4.

These eyes, tho clear
To outward view of blemish or of spot,
Bereft of light, their seeing have forgot,
Nor to their idle orbs doth sight appear
Of sun, or moon, or star, throughout the year,
Or man, or woman. Yet I argue not

Against Heaven's hand or will, nor bate a jot
Of heart or hope; but still bear up and steer
Right onward.

"Sonnet XXII.”

JOHN MILTON.

5. The old mayor climbed the belfry tower,
The ringers ran by two, by three;
"Pull, if ye never pulled before;

Good ringers, pull your best,'' quoth he.
"Play uppe, play uppe, O Boston bells!
Ply all your changes, all your swells,
Play uppe 'The Brides of Enderby.'''
"High Tide on the Coast of Lincolnshire."

JEAN INGELOW.

6. Stern Daughter of the Voice of God!
O Duty! if that name thou love,
Who art a light to guide, a rod
To check the erring, and reprove;
Thou, who art victory and law
When empty terrors overawe;

From vain temptations set free;

And calm'st the weary strife of frail humanity!

There are who ask not if thine eye

Be on them; who, in love and truth,
Where no misgiving is, rely

Upon the genial sense of youth.
Glad hearts! without reproach or blot
Who do thy work, and know it not;
Oh! if through confidence misplaced

They fail, thy saving arms, dread power! around them

cast.

"Ode to Duty."

WILLIAM WORDSWORTH.

NINETEENTH LESSON

PART 1. DRILL

1. Physical Culture, Deep Breathing, and Voice Exercise. Review the exercises of Lesson Nineteen of the first term, page 83.

2. Articulation. Repeat distinctly and rapidly:

3. Pronunciation. Drill in words for the sounds of oo, as in boot and book (see page 225).

PART 2. EXPRESSION

TRANSITION

Changes in thought demand easy and appropriate changes in voice and feeling. Whether such changes be gradual or sudden depends upon the nature of the thought. Diligent practise in the use of pitch, force, movement, and feeling, is necessary to make the vocal organs responsive to the demands of varied expression. Read any one of the

following extracts and you will observe that changes in the thought require changes in intensity, movement, and pitch, and also that at each transition there is naturally a pause. The voice exercises prescribed in the various lessons of this course will do much to develop the power of quick and suitable transition, but in addition to this, there must be ample practise in the reading aloud of a wide range of prose and poetry. The student can not be too often reminded that loud speaking should rarely be indulged in, and that his energies should be devoted more particularly to cultivating variety and responsiveness in the organs of speech.

EXAMPLES FOR PRACTISE

1. We ring the bells and we raise the strain,
We hand up garlands everywhere

And bid the tapers twinkle fair,

And feast and frolic-and then we go
Back to the same old lives again.

"Christmas."

SUSAN COOLIDGE.

2. How soft the music of those village bells,

"Task."

Falling at intervals upon the ear

In cadence sweet; now dying all away,
Now pealing loud again, and louder still,
Clear and sonorous, as the gale comes on!
With easy force it opens all the cells
Where memory slept.

WILLIAM COWPER.

3. At first a universal shriek there rushed,
Louder than the loud ocean, like a crash
Of echoing thunder-then all was hushed,
Save the wild wind and the remorseless dash
Of billows.

"The Shipwreck."

LORD BYRON.

4. With dying hand, above his head,
He shook the fragment of his blade,
And shouted "Victory!

"Marmion."

Charge, Chester, charge! on, Stanley, on!"
Were the last words of Marmion.

5. How often, oh, how often,

SIR WALTER SCOTT.

In the days that had gone by,

I had stood on that bridge at midnight
And gazed on that wave and sky!

How often, oh, how often,

I had wished that the ebbing tide
Would bear me away on its bosom
O'er the ocean wild and wide!

"The Bridge."

HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW.

6. Away from the dwellings of careworn men,
The waters are sparkling in grove and glen!
Away from the chamber and sullen hearth,
The young leaves are dancing in breezy mirth!
Their light stems thrill to the wild-wood strains;
And youth is abroad in my green domains.

But ye ye are changed since ye met me last!
There is something bright from your features passed!
There is that come over your brow and eye,

Which speaks of a world where the flowers must die.
Ye smile! but your smile hath a dimness yet;
Oh! what have ye looked on since last we met!
From "The Voice of Spring."

FELICIA D. HEMANS.

7. True ease in writing comes from art, not chance,
As those move easiest who have learn'd to dance.
'Tis not enough no harshness gives offense,
The sound must seem an echo to the sense.
Soft is the strain when zephyr gently blows,

And the smooth stream in smoother numbers flows;