7. A NEW YEAR'S CHIME.

Ho! ye wardens of the bells,
Ring! ring! ring!

Ring for winter's bracing hours,
Ring for birth of spring and flowers,
Ring for summer's fruitful treasure,
Ring for autumn's boundless measure,
Ring for hands of generous giving,
Ring for vows of nobler living,
Ring for truths of tongue or pen,

Ring, "Peace on earth, good-will toward men."

Ring! ring! ring!

Ring, that this glad year may see
Earth's accomplished jubilee !
Ring! ring! ring!

8. REVERENCE.

O Lord, my God, Thou art very great! Thou art clothed with honor and majesty; who coverest thyself with light as with a garment; who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain; who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters; who maketh the clouds his chariot; who walketh upon the wings of the wind; who laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed forever.

EXAMPLES OF EXPLOSIVE OROTUND.

1. THE BATTLE OF IVRY.

The Bible.

Now glory to the Lord of Hosts, from whom all glories

are!

And glory to our Sovereign Liege, King Henry of Na

varre !

Now let there be the merry sound of music and the

đànce,

Through thy cornfields grèen, and sunny vàles, O pleasant land of Frànce!

And thou, Rochèlle, our own Rochelle, proud city of the

waters,

Again let ràpture light the eyes of all thy mourning daughters;

As thou wert constant in our ills, be joyous in our joy, For cold and stiff and still are they who wrought thy walls annoy.

Hurrah! hurrah! a single field hath turned the chance

of war.

Hurràh! hurràh! for Ivry and King Henry of Navàrre!

2. RICHMOND TO HIS TROOPS.

MACAULAY.

Fight, gentlemen of England! fight, bold yèomen!
Draw, archers, draw your arrows to the head:
Spur your proud horses hard, and ride in blood;
Amaze the wèlkin with your broken stàves.
A thousand hearts are great within my bòsom:
Advance our standards, set upon our foes!
Our ancient word of courage, fair St. George,
Inspire us with the spleen of fiery dragons!
Upon them! Victory sits on our hèlms.

3. INDEPENDENCE.

SHAKESPEARE.

The great bell swung as ne'er before:
It seemed as it would never cease;
And every word its ardor flung
From off its jubilant iron tongue
"War! WAR! WAR!"

Was,

Sír, before God, I believe the hour is còme! My júdgment approves this measure, and my whole heart is in it. All that I have, and all that I ám, and all that I hope, in this life, I am now ready here to stake upon it; and I leave off, as I began, that, live or die, survive or

pèrish, I am for the declaration! It is my living sentiment, and, by the blessing of God, it shall be my dying sentiment-Independence now, and independence | forever!

WEBSTER.

EXPLOSIVE AND EXPULSIVE OROTUND.

These two forms of the orotund are often combined in the same piece, and it is not easy to draw a marked line of division. In impassioned declamation the utterance changes from one to the other, according to the degree of feeling or passion. The following extract affords an illustration:

1. WEBSTER'S TRIBUTE TO MASSACHUSETTS.

Mr. Président, I shall enter on no encomium upon Massachusetts; she needs none. There she ís; behold her, and judge for yourselves. There is her history; the world knows it by heart. The pást, at least, is secùre. There is Boston, and Concord, and Lexington, and Bunker Hill; and there they will remain forèver. The bones of her sóns, fallen in the great struggle for Indepéndence, now lie mingled with the soil of every State, from New England to Geòrgia; and there they will lie forèver.

And, sir, where American Liberty raised its first voice, and where its youth was nurtured and sustained, there it still lives, in the strength of its mánhood, and full of its original spirit. If discord and disunion shall wound it; if party strife and blind ambition shall hawk at and téar it; if folly and mádness, if uneasiness under salutary and necessary restraint, shall succeed in separating it from that Union by which alóne its existence is made súre-it will stand, in the end, by the side of that crádle in which its infancy was ròcked; it will stretch forth its árm, with whatever of vigor it may still retáin, over the friends who gather round it; and it will fall at last, if

fall it must, amid the proudest mònuments of its own glóry, and on the very spot of its drigin.

III. ASPIRATED QUALITY.

Aspirated quality means, in general, a combination of tone with whisper, causing the huskiness and harshness produced by a superabundance of breath under the influence of powerful emotions, such as anger, rage, terror, and horror. The whisper represents the extreme of aspirated quality.

THE WHISPER.

The pure whisper lies half way between breathing and vocality. The half-whisper is a combination of tone and whisper. The forcible whisper is a most valuable vocal exercise. It requires full, deep, and frequent breathing, and the vigorous use of the lips, tongue, and other vocal organs. The degrees of force in the whisper are indicated by the terms effusive, expulsive, and explosive.

The pure whisper is rarely used in reading, the effect being generally suggested by the half-whisper, or by aspirated quality. The following exercises and examples are given for the purposes of vocal training.

TABLE OF ASPIRATES.

[First whisper the words, then the aspirates, and then give the phonic spelling of each word in a forcible whisper.]

WHISPER DRILL.

Practice each exercise with three degrees of force: (1) Effusive, or soft. (2) Expulsive, or forcible. (3) Explosive, or intense.

1. With effusive force, repeat as many times as possible without taking breath: ā-ē-ī-ō-ū.

2. To ā, ē, ī, ō, ū, join ƒ, and repeat as above; join t; join h.

3. Count, in a whisper, from one to ten, with one breath; from one to twenty; one to thirty, or more.

EXAMPLES OF EFFUSIVE WHISPER.

1. Step softly, and speak low.

2. Whisper! she is going to her final rest. Whisper life is growing dim within her breast.

3. Hark! hist! around I list.

The bounds of space all trace efface
Of sound.

4. And his little daughter whispered,
As she took his icy hand:

"Isn't God upon the water,

Just the same as on the land?"

5. And again to the child I whispered:

The snow that husheth all,

Darling, the merciful Father
Alone can make it fall!"

6. And the bridemaidens whispered: ""Twere better by far, To have matched our fair cousin with young Lochinvar."

7. The red rose cries, "She is near, she is near;
And the white rose weeps, "She is late;"
The larkspur listens, "I hear, I hear;"
And the lily whispers, "I wait."