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ORIGINAL ODES.

(The three beautiful Odes subjoined, which were written for the Second Centennial Anniversary of the Settlement of Hartford, Conn., have been on hand for several weeks, and would have appeared sooner had not our columns been preoccupied. We are indebted for them in their corrected form, to the talented authoress whose initials they bear.May we not expect to be honored with similar favors from the same source ? ED.]

THE PILGRIM FATHERS.
WHAT led the pilgrim through the wild,
On to this stranger-land 1-

Matron and maid and tender child,

An uncomplaining band?

Deep streams and dark untrodden paths

Appall'd their weary eye,

What fill'd them on that venturous way
With courage bold and high?

What cheer'd them when dire Winter's wrath
A frosty challenge threw,

When higher than their humble roofs
The mocking snow-wreath grew 1-
When in its wasted mother's arms
To famine's ills a prey,

The babe bereft of rosy charms

Pined like a flower away?

And when the strong heart-sickness came,
And Memory's troubled stream

Still imaged forth fair England's homes,
That lull'd their infant dream,-
When no lone vessel plough'd the wave,
Words from that clime to bear,
What nobly raised the stricken soul
Above that deep despair?

What gave them strength 'mid all their toil,
In every hour of need,-

To plant within this sterile soil
A glorious nation's seed?

The same that nerved them when they sank
To rest beneath the sod,-

That raised o'er Death the triumph-strain,-Prayer, and the faith of GOD.

L. H. S.

THE ABORIGINES. WHERE are they,-the forest-rangers, Children of this western land?Who to greet the pale-faced strangers, Stretch'd an unsuspecting hand? Where are they whom passion goaded Madly to the unequal fight,Tossing high the feathery arrow 'Gas the girded warrior's might? Were not these their own bright waters ?Were not these their native skies 1Rear'd they not their red-brow'd daughters, Where our princely mansions rise?

From the Descendants of the Pilgrim Fathers.
PRAISE from these fields,-no longer waste
Beneath the savage hunter's bow,-
But like their sons decreed to taste

The joy that culturing arts bestow.

Praise from these streams that span the vale,
No more with current clogg'd and slow,
But proudly speed the gliding sail

To maris where wealth and plenty flow.

Praise from all people here who dwell
In this fair country of the free;
Let every voice the tribute swell,

That flows, all Bounteous Sire! to Thee.
LBS

TWO DOLLARS A YEAR,] VOL. I.

ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS.

MUSIC-A FRAGMENT.

THE universe is full of Music, full

Of richer strains than ever seraph sung

Or thrill'd from mortal's harp, or e'er were breathed
From the fresh lips of beauty.-Mark the deep!
Hear its soft murmur as it laves the shore,
When scarce a breath sweeps o'er its bosom,
And nought beside disturbs the general peace;
How it doth calm the soul, how soothe the heart
With its sweet murmur, sending up our thoughts
On eagle-wing to yonder purer sphere,
While the glad bosom heaves with feelings strange,
The heart throbs quick, the tongue reveals not why;—
Tis MUSIC.-See! the clouds are gath'ring fast,
Stretching in misty wreaths aslant the west,
The swift-wing'd wind sweeps on o'er hill and plain;
Here lightnings flash, there bursts the thunder-cloud,
Swift speeds the storm, and now old ocean heaves;
Now roll and swell the angry white-capt waves,
Now dash the shore, and drowning every noise
With their wild clamor. Hark! again, again,--
'Tis the fierce thunderbolt-Oh! I love the scene

Of elemental strife-that angry roar
Of nature, and that tumult of the deep
Are music to my soul, nor would I give
One hour of this grand minstrelsy, for days
Of what the world call pleasure and delight.

I've stood on mountain tops, and listen'd long
To the sweet sound of rustling evergreens,
Nodding their lofty heads before the breeze-
Anon burst forth the chorus, sweet and shrill,
Of thousand warblers vieing to express
The fulness of the joy even they might feel.
At midnight, when the busy world were still,
I've saunter'd forth to gaze upon the stars
That even sparkle brightly o'er our heads,
And long'd to soar above this nether world,
Where I might hear the music of the spheres,'
And note the harmony with which they move
In their fix'd courses.

Almighty Father, thou, Who drove our parents from thy Paradise To dwell with toils and sorrows on this earth, Didst not withdraw their every source of joy; Thou left'st them Music, that in darkest hours Might point them up to thee, a foretaste rich Of the eternal world, where music reigns, And millions swell the general song of praise! Brockport. E. W. H. E.

AN INQUIRY INTO THE ELEMENTARY CONSTITUTION OF THE Human Voice,-On SPEECH, AS A MUSICAL SCIENCE.

NO. XIII.

