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, and a consciousness that what you have to deliver is worth hearing-2, by wholly engaging in it, mind intent on it, and heart warmed with it: never be influenced by approbation or disapprobation; master yourself; but how can you unless you know yourself? Think'st thou there are no serpents in the world, 576. Look at the limbs of a willow tree, gently and variously waving before the breeze, cutting curved lines, which are lines of beauty; and cultivate a graceful, easy, flowing and forcible gesticulation. Adapt your action, as well as vocal powers, to the occasion and circumstances the action to the word, and the word to the action. A young speaker may be more various than an old one. Do not act words instead of ideas; i. e. not make gestures to correspond, when you speak of anything small, low, up, large, &c. Let the voice, countenance, mien, and gesture, conspire to drive home to the judgment and heart, your impassioned appeals, cogent arguments, strong conclusions, and deep convictions. Let Nature, guided by science, be your oracle, and the voice of unsophistocated feeling your monitor. Fill your soul with the mighty purpose of becoming an orator, and turn aside from no labor, shrink from no effort, that are essential to the enterprise. Selfmade men are the glory of the world. Man-is a harp, whose chords elude the sight; Ten thonsand thousand strings at once go loose,- It is a note of upstart greatness-to observe and watch For those poor trifles, which the noble mindNeglects, and scorns. Anecdote. Somewhere. One gentleman riding in a stage-coach, with another, observed to him," Sir, I think, have seen you somewhere." "I presume you have, Sir," replied the other; "for I have been there very often." Brute force-may crush the heart, but cannot kill; The mind, that thinks, no terrors can compel ; But it will speak at length, and boldly tell The world its weakness, and its rights; the night Our race so long has grop'd through, since man fell From his imagin'd Eden of delight, Must, will, ere long, retire from Truth's fast dawi ing light. 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 where selfishness is porter at the gate. 10. friendship. 9. Confidence. cannot dwell 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 chooseth, is a visible index of his heart. A drainless shower Of light-is poesy; 'tis the supreme of power; Great minds, like Heaven, are pleased in doing Cowards-are scar'd with threat'nings; boys are Into confessions; but a steady mind [whipp'd Acts of itself,-ne'er asks the body counsel. The mind-is full Of curious changes, that perplex itself, Just like the visible world; and the heart-ebbs Like the great sea; first flows, and then retires, And on the passions doth the spirit ride, Through sunshine—and in rain, from good-to ill, Then to deep vice, and so on-back to virtue; Till, in the grave, that universal calm, We sleep--the sleep of death. Virtue, while 't is free from blame, Is modest, lowly, meek, and unassuming; Not apt, like fearful vice, to shield its weakness Beneath the studied pomp of boastful phrase, Which swells, to hide the poverty it shelters; But, when this virtue-feels itself suspected, Insulted, set at nought, its whiteness stain'd, It then grows proud, forgets its humble worth, And rates itself-above its real value. A brain of feathers, and a heart of lead. 578. SUGGESTIONS. The author is aware, from experience, that there are many things tending to discourage a new beginner in declamation; one is, a consciousness of his own awkwardness; which teaches us the importance of knowing how to do a thing, 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, When eastward-darkly going, of the prevalence of the pride of science in the literary world. 3. The true christian has no confidence in mere feelings, or in that sort of good, which, being without truth, its appointed guide and protector, is transient and inoperative. Anecdote. A Wise Decision. Eliza Ambert, a young Parisian lady, resolutely discarded a gentiman, 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 oldfushioned, 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 Devotion wafts the mind above, But Heaven itself descends in love; A feeling from the Godhead caught, To wean from self each sordid thought; A ray of him who form'd the whole; A glory circling round the soul! Varieties. 1. Neglect not time present; despair not of time past; never despair. 2. Infamy-is where it is received. If thou art a mud wall, it will stick,-if marble, it will rebound. If thou storm at it, it is thine; if 3. Ridicule thou contemn it,-it is gone. seems to dishonor, worse than dishonor itself. 4. It is heaven, on earth, to have the mind move in charity, rest in Providence, and turn on the truth. 5. A long life may be passed without finding a friend, in whose understanding and virtue, we can equally confide, and whose opinion we can value at once for its justice and sincerity. 