Ovation

“ There is no striving for effect. A woman singing with a God-given voice, in simple thanks for its ownership, not a queen bidding for admiration. Had any voice ever made such glorious melody, or so stirred human souls?
The applause has in it an immensity of appreciation, as if it could never get itself wholly expressed.
Then another favourite, which everybody sang at for years afterward: "I dreamt I dwelt in marble halls." In some of the sorrows of her womanhood, the little girl was to recall the sweet refrain—
"That you loved me still the same." ”

“ From her deep soul I draw my peace, and thus, One wreath of rhyme I weave for both of us.
THE SHRINE Were I but as the master souls who move In their high place, immortal on the earth, My song might be a thing to crown her worth,— ‘Tis but a pathway for the feet of Love. But since she walks where I am fain to sing, Since she has said, “I listen, O my friend!” There is a glory lent the song I send, And I am proud, yes, prouder than a king. ”

“ The anthem of gladness and triumph sing:
"Glory be given
To the Lord of Heaven!"
4.
Our voices now blending
With their songs unending,
All-joyful, dear Jesus, Thy glory sing.
Be our endeavor
Thus to praise Thee ever! ”

“ I venture to say that the "giving out" of that verse by that aged clerk with his venerable wig and with a voice trembling a little by age, but more by natural emotion, was preferable to many modern modes of announcing a hymn.
It was common to say "Let us sing, to the praise and glory of God." It is common to be shocked, nowadays, by such an invitation. Are we as reverent now as then? Do we sing praises with understanding better? ”

“ To thee my sighs in verse I sacrifice,
Only some pity and no help to gain.
Hear then, and as my heart shall aye remain
A patient object to thy lightning eyes,
A patient ear bring thou to thund'ring cries;
Fear not the crack, when I the blow sustain.
So as thine eye bred mine ambitious thought,
So shall thine ear make proud my voice for joy.
Lo, dear, what wonders great by thee are wrought,
When I but little favour do enjoy!
The voice is made the ear for to rejoice,
And your ear giveth pleasure to my voice. ”

“ Now they call all the people together to greet the king and his bride as they come in their boat on the river. There are shouts and cheers, and men with waving banners and women who scatter flowers; the king smiles upon his people and thanks them for their greeting, and there is only one who is not merry and glad. And whom do you think the king's new bride sees in all this happy crowd? Only her hero, in his own form again, and, if her heart was wounded and sad before, it dies within her now, when she sees him leading the princess out to meet them and knows that he thinks no longer of her. ”

“ Interesting facts accumulated and came in crowds to the help of the ideas developed by the orator, with a vehemence and a passion which communicated itself to the audience.... In the midst of fiery and yet well-ordered periods, a stroke of delicious irony and of charming gaiety broke forth, like a flash of lightning in the midst of the storm. A gentle warmth of real kindness and good humour penetrated through all the words of the orator.... All the cords of the listener's heart were set vibrating in unison by the words, at once passionate and exact, vehement and measured, of the orator. ”

“ Every heart trembles in unison with his, and many an eye is dimmed with the unbidden tear. From almost the entire congregation rises up a united song of praise. One voice after another catches it up, till there is scarcely one which does not join in the melodious hymn. ”

“ To you the world has been a brotherhood of noble souls,—too few, as we thought, for your companionship,—but which you have enlarged by the admission to one rank of those who have gone, and of us who remain to love you and listen to your oracles. The men and the charming women who recognized your voice when it was that of one crying in the wilderness—“Prepare ye the way of our Lord,” are joined, in your commemorative sonnets, with those who hearken to its later accents, proclaiming the same acceptable year of the Lord. ”

“ And they embraced, and laughed, and played together, raised to the highest felicity. The throng, filled with enthusiasm by the sight, traversed by a wave of sonorous gaiety, clapped hands and acclaimed love, almighty love, which without cessation creates more and more life and happiness. Then the singing began, chorus singing, in which the aged sang their well-earned rest, the men the triumph of their toil, the women the helpful sweetness of their love, the children the confident cheerfulness of their hopes. ”

