IN MEMORIAL
John 3v/ett
ION I
ORTHOPHONY;
OK, TIO
CULTIYATION OF THE YOICE
IN ELOCUTION.
§, jptaraal of (Eenmttanj (Bmtim,
ADAPTED TO DR. RUSH'S "PHILOSOPHY OF THE HUMAN VOICE," AND
THE SYSTEM OF VOCAL CULTURE INTRODUCED BY
ME. JAMES E. MUKDOCH.
DESIGNED AS AN INTRODUCTION TO
RUSSELL'S "AMERICAN ELOCUTIONIST."
COMPILED BY
WILLIAM EUSSELL,
AUTHOR OP " LESSONS IN ENUNCIATION," ETCl
WITH A SUPPLEMENT ON PURITY OF TONE,
BY G. J. WEBB,
PROP. BOSTON ACADEMY OP MUSIC
THIRTY-NINTH EDITION.
BOSTON:
JAMES R. OSGOOD AND COMPANY,
Late Ticknor & Fields, and Fields, Osgood, & Co.
I 87 I.
Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1846, by
William Russeli,
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts.
Nation deft*
TO
DR. JAMES RUSH,
WHOSE WORK ON
THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE HUMAN VOICE,
BAS RENDERED DEFINITE AND EXACT INSTRUCTION PRACTICABLE III
ELOCUTION,
THE FOLLOWING MANUAL
is
RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED
54 1 f>!»5
PREFACE.
The design of the exercises presented in this manual, is to furnish
the groundwork of practical elocution, and whatever explanations are
needed for the training of the organs and the cultivation of the voice. — .
The system of instruction, adopted in the present volume, is founded
on Dr. Rush's treatise, " The Philosophy of the Human Voice," and is
designed as a practical synopsis of that work, with the addition of
copious examples and exercises, selected for the purpose of facilitating
the application of theory to practice. We hope, however, that the use
of this manual will induce students and teachers to consult, for them-
selves, that invaluable source of instruction, for an ample and complete
statement of the theory of vocal culture, in connection with an exact
analysis of the vocal functions.
Tne manual now offered as an aid to the business of instruction, con-
tains, — besides a compendious view of the system of Dr. Rush, — the
practical method! of instruction introduced by Mr. James E. Murdoch,
and taught by Mr. Francis T. Russell, in that part of elocution which
comprises phonation, or the formation of vocal tone, and orthophony %
or the training of the vocal organs, on the rudiments of articulation,
force, "stress," pitch, and the other elements of "expression," — in-
cluding the whole organic discipline of "vocal gymnastics."
The exercises imbodied in the following pages, are designed equally
for the assistance of two classes of students, — at very different stages
of progress in general education, but requiring, alike, the benefit of a
thorough-going course of practice in elocution; — young learners,
whese habits of utterance are, as yet, forming ; and adults, whose pro-
fessional duties involve the exercise of public speaking. To the former,
thia man lal will furnish the materials for a progressive cultivation and
development of the vocal organs, for the useful purposes of education,
and as a graceful accomplishment. To the latter, it affords the means
of correcting erroneous habit in the use of the organs of speech, and of
acquiring the command of an easy, healthful, and effective mode of
managing the voice, in the act of reading or speaking in public.
The p'an adopted, in arranging the sul sequent exercises, pre
Bents tht various departments of elocution in the following order
1*
VI PREFACE.
1 1. The function of breathing, as a preliminary to the use of the voice.
— 2. The practice of enunciation, in the act of articulating elementary
Bounds and syllables, and of pronouncing words. — 3. The study of the
various " qualities " of the voice, as an instrument of sound, and the
training of the organs, with reference to the formation of " purity ," ful-
ness, vigor, and pliancy of voice. — 4. The study and practice of force,
' stress," "melody," pitch t "slide," "wave" "monotone," and "semi-
tone," "time," "quantity" "movement? 1 "rhythm" metre, and pause, —
Ti:h a view to organic discipline and the command of the voice, ir.
emphasis and " expression," — the appropriate utterance of thought and
emotion.