6. A weak man, however honest, is not qualified to judge. 7. A man of the world, however penetrating, is not fit to counsel. 8. What is the great, essential evil of intemperance? The voluntary extinction of reason. 9. What breaks the heart of the drunkard's wife? It is not, that he is poor; but, that he is a drunkard. 10. How shall we arrest, how suppress this great inwardly, and outwardly; by giving strength evil? To rescue men, we must act on them within, to withstand the temptation, and remove the temptation without. Thou sun, (said I,) fair light! And thou enlightened earth, so fresh, and gay; 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 judgment-disapproves, his heart-pities them. 2. It is the constant tendency of man, when tions of the original matter omitted, to make more room for the in a perverted state of the will, and according Readings and Recitations, and still keep the book, within what to the state of such perversion, to make the N. B. The latter part of the work is much abridged, and por reason, or understanding, everything, and to are deemed proper limits: this will rationally account for its inpay little or no attention to the state of the coherency, as well as brevity.-One more last word to the pupil. affections; and also to regulate his actions FEEL RIGHT-THINK RIGHT, AND Act Right, and more by external, than internal considera-YOU SHALL BECOME ALL THAT YOU ARE CAPABLE tions; this state and tendency is the cause OF, AND ALL THAT YOU 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 besonging 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. How can it enter into the thoughts of man, 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. 581. FANCIED 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 his best, he is sure none ever did, nor ever the bottom of the ocean; when he has shot son is the certain measure of truth; his own can shoot better, or beyond it; his own reaknowledge, 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. Contending tempests, on his naked head, [led. 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 having spun her task, lays her eggs, and dies. But a man-can never have taken in his full measure of knowledge, has not time to subdue 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, That-I spent,-that-I had; on a lady's ring, is really, a vast globe, like the sun in size, and in glory; no less spacious, no less luminous, than the radiant source of the day so that every star is not barely a world, but the centre of a magnificent system; has a retinue of worlds irradiatractive influence,-all which are lost to our ted by its beams, and revolving round its atsight, in unmeasurable wilds of ether. SHE WALKS IN BEAUTY. She walks in beauty, like the night Of cloudless climes, and starry skies; Which heaven, to gaudy day denies. Had half impaired the nameless grace, Will he be idle, who has much t' 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 arious eyes, and they have all told us that they uld 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, in 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 pleasure 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 equivocal 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 INTEMPERANCE. 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 captiour 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 pre- again resolves, and weeps, and prays, and servation; and there is opened to us, also, a seeks it yet again!" Wretched man! he noble pursuit, to which the spirit of the times has placed himself in the hands of a giant, strongly invites us. Our proper business is who never pities, and never relaxes his iron improvement. Let our age be the age of im- gripe. He may struggle, but he is in chains. provement. In a day of peace, let us advance He may cry for release, but it comes not; the arts of peace, and the works of peace; and lost! lost! may be inscribed on the door let us develop the resources of our land; call posts of his dwelling. In the meantime, these forth its powers, build up its institutions, pro- paroxysms of his dying nature decline, and mote all its great interests, and see whether a fearful apathy, the harbinger of spiritual we also, in our day and generation, may not death, comes on. His resolution fails, and perform something worthy to be remembered. his mental energy, and his vigorous enter Let us cultivate a true spirit of union and prise; and nervous irritation and depression harmony. In pursuing the great objects which ensue. The social affections lose their fullour condition points out to us, let us act un-ness and tenderness, and conscience loses its der 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, Still, to new heights, his restless wishes tower; Frailty--thy name is Man; the earth-waits her king. power, and the heart its sensibility, until all THE DESTRUCTION OF SENACHERIB. True happiness-is to no place confined: |