take the chair at the Science Lectures, and encourage the men to a higher life. On November 24, 1884, he came to open our then newly-formed Working Men's Club, and gave a splendidly inspiriting address to the men. His cheery, hearty way, and his grandly broad tolerance of differences of creed or of politics, endeared him to all, and the men admired him so much that, whenever he came to meet them, they all (over one hundred) crammed into their small room, so that on his coming out he laughingly declared 'he had been in a vapour bath all the evening!' Deeply as he was interested in the working men and their culture, yet his pure, child-like nature enjoyed greatly some of the entertainments; and one night, when he was going into the club-rooms to address the men, he ran back to laughingly beg me 'not to have the boy's head cut off until he came back to see it.' This referred to the performance of a conjuror we had at that time, who, amongst his tricks, cleverly pretended to cut off a boy's head and put it on again.

It will be well in this place to give Mr. Morley's own words with regard to this subject, and we do so in the hope that the perusal may induce some to continue and extend the scope of this and kindred work. It is needed not only among the poor and the outcast, but to quite as great an extent among the young men of our large cities, in order to place before them the highest and best forms of amusement. Clerks and shop assistants and others are not often attracted by the entertainments provided for them by Young Men's Associations, and they have no other choice than to seek their amusements in the midst of the pernicious surroundings that environ them. A meeting for the purpose of hearing an account of the work connected with the Royal Victoria Coffee Hall was held at Grosvenor House, under the presidency of the Duke of Westminster, and, in moving a resolution, Mr. Morley said :

1881-1884.]

AMUSEMENTS FOR THE PEOPLE.

437

I remember hearing of a charity sermon in which the clergyman, having given out his text, 'He that giveth to the poor lendeth to the Lord,' instead of preaching a sermon, said, ' My friends, you have heard the terms; if you approve of the objects of this charity, down with the dust.' I may say then, briefly, that I honestly believe this movement to deserve the utmost support we can give it. I have given some proof of it, by joining heartily a band who are determined to stand by Miss Cons. She, and other noble ladies and gentlemen, are coming to the front, which is just what is wanted in connection with the down-trodden condition of our poor, and we, who are in better positions, should get into contact with them, not so much by giving large sums of money as by making them feel that we sympathize with them. I have been to the Victoria Hall several times. I don't know that I have ever laughed so much as on these occasions. I believe in good hearty laughter, it tends to health. The proceedings have consisted of music, fun, and temperance addresses, in which I believe as ardently as my friend who has just addressed you. The great object of these attractive entertainments is to win people from the public-house. I have seen thousands listening to good music. On one occasion tumblers occupied the stage. I am not a theatre-goer, but I did most heartily enjoy the real fun, absolutely divested of anything gross or immoral. I feel that in our enormous London population there are vast bodies of people socially depressed, and there are very many who know little about what is going on below the surface. Can people conceive what is meant when told that husband, wife, and six children are living in a single room? These people will go somewhere in the evening to seek amusement. I hold it to be a Christian duty to give them amusement. I took occasion to acquaint myself with the character of the entertainments at the Victoria Hall, and the amount of work being done. I cannot resist my share of responsibility in this work, and I hold that those who are workers in such an enterprise are entitled to be clear of financial anxiety.

Evidence is accumulating as to the conditions of filth, depression, and moral ruin, in which vast masses of the population of London are living. At our peril we must do something to win them to a better and a higher life. I believe this movement to be a legitimate mode of at least doing something to forward that work. I join it heartily; and what we want is an extended partnership-more partners in an enterprise which involves no liability. This partnership can bring only satisfaction, because the work is already proved by results which afford ample compensation

for any pecuniary outlay you may make; for 240,000 persons attended the Victoria Hall during last year. Out of that vast number, many must have been won to a better life by the kind of entertainments offered, including as they do admirable lectures, which are listened to with deepest interest by large audiences.

Christmas was always a happy season in the home of Mr. Morley, and he strove to make it, as far as it lay in his power, a happy time also among the poor. The masses of evergreen that made the Victoria Hall and its club and class-rooms so beautiful at Christmas time, were sent by him from his park at Leigh.

By speech, by purse, by personal influence, by constant attendance at the committee meetings, and by study of every detail calculated to promote the interests of the cause, Mr. Morley became the warmest and most active friend the work had ever known, and he only relinquished his labours on its behalf with his life.

Had his life been spared a few more years, a dream that he had dreamed would probably have "come true," and the "Old Vic." would have developed into "The People's Palace for South London," not, perhaps, on the giant scale on which it has been attempted at the East End, but with an object as comprehensive.

CHAPTER XXII.

NOTES OF SPEECHES.

The Art of Speaking-Voice-Manner-Methods-Sir James Graham's "Revolvers "-Dr. Arnold-Half-sheets of Paper-Political Subjects-The House of Commons and the House of Lords-Quotations-Parliamentary Waste of Time-Mr. Gladstone-Education-A Word to Boys-Thrift -Sunday Labour-England's Greatness-" Texts" for Speeches-Temperance-Speeches on Religious Questions-Congregationalism-Church and State-Missionary Work-To Young Men-Apt Illustrations-Allusions and Quotations-Foreign Missions-The Bible-Religious Difficulties.

THERE were few men of his generation who took a larger share in public speaking than Mr. Samuel Morley. As we have seen, he began at a very early age and continued his labours on the platform till the close of his long career. It is an illustration of his indomitable energy that he was so good a speaker as he was. He had many difficulties to overcome before he could speak in public with ease, and these difficulties increased rather than diminished as he grew in popularity, and was called upon to address audiences night after night upon almost every conceivable subject. But, having convinced himself in his youth that he could not serve his generation unless he could express himself with ease and fluency, he qualified himself for the task, and it was remark

able how well he succeeded, and how each successive stage in his career exhibited an increase of power as a speaker an increase, in fact, in proportion to the widening of the sphere in which his influence was to be exercised.

Speak not at all in any wise," says Carlyle in one of his Essays, "till you have somewhat to speak; care not for the reward of your speaking, but simply, and with undivided mind, for the truth of your speaking." It was in the spirit of this advice that all Mr. Morley's speeches were conceived. They were simple, straightforward, honest utterances, spoken without the least regard for effect, never approaching florid rhetoric, rarely rising to the height of what is termed eloquence, but always full of that "discretion of speech" which, Lord Bacon tells us, "is more than eloquence."

In his influence as a speaker he was not indebted to his voice, for, although it was full and manly and pleasant, it had no striking variety of tones, or rich melodiousness; nor did he owe his influence to diction, for he never indulged in flights of fancy, never in words of poetic tenderness that "like flakes of feathered snow melted as they fell;" he rarely spoke argumentatively, and never passionately. He seldom broached a new theory, never excited an audience with appeals to their imagination, never sent them to their homes with minds confused with manifold speculations.

And yet everybody liked to hear him speak. They