THE GIFT OF (RtJ' /?,.i,..:i:a^., €,^ 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/cu31924031387545 READING AND SPEAKING FAMILIAR TALKS TO YOUNG MEN WHO WOULD SPEAK WELL IN PUBLIC Designed as a Text-Book for Colleges and Higher Schools, and also for General Use BY BRAINARD GARDNER SMITH, A.M. Associate Professor of Elocution and Oratory in Cornell University " To affect Speech and Discourse " — Measure for Measure BOSTON, U.S.A. D. C. HEATH & COMPANY, PUBLISHERS 1891 Copyright, i8gi, By BRAINARD GARDNER SMITH. Typography by J. S. Gushing & Go., Boston, U.S.A. Presswork by Berwick & Smith, Boston, U.S.A. CONTENTS. PAGE Introductory v CHAPTER I. Control of the Breath 3 CHAPTER II. Faults, and How to Cure Them 10 CHAPTER III. Consonant Sounds ig CHAPTER IV. Good Articulation and a Natural Manner ... 24 CHAPTER V. Shall we Learn to Read and Speak ? .... 29 CHAPTER VI. Vocal Inflections. Sentences and their Delivery . . 37 IV CONTENTS. CHAPTER VII. PAGE Sentences and their Delivery. — Continued ... 57 CHAPTER VIII. Rhetorical Pauses. The Vocal Effect of Emphasis . 72 CHAPTER IX. The Practical Application 81 CHAPTER X. Some General Suggestions 92 CHAPTER XI. Gesture 100 CHAPTER XII. Physical Earnestness . 108 CHAPTER XIII. Suggestions by Experienced Speakers . . . .119 CHAPTER XIV. Declamations . . . . • 130 INTRODUCTORY. This collection of suggestions to would-be speakers consists of most informal talks on matters of importance to all young men ; for we are a nation of speech-makers. Wendell Phillips used to say that as soon as the Yankee baby could sit up in his cradle he called the nursery to order, and proceeded to address the house. There are some rules in the book, but they are those which my experience has taught me ought to be known by every speaker ; and as there are not so many as to be burden- some, I trust that they may be learned by every young man who has this book. I have put upon these pages suggestions not usually found in print. Some of them may seem trivial ; but I have been making them to students in the class-room over and over again. Why not print them ? I do not claim any originality, or to say what has not been said in one way or another by many teachers. In- deed, there is no new road to successful public speaking. But I have tried to group together, in small compass and convenient form, suggestions, rules, hints, encouragements, warnings, examples, illustrations, all having bearing on the " noble art of oratory," and all likely to be helpful. My one aim is to help young men to a natural, comfort- able, manly, forceful manner of speech in public. That is not oratory ; but it is a long stride towards it. If they add these suggestions and rules to the solid foundation of VI INTRODUCTORY. knowledge, of acquirement, the result of diligent and patient study, and if, moreover, they have the " oratorical instinct," then I am sure the results will not be fruitless. The book is meant for the class-room, for the teacher, for the student, as well as for the general reader, and I have endeavored to give abundant opportunity for putting the suggestions and rules into practice. Practice is the main thing. The student must do the work ; the teacher may help him do it on the right lines. My thanks are due to the distinguished gentlemen who so kindly responded to my request for suggestions to young men who wish to be public speakers. The chapter containing their suggestions is certainly the most inter- esting and helpful in this volume. I also desire to acknowledge my obligations to Messrs. D. Appleton & Co., New York, for permission to make the use I have made of Mandeville's " Elements of Reading and Oratory " ; to Messrs. Funk & Wagnalls, New York, for permission to quote from Shepard's "Before an Audi- ence " ; to the Penn Publishing Co., Philadelphia, the publishers of Henry Ward Beecher's " Oratory," from which, by their kind permission, I have taken extracts ; and to Messrs. Houghton, Mifflin & Co., Boston, pub- lishers of the Essays of Ralph Waldo Emerson. Cornell University, io August, iSgt. READING AND SPEAKING. " I hope that you will from' the start cultivate Elocution. The power of speaking with grace and energy, — the power of using aright the best words of our noble language, — is itself a fortune, and a reputation, — if it is associ- ated and enriched by knowledge and sense. I would, therefore, give a special attention to all that is required of you in this department. But not one study prescribed by the government is to be negle'cted." — RuFUS Choate, in a letter to his son, then a student in Amherst College. " Eloquence is the power to translate a truth into language perfectly intelligible to the person to whom you speak." — • Ralph Waldo Emerson. " I define oratory to be the art of influencing conduct with the truth sent home by all resources of the living man." — Henry Ward Beecher. " Deliberative feloquence, in its highest forms and noblest exertion, is the utterances of men of genius, — practiced, earnest, and sincere, according to a rule of art, — in presence of large assemblies, in great conjuncture of public affairs, to persuade a people." — RUFUS Choate. READING AND SPEAKING. CHAPTER I. CONTROL OF THE BREATH. Their words are natural breath. Tempest. 'Tis breath thou lackest. King Richard II. How art thou out of breath, when thou hast breath to say to me that thou art out of breath? Romeo and Juliet. Well, breathe awhile, and then to it again. King Henry IV. My first suggestion is that you learn to breathe properly. Nothing is more important than the ability to control the breath. It is not my province to speak of the physiology of the vocal organs, of the lungs, of the chest cavity, of the midriff or diaphragm. Any modern elementary work on physiology will furnish all the necessary information at a trifling expense of money and time. I do not claim that there is anything new in what I shall say. There are several authorities on the subject. Sir Morell Mackenzie, Oskar Guttmann, Leo Kofler, have given valuable suggestions ; and so have Dr. Lenox Browne and Emil Bhenke in their "Voice in Speech and Song," a work which I can recom- mend, and to which I am indebted for much that follows. There are three ways by which the chest may be enlarged and air taken into the lungs. I. By raising the shoulders, collar-bones, and upper part of the chest. This is called clavicular or collar-bone breathing. 