Get used to appearing in public. It is not as hard as it may at first appear. But whether hard or not, it is worth while. You will regret nothing more in later life than that you failed to avail yourself of advantages that might have been yours at high school.

You are not limited to this plan. If you prefer something else, go to work on whatever you like best. But let every student prepare a longer theme at suitable intervals throughout the year.

West Point Cadets. Here is shown President Wilson reviewing the West Point cadets, soon to become officers in the United States Army. Nowhere in the world are there military or naval colleges ranking higher than West Point and Annapolis.

1. Look up the facts and prepare a paper on America's training of her future officers in army and navy.

2. How to enter West Point or Annapolis. Get the facts and make a statement of how to obtain an appointment at one or the other of these schools.

3. Federal Reserve Training Camps. Show how the United States Government trains officers in training camps in case of emergency. If you have no information on this topic, look it up. The public library will afford the necessary material.

The Pringle House, Charleston, SC. This is one of the historical houses of America. Built before the Revolution, it was a home of culture and refinement in Colonial days. It served as headquarters for Cornwallis, and was a rallying place for the younger members of the English nobility who were with him. Later, it was Washington's headquarters, and Lafayette's, and the young men of the French aristocracy were welcome guests, meeting and mingling here with the American officers and their friends. On Lafayette's return to America in 1825, when a grateful people received him so heartily, he was a guest at this house. Aaron Burr was a frequent visitor here. During the Civil War, U. S. Grant at one time, and Robert E. Lee at another made this their headquarters. Donald G. Mitchell (Ik Marvel) was a connection of the Pringle family, and wrote his Reveries of a Bachelor here. Owen Wister, also a relative, wrote The Virginian here.

1. A Picture in Words.

Study the Pringle House until you can see it, as distinct from any other house. Then picture it in words, so that others may see it.

2. Some Other Historical House. Tell the story of some historical house or public building known to you. Be accurate and interesting. 3. A Problem. Select some building in your vicinity. It need not be an imposing structure. An old mill, some picturesque cottage, an old mansion back among the trees, or the old church by the wayside. Do not mention it by name. So picture it in words that your classmates will be able to identify it. If you can attach a good snapshot to your paper, to be shown to the class later, so much the better.

4. Neighborhood Tradition. — Tell the story of some house in your neighborhood with which some tradition is connected. Make it a story worth telling. Write it, then give it orally, if called upon so to do.

Effective Appeal. -You have already been called upon to speak on certain topics, for the most part in simple, easy-flowing narrative. This is as it should be, for the narrative style is the basis of all other styles in speech or writing. But you are now called upon to use everything within your reach anywhere, as materials for persuasion and appeal.

Oratory is the art of speaking in public eloquently or effectively. Oratory uses every faculty of the human

mind in order to secure entrance to the human heart.

Persuasion is defined by Webster's International Dictionary as the art or act of influencing the mind by arguments or reasons offered, or by anything that moves the mind or passions, or inclines the will to a determination.

In a case recently reported in the newspapers, argument had failed to free a man charged with an offense against the postal laws. The federal judge in sentencing him said:

"I feel that this man is not actually a criminal, although he has committed a criminal act. I shall not sentence him to

the penitentiary. The sentence of this court shall be that you shall serve three months in the M- County Jail."

Then came the plea that saved the accused. Stepping up close to the rail and bending forward toward the bench, his voice trembling with emotion, the little attorney in a low voice began :

"Your Honor, I realize that you have been exceedingly leniI know that the Court has just pronounced a sentence that is very light considering the offense charged, but, Your Honor, what about that little girl who is about to graduate? Shall she appear before her friends upon this occasion, disgraced because her father is occupying a prison cell? Shall she? Suspend that sentence, Your Honor, and have her eternal gratitude. I say suspend it!"

With tears in his eyes, his face working with emotion, the Judge held up his hand.

"Enough. Let that be the order."

Here the attorney for the prisoner spoke eloquently and effectively. The force of persuasion, appealing to the fatherly heart of the stern judge, did what no power of argument, and no influence of friendship could have done in behalf of the condemned man. It found its way to the heart, and won freedom for the father for the sake of the girl.

One of the best examples of oratory and persuasion is in Julius Caesar, where Marc Antony moves the hearts of the Romans against Brutus. Refer to it, Act iii, scene ii, and have it read aloud in class by some good reader. For further examples of the best in oratory, refer to Lincoln's Address at Gettysburg; Robert Emmett's Speech in reply to the judge who sentenced him to death; Patrick Henry's Speech Before the Virginia Convention; St. Paul's Speech

on Mars' Hill at Athens; as well as more modern examples, chosen from some collection of great orations.

President Woodrow Wilson's peace speech before the Senate, January 22, 1917, is an illustration of the presentation of the very highest theme in the simplest form.

Let some of these be read in the hearing of the class, and let criticisms be made, bringing out the points that appeal to the students as possessing the power of real oratory, with their reasons for so thinking.

Prepare a topical outline covering all the important points in this chapter, and be prepared to recite from it.

EXERCISES IN EFFECTIVE APPEAL

(a) Woman Suffrage. Write a paragraph of from one hundred and fifty to two hundred and fifty words, that shall contain an appeal for the rights of women. After putting it in proper form, commit it to memory for a speech before the class.

(b) High School Athletics. Take some subject in connection with athletics in your high school. Get at the facts, and make a good talk, in which you appeal for the support of the class. three-minute speech.

Make it a

(c) The North American Indian. If you feel that the North American Indian has not been fairly treated, espouse his cause. Try to make your audience feel the points you thus make in his behalf.

(d) The Mountaineers. — Acquaint yourself with the facts, and make an appeal for better educational facilities in the mountainous sections of our country. Try to make a telling speech.

(e) Appeal for Good English in the High School. Without limiting yourself as to the number of words, think out a defense of Good English in Everyday Speech in the High School. After putting it into proper form, learn it, and give it before the class.

(f) The Immigrant. Get your facts well in hand, and make an appeal for those who come to our shores, calling your appeal What America Owes to Those Who Come to Our Shores.

(h) Domestic Science. - Acquaint yourself with the facts which