The St. Charles herald. [volume] (Hahnville, La.) 1873-1993, 1885-05-02
BRouoHAM's oRAToRY.
How Man Spoke and Left Name to Pos-
terity.

How a Man Spoke and Left Name to Pos-
terity.
Those who have only heard Lord
Brougham speak must understand that
they have scarcely an idea of the ora
tory of Harry Brougham. From the
first day he entered the House of Peers
as Lord Chancellor he seemed to be
trammeled by sense of his position.
He would have compromised its dig
nifty, as well as the character of a min
lister of the Crown, If he addressed his
new audience. cold and aristocratic as
it was, with the fierce and powerful
defamation in which he had formerly
excelled There is well-known story
that when his mother heard that he
had accepted tho CHARACTERISTIC she
said: ''Then Harry Brougham is
ruined;" and ruined he most certainly
was, as an orator He had made him
self great but he was destroyed by be-
ing made great by others. Harry
Brougham's speeches produced much
the same kind of sensation rs would
be experienced on witnessing the act
ing of the elder Kean. Brougham un-
consciously acted his speeches. His
action, too, was anything but graceful;
but it was natural, and perhaps that
which is natural can scarcely be
deemed ungraceful. The want of
finish, however, was always lost
in the sense of the rugged
earnestness of the speaker. and of the
terrific power with which he hurled his
invectves at his opponents power
which had once the effect of causing an
old stager like Canning to spring from
his seat, half frantic, and exclaim,
while striking the table in front of him
with extraordinary force, at is a false
hood" While Brougham spoke, the
impression would be on the nearer that
any attempt to reply would be a hope
less undertaking. And hopeless it
would have been to any one but Can
ming, Brougham had great fund of
humor at his command, but Canning,
with an amount of humor still more re-
dundant, had command of wit and
anecdote which carried everything be-
fore it. The House has more than
once been absolutely electrified by some
fierce denunciaton on the part of
Brougham and in less than five min
utes afterward that same House has
been indulging in peal after peal of im-
moderate laughter at the inimitable
dexterity with which Canning warded
of the attack and flung ridicule on his
opponent. On one occasion, on the
first night of a session, Brougham ut
tackled the Government for having, ac-
cording to the announcements in the
speech from the throne stolen many of
the measures advocated by his side of
the House and made them their own.
The speech was telling one, and the
more telling because it was true 1t
was applauded to the very echo, and
doubtless many of those who heard him
wondered how Canning would rebut the
) fierce attack. When he rose the
House welcomed him with tremendous
; cheering, us If anticipating the success
which usually attended his efforts. In
this instance too, il was not doomed
!, to be disappointed. In spirit of the
utmost good humor he said that the
honorable and learned gentleman had
reminded him OF an anecdote which he
u would relate to the House. In the reign
: of Queen Elizabeth an author named
Denis had written play, which was
produced at the Theater Royal of the
day In this play was introduced a
scene in which for the first time on any
y stage there was an imitation of a thun-
derstorm. Denis attended the perform
o ance, and had the modification to wit
= ness his piece, Notwithstanding the
q thunderstorm, une4u yocally damned.
. Time passed on, and with it the men,
= DRY of his play and its unlucky fate,
u when, one night, he went to see new
g play from the pen Of anot Ter author.
II The piece was in every respect superior
O to that of poor Denis, who witnessed
:, each successive scene with feelings OF
:, envy. 1t happened, however. that the
, author had also introduced thunder
J storm. AS soon as Denis, who was In
e the pit, heard the rolling of the thun
n der. followed by the plaudits of thu
n audieEce, he jumped upon one OF thu
n seats and raising himself to his fulles
o height, shouted out with the voice of I
h stentor, That's my thunder! That
l. my thunder!" The roars of laughte
10 which followed, and in which Broug
= ham himself, the Denis of the moment
l. was compelled to join, battles all de
70 seripton. His speech was no longer T.
at be thought of, except in so far as it
Of elected the ready wit OF Canning
" To1nglIa Ran.