3 4 READING AND SPEAKING. 2. By extending the lower or floating ribs sideways. This is called lateral or costal breathing. 3. By flattening the midriff or diaphragm, — • the " great breathing muscle," as Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes calls it. This is called midriff or diaphrag^matie or abdominal breathing. The lungs rest upon the midriff ; and, when this powerful muscle is flattened, they must follow. At the same time the abdomen is protruded, because its contents are pushed downward by the midriff. The lower ribs are also pushed out by the same muscle, so that costal and midriff breath- ing take place together almost invariably. I believe that the best authorities agree that they should take place together ; thus the chest cavity is enlarged where its walls offer the least resistance, and, where the lungs are the largest. No speaker should ever employ clavicular breathing even in combination with costal and midriff breathing. It forces the upper chest walls up against the root of the throat, and has a tendency to congest the blood-vessels and tissues there. It necessitates controlling the exit of the breath by the glottis, which was not made for that purpose. Throaty tones, "speaker's sore throat," and kindred troubles are largely due to this method of breath- ing and of controlling the breath. It follows that an abandonment of clavicular breathing, and the practice of deep breathing (costal and midriff breathing combined) often cure sore throats, and correct faulty tones. When the speaker breathes — /^spires — by flattening the midriff, he is able to control the breath by that strong muscle. As long as he holds it down, the air that he has taken in remains in the lungs, just as water remains in the cells of a sponge as it lies in the open hand. Close the CONTROL OF THE BREATH. S hand, and the water is squeezed out. Close the hand slowly, and the water oozes out slowly. Relax the midriff and lower ribs slowly, and the air will leave the lungs slowly. The throat ought to have nothing more to do with controlling the breath than the chanter of a bagpipe has to do with controlling the air in the big bag under the piper's arm. The throat — the vocal organs — should be used to speak with. All its muscles should be relaxed, and the speech organs should merely use the air as it passes from the lungs through the mouth. And no more air should be allowed to pass out than is needed for speech. I am now speaking with no design of being scientifically accurate. I am striving to give you impressions only. Dr. Browne lays down this rule: "The criterion of correct inspiration is an increase in the size of the abdo- men and of the lower part of the chest. Whoever draws in the abdomen and raises the upper part of the chest in the act of filling the lungs, breathes wrongly." There are a few very simple exercises, which, if practiced regularly, will give you control of your breathing, and, to a great degree, of your voice. They should be practiced when there is no restricting clothing to interfere with the freedom of the waist. After going to bed at night, and before getting up in the morning, are good times. * Many of my pupils practice them in the gymnasium, stretching out flat on the mats, or on the inclined surfaces of some of the large pieces of apparatus. Exercises in Deep Breathing. Lie flat on the back, placing one hand lightly on the abdomen and the other on the lower ribs. This is that you may feel what is going on down there, and get distinct impressions. Endeavor to expand the lower ribs and raise 6 READING AND SPEAKING. the abdomen slowly and steadily ; at the same time breathe slowly and steadily through the nostrils. If the ribs are expanded, and the midriff flattened, the air must come into the lungs, just as when you open your fingers the air will fill the cells of a damp sponge which you have squeezed in your hand. If you breathe deeply, the ribs must ex- pand, and the midriff flatten. But I find that most persons get the best impression of deep breathing by putting their attention more upon the movements of the ribs and abdomen than upon the thought of taking in air. Some find it difficult at first to get any movement of the ribs and abdomen. Of course, the abdomen is moved simply because the midriff pushes down upon its contents ; but at first to most persons there is no sense of movement in the midriff. Never mind that ; look for its effects in the dis- tended abdomen. Right here I wish to guard you against the idea that you must see how far out you can push the abdomen. You are to strive to get a large expansion of the lower part of the chest cavity. Having thus taken a deep breath, which, as it seems to you, has caused the ribs and abdomen to move, or, better still, having by the expansion of the ribs and the disten- sion of the abdomen filled the lungs with air, hold it there a few seconds, not over four or five. Do not hold it by closing the glottis, or, as it seems to you, by shutting up the throat, or closing the air passages. Hold it by keeping the midriff down, and the ribs expanded. As long as you thus press firmly down and out, no air can leave the lungs, however wide open the throat, mouth, and nostrils may be. Having thus held the breath four or five seconds, expel it suddenly from the lungs as completely and quickly as possible. The result will be a complete collapse of the CONTROL OF THE BREATH. 