Daily national Democrat., 1859-07-07
A little wholesome Truth, Applied where
n ia nnadod


/ 1t Is needed.
| We yesterday remarked, in relation to the
Fourth Of July Grafton of Rev George 3
Taylor, Of this city, that "it was listened
to with marked attention and loudly ap
plauded." So it was. We also remarked
that "many pronouncedit it the finest effort that
they had ever heard on like OCCASION" Sc
they did, and, for all we know, it may hav,
been the very finest that they ever heard il
their lives But, it struck us, during its de.
livery, that there were many passages in i
which would not bear critical examination
Fearing that our ear might have deceived us
We concluded to withhold any opinion of it
merits until we should see it in type Itwa
published. in full, in the Express Of yester
/ day morning, with some very ANttering en-
comiums from that paper. We have rcnt
The document through--wlich is good dea
more, We will venture to say, than many
persons could have done-and we must say
that our hearing, on the occasion OF its de
! livery, did not deceive us, and that, in our
humble opinion, the oration will not bear the
test of a critical examination. The Grafton
does not deserve the praises which have been
inconsidcrately heaped upon it, aud, as we
like to see every man, who aspires to intellec.
tual effort, fairly and justly dealt with, we
propose to show, by very brief analysis OF
portions of the speech. that it is entitled to
anything but praise as high literary effort.
1t will be observed in this connection that
the production was not an extemporaneous
one, but that it was written out beforehand
and read from the manuscript Therefore, it
cannot be said that the errors of either
grammar or rhetoric are attributable to acci-
dent. on account of the hurry of unpremed.
itated speech.
The very first sentence in the oration is a
grievous departure from the rules of correct
speaking or writing. Ladies and fellow
citizens says the orator, "if liberal eX'
preston of mutual feeling has ever and does
still meet with the appreciation and sympa-
thy of civilized man, &C." Has erer, and
still does, meet Has meet Is this gram
mar Let any ten years old school boy an
swer.
He goes on to cay" Here upon a spot
made sacred by the "reminiscences and deeds
of the past, we mutually meetP How else
could persons meet, on such an occasion, but
mutually? The propriety also, of saying
that a place newly selected, in an old field of
grain, and fitted up for the purpose of a cele-
bration was "a spot made sacred by the
"reminiscences and deeds Of the past might
very reasonably be questioned. The senti-
ment might have applied, very properly, to
some locality made memorable in the Amer-
can Revolution, or otherwise conseorated by
certain great deeds and events But to use
such language in reference to an old ploughed
up wheat field, where nothing beyond the
most ordinary every day concerns of life,
had ever occurred within the memory of
man, was certainly far fetched and wholly
inappropriate.
Divided upon other subjects" he contin-
ues, eve here stand united casting aside
all creeds and political preferences, we rally
together around one spot, which amid the
war of words and divisions of sentiments,
remains up to this hour unit in the affec-
tions and feelings of the American people"
Saying nothing about the rather awkward
ly expressed truism that one spot remains
amt, we would like to know why the "W ash
ington Grove Place." fitted up land admira
bly,, too by our friend Bob O'Haulon, for
The purpose of celebrating the Fourth by
barbecue and dance, ct cetera should be so
very dear to "the affections and feelings of
,he American people" 1t might have been,
on Monday last, very dear to portion Of
the American people, we grant, but the
meaning of the orator was not to this effect
Observe again the rhetoric of the follow
lowing:
"Ladies and gentlemen, the deliverance of this
our beloved country from foreign aggression, and
a long continued train Of evils, is the theme Of
our rejoicing at this hour. The recollections Of
that proud event bring up around each heart a
long train of the most pleasantly painful assocla-
tons"
How many long trains of things he would
have gotten into the paragraph, had it been
little more lengthy, it would be hard TO
say. . A.At
The grammatical accuracy of the following
cannot fail to arrest the attention of the lov
cr of elegant literature:
"The brillancy of military exploits alway:
depend upon the advantages under which they
were achieved"
If the noun, brilliancy, governs the verb
depend, the addition of letter (s) to the lat
ter would be considered by some not alto
gether superhuous The author probabl!
entertained the notion that the plural word
exploits, was in this case the nominative o
the verb depend. lie was laboring under a
great a hnlucination as that portion Of hi
audience who thought he was making
splendid oration.
The subjoincd extract is among the mos
eloquent passages in the production
Such were the men, the material from whicl
in after years Should be laid the corner stone o
our glorious republic-upon which generation al
ter generation may build and build securely, un
I'll the 6eQmifaI structure of our national temple
IN simple Jequty shall rise, section after section
higher and higher, until 1t reaches its high culmi
mating point in the political heavens, and shed
its LGerty-5reathiRq halo Ger the palaces of des
pots aud the sacred rights OF man"
The top of temple shedding liberty
breathing halo, may be fine idea, but w