The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1890-10-18
WENDELL PHILLIPS ORAToRY.
His Enunciation Was CharminSly
Perfect, Yet He Never s 1:ss'
Elocutionized. .s|53 5sss3
GREAT MASTER OF lNVEcT [ I.

a More Interesting. and lnstruotsYe
. Speaker Than Any Of His Sss
Uontemposarias.
In, his, outward man, Wendell l'tt,l-
lips was cast in classic mould. His
4oratolfca mother was Maya the Elo-.
qnent. and his father was Jupiter the.
Thunderpr. Above the middle hplaht.
his form was patterned after the best
models of man hood, and closely resenis
bIef, by actual measurements. the
Apollo BaIyedere. He was neither
stout nor thin. but retained from Youth
to age his supplpness and grace OF pro
portion. Ofnervoua sanguine temper
amont, his complexion was ruddy and
gave HIM the appearances Of one whose
soul looked through and gloritiad The
body; hence that singular radiance
which was often startling. TIE head
was finely set upon broad shoulders
and a deep chest. The chin was full
and strong, the lips red and somewhat
compressed. the nose aqniline, the eyes
blue. email but piercing. the brow both
broad and high. the hair Of that taWny
hue artists love- #a y2
The golden treasure nature showers down II
On those foredoomed to wear Fames syolden
crown. :.4sS
In middle life he lost part Of his Hair;
but this only served the more clearly to
reveal the superb contour Of the skull.
His profile was fine cut as a cameo. In
expression the face was at once intel !.
lectual and serene; it wore look of re
solute goodness. His pose was easv.
aud natural, eyerv change Of attitude
being a new revelation Of manly graoAt5
No nobler pnysiqne. ever confronted a,1
audience. a patric cjan4air acconop panied
him as inevitablY % the uinat bus dogas
8 saint on the canvass Of tMurillps 1i lf;
Titan. Itis rare that an orator. re-
ceives from nature such gifts Of person.
Thus his appearance was conc,liatory
and ingratiatinQ; it filed and satisfied
the eye ere the ear was addressed.
How describe the voice? 1T was Of
no great range. In the higher register
1t was thin; but in the middle and
lower notes, where he usually held it, it
resembled the tones of Paganini 'sviolin.
It was smooth; it was sweet; it was
penetrating, and it was 80 exquisitely
.modulated that every finest shade Of
thought. each most deica 9 distinction
of expression. was Disseminated as he
spoke. He had faculty Of pouring a.
world OF meaning into those quiet ut
terancss-ind,gnation, wit, sarcasm.
suggestion. moral appeal, legal argu
ment. what he woodland all without,
once raising his voice It was like Ole
Bulls inspired playing on one string;
that being more expressive, under his
bow than the whole instrument in any
other hands Connoisseurs have tes
titled that no other speaker, here. or in
Europe. out such intense feeling into
so small a compass Of voice, sealing the
heights and sounding the depths of.
oratoIy in q collnqnial tone. In one Of
his lectures, speaking Of a certain local
ity in Florence, he said: As I walked
the pavement Z suddenly came upon3
this inscription. under NV very fpet:I
'On thisspot. 30O years ago, sat Dante! I z, q
1t was uttered simplv yet with such an
entire change OF voics aud ~ anuer that
you saw what he saw, the image Of the
Tuscan poet who went down into he'll
Dante was conjured into being and
stood revealed Ia the solemn hush OF
that rhetorical pause. III.
His enunclation was an added charm.
Each word was as distinctly uttered IS
though 1t were a newly. coined gold
piece. Yet he never elocnti0 i0nized;
there was nothing pedantic ia hissaut
terance. Like everything else about
his oratory, Il was natural, or seemed
50. But 90 the words dropped in ryth
mic succession from his lips, always
without shesitation,' each one the best
that could possibly be c1osen tosexpress
his thought. it was q revelation of the
strength and beauty of our mother
tongue. What you listened to seemed
1 cross between 8 strain of music and q
poem, This rhy ythmio quality IS dIficnltI
to manage. p iRard - veret with ALL
his cunning. carried il % excess was
lmmaasurably m9asur !. Al observer
could frequently detecs nh hand COVERT
II beating time 81 bis otg1ss 81
fsalllips tue rdytl,m i,issss iss 4 terl
than perceived the caflence vas IuIlllfnI
and be9nlli ling. never obtIusive