The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1888-05-19

1t was happy thought Of Mrs. Kate
Tryon. great lover Of the works Of the dis
tinguished English novelist William Black.
when she invited as many ladies and gentle
men as Reception Hall would hold, to gether
and listen TO her selections and commenta-
ries. Consequently the hall was complete
ly filled last evening by very attentive au-
dience composed Of our best people. The
lady herself, with her bright. animated face,
and her pretty figure, formed most attrac-
tive picture set out as it was, by the hand
somely draped background-so kindly furn-
ished by Atkinson-and the bouquets Of fra
grant flowers on either side. Her style was
conversational in character, but her intelli-
gent recital Of the text. and her evident APP
probation Of the scenes she portrayed. ac-
companied by appropriate and graceful ges-
lures, was all the better fitted to the place
and to her hearers. The lady was intro
duced to her audience by Mr. Albro E.
Chase principal of the High Sehool-of
which institution Mrs. Tryon is graduate
In few well-chosen remarks.
Prior to the reading by Mrs. Tryon. Miss
Wiley pleasantly entertained the audience
with number of selections on the piano
Another very pleasant feature Of the eve
ming was the singing of the boat-song from
"White-Wings" by the Portland Male Our
tette.
Mrs. Tryon called attention to the fact that
Black has been singularly fortunate since he
has achieved success in every sense Of the
word simply by working upon material
with which lie has been in his common life
familiar; that's, in gloryfying every object
and color Of nature In true, simple and d.
rect terms behind which every one can see
nature itself.
There are people who complain that
Blacks style is mOn0tonous. IL 1t Is monot-
onous to them to hear the beauties Of nature
sung, there is reason in their complaining;
but il it Is because he writes the words lam
bent" western sky" "the calm plain OF
water" and so forth over and over, there is
no more reason In their making ODJection
than there would be In refusing 70 look az
the painting Of beautiful landscape Just
because they have seen another painting IN
which the same colors were used.
Mrs. TryOn said that from the title OF her
lecture, her audience probably had thought
that 1t was to be an illustrated lecture, and
perhaps they had been looking for screen.
Their imaginations had got to be the screen,
and good English (Willlam Blacks and her
own, was going to be the stereoptiean. She
begged her hearers not to look askance at her.
as II they feared that-since she did not look
like lecturer, and was novice In the art
Of public speaking. yet had the audacity to
give lecture before an intellectual public
that she was capable Of going even 20 the
extent of assuming the post OF literary critic.
1t was as an appreciation, and not as critic,
that she was going to speak Of the work Of
the famous English novelist.
The pictures following we're selected from
The Strange Adventures Of Phaeton,"
white Wings" "A Princess OF Thule" and
Macleod Of Dare" and one who has read
those books realizes the task 1t must have
been to choose from among so many charm
ing passages the rare few, time OF course not
permitting the reeiting Of the many. In
each case, the story, ingeni0usly blended,
added interest TO the background Of land
scape. For descriptions Of English land
scape there were sunset pictures from Rich
mOnd hill for quiet sea pictures, there were
rocks and sea birds and salmOn-hued waters
from the yachting romance OF white
Wings :" for moonlight and night and Irish
and Hebridean views, "Shand0n Bells" and
"A Princess OF Thule;" and alone and most
striking Of all was the storm Of tragic inter-
est, the calm proceeding II and the calm t0l-
lowing 1t which closes Macleod OF Dare"
The audience showed their appreciation Of
Mrs. Tryon's efforts by frequent applause
and evidently felt that the lady had adopted
a field in which she will be heard from In fu-
ture as a lecturer.