Sioux City register. [volume] (Sioux City, Iowa) 1858-1871, 1858-12-23
The Lyceum.


the Human Machine" as previousll am
nouncsd. The change of subject was
mads BY The hcturer on account Of net
having the time to devote to the FIRST suB
jet which its nature demanded. ssza'
This lecture, perhaps more than any
OF its predecessors, combined the two
things absolutely essential in the lecture
We mean it had . body with soul in it.
1t has been said that speech is the body
Of thought if so, then thought is the soul
Of speech. II il also saf6 That there are.
some men who never speak without say
ing something. The DR.. 10 one Of that
number. No one who was 10 fortunate
As to listen to the lecture on "Ths Men Of
the West" could help discovering strong,
pure current Of practical thought, upon
whose bosom rich, old, solid Saxon words
tioa:ed down upon the minds Of the audi.
ence in perfect Obedience to the will Of him
who marshaled them. We are not quite
prepared to say how the lecture would have
been received by the Athenians Of New
England, but We believe that at . mini.
mum estimate, We western men grew an
inch during its delivery.
The lecturer introduced his subject by
an allusion TO that "vast chain Of being
which runs through oil life and extends
through all extents,' showing that "all are
but parts Of one stupendous WHOLE" from
which we make the deduction th.t as in
nature, so in our confederate relstion, We
are to regard each State ~ link in
the chain Of our nationality, "psrts of q
stupendous whole, which,, If one link be
broken, the great chain is destroyed"
He next introduced the New Highlander
at home, showing how extremely circum
scribed were the views Of the Puritans and
their immediate descendants splicing his
thought with one or two historic gems, and
leaving us to infer at least that the origin.
al Yankee would about as soon have con-
templated pilgrimage to the planet Mars,
as to have penetrated westward beyond the
limits of his rock bound home. concluding
this thought with the fact that the modern
Yankee has discovered that there is really
a West, and West for him to appropri
ate.
Allusion was made to the Norman ele
ment of the South as uncongenial with tn.
Saxon element of the North, and that
these conflicting elements so disguise the
itinerant Yankee that his New England
brother would scarcely recognize him At
New Orleans. But the West. the West 10
the focus to which North, East and South
may roll up their mighty .ids-waves Of
population where eastern prejudices shall
melt away, southern asperities be softened
down, and better type of humanity be
worked out.
A beautiful ard eloquent tribute was
paid by the lecturer to the hardy pioneer
natures nobleman--an important link
in the chain of necessary causes TO effect
the settlement. aad civilizati ton Of our coun-
try; dwelling at some length upon the
hardships, perils aud dangers through
which he must necessarily pass to pave the
way for those who succeed him-a John
the Baptist Of American civilization, pre-
pairing our way in the wilderness, and when
his work is done, aspiring to another link
in the great chain The motive inducing
men to emigrate westward was ga;d TO be
to better their condition and acquire a
competence, consequently it is not the
millionaire nor the drone who seeks west
ern home, and the inference drawn was,
that our western men are, considered all
in all, the best specimens Of manhood the
East is capable Of producing.
The best developed trait Of character in
the western man is indomitabie energy
TWAS shown that young men had left their
eastern homes to hew ont their fortunes 10
the west; that fathers well to do in the
world, had given them the hundred dollars
and two new suits Of clothes, aud brush
ing the tear from their eye, breathed q fare.
well, and in two or three years those sons
have returned with wealth more than sufi
cisnt to buy the whole paternal estate -
thus demonstrating the maxim of Magoon
that your western man is the Yankee ex-
banded; that no enterprise has too great a
magnitude for him to undertake, and to un.
dertake is to accomplish that the word fail
10 expunged from his vocabulary and i'm
possible is with him, as with Napoleon, the
adjective Of fools; that if by financial crash
or revulsion, he should be crushed, he will
not stay crushed, but rise anon TO retrieve
his fallen fortunes. With heart to dare,
and hand to do, he pushes on the car OF
enterprise, and as the result, savage beasts
and more savage men retire; beautiful pra-
tries are dotted with hamlets and homes,
and the wilderness is made to bud aud bios.
som as the rose. A happy illustration
was made in regard to the freedom Of opin
ion among the men of the west, showing
that if free thought seek expression, they
speak it boldly-speak it all, regardless of
the opinions Of others. Ills illustration
reminded is Of the old lady who, in discus.
sing some doctrinal point with her pastor,
WAS instructed by him ms to Paul's opinion
on the subject. swell, sir, = said she "Iil
just tell you, there's whore Paul aud DIFF.
fer"
The speaker concluded by very sppro.