The record-union., 1893-02-25
A POST PRtNDIAL.
A Sketch of the Work and Aims of a
Society
which Might BE Beneficial In Any
COMMUNICATING Courteous
Criticism Does.


AS the club, now seven years old nearly.
has been the subject of much pleasant
curiosity, and as its system intellectually
and in literary line has proved to be
highly helpful and entertaining, the ad-
dress may serve to enlighten upon the
character of the club, and besides, is a
very thoughtful and pleasant post pran-
dial effort for reading:
Mr.. 1'odStmaster: Before you assigned
The Critic Club'' as my topic for this
evening, what thoughts, as Pi esident of
the club for the year, had been revolving
In my mind had clustered around the
same subject. l had not, however, at
tempted any formulation of what might
say until | received your note last Sun
day morning.
As the Critic Club has been the subject
discussed by the President upon two
similar annual occasions, and as to a
great extent the personnel of our COM
pany remains the same, it would seem to
be at the risk of much painful repetition
TO go into any large detail upon the OBJ
Jects and methods of our work. l take it
That there is no. one present this evening
who does not know what those objects
and methods are; the objects being those
OF Intellectual Improvement and the
methods being such that shall stimulate
that improvement through original
Efforts and through such courteous criti-
cIsm upon these efforts as shall be most
influential in giving precision to the
thought and in eliminating those errors
of style and treatment, and even of pro-
nunciation, into which it Is SO easy to
fall, and cut of which it is often so diff
cult to rise.
But of one thing 1 wish particularly to
speak, and this secondarily shall be my
theme for this occasion. 1t is of the mu-
tual courtesy which has characterized our
intercourse, so that we have never been
allowed to feel that criticism was barbed
with malice or inspired by any feeling
that did not reflect honor upon our men,
bership as composed of gentlemen, actu-
ated by pure and noble motives in the
prosecution OF the work to which our
club is distinctively committed. And
this statement recalls an experience OF
mine interesting to myself, as it illus
trates how greatly my own temper has
changed respecting criticism during re-
cent years. Some years ago l was dis
posed to shun it. | now most cordially
court it, and l cannot now enough depre-
cate that foolish attitude so often assumed
OF antagonism to well-meant efforts di-
rected TO ones own personal good.
The experience to which L have alluded
Is this. Some eight or nine years ago a
Shakespeare club was organized here, of
Which several at this board tonight were
hono-ed members. For several terms L
held the office of critic. The idea under
lying the institution of the Office was that
the critic should correct, as far as he was
competent to correct, the errors of accent,
and to the extent of his ability promote
an elegant and understanding reading
of the works of the master poet.
But, conscious of the personal
equation, during all the time OF nv
lncumbency of the Office of critic
never did anything of this character
being regardful of feeling which, how
ever foolish, is too general, a feeling
which is disposed to resent any public
criticism upon things which are Of
tensive to the cultured, and which,
because OF false delicacy, we
frequently do not permit to be
corrected. Instead, then, of doing what,
proper temper in all being conceded,
would have been greatly to our educa-
tional advantage, l contented myself
with the preparation of an occasional
essay upon some subject bearing upon our
work, sometimes taking the play which
had just been under consideration and
gathering what Information | could re-
garding 1t, presenting the sources from
which the plot was derived, its historical
basis. perhaps, and the philosophy which
it was intended to teach. All this was in
teresting, perhaps, and may have pos
sessed certain value, but it was far
from meeting the requirements of the oc-
casion or being helpful in that peculiar
sense in which the critics office was in
tended to be helpful.
The difference respecting my changed
attitude as to criticism was made plain to
me not long since, when a lady of nv
acquaintance respectfully called my at
tention to the barbarity of colloquial-
ism Of which | was frequently guilty, it
appeared, and it occurred to me as I
thanked her for her action how foolish is
that maintenance of reserve upon
which, with the most friendly DISPOSE
ton, one is not permitted to entor to save
a friend from wounding ears polite
through the perpetration of faults into
which he has inadvertently fallen.
And now the marked courtesy which
characteTizes our membership being still
my theme, allow ME in the few moments
during which L shall still ask your atten-
ton to state the pleasant fact that this
courtesy has smoothed the pathway for
our work in other things, and removed
many an obstacle which would have been
stumbling block in many lines of in
terestlng inquiry.
AT the organization of the club, now
almost seven years ago, a constitutional
provision was made by which politics
and religion were to be forever excluded
from our deliberations. And yet because
of the courtesy and mutual forbearance
which have distinguished our inter-
u,
implicitly they have been ever permitted.
In fact, in this implicit manner it is hard
to understand how they could have been
entirely excluded. For. each one of us
there is some dominant philosophy which
controls all his thinking and determines
his attitude upon all social and moral
questions. The most reticent carry no
disguises here. 1t is not so much what
you say as what you do not say, says
Emerson, which determines your posi-
ton.
But because of the temper of our mem
bership the politics which have been dis
cussed have not been of party, but have
taken the character of patriotism, and
the religion we have considered has been
religion in the largest sense, to the exclu-
sion OF anything savoring of denomina-
tional strife.
The ways of the mere politician aroused
one of our members not long since to tbs
pronouncipg of a burning anathema
upon politics, as though politics is essen
TALLY corrupt, but the gentleman was
quickly reminded that politics can be
patriotism if lifted to some higher plane
and placed ''in the hands of men entirely
great" and in this country, where party
is so completely organized, and occupies
so important a place in our system OF
government, it is simply the publication
of politics which should enlist our atten-
ton.
SAYS the Hon. James Bryce in his
"American Commemorative" 1.-The whole
machinery both OF our national and State
Governments is worked by political par
ties. Politics have been organized far
more elaborately in the United States
than anywhere else in the world and have
nassed more completely under the con-
troll of q professional class. The party or
ganizations in fact form a second body of
political machinery, existing side by side