"T is the divinity that stirs within us; "T is heaven itself that points out an hereafter, To die, to sleep, No more ;—and, by a sleep, to say we end - Devoutly to be wished. To die ;—to sleep ; To sleep! perchance to dream: aye, there's the rub! As Cæsar loved me, I weep for him; As he was fortunate, I rejoice at it; But, as he was ambitious, I slew him. -Shakespeare. Pray for my soul. More things are wrought by prayer If, knowing God, they lift not hands of prayer Both for themselves and those who call them friends? For so the whole round earth is every way Bound by gold chains about the feet of God.-Tennyson. And the raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting On the pallid bust of Pallas, just above my chamber door; And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon's that is dreaming, And the lamp-light o'er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor; And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor, O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is Thy name in all the earth, who hast set Thy glory above the heavens. When I consider Thy heavens, the work of Thy fingers; the moon and the stars, which Thou hast ordained; what is man that Thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that Thou visitest him? For Thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honor. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of Thy hands: Thou hast put all things under his feet. O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is Thy name in all the earth.—Bible. Hear the tolling of the bells— Iron bells! What a world of solemn thought their monody compels! In the silence of the night How we shiver with affright At the melancholy menace of their tone. For every sound that floats From the rust within their throats Is a groan.-Poe. To make men patriots, to make men Christians, to make men the sons of God, let all the doors of heaven be opened, and let God drop down charmed gifts-winged imaginations, all-perceiving reason, and all-judging reason. Whatever there is that can make men wiser and better-let it descend upon the head of him who has consecrated himself to the work of mankind, and who has made himself an orator for man's sake and for God's sake. O lonely tomb in Moab's land! O dark Beth-peor's hill! -H. W. Beecher. Speak to these curious hearts of ours, And teach them to be still. God hath His mysteries of grace, Ways that we cannot tell; He hides them deep, like the secret sleep Of him He loved so well.--C. F. Alexander. O Death! where is thy sting? O Grave! where is thy victory?—Bible. Short Quantity. He conquers the current, he gains on the sea, Ho, where is the swimmer like Charlie Machree? Not a word, not a wail from a lip was let fall, Rode we on, rode we three, rode we nose and grey nose, "Hold, there!' the other quick replies: "Tis green, 't is green, sir, I assure ye!' 'Why, sir! d'ye think I've lost my eyes?' You'll find them of but little use."" "Stay there, or I'll proclaim you to the house and the whole street! If you try to evade me, I'll stop you, if it's by the hair, and raise the very stones against you." "Hark to the bugle's roundelay! Boot and saddle! Up and away! Mount and ride as ye ne'er rode before; your Ride for the sake of human lives; Ride as ye would for your sisters and wives Cowering under their scalping knives. Boot and saddle! Away, away!" If ever you saw an old horse spring upward into a new, If ever you saw a driver whose traps behind him flew, "T was that old horse a racing and a running along the track, Like adder darting from his coil, Like wolf that dashes through the toil, "The war that for a space did fail, Now trebly thundering, swell'd the gale, A light on Marmion's vision spread, With dying hand above his head, He shook the fragment of his blade, A hurry of hoofs in a village street, A shape in the moonlight, a bulk in the dark, And beneath, from the pebbles, in passing, a spark That was all!-Longfellow. A cannon which breaks its moorings becomes abruptly some indescribable, supernatural beast. It is a machine which transforms itself into a monster. This mass runs on its wheels, like billiard-balls, inclines with the rolling, plunges with the pitching, goes, comes, stops, seems to meditate, resumes its course, shoots from one end of the ship to the other like an arrow, whirls, steals away, evades, prances, strikes, breaks, kills, exterminates. -Victor Hugo. QUALITY. Different qualities of voice are associated with different emotions. There are twelve qualities of voice,-the Pure, Orotund, Aspirate, Guttural, Pectoral, Trembling, Prolongation, Falsetto, Staccato, Imitative, Sonorous, and Sostenuto. Pure Quality. The Pure Quality is used in common conversation, simple narration, and description. The face should be ani mated and pleasant. Gestures supine. Examples of Common Conversation. Touch. How old are you, friend? Will. Five and twenty, sir. Touch. A ripe age. Is thy name William ? Will. William, sir. Touch. A fair name. Wast born i' the forest here? Will. Ay, sir, I thank God. Touch. Thank God! a good answer. Art rich? Will. Faith, sir, so so. Touch. So so is good, very good,-very excellent good: and yet it is not; it is but so so.-Shakespeare. Once came to our fields a pair of birds that had never built a nest nor seen a winter. Oh, how beautiful was everything! The fields were full of flowers, and the grass was growing tall, and the bees were humming everywhere.-Henry Ward Beecher. Gratiano speaks an infinite deal of nothing, more than any man in all Venice. His reasons are two grains of wheat hid in two bushels of chaff: you shall seek all day ere you find them, and when you have them they are not worth the search.-Shakespeare. Pol. My lord, the queen would speak with you, and presently. Ham. Do you see yonder cloud that's almost in shape of a camel? |