Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1878-03-02

| IL 10 Il CuSlOiIl WIIlCiI lids nOW Dc
come time-honored for the JUNO
class in our College to give publ,
exhibition of their rhetorical facul
ties on WashingtOn's birthday, Feb
| 22d. One of these celebrations came
off on Friday night of last week
just too late to be recorded in Oul
last issue. We supply the defecl
now. We were unavOidably pre-
vented from arriving at the hal
till part of the performance was
over. Mr.. Chamberlin having been
excused on account of sickness
Messrs. Gilbert and O'Bryan had
spoken and Mr.. Hollins was in the
middle of his address when we ar
rived. We were much disappointed
at this, especially as we had become
much interested in the career of our
young friend, Mr.. Grundy Gilbert,
with whose superior intellectual
powers and creditable industry we
had had special opportunities of be-
coming acquainted. In his case
therefore we requested to be allowed
to peruse his manuscript after the
speaking, which privilege he very
courteously accorded us. We there
fore give his composition the first
place.
Mr. +. q. Gi6ert-"The Influence
of Thought" This was a we'll writ
ten and cogent argument to show
that the men of profound thought
have in ali ages been the rulers of
the world. While they have gene
rally held themselves aloOf from the
turmoil and chickering's of public
life, the published emanations of
Of their great intellects have in
structed and inspired those second
class men whose practical energy
and adrOitneSS have carried out
principles which it was the work of
higher intellects to lay down for
them. We will only say of this
composition that it manifested a
large share of that thoughtful faculty
which it was intended to eulOgize,
and that the thoughts were clearly
and fOrcibly expressed.
NJ. j. G. O'BJ:y071-"Compromise
the Highest Evidence of Statesman
ship" This is one of the speeches
which we neither heard nor read,
and we can only say of it that our
enquiries elected the general opin-
ion from those who did hear it that
it was a good speech well spoken.
NJ. j. 4. HoUi,as-"J Julius Cesar"
We heard a part only of this speech,
Mr.. HOllins having been engaged
in delivering it while we entered
the room. 1t was a discriminating
and thoughtful analysis of the char
lcter of Rome's first and greatest
Emperor. Its delivery was in some
measure impeded by the pressure of
that diff lence which is to us a re-
commentator rather than an OBJ
lection in a youthful orator.
Mr.. j. F. Johnson "Individual
The speaker defined
freedom in individuals to be the re-
mOval of all those impediments
which obstruct the human soul in
its highest development
in this life as preparation for still |
more exalted achievements in the |
next; hence he justly inferred that
freedom to practice vice was no
freedom, as it binds down the facul-
ties Of the soul and enslaveS it to
everything of degrading tendency.
The ideas were philosophical and
with considerable elocu-
tionary power.
M. +. B. HitcheU-"The death |
of Cromwell" Mr.. Mitchell did
wisely in selecting a subject outside
Of the beaten track Of academic eX-
arcise5, and so gave us the most |
of the addresses Of the even |
ing. Starting with the assumption
that a mans death-bed is generally |
in some way an expression of his |
he vindicated that char
lcter from the unworthy aspersiOns
Of Hume and the other partisans of |
the false and treacherous Stuarts. |
Claiming Cromwell as a Christian
statesman and warrior of the highest |
order, he gave an eloquent de5crip-
ton of his death as fitting termi-
nation to noble life. We hope to
hear from Mr. Mitchell again.
lL'. II. II. Nc LedR-'L Literature"
Rather an extensive subject for
twenty minutes address. Mr.. Nc
Lean is an eloquent speaker with
elOcutianary training.
He would have made better speech
# he had concentrated his efforts on
L subject more confined in its range
Of thought. Non omaid pOssuDtts
1HaHesj especially when we have |
only twenty minutes to do it |
in.
NJ. S. y. Characterization a
Virtue" While we concur with !
Mr.. Coleman in designating ambi-
ton a virtue, or at least stimulant
to virtue, when it assumes the office
Of acquiring mems appreciation by
great and beneficent enterprises
nObly carried out, we could have
wished that he had devoted some of
his time to discriminating between
that phase of ambition and its de-
and desolating counterpart
which leads a man to eXalt himself
upon the ruins of hiscOuntry'S we'll
being. His historical illustrations
of his subject were not judiciously
selected, especially that of the EN-
peror Napoleon l., who was one of
the most cold-blooded cyclists on