“The Puritans” was excerpted from Sprague’s longer “Centennial Ode” and used in this children’s reader as an exercise in declamation (that is, public speaking). Each emphasized word has a number before it, corresponding to one of the pictures above, which indicates the proper gesture. Because many of Sprague’s poems were written to be read at public events, this is an appropriate and delightful use of one of them. Here’s a suggestion: take a close look at the first line and see if you can recite it with the correct arm movements.

Private Collection