Describe exercises 9-12 as clearly as if you were teach

ing a class of your own, and then lead the class in practicing them correctly.

LESSONS XVII and XVIII

1. When the Speaker is in the mood we have named Presentation, he unconsciously expresses it to his hearers by the time he takes in speaking; his rate of speaking being faster or slower according to whether the thoughts presented are easy or difficult for the hearer to take in. In the following passage from Rudyard Kipling, the hearer needs time to construct the scene in his mind as the speaker gives it to him piece by piece. Note which parts take most time for you to get the picture clear in your own mind as you read it from the page.

The army of the South had finally pierced the center of the army of the North, and was pouring through the gap hot-foot to capture a city of strategic importance. Its front extended fan-wise, the sticks being represented by regiments strung out along the line of route backwards to the transport columns. On its right the broken left of the army of the North was flying in mass. Unluckily he did not observe that three miles to his right flank a flying column of Northern horses had been pushed around to cut across the entire rear of the Southern army, to break, as it were, all the ribs of the fan where they converged.

As you tell this (without the book, of course) you may use the blackboard to help make it clear to the hearers. Do not go too fast for them to construct the scene in their own minds. Do the same with this passage from Victor Hugo:

Those who wish to form a distinct idea of the battle of Waterloo, need only imagine a capital A laid on the ground. The left of the A is the Nivelles road, the right one the Genappe road, while the string of the A is the broken way running from Ohaine to Braine l'Allend. The top of the A is Mont St. Jean, where Wellington is; the left lower point is Hougomont, where Reille is with Jerome Bonaparte; the right lower point is la Belle Alliance, where Napoleon is. A little below the point where the string of the A meets and cuts the right leg, is La Haye Sainte; and in the center of this string is the exact spot where the battle was concluded. The triangle comprised at the top of the "A" between the two legs and the string, is the plateau of Mont St. Jean; the dispute for this plateau was the whole battle.

As you tell the next incident (trying to make your hearers see it vividly), notice which words are instinctively said most slowly.

During the summer of 1893 occurred the great Knox fire in Washington. The household goods of many of Washington's citizens had been stored in the Knox warehouse. The fire, which began on the first floor, took everything before it. It burned through floor after floor, until it broke at last from the towering roof. The water which the firemen poured into the flames seemed like added fuel. Soon the massive walls fell with a mighty crash. The fire raged fiercely for some time, and then left a smoldering heap of ruins. After the danger was past, a large staff of men began work removing the debris. Éverything in the building seemed to be crushed. Great beams had been snapped as though they were mere splints. Load after load of the debris had been hauled away, when, underneath it all, protected by a beam which lay aslant, was found a delicate little cut-glass vase, its crystal beauty unmarred by the crash, and untarnished by the smoke, as perfect as when it left the hands of the skilful artist who made it.

2. When the speaker is in the mood, Discrimination, he expresses it to his hearers by the inflection of his voice, that is, by the differences in pitch. The change from a high key to a lower, or from a low key to a higher, draws attention to the word on which the change occurs, and so draws attention to the different aspects of thought in the speaker's mind. In the following passages, you will notice far more of these inflections than there were in those just given.

Aguinaldo, the insurgent chieftain of the Philippines, is the son of a prominent native chief and was educated by the Spanish priests in Manila, who thought that his influence, when he grew up, would heip to maintain Spanish authority. With this object in view he was sent to Madrid to finish his education for the priesthood. He preferred the life of a soldier, however, and after two years returned home and enlisted in the army. Later he organized a revolt among the native troops, and one morning while on parade he and his followers shot all the Spanish officers and then took to the swamps. At that time he had about 4,000 men under his command. The Governor-General offered a reward of $20,000 for his head, and within a week received a note saying: "I need the sum you offer very much and will deliver the head

myself." Ten days later a priest came to the sentinels at the Governor-General's gate and asked if his Excellency was within. They answered "Yes" and ushered him in. The priest immediately locked the door behind him, and said "Do you know me?" It was Aguinaldo with a 20-inch bolo, a native knife, sharp as a razor, with which the Malays can lop off an arm as tho it were a carrot. "I have brought the head of Aguinaldo, and I claim the reward." There was nothing else to be done, so the Governor-General opened his desk and counted out the sum in Spanish gold, whereupon Aguinaldo wrote a receipt, cooly counted the money and suddenly opening the door dashed out just ahead of a pistol bullet that cut a lock of hair from his temples.

The main witness against Waterson was one Delafield, who swore he was working just outside the window of the accused on the day of the crime, and saw Waterson open a cupboard, take down a bottle, move about as if prepar-ing a potion, and then administer the draught to Mrs. Waterson, who died in great agony later in the day.

Waterson's lawyer, named Bradford, had asked the jurymen when impaneled, if they had faith enough in the Weather Bureau reports to attach credence to them, and had found every man believed the records were fair and reliable. The prosecuting attorney had not understood the drift of these questions, but had not objected.

When it came to cross-examining, Bradford asked the witness, Delafield, what he was doing outside Waterson's window, and he said he was digging a cistern.

"When did you begin digging that cistern?"
"November 11th, the day Mrs. Waterson died."
"How much did you dig that day?"

"Oh, about three feet."

"What tools did you use?"

"A shovel."

"And a pick?"

"No, the ground was mellow."

"Work in an overcoat?"

"No; my shirt sleeves. The day was warm."

"Have anything to drink?"

"Had a little pail of water on the ground within reach." "Didn't it freeze?"

"No." The witness smiled scornfully.

Then Bradford offered in evidence a certified copy of the Weather Bureau report for November 10 and 11th, and showed that the temperature had been below freezing the first day and below zero the day of the crime.

THE BRAZILIAN RAT-CATCHER

On the morning after my arrival, in descending the staircase to go to breakfast, I was frightened half to

death at seeing an enormous snake curled up on the floor at the foot of the stairs.

The serpent was apparently asleep, but I was not at all sure he might not be preparing to strike at me. So I ran back up the stairs with all the speed I could manage, and shouted for help.

In two minutes the hall was full of servants, all gazing at me in astonishment; and my host rushed out of his own apartment.

"What is the matter?" he asked, in his best English. "Why, look there! Look at that snake!"

I pointed at the coiled-up monster at the foot of the staircase, who now had lifted up his head a little, and was sleepily looking about him.

The servants held their hands to their mouths, and my host laughed outright.

"Why," said he, "that's only Pedro; that's our giboia." "Oh," said I, gasping, "I thought it was a big snake.”

"It is a snake," said my host, "but it is perfectly harmless. You will not find a house in this part of Brazil without one. They keep the premises clear of rats. Pedro won't hurt you."

"But how am I going to get down-stairs?" I asked, uneasily.

"Oh, you can step right over him."

I declined, however, to make this attempt; whereupon a servant came forward and, seizing the snake about the neck with both hands, dragged him out into the yard.

I saw that the creature was not less than four yards long, and as thick as the arm of the negro who dragged him out.

Before I left the place I found out a great deal about "giboias." They are a species of small boa constrictor, and are employed very generally in Brazil to catch rats. They are inoffensive, apparently not at all venomous, and in their domesticated condition, perfectly tame.

In his habits Pedro was a good example of his race, though he was of larger size than the average.

All day long he slept somewhere in the house. But after nightfall he glided swiftly about the premises, looking for rats.

He even had holes which enabled him to get between the floors and ceilings, and into the space within the partitions.

Whenever he found a rat he pounced upon him, wrapped him in his folds and carried him out of the house, leaving him dead. The servants told me that the backbone of every rat he caught was broken in at least a dozen places.

As for me, I preferred the rats to the snake.