. - • - Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2008 with funding from Microsoft Corporation http://www.archive.org/details/elocutionparkerOOparkrich PAIiKSB «& WAT©0> T, » S2£:«II^?^. ISO. ©, /■^v v«^^-> THE NATIONAL FIFTH KEADEE: CONTAINING A CO! _^TE AND PRACTICAL TREATISE ON ELOCUTION; SELECT AND CLASSIFIED EXERCISES IN READING AND declamation; WITH BIOGRAPHICAL sketches, AND COPIO JS NOTES : ADAPTED TO THE USE OF STUDENTS IN LITERATURE. By KICHAKD GKEENE PAEKEE AXD J. MADISON WATSON. A. S. BARNES & COMPANY, NEW YORK AND CHICAGO. 1872, LIBRARY UNJVERSlTY OF CAllfOtNIA ^HJE jMyVTIONyVI, J3ef;IE£ Of ^Ey\DE^g. COMPLETE IN TWO INDEPENDENT PARTS. I. THE NATIONAL READERS. By PARKER & WATSON. No. 1. — National Primer, 66pp>, ft mo. No. 2. — National First Reader, . . ?28pp., ttmo. No. 3. — National Second Reader, . 221pp., femo. No. 4. — National Third Reader, . . 2ss pp., f2mo. No. S. — National Fourth Reader, . 1.32 pp., i2mo. No. 6. — National Fifth Reader, . . goo pp., /2mo. II. THE INDEPENDENT READERS. By J. MADISON WATSON. The Independent First Reader, . . so pp., ?6mo. The Independent Second Reader,, too pp., femo. The Independent Third Reader, . 210 pjj., ?o>no. The Independent Fourth Reader, . 201 pp., 72»w. The Independent Fifth Reader, . . ss6 pp., /2mo. The National Fifth Reader, .... ceo pp., r&mo, III. NATIONAL SPELLING BOOKS. By J. MADISON WATSON. National Klementary Speller, . . . foopp., ?o»>o. National Pronouncing Speller, . . /sspp., /2mo. *** The Readers constitute two complete and entirely dis- tinct series, either of which are adequate to every want of the best schools. The Spellers may accompany either Series. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1S66, by A . S . KARNES & CO., In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern District of New York. N. 5th. 0JUQ PSYC ■ LI' PREFACE. IN the preparation of this volume, we have a!«.ned to make it a com« plete and sufficient work for advanced classes in Reading, Elocution, and English and American Literature ; to furnish, in an available form, such an amount of biographical, historical, classical, orthoepical, and miscellaneous matter, as to render it highly valuable as a book of ref- erence ; and to present a collection of pieces so rich, varied, perspicuous, and attractive, as to suit all classes of minds, all times, and all occasions. Part First, in two chapters, embraces a simple, complete, and emi- nently practical Treatise on Elocution. The principles and rules are stated in a succinct and lucid manner, and followed by examples and exercises of sufficient number and extent to enable the student thor- oughly to master each point as presented, as well as to acquire a dis- tinct comprehension of the parts as a ichqle. In Part Second, the Selections for Reading and Declamation contain what arc regarded as the choicest gems of English literature. The works of many authors, ancient and modem, have been consulted, and more than a hundred standard writers, of the English language, on both sides of the Atlantic, have been laid under contribution to enable the authors to present a collection, rich in all that can inform the understand- ing, improve the taste, and cultivate the heart, and which, at the same time, shall furnish every variety of style and subject to exemplify the principles of Rhetorical delivery, and form a finished reader and elocu- tionist. These selections have been arranged in a regularly graded course, and strictly classified with regard to the nature of the subjects. Although we have not been studious of novelty, presenting only what we regarded as suitable, intrinsically excellent, and most truly indica- ting the mode and range of thought of the writer, it will be seen that a large proportion of this collection is composed of pieces to be found in no siniilar work. Much care and labor have been devoted to the orthoepical department. The pronunciation of all words liable to be mispronounced is indicated once in each paragraph, or at the bottom of the page where they occur. With respect to the words about the pronunciation of which orthoe- pists differ, we have adopted the most recent and r. lial le authority. Classical and historical allusions, so common among the best writers, have in all cases been explained ; and, if the authors have not been de- 907 jy P It E F A C E . ceived, every aid has been given in the notes, that the reader may readily comprehend the meaning of the writer. This has been done in a manner more full and satisfactory than they have seen in any other collection, and in every instance at the bottom of the page where the difficulty occurs, so that the reader may not be subjected to the trouble of con- sulting a dictionary, or other books of reference, — a work which, in general, if done at all, is done with extreme reluctance, even by ad- vanced pupils. In order that the student may still more thoroughly understand what he reads, and for the convenience of that large class of readers who have not leisure to peruse voluminous memoirs of distinguished men, and yet would be unwilling to forego all knowledge of them, we have introduced concise Biographical Sketches of authors from whose works extracts have been selected, and of jDersons whose names occur in the Reading Exercises. These sketches, j>resenting a clear and distinct outline of the life, and producing a clear and distinct impression of the character, furnish an amount of useful and available information rarely surpassed by memoirs of greater extent and pretension. Lists of the names of authors, both alphabetical and chronological, have also been introduced, thus rendering this a convenient text book for students in English and Ameacan Literature. The improvements made in the revision of this work are numerous and important. The Treatise on Elocution has been carefully elabora- ted, involving the introduction of phonetic exercises, a more critical orthoepical notation, and many most apt and interesting examples for illustration. Several of these examples under each section are left un- marked, thus affording students opportunities to exercise their judg- ment, taste, and discrimination. The collection of Reading Lessons has been greatly improved by judicious omissions, and the substitution of new dialogues, ballads, dramatic lyrics, and other rhetorical pieces that are more varied and inspiriting, and better adapted to elocutionary readings, both public and private. The classification of these lessons is more systematic and thorough than that ever before attempted in any corresponding work. They are divided into formal sections, in each of which only one lead- ing subject is treated, or one important element of Elocution rendered prominent. All practical aids are furnished by more copious notes, new indexes, etc. New Yobk, June, 1S66. CONTENTS I. ELOCUTION. I. ORTHOEPY. PAGH Articulation 20 Definitions 20 Oral Elements 22 Cognates 24 Alphabetic Equivalents 24 Oral Elements Combined 26 Errors in Articulation 28 Words 29 Analysis of Words 29 Rules in Articulation 32 Exercises in Articulation 32 Phonetic Laughter , , . 35 SYLL A3IC ATION 3G Definitions 36 Formation of Syllables 36 Rules in Syllabication 37 Exercises in Syllabication 38 Accent 40 Definitions 40 Exercises in Accent 40 Words Distinguished by Accent 41 Accent Changed by Contrast 42 II EXPRESSION. Emphasis 43 Definitions 43 Rules in Emphasis 44 Exercises in Emphasis 44 Slur 47 Exercises in Slur 47 Inflections , 50 Definitions « 53 Rules in Inflections. , 54 Exercises in Inflections 5(j VI CONTENTS. PAGE Modulation. .■>. 58 Pitch 53 Forco CO Quality C2 Rate C5 Monotone 67 Exercises in Monotone 68 Personation , 09 Exercise in Personation TO Pauses , . TO Definitions TO Rules for Pauses Tl Suspensive Quantity 72 Exercises in Pauses T3 II. READINGS. I, PIECES IN PROSE. Section 1 77 1. The Months Henry Ward Beecher. 77 Section II 85 3. Never Despair . . . 85 5. A Golden Coppersmith , 89 0. Noble Revenge Thomas tie Quincey. 92 7. Beauty Ralph Waldo Emerson. 94 Section III 97 9. Maternal Affection 100 10. The Good Wife Donald G. Mitchell. 101 11. Influence of Home Richard Henry Dana. 103 13. The Widow and her Son— Part First Washington Irving. 106 14. The Widow and her Son — Part Second 110 Section IV 113 15. Biography of Jacob Hays William Cox. 113 16. Peter Pounce and Parson Adams . .Henry Fielding. 117 19. A Curtain Lecture of Mrs. Caudle Douglas Jerrold. 126 Section V 129 22. Broken Hearts — Part First Washington Irving. 134 23. Broken Hearts— Part Second. 186 27. Selected Extracts Henry Ward Beecher. 144 Section VI 147 29. The Barbarities of War Thomas Chalmers. 148 3)5. The Siege of Leyden John Lathrop Motley. 157 Section VII 164 37. Christopher Columbus Washington Irving. 165 38. Return of Columbus William 11. Preseott. 166 39. The Revolutionary Alarm George Bancroft. 170 CONTENTS. vii Page Section VIII 180 44. Wants — Part First James Kirke Paulding. 180 45. Wants— Part Second 183 46. Wants— Part Third 184 Section IX 198 51 Work Thomas Carlyle. 199 53. Study Oreille Dewey. 204 Section X 207 . 54. Letters D. G. Mitchell. 207 55. Select Passages in Prose 210 I. Good use of Memory. II. Injudicious Haste in Study — Locke. III. Studies — Bacon. IV. Books— Channi/ig. V. The Bible— Hall. 56. Buying Books Henry Ward Becchcr 214 57. Selected Extracts Thomas de Quincey. 217 Section XI 221 59. The Poet and his Critics Washington Allston. 224 Section XII 230 61. Ancient and Modern Writers Charles Sumner 280 63. Sound and Sense Robert Chambers. 234 64. The Power of Words E.P. Whipple. 2:7 66. Parallel between Pope and Dryden Dr Samuel Johnson. 243 Section XIII , 247 67. Charge against Lord Byron Francis Jeffrey. 247 70. View of the Coliseum Ortille Dewey. 255 Section XIV 257 72. Scene with a Panther Charles Brockden Broicn. 257 73. Count Fathom's Adventure— Part First T G. Smollett. 261 74. Count Fathom's Adventure— Part Second 263 76. The Rattlesnake William Gilmore Simms. 270 Section XV 275 77. Irving and Macaulay — Part First Wm. M. Thackeray. 275 78. Irving and Macaulay — Part Second 277 79. The Puritans Thomas B. Macaulay 280 82. Advantages of Adversity Edward Everett. 284 85. Liberty Oreille Deicey. 291 Section XVI 293 87. The Death of Hamilton Eiiphalct Kott. 294 90. Glory Dr. Francis Wayland. 299 Section XVII , . 304 92. The Stolen Rifle. Washington Irving. 304 93. The Tomahawk submissive to Eloquence John Neat 305 96. Marios in Prison Thomas de Quincey. 311 Section XIX ... 338 107. Daniel Webster— Part First Edward Boerett. 331) 108. Daniel Webster— Part Second 341 109. From a Historical Address Daniel Webster 313 viii CONTENT! PAGB 110. Public Virtue Henry Clay. 843 111. Washington's Sword and Franklin's Staff J. Q. Adams. 343 Section XX 350 113. Paul Flemming Resolves Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. 353 115. Life Horace Binney Wallace. 857 Section XXI 359- 116. Blennerhassett's Temptation William Wirt. 359 Section XXII 370 119. Character of Scott William H. Prescott. 370 120. Scene from Ivanhoe Sir Walter Scott. 373 121. Shakspeare Dr. Johnson. 378 Section XXIV 400 130. Our Honored Dead Henry Ward Beecher. 403 132. Death of the Old Trapper— Part First. ... . .James F. Cooper. 406 133. Death of the Old Trapper— Part Second 410 Section XXVI 436 140. Scenes from Pickwick — The Dilemma Charles Dickens. 436 111. Scenes from Pickwick — Speech of Sergeant Buzfuz 440 142. Scenes from Pickwick — Sam Weller as Witness 443 143. My Oratorical Experience Nathaniel Hawthorne. 447 Section XXVII 450 145. Forest Trees Washington Irving. 452 147. Landscape Beauty Francis Jeffrey. 453 149. Elements of the Swiss Landscape George B. Cheevcr. 4C3 Section XXX 485 157. Character of Hamlet William Hazlitt. 485 Section XXXI 505 1G2. Society the Great Educator Orville Dewey. 505 163. The Schoolmaster and the Conqueror Henry Brougham. 507 164. Intellectual Power James H. Hammond. 509 105. Moral Progress of the American People Wm. H Seward. 511 Section XXXII 515 163. Hymns Henry Ward Beecher. 521 Section XXXIII 532 173. Select Passages in Prose 535 I. Evidence of a Creator — Tillotson. II. Nature Pro- claims a Deity — Chateaubriand. III. The Unbeliever — Chalmers. IV. Blessings of Religious Faith — Davy. Section XXXIV 543 175. The Poet H B. Wallace. 543 177. The Influence of Poetry William E. Channing. 547 Section XXXVII 575 183. Milton — Part First T/iomas Babbington Macaulay. 575 187. Milton— Part Second 577 Section XXXVIII 583 191. The Knocking at the Gate, in Macbeth. . Thomas de Quincey. 587 Section XXXIX 500 103. Omnipresence nnd Omniscience of God Addimn. 593 CONTENTS. ix IL PIECES IN VERSE. PAGE Section 1 77 2. Hymn to the Seasons James Thomson. 81 Section II So 4. Now Charles Mackay. 87 Section III 97 8. Sabbath Morning James Grahame. 97 12. An Old Haunt 105 Section V 129 20. Thanatopsis William Cullen Bryant. 129 21. Euthanasia Willis Oaylord Clark. 132 24. Lines Relating to Curran's Daughter Thomas Moore 139 25. The Bridge of Sighs Thomas Hood. 140 2G. Select Passages in Verse 142 I. Succession of Human Beings. II. Death of the Young and. Fair. III. A Lady Drowned — Pioctor. IV. Life of Man — Beaumont. V. Coronach — Scott. VI. Immortal- ity— R. II Dana. Section VI . g 147 28. Fuller's Bird'. Bryan Walter Proctor. 147 30. Bingcn on the Rhine Mrs. Caroline Norton. 150 32. Battle of Waisaw Thomas Campbell. 155 34. The Happy Warrior William Wordsworth. 1G0 35. The Conqueror's Grave William Cullen Bryant. 102 Section VII 1G4 36. Destiny of America George Berkeley. 164 40. The Revolutionary Rising Thomas Buchanan Read. 172 41. The Settler Albert B. Street. 174 42. The Star-Spangled Banner Francis Scott Key. 177 *3. The American Flag Joseph Rodman Drake. 178 (Section VIII 180 47. The Deserted Village— Part First Oliver Goldsmith. 185 48. The Deserted Village— Part Second 189 49. The Deserted Village— Part Third 192 Section IX 198 50. The Power of Art Charles Sprague. 198 52. Address to the Indolent James Thompson. 202 Section XII 2:J0 62. Language Oliver Wendell Holmes. 232 65. From the Essay on Criticism Alexander Pope. 240 Section XIII 247 68. Lord Byron Robert Pollok. 249 69. Midnight— The Coliseum Lord Byron. 358 71. The Dying Gladiator Lord Byron. 256 Section XIV . .* 257 75. Darkness Lord Byron. 2<.r r X CONTENTS. PAGE Section XV 275 80. The Pilgrim's Vision Oliver Wendell Holmes. 282 81. The Roclv of the Pilgrims George P. Morris. 283 83. The Graves of the Patriots James Gates Percival. 287 84. Antiquity of Freedom William Cullen Bryant. 289 Section XVI 293 86. The Inquiry Charles Mackay. 293 88. Pass On, Relentless World George Lunt. 295 89. The World for Sale = Rev. Ralph Hoyt. 297 91. Passing Away Rev. John Pierpont. £01 Section XVII £04 94. The Baron's Last Banquet Albert G. Greene. 307 95. Bernardo del Carpio Mrs. Felicia Hemans. £09 Section XVIII 313 97. The Annoyer Nathaniel Parker Willis. 313 98. The Palm and the Pine Bayard Taylor. £15 99. Fair Ines ". Thomas Hood. 317 100. Love Samuel Taylor Coleridge. 318 101. Lady Clare Alfred Ten nyson. 321 103. Maud Mailer John Greenleaf Whiltier. 324 103. The Dream— Part First Lord Byron. 327 104. The Dream— Part Second SCO Section XIX 338 106. A Great Man Departed 308 Section XX 350 112. Procrastination Edward Young. 350 114. Ode to Adversity , . Thomas Gray. 355 Section XXI 359 118. Parrhasius and the Captive Nathaniel I arkcr Willis. 365 Section XXIII 390 125. Select Passages in Verse 890 I. Patriotism — Scott. II. Ambition- -Byroi. III. Indepen- dence — Thomson. IV. The Captive's Dream — Mrs. F. Hemans. V. William Tell— Bryant. VI. Tell of Swit- zerland — Knowles. VII. How Sleep the Brave — Collins. VIII. The Greeks at Thermopylae — Byron, 126. Greece Lord Byron. 394 127. Song of the Greeks, 1822 Thomas Campbell. 396 128. Marco Bozzaris Fitz-Greene Halleck. 398 Section XXIV 400 129. The Closing Year George D. Prentice. 400 131. The Holy Dead Mrs. L. H Sigourney. 405 134. Elegy in a Country Church-Yard Thomas Gray. 414 Section XXV 417 135. The Phantom Ship 417 136. The Drowned Mariner Elisabeth Oakes Smith. 419 137. The Direr SchiUer. 42>2 CONTENTS. X i PAOH 138. Morte d Arthur Alfred Tennyson. 426 13!). The Skeleton in Armor II. W. Longfellow. 434 Section XXVII 450 144. A Forest Nook Albert B. Street. 430 14G. God's First Temples William Cullen Bryant. 455 148. Morning Hymn to Mount Blanc .Samuel Taylor Coleridge. 4C1 150. Alpine Scenery Lord Byron. 4GG Section XXVIII 4G9 151. Select Passages in Verse 4G9 I. Early Da.\vnShelley. II. Daybreak— Longfellow. III. Daybreak— Shelley. IV. Sunrise in South America — Bowles. V. Dawn— Willis. VI. Morning— Milton. VII. Morning on the Rhine— Bowles. VIII. Morning Sounds — Seattle. IX. Early Rising— Hurdis. 152. Select Passages in Verse 473 I. Invocation to Night— J". F. HoUingt, II. A Twilight Picture— Whiiticr. III. Evening — Croly. IV. Night — Coleridge. V. Night at Corinth — Byron. VI. A Sum- mer's Night — Bailey. VII. Night and Death — White. VIII. Night— Shelley. IX. The Moon— Charlotte Smith. X. The Stars — Darwin. Section XXIX : 470 153. Lochinvar's Ride Sir Walter Scott. 4 "19 154. The Kinir of Denmark's Ride Mrs. Caroline Nort m. 155. Sheridan's Ride Thomas Buchanan Bead. 156. The Ride from Ghent to Aix Robert Browning. 4S3 Section XXXII 515 1GG. To a Skylark Percy B. Shelley. 515 1G7. Select Passages in Verse 518 I. Voice of the Wind — Henry Taylor. II. Ministrations of Nature — Coleridge. III. Moonlight — Shakspcare. IV. The Bells of Ostend — Bowles. V. Music — Shakspcare. VI. Music — Shelley. VII. Pastoral Music — Byron. 1GD. The Passions William Collins. 504 170. Alexander's Feast John Drydcn. 527 Section XXXIII 503 171. Hamlet's Soliloquy William Shakspcare. 532 172. Cato's Soliloquy Joseph Addison. 533 174. Intimations of Immortality William Wordsworth. 537 Section XXXIV 543 176. To the Spirit of Poetry Francis S. Osgood. 514 178. To the Poet William Cullen Bryant. 549 Section XXXV 551 179. The Bells Edgar A. Poe. 551 ISO. The Cry of the Human Elizabeth B. Browning. 555 181. The Raven Edgar A. Poe. 558. xii CONTENTS. PA<=1? Section XXXVII 575 188. Satan's Encounter with Death John Milton. 580 189. The Dying Christian to his Soul ...Alexander Pope. 5S3 Section XXXIX 590 192. Messiah Alexander Pope. 590 194. God JR. Derzhavin 590 III. DIALOGUES. Section 17 .113 17. Conversations after Marriage— Part First. . . .R. B. Sheridan. 120 18. Conversations after Marriage — Part Second 123 Section VI 147 81. Lochiel's Warning Thomas Campbell. 153 Section XI 221 58. Gil Bias and the Old Archbishop Alain Le Sage. 221 60. The Sensitive Author R. B. Sheridan. 227 'Section XVIII 313 105. Scene from the Lady of Lyons. .Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton. 333 Section XXI 359 117. Roger Ascham and Lady Jane Grey W. S. Landor. 302 Section XXII 370 122. Scene from King Richard III William Shakspeare. 381 123. Norval John Home. 884 124. Scene from Catiline George Croly. 387 Section XXX 4S5 158. Scenes from Hamlet — Part First William Shakspeare. 487 159. Scenes from Hamlet — Part Second 493 1G0. Scenes from Hamlet— Part Third 498 . 161. Scenes from Hamlet — Part Fourth 501 Section XXXVI 562 182. The Saracen Brothers— Part First 502 183. The Saracen Brothers — Part Second 565 184. Brutus and Titus Nathaniel Lee. 563 85. The Phrensy of Orra Joanna Baillie. 571 Section XXXVIII 583 190. Murder of King Duncan WiUiam Shakspeare. 583 ALPHABETICAL LIST OF AUTHORS.' Adams, John Q., 348. Addison, Joseph, 533, 593. Allston, Washington, 224. Bacon, Francis, 211. Bailey, P. J., 476, Baillte, Joanna, 571. Bancroft, George, 170. Beattie, James, 472. Beaumont, Francis, 142. Beeciier, H. W., 77, 144, 214, 403, 521. Berkeley, George, 164. Bowles, W. L., 470, 472, 519. Brougham, Henry, 507. Brown, C. B. 257. Browning, Robert, 483. Browning, Elizabeth B., 555. Byrant, W. C, 129, 162, 289, 392, 455, 549. Byron, G. G., 253, 256, 267, 327, 391, 394, 466, 475, 520. Campbell, Thomas, 153, 155, 396.^ Carlyle, Thomas, 199. Chalmers, Thomas, 148, 536. Chambers, Robert, 234. Channing, W. E., 212, 547. Chateaubriand, F. A., 536. Cheever, G. B., 463. Clark, Willis G., 132. Clay, Henry, 346. Coleridge, Hartley, 475. Coleridge, S. T., 318, 461, 518. Collins, William, 393, 524. Cooper, J. Fenimore, 406. Cox, William, 113. Croly, George, 387, 474. Dana, R. H., 103, 143. Darwin, Erasmus, 478. Davy, Humphrey, 537. De Quincey, T., 92, 217, 311, 587. Derziiayin, G. R., 596. Dewey, Orville, 204, 255, 291, 505. Dickens, Charles, 436. Drake, J. R., 178. Dryden, John, 527. Emerson, R. W., 94. Everett, Edward, 284, 339. Fielding, Henry, 117. Gibbon, Edward, 95. Goldsmith, Oliver, 185. Graiiame, James, 97. Gray, Thomas, 355, 414. Greene, Albert G., 307. Hall, Robert, 213. Halleck, Fitz-Greene, 398. Hammond, James II., 509. Hawthorne, Nathaniel, 447, Hazlitt, William, 485. Hemans, Mrs. F., 309, 392. Rollings, J. F., 473. Holmes, O. W., 232, 282. Home, John, 384. Hood, Thomas, 140, 317. Hoyt, Ralph, 297. Hume, David, 237. Hurdis, James, 473. Irving, W., 106, 134, 165, 304, 452. Jeffrey, Francis, 247, 458. Jerrold, Douglas, 126. Johnson, Samuel, 243, 378. 