The Richmond palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1855-1875, 1869-11-09
Bayard Taylor s Lecture.


large audience assembled at Phillips
Hall, on last Thursday evening to hear
the Lecture of Bayard Taylor. The
lecturer had read but few sentences, be
fore his hearers were disappointed to
discover that what had been announced
rs q new lecture was but the one which
he delivered when last here, now repeat
ed under q new name, and in partially
new dress In comparing the two Con-
tinents he took in Europe those coun-
tries which more nearly represent the
advancing civilization, and made re-
view of the social, political, commercial
and intellectual systems of the various
| governments.
! He remarked upon the general ideas
which prevailed there and in our coun-
try. We have yet the marks Of our
pioneer life upon US. We are scattered
over vast extent OF territory. They
have been crowded together since The
| middle ages. They ask of the govern
ment, to protect them, but here the SEN
timent is 'let us alone. These character
istics the lectur er traced through the
social and commercial regulations of the
| two countries, aad remarked upon the
benefits and defects in both. One great
defect in American civilization, is the
power Of corporations Our growth
has been Of material character. In
Europe the growth has been more polit-
ical. He spoke at length upon what we
could learn from Europe, in perfecting
our system, and closed with a plea for
culture and intellectual independence,
| as necessary for our future greatness.
Few men have ever made more of a
single talent than has Bayard Taylor.
| Gifted with extraordinary descriptive
powers, he has, upon the strength of this
alone, veptured into almost every field
| of literature and science. As printer
10y, scribbling occasional verses; as q
foreign corresp ondent as would be
philosopher; rs poet; novelist, and
a lecturer, he has been before the public
for the last thirty years, yet has never
produced any thing bearing any other
merit than what this one talent afford
ed. The descriptive element justly
made his works Of travel a success it
buoycd up his poems; it was the hair
which held the sword Of criticism above
his novels, and it was the want Of this
same element that made his lecture last
Thursday evening, such decidedly co
herent bore. Having acquired repu
tation as a graphic dciiaea.or Of natural
scenery, he took advantage of that rep
utatiOn to attempt to force down our lit
erary Threats, dish which any man Of
ordinary reading might have cooked up
without going beyond the corporate lin
its of his own native village.
En- his whole dish Of hash, there was
not one morsel of palatable humor, not
mouthful Of pathos, not taste OF ro
nance, not even a SAVIOR of originality
Nothing but hard grizzly facts, swim
ming in q thin gravy Of philosophy, and
favored With five insipid jokes; three OF
which were too solid for the digestion
the lips Of the speaker; no fire Of earn
estness shot from his eye; no frowu of
Indignation knit his brows no violent
gesticulation disturbed the placid seren
ity Of his glossy collar.
Imagine skeleton some six feet high,
put upon it enough flesh to make it
weigh two hundred and twenty five
pounds, ornament the head with glossy
black hair, mustache and whiskers, give
the cheeks a ford tinge put upon it o
suit of black, a Scotch plaid neck tie
and pair Of gold glasses. Now imag-
inc pair Of bright dark eyes playing
alternately through.th the glasses upon the
manuscript before them and the centre
of the rear gallery; let aow from the
lips string of smoothly worded senten-
ces, amounting in substance to the one
arhorism Europe has too much protec
ton, America too much freedom" and
you have Bayard Taylor in his great
lecture, ''Life in Europe and America -