NEW CENTURY SPEAKER AND WRITER =BEING= =A Standard Work on Composition and Oratory= CONTAINING RULES FOR EXPRESSING WRITTEN THOUGHT IN A CORRECT AND ELEGANT MANNER; MODEL SELECTIONS FROM THE MOST FAMOUS AUTHORS; SUBJECTS FOR COMPOSITIONS AND HOW TO TREAT THEM; USE OF ILLUSTRATIONS; DESCRIPTIVE, PATHETIC AND HUMOROUS WRITINGS, ETC., ETC. TOGETHER WITH A =PEERLESS COLLECTION OF READINGS AND RECITATIONS, INCLUDING PROGRAMMES FOR SPECIAL OCCASIONS= FROM AUTHORS OF WORLD-WIDE RENOWN, FOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS, ACADEMIES, COLLEGES, LODGES, SUNDAY-SCHOOL AND SOCIAL ENTERTAINMENTS THE WHOLE FORMING AN =UNRIVALED SELF-EDUCATOR FOR YOUNG PEOPLE= =BY HENRY DAVENPORT NORTHROP= Author of “Delsarte Manual of Oratory,” “Golden Gleanings of Poetry, Prose and Song,” etc., etc. =Embellished with a Galaxy of Charming Engravings= NATIONAL PUBLISHING CO. 239, 241, 243 SOUTH AMERICAN ST. PHILADELPHIA ENTERED ACCORDING TO ACT OF CONGRESS, IN THE YEAR 1901, BY D. Z. HOWELL IN THE OFFICE OF THE LIBRARIAN OF CONGRESS, AT WASHINGTON, D. C., U. S. A. PREFACE. Millions of young people in America are being educated, and hence there is a very great demand for a Standard Work showing how to express written thought in the most elegant manner and how to read and recite in a way that insures the greatest success. To meet this enormous demand is the aim of this volume. PART I.—HOW TO WRITE A COMPOSITION.—The treatment of this subject is masterly and thorough, and is so fascinating that the study becomes a delight. Rules and examples are furnished for the right choice of words, for constructing sentences, for punctuation, for acquiring an elegant style of composition, for writing essays and letters, what authors should be read, etc. The directions given are all right to the point and are easily put into practice. The work contains a complete list of synonyms, or words of similar meaning, and more than 500 choice subjects for compositions, which are admirably suited to persons of all ages. These are followed by a charming collection of Masterpieces of Composition by such world-renowned authors as Emerson, Hawthorne, George Eliot, Lord Macaulay, Washington Irving, C. H. Spurgeon, Sarah J. Lippincott, Mrs. Stowe and many others. These grand specimens of composition bear the stamp of the most brilliant genius. They are very suggestive and helpful. They inspire the reader to the noblest efforts, and teach the truth of Bulwer Lytton’s well-known saying that “The pen is mightier than the sword.” PART II.—READINGS AND RECITATIONS.—The second part of this incomparable work is no less valuable, and a candid perusal will convince you that it contains the largest and best collection of recitations ever brought together in one volume. These are of every variety and description. Be careful to notice that every one of these selections, which are from the writings of the world’s best authors, is especially adapted for reading and reciting. This is something which cannot be said of any similar work. All the Typical Gestures used in Reciting are shown by choice engravings, and the reader has in reality the best kind of teacher right before him. The different attitudes, facial expressions and gestures are both instructive and charming. These are followed by Recitations with Lesson Talks. Full directions are given for reciting the various pieces, and this is done by taking each paragraph or verse of the selection and pointing out the gestures, tone of voice, emphasis, etc., required to render it most effectively. The Lesson Talks render most valuable service to all who are studying the grand art of oratory. The next section of this masterly volume contains Recitations with Music. This is a choice collection of readings which are rendered most effective by accompaniments of music, enabling the reader by the use of the voice or some musical instrument to entrance his audience. These charming selections are followed by a superb collection of Patriotic Recitations which celebrate the grand victories of our army and navy in the Philippines and West Indies. These incomparable pieces are all aglow with patriotic fervor and are eagerly sought by all elocutionists. There is space here only to mention the different parts of this delightful volume, such as Descriptive and Dramatic Recitations; Orations by Famous Orators; a peerless collection of Humorous and Pathetic Recitations, and Recitations for Children and Sunday Schools. Parents are charmed with this volume because it furnishes what the little folks want and is a self-educator for the young. It marks a new era in book publishing. PART III.—PROGRAMMES FOR SPECIAL OCCASIONS.—These have been prepared with the greatest care in order to meet a very urgent demand. The work contains Programmes for Fourth of July; Christmas Entertainments; Washington’s Birthday; Decoration Day; Thanksgiving Day; Arbor Day; Public School and Parlor Entertainments; Harvest Home; Flower Day, etc. Beautiful Selections for Special Occasions are contained in no other work, and these alone insure this very attractive volume an enormous sale. DIALOGUES, TABLEAUX, ETC.—Added to the Rich Contents already described is a Charming Collection of Dialogues and Tableaux for public and private entertainments. These are humorous, pithy, TEACH IMPORTANT LESSONS and are thoroughly enjoyed by everybody. In many places the winter lyceum is an institution; we find it not only in academies, and normal schools, but very frequently the people in a district or town organize a debating society and discuss the popular questions of the day. The benefit thus derived cannot be estimated. In the last part of this volume will be found by-laws for those who wish to conduct lyceums, together with a choice selection of subjects for debate. Thus it is seen that this is a very comprehensive work. Not only is it carefully prepared, not only does it set a very high standard of excellence in composition and elocution, but it is a work peculiarly fitted to the wants of millions of young people throughout our country. The writer of this is free to say that such a work as this would have been of inestimable value to him while obtaining an education. All wise parents who wish to make the best provision for educating their children should understand that they have in this volume such a teacher in composition and oratory as has never before been offered to the public. CONTENTS. PART I.