7 lower part of the body. The midriff will fly back, the ribs fall to their place, the abdomen sink down. I have been thus minute in giving these directions, because of the importance of the exercise. I will repeat the directions briefly. I. Inhale slowly through the nostrils, expanding the lower ribs, and flattening the midriff. Hold the breath four or five seconds by keeping the midriff down. Then expel the air sharply and quickly through the mouth. Repeating this for two or three minutes, you will have a realizing sense that the muscles about the waist are having a new experience. Do not fatigue them. Do not overdo any of these exercises. After practicing the first exercise until the midriff is under pretty good control, take up the second exercise. It is just the opposite of the first. II. Inhale very quickly through the mouth, so that the ribs and midriff will respond quickly. You may find it easier to give your thought to the expansion and distension of ribs and abdomen, getting the impression that their movement brings the air into the lungs ; which is the fact. Hold the breath as before, and then exhale very slowly and steadily through the mouth, controlling the breath entirely with the midriff. This at first will be difficult. The tendency will be to expel the air in jets and spurts. Practice until you can hold a lighted candle before your mouth and empty the lungs without causing the flame to flicker. A feather will serve instead of a flame while practicing on your back. Afterwards, when sitting or standing, the lighted candle will be best. It is this control of the outgoing air that will do much towards giving you a firm, steady voice, and towards curing a throaty tone. In practicing this exercise keep your attention on the midriff. Do not think of the 8 READING AND SPEAKING. throat. All the muscles there should be relaxed. Remem- ber this when you come to speak; and whenever your throat begins to feel tired, whenever you are conscious of a throat, turn your attention to the midriff, and by a steady pressure there take the strain from the throat. III. The third exercise consists in breathing in slowly as in I., and breathing out slowly as in II., holding the breath as in each. After a week of practice the breath may be held a little longer each day ; but it should never be held over twenty seconds. These exercises are not worth reading about unless they are regularly and persistently practiced until the habit of deep breathing and control of the midriff is attained. Practiced for four or five -minutes two or three times a day, two or three miniites five or six times a day, a minute ten or twelve times a day, they will do much for you. Such practice is better than half an hour once a day. Do not overdo the exercising when you begin. Make haste slowly. After getting pretty good control of the breath while lying flat on the back, try the exercises while sitting erect in a chair, with the shoulders well thrown back. Then practice while walking. Keep at it persist- ently until the habit of breathing correctly is acquired. I might fill several pages with the experiences of those who, by faithfully practicing these simple exercises, have been wonderfully benefited. I will content myself with quoting the testimony of Dr. Lenox Browne. " It must be borne in mind that unflinching regularity in this matter is of the greatest importance. Exercise in moderation, regularly and conscientiously repeated, will increase the breathing capacity, improve the voice, and make speaking easy. It may change, and has changed, the falsetto of a grown man into a full, sonorous, m^n's voice ; it may restore, and has restored, a lost voice ; as it alsq may ci^re, and often has cured, clergyman's [speaker's] sore throat. \\ YfJU certainly turn CONTROL OF THE BREATH. 9 a greater quantity of dark blue blood into bright red blood ; the appetite will increase ; sounder sleep will be enjoyed ; flesh will be gained ; and the flabby, pallid skin will fill out and get a healthy, rosy color. All this, and more, may be, and often has been, the result of lung gym- nastics carried on in moderation and with perseverance. It is needless to add that a man will no more improve his breathing by fitful and exaggerated exercises, than he could liope to become a proficient upon the violin by practicing once or twice a month for six hours at a stretch." I believe that I have given enough suggestions to enable any one to acquire the habit of deep breathing. To those who wish to study the subject further I recommend the authors I have named, and also a very interesting article on " The Relations of Diaphragmatic and Costal Respira- tion," published in The youmal of Physiology, Vol. XL, No. 3, March, 1890. Never, in exercising or speaking, strive to fill the lungs as full of air as possible, or to hold the breath as long as possible. Both are injurious. The lungs should be con- stantly replenished with air, so that there shall be an ample supply for the speaker ; not an over-supply. There- fore, in speaking, take breath at every opportunity. Do not see how far you can go in a sentence without taking breath. It is fatal to good speaking, for it is certain to induce hurried speaking, the voice growing weaker and weaker as the breath becomes scantier. The Rev. J. R Sandlands, in his book, "The Voice and Public Speaking," says : " It will be found, after considerable practice, that it is possible to take in sufficient breath for reading a very long passage. I have myself read in the churchyard, on a cold afternoon, the whole of the Lord's Prayer, after a single inspiration." It is difficult to decide which is the worse — the advice given, or the taste that permitted the publication of this peculiar devotional performance. lO READING AND SPEAKING. CHAPTER II. FAULTS, AND HOW TO CURE THEM. For heaven's sake, speak comfortably. X'ing Richard II. Why, masters, have your instruments been at Naples, that they speak i' the nose thus? Othello. What sort of a voice have you 1 High pitched or low .' Weak or strong .' You do not know } That is not surpris- ing. It's a wise man that knows his own voice. When the phonograph is so impro-^ed that sound can be repro- duced, minus the peculiar phonographic quality that now characterizes it, men may easily learn to recognize their own voices. Even as it is, you can recognize the repro- duced voice of your friend who has talked to the phono- graph. Talk to it yourself, and see if you ever heard that voice before. What are your faults as a reader cr speaker .' Do you articulate poorly } Do you lisp 1 Do you talk " through your nose," as we incorrectly say.' Do you begin your sentences with a yell and end them with a gasp .' Do you "make faces" when you speak, or is your face as expressionless as a pan of milk .' Do you slouch, or straddle, or strut before your audience.