All 4 Uses

discourse
in
Anna Karenina
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Thus people talked incessantly of Alexey Alexandrovitch, finding fault with him and laughing at him, while he, blocking up the way of the member of the Imperial Council he had captured, was explaining to him point by point his new financial project, never interrupting his discourse for an instant for fear he should escape.†
Part 5
Sviazhsky comically imitated the tearful discourse of the marshal, and observed, addressing Nevyedovsky, that his excellency would have to select another more complicated method of auditing the accounts than tears.†
Part 6
"We are late though," said Katavasov, looking at his watch directly Metrov had finished his discourse.†
Part 7 *
They went forward too, and heard a gentleman with a glass in his hand delivering a loud discourse to the volunteers.†
Part 8

Definitions:

(1) (discourse)
a serious speech, writing, or conversation on a particular topic

or much more rarely: to speak or write formally on a particular topic; or to have a conversation
(2) (meaning too rare to warrant focus)