^/// H24-B' /-t-- SaRftH NEAL h5P'-^>?«*5^>«v*«>r^;.^* ^1^ :--.-'^ W'^^'^' -x-Wi feiiii^ •TTt>;~T;r-.'- 'T'-r>''-*v^!,>f^~ST'' '■rr-r:- -■ r!;;r-«Fl,- ' iSi' ■ ■-. "• "- -i^M Ti' v-^jt-r.cvo-v*- ■. I- ;J^;■li2rW■'*v^^'^■^^i>■ ■i^JiT, M. u >-r.'t>' ' l^l:rj^■.•■■l';^•Ji*5*'■ '^i^^j^ ^0:X^^mi0^^. i ) EXjOcxxmoiT Voice, Expre55ion, Ge5lure FOR USE IN CoIIeaes anb Scbool6 an^ b^ ♦ ♦ private Stubent0 ♦ ♦ SARAH NEAIv HARRIS. CONCORD, N. H. : REPUBLICAN PRESS ASSOCIATION, RAILROAD SQUARE. 1 89 1. Copyright, 1891. SAKAH NEAL HARRIS. TABLE OF C0KTE:N^TS. PAQB. ELOCUTION 1 Oratory 1 Position . . . • 2 Gesture 3 Expression 7 Bow 8 Breathing 9 Chest 10 Elocution 10 Pitch 10 Quantity 14 Quality 19 Pure ....•...• 19 Orotund 32 Aspirate 45 Guttural 48 Pectoral 50 Trembling 52 Prolongation 54 Falsetto 55 Staccato . . . • 57 Imitative 59 Sonorous 61 Sostenuto 62 Movement 64 Quick 64 Moderate 66 Slow 67 Inflection 69 Rising 69 Falling 70 Monotone 72 Emphasis 74 Climax 76 Anti-Climax 77 Personation . • 79 Highest Physical Culture. — Oratory 82 Vital 82 Mental 83 Moral 84 Inspiration and Explosion 86 The Fervent Voice 86 1127906 IV CONTENTS. SELECTIONS 89 The Power of Habit 89 Lady Gekaldine's Courtship 90 The Death of Arbacbs 94 The Duty of Delight . . • 96 The Rajah's Clock 97 The Missing Ship 100 The Legend op Easter Eggs 101 What is a Minority 103 Pyramids not all Egyptian 104 Goethe's Hamlet o . . . 106 RiZPAU 110 Cartwheels • . . 112 The Wreck of the Pocahontas 115 Jack the Fisherman • . 117 A Lost Chord 120 Mrs. O'Shea sees Hamlet 121 Cleopatra 124 How Grandma Danced 128 The King's Favorite 129 The Chariot Race 130 Bugle Song 133 The Famine 134 Masters of the Situation 136 The Creeds of the Bells 138 Robert of Lincoln 139 A Rajput Nurse 142 Napoleon's Overthrow 145 Spice-Box Sketches 147 Old Friends 150 The Hero of the Tower 152 Oh! Had I Known 155 Little Tommy Tucker • . 155 Speech for Decoration Day 158 Street Cries 159 ToussAiNT L'Ouverture 160 Back from the War 162 Conemaugh 164 The Maid of Orleans 165 The Volunteer Organist 167 Grant's Strategy 169 Bridge of the Tay 170 The Ideal in Expression 173 Sent to Heaven 174 The Destiny of the Nation 176 Bobolink 177 At the Tomb of Napoleon 179 Hello 180 The End of the Rebellion 181 What the Choir Sang 182 The Old Man's Yesterday 183 The Spinning-Wheel Song 184 Fourth of July in Jonesvillb 186 ELOCUTION. ORATORY. Eloquence holds the first rank among the arts. Rome bor- rowed her eloquence from Greece, as she did her other arts and learning, till "• victorious Home was herself sub- dued by Greece." Aristotle's definition of oratory was, "The power of saying on every subject whatever can be found to persuade;" Phocian's, "The power to express the most sense in the fewest words;" Quintilian calls it "The power of persuading." The ancients uncovered as Cicero approached, and cried, "Behold the Orator!" While we award praise and glory to great musicians and painters, to great masters of sculpture and architecture, the prize of honor is decreed to great orators. Art is the expression of the beautiful in ideas. It is also the beautiful in action. Poets are born ; orators are made. Perfect beauty is nowhere to be found. It must be created by synthetic work. You have a fine voice; it has its defects. Your articulation is vicious and your gestures unnatural. Do not rely upon the fire of momentary inspiration. Nothing is more deceptive. Garrick said, "Do not depend upon that inspiration which idle medi- ocrity awaits." The orator should not even think of what he is doincr. The thing should have been so much studied that all would seem to flow of itself. 2 ELOCUTION. The art of oratory is expressing mental thought by means of physical organs, and may be divided into three parts, — vital, mental, and moral. Since each state can take the form of the two others, the result is nine distinct positions with their accompanying tones. A tone must always be reproduced with an expression of the face. The highest object of elocution and physical culture is a more perfect unity of tone, body, soul. POSITION. Bring the weight of the body upon the front of the ad- vanced foot. Raise the chest. Hollow the back at the waist line. This position indicates a desire to please and interest jomt audience. It also demands attention. This is the attitude of the Apollo Belvidere, esteemed one of the noblest representations of the human frame. An equal balance of the body upon its two feet is the sign of weakness, of respect. It characterizes, also, infancy and decay. It is the attitude of the soldier at "atten- tion." It is used also in saluting a superior officer. One foot advanced, with an equal weight upon both, denotes reflection and the absence of passion. It indi- cates calmness and strength, which are the signs of intelligence. Bring the weight on the back foot. It is a sign of weak- ness which follows vehemence. Natural weakness is in the second position, sudden weakness in the fourth. An inclination of the body to one side or the other is used in }jersonation. It is a third to one side. Is generally passive when not used in personation. It indicates calmness and strength. GESTURE. 6 The sixth is one third crossed. It is an attitude of respect and ceremony. It is effective in the presence of princes. It also precedes a fall. .The seventh attitude is like the second position, with the feet farther apart. It denotes intoxication, overwhelm- ing astonishment, familiarity, and repose. One foot advanced, with the body facing one of the two legs. It serves for menace and jealousy. It is offensive and defensive. It leaves the audience in doubt, which can only be solved by the first or fourth. An equal weight upon both feet, the body bending back, is the sign of distrust and scorn. GESTURE. Gesture reveals what speech is powerless to express. It is not what we say that persuades, but the manner of say hi g it. But one gesture is needed for the expression of an entire thought. *t>' Application of Gestures. Inexpressive motions should always be avoided. No gesture should be made without a reason for it, and when any position has been assumed there should be no change from it without a reason. The habit of allowing the hands to fall to the side imme- diately after every gesture is ungraceful, and the effect is bad; they must not be constantly in motion. Repose is a chief element of gesticulating effect. Some orators accompany every vocal accent by a bodily motion ; — the consequence is, that gesticulate ever so well, and how- ever energetic the gestures may be, they produce no effect. The eye is fatigued with gestures that illustrate nothing. The most difficult part of gesture is to stand still gracefully. 4 ELOCUTION. The frequency of gesture will depend on tlie variety of ideas and words that occur in the language. A uniform strain will require trut little gesture. A variable, flighty, passionate strain will demand many gestures. Gestures are either Directive, Illustrative, or Emotive. Directive gestures carry the eye of the spectator to the object spoken of, which is either visible, or supposed to be visible, or figuratively presented to the mind's eye. The gestures must be arranged with pictorial accuracy, thus: the hand and eye must be raised in pointing to sky or mountain, and to near objects above the speaker, and depressed below the horizontal elevation for near objects below the line of the speaker's eye ; must be horizontal in addressing persons around us, and in pointing to objects at a distance. Having located any fixed object by a directive gesture, we come to the same point in again speaking of it, or any object associated with it, without a change of scene. Illustrative gestures should be suited to the idea or action they illustrate, thus : drawing a sword, etc. Emotive gestures are such as fear, indignation, etc., spon- taneous with the feeling. The eyes should generally accompany the motions of the hands ; but in directing attention to any object, the eye will first merely glance towards it, and then fix itself upon the person addressed, while the finger continues to point. The head must not lean from side to side on the gesture points, nor must it rise or fall with the inflections of the voice ; it should be kept moderately, but not rigidly, erect. The motions of the arm must commence at the shoulder, not at the elbow. The upper part of the arms must not rest in contact with the sides. The motions of the arms must not be accompanied by any action of the shoulders. The shoulders must be kept square to the auditors' vision. GESTURES. 5 A harmonizing accompaniment of arm to arm is essential. When only one arm is used in the gesture, the other is brought into action less prominently, and at a lower elevation. When the gesticulating arm comes in front of and across the body, the retired arm falls a little behind. When the gesticulating arm is backward, the subordinate arm advances. When the gesture is under the horizontal elevation, the other arm may fall laxly. Every action of the arm should be terminated by an accentual motion of the hand from the wrist. In calm and unimpassioned speaking, the accentual beat of the gesture will coincide with the vocal accent. In strong emotion, the gesture will precede the words. The motions of the hand must be made entirely from the wrist. The line described by the hand in any motion must be a curve, except in violent passion when the rigidity of the joints renders the line of action straight and angu- lar. The weight of the body should be sustained generally by one foot, and the body should be shifted at every change of style and expression. Every motion must be pre- ceded by a preparatory movement in the opposite direc- tion, more or less sweeping, according to the nature of the emotion. The motions of the feet must always be in diagonal lines. In kneeling, bring that knee to the floor first which is next to the spectator. In rising, bring up the knee farthest away. \ Gestures. Index — arch of the wrist, the rigidity of the thumb, forefinger, and the hollow of the back of the hand. 6 ELOCUTION. Intertwined in Entreaty. Clenched in Anger. Supine in Rancor, etc. Prone in Concealment. Tips of fingers turned inward in Invitation. Outward in Rejection and Dismissal. Crossed on the chest in Meekness. Indexical in Command and Reproach. Noting in Warning. Advanced on palm on an upward incline from the wrist above medium height — Remonstrance. At medium height — Pity. Below medium height — Mourning. Descend prone slowly in Blessing. Descend prone with vehemence in ^Malediction. Hand laid on the breast appeals to Conscience, or indicates Desire. Beating the breast expresses Remorse. Laid on the lower part of chest indicates Pride. Applied to the forehead indicates Doubt. Moved across the forehead — Confusion or Mental Distress. Supporting the side of the head — Stupor. Supporting the cheek — Languor. Supporting the chin — Meditation. Laid on the lips enjoins Silence. Back of one hand laid in palm of the other — Entire Determination. Right hand vertical in Vindication. Applied in Appeal. Wave in Admiration. Clasped in Joy. Folded in Resignation. Shake in Terror. Start in Astonishment. Wave supine downward in Salutation. Hand on crown of the head — Delirium. GESTURES. Hand pressed on the upper part of ehest — Palpitatiou of the heart — Difficulty in breathing. Objects above the horizontal elevation in directive gestures are always supine ; objects below, prone. GESTURES. Salutation, Dismissal. Invitation. Entreaty. Faith. Reverse, Anger. Reverse. Meekness. Reproach. Reverse. Sorrow. Hope. Reverse. Warning. Reverse. Fear. Reverse. Blessing. Meditation. Pity. Conscience. Malediction. Prayer. Curiosity. Time and Place. Feather Movement. Doubt. Waiting. Signal. Supplication. Listening. Reverse. Fruition. Imagination. Determination. Expectation. Reverse. Delight. Repugnance. Agony. Liberty. Reverse. Delirium. Astonishment. Silence. Vindication. Climax. Defiance. Affection Vow. Command. Remonstrance. Expressive Joy. Good-Night. Reverse. Reverse. EXPRESSION. None of our powers are more susceptible of cultivation than those of expression. I have seen an eye curse, and an eyebrow call a man a scoundrel. — Addison, 8 ELOCUTION. In the higher emotions, love, hope, patriotism, and sublim- ity, the lines of the face curve upward, the expression is uplifted. In calm aud placid emotions, the lines are horizontal. The lower emotions, such as hate, fear, revenge, the lines are downward. Every expression of the face, every position of the body, every gesture, is but the outward expression of the mind and heart, be it one of beauty or ugliness. Attitude is but arrested expression ; all the higher emo- tions find expression in spiral movements. Gesture is expression. The mind can be interested by speech ; it must be persuaded by gesture. If the face bears no signs, we do not persuade. Facial expression is the language of the soul. There is something marvellous in this language, because it has relations with another s})here — the world of grace. The basis of this art is to make the audience divine what we would have them feel. The eye is the window of the soul; — let it express the emo- tions contained in the given selection. It takes many words to say what a single word reveals. . Cicero says, " Nature hath bestowed upon man a bodily figure completely adapted to his mind. The face of every other animal