—HOW TO WRITE A COMPOSITION. PAGE Treatment of the Subject 18 Right Choice of Words 19 Obscure Sentences 19 Write Exactly what You Mean 20 What You Should Read 21 Our Great Writers 21 Learning to Think 22 How to Acquire a Captivating Style 23 Make Your Composition Attractive 24 The Choice of Language 25 Faults in Writing 26 Putting Words into Sentences 27 Suit the Word to the Thought 28 An Amusing Exercise 29 Errors to be Avoided 30 Exercises in Composition 32 Subject and Predicate 32 Practice in Simple Sentences 34 Sentences Combined 36 Punctuation 39 The Full Stop 39 The Note of Interrogation 40 The Comma 40 The Semi-colon 42 Quotation Marks 43 The Note of Exclamation 43 Exercises in Easy Narratives 46 Short Stories to be Written from Memory 47 Outlines to be Turned into Narratives 50 Stories in Verse to be Turned into Prose 51 Three Fishers Went Sailing 51 The Sands of Dee 52 The Way to Win 52 Press On 52 The Dying Warrior 52 The Boy that Laughs 53 The Cat’s Bath 53 The Beggar Man 53 The Shower Bath 54 Queen Mary’s Return to Scotland 54 The Eagle and Serpent 54 Ask and Have 55 What Was His Creed? 55 The Old Reaper 55 The Gallant Sailboat 55 Wooing 56 Miss Laugh and Miss Fret 56 Monterey 56 A Woman’s Watch 57 Love Lightens Labor 57 Abou Ben Adhem 57 Essays to be Written from Outlines 58 Easy Subjects for Compositions 61 Use of Illustrations 62 Examples of Apt Illustrations 63 Examples of Faulty Illustrations 63 How to Compose and Write Letters 64 Examples of Letters 65 Notes of Invitation 65 Letters of Congratulation 66 Love Letters 66 Outlines to be Expanded into Letters 66 SPECIMENS OF ELEGANT COMPOSITION. Getting the Right Start _J. G. Holland_ 67 Dinah, the Methodist _George Eliot_ 69 Godfrey and Dunstan _George Eliot_ 70 Rip Van Winkle _Washington Irving_ 72 Puritans of the Sixteenth Century _Lord Macaulay_ 73 On being in Time _C. H. Spurgeon_ 75 John Ploughman’s Talk on Home _C. H. Spurgeon_ 76 Pearl and her Mother _Nathaniel Hawthorne_ 78 Candace’s Opinions _Mrs. H. B. Stowe_ 80 Midsummer in the Valley of the Rhine _Geo. Meredith_ 81 Power of Natural Beauty _R. W. Emerson_ 82 SUBJECTS FOR COMPOSITIONS. Historical Subjects 84 Biographical Subjects 85 Subjects for Narration and Description 86 Popular Proverbs 87 Subjects to be Expounded 87 Subjects for Argument 89 Subjects for Comparison 89 Miscellaneous Subjects 90 Synonyms and Antonyms 91 Noms de Plume of Authors 111 PART II.—READINGS AND RECITATIONS. How to Read and Recite 113 Cultivation of the Voice 113 Distinct Enunciation 113 Emphasis 114 Pauses 114 Gestures 114 The Magnetic Speaker 114 Self-Command 114 Typical Gestures for Reading and Reciting 115 Malediction 115 Designating 115 Silence 115 Repulsion 115 Declaring 116 Announcing 116 Discerning 116 Invocation 117 Presenting or Receiving 117 Horror 117 Exaltation 117 Secrecy 117 Wonderment 118 Indecision 118 Grief 118 Gladness 118 Signalling 119 Tender Rejection 119 Protecting—Soothing 119 Anguish 119 Awe—Appeal 120 Meditation 120 Defiance 120 Denying—Rejecting 120 Dispersion 121 Remorse 121 Accusation 121 Revealing 121 Correct Positions of the Hands 122 RECITATIONS WITH LESSON TALKS. Song of Our Soldiers at Santiago _D. G. Adee_ 123 Lesson Talk 123 The Victor of Marengo 124 Lesson Talk 125 The Wedding Fee 125 Lesson Talk 126 The Statue in Clay 127 Lesson Talk 127 The Puzzled Boy 128 Lesson Talk 128 RECITATIONS WITH MUSIC. Twickenham Ferry 129 Grandmother’s Chair _John Read_ 130 Put Your Shoulder to the Wheel _H. Clifton_ 131 A Brighter Day is Coming _Ellen Burnside_ 132 Katie’s Love Letter _Lady Dufferin_ 132 Dost Thou Love Me, Sister Ruth? _John Parry_ 133 Two Little Rogues _Mrs. A. M. Diaz_ 134 Arkansaw Pete’s Adventure 135 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. The Beat of the Drum at Daybreak _Michael O’Connor_ 137 The Cavalry Charge 137 Great Naval Battle at Santiago _Admiral W. S. Schley_ 138 Hobson’s Daring Deed 139 General Wheeler at Santiago _J. L. Gordon_ 140 The Flag Goes By 140 In Manila Bay _Chas. Wadsworth, Jr._ 141 My Soldier Boy 142 The Yankees in Battle _Captain R. D. Evans_ 142 The Banner Betsey Made _T. C. Harbaugh_ 143 Our Flag _Chas. F. Alsop_ 144 That Starry Flag of Ours 144 The Negro Soldier _B. M. Channing_ 145 Deeds of Valor at Santiago _Clinton Scollard_ 145 A Race for Dear Life 146 Patriotism of American Women _T. Buchanan Read_ 147 Our Country’s Call _Richard Barry_ 147 The Story of Seventy-Six _W. C. Bryant_ 148 The Roll Call 148 The Battle-Field _W. C Bryant_ 149 The Sinking of the Merrimac 150 The Stars and Stripes 151 Rodney’s Ride 152 A Spool of Thread _Sophia E. Eastman_ 153 The Young Patriot, Abraham Lincoln 154 Columbia _Joel Barlow_ 155 Captain Molly at Monmouth _William Collins_ 156 Douglas to the Populace of Stirling _Sir Walter Scott_ 157 Our Country _W. G. Peabodie_ 157 McIlrath of Malaté _John J. Rooney_ 158 After the Battle 159 Great Naval Battle of Manila 160 Sinking of the Ships _W. B. Collison_ 161 Perry’s Celebrated Victory on Lake Erie 163 Capture of Quebec _James D. McCabe_ 164 Little Jean _Lillie E. Barr_ 165 Defeat of General Braddock _James D. McCabe_ 166 DESCRIPTIVE AND DRAMATIC RECITATIONS. Quick! Man the Life Boat 167 Beautiful Hands _J. Whitcomb Riley_ 167 The Burning Ship 168 The Unknown Speaker 169 Child Lost 171 The Captain and the Fireman _W. B. Collison_ 172 The Face on the Floor _H. Antoine D’Arcy_ 173 The Engineer’s Story _Eugene J. Hall_ 174 Jim _James Whitcomb Riley_ 175 Queen