1 The numbers here given refer to Selections. For Biographical Sketches, see Chronological List ot Authors. XIV ALPHABETICAL LIST OF AUTHORS. Key, Francis Scott, 177. Knowles, J. S., 392. Landor, W. S., 362. Lee, Nathaniel, 568. Le Sage, Alain, 221. Locke, John, 210. Longfellow, H. W., 352, 434, 469. Lunt, George, 295. Lytton, E. Bulwer, 333. Macaulay, T. B., 280, 575. Mackay, Charles, 87, 293. Milton, John, 471, 580. Mitchell, D. G., 101, 207. Moore, Thomas, 139. Morris, George P., 283. Motley, John L., 157. Neal, John, 305. Norton, Caroline E., 150, 480. Nott, Eliphalet, 294. Osgood, Francis S., 544. Paulding, J. K., 180. Percival, J. G., 287. Pierpont, John, 301. Poe, Edgar A., 551, 558. Pollock, Robert, 249. Pope, Alexander, 240, 583, 590. Prentice, George D„, 400. Prescott. W. II., 166, 370. Proctor, B. W., 142, 147. Read, T. Buchanan, 172, 482. Schiller, J. C. F. von, 422. Scott, Walter, 143, 373, 390, 479. Seward, William H., 511. Shakspeare, We, 381, 487, 518, 519, 532, 583. Shelley, P. B., 469, 470, 477, 515, 520. Sheridan, R. B. 120. Sigourney, Mrs., 405. Simms, W. G. 270. Smith, Charlotte, 478. Smith, Elizabeth Oakes, 419. Smollett, T. G., 261. Sprague, Charles, 198. Street, A. B., 174, 450. Sumner, Charles, 230. Taylor, Bayard, 315. Taylor, Henry, 518. Tennyson, Alfred, 321, 426. Thackeray, William M., 275. Thomson, James, 81, 202, 391. Tillotson, JonN, 535. Wallace, H. B ., 357, 543. Wayland, Francis, 299. Webster, Daniel, 343. Whipple, E. P., 237. White, J. Blanco, 477. Whittier, John G., 324, 474. Willis, N. P., 313, 365, 471. Wirt, William, 359. Wordsworth, William, 160, 537, Young, Edward, 350. CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF AUTHORS.' Bacon, Francis Siiakspeare, William Beaumont, Francis Milton, John Tillotson, John Dryden, John Locke, John Lee, Nathaniel Le Sage, Alain Addison, JosEPn Young, Edward Berkeley, George Pope, Alexander — Thomson, James Fielding, Henry Johnson, Samuel Hume, David Gray, Thomas .' Collins, William Smollett, T. G Home, John Goldsmith, Oliver Darwin, Erasmus Beattie, James Gibbon, Edward Derzhavin, G. R Smith, Charlotte Sheridan, R. B Schiller, J. C. F. von.. ..".. Bowles, W. L Baillie, Joanna Hurdis, James Hall, Robert. . Grahame, James PAGE 211 383 142 582 5;',.-) 531 210 571 5;J4 . 351 165 243 85 120 246 237 35G 526 267 387 196 478 472 95 . 598 . 478 126 . 426 470 574 473 , 213 99 Adams, John Q Chateaubriand, F. A.... Wordsworth, William., Scott, Walter Brown, C. B Coleridge, S. T Wirt, William Jeffrey, Francis Nott, Ellphalet Landor, W. S Campbell, Thomas Clay, Henry Hazlitt, William Davy, Humphrey Paulding, J. K.. Allston, Washington... Key, Francis Scott Brougham, Henry Chalmers, Thomas Ciiannino, W. E Moore, TnoMAS White, J. Blanco Webster, Daniel Irving, Washington.. . . Pierpont, John De Quincey, Thomas Dana, R. H Byron, George G Cooper, J. Fenimore Sigourney, Mrs. L. H... . Sprague, Charles Shelley, P. B Hemans, Mrs. F Bryant, William C PAGR 349 536 102 377 260 362 . 249 295 365 155 347 487 537 185 227 178 508 150 549 139 . 477 345 113- . 303 94 105 . 254 413 . 405 199 517 311 132 1 The numbers here given refer to Biographical Sketches. For Selections, see Alphabetical List of Authors. SV1 CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF AUTHORS. pact: Dewey, Orytlle 206 Everett, Edward 287 Neal, John 806 Percival, J. G 288 Proctor, B. W 148 Halleck, Fitz-Greene 400 Drake, J. R 180 Croly, George 300 Carlyle, Thomas 202 Coleridge, Hartley 475 Knowles, J. S 392 Prescott. William H 169 Wayland, Francis 301 Hood, Thomas 141 Pollok, Robert 252 Taylor, Henry 518 Bancroft, George 171 Chambers, Robert 236 Morris, George P 284 Macaulay, T. B 281 Seward, William H 514 Cox, William 116 Greene, Albert G 309 Prentice, George D 403 Emerson, R. W 96 Jerrold, Douglas 129 Smith, Elizabeth Oakes 421 Hawthorne, Nathaniel 450 Lunt, George 296 PAGB Bailey, P. J 476 Lytton, E. Bulwer 337 Simms, W. G 274 Willis, N. P 314 Cheever, George B 405 Longfellow, H. W 354 Norton, Caroline E 152 Hammond, James II 51"* Whittier, John G 327 Holmes, 0. W 233 Browning, Elizabeth B 558 Clark, Willis G 133 Tennyson, Alfred 824 Poe, Edgar A 553 Sumner, Charles 232 Thackeray, William M 280 Street, A. B 177 Dickens, Charles 446 Hoyt, Ralph 299 Browning, Robert 4S5 Mackay, Charles 89 Osgood, Francis S. 546 Beecher, Henry Ward 81 Motley, John L 159 Wallace, H. B 358 Whipple, E. P 239 Mitchell, D. G 102 Read, T. Buchanan 174 Taylor, Bayard 310 PART I. ELOCUTION. |j^ LOCUTION is the mode of utterance or delivery of -L-^ any thing spoken. It may be good or bad. 2. Good Elocution, in reading or speaking, is uttering ideas understandinglv, correctly, and effectively. It cm- braces the two general divisions, Orthoepy and Expression. Readers may be divided into three classes, — the mechanical, or those who merely pronounce words, with but slight reference to their connections and signification ; the intelligent, or those who understand the meaning of the separate words, their rela- tive importance in sentences, and historical and other refer- ences ; and the effective, or those who bring out clearly the emotional part, as well as the exact and full meaning of the author. To secure effective reading — the only reading that can satisfy a laudable ambition — it will be necessary for the student, first, to acquire such a practical knowledge of the oral elements of the language as shall insure the precise pronunciation of the separate words, with as little apparent effort of the mind as is ordinarily employed in the act of walking ; secondly, to learn the definitions of unusual or peculiarly significant words in the lesson — the explanations of classical, historical, and other allusions — and the analysis of all sentences that embrace parenthetical or other incidental matter; and thirdly, to ac- quire such a command of the perceptive faculties, of the emo- tional nature, and of the elements of expression, as shall enable him to see clearly whatever is represented or described, to enter fully into the feelings of the writer, and to cause the hearers to see, feel, and understand. 20 NATIONAL FIFTH READER. ORTHOEPY. OETHOEPY is the art of correct pronunciation. It embraces Articulation, Syllabication, and Accent. Orthoepy has to do with separate words, — the production of their oral elements, the division of these elements into sylla- bles, and the accentuation of the right syllables. I. ARTICULATION. I. DEFINITIONS. AETICULATION is the distinct utterance of the oral elements in syllables and words. 2. Okal Elements are the sounds that, uttered sepa- rately or in combination, form syllables and words. 3. Oral Elements are produced by different positions of the organs of speech, in connection with the voice and the breath. 4 The principal Organs of Speech are the lips, the teeth, the tongue, and the palate. 5. Yoice is produced by the action of the breath upon the larynx. 1 6. Oral Elements are divided into three classes : eighteen tonics, fifteen subtonics, and ten atonics. 7. Tonics are pure tones produced by the voice, with but slight use of the organs of speech. 8. Subtonics are tones produced by the voice, modified by the organs of speech. 9. Atonics are mere breathings, modified by the organs of speech. 10. Letters are characters that are used to represent or modify the oral elements. 11. The Alphabet is divided into vowels and consonants. • Larynx. — The larynx is the up- consisting of five gristly pieces t>er part of the trachea or windpipe, which form the organ of voice. ARTICULATION. 21 12. Vowels are the letters that usually represent the tonic elements. They are a, e, i, o, u, and sometimes y} 13. A Diphthong is the union of two vowels in one syl- lable ; as, oa in out. 14. A Digraph, or Improper Diphthong, is the union of two vowels in a syllable, one of whict r s silent ; as oa in loaf, on in coza't. 15. A Triphthong is the union of three vowels in one syllable ; as eau in beau, ieu in adi'ew. 16. Consonants 2 are the letters that usually represent either subtonic or atonic elements. They are of two kinds, single letters and combined, including all the letters of the alphabet, except the vowels, and the combinations ch, sh, wh, ng ; th subtonic, and th atonic. 17. Labials are letters whose oral elements are chiefly formed by the lips. They are b, p, w s and wh. M may be regarded as a nasal labial, as its sound is affected by the nose. F and v are labia-dentals. 18. Dentals are letters whose oral elements are chiefly formed by the teeth. They are j, s, z, ch, and sh. 19. Linguals are letters whose oral elements are chiefly formed by the tongue. They are d, I, r, and t. j\ r is a nasal-lingual ; ?/, a lingua-palatal, and th, a lingua-dental. 20. Palatals are letters whose oral elements are chiefly formed by the palate. They are g and h. KG is a nasal- palatal. 21. Cognates are letters whose oral elements are pro- duced by the same organs, in a similar manner ; thus, / is a cognate of v ; k of g, &c. 22. Alphabetic Equivalents are letters, or combinations of letters, that represent the same elements, or sounds: thus, i is an equivalent of e, in purue. 1 W not a Vowel. — As «\ stand- combinations because they are rarely ing alone, does not represent a pure used in words without having a vow- or unmodified tone in the English el connected with them in the same language, it is not here classified syllable, although their oral elements with the vowels. may be uttered separately, and with- 8 Consonant. — The term conto- out the aid of a vowel. Indeed, they nant, literally meaning, sounding frequently form syllables by them. vritfi, is applied to these letters and selves, as in fechh (bl), taken (In). 22 NATIONAL FIFTH READER. II. OKAL .ELEMENTS. IN sounding the tonics, the organs should be fully opened, and the stream of sound from the throat should be thrown, as much as possible, directly upward against the roof of the mouth. These elements should open with an abrupt and explosive force, and then diminish gradually and equably to the end. In producing the subtonic and atonic elements, it is im- portant to press the organs upon each other with great firmness and tension ; to throw the breath upon them with force ; and to prolong the sound sufficiently to give it a full impression on the ear. The instructor will first require the students to pronounce a catch-word once, and then produce the oral element rep- resented by the figured vowel, or Italic consonant, four times — thus ; age, — a, a, a, a ; ate, — a, a, a, a': at, — a, a, a, a ; ash, — a, a, a, a, (fee. He will exercise the class until each student can utter consecutively all the elementary sounds as arranged in the following TABLE OF ORAL ELEMENTS. I. TONICS. a or a, 1 as in age, ate. e or e, as in he, these. a or a, a at, ash. e or e, a elk, end. 8 a, a art, arm. s 4 e, 4 a her, verse. 4 a Ml, ball. 1 or T, it ice, child. a, a bare, care. ! or I, a ink, inch. a, 3 u ask, glass. 6 or 6, a old, home. 1 Long and Short Vowels. — The attention of the class should be called to the fact that the first element, or sound, represented by ich of the vowels, is usually indicated by a hori- zontal line placed over the letter, and the second sound by a carved line. 2 A Fifth.— The 'fifth element, or sound, represented by a, is its first or Alphabetic sound, modified or softened by r. In its production, the lips, placed nearly together, are held immovable while the student tries to say, a. 3 A Sixth. — The sixth element rep resented by a, is a sound interme- diate between a, as heard in at, ash, and a, as in arm, art. It is produced by prolonging and slightly softening &. * E Third. — The third element rep- resented by e, is eas heard in end, pro- longed, and modified or softened by r. TABLE OF ORAL ELEMENTS. 23 o or o, 1 u or Q, 2 as in on, a a do, cube, frost, prove. cure. u or u, as in bud, full, our. a on. ii a b, as in lube, did, join, /ake, ?>/ild, ?» ame, d, a ff, a • a *, a m, a n, a *9, a n. orZ». dim. gig- ^'oint. /ane. ?y/ind. ?iine. sung. SUBTOXICS. r, 3 as in mke, y, 2. ii ii ii ii a a this, vine, wake, yard, 2-est, azure. hush, push. house. bar. with. rice, wise. yes. gaze. glazier. III. ATOXICS. /, as in ykme, /i/e- £, as in far/, toast. />, a //ark, //arm. th, " ^//ank, youth. *, a Zind, Z'iss. cA, " c//ase, marcA. 1>> a py;e, _£>um/>. */>, " s/ade, 6-// ake. *i a *ame, sense. w//, 4 " w//ale, W/ite. 1 O modified. — The modified oral element of 0, in this work, is repre- sented by (6 or 6) the same marks as its regular second power. This mod- ified or medium element may be pro- duced by uttering the sound of o in not, slightly softened, with twice its usual volume, or prolongation. It is usually given when short o is imme- diately followed by ff,ft, ss, ft, or th, as in off, soft, cross, cost, broth ; also in a number of words where short o is directly followed by n, or final riff, as in go/?e, begone ; \ong, along, yrong, song, strong, thong, throng, wrong. Smart says, To give the extreme short sound of o to such words is affectation ; to give them the full sound of broad a (a in all), is vulgar. 3 U initial — preceded by R. — JJ, at the beginning of words, when long, has the sound of yu, as in ■use. When u long, or its alphabetic equivalent ew, is preceded by r, or the sound of sh, in the same sylla- ble, it has always the sound of o in do; as, rude, sure, brew. 3 R trilled.— Iu trilling r, the tip of the tongue is made to vibrate against the roof of the mouth. U may be trilled when immediately fol- lowed by a vowel in the same syl- lable. "When thus situated in em- phatic words, it should always be trilled. Frequently require the stu- dent, after a full inhalation, to trill r continuously, as long as possible. 4 Wh. — To produce the oral ele- ment of irh, the student will blow from the center of the mouth — first compressing the lips, and then sud- denly relaxing them while the air Ls escaping. 24 NATIONAL FIFTH READER. m. COGNATES. FIRST require the student to pronounce distinctly the word containing the atonic element, then the subtonic cognate, uttering the element after each word — thus : lip, jp/ orb, b, &c. The attention of the pupil should be called to the fact that cognates are produced by the same organs, in a similar manner, and only differ in one being an undertone, and the other a whisper. ATONICS. SUBTONICS. lip, p oro, b. fife, f vase, v. tvJate, wh wise, w. save, s zeal, z, shade, sh azure, z. c/mrm, ch i i n > /• tart, t did, d. thing, th. . . this, fh. JcmJc, h gig, g. IV. ALPHABETIC EQUIVALENTS. THE instructor will require the students to read or recite the table of Alphabetic Equivalents, using the following formula : The Alphabetic Equivalents of A first 'power are ai, an, ay, e, ea, ee, ei, ey ; as in the words, ga/71, gawge, stray, melee', great, vem, the?/. I. TONIC ELEMENTS. For a, ai, an, ay, e, ea, ee, ei, ey ; as in gam, ga?/ge, stray, melee', great, \ein, they. For a, ai, ua ; as in pla/d, gaaranty. For a, an, e, ea, ua / as in haunt, sergeant, heart, guard. For a, au, aw, ea, o, oa, ou; as in fault, haa:k, Gearge, eork, braad, bought. SUBTONIC AND ATONIC ELEMENTS. 25 For a, ai, e, ea, ei/ as in chair, th^re, swear, heir. For e, ea, ee, ei, eo, ey, i, ie j as in read, deep, ceil, p^ple, kry, valise, field. For e, a, ai, ay, ea, ei, eo, ie, u, ice / as in any, said, says, head, heifer, leopard, fWcnd, bury, guess. For e, ea, i, o, ou, u, ice, y ; as in earth, girl, word, scoz^rge, hum, guerdon, myrrh. For i, ai, ei, eye, ie, oi, id, uy, y, ye; as in aisle, sWght, eye, die, choir, guide, buy, my, rye. For i, ai, e, ee, ie, o, oi, u, id, y ; as in captrmi, pretty, been, sieve, women, tortoise, busj, bidld, hymn. For 6, au, eau, eo, ew, oa, oe, oo, ou, ow / as in hautboy, beau, yeoman, sew, coal, foe, door, sou], blow. For 6, a, ou, ow / as in what, ho^gh, knowledge. For 6, ew, oe, oo, ou, it, ui ; as in grew, shoe, spoon, soun, rude, fruit. For u, eau, eu, ew, ieu, tew, ue, id; as in beauty, feud, new, adieu, view, hue, juice. For u, o, oe, oo, ouf as in love, does, bloo<:7, young. For u, o, oo, ou j wolf, book, could. For ou, ow j as in now. For oi (ai), oy/ as in b^>y. n. SUBTONIC AND ATONIC ELEMENTS. For f, (jh, ph / as in cony//, nymph. For j, ^ / as in yem, yin. For k, c, eh, gh, q ; as in cole, conch, lowgh, etiquette. For s, c / as in cell. For t, cl, th, phth / as in danced, Thames, phthisic. For v,f,ph; as in of, Stephen. For y, i ; as in pimon. For z, c, s, x ; as in suffice, rose, ^ebec. For z, g, s / as in rouye, osier. For ng, n * as in a;iger, ba»k. For ch, t ; as in fustian. For sh, c, ch, s, ss, t ; as in ocean, chaise, sure, assure, martial, 26 NATIONAL FIFTH HEADER. V. ORAL ELEMENTS COMBINED. AFTEE the instructor has given a class thorough drill on the preceding tables as arranged, the following exercises will be found of great value, to improve the or- gans of speech and the voice, as well as to familiarize the student with different combinations of sounds. Stu- dents will not pass from these exercises until they can utter the elements represented by the figured vowels in whatever order the instructor may require. As the fifth element represented by a, and the third ele- ment of e, are always immediately followed by the oral element of r in words, the r is introduced in like manner in these exercises. Since the sixth sound of a, when not a syllable by itself, is always immediately followed by the oral element of /, n, or s, in words, these letters are here employed in the same manner. I. TONICS AND SUBTONICS. 1. ba, ba, b^ ba, bar, baf ; M, be, b£r; h, W; bo, bo, bo ; bu, bu, bii; bou. ab, ab, ab, ab, arb, if; eb, eb, erb; ib, lb; 6b, 6b, 6b ; lib. ub, ub; oub. da, da, da, da, dar, das ; de, de, der ; ai, cli ; do, do, do; du, du, du; dou. ad, ad, ad, ad, ard, if; ed, ed, erd; id, Id; 6d, 6d, 6d ; iid, ud, ud; oud. ga, ag> *g> ga, g'; ag, 3 ga, g°, 3 Il g> "Si ga, g ( % ag, &g, gar, gu; arg, 5g ; gan ; gu, af; u g, ge, s g ll > eg, fig, g3, 3 g u ; ger; gou. erg; crag. 2. j as, ft las, jar, J 1 ! lar, lb, • 3 la, • 3 J a, la, • 9 • 1 la, • 3 la ; • 3 jer, • 9 ler, • » j u ; is, J e ; jou. le; 15, i}; i/>, 15, 16; ia, 1 3 hi, 16; lou. u, arl, al, al, B, al ; erJ, a, 61; 11, 11 5 61, 61, 61; a, ul, 61; oui. TONIO AND ATOXIC COMBINATIONS 27 mas, mar, md, ma. ma, ma; mer, me, me ; ml. mi ; mo, m6, mo ; mil, mu, mu; mou ai;' arm, am, am. am, am ; LTlll, om, em ; Im, im ; 5m, om, om ; um, um, inn ; oum. 3. na, na, na, nar, naf, na ; ne, ner, nfi ; ni, 9 in; no, no, no ; nu, nil, nu; nou. ang, arng, ang, if, ang, ang ; £ng, erng, OTXcr ' *ng, m g; on g, 6ng, 6ng; u ng, nng, nng ; oung ra, ra, rar, ra, 4 ra, raf ; re, rer, re ; ri, ri; ri, ro, ro ; ru, ■ ru, ru; rou. 4. £ha, fii a, fiiar, fliaf, fhd, fha ; fhor, ■flic, the , flii, fill; fho, Hio, fho; fhii, fllll, fliu; fhou. •ith, Afli, af, afh, arCh, afh; o£h, orlh, efh ; Ifli, Ifli; ofh, 6fh, ofli ; u£h, urh, ufii ; oivfti. va, ■ va, var, ■ va, A' at, 4 va ; VLT, vo, yS; *i, vi ; vo, yo, vo ; yu, vu ; vou. aV, at, av, av, av, arv ; erv. Ov, ev; iv ? s iv ; ov. ov, 6v; uv, uv, uv; ouv. wa, w&, war, wa, wd, waf ; wer, 2 we, we; wl, wi; wo, wo, wo ; wu, wu, wu ; wou. 5. ya, ya, ya, va, yar, van ; y e ? y«, ver : fh s y&> 9 yo, B yo; y*« 9 yn, yfl ; vou. •> zou ; ZU, zu, zu; zo, zo, zo ; a Zl, zl; ze*r, ze, ze ; zaf, zar, za, za, 9 za, za. onz; 11Z, UZ, uz ; 3 oz, 9 OZ, oz ; iz, iz; §rz, 6z, ez ; if, arz, az. az, az, az. II. TONIC AND ATONIC COMBINATIONS. 1. fa, ft. fa, fa. fi ak, ak, Ik, Ik ; pa, pa, vh v' 1 ; ft. liar, han, ha, hi. hi : no, ak, ok, pa, po, fa, far, las ; &, fo, fi; fu, fu, ha, ha, ha ; ho, ho, ho ; hu, hii. ak, ark, fif; ek, ok, ok ; uk, uk, pa, par, paf; pe, po, po; pu. pn, fe, fu; ho, hu i' tik; pe, pn; for ; fou. her ; hou. erk ; ouk. pei*; pou. 28 NATIONAL FIFTH READER. 2. af, ars, as, as, as, as ; ers, es, es; is, is; OS, 6s; us, us, us ; ous. tas, A. " tar, til, ta, ta, ta; ter, to, te; ti, tl \ to, tS, to; til, tu, tu; tou. thaf, thar, tha, tha, tha, tha ; ther, the, the; ith, ith ; 6th, 6 th, 6th; uth, uth, uth; outh. ouch : uch, iich, iich; och, och, och ; icb, Ich ; erch, och, ech; af, ach, ach, arch, * i ach. 3. chou : cha, chu, chii; ch6, cho, ch6; dd, chi; cher, che, che ; cha, cha, cha, cha, char, chan. oush ; ush, ush, ush; osh, osh, osh ; ish, ish ; teh, esh, esii ; ash, af, ash, ash, ash, arsh. shou ; shu, shu, shu ; sho, sho, sho; sin, sin ; sh&r, she, she; shan, shar, sha, sha, sha, sha. whou;whu, whu, whu ; who, who, who ; win, win ; wher, wlie, whe ; whas, whar , wha, wha, wha, wha. VI. ERRORS IN ARTICULATION. ERRORS in Articulation arise chiefly, first, from the omission of one or more elements in a word ; as, an' for and. sta'm for stoT-m. frien's a friends. wa'm a wann. blln'ness " hlin^ ness. boist'rous " bois ter ous. fac's a facte. chick'n u chick en. sof ly a soft ly. his t'ry a his to ry. fiel's u fields. nov'l a nov el. wil's a wikfe. trav'l a trav el. Secondly, from uttering one or more elements that should not be sounded ; as, ev en for ev'n. rav el for rav'l. heav en a heav'n. sev en U sev'n. tak en u tak'n. sof ten a sof'n. sick en a sick'n. shak en a shak'n. driv el a driv'l. shov el a shov'l. grov el u <>tov'1. shriv el u shriv'l. WORDS. 29 Tliirdly, from substituting one element for another ; as, c6urse. set sSncc shet for g!t care dance past ask grass mil urirl a iran aganst berth for sit. it u u a u a it u a a a a a since. shut. for get. ciire. dance. past. ask. grass. s/triW. whirl. again (a gen). against (a genst). hearth (harth). for u it a a carse re part tr5f fv pa rent bun net chil drun " sul lcr " mcl hr pil L r mo m?/nt harm 1/ss " kind mss ' u a ti tvis per sing bi u a re port, tro phy. par ent. hon net. chil dren. eel lar. mel \vw. pil Ibw. mo ment. harm less, kind ik'SS. whis per. sing ing. vn. WOKDS. A WORD is one or more Oral elements, or letters used to represent an idea. 2. Words are divided into primitive, derivative, simple, and compound. 3. A iTJMiTrvE word istnot derived, hut constitutes a root from which other words are formed ; as faith, ease. 4. A derivative wopd is formed of a primitive and an affix or prefix ; as faitli/W, disease. 5. A simple word is one that can not be divided without destroying the sense ; as an, the, book. 6. A compound word is formed by two or more words ; as inkstand, book-binder, laughing-stock. vm. ANALYSIS OF WORDS. IN order to secure a practical knowledge of the preced- ing definitions and tables, to leam to spell spoken words by their oral elements, and to understand the uses of let- 30 NATIONAL FIFTH READER. ters in written words, the instructor will require the student to master the following exhaustive, though simple analysis. Analysis. — 1st. The word salve, in pronunciation, is formed by the union of three oral elements ; s a v — salve. [Here let the student utter the three oral elements separa- tely, and then pronounce the word.] The first is a modified breathing ; hence, it is an atonic. 