“ They shall sing for joy in their deliverance. When the mirth of carnal worldlings ceases the joy of the saints is as lively as ever; when the merry-hearted do sigh because the vine languishes the upright-hearted do sing because the covenant of grace, the fountain of their comforts and the foundation of their hopes, never fails. Those that rejoice in the Lord can rejoice in tribulation, and by faith may be in triumphs when all about them are in tears. 2. They shall sing to the glory and praise of God, shall sing not only for the mercy but for the majesty of the Lord. ”

“ The laureated bard, honoured of the Court and blessed by the Church, is deposed from his pride of place, in the affections and remembrance of the people at least, while the chant of the unknown minstrel of 'the hedgerow and the field' goes sounding on in deeper and widening volume through the great heart of the race, and is hailed as the one true ballad voice. ”

“ With every sweet, every charming word of sympathy, every holy whisper received into the soul through the portal of the ear, we adore Thee. Aye, with every other sense in us we strike up a universal chorus, a song celestial of praise and a Hymn heavenly of glory unto Thee! ”

“ Your name through trumpets down its central hall,
And the rapt choral praise
Before your dais raise;
And you should see, should hear, be glad and smile
That I so love you. Ah, but all the while
I may not show nor teach
Save through my paupered speech!
Beggar in guise, who am so rich at heart
Where you have set your pure white shrine apart
And keep your cherished state
Dear and immaculate,
How should you know or hear me, when my tongue
Turns a dull rebel and doth ready wrong
To thoughts my dreams repeat?—
Perhaps too proud, too sweet! ”

“ Poet of the Pulpit, whose full-chorded lyre Startles the churches from their slumbers late, Discoursing music, mixed with lofty ire, At wrangling factions in the restless state, Till tingles with thy note each listening ear,— Then household charities by the friendly fire Of home, soothe all to fellowship and good cheer. No sin escapes thy fervent eloquence, Yet, touching with compassion the true word, Thou leavest the trembling culprit’s dark offence To the mediation of his gracious Lord. To noble thought and deep dost thou dispense Due meed of praise, strict in thy just award. ”

“ The kiss from heaven’s singer reft,
A recompense for future years.
And as the maiden grew in years
They marveled at her winsome grace,
The sweetness of her voice and face,
Which moved mankind to smiles and tears. ”

“ And passed, through ordeal flames, to thy eternity in fire.
There, all make up the concert of Thy praise,
To Thee they sing, and never cease,
Loud Hymns and Hallelujahs of applause;
An angel-laureat does the sense and strains compose,
Sense, far above the reach of mortal verse,
Strains, far above the reach of mortal ears,
And all, a Muse unglorified can fancy or rehearse. ”

“ As a sacred orator, he possesses those endowments of spirit essential to oratory—most brilliant talent, vast and agreeable erudition, exquisite literary taste,—and to these spiritual endowments he joins in happy combination the physical qualities which serve for their realization—a fine presence, a noble bearing, a musical quality of voice—all that, in fine, which constitutes the irresistible enchantment of eloquence. ”

“ In hastening to Thy Passion,
⁠They rais'd their hymns of praise:
In reigning 'midst Thy glory,
⁠Our melody we raise.
Thou didst accept their praises;
⁠Accept the prayers we bring,
Who in all good delightest,
⁠Thou good and gracious King! ”

“ The cheer was an utterance of the most enthusiastic joy—in which every individual in the crowd appeared to have had a voice—the discomfited cuirassiers excepted. It was the true English “hurrah,” springing from the heart of a people—ever ready to applaud an exploit of bold and dangerous daring. ”

“ That air of maidenly innocence, the girlish form in deep mourning, the gentle seriousness and grave composure of the young face, the simple, self-possessed manner, and the steady, distinct tones of the clear, soft voice were, as Honor felt, producing an effect that was shown in the mood of addressing her, always considerate and courteous, but increasing in respect and confidence. ”

“ The cheering was at its height when an inspiration came to our color-sergeant—a great, bearded fellow, with a voice like a trumpet—and, holding high in air the torn and faded colors, he sprang upon the breastworks, and roared out the second verse of the hymn—
'Fear not, I am with thee ”

“ The under-tone of human love and woe,
That touched the trembling chords of sympathy,
And drew me near to thy great woman’s heart.
Thou crownéd queen of Song! from this free land
That owns allegiance only unto God
And Genius, his anointed, o’er the sea
I send my vows of homage, and my heart
Sends love and blessings unto thee and thine. ”