Vashti’s Lament _John Reade_ 176 The Skeleton’s Story 177 The Lady and the Earl 179 My Vesper Song 180 The Volunteer Organist _S. W. Foss_ 180 Comin’ thro’ the Rye _Robert Burns_ 181 Joan of Arc _Clare S. McKinley_ 181 The Vulture of the Alps 183 The Old-fashioned Girl _Tom Hall_ 184 Nathan Hale, the Martyr Spy _I. H. Brown_ 184 The Future _Rudyard Kipling_ 186 The Power of Habit _John B. Gough_ 186 Died on Duty 187 My Friend the Cricket and I _Lillie E. Barr_ 188 The Snowstorm 188 Parrhasius and the Captive _N. P. Willis_ 189 The Ninety-third off Cape Verde 190 A Felon’s Cell 191 The Battle of Waterloo _Victor Hugo_ 192 A Pin _Ella Wheeler Wilcox_ 194 A Relenting Mob _Lucy H. Hooper_ 195 The Black Horse and His Rider _Chas. Sheppard_ 196 The Unfinished Letter 198 Legend of the Organ Builder _Julius C. R. Dorr_ 198 Caught in the Quicksand _Victor Hugo_ 200 The Little Quaker Sinner _Lucy L. Montgomery_ 201 The Tell-tale Heart _Edgar Allan Poe_ 202 The Little Match Girl _Hans Andersen_ 203 The Monk’s Vision 205 The Boat Race 205 Phillips of Pelhamville _Alexander Anderson_ 207 Poor Little Jim 208 ORATIONS BY FAMOUS ORATORS. True Moral Courage _Henry Clay_ 209 The Struggle for Liberty _Josiah Quincy_ 210 Centennial Oration _Henry Armitt Brown_ 211 Speech of Shrewsbury before Queen Elizabeth _F. Von Schiller_ 212 Prospects of the Republic _Edward Everett_ 212 The People Always Conquer _Edward Everett_ 213 Survivors of Bunker Hill _Daniel Webster_ 214 South Carolina and Massachusetts _Daniel Webster_ 215 Eulogium on South Carolina _Robert T. Hayne_ 216 Character of Washington _Wendell Phillips_ 217 National Monument to Washington _Robert C. Winthrop_ 218 The New Woman _Frances E. Willard_ 219 An Appeal for Liberty _Joseph Story_ 220 True Source of Freedom _Edwin H. Chapin_ 220 Appeal to Young Men _Lyman Beecher_ 221 The Pilgrims _Chauncey M. Depew_ 222 Patriotism a Reality _Thomas Meagher_ 223 The Glory of Athens _Lord Macaulay_ 224 The Irish Church _William E. Gladstone_ 225 Appeal to the Hungarians _Louis Kossuth_ 226 The Tyrant Verres Denounced _Cicero_ 227 HUMOROUS RECITATIONS. Bill’s in Trouble 229 “Spacially Jim” 229 The Marriage Ceremony 230 Blasted Hopes 230 Tim Murphy Makes a Few Remarks 231 Passing of the Horse 231 A School-Day _W. F. McSparran_ 232 The Bicycle and the Pup 233 The Puzzled Census Taker 233 It Made a Difference 233 Bridget O’Flannagan on Christian Science and Cockroaches _M. Bourchier_ 234 Conversational 235 Wanted, A Minister’s Wife 235 How a Married Man Sews on a Button _J. M. Bailey_ 236 The Dutchman’s Serenade 236 Biddy’s Troubles 237 The Inventor’s Wife _Mrs. E. T. Corbett_ 238 Miss Edith Helps Things Along _Bret Harte_ 239 The Man Who Has All Diseases at Once _Dr. Valentine_ 240 The School-Ma’am’s Courting _Florence Pyatt_ 240 The Dutchman’s Snake 241 No Kiss 243 The Lisping Lover 243 Larry O’Dee _W. W. Fink_ 243 How Paderewski Plays the Piano 244 The Freckled-Faced Girl 244 When Girls Wore Calico _Hattie Whitney_ 245 A Winning Company 246 The Bravest Sailor _Ella Wheeler Wilcox_ 246 How She Was Consoled 247 That Hired Girl 247 What Sambo Says 248 The Irish Sleigh Ride 248 Jane Jones _Ben King_ 249 De Ole Plantation Mule 249 Adam Never Was a Boy _T. C. Harbaugh_ 250 A Remarkable Case of S’posin 251 My Parrot _Emma H. Webb_ 252 Bakin and Greens 252 Hunting a Mouse _Joshua Jenkins_ 253 The Village Sewing Society 254 Signs and Omens 255 The Ghost 255 A Big Mistake 256 The Duel _Eugene Field_ 258 Playing Jokes on a Guide _Mark Twain_ 258 A Parody 260 Man’s Devotion _Parmenas Hill_ 261 Aunt Polly’s “George Washington” 261 Mine Vamily _Yawcob Strauss_ 263 At the Garden Gate 264 The Minister’s Call 264 Led by a Calf 265 Tom Goldy’s Little Joke 266 How Hezekiah Stole the Spoons 266 Two Kinds of Polliwogs _Augusta Moore_ 268 The Best Sewing Machine 268 How They Said Good Night 269 Josiar’s Courting 270 PATHETIC RECITATIONS. Play Softly, Boys _Teresa O’Hare_ 271 In the Baggage Coach Ahead 272 The Musing One _S. E. Kiser_ 272 In Memoriam _Thomas R. Gregory_ 273 The Dying Newsboy _Mrs. Emily Thornton_ 273 Coals of Fire 274 Dirge of the Drums _Ralph Alton_ 275 The Old Dog’s Death Postponed _Chas. E. Baer_ 275 The Fallen Hero _Minna Irving_ 276 The Soldier’s Wife _Elliott Flower_ 276 “Break the News Gently” 277 On the Other Train 277 Some Twenty Years Ago _Stephen Marsell_ 279 Only a Soldier 280 The Pilgrim Fathers 280 Master Johnny’s Next-Door Neighbor _Bret Harte_ 281 Stonewall Jackson’s Death _Paul M. Russell_ 282 The Story of Nell _Robert Buchanan_ 284 Little Nan 285 One of the Little Ones _G. L. Catlin_ 285 The Drunkard’s Daughter _Eugene J. Hall_ 286 The Beautiful 287 Trouble in the Amen Corner _C. T. Harbaugh_ 288 Little Mag’s Victory _Geo. L. Catlin_ 289 Life’s Battle _Wayne Parsons_ 290 The Lost Kiss _J. Whitcomb Riley_ 290 Execution of Mary, Queen of Scots _Lamartine_ 291 Over the Range _J. Harrison Mills_ 292 The Story of Crazy Nell _Joseph Whitten_ 292 Little Sallie’s Wish 293 Drowned Among the Lilies _E. E. Rexford_ 294 The Fate of Charlotte Corday _C. S. McKinley_ 294 The Little Voyager _Mrs. M. L. Bayne_ 295 The Dream of Aldarin _George Lippard_ 296 In the Mining Town _Rose H. Thorpe_ 297 Tommy’s Prayer _I. F. Nichols_ 298 Robby and Ruth _Louisa S. Upham_ 300 RECITATIONS FOR CHILDREN. Two Little Maidens _Agnes Carr_ 301 The Way to Succeed 301 When Pa Begins to Shave _Harry D. Robins_ 301 A Boy’s View 302 Mammy’s Churning Song _E. A. Oldham_ 302 The Twenty Frogs 303 Only a Bird _Mary Morrison_ 303 The Way to Do It _Mary Mapes Dodge_ 303 We Must All Scratch 304 Kitty at School _Kate Hulmer_ 304 A Fellow’s Mother _Margaret E. Sangster_ 305 The Story Katie Told 305 A Little Rogue 306 Mattie’s Wants and Wishes _Grace Gordon_ 306 Won’t and Will 307 Willie’s Breeches _Etta G. Saulsbury_ 307 Little Dora’s Soliloquy 307 The Squirrel’s Lesson 308 Little Kitty 308 Labor Song 309 What Baby Said 310 One Little Act 311 The Little Orator _Thaddeus M. Harris_ 311 A Gentleman _Margaret E. Sangster_ 312 Babies and Kittens _L. M. Hadley_ 312 A Dissatisfied Chicken _A. G. Waters_ 312 The Little Torment 313 The Reason Why 313 A Child’s Reasoning 314 A Swell Dinner 314 Little Jack _Eugene J. Hall_ 314 A Story of an Apple _Sydney Dayre_ 315 Idle Ben 315 Baby Alice’s Rain _John Hay Furness_ 316 Give Us Little Boys a Chance 316 Puss in the Oven 316 What Was It? _Sydney Dayre_ 317 The Cobbler’s Secret 317 A Sad Case _Clara D. Bates_ 318 The Heir Apparent 318 An Egg a Chicken 319 One of God’s Little Heroes _Margaret J. Preston_ 320 What the Cows were Doing 320 Mamma’s Help 320 How Two Birdies Kept House 321 Why He Wouldn’t Die 321 The Sick Dolly 322 Days of the Week _Mary Ely Page_ 322 Popping Corn 323 How the Farmer Works 323 The Birds’ Picnic 324 A Very Smart Dog 324 Opportunity 325 The Little Leaves’ Journey 325 The Broom Drill 325 RECITATIONS FOR SUNDAY-SCHOOLS. Little Servants 332 Willie and the Birds 332 A Child’s Prayer 332 God Loves Me 332 The Unfinished Prayer 333 Seeds of Kindness 333 A Lot of Don’ts _E. C. Rook_ 333 Little Willie and the Apple 334 The Child’s Prayer _Mary A. P. Humphrey_ 334 “Mayn’t I Be a Boy?” 335 Give Your Best _Adelaide A. Proctor_ 335 The Birds _Myra A. Shattuck_ 335 “Come Unto Me” 336 There is a Teetotaler 337 An Appeal for Beneficence 337 Address of Welcome to a New Pastor 337 Address of Welcome to a New Superintendent 338 Opening Address for a Sunday-school Exhibition 338 Closing Address for a Sunday-school Exhibition 338 Presentation Address to a Pastor 339 Presentation Address to a Teacher 339 Presentation Address to a Superintendent 339 Address of Welcome After Illness 340 Welcome to a Pastor _May Hatheway_ 340 PART III.—PROGRAMMES FOR SPECIAL OCCASIONS. Programme No. 1 for Fourth of July 341 “America” 341 The Fourth of July _Chas. Sprague_ 341 The Vow of Washington _J. G. Whittier_ 342 The Little Mayflower _Edward Everett_ 343 O Land of a Million Brave Soldiers 343 To the Ladies 344 Programme No. 2 for Fourth of July 344 God Bless our Native Land 344 Our Natal Day _Will Carleton_ 345 The Banner of the Sea _Homer Green_ 346 What America Has Done for the World _G. C. Verplanck_ 346 Stand Up for Liberty _Robert Treat Paine_ 347 Off with Your Hat as the Flag Goes By _H. C. Bunner_ 348 Programme for Christmas Entertainment 349 Ring, O Bells, in Gladness _Alice J. Cleator_ 349 A Letter to Santa Claus 349 Christmas in All the Lands _G. A. Brown_ 349 Santa Claus on the Train _Henry C. Walsh_ 350 The Waifs _Margaret Deland_ 351 Welcome Santa Claus 351 Santa Claus and the Mouse _Emilie Poulsson_ 351 What Ted Found in His Stocking 352 Programme for Decoration Day 353 The Meaning of the Day 353 Exercise for Fifteen Pupils 353 Decoration Day _J. Whitcomb Riley_ 354 Acrostic 355 Origin of Memorial Day 355 Strew with Flowers the Soldier’s Grave _J. W. Dunbar_ 355 Our Nation’s Patriots 356 Programme for Washington’s Birthday 357 Washington Enigma 357 Washington’s Day 357 A Little Boy’s Hatchet Story 357 Maxims of Washington 358 Once More We Celebrate _Alice J. Cleator_ 358 The Father of His Country 358 February Twenty-Second _Joy Allison_ 359 A True Soldier _Alice J. Cleator_ 359 Washington’s Life 360 Birthday of Washington _George Howland_ 360 Programme for Arbor Day 361 We Have Come with Joyful Greeting 361 Arbor Day 361 Quotations 361 What Do We Plant When We Plant a Tree? _Henry Abbey_ 362 Wedding of the Palm and Pine 363 Origin of Arbor Day 363 Value of Our Forests 364 Up From the Smiling Earth _Edna D. Proctor_ 364 The Trees 364 Programme for A Harvest Home 365 Through the Golden Summertime 365 A Sermon in Rhyme 365 Farmer John _J. T. Trowbridge_ 366 The Husbandman _John Sterling_ 366 The Nobility of Labor _Orville Dewey_ 367 The Corn Song _J. G. Whittier_ 367 Great God! Our Heartfelt Thanks _W. D. Gallagher_ 367 Programme for Lyceum or Parlor Entertainment 368 Salutatory Address 368 Mrs. Piper _Marian Douglass_ 369 Colloquy—True Bravery 370 Reverie in Church _George A. Baker_ 371 The Spanish-American War _President McKinley_ 372 A Cook of the Period 372 Song—Bee-Hive Town 373 Programme for Thanksgiving 373 Honor the Mayflower’s Band 373 What am I Thankful For? 374 The Pumpkin _J. G. Whittier_ 374 What Matters the Cold Wind’s Blast? 374 Outside and In 375 The Laboring Classes _Hugh Legare_ 375 A Thanksgiving _Lucy Larcom_ 376 Song—The Pilgrims 376 Programme for Flower Day 377 Let Us With Nature Sing 377 The Poppy and Mignonette 377 Flower Quotations 377 When Winter O’er the Hills Afar 378 Flowers _Lydia M. Child_ 378 The Foolish Harebell _George MacDonald_ 378 Questions About Flowers 379 Pansies _Mary A. McClelland_ 379 Plant Song _Nellie M. Brown_ 380 We Would Hail Thee, Joyous Summer 380 Summer-Time _H. W. Longfellow_ 380 The Last Rose of Summer _Thomas Moore_ 381 DIALOGUES FOR SCHOOLS AND LYCEUMS. In Want of a Servant _Clara Augusta_ 382 The Unwelcome Guest _H. Elliot McBride_ 386 Aunty Puzzled 388 The Poor Little Rich Boy _Mrs. Adrian Kraal_ 390 An Entirely Different Matter 391 The Gossips 392 Farmer Hanks Wants a Divorce 393 Taking the Census 397 Elder Sniffles’ Courtship _F. M. Whitcher_ 400 The Matrimonial Advertisement 403 Mrs. Malaprop and Captain Absolute _R. B. Sheridan_ 407 Winning a Widow 410 MISCELLANEOUS DIALOGUES AND DRAMAS 411 CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAWS FOR LYCEUMS 443 SUBJECTS FOR DEBATE BY LYCEUMS 446 TABLEAUX FOR PUBLIC ENTERTAINMENTS 447 PART I. HOW TO WRITE A COMPOSITION AND Express Written Thought in a Correct and Elegant Manner. The correct and pleasing expression of one’s thoughts in writing is an accomplishment of the highest order. To have little or no ability in the art of composition is a great misfortune. Who is willing to incur the disgrace and mortification of being unable to write a graceful and interesting letter, or an essay worthy to be read by intelligent persons? What an air of importance belongs to