The original of tliis book is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924027184187 Cornell University Library PN 4111.B43 1887 Elocutionary manual 3 1924 027 184 187 ''ELOCUTIONARY MANUAL:' THE PRINCIPLES OF ELOCUTION, WITH EXERCISES AND NOTATIONS. BY ALEXANDER MELVILLE BELL, Auttior of "Visible Speech," **Pbihoiples of Speech and Dictionary of Sounds," " Emphasized Liturgy," '* Standard Elocutionist," " Essays AND Postscripts on Elocution," "Sounds and Their Relations,'' "Lectures on Phonetics," "English Line-Writing," "World English," &c., &c., &c. SIXTH EDITION. lEVISED AND ENLARGED. New York : New York : N. D. C. HODGES, EDGAR S. WERNER, 874 Broadway. 108 East 16th St. London : PAUL, TRENCH, TRUBNER & CO. ^ ^^^'i^%o IT Copyright, 1887, by Alexander Melville Bell. GIBSON BROS. PRINTERS AND BOOKBINDERS WASHINQTON, D. C PREFACE. An outline of the Principles detailed in this volume constitutes the first Section of thq " Standard Elocu- tionist" — a book of which upwards of one hundred and fifty thousand copies have been sold. The present is the Sixth Edition of the parent Work. This will be found improved in quality of paper, &c. ; and a portrait of the Author has been added. Washington, D. C. , May, iSgj. Extracts from Former Prefaces. First Edition. In the preparation of this Work the Author has endeavoured to write not merely for the use of pupils, to whom a defective description in the book may be orally supplemented in the class-room, but for those to whom such additional instruc- tion is hot and cannot be available. How far he has succeeded in this remains to be proved. He has studied to preserve the utmost simplicity of arrangement, and to avoid overloading principles by unnecessary rules. He has not followed in the steps of any preceding writer, either as to his' Theory or his plan of developing it; but he has observed Nature for himself, and recorded his observations after his own fashion. The Science of Elocution seemed to him to want an A B C, and he has endeav- oured to supply the deficiency. Edinburgh, November, 1849. Second Edition. Two years ago the Author published his " New Elucidation of the Principles of Speech and Elocution," — a work which has been so favourably received among Critics, and so rapidly dis- posed of, that he has been induced to prepare an Elocutionary Manual adapted for use in classes, as well as for private students. This Volume may be considered as a Second Edition (but en- tirely re-written) of the Elocutionary Sections of the larger work. The Fundamental Theories, and the Details of Articulation and Defective Speech are condensed ; the Principles of Orthoepy, Vocalization, and the Art of Reading, more copiously illustrated ; and a full Practical Treatment of the subject of Gesture has been added ; besides an extensive Collection of Poetical and Dramatic Quotations marked for Exercise in Expressive Reading. All the Extracts are alphabetically collected in one general Index in the Table of Contents, so as to form a Dictionary of Emotive Quotations: and the Table of Contents, generally, is. arranged as a minute Reference-Index to the subjects treated of in the Volume. The Author has to acknowledge his obligations to his father, Alex. Bell, Esq., Professor of Elocution, London; and to his brother, D. C. Bell, Esq., Professor of Elocution, Dublin, for their critical perusal of this Work in its progress through the Press. Edinburgh, 1852. EXTRACTS FROM FORMER PREFACES. V Third Edition. In the present Edition the whole of the Notations have been revised, and many new paragraplis have been added in each Division of the Work. The Introductory Essay and the Section on Emphasis are entirely new, and a large number of additional Exercises and Illustrations have been given under the various Heads of Inflexion, Expressive Exercises, Gesture. The Work will now, it is hoped, be found still more worthy of the flattering encomiums it has received from the Press and the Professional Public. Edinburgh, 1859. Fourth Edition. The Third Edition of the " Elocutionary Manual" having been for some time out of print, and the work being still in steady demand, the Author has been induced to prepare a New Edition, with the improvements suggested by his long experience. Such a duty he cannot hope to be again called on to undertake; and, as his "Principles of Elocution" — flrst published in 1849 — have had a manifest influence on subsequent elocutionary litera- ture, he desires to extend and perpetuate that influence by a final revision of the Theories and Exercises, which were the fruit of original study and observation thirty years ago. TuTELO Heights, Brantford, Ontario, Canada, July, 1878. Fifth Edition. In this fifth edition of the "Principles of Elocution" all the directions and exercises have been again revised, and to a great extent re-written. Much new matter has also been added, including the entire series of " Reading Exercises marked FOR Emphasis, Clause, and Pitch " (pp. 145 to 156). The work is now as perfect as the Author's best efforts can make it. In this form, therefore, it has been for the first time electrotyped in preparation for continued and extended use. 1525 Thirty-fifth Street, Washington, D. C, September, iSSy. SPECIAL NOTICE TO BOOKSELLERS. In consequence of the difficulty which many corre- spondents have experienced in obtaining this Work and other Works by the same Author, All Booksellers, Throughout the Universal Postal Union, are informed that they may now obtain parcels directly from the Author, at a discount of twenty-five per cent., and Post Free. Cash must accompany orders. Address : Prof. A. MELVILLE BELL, jjzS Thirty-fifth Street, Washington, D. C. CONTENTS. Introductory Essay Directions for Using this Work I. II. PART FIRST.— PRONUNCIATION General Principles .... Definition of Speech The Instrument of Speech Elocution ..... Principles of Respiration The relation of breath to speech . The acts of inspiration and expiration Confidence dependent on respiration Respiratory Exercises. Prolonged vocalization Frequent inhalation . Salutary nature of these exercises To strengthen weak respiration Proper time for exercise III. Principles of Vocalization Mechanical formation of voice Variations of pitch Vocal energy .... Huskiness ..... Oral modifications of quality IV. Principles of Vowel Formation Illustrative experiment . Organs of vowel modification . Labio-lingual vowels — foreign Varieties of lingual vowels English vowel scheme and numerical notation ..... The terms " long " and " short " . Vowel Exercises. Illustrations of the various modes of orthography of the English vowels Anglicisms of Vowel Sound Characteristic formation of A and Peculiarities associated with R . VI. Scotticisms of Vowel Sound Numerical notation of examples VII. HiBERNICISMS OF VoWEL SoUND Numerical notation of examples V. Par. Page. I 15 I 2-6 7-8 9-10 11-19 20 21-22 24 25 26 27-28 29 30 31 32-33 34-35 36-37 38 39 40-43 44-45 47-68 69 70-76 77-97 98-109 17 25 32 34 37 VIII CONTENTS. Par. VIII. Americanisms of Vowel Sound Numerical notation of examples Nasal quality . ... IX. Distinction Between Vowels a Articulations Sounds of Y and W . . . X, Exercises in Vowel Notation Phonetic directions Poem for marking — '■ Thought and Deed" Words for marking Key to the exercises for marking XL The Aspirate H English irregularities Northern peculiarity Oratorical " . . Silent H XII. Articulations (Consonants) Breath and voice varieties Obstructive and continuous do. . Three modes of aiticulation . First mode — Complete contact . Nasal elements .... Second mode -Partial contact Third mode — Approximation Trills General scheme of articulations . English articulations . Phonetic table of articulations XIII. Principle of Distinctness XIV. Defects of Articulation Relative positions of the oral organs Labial expressiveness XV. Anglicisms of Articulation . Sounds of R, Y, W, K, G . XVI. Scotticisms of Articulation Sounds of R, L, Ng, T, Th, H, Wh . XVII. Hibernicisms of Articulation Sounds of P, T, K, L, S . XVIII. Americanisms of Articulation Sounds of R . . . XIX. Syllabic Quantity Degrees of quantity in elements The liquids— L, M, N, Ng . Degrees of quantity in combinations XX. Difficult Combinations Sounds of pt. kt . . . Exercises on difficult words Exercises on difficult phrases and sen- tences IIO- -ii8 119 I20 -123 Page. 38 39 40 124-125 126 127 128-129 131 132 133 134 137 138 139 140 141-142 143 144 145 148 151 IS3 161-163 164 165-168 169-176 177-180 181-182 183 184 186-188 190 191 193-193 45 4S 5" 51 54 55 56 56 58 Par. Page. 60 197- 199- -I9S -201 202 204 203 -20s CONTENTS. XXI. Accent or Syllabic Stress . Secondary accents Table of verbal accents . Principles of accentuation False accents in poetry . Sentential accents Transposition of accent for emphasis PART SECOND.— INTONATION AND CLAUSING I. General Principles .... Essential characteristics of speaking tones 1-2 Tones constitute a natural language . 3 Reading and speaking tones . . 4 II. Mechanism of the Inflexions . Simple and compound inflexions . 5 Diagram of simple inflexions . 6 Pitch and extent of the inflexions 7-12 Analysis of compound inflexions . 13-14 Diagram of compound inflexions 15 III. Notation of the Inflexions Four degrees represented . . 17 Plaintive tones ..... 18 IV. Preparatory Pitch .... A principle of opposition . . . 19-20 V. Expressiveness of the Inflexions Logical expressiveness . . . 21-22 Sentimental expressiveness . , 23-24 Ga-}nut of Inflexions, VI. Exercises on the Inflexions . Words with initial accents . . 27 Words with pre-accentual syllables . 28-29 Sentences with tones marked . 30 VII. Resume of Principles of Mechanism, Melody and Meaning of the In- flexions VIII. Principles of Verbal Grouping . Stages of Verbal Grouping. 1. Articles 33 2. Prepositions .... 34 3. Pronouns with verbs ... 35 4. Pronouns with nouns . 36 5. Auxiliary verbs .... 37 6. Adverbs with adjectives or adverbs 38 7. Adjectives with nouns . 39 8. Conjunctions . . . 40 9. The verb "to be" . . 41 10. Adverbs with verbs ... 42 11. Objects or complements of verbs 43 12. Complemental clauses ... 44 6.5 66 68 69 69 71 72 7.3 74 94 X CONTENTS. Par. Page IX. Punctuation and Pausing . . 8i Clausingnotregulated by commas, etc. 45 The marks of punctuation . . 46 Where pauses are required . . 47-48 Example : — " Thunder-storm among the Alps " 49 X. Emphatical Disjunctions of Words 82 XI. Staccato Pronunciation ... 83 Importance of clausular reading . 53 XII. Passages for Exercise in Clausing . 84 {For a List of the Passages, see " General Index of Extracts.") XIII. Application of Principles of Inflex- ion TO Sentences Two fundamental principles . 54 1. Rising pi-ogression connects . 55 2. Falling progression disconnects 56 Three forms of sentences . . 57 1. Assertive sentences . 58 2. Interrogative sentences . . 59 3. Imperative sentences . 60 XIV. Analysis of Sentences ... 96 Subjects, predicates and circumstances 61-68 Complemental and independentclauses 69 Subjects and predicates must be dis- tinctly prominent . . . 70 Absolute and conditional predicates 72 Example of sentential analysis . 98 XV. Varieties of Interrogative Sen- tences ... . 98 Inflexion not governed by construc- tion . . .... 73 Questions referring to the facts in a sentence .... 74 Questions not referring to the facts in a sentence . . 75-76 Questions repeated or echoed . 77 Elliptical questions .' . . . 79 Questions connected by " or " 80 Interrogative sentences ending with similes, etc.- ..... 81 XVI. Governing and Dependent Words Examples ... . . 8^ XVII. Series . XVIII. Resu.me of Leading Principles of Sentential Intonation Exercise on Sentential Inflexions . 104 103 CONTKNTS. ' XI PART THIRD.— MODULATION AND EXPRESSIVE DELIVERY. Modulation — what it includes Pitch — where changes are necessary 2-3 Notation of Pitch .... 5 Force — its notation ... 6 Time — its notation ... 7 Where changes of Force and Time are necessary ..... 8 Effectiveness of variations . . 9 Expressive Quality — what it includes Necessity of sentiment in reading 11 Elements of Expressive Quality and their notation Recapitulative Table of Notations FOR Inflexion, Pitch, Force, Time, and Expression . Marked Exercises in Expressive Reading .... L-^ar a List of the Passages, see "General Index of Extracts.") PART FOURTH.— EMPHASIS. 1. General Princples Kindred nature of accent & emphasis 1-2 The new idea emphatic ... 3 Accentual effect of priority of words 4 Relative value of the " parts of speech " 5-7 Principal and accessory parts of sen- tences . . . . 8 Separate delivery of clauses . . 9 Antithesis involved in emphasis 10 Suggested antithesis the most em- phatic II II. Example of Emphatic Analysis — '^ Lines on the Burial of Sir y ohn Moore ''...... III. Repetitions IV. Reading Exercises marked for Em- phasis, Clause, and Pitch . (I^or a List of the Passages, see " General Index of Extracts."') V. Resume of the Principles of Senten- tial Accent or Emphasis VI. Passages for Exercise in the Selec- tion of Emphatic Words fJFor a list of the Passages, see " General Index of Extracts.") Key to the emphatic words in the fore- going extracts Key to the emphatic words in " Thun- der-storm among the Alps '' . Par. Page. 107 109 "3 135 137 144 145 156 163 164 CONTENTS. Par. Page. PART FIFTH.— LOOKS AND GESTURES. I. General Principles .... Gesticulation necessary to effective i6s oratory ... I Natural order of passionate expression 2 II. Expressiveness of the Different Facial and Bodily Motions 165 The features 3 The eyebrows 4 The eyes . .... 5 The nostrils 6 The lips 7 The mouth . ... 8 The head 9 The arms lO The hands . ... II The fingers .... 12 The body 13 The lower limbs H The feet IS III. Summary of the General Principles OF Gesticulative Expression . 170 IV. Principles of Grace 170 The eye .... 17 The head i8 The arms 19-21 The hand 22-24 The fingers -5 The weight of the body 26 The square of the body 27 The feet . ... 28 29 Turning . ... 30 Kneeling 31 Bowing 32 Standing before a rail 33 Holding a book 34 Sitting 35 V. Relative Positions of the Hand and Arm in Motion 173 Illustrative diagrams 174 Exercises on the principle . 39-40 VI. Application of Gesture . 176 Inexpressive motions to be avoided . 41 Repose to be studied 42 Frequency of gesture . 43 Tautology of gesture 44 Directive gestures— their pictorial ar- rangement .... 45-48 Illustrative gestures 49-50 Emotive gesticulation 51 CONTENTS. XIII Par. Bodily harmony in gesture . . 52 Colloquial and oratorical gestures . 53 VII. Examples op the Application of Gesture . .... Lochinvar ..... Hamlefs Meditation on Death Death of Marmion Orator's First Sfeeck i/i Parliament Rustic Logic ..... VIII. Notation of Gesture .... Diagram of positions of the feet . Notation of positions of the feet . 58 Notation of positions of the arms . 59-6i Diagram of positions of the arms Graceful and passionate transitions 62-64 IX. General Scheme of Notation for Attitude and Motion . The feet, lower limbs, and trunk . 65 The arms ...... 66 The hands ..... 67 Parts of the body on which the hands may be placed ..... 68 The head and face .... 69 X. Order of Symbolic Arrangement Recapitulative table of symbolic letters 73 XI. Illustrations of the Notation of Gesture Macbeth to the dagger-vision Marco Bozzaris PART SIXTH.— THE LANGUAGE OF PASSION. Comparative rarity of illustrations . Emphasized Exercises in the Lan- guage OF Passion {For a List o/the Passages, see " General Index of Extracts,") Page. 180 180 182 183 183 184. 185 1S6 187 190 192 192 194 197 198 GENERAL INDEX OF EXTRACTS. Prose passs-ges are distingui..hed by an asterisk (*). Page. 198 "3 198 Absorbing Love . . Actions Admiration .... Admonition to Consist- ency 198 A Dream 198 Adulation 145 Advice 199 Page. Affection 199 Affectionate Remembrance, 199 Age's Sorrow .... 145 Ambition .... 113, 200 Ambition Dissatisfied . 114 Ambition Repented . . 114 Ambitious Rivalry . . . 114 An Ancient Temple . . 84 XIV COKTENTS. Paee. Ancestry . . 114 Anecdote - . *I56 Anger . . . *S5, 115- 200 Angiy Surprise 200 Animal Enjoyment . . 84 An Orator's First Speech 183 Antiquarian Rapture . . 145 Apparition . 201 Apprehension . 201 jVssumed Bluntness . 201 Authority . . . 201 Avarice ... . 115 Avaricious Age .... 202 Battle Alarm . 146 Battle Array . . 146 Beauty . . . 115,. 146, 202 Bereavement . . . 202 Blindness ... 115, 157 Boastfiil Challenge . . 203 Burial of Sir John Moore, 137 Charity . 115, 203 Cheerfulness . *85, 203 Cheerful Piety . . *I57 Childhood . . . *ii6 Claims of Kindred . 146 Close of a Guilty Career 204 Commentators . 116 Confidence ... 204 Conflicting Passions, 117, 204 Consolation in Misfortune, *i 57 Constancy . . . 147, 205 Constancy in Virtue S^ Contempt . . . .116 Contemptuous Fortitude 147 Contemptuous Reproach 205 Contentment *S5. '157 Contradiction . 205 Corruption ... 117 Courage 117 Courageous Defeat . . 147 Courteousness . . . *I58 Courtiers . ... 147 Cowardly Surrender 147 Crafty Advice . . 206 Crafty Malignity . 206 Critics . *85 Death . . . 206 Death of Marmion . . 1S3 Defiance . 117. 148 Desert »iiS Desire and Dread of Death, 206 Page. Desire of Distinction . . 86 Desires Unlimited . . *86 Despair . . . 118, 148, 207 Desperate Conflict . 148 Disappointed Envy - 207 Discrimination . 118 Disdainful Scorn . . 20S Disgust ... . 208 Disinterested Love . 208 Dissembled Love . . . 208 Distinctions . . *ii9 Distraction . . 119 Distrust . . . 209 Dominion .... .119 Employment .... 86 Emotions . - *ii9 Emulation in Gentility . *209 Encouragement. 210 Energetic Effort . 119 Envious Contempt 210 Envy ... . . 120 Equality of Men *I5S Error . 148 Error and Ignorance . . *I58 Eventful Epochs . . *76 Evil Conscience 120 Evil Speaking . *I5S Exalted Misery - . 211 Exasperation 120 Exculpation . . . 211 Exercise .... . *8o Exhortation against Am- bition . . 212 Exhortation to Courage 213 Existence 120 Ex-Officio Endowments 121 Experience 121 Faith ... 121 Faithful Prayer . , 159 Fame . ... 121, 148 Farewell to Greatness 213 Fear of Death . 213 Fidelity .... .121 Figurative Language *I59 Flowers . . 159 Forgiveness . . 86 Foi^ving Disposition *i6o Fortitude 122 Fortune . . 122 Fortune's Frolics 86 Fruitless Resolutions . 160 CONTENTS. XV Paee. i6o 214 122 149 214 214 Grateful Recognition . Gratitude . . . Greatness . . . • Greed of Praise . . . Grief Guilty Conscience . . Hamlet's Soliloquy on Death 182 Hasty Anger .... 86 Hatred . . . 215 Hearts 122 Honesty Ti-ue Nobility . 215 Honour "215 Hope Personified . . 149 Human Enjoyments 149 Human Knowledge . . 149 Human Life . . *87, 122 Human Progress . . . *78 Human Wretchedness 123 Humility *87 Hunting . ... 149 If- *i23 Ignorant Criticism . . *2i6 Imitation ... . . *i23 Incredulous Horror . . 216 Indifference *2i7 Indignant Contrast . . 217 Indignation . . . . 150, 217 Industry 87 Ingratitude 123 Innocence .... 87 Insect Life '124 Interrogation . . . . "124 Jealousy 217 Joy ... . . 2i8 Justification .... *2i8 King Lear . 150 Kingly Power .... 125 Knowledge and Wisdom 160 Landing of an Army. 150 Laughter .... 218 Law ... .... 150 Laziness . ... 125 lieadership . ... 151 Liberality .... •87 Liberty . . ... 87 Life 125 Light *88 Lights and Shades . . 125 Listening 219 Listening to Distant Music, 219 Page. Living Merit 88 Lochinvar .... 180 Love 88 Lovers .... . 126 Lovers' Studies . . . *i26 Lowliness of Mind . 220 Ludicrous Distress . . *I26 Macbeth to the Dagger 192 Malicious Revenge . . *22o Man 126, 161 Marco Bozzaris . . . . 194 Martyrs . . . 126 Maternal Love .... 220 Melancholy Reflections 221 Mercy . . . . . 221 Method . ... 127 Might of Mercy . 88 Misdirected Efforts . . 151 Misery in Royalty . . . 222 Misfortune . ... 151 Misfortunes . . . . *89 Moodiness . . 89 Murder . . . . . 127 Music . 222 Music and Language . 151 Mutability of Love . . 223 Mutual Dependence . . *89 Natural Freedom . . . 223 Night . . .89 Occupation .... *89 On Literary Extracts . *i6i Outcry .... 151 Parish Common . . . 127 Parting *I2S Patriotic Resolve . . 152 Peasant Life . . 152 Perversity . . . 224 Philosophy and Religion 'go PiV .... 224 Politeness ... . *i6i Potency of Courage 90 Poverty ... . 225 Power of Music. . 152 Prayer . . . 128,225 Prayer and Submission . 90 Progress in Guilt . . 90 Precedents . . 152 Prosperity .... *I29 Proud Independence . . 225 Raving ""226 Reasoning 129 XVI CONTENTS. Rebellion Reflection . ... Regretful Pity . . Rejecting Counsel . . Remembered Love . . Remembrance . . Remonstrance— with In- dignation .... Remorse for committing Murder .... Remorse forDrunkennes Remorseful Horror . , Reproach with want of Friendship .... Reproach with want of Manliness . . . . Reproach with Stupidity and Inconstancy . . . Reproof of Servility Results Retrospection . . Revelation . . Ridiculous Deference Rustic Logic . Sad Foreboding Sadness of Night . . Sarcastic Expostulation Scorn .... Second-hand Fame . . Selfish Hatred . . Self-Knowledge . . Self-Satisfaction . . Separation . . Shipwreck Shuffling Refusal . . Sickness . . . Signs of Love . . Slavery .... Sleep . .... Solitude Sorrow causing Forget- fulness . ... Sounds of an Army . Sounds of Morning Sources of Calamity . Sources of Error . Spasmodic Emotion Stability of Nature Stairs to Marriage . . Standards of Character Stern Reproach . . Stillness . . Page. 226 *I29 *227 227 228 77 228 228 i,*22g 229 230 230 230 231 129 152 *8o 129 1 84 231 90 232 232 153 232 *90 161 i-W i.« 233 233 130 *i30 153 154 233 154 154 90 *9i 130 78 "130 154 234 155 -with Admir- Page. 91 234 79 235 130 Success . SuUenness Sunset Suspicion . Sympathy Sympathy- ation .... Teachers . Tears . . Temper .... Terror .... Terrors of Death . The Common Lot The Falling Leaf . The Fine Arts . . The Firmament The Gospel . . The Grave The Hunted Deer The Passing Chase . The Secret of Content Thoughts . . . Thought and Deed . Threatened Revenge Ties of Love . . Time To the Butterfly True Courage True Greatness Truth ... Tyranny . Tj'ranny of Vice Uncertainty of To-morrow Untold Love 237 Upbraiding with Want of Duty . . . .238 Valour . ... 239 Variety of Endowments . *92 Vegetation 162 Vengeance ... . 239 Virtue .... 93, 240 Virtuous Promptitude . 93 Voices of Night . 93 War . . . . 74, *93 Warning 240 Well-doing 93 Wisdom *93 Wisdom of the Deity . . *I32 Wiseacres 155 Wit 133, 163 Woman .... 94, 133 Youth 156 131 235 •132 I3r *l62 ♦236 236 91 132 *76 77 *9i 91 iSf iSS *7S *92 41 237 237 162 162 132 *75 *92 92 92 THE PRINCIPLES OF ELOCUTION. INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. Elocution does not occupy the place it reasonably ought to fill in the curriculum of education. The causes of this neglect will be found to consist mainly of these two : the subject is undervalued, because it is misunder- stood ; and it is misunderstood because it is unworthily represented in the great majority of books, which take its name on their title page ; and, also by the practice of too many of its teachers, who make an idle display in Recita- tion the chief, if not the only, end of their instruction. When we point to the fact, that public speaking is a part of the professional duty of every Clergyman and Advo- cate, and no unusual part of the social duty of a private citizen ; and that Public Speaking involves two distinct requirements, — a knowledge of what to say, and how to say it ; and when we farther advert to the fact, that in the whole course of school and college education, either for private citizens or public speakers, only one of these re- quirements is systematically provided for, the inadequacy of the provision to the requirements cannot but be mani- fest. We naturally ask, "why is this?" The reason, perhaps, may simply be, that so it is I We are all slaves of custom, and cannot, without much difficulty, be brought to alter existing arrangements, however unreasonable. We are too apt to lazily acquiesce in things as they are, however wrong, and passively accept the doctrine that "whatever is, is right." 2 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. But, besides this natural conservatism, this unreason, which is the principal cause of the maintenance of all error, there is another cause which is indeed a reason for the anomaly referred to, although the reason itself will be admitted to be unreasonable : a prejudice exists against the cultivation oi manner in Delivery. Prejudice, — that Reason's very opposite, — denounces manner as if it was a thing of no matter. "Manner" and "Matter" are spoken of as antagonists in Oratory. But what is matter without manner ? Matter is the native unquarried rock ; Manner is the chiseled statue, or the sculptured palace. Matter is the chaos "without form and void" when ' ' darkness brooded over the face of the earth ; " Manner is the rolling globe launched in the flood of light, and beautified with hill and dale, ocean and streamlet, herb, and tree, and flower. Manner is the manifestation of all matter ; and no matter can be known but by the manner of its presentment. This is equally true of intellectual as of physical ma- terial. The matter of the finest oratory may lie hidden within the brain, worthless and unappreciated ; as the marble of that sweetest creation of the sculptor — the " Greek Slave" — lay buried in its native hill, till Pow^ers arose that could unveil its symmetry and grace. And it depends entirely on the speaker's skill, — his power over manner — whether he fashion his matter into a paving stone or a Medicean Venus. But this prejudice has a moral root froin which it de- rives all its vitality: — "The eloquence that fascinates may be employed to dazzle and seduce. It may be used to make the worse appear the better reason." True, but the greater the attractiveness of Eloquence for purposes of mere amusement, or for more unholy ends, the stronger is the reason and the more imperative the duty to master its refinements, and utilize its influence in all good and sacred causes. The adage cannot be too often repeated that whatever is worth doing at all, is worth doing well ; and we may add, the worthier any object of effort, the higher should be the standard of efficient execution. Slovenliness is intolerable in the meanest business. How much more INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 3 SO in the highest, and especially in that which has an aim beyond all earthly objects ! But by whom is this prejudice entertained ? Who are they that shake the head at oratorical refinement in the pulpit, and denounce preparatory study of" manner" as *' theatrical ?" Are they the eloquent of the Church, the ornaments of their profession, speakers refined by culture, or endowed with natural powers of eloquence ? No ! They are those only who are themselves destitute of any pretensions to effectiveness. No man who is conscious of the ability to speak effectively can undervalue the power, and none who is not competent in this respect, can judge of its value or pronounce it worthless. The study of Oratory is, however, hindered by another prejudice, founded — too justly — on the ordinary methods and results of elocutionary teaching ; the methods being unphilosophical and trivial, and their result not an im- proved manner, but an induced mannerism. The principle of instruction to which Elocution owes its meanness of reputation may be expressed in one word, — Imitation. The teacher presents his pupils with a model or specimen of reading or declamation, and calls on them to stand forth and do likewise. The model may be good, bad, or indif- ferent ; it is, at all events, tinged with the teacher's own peculiarities, and the pupils, in their imitative essays, can hardly be expected to distinguish between these accidents of style and the essentials of good delivery which may be embodied in the model. Thus, becoming accustomed to imitate the former, they naturally confound them with the latter. Each pupil, too, has his own peculiarities, already more or less developed — arising from structural differences in the organs of speech, from temperament, or from habit, — the result of previous training or of previous neglect. These fixed idiosyncrasies and tendencies, min- gled with the imitated peculiarities, form a compound style, which, whatever its qualities, can hardly fail to be unnatural. Besides, as imitation is in a great degree an unconscious act, habits are thus formed of the existence of which the subject of them is entirely ignorant. In no other way can we account for those monstrous perversions of style which are so common, and so patent to all but. 4 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. ' apparently, the speakers themselves. The very purpose of a philosophical system of instruction should be — to give us a standard by which to measure our own shortcomings and, primarily, by which we can discover them. But it may be urged by adherents of the imitative methods of instruction, that they do not teach by imita- tion alone ; that they teach by Rule, and merely illustrate rules by their model readings, in imitating which the pu- pils consciously apply the rules. There has been far too much of this teaching by " Rules" in all departments of education. The rules of nature are few and simple, at the same time extensive and obvious in their application. These are Principles rather than rules, and it is the highest business of philosophy to find out such. Princi- ples alone are worthy of the student's care. These he cannot too perfectly " learn and con by rote.'' But the rules of elocutionary books are not of this kind. The latter are cumbersome in number, limited in application to certain forms of grammatical construction, and very far from obvious in their use. Some principle must be involved in every rule. Rules are but logical deductions from understood principles ; and, often, a single principle will be found to underlie a whole category of rules. If Principles are understood, the mind will deduce rules for itself, but the knowledge of the most elaborate code of rules may be possessed without acquaintance with a sin- gle principle. Besides, in actual practice, rules cannot be applied. They keep the mind in leading-strings which prevent self-effort, and destroy natural freedom, being rather fettei's than assistances to one who has learned to walk alone. For instance, a certain movement of voice implies incompleteness of statement, and its mechanical opposite implies completeness. A knowledge of this sim- ple Principle involves at once a knowledge of more than half the rules for Inflexion with which Elocutionists have bewildered their students. The mind can grasp this principle and carry it along without effort through all the complexities and involutions of composition ; but if, in- stead of this, the student is made to learn all the possible arrangements of words in sentences, and to apply a separate " Rule " for each new form, he can never bring his rules into INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 5 spontaneous application. He may apply them, or fancy that he applies them, in the reading of selected sentences, but beyond this he cannot carry them a step without feel- ing them an incumbrance and a hindrance to mental action. Constant thinking of inflection proves fatal to ^-eflection. What a student chiefly requires to know, is Aowto vary his voice ; if his own judgement and apprecia- tion of the sense, in connection with defined principles, do not inform him when to do so, the most minute direc- tion by Rules will be of little service. The mechanics of expression are what he inust master, if he would use and manifest his mind in reading ; but he must be unfet- tered in their application, in order that he may develop and improve his manner without acquiring the formality •of mannerism. Elocutionary Exercise is popularly supposed to consist merely of Recitation, and the fallacy is kept up both in -schools and colleges, where Elocution is said not to be wholly neglected, because an hour is occasionally set apart for a competitive display of the declamatory powers of the pupils or students. This is a miserable trifling with an art of such importance, — an art that embraces the whole Science of Speech, as well as sentimental expression. With as much justice might it be said that ' music was attended to, if a class were called on once or twice a week, or half a dozen times a session, to whistle a popu- lar air in competition for a prize. Music is both a Science and an Art. So is Elocution ; and such an amount of at- tention as is limited lo the occasional " spouting" of pas- sages learned anywhei'e or anyhow, is to Elocution merely what whistling is to music. The cultivated orators of old esteemed Delivery the chief of all the arts of Oratory, and they "being dead yet speak to us : " and they should do so w^ith authority, for the letter of their eloquence is still the model in our colleges. We admire the orations of Demos- thenes : so did contemporary judges ; but they tell us that truly to appreciate these compositions we must have heard them! How would the Grecian "Thunderer" esteem our modern wisdom, in practically reversing, as we do, the rel- ative importance of writing and of speaking well ! Ora- tory, doubtless, is not now an art of such high consequence O INTRODUCTOKY ESSAY. as it was before the invention of the printing press, and the general diffusion of knowledge through its blessed agency ; but the sphere of oratorical influence, though narrowed, is yet large, and within that sphere the value of an effective Delivery is as preponderating as it ever was. Oratory was of old a very comprehensive subject, and its study was the labour of a life. It included almost every department of general knowledge, and mental and moral discipline, as well as Pronunciation, or what we now call Elocution or Delivery. The latter department was the one most sedulously cultivated, as being that on which all the rest depended for successful exhibition. Hoary hairs were considered indispensable to the consummate orator, that his manner might be duly refined with that art which hides itself ; and also because his laborious preparations were supposed to require the length and vigour of the youth and prime of life. Consistently with this. Oratory was em- blematized under the figure of an Old Man, threads of amber issuing from his lips, and winding into the ears of deferential auditors. Our modern orators expect to jump into the rostrum and oratorical ability at once, and with- out preparation even for the primary requisite of public speaking — distinct Pronunciation. They expect to find the amber in their mouths, born with them ; — like Dog- berry, who thought that "to write and read comes by na- ture." They expect to drop the native substance from their lips — as the princess in the fairy tale did pearls — at every opening. But men are not orators by birth, and the am- ber of eloquence is seldom found save as the rich deposit of assuetude and science. Elocution may be defined as the effective expres- sion OF THOUGHT AND SENTIMENT, by Speech, Intona- tion, and Gesture. Speech is wholly conventional in its expressiveness, and mechanical in its processes. Intona- tion and gesture constitute a Natural Language, which may be used either independently of, or as assistant to, speech. Speech, in all the diversities of tongues and dia- lects, consists of but a small number of articulated element- ary sounds. These are produced by the agency of the lungs, the larynx, and the mouth. The lungs supply air to the larynx, which modifies the stream into whisper or voice j INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. and this air is then moulded by the plastic oral organs into syllables, which, singly or in accentual combinations, con- stitute words. These words are arbitrarily appropriated to the expression of ideas, and thus we have Language, — variously intelligible in every community, but the same in its elements, throughout the world. Elocution, as it involves the exercise of language, must embrace the Physiology of Speech — the mechanics of vo- calization and articulation. A knowledge of the conven- tional meanings of words is of course also implied, but this may be obtained independently of Elocution, in the modern sense of the term . The student of Elocution , then, should be made acquainted with the instrument of speech, as an instrument, that all its parts may be under his con- trol, as the stops, the keys, the pedals, and the bellows, are subject to the organist. These principles of Instru- mentation are equally applicable to all languages, and the student who has mastered them, in connection with his vernacular tongue, will apply them to the pronunciation of any foreign language with which he may become ac- quainted. Elocution has also a special application to the language or dialect employed, that the elements and vocables of each may be pronounced according to its own standard of correctness ; — that being correct in one which is incor- rect in another. Thus, in the elocution of the northern British, the Irish, the New England and other American dialects of our tongue — for all dialects may have their elo- cution, or effective utterance — the vowels a and o, and the letter r, have different pronunciations