he hath turned downward to the ground, from whence its nourishment is drawn ; to man alone is given a form erect, a face turned upward to his kindred heaven, to those divine abodes which are his native seat. She has, besides, so exquisitely modelled the human feat- ures that they are capable of expressing the most secret emotions of the soul. The penetrating glances of the eye iudicate the corresponding internal affections, and the moral character is shown in the face. BOW. In making a bow, bring the advanced foot behind the other, the knee of which bend with the weight of the body. BREATHING. BREATHING. There are three kinds of breathing, — Abdominal, Costal, and Dorsal. Abdominal Breathing. Place both hands upon the abdomen and breathe deeply, forcing the muscles outward. Let them sink as much as possible during exhalation. Aspirate the letter aS', breathing out as long as possible, letting the abdominal muscles contract. Slowly breathe back until the abdominal muscles extend outward to the utmost. Imagine yourself blowing a feather in the air. Expel the breath, blowing quickly. Contract the abdominal muscles. Draw the breath b ick, filling the abdomen, extending the muscles. Give the vowels — A, E^ /, 0, U. Place the hand upon the abdomen. Take a full breath, throwing the muscles outward, and say A in a full tone, until the muscles con- tract to the utmost. This should be practised only a few minutes at a time. Costal Breathing. Distend the sides while inhaling, and relax gradually with slow and regular exhalation. Dorsal Breathing. Inhale as if endeavoring to thrust out the muscles of the back by the force of the air. 10 ELOCUTION. CHEST. There are two kinds of Chests, — Active and Passive. Active Chest. The Active Position of the chest represents intensity of thought and feeling. Passive Chest. The Passive Position of the chest is that in which there is absence of passion. ELOCUTION. Elocution is the correct expression of thought by Speech and Gesture. The elements in the expression of every emotion are Eitch, Quantity, Quality, Movement, and Inflection. PITCH.. The voice should always follow the conceptive location of the object, — Moral and Physical. Examples. Hear it not, Duncan ; for it is a knell That summons thee to heaven, or to hell. — Macbeth. Heaven from all creatures hides the book of fate, All ])ut the page prescribed, their present state. Oh blindness to the future ! kindly given, That each may fill the circle marked by Heaven : Who sees with equal eye, as God of aU, A hero perish, or a sparrow fall, PITCH. 11 Atoms or systems into ruin hurled, And now a bubble burst, and now a world. Hope humbly, then ; with trembling pinions soar ; Wait the gi-eat teacher Death ; and God adore. What future bliss, he gives not thee to know, But gives that hope to be thy blessing now. Hope springs eternal in the human breast ; Man never is, but always to be blest. — Pope. " Whither is fled the visionary gleam ? Where is it now, the glory and the dream ? " " Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting. The soul that rises with us, our life's star, Hath had elsewhere its setting. And Cometh from afar. Not in entire forgetfulness. And not in utter nakedness But trailing clouds of glory, do we come From God, who is our home." " Oh, joy ! that in our embers Is something that doth live. That nature yet remembers What was so fugitiv.e ! " The thought of our past years doth breed Perpetual benediction : not, indeed. For that which is most worthy to be blest, Delight and liberty, the simple creed Of childhood, whether busy or at rest, With new-fledged hope still fluttering in his breast. Not for these I raise The song of thanks and praise ; But for those obstinate questionings Of sense and outward tilings. Fallings from us, vanishings ; Blank misgivings of a creature Moving about in worlds not realized ; 12 ELOCUTION". High Instincts before which our moral nature Did tumble like a guilty thing surprised ! But for those first affections, Those shadowy recollections, Which, be they what they may, Are yet the fountain light of all our day, — Truths that awake to ])erlsh never. Hence, in a season of calm weather, Though inland far we be, Our souls have sight of that immortal sea Which bi^ought us hither. — Wordsworth. A gay, serene spirit is the source of all that is noble and good. Whatever is accomplished of the greatest and noblest sort flows from such a disposition. Petty, gloomy souls, that only mourn the past and dread the future, are not capable of seizing upon the holiest moments of life, of enjoying and making use of them as they should. — Frederick von Schiller. " No day is commonplace, if we had only eyes to see its splen- dor." Hearts, like apples, are hard and sour, Till crushed by pain's resistless power; And yield their juices rich and bland To none but soitow's heavy hand. The purest streams of human love Flow naturally never, But gush by pressure from above. With God's hand on the lever. The first are tui'bidest and meanest ; The last are sweetest and sei'ene^t. — Aldrich. There is a thought higlier than mortal thought ; There is a love warmer than mortal love ; There is a life, which taketh not its hues Froit! earth or earthly things, and so grows pure, And higher than the petty cares of men, And is a blessed life, and sanctified. — Morris. PITCH. 13 To be at work, to do things for the world, to turn the currents of the things about us at our will, to make our existence a positive element, even though it be no bigger than a grain of sand, in this great system where we live, — that is a new joy of which the idle man knows no more than the mole knows of the sunshine or the serpent of the eagle's triumphant flight into the upper air. The man who knows indeed what it is to act, to work, cries out, "This, this alone is to live ! " — Phillips Brooks. Every day is a fresh beginning ; Every morn is the world made new ; You who are weary of sorrow and sinning, Here is a beautiful hope for you — A hope for me, and a hope for you. Every day is a fresh beginning : Listen, my soul, to the glad refrain, And, spite of old sorrow and older sinning, And puzzles forecasted and possible pain, Take heart with the day, and begin again ! — Susan Coolidge. " Rouse thee up ! Oh, waste not life in fond delusions ! Be a soldier! Be a hero! Be a man!" The quality of mercy is not strain'd ; It droppeth, as the gentle rain from heaven Upon the place beneath ; it is twice bless'd; It blesseth him that gives, and him that takes ; 'T is mightiest in the mightiest ; it becomes The throned monarch better than his crown ; His sceptre shows the force of temporal power, The attribute to awe and majesty. Wherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings ; But mercy is above this scei)tered sway, — It is enthroned in the hearts of kings. It is an attribute to God himself. — Shakespeare. 14 ELOCUTION. NOBLESSE OBLIGE. 'T is wisdom's law, the perfect code, By love inspired ; Of him on whom much is bestowed, Is much required ; The tmieful tlu'oat is bid to sing, ' The oak must reign the forest's king. The rushing stream the wheel must move, The tempered steel its strength must prove, 'T is given with the eagle's eyes To face the midday skies. If I am weak and you are strong, Why then, why then To you the braver deeds belong! And so, again, If you have gifts and I have none, If I have shade and you have sun, 'T is yours with freer hand to give, 'T is yours with truer gi'ace to live. Than I, who giftless, sunless, stand With barren life and hand. — Cariotta Perry. QUANTITY. Words should be spoken quickly, with pauses between of greater or less length according to the levity or gravity of the emotion. Quantity may be long or short. Words of dignity and strength require Long Quantity. Words of impatience, stubbornness, and sudden action require Short Quantity. EXAMPLES OF LONG QUANTITY. It must be so : Plato, thou reasonest well ! Else whence this pleasing hope, this fond desire, This longing after immortality ? LONG QUANTITY. 15 'T is the divinity that stirs within us ; 'T is heaven itself that points out an hereafter, And intimates eternity to man. — Addison. To die, — to sleep, — No more ; — and, by a sleep, to say we end The heart-ache, and the thousand natural shocks That flesh is heir to, — 't is a consummation Devoutly to be wished. To die ; — to sleep ; — To sleep ! perchance to dream : aye, there 's the rub ! For in that sleep of death what dreams may come, Must give us pause I — Shakesjieare. As Caesar loved me, I weej? for him ; As he was fortunate, I rejoice at it ; As he was valiant, I honor him ; But, as he was ambitious, I slew him. —Shahesjyearei. Pray for my soul. More things are wrought by prayer Than this world dreams of. Wherefore, let thy voice Rise like a fountain for me night and day ! For what are men better than sheep or goats That nourish a blind life within the brain. If, knowing God, they lift not hands of prayer Both for themselves and those who call them friends ? For so the whole round earth is every way Bound by gold chains about the feet of God. — Tennyson. And the raven, never Hitting, still is sitting, still is sitting On the pallid bust of Pallas, just above my chamber door; And his eyes liave all the seeming of a dmnoii's that is dreaming, And the lamivlioht o'er him struaniinLi; throws his sliiulow on the tloor; And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor, Shall \)c lifted — xevekmoke! — Poe. O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is Thy name in all the earth, who hast set Thy glory above the heavens. When I consider Thy heavens, the work of Thy fingers ; the moon and the stars, which Thou hast ordained ; what is man that Thou art mindful of him ? 16 ELOCUTION. and the son of man, that Thou viaitest liim ? For Thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honor. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of Thy hands : Thou hast put all things under his feet. O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is Thy name in all the earth. — Bible. Hear the tolling of the hells — Iron bells ! What a world of solemn thought their monody compels ! In the silence of the night How we shiver with affright At the melancholy menace of their tone. For every sound that floats From the rust within their throats Is a groan. — Poe. To make men patriots, to make men Christians, to make men the sons of God, let ail the doors of heaven be opened, and let God drop down charmed gifts — winged imaginations, all-perceiving reason, and all-judging reason. Whatever there is that can make men wiser and better — let it descend upon the head of him who has consecrated himself to the work of mankind, and who has made himself an orator for man's sake and for God's sake. —^H. W. Beecher. O lonely tomb in Moab's land ! O dark Beth-peor's hill ! Speak to these curious hearts of ours, And teach them to be still. God hath His mysteries of gi-ace, — Ways that we cannot tell ; He hides them deep, like the secret sleep Of him He loved so well. — G. F. Alexander. O Death ! where is thy sting ? Grave ! where is thy victory ? — Bible. Short Quantity. He conquers the current, he gains on the sea, — . Ho, where is the swimmer like Charlie Machree? — William J. Hoppin. SHORT QUANTITY. 17 Not a word, not a wail from a lip was let fall, Not a kiss from my bride, not a look or low call Of love-note or coiirage, but on o'er the plain So steady and still, leaning low to the mane, Rode we on, rode we tlu-ee, rode we nose and grey nose, Reaching long, breathing loud, like a creviced wind blows ; — Yet we broke not a whisper, we breathed not a prayer, There was work to be done, there was death in the air. — Joaquin Miller. " ' Hold, there ! ' the other quick replies : ' 'T is green : I saw it with these eyes, As late with open mouth it lay. And warmed it in the sunny ray. Stretched at its ease, the beast I viewed, And saw it eat the air for food.' ' I 've seen it, sir, as well as you. And must again affirm it blue. At leisure I the beast surveyed. Extended in the coolino- shade.' ' ' T is green, 't is green, sir, I assure ye ! ' ' Green i ' cries the other in a fury : ' Why, sir ! d' ye think I 've lost my eyes ? ' "T were no great loss.' the friend replies; 'For, if they always sei-ve you thus. You 'U find them of but little use.' " " Stay there, or I 'U proclaim you to the house and the whole street ! If you try to evade me, I '11 stop you, if it 's by the hair, 'vnd raise the very stones against you." "Hark to the bugle's roundelay! Boot and saddle ! Up and away ! Mount and ride as ye ne'er rode before ; Spur till your horses' flanks run gore : Ride for the sake of luiman lives ; Ride as ye would for your sisters and wives Cowering under their scalping knives. Boot and saddle ! Away, away ! " 2 18 ELOCUTION. If ever you saw an old horse sj)ring upward into a new, If ever you saw a driver whose traps behind hiin flew, 'T was that old horse a racing and a running along the track. And that respectable milkman a-tryilig to hold him back ! Away he dashed like a cyclone for the head of No. 3, Gained the lead and kept it, and steered the journey free, Dodging the wheels and horses, and still on the keenest silk, And a furnishing all that deestrick with good respectable milk ! — Carleton. Like adder darting from his coil. Like wolf that dashes through the toil, Like mountain cat who guards her young, Full at Fitz- James's throat he sprung. — Scott. " The war that for a space did fail, Now trebly thundering, swell'd the gale. And, Stanley ! was the cry ; A light on Marmion's vision spread, And fired his glazing eye. With dying hand above his head. He shook the fragment of his blade, And shouted Victory ! " A hurry of hoofs in a village street, A shape in the moonlight, a bulk in the dark. And beneath, from the jiebbles, in j^assing, a spark Struck out by a steed flying fearless and fleet; That was all ! — Longfellow. A cannon which breaks its moorings becomes abruptly some indescribable, supernatural beast. It is a machine which tranl forms itself into a monster. This mass runs on its wheels, likl billiard-balls, inclines with the rolling, jjlunges with the pitching] goes, comes, stops, seems to meditate, resumes its course, shootsi from one end of the ship to the other like an arrow, whirls, steals \ away, evades, prances, strikes, breaks, kills, exterminates. — Victor Hugo. tt CONVERSATION. 