-' Do you finger the skirts of your coat t Have you any bad habits .' Of course you do not know. If you did, you would cure them ; or try to. It does not need an experienced and high-priced teacher of elocution to tell you of your faults ; although, undoubtedly, such an one could best put you in the way of overcoming them. But, unfortunately, good FAULTS, AND HOW TO CURE THEM. II teachers of elocution are not always available, and it is not always safe for a person to try to cure himself, par- ticularly when he has no means of diagnosing his case. One of the worst tones, — and when I thus use the word "tone," I mean what Webster defines as "an affected speaking, with a measured rhythm, and a regular rise and fall of the voice," — one of the worst tones I ever heard was possessed by a young man with oratorical aspirations and weak lungs. To strengthen his lungs, he was advised to read in the open air ; so, one long vacation, he armed himself with a volume of Webster's orations, and all that summer made the pasture and the wood-lot ring with the weighty sentences of the Defender of the Consti- tution. He strengthened his lungs, and developed a sing- song which he was never able to overcome. Another young man came to my class with a very pronounced and disagreeable tone. I called his attention to the fault, and suggested that, in addition to his regular class work, he read aloud daily to some one who should tell him when he departed from a natural, conversational manner. Fortunately, he could have for his critic his intelligent mother. He read aloud to her daily and often ; read newspapers, novels, his lessons, anything, endeavoring constantly to "tell it " in the most natural way. She was a careful critic, and kept him to his work. At the end of six months he could read and speak remarkably well ; and the tone never showed itself except in moments of unusual excitement. He could have cured himself entirely ; if, indeed, he has not. Such faults will not disappear in a day, nor in a week, nor in a month ; but they can be cured by patient persistence. A gentleman was called from active business life to a professor's chair in a technical college. He found it 12 READING AND SPEAKING. necessary to lecture, not only to his students, but before various associations. He asked me to hear him read, and to criticise and suggest. He lisped ; " r " was as unknown to him as to Dundreary, with his " wow, and wumpus, and wiot," and he had a weak voice. In a few lessons I pointed out these defects, of which before he had known almost nothing, and advised him as I had advised the student. The professor read daily to his wife, and prac- ticed on a list of difficult words which I made out for him. The result was a rapid and almost surprising improvement. But he worked very hard. It was some time after I had begun preaching this practice to those who came to me for help, that I chanced upon this paragraph in an article entitled " How to Read Well," by Edmund Shaftesbury, the author of several works on voice culture and elocution : — " The person who desires to acquire the colloquial style should take a newspaper and select some short sentence, and say this aloud to some person in his presence. For instance, to-day's paper contains the following : ' The heat of yesterday was so intense that many persons were prostrated.' If you say this, the person hearing it will suppose it is a remark of your own. It is better to sit behind the person, so that the paper may not be seen ; then read as many selections from it as possible, trying in each case to deceive your hearer. A pupil, who was a most unnatural and affected reader, adopted this method to cure himself. He reports : ' One evening I was alone with my wife, and taking up the paper, I tried to read the following in a colloquial manner: "Miss Gracie Smith, who recently arrived in this city, is as beautiful as she is accomplished. Few persons can resist her charms." My wife immediately arose and said, "And what do you know about Miss Smith?" "I know nothing," I said; "I was merely reading to you from the paper.'' "Oh, I thought you were talking!'" Every reader should practice in this manner until perfection is reached." So, you see, you may help yourself by getting a friend to help you. The teacher of elocution could help you FAULTS, AND HOW TO CURE THEM. 1 3 better than the inexperienced friend, probably ; but it is not every one who can afford to take one or two lessons a day, six days in the week for six months. But that is exactly the way to break up bad habits of speech. It is the constant daily practice, day after day, whether you feel like it or not, that brings the unruly tongue into subjec- tion, makes the weak voice strong, enables the high-voiced speaker to hear his own squeak and to place his tones where they belong, or the indistinct growler to develop a ringing baritone. The teacher may tell you just what to do and how to do it, but twelve hours later you do not know whether you are doing what he told you to do, or not. It is weH for those who take lessons in elocution, to be accompanied by a friend, who shall also hear the lesson, and then help the pupil carry out the instruction. But suppose that there is no teacher of elocution, and you learn that your voice is pitched too high. How are you going to lower it ? You have not known that it was too high. It has always sounded well to you. You must have some assistance, and your assistant must, if possible, imitate you, to show you how you speak. Then you must try to imitate some one who speaks well. With breath well controlled, with throat relaxed, with mouth well open, strive to speak in a big, strong voice. Think of the sound as big and round, and send it out. Think of the sound as coming from the chest, and roll it out. Work away, with the aid of the friend, —brother, sister, mother, wife, room- mate, whomsoever, — who shall guard you against a throaty grunt or a husky growl ; who shall tell you when you pro- duce a good sound, so that you may learn to hear it, and thus cultivate the ear as well as the voice. Read anything you please; but the more open vowel sounds — ahs and ohs — there are, the better. Do not hurry ; keep plenty of 14 READING AND SPEAKING. breath in the lungs ; and, above all, do not tire the throat. Say to yourself constantly, "I will get this voice down." Try, always, to talk in