from those which obtain in the southern dialects of England. The student of elocution should be capable of discriminating these and all similar differences. He should not be enslaved to the peculiarities of any dialect ; he may, when occasion re- quires, speak English like an Englishman, Scotch like a Scotchman, and Irish like an Irishman ; but his reading should not be imbued with the characteristics of Irish, of Scotch, or of any local pronunciation, when he delivers the language of Shakespeare, of Milton, or of Addison. The differences that distinguish dialects are quite sus- ceptible of assimilation to any standard. Just as a piece O INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. of music can, by a skilful player, be transposed in execu- tion to a different key from that in which it is written, so language can, by one skilled in the characteristics of dia- lects, be transposed In pronunciation from one dialect into another. But local peculiarities manifest themselves in varieties of intonation as well as of syllabic pronunciation. As the tones of speech have all a natural expressiveness, there is rarely any difficulty in acquiring command over them. The "science of sweet sounds" can only be effectively studied by those who have "an ear" for music, but the expressive tones of speech can be distin- guished and efficiently executed, even by those who are destitute of the musical faculty. This department of elo- cutionary discipline is of high importance, as it involves the exercise of much judgement in discriminating the analogies of sound to sense. The peculiarities of tone, which characterize dialects, consist, for the most part, of repetitions of the same species of inflexion, clause following clause in a sort of tune, which prevails merely by the force of habit. The voice of every individual is apt to partake too much of a uniformity of melody ; but we have no difficulty in un- derstanding the intention of the speaker, notwithstanding the sameness or the habitual fluctuations of his tones. This proves the folly of attempting, by any set of Rules, to iiTipose a system of intonation as a standard for all voices. There is scarcely a sentence which wll not admit of just expression by half a dozen, or ten times as many, modes of vocal inflexion. What is granted is not a Rule for this or that species of sentence, but a power over the voice generally, to redeem it from monotony ; a knowledge of the various modes of conveying sense ; and an appreciation of the special sense to be conveyed. To aim at anything more than this would be to destroy the speaker's individuality, and to substitute formality and mannerism for versatility of natural manner. In refer- ence to inflexion, elocutionary training has for its object mechanical facility, and definiteness of execution, rather than uniformity of application. It is the mistake of Mr. Walker's, and all similar Rules, that they tend to produce INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 9 the latter result only ; one which is neither desirable nor strictly possible, — ^which is, in fact, unnatural. Inflexion is associated with accent, or emphatic stress, and this is regulated by the sense to be conveyed. The laws of emphasis form a study of the highest intellectual value, which has been too little investigated and systema- tized. No department of Elocution can compare with this in importance ; yet not only has it been superseded in books, by unnecessary Rules for Inflexion, and in schools by thoughtless imitation, but these rules, and all exercise founded on them, constantly violate the laws of accent. Here is one point in which almost absolute uni- formity must prevail among all good readers. Set prac- tice right in respect to emphasis, and inflexion cannot go far wrong. Every sentence or clause is susceptible of various mean- ings, according as its different words are rendered promi- nent by emphasis. "There will always be some word or w^ords more necessary to be understood than others. Those things which have been previously stated, or which are necessarily implied, or with which we presume our hearers to have been preacquainted, we pronounce with such a subordination of stress as is suitable to the small importance of things already understood ; while those of which our hearers have not been before informed, or which they might possibly misconceive, are enforced with such an increase of stress, as makes it impossible for the hearers to overlook or mistake them. Thus, as it were in a picture, the more essential parts of a sentence are raised from the level of speaking, and the less neces- sary are, at the same time, sunk into a comparative obscurity ! " * How awkwardly ambiguous is the reading of those who have no principle' to guide them in the selection of emphasis, — the distribution of the light and shade of speech ! One verse of Scripture — a peculiarly difficult one to hap-hazard readers — is rarely delivered correctly. This is the 25th verse of the 24th chapter of the Gospel by Luke : — "O fools, and\f/ow of heart to believe all * " Practical Elocutionist." London, 1842. lO INTlfODUCTORY ESSAY. that the prophets have spoken !" The reproof conveyed here is that the disciples addressed were " slow to be- lieve ; " but, by a faulty clausing of the sentence, sepa- rating these allied words, and a misplaced emphasis, precisely the opposite censure seems to be intended : " O fools, and slow of heart, to believe all that the prophets have spoken." It is the business of Elocution to teach the student three things important to be known : ist, How to discover all the meanings that any passage may embody ; 2nd, How to express the several meanings, supposing each of them to be just ; and, 3rd, How to ascertain the true interpre- tation, or the sense intended by the author. In all these processes, and especially in the last, much judgement will manifestly be required. Indeed, it may be questioned whether any study is more directly calculated to exercise the mind in all its faculties than the investigation of the precise meaning of a standard author. It is true that the critical acumen to appreciate the sense may be possessed without the ability to express it ; and herein is manifest the necessity of vocal training, to give the judicious inter- preter a command over the mechanics of expression, that he may " make the sound an echo to the sense." The succession of the accents in sentences constitutes what is called Rhythm. This succession is regular in metrical composition, and irregular in prose. The regu- larity of rhythmus in poetry, w^hile it favours a musical delivery, is very apt to lead the voice into a tuneful move- ment, where music is not intended ; and the result is that nauseating intermixture of the tones of speaking and of singing which is denoted canting or sing-song. There can be no doubt that the school methods of scannings and of reading poetry by the line, are directly productive of this worst and most prevailing oratorical taint. It is but rarely that a reader can be found whose voice is entirely free from this blemish ; and the habit is speedily extended from poetry to prose, so that the expressive irregularity of pro- saic rhythm is entirely lost in the uniformity of time to which the reader's voice is set. Pinned, as it were, on the barrel of an organ, his accents come precisely in the same place at every sentential revolution, striking their INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. IT emphasis, at one turn, upon a pronoun or a conjunction, and, at another, impinging sonorously on an article or an expletive. " 'Tis education forms the infant mind; Just as the twig is bent, the tree 's inclined." The little green twigs in the Grammar School are sedu- lously bent into the barrel-organ shape, and pegged to play their destined tune by systematic teaching ; and when the tiny twig-barrel has swelled into a full-grown cylinder, and rolls forth its cadences in far-sounding pitch, the old pegs are still there, striking the old chords in the old way. What have childi-en,'pr men either, to do, in reading, with trochees, iambi, dactyls, amphibrachs, or anapassts? They are all pests together. Scanning, or the art of dividing verse into the " feet" of which it is composed, is a practice that should not be left " a foot to stand upon."' It confounds every element of natural pi'onunciation, call- ing long " short," and short "long ;" separating the sylla- bles of the same word, and uniting the syllables of different words, in a way that would be almost too monstrous for belief, were we not so habituated to the " scanning " art from our earliest " twig "-hood, that we have great diffi- culty in scanning its full stupidity. While this wretched pedantry is taught in our schools, so long must our pul- pits bring forth the normal increase of such seed, in sing- song, drawling, and unnaturalness. The subject of Rhythmus has been involved in much obscurity by the way in which writers have treated of it ; and even Elocutionists have been so far misled under the influence of early education, as to adapt their reading ex- ercises to the accustomed measures, and divide their sen- tences into barsof equal time. Itis difficultto characterize the folly of such divisions as the following, quoted from a well-known work : — " While the I stormy | tempest | blows While the | battle | rages | long and | loud." " Where is my | cabin door | fast by the | wild wood.' Sisters and | sire | *did you | mourn for its | fall?" These bars are terrible bars to progress in the art of reading — barriers of nonsense in the way of sense ! 12 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. The marks of punctuation are taught in schools as measures of the pauses in reading. Children are told to stop at all the " stops," and only at the stops, and to pro- portion their stopping to the supposed time-value of the stops. But the marks of punctuation have no relation to time ; nor are they at all intended to regulate the pauses of a reader. They have a purpose, but it is not this. They do, in the majority of cases, occur vsrhere pauses should be made, but they do not supply nearly the number •of pauses that good reading requires. They simply mark the grammatical construction of a sentence. While vvrord follows vsrord in strict grammatical relation, no comma is inserted, though many pauses may be indispensable ; and wherever any break occurs in the grammatical relation of proximate words, there a comma is written, though, •often, a pause would spoil the sense. Commas are placed before and after all interpolations that separate related words — adjective and noun, adverb and adjective, pronoun and verb, verb and object, &c. ; — but they are not written while words follow each other in direct and viutual re- lation. Punctuation has thus no reference to delivery ; it has no claim to regulate reading ; and nothing but ig- norance of a better guide could have led to the adoption •of the grammatical points to direct the voice in pausing. Some w^riter has happily expressed the principle of pausing in a metrical form, which is worth committing to memory, although the reader will find something more definite in the section on "Verbal Grouping:" " In pausing, ever let this rule take place, Never to separate words, in anj case. That are less separable than those you join ; And, -which imports the same, not to combine Such words together as do not relate So closely as the words you separate." The subject of Antithesis and the relation of antithesis to emphasis, is one in which the Rules of Elocutionists are not only superseded by a fundamental law, but in which the rules are often at variance with the natiiral Principle. There is a grand distinction in the expressive- ness of the tones of speech, which has been insufficiently ■attended to. The vocal inflexions are primarily two, — INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. I3 an upward and a downward movement. These express the sentiments of appeal to the hearer, in the rising move- ment, and of assertion from the speaker, in the falling^ turn. The union of these simple movements with one accent, or impulse of stress, produces two compound tones, which express the same sentiments with a suggesr tive reference to the antithesis of the utterance. No great observation was necessary to discover that all em- phasis implies antithesis ; but Elocutionists have jumped to the conclusion that the converse of this principle must needs be likewise true, and that all antithesis implies em- phasis. As if, because every potato is undoubtedly a vegetable, every vegetable must of course be a potato ! Upon this false assumption, rules for the inflexion of an- tithetic sentences have been founded, which led to a con- stant up and down alternation of the voice on opposed words, than which nothing can be more at variance with the natural law of emphasis, or with its invariable mani- festation in the spontaneous utterance of conversation. It is only when verbal opposition is inferred and not fully expressed, that we have a genuine instance of the figure of Antithesis, and nature has provided us with a distinc- tive intonation by which the antithetic idea may be un- mistakeably suggested. When the opposition is complete in terms, the tones of antithesis are not required, and the emphasis follows the general law, by which the idea new to the context, or uppermost in the speaker's mind, is rendered prominent by mere accentual stress, and with simple tones. It is no less true in Elocution than in physics, that the brightest light casts the deepest shadow. The light of emphasis on any word throws a shade of subordination on all allied words, the darker and more concealing in proportion to the lustre of the emphasis. Among speakers whose tones are adjusted by artificial rules, we look in vain for this " night side of nature," this shadow of the illuminated thought. Each word of every contrasted pair of words is thrown mechanically into equal prominence,, with the effect expressed by Pope in his " Essay on criticism : " " False eloquence, like the prismatic glass, Its gaudy colours spreads on every place." 14 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. We may follow out the Poet's idea, and add a converse couplet : — True eloquence the lens's part must play, And blend the colours in one focal ray. With many speakers who aim at being emphatic with- out knowing how to be so, every leading grammatical word — noun and verb, — or every qualifying word — adjective and adverb — is delivered with an intensity of stress which defeats its own object, and is as destitute of intelligent effect as that tame and drawling monotony in which others indulge, where nothing rises above the level of constant dulness. Words are emphatic or otherwise, not in virtue of their inherent grammatical rank, but of the relation they bear to each other in the context. The discriminating principle which marks this relation is called uccent in reference to combinations of syllables, emphasis in reference to groups of words, and modulation in ref- erence to successions of sentences. But it is the same art in all its applications, governed by the same intellectual perception of relative proportion and comparative im- portance. The student is now referred to the body of the Work for a full development of Principles. Enough has been said hei'e to prove that Elocutionary Art is something more than merely imitative ; that it has more intellectual exercises than the sentimental declamations usually asso- ciated with the name ; and that, if it has been encumbered with useless Rules, it is not destitute of guiding Principles. DIRECTIONS FOR USING THIS WORK. To the Private Student. When you consult a Teacher for instruction in Elocu- tion, your attention is, for the time, limited to special points — those in which your delivery requires correction, or those to which the Teacher gives precedence. The duly-qualified instructor is, of course, competent to direct his pupils in any of the departments of his art ; but he does not, in every case, allow his lessons to range over ALL departments. In this Book you have a teacher — prepared to give instruction in Theory, or direction in Exercise, in any department of the Art of Delivery : but you must, in order to self-improvement, do for yourself what you cannot avoid under the living teacher — namely, confine your attention, at first, to those points in which you specially need help, and overlook all else till they are mastered. There is a great art in learning even from the best of teachers. Some pupils will draw out precisely what they requii'e, and profit rapidly ; others — "receptive" only, — will, from a longer period of instruction, derive much less advantage. The art of learning from a Book is of course still more dependent on the student himself. The secret of success is undoubtedly the same in both cases : attend EXCLUSIVELY TO ONE POINT AT A TIME. A cursory examination of the whole ground of study is sometimes advantageous as a preliminary, — especially when it is undertaken merely to assist in the selection of a Department for exercise ; — but a desultory perusal of a practical work — on such a pi'actical subject as elocution — can lead to no satisfactory result. Therefore : — Treat this Book as a viva voce Teacher : Give heed exclusively to the section before you : Practise the exercises prescribed, and look neitlier backv\rard nor forward until you have mastered the Lesson in hand. Do you belong to either of the following classes of speakers .? I. Your voice is feeble — it is smothered — it is strained — you are soon fatigued by vocal effort — you become hoarse — breathless — giddy — the muscles of your throat, chest, abdomen, are rendered sore by public speaking. — i6 DIRECTIONS, &C. For you, until you have changed these characteristics, this Book has only one lesson — the management of Respiration. II. Your pronunciation is faulty — it is indistinct — it slurs syllables — it is peculiar in some element — it is pro- vincial — it is foreign — it is guttural — it is nasal. — Study first the details of Vowels, Articulation, and Accent- uation. III. Your tones are unvaried — they are limited to a. narrow range — they are tunefully recurrent — they aie vaguely meandering — they are screechy — they are croaky — they are drawling. — Begin with the mastery of In- flexion. IV. Your reading is governed by sentences — by breath- limits — in poetry by lines — ^your pauses by the marks of punctuation — your primary and secondary clauses are undiscriminated. — Study Sentential Analysis and the principles of Clausing and Pausing. V. Your delivery is ponderous — it is flippant — it is rhythmical — it is uniform — it is pointless. — Commence with the principles of Emphasis. VI. Your general style is dull — it fails to arrest atten- tion — it is harsh — it is unsympathetic. — Begin with Modulation and Emotive Expression. VII. Your action is awkward — it is angular — it is stiff — it is jerking — it is repetitive — it is indefinite. Study first the section on Gesture. VIII. You feel yourself to be ineffective, but are not conscious of the particulars in which you fail. — Learn the Notations of Inflexion and Expression, and read the notated and emphasized passages, until you acquire a definite knowledge of the source of your Ineffectiveness ; for consciousness of a fault is the necessary preliminary to its correction. IX. You simply desire to understand the subject as a matter of interest ; or you wish to master it for the pur- pose of teaching. — Begin at the beginning and go through THE W^HOLE WORK. The previous editions of this "Manual" have met with many appreciative and successful disciples. This finally revised edition should prove even more widely useful to new generations of Elocutionary students. THE PRINCIPLES OF ELOCUTION, PART FIRST. PRONUNCIATION. I. GENERAL PRINCIPLES. 1 . Speech is the audible result of a combination of mechanical processes, separately under the government of volition, and conventionally expressive of ideas. 2. As, in learning to play upon an instrument of music, it is indispensable to be practically acquainted with its mechanical principles, so, in studying the Art of Speech, it is of consequence that the learner be familiar with the structure and working of the instrument of Speech. 3. But this important fundamental know^ledge is not anatomical in its nature. The pianist does not require to understand the arrangement of the interior of his in- strument, — its pegs and wires, and hammers and dampers — but to be familiar with its keys, and with the principles of digital transition, so that he may gallop over its gamuts without stop or stumble. The violinist does not need to know the details of shape and fastening of the parts of the fiddle-frame, but he must have perfect acquaintance with the working of the pegs, the stopping of the strings, and the drawing of the bow. The flutist does not require any knowledge of the arts of turning and boring the block from which his instrument is formed, or of the mathematical calculations and nice relative measurements which regulate the holing ; but he must thoroughly un- derstand how to blow, to tongue, and to "govern the ventages," so as to make it " discourse its eloquent music." And so, the Speaker does not require to learn of how many, and of what muscles and cartilages the larynx is 2 iS PRONUNCIATION RESPIRATION. formed, and by what sets of " motors" and" antagonists" the various organs of speech are influenced : such Isnowl- edge may be a welcome addition to his stock of informa- tion, but he cannot bring it into any practical use in speaking. He should, however, comprehend clearly the dynamic principles of the vocal instrument, and the me- chanical means by which the various sounds and articu- lations of speech are produced and modified. 4. The instrument of speech combines the qualities of a wind and of a stringed instrument : voice being produced by means of a current of air impelled from a sort of bel- lows — the lungs — and modified by contraction or expansion of the voice-channels, and by tension or relaxation- of the vibrating membranes. 5. The speaking machine, while thus resembling in cei'tain points the organ and the violin, is characteristically distinct from all instruments of music in its unique appa- ratus of Articulation; which embraces the pharynx; the nares or nostrils ; the palates^ soft and hard ; the tongue; the teeth; and the lips. 6. In the management of the Breath, and of the Organs of Articulation, lie the mechanical principles with which the speaker should be practically familiar, in order to en- able him to use his oratorical powers healthfully, in energetic and protracted efforts, and with ease, grace, and precision at all times. 7. Elocution, or Delivery, comprehends, besides the principles of salutary respiration, distinct articulation, and correct pronunciation, those of mental and emotional Expressiveness, by tones, gestures, &c. 8. Regulating the Expressive, as well as the Articula- tive departments of Elocution, are various mechanical principles with which the student should be experimentally familiar, that he may be gracefully effective in every effort ; in nothing giving offence to the eye or ear of taste, or " o'ei'stepping the modesty of nature." II. PRINCIPLES OF RESPIRATION. 9. Speech consists of variously modified ctnissions of breath. Breath is thus the material of Speech. The RESPIRATION. 19 lungs must, therefore, be well supplied with air be- fore speech is commenced, and they must be kept so supplied during the whole progress of speech. The very- common fault of dropping the voice feebly at the end of a sentence, arises in great measure from a faulty habit of respiration : and many personal inconveniences, some- times painful and serious, accrue to the speaker, from insufficient, too infrequent, or ill-managed respiration. 10. The amount of air ordinarily inspired for vital wants is quite insufficient for vocal purposes. Speech must be preceded by a deeper than common inspiration, and sustained by replenishments of more than common frequency. 1 1 . The lungs are supplied with air by the expansion of the cavity of the chest ; and they are made to yield the air they contain by its contraction from the pressure of its walls and base. 1 2. The cavity of the chest is conical in form, tapering from its muscular base, — the diaphragm, — by the ribs and clavicle to the windpipe. 13. The chest is expanded by the bulging of the ribs, the raising of the clavicle (or breast-bone) , and the de- scent or flattening of the diaphragm. Expiration may be produced either by means of the bony frame-woik, or of the muscular base of the chest. The latter is the correct mode of vocal expiration ; the former is exhausting, and •often injurious in its consequences. 14. Too much importance cannot be attached to the formation of a habit of easy respiration. The walls of the chest should not be allowed to fall in speaking, but the whole force of expiration should be confined to the" diaphragm. Clavicular respiration is the prevailing error of those who find speaking or reading laborious. When the respiration is properly conducted, vocal exercise should be unfatiguing even though long continued ; and the longer it is practised the more should it be conducive to health. 15. The inspirations in speaking must be noiseless. Audible suction of air is as unnecessary as it is ungrace- ful. To avoid this fault, let the passage to the lungs be but open, and expand the chest ; the pressure of the 20 RESPIRATION. atmosphere will then inflate the lungs to the full extent of the cavity created within the thorax. i6. The common Scotch bagpipe gives an excellent illustration of the comparative efiicacy of a partial, and of a complete inflation of the lungs. See the piper, when the bag is only half filled, tuning the long drones : — how his arm jerks on the wind-bag ! — ^And hear the harsh and uneven notes that come jolting out from the pressure ! Then see him, when the sheep-skin is firmly swelled beneath his arm : — how gently his elbow^ works upon it L' while the clear notes ring out with ear-splitting emphasis. Let the public speaker learn hence an important lesson. He but plays upon an instrument. Let him learn to use it rationally — in consciousness, at least, of the mechanical principles of the apparatus. For, as the instrument of speech is more perfect than anything the hand of man has fashioned, it surely must, when properly handled, be ' ' easier to be played on than a pipe ! " 17. There is an important point of diflerence, however, between the human speaking machine and artificial wind instruments like the bagpipe or organ. These latter have separate passages for the entrance and exit of the air, while the instrument of speech has but one channel by which the air is received and delivered. Through the- aperture of the glottis,* all the breath must pass both in inhalation and exhalation. These acts must therefore be alternate, and cannot possibly take place at the same time ; while, in playing on artificial instruments, the air is both drawn in and expelled simultaneously by separate , apertures. t8. Speaking being an expenditure of breath, pausing- must be regularly alternate with utterance, to supply tlie waste of breath. The speaker must not exhaust his stock before he takes a further supply, but he must aim *The Glottis is the narrow aperture of the trachea or wind- pipe, situated behind the root of the tongue. Its action in closings or opening the passage to the lungs may be felt in coughing: The effort that precedes the cough shuts the glottis, by contact of its edges ; and the explosive ejection of breath in the cough arises from the sudden opening of the glottis by the separation, of its edges. RESPIRATION — EXERCISES. 21 ^it keeping up a constant sufficiency, by repeated inhala- tions. This is the principle which the bagpipe teaches. The most momentary pause will be found long enough to give opportunity for adding to the contents of the chest easily and imperceptibly. 19. A clear sonorous voice uses comparatively little breath : consequently the purer the voice the easier the utterance. The chest would be uncomfortably distended if the unexpended breath were held in at pauses. Pauses should therefore be synonymous with change of breath. 20. In addition to the power and ease that are gained by a proper management of the respiration, the speaker derives the further advantage of a good carriage of the bust. This contributes in no slight degree to give the young orator a feeling of confidence in addressing an audience. Fear naturally collapses, and courage expands the chest ; and the cultivation of the habit of keeping the chest expanded in speech imparts courage, and prevents that perturbation of the breathing \vhich bashfulness and •diffidence occasion to the unpractised speaker. Respiratory Exercises. 21 . To gain the power of fully and quickly inflating the lungs the following exercise will be useful. Prolong the simple vowel sounds musically to the full extent of expi- ratory power : silently replenishing the lungs and recoin- mencing the sound as expeditiously as possible. The voice should begin softly, swell out vigorously, aiid then " knit sound to silence," by the most gentle termination. Thus : , <> <> <> <> e ah aw 00, &c. After a little practice the sound should be continued ■clearly for the space of from 25 to upwards of 30 seconds. This exercise is equally advantageous to the singer as to the speaker. 22. The same principle of exercise in connection with articulation may be obtained in counting. Pronounce the numbers from one to a hundred, deliberately and dis- tinctly, with as few breathings as possible. Note the 22 RESPIRATION VOCALIZATION. numbers after which the breath is inspired, and compare the results of the exercise at different times. 23. To gain the power of keeping the chest expanded and' the lungs well filled, by frequent and imperceptible inspirations, the following exercise will be of service : — After due preparatory elevation of the chest, pronounce a long series of numbers with a gentle and instantaneous expansion of the chest before each number ; and con- tinue the exercise for some minutes at a time, w^ithout a single pause for breathing. This may be found difficult and laborious at first, but practice will speedily impart facility. 24. These respiratory exercises will be found of the highest utility in cases of contracted chest or weak LUNGS. Persons engaged in sedentary occupations, the dyspeptic, and the convalescent, would find in them gym- nastics of the most salutary nature, without leaving the office or the chamber. 25. To strengthen weak respiration the practice of en-^ ergetic reading in a strong loud whisper, or "gruff" voice, will prove beneficial. Above all, exercise in the- open air will be found of advantage. The ancient rhet- oricians practised declamation while walking or running- up a hillside before breakfast, or standing by the sea-shore, face to the wind, and endeavoring to out-bellow the tempest. 26. Respiratory exercises should not be practised im- mediately after a full meal. The distension of the stomach prevents the free play of the diaphragm. The public speaker should therefore be sparing before any important oratorical effort, and defer making up the deficiency until he has made his bow to the audience. III. PRINCIPLES OF VOCALIZATION. 27. Voice is the name given to that sound which is. formed in the Larynx,* by the passage of the compressed *The Larnyx is that cartilaginous box-like structure which, surmounts the trachea, causing the protuberance in front of the neck, known as "Adam's apple." Its aperture is a lengthened slit, the upper extremity of which is called the superior glottis-^ and the lower the inferior glottis. VOCALIZATION. 23 air from the lungs, through the contiguous edges of the glottis. It being important that the studentshould clearly understand the mechanical formation of voice, we offer the following simple and homely illustrations. 28. The principle on which vocal sound is formed is the same as that by which a blade of grass or a slip of ribbon is made to produce a sound by being placed between the lips while the breath is strongly impinged against them. But the most perfect imitation of voice, as well as the most exact imitation of the laryngeal aperture — the glot- tis — is obtained by the approximation of two fingers, say the fore and middle fingers of the left hand, holding them nearly to the middle joints in the right hand, and forcing the breath between their moistened edges. The aperture thus obtained between the fingers, from the knuckles to the next joints, is of about the same size as that of the glottis ; and the sound produced by the vibration of its edges, remarkably resembles glottal voice, and exemplifies many of the vocal principles. Comparative openness of the aperture produces grave sounds, and contraction, acute sounds : slackness of its edges causes huskiness or whis- per, and tension gives clearness and puritj' of tone. A knowledge of these principles should assist the speaker in correcting habits of defective or impure sonorousness of voice. 39. Variations of Pitch in the voice are thus produced by variations in the condition and dimensions of the glot- tis. Something, too, depends on the elevation or depres- sion of the whole larynx ; as we see coarsely exemplified by untrained singers, who toss the head upwards, or bur- row the chin in the chest, as they squeak or croak at the extremities of the voice. In running over the vocal com- pass, the larynx may be felt descending with the gravity of the tones, and ascending with their acuteness. The head, of course, should be quiescent. A sympathetic motion of the head or eye-brows is a common but offensive accompaniment to the movements of the voice among untutored speakers. [Exercises on the vocal movements — speaking tones — will be found under the head of Inflexion.] 30. The voice may be formed by a soft and gradual 24 VOCALIZATION. vibration, or by an abrupt and instantaneous explosiveness of sound. The latter mechanism of voice is often em- ployed in energetic, emphatic speech ; and the orator should be able, at will, to adopt it with any degree of , force from -piano to forte. The pronunciation of the vowel sounds with something of the effort of a cough,* but without its breathiness, will develop the power of producing this intensive vocal effect. Thus : — inhale a full breath, and eject the vowel sounds directly from the throat ; avoiding, in the most forcible effort, any bending or other action of the head or body. 31. Huskiness of voice may be the result of diffidence, of disease, or of over-exertion. With the first and last of these w^e have to do. The mechanical cause is a re- laxation of the vocal ligaments. Rest will generally restore the voice when over-exertion is the cause of its depravity; and the "coup de la glotte" will purify it, and contribute to give confidence when the first is the modifying circumstance. In temporary affections of the voice, warm mucilaginous drinks, and many confectionery preparations will be of service. Dryness of the mouth will be relieved by a small particle of powdered nitre placed upon the tongue. Habits of temperance are the best preservative of the voice. 32. The voice is variously modified in quality by the relative arrangement of the organs of the mouth, — the soft palate, the tongue, the teeth, and the lips. The various configurations of the vocal channel, and of the oral aper- ture, by the plastic soft organs, the tongue and lips, give rise to vowel diversity. The contraction of the arch of the fauces, by enlargement of the tonsils, or by too close approximation of the root of the tongue to the soft palate, produces a guttural depravity of tone : laxity of the soft palate, causing it to hang from, and uncover, or only par- tially close, the nares (the pharyngeal openings of the nostrils) produces a nasal modification : too close ap- proximation of the jaws, especially the falling back of the lower teeth behind the upper, gives rise to a dental *This exercise ("coup de la glotte") is recommended to singers in the excellent and philosophical Treatise on the Art of Singing, bj M. Garcia, of Paris. VOCALIZATION — VOWELS. 25 impurity ; and contraction or inequality of the labial aper- ture — ^by elevation of the lower lip above the edges of the lower teeth, by depression of the upper lip below the edges of the upper teeth, by contact of the corners of the lips, by pouting, or by opening the mouth unequally to one side — produces a labial modification. These labial habits affect not only the quality of the voice, but also many of the vowel and articulate formations. 33. The quality of the voice is said to be gutturally, dentally, or labially depraved, when the approximation of the organs is so close as to produce a degree of guttural, dental, or labial vibration^ in addition to the true sonorous vibration of the glottis. IV.— PRINCIPLES OF VOWEL FORMATION. 