19 QUALITY. Different qualities of voice are associated with different emotions. There are twelve qualities of voice, — the Pure, Orotund, Aspirate, Guttural, Pectoral, Trembling, Prolongation, Falsetto, Staccato, Imitative, Sonorous, and Sostenuto. Pure Quality. The Pure Quality is used in common conversation, simple narration, and description. The face should be ani- mated and pleasant. Gestures supine. Examples of Common Conversation. Touch. How old are you, friend ? Will. Five and twenty, sir. Touch. A ripe age. Is thy name William ? Will. William, sir. Touch. A fair name. Wast born i' the forest here ? Will. Ay, sir, I thank God. Touch. Thank God ! a good answer. Art rich ? Will. Faith, sir, so so. Touch. So so is good, very good, — very excellent good : and yet it is not ; it is but so so. — Shakespeare. Once came to our fields a pair of birds that had never built a nest nor seen a winter. Oh, how beautiful was everything ! The fields were full of flowers, and the grass was growing tall, and the bees were humming everywhere. — Henry Ward Beecher. Gratiano speaks ?in infinite deal of nothing, more than any man in all Venice. His reasons are two grains of wheat hid in two bushels of chaff: you shall seek all day ere you find them, and when you have them they are not worth the search. — Shakespeare. Pol. My lord, the queen wouhl speak with yon, and presently. Ham. Do you see yonder cloud that 's almost in shape of a camel ? 20 ELOCUTION. Pol. By the mass, and 'tis like a camel, indeed. Ham. Methinks it is like a weasel. Pol. It is backed like a weasel. Ham. Or like a whale. Pol. Very like a whale. Ham. Then I wiU come to my mother by and by. They fool me to the top of my bent. I will come by and by. Pol. I will say so. — Shakespeare. " There 's something in a noble boy, A brave, free-hearted, careless one, With his unchecked, unbidden joy, His dread of books, and love of fmi, — "And in his clear and ready smile, Unshaded by a thought of guile, And unrepressed by sadness, — Which brings me to my childhood back, As if I trod its very track. And felt its very gladness." "Now," said Wardle, " what say you to an hour on the ice ? We shall have plenty of time." " Capital ! " said Mr. Benjamin Allen.. " Prime ! " ejaculated Mr. Bob Sawyer. "You skate, of course, AVinkle ? " said Wardle. " Ye-yes ; oh, yes ! " replied Mr. AVinkle. " I am rather out of practice." " Oh, do skate, Mr. Winkle," said Arabella. " I like to see it so much ! " " Oh, it is so gracefid ! " said another young lady. A third young lady said it was elegant, and a fourth expressed her opinion that it was " swan-like." " I should be very happy, I 'm sure," said Mr. Winkle, redden- ing ; " but I have no skates." This objection was at once overruled. Trundle had got a couple of pair, and the fat boy announced that there were half a dozen more down stairs ; whereat Mr. Winkle expressed exquisite delight, and looked exquisitely uncomfortable. Old Wardle led the way to a pretty large sheet of ice ; and CONVERSATION. 21 the fat boy and Mr. Weller having shovelled and swept away the snow which had fallen on it during the night, Mr. Bob Sawyer adjusted his skates with a dexterity which to Mr. Winkle was per- fectly marvellous, and described circles with his left leg, and cut figures of eight, and inscribed upon the ice, without once stopping for breath, a great many other pleasant and astonishing devices, to the excessive satisfaction of Mr. Pickwick, Mr. Tupman, and the ladies ; which reached a pitch of positive enthusiasm when old Wardle and Benjamin Allen, assisted by the aforesaid Bob Sawyer, performed some mystic evolutions, which they called a reel. AU this time Mr. Winkle, with his face and hands blue with the cold, had been forcing a gimlet into the soles of his feet, and putting his skates on with the jjoints behind, and getting the straps into a very complicated and entangled state, with the assistance of Mr. Snodgrass, who knew rather less about skates than a Hindoo. At length, however, with the assistance of Mr. Weller, the unfortu- nate skates were firmly screwed and buckled on. and Mr. Winkle was raised to his feet. "Now, tlien, sir," said Sam, in an encouraging tone, "off with you, and show 'em how to do it." " Stop, Sam, stoj) I " said Mr. Winkle, trembling violently, and clutching hold of Sam's arms with the grasp of a drowning man. " How slippery it is, Sam." " Not an uncommon thing upon ice, sir," replied Mr. Wellei*. " Hold up, sir." This last observation of Mr. Weller's bore reference to a demon- stration Mr. Winkle made, at the instant, of a frantic desire to throw his feet in the air, and dash the back of his head on the ice. "These — these — are very awkward skates; a'n't they, Sam?" inquired INIr. Winkle, staggering. "I'm afeerd there's an orkard gon'lm'n in 'em, sir," replied Sam. "Now, Winkle," cried Mr. Pickwick, quite unconscious that there was anything the matter. " Come : the ladies are all anx- iety." "Yes, yes," replied Mr. Winkle with a ghastly smile, "I'm coming." "Just a-goin' to begin," said Sam, endeavoring to disengage him- self. "Now, sir, start off." 22 ELOCUTION. "Stop an instant, Sam," gasped Mr. Winkle, clinging most affectionately to Mr. Weller. "I find I 've got a couple of coats at home that I do n't want, Sam. You may have them, Sam." " Thankee, sir," replied Mr. Welller. "Never mind touching your hat, Sam," said Mr. Winkle, hastily. " You need n't take your hand away for that. I meant to have given you five shillings this morning for a Christmas-hox, Sara. I '11 give it to you this afternoon, Sam." "You're werry good, sir," replied Mr. Wellei". " Just hold me at first, Sam, will you ? " said Mr. Winkle. " There, that 's right. I shall soon get in the way of it, Sam. Not too fast, Sam : not too fast." Mr. Winkle, stoojiing forward with his body half doubled up, was being assisted over the ice by Mr. Weller in a very unswan-like manner, when Mr. Pickwick most innocently shouted from the oppo- site bank, " Sam ! " "Sir," said Mr. Weller. " Here ! I want you." " Let go, sir. Do n't you hear the gove'nor a-callin' ? Let go, sir." With a violent effort Mr. Weller disengaged himself from the grasp of the agonized Pickwickian, and, in so doing, administered a considerable impetus to the unhappy JMi-. Winkle. With an accu- racy which no degree of dexterity or practice could have insured, that unfortunate gentleman bore swiftly into the centre of the reel, at the very moment when Mr. Bob Sawyer was performing a flourish of unparalleled bea uty. Mr. Winkle struck wildly against him, and with a loud crash they fell heavily down. INIr. PickAvick ran to the spot. Bob Sawyer had risen to his feet ; but Mr. Winkle was far too wise to do anything of the kind in skates. He was seated on the ice, making spasmodic efforts to smile ; but anguish was depicted on every lineament of his countenance. "Are you hurt?" inquired Mi-. Benjamin Allen Avith great anxiety. " Not much," said Mr. Winkle, rubbing his back very hard. " I wish you would let me bleed you," said Mr. Benjamin Allen with great eagerness. " No, thank you," rej^lied INIr. Winkle hurriedly. "I really think you liad better," said Mr. Allen. CONVERSATION. 23 "Thank you," replied Mr. Winkle ; " I 'd ratlier not." " What do you think, Mr. Pickwick ?" inquired Bob Sawyer. Mi\ Pickwick was excited and indignant. He beckoned to Mr. Weller, and said in a stern voice, "Take his skates off!" " No ; but really I had scarcely begun," remonstrated Mr. Winkle. " Take his skates off !" repeated Mr. Pickwick firmly. The command was not to be resisted. Mr. Winkle allowed Sam to obey it in silence. • " Lift him ui^i," said Mr. Pickwick. Sam assisted him to rise. Mr. Pickwick retired a few paces apart from the bystanders, and, beckoning his friend to a])proach, fixed a searching look upon him, and uttered, in a low but distinct and emphatic tone, these remark- able words, — " You 're a humbug, sir. — PicTcwick Papers. " And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living soul." How wonderful is breath ! It comes to us in the soft summer morning laden with the perfume of flowers ; but ere it reaches us it has kissed a thousand scented leaves. The birds soar aloft in its mysterious ether, pouring their triumphal songs on its resonant bosom ; and the butterfly and the buzzing insect, " like winged flowers and flying gems," sparkle and shimmer in their dazzling beauty. But, whether it brings upon its waves the mutterings of the com- ing storm, or the merry, ringing laugh of childhood, — the awful booming of the heavy cannonade, or the silvery tone of the violin, — it is air, such as we breathe. Oh ! then let it become a thing of joy to us. Let us learn to make it a thing of beauty, wreathing em- bodied thoughts in vocal gems of purity and sweetness, that shall gladden the ears of all who listen. — Bro7ison. " Abou Ben Adheni (may his tribe increase!) Awoke one night from a deep dream of peace, And saw within the moonlight of his room, Making it rich and like a lily in bloom, An angel writing in a book of gold. Exceeding peace had made Ben Adheni bold ; 24 ELOCUTION. And to the presence in the room he said, * What writest thou ? ' The vision raised its head, And. with a look made of all sweet accord, Answered, 'The names of those who love the Lord.' 'And is mine one ?' asked Abou. 'Nay, not so,' Replied the angel. Abou spoke more low. But cheerly stiU ; and said, ' I pray thee, then, Write me as one that loves his fellow-men.' The angel wrote, and vanished. The next night It came again, with a great wakening light. And showed the names whom love of God had blest ; And, lo ! Ben Adhem's name led all the rest." " It is related of Michael Angelo, that, while walking with some friends through an obscure street in the city of Florence, he dis- covered a fine block of marble lying neglected in a yard, and half buried in dirt and rubbish. Regardless of his holiday attire, he at once fell to work upon it, clearing away its filth, and striving to lift it from the slime and mire in which it lay. His comjjanions asked him, in astonishment, what he was doing, and what he wanted with that worthless piece of I'ock. 'Oh, there's an angel in the stone,' was the answer, ' and I must get it out ! ' " He had it removed to his studio, and with patient toU, with mallet and chisel, he let the angel out. What to others was but a rude, unsightly mass of stone, to his educated eye was the buried glory of art ; and he discovei'ed at a glance what might be made of it. A mason would have put it into a stone wall ; a carman would have used it for filling in, or to grade the streets; but he trans- formed it into a creation of genius, and gave it a value for ages to come." " There 's a good time coming, boys, A good time coming : We may not live to see the day. But earth shall glisten in the ray Of the good time coming. Cannon balls may aid the ti'uth. But thought's a weajion stronger; We '11 win our battle by its aid ; — Wait a little longer." DESCRIPTION. 25 Examples of Description. " How sweet the moonliglit sleeps upon this bank ! Here we will sit, and let the sounds of music Creep in our ears : soft stillness, and the night, Become the touches of sweet harmony. . : look, how the floor of heaven Is thick inlaid with patens of bright gold ! There 's not the smallest orb, which thou behold'st, But in his motion like an angel sings : 8uch harmony is in immortal souls ! " Oil, green was the corn as I rode on my way. And bright were the dews on the blossoms of May, And dark was the sycamore's shade to behold. And the oak's tender leaf was of omerald and gold. The thrush from his holly, the lark from his cloud. Their chorus of rapture sang jovial and loud ; From the soft vernal sky to the soft grassy ground, There was beauty above me, beneath, and around. The mild southern breeze brought a shower from the hill ! And yet, thougli it left me all drijjping and chiU, I felt a new pleasure as onward I s])ed, To gaze where the rainbow gleamed broad overliead. Oh, such be Life's journey, and such be our s";ill, To lose in its blessings the sense of its ill ; Through sunshine and shower may our progress be even, And our tears add a charm to the prospect of Heaven. — Bishop Heber. Beautiful was the night. Behind tlie black wall of the forest, Tipping its summit with silver, arose the moon on Uk; river, Fell here and tli,crc, through tht> branches, a tremulous gleam of the moonlight. Like the sweet thoughts of love on a darkened and devious si)irit. — LoHijJ'cllino. 