Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-03-29
JOHN BRIGHT AS AN ORATOR.
Tho Qualities which Enabled Him to
Hold Such q Sway Over the People.

Tho Qualities which Enabled Him to
Hold Such a Sway Over the People.
An English writer described Mr.. Brishss ora
tory:
Mr.. Bright, the orator par excellence Of the
house Of commons, is almost precisely the
moral and political antithess of Mr.. Disraeh
When Mrs- Sarah Bridges willysms. Of Tor
quav, left Mr.. Disraeli large fortune as an
expression Of her admiration for his political
principles, what the world chiefly wonders at
was, not the legacy, but the ladys success in
discovering what Mr.. Disrsel's political prin-
ciples were. No such mystery hangs about Mr..
Bright Rightly or wrongly, he holds certain
views Of how the British empire ought to be
governed and never once in the course OF
long career, run for the greater part under
the fierce light that beats upon a man who has
achieved power and frame in parliament,
has he departed from the narrow road
hedged about by the principles under
the guidance OF which he entered upon public
life. While political animosity has passed by
DO ditch through the mire OF which 1t might
drag Mr.. Bright, IL has never accused him OF
speaking with an uncertain sound or OF having
upheld yesterday that which he denounces to-
day. To this strong and sure foundation Of
character Mr.. Bright adds the airy graces of
Oratory that make the structure of the states
man complete. His manner when speaking is
quiet and subdued, but 1t is the apparent subju-
CATION which a bar of iron undergoes when it
passes from he red-hot stage to the condition
of white hea. He has himself well in hand
throughout lis orstions, and therefore MAIN
tains his hold upon his audience. His gestures
are of the fewest, but they always seem appro-
pirate and natural A simple wave Of the
right hand and the sentence Is emphasized.
Nature has gifted him with fine presence
and voice the like of which has but rarely
rung through the rafters of st. Stephens.
Like a bell Is the illustration usually en-
Ployed in the ldeavor to convey by words an
impression of - music but i think it were
better to say ks peal of bells for single
one could n: produce the varied tones In
which Mr.. Bright suits his expressions to the
theme. On the whole, the dominant tone is one
of pathos. Possibly because nearly all Mr..
BEights great speeches have been made when
he has been pleading the cause of the oppressed
or denouncing a threatened wrong, a tone OF
melancholy can be heard running through all.
And for the expression of pathos there are
marvellously touching tones In his voice-tones
which carry right to the listeners heart the
tender thoughts that come glowing from the
speakers, and are clad in simple words they
pass his tongue.
who that heard it will ever forget the
solemn sentence that fell from the orators lips
when the Vienna negotiations for peace with
Russia promised to interrupt the Crimean war?
out the land You may almost hear the very
beating Of his wings. This was a bold oratorical
fight to take in the house of commons, which
is above all things. practical, and kills by good
hearty laughter any approach to sentimentality.
For moment the success of the imagery was
doubtful. The house trembled between laugh
ter and tears. If You had said the tapping Of
its wings, said Mr.. Golden to Mr.. Bright as
they walked home together after the speech,
we should have gone into hit of laughter
Ifrrt ATr Dri rht had tad h r,1xL~t
had fitted it in the right place. and the true
pathOs at the tones in which the sentence was
slowly spoken carried it far above the level Of
laughter.
HIS HuMoR
Then, again, Mr.. Bright's humorous savings
come spontaneously. His humor is not sar-
donic. like Mr. Disraeli's but it resembles it,
inasmuch its manifestations have chiefly
been IL the direction of hitting off some person
or party by single phrase. When he desired. !
during the debate on the reform bill, to cover
with ridicule the clique of which Mr.. Lowe was |
the head he bethOught him OF David's escape |
from AchIsh, Hing OF Gath. and the character
OF the people who subsequently foregathered |
with him IN the Cave of Adullum. and a new |
name was added to the political vocabulary |
When. pending the GENERALIZATION he had &C. |
casion to complain of the determined dissatis- |
faction of the conservatives he again turned to |
the classical book of the people, and on the NOR
row ali England was laughing at the party |
would have complained of the Ten Command |
ments as IA harrassing piece of legislation Mr.. |
Brights illustrations when drawn from other |
sources are equally homely and therefore effec-
tive. Thus, when lie dubbed Mr. Disraeli the
Mystery man of the Ministry and when he |
hkened MIR. Lowe and Mr.. HOrsman to a Scotch
terrier, of which no one could certainly say
which was the head and which was the tail,
every one could comprehend and enjoy the
reference. The volume of sarcasm hidden in
the parenthetical remark about the gentlemans
ancestors who came over with the conqueror-
i never heard that they did anything elser-is
plain reading for all.
so is the well-merited retort upon a noble
lord who, during time while Mr. Bright was
temporarily laid aside by illness, took the op-
portunity of publicly declaring that, by way of
punishment for the uses he had made of his
talents. Providence had inflicted upon Mr.
Bright disease of the brain. 1t may be So
said Mr. Bright to the house of commons,
when he came back. but in any case it will be
some consolation to the friends and family of
the noble lord to know that the disease is one
which even Providence could not infiict upon
him