The Big Stone post. (Big Stone Gap, Va.) 1890-1892, 1891-04-10
Stonega Lecture Course.

! yThe first of the series OF lectures gwen
;nnder the auspices of the Classical School
Was delivered upon Tuesday evening at
the Baptist church, by Mr.. Bedford.
The. topic was "The Personality of Shaks-
peare, 'and good sized audience listened
with earnestness and attention to this
new statement of familiar, vet ever i'll
terestng theme.
The speaker began by comparing the
study of Shakespeare to IN ocean voyage
with the numberess directions open and
showed the Importance of holding steadily
to one line of investigation in order TO
reach ans valuable conclusions. The
ways of finding evidences of the man in
his work were touched upon and brief
sketch giyen o. The time in which he
lived.
Tracing through The ohscurity OF his
early life. some at the more important
facts and stories Including he dccrstcal-
ing ard his haS.y marriage. the lecturer
began tne detailed sI&1y o; his char
actcr at the iimc OF his coming up to
London, in 1887. Shakspearc's extreme
sensiblity to all sides of life, his
high conception of his art, his tondncss
for the good fellowship of the Mermaid
Tavern, his youthful fancies about ro-
mantle love, his passionate loyalty in
friendship, and his lofty idea of woman
hood were among traits of character
developed from the study OF passages IN
the early pavs--'Lovc's Labor Lost,
"Alidsumer Nights Dream, Henry "
and Henry V. Romeo and Juliet, Mer
chant Of Venice.
The elements for the second picture of
Shakespeare, in middle life, were gathered
from two tragedies, Caesar Hamlet, Mac
beth, Othello and Lead. These show the
poet, in profound gloom, working out his
early ideals amid the sternest Of lite's
realities.
The great romanccs, Cynbcline, Temp
est and Winters Tale. presented the last
view of the poet, in the quiet of late af-
ternoon looking back over his chequcred
life, from his retirement at Stafford The
exquisite melancholy Of the last plays,
and especially the treatment of his wom-
anly characters, were touched upon. The
poets feeling, upon retiring from the
stage, was shown IN the words OF fros-
pero:
.sJur revels now are ended, and these actors,
rs foretold you. are all spirits and were melted
into air,
Into thin air, and like the baselcSs fabric Of this
vision,
The handicapped towers, the gorgeous palaces,
The solemn temples the great globe itself,
Yea, all which inherit, shall dissolve,
And like this unsubStantsl pageant faded,
Leave not rack behind.
We ARE arc such stuff dreams made
And our little life Is rounded with u sleep.
The next lecture in the course, Tuesday
April 18th, will be upon 1.-TWO Hcroines
of France" by Mr.. BeckfOrd. Jeanne
D'Arc and Charlotte Corday, the two
most remarkable women in French histo-
nv, each Of whom made Il complete turn in
its course at critical moment, will be
studied in an individual and comparative
light. The succeeding lecture will be
by Rev. j. NJ. McManaway, upon the
theme, "Aone in History Then fol-
lows the first Of the science lectures, "The
World of Atoms" by Mr. Beckford,
study Of "John Keats" by Mr.. John W.
Fox, Jr., "Dynamics Of Heat and Light"
by Mr.. Bedford, lectures upon topics UNI
announced by Messrs. w. *. Shelby, j.
T. Bullitt, Jr., L. Turner Maury, and by
Mr. r. r. Irvine upon The Romance OF
Astronomy"
The lisi includes some of the best
speakers Of the town, and the proceeds
are to be devoted to school Library fund.