Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1872-08-15

BY THos. WENTWORTH HIGGINsoN.

One Sunday evening, in London, walked,
under the pilotage of Mr.. 0dger, to the new
| Hall Of Science, in Old street, city road. My
| companion strobe along beside me-Short, erect,
| Square-shOuldered, misunderstanding his way
| through the crowd like some bluff little English
| brig driving doggedly through heavy sea. |
was too busy in conversation TO heed through
| what streets we went, only that we threaded a
| maze of highways and bywaYs, all deDsey filled
| with lower class L0ndonerS, out for their sun
| day evening airing ! remember the young
| wOrkmen, such as Dickens describes, dressed in
| their best, to lean against lamp posts all day;
and can recall the hordes OF bOnnetleSS girls,
| Arabs of the street, yet less NiSibly degraded
| than those TO be seen of n Sunday evening IN
| Edinburgh or Glasgow. ! remember, TOO, an
| occasional temperance orator holding forth ON
the sidewalk to some knot of people VINO looked
as if they needed his minstratons more IMAM
| they enjoyed them. Aud out OF these groups
we presently passed through low doorway
| into the "New Hall of Science
Our fourpences being duly paid, the inner
door opened. and we looked upon a scene such
as must always be intellectually interesting,
| whether the scene be hall or church or hillside
| "a crowd of people in the grasp OF a born ora-
| tor The yerv first glance showed that one
might as well deny that epithet to Cough or
| Beecher as to Bradlaugh, The scene told IFS
| own story There were perhaps fifteen hundred
| people in the hall, many of whom were stand
inc all listening closely. The small platform,
too, was Iull, anu at IT'S ilOut NhGt etohu lliG
speaker, as near as he could get to his audience
| so near, indeed, that one foot rested on the
railing, as if he were prepared to spring over at
any moment on an opponent The man him
self was over six feet in height powerfully
built with fine, commanding head, remind
ing me at first, rs did his whole bearing, of
Chief Justice Chase in his prime. This is say
| ing a good deal for the personal appearance Of
| any one; but truth compels me to add that the
lower part of the face by no means bore out the
| general effect If the brow was statesmanlke,
yet the mouth had a look of the demagogue
There was something in the voice, too, which
| suggested a tinge of suspicion; and yet it was
| the voice of a born orator-full, SOnOrouS, va
| ried, penetrating, sympathetic, subtle. He was
| free from the eXtravagancleS OF action, Whlch
| mar Coughs eloquence, and from Beecher eX-
tremes of vocal gymnastlc. | should class nm
rather with Frederick Douglass in natural grasp
and range of oratOrical effects. This is high
praise; but, after all, you are struck with the
power of the man in Bradaugh, while with
Douglass YOU are carried along by the subject,
and only remember afterwards how great was
the power of the man. This marks, suppose,
the higher grade of eloquence-to make CONVEX
| sionS.
| Mr. Bradlaugh is not, as many people sup
| pose, a mechanic. believe that he is an attor-
news clerk. He was dressed in black that
night, with a flower in his button-hole. His in
| donations showed some cultivation, and OBJ
| served that he claimed knowledge of French
| and Hebrew. There was nothing coarse or yul-
gar in his style. On the contrary, considering
| his subject and his audience, it seemed 10 me
| that he held himself and them uD-abOye a low
| and abusive tone-in a way that surprised me.
His theme was "Jehovah." We know how the
average "village blaSphemer, as Emerson says,
would handle that theme--what text lIe would
make the most of, what phrases he would cite.
The thing which surprised me was that this
speaker took a higher line OF argument. IN
dpubtp1lv muph thar he said wputf have
shocked any evangelical believer; but my point
is that many an American free thinker, of far
better reputation than Bradlaughs, would have
shocked them with more justice. make no
claim to represent evangelical believers; but |
| think ] know the difference between merely
| coarse and virulent style Of argument and one
that is thoughtful and discriminating, What
| surprised me was that this speaker kept himself
| on so high A level. 81 am not mocker," be
| said Of wish 10 avoid mockery, and 10 guard
Won against it." al do not wish to make You
| mere unbelieycrs Mere unbeliei is a poor thing.
| | would not care to make infdels who could only
| disbelieve You should disbelieye what is false
in order that you may believe what is true
| And it is fair to say that this was the keynote
| of his address.
| Yet he made good point in favor Of the neg
| alive style of reasoning where necessary. PEG
| pie complain" he said, whenever you appear
| TO be destroying, and not creating. Why so =!
| You prepare your garden bed for planting by
| first clearing ii of weeds Nobody calls to you
| over the fence to rebuke YOU for not planting
and wedding at the same time. There is time
| to weed and time 10 plant. Tonight am
wedding. Let me alone
The tone of all this seemed to me very differ
| ent from the tone OF atheism thirty years ago.
| His attitude in regard to the Bible was still
further unlike the old atheism. ] remember
when to men of his stamp the whole Bible was
| a mere forgery, and tile whole priesthood body
| of liars. But he conceded honesty, al least, 10
| the writers, and did not charge absolute dishon-
| esty on the eXpounders.
