The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1867-03-02

wanting though might ackno"ieuks ING
GOODNESS. But after Taylor With his harp,
Emerson was decidedly monotone, not Vafi'
atom of tone or feature from commencement
to close. Occasionally some of his unweded
mys,,cal logic was thrown loosely among in-
stypct;ve facts. But will not attempt . dss |
scription; for sometimes the duliness and
plainess Of genius is INDISPENSABLE but the
running accompaniment TO his periods con-
tinually in my mind was
ar the Red Slayer thinks be Stays,
0rifthe slain thinks he be slain,
They know not all the subtle ways
By which l meet and turn again
And that is some little of what ! think OF
Emerson.
wHAr wKxpRLL PHII.LIPs sHALI. LHcfrHr
ABour.-Thst subject is being discussed BY
the powers that be p" who control the mat
ter in the Library Association. Although IN
outsider we take advantage Of our indispata-
BILE journalistic right to have our say in the
matter. We are surprised aud we amt sur
prised that there should be any question on
this score. Every man has his forte. That
forte ordinarily isn't many sided. Shakes
peare would have written but poor essay on
Political Economy. Grant would make .
very lame political speech. Horace Greeley
has written some poor poetry that would give
one, other than biographer, neuralgis to
read. John Bunyan could write PHI
grim's Progress" that is worlds wonder,
but the poetical embellishments be puts upon
it are the sheerest doggerel.
The revolutionary men like Phillips, that
are the agitators of the present and the ora
cles of the future, are men Of hobbies. They
make their hobbies and then their hobbies
make them. Their positive power, their in.
div iduality, exists in that work which they
have made it their life mission TO do. The
strength of Samson was in his locks. Take
your hobbiest out Of his intellectual harness,
take him from his one central theme and he
| 10 weak as other men. Your conservative
scholarly Everett will give ron splendid
Grafton upon any subject in Literature, or
Science or Arts. Do nearly equal justice to
each and TO himself. Your radical Phillips
can do nothing Of the kind. Here is man
that said years ago, 81 devote myself to one
life work" He has done it. He has brought
all the products Of his scholarship. all the cul
ture Of his mind, all that he has gathered from
the years, all fhis wonderful eloquence, Of his
mastery over mems minds, all of his earnest-
nees, and all the powers of heart and soul, to
the accomplishment Of that one work. With
that one work Wendell Phillips is identified.
In the expression of that controlling idea
Wendell Phillips finds the expression Of him.
self. Had we heard John C. Calhoun, we
would.have desired 10 have heard him talk,
ing State Rights" TO q South Carolina au>
dience. Had we heard that silver. tongued
orator. William l.. Yancey, we would have
wished to hear him magnetic his audience
with the recital Of his assumed wrongs Of the
South. Did we hear Vallaadigham we would
want him to be talking Democracy. Let us
hear every man upon that subject that shall
bring out the peculiar elements of power that
have made him famous.
II is proposed that Wendell Phillips, when
he comes here, shall throw aside those lee.
lures upon stirring and engrossing questions
of the hour, which he isdeliyering with all
the splendor of his eloqdV(ce throughout the
country. 1t is proposed that he shall ransack
bis portfolio, hunt Up bis musty manuscript
lectures, and of these deliver one upon "The
Lost Arts" which he threw aside years ago,
in which be has no longer any interest, and
which, SO far as entertaining the public is con.
cerned, is as dead as the lost Arts whose
mortuary record it commentaries. Don't do
it. II is the first and only chance mauy of
our people will ever have to hear Wendell
Phillips. Let us hess him upon the issues
of the day which now inspire him, and which
will bring out the full power of his intellect,
and all the wealth of his ors,ory. Don't
press him into the narrow measure of a spir
itless theme, into which be can put no SOUL
and to which some freshman or sophomore
would probably do better justice than him.
self. Bring on Vallandgham, or s. S. Cox,
or Geo. II. Pendleton, if you think the
matter is too greatly one-sided, and they
shall have full houses. But let every man
keep to HIS forte; thereby can be alone do
himself justice, and best please an audience.
"IHE Mas or THE WORLD was the Ii.
tie of . lectuae delivered under tn aus pices
OF the Library Association in this city, Til urs-
day evening, by Ralph Waldo Emmer,on. to
onlya moderately sized house. 1t was ex.
pected that the literary fame of the distin.
guished gentleman would meet with liberal
turnout ofour citizens, vet the house was only
moderately filed and the Association barely
saved from pecuniary loss What were pres.
ens were Of literary tastes, and capable of
Judging and appreciatine th4 production pro.
nounced by this eminent scholar, yet each in
his or her own way; and differing in most
particulars from every other one present.
- to the impressions made upon their own
minds. In one respect however there was no
disagreement, namely that Mr.. Emmerson
is no orator; and in that sense nearly aIIsbf
those who have not heard him before, proba-
bly, went away sadly disappointed. Il is to
be regretted, what 90 often happsas, that
fame, literary culture, to wesing natural abil.
ities and . landable ambition 70 improve the
public tastes, are 70 frequently disasseciated
With the plsinest principles Of good public
speaking, 70 say nothing Of orasosy.
Mr.. Emmerson's 8 Man Of tho World il
. singular production. To say that We were
interested in il, d the truth bst 10 - hat
~ admired it, cens;stescy, the style o. orig.
iaality is--quiss another thing. II may seem
prssnmptaous to say ~ much, but this il
Tree country where all think - they please.
and say what they think.
The FIRST proposition was, ell nature il the
nbjsetof growth, or, in oEAsr words, devel-
oped from inferior condit;ons tAroug RI
steady, regular, successive changes; yet the
scale was not very we'll graduated, for it il .
long way from the gorilla to Sir IsaAe New
ton. Another propositions ~, - man Of
the world must b. well bom;" tAas i, With
eood franssork, bzAin, aaa sood ssrsnetA.
Nov, - voah respectfully isquirs, how
much Off, u under hi ON conArol. - ~