34. The voice, as formed in the glottis, may be said to be destitute of vowel quality. It is moulded into vowel shapes as it flows out of the mouth. The following simple experiment will give a clear idea of the nature of vowel formation. 35. Open the mouth to the greatest possible extent — Avith the lips naturally drawn back, so that the edges of the teeth are visible — and emit an uttei'ance of voice : it will sound ah ! Continue sounding this vowel while you grad- ually cover the mouth firmly with the hand, laying the fingers of the left hand on the right cheek, and slowly bringing the whole hand across the mouth : the vowel ■quality of the sound will be changed with every diminution of the oral aperture, progressively becoming aw, ok, oo, us the palm gradually covers the mouth. 36. The apparatus of the mouth is wonderfully calcu- lated to effect the most minute and delicate changes with definiteness and precision. The tongue and the lips are the chief agents of vowel modification. When the tongue is evenly depressed, and the lips are fully spread, the voice has the vowel sound ah; when the tongue contracts the oral channel— by rising convexly within the arch of the palate, leaving only a small central passage for the voice — the vowel quality is ee; and when the labial aper- ture is contracted to a small central opening — the vowel 26 VOWELS. quality is oo. These vowels then, ee, ah, and oo, are the extremes of the natural vowel scale : the closest lingual vowel is ee; the closest labial, oo; and the most open sound, aA. 37. From the mutual independence of the vowel modi- fiers — the lips and the tongue, — it will be obvious that their various positions may be assumed either separately or simultaneously. Thus ■we may put the tongue into the position ee, and the lips into the position 00 at the same instant ; and we shall produce a vowel, which combines the qualities of ee and 00, and is different from both ; just as two colours intermixed, such as blue and yellow, produce a third, — green, — which combines their effects, and differs from either element of the compound. The close labio-lingual vowel, resulting from the simultaneous formation of ee and 00, is the German u — a sound often heard in some of the Ii'ish and American dialects, in- stead of 00, or u. 38. Two other vowels of the Labio-lingual class are such very common European sounds, that an additional illustration, with reference to them, may not be super- fluous. The lips in the position o, and the tongue in the position a, produce the broad variety of French u — the same as the Scotch vow^el in fruit, shoe, &c. ; and the lips in the position aw, with the tongue in the position e (ell) , produce the French eu or the German 6. If, therefore, the vowel 00 be sounded, or the vowel 0, or the vowel aw, the mere advance of the tongue will pro- duce the corresponding Labio-lingual vowels without any change in the position of the lips. Thus, retract and advance the tongue while the lips retain the positions 00, 5, aw^, and the sounds will be alternately : 00 ij, 00 ti, 00 u o u, o u, o u aw eu, aw eu, aw eu 39. In the system of " Visible Speech " three classes of purely lingual Yoyv&ls are recognized, as modified by the " Back," the " Front," or the (" Mixed ") Back and Front, of the tongue. At each of these three parts of the tongue three distinct vowels are formed by the " High," " Mid," or " Low" position of the tongue in reference to VOWELS. 37- the palate ; and of each of the nine vowels so produced there is a " Wide " variety, caused by expansion of the faucal cavity behind the tongue. There are thus eighteen vowels of the lingual class provided with separate symbols . Each of these eighteen vowels yields a " Round " or la- bialized variety ; so that the Alphabet of Visible Speech contains 36 simple vowels. The number is extended by diacritic signs to no fewer than 180 possible shades of vowel quality, for which a distinctive notation is given. It is impossible by means of ordinary letters to tabulate the Universal Alphabet with intelligibility ; although these vowels are all written by only six primary symbols. in " Visible Speech." 40. The following Table contains a classification of English Vowel sounds in the oi-der of their formation,, commencing with that which has the most contracted, lingual aperture. 41. English Voivel Scheme, and Numerical Notation. pool \ 17. poor, pull \^ 16.- (o-") old \i5 , 3y any vow^el, he should make himself able to pronounce all the sounds independently, with both long and short degrees of quantity. 44. The terms long and short are here used with ref- erence only to sounds w^hich are identical in quality or formation. Vowels are commonly spoken of as relatively long and short, when they are utterly unlike in every charac- teristic of sound. Thus / in ill is called the short sound of " I," the long sound of w^hich is heard in isle; and u in us, the j>%or/ sound of" U,"the long sound being heard in use. In the more definite nomenclature by numbers, these " short " sounds are respectively the 2nd and nth vowels. 45. The "long" or name-sounds ofthe alphabetic vowels are : A=3,E=i, 1 = 8-2, 0=i5,U = y-i7; and their "short" sounds are: A=6, E = 5,I=2, = 12, U = ii. Voivel Mxerczses. 46. The following w^ords exemplify each of the Eng- lish vowels in their various modes of orthography. 47. First Vowel, represented by e, i, se, ae, ay, ee, e'e, ea, ei, eo, ey, eye, ie, oe, uoi ; as in eve, fatigue, mi- nutias, aerie, quay, bee, e'en, eat, conceive, people, key, keyed, field, antoBci, turquoise ; religion, sedate, prefer, vehement, peculiar, enough, decide, between, , cetites, assuetude, idea, aureola, sphere, shire, bier, belief, unique, priest, police, treaty, seizure, asgis, amphisbcena, oedema, peevish, meagre, league, siege, scream, fiend, wean, ease, breeze, frieze, achieve, trustee, ennui, ye, thee. 48. Second Vowel, represented by a, e, i, o, u, y, ai, ay, ea, ee, ei, ey, ia, ie, ui, uy ; as in cabbage, pretty, ill, women, busy, hymn, mountain, Monday, guineas, VOWELS EXERCISES. 29. breeches, forfeit, monkey, parliament, sieve, build, plaguy; orange, England, alkali, ashy, fancies, oxygen, servile, cottage, marriage, miniature, business, vineyard, cygnet, abyss, hyssop, citron, chintz, vivify, dizziness, invisible, miracle, spirit, livelong, vigil, give, film, bilge, finger, singer, precipice, premises, vestige, virility, valleys. 49. Third Vowel, represented by a, ai, ao, au, ay, aye, ea, ei, ey, eye, oi ; as in age, aim, gaol, gauge, pay, aye, steak, vein, obey, preyed, connoisseur ; aerial, archai- ology, ukase, emigrate, portrait, clayey, vacate, weigher, half-penny, phasis, plaice, complacent, obeisance, bait, great, straight, ache, quaint, able, layer, azure, hey-day, maiden, zany, gala, jailor, sago, scabrous, shame, they've, lathe, baize, chaise, rein-deer, vain, veil, bewail, vagrant, neigh, dismay, inveigh, allay, grey, gay, yea. 50. Fourth Vow^el, represented by a, e, aa, ae, ai, ay, ea, e'e, ei, ey ; as in fare, ere, Aaron, aer, air, prayer, wear, ne'er, heir, eyre ; daring, fairy, heiress, Mary, chary, scare-crow, lair, therein, where'er. 51. Fifth Vowel, represented by a, e, u, ae, ai, ay, ea, ei, eo, ie, ue ; as in many, ever, bury, Michaelmas, said, says, health, heifer, leopard, friend, guess ; erratic, erroneous, effect, effeminate, embezzle, eccentric, except, executor, extend, dreaded, essence, headless, segment, freshness, emptiness, jeopardy, feoff", death, etiquette, wealth, elsewhere, burial, beryl, ferret, pellet, rennet, jealous, zenith, pleasure, regiment, legend, emblem, brethren, helmet, velvet. 52. Sixth Vowel, represented by a, aa, ai ; as in amber, Canaan, raillery ; atlantean, vagrant, translate, woodland, annual, atlas, capital, passion, patent, relapse, statue, tapestry, waft, wax, altitude, balcony, amaranth, arid, ballad, cavalry, galaxy, gaseous, harass, paragraph, album, band, flag, plaid, glad, pageant, scandal, value, harangue. 53. Seventh Vowel, re^/'e.ye?z^eif(5j(/ a ; ajz^ abode, adapt, again, alone, arouse, charade, dragoon, fanatic, oasis, pagoda, idea, paralysis, saliva, saloon, syllable, sofa, drama. 54. Eighth Vowel, represented by a.; as in bath, cast, castle, brass, fasten, master, pass, past, repast, sam- ple, staff, task, vast. 30 VOWELS — EXERCISES. 55. Ninth Vowel, refresented by a, e, au, ea, ua ; as in ardour, clerk, haunt, hearty, guardian ; artificerj barbaric, harpoon, narcotic, parhelion, sarcastic, lunar, dotard, arch, artifice, carpet, hearth, hearken, startle, tar- tar, aunt, can't, draught, laugh, arm, are, barge, farm, ser- geant, guardian, alms, balm, calves, malmsey, papa, qualm, salve, father. 56. Tenth Vowel, represented by r, re, er, ir, yr, ear, uer, wer ; as in par, here, her, firmness, hyrst, earnest, guerdon, answer ; pier, near, hare, star, war, ore, sure, fire, beaver, fibre, acre, cider, ephir, zephyr, martyr, satire, chirp, earth, bird, fertile, mer- chant, thirty, vertex, virtue, myrtle, gherkin, irksome, kerchief, verb, firm, sirs, hers, bird, herd; verge, dirge, •earn, yearn, early, pearl, sirloin, sterling, whirlwind, err, stir, myrrh, prefer. 57. Eleventh Vowel, represented by o, u, eo, io, oa, oi, 00, ou, ow, wo, eou, iou, olo ; as in world, done, furnace, ugly, dungeon^ motion, cupboard, avoir- dupois, blood, journey, young, bellows, twopence, gor- geous, cautious, colonel ; bombast, buffoon, doubloon, sublime, umbrella, unkind, upon, seldom, bankrupt, medium, dubious, jealous, genus, courageous, collection, dudgeon, question, bluff, chough, tough, couple, nuptial, ■doth, husk, joust, thus, subtle, luscious, luxury, pulp, bulk, gulf, mulct, monk, uncle, borough, brother, colour, cover, cunning, curricle, honey, money, mother, shovel, smuggle, study, thorough, tunnel, worry, colander, dull, dumb, none, buzz, love, tub, hung ; burr, fur, spur, cur, surfeit, worse, work, worm, curly, worldly, urn, absurd, curdle, urge. 58. Twelfth Vowel, represented by a, o, au, oa, ou, ow ; as in want, often, laudanum, groat, hough, knowledge ; observe, occasion, oppose, quadroon, vol- cano, blossom, coffee, cloth, fossil, doctor, prologue, quantity, quash, squat, topic, twattle, vocative, wash, wasp, watch, conch, frontier, monster, prompt, wampum, cauliflower, chronicle, foreign, grovel, honest, laurel, monad, nomad, olive, provost, qualify, quarrel, sovereign, squalid, volant, warrant, zoology, bond, prong, quadrant, solve, squander, swan, was, wan. VOWELS EXERCISES. 3! 59. Thirteenth Vowel, represented by a, au, aw, oa, ou ; as in all, taught, law^, broad, thought; war, swarthy, warm, auction, awful, balk, bought, caution, falcon, vaunt, halt, plaudit, lawyer, bald, broad, shawl, tall, yawn, faugh, pacha, spa, saw. 60. Fourteenth Vowel, (only before R), repre- sented by o, ew, oa, oo, ou, wo, owa ; as in ore, sewer, oar, door, four, sword, towards; original, oriental, fore- bode, glory, sonorous, coarse, court, courtier, forth, hoarse, porch, source, portly, porte, borne, bourn, forge, gourd, mourn, torn, tournament, untow^ard, horde, corps, floor, o'er, restore, decorum, horal, pylorus, deportment, victorious, proportion. 61 . Fifteenth Vowel, represented byo, ao, au, ew, cau, ewe, oa, oe, oo, ou, ow, o^ve ; as in old, Pharaoh, hauteur, shew, beau, sewed, oak, foe, brooch, soul, crow, crow^ed ; analogy, antelope, apotheosis, arrow, borrow, broccoli, cameo, coeval, colony, colossus, furlough, elo- cution, nosology, obedient, philosopher, potato, rondeau, zoology, oasis, orthoepy, blowpipe, broach, cocoa, en- gross, host, jocose, locomotive, narcosis, oak, oat, oath, bolster, poultry, won't, curioso, hautboy, olio, onyx, trover, zodiac, blown, boll, brogue, comb, droll, foal, knoll, mould, nones, parasol, shrove, though, bureau, dough, hoe, holloa, know, lo, owe, throe, sloe, trow, mower, w^oe. 62. Sixteenth Vowel, represented by o, u, oo, ou ; as in wolf, pull, look, poor, would ; ambush, bivouac, ferula, fulfil, hurrah, to, into, issue, treasure, book, butcher, cuckoo, cushion, push, puss, put, pulpit, bosom, bully, sugar, woman, w^oollen, bull, should, stood. 63. Seventeenth Vowel, represented by o, u, ew, oe, 00, ou, ui ; as in do, rude, brew, shoe, woo, you, cruise; roue, truism, bouquet, brutal, flute, fruitage, goose, croup, recruit, ruler, whoop, youthful, remove, rhubarb, ruby, ruthless, bloom, bouse, bruise, lose, peruse, shrewd, accrue, ado, brew, halloo, ormolu, ra- gout, who, too. 64. Diphthong 8-2, represented by i, )', ai, ay, ei, ey, eye, ie, oi, ui, uy, ye, ; as in isle, by, naivete, ay, height, eying, eye, lie, choir, guide, buy, dye ; diameter, iden- 32 VOWELS ANGLICISMS. tify,iota, psychology, zodiacal, viaduct, society, hierarchy bias, lyre, science, cycle, nightly, viscount, vital, icicle^ island, ivy, finite, piebald, sliver, twilight, I'll, I'm, I'd, blithe, gyve, rhyme, lithesome, bye, fy, awry, thigh, rye,, vie, why. 65. 'DiFmnonG 8-16, represented 6j o,ou,ow ; asin accomptant, thou, cow ; vouchsafe, foundation, bower, coward, vowel, our, couch, cowslip, doughty, bounteous,, countenance, fountain, cloudy, owlet, thousand, browse, lounge, avow, bough, plough, endow. ()(). Diphthong 12-2, re-presented by oe, oi, oy, eoi ; as in oboe, coin, boy, burgeois ; envoy, rhomboid, boy- ish, loyalty, moiety, cloister, doit, hoist, oyster, anoint,, jointure, embroider, foible, toilsome, avoid, noiseless^ alloy, joy, destroy. 67. Combination y-i6, represented by u, as in cure,, durable, nature, obtuse, use (n.), abuse (n.), refuse (n.) 68. Combination Y-17, represented by u, ue, ui, eu^ ew, eau, iew, yew, you ; as in duty, imbue, suit, neuter,, few, beauty, view, yew, you ; superior, utensil, virtue, interview, tutor, Tuesday, dupe, tune, gew^gaw, music, news, fugue, pursuit, mutual, suture, use (v.), alluvial, illusive, pollute, involution, abuse (v.), refuse (v.) V. ANGLICISMS OF VOWEL SOUND.* 69. It will be observed that the a and o which represent the 3rd and 15th vowels in the English scheme (par. 41), have a small ee and 00 printed after these radical letters. This indicates a peculiar Anglicism : in v\'hich, and some associated principles, lies the leading difference between the vernacular dialects north and south of the Tweed. In Scotland these vowels are monophthongs — that is, their sound is the same from beginning to end, thus a a. and o o ; while in England these vowels are diph- thongs, being tapered from the radical point towards the closest formation of their respective classes, lingual or * For a minute description of each of the English vowels, the defects to which they are liable, and the means of correction, — - with copious Exercises, — see " Principles of Speech and Dic- tionary of Sounds." VOWELS ANGLICISMS. 33 labial. A tapers towards e by the progressive ascent of the tongue, and o tapers towards 00 by the gradual ap- proximation of the lips. Thus — obey>ei!, go>'"'> ai>ecd, o>oold. pla>cegue, ho>™me, la>ceke, hox-ope, &c. 70. In the lists of the 3d and 15th vowels, there is no word containing the letter R after the vowel. This omis- sion is not accidental. It brings us to another Principle. 71. R in English is articulated but faintly, or not at all, in the two following positions ; ist, before any artic- ulation — or consonant ; — 3d, at the end of any ivord. In these situations, R has always a vowel sound — that of er or ir in the words her and sir — the loth vowel. R has this vowel effect also when between two vpwels, the first being long, as in wearj', fiery, glory, fury. In words of this class, the R has both its vowel and its consonant sound. Thus, glory is not glo-ry, but glo (re) -ry. The vowel-quality of the R is most manifest after the closest radical vowels. The pronunciation fee-rage^ poo-rest, &c., is characteristically Scotch. Such words, to be Anglicised, must be pronounced fe-er-age, poo-er-est, Sac". 72. Exercise on the Double Sound of R: — Eyry, ear-ache, leering, nearer, peeress, merest, airy, unwary, fairy, Mary, heiress, garish, soaring, gory, boreas, jury, alluring, Moorish, fiery, wiry, showery, towering. 73. The 3rd and 15th vowels are, as shown above, c/o«'«!^ diphthongs — that is, the vowel aperture is smaller at the end than at the beginning of the sound. A syllable may consist of either an opening or a closing combination of vowels, but it cannot combine with these any sound that reverses the progression. The vowel sound of R, (No. 10) is a very open sound, and could not, there- fore, be pronounced after the closing diphthongs A^_,e or 0,^00 in one syllable. Either the diphthongal A and O must be contracted into monophthongs , or the R must be articulated. The latter expedient would be 2i=priz'n, have sound for sound alike, and both are equally therefore dissyllables. 42 VOWEL NOTATION. The world is with creation teeming, And nothing ever wholly dies ; And things that are destroyed in seeming, In other shapes and forms arise. And nature still unfolds the tissue Of unseen works by spirit wrought : And not a work but hath its issue With blessings or with evil fraught. And thou may'st seem to leave behind thee All memory of the sinful past ; Yet oh, be sure, thy sin shall find thee, And thou shalt know its fruit at last. //. Selected Words. 127. Mark the vowels, &c., in the following Selected Words, and then compare the marking with the Key at par. 129. Accli'vous, acquiesce, adver'tisement, ancho'vv, answer, assure, azure, antipodes, aeronaut, alienable, apophthegm, apothe'osis, aro'ma, aspi'rant, bandana, banian', battalion, bel- lows, (s) bowline, breeches, Briton, Britain, brevier', brev'et, (adj.) brevet', (s) burial, cesu'ra, capuchin', captious, comparable, chas'tisement, chlorine, colonel, complaisant', con'trarj', cor'ol- lary, curule, coadju'tor, courier, Creole, cupboard, deco'rous, des'- uetude, diabetes, diceresis, dim'issory, duo, duteous, dynasty, egotism, elegi'ac, ener'vate, equerry, equable, extraordinary, fabric, facetise, fanat'ic, forfeit, fusil, fuchsia, glacier, hallelujah, height, hypochon'driac, imbecile', impious, indict, invalid', fs) inval'id, C^dj.) issue, lieutenant, million, machinist, Mahomet, manoeuvre, medicinal, me'diocre, met'onymy, mem'oir, minutiae, VOWEL NOTATION. 43 mis'cellany, mischievous, mobile,* national, o'asis, omnipotent, pique, pacha, panegyr'ic, phrenetic, phrenitis, plethora, ple- thoric, prolix', puisne, quay, query, quandary, queue, righteous, recitative', recon'dite, rep'ertory, rule, refragable, rev'enue, sacerdotal, sali'va, sapphire, satiate, satiety, satrap, stalac'tite, sub'altern, supernumerary, synecdoche, towards, treasure, ver- tigo, victuals, women, yacht, zoology, zoological. Key to Mxe7-ctses in Votuel Notation. 128. ^- Thought and Deed. 16 5 2 7 8-2 13 6 3 5 2 Full many a light thought man may cherish, 6 8-2 1 3 17 Full many an idle deed may do, 6 12 12 13 6 5 2 Yet not a deed or thought shall perish, w-11 11 1 6 5 17 Not one but he shall bless or rue. 6 8-2 22 12 34 When by the wind the tree is shaken, 4 8-16 1 6 13 There's not a bough or leaf can fall, 12 2 13 2 12 3 4 But of its falling heed is taken 6 16 11 10 13 By One that sees and governs all. 12 12 The tree may fall and be forgotten, 5 2 2 10 13 And buried in the earth remain ; 6 12 17 2 6 12 Yet from its juices rank and rotten 2 5 2 3 2 8-2 7 6 Springs vegetating life again. 11 2 1-3 11 1 2 The world is with creation teeming, 11 2 5 10 15 2 8-2 And nothing ever wholly dies ; 2 9 1 12-1 1 2 And things that are destroyed in seeming 11 10 3 12 7 8-2 In other shapes and forms arise. 44 VOWEL NOTATION. 3y-16 2 11«15 2 16 And nature still unfolds the tissue 11 1 11 2 2 13 Of unseen works by spirit wrought; "e 2 16 And not a work but hath its issue 6 2 1 2 13 With blessings or with evil fraught. 8-16 3 118-2 1 And thou may'st seem to leave behind thee 13 6 14 2 2 16 8 All memory of the sinful past; 6 15 1 16 8-2 2 6 8-2 1 Yet oh, be sure, thy sin shall find thee, r, 8-16 6 15 2 17 6 8 Aid thou shalt know its fruit at last. 129. For greater clearness the numbers are here printed, not over, but instead qfthe vowel letters. The articu- lations are altered, when necessary, to represent the sounds correctly. Italicised r shows that the letter has both its vowel and articulate sounds. //. Selected Words. °kl»-"v"s, "kw'-'s, "dv'Vt'zmOnt, "ntsh'V", "ns^r, "sh'^r, "zh"r, "nt'p'M'z, Vn'H, 'ly'^n'bl, "p'Hh^m, °p'-'th'-'=s"s, 'r'^ra', "sp'-Vnt, b'ndi'n', b»ny°n, b't^iy^'n, bn"s, b"Fn. brHsh=z, brt"n, br-'t'n, br V'r, brVt, brV^t, bV-n, s'zy' V, ki^py^'sh^n, k''psh"s,k'=mp'rVl, tsh'st'^zm^nt, kl'V'n, k"rn''l, k'-nipl-z"nt, k'^ntr^rS k'=r'=rrS ky"V"l, k'=-Mzh"t"r, k'V-'V, kr'-'n, k"b"rd, d'k'V's, d^sw'ty'M, d"-=-'bH'z, d'-^-^r's'^s, d'm^s'"r^ dy"-"*, dy"ty''s, d^'n'st', "g'H'zra, =IMzh"-="k, 'n'"rvH, ''kw'>r=, ''kw'b'l, -'kstr^rd^n'r', f»br=k, f's'shy', f'n"t=k, f'=rf't, fy"z', fy"shy', gl"sy'"r, hTP'y', h»-H, h-p'"k'=ndr=-'^k, ^mb^'s'l, '^mp^-^s, "nd"-H, =nv'l'd, ''nv'lM, 'sh'", IVt-'n^nt, m=ly"n, m'sh'n=st, m'h'^mH, m'n'v'V, m'd=s"nn, m'd"">k"r, m-''t"n'-'m=, m'mw'V, ra^'ny'^shy', m=s'n"n=, m=stshV's, m'=b=l, n"'sh"n''l, "''•Vs, '^mn=p'H°nt, p'k, p'sh", p"nMzVk, fr'n¥k, fr'n'-H's, pr'th»r', pPth'Vk, pr"n=ks, py"n^ k', kw'?-'-, kw'^ndV, ky", r«-=ty"s, r'sH't'v, r'k'=nd=t, r''p'°rt'=r^ r"l. r'fr'g'bn, rV-ny'", s"s"'rd'¥l, s'l'-V, s=f"r, s»sh'-'t, s't"•=•=•t^ s^itr^p, sfrkf'-'-'t, s>'bnt'"rn, sy"p"'rny"m'"r'r^ s'n'kd'^'k^ f'rdz, tr'zh'V v"'rt'g'=, vH°lz, w-m=n, y"t, z'=-'°l'Mzh=, z'=-'n'"dzh-k'^l. ASPIRATE ARTICULATIONS. 45 XI. THE ASPIRATE, H. 130. The letter H does not represent any fixed forma- %:on, but simply an aspiration of the succeeding element . Thus, H before e is a whispered e, before a a whispered a, &c. ; differing, however, from the simple whispered vowel by the softer commencement of the aspiration. H before alphabetic u — which, it will be remembered, rep- resents the combination j(/-oo — denotes a whispered Y, as in hue, human, &c., pronounced Thue=Thyoo, &c. 131. The vowel aspirate (H) is very irregularly used in many parts of England ; it is heard when it should be silent, and silent when it should be sounded ; and that with such perversity that pure initial vowels are almost unheard, except in cases where they ought to be aspirated. The coup de la glotte exercise on initial vowels (par. 30) will correct this habit. 133. A northern peculiarity in the formation of H con- sists in giving a degree of guttural compression to the breath, which is extremely harsh and grating. This fault will be avoided by pronouncing the h with a softly sighing effect. 133. Many public speakers have a disagreeable custom of giving a zjoca/ commencement to H, as in hold, hun- dred, &c., pronounced nhold, \ihundred, &c. This tasteless expedient seems to be adopted in the fear that the delicate effect of h would otherwise be inaudible ; but the succeeding vowel makes it heard. Silent H. 134. In the following words and their derivatives, though h is written, the vowels are not aspirated : — Heir, heirship, heirloom, &c. ; honest, honesty, &c. ; honour, honourable, &c. ; hostler; hour, hour-glass, &c. ; humour, hu- morous, &c. XII. ARTICULATIONS. 135. The oral actions here denominated articula- tions, are more commonly called " consonants ; " but as that term is defined to signify a letter that " cannot be sounded by itself," and as in fact every element of speech 46 ARTICULATIONS. « may be perfectly sounded alone, the name "Articula- tions" — otherwise preferable — is a more appropriate generic term for the oral actions. 136. In par. 120 the line of distinction is di'awn be- tween vowels and articulations : — showing the latter to be ORAL sounds arising from obstruction or compression of the breath behind the conjoined or closely approxi- mated organs. 137. The o^al puff, or hiss, which constitutes the ar- ticulative effect, may be accompanied or not, by a glottal sound. Each articulative action thus produces two dis- tinct elements of speech, — a breath form, and a voice form, — as in 5eal and zeal, /^igh and thj.,fv.zx and -ZJeer, ^ain and 3ane, TO^ile and wile, i'ale and c/ale, ^ues and Mse, call and_^all, &c. These pairs of articulations have precisely the same oral formation, and differ only in the vocalized breath of the second, and the voiceless aspira- tion of the first of the respective pairs. 138. The articulations are primarily divisible into two classes, — Obstructive and Continuous. In the former class the breath is shut in by perfect contact of the articu- lating organs ; in the latter it escapes through central, lateral, or interstitial apertures ; the organs being either in partial contact or merely in approximation. 139. There are \h\x^ three moT>'K^ oi Articulation : — I. Complete Contact ; II. Partial Contact ; III. Approx- imation. /. Complete Contact. 140. The breath is obstructed at three points': (I.) by contact of the lips ; (II.) by contact of the forepart of the tongue with the anterior part of the palate; (III.) by contact of the back, or root of the tongue, with the pos- terior part of the palate. At the first of these points are formed the articulations P and B ; at the second, T and D ; and at the third, K and G (" hard") ; the former of each of these pairs being the " breath," and the latter the '■ voice" form of the articulation. 141 . While the oral organs are in obstructive contact, the breath or voice may be made to issue by the nostrils. ARTICULATIONS. 47 This is the mode of formation of the English elements, M, N, and Ng. For M, the lips are closed as in forming P and B ; for N, the tongue is on the palate as for T and D ; and for Ng, the posterior organs are in contact as in forming K and G. 142. The nine Articulations hitherto described are thus the result of but three actions of the mouth with the modifications of — Breath, Voice, Nasal, P B M T D N K G Ng TI. Partial Contact. 143. The next mode of articulative action, — -partial contact, — produces F and V, Th (thin) , and Th (then) , the Welsh LI, the English L, and a Gaelic form of L made with the middle instead of the tip of the tongue on the palate. III. Approximation. 144. The remaining mode of articulative action, — organic approximation, — produces Wh and W, S and Z, Sh and Zh, Yh and Y, Rh (Welsh), and R, the soft Spanish sound of B, (bh), and the German,' or Scotch guttural Ch, with its vocal form, the smooth burr. 145.- Relaxed approximation gives the trilled R, the ROUGH burr and a corresponding vibration of the lips, which is used only interjectionally in English. 146. In the system of "Visible Speech" (see par. 2^) — the Alphabet of which is complete for all Languages and Dialects — the Scheme of Articulations includes fifty- two elements. By means of diacritic signs this number is multiplied several fold. The classification cannot be shown by Roman letters. But all the possible hundreds of articulate formations are represented by combinations of only fourteen primary symbols. 147. The following General Scheme embraces all the preceding articulations classified according to their modes of formation : — 48 S < a o H <; ARTICULATIONS. 148. General Scheme of Articulations. Breath. Voice. ORAL. P.. Be" o o CLi o ORAL. .... B ... NASAL. T K F Th LI (Welsh). .6 — .) . D . G . V..... . Th . L = L (Gaelic) (Ph) Bh (SpanieliB)... Rh R (smooth) Ch (German) Gh Wh W S Z Sh Zh Yh Y (KRh) gR (burr) (Rh) R (rough) = (lip vibration) INg 149. The three Nasals, M, N, Ng, are placed on the same line with the Obstructives, to show that their oral mechanism is the same ; but as they are continuous in effect (nasally) , although orally obstructive, they are connected also with those elements which have Partial Contact. 150. The following Table contains the English Articu- lations arranged in the order of their formation, commenc- ing with those which have their seat farthest within the ENGLISH ARTICULATIONS. 49 mouth, and proceeding to those which have the most an- terior formation. 151. English Articulations.* Breath. Oral. 1 K 4 Voice. Oral. 2 ....G.... s Nasal. 3 ....Ng H(ew) Y(ew). 6 7 Sh Zh 8 .R (rough)., .fR (smooth)., 10 ...L 12 ...D 11 T 14 15 S Z 16 17 Th(in) Th (en). 18 19 F V 21 13 ,.N 20 Wh., 22 P ..., .W.. 23 .B... 24 .M 152. The student should be able to enounce the sounds of these Articulations independently, and exactly as heard in words. The following Table exhibits all the English Articulations in each of the four positions : tnitial,Jinal, medial before a vowel., medial before an articulation. * For a minute description of each of the English Articula- tions, the defects to which they are liable, and the means of cor- recting them, see " Dictionary of English Sounds," in the work referred to in note, par. 69. t See par. 71. 50 ARTICL'LATIOXS DISTIXCTXESS, 153. Table of Articulations. P. B. . . . ./ay ....3ee a.pe pa/er neighbour a/ricot a^ly M. \Vh. .... ;/?ar . . . .'ivhy axm * ar»zy awhile ar»z'd * F. V. .... way .... x>eal * dea/ \e.2ive. away definite eidl de/tness ec(e)njng Th, tKaA. deart/i eMic e/.4nic Th, th&x seeMe ei/;^er wrea/^ed S. z. . . . .5ell .... zone. less nose eway ro5y e5tuary r&yebush R, .... rare — * rarity * L. ..../eft fell fellow fe/fd T, ifale la/e later la/eness D, .... ^ay aid trader tradesman N. Sh. Zh. Y. K. G, wave . . . .shAi . . . .giraffe > . . .je cap gViVl^ * vai« fies/i fi//e (French.) ■pack wa«ing ^ker jleamre >ej>'ond pa£->^et ilag^gard sing'er mai/zland fw;^monger het^erow ^* packthread s,mug£\eT si«gly Xni. PRINCIPLE OF DISTIXCTNXSS. 154. Ever)' ARTicuLATiox consiiLs of two parts — a position and an action. The former brings the organs into approximation or contact, and the latter separates them, by a smart percussive action of recoil, from the articulative position. This principle is of the utmost importance to all persons whose articulation is imper- fect. Distinctness entirely depends on its application. Let it be carefiillv noted : — audibly percussive organic separation is the necessary action of every articulation. 155. The Breath Obstructives, P-T-K. have no sound in their position, and thus depend, for all their audibility, on the puff that accompanies the organic separation. This therefore must be clearly heard, or the letters are * These articulations do not occur in this position in English. ARTICULATIONS DEFECTS. 5 1 practically lost. The Voice Obstructives, B-D-G, have a slight audibility in their " positions," from the abrupt murmur of voice which distinguishes them from P, T, and K ; but they are equally imperfect v^^lthout the organic "action" of separation and its distinctive percussiveness. All the other elements being Continuous, have more or less audibility in their " positions ;" but in every case distinct- ness and fluency depend on the disjunctive completion of the articulative " action." XIV. DEFECTS OF ARTICULATION. 156. Various faulty formations of the elements of articu- lation are extremely common. The Obstructives become mere stops, and lack the necessary percussive termination ; the voice articulations are deficient in throat-sound, and thus not sufficiently distinguished from their breath cor- respondents ; the Continuous elements are formed by a faulty disposition of the organs, or by the wrong organs ; or their " positions" are'not sufficiently firm, and tlieir "actions" altogether wanting or indistinctly languid. The motions of the tongue and the lips are tremu- lous or indefinite, too feebly or too strongly conjunctive, too rapid or too tardy, &c., &c. 157. Lisping consists in partially obstructing the hiss- ing stream of air, by contact of the point of the tongue with the teeth, or by elevation of the lower lip to the upper teeth. 158. Burring consists in quivering the uvula instead of the point of the tongue, or approximating the soft palate and back of the tongue instead of raising the tip of the tongue to the anterior rim of the palatal arch. 159. Thickness of articulation consists in the action of the middle instead of the point of the tongue in the various lingual articulations. This last very common kind of imperfection sometimes arises from congenital inability to raise the tip of the tongue to the palate — re- movable by a simple operation — ^but most frequently it is the result merely of a bad habit, perfectly removable by* energetic and careful application of lingual exercises. 160. In the work referred to in the note, par. 69, the various errors of articulation — including Stuttering and 52 ORAL ORGANS. Stammering — are the subjects of a more elaborate treat- ment. The following is a summary of the correct — Relative Positions of the Oi«al Organs. The Tongue. i6i. The TONGUE should be held back from the lower teath, in order that its actions may be independent of the motion of the jaw : the tip should never be pressed into- the bed of the lower jaw ; the tongue should never touch the lips, or be protruded between the teeth : it should be rarely. seen, and, when visible, the less the better. The root of the tongue should be depressed as much as pos- sible, to expand the back part of the mouth and give ful- ness to the vowel sounds : — this is the chief source of the mellow " orotund " quality which distinguishes the voices of well-practised speakers. The tongue should not be pushed froin pointto point without disengagement in pass- ing from word to word : but it should sharply finish the articulations by a perfect recoil of the organ : — this insures distinctness. The Jaw. 162. The lower jaw should not, in speaking, fall be- hind the upper, but the two ranges of teeth should be kept as nearly in a line as possible. The teeth should never come in contact : even when the lips are closed, the teeth should not clash. The lower jaw should descend freely for every vowel utterance, and, preparatorily, be- fore the commencement of articulation : its motions must be without jerking, equable, easy, and floating. The Lips. 163. The LIPS should never hang loosely away from the teeth, or be pui-sed, pouted, or twisted, but they should maintain the form of the dental ranges as nearly as pos- sible, lying equally and unconstrainedly against the teeth. The habits of licking or biting the lips are offen- sive, and should be carefully guar^led against by public • speakers. The lips should be used as little as possible in articulation ; the upper lip should remain almost quiescent, safe for emotive expression ; the articulative action being confined to the lower lip. ARTICULATION — ANGLICISMS. 53 Labial Expressiveness. 164. Habits of speech are so peculiarly operative in giving cliaracter to the lips, that an acute observer may generally tell by their aspect whether a person's articula- tion is good or bad ; and there are few stammerers who do not show, to the practised eye, an indication of their infirmity in the lips. The soft and pliant texture of the lips is easily impressed by any habit ; and even a passing emotion w^ill mould their plastic substance to express it. Habitual ill-nature everybody looks for and recognizes on the lips ; and there sweet temper and cheerfulness have their calm abode. Thus we generally find fixed on these portals of the mouth a legible summary of the man. The lips of the vulgar and ignorant are "arrant tell-tales," which there is no belying ; and mental superiority cannot conceal itself from labial disclosure. The lips refuse to screen the lie they may be forced to speak. It may be said, indeed^ that falsehood cannot utter itself by these ■" miraculous organs" of truth ; but conscious rectitude, integrity, and virtue shine through the lips, and give irre- fragable evidence there, when other testimony is absent or doubtful. XV. ANGLICISMS OF ARTICULATION. 165. The leading Anglicism of Articulation has been already pointed out in remarks on the letter R (par. 71, et seq.) This element is distinctly urticulated only 6e- fore a vowel; but less with a trill, than a smooth buzz- ing vibration of the tongue. In other positions, the letter R is faintly, or not at all articulated. R has a vowel sound (No. 10) after any long vowel, before any articu- lation, and when final. 166. When final R is followed by a word beginning with a vowel, the R is articulated^ to avoid hiatus be- tween the words. But the Cockney custom of interpos- ing R between two vowels, as in the sentences, " Is Papa r at home?" — " What an idea r it is!" &c., is not to be countenanced. This vulgarism is confined to words ending with the open vowels, Nos. 8, 9, and some- times 13 ; the formative apertures of which are of nearly the same expansion as that of the Engjish (R=) 10. 54 ARTICULATION SCOTTICISMS. 