Helena weekly herald. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1867-1900, 1886-08-26

b.
The orator, or reader, arrived next. He
was hustled in by q bevy Of fair women in
front and also in the rear. He carried the
signs of dyspepsia, melancholy, malaria and
three or four other foes to the flesh in his
face, and wore next to no hair at all. This Is
picture of him after he got well along with
his reading.
The vigorous Boston climate and too much
homage TO the fetch Culture had done their
fatal work. / could not but think that he
ought to be very careful what he said about
dead poets, since in all human probability he
would be called to account by some Of them
before great while He was armed with a
stack of manuscript books, each an inch
thick, and read them conscientiously through.
His essay was an sable compilation" in
which poets of the past were set on tolerably
high pedestals-such of them as he fancied.
Goethe and a few others he dismissed as .'old
fellows" of no particular Importance; but
Dante got his most fiowery eulogies.
A young lady of western origin, now a
resident of this city, accompanied me. While
the able orator cleared his throat at the end
OF the fifth book, preparatory to beginning
ON the sixth. she whispered:
"Boston dearly loves dead people. The
deader they are the more it adores them. 1t
assumes that there are no living people worth
talking or writing about. We live in an
atmosphere of stale thought. Indeed, ii
might be truthfully said that although We
take our meals In Boston, We really live in
ancient Athens. often feel as if was 2,00
Or 1000 years old"
This explanatory interlude threw light on
the settled look I had noticed on 30 many
faces-too much mousing IN ths past, and
not half enough interest in living thought
When the orator finished his sixth book with
a quotation in Massachusetts, Italian, buzz
of admiration burdened the air. He sat
down amid his flowers, half drowned in
smiles The ladies were greatly pleased
with him, but he was still more pleased With
himself
The president, a woman fair to see, thanked
him in the most overwhelming manner. He
rose and bowed his profoundest acknowledge
ments He also nlurmured something SO full
Of feeling that it died away behind the
flowers. He still stood Another lady arose,
and in trembling accents expressed hei
thanks for the precious privilege OF hearing
the paper. From her ,rds gathered that
she had had an except ially happy life, full
of joys, blessings and opportunities, but they
all paled in compariso with the pleasure of
hearing the orator of the day on dead poets.
In fact, she was well nigh overcome by the
kindness of heaven in being spared to make
one of the favored company. Mr.. Grindwell
took it seriously, as it was meant, and grew
more and more in love with himself
This was the ninth essay read to that club
on the same subject within three years. OBJ
serve the luminosity and breadth Of the
clergyman's spectacles. He wears two pairs,
which indicates that he looks at things far
beneath the surface. My wicked western
friend whispered that the protuberance on his
right side was caused by masked liver pad.
One lady near me slept profoundly through
large portion of the reading; but at its close
she arose and said never in her life had she
heard so able, clear and exhaustive dis
course on poets as this one. Another lady
arose and said the same thing. And still
another and another. The scene began to
take on a startling likeness to Patience"
Bunthorne wasn't young, but he was happy.
One, two, three, four more ladies arose in
turn to pour out their gratitude for the flood
of light cast on dead poets. 1t was touching.
The bald Bunthorne still stood. Then the
whole club, realizing afresh how much it
owed him, united in a solid vote of thanks.
This cleared the sky of the excess of gratitu ie
which was fast choking everybody. When
Mr.. Grindwell had again bowed his thanks
another woman sprang up and implored him
to tell them something about the ideal" The
reverend gentleman felt nervously in his vest
pocket without finding even q scrap OF "the
ideap and excused himself.
The meeting was finally broken up, and the
Intellectual Bupthnrrle AGAIN received the