Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1886-05-29
AFFAIR WARNING.
snow when the year grows senescent,
And sundials are limiting at June"

college boy orations are at hand.
Some OF the young gentlemen OF the
s. w. P. University are probably busy
in the preparation OF their prize
speeches. or rather orations which they
hope will capture the awarding COM
mittee and carry off the medal to be
given for the best effort. The CHRoNI-
Gle has been accused OF undue harsh
ness in the comments 1t has made on
such speeches in the past, unjustly 80
we think. The object OF this paper has
been to speak plainly and impair
tally, avoiding the platitudinal praise
that is so generally bestowed on such
productions. If it has not always COM
mended, the reason was that some
speeches were not sufficiently meritor-
ious to justify compliment, and its cen
sure has ever been friendly criticism,
which the speaker should appreciate
more than untruthful laudation.
However that be, the CHRONICLE ex-
poets to continue in the course it has
heretofore persued, and it now gives
the ambitious collegians fair warn
ing that it don't intend to say a word
that is good about any of their speeches
unless such is deserved, and on the
other hand, it expects to speak openly
and plainly of their shortcomings and
dement's.
If the young orators will avoid some
Of the most glaring defects common to
school boy speeches, we think they will
escape not only the CHRONICLES CEN
sure, but that OF the intelligent public.
We say intelligent public, because most
anything uttered is apt to draw COM
mendation from some source. Senti-
mental ladies are given to rapture over
ford fustian such as is found in
"Headly's Sacred Mountain, and often
exclaim of such tumid stuff, ooh it is SO
pretty; just too beautiful, l declared"
Other people like to be mystified and
think the young man who expresses
himself in terms too deep for me, "
is prodigy and a thinker Of immense
power.
There are still others who are inn
pressed with display of rare bits Of
learning, and when the speaker pours
out food of references to obscure his
torical events, they are quick to assert
che is so smart" not considering the
application of said references to the
matter in question. Such praise we
don't think is to be much valued, and
is not the kind that our young college
friends should hope to win.
One Of the most common faults of the
school boy orator is his attempt to tel
all he knows. He goes through the
ages and touches up the great epochs
A large per cent. OF the speeches OF thi:
kind we have listened to, made reference
to the creation, the deluge, Moses, the
dawn of the Christian era, the grea
reformation, the American revolution
and our late war between the States
An old fashion was to dilate on ancien
empires and the great men OF the past
but the school boy Partially for Greece
! ,,,A Doc1o hoo banc on ,,,,ob orit;o;Oaf
that it is very dull fellow who don
now avoid that line.
Another fault of the commencement
orator is the selection Of deep subiec
that it would puzzle a savant to trea
properly. Thus in an effort to appea
overwise, he makes the reverse impress
sion from that intended.
An orator should by no means run
through the whole catalogue of his his
torical knowledge for the mere purpos
q OF displaying what he knows, but schoo
boy orators nevertheless very frequentl
q do.
We do not believe there was a speed
made at the commencement last yea
that did not contain the word vast, an
in some of the orations it occurred wit
painful iteration. This denoted ten
), dency to dwell on things Incompetent
= sibly grand and great, that was littl
: bombastic, to say the least.
. But the greatest danger to the schoC
/; boy is his tendency to attitudenize as
:. prose poet. He endeavors to dress a
. his ideas in ford language and delight
in rolling out resonant periods. He
much on metaphor, but rarely eve
catches on to an original specimen
: that figure. If we we're in the moo
!, for giving advice, we would admonis
: the students who are preparing speech,
to run through their manuscripts whe
u they are finished and strike out ever
: thing they think particularly fine {
pretty.
:, An Grafton on good, live subjec
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