LITERARY AND SCIENTIflC. 373 



that which the metropolis lately witnessed, to reduce to utter annihilation ! 

 But 1 speak," added he, ** of those assemblies of the spirits of men, whose 

 operations, if for good, no matter tohere or what may be the scene of their'pre- 

 paration, remain imperishable and immortal." 



From a consideration of the general aspect of each senatorial order of the 

 state, Mr. Ball proceeded to an inquiry into the motives and conduct of 

 individual statesmen, as they may be influenced by the ambition of oratorical 

 distinction for themselves, or by the unworthy triumph they enjoy from the 

 rhetorical failure of others : that is to say, of " the ambition that prompts the 

 new-fledged statesman to attempt a more than ordinary flight, and of the envy 

 that rejoices in his fall, should his Aving be too weak, and his heart too timid, to 

 sustain him in his dangerous elevation :" — in fine, should he "want the pigeon's 

 strength of pinion, and the eagle's fearless gaze." On this point the lecturer 

 dilated with considerable eloquence of language and vividness of illustration, 

 until, by a natural transition, he entered upon a consideration of what has 

 generally been the fate of parliamentary orators, when removed from the scene 

 of their established reputation, to one in which fame is uncertain of attainment, 

 because the senatorial atmosphere differs, like that of Nature, according to the 

 change of country and the variety of circumstances. In support of these views, 

 Mr. Ball cited several remarkable examples, concluding with that of Flood; 

 who, he said, *' is thought by some to have been like an ancient oak, the pride 

 of the mountain forest, torn up by the roots and transplanted to an uncongenial 

 soil ;" but whor, to his view, ** resembled a rock which had been wont to brave 

 the stormy billows of the ocean, converted, by some unaccountable effect of 

 nature, into a heap of crumbling and perishable sand \ " 



The lecturer next dwelt on the utility of private practice in declamation ; 

 there being no doubt that it is as necessary to the public speaker, as constant 

 practice to the fencer, or regular exercise to the athlete." 



Speakers in parliament the lecturer then distinguished into three classes — 

 orators, debaters, and talkers. The characteristics of the two first classes he 

 pointed out with discriminative skill ; and the peculiar qualities of the most 

 influential senators of the present day, he defined with an accuracy of judgment 

 which can be founded only on a long-continued observation of parliamentary 

 discussions, an intimate acquaintance v/ith elocutionary practice, and an 

 intuitive perception of the pretensions to oratorical preeminence which indivi- 

 dual senators can claim. Having thus defined, with the accurate delineation of 

 a master-spirit, the qualifications of the inspired orator, and those of the 

 experienced debatei* — the relative merits of each in public estimation— and the 

 relative importance of each in ** the common-place collision of senatorial 

 intellect," Mr. Ball drew his conclusion as follows ; " Thus the inspired orator 

 is one character — the ready debater is another — combine them, and the perfect 

 statesman will appear upon the scene, to guide inferior minds to safe and solid 

 counsels, if he be as honest in principle, as he must be great in power." 



Were we to extend any further our analysis of this most eloquent and 

 judicious lecture, we might, as we have already implied, detract from the 

 interest Avhich must be attached to it, whenever and wherever it may be 

 delivered. We cannot, however, conclude our notice of it without declaring, 

 that Mr. Ball's recitations of passages from the orations of modern statesmen 

 w«re pronounced with the skill of a master in the art, and created a strong im- 

 pression on his auditory. A most singular circumstance occurred, which 

 proved the ability of the lecturer as an elocutionist. During his recitation of 

 " Burke's Description of the irruption of Hyder Ali into the Carnatic,'* 



Colonel J , a fellow-townsman of our own, who had witnessed the scenes 



of wo so pathetically delineated by Burke, at first expressed, by open contra- 

 dictions, his dissent to the charges advanced against the East India Company j 

 but forgetting his indignation in the vivid picture of conflagration, slaughter, 

 captivity, and famine, as Mr. Ball proceeded in the recitation, his tears, at last, 

 not shed in silence, gave attestation of the unexaggerated statement of the 

 orator, who had so powerfully described the ** havoc ;" and of the elocutionary 

 skill of the reciter, who brought the picture of what the Colonel had personally 

 witnessed, so vividly before his recollection. 



the second lecture of the Course was on the character of Macbeth. The 