1 The second is a pure tone ; hence, it is a tonic. The third is a modified tone ; hence, it is a subtonic. 2d. The word salve, in writing, is represented by five letters ; s a 1 v e — salve. S represents an atonic ; hence, it is a consonant. Its oral element is chiefly formed by the teeth ; hence, it is a dental. Its oral element is produced by the same organs and in a similar manner as the first oral element of z ; hence, it is a cognate of z. A represents a tonic ; hence, it is a vowel. L is silent. V represents a subtonic ; hence, it is a consonant. Its oral element is chiefly formed by the lower lip and the upper teeth ; hence, it is a labia-dental. Its oral element is formed by the same organs and in a similar manner as that of/; hence, it is a cognate of /. E is silent. Analysis. — 1st. The word shoe, in 'pronunciation, is formed by the union of two oral elements ; sh 6 — shoe. The first is a modified breathing ; hence, it is an atonic. The second is a pure tone ; hence, it is a tonic. 2d. The word shoe, in writing, is represented by four letters ; s h o e — shoe. The combination sh represents an atonic ; hence, it is a consonant. Its oral element is chiefly formed by the teeth ; hence, it is a dental. Its oral ele- ment is produced by the same organs and in a similar manner as the second oral element represented by z ; hence, it is a cognate of z. The combination oe is formed by the union of two vowels, one of which is silent ; hence, J The analysis logical. — It will stated, is as follows : — All modified be seen that this analysis is strictly breathings are Atonies ; logical ; and that each conclusion is The oral element of * is a modi- deduced from two premises, one of fied breathing ; which (the major proposition) is sup- Hence, the oral element of s is an pressed. The first syllogism, fully Atonic ANALYSIS OF WORDS. 31 it is an improper diphthong. It represents the oral ele- ment usually represented by o ; hence, it is an alphabetic equivalent of 6. Analysis — 1st. The compound word fbutt'-bud is a dis- syllable, accented on the penult. In pronunciation, it is formed by the union of seven oral elements ; f r 6t'-b iid — fruit'-bud. The first is a modified breathing ; hence, it is an atonic. The second is a modified tone ; hence, it is a subtonic. The third is a pure tone ; hence, it is a tonic. The fourth is a modified breathing ; hence, it is an atonic. The fifth is a modified tone ; hence, it is a subtonic. The sixth is a pure tone ; hence, it is a tonic. The seventh is a modified tone ; hence, it is a subtonic. 2d. The word fruit-bud, in writing, is represented by eight letters ; fruit-bud. F represents an atonic ; hence, it is a consonant. Its oral element is chiefly formed by the lower lip and the upper teeth ; hence, it is a labia-dental. Its oral element is produced by the same organs and in a similar manner as that of v ; hence, it is a cognate of v. II represents a subtonic ; hence, it is a consonant. Its oral element is chiefly formed by the tongue ; hence, it is a lin- gual. The combination ui is formed by the union of two vowels ; hence, it is a diphthong. It represents the oral element usually represented by 6 ; hence, it is an alpha- betic equivalent of 6. T represents an atonic ; hence, it is a consonant. Its oral element is chiefly formed by the tongue ; hence, it is a lingual. Its oral element is produced by the same organ and in a similar manner as that of d ; hence, it is a cognate of d. B represents a subtonic ; hence, it is a consonant. Its oral clement is chief! v formed by the lips ; hence, it is a labial. Its oral element is produced by the same organs and in a similar manner as that of p ; hence, it is a cognate of p. U represents a tonic ; hence, it is a vowel. D represents a subtonic ; hence, it is a con- sonant. Its oral element is chiefly formed by the tongue ; hence, it is a lingual. Its oral element is produced by the same organ and in a similar manner as that of t ; hence, it is a cognate of t. 32 NATIONAL FIFTH READER. IX. RULES IN ARTICULATION. A AS the name of a letter, or when used as an emphatic word, should always be pronounced a (a in age) ; as, She did not say that the three boys knew the letter a, but that a boy knew it. 2. The word A, when not emphatic, is marked short (a), 1 though in quality it should be pronounced nearly like a as heard in ask, grass ; as, Give a baby sister a smile, a kind word, and a kiss. 3. The, when not emphatic nor immediately followed by a word that commences with a vowel sound, should be pro- nounced thu ; as, The (fliu) peach, the (mu) plum, the apple, and the (thu) cherry are yours. Did he ask for a pen, or for the pen ? 4. U preceded BY R. — When u long (u in tube), or its alphabetic equivalent eiv, is preceded by r, or the sound of sh, in the same syllable, it has always the sound of o in do; as, Are you sure that shrewd youth was rude ? 5. R may BE trilled when immediately followed by a vowel sound in the same syllable. When thus situated in emphatic words, it should always be trilled ; as, He is both brave and true. She said scratching, not scrawling, X. EXERCISES IN ARTICULATION. SILENT letters are here omitted, in most of the exam- ples, and the words are spelled as they should be pro- nounced. Students will read the sentences several times, both separately and in concert, uttering all the oral ele- ments with force and distinctness. They will also analyze 1 A initial. — A in many words, or volume of sound being less than as an initial unaccented syllable, is that of a sixth power (a), as in alas, also marked short (a), its quantity aniass, abaft. EXERCISES IN ARTICULATION. 33 the words, both as spoken and written, and name the rules in articulation that are illustrated by the exercises. Sentences that are printed in the usual style are in- tended for dictation exercises, in which silent letters will be omitted and the words so written as to represent their cor- rect and exact pronunciation. 1. Thou ladst down and sleptst. 2. Thu hold, bad baiz brok bolts and barz. 3. Hi on a hil II u herd harsez harni hofs. 4. Sliur al her pafhz ar pafhz 6v pes. 5. Ba ! that'z not sties dollarz, but a dollar. 6. Charj the old man to ch6z a chats chGz. 7. Lit eeking lit, hath lit uv lit begild. 8. Thu hosts stud stll, In silent wimder fikst. 9. A thouzand shreks far hoples inert! kal. 10. Thu follslmes 6-v folz iz lolli. 11. Both'z yoths with troths yiiz 6fhz. 12. Arm it with ragz, a pigmi stra wil pers it 4 13. Kou set fhu teth and strech thu nostril wid. 14:. He wocht and wept, he felt and prad far al. 15. II Iz iz, amidst fhu mists, mezerd an azer ski. 1G. Thu febl, fritnd frernan febl! fat far fredum. 17. Whispers of revenge passed silently around among the troops. 18. ~N6 shet nar shroud enshrind flioz shrunsrkn shredz 6v shrivld kla. 19. lie has prints of an ice-house, an ocean, and wasts and deserts. 20. Thu whiilz wheld and wherld, and bard fhar brad, broun baks. 21. Jllz and Jasn Jdnz kan nut sa, — Arora, alas, amas, manna, villa, nar Luna. 22. It will pain nobody, if the sad dangler regain neither rope. 23. The ragged madman, in his ramble, did madly ran- sack every pantry in the parish. 24. What fhou wudst hill that fliou wudst holilf. 34: NATIONAL FIFTH READER. 25. He aksepts fhe 6fF!s, ekspekts to lern fhu fakts, and attemts bl hiz akts to konsel hiz falts. 2G. Prithee, blithe youth, do not mouth your words "when you wreathe your face with smiles. 27. That fellow shot a sparrow on a willow, in the nar- row meadow, near the yellow house. 28. Thu strif seseth, pes approcheth,' and fhu gud man rejaiseth. 29. Thu shrod shroz bad him sa that fhu vil viksnz yuzd shrugz, and sharp shril shreks. 30. Shorli, fho wended, fhu prudent rekrot wud not et that krod frot. 31 . Stern, rugged ners ! fhl rljfd 16r wifh pashens men! a yer she b6r. 32. At that time, the lame man, who began nobly, having made a bad point, wept bitterly. 33. When loud surges lash the sounding shore, the hoarse, rough verse should like the torrent roar. 34. "What whim led White Whitney to whittle, whistle, whisper, and whimper near the wharf, where a floundering whale might wheel and whirl ? 35. Amidst fhu mists and koldest frosts, wrfti barest rfsts and stoutest bests, he thrusts hiz fists agenst fhu posts, and stil insists he sez fhu gosts. 36. Thangks to Thaddeiis Thikthong, fliu. thatles thissl- sifter, h6 thiis thrust thro thouzand thisslz thro fhu tlnk 6v hiz thum. 37. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain ; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who taketh his name in vain. 38. Honor thy father and thy mother that thy days may be long in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. 39. A starm arizeth on fliu se. A model vessel !z strug- gling amidst thu war 6v elements, kwivering and shivering, shringking and battling lik a thfngkhig being. Thu m&rsi- les, raking wherhvindz, lik fritful fendz, houl and m6n, and send sharp, shril shreks thro fliu kreking kardaj, snapping PHONETIC LAUGHTER. 35 fhu shets and masts. Tim sterdi salarz stand to fhar tasks, and wefher fhu severest starm 6v fhu sezn. 40. Chast-id, cherisht dies ! Thu charmz 6v fhi chekerd chambe'rz chan me chanjlesli. Chamberllnz, ehaplinz, and chansellarz hav chanted fhi cherobik chiusnes. Cheftinz hav chanjd fhu chariot and fhu chas far fhu ches-bord and fhu charming charj 6v fhu ches-nits. K6 chiling cherl, no dieting chatterer, no chattering chanjling kan be fhi che-zn champion. Thou art fhu chassner ov fhu cherlish, fhu chider 6v fhu ehanjabl, fhu cherisher 6v fhu cherful and fhu char- itabl. Far fhe ar fhu chaplets 6v chanles chant 1 and fliu chalis 6v ehildlik cherfiilnes. Chanj kan not chanj fhe : from childhud to fliu charnel-hous, from our ferst childish cherpingz tu thu ehilz 6v fhu cherch-yard, fhou art our cheri, chanj 16s cheftfnes. XI. PHONETIC LAUGHTER. LAUGHTER, by the aid of Phonetics, is easily taught, as an art. It is one of the most interesting and healthy of all class exercises. It may be either vocal or respiratory. 2. There are thirty-two well-defined varieties of laughter in the English language, eighteen of which are produced in connection with the tonics ; nine, with the subtonics of 7, m, n, ng, r, th, v, and z ; and five, with the atonies of/, h, s, tli, and sh. 3. Commencing with vocal laughter, the instructor will first utter a tonic, and then, prefixing the oral element of I, and accompanied by the class, he will produce the syllable continuously, subject only to the interruptions that are inci- dental to inhalations and bursts of laughter ; as, a, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, &c, — a, ha, ha, ha, ha, &c. 4. The attention of the students will be called to the most agreeable kinds of laughter, and they will be taught to pass naturally and easily from one variety to another. 36 NATIONAL FIFTH HEADER. II. SYLLABICATION*. I. DEFINITIONS. A SYLLABLE is a word, or part of a word, uttered by a single impulse of the voice. 2. A Monosyllable is a word of one syllable ; as, Jiome. 3. A Dissyllable is a word of two syllables ; as, liome-less. 4. A Trisyllable is a word of three syllables ; as, con- fine-ment. 5. A Polysyllable is a word of four or more syllables ; as, in-no-cen-cy, un-in-tel-li-gi-bil-i-ly. 6. The Ultimate is the last syllable of a word ; as fid, in peace^?. 7. The Penult, or penultimate, is the last syllable but one of a word ; as mdJc, in peace-wafc-er. 8. The Antepenult, or antepenultimate, is the last syl- lable but two of a word ; as ta, in spon-fa-ne-ous. 9. The Preantepenult, or preantepenultimate, is the last syllable but three of a word ; as cab, in vo-ca£-u-la-ry. n. FOKMATION of syllables. A SINGLE impulse of the voice can produce but one radical or opening and vanishing or gradually dimin- ishing movement. Since a syllable is produced by a single impulse of the voice, it follows that only such an oral ele- ment, or order of oral elements, as gives but one radical and vanish movement, can enter into its formation. As the tonics can not be uttered separately without producing this movement, but one of them can enter into a single syllable ; and, as this movement is all that is essential, each of the tonics may, by itself, form a syllable. Consistently with this, we find, whenever two tonics adjoin, they always be- long to separate syllables in pronunciation, as in a-e-ri-al, I'-o-ta, o-a-sis. RULES IN SYLLABICATION. 37 2. Though oral elements can not be combined with a view to lengthen a syllable, by the addition of one tonic to another, as this would produce a new and separate impulse, yet a syllable may be lengthened by prefixing and affixing any number of tonics and atonies to a tome, that do not des- troy its singleness of impulse ; as, a, an, and, land, gland, glands. 3. A tonic is usually regarded as indispensable in the formation of a syllable. A few syllables, however, are formed exclusively by subtonics. In the words biddc-?i rive-n, rhyth-??*, schis-m, fic-7:c 7 e, i-dlc, lit-tle, and words of like construction, the last syllable is either pure subtonic, or a combination of subtonic and atonic. These final svl- lables go through the radical and vanish movement, though they are far inferior in quality, euphony, and force, to the full display of these properties on the tonics. m. EULES IN SYLLABICATION. TNITIAL CONSONANTS.— The elements of consonants -B- that commence words should be uttered distinctly, but should not be much prolonged. 1 2. Final Consonants. — Elements that are represented by final consonants should be dwelt upon, and uttered with great distinctness ; as, He accep/s the office, ancZ attempts by his nets to conceal his faul/s. 3. When one word or a sentence ends and the next begins with the same consonant, or another that is hard to produce after it, a difficulty in utterance arises that should be obviated by dwelling on the final consonant, and then taking up the one at the beginning of the next word, in a 1 Initial Elements Prolonged. — the following lines : On this point Dr. Rusn mentions the " Canst thou not w-inistei to a error of a distinguished actor, who, m4nd diseased, in order to give great force and dis- P£-uck from the w-emory a r-oot tmctness to his articulation, dwelt ed sorrow ?" on the initial letters, as marked in Such mouthing defeats its object 38 NATIONAL FIFTH READER. second impulse of the voice, without pausing between them ; as, It will pai?i nobody, if the sao* dangle?' regain neither rope. 4. Final Cognates. — In uttering the elements of the final cognates, b, p, d, t, g, and 1c, the organs of speech should not remain closed at the several pauses of discourse, but should be smartly separated by a kind of echo ; as, I took down ray hat-t, and put it upon my head-a 7 . 5. Unaccented Syllables should be pronounced as dis- tinctly as those which are accented : they should merely have less force of voice and less prolongation ; as, The thoughtless, helpfess, homeless girl did not resent his rudeness and harshness. Yery many of the prevailing faults of articulation result from a neglect of these rules, especially the second, the third, and the last. He who gives a full and definite sound to final consonants and to unaccented vowels, if he does it without stiffness or formality, can hardly fail to articulate well. EXERCISE IN SYLLABICATION. 1 1. Thirty years ago, Marseilles 2 lay burning in the sun, one day. A blazing sun, upon a fierce August day, was no greater rarity in Southern France then, than at any other time, before or since. Every thing in Marseilles, and abou£ Marseilles, had stared at the fervid sky, and been stared at in return, until a staring habi£ had become universal there. 2. Grangers were stared out of countenance by staring white houses, staring white walls, staring white streets, staring tracts of aria 7 road, staring hills from whic/i verdure was burnt away. The only things to be seen not firedly staring and glaring were the vines drooping under their load of grapes. These did occa- sionally winfc a little, as the hot air moved their faint leaves. 3. There was no wind to make a ?'ipple on the foul water i Direction.— Students will give formation of syllables each letter the number and names of the syl- that appears in Italics, in this exer- lables, in words of more than one cise, is designed to illustrate, syllable, and tell what rule for the 2 Marseilles, (mar salzO- EXERCISE IN SYLLABICATION. 39 within the harbor, or on the beautiful sea without The line of demarkation between the two colors, blacfc and blue, showed the point which the pure sea would not pass ; but it lay as quiet as the abominable pool, with which it never mixed. Boate without awni?i<7.5- were too hot to touch ; ships blistered at their mooring ; the stones of the quays had not cooled for months. 4. The universal s'arc made the eyes ache. Toward the dis- tant line of Italian (ltal'yan) coast, indeed, it was a little re* lieved by light clouds of mist, slowly risi??£7 from the evaporation of the sea ; but it softened nowhere else. Far away the stari??<7 roads, dee}) in dust, stared from the hillside, stared from the hollow, stared from the interminable plain. 5. Far away the dusty vines overhanging wayside cottages, and the monotonous wayside avenues of parched frees without shade, drooped beneath the stare of earth and sky. So did the horses with drowsy bells, in long files of carts, creepi??^ slowly toward the interior ; so did their recumbent drivers, when they were ttwa&e, which rarely happened; so did the exhausted laborers in the fields. G. Every thing that fived or <7?*ew was oppressed by the glare; except the lizard, passing swiftly over rough stone walls, and the cicada, chirping his dry hot chirp, like a ratde. The very dust w T as scorched ftrown, and somethi??^ quivered in the atmos- phere as if the air itself were -panting. Blinds, shutters, cur- tains, awnings, were all closed to keep out the stare. Grant it but a chin/.: or keyhole, and it shot in like a white-hot arrow. 7. The churches were freest from it. To come out of the twilight of pillars and arches — dreamily dotted with winking! lamps, dream?ly peopled with ugly old shadows piously dozing, spitting, and begging — was to plunge into a fiery river, and swim for life to the nearest strip of shade. So, with people lounging and lying wherever shade was, with but little hum of tongues or barki?2# of dogs, with occasional jangli??^ of discor- dant church bells, and rattling of vicious drums, Marseilles, a iact Jo be strongly smelt and tasted, lay broiling in the sun one day. 3. Shall I be left, forgotten in the dust, When Fata, relenting, lets the flowe?* revii-e? Shall Nature's voice, to Man alone tinjusf, Bid him, though doomed to peris/i, hope to hue ? 40 NATIONAL FIFTH HEADER. III. ACCENT. I. DEFINITIONS. ACCENT is the peculiar force given to one or more syllables of a word. 2. In many trisyllables and polysyllables, of two sylla- bles accented, one is uttered with greater force than the other. The more forcible accent is called primary, and the less forcible, secondary ; as, hab-i-TA-tioii. 3. The mark of acute accent [ ' ] is employed, first, to in- dicate primary accent ; secondly, the rising inflection (p. 53) ; as, Reading, or read'ing. If thine enemy hunger, give him bread. 4. The mark of grave accent [ * ] is employed, first , to in- dicate secondary accent ; secondly, that the vowel over which it is placed, with its attendant consonant, forms a separate syllable ; thirdly, that the vowel in the unaccented syllable is not an alphabetic equivalent, but represents one of its usual oral elements ; and fourthly, the falling inflec- tion (p. 53) ; as, Magnificent, or magnificent. A learned man caught that winged thing. Her goodness moved the roughest. Away, thou coward ! The student will be required to give the office of each mark in the following EXERCISES IN ACCENT. 1. The lone'ly hunt'er calls his bound'ing dogs, and seeks the high'way. 2. Hark ! the whirl'wind is in the forest : aged trees are oVerturncd'. 3. Veracity first of all, and forever. 4. The finest wits have their sediment. 5. Hunting men, not beasts, shall be his game. WORDS CHANGED BY ACCENT. 41 6. A foci with judges ; among fools, a judge. 7. "Will the heedlessness of honest students offend' their truest friends ? 8. Honest students learn the greatness of humility. 9. That blessed and beloved child loves every winged thing. 10. The agree'ablo ar'tisan* made an ad'niirable par'asoP for that beau'tiful Russian (rush'an) la'dy. 11. No'tice the mark 3 of ac'cent, and al'ways accent' correct 'ly words that should have but one ac'cent, as in scn'sible, vaga'ry, cir'cumslances, difficulty, interesting, &c. 12. Costume, manners, riches, civilization, have no permanent interest for him. — His heedlessness offends his truest friends. 13. In a crowded life, on a stage of nations, or in the ob- scurest hamlet, the same blessed elements offer the same rich choices to each new comer. n. WORDS DISTINGUISHED BY ACCENT. MANY words, or parts of speech, having the same form, are distinguished by accent alone. Nouns and adjectives are often thus distinguished from verbs, and, in a few dissyllables, from each other. EXAMPLES. 1. Why does your ab'scnt friend absent' himself. ? 2. Did he abstract' an ab'slract of your speech from the desk? 3. Note the mark of ac'cent, and accent' the right syllable. 4. Buy some cem'ent and cement' the glass. 5. Desert' us not in the clcs'ert. 6. If that proj'ect fail, he will project' another. 