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To speed to-day, to be put back to-morrow,
To feed on hope, to pine with fear and sorrow,
To have thy princess' grace, yet want her peers',
To have thy asking, yet wait many years;
To fret thy soul with crosses and with cares,
To eat thy bread with comfortless despairs,
To fawn, to crouch, to wait, to ride, to run,
To spend, to give, to wait, to be undone.

10. Death-bed Teaching.

Spenser.

"Men may live fools, but fools they cannot die." Much hast thou seen, fair youth, much heard; but thou Hast never seen a death-bed, never heard

A dying groan: men saw it often;

And thus it spoke to him who ghastly lay,

And struggled for another breath :-Earth's cup
Is poison'd; her renown, most infamous;

Her gold, seem as it may, is really dust;

Her titles, slanderous names; her praise, reproach;
Her strength, an idiot's boast; her wisdom, blind;
Her gain, eternal loss; her hope, a dream;
Her love, her friendship, enmity with God;
Her promises, a lie; her laughter, grief;
Her beauty, paint, and rottenness within;
Her all, most utter vanity; and all
Her lovers mad, insane most grievously,
And most insane, because they know it not.

Pollok.

XIII.-Suspension of the Voice, with Inflections and Emphasis.

Words in italics are emphatic.

ANTITHESIS.

Antithesis is the opposition or contrast of subjects, for the purpose of bringing their difference or distinction into stronger light. In reading, the words

or subjects contrasted should be pronounced emphatically; and, in general, the first member of the sentence takes the rising inflection, followed by a suspending pause, slightly longer than the ordinary pause; the second concludes with the falling inflection.

There are, however, exceptions to this rule; as, when the parts are positive and negative, the positive takes the falling inflection, and the negative the rising; also when, in the same sentence, series of subjects are brought into contrast, the inflection depends on the nature of the subjects; except that the word on which the suspending pause occurs, not being negative, commonly takes the rising inflection.

In commencing the second member of the antithesis, the voice should be at the ordinary pitch, or the effect of the contrast will be lost; and in all cases, where the ordinary pitch is used at the commencement, the emphasis requires the voice to assume a slight degree of force before the rising inflection is attained.

SIMULTANEOUS EXERCISES.

1. With the talents of an angel' - man may be a foot. 2. An angry man, who suppresses his passions' thinks - worse than he speaks;'-but an angry man that will chide- speaks' worse than he thinks`.

3. If you regulate your desires' according to the standard of nature - you will never be poor';—if according to the standard of opinion', - you will never be rich`.

4. He that is slow to anger - is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit' than he that taketh a city'.

5. He that would writé - should read`;—not, that he may retail the observations of other men', but that, being thus refreshed and replenished' he may find himself in a condition to make and produce his own'.

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6. What they know by reading' - I know by action'; -they are pleased to slight my mean birth', - I despise their mean characters`;—want of birth' and fortune' is

the objection against me', want of personal worth against them.

7. Pure love' is something so divine,

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Description' would but make it less';'Tis what I feel', - but can't define`:

'Tis what I know', - but can't express'.

8. If, by your beard', - your wisdom` you would show',Know' - goats' have beards`, - and Plato' was a beau`. 9. All nature - is but art - unknown to thee',

All chance' direction', - which thou can'st not see', -
All discord - harmony' not understood', -
All partial evil', - universal good`, -

And spite of pride, in erring reason's spite', -
One truth is clear' - whatever is' - is right.
10. Ill fares the land', - to hast'ning ills' a prey,
Where wealth accumulates', - and men decay`.
Princes and lords may flourish' - or may fade`, -
A breath' can make them', - as a breath has made.
But a bold peasantry', - their country's' pride', -
When once destroyed`, - can never be supplied.

PRACTICE.

1. I mean to state' not entirely to defend his conduct'. His views and sentiments changed with his situation'. Hardly serious, at first, he is now an enthusiast. The coldest bodies warm' with opposition', the hardest sparkle in collision`. suading others', we convince ourselves`. The passions are engaged', and create a maternal affection in the mind', which forces us to love the cause' for which we suffer.

2. A soul as full of worth', as void of pride',

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Which nothing seeks to show', or needs to hide, Which, nor to guilt nor fear its caution' owes, And boasts a warmth which from no passion flows'.

3. Thus am I doubly' armed'.

My death and life, My bane and antidote, are both before me`. This', in a moment', brings me to an end`; informs me I shall never die.

But this

The soul',

secured in her existence', smiles'
At the drawn dagger', and defies its point'.
The stars' shall fade away', the sun himself'
Grow dim with age', and nature' sink in years';
But thou shalt flourish' in immortal youth',
Unhurt' amid the war of elements',

The wreck of matter', and the crush' of worlds'.

4. John Bull.

John Bull, to all appearance, is a plain, downright, matter-of-fact fellow, with much less of poetry about him than rich prose. There is little of romance in his nature, but a vast deal of strong natural feeling. He excels in humour more than in wit; is jolly rather than gay; melancholy rather than morose; can easily be moved to a sudden tear, or surprised to a broad laugh; but he loathes sentiment, and has no turn for light pleasantry.-Washington Irving.

5. Homer and Milton compared.

Perhaps few authors have been distinguished by more similar features of character than Homer and Milton. That vastness of thought which fills the imagination, and that sensibility of spirit which renders every circumstance interesting, are qualities of both; but Milton is the more sublime, and Homer the more picturesque. The perusal of Homer inspires us with an ardent sensibility; Milton with the stillness of surprise. The one fills and delights the mind with the confluence of various emotions; the other amazes with the vastness of his ideas. The movements of Milton's mind are steady and progressive; the flights of Homer are more sudden and transitory. In following Milton, we grow familiar with new worlds, we traverse the

immensities of space, wandering in amazement, and finding no bounds; Homer confines the mind to a narrower circle, but that circle he brings nearer to the eye; he fills it with a quicker succession of objects, and makes it the scene of more interesting action.— R. Hall.

6. Change of Sentiment.
Thus far I've held my undisturb'd career,
Prepared for rancour, steel'd 'gainst selfish fear;
This thing of rhyme, I ne'er disdain'd to own:
Though not obtrusive, yet not quite unknown:
My voice was heard again, though not so loud;
My page, though nameless, never disavow'd;
And though I hope not hence unscathed to go,
Who conquers me, shall find a stubborn foe.

The time hath been, when no harsh sound would fall
From lips which now may seem imbued with gall;
But now, so callous grown, so changed, since youth
I've learn'd to think, and sternly speak of truth;
Learn'd to deride the critic's starch decree,
And break him on the wheel, he meant for me;
To spurn the rod a scribbler bids me kiss,
Nor care if courts and crowds applaud or hiss.

7. Freedom, in its noblest sense.

Byron.

"He was the freeman, whom the truth made free,"
Who broke the bands of sin; and for his soul,
In spite of fools, consulted seriously;
In spite of fashion, persevered in good;
In spite of wealth or poverty, upright;
Who did as Reason, not as Fancy bade;
Who heard temptation sing, and yet turned not
Aside saw Sin bedeck her flowery bed,
And yet would not go up; felt at his heart

The sword unsheathed, yet would not sell the truth;
Who having power, had not the will to hurt;

Who blushed alike to be, or have a slave;

Who blushed at nought but sin, feared nought but God;

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