the young scholar, or older student, who can pen a production excellent in thought and beautiful in language! Such a gifted individual becomes almost a hero or heroine. When I was a pupil in one of our public schools the day most dreaded by all of the scholars was “composition day.” What to write about, and how to do it, were the most vexatious of all questions. Probably nine-tenths of the pupils would rather have mastered the hardest lessons, or taken a sound whipping, than to attempt to write one paragraph of a composition on any subject. While some persons have a natural faculty for putting their thoughts into words, a much larger number of others are compelled to confess that it is a difficult undertaking, and they are never able to satisfy themselves with their written productions. Let it be some encouragement to you to reflect that many who are considered excellent writers labored in the beginning under serious difficulties, yet, being resolved to master them, they finally achieved the most gratifying success. When Napoleon was told it would be impossible for his army to cross the bridge at Lodi, he replied, “There is no such word as impossible,” and over the bridge his army went. Resolve that you will succeed, and carry out this good resolution by close application and diligent practice. “Labor conquers all things.” WHAT TO DO, AND HOW TO DO IT. Study carefully the lessons contained in the following pages. They will be of great benefit, as they show you what to do and how to do it. These lessons are quite simple at first, and are followed by others that are more advanced. All of them have been carefully prepared for the purpose of furnishing just such helps as you need. You can study them by yourself; if you can obtain the assistance of a competent teacher, so much the better. I predict that you will be surprised at the rapid progress you are making. Perhaps you will become fascinated with your study; at least, it is to be hoped you will, and become enthusiastic in your noble work. Be content to take one step at a time. Do not get the mistaken impression that you will be able to write a good composition before you have learned how to do it. Many persons are too eager to achieve success immediately, without patient and earnest endeavor to overcome all difficulties. Choose a subject for your composition that is adapted to your capacity. You cannot write on a subject that you know nothing about. Having selected your theme, think upon it, and, if possible, read what others have written about it, not for the purpose of stealing their thoughts, but to stimulate your own, and store your mind with information. Then you will be able to express in writing what you know. The Treatment of the Subject. The principal reason why many persons make such hard work of the art of composition is that they have so few thoughts, and consequently so little to say, upon the subjects they endeavor to treat. The same rule must be followed in writing a composition as in building a house—you must first get your materials. I said something about stealing the thoughts of others, but must qualify this by saying that while you are learning to write, you are quite at liberty in your practice to make use of the thoughts of others, writing them from memory after you have read a page or a paragraph from some standard author. It is better that you should remember only a part of the language employed by the writer whose thoughts you are reproducing, using as far as possible words of your own, yet in each instance wherein you remember his language you need not hesitate to use it. Such an exercise is a valuable aid to all who wish to perfect themselves in the delightful art of composition. Take any writer of good English—J. G. Holland, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Irving, Cooper, or the articles in our best magazines—and read half a page twice or thrice; close the book, and write, in your own words, what you have read; borrowing, nevertheless, from the author so much as you can remember. Compare what you have written with the original, sentence by sentence, and word by word, and observe how far you have fallen short of the skilful author. A Frequent Change of Authors. You will thus not only find out your own faults, but you will discover where they lie, and how they may be mended. Repeat the lesson with the same passages twice or thrice, if your memory is not filled with the words of the author, and observe, at each trial, the progress you have made, not merely by comparison with the original, but by comparison with the previous exercises. Do this day after day, changing your author for the purpose of varying the style, and continue to do so long after you have passed on to the second and more advanced stages of your training. Preserve all your exercises, and occasionally compare the latest with the earliest, and so ascertain what progress you have made. Give especial attention to the _words_, which, to my mind, are of greater importance than the sentences. Take your nouns first, and compare them with the nouns used by your author. You will probably find your words to be very much bigger than his, more sounding, more far-fetched, more classical, or more poetical. All young writers and speakers fancy that they cannot sufficiently revel in fine words. Comparison with the great masters of English will rebuke this pomposity of inexperience, and chasten and improve your style. You will discover, to your surprise, that our best writers eschew big words and do not aim to dazzle their readers with fine words. Where there is a choice, they prefer the pure, plain, simple English noun—the name by which the thing is known to everybody, and which, therefore, is instantly understood by all readers. These great authors call a spade “a spade;” only small scribblers term it “an implement of husbandry.” If there is a choice of names, good writers prefer the one best known, while