New-York tribune., 1912-02-15
AFTER-D|NNER 0RATORY
| ondon's Favorite SpeakerS-A
Genial American SatiriSt.
London, January "a.

LOHuOl, january "A.
,ster-dinner oratory in London varies
.,,, tho caprices of audiences and the
arrerisms of popular models. Veter-
o+ nublc banquets still talk of Mr..
T,eu as the prince of table orators,
.,ho taught political debaters refinement
=, nbrasing and distinction of style; and
80, have not forgotten Lord Leighton's
,n,,shed and elaborately composed Acad-
~ addresses. The Lowell tradition is
S.di,r ont of remembrance, and Sir Ed
% - Poynter. with all his academic
a,gnitv. has no leisure for working a
,,.or .upon an address as Lord Leighton
.,,sed 10 do. The time was when the late
nrks of Devonshire, too indolent to
,rust 10 his memory, would read a
sneech from manuscript and men at
,ab,es would puff their cigars and listen
NTH patience. There is noisy talk with
,ottling Of plates and shuffling Of feet
u.henever any speaker now attempts to
:, -hore an audience with the dull drone Of
=, .eeitstive. There must either he rapid
-ir,nroyisatlon with evidence of spon-
-taneous fire, or the speech must be care
fullv prepared, committed to memory
snd delivered without hesitation. Other
mise the audience will be listless and the
sneaking will he condemned as prosy
and old-fashioned.
AS Lord 2osebery is incomparably the
greatest orator in the kingdom, so also
he is master Of revels in a banquet hall,
- 80
snrit of English pleasantly. which is
distinct from the American talent for
:. .rxsggeration and the ludicrous. With
= his passion for reading and his exquisite
art in the use of opposite illustrations
and quotations he prefers the platform
and a literary theme, and seldom Is
heard as an after-dinner orator. What
is known as the House of Commons
stvle. with conversational tones, felicit-
ous phrasing and cynical humor. has been
introduced with coffee and cigars, but
noIitical leaders with a few notable ex-
ceptions are not the most acceptable
after-dinner speakers. Mr.. Balfour, with
his hating delivery and habit of re
constructing his sentences midway, is
irving to the nerves; Mr.. Asquith is
more fluent. but his manner is dry and
his humor forced: Mr.. Lloyd George and
Lord Hugh Cecil are too serious for So
ciaI occasions: and Mr.. Churchill needs
the tonic eject of a popular audience
and the swing of a broad platform in
order 10 speak TO the best advantage.
Mr. Birrell is not a match for any of
these debaters in Parliament, but he is
superior 10 the best at public dinner.
Mr.. Birrell was not present at the big
dinner Of the Royal Society of Portrait
Painters this week; nor was Mr.. Ber-
nard Shaw. who dislikes the smell OF
cooked meat and the sound of rafting
plates nor was Mr.. Edmund Gosse. one
of the most effective speakers of the
literary set. There was. however.
cluster of favorites whose voices diners
on public occasions like to hear. There
was the genial Lord Chief Justice, who
had left his legal manner behind him
on the bench. and gave a delightful ac-
count of the portrait which the Hon.
John Collier had painted of him and
Of some of the quaint comments made
upon IT, There was Mr.. Comyns Carr,
with sonorous voice and homely elo-
uuence. 10 talk about the drama almost
as earnestly as Sir Arthur Pinero might
have done. speech by him always
has the aroma Of distinction like the
fruity vintage of a privileged year or
sunlight; and this was particularly fresh
and sparkling, with fine display or
readiness in making use of the comical
story by Mr.. Herbert A. Olivier, who
had described an unexpected descent
into ballroom by a sleepless watcher IN
paiamas. After him came Mr.. Gilbert
Chesterton, with flashing paradox and
knocking satire, his huge frame rocking
from side to side as he spoke, and MS
face clouded with seriousness as though
he were preaching a Lenten sermon; and
later on there was Mr.. Anthony Hope
Hawkins. with a lingering suggestion
Of the barrister in his voice and the fe-
ncity of the Dolly Dialogues in the
phrasing,
In this delightful farrago Of wit and
wisdom an Americans speech was pre-
eminent for critical acumen and fault
less diction. 1t was not made by MI
J. J. Shannon, the chairman, although
he surprised his friends by his readiness
self-possession and mirthful persiflage.
1t was reserved for the American Consul
General to carry off the honors of the
evening with an admirable speech on the
art of portraiture, the quest for old mas
ters and the relations of painting and
literature. When Mr.. Grifths first Up
reared as an orator in Liverpool and
London he had the fervor of spell
binder on Western circuit 1t was
platform eloquence admirably adapted
for patriotic occasions, and 1t helped
Americans in exile to revive the ardor
Of youth and to talk about Gods coun-
try as though they really believed in It.
AS time went on Mr. Griffiths began to
take up literary subjects and to treat
them thopghtfully and with apparent
spontaneity; and his reputation as an
after dinner speaker, who had much 10
say and was never dull, was speedily
made. On this occasion he spoke at
short notice, and had to face formidable
rivals in Mr.. Carr and Mr.. Chesterton;
but his triumph was decisive. The hall
rang with applause when he took his
seat, and the diners went home with a
conviction that they had heard one of
the masters Of the art Of after-dinner
oratory.
Mr.. Griffiths does not appeal broadly
20 the sense of the ludicrous, in which