To adapt the work to the purposes of practical instruction, and to ren-
der it convenient, as a class-book, those parts which are most important
to learners, are distinguished by "leaded" lines, and larger type;
and these are intended either to be impressed, in substance, on the
memory, or to be practised as exercises. The portions of the work
which are in smaller type, contain the theory and the explanations
requisite for the guidance of the adult student and the teacher.
The sentential or grammatical department of elocution, — that which
concerns the modifications of voice, for the purposes of strictly intellec-
tual communication, the adapting of the voice to the structure of sen-
tences in prose, and stanzas in poetry, — involves a more extensive
study of "slides," (inflections,) emphasis, and pausing, together with pro-
sodial elocution, or the regulation of the voice in the reading of verse.
The full discussion and practice of these branches, are reserved for a
separate course of study, as prescribed in the "American Elocution-
ist," to which the present manual is intended as an introduction. In
that volume will also be found an extended course of practice in articu-
lation and in pronunciation, with remarks on the character of cadence ;
and, in addition to the vocal part ot elocution, an outline of the princi-
ples of gesture, and a collection ot pieces for practice in reading anc
declamation.
The stereotype process, adopted in this new edition of the present
vv:;Ac, enables the publishers to offer it in a more compact shape, with-
out diminishing the actual extent of the matter ; while the '\ew arrange-
ment of the chapters, and the addition of the Tables of Orthophcny,
wi.., it is thought, render the volume more useful as a. manual for
scLools and academies.
1 The arrangement adopted in this improved edition of the Orthophony, Is
intended to fa ilitate the business of instruction, by presenting more promi-
nently ihose parts of elocution which are most important in practice. The
chapter on the structure and actior. of the vocal organs, has been transferred,
therefore, to the appendix. But adult students may derive advantage from
perusing it, before comm mcing the practice of the various exercises.
INTRODUCTORY OBSERVATIONS.
ORTHOPHONY OR THE SYSTEMATIC CULTIVATION OF
THE VOICE.
The term orthophony is used to designate the art of cultivating the
voice, for the purposes of speech, reading, declamation, recitation, or
singing. This art, like all others, is fuunded on certain principles,
the knowledge of which constitutes science. The principles of
orthophony, are derived from the sciences of anatomy and phys-
iology, as regards the structure and action of the vocal organs, from
the science of acoustics, as regards the formation of sound, in gen
eral. and from the science and art of music, as regards the regu
laiion of vocal sound, in particular.
Orthophony is, to elocution, what solfeggi, and other rudimental
exercises, are to music, — a course of elementary discipline, for the
systematic cultivation of the voice. We may, it is true, read well,
just as we may sing well, " by ear," or the teaching of nature,
merely. But cultivation gives us, in both these uses of the voice, the
immense advantages of knowledge, science, and skill. Furnished
with these aids, and directed by discerning judgment and good taste,
the cultivated reader or speaker has all the advantages of the culti-
vated singer, as regards the true and effective use of his organs.
The preparatory training and discipline of the voice, for the pur-
poses Df reading, recitation, and declamation, are of incs.lculable
value, whether as regards the organic results connected with the
1 The terms phonation, (the act of producing vocal sound,) and pho7ic,ogy i
(tie science of voice,) are in current use among physiologists. But the sys-
tematic cultivation of the vocal organs, on the elements of expressive utter-
ance, is a branch of education for which our own language furnishes inappro-
priate designation. The compiler of this manual has ventured to adopt, as a
term convenient for this purpose, the word orthophony, — a modification of
the corr?sponriing French word, " orthophonies 1 used to design:. n the art of
training the vocal organs. The etymology of this term, when traced to tha
original Greek words, — signilying correct and voice, — sanctions its use iu
elocution, on the same g::'md with that of " orthoepy," in grammar.