an inexperienced writer is apt to select the most uncommon. The example of the masters of the English tongue should teach you that commonness (if I may be allowed to coin a word to express that for which I can find no precise equivalent) and vulgarity are not the same in substance. Vulgarity is shown in assumption and affectation of language quite as much as in dress and manners, and it is never vulgar to be natural. Your object is to be understood. To be successful, you must write and talk in a language that everybody can understand; and such is the natural vigor, picturesqueness and music of our tongue, that you could not possess yourself of a more powerful or effective instrument for expression. Right Choice of Words. It is well for you to be assured that while, by this choice of plain English for the embodying of your thoughts, you secure the ears of ordinary people, you will at the same time please the most highly educated and refined. The _words_ that have won the applause of a political meeting are equally successful in securing a hearing in Congress, provided that the thoughts expressed and the manner of their expression be adapted to the changed audience. Then for the _sentences_. Look closely at their construction, comparing it with that of your author; I mean, note how you have put your words together. The placing of words is next in importance to the choice of them. The best writers preserve the natural order of thought. They sedulously shun obscurities and perplexities. They avoid long and involved sentences. Their rule is, that one sentence should express one thought, and they will not venture on the introduction of two or three thoughts, if they can help it. Obscure Sentences. Undoubtedly this is extremely difficult—sometimes impossible. If you want to qualify an assertion, you must do so on the instant; but the rule should never be forgotten, that a long and involved sentence is to be avoided, wherever it is practicable to do so. Another lesson you will doubtless learn from the comparison of your composition with that of your model author. You will see a wonderful number of _adjectives_ in your own writing, and very few in his. It is the besetting sin of young writers to indulge in adjectives, and precisely as a man gains experience do his adjectives diminish in number. It seems to be supposed by all unpracticed scribblers that the multiplication of epithets gives force. The nouns are never left to speak for themselves. It is curious to take up any newspaper and read the paragraphs of news, to open the books of nine-tenths of our authors of the third and downward ranks. You will rarely see a noun standing alone, without one or more adjectives prefixed. Be assured that this is a mistake. An adjective should never be used unless it is essential to correct description. As a general rule adjectives add little strength to the noun they are set to prop, and a multiplication of them is always enfeebling. The vast majority of nouns convey to the mind a much more accurate picture of the thing they signify than you can possibly paint by attaching epithets to them. Yet do not push to the extreme what has just been said. Adjectives are a very important part of language, and we could not well do without them. You do not need to say a “flowing river;” every river flows, but you might wish to say a “swollen river,” and you could not convey the idea you desire to express without using the adjective “swollen.” What I wish to caution you against is the needless multiplication of adjectives, which only serve to overload and weaken the expression of your thought. Express Your Own Ideas. When you have repeated your lesson many times, and find that you can write with some approach to the purity of your author, you should attempt an original composition. In the beginning it would be prudent, perhaps, to borrow the _ideas_, but to put them into your own language. The difficulty of this consists in the tendency of the mind to mistake memory for invention, and thus, unconsciously to copy the language as well as the thoughts of the author. The best way to avoid this is to translate poetry into prose; to take, for instance, a page of narrative in verse and relate the same story in plain prose; or to peruse a page of didactic poetry, and set down the argument in a plain, unpoetical fashion. This will make you familiar with the art of composition, only to be acquired by practice; and the advantage, at this early stage of your education in the arts of writing and speaking, of putting into proper language the thoughts of others rather than your own is, that you are better able to discover your faults. Your fatherly love for your own ideas is such that you are really incompetent to form a judgment of their worth, or of the correctness of the language in which they are embodied. The critics witness this hallucination every day. Books continually come to them, written by men who are _not_ mad, who probably are sufficiently sensible in the ordinary business of life, who see clearly enough the faults of other books, who would have laughed aloud over the same pages, if placed in their hands by another writer, but who, nevertheless, are utterly unable to recognize the absurdities of their own handiwork. The reader is surprised that any man of common intelligence could indite such a maze of nonsense where the right word is never to be found in its right place, and this with such utter unconsciousness of incapacity on the part of the author. Write Exactly What You Mean. Still more is he amazed that, even if a sensible man could so write, a sane man could read that composition in print, and not with shame throw it into the fire. But the explanation is, that the writer knew what he _intended_ to say; his mind is full of _that_, and he reads from the manuscript or the type, not so much what is there set down, as what was already floating in his own mind. To criticise yourself you