167. English speakers too commonly confound the Breath witn the Voice forms of the articulations Y and W, and so pronounce alike such words as hue sca^ you, ■which and ivitch, -whale and -wail, whither and -wither, •whig and wig, &c. K-G, as in Kind^ Guards &c, 168. In pronouncing such words as key and caw, geese and gauze, it w^ill be observed that the obstructive position of the tongue for the initial articulation is not precisely the same before the open as before the close vowel ; accommodating itself to the formation of the sub- sequent vowel, the tongue is much more advanced before ee than before aw. Indeed, the points of contact are not exactly the same before any two vowels. The closest lingual vowels are associated with the most anterior con- sonant positions, and the open and labial vowels with the most posterior. A peculiar Anglicism arises from viola- tion of this principle in certain cases. K and G before the open vowels, in card, guard, kind, guile, girl, &c., are articulated from the anterior instead of the posterior positions ; so that the breath which follows the articulative "action" has the vowel quality of ee/ and an effect is produced something like that of the articula- tion y. This effect is greatly overdone by those who pro- nounce ee or y in such words. " Kee-ind," and "kjf-ard," are affected caricatures of this delicate Anglicism. The following and their derivatives, are the leading words that partake of this peculiarity : — card, kind, garden, guard, girl, guide, guile, guise. XVI. SCOTTICISMS OF ARTICULATION. 169. The leading Scotticism of Articulation consists in the uniform and rough trilling of the tongue for the let- ter R, in all situations. 170. Another very general Scotch peculiarity consists in giving a vowel sound to the letter L when final, espe- cially when it follows the 5th vowel ; the L, in such words as sell, bell, well, swell, &c. , being pronounced nearly like ul. Thus — " seh-a/, beh-^/," &c. ARTICULATION HIBERNICISMS. 55 171 ■ The articulation Ng is pronounced as n before tJi — as \nlengtk, strength, &c. ; and in the final anaccented syllable ing, — as in seeing, believing, &c. ; pronounced lewth, strewth, seei«, believiw, &c. 172. The Breath Obstructive Articulations, especially the letter T, are, in the West of Scotland, pronounced without any articulative action, but with a mere glottal catch after the preceding vowel, as in better', butter, &c. ; pronounced be-er, bu-er, &c. 173. The Breath form of the articulation Th, is pro- nounced instead of the Voice form, in the words Mough, /Either, vfith, benea/^, pa^^s, &c. A substitution of Breath for Voice forms of articulation is also very gener- ally heard in the words of, as, nephew. Sec, pronounced ojf, ass, nefyoo, &c. ; and the substitution of Voice for Breath forms is likewise common in >he words \f, \xs, tran5act, philosophic, &c., pronounced, iv, uz, tranzact, pkilozophic, &c. 1 74. The omission of Y before ee, and of W before oo, as in year, yield, wool, &c., is another northern peculiar- ity. Ludicrous ambiguities sometimes arise from these omissions; as when we hear of an old man "bending under the weight of (y)ears and infirmities." 175. The addition of a guttural effect to H and Wh is a Celtic peculiarity — harsh and unpleasing to the unac- customed ear. 176. The pronunciation of ^before the syllabic sounds of '/ and 'n in castle, apos/le, pesifle, often, is a Scotticism almost confined to these words. XVII. HIBERNICISMS OF ARTICULATION. 177. Irish Articulation is characterized by a general looseness of oral action, which gives a peculiar softness to the transition from an obstructive articulation to the succeeding vowel. The effect is coarsely imitated by in- terpolating an /? between the elements, as in p(h)ut for put, t(h)ake for take, c(h)oat, for coat, &c. 178. The sound of t, especially at the end of a word, is, from the same cause, but little different from that of s ; such words as bet and hat being pronounced nearly as bess and hass. ^6 AMERICANISMS SYLLABIC QUANTITY. 179. The sound of /final is formed with a convexity of the middle of the tongue which gives the / the effect of Italian^/, as in well, smile, till, &c., where the final ele- ment has almost the sound of eel. This is the converse of the Scotch peculiarity noticed in par. 1 70 where / has the open quality of ul. 180. The sound of S before an articulation has the ef- fect of Sh ; as in sky, scrape, sleep, snow, star, stripe, sweet, &c., pronounced shky, shcrape, shleep, &c. XVIII. AMERICANISMS OF ARTICULATION. 181 . The leading Americanism of Articulation is asso- ciated with the letter R. This element has none of the sharpness of the English R, which, however softly, is struck from the tip of the tongue. The American R has a very slight vibration, with the tongue almost in the po- sition for the French vowel e mute. The high convex position of the tongue for the American R final or before an articulation — when the sound is almost that of the English Y — has been noticed in par. 112. 182. The feeble and indefinite vibration of the Amer^ ican articulate R leads to a habit of labializing the sound when it is between vowels, as in very, spirit, &c. This gives a firmness to the articulation, but altogether changes its character : the R becomes long and almost syllabic. Thus : ve-wr-y, spi-wr-it, &c. XIX. SYLLABIC QUANTITY. 183. Two degrees of vowel quantity — long and short, — are generally recognized, but there are many minuter degrees arising from the influence of articulations on pre- ceding vowels. Thus all vowels are comparatively short before Breath articulations, and comparatively long before Voice articulations ; but they are shorter before another vowel than before any articulation. Among vowels separately considered, there are three degrees of quantity ; I. Short monophthongs ; II. Long monophthongs ; III. Diphthongs. Among articulations there a.rejive degrees ; I. Breath Obstructive ; II. Breath Continuous ; III. SYLLABIC QUANTITY. 57 Voice Obstructive ; IV. Voice Close Continuous ; V. Voice Open Continuous, — or Liquids. 184. The Open Continuous Articulations, or Liquids, are L, and the Nasals M, N, and Ng. R has been com- monly included as a Liquid, but it has none of the coales- cent and quantitative characteristics of the Liquid. The term " Liquid" is properly applied only to elements that flow into, and seem to be absorbed by, the articulation that follows. L, M, N, and Ng are peculiarly affected by the succeeding articulation. Before Breath articula- tions, they are so extremely short as hardly to add any perceptible quantity to the syllables, as in lap and lamp, quit and quilt, flit and flint, tjiick and think, &c. ; but before Voice Articulations they are long and sonorous, and add greatly to the duration of the syllabic utterance ; as in head and held, bad and band, juggle a.nA jungle, &c. R is so softened away as almost to lose all articula- tive quality before an articulation ; but its sound is not ab- sorbed as that of the Liquids ; — it is rather slurred and omitted. 185. The following Lists contain examples of Mono- syllabic Combinations arranged in the order of their quan- titative duration, — the shortest first. 186. Breath Articulations. 1. Up, sit, black. 2. If, both, gas, wash. 3. Help, felt, elk, tent, lamp, dreamt, bank. 4. Self, health, else, Welsh, ninth, dance, nymph, strength. 5. Apt, act. 6. Steps, depth, feast, eighth (t-th), watch, ox. 7. Left, wasp, fast, ask. 8. Safes, fifth, deaths. 9. Gulped, milked, stamped, inked. 10. Alps, bolts, belch, bulks, prints, inch, imps, tempts, thanks. 11. Gulfs, healths, tenths, nymphs, lengths. 12. Adepts, sects. 13. Shap'st, sat'st, patc{jed, next. 14. Thefts, asps, costs, desks. 15. Fifths. 16. Twelfths. 17. Help'st, halt'st, filched, milk'st, want'st, flinched, limp'st, tempt'st, think'st. 18. Texts. 19. Sixths. 58 DIFFICULT COMBINATIONS. 187. Voice Articulations. I. Babe, trade, plague. 9. Graves, bathes. 2. Leave, bathe, ease, rouge. 10. Helm. 3. Ale, lame, own, tongue. II. Bulbed. 4- Bulb, old, hemmed, end. 12. Bulbs, builds, bilge, lands, wronged. finds, fringe. 5. Delve, ells, aims, bronze. 13. Delved, bronzed. pangs. 14. Shelves. 6. Stabbed, begged. 15. Helmed. 7- Cabs, adge, edge, eggs. 16. Films. 8. Saved, seethed, grazed. 17. Judged. rouged. 18. Bilged, changed. 188. Mixed Articulations. I. Breadth. S. Hold'st. 2. Stabb'st, add'st, begg'st. 6. Delv'st. 3- Striv'st. 7. Lov'd'st. 4- Fail'st. XX. DIFFICULT COMBINATIONS. 189. In many of the above combinations there is a dif- ficulty of distinct enunciation which will be readily re- moved by reference to the principle explained in par. 154. Give to every articulation its appropriate " action." 190. A tendency to indistinctness is especially felt in combinations of the Breath Obstructives — such as ft and kt., which are of very frequent occurrence. All verbs ending \-a.f or k have the sounds of ft or kt in the past tense, as staffed., walked, &c. The following is a list of words for exercise. Pronounce the pt and ct like the words '■'■fit" and " kit" whispered : — ^pt, strapped, kept, slept, whipped, shipped, lopped, cupped, shs^ped, steeped, piped, hoped, cooped, chapter, styptic, reptile, rapture, captain ; act, tact, sect, erect, strict, hacked, shocked, dupked, poked, looked, walked, ached, leaked, liked, cactus, laqteal, affected, lecture, picture, dictate, instructive, octave, doctor. 191. The following words embody similar principles of difficulty. Repeat each word several times — quickly and with firm accentuation : — ^cts, beef, beef-broth, chaise, come, copts, cut, cloud-capt, eighths, (t-ths,) etiquette, faith, fifths, inked, judged, knitting, DIFFICULT COMBINATIONS. 59 laurel, literal, literally, literary, literarily, linen, little, litter, meranon, mimic, move, muff, needle, puff, puffed, plural, pea- cock, quick, quaked, quiet, rail, railroad, raillery, ruler, rural, rivalry, roller, runnel, saith, sash, sashes, search, such, sects; sixths, sooth, soothe, Scotch, slash, sloth, slain, slipped, snail, statist, statistics, shuts, this, thither, thief, thatch, thrash, texts, twelfths, vivid, vivify, vivification, weave, wife, weep, whiff, whip. 192. The following phrases and sentences contain ele- mentary sequences and alternations which are organically difficult. Repeat each sentence two or three times with- out stopping : — Very well. Farewell in welfare. Puff up the fop. Fine white wine vinegar with veal. Velvet weaver. Weave the withes. Five wives weave withes. May we vie .' Pretty, frisky, playful fellow. A very wilful whimsical fellow. Acoinicmimic. Move the muse by mute manoeuvres. Bring a bit of buttered brown bread. Such pranks Frank's prawns play in the tank. A paltry portly puppy. Portly poultry. ,A wet white wafer. Beef tea and veal broth. Put the cut pumpkin in a pipkin. Pick pepper peacock. Coop up the cook. A bad big dog. A big mad dog bit bad Bob. Don't attack the cat, Dick. Keep the tippet ticket. Come quickly. Catch the cats. Kate hates tight tapes. Tie tight Dick's kite. Geese cackle, cattle low, crows caw, cocks crow. The tea-caddy key. The key of the tea-caddy. A knapsack strap. Pick up the pips. Take tape and tie the cape. Kate's baked cakes. Quit contact. A school coal-scuttle. Put the pot on the top of the poop. A great big brig's freight. Bid Bob good bye. Pick a pitcher full of pippins. Come and cut the tongue, cook. The bleak breeze blighted the bright broom blossoms. Dick dipped the tippet and dripped it. Fanny flattered foppish Fred. Giddy Kittie's tawdry gewgaws. Kitchen chit-chat. The needy needle- woman needn't wheedle. Fetch the poor fellow's feather pillow. A very watery western vapour. A sloppy, slippery, sleety day. Catch Kate's ten cats. The kitten killed the chicken in the kitchen. Six thick thistle sticks. She says she shall sew a sheet. A sure sign of sunshine. The sun shines on the shop signs. A shocking sottish set of shopmen. Such a sash. A shot-silk sash shop.. A short soft shot-silk sash. A silly shatter-brained chatterbox. Shilly-shally, silly Sally. Sickening, stickling, shilly-shally sil- liness. It is it shame, Sam, these are the same, Sam, 'tis all a sham, Sam, and a shame it is to sham so, Sam. Fetch six chaises. Catch the cats. Pas que je sache. She thrust it through the thatch. Thrice the shrew threw the shoe. The slow snail's slime. A swan swam over the sea, swim, swan, swim, well swam, swan. I snuff shop snuff, do you snuff shop snuff? She sells sea-shells. Some shun sunshine. The sweep's suitably sooty suit. A rural ruler. Truly rural. Rural raillery. A laurel crowned clown. Rob Low'sJum reeks. Let reason rule your life. A lump of 6o ACCENT. raw red liver. Literally literary. Railway literature. A lucent rubicund rotatory luminary. Robert loudly rebuked Richard, who ran lustily roar- ng round the lobby. Don't run along the wrong labyrinth. H.s right leg lagged in the race. Don't run along the lane in the rain. Lucy likes light literature. Let me recollect a little. A li'tle tittle. A little ninny. A little knitting needle. Let little Nellie run. A menial million. A million minions. A million menial minions. We shall be in an inn in an instant. Don't go on, Ann, in an uninanimated manner. 193. The following phrases and sentences require careful attention to avoid ambiguity. Reiterate the am- biguous portions without hiatus : — Laid in the cold ground, (not coal ground.) Half I see the panting spirit sigh, (not spirit's eye.) Be the same in thine own act and valour as thou art in desire, (not thy known.) Oh, the torment of an ever-meddling memory, (not a never meddling.) All night it lay an ice-drop there, (not a nice drop. ) Would that all difference of sects were at an end, (not sex.) Oh, studied de- ceit, (not study.) A sad dangler, (not angler.) Goodness cen- tres in the heart, (not enters.) His crime moved me, (not cry.) Chaste stars, (not chase tars.) She could pain noboby, (not pay.) Make clean our hearts, (not lean.) His beard descending swept his aged breast, (not beer.) XXI. ACCENT OR SYLLABIC STRESS. 194. Every word of more than a single syllable has one of its syllables made prominent, by superior force of articulative or vocal effort: — this is called " accent." 195. When the accented syllable of a word is the third, or any syllable beyond the third, from the beginning, a slight accentual stress is laid on some former syllable to support a rhythmical pronunciation. Thus : — ■ (I.) If the primary accent is on the third syllable a secondary accent is on the jf/-.s-/; (II.) when the primary is on the fourth syllable, the secondary may be either on the first or second; (III.) when the primary accent is on the Jiftk, the secondary will be on the second syllable, or there may be two secondary accents, namely, on the Jirst and third syllables ; and, (IV.) when the primary accent is on the sixth syllable, there will be two second- aries — distributed either on ^le Jirst and third, the Jirst and fourth, or the second and fourth syllables. The primary accent never falls beyond the sixth syllable. ACCENT. 6 1 196. The following table exhibits all the varieties of English accentuation. The asterisks (*) denote the ac- cent ; the lai'ge dots, secondary accent ; and the small dots, unaccented syllables. 197. Table of Verbal Accents. I. 2. 3- 4- * * • * • • 9|e • ■ • « * • • * • • >K . . • . * • * • • * . ■ * • . . 3|e * • • * . • If. . . . • • * • • ■ 5- 6^ 1j_ 8^_ ••* ••••*• • .-*• He • •*■ ••••*■• ..••*.. H< • * • • • . • • * - ■ * 198. Words Illustrative of the Preceding Table. I. Wayward, tempei'ate, temporary, necessariness. 3. Away, remember, contemporal, inveterately, un- necessarily. 3. Recommend, contemplation, anatomical, disingen- uously, inconsiderableness. 4. Superintend, epigrammatic, superabundantly. 5. Misunderstand, subordination, extemporaneous, in- valitudinary. 6. Personification, impracticability. 7. Antipestilential, indestructibility. 8. Intercolumniation, ineommunicability, incompre- hensibility. Pri7iciples of Accentuation. 199. The general principles that regulate the position of the accent, are the following: — I. The seat of accent tends to the penultimate syllables of dissyllables., and to the ante-fenultimate oi polysyllables ^ if no other princi- ple occur to thwart this tendency ; as in aspect, comfort, aggravate, orator, &c. II. The accent of the primitive word is generally re- 62 ACCENT. tained in derivatives, as in accept, acceptable, commend, commendable, &c. III. Words of the same orthography, but of different farts of speech, (especially nouns and verbs,) are gener- ally distinguished by difference of accent, as in at' tribute, attrib'ute, ac'cent, accent', reb'el, rebel', &c. The verbs in such cases have the lower accent. IV. Prefixes, terminations, and syllables common to a number of words, are generally without accent ; such as ab, be, con, in, re, mis, ness, less, ly, full, sion, tion, ing, able, ible, ally, ary, &c. 200. When three or more syllables follow the accent, a secondary force is generally accorded to one of them for the sake of avoiding, by an agreeable rhythm, the hurry- ing effect of a long cluster of unaccented syllables. Thus, in such words as the following, the voice will be more or less distinctly poised on the second syllables after the accent : — Ab"dica'tive, accessoriness, arbitrarily, calculatory, figura- tively, gentlewoman, indicator, opinionativeness, secretaryship, temporarily. 201. In all the preceding accentual illustrations, the primary and secondary accents are separated by one or two syllables. They may, however, occur in proximate syllables, as in the words A'men", fare' well". In pro- nouncing these words, the time of an unaccented sylla- ble intervenes between the accents. Thus, " Amen," and " eighty men," " farewell," and " fare thee well," occupy exactly the same time in utterance. 202. Words are frequently used in poetry with false accentuation. The reader must not sacrifice ordinary prose propriety to suit the casual poetic accent. A com- promise may generally be effected by accentuating both the regularly and the rhythmically accented syllables. Thus the words "ravines" and "supreme," in the fol- lowing lines, may be pronounced rav'ines' and su'preme' : " Ye ice-falls ! ye, that from the mountain's brow Adown enormous rav'ines' slope amain !" " Our su'preme' foe, in time, may much remit." ACCENTS. 63 Sentential Accents. 203. In the pronunciation of sentences, the words are not delivered with separate accentuation, as in a vocabu- lary, but they are collocated into accentual groups., ac- cording to grammatical connection and relative value to the sense. Certain classes of words are generally un2.c- cented ; such as articles, prepositions, pronouns, aux- iliary verbs, and conjunctions . These are primarily accented, only when they are used with antithesis. The same principles which regulate the secondary ac- centuation of single words, apply also to the grammatical groups, or " oratorical words." 204. When words, the accentual syllables of which are the same, are used in contrast, the primary accent is transposed to the syllable of difference, and the regular primary receives a secondary accent ; as in com'prehen"d, pronounced com"prehen'd when opposed to ap"prehend', lit'erair'y and lit'erar"y, affect' and effect', in"form' and re"form', ex"per and im"per, mor'tal'lty and im"- mortal'ity, re"lig'ion and ir'relig'ion, &c. This trans- position always takes place in the second word of the contrasted pair, but not on the first, unless the contrast is distinctly instituted on its utterance. 205. The same principle of contrast or antithesis, ex- pressed or implied, regulates the accentuation or emphasis of sentences. Any phrase or sentence containing a word or IDEA that has been previously expressed or implied in the context, will have the primary accent — or the em- phasis — on one of the other words, even though of the most subordinate class, conjunction, preposition, pro- noun, or article. Much judgement is displayed by a good reader in this accentual recognition of included thoughts or synonymous expressions. Thus in the word " un- feeling" in the following lines, the accent should fall on the negative prefix " un," to showthat the word "tender," before used, includes the idea of" feeling." "To each, his sufferings; all are men, Condemn'd alike to groan ; The tender, for another's pain. The «»feeling, for his own." — Gray. 206. The subject of Emphasis will be found separately and fully illustrated in a subsequent section. THE PRINCIPLES OF ELOCUTION. PART SECOND. INTONATION AND CLAUSING. I. GENERAL PRINCIPLES. 1. There is an essential difference between the move- ments of the voice in speech and in song. In singing, the voice dwells monotonously, for a definite time, upon every note, and leafs (or sometimes slides) upwards or downwards to the next. In speaking, the end of each note is invariably a slide, and the voice rarely dwells for a measurable space on any part of a note, but is con- stantly changing its pitch by upward or downward move- ment, or inflexion. 2. The kind and degree of inflexion with which words are pronounced are peculiarly expressive of their rela- tion to the context, or to the feeling of the speaker. Thus the rising turn's are connective., referential, dubious, appellatory, or tender in expression ; and the falling inflexions are disjunctive, independent , positive, uian- datory, or harsh. 3. The vocal expressions constitute a Natural Lan- guage, of the import of which mankind are intuitively conscious. The language of tones is most perfectly de- veloped when the feelings are excited, and the speaker is free from all restraint. Children, before their utterance has become denaturalized by school-discipline in " read- ing," speak with the most beautifully expressive intona- tion ; and all persons of sprightly temperament deliver themselves, in animated conversation, with little short of the expressive perfection of infantile oratory. 5 66 MECHANISM OF INFLEXIONS. 4. The universally observed difference in the intona- tions of reading and speaking arises, in a very great measure, from the manner in which children are allowed to read — in entire ignorance or neglect of the principles of intonation. A natural expressiveness may, and should, be given, even to the A, B, C, or the Multiplication Table. II. MECHANISM OF THE INFLEXIONS. 5. Inflexions are either simple or compound in mech- anism. Simple inflexions consist of ^W(i points : — the pitch, accented ; and the termination, unaccented. Thus :— rising, (') falling, ' . (v) Compound inflexions consist of three points, by the union of the two simple movements with one accent. Thus : — rising, (-) falling, (-) 6. The most important fundamental principle of in- flexion is primarily a mechanical one ; for, if the inflex- ions are faultily formed, they will be neither pleasing nor expressive, but harsh to the ear, false to the sentiment, and injurious to the voice. An illustratii^e diagram will best explain this principle. Sim-pie Inflexions. 12 3 4 • V, N N 1^ ■/ This diagram represents the speaking voice divided into an upper and a lower half, the middle line denoting the middle pitch, the upper line the highest, and the lovsrer line the lowest pitch. 7. If inflexions are commenced on the middle tone of the voice, as in the first division of the diagram, the speaker, manifestly, has but half his vocal compass MECHANISM OF INFLEXIONS. 67 through which to range upwards or downwards ; and the voice w^ill crack, or croak, shrilly or hoarsely, if a forcible or emphatic inflexion be attempted. 8. Still more limited and powerless will the inflexions be, if i-ising turns are pitched above, or falling turns below, the middle tone, as in the second section of the diagram. 9. Grace and energy are attained by depressing the radical part of the inflexion below the middle tone for a rise, and by elevating it above the middle tone for a_/ia;//, as in the third and fourth sections of the diagram ; the greater or less extent of the accentual elevation or depres- sion of pitch corresponding to the emphasis of the utter- ance. 10. Thus, the most extensive rising inflexion may not actually rise higher than a comparatively weak and un- impassioned movement, — but it will begin lower, and with greater radical intensity ; and, on the same principle, the most extensive falling inflexion will not be that which falls lowest, but that which, with radical intensity, begins highest. 11. Unemphatic inflexions are formed as in the first xind second divisions of the diagram. 12. The tones are capable of great variety, both in radi- cal pitch, and also in extent of inflexion. The rise or fall may be made through any interval, and with an almost endless diversity of pitch. 13. The mechanism of the compound inflexions exem- plifies the same principles of vocal range. The compound Rise consists of a simple falling tone finished with upward inflexion ; and its commencement (the accented part) is pitched within the lower half of the voice in the less em- phatic mode, and in the upper half, in the more emphatic. The compound Fall consists of a simple rising tone fin- ished by downward inflexion, and its accented commence- ment is pitched within the upper half of the voice in the less emphatic mode ; and in the lower half, in the more emphatic. 14. In the utterance of these compound tones, the fol- lowing principle is to be noted. The voice reaches the ttirning point in the pronunciation of a single syllable. The termination of the tone may be' prolonged through 68 NOTATION OF INFLEXIONS. any number of subsequent syllables. The termination may extend to the same pitch as the commencement, or it may stop short of it, or go beyond it. 15. The following diagram illustrates the mechanism of the compound inflexions. A rising Double Wave is exhibited in the third division of the diagram. This consists of an ordinary Compound Fall, finished writh up- ward inflexion. The voice reaches the second turning point in the pronunciation of the accented syllable. A falling Double Wave is a possible compound tone that is never used. Its effect is not pleasing. The rising Double Wave is frequently employed, and its effect is beautifully expressive. I Compound InJlexio7is ^ Coinpound Rise. Compoujid Fall. Double Wave. III. NOTATION OF THE INFLEXIONS. 16. The NOTATION of the inflexions* is founded on the principle of their mechanism. The marks are placed below the word when the pitch of the accented syllable is in the lower half of the voice, and above the word, when the inflexion is pitched within the upper half. Thus : — Well. Ah! Yes. Go! Not I! Beware! You! Oh! 17. The notation used in subsequent exercises repre- sents_/b«/' degrees, which, (without any attempt at strict musical accuracy,) may be taken to correspond generally with the intervals of the second, third, fifth, and octave.. 18. The intervals of the semitone and the minor third have a •g&cxOii&xXj plaintive effect. The ciy of " Fire !" may be assumed as an appropriate key-word, as it is uni- * See " Expressive Exercises," in a subsequent section. EXPRESSIVENESS OF INFLEXIONS. 69 versally uttered with plaintive intonation. Pronounce this word with natural expressiveness, and alternate with it any w^ords of fear or sadness, with similar inflexion, and the plaintive intervals may be satisfactorily practised even by the " ear "-less and unmusical student. Ji'ire ! Fire ! Alas ! Ah ! Wcll-a-day ! Fare-well ! Ah me ! IV. PREPARATORY PITCH. 19. Inflexion is associated with accent. The radical part of the inflexion coincides with the accentual force. When any syllable or syllables precede the accent, they should be pronounced in the opposite half of the voice — high when the accent is low., and low when the accent is high. Thus : — What now 1 Indeed ! All right. Away ! Not I ! Take care ! Aha ! O'h really ! 20. This principle of opposition of preparatory pitch gives distinctiveiaess to two Modes of each inflexion ; the one mode having the accent lower, and the other mode having the accent higher, than the pre-accentual pitch. A farther difference in the expressive force of each tone depends on the direction in which the pre-accentual syl- lables are inflected, i. e., whether towards ox from the •accentual pitch. The latter is in all cases the more em- phatic variety. (See Diagrams, page .71.) V. EXPRESSIVENESS OF THE INFLEXIONS. 3 1 . The student, with no other than the mechanical guide for the formation of the inflexions, would be apt to form jerking and angular tones instead of the smoothly rounded transitions of natural intonation. The following suin- mary of the expressiveness of the various vocal move- ments will assist in giving to the exercises that quality of conversational efl^ect which is, above all, to be culti- vated. yO EXPRESSIVENESS OF INFLEXIONS. I. Rising Tones appeal : — 1. To bespeak attention to something to follow. 2. For solution of doubt. 3. For an expression of the hearer's will. 4. To question possibility of assertion. II. Falling Tones K5S-SXT : — 1. To express completion of a statement. 2. To express conviction. 3. To express the speaker's will. 4. To express impossibility of denial. 22. Compound tones unite with the ordinary effect of the rising or falling termination, a suggestion of antithe- sis, or reference to something previously understood. Thus : — Simple Appeal . . . Will you ? Referential Appeal . Will you ? (in view of cer- tain circumstances.) Simple Assertion . . I will Referential Asssertion. I w^ill, (notwithstanding cer- tain circumstances.) 23. The inflexions have also a sentiinental as well as a logical expressiveness. Thus : — Rising tones express attractive sentiments ; as pity,, admiration, love, &c. Falling tones express repulsive sentiments ; as re- proach, contempt, hatred, &c. 24. In practice, always associate some appropriate sen timent or logical formula witli the various tones. Thus^ in pronouncing words for inflective exercise, associate with — Simple Rise, i&tmoAe., Inquiry; ii raod.^^ Surprise. Simple Fall, *' Assertion; '* Command. Compound Rise, " Remonstrance; " Threatening^^ Compound Fall, " Scor7i; " Sarcasm. GAMUT OF INFLEXIONS. 71 25. Or prefix, audibly or mentally, to the words to be inflected, the formulas subjoined to the Tones in the fol- lowing diagrams : — Gamut of Inflexions. Simple Rise. But it is — Or rather- / / --V / f V / / Is it— Can it be— Simple Fall. V / \ \ \ / \ It is — It must be — Compound Rise. \ / / '■'*"''* \ It is not — It cannot be — Compound Fall, /' \ ''""', / ^ 1 t / ; 26. In applying the formulas " Is it?" " It is," &c., pro- nounce them Mwemphatically, and in the opposite half of the voice to that in which the word to be inflected is pitched. Thus : — Acid.? Is it Can it be Acid.? It is Acid. Acid. It must be It Is not Acid.? It cannot be Xcid.? But It Is ^cid. Or rather Acid. 72 EXERCISES ON INFLEXIONS. VI. EXERCISES ON THE INFLEXIONS. 27. Pronounce each of the following words with the logical or sentimental expressiveness of the eight varieties of speaking tones. Long monosyllables and words which begin with the accented syllable, being the easiest of in- flexion, are put first. Ah, ay, eh, oh, you, he, she, they, we, me, I, now, so, how, no, see, go, fie, woe, yours, theirs, ours, mine, none, seem, home, here, there, where, all, come, on, gone, shall, her. sir, us, yes, if, off, look, it, that, but, not, out, what, up, stop ; — acid, airy, au- thor, blessing, circle, city, dogma, doctrine, easy, gorgeous, greedy, happy, idle, loving, mighty, murder, queenly, rosy, soothmg, virtue, welcome ; — character, circumstance, calculate, dangerous, enemy, feelingly, finical, hardihood, hideous, liberty, ornament, plausible, roguery, satisfy, somebody, troublesome, victory, yesterday; bibliopole, celibacy, cursorily, despicable, elevated, fascinating, gentlemanly, homicidal, intimately, liter- ally, literai-y, mannerliness, meditative, missionary, necessary, pettifogger, recreative, serviceable. 28. Pronounce the following words with well-marked preparatory tones in the opposite half of the voice to that in which the accented syllable is pitched : — Advertisement, away, begone, beware, contemporary, deter- mine, disinterested, forsaken, impossible, impracticable, indeed, intemperate, litigious, opinionative, remember, satanic, subordi- nate, suspicious, uncompromising, undoubtedly; — acrimonious, bacchanalian, benefactor, detrimental, disagreeableness, epigram- matic, genealogical, hieroglyphic, hypochondriacal, ignominious, liberality, notwithstanding, observation, plenipotentiary, recom- mendation, understanding. 29. In such words as the following, containing unac- cented or secondarily accented syllables before secondary accents, the preparatory tones are susceptible of variety. Thus : — Incomprehensibility or Incomprehensibility. Artic'ula"tion, cir'cumstan'tial"ity, corrup'tibiT'ity, coun'ter- rev'olu"tion, demo'raliza"tion, disad'vanta"geously, disqual'ifi- ca"tion, eccle'sias"tical, ency'clopse"dia, enthu'sias"tic, hallu'ci- na"tion, im'mate'rial"ity, impen'etrabil"ity, imper'spicu"ity, impos'sibil"ity, in'coraprehen'sibil"ity, in'commu'nicabil"ity, in'deter'mina"tion, in'tercommu'nica"tion, irrep'arabil"ity, ir- rep'rehen"sibleness, i'soper'imefrical, person'ifica"tion. EXERCISES ON INFLEXIONS. 73 30. Pronounce the following sentences, &c., with the tones indicated : — Consultative. Communicative. Are you going? I must, at once. Ca« you not stay? .... Unfortunately, I cannot. Indeed ? Indeed. Suggestive. Don't fail ! . . Certainly not. V Well, be sure ! . . . Sure? Why? \/ •x You will find out ! . Really I v/ Yes, indeed! . . . Indeed! Passionate. Do you mock me ? ... Away with you ! :v Hah ! . Begone ! I will not be threatened ! There's a hero ! •\ Plaintive. Ah me! Too true ! No more? No more ! VII. RESUME OF THE PRINCIPLES OF MECHANISM, MELODY AND MEANING OF THE INFLEXIONS. 31. (I.) The beginning, relatively to the end, of a sim- ple rising inflection is loiu ; of a siui'pXe falling inflection, hii^h. (II.) The inflection begins on the accent; which is ihus pitched comparatively low for a rising, high for a falling inflection. (III.) The rise or fall is continued directly upwards or downwards from the accent, through whatever nuin- her of unaccented or secondarily accented syllables may follow. 74 VERBAL GROUPING. (IV.) Any syllables before the accent are pronounced froin an opposite pitch — high before a low accent, lo-w before a high, to increase the emphasis of the accentual elevation or depression. (V.) Rising tones appeal; Palling tones assert. (VI.) The Compound Rise consists of a falling or as- sertive tone, followed by a rising or querulous one, and expresses a query with insinuated assertion. (VII.) The Compound Fall consists of a rising or querulous, followed by a falling or assertive tone, and expresses an assertion with insinuated query. (VIII.) The rising Double Wave has the logical effect of the ordinary compound rise, but with peculiar em- phasis. (IX.) The melody of preparatory pitch is the same for the compound as for the simple movements. VIII. PRINCIPLES OF VERBAL GROUPING. 32. The principles on which w^ords are phi-aseologi- cally united furnish a series of exercises of the very high- est utility, as affording means of careful application of all the orthoepic and inflective principles. The following STAGES of verbal GROUPING should cach be separately practised in the reading of varied styles of composition,, until facility of spontaneous grouping is attained. The exercise is, besides, valuable as a. grammatical one. Stag-es of Verbal Grouping. 33. I St Stage. Pronounce every word with separate accentuation and inflexion, except the articles a, an, and the. WAR. — H. More. O, — war ! — the proof — and — scourge — of — man's — fall'n — state ! After — the brightest — conquest — what — appears — Of — all — thy — glories ? — for — the vanquish'd, — chains ! For — the proud — victors, — what.' — Alas ! — dominion — O'er — desolated — nations ! 34. 2d Stage. Unite prepositions (as well as arti- cles) in one accentual group with the words to which. VERBAL GROUPING. 75 they refer. Include in this stage the sign of the infini- tive mood {io) and also prepositions used adverbially as accented additions to verbs; as " ^o ;pui up," " fo go by," &c. TRUE GREATNESS. A contemplation — of God's — works, — a voluntary — act — of justice — to our — own — detriinent, — a generous — concern — for the good — of mankind, — tears — shed — in silence — for the misery — of others, ^a private— desire — of resentment — broken — and — subdued, — an unfeigned — exercise — of humility, — or — any — other — virtue, — are — such — actions — as — denominate — men — great — and — reputable. 35. 3d Stage. Connect personal or relative pronouns with VERBS ; as the person — who did it — told me — the fact." Include also, — as z'»zpersonal pi'onouns, — the words there and so, when used as in the sentences, " there may — there is — there -will — do so — I say so." When a pronoun is the "antecedent" to a relative, it will be accented, (but not necessarily emphatic,) as in the sentence, " His first field against the infidels proved fatal to him who, in the English war, had seen seventy battles." Otherwise the pronoun is always «raaccented, except in case of antithesis, when the pronoun becomes emphatic. THE SECRET OF CONTENT. In whatever — state — I am, — I — first — of all — look up — to heaven, — and — remember — that — the principal — business — here — is, — how — to get — there. I — then — look down — upon the earth,' — ;and — call — to mind — how — small — a portion^I shall — occupy — in it — when — I come — to be— interred; — I — then — look abroad — into the world, — and — ^observe — the multitudes — who, — in many — respects, — are — more — unhappy — than — myself. Thus — I learn — where — true — happiness — resides, — where — every — care — must — end ; — and — I — then — see — how — very — little — rea- son — I have— to complain. 