"You are my witnesses, That this young creature I present to you, "That voice that voice -I know that voice! It minds me of a voice was coupled with it, And made such music, once to hear it was "No useless coffin enclosed his breast, Nor in sheet, nor in shroud, we bound him; We carved not a line, we raised not a stone, But left him alone with his glory." "The time is not far distant when an awful knell shall tell you that the unburied remains of your revered patriot are passing to that sepulchral home, where your kings -your heroes-your sages and your poets lie." Specimens in which the emphatic pause should occur, might easily be greatly multiplied; but the foregoing are deemed sufficient to show its beauty and grandeur. The great mass of readers and speakers entirely neglect it; but it is not rendered the less important or effective, by that consideration. The reasons for giving a rhetorical pause where it is marked, in these examples, are very obvious. It may how. ever, be well to dwell, for a moment, upon one of them,Othello's soliloquy. Othello had many admirable traits of character. He was frank and generous. The pathetic detail which he gave to Desdemona, of the hardships he had endured, and the dangers he had passed "In the tented field," constrained her, notwithstanding he was of so different a complexion from her own, to love him; "And he loved her, that she did pity them." Othello was truly and ardently attached to her: but he was hasty and impetuous in his disposition, and his suspicions. were easily awakened. Desdemona's nature was full of gentleness and compassion, and she was true and constant to her husband. But Iago, whose villainy has scarcely a parallel, even in the most odious characters which Shakspeare has drawn, by dark inuendoes and artful insinuations, relative to the conduct of Desdemona, succeeds in making Othello jealous of her. Othello then says, in a tone of despair, mingled with revenge : "She's gone! I am abused; and my relief Must be to loathe her." When the storm that agitated his bosom had, in some measure, subsided, he came to the conclusion to terminate the existence of his wife. She lay upon a sofa, in a dark room. Othello entered it with a light. With broken murmurs and a convulsed and shivering frame, he wildly gazed upon his sleeping victim, for a short time, and then gave vent to his feelings, in the most sublime solilioquy the world of poetry ever produced. To read or recite it, particularly the line; "put out the light, and then put out the light," in a colloquial manner, and without any emphatic pause in its proper place, does not convey the meaning of Othello; or, if it does, conveys it in a manner as ridiculous as was the reply of the person, who, when asked how his wife's health was, answered, pertly: "She's dead, I thank you." The phrase, "put out the light," as it first occurs, implies-blow out the lamp or candle. Where it is repeated, thus: "and then- -put out the light;" it means, the light of life. A rhetorical pause ought, therefore, to be made after the word "then," expressive of the compunc tious visitings of nature, and of his regret at the necessity which seemed to compel him to kill Desdemona. To read or recite the soliloquy merely in a grammatical manner,— that is, without quantity, or the rhetorical pause, would leave the impression upon the hearer's mind, that Othello had just as lieve" smother and kill a lady to whom he had been attached by the strong and silken cords of love, and that lady, too, his own wife, as to blow out a candle or lamp. 66 CLIMAX. Climax is of two kinds; one of which, consists in am. plification,—that is, where the subject rises progressively in importance; the other species of climax, is a figure of rhetoric, carried beyond the powers of the voice to express. The elocution of climax by amplification, requires the voice to be increased in force and quantity, as the subject rises in dignity and grandeur. The elocution of that kind of climax, which the voice is incompetent to express, can only be exemplified by the voice and countenance. A few specimens of both kinds, will, however, be here given: "What a piece of work is man! how noble in reason! how infinite in faculties in form, and moving, how express and admirable! in action, how like an angel! in apprehension, how like a God !"—Hamlet. "It is a crime to put a Roman citizen in bonds; it is the height of guilt to scourge him; little less than parricide to put him to death; what name, then, shall I give to the act of crucifying him?"-Cicero. "The cloud-capt towers, the gorgeous palaces, The solemn temple, the great globe itself."-The Tempest. “Days, months, years, and ages.”—Dimond. “Clarence is come, false, fleeting, PERJURED Clarence.” "For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven; I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will sit, also, upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the MoST HIGH !"--Isaiah. Climax sometimes produces a very great effect. In the following example from the Bible, it not only overwhelmed Eli in grief; but actually occasioned his immediate death. "And the man said unto Eli, I am he that came out of the army. And he said, what is there done, my son? And the messenger answered and said, Israel is fled before the Philistines, and there hath been also a great slaughter among the people; and thy two sons, also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead; and the ark of God is taken." When Eli was informed, that not only the Philistines had conquered Isreal, and killed, among others, his two beloved sons; but that they had taken "the ark of God," for the safety of which, he had felt very solicitous; "he fell off the seat backward, by the side of the gate, and his neck brake, and he died." Mr. Burke, in one of his speeches, which, although it was made under a monarchical government, breathes the noble sentiments of liberty, says: "Such is the state of America, that, after wading up to your eyes in blood, you could only just end where you began; that is, to tax where no revenue is to be found, to- -My voice fails me; my inclination, indeed, carries me no farther; all is confusion beyond it." Norman Leslie, in the work which bears his name, on parting with his friends, exclaims: "Thank God! it is done: The bond is severed-the darkness, the bitterness of death is passed. It is this, dear Albert, that I most fearednot death itself, but these scenes of frightful grief and harrowing affection. But we, too, must part. I must meet my fate alone without a friend-without a hope to the bar-to the sentence-to the scaf GESTURE, OR RHETORICAL ACTION. Elocution being but another word for delivery, includes gesture, or rhetorical action. The ancient Greeks and Romans attached great importance to gesture; and, if they did not appreciate it too highly, the moderns certainly undervalue it. Quintilian says, that "it is not of so much moment what our compositions are, as how they are pronounced; since it is the manner of the delivery, by which the audience is moved." Cicero, Aristotle, Pericles, Demosthenes, and other renowned writers and orators of ancient times, were of the same opinion. The rhetoricians taught their pupils, as well graceful gestures, as how to manage their voices. Whether voice or gesture has the greater influence, is a question, about which they were divided in opinion. It is recorded in history, that Roscius acquired such wonderful skill, as to be able to express sentences or sentiments" as many different ways by his gestures, as Cicero could by his voice." It is not, therefore, a matter of surprise, that the intelligent Greeks and sage Romans should have entertained conflicting opinions upon the relative or comparative influence of voice and gesture. Natural, animated, and graceful gestures are as necessary and effective now, as they were at any former period of the world. The important precept; "Be graceful in your gestures," is not limited in its application to one age or one country. It commends itself to the good sense of all men, of all conditions, especially readers and public speakers. He whose gestures spontaneously conform to his subject, and who, in other respects, is truly eloquent, can, in the most effectual manner, make himself a master over other men's minds. Such an orator has power The sight is the most delightful, if not the most perfect of all our senses. Gesture, therefore, addresses itself with great power to the eye. Reading or speaking, in order to be highly interesting, must be accompanied by proper gestures. Such were the vehemence of action and gracefulness of gesture, with which Demosthenes used to speak, that his antagonist, Æschines, whom he had banished from Athens, on reading over one of the orations of Demosthenes, when at Rhodes, and seeing that all who were present, admired it, could not forbear saying: "If the bare reading of it affects you so much, how much more would you have wondered, had you heard it delivered by Demosthenes himself." It is certainly the judicious action and energetic delivery of the great Athenian orator, which extorted from his rival and adversary such remarkable and honorable testimony. We form some opinion of a speaker, either favorable or unfavorable, from our first view of him. There is some. thing in the manner in which a speaker walks into a house, |