Oh, well for the sailor lad,

That he sings in his boat on the bay!

And the stately ships go on

To their haven under the hill;

But O for the touch of a vanished hand,
And the sound of a voice that is still.

Break, break, break,

At the foot of thy crags, O Sea!

But the tender grace of a day that is dead
Will never come back to me.

PAUSE AND THE SUBSIDENCE OF EMOTION.

[The subsidence of emotion manifests itself by increased pause. In the following, increased pause after "dwelling" is demanded to give time for the subsidence of the deeply stirred feelings of Spartacus: "That very night the Romans landed on our coast. I saw the breast that had nourished me trampled by the hoof of the war horse; the bleeding body of my father flung amid the blazing rafters of our dwelling.'']

Spartacus to the Gladiators.

E. KELLOGG.

Today I killed a man in the arena; and, when I broke his helmet clasps, behold! he was my friend. He knew me, smiled faintly, gasped, and died; the same sweet smile upon his lips that I had marked, when, in adventurous boyhood, we scaled the lofty cliff to pluck the first ripe grapes, and bear them home in childish triumph! I told the prætor that the dead man had been my friend, generous and brave, and I begged that I might bear away the body, to burn it on a funeral pile, and mourn over its ashes. Ay, upon my knees, amid the dust and blood of the arena, I begged that poor boon, while all the assembled maids and matrons, and the

holy virgins they call Vestals, and the rabble, shouted in derision, deeming it rare sport, forsooth, to see Rome's fiercest gladiator turn pale and tremble at sight of that piece of bleeding clay. And the prætor drew back, as if I were pollution, and sternly said, "Let the carrion rot; there are no noble men but Romans." And so, fellow-gladiators, must you, and so must I, die like dogs. O Rome, Rome, thou hast been a tender nurse to me. Ay, thou hast given to that poor, gentle, timid shepherd lad, who never knew a harsher tone than a flute-note, muscles of iron and a heart of flint; taught him to drive the sword through plaited mail and links of rugged brass, and warm it in the marrow of his foe;—to gaze into the glaring eye-balls of the fierce Numidian lion, even as a boy upon a laughing girl. And he shall pay thee back, until the yellow Tiber is red as frothing wine, and in its deepest ooze thy lifeblood lies curdled.

Ye stand here now like giants, as ye are. The strength of brass is in your toughened sinews; but tomorrow some Roman Adonis, breathing sweet perfume from his curly locks, shall with his lily fingers pat your red brawn, and bet his sesterces upon your blood! Hark! hear ye yon lion roaring in his den? 'Tis three days since he tasted flesh, but tomorrow he shall break his fast upon yours, and a dainty meal for him ye will be! If ye are beasts, then stand here like fat oxen, waiting for the butcher's knife. If ye are men, -follow me! Strike down yon guard, gain the mountain passes, and there do bloody work, as did your sires at old Thermopyla. Is Sparta dead? Is the old Grecian spirit frozen in your veins, that you do crouch and cower like a belabored hound beneath his master's lash? O comrades, warriors, Thracians,--if we must fight, let us fight for ourselves! If we must slaughter, let us slaughter our oppressors! If we must die, let it be under the clear sky, by the bright waters, in noble, honorable battle!

SELECTIONS

CHOSEN FOR THEIR VALUE AS

STUDIES IN PROMINENCE

Prominence is the symbol of proportion. It proclaims to the listener the relative value of words, groups, clauses, sentences, paragraphs and parts. Its judicious use results in the harmony of the whole.

Prominence is secured mainly by what has been called emphasis, that is, by increasing the force or intensity upon a word or group of words. Sometimes Prominence is attained by increase of pause, or again, by a combination of both pause and emphasis, or by pause, emphasis and tone.

Prominence is governed by one's judgment as to what the author intended. That which we believe is vital will receive such prominence as to show that it is vital, that which, comparatively, is unimportant, will receive such relative unimportance in delivery as to make it so valued by the listener.

Analysis of our daily conversation will reveal that those ideas which, to a greater or less extent, are repetitions, are not given prominence, while those which are presented to the listener for the first time are made to stand out. With rare exceptions, we seek prominence for the new thought. (See discussion and example in a preceding section.)

Prominence necessarily is associated with tone. This will

be perceived in the study of the selections that follow and of those under the Dominant Tones.

WORD PROMINENCE.

[Prominence frequently manifests itself by emphasis upon individual words. In these single terms the speaker finds the main force of his idea, and, therefore, gives them a corresponding importance in delivery. Ex.: "Your government is a government of manhood.'']

Liberty.

N. DWIGHT HILLIS.

Society's greatest peril today is the demagogues who teach and the ignorant classes who believe that there is such a thing as liberty. The planets have no liberty; they follow their sun. The seas know no liberty; they follow the moon in tidal waves. When the river refuses to keep within its banks, it becomes a curse and a destruction. It is the stream that is restrained by its banks that turns mill-wheels for men. The clouds, too, have their beauty, in that they are led forth in ranks and columns, generaled by the night winds. And in proportion as things pass from littleness towards largeness, they go toward obedience to law. Because the dead leaf obeys nothing, it flutters down from its bough, giving but tardy recognition to the law of gravity; while our great earth, covered with cities and civilization, is instantly responsive to gravity's law. Indeed, he who disobeys any law of nature flings himself athwart her wheels, to be crushed to powder.

And if disobedience is destruction, obedience is liberty. Obeying the law of steam, man has an engine. Obeying the law of fire, he has warmth. Obeying the law of speech, he has eloquence. Obeying the law of sound thinking, he has leadership. Obeying the law of Christ, he has character. The stone obeys one law, gravity, and is without motion. The worm obeys two laws, and has movement. The bird obeys three laws, and can fly as well as stand or walk. And as man