8 IN1R0DUCTI0N.
easy, vigorous, and salutary exertion of the voice, or the healthy ex
pansion of the chest, and the inspiring glow of vivid emotion, which
is indispensable to effective expression. Dr. Rush's exact and scien-
tific analysis of elocution, in its connection with the action of the
organs of voice, enables the teacher to carry elementary cultivation to
an extent previously unattainable, and, even yet, too little known by
those who have not paid special attention to the subject. The actual
benefits, however, arising from the practical applications of Dr.
Rush's system, are equally felt in the exactness of intelligence, which
it imparts, regarding all the expressive uses of the voice, and the
force, freedom, and brilliancy of effect, which it gives to the action of
the vocal organs, whether in the utterance of expressive emotion, or
of distinctive meaning addressed to the understanding, by the process
of unimpassioned articulation.
The methods of practical training, founded on the theory and the
suggestions of Dr. Rush, are attended by a permanent salutary influ-
ence of the highest value. They produce a free and powerful exer-
tion of the organs of respiration, a buoyancy of animal life, an exhil-
aration of spirits, and an energetic activity of the whole corporeal
frame, — all highly conducive to the well-being of the juvenile pupil,
not less than to his attainment of a spirited, effective, and graceful
elocution. The correspondent benefits conferred on adults, by a vig-
orous course of vocal gymnastics, are of perhaps still higher moment,
for the immediate purposes of life and usefulness. The sedentary
habits of students and professional men, render them liable not only
to organic disability of utterance, and to injury of the lungs, but
to numerous faults of habit, in their modes of exerting the organs of
speech, — faults which impair or counteract the intended effect of all
their efforts in the form of public reading or speaking. The daily
practice of vocal exercises, is the only effectual means of invigorating
ihe organic system, or correcting faults of habit in utterance, and the
surest means, at the same time, of fortifying the inward frame against
tie exhausting effects of professional exertion, when either pursued
too long in succession, or practised at too distant intervals, — both
serious evils, and nearly equal in the amount of injury which they
occasion.
The compiler of the present work, could enumerate' many cases
in which, voice and health, equally impaired, have been restored in
a few months, or even weeks, of vocal training, — and still more in
which new and brilliant powers of expression, have been elicited in
individuals who have commenced practice with little hope of success,
INTRODUCTION. U
and with little previous ground for such hope , — confirmed wrong
habits of utterance, debilitated organs, and sinking health having all
united their depressing and nearly ruinous influence on the whole
man. 1
It will be perceived, by referring to the subjoined expressions of
opinion, that, in pressing this subject on general attention, there is
ample professional authority for the expectation of invaluable benefits,
as the result of the systematic vocal training recommended in this
volume.
Opinions of Gentlemen of the Medical Profession, regarding Mr, Mur-
doch's System for the Cultivation of the Voice.
"Boston, July 29, 1842.
"I have carefully examined Mr. Murdoch's system of Vocal Gymnas-
tics. It is based upon an accurate knowledge of the anatomy and phys-
iology of the larynx, or organ of the voice. All the details of the sys-
tem seem to me to be practical, ingenious, interesting, and in accurate
conformity to scientific principles. Its obvious utility in developing the
functions of the human larynx, and giving flexibility, beauty, facility,
and permanent power to the voice ; and its eminent effect both in the
prevention and cure of the diseases to which public speakers are liable ;
give it a strong claim upon the attention of the Teachers in our Schoob
and Colleges, our Youth, and all whose duties demand a frequent o-
great use of the voice. Edward Reynolds, Jr. ,,
" We fully concur with Dr. Reynolds in the opinions above expressed
Geo. Hayward,
D. Humphreys Storer."
"July 30, 1842.