To remedy the evil arising from rapid reading and want of accentual force, we published in the year 1827, a series of exercises in Elocution, upon the principles of Mr. Steele's notation. We have lived to see their decided advantages and to behold their introduction into the most respectable public and private institutions of the country. In this work, is a selection of poetry and prose from the most classic English authors. We have in the primary pages, divided each piece into regular feet, marking the accented syllables, in all cases, with the sign |, and accounting for its

Exercises in Elocution, founded on an inquiry into the clementary constitution of the human voice, by Dr. JOHN BARBER. To be obtained of the author, at No. 51, Laight street, New York.

absence by a musical rest (,) indicative of a pause. We now give an example:

7 Of a truth 7 | no man | 7 shall | stop me of❘ this 7 | boasting 7 in the | regions | 7 of A- | chia.

By referring to this example, it will be seen, that the feet are equal in their time: "truth" and "this" being monosyllabic and accented words, are destitute of that unaccented portion of the foot necessary to render it complete : A pause, therefore, indicated by the rest()

restores the time of the bar. The accented words are "truth," "no," "stop," "this," boast," "re," "chia:" I am perfectly aware, the grammarian will say, why separate the adjective "this," from the noun "boasting?" Our reply is, that we take "this" to refer to a particular kind of boasting, and as such to be emphatic, and that it could not be so rendered without a division from the accent, by which it is directly followed. If it should be argued, that frequent pauses would cut up sentences into minute periods, we answer, that pauses, as such, have nothing to do with the expression of sense, they are acts of silence, and consequently cannot impress vocal conviction; that if they were twice as numerous, as marked above, in the hands of a good reader, they would not be observed: The intonation would overrule their disconnecting influence, and present to the ear, a slow and beautiful delivery.

This rythmical system has also a higher claim on Elocution than that of rendering reading and declamation harmonious and pleasing; it is intimately connected with the great functions of life, Respiration and Circulation. A reader or speaker who is guided by its principles in his delivery, will never be deficient in breath or hurried in his respiration, under the most powerful vocal efforts. It furnishes also a guide to the Orthoëpy of the language: The pronunciation of a word, of more than one syllable, under its direction, can never be mistaken. The accent and pause are placed before the eye: Nor can the pupil ever pass by them, if the teacher has the book in his hand and is conversant with its principles.

We subjoin several poetic extracts, under the rythmical notation above mentioned, that the reader may be able from personal observation, to decide, for himself, on its advantages:

7 On | Linden when the sun was | low, 7|
7 All bloodless | lay the un- | trodden | snow, 7 |
7 And | dark as | winter | 7 was the flow 7 |
7 Of Iser | rolling | rapidly. | 7 7 7.

The vacant bars between "Linden" and "when," and "blood-less" and "lay," indicate a rhetorical pause equal to the time of a regular foot.

The underwritten extract from Montgomery's "Thunder Storm," is here presented under the notation adverted to,

Oh, for evening's | brownest | shade, 7
Where the breezes | play by stealth, 7

[PAYABLE IN ADVANCE.

NO. 22.

7 In the forest, cinctured, glade! 7
Round the hermitage | 7 of | health: 7
While the noon-bright | mountain's blaze, 7
7 In the sun's tor- | menting | rays: 7
O'er the sick 7 7 and sultry | plains, 7
Through the dim 7 | 7 de- | licious | air, 7
Agonizing silence | reigns, | 7 7

7 And the wanness | 7 of des- | pair: 77 7 Nature | faints, 7 | 7 with | fervent | heat, 7 Ah 7! | 7 her pulse has ceased to | beat 7!! We conclude our remarks on this important element in Elocution, by a final extract, from "Burke's Apostrophe to the Queen of France:"

7 It is now, sixteen or seventeen years | 7 since I saw the Queen of France, 7 then the Dauphiness, | 7 at Versailles: 7 7 7 and surely never | lighted on this orb, 77 which she | hardly seemed to touch, 71 7 a more delightful vision. 777 I saw her just a bove the ho- ri-zon, | 7 7 | decorating and | | cheering | 7 the elevated | sphere | 7 she | just be- | gan to move in: 77 Glittering 7 like the morning stars; | 7 7 full of life, 77 and splendor, | 7 and | joy, 777 Oh! 7! what a revolution! | 77 | 7 and what a heart] must I have 77 to con- | template | 7 with cut emotion that 7 | 7 ele- | vation | 7 and that 7 | fall. 7 | 777.

We now proceed to a notice of the general faults of readers and speakers. A current opinion prevails, on this head, among mankind, that when we deliver our spontaneous expressions to each other, we speak naturally, and that by transferring this natural manner to our general reading and speaking, we shall read and speak well.

That this natural manner is better than the first attempts at required perfection generally are, may be admitted. But the faults of conversational intercourse are as numerous as those of reading, though less usually observed, from the rapidity of colloquial speech.

Another rule laid down by teachers to ensure good reading, is, a full comprehension of sense. That no reader can give effect to a passage of which he cannot comprehend the grammatical construction, even with the best elocution, we will not for a moment dispute; but that a full comprehension of the sense will ensure a correct delivery or reading, we deny. We would cite our Clergymen, particularly Episcopalians, to test the truth of our denial. Do they not understand the sense of that which they read, from the sacred desk? Can it be supposed, they do not comprehend that which they have sworn on the altar of their faith, to propagate and maintain? We would not dare to dishonor their sacred calling by the bare supposition of such a fact. Do they read well? Does one in a hundred? We will not answer the question-it is unnecessary. Nature may, at times, form specimens of excellence in delivery, unassisted by the resources of science: They are, however, among the "chosen few." Like the land of Goshen amid the plagues of Egypt, they appear to have been preserved by a great deliverance from the general contamination.

Do the opponents of science, in Elocution, argue from this fact, that it proves nature is