nt is most important: It is easy to learn to read a speech,
therefore it is much more urgent that the pupil should have much
practise in speaking from notes and speaking without notes. At this
stage, pay more attention to manner than to matter--the succeeding
chapters take up the composition of the address. Be particularly
insistent upon _frequent_ and _thorough_ review of the principles of
delivery discussed in the preceding chapters.

CHAPTER XVII

THOUGHT AND RESERVE POWER

Providence is always on the side of the last reserve.

--NAPOLEON BONAPARTE.

So mightiest powers by deepest calms are fed,
And sleep, how oft, in things that gentlest be!

--BARRY CORNWALL, _The Sea in Calm_.

What would happen if you should overdraw your bank account? As a rule
the check would be protested; but if you were on friendly terms with the
bank, your check might be honored, and you would be called upon to make
good the overdraft.

Nature has no such favorites, therefore extends no credits. She is as
relentless as a gasoline tank--when the "gas" is all used the machine
stops. It is as reckless for a speaker to risk going before an audience
without having something in reserve as it is for the motorist to essay a
long journey in the wilds without enough gasoline in sight.

But in what does a speaker's reserve power consist? In a well-founded
reliance on his general and particular grasp of his subject; in the
quality of being alert and resourceful in thought--particularly in the
ability to think while on his feet; and in that self-possession which
makes one the captain of all his own forces, bodily and mental.

The first of these elements, adequate preparation, and the last,
self-reliance, were discussed fully in the chapters on "Self-Confidence"
and "Fluency," so they will be touched only incidentally here; besides,
the next chapter will take up specific methods of preparation for public
speaking. Therefore the central theme of this chapter is the second of
the elements of reserve power--Thought.

_The Mental Storehouse_

An empty mind, like an empty larder, may be a serious matter or not--all
will depend on the available resources. If there is no food in the
cupboard the housewife does not nervously rattle the empty dishes; she
telephones the grocer. If you have no ideas, do not rattle your empty
_ers_ and _ahs_, but _get_ some ideas, and don't speak until you do get
them.

This, however, is