requisite for good speaking. How rarely is it found in perfection among our orators! Words, says one, referring to articulation, should be delivered out from the lips, as beautiful coins, newly issued from the mint; deeply and accurately impressed', perfectly finished'; neatly struck by the proper organs', distinct', in due *succession', and of due weight'." How rarely do we hear a speaker, whose tongue', teeth', and lips', do their office so perfectly as, in any wise, to answer to this beautiful description! And the common faults in articulation, it should be remembered, take their rise from the very nursery. But let us refer to other particulars. upon 2. Grace in eloquence-in the pulpit, at the bar—can not be separated from grace in the ordinary manners, in private life, in the social circle, in the family. It can not well be superinduced all the other acquisitions of youth, any more than that nameless, but invaluable quality, called good breeding. You may, therefore, begin the work of forming the orator with your child; not merely by teaching him to declaim, but what is of more consequence, by observing and correcting his daily manners, motions, and attitudes. 3. You can say, when he comes into your apartment, or presents you with something, a book or letter, in an awkward and blundering manner', "Return', and enter this room again'," or', "Present me that book in a different manner," or, "Put yourself into a different attitude"." You can explain to him the difference between thrusting or pushing out his hand and arm, in straight lines and at acute angles', and moving them in flowing, +circular lines, and easy, graceful action'. He will readily understand you. Nothing is more true than that "the motions of children are originally graceful;" and it is by suffering them to be perverted', that we lay the foundation for invincible awkwardness in later life. 4. We go, next, to the schools for children. It ought to be a leading object, in these schools, to teach the art of reading. It ought to occupy three fold more time than it does. The teachers of these schools should labor to improve themselves. They should feel, that to them, for a time, are committed the future + orators of the land. 5. We would rather have a child, even of the other sex, return to us from school a first-rate reader, than a first-rate performer on the pianoforte. We should feel that we had a far better pledge for the intelligence and talent' of our child. The accomplishment, in its perfection, would give more pleasure. The voice of song is not sweeter than the voice of eloquence; and there may be eloquent readers', as well as eloquent speakers'. We speak of perfection' in this art; and it is something, we must say in defense of our preference, which we have never yet seen. Let the same pains be devoted to reading, as are required to form an accomplished performer on an instrument; let us have, as the ancients had, the formers of the voice, the music masters of the reading voice; let us see years devoted to this accomplishment, and then we should be prepared to stand the comparison. 6. It is, indeed, a most intellectual accomplishment. So is music, too, in its perfection. We do by no means + undervalue this noble and most delightful art, to which Socrates applied himself, even in his old age. But one recommendation of the art of reading is, that it requires a constant exercise of mind. It involves, in its perfection, the whole art of criticism on language. A man may possess a fine genius, without being a perfect reader; but he can not be a perfect reader without genius. N. A. REVIEW. QUESTIONS.-When must the business of training in elocution be commenced? What excellent comparison is employed to illustrate a good articulation? What is the relative importance of good reading? How does the power of reading with perfection compare with the power of excellent musical performance? Explain the inflections marked in the 1st paragraph. (Rule VI, 3§.) Explain those marked in the 3d paragraph. (Rule II, 1§, and IV.) In the first sentence, which word is the subject? Which words are in the objective case? Which are the prepositions? In the last sentence, which words are in the objective case? Which are the verbs, and in what mode are they? Which are the modes? See Pinneo's Analytical Grammar. ARTICULATION. Prolong the sounds of the vowels that are italicized. W-a-r, o-r-b, fl-ow-s, p-u-re, d-ow-n, ai-d, b-ow, s-a-ve. Th-e-se are thy gl-o-ri-ous works, p-a-rent of g-oo-d. F-ai-rest of st-a-rs! L-a-st in the tr-ai-n of n-i-ght. H-o-ly, h-o-ly, h-o-ly, a-rt th-ou, O L-o-rd! H-ai-l h-o-ly l-i-ght. We pr-ai-se th-ee, O Lord G-o-d. The reader will need to guard against a drawling style of reading after these exercises. PRONOUNCE Correctly. -Ed-u-cate, not ed-dy-cate, nor ej-ju-catë: spoils, not spiles: vic-to-ry, not vic-ter-y: pop-u-la-tion, not pop-py-la-tion: man-u-fac-tures, not man-y-fac-ters: ag-ri-cult-ure, not ag-ri-cul-ter, nor ag-r-cul-tshure: prov-i-dence, not prov-i-dunce: a-ban-don, not ub-andon: prov-o-ca-tion, not prov-er-ca-tion: spasms, not spas-ums. 1. In-ex'-o-ra-ble, a. that can not be Per-pe-tu'-i-ty, n. continued, unin- 3. A-loof', adv. at a distance, Vor'-tex, n. a whirling motion of water forming a hollow in the center, a whirlpool. 4. Suf'-frage, n. vote given in choosing men for office. 5. Fore-bo'-ding, n. a foretelling. Found'-er-ing, n. being filled with water and sinking. 6. Har'-bin-ger, n. that which precedes and gives notice beforehand of any thing. 7. Re-verse', v. to turn to the contrary, A-nal'o-gy, n, resemblance between things. 8. Im'-mi-nence, n. a hanging over. 10. Spasms, n. violent and irCon-vul'-sions, n regular contraction of the muscles of the body. Ex-tort', v. to wring or force out of. NECESSITY OF EDUCATION. 