* *

In the following selections dashes have been inserted where pauses may
be used effectively. Naturally, you may omit some of these and insert
others without going wrong--one speaker would interpret a passage in one
way, one in another; it is largely a matter of personal preference. A
dozen great actors have played Hamlet well, and yet each has played the
part differently. Which comes the nearest to perfection is a question
of opinion. You will succeed best by daring to follow your own
course--if you are individual enough to blaze an original trail.

A moment's halt--a momentary taste of being from the well amid
the waste--and lo! the phantom caravan has reached--the nothing
it set out from--Oh make haste!

The worldly hope men set their hearts upon--turns ashes--or it
prospers;--and anon like snow upon the desert's dusty
face--lighting a little hour or two--is gone.

The bird of time has but a little way to flutter,--and the bird
is on the wing.

You will note that the punctuation marks have nothing to do with the
pausing. You may run by a period very quickly and make a long pause
where there is no kind of punctuation. Thought is greater than
punctuation. It must guide you in your pauses.

A book of verses underneath the bough,--a jug of wine, a loaf of
bread--and thou beside me singing in the
wilderness--Oh--wilderness were paradise enow.

You must not confuse the pause for emphasis with the natural pauses that
come through taking breath and phrasing. For example, note the pauses
indicated in this selection from Byron:

But _hush!_--_hark!_--that deep sound breaks in once more,
And _nearer!_--_clearer!_--_deadlier_ than before.
_Arm_, ARM!--it is--it is the cannon's opening roar!

It is not necessary to dwell at length upon these obvious distinctions.
You will observe that in natural conversation our words are gathered
into clusters or phrases, and we often pause to take breath between
them. So in public speech, breathe naturally and do not talk until you
must gasp for breath; nor until the audience is equally winded.

A serious word of caution must here be uttered: do not overwork the
pause. To do so will make your speech heavy and stilted. And do not
think that pause can transmute commonplace thoughts into great and
dignified utterance. A grand manner combined with insignificant ideas is
like harnessing a Hambletonian with an ass. Yo