HENRY THE FOURTH'S SOLILOQUY ON SLEEP. 179

Whether the thing was green or blue.

"Sirs," cries the umpire, cease your pother
The creature's neither one nor t'other.
I caught the animal last night,
And viewed it o'er by candlelight:
I marked it well-'twas black as jet-
You stare-but, sirs, I've got it yet,
And can produce it."-" Pray, sir, do;
I'll lay my life the thing is blue."
"And I'll be sworn, that, when you've seen
The reptile, you'll pronounce him green."

"Well, then, at once to ease the doubt,"
Replies the man, "I'll turn him out:
And when before your eyes I've set him,
If you don't find him black, I'll eat him,”

He said; then full before their sight
Produced the beast, and lo!-'twas white.
Both stared, the man looked wondrous wise—
"My children," the Chameleon cries
(Then first the creature found a tongue),
"You all are right, and all are wrong:
When next you talk of what you view,
Think others see as well as you:

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Nor wonder, if you find that none
Prefers your eyesight to his own."

HENRY THE FOURTH'S SOLILOQUY ON SLEEP.

SHAKSPEARE.

How many thousand of my poorest subjects
Are at this hour asleep! O sleep, O gentle sleep,
Nature's soft nurse, how have I frighted thee,
That thou no more wilt weigh my eyelids down,
And steep my senses in forgetfulness?

Why rather, sleep, liest thou in smoky cribs,

Upon uneasy pallets stretching thee,

And hushed with buzzing night-flies to thy slumber,

Than in the perfumed chambers of the great,
Under the canopies of costly state,
And lulled with sounds of sweetest melody?
O! theu dull god, why liest thou with the vile,
In loathsome beds; and leav'st the kingly couch,
A watch-case, or a common 'larum bell?

Wilt thou upon the high and giddy mast
Seal up the ship-boy's eyes, and rock his brains
In cradle of the rude imperious surge,
And in the visitation of the winds,

Who take the ruffian billows by the top,
Curling their monstrous heads, and hanging them
With deafening clamors in the slippery clouds,
That with the hurly, death itself awakes?
Canst thou, O partial sleep! give thy repose
To the wet sea-boy in an hour so rude;
And, in the calmest and most stillest night,
With all appliances and means to boot,
Deny it to a king? Then, happy low-lie-down!
Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.

ON PROCRASTINATION.

YOUNG.

BE wise to-day; 'tis madness to defer;
Next day the fatal precedent will plead;
Thus on, till wisdom is pushed out of life.
Procrastination is the thief of time;
Year after year it steals, till all are fled,
And to the mercies of a moment leaves
The vast concerns of an eternal scene.

Of man's miraculous mistakes this bears The palm, "That all men are about to live," For ever on the brink of being born. All pay themselves the compliment to think They one day shall not drivel; and their pride On this reversion takes up ready praise: At least their own; their future selves applaud :

ON PROCRASTINATION.

How excellent that life they ne'er will lead !
Time lodged in their own hands is Folly's vails;
That lodged in Fate's to wisdom they consign;
The thing they can't but purpose, they postpone,
'Tis not in folly not to scorn a fool,

And scarce in human wisdom to do more.

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All promise is poor dilatory man,

And that through every stage. When young, indeed,
In full content we sometimes nobly rest,

Unanxious for ourselves, and only wish,

As duteous sons, our fathers were more wise.
At thirty man suspects himself a fool;
Knows it at forty, and reforms his plan;
At fifty chides his infamous delay,
Pushes his prudent purpose to resolve ;
In all the magnanimity of thought
Resolves, and re-resolves; then dies the same.

And why? Because he thinks himself immortal.
All men think all men mortal but themselves;
Themselves, when some alarming shock of fate
Strikes through their wounded hearts the sudden dread;
But their hearts wounded, like the wounded air,
Soon close; where passed the shaft no trace is found,
As from the wing no scar the sky retains,
The parted wave no furrow from the keel,
So dies in human hearts the thought of death.
Even with the tender tears which nature sheds
O'er those we love, we drop it in their grave.

APPENDIX.

THE design of the author in preparing this small volume, was, that he might present in a condensed form a work that would contain a suitable variety and a sufficient number of selections for elocutionary practice. Since its publication, many teachers have solicited the author to present a more extensive analysis of the principles of reading; that the work might be made more practical as a text book on reading to the class of pupils usually found in the upper classes in our public schools and seminaries.

We would not here present to the students a long series of rules which, at best, are of but little worth. There are many introductory principles that find their proper place in our elementary readers; and we would not increase the size of our volume by repeating them.

Elaborate treatises on the subject of elocution are of value to those desirous of obtaining a thorough knowledge of the art. An intermediate course, however, is demanded by the pupils of our schools. We should give them less of the theory, more of the practice.

The cultivation of the pure tone should receive special attention. A clear and distinct enunciation is the first essential requisite of a good reader. This can be attained. It may require time, but it will richly compensate the student for all his toil. Suggestions are given for the cultivation of clear and full tones in our brief analysis on the first few pages. We would suggest as an auxiliary exercise that the student read a selection backward-the teacher placing himself on

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the opposite side of the room. Should the student fail to enunciate a single word distinctly, his attention should be called to it. This exercise might be practised in the open air, and it will be productive of good results. Care should be taken, however, that no vocal exercise be continued for so long a time that the voice becomes wearied.

APPENDIX.

We give below a few combinations, which should be first pronounced by the teacher and then by the student or class. This exercise will be found of value in securing distinct articulation. A brief elementary exercise in gymnastics will have a salutary effect upon the class if given directly before the vocal drill.

.

EXERCISE IN ENUNCIATION.

bd-orb'd, prob'd, rob'd, sob'd
Id-bold, hail'd, toll'd, mail'd.
Im-helm, whelm, film, elm.
18-falls, tells, toils, rolls.
nk-bank, drink, link, rink.
rvd--curv'd, swerv'd, starv'd, serv'd.

rnd--burn'd, turn'd, spurn'd, warm'd.

thd-breath'd, wreath'd, sheath'd, bequeath'd.
1st-call'st, till'st, roll'st, heal'st.

dst-mind'st, call'dst, fill'dst, roll'dst.

ngs--rings, wrongs, hangs, songs.

ngd-clang'd, wrong'd, hang'd, bang'd.
rdst-heard'st, reward'st, guard'st, discard'st.

br-brave, bread, brink, bright.

shr-shrine, shroud, shriek, shrub.
f-flame, fly, flee, flit.

EXAMPLES IN PITCH.

MIDDLE PITCH-PURE TONE.

1. "Probably no man since the days of Washington was ever so deeply enshrined in the hearts of the American people as Abraham Lincoln Nor was it a mistaken confidence and love. He deserved it all. He deserved it in his character, by the whole tenor, tone,