must, to some extent, forget yourself. This is impracticable to many persons, and, lest it may be so with you, I advise you to begin by putting the thoughts of others into your own language, before you attempt to give formal expression to your own thoughts. You must habitually place your thoughts upon paper—first, that you may do so rapidly; and, secondly, that you may do so correctly. When you come to write your reflections, you will be surprised to find how loose and inaccurate the most vivid of them have been, what terrible flaws there are in your best arguments. You are thus enabled to correct them, and to compare the matured sentence with the rude conception of it. You are thus trained to weigh your words and assure yourself that they precisely embody the idea you desire to convey. You can trace uncouthness in the sentences, and dislocations of thought, of which you had not been conscious before. It is far better to learn your lesson thus upon paper, which you can throw into the fire unknown to any human being, than to be taught it by readers who are not always very lenient critics and are quick to detect any faults that appear in your production. READING AND THINKING. Having accustomed yourself to express, in plain words, and in clear, precise and straightforward sentences, the ideas of others, you should proceed to express your own thoughts in the same fashion. You will now see more distinctly the advantage of having first studied composition by the process I have recommended, for you are in a condition to discover the deficiencies in the flow of your own ideas. You will be surprised to find, when you come to put them into words, how many of your thoughts were shapeless, hazy and dreamy, slipping from your grasp when you try to seize them, resolving themselves, like the witches in Macbeth, Into the air: and what seemed corporal melted As breath into the wind. What You Should Read. Thus, after you have learned _how_ to write, you will need a good deal of education before you will learn _what_ to write. I cannot much assist you in this part of the business. Two words convey the whole lesson—_Read_ and _think_. What should you read? Everything. What think about? All subjects that present themselves. The writer and orator must be a man of very varied knowledge. Indeed, for all the purposes of practical life, you cannot know too much. No learning is quite useless. But a speaker, especially if an advocate, cannot anticipate the subjects on which he may be required to talk. Law is the least part of his discourse. For once that he is called upon to argue a point of law, he is compelled to treat matters of fact twenty times. And the range of topics is very wide; it embraces science and art, history and philosophy; above all, the knowledge of human nature that teaches how the mind he addresses is to be convinced and persuaded, and how a willing ear is to be won to his discourse. No limited range of reading will suffice for so large a requirement. The elements of the sciences must be mastered; the foundations of philosophy must be learned; the principles of art must be acquired; the broad facts of history must be stamped upon the memory; poetry and fiction must not be slighted or neglected. Our Great Writers. You must cultivate frequent and intimate intercourse with the genius of all ages and of all countries, not merely as standards by which to measure your own progress, or as fountains from which you may draw unlimited ideas for your own use, but because they are peculiarly _suggestive_. This is the characteristic of genius, that, conveying one thought to the reader’s mind, it kindles in him many other thoughts. The value of this to speaker and writer will be obvious to you. Never, therefore, permit a day to pass without reading more or less—if it be but a single page—from some one of our great writers. Besides the service I have described in the multiplication of your ideas, it will render you the scarcely lesser service of preserving purity of style and language, and preventing you from falling into the conventional affectations and slang of social dialogue. For the same reason, without reference to any higher motive, but simply to fill our mind with the purest English, read daily some portion of the Bible; for which exercise there is another reason also, that its phraseology is more familiar to all kinds of audiences than any other, is more readily understood, and, therefore, is more sufficient in securing their attention. Three Kinds of Reading. Your reading will thus consist of three kinds: reading for _knowledge_, by which I mean the storing of your memory with facts; reading for _thoughts_, by which I mean the ideas and reflections that set your own mind thinking; and reading the _words_, by which I mean the best language in which the best authors have clothed their thoughts. And these three classes of reading should be pursued together daily, more or less as you can, for they are needful each to the others, and neither can be neglected without injury to the rest. So also you must make it a business to _think_. You will probably say that you are always thinking when you are not _doing_ anything, and often when you are busiest. True, the mind is active, but wandering, vaguely from topic to topic. You are not in reality _thinking out_ anything; indeed, you cannot be sure that your thoughts have a shape until you try to express them in words. Nevertheless you must think before you can write or speak, and you should cultivate a _habit of thinking_ at all appropriate seasons. But do not misunderstand this suggestion. I do not design advising you to set yourself a-thinking, as you would take up a book to read at the intervals of business, or as a part of a course of self-training; for such attempts would probably begin with wandering fancies and end in a comfortable nap. It is a fact worth noting, that few persons can think continuously while the body