thousands of assemblages, and hear the appeal of orators. We see the pale cheeks of women, and the flushed faces of men; and in those assemblages we see all the dead whose dust we have covered with flowers. We lose sight of them no more. We are with them when they enlist in the great army of freedom. We see them part with those they love. Some are walking for the last time in quiet, woody places, with the maidens they adore. We hear the whisperings and the sweet vows of eternal love as they lingeringly part forever. Others are bending over cradles kissing babes that are asleep. Some are receiving the blessings of old men. Some are parting with mothers who hold them and press them to their hearts again and again, and say nothing. Kisses and tears, tears and kisses-divine mingling of agony and love! And some are talking with wives, and endeavoring with brave words, spoken in the old tones, to drive from their hearts the awful fear. We see them part. We see the wife standing in the door with the babe in her arms standing in the sunlight sobbing. At the turn of the road a hand waves she answers by holding high in her loving arms the child. He is gone, and forever. (INGERSOLL: The Vision of War)'

ODE TO A NIGHTINGALE

I cannot see what flowers are at my feet,

Nor what soft incense hangs upon the boughs,
But, in embalmed darkness, guess each sweet
Wherewith the seasonable month endows
The grass, the thicket, and the fruit-tree wild;
White hawthorne, and the pastoral eglantine;
Fast-fading violets cover'd up in leaves;
And mid-May's eldest child,

1

The coming musk-rose, full of dewy wine,

The murmurous haunt of flies on summer eves. Darkling I listen; and for many a time

I have been half in love with easeful Death, Call'd him soft names in many a mused rhyme, To take into the air my quiet breath;

Now more than ever seems it rich to die,

To cease upon the midnight with no pain,
While thou art pouring forth thy soul abroad
In such an ecstasy!

Still wouldst thou sing, and I have ears in vain-
To thy high requiem become a sod.

Thou wast not born for death, immortal bird!
No hungry generations tread thee down;
The voice I hear this passing night was heard
In ancient days by emperor and clown:
Perhaps the self-same song that found a path
Through the sad heart of Ruth, when, sick for home,
She stood in tears amid the alien corn:

The same that oft-times hath

Charmed magic casements, opening on the foam
Of perilous seas, in færy lands forlorn.

(KEATS: Ode to a Nightingale)

A NIGHT IN THE OPEN

Night is a dead monotonous period under a roof; but in the open world it passes lightly, with its stars and dews and perfumes, and the hours are marked by changes in the face of Nature. What seems a kind of temporal death to people choked between walls and curtains, is only a light and living slumber to a man who sleeps afield. All night long he can hear Nature breathing

deeply and freely; even as she takes her rest, she turns and smiles; and there is one stirring hour unknown to those who dwell in houses, when a wakeful influence goes abroad over the sleeping hemisphere, and all the outdoor world are on their feet. It is then that the cock first crows, not this time to announce the dawn, but like a cheerful watchman speeding the course of night. Cattle awake on the meadows; sheep break their fast on dewy hillsides, and change to a new lair among the ferns; and houseless men, who have lain down with the fowls, open their dim eyes and behold the beauty of the night.

(STEVENSON: Travels with a Donkey)

CHAPTER V

THE SOUNDS OF THE LANGUAGE (CONSONANTS)

As has been stated, the consonant sounds are those produced by forcing the breath, in some cases vocalized, in others unvocalized, against obstructions formed by organs of articulation. This concise general definition must be elaborated for the sake of clearness and exactness. First, it will be remembered that the organs of articulation, the lips, teeth, tongue, and hard and soft palates, play a considerable part in the production of vowel sounds. In a few cases there is even a joining of the tongue with the teeth or palate. But it is correct to say that the vowel sounds are, relatively, unobstructed by articulation of the organs of the mouth. In the case of the consonants, excepting the breath sound, h, marked barriers are formed. When these barriers completely shut off the breath current, as in the case of p, b, t, d, etc., the resulting consonants are called explosives, because the breath bursts suddenly through the obstruction. When the barriers are only partial, as in the case of f, v, l, r, etc., the sounds are called continuants, because they may be prolonged indefinitely. Another essential observation is that some of the consonant sounds are made with the vocal bands so far apart that there is no murmur, or vocal sound, in their production; for example, p, f, and t. These are variously known as

pure consonants, unvoiced consonants, surds, atonics,

or aspirates. The remainder are made with the vocal bands near together as for the vowel sounds. These, typified by b, d, and g, have the vocal murmur, and are variously termed semi-consonants, voiced consonants, subvocals, tonics, or sonants. Finally, there are several pairs of aspirates and sonants, called cognates, which have the same articulation and differ only in being vocalized or unvocalized. The following tables list the sounds belonging to the classes just defined: