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reading circles, and families, give us the assurance that unusual favor has been awarded our work. It has, however, been frequently urged by students, and others closely familiar with the successive volumes, that the most prominent features of their arrangement are not sufficiently apparent upon a casual investigation. In accordance with these suggestions, we venture to state that BEST SELECTIONS is not designed to be a mere compilation of what we have regarded popular readings and recitations, but that other considerations have governed both the choice of selections and their arrangement. We invite attention to the following prominent features:

1. LITERARY CHARACTER. The "best things from the best authors" has been a conscientious thought in making the selections throughout all the numbers. If we have seemed to depart from the standard in a few instances, it has been to represent a character or a phase of life at the sacrifice of literary merit. The accompanying index of authors is our guaranty for the corresponding part of the title.

2. ELOCUTIONARY OPPORTUNITY.

Each number

is designed to represent, as far as possible, every phase of voice and expression, thus giving to the teacher and

student of elocution the widest opportunity for the purposes of drill and training.

To secure this end a list of subjects is arranged, beginning with conversation, and covering every division of vocal quality, articulation, modulation, and gesture, extending into dialects, special characters, conditions of life, etc., and one or more selections chosen to represent each subject.

3. ADAPTATION TO OCCASION. By a similar method the selections are systematically varied in adaptation to time and occasion. The family and home, school exhibitions, festivals, church gatherings, social gatherings, temperance and patriotic occasions, anniversaries, harvest home, and the whole round of holidays, have all been arrayed before us, and assigned their appropriate part.

4. THE FIRESIDE. We feel that we have been somewhat partial to the home, especially the country home. We know something of its wants, and we are sure there will be much found in these pages to give joy and cheer to the fireside.

5. INDEXES. An index both of subjects and authors has been carefully arranged and will be found convenient for ready reference. In the former,

selections have been intentionally repeated under the several titles by which they are familiarly known.

We are indebted to many good friends for the mention of popular selections, and we earnestly solicit their thought of us in the future for our "annual sheaf.” To them, and to publishers and authors who have shown us favor in this work, we are sincerely grateful. J. W. SHOEMAKER.

PHILADELPHIA,
May 1, 1875.

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