Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1873-10-30
From our Special Reporter.1
ssFOR YOUR OWN SAKE"
Anna Dickinson at Brandon.
FIRST LECTURE OF ThR sEAsoN-A CROWD
ED HOUSE = SUCCESSFUL ENTERTAIN
MENT-MIss ANNA Dickinson IN HER
BEST MOOD.


being delivered by Miss Anna E. Dick
inson. The second largest audience
room in the village, that of the Congre-
tional church, was occupied by a very
large and intelligent assembly, and nu-
merous additions to its capacity were
made in the shape of chairs and sofas.
The lecture was given in the church on
account of the acoustic defects in the
Town Hall, which render it impossible
for speaker to be heard there. The
space IN front of the pulpit was occupied
with a table covered with flowers and
vines, making fine display.
Just before the hour set for the lee
ture DR.. Case, the organist of the Bap-
fist church, performed beautiful selec-
ton on the organ, after which the lee
turer was introduced by J. S. Cilley,
Esq.,, principal of the graded school.
Miss Dickinson was elegantly attired
in the new shade of drab-brown satin,
cut with overskirt and trail. Her neck
ornaments were simple and of the ruffie
order, consisting of deep fall of lace at
the throat. The same trimming orna-
mented the sleeves, which were rather
full and showed her arm to great adj
vantage when gesturing - though of
course she did not think of that.
Miss Dickinson began by saying that
there are very few people who are
aware that they are here to live most
people only exist. There was always
a curious desire in people to make others
like themselves. Parents invariably
tried to mould their children after them
selves at the risk of putting the natural
ly square child into a round hole, for
getting that each attribute of the child
as well as the mans character is fashion
ed by the Almighty. This change in
character and disposition wrought by
overwise parents often warped or stunt
ed the child. AS examples the speaker
made reference to those children who
had in early life some natural talent,
hhClhCl IOl ltIuSlCs CbNANA4S
or what not, which was not allowed TO
grow up and give the child chance to
live for his OWE sake, but for one reason
or another was made to conform to
some one else's idea, and the child was
made in fact TO live for some one else.
The question to the sewers was not
whether they liked the seed or not /;
the seed was given to everyone and the
Lord prescribed the life he was to live.
The boy, when he was not allowed to live
for his own sake, made often a poor at
tempt to live at all. 1t was little I'M
derstOod that he who makes a good
machine is better than he who makes a
bad sermon, and it was still less known
that in many cases the machine maker
was better than the best sermon writer
provided he was doing his work for
his own sake. The reason that there
was so little real life was that people
were not intently in earnest. To be
busy simply was not to live; it was
only to exist; to be. People were
here to live for their own sakes
in the highest sense of the word. 1t was
a good thing for US we had but one life.
The precept, "Love the world and the
things in it," was not an unwise one
He who really loved a thing would seek
earnestly to know and understand it,
and after all what did we really know of
the world? In fact we knew only the
superficials Miss Dickinson referred to
her travels through our mountains
amidst the most beautiful views, where
one had seemingly only to rise little TO
be in the presence of God. Here amid
the most inspiring of earth's scenery she
found the densest ignorance and the
smallest appreciation of those beauties
which so charmed her. The excuse was
the national one of "too busy" Each
man was too full of the things of this
life; too engrOssed by material objects
to care for things for their own sakes
simply. Many men and women tried to
learn these material truths for themselves,
and in the end found that nature,
though never hasty, was relentless. The
best and purest pleasure of living was
life. The miser, loving money much,
loved life more, and though his love was
not the true one, yet true life should
be loved for its own sake. Yet we hated
life; We assassinated it; we spent hours
in trying to invent ways to kill time.
Her hearers were, many of them, even
now, listening to kill time, and were
listening to one who had often been
guilty of killing time. In her soul she
had often said, Help me to make this
soul understand itself and that it tends
to the grave" Some one would ask,
Would you have me busy all the time. ?
Yes: in one sense man should be bu sy.
as nature was busy she never rests. in
every moment of space she was aceom-
plishing something. Another q'destion,
Is one to have no time for pleasure j.?
Yes, certainly; but are those who for
get duty in the search of pleasure hap
Ply, really happy for their own sakes {?
One of the most persistent opponents
of happiness was the query, what will
people say? The secret tb at she had to
tell them was that in reality people
never said half as much as one thought
they did, and never thought half they
said. The juryman VINO said she had ex-
pressed an opinion, but had not formed
one" was a fair example. 1t was a
common error for one person to wear,
or say, or DO something for the sake of
what some other person would say,
while that person was just as anxious
concerning the first persons opinion,
forgetting to pass one herself. That
wonanliwas the most regrogious fool who
put on. diamonds and silks to please
opinion which only laughed at her efforts
and called her fool for her pains. Just
as foolish were those people who lived
on bread six DAVIS q week IN r,ro1,;do