575. Stability of position, facility of change, and general grace of action, depend on the right use of the feet; [see the engravings of them,] the motions of children are graceful, because prompted by nature: see how the different passions affect their countenances; what a pity they are not kept on in this way, without being led by their teachers into captivity to bad habits. Keep your mind collected and composed; guard against bashfulness, which will wear off by opposition. One generally has confidence in doing anything with whose manner he is familiar. Assurance is attained by-1, entirely mastering your subject, Think'st thou there are no serpents in the world, 576. Look at the limbs of a willow tree, gently Anecdote. Somewhere. One gentleman Brute force-may crush the heart, but cannot kill; The world its weakness, and its rights; the night Varieties. 1. Mind may act on mind, though bodies be far divided. 2. A bold man, or a fool must be he, who would change his lot with another. 3. A wise man,-scorneth nothing, be it ever so small or homely. 4. Mind-is a perpetual motion; for it is a running stream, from an unfathomable source, the depth of the DIVINE INTELLIGENCE. 5. Nature is the chart of God, mapping out all his attributes; Art-the shadow of his wisdom, and copieth his resources. 6. In a dream, thou mayest live a lifetime, and all be forgotten in the morning. 7. A letter timely writ, is a rivet to the chain of affection. 8. As frost to the bud, and blight to the blossom, even such is self-interest to friendship. 9. Confidence cannot dwell where selfishness is porter at the gate. 10. Those hours are not lost, that are spent in cementing affection. 11. Character-is mainly modeled, by the cast of the minds that surround it. 12. The company a man choos eth, is a visible index of his heart. A drainless shower Man-is a harp, whose chords dude the sight; Ten thonsand thousand strings at once go loose,- It is a note Of upstart greatness-to observe and watch Great minds, like Heaven, are pleased in doing Cowards-are scar'd with threat'nings; boys are Of curious changes, that perplex itself, A brain of feathers, and a heart of lead 878. SUGGESTIONS. The author is aware, | of the prevalence of the pride of science in from experience, that there are many things the literary world. 3. The true christian has tending to discourage a new beginner in de- no confidence in mere feelings, or in that clamation; one is, a consciousness of his sort of good, which, being without truth, its own awkwardness; which teaches us the appointed guide and protector, is transient importance of knowing how to do a thing, and inoperative. before attempting it in the presence of others. Let him select a short, and ordinary piece, first, and commit it perfectly to memory, and be sure that he understands every word of the author. Never appear in an improper dress; let your clothing be clean and neat, and properly adjusted to the body; neither too loose, nor too tight. Never be influenced, one way or another, by what your companions may say, or do; be your own master, and feel determined to succeed; at the same time, you may be as modest and unassuming as you please, the more so the better: let your subject and object be to you ALL IN ALL. Applause Waits on success: the fickle multitude, 579. OUR BOOK. In this abridged outline of the Principles of Elocution, the author has endeavored to appreciate the age and state of those, who will be likely to read, or study the work; for it is designed for both purposes; and if the reader, or student, shall experience a tithe of the pleasure in rightly using it, as the author has in writing it, his aspirations will be fully realized. The more these subjects are examined, and their principles applied to practice, the more will it be seen and felt, that no one can become a GOOD ELOCUTIONIST, unless he studies BODY and MIND, MATTER and SPIRIT; and makes the results his own, by actual appropriation; science and art, theory and practice, must go hand in hand, to develop and perfect us for EARTH or HEAVEN. If you did know-to whom I gave the ring, If you did know-for whom I gave the ring, When eastward-darkly going, Miscellaneous. 1. A wise man-is willing to profit by the errors of others; because he does not, under the impulse of pride, condemn and despise them; but, while his judg. ment-disapproves, his heart-pities them. 2. It is the constant tendency of man, when in a perverted state of the will, and according o the state of such perversion, to make the reason, or understanding, everything, and to pay little or no attention to the state of the affections; and also to regulate his actions more by external, than internal considerations; this state and tendency is the cause Anecdote. A Wise Decision. Eliza Ambert, a young Parisian lady, resolutely dis carded a gentlman, to whom she was to have been married, because he ridiculed religion. Having given him a gentle reproof, he replied, "that a man of the world could not be so old fashioned, as to regard God and religion" Eliza started; but, on recovering herself, said, "From this moment, sir, when I discover that you do not regard religion, I cease to be yours. He, who does not love and honor God, can never love his wife, constantly and sincerely." Yes, love indeed is light from Heaven; A spark of that immortal fire To lift from earth our low desire Thou sun, (said I,) fair light! And thou enlightened earth, so fresh, and gay; N. B. The latter part of the work is much abridged, and por tons of the original matter omitted, to make more room for the Readings and Recitations, and still keep the book, within what are deemed proper limits: this will rationally account for its in. coherency, as well as brevity.