New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1870-04-02
THE COLORkD LECrURsss.

Second Lecture OF Madame E. c. L.
Nero, Antony and Others auc-
OF Aistory.
From the st. Louis Democrat
The second lecture of Madame Parqua, a
French coiored lady, from Hayti, was not SO.
we'll attended as the first. The evening was
rainy, however, and the Temple is so fine 4
hall, that the colOred people were perhaps
unwilling to soil the clean-swept stairs with
their muddy shoes.
Mrs. Parqua appeared in black silk dress
with long trail, made in pretty much the
same style as that worn by Miss Anna DickinI
son. when she lectured here on ''Whited
Sepulchers." Indeed, We fanced that the
dark lady had studiedho initiate the Phila-
delphia oratress, both in costume and man
ner of speaking. 1t is true she wore no
glittering diamonds, but displayed two plain
gold rings on her left hand, small gold
locket suspended by pink ribbon encircling
her neck, and pair Of gold bracelets on
her wrists. A large lace cOllar-almOst big
enough to be called a cape-adorned her
throat, falling over her bosom, with a red
rosebud attached to the points, added to the
picturesqueness of her costume. a double
string of pearls encircled her head, passing
from the bump OF philoprogenitivenes 70
that of generation. In amplitude and CLOS
siness of waterfall she went far ahead OF
her white sister of the Quaker City.
The lecturer was introduced by Mr.. Moses
Dixon, Of Carondelet. who stated thet
. she was a native OF Hayti, and had acquired
the English language, and Travelled quite
extensively in Europe.
Mrs. Parqua said she had two themes.
The Times had spoken of her lecture as
ssNegroism run mad" She would inform
the reporter of that paper, if he was pres
emit, that 81 am not mad, noble Festus, but
speak the truth" Another was that she
was speaking to q gentleman of going to
Africa to rescue young girls from bar barism,
and he said if it was to rescue boys he would
believe in it. In reply to this she referred
to the examples of Nero, Antony and others
who had yielded to the sway of women. A
woman led the warriors of France, and re =
ceiyed the crown of martyrdom Tor her he
roism. Catherine &c Medici was cruel and
bloody woman, but in contrast she named
Isabella of CASTLE. the patroness OF the
great world-fndsr. The Virgin Queen of
England had shown what q woman could do
when possessed of tho power Of swaying the
destinies of a mighty nation. The laws Of
Sparta required the women to take part in
the athletic exercises of the men, and to arm
their husbands and brothers for battle. The
Roman ma.rons boosted that their brightest
Jewels were their children. The historic
page teens with the heroic deeds of women.
When France groaned under the rule OF a
bloody tyrant, the womanly hand of Char
lO.te Corday struck off her chains by STAY
ing the oppressor. lApplause.l
Her subject was the negro, past, present
and future. She regretted to see so small
an audience, and SAID empty benches did
not inspire her very much. The Ethiopian
race can claim as remote history as any
people of the earth. History, as well as
monumental piles, gives them a place as
ians, the Carthagenians and other power.
full nations that held sway in Africa?
They have passed away from the face of
the earth, and have left no record. The
African, on the contrary, still remains, I'M
changed and the same as he existed thou
sands of years ago. [AppIause.l In every
part of the earth they exist, distinct race,
like the Jews, the chosen people of God.
According to such papers as the Times,
Herald and WOrld, the negroes are a de-
graded race; yet some of the fathers of the
church, Alexander, Tortilius, etc., were
Africans. The Africans possessed arts that
are now lost. She could point to the pyra-
mids and the catacombs, thai have existed
for centuries, and are now as strong as
ever, while the monuments and buildings
of the proud ADglo-SaXon are crumbllDg
little vinegar. [Applause.l
She spoke of Pnilis Wheatley, who was
stolen from Africa when child, and who,
in few weeks, mastered the English Ian
guage, and wrote excellent poetry at the
age of sixteen. Margerean surpassed all
the students of Oberlin College in mathems-
tics. Ira Aldrich, an American negro, was
one of the greatest tragedians that ever trod
the boards of Europe. In the character Of
Othello, il is said, he was unsurpassed.
Mrs. Parqus said she had observed q sem
sitiveness among American negroes at being
called negroes. Il do not find an Irishman
knocking a man down for calling him Pat,
nor q Dutchman getting angry when you
say gao to him." We are negroes, and
consider it 8 greater honor to be descend
ant of Toussaint LOuverture than of the
robber William the Conqueror. (Applause.)
There are traits in the African character
that, under favorable circumstances, will
develop noble qualities.
She spoke of the Tennessee negro who re-
ceived seven hundred lashes rather than
betray his comrades; of Margaret Ganiver,
who slew her child to save it from slavery;
of the Fifty-fourth Massachusetts Regiment,
composed chiefly of fugitive slaves from
Canada, and which fought for the stars and
stripes. The heroism of the colored troops
at Fort Wagner. Miltikens Bend and other
battlefelds Of. the rebellion. was pictured in
glowing colors, and the individual daring of
Colored soldiers was enthusiastically eulo-
gised.
1--WE hear our white men talking about
their self made men. We have some self
made men ourselves. There is Frederick
Douglass, who rose from the condition of a
slave to that of one OF the noblest orators q
the world has produced. Henry Green, who
Is as black as midnight, was slave in Mary
land, and a cripple from youth. Robert
Morris, lawyer of Massachusetts, is q
leading AN. William Deitz, of Albany, is
a man of wealth, and an inventor Of genius,
who, from being poor waiter, acquired a
fortune OF four millions. Stephen Smith,
of Philadelphia, q millionaire, was poor
boy
After referring to other examples of emf
nence among the colOred men of the United
States, the lecturer repeated portion OF
her. interesting sketch Of the history OF
Hayti.
In enumeratipg the greatest men of his
tory, she mentioned PhOcion as the most
distinguished ofAhe Greeks; Brutus, of the
Romans: Washington and John Brown OF
the Americans, and Toussaint, of the Hay.
items.
In this country the negro has become 6
citizen. In the war of the Revolution the
first martyr was a colored man-Crispus At
tncKs. In the war of 1912 some of the mos
brilliant victories were achieved by the ald
Of black men. Negroes fought bravely I'm
der General Jackson. In the late war ne
groes were called "fellow-citizens,n bat de-
prived of equality, and paid only seven dol
lars month. They have progressed up to the
fifteenth amendment. (Applause.l The
time has gone by when the black man has
to kneel down to the whites. [Applause.
What we want now is to be let alone, an0
We will prove to them that we are men. Gan
ancient Ethiopian lady, who had been quiet
~ slumbering in her seat, awoke As thi!
sentence was Numbered in her ears, ant
cried out, Lord massa, that's good