occasion for word or two of prac-
teal suggestion and remonstrance in conclusion
where prevails of paying that homage to faIsehood
and vice which is due only to truth and virtue-of
of suggestion, to the effect, that the mere with
drawal of good mems countenance and support
would o. itself be death to folly and imposture.
DIR. COLES THIRD LECTURE.
The Rev. Dr. Coke delivered, on Thursday even
ing last, at the Monument Assembly Rooms, corner
Of Centre and ST. Paul streets the third lecture of
the course-on English Poetry-for the benefit of
the Church Home and Infrmary. His previous
lecture having been upon the subject of the Old
English Ballads, he occupied the attention of his
auditors, on this occasion, exclusively, with crti-
,al reading of the famous ballad of "Adam Bel,
1lym of the Cloughe, and Wyllyam of Cloudesle,"
orefaced by few Introductory remarks. This, be
said, was the finest specimen of English ballad poe
ny extant. In the ballad of Chevy Chase there
we're, perhaps passages to be found of more stirring
interest, but in Adam Bel there were greater va
iety of beautiful thoughts, and more happy and
natural illustrations of character The oldest
printed copy of this ballad was dated 1910,
ut nothing further is known of its history
n origin The bold and daring robbers, the story of
whose adventures it relates must have lived in the
of the north of England, in the reign
f Henry I'd. Bishop Percy in his "Reliques''
oints out various illusions to this ballad, made by
ifferent authors, among whom he mentions Shak-
peare, who seems to refer to Adam Bel, in Much
sthing, and also in Romeo and Juliet.
me lecturer then read the entire ballad, explaining
he proceeded its quaint and obsolete expressions
he subject of the fourth lecture to be delivered at
he same place on Thursday evening next, was an
ounced to be % CHANGER and his times" ;