7. My in' crease is taken to increase' your wealth. 8. Perfume' the room with rich per'fume. 9. If they reprimand' that officer, he will not regard their rep'rimand. 10. If they rebel', and overthrow' the government, even the reb'eh can not justify the o'verthrow. 11. In Au'gust, the august' writer entered into a ccm'paet to prepare a compact' discourse. 42 NATIONAL FIFTH READER. 12. In'stinct, not reason, rendered the herd instinct' with spirit. 13. Within a min'ute from this time, I will find a minute' piece of gold. 14. Earnest prayer is an in' cense that can never incense' Deity. 15. While you con verse' with each other, I hold con' verse with nature. 16. If they continue to progress' in learning, he will com- mend them for their jirog'ress. 17. If Congress interdict' intercourse with foreign nations, will the in'terdicO be just? 18. Unless the con' vert be zealous, he will never convict' the con'vict of his errors, and convert' him. 19. If the pro'test of the minority be not respected, they will protest' against your votes. 20. If the farmer produce' prod'uee enough for his family, he will not transfer' his title to that estate, though the trans'fer is legal. ILL ACCENT CHANGED BY CONTRAST. THE ordinary accent of words is sometimes changed by a contrast in sense, or to express opposition of thought. EXAMPLES. 1. He must tVcrease, but I must tfe'erease. 2. He did not say a new addition, but a new e'dition. 3. Consider well what you have done, and what you have left im'done. 4. I said that she will sws'pect the truth of the story, not that she will expect it. 5. He that descended is also the same that fls'ccnded. G. This corruptible must put on i?i'eorruption ; and this mor- tal must put on zm'mortality. 7- There are also ce'lestial bodies, and bodies fcr'restrial ; but the glory of the ce'lestial is one, and the glory of the ter'restrial is another. EXPRESSION. 43 EXPRESSION. EXPRESSION of Speech is the utterance of thought, feeling, or passion, with clue significance or force. Its general divisions are Emphasis, Slur, Inflection, Mod- ulation, Monotone, Personation, and Pauses. Orthoepy is the mechanical part of elocution, consisting in the discipline and use of the organs of speech and the voice for the production of the alphabetic elements and their combi- nation into separate words. It is the basis — the subsoil, which, by the mere force of will and patient practice, may be broken and turned up to the sun, and from which spring the flowers of expression. Expression is the soul of elocution. By its ever-varying and delicate combinations, and its magic and irresistible power, it wills — and the listless ear stoops with expectation ; the vacant eye burns with unwonted fire ; the dormant passions are aroused, and all the tender and powerful sympathies of the soul arc called into vigorous exercise. I. EMPHASIS. I. DEFINITIONS. EMPHASIS is the peculiar force given to one or more words of a sentence. 2. To give a word emphasis, means to pronounce it in a loud ' or forcible manner. No uncommon tone, however, is necessary, as words may be made emphatic by prolonging the vowel sounds, by a pause, or even by a wlris2 :)er - 3. Emphatic words are often printed in Holies ; those more emphatic, in small capitals ; and those that receive the greatest force, in large CAPITALS. 1 Loudness.— The instructor will ence to high pitch, but to volume of explain to the class the fact, that voice, vscd on the same hey or pitch, loudness has not, of necessity, refer- when reading or epeaking. 44 NATIONAL FIFTH READER. 4. By the proper use of emphasis, we are enabled to im- part animation and interest to conversation and reading. Its importance can not be over-estimated, as the meaning of a sentence often depends upon the proper placing of the emphasis. If readers have a desire to produce an impres- sion on hearers, and read what they understand and feel, they will generally place emphasis on the right words. Students, however, should be required to observe carefully the following rules. n. EULES IN EMPHASIS. "TTTORDS AND PHRASES PECULIARLY SIGNIFICANT, or im- V V portant in meaning, are emphatic ; as, Whence and ickat art thou, execrable shape ? 2. Words and phrases that contrast, or point out a difference, are emphatic ; as, I did not say a better soldier, but an elder. 3. The repetition of an emphatic word or phrase usually requires an increased force of utterance ; as, You injured my child — you, sir! 4. A succession of important words or phrases usually requires a gradual increase of emphatic force, though em- phasis sometimes falls on the last word of a series only ; as, His disappointment, his anguish, his DEATH, were caused by your carelessness. These misfortunes are the same to the poor, the ignorant, and the weak, as to the rich, the wise, and the jJOicaful. The students will tell which of the preceding rules are illustrated by the following exercises — both those that are marked and those that are unmarked. EXERCISES IN EMPHASIS. 1. Boisterous in speech, in action prompt and bold. * 2. Speak little and well, if you wish to be considered as pos- sessing merit. 3. He buys, he sells, — he steals, he KILLS for gold. EXERCISES IN EMPHASIS. 45 4. But here I stand for right, for Roman right. 5. I shall know but one country. I was born an American ; I live an American ; I shall die an American. 6. I shall sing the praises of October, as the loveliest of months. 7. A good man loves himself too well to lose an estate by gaming, and his neighbor too well to win one. 8. The good man is honored, but the evil man is despised. 9. The young are slaves to novelty : the old, to custom : the middle-aged, to both : the dead, to neither. 10. The wicked flee when no man pursueth ; but the righteous are bold as a lion. 11. Tlieycome! to arms ! to arms! TO ARMS! 12. None but the brave, none but the brave, none but the BRAVE deserve the fair. 13. A day, an hour, of virtuous liberty, is worth a whole ETERNITY in bondage. 14. It is my living sentiment, and, by the blessing of God, it shall be my dying sentiment — independence now, and independ- ence forever. 15. The thunders of heaven are sometimes heard to roll in the voice of a united people. 16. If I were an American, as I am an Englishman, while a foreign troop remained in my country, I never would lay down my arms — never, never, NEVER, 1 17. Let us fight for our country, our whole country, and NOTHING BUT OUR COUNTRY. 18. He that trusts you, where he should find you lions finds you hares ; where foxes, geese. 19. What should I say to you ? Should I not say, Hath & dog money ? is it possible, A cur can lend three thousand duc'atsf 20. In the prosecution of a virtuous enterprise, a brave man despises danger and difficulty. 21. Was that country a desert? No : it was cultivated and fertile ; rich and populous ! Its sons were men of genius, spirit, and generosity ! Its daughters were lovely, suseejytible, and (haste! Friendshij) was its inhabitant ! Love was its inhabit- 1 In order to make the last never depression of the voice, — almost to a more forcible, the emphasis is pro- deep aspirated whisper, drawn up duced bv the falling slide, and a dce"> from the verv bottom of the chest 46 NATIONAL FIFTH READER. ant! Domestic affection was its inhabitant! Liberty was its inhabitant ! 22. Son of night, retire ; call thy winds and fly. Why dost thou come to my presence with thy shadowy arms ? Do I fear thy gloomy form, dismal spirit of Loda ? Weak is thy shield of clouds ; feeble is that meteor, thy sword. 23. What stronger breastplate than a heart untainted! THRICE is he armed that hath his quarrel jest ; and he but naked, though locked up in STEEL, whose conscience with injustice is corrupted. 24. Speak the speech, I pray you, as I pronounce it to you : trippingly on the tongue ; but if you moitfh it, as many of our players do, I had as lief the town-crier spake my lines. Nor do not saw the air too much with your hand thus, but use all gently ; for in the very torrent, tempest, and (as I may say) whirlwind of your passion, you must acquire and beget a temperance that will give it smoothness. 25. If you have tears, prepare to shed them now. You all do know this mantle : I remember the first time ever Csesar put it on : ('twas on a summer's evening in his tent : that day he overcame the Nervii :) — LOOK ! In this place ran Cassius' dag- ger through : see what a rent the envious Casca made. Through this, the well-beloved Brutus stabbed ; and, as he plucked his cursed steel away, mark how the blood of Caesar followed it! This was the most unkindest cut of all ! for, when the noble Caesar saw HIM stab, INGRATITUDE, more strong than traitors' arms, quite vanquished him ! Then burst his mighty heart ; and, in his mantle muffling up his face, even at the base of Pompey's statue, which all the while ran blood, great C/ESar fell. O what a fall was there, my countrymen! Then I, and you, and all of us, fell down ; whilst bloody TREASON flourished over us. 26. Oh, now you weep ; and I perceive you feel the dint of pity : these are gracious drops. Kind soids ! What, weep you when you but behold our Caesar's vesture wounded ? Look ye here ! Here is himSELF, marred, as you see, by traitors. 27. As Caesar loved me, I weep for him : as he was fortunate, I rejoice at it : as he was valiant, I honor him : but as he was ambitious, I slew him. There is tears for his love, joy for his fortune, honor for his valor, and death for his ambition. SLUR. 47 II. SLUR. SLUR is that smooth, gliding, subdued movement of the voice, by which those parts of a sentence of less comparative importance are rendered less impressive to the ear, and emphatic words and phrases set in stronger relief. 2. Emphatic words, or the words that express the lead- ing thoughts, are usually pronounced with a louder and more forcible effort of the voice, and are often prolonged, But words that are slurred must generally be read in a lower and less forcible tone of voice, more rapidly, and all pronounced nearly alike. 3. In order to communicate clearly and forcibly the whole signification of a passage, it must be subjected to a rigid analysis. It will then be found, that one paramount ide'a always pervades the sentence, although it may be as- sociated with incidental statements, and qualified in every possible manner. Hence, on the proper management of slur, much of the beauty and propriety of enunciation de- pends, as thus the reader is enabled to bring forward the primary idea, or more important parts, into a strong light, and throw other portions into shade ; thereby entirely changing the character of the sentence, and making it appear lucid, strong, and expressive. 4. Slur must be employed in cases of parenthesis, contrast, repetition, or explanation, where the phrase or sentence is of small comparative importance ; and often when qualification of time, place, or manner is made. 5. The parts which are to be slurred in a portion of the exercises are printed in Italic letters. Students will first read the parts of the sentence that appear in Roman, and then the whole sentence, passing lightly and quickly over what was first omitted. The} will also read the examples that are unmarked in like manner. EXERCISES IN SLUR. 1. The rich, softened by prosperUy t pitied the poor ; the poor, disciplined into order, respected the rich. 48 NATIONAL FIFTH READER. 2. The general, with his head drooping, and his hands lean- ing on his horse's neck, moved feebly out of the battle. 3. The rivulet sends forth glad sounds, and, tripping o'er its bed of pebbly sands, or leaping down the rocks, seems with contin- uous laughter to rejoice in its own being. 4. We wish that this column, rising toward heaven among the pointed spires of so many temples dedicated to God, may contribute also to produce, in all minds, a pious feeling of de- pendence and gratitude. 5. I had always thought that I could meet death without a murmur ; but I did not know r , she said, with a faint voice, her lips quivering, I did not know 7 , till now, how hard a thing it would be to leave my child. 6. The calm shade shall bring a kindred calm, and the sweet breeze, that makes the green leaves dance, shall waft a balm to thy sick heart. 7. The stomach (cramm'd from every dish, a tomb of boiled and roast, and flesh and fish, where bile, and w r ind, and phlegm, and acid jar, and all the man is one intestine war) remembers oft the school-boy's simple fare, the temperate sleeps, and spirits light as air. 8. Ingen'ious boys, icho are idle, think, with the hare in the fable, that, running icith SNAILS (so they count the rest of their school-fellows), they shall come soon enough to the post ; though sleeping a good ivhile before their starting. 9. I heard a man who had failed in business, and whose furniture was sold at auction, say that, when the cradle, and the crib, and the piano went, tears would come, and he had to leave the house to be a man. 10. The soul of eloquence is the center of the human soul itself, which, enlightened by the rays of an idea, or warmed and stirred by an impression, flashes or bursts forth to manifest, by some sign or other, w r hat it feels or sees. 11. Can he, who, not satisfied with the wide range of ani- mated existence, calls for the sympathy of the inanimate crea- tion, refuse to worship with his fellow T -men ? 12. Why does the very murderer, his victim sleeping before him, and his glaring eye taking the measure of the blow, strike wide of the mortal part ? Because — of conscience ! 13. The massy rocks themselves, the old and ponderous EXERCISES IN SLUR. 4'J trunks of prostrate trees, that lead from knoll to knoll, a cause- way rude, or bridge the sunken brook, and their dark roots with all their earth upon thcin, twisting high, breathe fixed tranquillity. 14. "But now," whispered the clear girl, "it is evening; the sun, that rejoices, has finished his daily toil ; man, that labors, has finished his ; I, that suffer, have finished mine." Just then, her dull ear caught a sound. It was the sound, though muffled and deadened, like the ear thai heard it, of horsemen advancing. 15. Here we have butter pure as virgin gold ; And milk from cows that can a tail unfold With bovine pride ; and new-laid eggs, whose praise Is sung by pullets with their morning lays ; Trout from the brook ; good water from the well ; And other blessings more than I can tell ! 1G. I love Music, when she appeal's m her virgin purity, almost to adoration. But vocal music — the dearest, sweetest thing on earth — unaccompanied icith good elocution, is like butter without salt ; a garlic-eater with a perfumed handkerchief ; or, rather, like a bankrupt beau — his soft hands incased in delicate kids — with soiled linen, and patches upon his knees. 17. A Frenchman once — so runs a certain ditty — Had crossed the Straits to famous London city, To get a living by the arts of France, And teach his neighbor, rough John Bull, to dance. But lacking pupils, vain was all his skill ; His fortunes sank from low to lower still, Until at last, pathetic to relate, Poor Monsieur landed at starvation's gate. 18. No ! dear as freedom is, and in my heart's just estimation prized above all price, I would much rather be myself the slave, and wear the bonds, than fasten them on niM. 19. There is an ugly kind of forgiveness in this world— a kind of hedge-hog forgiveness, shot out like quills. Men take one who has offended, and set him down before the blow-pipe of their indignation, and scorch him, and burn his faults into him ; and, when they have kneaded him sufficiently with their fiery fists, then— they forgive him, 50 NATIONAL FIFTH READER. 20. Ye glittering towns, with xceallh and splendor crowned ; Ye fields, where summer spreads profusion round ; Ye lakes, whose vessels catch the busy gale ; Ye bending swains, that dress the flowery vale ; For me your tributary stores combine : Creation's heir, the world, the world is mine ! 21. If there's a Power above us — and that there is, all Nature cries aloud through all her works — He must delight in -virtue ; and that which He delights in must be happy. 22. "Who had not heard Of Rose, the gardener's daughter ? "Where was he, So blunt in memory, so old at heart, At such a distance from his youth in grief, That, having seen, forgot ? The common mouth, So gross to express delight, in praise of her • Grew oratory. Such a lord is Love, And Beauty such a mistress of the w T orld. 23. The devout heart, penetrated with large and affecting views of the immensity of the twrks of God, the harmony of his laivs, and the extent of his beneficence, bursts into loud and vocal ex- pressions of praise and adoration ; and, from a full and over- flowing sensibility, seeks to expand itself to the utmost limits of creation. 24. I said, " Though I should die, I know That all about the thorn will blow In tufts of rosy-tinted snow ; And men, through novel spheres of thought Still moving after truth long sought, "Will learn new things when I am not." 25. O "WINTER! ruler of the inverted year.' thy scat- tered hair with sleet-like ashes filled, thy breath congealed upon thy lips, thy cheeks fringed with a beard made white with other snows than those of age, thy forehead wrapped in clouds, a leafless branch thy scepter, and thy throne a sliding car, indebted to no wheels, but urged by storms along its slippery way, I LOVE THEE, all unlovely as thou scem'st, and dreaded as thou art. 26. They shall hear my vengeance, that would scorn to listen to the story of my wrongs. The miserable Highland drover, bankrupt, barefooted, stripped of all, dishonored, and hunted down, EXERCISES IN SLUR. 51 because the avarice of others grasped at more than that poor all could pay, shall burst on them in an awful change. 27. Think Of the bright lands within the western maw, Where we will build our home, ichat time the seas Weary thy gaze ; — there the broad palm-tree shades The soft and delicate light of skies as fair As those that slept on Eden ; — Nature, there, Like a gay spendthrift in his flush of youth, Flings her whole treasure in the lap of Time. — On turfs, by fairies trod, the Eternal Flora Spreads all her blooms ; and from a lake-lite sea Wooes to her odorous haunts the western wind ! While, circling round and upward from the boughs y Golden with fruits that lure the joyous birds, Melody, like a happy soul released, Hangs in the air, and from invisible plumes Shakes sweetness down ! 28. Lo! the unlettered hind, who never knew to raise his mind excursive to the heights of abstract contemplation, as he sits on the green hillock by the hedge-row side, what time the insect swarms are murmuring, and marks, in silent thought, the broken clouds, that fringe with loveliest hues the evening sky, feels in his soul the hand of nature rouse the thrill of grat- itude to Him who formed the goodly prospect ; he beholds the god throned in the west ; and his reposing ear hears sounds angelic in the fitful breeze, that floats through neighboring copse or fairy brake, or lingers, playful, on the haunted stream. 29. Beauty — a living presence of the earth, Surpassing the most fair ideal forms Which craft of delicate spirits hath composed From earth's materials — waits upon my steps ; Pitches her tents before me as I move, An hourly neighbor. Paradise, and groves Elysian, Fortunate Fields — like those of old Sought in the Atlantic main — why should they be A history only of departed things, Or a mere fiction of what never was ? For the discerning intellect of man, 52 NATIONAL FIFTH READER. When wedded to this goodly universe In love and holy passion, should find these A simple produce of the common day. 30. Dear Brothers, who sit at this bountiful board, With excellent viands so lavishly stored, That, in newspaper phrase, 't would undoubtedly groan, If groaning were but a convivial tone, Which it isn't — and therefore, by sympathy led, The table, no doubt, is rejoicing instead ; Dear Brothers, I rise, — and it won't be surprising If you find me, like bread, all the better for rising, — I rise to express my exceeding delight In our cordial reunion this glorious night ! III. INFLECTIONS. I DEFINITIONS. INFLECTIONS are the bends or slides of the voice, used in reading and speaking. Inflection, or the slide, is one of the most important divisions of elocution, because all speech is made up of slides, and be- cause the right or wrong formation of these gives a pervading character to the whole delivery. It is to the graceful forma- tion of the slides that we are chiefly indebted for that easy and refined utterance which prevails in polished society ; while the coarse and rustic tones of the vulgar are commonly owing to some early and erroneous habit in this respect. Most of the schoolboy faults in delivery, such as drawling, whining, and a monotonous singing sound, result from a wrong formation of the slide, and may be corrected by a proper course of practice on this element of speech. A slide consists of two parts, viz. : the radical, or opening sound, and the vanish, or gradual diminution of force, until the sound is lost in silence. Three things are necessary to the per- fect formation of a slide. 1st. The opening sound must be struck with a full and lively impulse of voice. INFLECTIONS. 53 2d. The diminution of force must be regular and equable — not more rapid in one part than another, but naturally and gracefully declining to the last. 3d. The hnal vanish must be delicately formed, without being abrupt on the one hand, or too much prolonged on the other. This, a full opening, a gradual decrease, and a delicate termi- nation, are requisite to the perfect formation of a slide. 2. There are three inflections or slides of the voice : the Rising Inflection, the Falling Inflection, and the Cir- cumflex. 