The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1888-05-30
MIR. BENET IN ATLANTA.
Interesting Report OF His Recent
Speech I'm that City.
atlanta Constellation.

The distinguished speaker was gracefully
stated that the orator was thoroughly .equipp.
| ed for the handling OF his theme-John Bull
and Jonathan-and that rich treat would be
| laid before the audience.
When Mr. Benet stepped to the front o the
stage he was greeted with hearty andcontinu-
| ed applause.
He Is q handsome man of about thirty-five,
| OF medium height, has dark hair, heavy light
brown mustache, and easy bearing.
He read his lecture. and read 1t remarkably
well.
closest attention OF his audience throuhout.
with his wit, wisdom, depth, research, instruc-
| tion and magnificent rhetoric.
The lecture may be described as literary,
historical and intellectual feast, garnished
tion.
1t was too elaborate for reproduction in u
newspaper notice, and even the striking feat
ures presented below can give but gllmmer-
Whole. WI ' 40 - 1911 '' y ~
Mr.. eenet began by saying that he had
startled to find that he was advertised to de-
liver a lecture. The word lecture was mis-
| nomer. He did not intend to speak to the
audience In the sense of lecturing them, as
Caudle had been lectured. This was the first
time that he had ever spoken In public Tor
money, and even now he was speaking for
| the benefit of ST. Luke's church.
John Bull and Jonathan was his subject;
| He would use the names as typical Of England
and America.
Twenty years ago he came to this country to
| study America. He liked 1t so we'll that he
war between the States-the greatest civil war
which had ever been waged-England knew
| little of America, Of the topography OF this
country, Of her grand mountains S and valleys h 3
come to freely acknowledge the greatness OF
America.
Edmund Burke, one of Englands greatest
had predicted the greatness to which America
minds eye, as far back as 1872.
Before the late war Enalsnd's ignorance of
Alter that war the tide Of travel from Eng
land set westward. Tourists, travellers. em-
igrants came over TO see the great new country
and the speaker came with them.
On o village green In the north of Scotland
he has heard the great struggle between the
American states discussed. He had seen men
get black eyes and bloody noses In these dis.
cusslons, for there were champions or Lee ana
OF Grant in Scotland as we'll as in America.
He spoke of the southern confederacy as
"that short-lived nation which arose SO white
sentiment was greeted with tremendous and
The speaker said that he knew much OF
John Bull, and for twenty years had studied
a live, representative American city, the Chi
cago Of the south. (Applause.)
He described in feicitous words the rotund
figure Of Jhon Bull and the scawy shape OF
Jonathan, az they are seen in cartoons In
Punch and Puck.
England and America could not be studied
part. They were bound together by ties OF
blood, Of kinship, Of commence. or Language, qua e.
know that for century past critics, essay lists
and authors had strlven In their writings 70
put asunder TWO countries which God had
Joined together. (ApplauSe.)
npnnlQ fOrPipnprS
lea, Americans were not foreigners TO Eng,
land. He had tried for twenty years to hnd
out If he was O foreigner In America ana II
he was, had never been able to find out. Jap
He condemned In strong language the prac-
tice Of the majority OF the English writers
who have given them Impressions OF ,a,taer amer
about England, AS rule, they had fall
into the habit of magnifying local eccentric,
tiles into national faults, and the sensational
press was guilty Of the same bad taste. Olo
Samuel johnson had once said that Amer.
leans deserved little less than hanging for
their uncivillzed ways, and not long ago an
American editor had
WARNED MISS CHAMBERLAIN
against marrying an Englisman, because OF
the brutal manner in which Englishmen treat
their wives. Both were wrong.
Somebody had ask cd Mathew Arnold. on MS
first visit to this country. IL he did not Intend
10 write book on America. Arnold replied
tnQL Ills DrleI duOTueQ blui puI sllsHS Up
portunity TO study America, and 1t would be
an impertinence to write under the circum-
stances.
"What a pity 1t is that Dickens, Trollope.
and a host Of others, did not take the same
"Alas that Arnold did not stick TO his
view, and spare US his Impression . of Amer
ica."
writer on America critisized everything he
saw in q way favorable to England, ana gave
Illustrations OF how American writers on
England ridiculed almost everything Engllsh.
Oliver Wendell Homes and Richard Grant
White were exceptions TO this rule. They
wrote OF England In genial and kindly
way.
the negro question, particularly in the pres
ence Of Southern people, they knew nothlng
OF the negro except what they had read In
books, while the knowledge Of the southern
people on the subject had come from exper-
ience and common sense.
Richard Grant White had said that Ameri-
can women were more beautiful than English
women, but that English women were more
lovable than American women.
This was delicate and dangerous ground.
One thing was certain. In the contest the
golden apple must be awarded to the women
Ing WON enthey are the fairest and ioveiiest.
Applause John Bull and Jonathan were
brothers. General Grant had said: England
and America are natural allies, ana should
always be the best Of friends"
The speaker then gave graphic historical
sketch OF the Anglo.Saxon race. showing how,
beginning to move westward In the fifth GEN.
tury, 1t had swept everything before II, and at
length established its power In England. Its
next move was upon America. where the abo-
rigines had fed before It's power.
"Monarchies may perish. Republics may
pass away-but the Anglo1Saxon race Will
move on. or oil inferior races the negro has
been able TO see the Anglo-Saxon race and
live. He alone OF inferior races has been will
Ing to accept the position to which and Anglo
Saxon have assigned him. Thus has he es-
capped the doom OF the inferior races"
There can be no amalgamation OF the An.
glo-Saxon and the negro. Pride OF race VIII
forever prevent 1t. The ADglo-Saxon race, ,un-
like the Latin races, never intermarries with
inferior races.
America is now the centre Of the wealth
and commerce Of English speaking people. IL
will one day be the centre OF power.
The speaker closed by eloquently forecast
Ing the future Of Anglo-Saxon race.
The day Is coming when there Will not pc
room in America for the Anglo-Saxon. He
will not move to the lce.bound north nor TO
the tropical south. He will stick to the tenn.
perate zone, as he has always done. He VIII
cross the Pacific TO China and Japan. Though
those nations struggle never SO we'll they VIII
20 down before the Anglo-Saxon, Elm his
grand march westward he will trample all
way, and the Anglo-Snxon race will In the
end gird the earth with its possessions AZ 1t Is
now girded with Its commerce." (Applause.)
II the Iron Comes, Nail 1t Down.
aiken Journal and Review, May %.