Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1906-12-13
IN DEFENSE OF SHYLOCK.
James Young Lectures To The st. johns
College Students.
A UNIQUE AND MASTERFuL EFFORT By
YOUNG ACTOR.
The Lecture Was Delivered In Mcdowell Hall
This Morning And Proved To Be
Very Interesting.

4 delightful lecture both from a
literary and historic standpoint as
well as of an oratorical and dra-
matte nature was delivered at ST.
Johns College this morning before the
President, Faculty and student body
and few visitors, by James Young,
actor and lecturer, of New York,
son of State Senator James Young,
ofBaltimore. The lecture took place
Immediately after the chapel services
at o'clock in Mcdowell Hall. Pres
ident Fell. of st. Johns College, in
troduced Mr.. Young, who was warm
l. greeted by the students.
The lecturer began with few
pleasantries in which he at once cap
tured the audience. lie intimated
that the good results of lecture and
the success of lecturer depend
upon the good will of an audience,
and said he believes there are
waves of thought as real and as tam
gible as waves of sound.
Mr.. Young took for his theme a
remark he said he had heard lady
repeat after she had witnessed the per-
formance of The Merchant of We
nice, and which referred to Shylock,
"The Poor Old Man was Wronged. F"
He said Shylock is charged with be
ing a man of harsh principles, unjust
and exacting, but of all the characters
in the play Shylock is most honest
and most sincere. The lecturer pie
tured him in his home and told of his
civic relations. lie was a just man
he made a close bargain and was ex-
acting. Shakepeare's characters are
all governed by human nature, he
depicts men as they were then and as
they are today. Shylock, the lecturer
said, is not as bad as he is thought TO
be.
AS popular stage production no
play of Shakespeare, Mr.. Young said,
has appealed so much to human nature
as 1.-THE Merchant of Venice 1t CON
tains plots and themes, elegant comedy
and is one of the most finished of
Shakespeare plays. The lecturer
spoke of the picturesque period in
which the play was laid, of the scenes
and actions and adventures of those
times. He told of the desecration of
Shylock's home, the shattering of his
peace of mind, the taking away Of
his daughter, and said all these
helped to crystalline Shy1ock's hatred
for the merchant, Antonio.
Mr.. Young said Shylock's offsetting
qualities entitle him to our respect,
in spite of all his hatred and malice
toward the Christian, his prosecutor.
lie referred to Portals arguments in
the court trial, and said they would
not Eold in a strict court of jurispru
dence. Her arguments showed legal
equivocation. He pictured Portals
ignoble and selfish nature, and said
to have pardoned Shylock and t.
have hidden him depart in peace would
have made different man of him,
and this Portia could have caused to
be done had she SO desired.
Nothing untrue to nature is TO be
found in any of Shakespeare char
acters. Shylock was the character of
his age, prosecuted by relentless
race. Shylock was tender father,
devoted husband. He was philosophi-
cal and learned and was true to his
religion. He was religious man,
living peacefully and uprightly. An
tonic was disturber. Shylock was
right at heart, but wrong in methods
and the Poor Old Man was Wronged. y
The lecturer is peculiarly gifted with
pleasant voice, distinct enunciation
and flow of choicest language. He
presented his theme forcibly and ear
nestly and by his own earnestness
convinced his hearers that Shylock
was indeed a wronged man. His argu-
msnt carried with it the weight and
strength of his own convictions, and
he enhanced the oratorical effect of
his lecture by an occasional touch of
the dramatic and the rhetorical,
which was indeed charming. The
student body gave the lecturer hearty
applause at the finish and marked
appreciation is everywhere expressed
by those who had the pleasure and
privilege of such a unique literary
treat as accorded them by Mr.. James
Young this morning at Mcdowell
Hall. 1t is hoped the privilege will
soon be repeated.