with an easy motion from object to object, but not dwelling long upon any one. To distinguish it however, from insensibility, it seems necessary to give it that cast of happiness which borders on cheerfulness. CHEERFULNESS. When joy is settled into a habit, or flows from a placid temper of mind, desiring to please and be pleas ed, it is called gayety, good humor, or cheerfulness. Cheerfulness adds a smile to tranquillity, and opens the mouth a little more. MIRTH. When joy rises from ludicrous or fugitive amusements in which others share with us, it is called merriment or mirth. Mirth or laughter opens the mouth horizontally, raises the cheek high, lessens the aper ture of the eyes; and, when violent, shakes and convulses the whole frame, fills the eyes with tears, and Occasions holding the sides from the pain the convul sive laughter gives them. ANGER, RAGE OR FURY. When hatred and displeasure rise high on a sudden, from an apprehension of injury received; and perturbation of min in consequence of it, it is called anger; and rising to a very high degree, and extinguishing humanity, becomes rage and fury. Anger when violent, expresses itself with rapidity, noise, harshness, and sometimes, with interruption and hesitation, as if unable to utter itself with sufficient force. It wrinkles the brows, enlarges and heaves the nostrils, strains the muscles, clinches the fist, stamps the foot, and gives a violent agitation to the whole body. The voice assumes the highest tone it can adopt, consistently with force and loudness; though sometimes to anger with uncommon energy, the voice assumes a low and forcible tone. FEAR AND TERROR. Fear is a mixture of aversion and sorrow, discom posing and debilitating the mind, upon the approach. or anticipation of evil. When this is attended with surprise or much discomposure, it grows into terror and consternation. Fear, violent and sudden, opens wide the eyes and mouth, shortens the nose, gives the countenance an air of wildness, covers it with deadly paleness, draws back the elbows parallel with the sides, and lifts up the open hands with the fingers spread, to the height of the breast, at some distance before it, so as to shield it from the dreadful object. One foot is drawn back behind the other, so that the body seems shrinking from the danger, and putting itself in a posture for flight. The heart beats violently, the breath is quick and short, and the whole body is thrown into a general tremor. The voice is weak and trembling, the senten ces are short, and the meaning confused and incoherent. SORROW, Sorrow is a painful depression of spirit, upon the de-. privation of good, or arrival of evil; when it is silent and thoughtful, it is sadness; when long indulged, so as to prey upon and possess the mind, it becomes habitual and grows into melancholy; when tossed by hopes and fears, it is distraction: when these are swallowed up by it, it settles into despair. In moderate sorrow, the countenance is dejected, the eyes are cast downwards, the arms hang loose, sometimes a little raised, and suddenly fall back again : the hands open, the fingers spread, and the voice plaintive, frequently interrupted with sighs. But when this passion is in excess, it distorts the countenance, as if in agonies of pain; it raises the voice to the loudest complainings, and sometimes even to cries and shrieks; it wrings the hands, beats the head and breast, tears the hair, and throws itself on the ground; and like other passions in excess seems to border on frenzy. GESTURE. Correct and graceful gesture may be defined, a just and elegant adaptation of every part of the body to the nature and import of the subject we are pronouncing. Yet though all confess the influence, power and neces sity of action, there are but few speakers who venture to use it. The gestures and motions of a speaker ought all to carry that kind of expression which Nature has dictated to him; and unless this be the case, it is impossible to avoid their appearing stiff and forc-" ed. Yet although nature must be the ground-work, study and art must polish and correct them. For ma-. ny persons are naturally ungraceful in the motions which they make, and this ungracefulness must be reformed by application and care. The study of action, in speaking, consists chiefly in guarding against awkward and disagreeable motions, and in learning to perform such as are natural to the speaker, in the most becoming manner, or, such as are most graceful and impressive. To effect this, some writers have advised to practise before a mirror; but persons are not always the best judges of the gracefulness of their own motions; and one may declaim for years before a mirror without correcting any of his faults. This, instead of being useful, will tend to confirm error. But the dictates of a judicious instructor, will always be found of infinitely greater advantage than any mirror. Action may justly be stiled personified emphasis; for where the structure of the language, and the sentiment, do not require the latter, the former can neither be necessary nor proper. A correct speaker does not make a movement of limb or feature, for which he has not a reason. If he addresses heaven, he looks upward; and if he speaks of his fellow creatures, he looks around upon them. The spirit of what he says appears in his looks. If he expresses amazement, or would excite it, he lifts up his hands and eyes; if he invites to virtue and happiness, he spreads his arms, and looks benevolence; if he threatens, he bends his eyebrows into wrath, and menaces with his arm and countenance. He does not needlessly saw the air with his arm nor stab himself with his finger he does not clap his hand upon his breast, unless he has occasion to speak of himself, or to introduce conscience, or something sentimental ; he does not start back, or protrude his hands and arms at a small distance from each other, unless he means to express horror or aversion. He does not come forward, but when he has occasion to solicit. : But to apply properly, and in a significant and just manner, the almost endlessly various external expres sions of the different passions and emotions of the mind, for which nature has so wonderfully fitted the human frame, is the great difficulty. As polite conversation is the best source from which to derive the tones of good speaking, so the behavior and manner of the most polished part of mankind seem to be the best school for learning proper ges ture. The degree of animation which every speaker must be supposed to possess, when he addresses a large assembly of people, should naturally dictate some ges tures of the body. It is sometimes difficult to say, what are perfectly proper, but it is not very difficult to point out what are manifestly improper. The two erroneous extremes are, to stand like a statue, without moving any part of the body but the lips, or to display a great number of rapid and fantastic motions without either dignity or meaning. Standing motionless is commonly the result of modesty, or of the fear of performing some gesture which may be esteemed awkward or ridiculous. But such speakers should recol lect, that nothing contributes more to repress the attention of the hearers than a manner so lifeless and unengaging; and that to suppose a speaker properly impressed by his subject, and in earnest in endeavoring to impress it upon others, without moving a finger or a hand, is more unnatural perhaps, than the most iolent and fantastic motions he could possibly emloy. On the other hand, to behold a speaker conantly in motion, and performing a regular course of brations, first turning to one side and stretching out e hand, then turning to the other and performing a nilar operation, or perhaps looking straight forward and sawing the air, first with one hand and then with the other; or, perhaps with both at the same time ;repeating that course of motions without end, and without the least regard to the sentiments he utters, must be allowed to be not a little grotesque, nor less reprehensible in gesture, than a monotonous whining manner of speaking is in utterance. It may further be affirmed, that all gestures which are awkward, which are studied and affected, and which have any appearance of stiffness, constraint, or affectation, are highly improper, and most studiously to be avoided. The principal ingredients of good gesture, seem to be decency of deportment, manliness and dignity, which imply all those motions that are dictated by taste and good sense. They never give offence; they are regulated by the principles of propriety and they are suitable to the subject, to the place, to the speaker, to the audience, and to the occasion. The following general rules of action may useful to every class of speakers. be All action with the hands should be expressed in curve lines, such being the true lines of beauty ;not in jerks and sudden vibrations of the arm. A continued motion of the arms is by all means to be avoided; their action should generally be very moderate, forming a bow from the shoulder to the wrist, always studiously guarding against an angle at the el bow. The posture of a speaker's body ought to be erect; expressing as much dignity, as possible, without any stiffness of attitude or haughtiness of air. His position should be firm, so as to have the fullest and freest command of all his motions, his feet at a little distance, the left a little advanced and his knees in a straight, but not in a stiff posture; his shoulders ought to have an easy graceful fall; never elevated or shrugged up, as that not only contracts the neck, but prevents the proper motion of the head; nor on D |