36. 4th Stage. Join adjective and relative pronouns to nouns; as " that man, which man," &c. Include also the numerals one, two, three, &lz., first, second, third, &c., and such words as such, none, all, both, some, &c. The compound pronominal adjectives, my 76 VERBAL GUOUPIN'G. own, his own, &c., maj^ be considered as one word. Do not group words of this class witli verbs ; for the noun must always be understood between the pronominal word, or numeral, and the verb. The pronoun is unac- cented, except in case of antithesis, or when it is " ante- cedent " to a relative, as in the sentence : — " I clip high climbing thoughts, The wings of swelling pride; Their fall is worst that from the height Of greatest honour slide." EVENTFUL EPOCHS. — Bmcrson. Real — action — is — in silent — moments. — The epochs — of our life — are — not — in the visible — facts — of our choice — of a call- ing, — our marriage, — our acquisition — of an office, — and — the like ; but — in a silent — thought — by the wayside — as — we walk ; in a thought — which revises — our entire — manner — of life, — and — says, — "Thus — hast thou — done, — but — it were — better — thus.'' And — all — our after — years, — like — menials, — do — serve — and — wait — on this, — and, — according — to their ability, — do — execute ■ — its will. 37- 5th Stage. Accentuate into one group auxiliary with PRINCIPAL VERBS 'when no adverbial word or phrase intervenes. THE FINE ARTS. — Emcrson. Because — the soul- —is — progressive, — it — never — quite — re- peats itself,- but — in every act — attempts — the production — of a new — and — fairer — whole. Thus — in our Fine — Arts — not — im- itation, — but — creation — is — the aim. In landscape, — the painter — should give — the suggestion — of a fairer — creation — than — we know. The details, — the prose — of Nature, — he should omit, — and — give us — only — the spirit — and — splendour. Valuing — njore — the expression — of Nature — than — Nature — herself, — he will exalt — in his copy — the features — that please him. He will give — the gloom — of gloom, — and — the sunshine — of sunshine. 38. 6th Stage. Unite adverbs with the adjectives or ADVERBS which they qualify (not adverbs with verbs') \ and the negatives no and not, with whatever they refer to. VERBAL GROUPING. 77 THE FIRMAMENT. — Toung. One sun — by day, — by night — ten thousand — shine; And — light us— deep — into the Deity; How boundless — in magnificence — and — might! Oh, — what a confluence — of ethereal — fire. From urns — unnuraber'd — down the steep — of heaven, Streams — to a point, — and — centres — in my sight! Nor — tarries — there ; — I feel it — at my heart ! My heart — at once — it humbles, — and — exalts; Lays it — in dust, — and — calls it — to the skies. 39. 7th Stage. Unite next in tlie same group or " ora- torical word," ADJECTIVES and the nouns tliey qualify. Two adjectives cannot be connected, as there is between them a necessary ellipsis of the noun. In this and the following stages, be especially careful to accentuate the groups according to the relative value of the words. The noun will generally take the priinary accent," but some- times, the adjective ; and, often, both will require an equal accentuation — emphatic or uneinphatic. REMEMBRANCE. — W. E. Aytoun. I, — who was — fancy's lord, — am — fancy's slave, Like — the low murmurs — of the Indian shell, Ta'en— from its coral bed, — beneath the wave, Which, — unforgetful — of the ocean's swell, "■An erroneous rule has been commonly propounded, that the chief accent should be always on the qualifying or limiting word. The primary accent cannot be always on either the one or the other, but it is more frequently on the qualified than on the qualifying word. ThuSj in Pope's short poem of the " Mes- siah," 103 adjective clauses occur ; in 39 of these the adjectives and nouns are of equal, value (equally emphatic or equally subordinate); in 46 the nouns are of superior value to the ad- jectives ; and in only 18 the adjectives require to be primarily accented. In further illustration, the adjective clauses are here collected from two compositions, with which every reader must be familiar ; — " The pathless woods ;" " the lonely shore ;" ^* the deep sea;'' " thou deep and dark blue ocean ;" " ten thousand fleets ;" " rock-built cities ;" " oak levi- athans;" "huge ribs;" " clwy creator ;" " vain title ;" "azure brow;" "glo- rious mirror;" " funeral note ;"■ " farewell shot ;" " struggling moonbeams' misty light;" " useless coffin ;" "martial cloak;" " few and short were the prayers ;" "narrow bed;" " lonely pillow;" "heavy task;" "distant and random gun;" " cold ashes," . In two-thirds of these adjective phrases the nouns require the primary accent. [See " Emphasis," in a subsequent section.] yS VERBAL GROUPING. Retains, — within its mystic urn, — the hum — Heard — in tlie sea-grots, — where — the Nereids — dwell — Old thoughts — still — haunt me, — unawares — they come- Between me — and— my rest, — nor — can I make — Those aged visitors — of sorrow — dumb. 40. Sth Stage. Copulative particles may next be United with the connected word that follows them ; but if they are not immediately followed by the word or words which they unite in sense, they must stand apart, ■and be separately accented and inflected, as in the fol- lowing sentence : — "7 sJiall callt, — and — if possible, — ascertain —the fact. ' Z'z'jjunctives, such as but, nor, &c., frequently require separate pronunciation. STABILITY OF NATURE. — Rogers. Who — first — beholds — those everlasting clouds, Seed time— and harvest, — morning, — noon, — and night, Still— where— they were,— steadfast, — immovable; Who— first — beholds— the Alps,— that mighty chain — Of mountains, — stretching on — from east — to west; So massive, — yet — so shadowy, —so ethereal. As to belong — rather — to heaven — than earth, — But — instantly — receives — into his soul — A sense, — a feeling — that he loses not; A something — that informs him — 'tis — a moment — Whence — he may date — henceforward — and forever 41. 9th Stage. The predicate that follows the verb to BE, whether it consist of a single word or of a clause, — may be united with the verb in one accentual group ; as, ' ' To be thus — is nothing — but — to be safely thus I " HUMAN PROGRESS. — Christian Philosofhy. Man, — even — in his inglorious — and fallen state, — is eminently fitted — for progression — in knowledge. There is the eye — to per- ceive, — the soul — to understand, — the ear — to attend, — and the judgement — to ponder; — there are the senses — to supply — mate- rial, — and the memory — to store up — the treasures. 13y deep cau- sation — man — reasons — on first principles — and chief laws, — and — by analogy — compares — and contrasts. From the lower steps — of the intellectual ladder, — he — gradually — ascends — to the high- VERBAL GROUPING. 79 est regions — of abstract thought — and reflection. The alphabet — may be the child's first study, — the heaven — of heavens — the theme — of his manly contemplations. — As a child — he may "whip — his top — in the street, — or roll — his hoop — on the path ; — as a man, — he measureth — the heavens, — ani^-eckoneth — with mathe- matical precision — the revolutions — or the planetary worlds. From the hyssop — hegoethon — to the cedar, — from the wonders — of nature — to those — of providence, — and— from both, — by a spiritual flight, — to the higher regions — of grace. With elasticity — of mind, — in connection — with physical vigour, — and the cul- tivation — of the moral sense, — none — but God — can tell — where — man's soarings — will end, — or his discoveries — terminate. 42. loth Stage. Adverbs and adverbial phrases may next be united with the verbs they qualify ; also interrogative and conditional ■p'^x'ixci^^y — such as -when, •why, if, &c. : as in the sentences, " When I first came here, — it -was far otherwise — than it is now; " " If it must be done — why, then — there is no remedy." SUNSET. — Alex. Bet/tune. The sun — hath almost reach'd — his journey's close; The ray — he sheds — is gentle, — softly bright, Pure — as the pensive light — from woman's eyes — When kindled up— by retrospective thoughts. Wandering — to former scenes — of love — and joy. But yet — there is a melancholy tinge — In that rich radiance, -and —a passing thought — Of things departed, — and of days gone by. At such an hour — insensibly will weave Itself— into the texture— of the scene. Nothing — departs alone : the dying day — Bears — with it — many — to the last repose. The setting sun, — so gorgeously array'd — In beams — of light, — and curtain'd round about — With clouds — steeped — in the rainbow's richest dyes ; So fair, — so full— of light— and living glory. That— with the ancient Persian, — one might deem Him — god — of all — he looks upon below, — His setting — ushers in — a night — to some — Which — morning — shall not break. 43. iith Stage. The word or clause forming the OBJECT of a transitive verb or the complemental ex- pression of a verb, may next be added to the verb in So VERBAL GROUPING. the same oratorical group : as " to love virtue;" " to be- come near-sighted ; " " learn — to do good ; " " my own tears — have made me blind " &c. When the "object" is the grammatical antecedent to a relative clause, or when it stands in the relation of principal to any dependent sentence immediately following, it should not be grouped ■with the verb, but with the relative or subordinate to which it stands in closer relationship. When there are two or more " objects" to one verb, the latter should be pronounced by itself, that the equal relation of all the ob- jects to the verb may be manifest. In such cases the objects will generally take the collective form of a series.* REVELATION. Should these credulous infidels, — after all, — be in the right, — and — this pretended revelation be all a fable, — from believing it — what harm — could ensue ? Would it render princes more ty- rannical, — or subjects more ungovernable ? the rich more inso- lent, — or the poor more disorderly.' Would it make vjforse parents, — or children, — husbands — or wives, — masters — or ser- vants ; — friends — or neighbors ? or — would it not make men more virtuous, — and consequently more happy — in every situation? 44. 1 2th Stage. Complemental clauses, intro- duced by prepositions, pronouns, or other parts of speech, may be united with the principal words to which they relate, when they are necessary to the expression of sense ; as, '■^ Child of the sun — pursue thy rapturous ^z^ht — Mhigling — with her thou lov^st — infields ofi liffht." ^^ It -was not so much -zvhat you said — as your manner of saying it — that struck ;Ke." EXERCISE. It is a universal law of nature — that disuse — diminishes the ca- pability of things, — while exercise — increases it. The seldomer our thoughts are communicated — the less communicable do they become; — the seldomer our sympathies are awakened — the less ready are they to wake; — and — if social affections be not stirred by social intercourse, — like a neglected fire, — they smoulder away, — and consign our hearts to coldness. * See page 102. PAUSING. 8l IX. PUNCTUATION AND PAUSING. 45. Good clausing is one of the most important quali- ties in reading. Clausing does not always coincide with punctuation. Commas are inserted in many cases where a pause would be inappropriate ; and they are not found at the boundaries of many clauses where pauses are es- sential to a clear delivery of the meaning. 46. The comma is used to separate words or clauses in apposition, and to disjoin explanatory or qualifying clauses from the principal members of a sentence, and from each other : the semicolon is employed at the conclusion of a dependent sentence ; or of one from which a direct infer- ence is drawn ; or of one of a series of connected sentences ; or sometimes at the end of an important division of a complex sentence : the colon serves to aggregate into one period sentences in themselves complete, but more or less connected in subject ; or it is used after any recurrence of semicolons, to mark a greater division than they indicate : and the period shows the completion of an independent sentence, or of a series of collateral sentences. A para- graph is a typographical division, which shows the end of a collection of collateral periods. 47. The shortest pauses are those slight suspensions which are made at the end of an accentual group or ora- torical word ; the next in duration are those which sepa- rate subordinate clauses from the principal members, and from each other ; next are those which separate two or more subjects, predicates, objects, or complemental clauses in apposition ; somewhat longer are those which introduce and conclude parentheses, similes, series, and importantrelativeor conditional sentences : the conclusion of a dependent sentence requires a slightly increased hi- atus ; of an independent sentence a greater one still ; and the end of a paragraph, or leading division of a subject, a more protracted pause. Besides these regular stops, accidental, expectant, or reflective pauses will occur be- fore or after important words, to render them emphatic-, and longest of all will be those Expressive Pauses, which denote listening, anxious watching, &c. 48 . There can be no good reading without frequent and , 6 82 PAUSING. sometimes, long pauses. They convey an effect of spon- taneity, which rivets the attention of the hearer ; while unbroken fluency, especially in the reading of complex sentences, will never sustain attention, because it is man- ifestly accompanied with no thought on the part of the reader. Appropriate clausular pausing will lead the rea- der to THINK, and it will make him seem to do so even when he does not. For he must always — "Assume this virtue, if he have it not." 49. The following example illustrates the difference between oratorical pausing and ordinary punctuation. As these stanzas are usually printed, commas are inserted after " night," " storm" and " darkness ;" and no mark of punctuation is used after "sky," "eye," "along," " Jura," " this," " me," " sharer," " tempest," " rain," " again," " now," " hills" and " rejoice." THUNDER-STORM AMONG THE ALPS.* — Byron. The sky — is changed! — and such a change — O — night And storm and darkness — ye are wondrous strong — Yet lovely in your strength — as is the light Of a dark eye — in woman ! — Far along — From peak to peak the rattling crags among- - Leaps the live thunder! — not from one lone cloud — But every mountain — now hath found a tongue — And Jura — answers through her misty shroud — Back to the joyous Alps — who call to her aloud. And this— is in the night!— Most glorious night! — Thou w'ert not sent for slumber! — let me — be A sharer — in thy fierce and far delight — A portion — of the tempest and of thee ! How the lit lake shines — a phosphoric sea — And the big rain — comes dancing to the earth — And now again — 'tis black — and now — the glee Of the loud hills — shakes with its mountain mirth — As if they did rejoice — o'er a young earthquake's birth. X. EMPHATICAL DISJUNCTIONS OF WORDS. 50. Words which in ordinary utterance are collocated into one group, will be separated in emphatic pronun- "■ A key to the emphatic words in these stanzas is given in a subsequent section. PAUSING. 83 ciation. The hearer's attention is excited, and curiosity awakened, for the word which the speaker stops to in- troduce ; especially when the syntactical construction is such as to admit of no break in ordinary delivery. Thus, between \h& pronoun and the verb ; the auxiliary and the principal verb ; the verb and its object or completnent ; the article, preposition^ or adjective, and the noun, &c. ; as in the following passages : — " O, sir, your — honesty — is — remarkable.'' " Let me tell you, Cassius, you yourself Are much condemned to have — an — itching palm !" " Shall I bend low, and, in a bondsman's key, With bated breath and — whispering humbleness, Say this — ' Fair sir! you — spit on me on Wednesday last; You — spurned me, such a day; another time You called me — dog; and for these — courtesies, I'll — lend jou thus much monies.' " " If a Jew wrong a Christian, what is his — humility .' — Revenge. If a Christian wrong a Jew, what should his — sufferance be, by — ■Christian — example .' — Why, revenge ! " " Hear him, my lord ; he's — wondrous condescending; Mark the — humility — of — shepherd Norval." XI. STACCATO PRONUNCIATION. 51. In strong emotion, each accent, or even every syl- lable, may be separately inflected. This staccato pro- nunciation, is especially used in exclamatory surprise •or INTERROGATION ; as in the following illustrations : — " I an itching palm.'" / / / " Gone to be married.' Gone to swear a peace.'" " Dost thou stand by the tombs of the glorious dead .' " " And fear not to say that their son hath fled ? " • / / / / " Away! he is lying by lance and shield! " "' Point me the path to his battle-field ! " 84 CLAUSING EXERCISES. 52. The Mechanism, and Expressiveness of the vocal movements or inflexions, and their application to verbal and clausular accents, have now been explained and illus- trated. Let the student perfectly master these principles^ and, by exercise, acquire the power to pronounce spon- taneously any accentual combination of syllables, in each of the Modes, both of Simple and Compound inflexion, before proceeding further. He who is ambitious of ex- cellence in Elocution must thus patiently cultivate his voice to execute, and his ear to appreciate, separately, the fundamental requisites of correct delivery, before he attempts to apply thein in Expressive Reading. 53. The practice of clausular reading, with proper ac- centuation and with varied well-defined inflexions accom- panying every utterance, will be found speedily and per- fectly effectual in imparting flexibility to the voice, and in removing habits of monotony, or other inexpres- sive mannerism in Reading. The following selection of short passages in Prose and Poetry furnishes material for exercise. These passages should be read in accord- ance with each of the separate stages of grouping illus- trated in this section. XII. PASSAGES FOR EXERCISE IN THE GRAMMAT- ICAL GROUPING OF WORDS. AN ANCIENT TEMPLE. — Blair. See yonder hallowed fane ! the pious work Of names once famed, now dubious or forgot, And buried midst the wreck of things that were : There lie interred the more illustrious dead. The wind is up : hark ! how it howls ! Methinks, Till now, I never heard a sound so dreary, Doors creak, and windows c!ap, and night's foul bird, Rook'd in the spire, screams loud ; the gloomy aisles, Black plastered, and hung round with shreds of scutcheonSj And tattered coats of arms, send back the sound. Laden with heavier airs, from the low vaults, The mansions of the dead. ANIMAL ENJOYMENT. — CoTVper. The heart is hard in nature, and unfit For human fellowship, as being void CLAUSING EXERCISES. 85 Of sympathy, and therefore dead alike To love and friendship both ; that is not pleased With sight of animals enjoying life, Nor feels their happiness augment his own. I have remarked that the declamations of angry men make little impression on those who are not themselves angry. Rea- sonable men love reason. CHEERFULNESS. A cheerful temper, joined with innocence, will make beauty attractive, knowledge delightful, and wit good-natured; it will lighten sickness, poverty, and affliction; convert ignorance into an amiable simplicity, and render deformity itself agreeable. CONSTANCY IN VIRTUE. The bird let loose in Eastern skies. When hastening fondly home, Ne'er stoops to earth her wing, or flies Where idle wanderers roam ; But high she shoots, through air and light. Above all low delay. Where nothing earthly bounds her flight, Or shadow dims her way. So grant me, God, from every stain Of sinful passion free. Aloft through virtue's purer air, To steer my course to Thee ! No sin to cloud, no lure to stay My soul, as home she springs ; Thy sunshine on her joyful way. Thy freedom on her wings. CONTENTMENT. When you are rich, praise God for His abundant bounty ; when poor, thank Him for keeping you from the temptations of pros- perity; when you ai-e at ease, glorify Him for His merciful kind- ness ; and when beset with affliction and pain, offer thanksgiving for His, merciful remindings that you are approaching your end. CRITICS. — Emerson. The eye of a critic is often, like a miproscope, made so very fine and nice that it discovers the atoms and minutest particles, but cannot comprehend the whole, so as to compare the parts, and perceive at once the general harmony. 86 CLAUSING EXERCISES. DESISE OF DISTINCTION. The desire of distinction in the world is a commendable qualitjr- when it excites men to the performance of illustrious actions; but this ambition is so seldom directed to its proper end, and is so little scrupulous in the choice of the means which it employs for the accomplishment of its purpose, that it frequently ruins the morals of those who are actuated by it ; and thus, for the pleasure of being lifted up for a moment above the common level of mankind, many a man has forfeited his character with the wise and good, and inflicted wounds on his conscience, which the balm of flattering dependants can never heal. DESIRES UNLIMITED. The desires of man increase with his acquisitions ; every step^ that he advances brings something within his view that he did. not see before, and which, as soon as he sees it, he begins ta want. Where necessity ends, curiosity begins ; and no soonei" are we supplied with every thing that nature can demand, than, we sit down to contrive artificial appetites. EMPLOYMENT. — Baillie. The bliss, e'en of a moment, still is bliss. What! would'st thou, of her dew-drops spill the thorn. Because her glory cannot last till noon 'i Or still the lightsome gambols of the colt. Whose neck to-morrow's yoke will gall ? Fie on't ! If this be wise, 'tis cruel. FORGIVENESS.— Zai^ E. Carevi. The fairest action of our human life Is scorning to revenge an injury; For who forgives, without a further strife, His adversai-y's heart to him doth tie. fortune's FROLICS. — Chapman. Fortune, the great Commandress of the world. Hath diverse ways to enrich her followers ; To some, she honours gives without deserving. To other some, deserving without honour ; Some wit, some wealth, and some wit without wealthy Some wealth without wit ; some nor wit, nor wealth, But taking faces and appearances. To make a show without possessing substance. hasty anger. — C Johnson. Those hearts that start at once into a blaze. And open all their rage, like summer storraa At once discharg'd, grow cool again as fast. And calm. CLAUSING EXERCISES. 87^ HUMAN LIFE. — Emerson. The life of man is a. self-evolving circle, which, from a ring im- perceptibly small, rushes on all sides outwards to new and larger circles, and that without end. HUMILITY. — Gill. Generally speaking, those who have the most grace, and the greatest gifts, and are of the greatest usefulness, are the most humble, and think the most meanly of themselves. So those boughs and branches of trees which are most richly laden with fruit, bend downward, and hang lowest. INDUSTRY. — Emerson. Though the wide universe is full of good, no kernel of nourish- ing corn can come to a man, but through his toil bestowed on that plot of ground which is given him to till. INNOCENCE. Whence learned she this.' O she was innocent! And to be innocent is Nature's wisdom ! The fledge-dove knows the prowlers of the air, Feared soon as seen, and flutters back to shelter. And the young steed recoils upon his haunches, The never-yet-seen adder's hiss first heard. O surer than suspicion's hundred eyes Is that fine sense which, to the pure in heart, By mere oppugnancy of their own goodness Reveals the approach of evil. LIBERALITY. — Christian Philosophy. What should be the model of the Christian's liberality .' Even the rich perpetual beneficence of God. Observe the many em- blems of this spirit which Nature furnishes. How freely does the ocean yield its waters to the empty clouds ; and they, again, how richly do they pour their fertilizing drops, to cheer and bless the thirsty earth! The sun, the centre, and theglory of the solar system, the material spirit of its light and joy, how plenteously his golden beams are scattered through our world ! ' The earth, though cursed by man's transgression, yet yieldcth to the sower oftentimes a hundred-fold. The air, the element of life, pervadeth every place, that men may breathe it. The orchard, with its laden boughs of cooling fruits, presents, with yearly constancy, its gifts to men. The avaricious wretch, and sordid selfiing, may blush, indeed, to contemplate these emblems of beneficence. LIBERTY. 'Tis liberty alone that gives the flower Of fleeting life its lustre and perfume; 8S CLAUSING EXERCISES. And we are weeds without it. All constraint, Except what wisdom lays on evil men, Is evil ; hurts the faculties, impedes Their progress in the road to science ; blinds The eyesight of discovery ; and begets, In those that suffer it, a sordid mind. Bestial, a meagre intellect, unfit To be the tenant of man's noble form. LIGHT. — Christian Philosophy. " Let there be light, " is the mandate of Heaven, and all holy intelligences favour its diffusion. Let the light of science, of philosophy, and of letters, exalt to intellectuality every nation of the earth. Let the light of truth disperse the errors of supersti- tion and ignorance from our world. Let the light of revelation illumine with saving rays every nation, and kindred, and people, and tongue. Let the light of celestial favour form the day of hope and rejoicing in every heart of man. Let light be diffused from the printing-press, from the village-school, from the college, from the institutions of science, and from the sanctuary of relig- ion. Let the monarch and the subject, the legislator and the governed, the rich and the poor, all unite for its diffusion. LIVING MERIT. — Charles Mackay. Who can tell what schemes majestic Perish in the active brain — What humanity is robbed of. Ne'er to be restored again — What we lose, because we honour Overmuch the mighty dead .' And dispirit Living merit, Heaping scorn upon its head .' Or, perchance, when kinder grown, Leaving it to die alone.' Lpok how the golden ocean shines above Its pebbly stones, and magnifies their girth; So does the bright and blessed light of love Its own things glorify, and raise their worth. MIGHT OF MERCY. RoVle. The narrow soul Knows not the God-like glory of forgiving, Nor can the cold, the ruthless heart conceive How large the power, how fixed the empire is Which benefits confer on generous minds. Goodness prevails on the most stubborn foes, And conquers more than ever sword subdued. CLAUSING EXERCISES. 89 MISFORTUNES. The external misfortunes of life, disappointments, poverty, and sickness, are light in comparison with those inward dis- tresses of mind, occasioned by folly, by passion, and by guilt. MOODINESS. — Shakespeare. O, we are querulous creatures ! Little less Than nothing can suffice to make us happy ; And little less than nothing is enough To make us wretched. MUTUAL DEPENDENCE. — Emerson. There is nothing in the universe that stands alone, — nothing solitary. No atom of matter, no drop of water, no vesicle of air, or ray of light, exists in astate of isolation. Everything belongs to some system of society, of which it is ^ component and neces- sary part. Just so it is in the moral world. — No man stands alone, nor high angel, nor child. All the beings "lessening down fi-om infinite perfection to the brink of dreary nothing," belong to a system of mutual dependencies. All and each constitute and enjoy a part of the world's sum of happiness. No one liveth to himself. The most obscure individual exerts an influence which must be felt in the great brotherhood of mankind. As the little silvery circular ripple, set in motion by the falling pebble, expands from its inch of radius to the whole compass of the pool, so there is not an infant placed, however softly, in his bulrush-ark upon the sea of time, whose existence does not stir a ripple gyrating outward and on, until it shall have moved across and spanned the whole ocean of God's eternity. "To be, or not to be.'" is that the question 1 No. — We are ; and whether we live or die, we are the Lord's ; we belong to His eternity, and henceforth His moral universe will be filled with our existence. NIGHT. — Blair. Night, sable goddess ! from her ebon throne. In rayless majesty, now stretches forth Her leaden sceptre o'er a slumbering world. Silence how dead ! and darkness how profound ! Nor eye nor listening ear an object finds. Creation sleeps. 'Tis as the general pulse Of life stood still, and N?ture made a pause, — An awful pause, prophetic of her end. OCCUPATION. Occupation cures at least half of life's troubles, and mitigates the remainder. A manacled slave, working at the galleys, is happier than the self-raanacled slave of idleness. 90 CLAUSING EXERCISES. PHILOSOPHY AND RELIGION. Philosophy may destroy the burden of the body, but religion gives wings to the soul. Philosophy may enable us to look down on the earth with contempt, but religion teaches us to look up to heaven with hope. Philosophy may support to the brink of the grave, but religion conducts beyond it. Philosophy unfolds a rich store of enjoyment, which religion makes eternal. POTENCY OF COURAGE. — RotVe. The wise and active conquer difficulties By daring to attempt them ; sloth and folly Shiver and shrink at sight of toil and hazard, And make the impossibility they fear. PRAYER AND SUBMISSION. — Milton. If I could hope by prayer to change the will Of Him who all things can, I would not cease To weary Him with my assiduous cries ; But prayer against His absolute decree No more avails than breath against the wind. Therefore, to His great bidding I submit. PROGRESS IN GUILT. — Lillo. There's nought so monstrous but the mind of man In some conditions may be brought to approve ; Theft, sacrilege, treason and parricide. When flattering opportunity enticed And desperation drove, have been committed By those who once would start to hear them named. SADNESS OF NIGHT. Young. How, like a widow in her weeds, the night. Amid her glimmering tapers, silent sits ! How sorrowful, how desolate, she weeps Perpetual dews, and saddens Nature's scene! SELF-KNOWLEDGE. — Emerson. Although men are accused of not knowing their own weakness, yet, perhaps, as few know their own strength. It is in men as in soils, where sometimes there is a vein of gold, which the owner knows -not of SOURCES OF CALAMITY. — Byron. There is an order Of mortals on the earth who do become Old in their youth, and die ere middle age; CLAUSING EXERCISES. 91 Some perishing of pleasure, some of study, Some worn witli toil, some of mere weariness, Some of disease, and some insanity, And some of withered or of broken hearts : For this last is a malady which takes Variety of shapes and names, and slays More than are numbered in the lists of Fate. SOURCES OF ERROR. — Harris. Partial views, the imperfections of sense, inattention, idleness, the turbulence of passions, education, local sentiments, opinions, and belief, conspire, in inany instances, to furnish us with ideas, some too general, some too partial, and, what is worse than all this, with many that are erroneous, and contrary to truth. These it behoves us to correct, as far as possible, by cool suspense and candid examination. SUCCESS. — Thomson. It is success that colours all in life ; Success makes fools admired, makes villains honest: All the proud virtue of this vaunting world Fawns on success and power, howe'er acquired. THE COMMON LOT. — CoWper. All flesh is grass, and all its glory fades. Like the fair flower dishevelled in the wind ; Riches have wings, and Grandeur is a dream ; The man we celebrate must find a tomb, And we that worship him, ignoble graves. THE GOSPEL. There is not an evil incident to human nature, for which the gospel doth not provide a remedy. Are you ignorant of many things which it highly concerns you to know.'' — The gospel offers you instruction. Have you deviated from the path of duty? — The gospel offers you forgiveness. Do. temptations sur- round you.' The gospel offers you the aid of Heaven. Are you exposed to misery.' — It consoles you. Are you subject to death? — It offers you immortality. THE GRAVE. — Blair. When self-esteem, or others' adulation. Would cunningly persuade us we were something Above the common level of our kind. The grave gainsays the smooth-complexion'd flattery, And with blunt truth acquaints us what we are. •92 CLAUSING EXERCISES. THOUGHTS. — Christian Philosophy. Thoughts are the moving ideas of the mind ; the actions of the fancy and imagination. Thoughts are the seeds of words, and the germ of actions. If the mind is in a state of incessant exer- cise, then how numberless must be the thoughts arising there- from ! Manj thoughts are vain and foolish, and therefore of necessity useless. Many thoughts are ungodly and wicked, and therefore injurious to the soul, and hateful to God. A watch over such thoughts is necessary to prevent their intrusion, and holy ejaculations are essential to their expulsion. TRUTH. — Christian Philosophy. Truth is to fact what the impress is to the seal, the exact tran- script. Adherence to truth, the seven-times-heated furnace could not consume, nor the hungry lions destroy. Buy truth at any price : its cost cannot exceed its worth, or surpass its intrinsic value. Whoever possesses truth, holds an inestimable treasure, whose currency is admitted in both worlds. TYRANNY. — Brooke. Not claim hereditary nor the high Anointing hand of Heaven can give a law For lawless power, or to injustice bind Allegiance. Tyranny absolves all faith; And who invades our rights can never be But a usurper. TYRANNY OF VICE. — Byron. Think'st thou there is no tyranny but that Of blood and chains.? The despotism of vice. The weakness and the wickedness of luxury. The negligence of tensual sloth, produces Ten thousand tyrants who, in cruelty. Surpass the worst of domineering masters, However harsh, and hard, and pitiless. UNCERTAINTY OF TO-MORROW. In human hearts what bolder thought can rise Than man's presumption on to-morrow's dawn.' Where is to-morrow? In another world. For numbers this is certain ; the reverse Is sure to none. VARIETY OF ENDOWMENTS. Wilbcrforce. We have different forms assigned to us in the school of life, •different gifts imparted.' All is not attractive that is good. Iron is useful, though it does not sparkle like the diamond. Gold has not the fragrance of a flower. So, diiferent persons have differ- «nt modes of excellence, and we must have an eye to all. CLAUSING EXERCISES. 93, VIRTUE. — Toung. Virtue, not rolling suns, the mind matures, That life is long which answers life's great end. The time that bears no fruit deserves no name ; The man of wisdom is the man of years. VIRTUOUS PROMPTITUDE. — RoTXie. A virtuous deed should never be delaj'd. The impulse comes from Heav'n and he who strives A moment to repress it, disobeys The god within his mind. VOICES OF NIGHT. — BailUe. How those fallen leaves do rustle on the path. With whispering noise, as though the earth around me Did utter secret things ! The distant river, too, bears to mine ear A dismal wailing. O, mysterious night! Not silent art thou ; many tongues thou hast. WAR. — Christian Philosophy. War has dinned the world, and crimsoned the earth, and cursed our species for ages upon ages. What has it effected, and what are the results which follow in its train.' Agricultural ste- rility, commercial depression, national enthralment, social woe, physical suffering, the unalleviated agonizing pangs of myriads, the battle-field strewed with the wounded, the dying, and the dead : desolated countries, sacked cities, burning dwellings, de- spairing widows and orphans. The sound of trumpets, the clash of arms, and the roaring of the cannon, may excite for a season, but reflection must follow, both to surviving conquerors and to. the conquered. And what a reflection ! That they have choked the avenues of death with myriads of dark and guilty spirits, crowding in fearful horror into the region of Hades. But a time is coming, when war shall be hated, reprobated, abhorred, and only remembered as a woe and a blight that has passed away for ever. WELL-DOING. — Toung. Who does the best his circumstance allows Does well, acts nobly, angels could no more. WISDOM. — Christian Philosophy. Wisdom is that faculty which applieth knowledge to its best use and fitteth means for the best end. It looketh to the future, and dreameth not of building on the uncertain present. Wisdom hath its decided preferences, and its fixed antipathies. It avoid- eth precipitancy in matters of moment, and doeth nothing 94 SENTENTIAL INTONATION. rashly. It doth not encourage the whisperer, nor hearken to the tale-bearer, nor attend to idle rumours. It cherisheth openness of demeanour, candour of spirit, and integrity of speech. It deci- deth not without ample evidence, and it judgeth not without a cause. It sheddeth lustre on every station, age, and condition. It is the brightness of the child's eye, the nobleness of the youth's countenance, and the dignity of the man of years. WOMAN. — Charles Mackay. A very woman : — full of tears, Hopes, blushes, tendernesses, fears. Griefs, laughter, kindness, joys, and sighs. Loves, likings, friendships, sympathies ; A heart to feel for every woe. And pity, if not dole, bestow; A hand to give from scanty store ; A look to wish the offering more. XIII. APPLICATION OF THE PRINCIPLES OF INFLEX- ION TO SENTENCES. 