3. The Rising Inflection is the upward bend cr slide of the voice ; as, Do you love your \^ oX ^ 4. The Falling Inflection is the downward bend or slide of the voice ; as, When are you going °^e ? The rising inflection carries the voice upward from the gen- eral pitch, and suspends it on the highest tone required ; while the falling inflection commences above the general pilch, and falls down to it, as indicated in the last two examples. 5. The Circumflex is the union of the inflections on the same syllable or word, either commencing with the rising and ending with the falling, or commencing with the falling and ending with the rising, thus producing a slight wave of the voice. 6. The acuto accent [ ' ] is often used to mark the rising inflection; the grave accent [ v ] the falling inflection; as, Will you read or spell ? Let the students pronounce the following words wifli contrasted inflections, using great pains to form the slides in accordance with the joreceding directions : 1. Call, call ; far, far ; fame, fame ; shame, shame ; air, air ; scene, scene ; mile, mile ; pile, pile. 2. Roam, roam ; tool, tool ; school, school ; pure, piire ; mule, mule ; join, join ; our, our. 7. When the circumflex commences with a rising and ends with a falling slide of the voice, it is marked thus ' s ; but 54 NATIONAL FIFTH READER. when it commences with a falling and ends with a rising slide, it is marked thus w , which the pupil will see is the same mark inverted ; as, You must take me for a fool, to think I could do that. 8. The inflections or slides should be used on the ac- cented syllables of important or emphatic words ; as, I will never stay. I said goodly not homely, n. RULES IN INFLECTIONS. DIRECT QUESTIONS, or those that can be answered by yes or no, usually require the rising inflection ; but their answers, the falling ; as, Has any one sailed around the earth ? Yes, Captain Cook. Exceptions. — The falling inflection is required when the direct question becomes an earnest appeal, and the answer is anticipated ; and when a direct question, not at first un- derstood, is repeated with marked emphasis ; as, Will her love survive your neglect ? and may not you expect the sneers, both of your wife, and of her parents ? Do you reside in the city ? What did you say, sir ? Do you reside in the city ? 2. Indirect questions, or those that can not be answered by yes or no, usually require the falling inflection, and their answers the same ; as, Who said, " A wise man is never less alone than when he is alone ?" Swift. Exceptions. — The rising inflection is required when an indirect question is used to ask a repetition of what was not at first understood ; and when the ansivers to questions, whether direct or indirect, are given in an indifferent or careless manner ; as, Where did you say ? Shall I tell your enemy ? As you please ! 3. Questions, words, and clauses, connected by the disjunctive OR, usually require the rising inflection before, and the falling after it; though, when or is used con- RULES IN INFLECTIONS. 55 junctivehj, it takes the rising inflection after, as well as before it ; as, Does lie deservo praise, or blame ? Can youth, or health, or strength, or honor, or pleasure, satisfy the soul ? 4 When words or clauses are contrasted or com- pared, the first part usually has the rising, and the last the falling inflection ; though, when one side of the contrast is affirmed, and the other denied, generally the latter has the rising inflection, in whatever order they occur ; as, I have seen the effects of love and hatred, joy and grief, hope and despair. This book is not mine, but fours. I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him. 5. Familiar address, and the pause of suspension, denot- ing condition, supposition, or incompleteness, usually re- quire the rising inflection ; as, Friends, I come not here to talk. If thine enemy hunger, give him bread to eat. 6. The language of concession, politeness, admiration, entreaty, and tender emotions, usually requires the rising inflection ; as, Your remark ifc true : the manners of this country have not all the desirable ease and freedom. I pray thee remember, I have done thee worthy service ; told thee no lies, made no mistakes ; served without grudge or grumbling. 7. The end of a sentence that expresses completeness, conclusion, or result, usually requires the falling slide of termination, which commences on the general pitch, and falls below it ; as, The rose is beauti/^; 8. At each complete termination of thought, before the close of a sentence, the falling inflection is usually re- quired ; though, when several pauses occur, the last but one generally has the rising inflection ; as, Every human being has the idea of duty ; and to unfold this idea is the end for which life was given him. The rock crumbles ; the trees fall ; the leaves fade, and the grass withers. 56 NATIONAL FIFTH READER. 9. The language of command, rebuke, contempt, excla- mation, and terror, usually requires the falling inflection ; as, Thou slave, thou wretch, thou coward ! Away from my sight ! 10. The last member of a commencing series, and the last but one of a concluding series, usually require the rising inflection ; and all others the falling ; as, A good disposition, virtuous principles, a liberal education, and industrious habit*, are passports to happiness and honor. These reward a good disposition, virtuous principles, a liberal education, and industrious habits. 11. The Circumflex is used when the thoughts employed are not sincere or earnest, but are used in jest, irony, or double-meaning, — in ridicule, sarcasm, or mockery. The circumflex which ends with the rising slide should be given to the negative ideas, and that which ends with the falling slide to positive ideas ; as, This is } T our plain man, if not your gracious one. Students will be careful to employ the right slides in sen- tences that are unmarked, and tell what rule or rules are illustrated by each of the following EXERCISES IN INFLECTIONS. 1. Do you see that beautiful star ? Yes : it is splendid ! 2. "Will you forsake us ? and will you favor us no more ? 3. I said an elder soldier, not a better. Did I say better ? 4. Are you, my dear sir, willing to forgive ? 5. "Why is the hall crowded ? "What means this stir in town ? 6. Does that beautiful lady deserve praise, or blame ? 7. Will you ride in the carriage, or on horseback ? Neither. 8. Hunting men, not bea, j formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to ever- lasting, Thou art God. 2. Tnen the earth shook and trembled ; the foundations, also, of the hills moved, and were shaken, because he was wroth. There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and tire out of his mouth devoured. He bowed the heavens, also, and came down, and darkness was under his feet ; and he rode upon a cherub, and did fly' ; yea, he did fly upon the wings of the wind. 3. Man clieth, and wasteth away : yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is he ? As the waters fail from the sea, and the flood decayeth and drieth up, so man lieth down, and riseth nut; till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep. 4. High on a throne of rovai state, which far Outshone the wealth of Orrnus or of Ind, Or where the gorgeous East, with richest hand, Showers on her kings barbaric pearl and gold, Satan exalted sat ! 5. How reverend is the face of this tall pile, "Whose ancient pillars rear their marble heads, To bear aloft its arched and ponderous roof, By its own weight made steadfast and immovable, Looking tranquillity ! It strikes an awe And terror on my aching sight : the tombs And monumental caves of death look cold, And shoot a chillness to my trembling heart. PERSONATION. 09 6 Our revels are now ended : these our actors, As I foretold you, were all spirits, and Are melted into air, into thin air ; And like the baseless fabric of this vision, The cloud-capp'd towers, the gorgeous palaces, The solemn temples, the great globe itself — Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve, And, like this unsubstantial pageant, faded — Leave not a rack behind. 7. I am thy father's spirit ; Doomed for a certain term to walk the night, And, for the day confined to fast in fires, Till the foul crimes, done in my days of nature, Are burnt and purged away. But that I am forbid To tell the secrets of my prison-house, I could a tale unfold, whose lightest word Would harrow up thy soul ; freeze thy young blood ; Make thy two eyes, like stars, start from their spheres ; Thy knotted and combined locks to part, And each particular liair to staud on end, Like quills upon the fretful porcupine : But this eternal blazon must not be To ears of flesli and blood : — List, — list, — O list ! — If thou didst ever thy dear father love, Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder. VI. PEESOXATIOX PERSONATION consists of those modulations, or changes of the voice, necessary to represent two or more persons as speaking. 2. This principle of expression, upon the correct applica- tion of which much of the beauty and efficiency of delivery depends, is employed in reading dialogues and other pieces of a conversational nature. 3. The student should exercise his discrimination and 70 NATIONAL FIFTH READER. ingenuity in studying the character of persons to be rep- resented, — fully informing himself with regard to their tem- perament and peculiarities, as well as their condition and feelings at the time, — and so modulate his voice as best to personate them. EXERCISE IN PERSONATION. He. Dost thou love wandering ? "Whither wouldst thou go ? Dream'st thou, sweet daughter, of a land more fair ? Dost thou not love these aye-blue streams that flow ? These spicy forests ? and this golden air ? She. Oh, yes, I love the woods, and streams, so gay ; And more than all, O father, I love thee ; Yet would I fain be wandering — far away, Where such things never were, nor e'er shall be. He. Speak, mine own daughter wifh the sun-bright locks ! To what pale, banished region wouldst thou roam ? She. O father, let us find our frozen rocks ! Let's seek that country of all countries — Home ! He. Seest thou these orange flowers ? this palm that rears Its head up toward heaven's blue and cloudless dome ? She. I dream, I dream ; mine eyes are hid in tears ; My heart is wandering round our ancient home. He. Why, then, we'll go. Farewell, ye tender skies, Who sheltered us, when we were forced to roam ! She. On, on ! Let's pass the swallow as he flies ! Farewell, kind land ! Now, father, now — for Home ! VII. PAUSES. I. DEFINITIONS. PAUSES are suspensions of the voice in reading and speaking, used to mark expectation and uncertainty, and to give effect to expression. Pauses are often more eloquent than words. They differ greatly in their frequency and their length. In lively con- RULES FOR PAUSES. 71 versation and rapid argument, they are comparatively few and short. In serious, dignified, and pathetic speaking, they are far more numerous, and more prolonged. The pause is marked thus ~, in the following illustrations and exercises. n. EULES FOR PAUSES. NOMINATIVES. — A pause is required after a compound nominative, in all cases ; and after a nominative con- sisting of a single word, when it is either emphatic, or is the leading subject of discourse ; as, Joy and sorrow *\ move him not. No people ^ can claim him. No country ^ can appropriate him. 2. Words in Apposition. — A pause is required after words which are in apposition with, or ojjposition to, each other ; as, Solomon *i the son of David «*i was king of Israel. False del- icacy is affectation ^not politeness. 3. A Transition. — A pause is required after but, hence, and other words denoting a marked transition, when they stand at the beginning of a sentence ; as, But ~i it was reserved for Arnold m to blend all these bad qualities into one. Hence ^i Solomon calls the fear of the Lord m the bejnnninjx of wisdom. © o 4. Conjunctions and Relatives. — A pause is required before that, when a conjunction or relative, and the rela- tives who, which, what; together with ivhen, ichence, and other adverbs of time and place, which involve the idea of a relative ; as, He went to school ^ that he might become wise. This is the man ^ that loves me. We were present **\ when La Fayette embarked at Havre for New York. 5. The Infinitive. — A pause is required before the infini- ti ve mood, when governed by another verb, or separated by an intervening clause from the word which governs it ; as, He has gone **i to convey the news. He smote me wife a rod <*] to please my enemy. 72 NATIONAL FIFTH READER. 6. In cases of Ellipsis, a pause is required where one or more words are omitted ; as, So goes the world : if ^ wealthy, you may call this ~\ friend, that «| brother. 7. Qualifying Clauses. — Pauses are used to set off qual- ifying clauses by themselves ; to separate qualifying terms from each other, when a number of them refer to the same word ; and when an adjective follows its noun ; as, The rivulet sends forth glad sounds, and <*| tripping o'er its bed of pebbly sands, or leaping down the rocks *q seems ^with continu- ous laughttr *-\ to rejoice in its own being. He had a mind^i deep «*] active «*i well stored with knowledge. These rules, though important, if properly applied, are by no means complete ; nor can any be invented which shall meet all the cases that arise in the complicated rela- tions of thought. A good reader or speaker pauses, on an average, at every fifth or sixth word, and in many cases much more frequent- ly. His only guide, in many instances, is a discriminating taste in grouping ideas, and separating by pauses those which are less intimately allied. In doing this, he will often use what may be called suspensive quantity. in. SUSPENSIVE QUANTITY. SUSPENSIVE QUANTITY means prolonging the end of a word, without an actual pause ; and thus suspend- ing, without wholly interrupting, the progress of sound. The prolongation on the last syllable of a word, or sus- pensive quantity, is indicated thus , in the following exam- ples. It is used chiefly for three purposes : 1st. To prevent too frequent a recurrence of pauses ; as, Her lover sinks — she sheds no ill-timed tear ; Her chief is slain — she fills his fatal post ; Her fellows flee — she checks their base career ; The foe~retires — she heads the rallying host. EXERCISES IN PAUSES. 73 2d. To produce a slighter disjunction than would be made by a pause ; and thus at once to separate and unite ; as, Would you kill your friend and benefactor? Would you practice hypocrisy and smile in his face, while your conspiracy is ripening V 3d. To break up the current of sound into small portions, which can be easily managed by the speaker, without the abruptness which would result from pausing wherever this relief was needed ; and to give ease in speaking ; as, Warms - in the sun, refreshes in the breeze, Glows - in the stars, and blossoms in the trees ; Lives through all life, extends through all extent, Spreads undivided, operates unspent. General Rule. — When a preposition is followed by as many as three or four words which depend upon it, the word preceding the preposition will either have suspensive quantity, or else a pause ; as, Ho is the in'ide of the whole country. Require students to tell which of the preceding rules or principles is illustrated, wherever a mark, representing the pause or suspensive quantity, is introduced in the following EXERCISES IN PAUSES. 1. It matters very little *i what immediate spot*' may have been the birth-place of such a man as Washington. No peo- ple^ can claim *i*i no country** can appropriate him. The boon of Providence to the human race*' his fame*' is eter- nity *i*i and his dwelling-place ~~ creation. 2. Though it was the defeat m of our arms ** and the dis- grace *i of our policy*-*' I almost bless the convulsion ** in which he had his origin. If the heavens thundered *- and the earth rocked*^*- yet*- when the storm passed *- how pure was the climate *i that it cleared*-*- how bright *- in the brow of the firmament *i was the planet *- which it revealed to us! 3. In the production of Washington -*• it does really appear*- as if nature *i was endeavoring to improve upon herself *-*»* and that all the virtues - of the ancient world *- were but so many {tfw/j'es*i preparatory - to the patriot of the new. Individual 74 NATIONAL FIFTH READER. instances «< no doubt there were ^ splendid exemplifications h of some single qualification. Coesar *i was merciful *i **i Scipio *< was continent wi^i Hannibal ^ was patient. But^iit was reserved for Washington ^ to blend them all in one **!*»■ and ^ like the lovely masterpiece of the Grecian artiste to exhibits in one glow - of associated beauty ~i the pride of every model ** and the perfection of every master. 4. As a general <*i*i he marshaled the peasants into a vet- eran <^h and supplied by discipline ^ithe absence of experience. As a statesman h*i he enlarged the poHcy of the cabinet **• into the most comprehensive system of general advantage. And such h was the wisdom of his views ** and the philosophy - of his counsels m *i that to the soldiery and the statesman ^ he almost added *j the character of the sage. 5. A conqueror **i he was untainted wim the crime of blood ^i wj a revolutionist **j he was free from any stain of treason **i for aggression - commenced the contests and his country - called him to the field. Liberty **i unsheathed his sword ^^neces- sity <*i stained ^i^i victory h returned it. 6. If he had paused here **i history might have doubted h what station to assign him ^\^\ whether at the head of her citizens**! or her soldiers «*m her heroes <*\ or her patriots. But the last - glorious act ~i crowns his career « and banishes all hesitation. Who >*i like Washington «i after having emancipated a hemis- phere **j resigned its crown ^m and preferred the retirement of domestic life h to the adoration of a land wj he might almost be said to have created ? 7. How - shall we rank thee **i upon glory's page, Thou mdre~ than soldier ^ and just less than sage ! All thou hasf been ^ reflects less praise <-i on thee, Far~less m than all thou hast forborne to be. KEY TO THE USE OF MARKED LETTERS. age or age, at or at, art, all, bare, ask ; we or we, £nd or end, her ; ice or Ice, !n or in, fly, hymn ; old or old, on or on, do ; mute or mute, up or tip, full ; fliis ; azure ; real, (not rel) ; oVershoot' ; badness, (not rnss) ; aged, (not djd) ; g as j. DsDEX TO EDITIONS. 5^" The figures refer to the pages where the same lessons may be found in the two editions of this work. NEW ED. OLD ED. 77 67 81 71 85 77 87 171 89 99 92 95 94 360 97 81 100 84 101 160 103 249 105 251 106 253 110 256 113 138 117 92 120 398 123 401 126 404 129 116 132 119 134 109 136 Ill 139 115 140 142 121 144 123 147 127 148 128 150 130 153 134 155 415 175 160 162 NEW ED. OLD ED. 164 152 165 166 148 170 172 174 200 177 178 180 178 183 180 184 181 185 183 189 187 192 191 198 176 199 168 202 538 204 173 207 197 210 300 214 304 217 221 282 224 375 227 230 145 232 216 234 218 237 221 240 224 243 228 247 285 249 287 253 291 255 NEW KD. OLD ED- 256 294 257 163 261... r 316 263 318 267 322 270 325 275 277 280 231 282 283 233 284 235 287 236 289 239 291 241 293 296 294 296 295 298 297 264 299 262 301 259 304 498 305 499 307 307 309 384 311 501 313 315 317 318 321 243 324 327 330 333 436 76 INDEX TO EDITIONS. iEW ED. OLD EI). NEW ED. OLD ED. NEW KD. OLD ED. 338 . ... 272 419 515... . . ... 378 339 273 . ... 275 422 518 521 . . . . 483 341 426 . ... 486 343 . ... 277 434 524 . ... 489 346 . . . . 420 436 527 . ... 493 348 . .- . . . 440 . ... 445 532 . ... 510 350 359 856 443 533 535 537 . ... 511 352. 447 450 . ... 42; 505 355 ... 334 357 . ... 595 452 427 543 . ... 540 359 . ... 412 455 . ... 430 544 . ... 543 362 .*. .. 330 458 . ... 459 547 365 . . . . 336 461 . ... 465 549 370 463 . ... 468 551 .... 549 373 466 . ... 470 555 378 . ... 344 469 .... 449 558..... .... 565 381 . ... 502 473 .... 454 562 .... 569 884 381 479 565 . ... 572 387 . ... 479 480 568 . ... 562 390 . ... 387 482 571 . ... 583 894 . . . . 391 483 575 .... . ... 575 896 . ... 394 485 577 . ... 578 393 . . . . 395 487 580 . ... 586 400 . . . . 363 493 583 403 498 583 .... 588 405 . ... 874 501 . ... 416 587 . ... 592 406 . ... 365 505 590 .... 477 410 . ... 369 507 . ..528 593 414. 597 .... 314 509 511 . . 518 596 417 PART II. "READINGS. SECTION I. I. 1. THE MONTHS. JANUARY! Darkness and light reign alike. Snow is on the ' ground. Cold is in the 3 air. 3 The winter is blossoming in frost-flowers. Why is the ground hidden ? Why is the earth * white ? So hath God wiped out the past, 5 so hath he spread the earth like an unwritten page, for a 6 new year ! Old sounds are silent in the forest and in the air. Insects are dead, birds 7 are gone, 8 leaves have perished, and all the foundations of soil remain. Upon this lies, white and tranquil, the emblem of newness and purity, the virgin* robes of the yet unstained year ! 2. February ! The day gains upon the night. The strife of heat and cold is scarce 10 begun. The winds that come from the desolate north wander through forests of frost-cracking boughs, and shout in the air the weird " cries of the northern bergs 13 and ice-resounding oceans. Yet, as the month wears on, the silent work begins, though storms rage. The earth is hidden yet, but not dead. The sun is drawing near. The storms cry out. But the sun is not heard in all the heavens. Yet he whispers words of deliverance into the ears of every sleeping seed and root 13 that lies beneath the snow. The day opens, but the night shuts the earth with its frost-lock. They strive together, but 1 The, (fhu), see Rule 3, p. 32. * Virgin, (vcr' jin). 2 The, see Rule 3, p. 32. ,0 Scarce, (skars). 