-One more last word to the pup FEEL RIGHT-THINK RIGHT, AND ACT RIGHT, AND YOU SHALL BECOME ALL THAT YOU ARE CAPABLE of, AND ALL THAT YƆU CAN DESIRE. Notes. In these exercises, there is a continual recurrence of the preceding principles, and all designed for thinkers and workers. As there are no such things as TIME and SPACE beLonging to the mind, the nearer we approach to their annihilation, the more readily can we memorize: for which reason small type are used; and also variety, for the purpose of assisting in the preservation of the sight, and maintaining our independence of spectacles: in consideration of which, it should be observed, that books must be read, by varying their distances from the eyes; sometimes quite near, at others farther off: also practice the sight in looking at surrounding objects, in their proper positions from nearest to farthest. 580. IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL. Among various excellent arguments-for the immortality of the soul, there is one drawn from the perpetual progress of the soul to its perfection, without a possibility of ever arriving at it. man, How can it enter into the thoughts of that the soul, which is capable of such immense perfections, and of receiving new improvements to all eternity, shall fall away into nothing, almost as soon as it is created? Are such abilities made for no purpose? A brute arrives at a point of perfection that he can never pass in a few years, he has all the endowments he is capable of; and, were he to live ten thousand more, would be the same thing he is at present. 591. FANC'IED INFALLIBILITY. When man has looked about him, as far as he can, he concludes there is no more to be seen; when he is at the end of his line, he is at the bottom of the ocean; when he has shot his best, he is sure none ever did, nor ever can shoot better, or beyond it; his own reason is the certain measure of truth; his own knowledge, of what is possible in nature; though his mind and his thoughts, change every seven years, as well as his strength and his features: nay, though his opinions change every week or every day, yet he is sure, or at least confident, that his present thoughts and conclusions are just and true, and cannot be deceived. OUR TOILS AND THEIR REWARD. He, who ascends to mountain-tops, shall find And far beneath, the earth and ocean spread; Contending tempests, on his naked head, [led. And thus, reward the toils, which to those summits 582. PARTS OF THE WHOLE. This sun, Man does not seem born to enjoy life, but with all its attendant planets, is but a very to deliver it down to others. This is not sur- little part of the grand machine of the uniprising to consider in animals, which are verse; every star, though no bigger in apformed for our use, and can finish their busi-pearance than the diamond, that glitters ness in a short life. The silk-worm, after hav- on a lady's ring, is really, a vast globe, like ing spun her task, lays her eggs, and dies. the sun in size, and in glory; no less spaBut a man-can never have taken in his full cious, no less luminous, than the radiant measure of knowledge, has not time to sub-source of the day: so that every star is not due his passions, establish his soul in virtue, and come up to the perfection of his nature, before he is hurried off the stage. Would an infinitely wise Being- -make such glorious creatures for so mean a purpose? Can he delight in the production of such abortive intelligences, such short-lived reasonable beings? Would he give us talents, that are not to be exerted? capacities that are never to be gratified? How can we find that wisdom, which shines through all his works, in the formation of man, without looking on this world as only a nursery for the next, and believing, that the several generations of rational creatures, which rise up and disappear, in such quick successions, are only to receive their first rudiments of existence here, and afterwards, to be transplanted into a more friendly climate, where they may spread, and flourish-to all eternity? Addison. VIRTUOUS FRIENDSHIP. Is aught so fair, Where peace, with ever-blooming olive, crowns barely a world, out the centre of a magnifi cent system; has a retinue of worlds irradia ted by its beams, and revolving round its at› tractive influence,-all which are lost to our sight, in unmeasurable wilds of ether. SHE WALKS IN BEAUTY. She walks in beauty, like the night Of cloudless climes, and starry skies; A mind at peace, with all below, Of unsupported mind, whose steady will Will he be idle, who has much ' enjoy? 