Morning journal and courier., 1884-10-01
AFTER DINNER SPEAKERS.
Characteristics of Some Notable In promptu Takers, Good and Rad.
 CII,..-nri I2n, in, tln Iotal IniI

Characteristics of Some Notable Im- promptu Takers, Good and Had. Howard Paul in the Hotel Maill
 Lord Coleridge, at the Irving banquet at ! St. James, Hall, before popular trage- | dian went to America, intimated that an after-dinner speech consisted of platitudes I and anecdotes" and I remember hearing MT. James R. Lowell, poet, humorist and American minister at the court of St. l James, say that if suddenly called upon af- ter dinner to speak his mind was more or less blank, but that on the way home from the feast he thought of ever so many good things he would like to have said. This implied a lack of ready wit, but fancy MT. James R. Lowell did himself an injustice by this confession, as his speeches usually have an impromptu air and abound in point and interest. Charles Dickens was an admirable after-dinner speaker but ] have no doubt he knew tolerably well be- forehand what he was to talk about and since the Iamented death of Boz I fancy | George Augustus Sala bears away the palm. | When this notable journalist rises, poises | his chin in the air, rolls his dark eyes up ward and sends out his clear, metallic | chest notes one feels an assurance that a | clever speech is forthcoming, delivered with . once heard a noble lord, who very ire ! auently makes excellent speeches in the upper house. declare that he would part | with half of his worldly possessions if he could roll off speech with the facility of | G. A. s. This may have been facon de | parler, but it certainly implied large ! measure of admiration for the oratorical l ability of our prince of journalists To my mind the most wonderful speaker in the | world is Henry Ward Beecher, the celebra- ' ted Brooklyn divine. He can speak at any time at any place and on any subject. His
 pyrotechnic brain, necessarily whizzing and l whirling, shoots out thousands of bright | thoughts, which he readily clothes in most musical and expressive language. The worst ! speaker ever heard is Dying" Boucicault, who, though a capable Irish comedian and adapter of French plays, boggles and stam- mers hesitates and trips when he EErises to respond, :" and resumes his seat without hay l ing produced the slightest effect except that of disappointment On the whole, I think 1 the Americans are more telling after-dinner
 speakers than the English. There are Dan iel Dougherty, the eminent advocate, of Phil adelphia; Sunset Cox, Ben Butler and Chaun- cey M Depew, whose names are well known on this side of the ocean and who, when they get on their legs, usually corruscate to the edifcation of their hearers. l have been | told that at the sheriff's dinner at the Gen. tral Criminal court, in the city of London, a
 rule has been introduced by which the speak CT returns thanks sitting and in as few words as possible Why could not this habit obtain l in other countries and on other occasions9 It
 seems to be law of human nature that gen. tleman who is a sensible, rational creature when safely anchored in his chair should lose l his head and go wildly wool gathering when l he gets on his pins. If it be simply question of posture and attitude the suggestion might | be useful.