26 ELOCUTION. The targe she sat in, like a burnished tlirone, Burned on the water : the poop was beaten gold ; Purple the sails, and so perfumed, that The winds were lovesick with them : the oars were silver ; Which to the tune of flutes kept stroke, and made The water, which they beat, to follow faster, As amorous of their strokes. For her own person. It beggar'd all description ; she did lie In her pavilion — cloth of gold and tissue — O'er-picturiug that Venus, where we see, The fancy out-work nature : on each side her Stood pretty dimpled boys, like smiling Cupids, Witli diverse-colour'd fans, whose wind did seem To glow the delicate cheeks which they did cool, Aud what they undid, did. — Shakespeare. And I saw a great white throne, and Him that sat on it, from "whose face the earth and the heaven fled away ; and there was found no place for them. — Bible. " And what is so rare as a day in June ? Then, if ever, come perfect days ; Then Heaven tries the earth if it he in tune, And over it softly her warm ear lays ; Whether we look, or whether we listen. We hear life murmur, or see it glisten ; Every clod feels a stir of might, An instinct within it that reaches and towers, And, groping blindly above it for light, Climbs to a soul in grass and flowers ; The Uttle bird sits at his door in the sun, Atilt like a blossom among the leaves, And lets his iUumined being o'errun With the delujic of summer it receives." o "A merrier man, Within the limit of becoming mirth, I never spent an hour's talk withal : His eye begets occasion for his wit; DESCRIPTION. 27 For every object that the one doth catch, The otlier turns to a mirth-moving jest, Which his fair tongue (conceit's expositor) Delivers in such apt and gracious words, That aged ears play truant at his tales, And younger hearings are quite ravished, So sweet and vohible is his discourse." The lunat-ic, the lover, and the poet Ai-e of imagination all compact : One sees more devils than vast hell can hold, — That is, the madman ; the lover, all as frantic, Sees Helen's beauty in a brow of Egypt ; The poet's eye, in a fine frenzy rolling. Doth glance from heaven to earth, from earth to heaven ; And, as miagination bodies forth The forms of things unknown, the poet's pen Turns them to shapes, and gives to airy nothing A local habitation and a name. — Shakespeare. TIIK BKOOK. I come from haunts of coot and hern ; I make a sudden sally, And sjiarkle out among the fern To bicker down a valley. By thirty hills I hurry down, Or slip between the ridges; By twenty thorps, a little town, And half a hundred bridgea. With many a curve my banks I fret, By many a field and fallow, And many a fairy foreland set With willow-weed and malljw. I chatter, chatter as I flow To join the brimming river ; For men may come and men may go, But I go on forever. 28 ELOCUTION, I wind about, and in and out, With here a blossom sailing, And here and there a lusty trout, And here and there a grayling. I steal by lawns and grassy plots, I slide by hazel covers, I move the sweet forget-me-nots That grow for happy lovers. I slip, I slide, I gloom, I glance. Among my skimming swallows ; I make the netted sunbeam dance Against my sandy shallows. I munnur under moon and stars In brambly wildernesses ; I linger by my shingly bars, I loiter round my cresses. And out again I curve and flow To join the brimming river ; For men may come and men may go, But I go on forever. — Alfred Tennyson. You bells in the steeple, ring, ring out your changes, How many soever they be, And let the brown meadow-lark's note as he ranges Come over, come over to me. Yet birds' clearest carol by fall or by swelling » No magical sense conveys, And bells have forgotten their old art of telling The fortune of future days. " Turn again, turn again," once they rang cheerily, Wlule a boy listened alone : Made his heart yearn again, musing so wearily All by himself on a stone. NARRATION. 29 Poor bells ! I forgive you ; your good days are over, And mine, — tliey are yet to be ; No listening, no longing, shall aught, aught discover : You leave the story to me. — Jean Ingelow. Example of Narration. THE VISION OF MIBZAH. On the fifth day of the moon, which, according to the custom of my forefathers, I always keep holy, after having washed myself and offered up my morning devotions, I ascended the high hill of Bagdat, in order to pass the rest of the day in meditation and prayer. As I was here airing myself on the tops of the mountains, I fell into a profound contemplation on the vanity of human life ; and, passing from one thought to another, Surely, said I, man is but a shadow and life a dream. Whilst I was thus nuising, I cast my eyes towards the summit of a rock that was not far from me, where I discovered one in the habit of a shepherd, with a musical instrument in his hand. As I looked upon him, he applied it to his lips and began to play upon it. The sound of it was exceedingly sweet, and wrought into a variety of tones that were inexpressibly melodious, and altogether different from anything I had ever heard. They put me in mind of those heavenly airs that are played to the departed soids of good men upon their first arrival in Paradise, to wear out the imjiression of their last agonies and qualify them for the pleasures of that hap])y place. My heart melted away in secret raptures. I had often been told that tlie rock before me was tlie haunt of a Genius, and that several had been entertained with nuisic who had passed by it, but nevei- heard that the musician had before made himself visible. When he had raised my thoughts, by those trans- porting airs which he i)layed, to taste the pleasiu'es of his conversa- tion, as I looked upon him like one astonished, he beckoned to me, and by the waving of his hand directed me to approach the place where he sat. I drew near, with that reverence which is due to a superior nature. And, as my heart was entirely subdued by the captivating strains 30 ELOCUTION. I had heard, I fell down at his feet and wept. The Genius smiled upon me with a look of compassion that familiarized him to my imagination, and at once dispelled the fears with which I approached him. He lifted me from the ground, and taking me by the hand, — '' Mirzah," said he, " I have heard thee in thy soliloquies. Fol- low me." He then led me to the highest pinnacle of the rock, and placing me on the top of it, — " Cast thy eyes eastward," said he, " and tell me what thou seest." " I see," said I, " a huge valley, and a prodigious tide of water rolling through it." " The valley that thou seest is the Vale of Misery, and the tide of water is part of the great tide of eternity." "What is the reason," said I, "that the tide rises out of a thick mist at one end, and loses itself in a thick mist on the other ? " " What thou seest," said he, " is that portion of eternity called time, measured out by the sun, and reaching from the beginning of the world to its consummation." "I see a bridge," said I, "standing in the midst of the tide." "The bridge thou seest," said he, "is human life. Consider it attentively." Upon a more leisurely survey of it, I found that it consisted of threescore and ten arches, with several broken arches, which, added to those that were entire, made ujj the numl^er about a hundred. As I was counting the arches, the Genius told me that this bridge consisted at first of a thousand arches, but that a great flood swept away the rest, and left the bridge in the ruinous condition I now beheld it. " But tell me further," said he, " what thou discoverest on it." " I see multitudes of people passing over it, and a black cloud on each end." As I looked more attentively I saw several of the passengers dropping through the bridge into the great tide that flowed under- neath ; and, ujion further examination, perceived that there were innumerable trap-doors that lay concealed in the bridge, which the passengers no sooner trod upon but they fell through them into the tide and immediately disappeared. These hidden pitfalls were set NAKKATION. 31 very thick at the entrance of the bridge, so that throngs of people no sooner broke through the cloud but many of them fell into them. There were indeed, some, but their number was small, that strug- gled along on the broken arches ; but they, too, fell through, one after another, being tired and spent with so long a walk. My heart was filled with a deep melancholy to see several drop- ping unexpectedly in the midst of mirth and jollity, and catching at everything that stood by to save themselves. Some were look- ing up towards the heavens in a thoughtful posture. Multitudes were busy in the pursuit of bubbles that glittered in their eyes and danced before them ; but when they thought themselves within reach of them their footing failed, and clown they sank. "Take thine eyes off the bridge," said the Genius, "and tell me if thou yet seest anything thou dost not comprehend." Upon looking up, "What mean," said I, "those great flights of birds that are hovering about the bridge and settling upon it from time to time? I see vultures, harpies, ravens, cormorants, and many other feathered creatures, and several little winged boys, that perch in great numbers upon the middle arches." " These," said the Genius, " are envy, avarice, superstition, despair, love, with the like cares and passions that infest human life." "Alas!" said I, "man was made in vain! How is he given away to misery and mortality, — tortured in life and swallowed up in death ! " " Look no more," said the Genius, " on man in the first stage of his existence, in his setting out for eternity ; but cast thine eye on , that thick mist into which the tide bears the several generations of mortals that fall into it." I directed my sight as I was ordered, aiul saw the valley open- ing at the farther end, and spreading forth into an immense ocean that had a huge rock of adamant running through the midst of it and dividing it into two equal parts. The clouds still rested on one half of it. The other a])pearod to me a vast ocean, planted with innumerable islands that were covered with fruits and flowers, and interwoven with a thousand little shining seas that ran among them. I could see persons dressed in glowing habits, and could hear a confused harmony of singing birds, falling watci's, human voices, and musical instruments. Gladness grew in me upon the 32 ELOCUTION. discovery of so delightful a scene. I wished for the wings of an eagle that I might fly away to those happy seats, but the Genius told me there was no passage to them except through the gates of death that I saw opening every moment upon the bridge. " The islands," said he, " that lie so fresh and green before thee, and with which the wliole face of the ocean appears spotted as far as thou canst see, are more in number than the sands on the sea- shore. There are myriads of islands behind those, reaching far- ther than thine- eye or even thine imagination can extend itself. These are the mansions of good men after death, who, according to the degree and kind of virtue in which they excelled, are dis- tributed among these islands which abound with pleasures of dif- ferent kinds and degrees. Every island is a paradise accommo- dated to its respective inhabitants. Are not these, O Mirzah, hab- itations worth contending for? Does life appear miserable that gives the opportunities of earning such a reward ? Is death to be feared that will convey thee to so happy an existence ? Think not man was made in vain who has such an eternity before him." — Anon. OROTUND. The Orotund tone is round and full, and may be said to be the maximum of the Pure Quality. It has clearness, strength, smoothness, and musical quality, which form the highest perfection of the human voice. It was called " ore rotunda " by the poet Horace, when referring to the flowing eloquence of the Greeks. It is used to express Awe, Reverence, Sublimity, Grandeur, and Courage, — also Pathos and Strong Emotion. Standard Quality Calling Tone. " Now for the fight ! Now for the cannon peal ! Forward, — through blood, and toil, and cloud, and fii-e ! Glorious the shout, the shock, the clash of steel, The volley's roll, the rocket's blasting spire ! They shake ! like broken waves their squares retire 1 OROTUND. 33 On tliem, hussars ! Now give them rein and heel ; Think of the orphaned child, the murdered sire — Earth cries for blood ! In thunder on them wheel ! This hour to Europe's fate shall set the triumph seal ! " " Hark to the bugle's roundelay ! Boot and saddle ! Up and away ! Mount and ride as ye ne'er rode before ; Spur up till your horses' flanks run gore ! Ride for the sake of human lives ; Ride as ye would were your sisters and wives Cowering under their scalping-knives. Boot and saddle ! Away, away! " " The war that for a space did fail, Now trebly thundering swell'd the gale, And Stanley ! was the cry ; A light on Marmion's visage spread, And fired his glazing eye : With dying hand above his head He shook the fragment of his blade, And shouted " Victoiy ! " — Charge, Chester, charge ! On, Stanley, on ! Were the last words of Marniion." "O'Brien's voice is hoarse with joy, as, halting, he commands 'Fix bay'uets — charge!' Like mountain-storm rush on tliese fiery bands. On Fontenoy, on Fontenoy! hark to that fierce huzza! 