" The exercise of Vocal Gymnastics, as recommended by James E
Murdoch, being founded on a correct knowledge of the anatomy end
physiology of the vocal apparatus, cannot fail, if properly practised,
under his direction, to develop and strengthen the voice. Tersons of
1 Mr. Murdoch, — whose system of orthophony is imbodied in this volume
— seemed, at one time, while pursuing a profession in which the most intense
exertion of the vocal organs is perpetually required, destined to sink under
the effects of over-exertion ; but, having seasonably turned his attention to the
systematic practice of vocal gymnastics, he recovered his tone of health, and
gained, to such an extent, in power and depth of voice, as to add to his pre-
vious range in the latter, a full octave, within the space of some months. On
devoting himself to the daily occupation of conducting classes in the practica
of regulated vocal exercise, the result continued to be a constant accession of
vocal power and compass ; and on returning to the practice of his early pro-
fession, in which he is now so distinguished, his utterance was at onca
•emarked for its round, deep, rich, and lull tone.
10 INTRODUCTION,
delicate constitutions and feeble voices, will receive great benefit from
the practice of his system; as it is well calculated to give a healthy
action to the vocal and pulmonary organs j and, in this particular, K
is well worthy the attention of parents "Winslow Lewis, Jr."
"I have had the pleasure of a long interview with Mr. J. E. Mur
doch, in which he illustrated his principles of managing and giving
strength to the voice; and I am very happy to say, that I can fully
concur with Dr. Lewis in his statement of Mr. M/s system of Voca
Gymnastics. W. Ciianxing."
We smile at the enumeration of the formal apparatus of Athenian
rhetorical education, which, in addition to its long and classified array
of grammarians and rhetoricians, furnished, it is said, ./be gradations
of schools for different species of muscular exercise, and three distinct
classes of instructors for the voice : one, to superintend practice in
fitch; another, to conduct the exercises in force; and a third, to reg-
ulate vocal melody and inflections. Modern taste forbids this fastidi-
ous multiplicity and minuteness of appliances ; but it makes, as yet,
no adequate provision for the acquiring of that moral and intellectual
power, and that expressive force, which result from the blending of
a high-toned physical and mental training. The customary routine
of academic declamation, consists in permitting or compelling a stu-
dent to " speak, " and pointing out his faults, after they have been
committed. But it offers no genial inducement to the exercise, and
provides no preventive training by which faults might be avoided.
Eloquence, in his habits of voice and action, a student may bring
with him to our literary institutions ; but he will find little opportu-
nity, there, of acquiring or of perfecting such accomplishments, till
a correct and graceful elocution is duly recognized as a part of Ijheial
education.
CONTENTS
Preface, .
Introduction,
Page
o
7
Chapter. I. Inspiration, . 13
Exercises in Breathing, . 14
First Table of Orthophony, 16
Second, . . . .17
CnAPTER TT. Orthoepy, . 18
Tonic Elements, . . 19
bubionic "... 22
Atonic " . . . 23
Vowels and Diphthongs, . 24
Consonants, . . . 26
Labial Sounds, . . 20
Dental « . . ,27
Palatic " . . .28
Aspirated Element, . • 28
Nasal Sounds, ... 28
Lingual, « . . .29
Exercises in Enunciation, . 30
Words containing " tonic "
elements, ... 30
"Words containing "subtonic"
elements, ... 34
Words containing "atonic"
elements, ... 37
Words containing syllabic
combinations, . . 37
Words containing classified
elements, ... 40
Chapter III. "Quality" of
Voice, .... 44
Whispering, ... 45
"Pure" Tone, . . . 48
Faults in " Quality," . 49
Examples of " Pure tone," 53
"Subdued" Force, . 53
"Moderate" " . 54
" Sustained " Force, . 61 j
" Orotund Quality,"
*&
"Effusive Orotund/
64
"Expulsive" " .
68
"Explosive" " .
. 70
"Aspirated Quality,"
73
Chapter IV. Force, .
75
Degrees of Force,
77
Chapter V. " Strfss,"
78
" Radical Stress," .
