, 1863-01-31


tcmpts in this direction. and literally kept
me aodlcnce IN roar, during the whole two
houfs which were occupied il the delivery Of
his address. He seemed to have an inex-
hanstible st9es OF original and selected stories,
under the folds of his waistcoat. Hs wosyeTv
clearly quite at homo with bis audience. and
they responded to his good things with The
heartiest sympathy. His lecture was quite
different from any Of its predecessors. It was
means By which this art may be attained, and
get before he had concluded, every one
seerded to know theee things IS II they had
arrived at &hem BY an unconscious induc-
ton.
He did not pretend he said to be an or.tor
in the learned phase of'the word, and oFatory
had many c1positors Of its meaning: He quo
ted the definitions which ancient and modern
writer's had given Of oratorr-all Of whom
agreed With i difference. He said that true
eloqueuce consisted in thoughts and emotions
transferred from the soul Of the speaker to
the soul Of the hearer, and every other kind
Of e1oquence was counterfeit. Free, flowing
speech was not eloqnonce: nor was bare ar
gumentation, e]oquence. These were the bare
anatomy and bones of talk. But when q man
spoke to his fellows from the platform OF. the
conscience, appealing to the moral nature Of
allowed himself to be carried away on the
wings Of the inspiration which possessed him,
he was sure to tie eloquent, and such man
would persuade and convince the very stones
in the walls Of Rome. 4 true orator
was always earnest and enthusiastic. Enthu-
siastic in the highest sense Of the word, and
without enthusiasm there could be no elo-
qnence, no poetry, nor power, nor greatness.
This divine afHatus 1t vas which from the
beginning Of time, In all periods OF revolution,
whether in thought or in politics, had
moved the world, aud changed the entire
face and history Of it. In speaking, 1t WIS as
indispensable as ideas and language; and our
pit, the bar, or the Senate, were surcharged
with it,; Denlosthenes In olden times, Chalm-
| ers and Irving In modern times, we're e1a1n-
Piles Of this postulate. When Owen heard
John Bunyan discourse with such fefvor, up
on the love Of God, he said he would part
t tinkcr's c1oquence. It was enthusiasm which
| gave force to his eloquence. He did not
! - + a1n9uence, but achieved It.; for bis
came is lis ongusn Is I'd s anstnalsd die:
t dictated it.
lie spoke Of the pulpit as grand arena fo1
oratory. The priest had immense advantage
over all competitors In this art. He spoke te
the soul; and God aud heaven, and the dnal
Judgment, and the terrors Of hell we're the &C
cessories Of his power. 1fsuch man Will
such themes for his discourse, could not bt
kindled into enthusiasm and speak in burning
| words Of eloquence, which should win soul:
to Christ and the Immortality Of the blessed
no other themes could move MIN, and be Iva
a corpse instead Of u living minister Of tn
! everlasting truth.
Mr., Cough was unsparing in his castfga
tions of the incompetent, ul1-headed, an
dull-hearted, persons; and his portrait OF tn
fop parson was ini1aitable- He called him til
Miss Nancy parsoE, who wore sttR whit
nccktic, and always wiped his forehead wit
bis Handkerchief before he began to sweai
His handkerchief was yiolct-scentcd, and hi
plump white hand was decorated with ring
which he always cont1iyed to exhibit BY dal
lying With tho crisp locks Of his hair. Lii
namby pamby reading of the hymn befor
service, bis affected, unnatural prayer wcr
given with a caustic md bitter sarcasm; an
then tho, speaker at the top Of bis Toie
asked: "Who could feel reyereuce for God 0
His holy house in the presence Of such an IN
manly humbug as this ~ Such men dishon
orcd the pulpit and the sacred functions whic
they were called upon to sustain. Their clc
qucnce would excite nothing but sneers IN
laughter, and in unbelievers, blasphemy!
The great essentials to mastery Of orator
were industry and perseverance,. We all knc'
how Demcsthenes struggled with his physic.
defects, and how be triumphed. Sheridan
also, who broke down in his first speech j
the House, knowing his power persisted
and exclaimed to friend, who was condolin
/
| in 1ne, and shall out!'' and tic brilliant SUI
cess In which it cs,1nc ont in subscQuer
days and years, is the admiration Of all tt
world.
He spoke Of the advantage Of sc1fpossessio
to IN orator, and how cTen an untoT:rd q
into fortune and success. Instances wei
quoted full Of pith, and point, and humor. :
which the audience laughed long and hearth.
4 speaker, he continued, should be gel
forgetful, oh1ivfons Of his own personalit,
tran,smittin,g light without thought Of Il
.. 6cious and said to himself, = I am hc! ri
display! I will show my abiiitics!" he falle
ms speaker, and his conceit shore him Of h
, strength and power"
He warned young men to initiate no one
. | style or manner Or matter, but exhorte
every one to be himself The fmftator cou]
+ | not get beyond his model; and what II,
worse, he nearly always initiated the wors
: instead Of the best. characteristics cf Il
Idol
In like manner, all should avoid the pom
ous and inflated style which renders not q fe
=. congressman and Fourth Of July spcake
!. and caucus speakers, SO abominable. o.
i greatest men were au natural speakers, n
e their utterauces were the birth"c
c Of their thoughts. Chatham and Fox 81
Perhaps the greatest Of American mode
4 orators WAS Webster, who belonged not
- - New Hampshire and Massachusetts,, but
IL our glorious Union. He was simple get II
4 jcctic, lofty but profound. The draymcn ii
il cabmen of London turned again and again
IA look at his grand magnificent head Us
4 walked the Streets Of that yast metropo
He was earnest and enthusiastic, md G
+, quent as oil knew beyond what Is given
It most, even the most gifted Of MORALS.
1e man should always know what he is goin!
to say. Many man has gone up like rocl
ay and come down like stick, hoored by ct
ir patison. As to emphasis, he should lay str
d. on the words he feels most deeply.
Y. For the rest, the voice should be cnref'
er cultivated, and care taken that it does
Il. degenerate into. whine. Pronunclat
should be pure and distinct, and the gestt
H. natural and fitting to the speech. He adm
ishcd MI young men to cultiEato the IT:
in Of gesture; to avoid all elocutIonary decla
=" ton, to cultivate Characteristic, hut not a
nm utricai style. Sarcasm should be spari1
IL. used. Perhars O'Conneu uttered the II
~ terribly sarcastic words dbopt D'Israe1i,
mi elder, ever uttered By man. "I1e had
~. doubt he said, that If the Jews gcnenl
~ ~ could be traced, he Would be found t
u descended from the irnpenitent thief who
.ho bowling on the cross"
~ ~ These are but dottings Of tho lecture,
trv f VIC regret VIC cannot report 1t at gre
~ length.