1. WE must educate'! We must educate'! or we must perish by our own prosperity'. If we do not', short will be our race from the cradle to the grave. If, in our haste to be rich and mighty', we outrun our literary and religious institutions', they will never overtake us; or only come up after the battle of liberty is fought and lost, as spoils to grace the victory, and as resources of inexorable despotism for the perpetuity of our bondage. 2. But what will become of the West, if her prosperity rushes up to such a majesty of power, while those great institutions linger which are necessary to form the mind, and the conscience, and the heart of that vast world? It must not be permitted. And yet what is done must be done quickly, for population will not wait', and + commerce will not cast anchor', and manufactures will not shut off the steam', nor shut down the gate', and agriculture, pushed by millions of freemen on their fertile soil', will not withhold her corrupting abundance'. 3. And let no man at the East quiet himself, and dream of liberty; whatever may become of the West. Our alliance of blood, and political institutions, and common interests, is such, that we can not stand aloof in the hour of her calamity, should it ever come. Her destiny is our destiny; and the day that her gallant ship goes down', our little boat sinks in the vortex'! 4. The great experiment is now making', and from its extent and rapid filling up', is making in the West', whether the perpetuity of our republican institutions can be reconciled with universal suffrage'. Without the education of the head' and heart' of the nation, they can not' be; and the question to be decided is, can the nation, or the vast balance power of it, be so imbued with intelligence and virtue as to bring out, in laws and their administration, a perpetual self-preserving energy? We know that the work is a vast one, and of great difficulty; and yet we believe it can be done. 5. I am aware that our ablest patriots are looking out on the deep, vexed with storms, with great forebodings and failings of heart, for fear of the things that are coming upon us; and I perceive a spirit of impatience rising, and distrust in respect to the perpetuity of our republic; and I am sure that these fears are well founded, and am glad that they exist. It is the star of hope in our dark horizon. Fear is what we need, as the ship needs wind on a rocking sea, after a storm, to prevent foundering. But when our fear and our efforts shall correspond with our danger, the danger is past. + 6. For it is not the impossibility of self-preservation which threatens' us; nor is it the unwillingness of the nation to pay the price of the preservation', as she has paid the price of the purchase of our liberties. It is inattention' and inconsideration', *protracted till the crisis is past, and the things which belong to our peace' are hid from our eyes'. And blessed be God, that the tokens of a national waking up, the harbinger of God's mercy, are multiplying upon us! 7. We did not, in the darkest hour, believe that God had brought our fathers to this goodly land to lay the foundation of religious liberty, and wrought such wonders in their preservation, and raised their descendants to such hights of civil and religious liberty, only to reverse the analogy of his providence, and abandon his work. + 3. And though there now be clouds, and the sea roaring, and men's hearts failing, we believe there is light behind the cloud, and that the imminence of our danger is intended, under the guidance of Heaven, to call forth and apply a holy, traternal fellowship between the East and the West, which shall secure our + preservation, and make the prosperity of our nation durable as time, and as abundant as the waves of the sea. 9. I would add, as a motive to immediate action', that, if we do fail in our great experiment of self-government', our destruction + + will be as signal as the birthright abandoned', the mercies abused', and the provocation offered to beneficent Heaven'. The descent of desolation' will correspond with the past elevation'. 10. No punishments of Heaven are so severe as those for mercies abused'; and no instrumentality employed in their inflic tion is so dreadful as the wrath of man'. No spasms are like the spasms of expiring liberty, and no wailing such as her convul sions extort. 11. It took Rome three hundred years to die'; and our death, if we perish, will be as much more terrific, as our intelligence and free institutions have given us more bone, sinew, and vitality. May God hide from me the day when the dying agonies of my country shall begin'! O, thou beloved land', bound together by the ties of brotherhood', and common interest', and perils'! live forever' one and undivided'! BEECHER. QUESTIONS.-Why is education so necessary in this country? What will, without education, contribute to our downfall? What can save the nation's liberties? Can the nation continue free, without the influence of education and religion? Why should we regard the prospects of this nation with fear? What can be the advantage of a spirit of fear? Why may we trust that God will not abandon our nation to ruin? What will insure her destruction? What is said of the greatness of such a destruction? What are the most dreadful punishments that heaven can inflict upon a nation? How would our destruction compare with that of Rome? Give the reasons for the inflections marked in the 2d paragraph. (The principle of negative sentences prevails in this sentence. See Rule VI for inflections, 2§, Note.) In what mode, tense, number, and person, is "must educate," in the first sentence? In the 3d paragraph, for what noun does the pronoun "her" stand? Parse the last word in the lesson. See Pinneo's Analytical Grammar, Rule 7. ARTICULATION. Prolong the sounds of the vowels that are italicized. E-rr, a-ll, a-ge, a-rm, o-ld, ou-r, ee-l, b-oy, i-sle. Our Father, who art in Heaven. Woe unto thee, Chorazin! Woe unto thee, Bethsaida! |