"The Bible was not a forgery in any sense"
| he said, "either as whole or in its parts. 1t
| was a natural outgTowth Of the mind OF man;
| grew up as all other books have grown, as the
| world itself has grown" He disclaimed all
hostility to the book itself; only the effort to
| give il a meaning which, as he maintained, was
! never intended by its writers. This attitude in
| the leading atheist of London is certainly a
| mark of progress, showing tendency toward
doing justice TO the very religions that are at
| tackled.
OF course he occasionally devoted himself as
| Emerson used to describe certain New England
radicals as doing, "to the worrying Of clergy
| men," ! remember one hit that was heartily
| applauded by some Of my neEhbOrs who had
| manifesty disapproved some Of his other say
! ings "Ihey translate the Bible into all the
languages of the world and then meet in sol
| emn corporation to untranslate what they have
turns like this, always given off-hand and with
| ont the slightest effect Of generalization.
He frankly aYOwed himself an atheist and on
this ground defended himself from the charge
| of blasphemy. "They say | blaspheme. How
| can |? For me blasphemy is impossible. 1t
implies belief; whereas am an atheist. II is
| YOU who baspheme, if you believe in a God,
and yet attribute TO him any action that would
dishonor a man." This was Putarch's ground,
| of old, stated brilliantly in his essay on "Athe-
| ism and superstition"
But it seemed TO me that the speaker never
reyiled religion in the old athestic style, as a
thing evil in itself; but only criticised it in the
modern scientific way, as a thing sincere, re.
| spectacle, often useful, but inadequate and tenn
| porary. And | remember this distinct state.
ment: every religion is better for the people
who hold il than the religion which preceded"
A u this was sand in perfectly easy colo
| quail, coge1t way--sometimes rising to real clio
| quence, and again passing nio keen sageasm-
| with none Of the awkwardness or hesitation at
| tributed TO Engishmen, and without the slight
| est aid from notes or memoranda. The audi
enee, ia turn, listened with absorbed attention;
| often applauding buE sGmetimes dissenting.
| Ninetenths were men, almost all were we'll
| dressed. They looked as If all classes might be
| represented there; and, while the majority were
| plainly artisans, ! was afterward told that peer
| of the realm stood just behind me. 1t certainly
| seemed to me that neither peer nos prelate could
| afford to be ignorant Of these meetings; for |
encountered no one in England who seemed to
me 10 possess such a special gift Of oratory.
The quality in which he seemed weakest was
the power of consecutive thought; but thls IS
30 commonly wanting in great "stump speak
ers,' whether in the pqlpitor out Of it, that the
defect is hardly just ground Of complaint.
Great power in moving masses BY public speech
is rarely found in combination, suspect, with
the very highest intellectual endOwments,
though il is, doubtless, the most dazzling and
popular Of ALL
IN this case can testify that Mr.. Bradlaugh
spoke for an hour and twenty minutes 10 an UNI
diminished crowd, and that then, on offering TO
stop, he was urged to 20 on. Soon closing
hoWeyer, he introduced Mrs. Rose, from Amer.
ica who said little in a digni8ed and pleasing
way; after which the audience dispersed. Some
fingered, however, by a table Of pamphlets, po-
! litcal and theological; among which noticed
"Tbeistic Catechism." Others adjourned u
Republican club" which met up stairs.
alierward met Mr. bradlaDgb in private; but
hope to have grace 10 say nothing about private
intercourse with Engishmen, and shall not "a
beyond his public relations. ! did not hear him
speak directly on any political theme and can.
not Judge q his comparative success ON that
ground. His friends wish 10 zee him in parlia
nent, while other radicals predict for him utlel
failure in that novel sphere / shall always
think Of him ms one Of the most remarkable
popular orators J ever heard and yet ! cannot
think OF him as supplying the one thing that
| English feDublicauigfn seems IN ncad-o teodnr