Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1883-01-27
eoNSrE SCOTLAND.
1,,ofassor turr's Brilliant Lecture Last
Night on Scotland, its Poetry and its


Professor Curr's Brilliant Lecture LAST
n<ipht on Scotland, its Poetry and its
People.
Professor Allan Curr, the well known
.sstar'' Scottish orator. lectured before
select and cultured audience at the First
PRESBYTERIAN Church last night on the
subject, ''History of the Scottish League
and Covenanters and sketches of modern
Scotch character" The lecture was
literary treat 1t was graphic and vivid.
The speakers description of the land OF
the heather was poetic, and OF the men
of the DAYS of religious trial thrilling ana
touching. There was throughout the
whole a charming touch of humor that
| completely won the favor of the audience.
Mrs. Curr recited 'sThe Seige of Luck
now and TennysOn's "Bugle CalP' with
eminent success. and we venture no elo-
cutionist has ever more etfectually reach
ed the heart of Savannah audience.
Prof .Curr began by saying: Il have to-
night to speak of Scotland, its heroes,
poetry and people. L am aware that
! Scotland is a small place, and compared
with this country occupies but very
little norton of the worlds surface.
Some unkind person once said that Scot
land was so small that it could be easily
| hid away i'm the depths of some American
| forest. and would never be discovered eX-
| cept for the smell of the whisky. But
| notwithstanding its littleness physically,
vet mentally and religiously it
| has bulked largely in the history
of the past, and nils up no IN
| considerable place in the present. Scot
| fish scenery is very varied. Who that
| has ever sailed up the classic Clyde can
/ forget the ever shifting panorama OF beau
| tv passing before him? The Grampians,
! too. rearing their snow crowned SUBMITS
! to the sky, and the wild, romantic glens
and passes of the northern Highlands and
isles, with glittering 'lochs' Of stu water
| between. have been from the early days
/ till now the theme of the poet, painter
and the novelist. Its cities are many
/ of them unsurpassed for situation
| and splendOr, Glasgow with its 100000
souls, its beautiful river, parks and build
\ ing: Edinburg, the city of monuments,
| frOwned over by the heights of Arthur's
! Seat, with its grand old castle, and noble
streets Stirling. the scene OF the eX-
| Dloits of Wallace. and the old Scottish
| heroes: Dundee, bonnie Dundee, Aber-
| deem. Inverness, bOsOmed in the hills,
| guarded by their castle-llke crag5, ana
| centers of the commerce as well of
| the beauty of the land. / know the
climate is moist and cold. 1t halls
when it does not rain and rains
! when il does not hail, and SHOWS when
| il does neither. But there are
bright and sunny days between, and there
is no country in the world where life is so
! enjoyable. and its conditions or happiness
so favorable. in many respects, as Scot
land. Like all other countries, 1t has Its
/ advantages and its drawbacks. a Scotch
man in America, complaining that GER
tain article could be bought for sax
pence i'm Scotland, and for which he
would have to pay twice as much here,
was asked why, then, did you leave Scot
land! Because said he, i dinna haze
the saxpence'-an excellent reason.
The poets and poetry of Scotland are
enough of themselves. The Old ballad
writer's were the historians OF the people.
They expressed IN romantic, heart-stirring
song. the feelings of the nation, and told
in moving verse the events of the times.
! Never We're Shakespeare's lines more ap-
plicable to any poet so much as to Robert
Burns: One touch of nature makes the
whole world kim
Her people have history wonderful TO
tell. Deeds of herOism done in the past
have shed a halo of glory over the land
foreyermore. They have their faults, just
like other nations, and as everybody
knows them, ! need not now tell them,
A Scotch prOYeTJ has il, It's an i'll bird
that fouls its ain nest The chief charac-
teristics of the Scottish people are their
deep religious feelings, their fOndness OF
argument, singing, and occasionally
whisky, and their dry caustic humOr."
In speaking of the heroic struggle OF
the Covenanters for liberty the speaker
introduced with vivid effect points and
incidents from Scottish history, and in
concluding. saidi whilst thus adj
miring Scotland and doing ample justice
to my native land, | cannot forget that
many of Scotland's sons and daughters
have found a warm welcome and abundant
prosperity i'm this. Perhaps America and
the South has no better citizens than
Scotchmen, and whilst we love the land
of our birth none the less, still we can
and do love our adopted country all the
more, and beneath the broad flag OF
American liberty all nations of the earth
can find peace and prosperity"