He fell like a slaughtered ox, but rose and came on again, only again
to be knocked down. This continued for three or four times, for the
giant was "game"; but finally he was "thrashed to a standstill," as
the expression has it.
It was a great lesson in life and a great lesson in speaking, which is
only a phase of life. The victor came to the point. He did not
dissipate his energies. It is so in the manner of speaking. The
greatest contrast to the perfect method of Ingersoll which I ever
beheld in a man of equal eminence was in the delivery of a lecture by
Joseph Cook.
He came on the stage with ostentatious impressiveness. He sat some
time before he was introduced, seeming vast and overpowering--a very
Matterhorn of consequence. After introduction he stood with one hand
thrust in the breast of his tightly buttoned frock coat, and looked
tremendously all over the audience for perhaps an entire minute.
Everybody was awed; he looked so great. We all said to ourselves,
"What a mighty man this is!"
And when that effect had been produced upon us, the first and great
point of effectiveness had been destroyed: the speaker had made us
think about himself, his manner, his appearance, his personality.
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