THE REV. CHARLES CLARK.

Otago Witness, Issue 2401, 8 March 1900, Page 51

THE REV. CHARLES CLARK.

" ST. PAUL'S."

The Rev. Charles Clark, whose memory as an orator has been kept green in the minds of not a few in this city, and of multitudes throughout the colony, delivered his first lecture of a series in the Agricultural Hail on Monday evening. There was an immense audience, and the highly successful character of the lecture admits of no manner of doubt. The building, although of vast dimensions, "was found to possess good acoustic properties, and probably no one in the vast assemblage missed a syllable of the lecture. Certainly there is no falling off in the lecturer. His voice rings as clear, his enunciation is as distinct, his command of the whole gamut of the orator's art as complete as when, as a young man 25 years ago, he charmed and educated auditors, many of whom have ever since found public speakers praiseworthy or merely tolerable as they have borne resemblance to or have differed from the celebrated preacher and lecturer whose name is a household word with members of those who recognise public speaking as being among the fine arts. - " St. Paul's, the Heart of tho Empire," the subject of Monday evening's lecture, cornea with singular appropriateness as the theme for the opening discourse. Imperialism as the only means of extending, consolidating, and perpetuating the power for righteousness of the British people, is a sentiment to which all respond but the few whose dis°enl serves to emphasise the substantial unanimity of the people, and therefore a learned and eloquent disqui.°ition upon so many historical subjects which centre in the great cathedral of the great City of London — tho heart of the British Empire,- — could not fail to bo more than interesting, — it was well nigh entrancing. It would be quite useless to attempt a sketch of the discourse, in which was tiaced with the care of the historian, the fer-

vour of the patriot, and the fire of the poet, th-3 history and associations of one of our great monuments of architecture from the time of the mythical temple of Diana to the present day, and to the solemn scene, when the remains of our great pro-consul, Sir George Giey, were honoured with a resting place among the nation's mighty dead. So many events of thrilling interest were described with calm statement or impassioned declamation, as the subjects required, that their mere enumeiation would be wearisome, and anything more wculd go beyond the limits of the s-pace at our disposal. Incidents of vital importance to our social, religious, and national life were told with gieat power, aud though the lecture never ceased to be entertaining, it was highly instructive, if only as showing how the past can be made to live again, and to iijflue.ice anil stimulate the present. There were numberless grand passages in the lecture, and probably none better, or more stirringly eloquent than the descriptions of the colonies' reply to the Empire's call, and of the spontaneous demonstration which was given by this city on Friday last m celebration of the relief of Ladysnuth. Throughout the lecture the applause was frequent and hearty, and at thnes it was most enthusiastic, and would doubtless have been gratly prolonged but for the general desire of the audience to hear what was to follow. There could, however, be no mistake as to the manner of the reception of the lecture, or as to the extent of appreciation it evoked. Perhaps the best part as an exhibition of- finished elocution was the delivery of Tennyson's majestic ode upon the burial of the Duke of Wellington ; but for purely elocutionary effects, other of the Rev. Mr Clark's lectures ar2 to be preferred to this, though probably in no other respect, and then only because the subjects allow of greater latitude in imitating tho voices and manners of characters. In conclusion the lecturer mentioned that the taking of the hall was somewhat of an experiment, but the applause which followed the expression of a hope that he had been distinctly heaid, showed that the experiment had proved successful. However, the rev. lecturer thinks that for the finer phases of elocution another building will be preferable, and his season will be continued in the Princess Theatre, where, on Friday next, he will repeat his opening lecture, " St. Paul's."