'lievenge! remember Limerick! dash down the Sassenapjli ! ' Like lions leaping at a fold wlien mad with hunger's pang", Right up against the English line the Irish exiles .si)rang. The English strove with desperate strength, paused, rallied, staggered, fled: The green hill-side is matted close with dying and with dead. On Fontenoy, on Fontenoy, like eagles in the sun. With bloody plumes the Irish stand: the field is fought and won." " Now, men ! now is your time ! Make ready ! take aim ! fire ! " 3 84 ELOCUTION. " An hour passed on ; — the Turk awoke ; — That bright dream was his last ; — He woke to hear his sentry shriek ' To arms ! They come ! The Greek ! The Greek ! ' He woke — to die midst flame and smoke. And shout, and groan, and sahre-stroke, And death-shots falling thick and fast As lig-htnino-s from the mountain cloud ; And heard, with voice as trumpet loud, Bozzaris cheer his hand ; — ' Strike — till the last armed foe expires ! Strike — for your altars and your fires ! Strike — for the green graves of your sires ! God — and your native land ! ' " " The combat deepens. On ye brave, Who rush to glory or the gi*ave ! Wave, Munich ! all thy banners wave, And charge with all thy chivalry ! " " Thou slave ! thou wretch ! thou coward ! Thou little valiant, great in villany ! Thou ever strong upon the stronger side ! Thou Fortune's champion, thou dost never fight But when her humorous ladyshi]) is by To teach thee safety ! thou art perjiu'ed, too. And sooth'st up greatness. What a fbol art thou, A ramjjing fool ; to brag, and stamp, and swear Upon my party ! Thou cold-blooded slave. Hast thou not spoken hke thunder on my side ? Been sworn my soldier ! bidding me depend Upon thy stars, thy fortune, and thy strength ? And dost thou now fall over to my foes ? Thou wear a lion's hide ! doff it for shame, And hans: a calf's skin on those recreant limbs." ' " Forward, the Light Brigade ! Charge for the guns ! " he said : Into the valley of Death Rode the Six Hundred. AWE. 35 Flashed all their sabres bare, Flashed as they turned in air, Sabring the gunners there, Charging an army, while All the world wondered. Cannon to right of them, Cannon to left of them. Cannon in front of them, Volleyed and thundered. Stormed at with shot and shell, Boldly they rode, and well. They that had fought so well Came through the jaws of Death Back from the mouth of hell. All that was left of them, Left of Six Hundred. When can their glory fade ? Oh, the wild charge they made ! All the world wondered. Honor the charge they made ! Honor the Light Brigade, Noble .Six Hundred. — Tennyson. Examples of Awe. " Silence, how dead ! darkness, how profound ! No eye, nor listening ear an object finds : Creation sleeps. 'T is as the general pulse Of life stood still, and Nature made a pause, — An awful pause ! prophetic of her end." I had a dream which was not all a dream : The bright sun was extinguished ; and the stars Did wander darkling in the eternal space, Rayless and jiathless ; and the icy earth Swung blind and blackening in the moonless air ; Morn came, and went, — and came, and brought no day. — Byron. 36 ELOCUTION. And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and lo ! there was a great earthquake. And the sun became black, and the moon became as blood ; and the stars of heaven fell unto the earth. And the heavens departed as a scroll. And every mountam and island were moved ou.t of theii places. And the Idngs of the earth, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every freeman, hid themselves, and cried to the rocks and mountains to fall on them and hide them from the face of Him that sitteth upon the throne. — Bible. He bowed the heavens also, and came down ; and darkness was under His feet. He made darkness His secret place. His pavilion round about Him were dark waters and thick clouds of the skies. — Bible. But at midnight, — strange, mystic hour ! — when the veil between the frail present and the eternal future grows thin, — then came the messensfer ! — Harriet Beecher Stowe. O" " Oh ! I have passed a miserable night, So full of fearfid dreams, of ngly sights, That, as I am a Christian faithful man, I would not spend another such" a night, Though 't were to buy a world of haijpy days ; So full of dismal terror was the time ! My dream was lengthened after life : — Oh ! then began the tempeot to my soul ! — With that, methought, a legion of foul fiends Environed me, and howled in mine ears Such hideous cries, that, with the very noise, I trembling waked, and, for a season after, Could not believe but that I was in hell ; Such terrible impression made my dream ! " "Lord, thou hast been our dwelling-place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God." REVERENCE. 37 "Thou breathest; — and the obedient storm is still: Thou speakest ; — silent the submissive wave : Man's shattered ship the rushing waters fill ; And the hushed billows roll across his grave. Sourceless and endless God ! compared with Thee, Life is a shadowy, momentary dream; And time, when viewed throug-h Thy eternity. Less than the mote of morning's solden beam." *'^It thunders! Sons of dust, in rev'rence bow! Ancient of Days ! thou speakest from above. Almighty ! trembling like a timid child, I hear thy awful voice. i Examples of Reverence. " Father ! Thy hand Hath reared these venerable columns ; Thou Didst weave this verdant roof. Thou didst look down Upon the naked earth, and forthwith rose All these fair ranks of trees. They in Thy sun Budded, and shook their green leaves in Thy breeze, And shot towards heaven. The century-living crow, Whose birth was in their tops, grew old and died Among their branches, till, at last, they stood. As now they stand, massy, and tall, and dark, — Fit shrine for luunble worship])er to hold Communion with his Maker ! " '*0h, listen, man! A voice within us speaks that startling word, *Man, thou shalt never die ! ' Celestial voices Hymn it unto our souls ; according harps. By angel fingers toucbed, when the mild stars Of morning sang together, sound forth still The song of our great immortality. " And you, ye storms, howl out his greatness ! Let your thunders roll like drums in the march of the God of armies ! Let your t 38 ELOCUTION. lightnings write his name in fire on the midnight darkness ; let the illimitable void of space become one mouth for song ; and let the unnavigated ether, thi-ough its shoreless depths, bear through the infinite remote the name of him whose goodness endureth forever ! — Spurgeon. MILTON' S INVOCATION OF LIGHT. "Hail! holy light, — offspring of heaven, first-born, Or of the eternal coeternal beam May I exjjress thee unblamed ? since God is light, And never but in unapproached light, Dwelt from eternity, — dwelt then in thee. Bright effluence of bright essence increate ! Or hear'st thou, rather, jjure ethereal stream. Whose fountain who shall tell ? — Before the sun, Before the heavens thou wert, and, at the voice Of God, as with a mantle didst invest The rising world of waters, dark and deeji. Won from the void and formless infinite." " Deep calleth unto deep. And what are we That hear the question of that voice subhme ? Oh ! what are all the notes that ever nmg From war's vain trumpet, by thy thundering side ? Yea, what is all the riot man can make In his short life, to thy unceasing roar ? And yet, bold babbler, what art thou to Him Who drown'd a world, and heaped the waters far Above its loftiest mountains ? A light wave. That breaks, and whispers of its Maker's might." My heart is awed within me, when I think Of the great miracle that still goes on. In silence, round me, — the jjerpetual work Of thy creation, finished, yet renewed Forever. Wi-itten on thy works, I read The lesson of thy own eternity. — Bryant. SUBLIMITY. - 39 Bless the Lord, O my soul ! O Lord, my God, Thou art very great ; Thou art clothed with honor and majesty ; who coverest Thyself with light as Avith a garment ; who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain ; who layeth the beams of His cliambers in the waters ; who maketh the clouds his chariot ; who walketh upon the wings of the wind ; who laid the foundations of tl.e earth, that it should not be removed forever. — Bible. " As some taU clitf that lifts its awiul form, Swells from the vale and midway leaves the storm, Though round its breast the rolling clouds are spread, Eternal sunshine settles en its head." — Goldsmith. Examples of Sublimity. This goodly frame, the earth, seems to me a sterile promontory, this most excellent canopy, the air, look you, tliis brave, o'erlianging firmament, this majestical roof fretted with golden fire, why, it appears no other thing to me than a foul and pestilent con- gregation of vapors. What a piece of work is man! how noble in reason ! how infinite in faculty ! in form and moving how express and admirable ! in action how like an angel ! in apprehension how like a god ! — Shakespeare. What is man, that Thou art mindful of him ? and the son of man, that Thou visitest him ? For Thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and konor. — Bible. And, like the baseless fabric of a dream. The cloud-capp'd towers, the gorgeous palaces, The solemn temples, the gTeat globe itself. Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve, And, like this insubstantial pageant faded, Leave not a rack behind. We are such stuff As dreams are made on, and our little life Is rounded with a sleep. — Shakespeare. O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is Thy name in all the earth, who hast set Thy glory above the heavens. — Bible. 40 ELOCUTION. Thou, from primeval nothingness, didst call First chaos, then existence : — Lord ! on thee Eternity had its foundation ; — all Sprung- forth from Thee, — of light, joy, harmony, Sole origin : — all life, all beauty thine. Thy word created all, and doth create ; Thy splendor fills all space with rays divine. Thou art, and wert, and shalt be ! Glorious ! gi'eat ! Light-giving, life-sustaining Potentate I — Milton. Hast thou a charm to stay the morning star In his steep course ? so long he seems to pause On thy bald awful head, O sovran Blanc ! The Arv^ and Arveiron at thy base Rave ceaselessly, .... thou, O silent mountain, sole and bare, blacker than the darkness, all the night. And visited all niglit by troops of stars, — Or when they climb the sky, or when they sink, — Companion of the morning star, at dawn, Thyself earth's rosy star, and of the dawn Co-herald ! wake, oh ! wake, and utter praise I — Coleridge. So live, that, when thy summons comes to join The innumerable caravan that moves To that mysterious realm, where each shall take His chamber in the silent hall of deatl^. Thou go not, like the quarry-slave at night, Scourged to his dmigeon ; but, sustained and soothed By an unfaltering trust, approach thy grave, Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams. — Bryant. " Sink, O Night, among thy mountains ! let the cool, gray shadows faU; Dying brothers, fighting demons — drop thy curtain over all ! Through the thickening winter twilight, wide apart the battle rolled. In its sheath the sabre rested, and the cannon's lips grew cold. GRAISDEUR. 41 Not wholly lost, Father ! is this evil world of ours ; Upward, through its blood and ashes, spring afresh the Eden flowers ; From its smoking hell of battle, Love and Pity send their prayer, And still thy white-winged angels hover dimly in our air ! " Examples of Grandeur. I had a dream which was not all a dream : The bright sun was extinguished ; and the stars Did wander darkling in the eternal space, Rayless and pathless ; and the icy earth Swimg blind and blackening in the moonless air ; Morn came, and went, — and came, and brought no day. The world was void : The populous and the powerful was a lump, — Seasonless, herbless, treeless, manless, lifeless, — A lump of death — a chaos of hard clay. The rivers, lakes, and ocean all stood still ; A nothing stirred within their silent depths. Ships sailorless lay rotting on the sea. And their masts fell down piece-meal ; as they dropped They slept upon the abyss without a surge ; — The waves were dead ; the tides were in their grave ; The moon, their mistress, had expired before ; The winds were withered in the stagnant air ; And the clouds perished ; darkness had no need Of aid from them, — she was the universe. — Byron. Thy word created all, and doth create ; Thy splendor fills all space with i-ays divine. Thou art, and wert, and slialt l)e ! Glorious ! great ! Light-giving, life-sustaining Potentate ! — Bovn'incj. Now storming fury rose. And clamor such as heard in Heaven till now Was never ; arms on ai-mor clashing biayed Horrible discord, and the madding wheels 42 ELOCUTION. Of brazen chariots raged ; dire was tlie noise Of conflict ; over-head the dismal hiss Of fiery darts in flaming volleys flow, And flying vaulted either host with fire. So under fiery cope together rushed Both battles main, with ruinous assault And inextinguishable rage ; all Heaven Resounded ; and, had earth been then, all earth Had to her centre shook. — Milton. Eternity ! — tbou pleasing, — dreadful thought ! Through what variety of untried being, Through what new scenes and changes must we pass ! The wide, the unbounded prospect lies before me ; But shadows, clouds, and darkness rest upon it. — Addison. 