LESSON LVII.

SELECT PARAGRAPHS.

[The reader may determine the character of the language in each of the following extracts, the kinds of emotion exemplified, and refer to the appropriate rule or rules for reading each.]

1. WARREN'S ADDRESS. - PIERPONT.

Stand! the ground's your own, my braves!
Will ye give it up to slaves?

2. THE MIDNIGHT MAIL.-HANNAH F. GOULD.

"Tis midnight,-all is peace profound!
But lo! upon the murmuring ground,
The lonely, swelling, hurrying sound
Of distant wheels is heard!

They come, they pause a moment, — when,

Their charge resigned, they start, and then

Are gone, and all is hushed again,

As not a leaf had stirred.

3. ELOQUENCE.-MRS. WELBY.

There's a charm in delivery, a magical art,
That thrills like a kiss from the lip to the heart;
'Tis the glance, the expression, the well-chosen word,
By whose magic the depths of the spirit are stireed.
The lip's soft persuasion, its musical tone :

Oh! such were the charms of that eloquent one!

4. THE MUSIC CRIER.-T. HOOD.

From room to room, from floor to floor,
From number one to twenty-four,

The nuisance bellowed; till, all patience lost,
Down came Miss Frost,
Expostulating at her open door, —

I

"Peace, monster, peace!

Where is the new police?

Don't stand there bawling, fellow, don't!

You really send my serious thoughts astray,-
Do, - there's a dear, good man-do, go away.”
Says he, "I won't!"

5. DIOGENES NO FOOL.-C. L. PORTER.

The sage who lit a candle in the day,

And wisely peering, said, "I seek a man,”
Was not so crazy after all, for they

Are seen as rarely now as they were then.
There's any quantity of gentlemen :

You know them by their oath, and their cigar,
And cranium's emptiness: not one in ten
Is sensible as Plato's bipeds were:
Divest them of their feathers, you undo 'em,

For in their case the tailor makes the man ;
Just strip the rooster, and there's nothing to 'em,
They'll soon evaporate; mind must lead the van.
Then hope for the "Eureka," † brother, when

The standard of the man is soul again!

Di-og'e-nes, a famous cynic philosopher, born at Sinope, a city of Pontus, 414

B. C. He ordered a cell to be made for himself, but as it was not speedily done he

is said to have preferred lodging in a tub to the comforts of a house.

↑ Eu-re ́ka, a Greek word signifying "I have found."

1. The mind is the glory of man. No possession is so productive of real influence as a highly cultivated intellect. Wealth, birth, and official station, may and do secure to their possessors an external, superficial courtesy; but they never did, and they never can, command the reverence of the heart. It is only to the man of large and noble soul, to him who blends a cultivated mind with an upright heart, that men yield the tribute of deep and genuine respect.

2. But why do so few young men of early promise, whose hopes, purposes, and resolves, were as radiant as the colors of the rainbow, fail to distinguish themselves? The answer is obvious; they are not willing to devote themselves to that toilsome culture which is the price of great success. Whatever aptitude for particular pursuits nature may donate to her favorite children, she conducts none but the laborious and the studious to distinction.

3. Great men have ever been men of thought, as well as men of action. As the magnificent river, rolling in the pride of its mighty waters, owes its greatness to the hidden springs of the mountain nook, so does the wide-sweeping influence of distinguished men, date its origin from hours of privacy, resolutely employed in efforts after self-development. The invisible spring of self-culture, is the source of every great achievement.

4. Away, then, young man, with all dreams of superiority, unless you are determined to dig after knowledge, as men search for concealed gold. Remember, that every man has in himself the seminal principle of great excellence, and he may develop it by cultivation, if he will TRY. Perhaps you are what the world calls poor. What of that? Most of the men whose names are as household words, were also the

children of poverty. Captain Cook, the circumnavigator of the globe, was born in a mud hut, and started in life as a cabin-boy.

5. Lord Eldon who sat on the woolsack in the British Parliament for nearly half a century, was the son of a coalmerchant. Franklin, the philosopher, diplomatist, and statesman, was but a poor printer's boy, whose highest luxury, at one time, was only a penny roll, eaten in the streets of Philadelphia. Ferguson,† the profound philosopher, was the son of a half-starved weaver. Johnson,‡ Goldsmith, Coleridge,§ and multitudes of others of high distinction, knew the pressure of limited circumstances, and have demonstrated, that poverty, even, is no insuperable obstacle to

success.

6. Up then, young man, and gird yourself for the work of self-cultivation. Set a high price on your leisure moments. They are sands of precious gold. Properly expended, they will procure for you a stock of great thoughts— thoughts that will fill, stir, and invigorate, and expand the soul. Seize, also, on the unparalleled aids furnished by steam and type, in this unequaled age.

7. The great thoughts of great men are now to be procured at prices almost nominal. You can, therefore, easily collect a library of choice, standard works. But above all, learn to reflect even more than you read. Without thought, books are the sepulchre of the soul, they only immure it. Let thought and reading go hand in hand, and the intellect will rapidly increase in strength and gifts. Its possessor will rise in character, in power, and in positive influence.

* Wool'sack, the seat of the lord chancellor of England in the House of Lords, being a large, square bag of wool without back or arms, covered with red cloth. ↑ Fer ́gu-son, (James,) a self-taught philosopher, born in Scotland in 1710, and died in 1776.

John'son, (Samuel, LL.D.,) one of the most distinguished English writers of the eighteenth century. He was born in 1709, and died in 1784.

♦ Coleʼridge, (Samuel Taylor,) a popular English poet, born in 1773.

LESSON LIX.

THE RIGHT OF FREE DISCUSSION.-WEBSTER.

[See Rule 3, p. 169, and Rule 12, p. 194.]

1. Important as I deem it to discuss, on all proper occasions, the policy of the measures at present pursued, it is still more important to maintain the right of such discussion, in its full and just extent. Sentiments lately sprung up, and now growing fashionable, make it necessary to be explicit on this point. The more I perceive a disposition to check the freedom of inquiry, by extravagant and unconstitutional pretenses, the firmer shall be the tone in which I shall assert, and the freer the manner in which I shall exercise it.

2. It is the ancient and undoubted prerogative of this people to canvass public measures, and the merits of public men. It is a "home-bred right," a fireside privilege. It hath ever been enjoyed in every house, cottage, and cabin, in the nation. It is not to be drawn into controversy. It is as undoubted, as the right of breathing the air, or walking on the earth.

3. Belonging to private life as a right, it belongs to public life as a duty; and it is the last duty which those whose representative I am, shall find me to abandon. Aiming at all times to be courteous and temperate in its use, except when the right itself shall be questioned, I shall then carry it to its extent. I shall place myself on the extreme boundary of my right, and bid defiance to any arm that would move me from my ground.

4. This high constitutional privilege, I shall defend and exercise within this house, and without this house, and in all places; in time of peace, and in all times. Living, I shall assert it; and should I leave no other inherit