me, and cynically I play the coward. Sometimes I am loud, garish, and full of that ego that blasts judgment. But always I am all that you hope to be and have the courage to try for. I am song and fear, struggle and panic, and ennobling hope. I am the day's work of the weakest man and the largest dream of the most daring. I am the Constitution and the courts, statutes and statutemakers, soldier and dreadnought, drayman and street-sweep, cook, counselor, and clerk. I am the battle of yesterday and the mistake of to-morrow. I am the mystery of the men who do without knowing why. I am the clutch of an idea and the reasoned purpose of resolution. I am no more than what you believe me to be, and I am all that you believe I can be. I am what you make me, nothing more. I swing before your eyes as a bright gleam of color, a symbol of yourself, the pictured suggestion of that big thing which makes this nation. My stars and my stripes are your dreams and your labors. They are bright with cheer, brilliant with courage, firm with faith, because you have made them so out of your hearts, for you are the makers of the flag, and it is well that you glory in the making." Incentives to Patriotism David J. Burrill The closing of a speech delivered in New York City in April, 1910. This declamation is also full of changes. A great variety of emotions are expressed, and these should be denoted by proper transitions and voiced in appropriate tones. Speak the poetic quotations as you would prose, and the rhythm will take care of itself: don't spoil the effect by the use of a sing-song delivery. THE two best preachers on Manhattan Island to-day are two men who stand in bronze by the roadside; one of them on the west side drive, in the Park-a man in his regimentals, who was placed there to commemorate the valor of the Seventh Regiment. On the pedestal of the monument is inscribed his sermon on patriotism. It reads: "For the Glory of my Country!" The other is down at the other end of the Island -Nathan Hale! Standing on the busiest street in all the world; at the very heart of the motion of this great metropolis-the young school-master and patriot, with his hands bound behind him; ready to go out to Rutgers orchard to be hung! And there in the presence of the passing millions, he is preaching as no clergyman or politician can preach with living lips, those last words of his, "I regret in dying that I have but one life to offer for my country." I tell you, young men, back of all the good advice that will be given you to-night, there is nothing like this: Love the Republic! Believe in the principles that underlie it! Get centered there and you will never be bothered about your duty as a citizen. I have heard the Scotch people sing "Scots wha hae wi' Wallace bled"; I have heard the Germans sing "Die Wacht am Rhein," in their country; and I have myself sung with the Irish: I met with Napper Tandy and he took me by the hand, He said, "How is old Ireland and how does she stand?" "She's the most distressful country that ever you have seen, They're hanging men and women for the wearin' of the green." I have heard the English in Hyde Park sing "God Save the King!" But in all the music that I have ever heard in the glory of national life, I have never heard an anthem that stirs my blood like: My country, 'tis of thee! Of thee I sing! Long may our land be bright Great God, our King! And the symbol of such protection is: Your flag and my flag, and, oh, how much it holds! POETICAL SELECTIONS PREFATORY NOTE THE poems that follow were selected as a result of the following tests: (1) Is the poem of real literary merit? Is it worth memorizing? (2) In case of an extract, is it a unit in thought? (3) Is it otherwise suited to the purposes of reciting before an audience? Further, poems requiring impersonation and those written in dialect have been omitted. The oral interpretation of literature is now happily being restored in our schools. The old-time practice of reciting poetry has been sadly neglected in modern times, for most poems can hardly be appreciated without being heard. Memoriter delivery conduces to a keener appreciation, and is a means of mental enrichment which no "modern" method of teaching literature can equal. The oral expression should, of course, reveal a sympathetic interpretation and a sincere, natural manner. The capital fault in reciting poetry is the "sing-song" tone, with its regularly recurring emphasis, a pause at the end of each line, and the falling inflection about every other line, regardless of the thought to be expressed. The best general rule is, to read poetry as you would prose, and the rhythm will take care of itself. Another common fault is over-dramatic and excessive gesture. The traditional elocutionist is wont to think that in the oral rendering every emotion in a poem must be pictured in some way by bodily movements. The voicing of genuine emotion is rarely accompanied by physical contortions. For the most effective oral expression, most of the poems in this book require few or no gestures. Some specific suggestions as to interpretation and delivery are contained in comments preceding a number of the following poems. The Wonderful World W. B. Rands This poem and those immediately following are good selections for the younger children,-in the second, third, or fourth grades. In speaking this poem,, think of the world and the things it contains, as you speak. Be sure to place the proper emphasis in the last two lines of the last stanza. I GREAT, wide, beautiful, wonderful world, With the wonderful water round you curled, 2 The wonderful air is over me, And the wonderful wind is shaking the tree, |