'T is midnight's holy hour, — and silence now Is brooding like a gentle spirit o'er The still and pulseless world. Hark ! on the winds The bell's deep tones are swelling : 't is the knell Of the departed year. — Geo. D. Prentice. Your sorrows, O people, are his peace! Your bells, and bands, and muffled drums sound triumph in his ear. Wail and weep here ! Pass on ! — Beecher. My father's spirit in arms ! all is not well ; I doubt some foul play : would the night were come ! Till then, sit still, my soul. Foul deeds will rise, Though all the earth o'erwhelm them, to men's eyes. — Shakespeare. In thoughts from the visions of the night, when deep sleep falleth on men, fear came upon me, and trembling, which made all my bones to shake. Then a spirit passed before my face ; the hair of my flesh stood up : it stood still, but I 'could not discern the form thereof : an image was before mine eyes : there was silence, and I heard a voice, saying. Shall mortal man be more just than God ? Shall a man be more pure than his maker ? — Bible. COURAGE. 43 Examples of Courage. Men at sooe time are masters of their fates : The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, But in ourselves, that we are imclerlings. Brutus, and CaBsar: What should he in that Caesar? Why should that name be sounded more than yours ? Oh ! you. and I have heard our fathers say There was a Brutus once, that would have brook'd The eternal devil to keep his state in Rome, As easily as a king. — Shakespeare. Come one, come all ! — this rock shall fly From its firm base as soon as I. — Scott. A thousand hearts £lre great within my bosom. Advance our standards ! set upon our foes ! Our ancient word of courage, fair Saint George, Inspire us Avith the spleen of fiery dragons ! Upon them ! Victory sits on our helms ! Slave ! I have set my life upon a cast. And I will stand the hazard of the die. I think there be six Richmonds in the field ; Five have I slain to-day, instead of him. — A horse ! a horse ! my kingdom for a horse ! — Sha kespeare. Strike till the last armed foe expires ! Strike for your altars and your fii'es ! Strike for the gi-een graves of your s"res ! God and your native land ! — Halleck. O that the slave had forty thousand lives ! My great revenge had stomach for them all ! — Sli akespea re. Up ! comrades, up ! — in Rokeby's halls Ne'er be it said our courage falls ! — Scott. 44 ELOCUTION. " Rouse, ye Romans ! Rouse, ye slaves ! Have ye brave sons ? Look in the next fierce brawl To see them die. Have ye fair daughters ? Look To see them live, torn from your arms, distained, Dishonored ; and, if ye dare to call for justice, Be answered by the lash." " Why, in that elder day, to be a Roman Was greater than a king ! And once again, — Hear me, ye walls, that echoed to the tread Of either Brutus ! Once again I swear, The eternal city shall be free ! " ■ " Yet, this is Rome, That sat on her seven hills, and from her throne Of beaiity ruled the world ! Yet we are Romans." Macbeth. If we should fail ? Lady Macbeth. We fail ! But screw your courage to the sticking point. And we '11 not fail. Oh, young Lochinvar is come out of the West ! Through all the wide border his steed was the best : And, save his good broadsword, he weapons had none ; He rode all unarmed, and he rode all alone. So faithfid in love, so dauntless in war, There never was knight like the young Lochinvar. — Scott. " The Bruce — the Bruce ! " To well known cry His native rocks and woods reply. " The Bruce — the Bruce ! " In that dread word The knell of hundred deaths was heard : Two hundred yeoman on that morn The castle left, and none return. Again that cry. "The Bruce — the Bruce!" No hope or in defence or truce. And fearful was the din ! Nor sunk the fearful cry ASPIRATE. 46 Till not a foeman was there found Alive, save those who on the ground Groaned in their agony. Then long and loud the victor shout From turret and from tower rans out. " The Bruce hath won his father's hall : Rejoice, hrave friends and comrades all." ASPIRATE. — Scott. The Aspirate is a blending of the Colloquial and whisper. It gives the whispered utterance of secrecy and fear. It may be called articulated breath. Pronounced with a breathing, or full emission of breath. Examples. And the hridemaidens whispered, " 'T were hetter hy far To have matched our fair cousin with young Lochinvar." — Scott. " Deep silence fell on all around : Through that dense crowd Was heard no sound of steji or word." Or whispering " The foe ! They come ! they come ' " — Byron. To bed, to bed ; there 's knocking at the gate. Come, come, come, come, give nie your hand ! — Macbeth. And then we thought on vengeance, and all along our van " Remember Saint Bartholomew ! " was passed from to man. — Macaulay. " Hark ! thoy whisper, angels say, 'Sister spirit, come away.' " 46 ELOCUTION. " Breathe it not aloud : the wild winds must not hear it." " Husli ! hark ! Did stealing steps go by ? Come not faint whispers near ? " " Heard ye the whisper of the breeze, As soft it murmured by Amid the shadowy forest trees? It tells, with meaning sigh, Of the bowers of bliss on that viewless shore, Where the weary spirit shall sin no more." " The loud wind dwindled to a whisper low. And sighed for pity as it answered, 'No.'" "The loud waves, rolling in perpetual flow, Stopped for a while, and sighed to answer, • No.' " " Hark ! I hear the bugles of the enemy ! They are on their march along the bank of the river. We must retreat instantly, or be cut off from our boats. I see the head of their column already rising over the height. Our only safety is in the screen of this hedge. Keep close to it : be silent, and stoop as you run. For the boats ! Forward ! " " Pray you tread softly, — that the blind mole may not Hear a foot-fall : we are now near his cell. Speak softly ! All 's hushed as midnight yet. See 'st thou here ? This is the mouth o' the cell : no noise ! and enter." ASPIRATED TONES. Aspirated Tones are strongest emotions intensified. Examples. " Oh ! horror ! horror ! horror ! — Tongue nor heart Cannot conceive, nor name thee ! " ASPIRATED TONES. 47 Is this a dagger which I see before me, The handle toward my hand ? Come, let me clutch thee : — I have thee not, and yet I see thee still. — Macbeth. Angels and ministers of grace, defend us ! — Be thou a sjnrit of health, or goblin damn'd. Bring with thee airs from heaven, or blasts from hell, Be thy intents wicked, or charitable. Thou com'st in such a questionable shape, That I will speak to thee. — Hamlet. " Hark ! I hear the bugles of the enemy ! They are on their march along the bank of the river. We must retreat instantly, or be cut off from our boats. I see the bead of their column already rising over the height. Our only safety is in the screen of this hedge. Keep close to it : be silent, and stooj) as you run. For the boats ! Forward ! " 'T is now the very witching time of night, When church-yards yawn, and hell itself breathes out Contagion to this world : — now could I drink hot blood, And do such bitter business as the day Would quake to look on. — Hamlet. " Confusion now hath made his masterpiece ! INIost sacrilegious murder hath broke ope The Lord's anointed temple, and stole thence The life o' the building." " Approach the chamber, and destroy your sight W ith a ncAv Gorgon ! " DAGGKR SCENE FROM MAflBETH. Is this a dagger which I see before me, The handle toward my hand ? Come, let me clutch thee : — I have thee not, and yet I see thee still. Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible To feeling, as to sight ? or art thou but 48 ELOCUTION. A dagger of the mind, a false creation, Proceeding from tlie heat-oppressed brain ? I see thee yet, in form as palpaLle As this which now I draw. Thou marshall'st me the way that I was going ; And such an instrument I was to use. Mine eyes are made the fools o' the other senses, Or else worth all the rest : — I see thee still : And on thy blade, and dudgeon, gouts of blood, Which was not so before. — There 's no such thing : It is the bloody business which informs Thus to mine eyes. — Now o'er the one half world Nature seems dead, and wicked dreams abuse The curtain'd sleeper : witchcraft celebrates Pale Hecate's offerings ; and wither'd murder, Alarum'd by his sentinel the wolf, Whose howl 's his watch, thus with his stealthy pace, With Tarquin's ravishing strides, toward his design Moves like a ghost. — Thou sure and firm-set earth, Hear not my steps, which way they walk, for fear The very stones prate of my whereabout, And take the present horror from the time, Which now suits with it. Whiles I threat, he lives : Words to the heat of deeds too cold breath gives. I go, and it is done : the bell invites me. Hear it not, Duncan ; for it is a knell That summons thee to heaven, or to hell. GUTTURAL. The Guttural tone is produced by an explosive resonance in the throat. It denotes all those states of mind classed under dislike and ill-humor. Prominent char- acteristic is a harsh, discordant quality. It is an impure tone. Low pitch and slow time- Examples. How like a fawning publican he looks ! I hate him, for he is a Christian ; GUTTURAL. 49 But more for that, in low simplicity, He lends out money gratis, and brings down The rate of usance here with us in Venice. If I can catch him once upon the hip, I will feed fat the ancient grudge I bear him. He hates our sacred nation ; and he rails, Even there where merchants most do congregate, On me, my bargains, and my well won tlirift, Wliich he calls interest. Cursed be my tribe If I forgive him. — Shakespeare. Thou slave ! thou wretch ! thou coward ! Thou little valiant, great in villany ! Thou ever strong upon the stronger side ! Thou Fortune's champion, that dost never fight But when her humorous ladyship is by To teach thee safety ! — Shakespeare. Traitor ! I go, but I return ! This — trial ! Here I devote your senate ! I 've had wrongs To stir a fever in the blood of age, Or make the infant's sinews strong as steel. This day 's the birth of sorrows ; this hour's work Will breed proscription. Look to your hearths, my lords, For there, henceforth, shall sit, for household gods, Shai)es hot from Tartarus ; — all shames and crimes ; Wan Treachery, with liis thirsty dagger drawn ; Suspicion, poisoning liis brother's cup ; Naked Rebellion, with the torch and axe, Making his wild sport of your blazing thrones ; Till Anarchy comes down on you like night, And Massacre seals Rome's eternal grave. " You common cry of curs ! whose breatli I hate As reek o' the rotten fens, — whose loves I prize As the dead carcasses of unburied men. That do corrupt my air, — / banish you I " 4 60 ELOCUTION. I '11 have my bond ; I will not hear thee speak. I '11 have my bond ; and, therefore, speak no more. I '11 not be mad^ a soft and dull-eyed fool. To shake the head, relent, and sigh, and yield To Christian intercessors. Follow not . I '11 have no more speaking I will have my bond. — Shakespeare. " Ye gods ! ye gods ! must I endure all this ? " " Know ye not, then," said Satan, filled with scorn, " Know ye not me ? — Ye knew me once no mate For you ; there sitting where ye durst not soar : Not to know me argues yoiirselves unknown, — The lowest of your throng." " Let them pull all about mine ears ; present me Death on the wheel, or at wild horses' heels ; Or pile ten lulls on the Tarpeian rock, That the precipitation might down stretch Below the beam of sight ; yet wiU I still Be thus to them." PECTORAL. The Pectoral Quality gives expression to deep-seated anger, despair, great solemnity. It requires deep ab- dominal breathing ; is low in pitch ; is usually accom- panied by slow time ; and is used in the supernatural. Examples. I am thy father's spirit, — Doomed for a certain term to walk the night ; And, for the day, confined to fast in fires, Till the foul crimes, done in my days of nature, Are burned and purged away. But that I am forbid To tell the secrets of my prison-house, I could a tale unfold whose Ughtest word PECTORAL. 51 "Would harrow up thy soul, freeze thy young hlood, Make thy two eyes, like stars, start from their spheres, Thy knotted and combined locks to part, And each particular hair to stand on end Like quills upon the fretfid porcupine. — Shakespeare. Oh ! I have passed a miserable night ! So full of fearful dreams, of ugly sights, That, as I am a Christian, faithful man, I wovdd not spend another such a night, Though 't were to buy a world of happy days, So full of dismal terror was the time ! — Shakespeare. Methought I heard a voice cry " Sleep no more ! Macbeth does murder sleejj ! " Still it cried, " Sleep no more ! Glamis hath murdered sleep, And therefore Cawdor shall sleep no more ; Macbeth shall sleep no more." — Shakespeare. They 're gone ! they 're gone ! the glimmering spark hath fled ! The wife and child are numbered. with the dead. On the cold earth, outstretched in solemn rest, The babe lay frozen on its mother's breast. The gambler came at last, — but all was o'er : Dread silence reigned around — the clock struck four ! — Coates. Avaunt ! and quit my sight ! Let the earth hide thee ! Thy bones are marrowless, thy blood is cold ; Thou hast no speculation in those eyes Whi(;h thou dost glare with ! Hence, horrible shadow ! Unreal mockery, hence ! — Shakespeare. Still it cried, " Sleep 7io more,'* to all the house : " Glamis hath vmrdered sleep, and therefore Cawdor Shall sleep no more ; Macbeth shall sleep no more ! " 52 ELOCUTION. What may tMs mean, That thou, dead corse, again, in complete steel, Revisit'st thus the glimjjses of the moon. Making night liideous ; and we fools of nature, So horribly to shake our dispositions With thoughts beyond the reaches of our souls ? — Shakespeare. "In thoughts from the visions of the night, when deep sleep falleth on men, fear came upon me, and trembling, which made all my bones to shake. Then a spirit passed before my face : the hair of my flesh stood up. It stood still ; but I could not discern the form thereof ; an image was before mine eyes ; there was silence ; and I heard a voice saying, Shall mortal man be more just than God ? Shall a man be more pure than his Maker ? " TREMBLING. The Trembling tone is used in old age. It expresses anxiety and intense desire. Examples. You see me here, you gods, a poor old man, As fuU of grief, as age ; wretched in both ! If it be you that stir these daughters' hearts Against their father, fool me not so much To bear it tamely ; touch me with noble anger, And let not women's weapons, water-drops, Stain my man's cheeks ! — Shakespeare. Then suddenly I'ang a sliarp, low cry ! Bess sank on her knees, and wildly tossed Her Avithered arms in the summer sky, — " O Willie ! WiUie ! my lad ! my lost ! The Lord be praised ! after sixty years I see you again ! The tears you cost, Wilhe, darlin', were bitter tears ! " — Hamilton Aide. TREMBLING. 