Gesler and Tell. KNOWLES. Gesler. WHY speak'st thou not? Ges. Tell. Wonder? Yes; That thou shouldst seem a man. Ges. Tell. A monster! Ges. Ha! Beware! Think on thy chains. Tell. Though they were doubled, and did weigh me down Prostrate to earth, methinks I could rise up Thou art a monster! Think upon my chains! Think on my chains! Think on my chains! Ges. Darest thou question me? Tell. Darest thou not answer? Ges. Tell. Ges. Tell. Ges. Enough it can do that. Do I hear? Thou dost. Beware my vengeance. Can it more than kill? It cannot take away the grace of life, Its port erect with consciousness of truth, Its rich attire of honorable deeds, Its fair report, that's rife on good men's tongues; It cannot lay its hands on these, no more Than it can pluck his brightness from the sun, Ges. But it can make thee writhe. Tell. It may. Ges. And groan. Tell. It may; and I may cry, Go on, though it should make me groan again. Ges. Whence comest thou? Tell. From the mountains. Wouldst thou learn What news from them? Ges. Canst tell me any? Tell. Ay: They watch no more the avalanche. Ges. Why so? Tell. Because they look for thee. The hurricane Tell. Thank Heaven it is not thou! While those they have, they see grow up and flourish, As they were things a deadly plague had smit. There's not a blessing Heaven vouchsafes them, but Ges. That's right! I'd have them like their hills, That never smile, though wanton summer tempt Them e'er so much. Tell. But they do sometimes smile. Tell. When they do talk of vengeance. They talk of that? Tell. Ay, and expect it, too. Ges. From whence? Tell. From Heaven! Tell. And the true hands LESSON LXXXVII. ΜΟΝΟΤΟΝΕ. RULE VI. In solemn and sublime passages, the monotone should be used, to give force and dignity to the expression. EXAMPLES. High on a thrōne of royal stāte, which far Or where the gōrgeous East, with richest hand, On the Value of Time to Man. YOUNG. NIGHT, sable goddess, from her ebon throne, The bell strikes one. We take no note of time But from its loss. To give it then a tongue, As if an angel spoke, Is wise in man. I feel the solemn sound. If heard aright, It is the knell of my departed hours. Where are they? with the years beyond the flood. How much is to be done! My hopes and fears Poor pensioner on the bounties of an hour? What can preserve my life, or what destroy? QUANTITY. Quantity, or time in pronouncing a syllable, when properly applied, renders reading and speaking pleasant and effective to the ear. The first step in this branch of instruction should be the prolongation of the vowel elements, as this is quantity in its elementary state. By proper attention to this exercise, at an early age of instruction, the voice will acquire a bold, mellow tone, which is essential to good reading. Care should be taken, in the pronunciation of syllables, to prolong such elements only as will admit of it without changing their natural sound, and to avoid the slightest drawl. All the long sounds of the vowels are susceptible of prolongation, and in syllables containing them the quantity should principally be applied to the vowel element. Some of the consonant elements do not admit of a protracted utterance; others, when they end a syllable, can be slightly prolonged; as, l, m, n, ng, and r, in the words all, aim, own, song, war. A consonant element at the beginning of a syllable should never be prolonged. Note. Utter each element abruptly, in a full tone of voice, gradually diminishing the sound of it till it ends in silence. Extracts from a Speech delivered in Congress on the Indian Bill. ISAAC C. BATES. SIR, you cannot take a step in the argument towards the result contended for by the friends of this bill, without blot |