8 Air, (ar), see Note 2, p. 22. u Weird, like witches ; skilled in * Earth, (erth), see Note 4, p. 22. witchcraft ; unearthly ; wild. 6 Past, (past), see Note 3, p. 22. " Bergs, (borgz), hills ; an iceberg e A, (a), see Rule 2, p. 32. is a hill or mountain of ice, or a vast 7 Birds, (berdz). body of ice floating on the ccean. • Gone, see Note 1, p. 23. "Root, (rot). 78 NATIONAL FIFTH READER. the Darkness and the Cold are growing weaker. On some nights they forget to work. 3. March! The conflict is more turbulent, 1 but the victory is gained. The world awakes. 3 There 3 come voices from long- hidden birds. The smell of the soil is in the air. The sullen ice retreating from open field, and all sunny places, has slunk to the north of every fence and rock. The knolls and banks that face the east or south sigh for release, and begin to lift up a thousand tiny palms. 4 4. April ! The singing month. Many voices of many birds call for resurrection over the graves of flowers, and they come forth. Go, see what they have lost. What have ice, and snow, and storm, done unto them? How did they fall into the earth, stripped and bare ? How do they come forth opening and glo- rified ? Is it, then, so fearful a thing to lie in the grave ? In its wild career, shaking and scourged of storms through its orbit, the earth has scattered away no treasures. The Hand that governs in April governed in January. You have not lost what God has only hidden. You lose nothing b in struggle, in trial, in bitter distress. If called to shed thy joys as trees their leaves ; if the affections be driven back into the heart, as the life of flowers to their roots, yet be patient. Thou shalt lift up thy leaf-covered boughs again. 6 Thou shalt shoot forth from thy roots new flowers. Be patient. "Wait. When it is February, April is not far off. Secretly the plants love each other. 5. May ! O Flower-Month, per'fect the harvests of flowers ! Be not niggardly. Search out the cold and resentful nooks T that refused the sun, casting back its rays from disdainful ice, and plant flowers even there. There is goodness in the worst. There is warmth in the coldness. The silent, hopeful, unbreath- ing sun, that will not fret or despond, but carries a placid brow through the unwrinkled heavens, at length conquers the very rocks, and lichens 8 grow and inconspicuously blossom. What shall not Time do, that carries in its bosom * Love ? i Turbulent, (t$r' bu lent). 8 Lichen, (11' ken), one of an order a Awakes, (a woks'), Note 1, p. 32. of flowerless plants, without distinc- 8 There, (thar). tion of leaf and stem, usually of 4 Palms, (pamz). scaly, expanded, front-like forms, but 6 Nothing, (nuth' ing). sometimes imitating the forms of • Again, (a gen'). branches of trees. 7 Nooks, (n6ks). 9 Bosom, (buz/ um). THE MONTHS. 79 G. Jttnt: ! Rest ! This is tho year's bower. Sit down within it. Wipe from thy brow the toil. The elements are thy ser- vants. The dews bring thee jewels. The winds bring per'fume. The earth shows thee all her treasure. The forests sing to thee. The air is all sweetness, as if all the angels of God had gone through it, bearing spices homeward. The storms are but as flocks of mighty birds that spread their wings and sing in tho high heaven ! Speak to God, now, and say, " O Father, where art thou ?" And out of every flower, and tree, and silver pool, and twined thicket, a voice will come, " God is in me." The earth cries to the heavens, " God is here." And the heavens cry- to the earth, " God is here." The sea claims Him. Tho land hath Him. His footsteps arc upon the deep ! He sitteth upon the Circle of the Earth ! O sunny joys of the sunny month, yet soft and temperate, how soon will the eager months that come burning from the equator, scorch you ! 7. July ! Rouse up ! The temperate heats that filled the air are raging forward to glow and overfill the earth with hot- ness. Must it be thus in everything, that June shall rush to- ward August? Or, is it not that there are deep and unreached places for whose sake the probing ' sun pierces down its glowing hands ? There is a deeper work than June can perform. The earth shall drink of the heat before she knows her nature or her strength. Then shall she bring forth to the uttermost the treas- ures of her bosom. For, there are things hidden far down, and the deep things of life arc not known till the fire reveals them. 8. August ! Reign, thou Fire-Month ! "What canst thou do ? Neither shalt thou destroy the earth, whom frosts and ice could not destroy. The vines droop, the trees stagger, the broad palmed leaves give thee their moisture, and hang down. But every night the dew pities them. Yet, there are flowers that look thee in the eye, fierce Sun, all day long, and wink not. This is the rejoicing month for joyful insects. If our unselfish eye would behold it, it is the most populous and the happiest month. The herds plash in the sedge ; fish seek the deeper pools ; forest fowl lead out their young ; the air is resonant 2 of insect orchestras, 3 each one carrying his part in Nature's grand 1 Prob' ing, scrutinizing ; search- 3 Orchestra, (ar' kes tra), a band ing to the bottom. of musicians ; a place prepared for 5 Resonant, (rez' o nant). the performers in a concert. 80 NATIONAL FIFTH READER. harmony. August, thou art the ripeness of the year ! Thou art the glowing center of the circle ! 9. September! There are thoughts in thy heart of death. Thou art doing a secret work, and heaping up treasures for an- other year. The unborn infant-buds which thou art tending are more than all the living leaves. Thy robes are luxuriant, but worn with softened pride. More dear, less beautiful than June, thou art the heart's month. Not till the heats of summer are gone, while all its growths remain, do we know the fullness of life. Thy hands are stretched out, and clasp the glowing palm of August, and the fruit-smelling hand of October. Thou di- videst them asunder, and art thyself molded of them both. 10. October! Orchard of the year! Bend thy boughs to the earth, redolent ' of glowing fruit ! Ripened seeds shake in their pods. Apples drop in the stillest hours. Leaves begin to let go when no wind is out, and swing in long waverings to the earth, which they touch without sound, and lie looking up, till winds rake them, and heap them in fence corners. When the gales come through the trees, the yellow leaves trail, like sparks at night behind the flying engine. The woods are thinner, so that we can see the heavens plainer, as we lie dreaming on the yet warm moss by the singing spring. The days are calm. The nights are tranquil. The year's work is dene. She walks in gorgeous apparel, looking upon her long labor, and her serene eye saith, " It is good." 11. November! Patient watcher, thou art asking to lay down thy tasks. Life, to thee, now, is only a task accomplished. In the night-time thou liest down, and the messengers of winter deck thee with hoar-frosts for thy burial. The morning looks upon thy jewels, and they perish while it gazes. AVilt thou not come, O December? 12. December! Silently the month advances. There is nothing to destroy, but much to bury. Bury, then, thou snow, that slumberously fallest through the still air, the hedge-rows of leaves ! Muffle thy cold wool about the feet of shivering trees ! Bury all that the year hath known, and let thy brilliant stars, that never shine as they do in thy frostiest nights, behold the work ! But know, O month of destruction, that in thy constel- 1 RSd' o lent, having or diffusing a rich fragrance, odor, or scent. HYMN TO THE SEASONS. 81 latioa ' is set that Star, whose rising is the sign, for evermore, that there is life in death ! Thou art the month of resurrection. In thee, the Christ came. Every star, that looks down upon thy labor and toil of burial, knows that all things shall come forth again. Storms shall sob themselves to sleep. Silence shall find a voice. Death shall live, Life shall rejoice, Winter shall break forth and blossom into Spring, Spring shall put on her glorious apparel and be called Summer. It is life ! it is life ! through the whole year ! II. W. Beeper. Eev. Henry "Ward Beeciier, son of Dr. Lyman Bcecher, was born in Litch- field, Connecticut, June 24th, 1813. He was graduated at Amherst College, in 1834. He studied theology at Lane Seminary, Cincinnati, which was under the direction of his father; and was first settled as a Presbyterian minister at Law- renccburg, Dearborn County, Indiana, where he remained two years. From thence, he removed to Indianapolis, the capital of the State, where he labored with great acceptation till he accepted the unanimous call of a new Congrega- tional Society, in Brooklyn, New York. He was installed pastor of the church, October, 1847. His eloquent sermons, which arc never commonplace, attract very large and attentive audiences. He is equally favored as a lecturer on topics of the day, usually lecturing about eighty times a year, in various parts of the country. Mr Bcecher generally avoids doctrinal topics. He preaches the truth of to-day applied to the temptations, the errors, and the wants of to-day. His sympathy with nature, acute observation of men and things, remarkable analy- sis of character, apt illustration, mental elasticity, soul-strength, and allluence and power of diction, are equally apparent in bis writings and his extemporane- ous speeches. n. 2. HYMN TO THE SEASONS. THESE, as they change, Almighty Father ! these Are but the varied God. The rolling year Is fall of Thee. Forth in the pleasing Spring Thy beauty walks, Thy tenderness, and love. Wide flush the fields ; the softening air is balm ; Echo the mountains round ; the forest smiles; And every sense and every heart is joy. 2. Then comes Thy glory in the Summer months, Wifti liprht and heat refulgent." Then thv sun Shoots full perfection through the swelling year; 1 C5n N stella'tion,an assemblage, or some other object which it is im- cluster, or group of fixed stars, situ- ngined to resemble. ated near each other in the heavens, 2 Re ful' gent, casting a bright and bearing the name of an animal, light ; brilliant ; splendid. 82 NATIONAL FIFTH READEK. And oft Thy voice in dreadful thunder speaks, And oft at dawn, deep noon, or falling eve, By brooks and groves, in hollow-whispering gales. Thy bounty shines in Autumn unconfined, And spreads a common feast for all that live. In Winter awful Thou, with clouds and storms Around Thee thrown, tempest o'er tempest rolled, Majestic darkness ! On the whirlwind's wing, Riding sublime, Thou bidst the world adore, And humblest Nature with thy northern blast. 3. MJsterious round ! what skill, what force divine, Deep felt, in these appear ! a simple train, Yet so delightful mixed, with such kind art, Such beauty and beneficence J combined ; Shade, unperceived, so softening into shade ; And all so forming a harmonious whole, That, as they still succeed, they ravish 5 still. 4. But wandering 6ft, with brute 3 unconscious gaze, Man marks not Thee ; marks not the mighty Hand, That, ever busy, wheels the silent sphere ; Works in the secret deep ; shoots, steaming, thence The fair profusion that 6'erspreads the Spring ; Flings from the sun direct the flaming day ; Feeds every creature ; hurls the tempest forth ; And, as on earth this grateful change revolves, With transport touches all the springs of life. 5. Nature, attend! join, every living soul, Beneath the spacious temple of the sky, In adoration * join ; and, ardent, raise One general song ! To Him, ye vocal gales, Breathe soft, whose spirit in your freshness breathes : O, talk of Him in solitary glooms ! Where, o'er the rock, the scarcely i waving pine * Be neT i cence, the practice of 4 AcT o ra' tion, the act of paying doing good ; active goodness, kind- honors to a divine being ; the wor- ness, or charity. ship paid to God ; marked respect * Rav' ish, enrapture ; transport paid to a superior or one in high es« with delight. teem. 8 Brute, (br5t), see Rule 4, p. 32. ■ Scarcely, (skars' II). HYMN TO THE SEASONS. g3 Fills the brown shade with a religious awe. And ye, whose bolder note is heard afar, Who shake the astonished world, lift high to heaven The impetuous song, and say from whom you rage. G His praise, ye brooks, attune, ye trembling rills ; And let me catch it as I muse along. Ye headlong torrents, rapid and profound ; Ye softer floods, that lead the humid maze Along the vale ; and thou, majestic main, A secret world of wonders in thyself, Hound His stupendous ' praise, whose greater voice Or bids you 2 roar, or bids your 3 roarings fall. 7. Soft roll your incense, /icrbs, and fruits, 4 and flowers, In mingled clouds to Him, whose sun exalts, "Whose breath perfumes you, and whose pencil paints. Ye forests, bend ; ye harvests, wave to Him ; Breathe your still song into the reaper's heart, As home he goes beneath the joyous moon. 8. Ye that keep watch in heaven, as earth asleep Unconscious lies, effuse 5 your mildest beams ; Ye constellations, while your angels strike, Amid the spangled sky, the silver lyre. Great source of day ! best image here below Of thy Creator, ever pouring wide, From world to world, the vital ocean round, On Nature write wirli every beam His praise. 9. The thunder rolls : be hushed the prostrate world, While cloud to cloud returns the solemn hymn. Bleat out afresh, ye hills ; ye mossy rocks, Betain the sound ; the broad responsive low, Ye valleys, raise ; for the Great Shepherd reigns, And His unsuffering kingdom yet will come. Ye woodlands all, awake : a boundless song Burst from the groves ! and when the restless day, 1 Stu pen" dous, literally, striking 3 You, (yo). dumb by its greatness of size or ini- 3 Your, (yor). portancc ; hence, astonishing ; wod- 4 Fruits, (frStz), Kulc 4, p. H2. derfuJ. * Effuse, (ef fuz'), spill, or pour out, 84 NATIONAL FIFTH HEADER. Expiring, lays the warbling world asleep, Sweetest of birds ! sweet Philomela, 1 charm The listening shades, and teach the night His praise. 10. Ye chief, for whom the whole creation smiles, At once the head, the heart, and tongue of all, Crown the great hymn ! in swarming cities vast, Assembled men, to the deep organ join The long-resounding voice, 6ft breaking clear, At solemn pauses, through the swelling bass ; And, as each mingling flame increases each, In one united ardor rise to heaven. Or, if you rather choose the rural 2 shade, And find a fane in every sacred grove, There let the shepherd's flute, the virgin's lay, The prompting seraph, 3 and the poet's lyre, Still sing the God of Seasons as they roll. 11. For me, when I forget the darling theme, Whether the blossom blows, the summer ray Russets the plain, inspiring Autumn gleams, Or Winter rises in the blackening east, Be m) r tongue mute, my fancy paint no more, And, dead to joy, forget my heart to beat! — Should fate command 4 me to the furthest verge Of the green earth, to distant barbarous climes, Rivers unknown to song, — where first the sun Gilds Indian mountains, or his setting beam Flames on the Atlantic isles, — 'tis naught to me ; Since God is ever present, ever felt, In the void waste as in the city full ; And where He vital breathes, there must be joy. 12. When even at last the solemn hour shall come, And wing my mystic & flight to future worlds, I cheerful will obey ; there, with new powers, Will rising wonders sing. I can not go 1 Fhir o me' la, from Philomela, " SSr'aph, (Eng., plural, ser'aphs ; daughter of Pandion, king of Athens, Heb., pi., ser'a phlrn), an angel of the who was supposed to have been highest order, changed into a nightingale ; hence, * Command, (kom mand'). the nightingale. 6 MyV tic, obscure ; involving 3 Rural, (ro' ral). some hidden meaning. NEVER DESPAIR 85 Where Universal Love not smiles around, Sustaining all yon orbs, and all their suns ; Prom seeming evil still educing good, And better thence again, and better still, In infinite progression. But I lose Myself in him, in Light ineffable ! ' Come then, expressive Silence, muse His praise. James Thomson. James Thomson was born at Ednam,ncar Kelso, Roxburgh County, Scotland, September 11th, 1700, and died August 27th, 1T4S. lie was the author of tho "Seasons," a work which alone would have perpetuated his name. Though born a poet, he seems to have advanced but slowly, and by reiterated efforts, to refinement of taste. The first edition of the "Seasons" differs materially fr<>m the second, and the second still more from the third. Every alteration was an improvement in delicacy of thought and language. That the genius of Thorn, eon was purifying and working oil" its alloys up to the termination of his exist- ence, may be seen from the superiority in style and diction of his last poem, the "Castle of Indolence," to which he brought not only the full nature, hut the perfect art of a poet. As a dramatic writer he was unsuccessful. lie was in poverty in early life, but through the inllucnec of Lord Lyttlcton, he obtained a pension of £100 a year, from the Prince of Wales, and an office which brought him £300 per annum. He was now in comparative opulence, and his residence at Kcw-lane, near Richmond, was the scene of social enjoyment and lettered case. He was friendly, shy and indolent. His noted lines in favor of early rising, commencing — Falsely luxurious, will not man awake, And springing from the bed of sloth, &c, were written in bed. SECTIOX II. I. 3. NEVER DESPAIR. THERE is no trait of human character so potential 3 for weal or woe as firmness. To the business man it is all-imoor- tant. Before its irresistible energy the most formidable obsta- cles become as cobweb barriers in its path. 3 Difficulties, the terror of which causes the pampered* sons of luxury to shrink 1 In ef fa ble, not capable of being powerful ; mighty ; forcible, expressed in words ; untold ; un- ' Path, (pith). speakable. 4 Pam' pered, fed or gratified in- 3 Potential, (p6 ten' ekal), efficient ; ordinately or unduly. 86 NATIONAL FIFTH READER. back with dismay, provoke from the man of lofty determination only a smile. The whole history of our race — all nature, indeed —teems with examples to show what wonders may be accom- plished by resolute perseverance and patient toil. 2. It is related of Tamerlane, ' the celebrated warrior, the terror of whose arms spread through all the Eastern nations, and whom victory attended at almost every step, that he once learned from an insect a lesson of perseverance, which had a striking effect on his future character and success. 3. When closely pursued by his enemies — as a contemporary' tells the anecdote — he took refuge in some old ruins, where, left to his solitary musings, he espied an ant tugging and striving to cany a single grain of corn. His unavailing efforts were re- peated sixty-nine times, and at each several time, so soon as he reached a certain point of projection, he fell back wifh his bur- den, unable to surmount it ; but the seventieth time he bore away his spoil in triumph, and left the wondering hero reani- mated and exulting in the hope of future victory. 5. How pregnant 3 the lesson this incident conveys! How many thousand instances there are in which inglorious defeat ends the career of the timid and desponding, when the same tenacity of purpose would crown it with triumphant success ! Resolution is almost omnipotent. Sheridan 4 was at first timid, and obliged to sit down in the midst of a speech. Convinced of, and mortified at, the cause of his failure, he said one day to a friend, " It is in me, and it shall come out." 5. From that moment he rose, and shone, and triumphed in a consummate 6 eloquence. Here was true moral courage. And it was well observed by a heathen moralist, that it is not because things are difficult that we dare 6 not undertake them. 1 Tarn' er lane, called also Timour fever, and died soon after taking the the Tartar, was born 1335. He be- field, 18th February, 1405. came sovereign of Tartary, and sub- ■ Con tern' po rary, living, acting, dued Persia, India and Syria. With, or happening at the same time, an army of 200,000 men, in a battle ■ Preg' nant, full of consequences, fought at Angora, on the 20th of July, * Richard Brinsley Sheridan, sco 1402, he defeated the Turkish army, Biographical Sketch, p. 126. composed of 300,000 men, and made 6 Con siim' mate, carried to the their emperor, Bajazet, prisoner. He utmost extent or degree ; complete; was on the point of invading China, perfect, when ho was seized with a violent Dare, (dlr), cec Note 2, p. 22. now. 87 G. Be, then, bold in spirit. Indulge no doubts — they arc traitors. In the practical pursuit of our high aim, let us never lose sight of it in the slightest instance : for it is more by a dis- regard of small things, than by open and flagrant offenses, that men come short of excellence. There is always a right and a wrong ; and if you ever doubt, be sure you take not the wrong. Observe this rule, and every experience will be to you a mean3 of advancement. n. 4. NOW. THE venerable Past — is past ; 'Tis dark, and shines not in the ray : 'Twas good, no doubt — 'tis gone at last — There dawns another day. Why should we sit where ivies creep, And shroud ourselves in charnels deep ? Or the world's yesterdays deplore, Mid crumbling ruins mossy hoar? 2. Why should we see with dead men's eyes, Looking at Was from morn to night, When the beauteous Now, the divine To Be, Woo with their charms our living sight ? Why should we hear but echoes dull, "When the world of sound, so beautiful, Will give us music of our own ? Why in the darkness should we grope, When the sun, in heaven's resplendent cope, Shines as bright as e'er it shone ? 3. Abraham ' saw no brighter stars Than those which burn for thee and me. When Homer 3 heard the lark's sweet song 5 Or night-bird's lovelier melody, 1 A' bra ham, the patriarch of the lie is supposed to have been an Asi- Jews, born and died moro than two atic Greek, though his birth-place, thousand years B. C. and the period in which he lived, 2 H5' mer, the most distinguished are not known. of poets, called the " Father of Song." * S5ng, see Note 1, p. 23. 