“ The laurels of conquest I give to the wind,
’Tis nought without love and honour combin’d;
But when thus united, how noble the fame!
What envy must wait on so happy a name!
Love stood my protector in all the alarms,
While the silver-ton’d trumpet still sounded to arms. ”

“ The oldest minstrel sang of battles and drums, and the soldiers of the king shouted with joy. The youngest minstrel sang of ladies and their fair faces, and all the ladies of the court clapped their hands.
Then came Harmonious. And when he touched his harp and sang, the song sounded like the wind blowing, the sea roaring, and the trees creaking. Then it grew very soft, and sounded like a trickling brook, dripping on stones and running over little pebbles. And while the king and queen and all the court listened in surprise, Harmonious’s song grew sweeter, sweeter, sweeter. ”

“ How we wonder when we recal some discourse, whereby the voice of the preacher roused the souls of a multitude at once,—or when we awake within us the echoes of some Easter anthem, or of the Hallelujah Chorus in Westminster Abbey,—or when we image to ourselves a crowded theatre, when one tragic fear or horror bound together all the spirits that came for pleasure! ”

“ Applause bursts out in the theater at any verse containing an allusion to princes, and, a moment after, at the speech which exalts the merits of the people, the princes return the compliment by applauding in their turn.2319—On all sides, just as this society is vanishing, a mutual deference, a spirit of kindliness arises, like a soft and balmy autumnal breeze, to dissipate whatever harshness remains of its aridity and to mingle with the radiance of its last hours the perfume of dying roses. ”

“ Our Maker, Defender,
Redeemer, and Friend.
O measureless might!
Ineffable love!
While angels delight
To hymn Thee above,
The humbler creation,
Tho' feeble their lays,
With true adoration
Shall lisp to Thy praise. ”

“ Lift up our cheerful voice, and bless the Lord;
Let us, in anthems bless His holy Name,
Yea let us laud and magnify the same.
Let universal nature ever raise
A cheerful voice to give him thanks and praise ”

“ They shall lift up the voice, with the voice together shall they sing in concert, to invite others to join with them in their praises. And that which above all things will transport them with pleasure is that they shall see eye to eye, that is, face to face. ”

“ Methought, a seraph spread her shelt'ring wings
Over the solemn scene; and as the sun,
In its full splendour, on the altar came,
God's blessing seem'd to sanctify the deed.
TO MY SPANIEL FANNY. Fanny! were all the world like thee,
How cheerly then this life would glide,
Dear emblem of Fidelity!
Long may'st thou grace thy master's side.
Long cheer his hours of solitude,
With watchful eye each wish to learn,
And anxious speechless gratitude
Hail with delight each short sojourn. ”

“ Every day an anthem of love and praise swells up from all over the land to do her honor. Old boys of Pampatike schooling, new boys of the University, girls and old people, recall her delight to make them happy and to give them pleasure. ”

“ Continue as long as thou canst this melody in the gatherings of the beloved; thus may the minds find rest and joy and become in tune with the love of God. When eloquence of expression, beauty of sense and sweetness of composition unite with new melodies the effect is very great, especially if it be the anthem of the verses of oneness and the songs of praise to the Lord of Glory. ”

“ Will no one tell me why he sings
Such doleful melancholy lays,
Of withered summers, ruined springs,
Of happier bygone days,
And kindred topics, more or less
Designed to harass or depress?
[Pg 16]
That ballad in his bloated hand
Is of the old familiar blend:—
A faded flow'r, a maiden, and
A "brave kiss" at the end!
(The kind of kiss that, for a bet,
A man might give a Suffragette.) ”

“ The celebrations take place with the music of female voices, with the noise of trumpets and drums, and the firing of salutations. The poets sing the praises of the most renowned leaders and the victories. Nevertheless, if any of them should deceive even by disparaging a foreign hero, he is punished. ”

“ As on her cheeks and veil the hot tears rain!
But how can I, in speech or song,
Your praises fitly sing,
To whose mature and careful thought,
The work superb, in your proud task achieved,
Will fame immortal bring? ”