The Talmage Lecture

Some readers of the Argus may critioise this paper if it attempts to criticise the Rev. T. Dewitt Talmage, formerly of New York, now of Washington, syndicate writer, foriuer editor of Frank LesLe's magazine, globe trotter, entertainer of crowned heads in their own palaoes, and believer in eternal flre and I brimstone for babos so unfortunate as to die nnbaptised. At some one time in his oareer Talmage maat have been an orator. It seems as if he must have beer. an orator to occnpy the place he does on the scroll of honor. But oue of those times did not oocur to him whon he leotured in the S. C. A. oonrse Priday night upon his trip around the i world. His physical coutortions j dentiy meant to empbasize, emphasized no particular thing. Instead of saying for instance thac a horse is an animal he would say, "a horse is au animal, animal, animal, "with greater stress j each time ou "animal" until there i oould be no mistake as to the Rev. T. Dewitc Talmage's idea of what a horse was. That might have done at a Tabernacle cburch Christmas tree for the little folks, but for a body of scudents and full growu men and women this ultra emphatic method of disoourse beoame at once wearisome and monotonous. Talmage evidently believed in the old-fashioned sledge hammer method in this respect. His contortions made nis humorons remarks fnnny, but be used the same list of physical gyrnnastics for his pathos that he did for. his coinedy. The result was that some of the audieuce laughed at his gestures and forgot bis words, and the incongrtiiisj of ono half use audionce applanding a sentiment and the other half tittering ac the clown was a result. Talmage's lecture, too, was well puuctuated with Talmage. He sid tbat when he placed his foofc on the top step of oue of the towers of Moscow all the bells of the Russian city reverberated and sounded. Kow, whatever the sise of Mr. Talmage's foot, the bells very likely íid not ring because he placed it at the top. step of a spiral staircase in a tower. He may have stubbed his toe and shook the building but it is hard to believe that even that would set all the bells of a city to jiugling. His interview with the czar and with Gladstone were well told but he left the impression that Gladstone was the one the greater pleased by the meeting between them. Hesitating in speech, with a delivery given to mannerisms to a degree that becomes wearisome, without an astonishing vocabulary, without a platform grace, with a great and permeating idea of his owu importance, the Rev. T. Dewitt Talmage stands as a platform jingoist, a P. T. Barnum among orators, a man who is travelling upon a repiitation made somehow, somewhere, the Loid knows how but the country knows where.