63 Pity the sorrows of a poor old man, Whose trembling limbs have borne him to your door ; Whose days are dwindled to the shortest span ; — Oh ! give relief, and Heaven will bless your store. — Thomas Moss. "'Twas sae sad," moaned the crushed, aged mother, each word dripping o 'er with tear, " Sae far he should come for to find us, and then he should perish sae near ! Robin, my bairn ! ye did wander far from us for mony a day, But when ye ha' come back sae near us, why could na' ye come a' the way ? " — Will Carleton. " How dark it is ! I cannot seem to see The faces of my flock. Is that the sea That murmurs so ? or is it weeping ? Hush, My little cliihlren ! God so loved the world, He gave his Son : so love ye one another. Love God, and man. Amen ! " " I '11 go no more : I am afraid to think what I have done ; Look on't again I dare not." *' Rock of ages, cleft for me " — Lips grown aged simg the hymn Trustingly and tenderly. Voice gi'own weak and eyes grown dim — " Let me hide myself in Thee." Trembling thougli the voice and low, Ran the sweet strain peacefully Like a river in its flow. " Rock of Ages, cleft for me, Let me hide myself in Thee." " She prayed, her withered hand uprearing, — ' God. who art never out of hearing, Oh, may he never more be warm ! ' " 54 ELOCUTION. PROLONGATION. Prolongation is used to give the effect of distance, time, and number. Examples. sweet and far, from clifP and scar, The horns of Elfland faintly blovsdng. — Tennyson. " Backward, roll backward, O Time, in your flight ; Make me a child again, just for to-night." To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow. Creeps in this petty pace from day to day, To the last syllable of recorded time. — Shakespeare. The clock strikes twelve ; — the grave opens, and closes, and the old year is buried. — Brooks. The stars shall fade away, the sun himself Grow dim with age, and nature sink in years ; But thou shalt flourish in immortal youth. Unhurt amidst the war of elements, The wreck of matter, and the crush of worlds. — Addison. We spend our years like a tale that is told. The days of our years are three score years and ten; and if, by reason of strength, they be four score years, yet is their strength labor and sorrow. — Bible. Oh, a wonderful si: am is the river of Time, As it runs through the realm of tears. With a faultless rhythm and musical rhyme. And a boundless sweep and a surge sublime, As it blends with the ocean of years. —B. F. Taijlor. FALSETTO. 55 Oh, sweet and strange it seems to me, that ere this day is done The voice tliat now is speaking may be beyond the sun, — Forever and forever, — all in a blessed home, — And there to wait a little while till you and Effie come, — To lie within the light of God as I lie upon your breast, — Where the wicked cease from troubling, and the weary are at rest. — Tennyson. And, friends, dear friends, when it shall be That this low breath is gone from me, And round my bier ye come to weep, Let one, most loving of you aU, Say, " Not a tear must o 'er her fall ; He giveth His beloved sleep." — Mrs. Browning. FALSETTO. The Falsetto Quality is that tone of voice used in weakness, in childhood, and in old age ; also in merriment, in terror, and in- remorse. Examples. Out, damned spot ! out, I say ! — Macbeth. I beg your pardon : I thought my father was, — or might be, Dear me, how very awkward! I never knew any thing liappen so cross. I am very sorry I intruded. If I had n't thought my father was here, I would n't, upon any account, liave It is very pro- voking — must look very strange ! — Dickens. Will the New Year come to-night, mamma ? I 'm tired of waiting so ; My stocking hung by the chimney-side full three long days ago. I run to peep within the door by morning's early light, — ' T is empty still. Oh, say, mamma, will New Year come to-night ? — Cora M. Eager. And from the crowd beneath, in accents wild, A mother screams, " O God ! my child ! my child ! " — George M. Baker. 56 ELOCUTION. Yes, it is worth talking of ! But that 's how you always try to put me down. You fly into a rage, and then if I only try to speak, you won 't hear me. That 's how you men always wUl have all the talk to yourselves : a poor woman is n't allowed to get a word in. — Douglas Jerrold. " Down in the bright dean meadows, The pitty daisies' home. Daisies dat are my name-sate, Mamma said I might tum." Do, good people, move on ; such a rabble of boys ! I '11 break every bone of 'em I come near : Go home — you 're sinlling the porter — Go home, Tommy Jones, go along with your beer. This is the sorrowfiUest day of my life, Ever since my name was Betty Morgan. — Hood. *' Billy ! Where are you, Billy? I say, come home to your best of mothers. I 'm scared when I think of them Cabroleys, they drive so, They 'd run over their own sisters and brothers. Or maybe he 's stole by some chimney -sweeping wretch to stick in narrow flues, and what not. Oh ! I 'd give the whole wide world, if the world was mine, to clap my two longing eyes on his face. For he 's my darlin' of darlin's, and if he do n't soon come back, you '11 see me drop stone dead on the place." " Oh , Ephraim ! " said she, the tears rolling down her cheeks, and the smiles coursing up. " Why, what is it, Arimathea ? " said the astonished Mr. Jones, smartly rubbing his head where it came in contact with the lounge. " Baby ! " she gasped. Mr. Jones turned jjale and commenced to sweat. " Baby ! Oh ! oh ! oh ! Ephraim ! Baby has — baby has got — a little toothy. Oh! oh! oh!!" — Danhury News Man. STACCATO. 57 " Sit and roast there with your meat ; sit and bake there with your bread — You who sat there to see us starve ! " one shrinking woman said. " Sit on your throne and roast, with your crown upon your head ! " STACCATO. The Staccato Tone is a short, distinct, articulated style, and is used in harsh sentiment. Examples. Like adder darting from his coil, Like wolf that dashes through the toil, Like mountain cat that guards her young, * Full at Fitz James's throat she sprung. — Scott. Lay on, Macduff ! And damn'd be he who first cries " Hold ! enough ! " — Macbeth. Blow, wind ! Come, wrack ! At least we '11 die with harness on our back. — Macbeth. Not in the legions Of horrid hell can come a devil more damn'd In evils to top Macbeth. — Macbeth. And dar'st thou, then. To beai'd the lion in liis dtMi, The Douglas in his hall ? And hop'st thou hence unscathed to go ? No ! by Saint Bride of Botliwell, no I — Scott. " Boot, saddle, to h!)rse, and nway ! Rescue my castle before tlie hot day Brightens to blue from its silvery gray : Boot, saddle, to horse, and away ! " 68 ELOCUTION. '" Go ! ' Through his ear the summons stung, As if a battle-trumj) had rung ; The shimb'ring instincts long unstirred Start at the old familiar word ; It thrills like flame through every li*b — What mean his twenty years to him ? The savage blow his rider dealt Fell on his hollow flanks unf elt ; The spur that pricked his staring hide, Unheeded, tore his bleeding side ; Alike to him are spur and rein, — He steps a five-year-old again ! " Cas. Brutus, bay not me ! I 'U not endure it. You forget yourself. To hedge me in : I am a soldier, I, Older in practice, abler than yom-self To make conditions. Bru. Go to ! you are not, Cassius. Cas. I am. Bru. I say you are not ! Cas. Urge me no more : I shall forget myself : Have mind ujjon your health ; tempt me no further ! Bru. You say you are a better soldier : Let it appear so ; make your vaunting true. And it shall please me well. For mine own part, I shall be glad to learn of noble men. — Shakespeare. Fear not each sudden sound and shock ; ' T is of the wave, and not the rock ; ' T is but the tiajiping of the sail. And not a rent made by the gale. Spite of rock and tempest roar, In spite of false lights on the shore, Sail on, nor fear to breast the sea ; Our hearts, our hopes, are all with thee. Om" liearts, our hopes, om* prayers, our tears, Our faith triumphant o'er our fears. Are all with thee, — are all with thee. — Longfellow. IMITATIVE. 69 IMITATIVE. The Imitative is used to suit sound to sense. Bell- Moan — Thunder — Crash, etc. Examples. For men must work and women must weep, Though there 's little to earn and many to keep, And the harbor bar he moaning. — Kingsley. O warning lights ! burn bright and clear, — Hither the storm comes ; Leagues away it moans and tlumders low and drear, — Burn till the break of day. — Celia Thaxter. Then came thunder in mine ears, And over us surged the sea of steers. — Desprez. Do not mock me. Oh ! ring the hells softly, And burn your lights low ; my Italy 's there With my brave civic pair to disfranchise despair. — Mrs. Browning. Oh ! sweet and far, from cliff and scar. The horns of Elfland faintly blowing. Blow, bugle ! — hear the purple glens replying ; Blow, bugle ! — answer, echoes. Dying — dying — dying. — Tennyson. " Merrily swinging on brier and weed, Near to the nest of his little dame. Over the mountain-side or mead, Robert of Lincoln is telling his name, — Bob-o-link, bob-o-link, Spink, spank, spink ! Snug and safe is that nest of ours, Hidden among the sunrner flowers : Chee, cliee, chee ! " 60 ELOCUTION, " How sweet the chime of the Sabbath bells ! Each one its creed in music tells In tones that float upon the ilir, As soft as song, as pure as prayer. And I will put in simple rhyme The language of the golden chime : My happy heart with rapture swells Responsive to the bells, sweet bells." "But there came no other answer Than the echo of his crying, Than the echo of the woodlands, ' Minnehaha ! Minnehaha ! ' And the desolate Hiawatha, Far away amid the forest, Heard the sudden cry of anguish, Heard the voice of Minnehaha Calling to him in the dai-kness, ' Hiawatha ! Hiawatha ! ' " " The splendor falls on castle walls. And snowy summits old in story : The long light shakes across the lakes, And the wild cataract leaps in glory. Blow, bugle, blow ! — set the wild echoes flying ; Blow, bugle ! — answer, echoes, Dying— dyi"g— dying- " Oh, love ! they die in yon rich sky ; They faint on hill, or field, or river : Our echoes roll from soul to soul, And live forever and forever. Blow, bugle, blow ! — set the wild echoes flying ; And answer, echoes, answer, Dying— flying— flying-" SONOKOUS. 61 SONOROUS. The Sonorous Tone is made by abdominal breathing, and is used in passion. Examples. Ah ! more royally in woman's heart than dwells within the crowned majesty and sceptered anger of an hundred kings. — Hichelieu. You do not know what you say, my poor child. You do not comprehend that this would he to villify, to dishonor, the widow of Louis XVI. — Marie Antoinette. Come not cringing to woo me ; Take me with passion and power, As a warrior storms a fortress : I will not shrink or cower. Come as you came in the desert Ei"e we were women and men, When the tiger passions were in us, And love as you loved me then. — W. W. Story. Give me my rohe, put on my crown ; I have Immortal longings in me ; now no more The juice of P^gypt's grape shall moist tliis lip ; Yare, yare, good Iras ; quick, Methinks I hear Antony caU. — Shakespeare. " Ah, me ! this lifeless nature Oppresses my heart and brain ! for a storm and thunder. For lightning and wild, fierce rain ! Fling down that lute — I hate it ! Take rather his buckler and sword. And crash them and clash them together Till this sleeping world is stirred." 