a low tone. Ask your friends to tell you when you are "getting high." Think in a low voice. The expert teacher can do wonders in " placing " a voice ; but much can be done without the expert teacher. The end you aim at is to acquire the habit of speaking in a lower key. All this applies equally well to the person whose voice is pitched too low. Let me quote a paragraph from a lecture on " Common-Sense Elocution," delivered by the Rev. J. M. Buckley, D.D., the editor of the Christian Advo- cate : — " Many a man is born with a bass voice. I had such a voice. I used it without skill. A Professor of Elocution, who was a master, took hold of me. He told me to get a melodeon. I did so ; and every morning I took the pitch G, and then the pitch C, and practiced speak- ing. Then I took a tuning-fork into the pulpit and took the pitch C. I went on practicing, until I can now stand before an audience, and pitch my voice to meet any requirement. I then took to walking in the woods and practicing. I say this much, because I want to show what can be done with the voice." It does not follow that you must learn to pitch your voice at C exactly, or at G precisely, — though the more exact the ear and the more complete the control of the voice the better, of course, — but you must learn to know, to hear, when your voice is too low or too high, too weak or too strong. I am sure I cannot do better than to quote a page or so from the lectures of the late Nathan Shepard, published under the title, "Before an Audience." They were written especially for students preparing for the min- istry ; but the book ought to be in every would-be orator's hands, despite the author's rather unreasonable opposition to all " elocutionists," and all their methods. FAULTS, AND HOW TO CURE THEM. 1 5 " The pupil in vocal music," he says, "practices occasionally; the pupil in public speaking must practice incessantly. That is, he is to speak in the coveted tones whenever he speaks, whether in public or in private. And as, on the one hand, the pupil in singing may talk in whatever voice he chooses, so long as he sticks to his ' part ' while singing, so, on the other hand, the pupil in speaking will find that, how- ever much or well he may sing in a baritone, he will still talk in the key of the cockatoo. "You are invariably, not occasionally, but invariably, to use the strongest tone you can create. Joke in it, and shout in it, and whisper in it. Yes ; and think in it. You can think in it (after you know how) as easily as you can speak in it. Great actors know how. They go over their 'part' with vehement reflection. The late Mrs. Siddons spent hours of silent meditation upon hers. It is not an occasional exercise I am talking about, like the ' lessons in elocution ' with which quacks lie in wait at the pockets of preachers, who ought to know from experience that the root of the matter is in the intellect, the reason, the understanding, the reflective faculties, the perceptive faculties, and all the rest of the faculties. . . . But whatever be its name, or nature, or origin, or cause, this offensive tone, and every other offensive tone, can only be effectively and permanently removed by willing its removal. It is sufficient for the elocutionist and actor and singer to get rid of it occasionally ; and, even then, only by a use of the will. But the public speaker must rid himself of it perpetually ; since it is perpetually that his art calls for its removal. "This new voice is a new language, and should be desired and acquired as such. It necessitates pains and thought and consecration and continuity like that bestowed upon the acquisition of any other foreign language ; and, like every other foreign language, you will never learn to converse in it or speak in public in it, unless you talk in it incessantly. In spite of your utmost exertions, it will slip away from you often before you get hold of it permanently. You will forget and forget and forget this lesson in self-discipline and self-drill, and in knowing what you and your voice are about, and will find yourself say- ing, ' How are you? ' or, 'What a hot summer we are having,' or, ' Let us sing the forty-fifth hymn,' or, ' May it please the Court, Gentlemen of the Jury,' in the old natural falsetto which came to you through negligence, instead of in the new and equally natural baritone which comes to you by the use of the will and knowing what you and your voice are about. l6 READING AND SPEAKING. " The value of a vigorous, flexible, mellow baritone for public speak- ing cannot be overestimated. It is a richly paying investment. It covers a multitude of minor sins. It compensates somewhat 'for defi- ciencies in rhetoric and thought. There is health in it, and dignity, and manliness, and character." True, every word of it. Suppose that you learn that you speak too fast, or that you drawl, or that your articulation is faulty, that your tongue refuses to obey you, that your lips are stiff and unwieldy. You have not thought of these things before. Now you hear, and feel, and know them, because they have been pointed out to you. What are you to do .-' Why, strive to overcome these faults, of course ; just as you would try to overcome a tendency to toe in, or to stoop, or to carry your hands in your trousers pockets, or any other bad habit. Read daily, speak daily, — before a critic if possible, — with this end in view. If you find it next to impossible to say distinctly, " it sufficeth us " or " selfish spirits," if "r" is a difficult letter to speak and "dst" a difficult sound, practice speaking them ; get command of them. Most manuals of elocution give lists of these difficult combinations ; or you can make your own list. Keep the difficult words and sounds constantly in mind, and spend idle moments, when walking, waiting, courting sleep upon a wakeful pillow, in repeating and mastering them. In " Voice in Speech and Song " there are some simple exercises given for strengthening and controlling the mus- cles of the lips and tongue. You will be surprised to find how difficult these'simple exercises are ; but it is not surprising. You probably have never used these muscles properly, or, at least, consciously, and they must be taught to obey the will. The exercises should