and their character. For we are not then to think of winning their assent by expatiating upon the beauty of virtue, which never comes into the thoughts of such men; but we are to work upon them by the glory and the popularity that will attend their pursuing such a measure; and, if they look upon those but as empty sounds, we are then to lay before them the great profit which will thereby arise to themselves, and to magnify the dangers which may attend their doing otherwise. For the more worthless man is, the more susceptible he is of fear; nay, I am not sure whether the generality of mankind are not more influenced by the dread of danger than the hope of advantage; so much more easily and naturally is mankind in general struck with the notion of what is mean, than of what is noble."

In acting upon this advice of the great Roman orator, and the scarcely less great Roman Rhetorician, it need hardly be said, since the limitation will be obvious from the nature of the case, that the young orator is not advised to appeal to the motives of his hearers, whether high or low, in order to urge upon them what is wrong, but that having what he believes to be a good object, he may appeal to any and every suitable motive to influence men to seek that object.

3. He should be a man of general intelligence. This is true undoubtedly of orators in every line; but the remark has peculiar force and significance, when made in reference to him who desires to figure well in a deliberative assembly.

If we consider the multiplicity and diversity of the subjects acted upon in bodies of this kind, we can

hardly estimate the importance of wide general information in a debater. With him no kind, or item of knowledge, is without a practical value. To-day he may be in a village meeting, discussing the expediency of making a road or building a bridge; tomorrow in a convention, arguing the propriety or impropriety of a change in the constitution of the State. Now he is busy among the friends of education, assembled to consider the ways and means of improving the moral and intellectual condition of the masses; now he is in some ecclesiastical synod, or council, or convocation, exchanging counsels on matters of high religious concernment; and now, again, perchance in Congress, debating questions of law, of tariff, of revenue, of treaties, of peace, of war, and I know not what all.

To him therefore, what knowledge or learning can be otherwise than exceedingly useful? To him history is indeed "philosophy teaching by examples;" yielding him arguments, facts, and illustrations, always interesting and often irresistible. To him not only is that history useful, which is embodied in permanent and well-digested records, but that, also, which is found in the passing events and transactions of the great living world around him. With him, in a sense singularly significant, "knowledge is power."

4. He should aim at simplicity of style, clearness of logic, and earnestness of manner. He may not discard ornament, when it comes naturally, but he is never to be found in search of it. His task is simply to show that something is to be sought, because it is useful, or that something is to be avoided, because it is deleterious.

The debater, therefore, must speak plainly, earnestly, feelingly; he must argue in the manner of a friend, intent upon guarding his neighbor against coming evil, or anxious to secure to him some blessing within the reach of effort.

In relation to the thought, he cannot be too careful; in relation to the mere wording of his thoughts, he must not seem over-anxious. If he is familiar with his theme, he will most probably be fluent in discussing it, and fluency of speech is what especially he needs. But fluency is not finery.

When the subject and the occasion conspire, as often they will, to render the use of ornate diction and figures of speech appropriate and effective, the deliberative orator is at liberty to rise with his topic and soar in the regions of beauty and sublimity. But let him beware of what is called beauty and sublimity of language, where there is no underlying beauty and sublimity of thought.

5. He should endeavor to have his thoughts and feelings so absorbed in his theme, as to free his delivery from every appearance of being studied and artificial. He that fully understands and ardently feels the force of what he is saying, will seldom be in danger of employing false tones and emphases, or awkward and inappropriate gestures. In these things nature is the best guide.

It will not be understood from this, that we would discourage all attention to vocal modulation, to justness of pronunciation, to proper gesticulation, and whatever else may constitute the requisites of a grace

ful delivery. These are things which, in every con siderate mind, will always have their due weight.

But the error against which we would earnestly caution the young speaker, is that of withdrawing his attention, while speaking, from his subject to himself, busying his mind with the probable effect of his tones or his attitudes, when he ought to be dealing heartily with those emotions and sentiments on which, and on which alone, a truly natural delivery depends.

In this connection, we cannot resist the disposition to introduce an extract from a writer, whose opinion in a matter like this, is entitled to the highest consideration. It will serve equally for instruction and for encouragement. "He," (says Whately, the able and eloquent Archbishop of Dublin,) "who shall determine to aim at the natural manner, though he will have to contend with considerable difficulties and discouragements, will not be without corresponding advantages, in the course he is pursuing. He will be at first, indeed, repressed to a greater degree than another by emotions of bashfulness; but it will be more speedily and more completely subdued; the very system pursued, since it forbids all thoughts of self, striking at the root of the evil. He will, indeed, on the outset, incur censure, not only critical, but moral; he will be blamed for using a colloquial delivery; and the censure will very likely be, as far as relates to his earliest efforts, not wholly undeserved; for his manner will probably at first too much resemble that of conversation, though of serious and earnest conversation; but by perseverance he may be sure of avoiding deserved, and of mitigating, and ultimately overcoming, undeserved censure.

"He will, indeed, never be praised for a 'very fine delivery;' but his matter will not lose the approbation it may deserve; as he will be the more sure of being heard and attended to. He will not, indeed, meet with many who can be regarded as models of the nat ural manner; and those he does meet with, he will be precluded, by the nature of the system, from minutely imitating; but he will have the advantage of carrying within him an infallible guide, as long as he is careful to follow the suggestions of nature; abstaining from all thoughts respecting his own utterance, and fixing his mind intently on the business he is engaged in.

"And though he must not expect to attain perfection at once, he may be assured that, while he steadily adheres to this plan, he is in the right road to it; instead of becoming, as on the other plan, more and more artificial the longer he studies. And every advance he makes will produce a proportional effect; it will give him more and more of that hold on the attention, the understanding, and the feelings of the audience, which no studied modulation can ever attain. Others, indeed, may be more successful in escaping censure, and ensuring admiration; but he will far more surpass them in respect of the proper object of the orator, which is, to carry his point."

6. The next special qualification for a good debater, here to be mentioned, is perfect familiarity with the rules of parliamentary practice. The necessity of such a code of laws is apparent from the nature of the case, and the wisdom of those now generally in force is fully attested by the voice of experience.

It not unfrequently happens, that the most import