583. CHANGING AND UNCHANGING. When we have looked on the pleasures of life, and they have vanished away; when we have looked on the works of nature, and perceived that they were changing; on the monuments of art, and seen that they would not stand; on our friends, and they have fled while we were gazing; on ourselves, and felt that we were as fleeting as they; when we have looked on every object to which we could turn our arrious eyes, and they have all told us that they could give us no hope nor support, because they were so feeble themselves; we can look to the throne of God: change and decay have never reached that; the revolution of ages has never moved it; the waves of an eternity have been rushing past it, but it has remained unshaken; the waves of another eternity are rushing toward it, but it is fixed, and can never be disturbed. INFANT SLEEPING IN A GARDEN. Sleep on, sweet babe! the flowers, that wake To make thy infant slumbers bless'd. That every child of sorrow shares. As ever bowed the summer rose.-Dawes. 584. The estimate and valor of a man, consist in the heart, and in the will; there, his true honor lives; valor is stability, not of legs and arms, but of courage, and the soul; it does not lie in the valor of our horse, nor of our arms, but in ourselves. He, that falls obstinate in his courage, Si succiderit de genu pugnat; if his legs fail him, fights upon his knees. A MOTHER'S LOVE. Hast thou sounded the depths-of yonder sea, 585. BALANCE OF HAPPINESS EQUAL. An extensive contemplation of human affairs, will lead us to the conclusion,-that among the different conditions, and ranks of men, the balance of happiness--is preserved, ir a great measure, equal; and that the high and the low, the rich and the poor, approach, in point of real enjoyment, much nearer to each other, than is commonly imagined. In the lot of man, mutual compensations, both of pleasure, and of pain, universally take place. Providence never intended, that any state here, should be either completely happy, or entirely miserable. If the feelings of pleas ure are more numerous, and more lively, in the higher departments of life, such, also, are those of pain. If greatness flatters our vanity, it multiplies our dangers. If opulence increases our gratifications, it increases, in the same proportion, our desires and demands. If the poor--are confined to a more narrow circle, yet, within that circle, lie most of those natural satisfactions, which, after all the refinements of art, are found to be the most genuine and true. In a state, therefore, where there is neither so much to be coveted, on the one hand, nor to be dreaded, on the other, as at first appears, how submissive ought we to be--to the disposal of Providence! how temperate--in our desires, and pursuits! how much more attentive --to preserve our virtue, and to improve our minds, than to gain the doubtful, and equivo cal advantages of worldly prosperity.-Blair. A RAINY DAY. It rains. What lady--loves a rainy day? 587. OUR COUNTRY. And let the sa- 588. MORAL EFFECTS OF INTEMPERANCA cred obligations which have devolved on The sufferings of animal nature, occasioned this generation, and on us, sink deep into by intemperance, are not to be compared with our hearts. Those are daily dropping from the moral agonies, which convulse the soul. among us, who established our liberty and It is an immortal being, who sins, and suffers; our government. The great trust now des- and, as his earthly house dissolves, he is ap cends to new hands. Let us apply our-proaching the judgment-seat, in anticipation selves to that which is presented to us, as of a miserable eternity. He feels his capti our appropriate object. We can win no lau- vity, and, in anguish of spirit, clanks his rels in a war for independence. Earlier and chain, and cries for help. Conscience thunworthier hands have gathered them all. Nor ders, remorse goads, and, as the gulph opens are there places for us by the side of Solon, before him, he recoils, and trembles, and and Alfred, and other founders of states. weeps, and prays, and resolves, and proOur fathers have filled them. But there re-mises, and reforms, and "seeks it yet again;" mains to us a great duty of defence and preservation; and there is opened to us, also, a noble pursuit, to which the spirit of the times strongly invites us. Our proper business is improvement. Let our age be the age of improvement. In a day of peace, let us advance the arts of peace, and the works of peace; let us develop the resources of our land; call forth its powers, build up its institutions, promote all its great interests, and see whether we also, in our day and generation, may not perform something worthy to be remembered. Let us cultivate a true spirit of union and harmony. In pursuing the great objects which our condition points out to us, let us act under a settled conviction, and an habitual feeling, that these twenty-six states are one country. Let our conceptions be enlarged to the circle of our duties. Let us extend our ideas over the whole of the vast field in which we are called to act. Let our object be, our country, our whole country, and nothing but our country. And, by the blessing of God, may that country itself become a vast and splendid monument, not of oppression and terror, but of wisdom, of peace, and of liberty, upon which the world may gaze with admiration forever.-Webster. DISAPPOINTED AMBITION. In full-blown dignity-see Wolsey stand, again resolves, and weeps, and prays, and THE DESTRUCTION OF SENACHERIB. Still, to new heights, his restless wishes tower; Frailty--thy name is Man; the earth-waits her king. True happiness-is to no place confined: |