be practiced before FAULTS, AND HOW TO CURE THEM. 1/ a mirror. A hand-glass is best, so held that a strong light may fall upon it and be reflected into the mouth. Exercises for the Lips. I. Open the mouth as widely as possible every way; look at the tongue, the soft palate, and the back of the throat. Then shut the mouth again. Repeat this several times. Very simple .' Yes. But just notice that a minute spent in this exercise shows you that it is an exercise which makes you extremely conscious of several muscles you had never thought of before. II. Open the mouth widely enough to put two fingers between the teeth ; then smile so as to draw the corners of the mouth side- ways until they are each bordered by a little perpendicular line. Now suddenly alter the shape of the mouth by protruding the lips as much as possible, with only a small opening between them, as in whistling. The changes must be quick and smart. Repeat this several times. If it makes you laugh, so much the better ; for that will put you in a good temper, which may be useful to you in going through a few apparently still more absurd exercises. III. Smile, with the lips firmly closed, drawing the corners of the mouth as much sideways as possible. Then smartly protrude the lips, still firmly closed, with no aperture whatever. Repeat this several times. Exercises f6r the ToAgue. '' I. Open the mouth widely. Put out the tongue straight as far as possible. Draw it back smartly, and try to let it lie flat and low, but touching the lower teeth all around. Repeat this several times. In this, as in the remaining tongue exercises, great care must' be taken to keep the lips and the lower jaw perfectly still. II. Put the tip of the tongue against the lower front teeth, and then push it out as far as possible ; this will, of course, completely roll it up. Then draw it back smartly, as in Exercise I. Repeat. III. Keep the root of the tongue as flat as you can, raise the tip and push it perpendicularly and quite slowly towards the roof of the 1 8 READING AND SPEAKING. mouth. Then lower it again as gradually, until it has once more assumed its original position. Repeat. IV. Raise the tip of the tongue as in Exercise III., and move it gradually from one side to the other, so that the highest point of it describes a semicircle. Repeat. I know of nothing of the kind more helpful than these tongue exercises. They are based on common-sense. The flute player practices his " tootle-tootle-tootle," or " tucka, tucka, tucka " for months, that he may acquire facility in the art of double-tonguing. Why should not the speaker strive to get his tongue under like control ? I have known more than one person, by endeavoring to practice these movements, ascertain that he was tongue-tied : not enough perhaps to affect his speech in ordinary conversa- tion, but enough to render clean-cut articulation difficult, or impossible. Such a person should go to the best sur-. geon available for advice. The knife sometimes is used to good effect then. Ag?in, let me warn you against over- doing these exercisCo. They will be found to be very fatiguing at first. " A little and often " is a good rule. CONSONANT SOUNDS. I9 CHAPTER III. CONSONANT SOUNDS. I abhor such fanatical fantasms, such insociable and point-devise com- panions; such rackers of orthography, as to spealc dout, fine, when he should say doubt; det, when he should pronounce debt; d, e, b, t; not d, c, t. He clepeth a calf, cauf; half, hauf; neighbour, vacatur, nebour, neigh, abbre- viated, ne. This is abhominable (which he would call abominable) . Lovers Labor's Lost. You should combine with the exercises just given, prac- tice in the consonant sounds. If you will notice carefully, you will see that indistinctness in articulation is due, almost always, to a failure to give the consonants their proper value, particularly when^ey stand at the end of words. The words, " From the stea-n text of the Acts of Uniformity," for instance, are often read, " From the stern tex of the Ax of Uniformity." Careful study of the fol- lowing tables will repay you. Give each sound more than its proper value — overdo it, if you please — at first. Let the final sounds linger on the lips or the tongue. Distinct- ness is what you are to aim at. The Labials, so called because they are made with the lips, are b, p, m, w, v, f. They should be pronounced as follows : — b, as in bab, babe, bad, bade, barb. 1. Bad Bob blabbed and blubbered bitterly. 2. Be bold, be bold ; be not too bold. 3. By the blue Bosphorus the black bandit bled. p, as in pap, pape, peep, pip, pipe. I . Papa peeped at Peter, and playfully pelted Pat. 20 READING AND SPEAKING. 2. Stop Stooping as you step, Polly. 3. Hope on, hope ever. (JSTot, Ho pon, ho pever.) m, as in maim, mam, mime, mome, mum. 1. Mamma, make Mary mind Martha. 2. Madam, my man maimed your moose. 3. Mile-stones mark the march of time. {N'ot, Mile-stone smark the jnar chof time.) w, as in woe, was, weld, wise, wear. 1. William West wears white wool. 2. Woe ! when wise women won't work. 3. Well, Washington was wiser than Webster. V, as in valve, vale, have, love, brave. 1. Vain the valor of the brave savage. 2. Value virtue, love bravery. 1 3. Valiant deeds for vengeanc^or revenge. {Not, Vallian deeds for venjan sor revenge.) f , as in fife, fifth, life, lift, gift. 1. Frank faithfully fifes, forgetful of foes. {Not, Frang faithfully fives , forgetfulla foes.) 2. Firmly the fowl faced the fierce fox. 3. A faithful life lifts the father's fortunes. {Not, liffs) The Dentals, so called because made by the action of the tongue against the teeth, are d, t, th (two sounds), s, z, zh, sh, j, ch. d, as in did, dado, add, sad, bad. 1. Did Daniel dare to dare Darius ? 2. Addja dado, and don't daub the door. {Not Ad-da-dado) 3. The band blared sadly, Dan declared. {Not, The ban blared) t, as in taunt, tent, test, tight, tifti I . Tie taut the tent, and testl it. {Not, tes tit.) CONSONANT SOUNDS. 21 2. To-morrow try and talk truly and truthfully. 3. Aunt '.went \to town, intent on treating Tommy. {Not, Antriwen f town, tnten ton) th, as in than, then, breathe, beneath, bathe. 1. Breathe with care ; do not mouth jthy words. {Not, Brei thwith care ; do not mow thy words.) 