54. As all inflexions may be resolved into two kinds — rising and falling — so, all rules for their application may- be resolved into two corresponding, general funda- mental PRINCIPLES. 55. (I.) The rising' progression connects what has been said with what is to be uttered, or with what the speaker wishes to be implied or supplied by the hearer ; and this, with more or less closeness and passion, in pro- portion to the force and extent of the rise. The rising- inflexion is thus associated with what is incomplete in sense ; or, if apparently complete, dependent on or mod- ijied by what immediately follows ; with whatever is relative to something expressed, or implied ; and with what is doubtful^ interrogative, or supplicatory. 56. (II.) The_/a/^'«^ progression DISCONNECTS what has been said from what is to follow ; and this with more or less exclusiveness, and passion, in proportion to the force and extent of the fall. The falling inflexion is, thus, associated with what is complete and independent in sense, or intended to be received as such ; and w^ith whatever is positive, dogmatical, or mandatory . 57. All sentences belong, constructively, to one or SENTENTIAL INTONATION. 95 Other of the three classes — assertive, interrogative, and imperative ; — as (i.) I am coming. (2.) Are you coming.? (3.) Come! The following Principles deduced from conversational usage regulate the closing inflexion of each kind of sen- tence. I. Assertive Sentences. 58. Assertive sentences have normally a _/a///>z^ ter- mination, as predicating facts of which the hearer may be presumed to have been previously uninformed ; but when they cannot be supposed to communicate information they take a rw/^:^ termination, as in appeal to the hearer's consciousness. Thus, The sun rises in the east; (implying " does it not.'") The end of life is death; (implying " is it not?") II. Interrogative Sentences.* 59. Interrogative sentences have normally a rising termination ; as relating to facts respecting which the speaker may be presumed to be in doubt or ignorance ; but when they cannot be supposed to ask for information they take a falling termination, as in assertion of what the hearer's consciousness must corroborate. Thus, Is virtue to be commended? (implying "you know it is.") Does rain fall from the clouds ? (implying " you know it does-") III. Imperative Sentences. 60. Imperative sentences have a falling termination when they express the speaker's will without reference to the will of the hearer, and they have a rising termi- nation when they solicit rather than enjoin compliance. Thus, Remember what I have said ; (implying " it is my will.") Remember what I have said ; (implying " will you .''") *See " Varieties of Interrogative Sentences," p. 98. 96 SENTENTIAL INTONATION. XIV. ANALYSIS OF SENTENCES. 61. Every assertive sentence must consist of at least (■wo parts: — (I.) the thing, person, quality, or fact spoken of- — the subject ; — and (II.) that whicla is as- serted of the subject — the predicate. Thus, John — is speaking. The event — is doubtful. 62. The subject usually precedes the predicate, but this order may be reversed. When both subject and predicate are accented, ihe. former of them, in either order, terminates with a risings and the latter^ with a falling inflexion. 63. When the subject has been previously expressed or implied, or when it is a pronoun, it is pronounced ■without an accentual inflexion, and if it precedes the predicate, takes merely the preparatory pitch of an unac- cented syllable. Thus, John is silent. He has finished. 64. When \he predicate has been previously expressed or implied, the same principle applies, and the subject alone receives accentual inflexion. 65. When the subject or predicate is antithetic to any other, either expressed or implied, compound in- stead of simple tones will be employed. (jd. The predicate may consist of a verb only, or it may include also an object or complement. The position of the accent will vary according to the sense, but the principle of concluding inflexion is the same whether the predicate be simple or compound. 67. An assertive sentence may contain, besides the subject and predicate, a third part — the circumstance ; which may be either of the adjective class, as qualifying the subject, or of the adverbial class, as qualifying the predicate. 68. The circumstance may consist of a single word, of a cla.usu\a.r group of words, or of a subordinate sen- tence, adverbial, relative, conditional, or participial. 69. The subordinate clause or sentence may be com- SENTENTIAL INTONATION, 9/ flemental of the subject or predicate, — when its accen- tuation and inflexion must show it to be a fart of the principal member ; — ^or it may be merely explanatory — when it must be pronounced with independent tones and accents. Thus in the following lines : " Behold the emblem of thy state In flowers, which bloom and die.'' The principal sentence here terminates with the comple- mentary clause " in flowers ;" " Behold the emblem of thy state in flowers !" and the succeeding relative sentence is an independent explanatory addition. Thus : — " Behold the emblem of thj state In flowers, [which bloom and die.'' 70. The subjects and predicates must always be so pronounced as to strike upon the hearer's mind with un- encumbered distinctness among the most multitudinous assemblage of syntactically subordinate clauses or sen- tences. The subject and predicate are generally the most emphatic parts of a sentence ; they are so always, indeed, except when either of them has been previously expressed or implied ; or when some opposition or contrast of cir- cumstantial clauses or sentences requires their compara- tive elevation. 71. Subordinate clauses or sentences va^y precede the subject ^follow \he predicate, or intervene between them. In thejirst and last cases they will generally terminate with rising; and in the second, Vf'\\h. falling inflexions — subject to the same modifications and varieties, from an- tithesis, previous implication, &c., as the subjects and predicates themselves. 72. The predicate may be either an absolute or a con- ditional assertion : in the former case it will take the falling inflexion, but in the latter, it will require a com- pound rising tone to modify its assertiveness and connect it with the conditional member or sentence that follows. 7 98 SENTENTIAL INTONATION. Conditional stance . Subject Predicate Connective . Subject . Predicate Circum- Exaniples. If to do were as easj as to know what were good to do chapels had been churches and poor men's cottages (had been) princes' palaces. Imperative sentence . Look Circumstance of manner^ how Subject ... . the golden ocean Predicate .... shines Circumstance of place . above its pebblj stones Connective . . . and Predicate magnifies Object . ... their girth ! Circumsta7ice of manner^ So Auxiliary to predicate^ does Subject Object Predicate Connective Predicate Object . the bright and blessed light of love its own things glorify and raise their worth. XV. VARIETIES OF INTERROGATIVE SENTENCES. 73. When we pronounce any sentence in doubt or ig- norance^ and ■with the desire of assurance or information, we naturally terminate the utterance with a rising inflex- ion, more or less strong, in proportion to the degree of our eagerness to be assured or informed. By thel:one of voice ■we appeal to the hearer for a satisfactory re- sponse ; and this, without reference to the syntactical form of construction we employ. The declarative, or even the imperative form of composition, may be pronounced with an equally interrogative effect to that which is more com- monly associated ■with the interrogative construction. In reading, ■we must not be guided by the mere arrangement of the words ; for we often meet with the form of inter- rogation when the sentence is not interrogative in mean- ing, but, on the contrary, distinctly assertive ; as when Cassius says to Brutus — SENTENTIAI, INTONATION. 99 " I said an elder soldier — not a better — Did I say better f " And we frequently find the declarative construction em- ployed ■when the intention is not assertive, but manifestly -interrogative : as when Cassius further says — " lou do not love ine, Brutus." 74. Directly interrogative sentences usually have the verb preceding the subject; as, '•'■'will you ffo?" '■'■ ivhen •will you go?" " went you not tvith them?" '•'■'why ivent you not tvith them?" " does any one accompany you?" " -who accompanies you?" These questions are of two kinds — VERBAL, and adverbial or pronominal. In the verbal class, " will you? went you?" &c., the query has reference to the fact in the sentence ; and the con- cluding tone is generally rising, as expressive of doubt or solicitation. In the adverbial or pronominal class, the fact is not called in question, but the query has reference to some circwmstance attending it — " when.'' why.? Sow.'' w^HO.'"' &c., and the concluding tone is generally falling, as expressive of the assumed certainty as to the fact. 75. Adverbial and pronominal questions are in fact aaeertive or imperative in their nature. Thus, " When will y oil go? who will accompany yozi?" imply '■'■Un- derstanding that you are going, l ask, (or " tell me") when? Expecting that some person -will accompany you, I ask, who?" But if we are very solicitous to gain the information, or are in any doubt as to the fact itself, we terminate the question with a rising tone, and it then strongly appeals for a response, or becomes both a verbal and adverbial (\\\e.i,'aoT\. Thus, "When will you go," implies, "Do tell me," or '■^Are you really go- ing, and, if so, when?" 76. The rising or falling inflexion may frequently be used indifferently on a question of this kind which is not ftiarked by emotional emphasis. lOO SENTENTIAL INTONATION. Rxample. " How do you do?'* ) \ " How do jou do?"^ \ or \ " What is it o'clock ?" \ / " What is it o'clock ?" The rising inflection is, however, more deferential than, the falling, and is that which would generally be used in addressing a superior, while the falling tone is that which the superior would probably himself employ. 77. It is to be observed also, that when a question of this kind, uttered with a falling inflexion, has not been distinctly apprehended, or, from any cause, is echoed by the person to whom it was addressed, it receives, in this repetition, the rising inflexion. Examfle. — " Whence arise these forebodings, but from the con- sciousness of guilt?" " fF//eKe« arise these forebodings i"' ) ,. ., . ,,,^.j / 1. {implying, " Did you. "From the consciousness oi guilt?" ( say?") This is generally the case also when w^e have not heard or understood with certainty the answ^er returned to our question, and consequently repeat the interrogative word. Example. — "When were you there last?" (^Answer not distinctly aj)prehended'). "When.'" {implying, "Will you oblige me by repeating that?") But if the feeling of the questioner is not of the apolo- getic kind, he may throw incredulity or authority into the repeated question. Thus, "When?" {implying, "Do you really make so improbable a statement?") or '■'■When?" {^implying, " Answer directly and without evasion.") 78. In all these illustrations we may trace the workings of the two simple fundamental principles of inflexion, — which, among many varieties of application, require no category of Exceptions. 79. In the following sentence, the elliptical questions, "yb?- ivho-m?" and '■'■for thee?" illustrate the two classes, of interrogations, — the former being equivalent to '■'■for SENTENTIAL INTONATION. TQI ■vjhom shall we break it?" and the latter to " shall we do so for thee?" "All this dread order break, — for whom? — for thee? Vile worm ! O madness ! Pride ! Impiety ! " So. Questions of two parts connected by the conjunc- tive or ^MJunctive particle '■'■or" importantly illustrate the two classes of interrogation. Thus : — "Are you go- ing to Liverpool or Manchester.^" — This, according to the mode in which it is read, will be equivalent to "Are you going to either of these places.?" or "To which of these places are you going.?" To convey the former meaning "Liverpool" and "Manchester" will be pro- nounced with the same or with only one accentual in- flexion, or with no accent ; and to convey the latter sig- nification they will be pronounced with separate accents and opposite inflexions. Questions of this kind, when the verb is the subject of inquiry, may be resolved into, '■'■Is it either?" and can be answered by yes or no ; and those in which the verb is not called in question may always be resolved into '■'■which is it?" and cannot be answered by yes or no. 8i . The mark of inteiTOgation ( }) is, in English punc- tuation, placed at the end of the grammatical period, but the interrogative sentence frequently terminates with a participial, or other subordinate sentence, or with a simile, and the interrogative inflexion should not be continued in such concluding member. Thus, in the two following passages, the questions virtually close at " es- teem" and " presence," and there the interrogative into- nation must end. " Would'st thou have that Which thou esteem'st the ornament of life, And live a coward in thine own esteem, — Letting ' I dare not ' wait upon ' I would,' Like the poor cat i' the adage ? " — Shakespeare. " Didst thou not think, such vengeance must await The wretch that, with his crimes all fresh about him. Rushes irreverent, unprepared, uncalled. Into his Maker's presence — thi-owing back With insolent disdain His choicest gift V—£>y. Po7-teous SENTENTIAL INTONATION. XVI. GOVERNING AND DEPENDENT WORDS. 82. Governing and dependent words should be united ; but when a word is at the same time dependent on what precedes, and governing to what follows, it should be separated from the former, to show its closer relation to the latter. 83. Also, when two or more words have a common relation to some other word, the former should be united among themselves, but separated from the w^ord to whicji they are equally related. Examples. We have done those things, We have done — those things which we ought not to have done. We forgive them. We forgive — them that trespass. He hath scattered the proud. He hath scattered — the proud in the imagination of their hearts^ To judge the quick. To judge — the quick and the dead. To confess our sins. To confess — our manifold sins and wickedness. And am no more worthy. And am no more — worthy to be called thy son. Distressed in mind. Distressed — in mind, body, or estate. XVII. SERIES. 84. When there are two or inore words, clauses, or sentences, in apposition — subjects, predicates or circum~ stances — they may be either compacted into a series — by rising inflexions, as in counting — or pronounced with independent inflexions, as if each stood alone in the sen- tence. The former mode of intonation exhibits most em- phatically the aggregate value of the serial members, and the latter gives them the greatest amount of individual emphasis. Sequences of words or clauses in apposition are only to be pronounced connectedly, when they seem . to require aggregation to convey the full import of the passage. SENTENTIAL INTONATION. 103 XVIII. RESUME OF THE LEADING PRINCIPLES OF SENTENTIAL INTONATION. 85. The general principles to be attended to in reading- are briefly and simply these : — Does the clause or sentence communicate the speaker's will or knowledge? if %o,fall; if not, rise. Does the clause or sentence appeal to the hearer's will or knowledge.? if so, rise; if not, fall. Is the clause or sentence dependent on some other to complete the sense } if so, give it connective or referential tones ; if not, pronounce it irrespectively of what follows, and with tones rising or falling in accordance with its own expressiveness. Is the subordinate sentence a necessary complement of the principal.? if so, give it corresponding modulative pitch, and connective or referential tones ; if hot, read it in a different pitch, and with independent inflexions. Are the items of the Series severally or collectively im- portant to the sense.? if the former, pronounce them with disjunctive inflexion, and subsequent pause ; if the latter, aggregate them by connective inflexion and correspond- ence of modulation. ^6>. Ordinary elocutionary Rules — especially those of the Series — render reading at sight impossible ; but, with such guiding Principles as the above, it is perfectly and effectively practicable. The voice has been shown to have a certain definite expressiveness in every movement, which may apply to any form of construction, according as the intent of the speaker requires the vocal effect. Rules for natural reading, then, cannot be founded on the grammatical forms of periods, or complete sentences, but on the inherent expressiveness of the vocal movements, and the independent or relative value of clauses. 87. Exercise on Sentential Inflexions. The following Exercise, including sentences of every variety, affords a convincing illustration of the governing force of Tones, and the independence of inflexion on grammatical construction. Each of these diverse modes 1D4 SENTENTIAL INTONATION. of delivering the very same words is, under certain cir- cumstances, appropriate and natural. Will you go. Will you go. Will you go. Will you go. Will you go. Will you go. Will you go. Will you go. Were you there. Were you there. Were you there. Were you there. Were you there. Were you there. <• ' Were you there. Were you there. Were you there. Were you there. Is it right. Is it right. Is it right. Is it right. Is it right. Is it right. Is it right. Is it right. Is it right. Is it possible. Is it possible. Is it possible. Is it possible. Is it possible. Is it possible. Is it possible. Is it possible. Is it possible. That is all. That is all. That is all. That is all. That is all. That is all. That is all. That is all. How do you do. How do you do. How do you do. Hovsr do you do. How do you do. How do you do. How do you do. How^ do you do. How^ do you do. Gone away. Gone away. Gone away. Gone away. Gone away. Gone away. Gone away. Gone away. No more. No more. No more. No more. No more. No more. No more. No more. No more. No more. Have patience. Have patience. Have patience. Have ^ . ^ ^ . v' patience. Have patience. Have patience. Have /\ patience. Have patience. The Christian's hope. The Christian's hope. The SENTENTIAL INTONATION. I05 Christian's hope. The Christian's hope. The Christian's hope. The Christian's hope is fixed. The Christian's V hope is fixed. The Christian's hope is fixed on heaven. The Christian's liope is fixed on heaven. He reads correctly. He reads correctly. He reads correctly. He reads correctly. He reads correctly when he likes. He reads correctly when he likes. He reads correctly when he likes. He reads correctly when he likes to pay attention. He reads correctly when he likes to pay attention. He reads correctly when he likes to pay attention. THE PRINCIPLES OF ELOCUTION, PART THIRD. MODULATION AND EXPRESSIVE DELIVERY. 1. Modulation has reference to the Pitch or "Key" of the voice, and to the expressive variations of Force, Time, and Quality. PITCH. 2. A change of Pitch is necessary to distinguish : I. Questions from answers. II. Assertions from proofs or illustrations. III. General statements from inferences, &c. IV. Quotations. V. A new division of a subject. VI. Changes of sentiment. VII. Explanatory and parenthetic matter. 3. The degree in which the pitch is changed, and, often, even the direction of the change, will depend on the reader's taste, judgement, temperament, &c. As a general rule, low keys are associated with solemnity, awe, fear, humility, and sadness ; and high keys with levity, boldness, pride, and joy. Violent passions nearly al- ways take a high modulation. 4. A harmony of modulation must be maintained be- tween syntactically related parts of a sentence — such as subject and predicate, verb and object, &c. — especially when they are separated by intervening clauses. 5. For directive notation in the exercises that follow, five degrees of Pitch are distinguished : a middle or " conversational " key (No. 3) ; and two keys respec- lo8 PITCH, FORCE AND TIME. tivel)' higher (Nos. 4 and 5) ; and two lower (Nos. 2 and i) . Thus — 5 high 4 . above ^ middle ■ below low Besides these numbers for absolute pitch, the follow- ing signs for relative pitch are occasionally used : — f . . . higher L . . . . lower FORCE. 6. Force is entirely different from Pitch. All varie- ties of Pitch may be accompanied by any degree of Force. Low keys may be vehement, and high keys may be feeble ; and vice versd. In notation, five degrees of Force are distinguished. Thus : — V Vehement E Energetic M Moderate W Weak F Feeble The following signs for relative force are also occasion- ally employed : — < . . . . stronger > . . . . weaker TIME. 7. A corresponding notation is employed for the Time or rate of utterance ; including a "common" or medium degree, and two degrees relatively quicker, and two slower. Thus : — R Rapid Q_ Quick C Common S Slow T Tardy The following additional signs for relative time may sometimes be found convenient : V . . . quicker /^ . . . slower EXPRESSIVE QUALITY. 109. 8. Simple narrative generally requires a medium Force and Time ; animated description an increase of energy and speed ; violent passions a greater increase ; and ten- der emotions a decrease. Pathos and solemnity require a slow movement. Subordinate clauses and sentences, parentheses, &c., are, generally, But not always, pro- nounced with less force and in quicker time than princi- pal members. 9. A great deal of pleasing and expressive variety may be produced by slight variations of Pitch, Force, and Time. Themusician'sconsummate delicacy of execution, in keeping the simple air running with a separate cur- rent in the midst of a river of variations, has its counter- part in the reader's vocal adaptation of sound to sense. The painter's artistic excellence in selecting objects to be " struck out " with varied effects, or " covered down " for contrast, is emulated by the skilful reader, in the due subordination or prominence of every thought and cir- cumstance, according to its relative importance. A Mas- ter of Ceremonies is not more punctilious in his arrange- ments than the voice of a tasteful and judicious reader. EXPRESSIVE QUALITY. 10. Under this head are comprehended such Expres-- sive Modulations as fundamentally affect the quality of the voice, or the mode of utterance, and enable the reader to " make the sound an echo to the sense." 1 1 . The most finely toned voice, with all the charms- of graceful and distinct articulation, will not suffice to make an effective reader, if there be not a constant cur- rent of SENTIMENT Streaming through the inflexions and articulate utterances. Speech, though chiefly mechani- cal, and therefore, — so far as articulation, force, time, and musical changes are concerned,— imitable by artificial contrivances, receives a higher and inimitable expressive- ness from the feeling of the speaker. There is a Vocal Logic ; a Rhetoric of Inflexion ; a Poetry of Modulation ; a Commentator's explanatoriness of Tone, — and these are combined in effective reading. Reading fails of half its proper effect, and of its highest purpose, if it do6s not fur- nish, besides a vocal transcript of the written language^ no EXPRESSIVE QUALITY. a commentary upon its sentiment, and a judgement upon its reasoning. Tlie language of Emotion must accompany every utterance that is naturally delivered. Yet how many merely mechanical speakers there are, whose voices know no thrill of feeling, and who throw off their tame mo- notonous oratory " coldly correct and regularly dull," nerveless, and passionless as automata. Let it be the ob- ject of the elocutionary student to awaken in himself a sympathetic sensibility with every utterance ; — to "learn to feel ;" — and to keep the fine-strung organs of expres- siveness in a state of delicate susceptibility. Let him make the language he reads his own, and always, in its delivery, "be in earnest." A simple system of notation, will be of great assistance in the formation of a habit of discriminating Expressiveness. 13. The following elements of Expressive quality will be found suflSciently to indicate the functional manifes- tations of nearly all passions. Abbreviations for notation are shown within parentheses. ELEMENTS OF EXPRESSIVE QUALITY. Qualities. Expressions. Whisper (Wh.) . . Secrecy, cunning, apprehension of evil, fearful suspense, &c. Hoarseness (Ho.) . Horror, loathing, agony, despair, &c. Orotund (Or.) . . Pomp, sublimity, vastness ; also bom- bast, self-importance, &c. Falsetto (Fa.) . . Puerility, senility ; also acute anguish, or overpowering mirth, &c. Monotone (Mo.). . Reflection, gloom, melancholy, awe, &c. Plaintive (PI.) . . Suffering, sympathy, desire, supplica, tion, &c. Tremor (Tr.) . . . Anxiety, alarm, eagerness, intense emo- tion. Chuckle (Ch.) . . Boasting, triumph, delight, sneering, merriment, &c. Staccato (St.) . . Recrimination, reproach, &c. ; also dis- tributed emphasis. Smooth (Sm.) . . . Admiration, tenderness, love, enjoyment, &c. Rhythm (Rh.) . . Regular movement, alternation, sugges- tion of inusic. Prolongation (Pr.) — Scorn, malignity ; also admiration, long- ing, &c. Restraint (Res. ) . Effect of distance ; also subdued passion, choking, &c. EXPRESSIVE QUALITY. Ill Straining (Str.) . Panting (Pan.) . Inspiration (In.) . Expiration (Ex.) Percussion (Per.) Hem (Hm.). . . Imitation (Im.) . Sympathy (Sym.) Apathy (Ap.) . . Warmth (Wa.) . Sarcasm (Sar.) . Break (...) Stop (/ts) . . Effect of difficult effort; also violent an- ger, &c. Perturbation, flurry, exhaustion, mental suffering, &c. Mental or bodily agony, apprehension of suffei'ing, &c. Sadness, sighing, sympathy in suffering, &c. Intensity of feeling, whether of joy or sorrow. Impatience, sneering, contempt, &c. Analogizing properties of sound or mo- tion, by degrees of Force, Time, &c. . also ridicule. Analogizing sentiments of gaiety, &c., by buoyant inflection; and of solemnity by subdued tones, &c. Inaccordance of expression with senti- ment; indifference, &c. Admiration, enjoyment, eagerness, an- ger, &c. Insiucerity, double meaning, &c. Reflective, monitory, hesitant, sugges- tive. Meditation, listening, anxious watchful- ness, terror, &c. 13. Explanatory Notes on the Preceding Expressive Qualities. Orotund : — A deep, full-throated, mellow voice. Falsetto : — A thin, shrill voice. Plaintive : — Inflexions limited to the semitone and minor third. Trf-mo • ^ The quality of tremor is common equally to I sentiments of sadness and joy. The inflec- p f tive intervals are in the minor mode for the HU KLi . J fQj.n;,g,.^ ^nd in the major mode for the latter. Staccato : — Pointed accentuation on every word or every syllable. Smooth : — Soft, flowing, slightly accentuated sound. Rhythm : — Equal pulsation of accent and remission. Prolongation : — Either of vowel sound or of consonant effect. Restraint : — The volume of voice checked at the throat. Straining : — Restrained voice with strong consonant pressure. Percussion : — Either of voice from the throat or of consonant breath. Hem : — A kind of snorting utterance. EXPRESSIVE QUALITY. 14. Recapitulative Table of the Notations for Inflexion, Pitch, Force, Time, and Expression. Pitch. Force. Time. 5 ■ High V Vehemence R Rapid 4 . . Above E Energy Q • . Quick 3 . Middle M Moderate c Common . Below W Weak s Slow I . Low F Feeble T Tardy r . Higher < . Stronger V . . Quicker 1 Lower > Weaker A . Slower 1 Clause . Break ns . . Pause Expression. Wh Whisper St . Staccato Ex . Expiration Ho Hoarseness Sra Smooth Per . Percussion Or Orotund Rh . Rhythm Hm . Hem Fa Falsetto Pr Prolongation Im . Imitation Mo Monotone Res Restraint Sym . Sympathy PI . Plaintive Str . Straining Ap . Apathy Tr Tremor Pan Panting Wa . Warmth Ch Chuckle In Inspiration Sar Sarcasm Simple. -Inflexion- Compound. Rise Fall Rise Fall Middle / .• V 'V :V \/ -v/ r\ Pitch / ./■ :/ V .V V /A^ y\ .r\ 15. The following collection of short expressive pas- sages, carefully marked for exercise, will enable the stu- dent to acquire an agreeable flexibility and effective modu- lation of the voice, and to cultivate the habit of suiting THE SOUND TO THE SENSE in reading. 16. The marking is to be considered merely as an EXERCISE. The same passages might be read, — and. EXERCISES IN EXPRESSIVE READING. II3 perhaps with equal effect — in a variety of ways. The notation simply illustrates one mode, which is at least effective and fully expressive of the sense and sentiment. 1 7- The preparatory pitch of syllables before the ac- cent is not indicated in the printing. It is always, how- ever, implied. Thus the introductory couplet in the first extract is to be read : — Not always actions show the man ; we find Who does a kindness is not therefore kind. EXERCISES IN EXPRESSIVE READING. ACTIONS. — Pope. Not always actions show the man ; we find Who does a kindness is not therefore kind : Perhaps prosperity becalmed his breast; V Perhaps the wind just shifted from the east : Not therefore humble he who seeks retreat ; Pride guides his steps, and bids him shun the great: Who combats bravely is not therefore brave. 28 v^ ^ He dreads a death-bed like the meanest slave : 4 .V 6 ^ Who reasons wisely is not therefore wise. His pride, in reasoning, not in acting lies. AMBITION. — Young. 3 , V Ambition, in the truly noble mind. With sister . . . Virtue, is for ever joined. V . In meaner minds. Ambition works alone, 2 St .V But [with sly art, | puts Virtue's aspect on. 3 No mask, in basest mind. Ambition wears. But, [in full light, | pricks lip her ass's ears. 114 EXERCISES IN EXPRESSIVE READING. AMBITION DISSATISFIED. — Toung. 3 Consult the ambitious, — 'tis ambition's cure ; "And is this all.'" cried Caesar, [in his height, IB ■■' Disgusted. AMBITIOISf REPENTED. BrOokc. 4 Oh ! that some villager, [whose early toil ./ Lifts the penurious morsel to his mouth | ^ • -S vy .\ Had claimed my birth ! ambition had not then 3 • • Thus stept 'twixt me and heaven. V V AMBITIOUS RIVALRY. — CoTUpcr. 3 V On the summit | see The seals of office glitter in his eyes ; 3 ., -v ^ 2 He climbs, he pants, he grasps them. At his heels. Close at his heels, a demagogue ascends. And I with a dext'rous jerk | soon twists him down, 4CA ^ Ex ^ ^ ^ And wins them, . . . but to lose them in his turn. \ ANCESTRY. — Alex. Bell. 3 If we must look to ancestry for fame. Let us at least deal justly with mankind. 4 ' .V Whv should we rake the ashes of the dead V .V For honours only.' why conceal their crimes.' 3 ^ V, ' We snatch our fathers' glories from the dust, And wear them [as our own : | Why should we seek .V To cover with oblivion | their shames .' The frailties of our sires [set full in view I If ^ v,^ Might teach their children modesty. EXERCISES IN EXPRESSIVE READING. 1x5 ANGER. — Baillie. Out upon thee, fool ! Go, speak thy . . . comforts To spirits tame and abject as thyself: i V, 2 Ho They make me . . . mad. AVARICE. — Pofe . Wealth in the gross is death, but life diffused ; [As poison heals, in just proportion used : In heaps, [like ambergris, | a stink it lies. But, -well dispersed, is incense to the skies. BEAUTY. — Ba illie . To make the cunning artless, tame the rude, • r Subdue the haughty, shake the undaunted soul ; i .V ■' Yea, put a bridle in the lion's mouth, St ■' .^ [And lead him forth as a domestic cur, — Wa .V These are the triumphs of all powerful beauty. \ ^\ BLINDNESS. Milton. Oh ! dark, dark, dark, famid the blaze of noon, | PI ^ ^ .V Irrevocably dark — total eclipse — Without all hope of day! | 4S Oh, first created beam, and thou, great Word. Or > V " Let there be light," [and light was | over all : | 4P! .V ^ , ^ Why am I | thus bereav'd thy prime decree .' CHARITY. — Rome. 3 .V Think not, the good. The gentle deeds of mercy thou hast done. Shall die forgotten all : the poor, the prisoner, V V The fatherless, the friendless, and the widow, Il6 EXERCISES IN EXPRESSIVE READING. LWho daily own the bounty of thy hand, | . V Per Shall cry to Heaven, and pull a blessing on thee. CHILDHOOD. 3 / .V The world of a child's imagination is the creation of a far holier spell I than hath been ever wrought I by the pride of learn- ^ ^ * V . /s, ing, or the inspiration of poetic fancy. Innocence that thinketh no evil ; ignorance that apprehendeth none ; hope that hath. ^ -v £ .V experienced no blight: love that suspecteth no guile; these are ^ -^ s^ -^ Wa its ministering angels ! these wield a wand of power, making this earth a paradise !/;^Time, [hard, rigid teacher! | Reality, [rough, stern reality! | World, [cold, heartless world! that ever your > ^ > Tr .^ sad experience, your sombre truths, your killing cold, your q Per ^ 3 ^ ^ ^ withering success, could scare those gentle spirits from their 2 holy temple! And wherewith do ye replace them ? With caution, 3 V -^ [that repulses confidence, | with doubt, [that repelleth love ; i with reason that dispelleth delusion ; with fear, [that poisoneth , S -^ enjoyment; in a word, with knowledge, — that fatal fruit, the , < -PI, tasting whereof, [at the first onset, | cost us paradise. COMMENTATORS. — Youjlg. / vr .V Commentators each dark passage shun. And hold their . . . farthing candle to the sun. CONTEMPT. — Byro7i. 4 .V 2Q Patience ! Hence, — that word was made For brutes of burthen, not for birds of prey ; — Preach it to mortals of a dust like thine, .\/ Bm .V ^ I . . . am not of thine order. EXERCISES IN EXPRESSIVE READING. II7 CORRUPTION. — Covjper. i Examine well His . . . milk-white hand ''s> the palm is hardly clean, But I here and there, an ugly smutch appears. IPer iE ..V 2 St ^ Foh ! 'twas a bribe that left it. He has touched Corruption. COURAGE. — Brown . The intent [and not the deed Is in our power ; and therefore, who dares greatly. Does greatly. COKFLICTING PASSIONS. — Shakesfeare. I pr'ythee, daughter, do not make me mad ! 3 STr , /^ I will not trouble thee ! my child, farewell ! St X ./ /^ We'll no more meet, no more see one another ! ■2 Par < ^ . . . . . > But yet thou art my flesh, my blood, ray daughter, -4S ..V • • ■ • • • Or, rather, a disease that's in my flesh — .V V Ho -K Which I must needs call mine ! thou art/TN a boil — ■v A plague-sore — an embossed carbuncle, ■ SFS V In my corrupted blood . . . But/TNl'll not/r\ chide thee : Let shame come when it will, I do not call it. Or .V •' I do not bid the thunder-bearer strike. Nor tell tales of thee to high-judging Jove : . . . iF , ^ Mend, when thou canst ; be better — at thy leisure ! V / -v DEFIANCE. Touilff. ■i y, .V .^ 3 Hire v" Torture thou mayst, but . . . thou shalt ne'er despise me. 2 The blood will follow where the knife is driven, The flesh will quiver where the pincers tear ; And sighs and cries [by nature | grow on pain : Il8 EXERCISES IN EXPRESSIVE READING. But these are foreign to the soul : not mine , ■/ The groans that issue, or the tears that fall ; They disobey me ! /^^ [On the rack | I . . . scorn thee. DESERT. — Shakespeare. Use every man according to his desert, and who shall escape whipping? Use them after your own honour and dignity : the less they deserve, the more merit is in your bounty. DESPAIR. — Maturin. The fountain of my heart dried up within me, — With nought that lov'd me, and with nought lo love,. V Hon I stood upon the desert earth . . . alone ; 2 S. Tr And [in that deep and utter agony, | [Though then, [than ever I most unfit to die, I I fell upon my knees, and prayed for death. DISCRIMINATION. — Ska kesfiea re. Ye are men .' Pr ^ ^ Ay, in the catalogue ye go for men ; As hounds and greyhounds, mongrels, spaniels, curSj Shoughs, water-rugs, and derai-wolves, are cleped All by the name of dogs : | the valued file Distinguishes . . . the swift, the slow, the subtle. The house-keeper, the hunter, every one According to the gift which bounteous Nature Hath in him closed ; whereby he doth receive Particular addition, from the bill That writes them all alike. EXERCISES IN EXPRESSIVE READING. II9 DISTINCTIONS. Human society requires distinctions of property, diversity of conditions, subordinations of rank, and a multiplicity of occu- pations, [in order to advance the general good. DISTRACTION. — Shakesfeare. You see me here, ye gods, a poor old man. As full of grief as age, wretched in both! iTr Pr y. You think I'll weep ; no, I'll not weep : — 2i' Per />. 