Vermont Phœnix

The Willard Lecture.

In the town hall in Westminster on the evening of Nov. 28, before a large and appreciative audience, Henry Kellogg Willard of Washington, D. C., gave an informal talk on his travels in Europe with a special account of the Passion Play, which was interpreted by carefully selected lantern slides. The lecture was an event that will long be remembered by those present. Mr. Willard while disclaiming to be a lecturer, nevertheless proved to be a very entertaining and instructive gentleman. His words were clear cut and his expressions descriptive of the various scenes of which he had seen, were charming and it could in truth be said, "his every word a thought, his every sentence, a picture." Fortunate, indeed, was the Fortnightly club in securing for its members and friends the distinct treat occasioned by Mr. Willard's presence.

The lecturer was introduced by Joel H. Holton as a fellow townsman. Mr. Willard thought he needed no introduction to the home of his ancestors, in Westminster, where the names of the Bradleys and Willards were famous. He said he would give a talk, not a lecture, and asked their kind indulgence in giving an outline of his trip. He and his family left Walpole on January 2, sailing from Boston on the 29th. He visited the Azores, Gibraltar, Algiers, Naples, Cairo, Assouan, Sicily, northern Italy and to Oberammergau to witness the Passion Play. In a happy vein Mr. Willard told of incidents in his trip, many of which were instructive.

After this outline the hall was darkened and the lantern slides, beautiful and realistic in their scope, were thrown upon the screen. Seventy-six colored views were shown of his trip, including those of Italy, Sicily, Naples, Rome, Florence and Pisa. His audience with Pius X at Rome was very interesting and commanded the attention of the audience.

After a brief intermission Mr. Willard gave a history of the Passion Play and then the views were shown, Mr. Willard giving a short descriptive talk on each view. The views were of a high order and far excelled those shown by professional lecturers. Before closing other views were shown, including Crawford Notch and "The Recording Angel." When the latter was shown Mr. Willard gave a pathetic story of his last visit at the home of Larkin G. Mead in Florence, Italy, and read in remarkably fine voice Wallace Bruce's poem on "The Snow Angel." Mr. Vaughan ably assisted with the slides and piano selections were rendered by H. Wales of Brattleboro and added much to the pleasure of the evening. At the close a rising vote of thanks was extended Mr. Willard and the crowded hall arose en masse, in paying tribute to the scholarly and highly interesting lecturer.