2. Their smooth lithe forms were bathed in oil baths. 3. Swathed in light clothes they writhed beneath. th, as in thin, thorn, birth, breath, wrath. 1. Two athletic youths'were third and fourth. {Not, athletty kewth swere third and fourth.) 2. Your mirth hath^ death in it, quoth the Goth. {Not, Your mir thath death in it, quo the Goth.') 3. The fifth youth went to his bath in wrath. {Not, The Jiff youth went to his baa thin wrath.) s, as in saw, sent, cease, suns, face. 1. Susan sent some sweets to Sam. {Not, Susan sen some sweets to Sam.) 2. Cease sighing, since sighs seldom secure success. {Not, See sighing, sin sighs eldom secure success.) 3. Star after star sinks from sight in the heavens. {Not, sings from sight) z, as in zeal, zone, zenith, rouje, haj. 1. Rouse the zealots to resist the Zulus. 2. The zephyr has gone, the blizzardsjare rising. {Not, the blizzard sare rising^ 3. Each daisy teaches \a lesson. Abuse them not. {Not, teachy sa lesson.) zh, as in azure, brazier, glazier, treasure. 1. The hosier in his leisure had a vision." 2. The seizure of the grazier causeq displeasure. {Not, caused his pleasure^ 3. In Elysium are treasures without measure. sh, as in sham, shaine, push, hush, fish. I. Shun selfish spirits who pusn shamelessly. {Not, Shun selfy shpirits who push aimlessly.) 22 READING AND SPEAKING. 2. The sunshine shows ships with shining sheets. 3. When fish rush shoreward, shun savage sharks. {Not, rush oreward') j, as in jam, gem, jig, cage, sage. 1. Judge justly James, his savage majesty. 2. Join joyfully in the jubilant jig. 3. Gems and jewels just from Japan. ch, as in chat, chief, church, rich, which. 1. The chief cheerfiilly chose the choicest chair. {IV^ot, choices chair.) 2. Richard chanted in church like a cherub. 3. March Charles, and .fetch starch cheerfully. The Palatals, so called because made by the aid of the palate, are g, k, y. g, as in gag, gad, hag, gasp, tug. 1. Go get the gun and give the goose a shot. 2. The hag gagged Gladys gasping in great grief. 3. Hugjgold, grasping Caspar, greedy ghoul. {Not, Hug old) k, as in kick, clock, kink, coke, quill. 1. Kick, clown, and climb quick, Carlos. 2. Kill the king, the crank cried crossly. 3. Care killed the cat, the crow cried caw. y, as in yet, year, yard, yacht, yak. 1. Youthful Yankee yachtmen squared the yards. 2. The yokel yielded with a yell. 3. A yellow yak yearned for a yew. The Nasals, made by a free escape of vocalized breath through the nostrils, are n and ng. n, as in no, name, man, ran, won. 1. No man need know need in this new nation. 2. Nathan, nothing needing, noted not the noise. 3. Now none kneel when the bell knells. CONSONANT SOUNDS. 23 ng, as in sing, song, sung, singing, ringing. 1. The singing grew fainter, the song dying away. 2. Recoiling, turmoiling, and toiUng and boiling. 3. And dashing, and flashing, and splashing, and clashing. The Linguals, so called because made chiefly with the tongue, are 1 and r. 1, as in lull, Lulu, little, fall, bottle. 1 . Lulu luUefl the lamb until it fell asleep. 2. They fell like leaves and fill long lists. {Not, They fell ike leaves an" fill ong liss.) 3. Lanky Lascars lolled listlessly along shore. r, as in roar, rear, hair, roam, roast. 1. Robert, absorbed in riches, rarely reckoned wrongly. 2. The car was adorned with corn and drawn by four horses. (JVoi, The cah was adawned with cawn, and drawn byfo' hosses.) \ 3. The worm yearned for a ripe pear, urged by hunger. (Not, for a rye pear) These sounds should be mastered, particularly the final combinations. Watch your own articulation carefully. As I have said, whenever a difficult combination is found make a note of it and practice it over and over again. 24 READING AND SPEAKING. CHAPTER IV. GOOD ARTICULATION AND A NATURAL MANNER. Mind your speech a little. King Lear. Speak the speech, I pray you, as I pronounced it to you, trippingly on the tongue : but if you mouth it, as many of our players do, I had as lief the town-crier spoke my lines. Hamlet. A most rare speaker, to nature none more bound. King Henry VIII, It is almost needless to dwell on the importance of good articulation and correct pronunciation. I do not mean precise speech of the "prunes, prisms, and pota- toes " variety ; but distinct speech. Having learned so to control the breath that, in speaking, no air goes out of the mouth that is not vocalized ; having got complete con- trol of lips and tongue, then strive to speak with the least effort and with the utmost distinctness. Loud speaking is not necessarily distinct speaking. Noise is not oratory. We want no more of what Wendell Phillips characterized as "pulmonary eloquence." Hear what Ernest Legouv^ says in his charming little work, " Reading as a Fine Art": — "Articulation plays an immense part in the domain of reading. Articulation, and articulation alone, gives clearness, energy, passion, and force. Such is its power that it can even overcome deficiency of voice in the presence of a large audience. There have been actors of the foremost rank, who had scarcely any voice. Potier had no voice. Monvel, the famous Monvel, not only had no voice, he had no teeth ! And yet no one ever lost a word that fell from his lips ; and never was there a more delightful, more moving artist than he, thanks to his GOOD ARTICULATION AND A NATURAL MANNER. 2$ perfect articulation. The best reader I ever knew was M. Andrieux, whose voice was not only weak, but worn, hoarse, and croaking. Yet his perfect enunciation triumphed over all these defects." I said that loud speaking is not necessarily distinct speaking. Far from it. But one must speak so as to be heard. In this endeavor to make noise do the work of articulation, thoughtless speakers often become artificial, — acquire a tone. Men said of Wendell Phillips that he spoke to an audience of two thousand as though by his own fireside. It is safe to say that he did no such thing. If he had, he would not have been heard. He spoke in a natural way, in a conversational manner, but not with con- versational articulation. If you speak to your audience as you speak to your friend by your fireside, your audience will not understand what you say. If you speak to your friend as you ought to speak to your audience, your friend will say that you are stilted. Why ? Because you must articulate with care and put your voice out, away from you, in order to make the audience hear. Edwin Booth will whisper so that two thousand persons can hear and understand. How does he do it.' By perfect articula- tion, and by sending the voice out into the auditorium.