4 / I have full cause of weeping ; but this heart r Shall /Ts burst into a hundred thousand flaws, .^ ..y Fa, 2 St I Or ere I'll weep — O Gods, I shall go mad ! DOMINION. — Milton. Here we may reign secure ; and, [in my choice, | ■•V To reign is worth ambition [ though in hell : Better to reign in hell than . . . serve in heaven. EMOTIONS. / .V / The emotions pervade every operation of the mind, as the life-blood circulates through the body ; within us and without, in the corporeal world and in the spiritual, in the past, the present, and the future, there is no object of thought which they do not touch ; there are few, very few, which they do not colour and transmute. ENERGETIC EFFORT. — Shakespeare. 3 _ Str I saw him . . . beat the surges under him, ■V 'v And ride upon their backs ; he trod the water, [Whose enmity he flung aside, [and breasted I20 EXERCISES IN EXPRESSIVE READIXG. -^ ilft ^ The surge most swollen that met him : his bold head , ^ Pr 'Bove the contentious waves he kept, and oared Himself with his good arms, in lusty strokes. To the shore, fthat [o'er his wave-borne basis J bowed V As stooping to relieve him. ENVY. — Byron. He who ascends to mountain-tops shall find The loftiest peaks most wrapt in clouds and snow : He who surpasses or subdues mankind, [Must look down on the hate of those below Though [high above, | the sun of glory glow. And [far beneath | the earth and ocean spread. Round him are icy rocks, | and loudly blow •\ ^ Sym Contending tempests I on his naked head ; And thus . . . reward ... the toils which to those summits led EVIL cojfsciENCE. — Dryden. SE -v y Str Here, here it lies : a lump . . . of/rs lead, I by dav: I ^ PI .V ^ I ■' V- ' ' And j in my short, distracted nightly slumbers I Ho Ex ■' ' The hag . . . that rides my dreams. EXASPERATION. — Baillie. 3 Tr ^ .V Oh! the side glance of that detested eye! That conscious smile ! that full insulting lip ! It touches every nerve ; it makes me . . . mad ! EXISTENCE. — Seiuell. 3 v/ -v To be, is better far than not to be, ^ /s [Else nature cheated us in our formation. i , Sm And when we are, the sweet delusion wears EXERCISES IN EXPRESSIVE READING. 121 Such various charms and prospects of delight, That what we could not will, we make our choice. [Desirous to prolong the life she gave. V EX-OFFICIO ENDOWMENTS. Toung. V V vr 'V AH soldiers, valour, |all divines have grace, •v St [As maids of honour, beauty, fby their place. EXPERIENCE. — Toung. 3 'Tis greatly wise to talk with our past hours ; And ask them . . . what report they brought to heaven ; And how they might have borne . . . more welcome news. SJf , -v ■' Their answers form what men Experience call ; 2 \/ s V If Wisdom's friend, her best, if not, worst foe. .\ FAITH. v/ Though faith be above reason, yet is there a reason to be given of our faith. He is a fool who believes he neither knows what nor why. FAME. — Toung. With fame [in just proportion | envy grows ; The man that makes a character makes foes. FIDELITY. — Maturin. Yea, time hath power upon my hopeless love ; 3 . ^ -v ■' And what a power, I'll tell thee : 2 S iSA -^ A power to change the pulses of the heart Far .^ To one ^rv dull /^ throb, of ceaseless agony — 3 a- -v , ^ To hush the sigh on the resigned lip • "v • And lock it in the heart, — freeze the hot tear, Fl -^ Per And bid it on the eyelid hang . . . forever : 4 M -v -^ Such power hath time o'er me. 122 EXERCISES IN EXPRESSIVE READING. FORTITUDE. — Byron. 4 The toi-ture ! you have put me there, already, Daily 1 since I was Doge ! I but \\i you will / 4Q -v 3 '^.v^ Add the corporeal rack I you may : these limbs Will yield [with age | to crushing iron, but There's that within my heart shall strain your engines. FORTUNE. — Tennyson. Turn, Fortune, turn thy wheel and lower the proud ; 3 ^ V '^ V Turn thy wild wheel [thro' sunshine, storm, and cloud ; Thy wheel and thee | we | neither love nor hate. / / • ' Turn, Fortune, turn thy wheel with smile or frown ; With that wild wheel we go not up or down ; Our hoard is littlej but our hearts are great. V GREATNESS. — Toung. V / ./\ "v High stations, tumult, [but not bliss I create : Kone think the great unhappy but the great. HEARTS. — Byron. Heads bow, knees bend, eyes watch, [around a throne, — And hands obey | our hearts . . . are still our own. HUMAN LIFE. — Cotuper. In such a world, [so thorny, and where none Finds happiness unblighted, for [if found, [Without some thistly sorrow at its side, || It seems the part of wisdom, and no sin St ' Against the law of love, to measure lots /^ . . "^ 2 With less distinguished than ourselves, that thus We may, with patience, bear our moderate ills. And sympathize with others, suffering more. EXERCISES IN EXPRESSIVE READING. 1 2^ HUMAN WRETCHEDNESS. — Southey. 3 As her bier •V * Went to the grave, a lark sprang up aloft, Pr S And soar'd amid the sunshine, caroling ■V , , Ex So full of joj, that [to the mourner's ear More mournfully than dirge or passing bell His joyful carol came rr\ and made us feel •V .-V That [of the multitude of beings, | none . . . Bx , Per But man . . . was wretched ! IF. — Shakespeare. I knew when seven justices could not take up a quarrel ; but when the parties were met themselves, one of them thought but •V 3 V ^ IPr of an If, as " If you said so, then I said so." " Oh, rrs did you 4 CA .^ V / /\ ^ so .'" — and they shook hands and were sworn brothers. V IMITATION. — Bla ir. 3 ^ Nothing is more natural than to imitate, [by the sound of the voice, I the quality of the sound [or noise I which any external \ * ^ ^ 3 ^ object makes, and to form its name accordingly. A certain bird 2 IS termed the Cuckoo, from the sound which it emits. When Itn ' "^ Im one sort of wind is said to . . . whistle, and another to . . . roar ; Pr Pr when a serpent is said to hiss, a fly to buzz, and falling timber Per Sm JS to . . CRASH ; when a stream is said to flow, and hail to rat- 4 ..V tle; the analogy between the word and the thing signified is, plainly discernible. /\ ingratitude. — Shakespeare. SPr .V -v , Blow, blow, thou wintry wind, PI , ^ Thou art not so unkind / V As man's ingratitude ; Thy tooth is not so keen, 124 EXERCISES IN EXPRESSIVE READING. [Because thou art not seen | Although thy breath be rude. Tr. Pr. -v ^ .V ^ Freeze, freeze, thou bitter sky, V < Thou dost not bite so nigh As benefits forgot : Though thou the waters warp .V Thy sting is not so sharp As — Friend remembered not. INSECT LIFE. — Anicricaji Paper. 3 -v / 4 V Insects generally' must lead a truly jovial life. Think what .^ ' '" ./ it must be I to lodge in a lily. Imagine — a palace /T\ of ivory and pearl /t> with pillars of silver and capitals of gold, and exhahng such a perfume as never arose from human censer. Fancy again, the fun I of tucking one's-self up for the night in the folds of a •^ iRh 5 V rose, rocked to sleep by the gentle sighs of summer air, nothing ' ' 3 to do when you wake but to Avash yourself in a dew drop, and Ch ,, ■' fall to eat your bedclothes. INTERROGATION. 4 3 " I have something more to ask you," said a young eagle | to a ■^ 4S ^ ^ learned, melancholy owl : '■ Men say | there is a bird, [by name Merops, | who, when he rises in the air, flies with his tail up- wards and his head towards the ground. Is that true i"' 2 Or 4 V :' " Certainly not," answered the owl, " it is only a foolish tra- ^^.v^3 ^ 2S dition of man ; he is himself a Merops ; for he would fly to /^ V lieaven, without | for a moment | losing sight of the earth." EXERCISES IN EXPRESSIVE READING. 1 25 KINGLY POWER. — Shakespeare. 3 .^ Per Oh, not a minute, king, thy power can give : i K, -^ / Shorten my days thou can'st [with sullen sorrow | / 1 St And pluck nights from me, but not lend a morrow : 1 "v / , ^, Thou can'st help Time to furrow me [with age, | 3 V ^ But st6p no wrinkle in his pilgrimage ; ■^ ^ v/ Thy word is current with him, for my death ; But, [dead, | thy kingdom cannot buy my breath. LAZINESS. — Hall. Laziness grows on people ; it begins in cobwebs, and ends ^ts in / iron chains. The more business a man has, the more he is able to accomplish ; for /^ he learns to economize his time. V LIFE. — Madden . 3 .V • /- I have tried this world [in all its changes. States, and conditions : | have been great, and happy. Wretched and low, and passed through all its stages, •IS .V .V ^ And, oil ! believe me, [who have known it best, | It is not worth the bustle that it costs ; 'Tis but a medley — all — of idle hopes And abject childish fears. LIGHTS AND SHADES. The gloomiest day hath gleams of light ; The darkest wave hath white foam near it; And — twinkles through the cloudiest night .\ Some solitary star to cheer it. %E 3 V The gloomiest soul is not all gloom ; The saddest heart is not all sadness ; 3 5m ■■'' And sweetly o'er the darkest doom / There shines some lingering beam of gladness. 126 exercises in expressive reading, lovers' studies. \J y / / To a lover, the figures, the motions, the words of the beloved .V v/ •object, are not, [like other images, | written on water, but, [as Plutarch said | " enameled in fire " and made the study of mid- night. LOVERS. — Sir R. Aytoun. Some men seem so distracted of their wits, /■ That I would think it but a venial sin, '^ To take | one of these innocents, that sit V .V Ch In Bedlam, | out, and put some lover in. ■/\ LUDICROUS DISTRESS. — Henry Mackenzie. I had — apiece — of rich — sweet pudding — on my fork, when Miss Louisa Friendly begged to /t\ trouble me for part of a pigeon ' e .V ^ , that stood near me. In my haste [scarce knowing what I did, | iS V ^ ^ In I . . . whipped the pudding into my mouth, f^ hot, as a burning •coal! It was impossible to conceal my agony; my eyes were 3S Pan .^ V starting from their sockets ! At last, [in spite | of shame and "V resolution, I I was obliged to ifs drop it\ the cause of my torment •on my plate. MAN. — Shakespeare. What a piece of work is man ! how noble in reason ! how infinite in faculties ! in form and moving how express and ad- mirable ! In action how like an angel ! in apprehension how like ^\ :a god ! MARTYRS. — Hemans. Oh ! be the memory cherished Of those [the thousands | that around Truth's throne Have poured their lives out, [smiling, rr\ [in that doom Finding a triumph, if denied a tomb! — EXERCISES IN EXPRESSIVE READING. 12^ Ay, with their ashes hath the wind been sown, ••A ^ S .., And [with the wind | their spirit shall be spread, Filling man's heart with records of the dead. METHOD. The man who does not know how to methodize his thoughts V V has always [to borrow a phrase from the dispensary, | a barren superfluity of words. MURDER. — Z>r. Porteous. One murder made a villain : •s 5 v/ ",*^ , Millions a hero. Princes were privileged To kill, and numbers ^rs sanctified the crime. MURDER. — Baillie. 3 .V PI ./ Twice it call'd, — so lojjidly call'd. With horrid strength, [beyond the pitch of nature; | And murder! murder! was the dreadful cry. | A third time /C\ it returned, [with feeble strength, V But . . . o' the sudden . . . ceased, rrs as though the words In -^ Str Were . . . smother'd . . . rudely ... in the grappled throatTs 4 And /T\ all ^Ts was still again, save the wild blast Which at distance growl'd — 2 Pi- .-v Oh ! it will never from my mind depart ! i Tr 2 That dreadful cry ... all i' the instant stilled. •V V PARISH COMMON. — EUza Cook. It glads the eye it warms the soul To gaze upon the rugged knoll. Where tangled brushwood twines across The struggling brake and sedgy moss. 128 EXERCISES IN EXPRESSIVE READING. Oh ! who would have the grain spring up ■ '^ Where now we find the daisy's cup? — Where clumps of dark red heather gleam / With beauty in the summer beam, — And yellow furze-bloom . . . laughs to scorn ■ •x Your ripen'd hopes and bursting corn ? . . . God speed the plough ! But let us trace <■ .V Something of nature's infant face; 3 V .^ St ^ Let us behold some spot [where man Has not yet set his " bar and ban," I Leave us some green wastes, [fresh and wild, I For poor man's beast, and poor man's child. PARTING. The true sadness of parting is not in the pain of separating j it is the when and the how you are to meet again | with the face V about to vanish from vour view. From the passionate farewell, to the friendly good-bye, a chord, stronger or weaker, is snapped , ^ 3 ^ ^, 4 asunder in every parting. Meet again you may; but will it be in the same circumstances.' with the same sympathies.' with the V IS same sentiments.' Will the souls now hurrying on in diverse .V / paths unite once more, as if the interval had been a dream? Rarely, oh, rarely. PRAYER. — N. P. Willis. 3S , V Oh ! when the heart is full — when bitter thoughts Come crowding thickly up for utterance, — Per V And the poor common words of courtesy 1 3E Are such a very mockery — how much The bursting heart may pour itself in prayer. EXERCISES IN EXPRESSIVE READING. 1 29 PROSPERITY. There is ever a certain languor attending the fulness of pros- 3 '^ .N ^ Im peritj. When the heart has no more to wish, it . . . yawns over its possessions, and the energy of the soul goes out, [like a flame that has no more to devour. REASONING. — Df. Toung. Bid physicians talk our veins to temper, And I with an argument | new-set a pulse : — Then think, [my lord, | of reasoning into love. REFLECTION. He that would pass the latter part of his life with honour and • V / *■ V decency, must, when he is young, consider that he shall one day be old, and remember when he is old, that he has once been young. RESULTS. 3 Scorn not the slightest word or deed. Nor deem it void of power ; There's fruit in each wind-wafted seed, ^\ [Waiting its natal hour : | No act falls fruitless : none can tell How vast its power may be ; Nor what results infolded, dwell V Within it | silently. RIDICULOUS DEFERENCE. — CoTUper. He would not, [with a peremptory tone, I ^ ■^ ^ Assert the nose upon his face, his own ; With . . . hesitation /^admirably . . . slow. He . . . humbly . . . hopes, rT\ presumes ... it . . . may be so. 9 130 EXERCISES IN EXPRESSIVE READING. SIGNS OF LOVE. — Dryden. I find she loves him much, [because she hides it. | Love teaches cunning even to innocence; ■■'■', , ^ And, wliere he gets possession, his first work Is to dig deep within the heart, and there Lie hid I like a miser in the dark, To feast alone. SLAVERY. — Brougham. 4 'v ■/ •^ ■/ Tell me not of rights — talk not of the property of the planter in his slaves : — I deny the right, I acknowledge not the property. 'v 'v '*■ The principles, the feelings of our common nature rise in rebel- .'^ lion against it. SPASMODIC EMOTION. — Baillie. 3 , Res y I felt^r\ a sudden tightness, /r\ grasp my throat . . . 2 As it would strangle me, . . . such as I felt, [I knew it well | some twenty years ago, Tr , When . . . my good father . . . shed his blessing on me : . . . 3Jir .V vr ■', 1 hate to weep, and so I came away. ■V STAIRS TO MARRIAGE. — Shakespeare. 3 «i ^ .^ h F *^ Your brother and my sister no sooner met but they . . . looked : K<1 J S ■^ u 3 J ' Ini no sooner looked but they loved ; no sooner loved but they . . . sighed ; no sooner sighed but they asked one another the reason ; £ ..y Ch M ■•- no sooner knew the reason, but they . . . sought the remedy ; and .^^ in these degrees they have made a pair of stairs to marriage. SYMPATHY. — 5. T. Coleridge. 3 v/ He that works me good | with unmoved face, 4 -v Does it but half: he chills rae while he aids, — 3 ./N .^ V My benefactor, [not my brother man. EXERCISES IN EXPRESSIVE READING. I3I SYMPATHY. — Shakesfeare. Thy heart is big : get thee apart and weep. ■•3S.i/m -^ J ^ ^ Passion, II see | is catching; for mine eyes, .'' '^ [Seeing those beads of sorrow stand in thine | Tr Begin . . . to . . . water. TEARS. — Byron. i -v Hide thy tears — I do not bid thee | not to shed them ; 'twere •\ Easier to stop Euphrates at its source, 3 -v -^ ^ y Than one tear | of a true and tender heart ; — -1 ,, Tr But ... let me not beiiold them, ^r\ they . . . unman me. TEARS. — W. E. Aytoun. 3 .^ Woman's weakness shall not shame me — 2 Why should I have tears to shed .' 4 ..V •'' Pur Could I rain them down like water, | / / O, my hero, on thy head — Could the cry of lamentation Wake thee from thy silent sleep, — Could it set thy heart a-throbbing rzs 2 .^ Pr It were mine to wail and weep. TIME. — Carlos Wilcox. 3 V v/ / / Time well employed is Satan's deadliest foe : ■V It leaves no opening for the lurking fiend : 3 .V Life it imparts to watchfulness and prayer, — Statues, without it, f m the form of guards. 133 EXERCISES IS EXPRESSIVE READING-^ TRUE COURAGE. Baillic. The brave man | is not he who feels no fear. [For that were stupid and irrational ; | 4Si ./ ^ But he, whose noble soul its fear subdues, v^ ' ^ And bravely dares the danger nature shrinks from^ 1 llm -^ V. As for your youth, whom blood and blows delight, iE -^ - 2 . .V Away with them ! there is not in their crew ■V One valiant spirit. •V V TEACHERS. * ■■\ ' ' ' ' Nothing stifles knowledge more than covering every thing- ^ 2 with a doctor's robe ; and the men who would be for ever teaching, are great hindrances to learning. THE FALLIMG LEAF. — Hemaiis. As the light leaf, I whose fall, to ruin bears • / Some trembling insect's little world of cares, | V < - - - - Descends in silence, [while around waves on E -^ The mighty forest . . . reckless what is gone ! — 2 Si 3 ^ ^ I Such is man's doom | and, [ere an hour be flown, f 1 V "> 3 -v , Its Reflect, thou trifler/T\ such may be thine own ! WISDOM OF THE DEITY. Dr. Dick. The astonishing multiplicity of created beings, the wonderful laws of nature, the beautiful arrangement of the heavenly bodies, the elegance of the vegetable world, the operations of animal life, and the amazing harmony of the whole creation,, loudly proclaim | the wisdom | of the Deity. EXERCISES IX EXPRESSIVE READISTG. 1 33 WIT. — Co-wper. Is sparkling wit the world's exclusive right — [The fix'd fee-simple of the vain and light? Can hopes of heaven, [bright prospects of an hour, ([That come to waft us out of sorrow's power, | Obscure, or quench ... a faculty, that finds Its happiest soil in the serenest minds .'/tv Religion curbs indeed its wanton way, And brings the trifles under rigorous svvay; But gives it usefulness funknown before, I And [purifying | makes it shine the more. A Christian's wit is inoffensive light, A beam that aids, but never grieves the sight; Vigorous I in age, as in the flush of youth, 'Tis always, | active on the side of truth; / .V Temperance and peace insure its healthful state, SI ^^ ^ And make it brightest at its latest date. WOMAN. — Barrett. Ask the poor pilgrim, [on this convex cast, — [His grizzled locks distorted in the blast, | — Ask him . . . what accent soothes, what hand bestows V The cordial beverage, garment and repose.' -^Wa "^ ^ O, he will dart a spark of ancient flame, 3 4£ And clasp his tremulous hands, . . . and . . . woman name ! fT\ ZM ^ s •^ Peruse the sacred volume : Him who died v/ ^ ^ Her kiss betrayed not, nor her tongue denied, -i ^ y .\ pi While even the apostle left Him to His doom. She lingered round His cross, and watched His tomb. THE PRINCIPLES OF ELOCUTION. PART FOURTH. EMPHASIS. I. GENERAL PRINCIPLES. 1 . As every word of more than one syllable has an ac- cented syllable, and every grammatical group of words has an accented word, so every sentence or association of grammatical groups has an accented or emphatic idea. Emphasis is to verbal and clausular accents what the accents themselves are to unaccented syllables. 2. Accent gives prominence to the leading syllables in words, or words in clauses ; emphasis gives prominence to the leading Idea, although it may be expressed by the most subordinate word in the sentence. 3. The leading idea in a sentence is almost invariably the new idea, and on the word expressive of this, what- ever its grammatical value, the accent or emphasis falls. 4. The primary words in sentences are the noun (the subject) and the verb (the predicate) ; and were clauses containing nouns and verbs with their adjuncts, separated from their sentential context, and pronounced as in a vocabulary, the clausular accents would fall on these parts of speech. Thus, A funeral note, A farewell shot, The struggling moonbeam. No useless coffin, Eagerly wished. Distinctly remembered. Greatly marvelled. No longer hesitating. If the noun or -verb preceded the qualifying word, the accent would probably be required by the latter, as it would then be directly suggestive of antithesis. Thus, 136 EMPHASIS. The moonbeam struggling, I Wished eagerly. No coffin useless, | Remembered distinctly. 5 . Nouns and verbs are the essential elements of sen- tences. A sentence may be complete with these alone, ■while no other parts of speech could make a sentence. 6. Next in grammatical value to nouns and verbs, are those words which qualify nouns and verbs, called adjectives and adverbs ; and next to these latter are those words which qualify adjectives and adverbs, called also adverbs, although they are adjuncts of an inferior class to SiAverbs proper. 7. Of the other parts of speech the article is of the same nature as the Adjective ; the Pronoun of the same nature as the Noun ; the Preposition of the same nature as the Adverb ; and the Interjection and Conjunction of the same nature as the Verb. 8. "We never speak but we say something" is an adage that is not merely sarcastic in its application. Every sentence says (or asserts) something, or asks something, or enjoins something ; but in connection with that something, much more is frequently added of an ex- planatorv or complemental nature. In conversation we feel what we wish to say, and we instinctively give prom- inence to the leading thought and subordinate the accessory parts of our sentences. On the printed page we have the whole of a sentence' before the eye at once, principal and accessory parts alike ; and in accordance with our view of the sense, we can, by varying the em- phatic relation of the accents, make the sentence express any one of half a dozen different thoughts as the prin- cipal idea. As in extemporary delivery our perfect knowledge of our own intention dictates the emphasis that best expresses our meaning; so, in reading, a clear perception of the author's aim, and recollection of w^hat has been said, suggests the emphasis that is expressive of the intended meaning. 9. In extemporary delivery wc do not pronounce whole sentences at a time, but clauses only ; and each clause, as it is pronounced, receives such a modification of stress, inflexion, and modulation, as marks its relation to the dominant idea. We must apply the same principle to EMPHASIS. 137 reading. Each clause contains a distinct idea, which might take the form of a separate grammatical sentence, and which is not so expressed only because its idea is subordinate to the principal thought with which it is as- sociated in the grammatical period. Clauses, then, should he considered as distinct assertions, appeals or injunc- tions ; and each should be pronounced with tones ACCORDANT w^iTH ITS OWN NATURE, merely modified as to pitch, force, time, and stress, in reference to the leading idea in the sentence. 10. Antithesis or contrast is involved in emphasis. We have seen that words, having a common accented syllable, as expulsive and repulsive, have the accent shifted to the syllable of difference when the words are used in contrast. So in sentences : the most important grammatical words will be pronounced without emphasis if the same words, or any words involving the same idea, have occurred in the context ; and the leading emphasis will be given, perhaps, to some words of the most subor- dinate grammatical class which, but for the previous im- plication of the more important words, would have been pronounced entirely without accent. 1 1 . The strongest emphasis is given to words that are suggestive of unexpressed antithesis. When antithesis is fully expressed, the first of the contrasted words will be emphatic only when it is new or antithetically sugges- tive in relation to the preceding context ; it is not em- phatic merely because an antithetic word follows. The second of the contrasted words must be emphatic, be- cause opposed to the preceding term. 12. To make the mode of applying the principle of Em- phasis perfectly clear, the best way will be to analyse a familiar piece of composition. II. EXAMPLE OF EMPHATIC ANALYSIS. lines on THE BURIAL OF SIR JOHN MOORE. — Wolfe. 13. At the commencement of a Composition everything is, of course, new; and the first subject and predicate will be emphatic unless either is in the nature of things im- plied in the other. 138 EMPHASIS. " Not a drum \ was heard, | not a funeral note \ As I his corpse | to the rampart \ we hurried." The subject " drum " will be accented and the predicate "was heard" unaccented, because the mention of a " drum " involves, in the nature of things, recognition by the sense of hearing. To accentuate " heard " would in- volve one of the false antitheses, " Not a drum was heard, " (because we were deaf) ; or, " Not a drum was heard, (but onlj seen or felt.) The second subject " note " will be emphatic because it is contrasted with " drum," and suggests the antithesis " not a note " (of any instrument.) " Funeral " is un- accented because pre-understood from the Title of the Poem. In the next line "as" will be separately accented, because it has no reference to the words iinmediately fol- lowing, but to the verb " we hurried. " " His corpse" will be unaccented, because a funeral implies a corpse, and there is no mention in the context of any other than "his." The principal accent of the line may be given to ' ' rampart " or " hurried ; " the former would perhaps be the better word, as it involves the antithesis, — "To the rampart, " (and not to a cemetery.) 14. In the next two lines, "Not a soldier | discharged his farewell shot \ O'er the grave | where | our hero | we buried," "Soldier "is implied in connection with " drum " and "rampart," and the emphasis w^ill fall on "shot," " discharged " being involved in the idea of " shot, " and ' ' farewell " being involved in the occasion to which " shot" refers — -a funeral. In the next line no word is emphatic, as a "grave" is of course implied. "O'er" is implied in the nature of things, as the shot could not be discharged render the grave ; " our hero " is the same as "his corpse;" and "we buried" is involved in the mention of " corpse " and "grave." 15. In the next lines, " We buried him | darkly | at dead oi night., \ The sods | with our bayonets \ turning, " EMPHASIS. 139 the first clause ■will be unemphatic, as the fact has been already stated. To emphasize "buried" would suggest the false antithesis " We buried him " (instead of leaving him on the battle-field.) "Darkly" and "at dead of night" convey the same idea ; the latter being the stronger expression will receive the principal accent — on " night ; " — and " darkly" will be pronounced parenthetically. " Turning the sods " is. of course, implied in the act of burying ; the word " bayo- nets, " therefore, takes the principal accent of the line, because involving the antithesis " With our bayonets, " (and not with spades.) 16. " By the struggling moonbeam's misty light. And the lantern \ dimly burning. " In the first clause, " moonbeam's " will be accented, and "misty light" unaccented, because implied in "the struggling moonbeam's." "Lantern" in the second line will take the superior accent of the sentence because, of the two sources of light spoken of, it is the more im- mediately serviceable on the occasion ; and " dimly burn- ing " will be unaccented, unless the forced antithesis be suggested, — " Dimly burning, "(as with shrouded light, to escape observation.) ly. "No useless coffin \ enclosed his breast; Not in sheet | nor in shroud \ we wound him. " Emphasis on " coffin, " because the word not only con- veys a new idea, but is suggestive of contrast : — "No coffin, " (as at ordinary interments.) No accent on " useless, " because it would suggest the false antithesis. " No useless coffin, " (but only one of the least dispensable kind.) "Enclosed his breast" without emphasis, because im- plied in the mention of "coffin. " Emphasis on "breast " would convey the false antithesis, (Not) " his breast, " (but merely some other part of his body.) "Sheet" and "shroud" in the second line express the same idea ; the latter being the stronger term, takes 140 EMPHASIS. the leading accent. " We -wound him " unaccented, be- cause implied in the idea of " shroud. " The tones in these lines should be rising, to carry on the attention to the leading fact of the sentence predicated in the next lines. 18. " But I he lay | like a warrior taking his rest. With his martial cloak \ around him." " But" separately accented, because it does not refer to " he lay, " which is of course implied in the idea of the dead warrior. To connect " but" with " he lay" would indicate the opposition to be, " But he lay, " (instead of being in some other attitude.) The reference is rather CIn " no coffin " or " shroud. ") " but " in " his martial cloak." In the simile that follows, no accent on " warrior, " be- cause he -was a warrior, and not merely was ' ' like " one. The principal emphasis of the whole stanza lies on "rest," which suggests the antithesis, (As if) " taking his rest" (and not with the aspect of death.) In the next line, the principal accent on " cloak ; " " martial " being implied, unless intended contrast could be supposed between his ''martial" and some other ■cloak ; and " around him " being included in the idea of a warrior taking rest in his cloak. 19. " Fe-w I and short \ were ihs. ^prayers \ we said, And we spoke not | a word of sorrow. " The principal accent in the first line will be on the suS- ject " prayers, " but the two predicates " were few, and short, " are also accented, because all the ideas are new ; the predicates are subordinate to the subject only because the latter is placed last. Had the arrangement been re- versed, the principal accent -would have fallen on the sec- ond predicate "short." Thus: — '* The prayers ^ve said were few and short. " No accent on " we said, " because implied in the nature ■of "prayers," unless intended contrast could be supposed between "said" and f/5a«^et!?, or other-wise uttered. In EMPHASIS. 141- the next line " spoke" being involved in " said, " will, be unaccented, unless the antithesis be suggested, " We spoke not " (though we had the feeling) "of sorrow ; " and "word" being involved in "spoke," will be unac- cented, unless the antithesis be suggested, (So far from making an oration) "we spoke not (even) a word." "Not" must be united accentually with the word " spoke, " as the negation refers to the verb, and not to the object " a word. " To say "We spoke | not a word," w^ould be nonsense. " Sorrow, " will be accented, un- less either of the preceding words is emphasized ; in the latter case "sorrow," would be unemphatic, because " spoke not (even) a word" would imply " of sorrow " as the feeling natural to the occasion. 20. "But I we I steadfastly | gazed \ on the face of the dead,. And I we bitterly thought | of the morrow. " The first four words will be separately pronounced, with the emphatic force on "gazed," which should have a falling turn because it completes the sense. "But" is sep- arated from " we" because it does not connect that with any other pronoun, but joins "spoke" with "gazed." The pronoun, adverb, and verb, might be united in one accentual group, but such an utterance of this clause would be too light and flippant for the solemnity of the sentiment. "On the face" without emphasis, as no contrast can be intended between face and any other part of the body; "of the dead" unemphatic, because implied. In the next line " and " should have a sepa- rate accent ; " we bitterly thought " may be united, with the accent on the adverb ; "thought" being implied in the " steadfast gazing" of thinking beings. In the last clause "morrow" will be accented, because it intro- duces a new idea. 21 . "We thought I as we hollowed his narrow bed. And smoothed down his lonely pillow, | That the foe | and the stranger | would tread o'er hisheadj And ive \ far away | on the billow. " 142 EMPHASIS. No emphasis in the first two lines, "we thought" hav- ing been ah-eady stated, and "as we hollowed and smoothed," &c., being implied in the making of a grave. The grammatical sentence is, " we- thought that the foe," &c. "Foe" and " stranger " are accented, but not em- phatic, as there can be no antithesis. Treading on the grave, whether by friend or foe, would be equally repug- nant to the speaker's feelings. The emphasis of the sentence therefore lies on "tread." The next clause must be unemphatic, as there can be no antithesis in- tended to "o'er" or "his" or between "head" and any other part of the body. " And we " will have the pronoun accented, because opposed to " foe," &c. ; "far away " will have the adverb accented because suggesting "Far away" (and not here to prevent the indignity.) The meaning is not " away on the billow" but " away " no matter where ; and "on the billow" is merely ex- pletive. 22. " But half] of our heavy task | was done | When the clock | struck the hour | for retiring. " Accent on " half" to suggest "But half" (and not the whole.) "Heavy" and "done" may be accented but not em- phatic. In the second line the emphatic force must fall on the expressive complement of the predicate, " for re- tiring, " because suggesting the antithesis, " For retiring " (and not indulging longer in our reverie.) 2'2. "And we heard | the distant | and random ^«« — That the foe \ was sullenly firing. " The first clauses unemphatic, because implied in " the clock struck, " which of course w^as also " heard. " The emphasis of this line lies on " gun, " which is antithetic to " clock." In the last line " foe " is emphatic, because antithetic to friend, understood as giving the signal for " retiring." 24. "Slowly I and sadly \ we laid him down From the field of his fame | fresh | and^o;-/." * In this sentence the subject " we," the predicate " laid him down," and the expletive clause " from the field of EMPHASIS. H3 his fame," are all implied in the occasion, and the ac- cents fall on " slowly" and "sadly," and on "fresh and gory," which latter arc comjolements of tlie object " him." The principal accent is on " gory" as the ■stronger of the two adjectives. The predicate includes all the words " laid him down from the field of his fame," which must be connectively read. A falling termination is necessary to disconnect the last clause from " fresh and gory, " which would otherwise seem to refer to •"field" or "fame. " 25. " We carved not | a. line, \ and we raised not | a stone. But I we left him j alone \ witli his glory." The accents in the first line will fall on "line" and " stone." The negatives must not be united with the objects but with the verbs. To read, "We carved | not a line " would be nonsense. In the second line "but" should be separately pronounced, because it does not refer to " we left him " which is implied as a matter of course, for even if they had raised a monument to mark the spot, they would equally have " left him." The meaning is equivalent to " We left him " (with no monumenlal tablet or cairn, but) "alone with his glory." The last are therefore the new and accented words. 26. " Lightly I they'll talk | of the spirit that's gone, And I o'er his cold ashes | upbraid him ; But I nothing \ he'll reck | if they let him sleep on | In the grave | where | a Briton \ has laid him." The emphasis in the first line falls on " lightly '' — the expressive complement of the common-place predicate " will talk," — antithesis being implied. Thus, " Lightly" (and not reverently as he deserves.) The subject "they" is used in the general sense of " people " and is unaccented ; " of the spirit that's gone" is implied in connection with the subject of the poem. " And " in the second line, must be separate, to discon- nect it from the expletive clause tliat follows; "up- 144 EMPHASIS ^REPETITIONS. braid " will be emphatic, as contrasted with the previous predicate, (Not only) " talk lightly " (but even) "upbraid." "But" in the third line, must be separate, to show the sense " notwithstanding " (these facts.) " Nothing he'll reck, " the first word accented, but the principal em- phasis on " he'll " to suggest the antithesis, " ^e'll reck nothing" (although we shall.) The only other emphasis is on " Briton, " w^hich is sug- gestive of an inference of pride in the nation whose chivalry will defend the hero's name and mortal remains from insult. III. REPETITIONS. 27. The only exception to the rule that the emphatic is always the new idea, is to be found in sentences which contain a repetition of an idea previously expressed. But the exception is more apparent than real, for the re- peated word will generally be found to be suggestive of an antithesis between the ordinary meaning and some special acceptation of the word or phrase. 