Such speeches (like the rheses) have the distinction of length, often exceeding one hundred lines; they give the impression that for a time dramatic effect is suspended, and, as a substitute, the recognised features of Epic Poetry supply a new interest.

I began also to feel very hungry, as not having eaten for twenty-four hours; and worse than that, there was a parching thirst and dryness in my throat, and nothing with which to quench it.

She is dead, he announced, very gravely and simply. The hunchback shivered. Captain Runacles neither spoke nor stirred in his chair. A man-child was born at two o'clock. He is alive: his mother died two hours later. (Set in 1673)

They're at the top of the charts again this week.