- If there are those who say that there is no such thing as "sending the voice out," I answer: Stand in one end of a room fifty feet long. Try to make your voice go to the opposite wall, not by shouting, but by actually putting the voice there. There is something in it, call it by what name you please. Certainly the effect can be produced. Coquelin, the famous French actor, in an address before the students of Harvard University, said : — " How can an actor hope to be understood if he stammers and sputters ; if he drowns all the author's points, all his delicacies, and 26 READING AND SPEAKING. all his strong passages, in the same lukewarm, monotonous, and color- less delivery ? But naturalness, some one will object — must not the actor speak naturally? Oh! do not talk to me about the naturalness of those who do not articulate ; who recite in a conversational tone ; who mistake the stage for a drawing-room ; who chat in presence of the public as they would in presence of two or three friends. . . . The stage is not a drawing-room. You cannot address fifteen hundred spectators in a theatre as you would address a few companions at the fireside. If the tone is not raised you will not be heard ; and if you do not articulate, the public will be unable to follow you." Write "speaker" for "actor," and "platform " or "ros- trum " for " stage," and the words of M. Coquelin apply to public speakers. But does this famous comedian prac- tice what he preaches .' Mr. Brander Matthews says of him : — "M. Coquelin is a master of diction, as the French call it; of deliv- ery, of the art of speech, as we must call it. He has a faculty of in- describable volubility ; but, despite the utmost rapidity of utterance, he is always clearly and distinctly audible in all parts of the theatre." Speaking of conversational articulation reminds me of a little story. A French gentleman, calling upon the poet Longfellow, in the course of conversation complained of some of the difficulties of the English language. " For eenstance," said he, " I hear continual ze vord ' zattledoo,' but no one can tell me eets meaning ; no one recognize eet ; eet ees note een ze dictionaire. Vat ees zat vord .-' " The poet admitted that the word was new to him also. Just then a servant came in with coal for the grate. "That'll do," said Mr. Longfellow, when enough had been put on. " Zat ees ze vord ! " exclaimed the Frenchman, bound- ing from his chair. " Zat ees eet ! Zattledoo, zattledoo ! Vat ees zat eencomprehensible vord }" GOOD ARTICULATION AND A NATURAL MANNER. 2/ Now, if Mr. Longfellow had said with very careful articu- lation, "That — will — do — Maria," the French gentle- man would not have recognized his tantalizing word. But Mr. Longfellow was talking as a gentleman talks by his fireside. It is not the way in which a gentleman should talk before an audience. I have spoken of Wendell Phillips, who is held up to young speakers as an unapproachable example of the natural style of public speaking. As has been truly said, he more than anybody else put an end, in this country, to pompous and stilted eloquence, and substituted a simpler style. I never heard him ; but I am always interested in learning how his speech impressed good judges of oratory. His biographer, Dr. Carlos Martyn, says: — " His enunciation was an added charm. Each word was as dis- tinctly uttered as though it were a newly coined gold piece. Yet he never elocutionized; there was nothing pedantic in his utterance. Like everything else about his oratory, it was natural, or seemed so. [The italics are mine.] In tone and manner, although thus conversa- tional, Mr. Phillips was at the same time elevated. It has been said that speaking which is merely conversational has no lift in it; the mind may be held by it, but is not impressed. On the other hand, speaking which has no everyday manner as its basis is stilted and fatiguing. The orator should frame his style on the level of plain, common-sense talk ; then this ought to lead out and up toward vistas of cloudland and the music of the spheres. In this regard Wendell Phillips was a model." Col. Thomas Wentworth FJigginson, surely a competent critic, says : — " The keynote to the oratory of Wendell Phillips lay in this : that it was essentially conversational ^= the conversational raised io its highest power. Perhaps no orator ever spoke with so little apparent eifort, or began so entirely on the plane of his average hearers. It was as if he simply repeated, in id coiuges. By Joseph P. Grabfihld and T. S. Burns, Instructors in General Chemistry in the Mass. Inst, of Technology. Cloth. 96 pages. Price by mail, 55c. Introduction price, 50c. Elementary Course in Practical Zoology. By B. P. CoLTON, A. M., Pre 196 pages. Price by mail, 85 cts. ; ] First Book of Geology. By N. S. Shaler, Professor of figures in the text. Price by mail, $1 The Teaching of Geology. By N. S. Shaler, author of First Book in Geology. Paper. 74 pages. Price, 25 cents. (Modern Petrography. An Account o/the Application o/ the Microscope to the Study of Geology. By George Huntington Williams, of the Johns Hopkins University. Paper. 35 pages. Price, 25 cents. Astronomical Lantern and How to Find the Stars. By Rev. James Freeman Clarke. Intended to familiarize students with the constel- lations, by comparing them with fac-similes on the lantern face. Price of the Lantern, in improved form , with seventeen slides and a copy of "How to Find the Stars," #4.50 " How TO Find the Stars," separately. Paper. 47 pages. Price 15 cts. By B. P. Colton, A. M., Professor of Science, Illinois Normal University. Cloth. 196 pages. Price by mail, 85 cts. ; Introduction price, 80 cts. By N. S. Shaler, Professor of Palseontology, Harvard University. 272 pages, with 130 figures in the text. Price by mail, $1.10 ; Introduction price, $1.00. D. C. heath & CO,, Publishers. BOSTON, NEW YORK, AND CHICAGO. arV14502 Cornell University Library Readlni and speaking : Eliiii 3 1924 031 387 545 olin.anx