appeared before in books of this character. A very small number of old favorites have been admitted, which from their sterling merits seemed to demand this recognition.

While care has been taken to bring new pieces together, they have been selected not for this quality alone, but also for their real merits, the finest efforts of oratory and the varied enunciation of true poetry are here collated, with the hope that their study and recitation will instruct and refine the student's heart.

Another aim has been to present short pieces: the time allotted to the individual speaker in seminaries where there are many students, is but small; and, besides, the complaint of those who have many studies to carry on connectedly, is, that the pieces ordinarily selected are too long to be easily learned during the pressure of other lessons.

On account of the brevity of the extracts, and the small but clear type in which the book is printed, a greater number of pieces, and a more numerous collection of authors, have been presented than in any similar book. Care has been taken to do justice to the great minds of all parts of our country, and as far as possible, by avoiding all sectional and sectarian bias, to fit the book for the great popular wants of education throughout the Union.

With the earnest hope that he has succeeded in his honest attempt, the compiler places his book in the hands of the instructors and students of the United States.

UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA, June 1860.

UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA,

February 1, 1865.

H. C.

THE present edition of the ACADEMIC SPEAKER has been thoroughly revised, and a few new and beautiful pieces have been substituted for those which the compiler has found, by his use of the book, least adapted to the wants and tastes of his pupils. His thanks are due to the teachers who have introduced the Speaker into their institutions, and who have given their hearty commendations of it.

CONTENTS.

DECLAMATIONS IN PROSE.

ACADEMIC AND POPULAR.

Washington,

Inauguration of the Monument to Henry Clay, JOHN TYLER,

The Great Merits of Henry Clay,

JOHN TYLER,

English Culture, .

LORD JOHN RUSSELL,

The Egotistical Talker,

J. B. OWEN,

The Sense of Beauty,

W. E. CHANNING,

W. E. CHANNING,

Books,

JUDICIAL, FORENSIC, AND PARLIAMENTARY.

HENRY CLAY,

HENRY CLAY,

HENRY CLAY,

HENRY CLAY,

HENRY CLAY,

DANIEL WEBSTER,

DANIEL WEBSTER,

DANIEL WEBSTER,
DANIEL WEBSTER,

J. C. CALHOUN,

J. C. CALHOUN,
J. C. CALHOUN,

J. C. CALHOUN,
DEMOSTHENES,
DEMOSTHENES,
WILLIAM GASTON,

R. Y. HAYNE,

R. Y. HAYNE,
JAMES M. WAYNE,
RUFUS KING,
H. W. HILLIARD,
GOUVERNEUR MORRIS,
THOMAS II. BENTON,
MIRABEAU,

Impressment of American Sailors, .

Abuse of Napoleon,

Reply to John Randolph,.

The Building of National Roads,

Address to Lafayette,

The Juryman's Duty,

The Murderer's Self-Betrayal,

The Murderer's Plan,

The Bunker Hill Monument,

England and America, .

Federal Government,

The Roman System,

The Roman System-Continued,

Reply to the Charge of Æschines, .

The Commonwealth and its Ambassadors,

Religious Liberty,

False Philanthropy,

South Carolina in the Revolution,

Laws Concerning the Slave Trade,

Friendship with England,

American Influence,

Hamilton,

On the Distribution Bill,

To the Noblesse of Provence,

Monomania,

Actions and Motives,

An Independent Judiciary,

Switzerland, an Example,

Amendments to the Constitution,

James II. and George III.

American Rights,

The Southern Campaign,

English Presumption,

Faction and Tyranny,

The Achievers of our Liberty,

Inaugural Address, .

The Rule of American Conduct,

The Appeal to Arms,

The Necessity of Independence,

Call to Americans,

Address to a Jury,

A Stable Government for America,

Washington,

Acknowledgments to England,

The Injuries of England,.

The Character of Lafayette,.

The Future Glory of America,

Capital Punishment,

Judges among Men,

The Congress of 1776,

Address to a Jury,

The Banner of Union,

American Policy,

PACE

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HISTORICAL, BIOGRAPHICAL, AND DESCRIPTIVE.