"ATTENTION!"

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume V, Issue 189, 12 August 1870, Page 4

"ATTENTIO N!"

c The Rev. Sydney Smith — wisest and wittiest of the friends I have lost — says — and he is speaking, you will please J understand, as I speak, to a school of volunteer students — he says, " There is a piece of foppery which is to be cautiously guarded against, the foppery uf universality, of knowing all sciences, and exceeding in alljarts — chemistry, mathematics, algebra, dancing, history, reasoning, riding, - fencing, Low Dutch, High Dutch, aud natural philosophy — (Laughter). In short, the modern precept of education f very often is, ' Take the Admirable Crichtou for your model ; I would have you ignorant of nothing.' Now," says he, "my advice, on the contrary, is to have 9 the courage to be ignorant of a great number of things, in order that you may avoid the calamity of being ignorant of everything." (Laughter and cheers.) To this I would superadd a little truth, which holds equally good of my own life and the life of every emineut man I ever knew. The one serviceable, safe, certain, remunerative, attainable quality in every study and in every pursuit is the quality of attention. My own iuvention or imagination, such as it is, I can most truthfully assure you, would never have served me as it has, but for the habit of commonplace, humble, patient, daily, toiling, drudging attention. — ( "Hear hear," and cheers.) Genius, vivacity, quickness of penetration, brillancy in association of ideas — such men tal qualities, like the qualities of the app arition of the externally armed head in " Macbeth," will not be commanded ; but attention, after due term of submi sive service, always will. Like certain plants which the poorest peasant grows in the - poorest soil, it can be cultivated by anyone, ! and it is certain in its own good season to bring forth flowers and fruit. I can most truthfully assure you, by-the-bye, that this eulogium on attention is so far quite disinterested on my part, as that it has 3 not the least reference whatever to the 5 attention with which you have honored me. r — (Laughter.) Well, ladies and gentleman, I have done. I cannot but reflect how often you have probably heard within these walls one of the very best speakers — if not the very best — in England — (Cheers). I could not say to myself, when I began just now, in Shakespeare's line, " I will be bright and shining gold. 5 ' but I could say to myself, aud I did say to myself, "I will be as natural and as easy as I possibly can," because my heart has all been iv my subject, aud I bear an old love towards Birmingham — (hear hear) — aud Birmingham raeu. — (Cheers.) I have said that I bear an old love towards Birmingham and Birmingham men ; let me" amend a small omission, and add, and "Birmingham women." — (Cheers and laughter.) This ring I wear on my finger , uovv is an old Birmingham gift — (hear) — j and if by rubbing it I could raise the spirit that was obedient to Aladdin's ring, I heartily assure you that my first instruction to that genius on the spot should be to place himself at Birmingham's disposal in the best of causes. — Mr. Charles Dickens's Address at the Mechanics' Institute.