The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1883-04-27
The Egis and Intelligencer
BEL AIR, Nd, APRIL "a, 1888.
Reported for The Hgis.
Hon. George COltOn's Lecture at Perry.
mans.

mans.
Hon. Geo. Cotton, President of the Board of
Police Commissioners of Baltimore city, de-
livered his popular lecture on Beauty" at the
Southern Methodist Church. Perrymans, last
Tuesday night, to large and intelligent audi
ence. In opening, the speaker said: "My
theme is one that has been said and sung
through all ages; has delighted the eye, the ear,
the intellect and soul; but no orator or poet
has yet been able to express in words, nor pain
ter or sculptor TO put on canvas or in marble q
precise idea of exactly what beauty consists Of
Where failure has been so universal it would be
absurd for me to make the attempt"
Beauty was treated in the abstract He was
rich in thought when speaking of the beauty of
nature. He said "There is real beauty in
every department of nature, The eye never
tires while gazing on the wonders of the Creator.
The magic touch of art cannot improve the
handiwork of the Great Original. There is
beauty of the grandest order in the cloud-pierc-
ing mountains which the Creator, in His great
wisdom, has placed upon the face of our planet
to add variety to its loneliness. There is beauty
in the simple little flower that modestly peeps
through the green grass OF the silent valley. 1t
smiles in its loneliness, blushes when the dia-
mond dew hangs upon its trembling petals; and
when morning sunbeam struggles through the
creeping vines to kiss the lips of the silent re-
cluse of the valley and drink up the lingering
dew.drop, it is then that the flower folds up its
crimped leaves and dies-the beauty of an hour.
Beauty of places have commanded all the re-
sources Of art and language for their portrayal.
Their attractions send people on pilgrimages in
every part of the world To see the venerable
cities and famous places of the old world, a host
of travellers are constantly departing from our
shores, and another host arrives, eager to see
the grandeur of American scenery.
"Ah, 1t is the dear associations that gives to
places their greatest beauty. Tales of love and
sorrow have spread meek loneliness about the
brses of Yarrow. By Klllarney's lakes and En-
erald Isles memory ever fondly dwells, because
their beauty has been enshrined in song and le-
gend, and
1.-THE bells of Shandon,
That sound 80 grand on
The pleasant waters
Of the river Lea.
"And thus it is that the most beautiful place
of all to us is that which is the dearest to us all
mid pleasures and palaces,
Where'er we may roam,
Be 1t ever SO humble,
There's no place like home
personal beauty is the most obvious sort of
beauty in the world. The pages of grave his
tory are largely taken up with the legends of
fair women. The tale of Troy cannot be writ
ten with the beauty of Helen left out, nor the
lives of Cesar or Mark Antony told without ref
erence to the charms of Cleopatra. The fates of
nations and the lot of people have been en-
tangled in the meshes OF golden hair. The
beauty of Esther, as she stood before the King,
was charm that saved people from destruc-
ton"
Mr.. Cotton closed his remarks with eloquent
and fervent perorations on moral beauty, and on
the beauty of the soul. His theme was illus
trated with cuttings from literature and remin-
iscences of his foreign travels. One hour was
occupied in its delivery, yet close attention
was paid throughout.