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Two Lectures,
DELIVERED IN
THE LECTURE HALL OF THE WIMBLEDONVILLAGE CLUB,
ON MONDAY EVENING, DEC. 14, 1863; AND MONDAY EVENING,JAN. 11, 1864.
BY THE
REV. T. HANLY BALL, A.B.,
CURATE AND LECTURER OF ST. MARY'S, WIMBLEDON.
Published at the request and expense of a Parishioner.
LONDON:
CHARLES J. SKEET, 10, KING WILLIAM STREET,
CHARING CROSS.
1864.
DEDICATION.
PREFACE.
A SKETCH OF HANDEL.
A SKETCH OF BEETHOVEN.
NOTES.
TO
JOHN A. BEAUMONT ESQ.,
WIMBLEDON PARK HOUSE.
My Dear Mr. Beaumont,
Seneca has well said, "The three main points in the question ofbenefits, are, first, a judicious choice in the object; secondly, in thematter of our benevolence; and thirdly, in the manner of expressing it."
Of the first, it would not be becoming in me to speak; of the second,you are the rightful judge; of the third, I beg leave thus publicly tostate, that not only in requesting permission to publish this lecture atyour own[iv] expense but on many other occasions, you have fully come upto Seneca's idea of what a benefactor ought to be.
I shall not attempt describing what I hope you give me credit for;Furnius never gained so much upon Augustus as by a speech, upon thegetting of his father's pardon for siding with Anthony, "This Grace,"says he, "is the only injury that ever Cæsar did me; for it has put meupon a necessity of living and dying ungrateful."
Allow me to dedicate the little volume to you, and believe me, ever toremain,
Wimbledon, 12th February, 1864.
A brief account of "The Wimbledon Village Club" will explain the originand object of the two following Lectures.
"The design of the Institution is to afford to the inhabitants, and moreespecially the working and middle classes of Wimbledon and its vicinity,opportunities of intellectual and moral improvement, and rational andsocial enjoyment, through the medium of a Reading Room and Library,Lectures and Classes."[A]
The Reading Room is supplied with Daily and Weekly Newspapers,Periodicals, and Books.