28. When the repetition includes a clause or a sen~ tence, and not a word merely, the emphasis will be shifted to a different syllable at each repetition, or as often as may be practicable. Thus in the following lines from Dryden's Ode, " Alexander's Feast," Happy, happy, happy pair ! None but the brave, None but the brave, None but the brave Deserves the fair. In such cases as " happy, happy," &c., the accents can- not be shifted, and variety must be "given by change of tone. Either of the following arrangements would be effective. " happy happy happy pair;" or " happy happy happy pair." In such cases as " none but the brave,'' &c., w^here a READING EXERCISES. I45 clause is repeated, the accent may be shifted to a different syllable at each repetition. Thus, None but the brave, v None but the brave, None but the brave V Deserves the fair. 29. In the following series of short extracts the em- phatic words are indicated to the eye in further illustration of the Principle of Emphasis. [The student should ex- ercise himself in discovering the contextual reasons for the selection of the emphasized words, and also for the non-selecti'on of the other words.] Notations for Pitch and Clause are introduced in these Exercises. IV. READING EXERCISES. Marked for Emphasis, Clause, and Pitch. ADULATION. — Pope. 'At this — entranced — he lifts his hands and eyes — Squeaks like a high-stretched lute string — and replies : — '" O, 'tis the sweetest — oi all earthly things — To gaze on princes — and to talk of kings !" — ^Then — happy man who shows the tombs 1 — said I — 'He dwells amidst the royal family; — He — every day — from king to king can walk — Oi all our Harrys — all our Edwards talk — And get — °by speaking truth of monarchs dead — *What few can of the living — ^ease — and bread. age's SORROW. — Byron. *What is the tuorst — of woes that wait on age ? — 'What stamps the wrinkle deeper on the brow.' — °To view each loved one — blotted from life's page — 'And be alone on earth — 'as /am now. ANTIQUARIAN RAPTURE. — Toung. 'How his eyes languish — how his thoughts adore . . . That painted coat — which Joseph never wore ! 'He shows — on holidays — a sacred pin — *rhat touched the ruff—^ that touched Queen Bess's chin ! 146 READING EXERCISES. BATTLE ALARM.- -JSyrOK. 'Did ye not hear it.' — '^No — 'twas but the wind — Or the car rattling o'er the stony street; — *0« with the dance! — let joy be unconfined; — °No sleep till mor7i — when youth and pleasure meet — To chase the glowing hours with flying feet — ^But harkl — that heavy sound breaks in once more — ■"As if the clouds its echo would repeat— 'And Meare/", — clearer, — deadlier than before ! ''Arm! — arm ! — it is— it is the cannon's opening roar! BATTLE ARRAY. — Byron. — "It is a splendid sight — 'to see — "For one who hath no friend, no brother there — 'Their rival scarfs of mixed embroidery — Their various arms that glitter in the air! — "What gallant war-hounds — rouse them from thejr lair, And gnash their fangs — loud yelling for the prey! — '.(4// join the chase- but/eiv — the triumph share; — °The^?-az'C— shall bear the chief est prize away — 'And Havoc — ''scarce for joy can number their array. BEAUTY. — Hunt. "What is beauty? — ^not the show Of shapely limbs And features ; — no; — 'These are hutfio-wers — That have their dated hours — To breathe their transitory sweets — then ffo. "'Tis the stainless soul within — That outshines the fairest skin — And yields delights outlasting- beauty's glow. BEREAVEMENT. — Campbell. ^Hushed yve\-& his Gertrude's lips; — but still — their bland And beautiful expression — "seemed to melt With love that could not die ! — 'and still — his hand She presses — to the heart no more that felt. "Ah! heart — where once each yoK^f affection dwelt — And features — yet that spoke a soul — more fair! — 'Mute — gazing — 'agonising as he knelt. 'Of them that stood encircling his despair — He . . . heard some friendly words — but — '^kne-w not what they were. CLAIMS OF KINDRED. — 5cO^A 'The ,<;/oOT-hound — wakes the fox s lair — The grey-howaA — presses on the hare — The eagle — pounces on the lamb — The wo//"— devours the fleecy dam; READING EXERCISES. I47 ■•Even tiger fell — and sullen beat — Their likeness and their lineage — spare: — Man only — mars kind Nature's plan — And turns his fierce pursuits — on man. CONSTANCY. — Campbell. Thought ye^-your iron hands of pride — Could break — the knot that love had tied? No — ''let the eagle change his plume — The lea/its hue — ihe^o-wer its bloom; 'But — ties around this heart were spun — 'That could not — ■would not be undone. CONTEMPTUOUS FORTITUDE. — Byron. ^Have I not had my brain seared — my heart riven — Hopes sapped — name blighted —life's life —lied arft&y ! "And only not to desperation driven — Because — 'not altogether of such clay — As rots — into the souls of those whom I survey! COURAGEOUS DEFEAT. — Moore. 'The minstrel /«// — 'but — the foeman's chain- Could not bring his proud soul under; — 'The harp he loved — ne'er spoke again — For — 'he tore its chords asunder — 'And said — " 'No chains — shall sully thee — 'Thou soul of love and bravery! — Thy songs were made for the pure anifree — 'They shall nevet — sound in slavery ! " COURTIERS. — Wolcot. ^Low at his feet — the spaniel courtiers cower — Curl — wheedle — whine — paw — lick his shoe — {or power : 'Prepared for every insult — servile train — 'To take a kicking — and to fawn again. COWARDLY SURRENDER. — Butler. "Tis not the least disparagement — To be defeated by the event — ■ Nor to be beaten by rmdrvforce — 'That does not make a man the worse : — But — to 'turn tail and run away — 'And ■without blows give up the day — Or to surrender ere the assault— "That's no m2i.vi% fortune — 'but his fault. 148 READING EXERCISES. DEFIANCE . — Scoit. 'His back — against a rock he bore — And — firmly placed his foot before : — ■■"Come one, — come all! — "this rock — shall fly From its firm base — as soon as /." TiKSFAlK. — Byron. 'Loud sung the -wind above — and doubly loud — ■ Shook o'er his turret-cell the thunder cloud — 'And Jlas/ied the lightning by the latticed bar — To Aim — more genial than the midnight siar. ^ Close to the glimmering grate — he dragged his chain — 'And hoped— that peril — might not prove in vain. *He raised his ironed hand to heaven — ^vA prayed One pitying flash— to mar the form it made : — ''His chains and impious prayer — attract alike — The storm rolled OMw«/-a'— and disdained to strike; — °Its peal waxed fainter-^'ceased — ^he felt alone, 'As if some faithless_/>-2rarf had spurned his groan! DESPERATE CONFLICT. — Byron. '"One effort — one — to break the circling host!" They form — unite — V/^a^-^e/^'waver/TN'all is lost! ^Within a narrower ring compressed — beset — 'Hopeless — not heartless — ''strive and struggle j/e^.' ''Ah ! — now they fight in firmest file no more — Hemmed in — cut off — cleft down — and trampled o'er; — ''But — each strikes singly — silently — and home — 'And sinks outwearied — rather than o'ercome : — 'His last — faint quittance — rendering with his breath — Till/^the blade glimmers in the grasp of death. ERROR . — Prio r. 'When people once are in the wrong — 'Each line they add — is much too long; ^Who fastest walks — but walks astray — *Is ordy farthest from his way. FAME. — Byron. ■•What is the end — of fame ? — "tis but — to fill A certain portion of uncertain paper : — 'Some — liken it to climbing up a hill — Whose summit — like all hills — is lost in vapour. "For this — men write— speak — preach — and heroes kill — And bards — burn what they call their " midnight taper"- 'To have — when the original is dust— A name — a wretched picture — and worse bust. READING EXERCISES. I49 GREED OF PRAISE. — Goldsmith. 'Of praise a mere glutton — he swallowed what came — ■"And — the pufF of a dunce— he miscounted for fame — Till — his relish grown callous almost to disease — ^Who pep;pered the highest — was surest to please. HOPE PERSONIFIED. — ColtinS. ^But thou — O Hope — with eyes so fair — What was thy delighted measure.' — 'Still — it whispered /ro^n/.serf pleasure — And bade the lovely scenes — at distance hail 1 ''Still would her touch the strain ^;'o/o«^ — And— from the rocks— the woods— the vale — ■•She called on Echo—st\\\ — through all her song — 'And — where her sweetest theme she chose — A soft responsive voice /^^ was heard — at every close — ■■And Hope enchanted — smiled — and waved her golden hair. HUMAN ENJOYMENTS. — Pofe. 'Behold the child— \>y Nature's kindly law Pleased with a rattle — tickled with a straw, — ^Some //t;«/i>?- 'plaything — gives \n?, youth delight — 'A little louder — but as empty quite ; — 'Scarfs — garters— ^o/rf— amuse his riper stage; °And beads and^/'«yer-books — are the toys of age; — 'Pleased with this bauble still — as that before — Till — tired — he sleeps /^\2i.i\& life's ^oox play — is o'er. HUMAN KNOWLEDGE.— Po/e. 'When the proud steed— fihzW hnoiu — '^■why — man restrains His fiery course — or drives him o'er the plains ; — - 'When the dull ox — 'why now he breaks the clod — Is now a victim — and now — Egypt's god; — 'Then — shall man's pride and dulness — comprehend His actions' — passions' — being's— use. and end; 'Why doing — suffering; — checked -impelled; — 'and why — This hour a slave — the next — a deity. HUNTING. — 'T^ay. The jocund thunder - wakes the enlivened hounds — They rouse from sleep — ''and «?«5wc/'— sounds for sounds; — The tuneful noise the sprightly courser hears — 'Paws the green turf — and pricks his trembling ears : — 'The slackened rein — now gives him all his speed — 'Back^KS the rapid ground beneath the steed; — Hills — dales — and forests — far behind remain — 'While the warm scent— draws on the deep-mouthed train. 150 READING EXERCISES. INDIGNATION. — Wolcol. ^Ungrateful scoundrels ! — 'eat my rolls and butter— 'And dafing- thuf, their insolences mutter! — "Swallow my turtle and my beef by pounds — And tear my ven'son like a pack of hounds — * Tet -have the impudence — the brazen face — To say — I am not fitted for the place ! KING LEAR. — Hood. 'A. pool — oW— king, — with sorrow for my crown, — Throned upon sira-w— and mantled with the mind — For pity — my own tears have made me blind — *That I might never see— my children's frown ; 'And mayhe— madness — like a friend — has thrown A folded fillet over my dark mind — '•'So that unkindly speech — may sound — for kind: — 'Albeit — I kno-cV not. — I am childish grown — And have not gold — \.o pin-chase wit withal — ■■I — that have once maintained most royal state — A very bankrupt now — 'that may not call My child— vny child ! — 'all beggared — ^save in tears — ^Wherewith I daily weep an old man's fate — Foolish — and blind— and overcome with years. LANDING OF AN" ARMY. — Scott. 'It was a dread — yet spiritsWrrm^ sight! — 'The h\\\ovis^foamed beneath a thousand oars ; — 'Fast as they land— the red-cross ranks unite — Legions on legions brightening all the shores. ■"Then banners rise — and cannon-signal roars; — Then peals the warlike thunder of the drum — Thrills the loud fifie— the trumpet - flourish pours — ^And patriot hopes awake — and doubts — are dumb — For— bold in Freedom's cause — the bands of Ocean — come, LAW. — Pope. 'Once — 'says an ?L\x\h.Qr — tvhere I need not say — 'Two travellers — found an oyster in their way : 'Both jfierce — both hungry— the dispute grew strong — 'While- scale in hand— Dame Justice —•pas.&e.A along. Before her— 'eac// with clamour pleads the laws — Explained the matter — and Avould win the cause. 'Dame Justice— xye2]^/^/»^ long the doubtful right — Takes— opens ^^ 's-wallo-ws it before their sight. /Tn 'The cause of strife— removed so rarely well — " There- -take—" says Justice — " take you each — a shell; — 'We thrive at Westminstet — on fools like you — "Twas a. fat oyster — 'live \n peace — adieu," READING EXERCISKS. 151 LEADERSHIP. —Byron. "What is that spell— that — with commanding art — Still dazzles — leads — yet chills the vulgar heart? What should it be — that thus men's faith can bind?/T\ *T\\e power of thought — the magic of the mind! This — with iacre.w — assumed and kept with skill — ^Moulds ever — human weakness to its will. "Such hath it been — shall\>e. — beneath the sun: — "The many — still must labour for the one! 'Tis Nature's doom :/r\^but — let the wretch who toils — Accuse not — hate not — him who wears the spoils ! ''Oh ! — if he kne-w—Vn& -weight of splendid chains — 'How light — the balance of his humbler pains ! MISDIRECTED EFFORTS. — Svjift. "^Brutes — find out where their talents lie : — 'A bear — will not attempt tojly; — A foundered horse — will oft debate Before he tries a five-barred gate ; A dog — by instinct turns aside — Who sees the ditch too deep and wide : — ■"But mail — we find the only creature — Who — led by folly — combats nature — And — "where his genius least inclines— ^Absurdly — bends his whole designs. MISFORTUNES. — Toung. ^Oh ! raox\.2.\&— short of sight— who think— the past O'erblown misfortune — still shall prove the last : — °Alas ! — misfortunes travel in a train — And oft in life form one ferfetual chain. ^Fear buries fear — and ills on ills attend — Till — "life and sorrow — meet one common end. MUSIC AND LANGUAGE. — Moore. "Music ! rrs oh ! — 'how faint — how weak — Language— fades before thy spell ! — "Why should feeling e-uer speak — "When thou canst breathe her soul so well.? ^Friendship's balmy words — ma.y feign — "Love's — are even more false than they ; — ^Oh ! — 'tis only — "music's strain — "Can sweetly soothe — Vnd not betray ! OUTCRY. — Pope. "Then flashed the. living lightning from her eyes — 'And screams of horror rend the affrighted skies — 152 READING EXERCISES. 'Not louder shrieks to pitying heaven are cast — ■•When husbands — *or when lap-dogs breathe their last- Or — when rich china vessels — fallen from high — ^In glittering dust and painted /ragmeuis lie. PATRIOTIC RESOLVE. — Camfbell. *Oh ! Heaven! — he cried — my bleeding country save! Is there no hand on high— to shield the brave .'.ts 'Yet — though destruction sweep these lovely plains — 'Rise — fellow men! — our country yet remains ! — "By that dread name — we wave the sword on high — *And stuear rrs for her to live — -with her — to die. PEASANT LIFE. — Goldsmith. *Ill fares the land — to hastening ills a prey — "Where -wealth accumulates^and tnen — decay; — "Princes and lords — may flourish or ma.y fade — A breath can make them — as a breath hath made; — ^But — a \)0\6. j}easantry — "their country's pride — When once destroyed — ''can never be supplied. POWER OF MUSIC. —/'o/e. "By music — minds — an equal temper know — Nor swell too high— nor sink too low : "If — in the breast — tumultuous joys arise — "Music — her soft assuasive voice applies ; — "Or — when the soul is pressed with cares — Exalts her — in enlivening airs. ^Warriors— z\it fires with animated sounds — "Pours balm - into the bleeding /ozie?-'^ wounds : — ^Melancholy — lifts her head — Morpheus — rouses from his bed — Sloth — unfolds her arms and wakes — ^Listening Envy — drops her snakes. "Intestine wars — no more — our passions wage — And giddy factions — hear a-way their rage. PRECEDENTS. — CoiVper. *To follow iooWih precedents — and -wink With both our eyes — "is easier — than to think. RETROSPECTION. — Moore. ^As — slow — our ship — her foamy track Against the wind was cleaving — Her trembling pennant — still looked back — To that dear land 'twas leaving — READING EXERCISES. 153 *So — loath 7ve part from all we love — From all the links that bind us — So turn our hearts — 'where'er we rove — To those we've left behind us. SECOND-HAND FAME. — Young. 'He stands for fame — on h.\& forefathers' feet — By . . . ^heraldry — proved valiant or discreet! SEPARATION. —il/0£»-e. "A boat — ''at midnight sent alone — To drift upon the moonless sea — 'A lute — ^whose leading chord is gone — 'A wounded bird — "that hath but one Imperfect wing — to soar upon — ■•Are like ^r\ Vhat / am — Vithout tkee. SHIPWRECK. — Byron. Then rose from sea to sky — the wild farewell — Then sirieiedthe timid — and stood still — the brave — Then some leaped overboard — with dreadful yell — ''As eager to anticipate their grave — ^And the se.'S. yawned around her — like a hell — And doiun she sucked with her the whirling wave — ^Like one who grapples with his enemy — And strives to strangle him — before . . he die. 'And first — ^one universal shriek there rushed — ^Louder than the loud ocean— \\\i& a crash Of echoing thunder — "and then /t\ all <^ 'was hushed — ■ 'Save the wild wind — and the remorseless dash Of billows ;— ■'but /^ at, intervals /TN there gushed — Accompanied with a convulsive splash — "A solitary shriek — the bubbling cry Of some strong swimmer — in his agony. SLEEP. — Byron. There lie — love's feverish hope — and cun?ting's guile — Hate's woi'king brain — and lulled ambition's wile;^ — "O'er each vain eye — 'oblivion's pinions wave — And quenched existence — crouches in a grave. 'What better name — may slumber's bed become? Night's sepulchre — the universal home — "Where weakness — strengtti- -vice— virtue— sunk supine — ^ Alike— in naked helplessness recline ; — ^ Glad— tor awhile to heave unconscious breath — 'Yet wake — to wrestle with the dread of death. — "And shun — though day but dawn on ills increased — 'I'hat sleep — the loveliest— since it dreams the least. 154 READING EXERCISES. SOLITUDE. — Byron. ^To sit on rocks — to muse o'er flood and fell — To slowlj' trace t\\& forest' s shady scene — Where things that own not man's dominion — dwell — And mortal foot hath ne'er — or rarely been ; — 'To climb the trackless mountain — all unseen — • "With the wild flock that never needs a fold ; - Alone— o'er steeps and foamingy«//.« to lean ;^ 'This -is not soliiiide ; — ^'t\& but to hold Converse with nature's charms — and view her stores unrolled. 'But — midst the crowd-the hum — the shock of men — To hear— to see — to feel — and to possess — 'And roam along - the world's tired denizen — '^With none who bless us —none whom ive can bless — 'Minions oi splendour — shrinJiingirom distress! 'None — that — with kindred consciousness endued — 'If we were «o^— would seem to senile the less — ^Oi all— t'a&t flattered — {o\\o^Ke.& —sought and sued — ''This — is to be alone; — this — this — is solitude. SOUNDS OF AN ARMY. — Moore. 'Hearken ! — what discords now, — of every kind "Shouts, laughs, and screams —are revelling in the wind I — 'The neigh of cavalry — the tinkling throngs Of laden camels — and their drivers' songs; — 'Ringing of arms — and flapping in the breeze — Of streamers from ten tliousand cz.x\o^i^%; — 'War-m; ^■icr^ J / .J^ ^M/ 3 Explanation. No. I. A turn on the ball of the foot from the position indicated by the black feet. No. 2. A turn on the heel from the same position. No. 3. Preparatory shift for turning to the opposite side. 58. When the right foot is in front, these turns can only be made to the left ; and when the left foot is in front the turns can only be made to the right. A circle may be traversed, as an exercise, by shifting one foot after each turn. The circle will be completed in four turns on the heel, or eight turns on the ball of the foot. When the feet are separated by the breadth of a foot the positions are noted : Right foot in front. Left foot in front. R I Li R 2 L 2 When the feet are separated by the length of a foot the positions are noted : — R3 L 3 R 4 L 4 When the feet are more widely separated the positions are noted : — R5 L5 R 6 L 6 In these notations the weight of the body is on the retired foot for the odd numbers (i, 3, 5) and on the ad- vanced foot for the even numbers (2, 4, 6). NOTATION OF GESTURE. Vertical and Transverse Motions of the Arms. 187 59. Either ai-m may move with grace to the extent of a SEMI-CIRCLE, both vertically and horizontally. For NOTATION, five points are selected — the extremities of the semi-circle, the middle., and a point intermediate to the middle and each extreme. 60. The extremities of the vertical semi-circle are the zenith and the nadir (marked z and n) ; the middle point is the horizontal {h) ; and the other intermediate points are : — elevated half-way to the zenith (e) , and downwards half-way to the nadir {d) . When the arm hangs at rest, it is of course directed to the nadir. The notation N is used to distinguish the rest position from ihe £'csture, n. 61. The extremities of the transverse semi-circle are : — the arm across the 3oc/)/ (c), and backward about 30 degrees (J)) : the other points are : — the arm extended in a line with the shoulders {x) ; projected m front of the body (_/") , and directed obliquely between the front and the extended positions {q) . The diagram illustrates these notations : 1 88 NOTATION OF GESTURE Gyaccful and Passionate Transitions. 62. Gestures would be disagreeably angular if the most direct line of transition from point to point were fol- lowed by the arms. A preparatory movement is there- fore made, in the opposite direction, before any impor- tant gesture. 63. In unimpassioned delivery the preparatory move- ment may be sweeping and varied, for graceful effect. 64. In strong passion the preparatory movement will be direct and simple, but extensive, and the lines of the accentual gesture bold and straight. IX. GENERAL SCHEME OF NOTATION FOR ATTI- TUDE AND MOTION. 65. I. The Feet., Lower Limbs, and Trunk. (Notation placed below the linej. Ri; R2; R3; R 4; R5; R6;1„ „, Li; L2; L3; L 4; L 5; L 6. | See p. 1S6. ad. ..advancing sh .. shaking -(-...standing with one re... retiring wlc... -walking foot across the other r stepping to right kn.. kneeling up. ..body drawn up, 1 stepping to left bw.. .bowing as in pride st — starting crt... curtseying dn...body sunk down, sp ...stamping as in languor Note. — I. The right foot is in front for the R series, and the left, fir the L se- ries. The weight of the body rests on the foot in front for all the e-uen numbers, and on the reiir ed iootior the £7^df numbers, II. A small number should be prefixed to the notation for advancing , retiring, stepping to the right, or to the left, when more than one step is to be made. Thus ^ad, advancing two steps, ^re, retiring three steps. €>G. The Arms. (All the subsequent notations placed above the line.) ■i. ...pointing to the zenith c. .directed across the body e...elevated45°above the horizon f... " forwards h... horizontal q... " obliquely 45°fromf d.. .downwards 45° below the x... extended in the line of the horizon shoulders n... pointing to the nadir b... directed backwards N (nadir) . the arm hanging at rest. pp... .preparatory movement de descending con. ..the arm contracted r moving to the right exp... " " expanded 1 moving to the left as ....ascending pj the arm projected NOTATION OF GESTURE. 1S9 bk....the arm drawn back wv waving rb .... rebound from anyposition w lying close to the waist to the same again si slow motion dr the arms drooping qk quick motion fd the arms folded ^-^(or oc) over curve kim...k kimbo ^-'(^or uc) under curve shr... .shrinking ouc or uoc... serpentine tr tremulous 67. ni.— TAe Hands. nt ...naturally opened sh shaking s supine, (palm upwards) ch clinched p prone, (palm downwards) str... striking o palm outwards gr grasping i palm inwards in... .moved inwards, as in invi- v raised vertically tation do. ..turned downwards ou moved outwards (from the ix.... indexing or pointing wrist) rv ...hands revolving ap ...both hands applied palm to pal. ..striking the left palm with palm the right forefinger or hand tip. ..fingers of both hands cr hands crossed spread and applied tip to tip cl.... hands clasped en. ..enumerating (the right wr.... hands wrung forefinger touching succes- clp... clapping sively the left finger tips) Note. — I, When the left hand or arm is meant, a line is prefixed to the sym- bolic letter. Thus; — d q signifies LEFT "KA^D, doumwards, oblique. II. A C(7/(7« is placed between any two sets of letters that refer to the different hands. Thus— d q : 2, signifies LEFT HAND, doiunwards , oiliq-ue, and RIGHT YiK^Vl pointing to the zenith : d q :— N signifies RIGHT HAND domniua-rds , oblique, LEFT HANVyizlling to rest. The several symbols are separated from, each other by spaces or points. III. A small ^ prefixed to the notation will indicate that both hands perform the same motion, IV. Alternation is denoted by the letter a. A number prefixed shows how rften the alternation is repeated. Thus h c^^q =*a, signifies right hand horizontal, across the body, whence overcurvedto the oblique position ; — the left hand alter- nately with the right , performing the same motion twice to the opposite side. The notation a a may be used for again and again. V. Imitative ^^sinres are expressed by the general symbol im. 68. IV. — Parts of the Body on tvhicjt the Hands may be placed. He ...hand on head Ck hand supporting cheek Fo.... " forehead ~ Te " temple Ey.... " eyes Mo... " mouth Li... .finger on lip Note. — A small * prefixed to either of these will denote both hands. ^Ey signifies both hands on the eyes; ^Bk, both hands behind the back. Cn... chin Br.... *' on breast Bbr... " beating the breast Bk.... " behind the back 190 NOTATION OF GESTURE. 69 . Y.—T/te Bead and Face. B.... .head thrown back Ts.. ..head tossing Cr... . " crouched Sh. . " shaking I .. " inclined to one side Nd. . " nodding 11.... . " " to left Av. . " averted from the di- Ir.... . " " to right 1 ection of the gesture H... . " hanging down Sm .a smiling countenance Fr... .frowning F... .eyes looking in front Lu.. . lugubrious Ar. " around Lau. ..laughing As. " askance Lf... .eyebrows lifted St.. .staring Dp.. " depressed We. ..weeping Kn. " knitted Wi. ..winking R.... .eyes looking to the right V... .eyes fixed on vacancy L " " left CI.... " closed U " "upwards Mr... " measuring (See par. 5) D " " downwards No. ..nostrils turned up Pt lips pouted O mouth open Bt " bitten Gn... teeth gnashed Cp.... " compressed X. ORDER OF SYMBOLIC ARRANGEMENT. 70. The symbolic letters being in all cases different, no confusion could arise whatever order of notation might be adopted ; but when several letters have to be em- ployed, the following order should be observed, as more convenient than a random arrangement. 71. Y\a.ce. first the notation of the veriicai situsLtion of the arm (z e h d n) ; then of its transverse direction (c f q X b) ; next of the manner of presentation or mo- tion of the hand; and the other symbols in the most con- venient order. 72. The notations of the " Parts of the Body on which the Hands may be placed," and of the Expressions of the " Head and Face," are in Capital letters; all the others (w^ritten above the line) are in .jwza// letters. 73. The compound symbols will be easily remembered, as they generally suggest at once the words of which they are contractions ; but the sing-le letters directly tax the memory. For convenience of reference, all the symbols written above the line are collected in the following Rccajiitulative Table of Symbolic Letters: ii alternation ad advancing aa again and again ap applied NOTATION OF GESTURE. 191 as ascending b backward bk drawn back bw bowing c across ch clinched cl clasped clp — clappinE^ con ....contracted cr crossed crt curtseying d downward de descending dn sunk down do turned downwards dr drooping c elevated en enumerating exp... .expanded f forward fd folded gr grasping h horizontal inward n moved inwards X indexing kim....a kimbo kn kneeling l........to left n to nadir nt naturally o outward oc over-curve ou moved outwards ' ouc....over and under-curve p prone pal striking palm pj projected pp preparatory q oblique qk quick r to right rb rebound rv revolving s sXipine sh shaking shr shrinking si slow sp stamping st starting str striking tip tip to tip tr tremulous uc under-curve uoc ...under and over-curve up drawn up v vertical w to waist wk ... .walking wr wringing wv waving X extended z zenith Ar looking around As " askance Av eyes averted B head back Bbr ...beating breast Bk hands behind back Br " on breast Bt biting lips Ck hand on cheek Cl eyes closed Cn hand on chin Cp lips compressed Cr head crouched D eyes down Dp eyebrows depressed Ey hand on eyes F looking in front Fo hand on forehead Fr frowning Gn gnashing toeth H head hanging He hand on head I head inclined II " " to left Ir head inclined to right Kn brows knitted L looking to left Lau ...laughing Lif. eyebrows lifted Li hand on lip Lu ....lugubrious Mo ....hand on mouth 192 NOTATION OF GESTURE. Mr ....eyes measuring St staring No ....nostrils lifted Te hand on temple Nd nodding Ts tossing head O mouth open U looking upward Pt pouting V vacant aspect R looking to right We ....weeping Sh shaking head Wi ....winking Sm... .smiling 74. The following passages are marked, as Exercises in the Notation. The subject does not require length- ened illustration. Gesture should not be made too studied, or rigidly systematical ; freedom — the chief characteris- tic of grace — would be destroyed in the attempt to follow a minutely directive notation. Let every motion be in itself expressive and graceful, and scope may be left for spontaneity of application. XI. ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE NOTATION OF GESTURE. MACBETH TO THE DAGGER-VISION.— S^a^e-t/eare. h q p shr Is this a dagger [which I see before me .' — St R3 pj gr The handle towards my hand ? — Come, let me clutch thee : — R4 L2 r R2 h q s St I have thee not ; — and yet I see thee still ! Ri Dp opj Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible R3 ix To feeling as to sight.' — or art thou but Ri rb A dagger of the mind .' — a false creation F Proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain .''/^ eq I see thee yet ; — in form as palpable R2 Im As this which now I draw. — he... to q si — ix Thou marshal'st me the way that I was going; L3 NOTATION OF GESTURE. I93 — pp — e q And/T\such an instrument I was to use. Ri Sh^h con -pj'^d Mine eyes are made the fools o' the other senses, Li L2 qkcl eq qk-hqix Or else worth all the rest : — I see thee still ! Li R2 L3 — V as — h q con — pj h q — c Anderson thy blade and dudgeon, gouts of blood . . . L5 — w Which was not so before ! — Ra Ar h q y Sh There's no such thing : — Li Kn ch Bbr — e q It is the bloody business, which informs L3 — rl .. N Thus to mine eyes. Now o'er the one-half world Ri Nature seems dead, and wicked dreams abuse The curtained sleep. Now witchcraft celebrates R2 Pale Hecate's offering, and withered murder Alarumed by his sentinel the wolf Ri Whose howl's his watch, thus, with his stealthy pace, R2 With Tarquin's ravishing strides, toward his design 2dq Moves like a ghost. Thou sure and firm-set earth ad 1 R2 r:— 1 shr ch Hear not my steps which way they walk — for fear 2 dx The very stones prate of my whereabout ! 2 pj V e f V And take the present horror from the time Ri cl Which now suits with it. 13 194 NOTATION OF GESTURE. w — h q p I go, and it is done :^r\the bell invites me./T\ R2 —ad Fr Hear it not, Duncan, for it is a knell — 2 ix — rv: d b That summons thee ... to heaven or to hell. MARCO BOZZARIS. — P. G. Halleck. d q ix At midnight, in his guarded tent, Li rb The Turk was dreaming . . . of the hour s pp d q ch sh When Greece, her knee in suppliance bent, con pj Should tremble at his power ; h q ix c to f to q^^to x s In dreams, through camp and court he bore L2 Li rv ev The trophies of a conqueror; IX Sm In dreams, his song of triumph heard — L2 R h qo Then, wore that monarch's signet-ring — pp .d str =h f^^eq Then, press'd that monarch's throne — a king I — r R2 N As wild his thoughts, and gay of wing, Sh As Eden's garden bird \/t\ Ri — h q ix At midnight, in the forest shades, R2 — r p — ' P . Bozzaris ranged his Suliote band, — s nt True as the steel of their tried blades, — rb ch as h q str Heroes in heart and hand. L2 up Ri NOTATION OF GESTURE. I95 — hq ix There had the Persians' thousands stood, Li pp as — d q ix str There had the glad earth drunk their blood — ch rb On old Platzea's day ; L2 up qk — h q s: hfs pp ^g q q And now these breathed that haunted air — Li rb The sons of sires who conquered there — ch con str: — ch Br: With arm to strike, and soul to dare, Lz Li »c"x As quick, as far as they Itn ''adLa N h q ix An hour passed on : — the Turk awoke ; — Li V 3S That bright dream/rvwas his last; — dn As — w He woke — to hear his sentries shriek — re L3 R e q V — ix z q " To arms ! — they come ! — the Greek ! — the Greek 1" N c ^ X He woke — to die,/r\midst flame, and smoke, Ridn R2 — c '^x: And shout, and groan, and sabre stroke, R2 =hcon And death-shots falling thick and fast, Ri Like forest-pines before the blast, pj^z Or lightnings from the mountain-cloud ; . . . R2 cIL And heard — with voice as trumpet loud, — re L3 — hq: Bozzaris cheer his band : — c^^h^^e q ch str " Strike ! — till the last armed foe expires — (L4) L3 c^^e q tr Strike — for your altars and your fires — stp 196 NOTATION OF GESTURE. — d b^z tr Strike ! — for the green graves of your sires — 2z U ^exp ou God, — and your native land !"rr\ =h f s p X They fought, like brave men, long and well, I-t 2 ^f s as They piled that ground with Moslem slain, — e cl con Thej' conquered! . . . but Bozzaris fell, L3 Sh Bleeding at every vein. His few surviving comrades saw Sm — d f; wv His smile, when rang their proud hurrah, L4 And the red field was won ; pp h cr Then saw in death his eyelids close, Li Calmly as to a night's repose, N Like flowers at set of sun. n— w: (f Bozzaris ! She who gave thee birth Ri Will, by the pilgrim-circled hearth rj "" Talk of thy doom without a sigh ; R2 ^d q exp 2 e q For thou art Freedom's now, and Fame's ; rb zf One of the few, the immortal names, Ri — h to — d q That were not born to die ! L2 (bw) THE PRINCIPLES OF ELOCUTION. PART SIXTH. THE LANGUAGE OF PASSION. 1 . A special search for illustrations of the Language of Passion resulted in the discovery that poets, and even dramatists — with the exception of Shakespeare — while they constantly speak about Passion, comparatively sel- dom give it direct utterance. The passages herein gathered from the wide fields of Shakespearean and general literature are embodiments of passionate expres- sion, in all moods, " from grave to gay, from lively to severe." As such, they furnish the very best kind of material for elocutionary exercise. 2. The shades of sentiment in each passage — as appre- hended by the student — should be noted in the margin, and the passages then delivered so as to express the sen- timents indicated. This exercise will be found not only improving to style, but valuable for the development of critical acumen, and the formation of a habit of close attentiveness in general reading. 3. The emphatic words are denoted by italics. No attempt is made to show the relative force of the empha- ses. Something must be left for the reader's own dis- crimination. The most important distinction among the italicised words would be manifested by the reader's un- derlining such words as he conceives to be suggestive of more than they literally express. 4. In addition to the ordinary marks of punctuation, the Clause ( [ L I ) 1 the Break ( ...'), and the Expres- sive Pause ( /^ ) , are occasionally introduced. 197 198 THE LANGUAGE OF PASSION. EMPHASIZED EXERCISES IN THE LANGUAGE OF PASSION. ABSORBING LOVE. — P. J. Bailey. The only music | he Or leai-n'd or listened to, was from the lips Of her he loved ; — and that he learnt by heart. Albeit she would try to teach him tunes, And put h.\% fingers on the keys ; but he Could only see . . . her eyes, and hear ... her voice, Andfieel . . . her touch. ADMIRATION. — Shakespeare. What you do Still betters what is done. When you speak, sweet, I'd have you do it ever : when you sing, I'd have you buy and sell so ; so give alms ; Pray so ; and, for the ordering your affairs. To sing them Xoo.if\ When you do dance, I wish you A wave of the sea . . . that you might ever do Nothing iiii that : move still, still so, And own no other function. Each your doing — So singular in each particular — Crowns what you are doing, in the present deeds, That all your acts are queens. ADMONITION TO CONSISTENCY. — Shakespeqre. Remember March, the Ides of March remember! Did not great Julius \ bleed ior justice' sake? What villain touch'd his body, that did stab. And not for justice } What ! shall one of us. That struck the foremost man of all this world. But for supforting robbers — shall we now Contaminate our fingers with base bribes, And sell the mighty space of our large honours . . . For so much . . . trash as may be grasped thus.' — I had I'^ther be a dog, and bay the moon. Than . . . such a Roman. A DREAM. — Republic of Letters. Thus spoke I to a vision of the night; — " O, joy ! A dream ? Thank heaven that it is fled ! For know you not, I dreamt that you were dead: — And with the dream my soul was sickened quite. THE LANGUAGE OF PASSION. I99 But since you're here, and since my heart is light, Come, as of old, and let us wandering seek Yon high and lovely hill, upon whose height, Which looks on all we value, we may speak As we were -wont, amid its bracing air, And pluck the while its crowned jewels there : For — [how I know not | but 'tis long ago Since last we met . . Ha ! Wherefore look you so ? And why this. . . dimness? "