The Toledo chronicle. [volume] (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1873-1924, 1874-12-03
The DUTY OF A?PzAUD;NG.

A few years ago II was our S"o"
tune to be present at two entertainment
given by that peerless queen Of the s'"ss'
Mrs. Scott-Siddons, These entertain,
ments were both in the same CITY, anu
were given to substantially the same -
dience lint An interval OF month, Pe'
nerh.na occurred between them. N LIZ
first occaaion. the audience gave most eA
c.l,ent attention, but beyond the expires
.,on ~ their delighted faces, they exhlpi-
I'd no sign Of their appreciation o. me
performances of the great elocutionisi.
twas not II am sure. because the readings
we're unsatisfactory, but for contrary
and very different reason. At a minstrel
show third class theater, circus, or al
a. ordinary concert, these same people
~ould have bclabored the floor with their
feet and split the air with their encores,
and that, too, without experiencing Q
1.-THE of the delight and satisfaction which
they felt on the occasion referred to. The
difficulty was that the pleasure was too
exquisite to be expressed in the bolster
Gus manner in which they had been &C
customed to applaud. The woman was
90 beautiful in figure and feature, 50 an
gelic in expression and SO godlike In
speech and action, that the people felt
ased in her presence. They were dazed
by her matchless beauty-beauty With
out an element Of sensuality-and by the
wonderful and unexpected excellence OF
her readings. They were not that night
able to understand that this was only
woman. and they behaved with that rev.
Grant dccorum which is becoming to NOR
tails when IN the presence OF goddess.
At the second entertainment, different
feeling prevailed. BY this time the mat
ter had been fully discussed, and it had
been pretty definitely settled that Mrs.
Sidlons was only a woman. Something
had been learned of her history, and the
fact that she, like many another noble
woman, was the wife OF drunken and
debauched husband, had been freely cir
culatcd. The opera house was crowded
to its utmost capacity, and the lady APP
peared upon the boards amid perfect
storm of applause. The effect upon her
was magical. Though she had entertain
ed the royalty and nobility Of the old
world, and had encountered the scverest
critics of both hcmispheres, only 70 win
their praise, she was not indifferent to
the applause, nor superior to the sympa-
thy, of an ordinary Iowa audience. On
the former occasion, though she seemed
like one of the gods, she seemed also to
have brought with her the chill atmos-
phere CT her Olympian abode; but now
the applause which greets her dispels the
GOODNESS and sets the great soul within
her on fire, giving lustre to h er eye, color
to her check, and animation to her whole
being. As a marble statute is to "a living
body, so were the performances Of the
first night to those Of the second: they
may have been as perfect in form but
they lacked the inspiration of living
soul. The evening was series OF sue
cesses and ovations; and we are certain
that no one enjoyed it more than the gift
ed performer herself At the end of the
last reading, Mrs. Siddons, stepping to
the front of tbs stage, as if to get as near
to the people as possible, spoke few
words whose beauty this pencil cannot
initiate, but in substance as follows:
"A few weeks ago undertook for the
flrst time to entertain IN audience in your
city. My efforts were but indflerently re-
ccived, and went away sad, because
supposed was leaving no friends behind
When was invited to visit you again,
GLAD because ss jte vas p sSasancfb but ha
csc s.rcely had the courage to accept your
IN ,itation But you have tonight given
! Ue so warm greeting, and have SO high
y applauded my efforts that I cannot re
frain from telling you how happy | am thai
can now 60 on my way with the assur
ance that have pleased you"
These were the words Of noble an(
honest woman-no5le, because she valu
ed the sympathy and appreciation of hel
fellow men, and honest, because she wa,
frank enough to confess it. We shall
never forget this incident, nor shall
we forget the lesson which it taught us
The lesson was this: Ii we would have
people do their best, we must give then
credit for the good they do-and that no
only in silent thought, but our apprecia
ton must assume the form Of applause
which shall be loud enough and visible
enough to reach the heart through tn,
eye and ear 1t is but human to desir,
the appreciation Of mankind and it is only
to observe the Golden Rule to bestow OF
others the praise which is so sweet to our
selves. The love # praise is one of thu
most powerful incentives to good action
and we may safely assert that that man il
past redemption, humanity speaking, wht
places no value upon the esteem Of his fel
lows. Fortunately there are few such
But there are many who falsely pretent
to care nothing for human praise. The,
do not distinguish between praise anC
Jattsry. To praise man is only to Civ,
expression to the credit which is due hi.
character and actions; to fdtter him is t
credit him with what he does not deserve
Praise does not unduly magnify its OBJ
ject: .fattery does Praise is honest, .fat
terry is deceitful. Praise is genuine coin
.f0ttery is its counterfeit. Praise is hon
'orable to give and grateful to any righ
minded man to receive; .fattery is base
ito give and disgusting to receive, ex
'cept to the deluded egotist.
The honest praise Of the most humble
is grateful to those in the highest stations
The distance between a lowly and lofty
stAfoon in the social rank seems far greater
fto those who stand below and look up
than to those who, having laboriousl,
clambered to the top, look down. Ths
man who has toiled his way up the rug
ged ascent will cherish many pleasant
recollection of the places and people thai
he met and communed with at the begin
ing of his journey; but those who have
never been above, are apt to imagine thai
high social position, like the top of q
lofty mountain, is invested with colo
atmosphere, which freezes up the springs
of human sympathy, aud that to those
upon the eminence it is a matter of in
difference whether those below censurt
or praise them. But this is generally /;
mistake, as thcincidert narrated proves