is at perfect rest. The time for thinking is when you are kept awake by some slight and almost mechanical muscular exercise, and the mind is not busily attracted by external subjects of attention. Thus walking, angling, gardening, and other rural pursuits are pre-eminently the seasons for thought, and you should cultivate a habit of thinking during those exercises, so needful for health of body and for fruitfulness of mind. _Then_ it is that you should submit whatever subject you desire to treat to careful review, turning it on all sides, and inside out, marshalling the facts connected with it, trying what may be said for or against every view of it, recalling what you may have read about it, and finally thinking what you could say upon it that had not been said before, or how you could put old views of it into new shapes. Learning to Think. Perhaps the best way to accomplish this will be to imagine yourself writing upon it, or making a speech upon it, and to think what in such case you would say; I do not mean in what _words_ you would express yourself, but what you would discourse about; what ideas you would put forth; to what thoughts you would give utterance. At the beginning of this exercise you will find your reflections extremely vague and disconnected; you will range from theme to theme, and mere flights of fancy will be substituted for steady, continuous thought. But persevere day by day, and that which was in the beginning an effort will soon grow into a habit, and you will pass few moments of your working life in which, when not occupied from without, your mind will not be _usefully_ employed within itself. Having attained this habit of thinking, let it be a rule with you, before you write or speak on any subject, to employ your thoughts upon it in the manner I have described. Go a-fishing. Take a walk. Weed your garden. Sweep, dust, do any sewing that needs to be done. While so occupied, _think_. It will be hard if your own intelligence cannot suggest to you how the subject should be treated, in what order of argument, with what illustrations, and with what new aspects of it, the original product of your own genius. At all events this is certain, that without preliminary reflection you cannot hope to deal with any subject to your own satisfaction, or to the profit or pleasure of others. If you neglect these precautions, you can never be more than a wind-bag, uttering words that, however grandly they may roll, convey no thoughts. There is hope for ignorance; there is none for emptiness. To sum up these rules and suggestions: To become a writer or an orator, you must fill your mind with knowledge by reading and observation, and educate it to the creation of thoughts by cultivating a habit of reflection. There is no limit to the knowledge that will be desirable and useful; it should include something of natural science, much of history, and still more of human nature. The latter must be your study, for it is with this that the writer and speaker has to deal. Remember, that no amount of antiquarian, or historical, or scientific, or literary lore will make a writer or orator, without intimate acquaintance with the ways of the world about him, with the tastes, sentiments, passions, emotions, and modes of thought of the men and women of the age in which he lives, and whose minds it is his business to instruct and sway. HOW TO ACQUIRE A CAPTIVATING STYLE. You must think, that you may have thoughts to convey; and read, that you may have words wherewith to express your thoughts correctly and gracefully. But something more than this is required to qualify you to write or speak. You must have a _style_. I will endeavor to explain what I mean by that. As every man has a manner of his own, differing from the manner of every other man, so has every mind its own fashion of communicating with other minds. This manner of expressing thought is _style_, and therefore may style be described as the features of the mind displayed in its communications with other minds; as manner is the external feature exhibited in personal communication. But though style is the gift of nature, it is nevertheless to be cultivated; only in a sense different from that commonly understood by the word cultivation. Many elaborate treatises have been written on style, and the subject usually occupies a prominent place in all books on composition and oratory. It is usual with teachers to urge emphatically the importance of cultivating style, and to prescribe ingenious recipes for its production. All these proceed upon the assumption that style is something artificial, capable of being taught, and which may and should be learned by the student, like spelling or grammar. But, if the definition of style which I have submitted to you is right, these elaborate trainings are a needless labor; probably a positive mischief. I do not design to say _a_ style may not be taught to you; but it will be the style of some other man, and not your own; and, not being your own, it will no more fit your mind than a second-hand suit of clothes, bought without measurement at a pawn-shop, would fit your body, and your appearance in it would be as ungainly. But you must not gather from this that you are not to concern yourself about style, that it may be left to take care of itself, and that you will require only to write or speak as untrained nature prompts. I say that you must cultivate style; but I say also that the style to be cultivated must be your own, and not the style of another. How to Cultivate Style. The majority of those who have written upon the subject recommend you to study the styles of the great writers of the English language, with a view to acquiring their accomplishment. So I say—study them, by all means; but not for the purpose of imitation, not with a
{'title': 'New Century Speaker and Writer: Being a Standard Work on Composition and Oratory', 'source': 'Project Gutenberg', 'lang': 'en'}