McGuffey's Sixth Eclectic Reader Part 11

6. She said, and struck; deep entered in her side The piercing steel, with reeking purple dyed: Clogged in the wound the cruel weapon stands, The spouting blood came streaming o'er her hands.

Her sad attendants saw the deadly stroke, And with loud cries the sounding palace shook.

SIMILE. (44)

Simile is the likening of anything to another object of a different cla.s.s; it is a poetical or imaginative comparison.

A simile, in poetry, should usually he read in a lower key and more rapidly than other parts of the pa.s.sage--somewhat as a parenthesis is read.

EXAMPLES. (45)

1. Part curb their fiery steeds, or shun the goal With rapid wheels, or fronted brigades form.

As when, to warn proud cities, war appears, Waged in the troubled sky, and armies rush To battle in the clouds.

Others with vast Typhoean rage more fell, Rend up both rocks and hills, and ride the air In whirlwind. h.e.l.l scarce holds the wild uproar.

As when Alcides felt the envenomed robe, and tore, Through pain, up by the roots, Thessialian pines, And Lichas from the top of Oeta threw Into the Euboic sea.

2. Each at the head, Leveled his deadly aim; their fatal hands No second stroke intend; and such a frown Each cast at th' other, as when two black clouds, With heaven's artillery fraught, came rolling on Over the Caspian, there stand front to front, Hovering a s.p.a.ce, till winds the signal blow To join the dark encounter, in mid-air: So frowned the mighty combatants.

3. Then pleased and thankful from the porch they go And, but the landlord, none had cause of woe: His cup was vanished; for, in secret guise, The younger guest purloined the glittering prize.

As one who spies a serpent in his way, Glistening and basking in the summer ray, Disordered, stops to shun the danger near, Then walks with faintness on, and looks with fear,-- So seemed the sire, when, far upon the road, The s.h.i.+ning spoil his wily partner showed.

V. THE VOICE. (46)

PITCH AND COMPa.s.s.

The natural pitch of the voice is its keynote, or governing note. It is that on which the voice usually dwells, and to which it most frequently returns when wearied. It is also the pitch used in conversation, and the one which a reader or speaker naturally adopts--when he reads or speaks-- most easily and agreeably.

The compa.s.s of the voice is its range above and below this pitch. To avoid monotony in reading or speaking, the voice should rise above or fall below this keynote, but always with reference to the sense or character of that which is read or spoken. The proper natural pitch is that above and below which there is most room for variation.

To strengthen the voice and increase its compa.s.s, select a short sentence, repeat it several times in succession in as low a key as the voice can sound naturally; then rise one note higher, and practice on that key, then another, and so on, until the highest pitch of the voice has been reached.

Next, reverse the process, until the lowest pitch has been reached.

EXAMPLES IN PITCH (46)

High Pitch.

NOTE.--Be careful to distinguish pitch from power in the following exercise. Speaking in the open air, at the very top of the voice, is an exercise admirably adapted to strengthen the voice and give it compa.s.s, and should be frequently practiced.

1. Charge'! Chester" charge'! On'! Stanley, on'!

2. A horse'! a horse'! my kingdom' for a horse'!

3. Jump far out', boy' into the wave'!

Jump', or I fire'!

4. Run'! run'! run for your lives!

5. Fire'! fire'! fire'! Ring the bell'!

6. Gentlemen may cry peace'! peace'! but there is no peace!

7. Rouse' ye Romans! rouse' ye slaves'!

Have ye brave sons'? Look in the next fierce brawl To see them die'. Have ye fair daughters'? Look To see them live, torn from your arms', distained', Dishonored', and if ye dare call for justice', Be answered by the lash'!

Medium Pitch. (47)

NOTE.--This is the pitch in which we converse. To strengthen it, we should read or speak in it as loud as possible, without rising to a higher key.

To do this requires long-continued practice.

1. Under a spreading chestnut tree, The village smithy stands'; The smith, a mighty man is he, With large and sinewy hands'; And the muscles of his brawny arms Are strong as iron bands.

2. There is something in the thunder's voice that makes me tremble like a child. I have tried to conquer' this unmanly weakness'. I have called pride' to my aid'; I have sought for moral courage in the lessons of philosophy', but it avails me nothing'. At the first moaning of the distant cloud, my heart shrinks and dies within me.

3. He taught the scholars the Rule of Three', Reading, and writing, and history', too'; He took the little ones on his knee', For a kind old heart in his breast had he', And the wants of the littlest child he knew'.

"Learn while you're young'," he often said', "There is much to enjoy down here below'; Life for the living', and rest for the dead',"

Said the jolly old pedagogue' long ago'.

Low Pitch. (48)

1. O, proper stuff!

This is the very painting of your fear: This is the air-drawn dagger which, you said, Led you to Duncan. O, these flaws and starts, Impostors to true fear, would well become A woman's story at a winter's fire.

Authorized by her grandam.

2. Thou slave! thou wretch! thou coward!

Thou little valiant, great in villainy!

Thou ever strong upon the stronger side!

Thou fortune's champion, thou dost never fight But when her humorous ladys.h.i.+p is by To teach thee safety! Thou art perjured too, And sooth'st up greatness. What a fool art thou, A ramping fool; to brag, and stamp, and sweat, Upon my party! thou cold-blooded slave!

3. G.o.d! thou art mighty! At thy footstool bound, Lie, gazing to thee, Chance, and Life, and Death; Nor in the angel circle flaming round, Nor in the million worlds that blaze beneath, Is one that can withstand thy wrath's hot breath.

Woe, in thy frown: in thy smile, victory: Hear my last prayer! I ask no mortal wreath; Let but these eyes my rescued country see, Then take my spirit, all Omnipotent, to thee.

4. O Thou eternal One! whose presence bright All s.p.a.ce doth occupy, all motion guide, Unchanged through time's all-devastating blight!

Thou only G.o.d, there is no G.o.d beside!

Being above all things, mighty One, Whom none can comprehend and none explore; Who fill'st existence with thyself alone,-- Embracing all, supporting, ruling o'er,-- Being whom we call G.o.d, and know no more!

QUANt.i.tY AND QUALITY. (49)

Quant.i.ty, in reading and speaking, means the length of time occupied in uttering a syllable or a word. Sounds and syllables vary greatly in quant.i.ty. Some are long, some short, and others intermediate between those which are long or short. Some sounds, also, may be prolonged or shortened in utterance to any desired extent. Quant.i.ty may be cla.s.sified as Long, Medium, or Short.

DIRECTIONS FOR PRACTICE ON LONG QUANt.i.tY.--Select some word of one syllable ending with a long vocal or a subvocal sound; p.r.o.nounce it many times in succession, increasing the quant.i.ty at each repet.i.tion, until you can dwell upon it any desired length of time, without drawling, and in a natural tone.