Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1897-01-01
L,THE ANCIENT LANDMARKS"
FULL TEXT OF W. j. BRYAN's LECTURE
AT ATLANTA, GA, DEC. %.
FRO the Atlanta constitutional

Al 0Asi DeCs 20
FRO n the Atlanta constitutional
Below Is printed the full text of Hon.
W. j. Bryan's new lecture, which now
appears for the first time in type. MIR.
Bryan spoke entirely without notes and
to secure the manuscript of the new lee
ture it was necessary to have three ex
pert stenographers at the opera house.
They took the speech by turns as it was
delivered, and below is presented the
new lecture in full:
Ladies' and G~entlemen-I am remind
ed by contrast rather than by similarity
of an introduction | which | once had In
Buckhorn school house, near Jackson.
vile, ILL.,, and | feel that it is necessary
to tell you this In order to get you down
within reach. (Laughter.) If | could
have had my friend TO have gone around
over this country instead of having gone
myself, | would have been a cabinet
maker instead of a lecturer at this time.
Laughter). In the introduction he has
been so exceedingly complimentary that
he has raised expectations which can
not be fulfilled, and in being more than
a flatterer he has been less than kind to
me, and [ want to tell you Of this intro
duction | had at Buckhorn schoolhouse,
so that if you ever have to be introduced
by him you may be able to tell him
about it.. | look back to that introduce
ton as the best one | ever had, nOtwith-
standing this. Timothy Flynn was
chairman of the meeting and he asked
me how he should Introduce me. | was
then a young lawyer and wanted all the
advertisement | could get in my profess
sion, so | told him to say that Mr.. w.
j. Bryan, an attOrney-at-law, would now
address them, thinking that maybe come
of them might have some law business,
and it would be profitable for me to have
the nOtoriety of being a lawyer. Tin
went over it several times. and then just
before calling the meeting to order he
came to me and asked me to repeat it to
him, which | did. and | shall never for
get the way in which he introduced me.
He said The meeting will now come
to order. Mr.. O'Brien will now spake.'
] always look back to that as the best in
PRODUCTION | ever had daughter and
applause, because instead of an exhibit
ton of eloquence with which mine could
not compare, instead of raising expecta-
tiOns to be disappointed, he simply
threw me on the mercy of my audience
aud allowed me to hoe my own row. |
hope my friend will remember this if he
should ever introduce me again. Gap
plause.)
Now | want to warn you In advance
against disappointment by telling you
that it is not my purpose tonight to en-
terrain you, and the e%loquence to which
you have listened makes it unnecessary
for me to be eloquent, although | had
intended to be eloquent, and | shall just
talk to you in a plain, everyday, matter
Of-fact sort of way.
My only purpose is to leave with you
some thoughts in connection with a sub
iect very near to my heart, in the hope
that these thoughts will awaken them
selves in your minds, and that this
activity ia your minds will lead you to
better citizenship.
81 have been impressed, during the
last few years especially, with the power
of an idea with the dynamic force of an