..' One of these evenings I can recall
most distinctly. A certain freshman had been elected. The man who was
to have read an essay had fallen ill, and the freshman had been asked
to step into the breach. This he did, with an essay on `The Ideals of
Mazzini,' and with strange and terrific effect. During the exordium we
raised our eyebrows. Presently we were staring open-mouthed. Where
were we? In what wild dream were we drifting? To this day I can recite
the peroration. Mazzini is dead. But his spirit lives, and can never
be crushed. And his motto--the motto that he planted on the gallant
banner of the Italian Republic, and sealed with his life's blood,
remains, and shall remain, till, through the eternal ages, the
universal air re-echoes to the inspired shout--`GOD AND THE PEOPLE!'
The freshman had begun to read his essay in a loud, declamatory style;
but gradually, knowing with an orator's instinct, I suppose, that his
audience was not `with' him, he had quieted down, and become rather
nervous--too nervous to skip, as I am sure he wished to skip, the
especially conflagrant passages. But, as the end hove in sight, his
confidence was renewed. A wave of emotion rose to sweep him ashore
upon its crest. He gave the peroration for all it was worth.
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