The Irish standard., 1895-03-30

bored. 1t is one of the disadvantages
pf the growth of total abstinence that
IL makes the after-dinner audience
more critical. When under the full in
spiration of unnumbered bottles the
sanqueter cares very little about the
quality of the speeches. ALI that he
,lopes to do is to keep his eyes open,
mis- body steady, and occasionally to
pound the table by way Of showing
chose around him that he is the soberest
man in the company. 1t is easy Tor 9
r,rosy speaker to work off moss-covered
anecdotes upon an intellectual condi-
zion of this kind. And it is still easier for
che victims of the evening to sing For
les a jolly good fellow whether they
seally think he is or not. But nova
lays intemperance, even at banquets,
ss distinctly questionable. The many
wines are tasted more than they are
drunk. The quality is praised, while
the man who ''goes in" for mere guam
tity is set down as vulgarian. There
are exceptions, Of course, and there are
many dinners which end in mental fog
and physical uncertainty. But tho
great majority Of the banquets are
sober affairs, and the post-prandial ora
2,or finds before him hundred or moro
of clean, keen and intelligent faces that
measure him at his own height, and do
not magnify his size or his words
through an alcoholic atmosphere. The
tncrease of sobriety, therefore, distinct
w threatens to bring after-dinner speak
sng down to practical basis on which
Il bore will be recognized as q bore and
~ plagiarist as plagiarist.
At best banquet is q tiresome ex-
perience for the average citizen, and It
The people who support banquets
should make up their minds to revolt,
what is to become of the numerous
sentlemen who are assured In their
own minds that they are very happy as
after-dinner speakers, but who some
<imes fail to prove. the facts to those
who hear them? A mania of this kind
is practically incurable. Heretofore 1t
has existed upon the good-natured toll
erance of friendship, and in years to
come, as there may be necessity OF
finding way to handle it, there will
doubtless arise post-prandial audience
agency, which will supply on short no.
Sice to orators Of this kind brilliant
and appreciative assemblage, who will
applaud at the right time and with tho
fervor of real enthusiasm.
There is another thing. The really
brilliant ost-prandial speakers are be-
sieged with applications all through
The wear. There are so few of the
really good ones in proportion to the
demand that they cannot begin to ao-
sept a third of the invitations that are
extended to them. Now, all this
means work, and the men who are
worth listening to are generally men
who work hard in their profession or in
their business. More than one Of them
has sacrificed part OF his life Tor
after-dinner speeches, which at best
could only be fleeting in their interest
and results The dinner with us has
not vet come to an occasion for the
promulgation of important principles
If policies. The speeches are most sue
cessful when most fragmentary; but
she strain is there just the same. AS
she world grows older every leading
business man becomes more engrossed
in his particular work. We have not
vet succeeded in cultivating leisure.
But among the men who bear the hon
prs in the different walks are many
who begin to see that they must con-
serve their energies, and that they
have vet to learn that sitting six hours
at q table and eating and drinking q
lot of things which the human stomach
does not especially want is q poor way
to take care Of health. Perhaps these
gentlemen may revolt from banquets
and leave the field to the great army OF
mediocrities, who mean well, but who
do not love their fellow-men as much
MS they should. Perhaps there may be
a way out of the difficulty through the
phonograph and the kinetoecope, but
chat is yet to be developed. It Is GER
tain that the giving Of banquets will
go on, and that there will be need for
speech-making. We must look at the
question fairly, and then do what we
can to reform it. The first great step
should be for the listeners to put down.
the stupid orator, and the next great
step should be for the bright orator to
avoid the stupid listeners
y 9s