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PART II-PIECES FOR PRACTICE IN READING AND DECLAMATION.

LESSON I. PAUL'S DEFENCE BEFORE FESTUS AND AGRIPPA.ACTS, XXVI. CHAPTER.

I THINK myself happy, king Agrippa, because I shall answer for myself this day before thee, concerning all the things whereof I am accused by the Jews: especially, as I know thee to be expert in all customs and questions which 5 are among the Jews. Wherefore I beseech thee to hear me patiently.

My manner of life from my youth, which was at the first among my own nation at Jerusalem, know all the Jews; who knew me from the beginning, (if they would 10 testify,) that after the straitest sect of our religion, I lived a Pharisee. And now I stand and am judged for the hope of the promise made by God to our fathers; to which promise, our twelve tribes, continually serving God day and night, hope to come: and for this hope's sake, king 15 Agrippa, I am accused by the Jews.

Why should it be thought a thing incredible with you, that God should raise the dead? I verily thought with myself, that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth: and this I did in Jerusalem. 20 Many of the saints I shut up in prison, having received authority from the chief priests: and when they were put to death, I gave my voice against them. And I often punished them in every synagogue, and compelled them to blaspheme; and being exceedingly mad against them, 25 I persecuted them even unto strange cities.

But as I went to Damascus, with authority and commission from the chief priests, at mid-day, O king! I saw in the way a light from heaven, above the brightness of the sun, shining round about me, and them who journeyed 30 with me. And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking to me and saying, in the Hebrew

tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.* And I said, who art thou, Lord? And he replied, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest. But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have 5 appeared to thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister, and a witness both of these things, which thou hast seen, and of those things in which I will appear to thee; delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, to whom I now send thee, to open their eyes, and to turn 10 them from darkness to light, and from the power of satan to God; that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance amongst them who are sanctified by faith that is in me.

Whereupon, O king Agrippa! I was not disobedient to 15 the heavenly vision; but showed first to them of Damascus and at Jerusalem, and through all the coasts of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent, and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance. For these causes, the Jews caught me in the temple; and went about to kill 20 me. Having, however, obtained help from God, I continue to this day, witnessing both to small and great, saying no other things than those which the prophets and Moses declared should come; that Christ should suffer; that he would be the first who should rise from the dead; and that 25 he would show light to the people, and to the Gentiles.

LESSON II.-CULTIVATION OF THE MIND.-S. REED.

[This piece is intended as an exercise in the application of Rhetorical Pauses, according to the Rules contained in the Section on Pausing, in Part I., page 25.]

It was the design of Providence, that the infant mind | should possess the germ of every science. If it were not so, the sciences could hardly be learned. The care of God I provides for the flower of the field | a place 5 wherein it may grow, regale the sense with its fragrance, and delight the soul with its beauty. Is nis providence less active | over those, to whom this flower offers its incense?-No. The soil which produces the vine II in its most healthy luxuriance, is not better adapted

*Sharp-pointed instruments.

to that end, than the world we inhabit, to draw forth the latent energies of the soul, and fill them with life and vigor. As well might the eye | see without light, or the ear hear without sound, as the human mind | be 5 healthy and athletic | without descending into the natural world, and breathing the mountain air.

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Is there aught in Eloquence | which warms the heart? She draws her fire from natural imagery. Is there aught in Poetry to enliven the imagination? There | is the 10 secret of all her power. Is there aught in Science | to add strength and dignity to the human mind? The natural world is only the body, of which she is the soul. In books, science is presented to the eye of the pupil, as it were, in a dried and preserved state. The time may 15 come, when the instructor will take him by the hand, and lead him by the running streams, and teach him all the principles of Science, as she comes from her Maker; as he would smell the fragrance of the rose, without gathering it.

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This love of nature; this adaptation of man to the place assigned him by his heavenly Father; this fulness of the mind as it descends into the works of God,is something, which has been felt by every one, though to an imperfect degree,-and therefore needs no ex25 planation. It is the part of science, that this | be no longer a blind affection; but that the mind be opened | to a just perception of what it is, which it loves. The affection, which the lover first feels for his future wife, may be attended only by a general sense of her exter30 nal beauty; but his mind gradually opens to a perception of the peculiar features of the soul, of which the external appearance | is only an image. So it is with nature. Do we love to gaze on the sun, the moon, the stars, and the planets? This affection | contains in its 35 bosom the whole science of astronomy, as the seed contains the future tree. It is the office of the instructor I to give it an existence and a name, by making known the laws, which govern the motions of the heavenly bodies, the relation of these bodies to each other, and 40 their uses.

Have we felt delight in beholding the animal creation, -in watching their pastimes and their labors? It is the office of the instructor to give birth to this affection, by describing the different classes of animals, with their pe

culiar characteristics, which inhabit the earth, the air, and the sea. Have we known the inexpressible pleasure of beholding the beauties of the vegetable world? This affection can only expand in the science of botany. 5 Thus it is, that the love of nature in the mass | may become the love of all the sciences, and the mind will grow and bring forth fruit from its own inherent power of development.

LESSON III.-PHYSICAL EDUCATION.-DR. HUMPHREY.

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That is undoubtedly | the wisest and best regimen, which takes the infant from the cradle, and conducts him along, through childhood and youth, up to high maturity, in such a manner as to give strength to his arm, 5 swiftness to his feet, solidity and amplitude to his muscles, symmetry to his frame, and expansion to his vital energies. It is obvious, that this branch of education | comprehends, not only food and clothing, but air, exercise, lodging, early rising, and whatever else is re10 quisite to the full development of the physical constitution. The diet | must be simple, the apparel | must not be too warm, nor the bed | too soft.

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Let parents | beware of too much restriction | in the management of their darling boy. Let him, in choosing 15 his play, follow the suggestions of nature. Let them not be discomposed at the sight of his sand-hills in the road, his snow-forts in February, and his mud-dams' in April: nor when they chance to look out in the midst of an August shower, and see him wading and sailing, and 20 sporting along with the water-fowl. If they would make him hardy and fearless, they must let him go abroad often as he pleases, in his early boyhood, and amuse himself by the hour together, in smoothing and twirling | the hoary locks of winter. Instead of keeping him shut 25 up all day with a stove, and graduating his sleepingroom by Fahrenheit, they must let him face the keen edge of a north wind, when the mercury is below cipher, and, instead of minding a little shivering and complaining when he returns, cheer up his spirits and send him 30 out again. In this way, they will teach him that he was not born to live in the nursery, nor to brood over the fire; but to range abroad, as free as the snow and the air, and to gain warmth from exercise.

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