62 ELOCUTION. Hie thee hither, That I may pour r'-y spirits in thine ear ; And chastise with the valor of my tongue All that impedes thee from the golden round, Which fate and metaphysical aid doth seem To have thee crown 'd withal. — Shakespeare. " Once to speak before the world, rend hare my heart, and show The lesson I have learned, which is death, is life, to know. I, if I perish, — perish ; in the name of God I go." " O my soul's joy ! If after every tempest come svch calms. May the winds blow till they have waken'd death ! joy ! thou welcome stranger ! twice three years 1 have not felt thy vital beam ; bnt now It warms my veins, and plays about my heart : A fiery instinct lifts me from the ground, And I could mount — " SOSTENUTO. The Sostenuto is that tone of voice, used in love, admira- tion, and pleasing sentiment. High pitch, moderate time. Examples. How sweet the moonlight sleeps upon this bank ; Here will we sit, and let the sounds of music Creep in our ears ; — soft stillness, and the night, Become the touches of sweet harmony. — Shakespeare. Soft undulations, Like nuisic's vibrations Coursing light-footed the silvery strings. Seem like the ocean In jubilant motion. Rocking its burden of beautiful things. — Edward A. Jenks. SOSTENUTO. 63 But thou, O Hope, Avith eyes so fair, — What was thy delightful measure ? Still it whispered promised pleasure. And bade the lovely scenes at distance hail; Still would her touch the strain prolong ; And from the rocks, the woods, the vale, She called on Echo still, through all the song; And when her sweetest theme she chose, A soft, responsive voice was heard at every close ; And Hope, enchanted, smiled, and waved her golden hair. — William C. Bryant. She came in aU her beauty, like the moon from the cloud in in the east. Loveliness was around her, as light. Her steps were like the music of songs. — Ossian. A sensitive plant in a garden grew, And the young winds fed it with silver dew ; And it opened its fanlike leaves to the light. And closed them beneath the kisses of niaht. t) -Shelley. Oh ! be some other name ! What 's in a name ? That which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet ; So Romeo would, were he not Romeo called, Retain that dear perfection which he owes Without that title. — Shakespeare. Come, gentle night ! come, loving, bhick-browed night ! Give me my Romeo ; and, when he shall die, Take him and cut him out in little stars, And he will make the face of heaven so fine That all the world will be in love with night, And pay no worship to the garish sun. — Shakespeare. She walks in beauty, like the night Of cloudless climes and starry skies, And all that 's best of dark and briers, are t;ii>])iii,ii' tlie ixibslu-d glass; And the crowd in the street look upward, and nod ami smile as tliey pass." Slow Movement. Slow time is used to express vastness, soleiuuity, liDrror, and consternation. 68 ELOCUTION. Examples. " Who can number the clouds in wisdom ? or who can stay the bottles of heaven ? Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and (iompre- hended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the moun- tains in scales and the hills in a balance ?" " As some tall cliff, that lifts its awful form, Swells from the vale, and midway leaves the storm, Though round its breast the rolling clouds are spread, Eternal sunshine settles on its head." Break, break, break, On thy cold gray stones, O Sea! And I would that my tongue could utter The thoughts that arise in me. Oh, well for the fisherman's boy That he shouts with his sister at play ! Oh, well for the sailor lad That he sings in his boat on the bay ! And the stately ships go on To their haven under the hill ; But O for the touch of a vanished hand, And the souud of a voice that is still ! Break, break, break. At the foot of thy crags, O Sea ! But the tender grace of a day that is dead Will never come back to me. — Tennyson. "'Tis midnight's holy hour: and silence now Is brooding like a gentle spirit o'er The still and pulseless world. Hark ! on the winds The bell's deep tones are swelling: 'tis the knell Of the departed year." INFLECTION. 69 " Silence how dead , and darkness how profound ! The glooms of night brood o'er a slumb'ring world." " Night gathers slowly around me — the long night of darkness and death. Witliin mine eye the light of life is fading, as the day is slowly melting from the darkening sky." " Slowly and sadly we laid him do^vn, From the held of his fame fresh and gory; We carved not a Hne, we raised not a stone, But we left him alone with his glory." "The boast of heraldry, the pomp of poAver, And all that beauty, all that wealth e'er gave. Await alike the inevitable hour : The paths of glory lead but to the grave." INFLECTION. Inflection in voice indicates each passing thought. Inflections are Rising, Falling, and Monotone. Rising Inflection. The Rising Inflection is the rare exception, and excites doubt and incredulity. It also defers to the hearer. Examples. None could run so fast as he could ; None could dive so deep as he could ; None could swim so fast as he could ; None had made so many journeys, None had seen so many wonders, As the wonderful lago, As this marvellous story-teller. — Hiawatha. " It is vastly easy for you, ]\Iistress Dial, who have always, as everybody knows, set yourself u]> above me, — it is vastly easy for you, I say, to accuse other people of laziness." 70 ELOCUTION. Hamlet. Look you, how clieerfully my mother looks, and my father died within these two hours. Ophelia. Nay, 't is twice two months, my lord. Hamlet. So long ? Nay, then, let the devil wear black, for I '11 have a suit of sables. Oh. heavens ! die two months ago, and not forgotten yet ? — Hamlet. Look upon my boy ? What mean you ? Look upon my boy as though I guessed it, — Guessed the trial you 'd have me make ? — Knowles. " You come to teach the people ? " " Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow ? or hast thou seen the treasures of the haU ? Canst thou bind the sweet influ- ences of Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion ? Canst thou bring forth Mazzaroth in his season ? or canst thou guide Arcturus with his sons ? " " Hear him, my lord ; he 's wondrous condescending ! Mark tlie himiility of shepherd Norval ! " " Indeed ! he is your friend, is he ? What ! has he assured you that he Is my friend ? " " We ! — what page in the last court grammar made you a plural ? " " All this ? Ay, more. Fret till your proud heart break : Go show your slaves how choleric you are, And make your bondmen treml)le. Must I budge ? Must I observe you ? Must I stand and crouch Under yom- testy humor ? " Falling Inflection. The Falling Iiillection is the rule, and carries conviction and pathos. INFLECTION. 71 Examples. " One more unf ortmiate, Weary of breath, Rashly miportunate, Gone to her death. " that this too, too solid flesh would nielt, Thaw, and resolve itself into a dew ' Or that the Everlasting had not fixed His canon 'gainst self-slanghter ! God ! God ! How weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable Seem to me all the uses of this world ! Fie on 't ! oh, fie ! 'T is an vinweeded garden That grows to seed ; things rank and gross in nature Possess it merely. That it should come to this ! But two months dead ; nay, not so much, not two ; So excellent a king ; that was to this, Hyperion to a satyr ! so loving to my mother That he might not beteem the winds of heaven Visit her face two roughly. Heaven and earth ! Let me not think on 't. Frailty, thy name is woman ! — Hamlet. " When in the silent night all earth lies hushed In slumber ; when the glorious stars shine out, Each star a sun, each sun a central light Of some fair system, ever wheeling on In one unbroken round, and that again Revolving round another sun ; while all Suns, stars, and systems proudly roll along In one majestic ever-onward course. In space uncircumscribed and limitless, — Oh! think you then the undebased soul Can calmly give itself to sleep, — to rest ? " " Hush ! lightly tread ! still tranquilly she sleeps ; I 've watched, suspending e'en my breath, in fear To break the heavenly spell. Move silently." 72 ELOCUTION. " Go stand upon the heights at Niagara, and listen in awe-struck silence to that boldest, most earnest and eloquent, of all Nature's orators ! And what is Niagara, with its plunging waters and its mighty roar, but the oracle of God, the whisper of His voice who is revealed in the Bible as sitting above the water-floods forever ? " " The drums are all muffled ; the bugles are still ; There 's a pause in the valley, a halt on the hill ; And the bearers of standards swerve back with a thrill Where the sheaves of the dead bar the way: For a great field is reaped, heaven's garners to fill, And stern Death holds his harvest to-day. " " The ciu'f ew tolls the knell of parting day ; The lowing herds wind slowly o'er the lea ; The plowman homeward plods his Aveary way, And leaves the world to darkness and to me. " " Forever and forever, all in a blessed home, And there to wait a little while, till you and Effie come, — To lie within the light of God, as I lie upon your breast ; And the wicked cease from troubling, and the weary are at rest." — Termyson : " May Queen." Monotone. Monotone occurs in those parts of a subject where several words follow each other without requiring any variation of tone. It should be read or spoken with unvarying sameness. Very h)w ]>itch and slow time. Examples. As autumn's dark storms pour from two echoing hills, so toward each other approached the heroes. Steel clanging sounded on steel. Helmets are cleft on high ; blood bursts and smokes around. As the troubled noise of the ocean when roll the waves on high ; as the last peal of the thunder of heaven, — such is the noise of battle. — Ossian. MONOTONE. 73 For who would bear tlie whips and scorns of time, The oppressor's wi'ong, the proud man's contumely, The pangs of despis'd love, the law's delay, The insolence of office, and the spurns That patient merit of the unworthy takes, When he himself miglit liis cpuetus make With a bare bodkin ? Who would fardels bear, To grmit and sweat under a weary life ? But that the dread of something after death, — That undiscover'd country, from whose boui-ne No traveller returns, — puzzles the wiU, And makes us rather bear tho^e ills we have^ Than fly to others that we know not of ? Thus conscience does make cowards of us all. — Hainlet. " In thoughts from the visions of the night, when deep sleep fall- eth on men, fear came upon me, and trembling which made all my bones to shake. Then a spirit passed before my face ; the hair of my flesh stood up. It stood still, but I could not discern the form thereof : an image was before my eyes, there was silence, and I heard a voice, saying, ' Shall mortal man be more just than God? ShaU a man be more pure than his INIaker ? ' " And now the grave for its cold breast has won thee. And thy white delicate limbs the earth will press ; And, oh ! my last caress Must feel thee cold, for a chill hand is on thee ; How can I leave my boy so jjillowed tliere Upon his clustering hair I — Willis. And the sun became black as saclcclotli of haii", and the moon became as blood ; and the stars of heaven fell u])()u the earth, even as a fig-tree casteth her untimely fi'^s, whan slie is shakeu l)y a miglity wind. And the heavens de])art'.>d as a scrroll wlien it is rolled together: and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. — Bible. " Toll, toll, toll. Thou bell by billows swung ! " 74 ELOCUTIOIsr. " Night, sable goddess, from her ebon thi-one. In rayless majesty now stretches forth Her leaden sceptre o'er the slumbering world. Silence how dead ! and darkness how profound ! " " When for me the silent oar Parts the Silent River, And I stand up an the shore Of the strange Forever, Shall I miss the loved and known ? Shall I vainly seek mine own ? " EMPHASIS. Emphasis produces a primary beauty of oratory ; it gives the nice distinctions of meaning, the refined conceptions which language is capable of expressing, and imparts a a force and harmony to composition which its absence would render lifeless, and frequently unintelligible. The best rule for emphasizing justly is to study the true meaning of the author, and lay the stress upon such words as you would make impressive were you convers- ing upon the same subject. Examples. Athos, thou proud and aspiring mountain, that liftest thy head unto the heavens, be not so audacious as to put obstacles in my way ; if thou dost, I will cut thee level with the plain, and hurl th je headlong into the sea. — Absurd boast of Xerxes. And David's anger was greatly kindled against the man, and he said to Nathan, ''As the Lord liveth, the man that has done this thing shall surely die ; " And he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because lie had no pity." And Nathan said to David, "Thou art the man." — Bible. EMPHASIS. 75 The raven himself is hoarse, That croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan Under my battlements. — Macbeth. " I teU you, though you, though all the world, though an angel from heaven, should declare the truth of it, I woidd not believe it." proper stuff ! This is the proper painting of youf fear ; This is the air-drawn dagger, which, you said. Led you to Duncan. Oh ! these flaws, and starts, (Impostors to true fear) would well become A woman's story at a winter's fire, Authoriz'd by her grandam. Shame itself ! Why do you make such faces ? AVhen all 's done, You look but on a stool. — Macbeth, Act III, Scene 4. " A Daniel come to judgment ! yea, a Daniel ! wise young judge, how I do lionor thee ! " SjJeak clearly, if you speak at all ; Carve every woi-d before you let it fall : Do n't, like a lecturer or dramatic star, Try overhard to roll the British R ; Do put your accents in the proper spot ; Do n't— let me beg you— do n't say " How ? " for " What ? " And when you stick on conversation's burs. Do n't strew the pathway with those dreadfiU ?