Jones South Caroliniana: Out of Interest in the History of South Carolina (Classic Reprint) - Tapa blanda

Excerpt from Jones South Caroliniana: Out of Interest in the History of South Carolina

It has long since been a rule with the South Carolina Society not to indulge in after-dinner speaking. This custom, however, has not been unbroken, nor one as to which "the memory of man runneth not to the contrary," for upon the centennial of its birth, and again in our own recent recollection, when it celebrated the one hundred and fiftieth year of its existence, this old century plant of ours did certainly blossom out into, not only speaking, but poetry and song. These seem, however, to have been the only recorded instances of any public oratory, and on all simple celebrations, like the present one, a mere ordinary anniversary, there has been, so far as I am aware, no precedent for the present talkativeness.

Personally, I am not altogether prepared to allow that this feature of quiet is always admittedly best. Apart from the pleasure obtained from listening to toasts and responses (if not in making the latter) the instructive feature can never be overlooked. Silence, we are all told to believe, is golden; but like other wise adages, this one too can permit of no few exceptions, and in the judgment of the committee in charge of our one hundred and sixty-first anniversary dinner, the present time and occasion furnishes one of them. And this seems to be their good reason for the contemplated departure both from the old truism, and our inherited tradition and custom.

No set of people can talk long and often, without more or less talking about themselves, for such is the tendency of human nature, and the necessity of the occasion. We all know and think more about ourselves than about others, and sooner or later, in speech, are bound to impart some of this knowledge and confidence. Societies of men are only like the individuals who compose them, and when they talk on their birthday and other feasts, they naturally impart no little information of themselves. The result then, and good result, as I think, of after-dinner speaking is, that it imparts to all the members of the organization, in this easy and simple way, no little of its objects and enthusiasm.

About the Publisher

Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com

This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.