mstance. He deserves only justice
tempered by no mercy. I have heard the first of two speakers who were
to fill an hour of a commemorative service in a church talk on for an
hour and ten minutes, boring the congregation to fidgety restlessness
and completely preventing the second speaker--the more important--from
delivering a single word.

Mark Twain tells how he went to church one hot night to hear a city
mission worker describe his experiences among the poor people of the
crowded districts who, though they needed help, were too modest or
proud to ask for it. The speaker told of the suffering and bravery he
found. Then he pointed out that the best gifts to charity are not the
advertised bounties of the wealthy but the small donations of the less
fortunate. His appeals worked Mark Twain up to great enthusiasm and
generosity. He was ready to give all he had with him--four hundred
dollars--and borrow more. The entire congregation wanted to offer all
it had. But the missionary kept on talking. The audience began to
notice the heat. It became hotter and hotter. They grew more and more
uncomfortable. Mark's generosity began to shrink. It dwindled to less
and less as the speech lengthened until when the plate did finally
reach him, he stole ten cents from it. He adds that this simply proves
how a little thing like a long-winded speech can induce crime.

Plan your speech so that it will be the proper length.

Discarding Material. This first consideration very likely indicates to
you that you have much more material than you can use in the time
allowed or assigned you. You must discard some. Strange as it may
seem, this is one of the must difficult directions to carry out. It
seems such a waste of time and material to select for actual
presentation so small a part of all you have carefully gathered. There
is always the temptation to "get it all in somehow." Yet the direction
must remain inflexible. You can use only part of it. You must
carefully select what will serve your purpose. What is the purpose of
your speech? What is the character of your audience? These two things
will determine to a large extent, what and how much you must
relinquish. Your finished speech will be all the better for the
weeding-out process. Better still, in all your preliminary steps for
subsequent speeches you will become skilful in selecting while you are
gathering the material itself. Finally you will become so practised
that you will not burden