Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1900-02-22
DIR. RRISTOL,S LECTURE.

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Rev. Frank Bristol, ID. d., of
Washington, -. G.. appeared NJ the
city hall last Thursday evening,
under the library course, in his lee
turo ON Brains. Although the wealth
or was very cold, and there was II
prospect Of u cold hall, u very large
audience assembled. There was only
standing room. The lecturer evident
~ does not regard phrcnology, as
usually understood, As " safe and
infnIible test Of heads Their size,
shape, conformation cut no figure, rs
he showed afterwards in II number of
comical Incidents, in this matter of
brains. Although, he said, we natur-
ally associate bigncss of body with
our big men, yet how often the peril
of their visiblcncss lies in the fact
that their presence may destroy the
most beautiful visions Of their great
ness. Some Of the smallest men in
body, and shortest in stature, have
been men who, by their brains, have
filled pages OF history with their
| thoughts and deeds. MIR. Lincoln
was six feet four inches in height, and
the argument, from this point of
view, might run; it takes u tall man
| to be u great statesman or president.
Yet Napoleon 5onnpartc, who bad
| Europe ut his feet was called, "thc
little Corporal" Many like cx-
nmplcs the lecturer advanced to prove
this point. From this he passed ON
to say that Brains were IDEAS, deeds,
and character.
Robert l'ulton's brain was n steam
boat; General Shcrmnn's brain
marched from Atlanta TO the sea.
incoln's brain covered the freedom
of millions of slaves. So he went on
multiplying one example after AN
other, with such rapid and clear ut
tcrancc that his audience, ut the close
Of his splendid period, greeted him
with n round of applause The leo
turcr also showed how that brains
sailed in the MnyIlowcr; founded the
republic; redeemed the land; built up
the mighty nation; subducd II great
rcbcllion: aud in 1898 swept the Span
sh fleet from the seas and made her
colonial system n thing of the past.
From this point the lecturer took up
the education and development Of
the brain, and spoke of the RESPONSE
hility of parents, and the relation of
the public good to the public school.
| The best Inheritance II boy can re-
ccivc, he said, was u brain glowing
with n splendid ambition. ut is in
me, )" said one, "nnd | am going to
get it out. :" He got it out, and the
| world has blessed his name for it.
| That Is the idea of education the
development OF our brains for the
service of God and mon. That is the
meaning of the word the leading ont
Of the God-givcn gifts of splendid
ideas, thoughts, hopes, aims, and AS
pirntions. There are men who have
been stuffed with learning They can
not get it out. An day long they sit
ON the dry goods box and whittlc,
and talk about "thc situation.
| Their brains arc III their WRITINGS,
and when they die they leave n lot of
WRITINGS that represent the begin
ming and the end Of thcir lives,
Tho way, he said, to get these ideas
and ambitions, which we call brains,
into market, is for each parent to rec
ogui2c the individuality of their chill
drHn, and not try to conform them tot
thcir own ideas. \ fnrm'r is deter
mined to make his boy II natural
born lawyer SOW and reap, and
gather into barns, and he as narrow
as he has been in range ot thought
and ideas: but the boy, who has IN
hrritcd those splendid qua titles from
his gifted mother, longs for something
else, But the father may rule, and
spoils II good lawyer by making n
poor farmer, SO the physician has his
heir baptized .tsculapius, is determine
ed that he shall hc beloved disciple
of his school and nothing else, and he
makes II poor doctor ont of first
class teacher. So the preacher makes
his mistake, and nll wonder why thcrr
arc not moro brains among the COM
: inn generations, while other fathers
will labor and sacrifice their best in
forests To hoard up and make their
hard earnings II curse to Il son, whose
noble thoughts and high ideas of life
have been driven out hN the parents
harping ON money rs the evidence oi
brains No doubt monry,ts the evil
urnrc of brains in the father, but the
boy, who has been taught 10 live only
/, IN the shadow ot his fathers brains,
and to think moro about the family
tree and heraldrv, than the use of his
opportunities aud chances, will find
! out sooner or later, to his great re-
greet, his awful mistake Ill life.
From this the lecturer passed on to
speak about the public school system,
how that through its influence aud
power, the brains namely, the ideas
thoughts, and aspirations OF the COM
ing generations, would become,
through and through, American.
This was not the case NOV: there