, 1891-05-27

tacle of so many hundred attentive faces
swimming before their eyes the careless
gestures and wlisperings OF the Indifferent
members of their audiences; the know
ledge that their notes have got hopelessly
mixed, combine to create a situation OF
mental torture which shakes the limbs,
dries the mouth, and twists the tongue
ineT1 3aOly round the teeth. Indeed,
SO tGTi5le is the ordeal that, as we all
know, only a minority are capable of sur
vlving it; but in the case of those who
have courage to persevere these unplea-
SAM accidents and symptoms will even
tually vanish, the train of their thoughts
will gradually flow forth clearly and calm
~, and the necessary words will suggest
themselves with less and less difficulty and
effort. But still | am inclined to believe
that no good speech is ever made, unless
by the most practised of our public men,
without % great deal of careful prepare
ton. Indeed, it is almost an insult to his
audience for any ordinary person to de-
mand their attention unless he has we'll
considered beforehand what he is going
to say. But, Of course, both the kinds
and the degrees Of possible preparation
are very various. Some persons-and
this we know was the practice of De
%mOsthenes, of Cicero, and of the ancients-
write out every word of their speeches
from beginning to end beforehand, and this
practice, | imagine, has been followed by
many eminent orators of our own time
by Macaulay, for instance, by the late
Lord Peterborough, and by others. Some
persons only compose and write out before
hand portions Of what they intend to say,
but these portions generally include the
exordium and the peroratiOn. Mr.. Bright,
] believe, made no secret Of this being his
practice and we nave Lord ~BrOugham's
own statement for the fact that he wrote
out the last paragraphs of his speech in
defence of Queen Caroline nine times.
But l do not recommend any one who
would really desire to become Il good
speaker to accustOm himself, unless en-
exceptional occasions, even though he
should write out his speech beforehand,
to learn it by heart. Such Il practice is
like swimming with corkS. In the first
place, to most people, both the labour Of
such II process and the time occupied in
executing it would be found excessive
and, IN the next, if through any lapse of
memory you get into difficulties, your
breakdown is sure to be instantaneous
and complete. Moreover. under such con-
dltions you would never become Il debater
or capable of replying to the arguments
of an opponent, which is even Il more use
ful and necessary aptitude in public life
than the art of delivering Il set speech.
at the anne time, there are occasions
when it would be prudent to follow such
a course. For instance, | remember many
years ago | was entrusted 10y the late Lord
PalmerStOn with the duty of moving the
address i'll the House of Lords on the
assembling Of Parliament after the death
of Prince Albert. The occasion was q
most sad and solemn one, for the principal
subject of my discourse was the national
loss we had so recently sustained. | felt
that were | to trust to the INSPIRATION
OF tie moment, or even to such perfunctoIy
methods Of preparation as are generally
adopted, it might very we'll happen not
only that should fail to give adequate
expression to my own feelings, and to the
feelings of the august assembly of whose
grief | had been appointed the interpreter,
but that there might fall from my lips
some unhappy and i%ncongruous phrase
which would jar disagreeably on the ears
OF every one present, and expose me to
well merlted censure aud reproach. Accor-
dinghy / at once sat down aud wrote out
every word of my speech, and learnt it
so carefully by heart that | knew that
no untoward accident or interruption could
interfere with its delivery, and i'll this
way, though it lasted an hour and a half,
/ was able without once looking at a note
to go throu gh it without accident to the
on1 prk - x,cr do lnnun Arr cnno0h