88 NATIONAL FIFTH READER. They were such sounds as Shakspeare 1 heard, Or Chaucer," when he blessed the bird ; Such lovely sounds as we can hear. — 4. Great Plato 3 saw the vernal year Send forth its tender flowers and shoots, And luscious autumn pour its fruits ; And we can see the lilies blow, The corn-fields wave, the rivers flow ; For us all bounties of the earth, For us its wisdom, love, and mirth, If we daily walk in the sight of God, And prize the gifts he has bestowed. 5. We will not dwell amid the graves, Nor in dim twilights sit alone, To gaze at moldered architraves, 4 Or plinths 5 and columns overthrown ; We will not only see the light Through painted windows cobwebbed o'er, Nor know the beauty of the night Save by the moonbeam on the floor : But in the presence of the sun, Or moon, or stars, our hearts shall glow ; We'll look at nature face to face, And we shall love because we know. 6. The j)i*esent needs us. Every age Bequeams the next for heritage No lazy luxury or delight — But strenuous labor for the right ; For Now, the child and sire of Time, Demands the deeds of earnest men To make it better than the past, And stretch the circle of its ken. — — - ■ ■ - ■ -- — .— — .. — ■ — ■ — ■ — — , ■ , . . - 1 See Biographical Sketch, p. 383. about 430 n. c., and died in his 3 Geoffrey Chaucer, (cha'ser).call- eightieth year, ed the day-star and father of English * Architrave, (ark' i triv), the part poetry, born about 1328, and died in of a roof which rests on the top of a 1400. His great work is " The Can- column, designed to represent the terbury Tales." beam which supports the roof. 8 Pla' to, a very celebrated philos- b Plinth, a flat, round, or square opher of ancient Greece, was born baso or foundation for a column. A GOLDEN COPPERSMITH. 89 Now is a fact that men deplore, Though it might bless them evermore, Would they but fashion it aright : Tis ever new, 'tis ever bright. 7. Time, nor Eternity, hath seen A repetition of delight In all its phases : ne'er hath been For men or angels that which is ; And that which is hath ceased to be Ere we have breathed it, and its place Is lost in the Eternity. But Now is ever good and fair, Of the Infinitude the heir, And we of it. So let us live That from the Past we mav receive Light for the Now — from Now a joy That Fate nor Time shall e'er destroy. Mackay. Chakles Mackay, L.L.D., a British poet and journalist, was born in Perth, 1813. He was editor of the Morning Chronicle for live years, and of the Glasgow Argus for three. He is an author of considerable fame, ranking among the first of the present British poets, and still writes for the Illustrated London News. III. 5. A GOLDEN COPPERSMITH. BASEL GAVRELOFF MARINE, a Russian crown-slave, and by trade a coppersmith, was, at the beginning of March, returning to St. Petersburg from visiting his family at his native village. He arrived at Mos'cow on the night of the eleventh, with ten of his companions ; and as the railway train was al- ready gone, they were obliged to pass the night there, and re- main till three the next afternoon. 2. "The villagers are curious," Marine himself relates, "and as we had never been at Moscow before, we determined to see all the curiosities of that ancient town. "We entered the Cathe- dral of the Assumption, and kissed all its holy relics. We ascended to the top of the belfry of dTvan-Ycliky, and then pro- ceeded to the Bird-market. Here we heard that a terrible fire was raging — that the Great Theater was burning. As it was only noon, we determined to be spectators, and hastened to the spot." 3. They arrived just as the fire was at its height ; the theater 90 NATIONAL FIFTH READER. burnt from the interior, and the flames spread rapidly, bursting from the roof and the windows in savage fury. At the time the fire broke out, three workmen were engaged at the top of the building : it gained upon them so fast, they had only time from a window to reach the roof ; when they frantically rushed about without hope of escape, surrounded by the flames, which each moment gained upon them. Two of them in wild despair threw themselves from the roof, and were killed on the pavement below. 4. The third remained ; and, suffocating with the smoke, screamed for assistance in a manner that struck agony in the hearts of all who heard hini. His death seemed inevitable. There was not a ladder of sufficient length to reach the roof of the building, and the miserable man had the alternative of per- ishing by the flames or leaping down, as his comrades had done. But even in this extremity his confidence did not forsake him, and he sought refuse on that side where the wind blew the flames away from him. Marine and his companions all this time were spectators of the scene. " I held my tongue," said Marine, "but my heart beat painfully, and I asked myself how I could save this poor soul." 5. " Companions," cried the brave fellow, suddenly, " wait for me here, while I try and save that man." His comrades looked at him with surprise, but without dissuading him from his pur- pose. " God be with you," said they, " for it is a good deed you are about to do." Without losing another moment, Marine ap- proached the authorities present, and solicited permission to try and rescue the man from the frightful death which menaced him. G. Permission obtained, he took off his cap and sheepskin coat, and confided them to the care of the police. Accompanied by his brother, and provided with a stout cord, he rushed to a ladder that was placed against the wall, but which was very far from reaching the roof. Marine made the sign of the Cross, and be- gan to ascend. When he reached the summit, he fastened the cord around his waist, and once more devoutly crossing himself, began to climb one of the pipes that led from the roof. 7. The crowd below, breathless with astonishment and fear, eagerly watched each movement. Around him the flames were playing with intense fury ; and above the terrible noise of the falling timbers were heard the fearful shrieks of the unfortunate man ; who, though he saw assistance coming to him, dreaded it A GOLDEN COPPERSMITn. 91 might be too late. Nothing daunted, Marine continued his per- ilous ascent'. "It was cold," said ho, "and there was a terrible wind, but yet I felt it not ; for, from the moment I determined upon trying-to save the follow, my heart was on fire, and I was like a furnace." His burning hands kept continually sticking to the frozen pipes, which somewhat retarded his progress ; but still he courageously continued his way. "The pipe cracked," said he, " it was no longer firm — this dear pipe ; but happily I had arrived at the cornice, where there was foot-room." 8. His brother, who had remained all this time on the ladder, had made a hook fast to one end of the cord. Marine passed it to the man on the roof, and desired him to fasten it somehow securely ; this he did by fixing it round one of the ornaments of the cornice. Marine doubled it, to make it more secure, and then made him slide down the pipe, holding the cord in his hand, and his knees firmly round the pipe — himself giving the example. At the moment Marine reached the ladder, and tho man ho had so nobly preserved was seen to glide down in safety, a remarkable movement was manifested by the crowd — a move- ment truly Russian — all heads were simulta/neously uncovered, and all hands made the sign of the Cross. 9. When Marine reached the ground, tho man was already half-way down the ladder, and out of all danger. " I had hardly reached the ground," relates Marine, " when a gentleman, in a cloak and military casque, approached me, and gave me twenty- five silver rubles." ' A great number of others surrounded him, and each gave him according to his means — some ten kopecks 2 silver, others a ruble, and some only copper. " Thanks, brave man !" was cried on all sides ; "you are a courageous and good Christian ; and may G6d long grant you health, and bless you!" 10. " What became of the man I rescued," said Marine, " I do not know ; but that is not my affair. Thanks to God, lie is saved.. A gentleman — an aid-de-camp 3 — came to me, gave me a ticket, and took me in his sledge to the office of the Chan- cellerie, where he wrote down all that had taken place." During this time Marine did not lose his presence of mind ; he was uiily 'Ruble, (rS'bl), a Russian coin 3 Aid-de-camp, (ad' de king), a about the value of seventy-five cents, general's aid ; an officer selected by 7 Ko' peck, a Russian coin worth a general officer to assist him in his about two thirds of a cent. militarv duties. 02 NATIONAL FIFTH READER. anxious about one thing — that the railway should not leave with- out him. At three o'clock he was in the wagon ; and, on Friday, the thirteenth, he arrived at his destination, where he was waited for by his master, Monsieur x Flottoff. 11. He requested permission for one day's leave to visit his aunt, 3 who kept a small shop in the Vassili Ostroff, which was readily granted ; when, leaving her to return home, he was as- tonished at being called to the house of the Grand Master of the Police, who accompanied him to the palace. The courage of which he had so lately given so strong a proof, had been brought to the knowledge of the Emperor, who desired to see him. Never had he thought, even in his wildest dreams, that such an honor would be accorded to him, a simple man of the people. 12. The Emperor received Marine in his cabinet, and, with the greatest kindness, said, " Marine, I thank thee for the good and great action thou hast performed ; but I wish to hear from thy own mouth how, with God's assistance, thou didst it." Ma- rine related the adventure to him in his own simple manner, and when he had finished, the Czar, 3 who had listened to him with the greatest attention, embraced him, and said : " My son, may God bless you ! and remember, if you ever stand in need of my assistance, come to me and it shall be accorded you." The Emperor then presented him with a medal and one hundred and fifty silver rubles. Marine left the Emperor's presence a happy man. IV. 6. NOBLE REVENGE. A YOUNG officer (in what army no matter) had so far forgot, ten himself, in a moment of irritation, as to strike a private soldier, full of personal dignity (as sometimes happens in all ranks), and distinguished for his courage. The inex'orable 4 laws of military discipline forbade to the injured soldier any practical redress — he could look for no retaliation by acts. 2. "Words only were at his command, and, in a tumult of in- dignation, as he turned away, the soldier said to his officer that 1 Monsieur, (mo ser'), Sir ; Mr. < In ex' o ra tie, not to be per- ' Aunt, (ant), suaded or moved by entreaty or • Czar, (zar), emperor. prayer ; unyielding ; unchangeable. NOBLE REVENUE. . He studied law and practiced at the Scottish bar several years, but afterward took orders in the Church of England, and was successively curate of Shipton, in Gloucester- shire, and of Sedgetield, in the county of Durham. Ill health compelled him to 1 Diapason, (dl v a p&'zon), in music, an octave apart : harmony, the octave or interval which includes 3 Halleluiah, (haP le lu' ya), praise all the tones ; concord, as of notes ye Jehovah ; give praises to God. 100 NATIONAL FIFTH READER. abandon his curacy when his virtues and talents had attracted notice and ren- dered him a popular and useful preacher ; and on revisiting Scotland, he died September 14th, 1811. His works consist of " Mary, Queen of Scotland," a dra- matic poem, published in 1801 ; " The Sabbath," from which the above selection is taken; "Sabbath Walks," "Biblical Pictures," "The Birds of Scotland," and "British Georgics," all in blank verse. "The Sabbath" is the best of his pro- ductions. The poet was modest and devout, though sometimes gloomy in his seriousness. His prevailing tone, however, is that of implicit trust in the good- ness of God, and enjoyment in his creation. n. 9. MATERNAL AFFECTION. \ \ 7 OMAN'S * charms are certainly many and powerful. The . V V expanding rose just bursting into beauty lias an irresisti- ble bewitchingness ; the blooming bride led triumphantly to the hy x mene'al altar awakens admiration and interest, and the blush of her cheek fills with delight ; but the charm of maternity i3 more sublime than all these. 2. Heaven has imprinted in the mother's face something be- yond this world, something which claims kindred with the skies, — the angelic smile, the tender look, the waking, watchful eye, which keeps its fond vigil over her slumbering babe. 3. These are objects which neither the pencil nor the chisel can touch, which poetry fails to exalt, which the most eloquent tongue in vain would eulogize, and on which all description be- comes ineffective. In the heart of man lies this lovely picture ; it lives in his sympathies ; it reigns in his affections ; his eye looks round in vain for such another object on earth. 4. Maternity, ecstatic 2 sound! so twined round our hearts, that they must cease to throb ere we forget it ! 'tis our first love ; 'tis part of our religion. Nature has set the mother upon such a pinnacle, that our infant eyes and arms are first uplifted to it ; we cling to it in manhood ; we almost worship it in old age. 5. He who can enter an apartment, and behold the tender babe feeding on its mother's beauty — nourished by the tide of life which flows through her generous veins, without a panting bosom and a grateful eye, is no man, but a monster. Ho who can approach the cradle of sleeping innocence without thinking that " of such is the kingdom of heaven !" or see the fond parent 1 Woman, (wum' an). side one's self ; delightful beyond * Ec stat' ic, rendering one be- measure THE GOOD WIFE. 10J hang over its beauties, and half retain her breath lest she should break its slumbers, without a veneration beyond all common feeling, is to be avoided in every intercourse of life, and is fit only for the shadow of darkness and the solitude of the desert. ni. 10. THE GOOD WIFE. THE heart of a man, with whom affection i3 not a name, and love a mere passion of the hour, yearns toward the quiet of a home, as toward the goal of his earthly joy and hope. And as you fasten there your thought, an indulgent, yet dreamy fancy paints the loved image that is to adorn it, and to make it sacred. 2. She is there to bid you — God speed ! and an adieu, that hangs like music on your car, as j'ou go out to the every-day labor of life. At evening, she is there to greet you, as you come back wearied with a day's toil ; and her look so full of gladness, cheats you of your fatigue ; and she steals her arm around you, with a soul of welcome, that beams like sunshine on her brow and that fills your eye with tears of a twin gratitude — to her, and Heaven. 3. She is not unmindful of those old-fashioned virtues of clean- liness and of order, which give an air of quiet, and which secure content. Your wants arc all anticipated ; the fire is burning brightly ; the clean hearth flashes under the joyous blaze ; the old elbow-chair is in its place. Your very airworthiness of nil this haunts you like an accusing spirit, and yet penetrates your heart with a new devotion toward the loved one who is thus watchful of your comfort. 4. She is gentle ; — keeping your love, as she has won it, by a thousand nameless and modest virtues, which radiate from her whole life and action. She steals upon your affections like a summer wind breathing softly over sleeping valleys. She gains a mastery over your sterner nature, by very contrast ; and wins you unwittingly to her lightest wish. And yet her wishes are guided by that delicate tact, which avoids conflict with your manly pride ; she subdues, by seeming to yield. By a singlo soft word of appeal, she robs your vexation of its anger ; and with a slight touch of that fair hand, and one pleading look of that earnest eye, she disarms your sternest pride. 102 NATIONAL FIFTH READER. 5. She is kind ; — shedding her kindness, as Heaven sheds dew. Who indeed could doubt it ? — least of all, you who are living on her kindness, day by day, as flowers live on light? There is none of that officious parade, which blunts the point of benevo- lence ; but it tempers every action with a blessing. 6. If trouble has come upon you, she knows that her voice, beguiling you into cheerfulness, will lay your fears ; and as she draws her chair beside you, she knows that the tender and con- fiding way with which she takes your hand and looks up into your earnest face, will drive away from your annoyance all its weight. As she lingers, leading off your thought with pleasant words, she knows well that she is redeeming you from care, and soothing you to that sweet calm, which such home and such wife can alone bestow. 7. And in sickness, — sickness that you almost covet for the sympathy it brings, — that hand of hers resting on your fevered forehead, or those fingers playing with the scattered locks, are more full of kindness than the loudest vaunt of Mends ; and when your failing strength will permit no more, you grasp that cherished hand, with a fullness of joy, of thankfulness, and of love, which your tears only can tell. 8. She is good ; — her hopes live where the angels live. Her kindness and gentleness are sweetly tempered with that meek- ness and forbearance which are born of Faith. Trust comes into her heart as rivers come to the sea. And in the dark hours of doubt and foreboding, you rest fondly xrpon her buoyant faith, as the treasure of your common life ; and in your holier musings, you look to that frail hand, and that gentle spirit, to lead you away from the vanities of worldly ambition, to the fullness of that joy which the good inherit. D. G. Mitchell. Donald G. Mitchell was born in Norwich, Connecticut, April, 1822. His father was the pastor of the Congregational church of that place, and his grand- father a member of the first Congress at Philadelphia, and for many years Chief-justice of the Supreme Court of Connecticut. Mr. Mitchell graduated in due course, at Yale, in 1841. His health being feeble, he passed the three fol- lowing years in the country, where he became much interested in agriculture, and wrote a number cf letters to the " Cultivator," at Albany. He gained a silver cup from the New York Agricultural Society, as a prize for a plan of farm buildings. He next crossed the ocean, and after remaining about two years in Europe, returned home, and soon after published "fresh Gleanings." In ISoO, after his return from a second visit to Europe, he published " The Battle Sum- mer," containing personal observations in Paris during the year 1848. He has since published the " Reveries of a Bachelor," " Dream Life," " Fudge Doings," INFLUENCE OF HOME. 103 " }Iy Farm at Edgcwood," " Seven Stories," " Wet Days at Edgcwood," and "Plain Talks on Familiar Subjects." His works have usually been well received. His style is quiet, pure, and effective. In 1S53, Mr. Mitchell received the ap- pointment of United States consul at Venice. He is at present residing in the Vicinity of New Haven. IV. 11. INFLUENCE OF HOME. HOME gives a certain serenity to the mind, so that ever/ thing is well defined, and in a clear atmosphere, and the lesser beauties brought out to rejoice in the pure glow which floats over and beneath them from the earth and sky. In this state of mind afflictions come to us ehas^Ticd ; and if the wrongs of the world cross us in our door-path, we put them aside without anger. Vices are about us, not to lure us away, or make us morose, but to remind us of our frailty and keep down our pride. 2. We are put into a right relation with the world ; neither holding it in proud scorn, like the solitary man, nor being car- ried along by shifting and hurried feelings, and vague and care- less notions of things, like the world's man. We do not take novelty for improvement, or set up vogue for a rule of conduct ; neither do we despair, as if all great virtues had departed with the years gone by, though we see new vices and frailties taking growth in the very light which is spreading over the earth. 3. Our safest way of coming into communion with mankind is through our own household. For there our Borrow and regret at the failings of the bad are in proportion to our love, while our familiar intercourse with the good has a secretly assimilating influence upon our characters. The domestic man has an inde- pendence of thought which puts him at ease in society, and a cheerfulness and benevolence of feeling which seem to ray out from him, and to diffuse a pleasurable senso over those near him, like a soft, bright day. 4. As domestic life strengthens a man's virtue, so docs it help to a sound judgment and a right balancing of things, and gives an integrity and propriety to the whole character. God, in his goodness, has ordained that virtue should make its own enjoy- ment, and that wherever a vice or frailty is rooted out, some- thing should spring up to be a beauty and delight in its stead. But a man of character rightly cast, has pleasures at home, 104 NATIONAL FIFTH READER. which, though fitted to his highest nature, are common to him as his daily food ; and ho moves about his house under a continued sense of them, and is happy almost without heeding it. 5. "Women have been called angels in love-tales and sonnets, till we have almost learned to think of angels as little better than women. Yet a man who knows a woman thoroughly, and loves her truly, — and there are women who may be so known and loved, — will find, after a few years, that his relish for the grosser pleasures is lessened, and that he has grown into a fond- ness for the intellectual and refined without an effort, and al- most unawares. G. Ho has been led on to virtue through his pleasures ; and the delights of the eye, and the gentle play of that passion which is the most inward and romantic in our nature, and which keeps much of its character amidst the concerns of life, have held him in a kind of spiritualized existence : he shares his very being with one who, a creature of this world, and with something of the world's frailties, Is yet a spirit still, and bright, With something of an angel light. With all the sincerity of a companionship of feeling, cares, sor- rows, and enjoyments, her presence is as the presence of a purer being, and there is that in her nature which seems to bring him nearer to a better world. She is, as it were, linked 'to angels, and in his exalted moments he feels himself held by the same tie. 7. In the ordinary affairs of life, a woman has a greater influ- ence over those near her than a man. While our feelings are, for the most part, as retired as anchorites, hers are in play be- fore us. We hear them in her varying voice ; we see them in the beautiful and harmonious undulations of her movements — in the quick shifting hues of her face — in her eye, glad and bright, then fond and suffused ; her frame is alive and active with what i3 at her heart, and all the outward form speaks. 