Public Activity 83 It has been rumoured that she has studied expression and oratory, but such has not been the case. She is, as Oscar Levertin once wrote, "a bom orator." When she enters a lecture room there is something of the priestess about her, and by the time she has reached her place on the platform, such absolute silence reigns that one would think oneself alone, did not the sight of the crowded hall convince one that the silence is but an expression of the great respect with which the lecturer is greeted. Her first words are uttered so low that one hears them with a slight effort, but the silence in the room sharpens the hearing, and without raising her voice, her words reach the farthest comers. By the rich con- tent and brilliant delivery of her lectures she keeps her audience spell-bound, even when the discourse lasts for a couple of hours. Again to quote Oscar Levertin: "What we love in Ellen Key is her pure, noble will, and her shining courage, the fresh and impulsive frankness of her personality, the all-embracing tenderness of her nature which lends her words the fruitful, joyous fulness of the summer. This is especially true in regard to her effect on an audience. The same writer counts her one of those "whom nature has created after