This textbook provides selections for public speaking pieces. The selections embraced in this volume have been chosen with reference to the attainment of these purposes: (1) The pleasant entertainment of both speaker and listeners; (2) The healthy stimulation of the imagination, a factor always active in the minds of children; (3) The cultivation of a correct literary taste; (4) The strengthening of the moral instincts and impulses by implanting in the mind the memory of good thoughts and of worthy deeds; (5) The improvement of the intellect through the presentation of subjects which awaken inquiry or lead directly to an increase of knowledge; and (6) The incidental advancement of the pupils in the arts of reading and elocution. These selections are presented without comment and without elocutionary components.