8. She seems of a finer mold than we, and cast in a form of beauty, which, like all beauty, acts with a moral influence upon our hearts ; and as she moves about us, we feel a movement within which rises and spreads gently over us, harmonizing us with her own. And can any man listen to this — can his eye, day after day, rest upon this — and he not be touched by it, and mado better ? AN OLD HAUNT. 105 9. The dignity of a woman lias its peculiar character ; it awes mora than that of man. His is more physical, bearing itself up with an energy of courage which we may brave, or a strength which we may struggle against : he is his own avenger, and wo may stand the brunt. A woman's has nothing of this force in it ; it is of a higher quality, and too delicate for mortal touch. Dana. Richard Henry Dana was born at Cambridge, Massachusetts, on the loth of November, 1737. He graduated at Harvard in 1807. He opened a law-ofliee in Newport, R. I., in 1811, and became a member of the legislature; but his constitutional sensitiveness and feeble health compelled him to abandon his pro- fession soon after. For two years, from 1818, he aided in editing the N. A. Re- view; and in 1831 began the publication of "The Idle Man," a periodical in which he communicated to the public his Tales and Essays. After the discon- tinuance of that paper, he wrote able articles for several of the best periodicals of the country. The first volume of his poems, containing " The Burancer," was printed i,H 1837. An edition of his writings, in two volumes, was published in New York in 1850. Mr. Dana at present passes his time between his town res- idence at Boston and his country retirement at Cape Ann, where he can indulge in his love of nature. He is regarded always, by as many as have the honor of his acquaintance, with admiration and the most reverent affection. All of his writings belong to the permanent literature of the country, and yearly find more and more readers. They are distinguished for profouud philosophy, simplo sen- timent, and pure and vigorous diction. V. 12. AN OLD HAUNT. HH HE rippling water, with its drowsy tone ; JL The tall elms, towering in their stately pride ; And — sorrow's type — the willow, sad and lone, Kissing in graceful woe the murmuring tide ; 2. The gray church-tower ; and dimly seen beyond, The faint hills gilded by the parting sun ; All were the same, and seemed with greeting fond To welcome me as they of old had done. 3. And for a while I stood as in a trance, On that loved spot, forgetting toil and pain ; Buoyant my limbs, and keen and bright my glance : For that brief space I was a boy again ! 4. Again with giddy mates I careless played, Or plied the quivering oar, on conquest bent : Again, beneath the tall elms' silent shade, I wooed the fair, and won the sweet consent J_06 NATIONAL FIFTH READER. 5. But brief, alas! the spell ; for suddenly Pealed from the tower the old familiar chimes, And with their clear, heart-thrilling melody, Awaked the spectral forms of darker times. 6. And I remembered all that years had wrought : How bowed my care-worn frame, how dimmed my eye ! How poor the gauds by Youth so keenly sought ! How quenched and dull Youth's aspirations high ! 7. And in half mournful, half upbraiding host, Duties neglected — high resolves unkept — And many a heart by death or falsehood lost — In lightning current 6'er my bosom swept. 8. Then bowed the stubborn knees, as backward sped The self-accusing thoughts in dread array, And slowly, from their long-congealed bed, Forced the remorseful tears their silent way. 9. Bitter, yet healing drops ! in mercy sent, Like soft dews falling on a thirsty plain, — And ere those chimes their last faint notes had spent, Strengthened and calmed, I stood erect again. 10. Strengthened, the task allotted to fulfill ; Calmed the thick-coming sorrows to endure ; Fearful of naught but of my own frail will. — In His almighty strength and aid secure. 11. For a sweet voice had whispered hope to me, — Had through my darkness shed a kindly ray : It said : " The past is fixed immutably, Yet is there comfort in the coming day !" VI. 13. THE WIDOW AND HER SON. PART FIRST. DURING my residence in the country, I used frequently to attend at the old village church. Its shadowy aisles, its moldering monuments, its dark oaken panneling, nil reverend with the gloom of departed years, seemed to tit it for the haunt THE WIDOW AND HER SOX. 107 of solemn meditation. A Sunday, too, in the country, is so holy in its repose ; such a pensive quiet reigns over the face of nature, that every restless passion is charmed down, and we feel all the natural religion of the soul gently springing up within us. 2. I do not pretend to be what i3 called a devout man, but there are feelings that visit me in a country church, amidst tho beautiful serenity of nature, which I experience nowhere else ; and if not a more religious, I think I am a better man on Sun- day than on any other day of the seven. But in this church I felt myself continually thrown back upon the world by the fri- gidity and pomp of the poor worms around me. 3. The only being that seemed thoroughly to feel the humble and prostrate piety of a true Christian, was a poor decrepit old woman, bending under the weight of years and infirmities. She bore the traces of something better than abject poverty. The lingerings of decent pride were visible in her appearance. Her dress, though humble in the extreme, was scrupulously clean. Some trivial respect, too, had been awarded her, for she did not take her seat among tho village poor, but sat alone on the steps of the altar. 4. She seemed to have survived all love, all friendshij->, all. society, and to have nothing left her but the hopes of heaven. When I saw her feebly rising and bending her aged form in prayer, — habitually conning her prayer book, which her palsied hand and failing eyes could not permit her to read, but which she evidently knew by heart, — I felt persuaded that the falter- ing voice of that poor woman arose to heaven far before the re- sponses of the clerk, the swell of the organ, or the chanting of the choir. 5. I am fond of loitering about country churches, and this was so delightfully situated, that it frequently attracted me. It stood on a knoll, round which a small stream made a beautiful bend, and then wound its way through a long reach of soft meadow scenery. The church was surrounded by yew-trees, which seemed almost coeval with itself. Its tall Gothic spire shot up lightly from among them, with rooks and crows generally wheeling about it. G. I was seated there ono still sunny morning, watching two laborers who were digging a grave. They had chosen one of the most remote and neglected corners of the church-yard, 108 NATIONAL FIFTH READER. where, by the number of nameless graves around, it would ap- pear that the indigent and friendless were hurried into the earth. I was told that the new-made grave was for the only son of a poor widow. While I was meditating on the distinctions of worldly rank, which extend thus down into the very dust, the toll of the bell announced the approach of the funeraL 7. They were the obsequies of poverty, with which pride had nothing to do. A coffin of the plainest materials, without pall or other covering, was borne by some of the villagers. The sexton walked before, with an air of cold indifference. There were no mock mourners in the trappings of affected woe, but there was one real mourner, who feebly tottered after the corpse. 8. It was the aged mother of the deceased — the poor old woman whom I had seen seated on the steps of the altar. She was supported by a humble friend, who was endeavoring to comfort her. A few of the neighboring poor had joined the train, and some children of the village were running hand in hand, now shouting with unthinking mirth, and sometimes pausing to gazo with childish curiosity on the grief of the mourner. 9. As the funeral train approached the grave, the parson issued out of the church porch, arrayed in the surplice, with prayer book in hand, and attended by the clerk. The service, however, was a mere act of charity. The deceased had been destitute, and the survivor was pennyless. It was shuffled through, therefore, in form, but coldly and unfeelingly. The well-fed priest, scarcely moved ten steps from the church door; his voice could scarcely be heard at the grave; and never did I hear the funeral service, that sublime and touching ceremony, turned into such a frigid mummery of words 10. I approached the grave. The coffin was placed on the ground. On it were inscribed the name and age of the deceased — " George Somers, aged 26 years." The poor mother had been assisted to kneel down at the head of it. Her withered hands were clasped as if in prayer ; but I could perceive, by a feeble rocking of the body and a convulsive motion of the lips, that she was gazing on the last relics of her son with tho yearnings of a mother's heart. 11. Tho service being ended, preparations were made to de- posit the coffin in the earth. There was that bustling stir that breaks so harshly on the feelings of grief and affection > dure- THE WIDOW AND HER SON. 109 tions given in the cold tones of business ; the striking- cf spades into sand and gravel, which at the grave of those we love i3 of all sounds the most withering. 12. The bustle around seemed to awaken the mother from a wretched reverie. She raised her glazed eyes, and looked about with a faint wildness. As the men approached with cords to lower the coffin into the grave, she wrung her hands and broke into an agony of grief. The poor woman who attended her took her by the arm, endeavored to raise her from the earth, and to whisper something like consolation — "Nay, now — nay, now — don't take it so sorely to heart." She could only shake her head and wring her hands as one not to be comforted. 13. As they lowered the body into the earth, the creaking of the cords seemed to agonize her ; but when, on some accidental obstruction, there was a jostling of the coffin, all the tenderness of the mother burst forth ; as if any harm could come to him who was far beyond the reach of worldly suffering. I could see no more — my heart swelled into my throat — my eyes tilled with tears — I felt as if I wcro acting a barbarous part in standing by and gazing idly on this scene of maternal anguish. I wandered to another part of the church-yard, where I remained until the funeral train had dispersed. 14. When I saw the mother slowly and painfully quitting the grave, leaving behind her the remains of all that was dear to her on earth, and returning to silence and destitution, my heart ached for her. "What, thought I, arc the distresses of the rich ? They have friends to soothe — pleasures to beguile — a world to divert and dissipate their griefs. What are the Borrows of the young ? Their growing minds soon close above the wounds — their elastic spirits soon rise beneath the pressure — their green and ductile affections soon twine around new objects. 15. But the sorrows of the poor, who have no outward ap- pliances to soothe — the sorrows of the aged, with whom life at best is but a wintry day, and who can look for no after-growth of joy — the sorrows of a widow, aged, solitary, destitute, mourn- ing over an only son, the last solace of her years, — these are the sorrows which make U3 feel the Im'potency of consolation. 110 NATIONAL FIFTH READER. vn. 14. THE WIDOW AND HER SON. PAET SECOND. IT was some time before I left the church-yard. On my way homeward, I met with the woman who had acted as com- forter : she was just returning from accompanying the mother to her lonely habitation, and I drew from her some particulars connected with the affecting scene I had witnessed. 2. The parents of the deceased had resided in the village from childhood. They had inhabited one of the neatest cottages, and by various rural occupations, and the assistance of a small gar- den, had supported themselves creditably and comfortably, and led a happy and a blameless life. They had one son, who had grown up to be the staff and pride of their age. 3. " O, Sir I" said the good woman, " he was such a likely lad, so sweet-tempered, so kind to every one around him, so dutiful to his parents ! It did one's heart good to see him of a Sunday, dressed out in his best, so tall, so straight, so cheery, supporting his old mother to church, — for she was always fonder of leaning on George's arm than on her good man's ; and, poor soul, she might well be proud of him, for a finer lad there was not in the country round." 4. Unfortunately, the son was tempted, during a year of scarcity and agricultural hardship, to enter into the service of one of the small craft that plied on a neighboring river. He had not been long in this employ, when he was entrapped by a press-gang, and carried off to sea. His parents received the tidings of his seizure, but beyond that they could learn nothing. It was the loss of their main prop. The father, who was already infirm, grew heartless and melancholy, and sunk into his grave. 5. The widow, left lonely in her age and feebleness, could no longer support herself, and came upon the parish. Still there was a kind feeling toward her throughout the village, and a cer- tain respect as being one of the oldest inhabitants. As no one applied for the cottage in which she had passed so many happy days, she was permitted to remain in it, where she lived solitary and almost helpless. The few wants of nature were chiefly sup- plied from the scanty productions of her little garden, which the neighbors would now and then cultivate for her. TIIE WIDOW AND HER SON. 1H 6. It was but a few days before the time at which these cir- cumstances were told me, that she was gathering some vegeta- bles for her repast, when she heard the cottage-door, that faced the garden, suddenly opened. A stranger came out, and seemed to be looking eagerly and wildly around. Ho was dressed in seaman's clothes, was emaciated and ghastly pale, and bore the air of one broken by sickness and hardships. He saw her, and hastened toward her ; but his steps were faint and faltering: he sank on his knees before her, and sobbed like a child. 7. The poor woman gazed upon him with a vacant and wan- dering eye — " O my dear, dear mother ! don't you know your son ! your poor boy George !" It was, indeed, the wreck of her once noble lad ; who, shattered by wounds, by sickness, and foreign imprisonment, had, at length, dragged his wasted lirnbs homeward, to repose among the scenes of his childhood. 8. I will not attempt to detail the particulars ol such a meet- ing, where joy and sorrow were so completely blended ; still he was alive ! — he was come home ! — he might yet live to comfort and cherish her old age ! Nature, however, was exhausted in him ; and if any thing had been wanting to finish the work of fate, the desolation of his native cottage would have been suf- ficient. He stretched himself on the jDallet where his widowed mother had passed many a sleepless night, and he never rose from it again. 9. The villagers, when they heard that George Somers had returned, crowded to see him, offering every comfort and assist- ance that their humble means afforded. He, however, was too weak to talk — he could only look his thanks. His mother was his constant attendant, and he seemed unwilling to be helped by any other hand. 10. There is something in sickness that breaks down the pride of manhood ; that softens the heart, and brings it back to the feelings of infancy. Who that has suffered, even in advanced life, in sickness and despondency — who that has pined on a weary bed in the neglect and loneliness of a foreign land — but has thought on the mother " that looked on his childhood," that smoothed his pillow, and administered to his helplessness ! 11. Oh ! there is an enduring tenderness in the love of a mother to a son, that transcends all other affections of the heart. It is neither to be chilled by selfishness, nor daunted by 112 NATIONAL FIFTH READER. danger, nor weakened by worthlessness, nor stifled by ingrati- tude. She will sacrifice every comfort to his convenience ; she will surrender every pleasure to his enjoyment ; she will glory in his fame, and exult in his prosperity ; and, if adversity over- take him, he will be tho dearer to her by misfortune ; and, if disgrace settle upon his name, she will still love and cherish him ; and, if all the world besides cast him off, she will be all the world to him. 12. Poor George Somers had known well what it was to be in sickness, and none to soothe — lonely and in prison, and none to visit him. He could not endure his mother from his sight ; if she moved away, his eye would follow her. She would sit for hours by his bed, watching him as he slept. Sometimes he would start from a feverish dream, look anxiously up until he saw her venerable form bending over him, when he would take her hand, lay it on his bosom, and fall asleep with the tranquil- lity of a child. In this way he died. 13. My first impulse, on hearing this humble tale of affliction, was to visit the cottage of the mourner, and administer pecun- iary assistance, and, if possible, comfort. I found, however, on inqui'ry, that the good feelings of the villagers had prompted them to do every thing that the case admitted ; and as the poor know best how to console each other's sorrows, I did not ven- ture to intrude. 14. The next Sunday I was at the village church ; when, to my surprise, I saw the poor old woman tottering down the aisle to her accustomed seat on the steps of the altar. She had made an effort to put on something like mourning for her son ; and nothing could be more touching than this struggle between pious affection and utter poverty : a black ribbon or so — a faded black handkerchief — and one or two more such humble attempts to express by outward signs that grief which passes show. 15. When I looked round upon the storied monuments, the stately hatchments, the cold marble pomp, with which grandeur mourned magnificently over departed pride ; and turned to this poor widow, bowed down by age and sorrow at the altar of her God, and offering up the prayers and praises of a pious, though a broken heart, I felt that this living monument of real grief was worth them all. 16. I related her story to some of the wealthy members of BIOGRAPHY OF JACOB HAYS. 113 the congregation, and they were moved at it. They exerted themselves to render her situation more comfortable, and to lighten her afflictions. It was, however, but smoothing a few steps to the grave. In the course of a Sunday or two after, she was missed from her usual seat at church, and before I left the neighborhood, I heard, with a feeling of satisfaction, that she had quietly breathed her last, and gone to rejoin those she loved, in that world where sorrow is never known, and friends are never parted. Irving. Washington Irving, who has delighted the readers of the English language for more than half a century, was born in the city of New York, on the third of April, 1783. His father, a respectable merchant, originally from Scotland, died while he was quite young, and his education was superintended by his elder brothers, some of whom have gained considerable reputation for acquirements and literature. His first essays were a series of letters under the signature of Jonathan Oldstyle, Gent., published in the .Morning Chronicle, of which one of his brothers was editor, in 180:2. In 1800, after his return from a European tour, he joined Mr. Paulding in writing "Salmagundi," a whimsical miscellany, ■which captivated the town and decided the fortunes of its authors. Soon after, he produced "The History of New York, by Diedrick Knickerbocker," the most original and humorous work of the age. After the appearance of this work, he wrote but little for several years, having engaged with his brothers in foreign commerce; but, fortunately for American literature, while in England, in 1815, a reverse of fortune changed the whole tenor of his life, causing him to resort to literature, which had hitherto been his amusement, for solace and support. The first fruit of this change was "The Sketch Book," which was published in New York and London in 1819 and 1S20, and which met a success never before re- ceived by a book of unconnected tales and essays. Mr. Irving subsequently published "Bracebridge Hall," the "History of the Life and Voyages of Colum- bus," "The Alhambra," &C,