79
" Median " "
84
"Vanishing" " .
91
"'Compound" " •
96
"Thorough" " .
. 98
" Tremor,"
> 100
Analytic Exercises on
" Stress," .
. 103
Chapter VI. " Melody,"
, 105
Pitch,
. 106
"Middle" Pitch,
, 107
"Low" "
113
"Very Low" " .
, 115
"High" " .
. 117
"Very High" " .
120
"Transition" in Pitch,
122
"Phrases" of "Sentential
Melodv," .
, 126
The " Slide,"
130
The "Slide" of Emotion
133
The "Distinctive Slide,"
136
The "Mechanical" "
13S
Chapter VIT. Time, . ,
141
" Quantity," .
141
Exercises in "Quantity
," 144
Pauses, .
152
Poetic and Oratoric
a«
Pauses,
«S4
Xll
CONTENTS.
Pace
Rhetorical Pauses, . 157
Movement," . . . 162
Examples of "Slowest
Movemeit," . . 164
Examples of "Slov
Movement/ . . 165
Examples of "Moderate
Movement." . . 167
Examples of "Animated
Movement," . . 169
Examples of "Brisk
Movement," . . 171
Examples of "Rapid
Movement," . . 173
Accent, . . . .174
" Syllabic " Accent, . 174
"Rhythmical" " . . 176
Examples of "Rhythmi-
cal " Accent, . . 179
Prosodial Accent, . . 183
"Iambic" Metre, . 184
"Trochaic" " . 186
"Anapaestic"" . 186
"Rhythmical" and Pro-
sodial Accent com-
bined, . . .187
Chapter VTII. Emphasis and
" Expression." . . 190
Impassioned Emphasis, . 190
Unim passioned " . 191
Examples, . . .193
"Arbitrary" Emphasis, 196
"Expression,". . . 200
Third Table of Orthophony',
Elements of "Expression, "202
Fourth Table of Orthophony,
Combinations of "Ex-
pression," . . . 204
Fifth Table of Orthophony,
Metre, .... 205
APPENDIX,
206
Enjrived Illustrations of
the Vocal Organs, . 206
Fags
Description of the Organs
of Voice, . • .211
Additional Breathing Exer
cises . . . 218
Analysis of "Slides," . 219
Scale of " Slides," . 220
The "Wave," . . 221
The "Monotone," . . 225
The " Semitone," . . 2c 1
Cultivation of " Pure Tone," 233
Extracts for Practice, . 24*
Exercises in "Pure Tone," 242
Exercises in "'Orotund" Ut-
terance, . . . 253
Exercises in " Aspirated
Quality," . . . 262
Exercises in Force, . . 267
Miscellaneous Exercises, . 277
I. A Sea- voyage. Irving, 277
IT. Death of Morris. Scott. 280
III. The Planetary Systems.
Ilervey. . . .282
IV. Chatham's Rebuke of
Lord Suffolk. . 283
V. Speech of Patrick Henry .284
VI. The Ocean. Byron. . 285
VII. Battle of Waterloo. By-
ron. . . .286
VIII. Satan Rallying the Fall-
en Angels. Milton. 287
IX. Hymn to Mont Blanc.
Coleridge. . . 289
X. Ode on thePassions. Col-
lins. . . .291
XL The Uses of Knowledge.
Alison. . . .293
XII. Scene of Scottish Life.
Wilson. . . 291
XIII. Eloquence of John Ad-
ams. Webster. . 299
XIV. Heroism of the Pilg ^ms.
E. Everett. . . 299
CHAPTER T.
RESPIRATION, OR EXERCISES IN BREATHING. 1
The organs of voice, in common with all other parts of the bodily
frame, require the vigor and pliancy of muscle, and the elasticity and
animation of nerve, which result from good health, in order to per-
form their appropriate functions with energy and effect. But these
indispensable conditions to the exercise of the vocal organs, are, in
the case of most learners, very imperfectly supplied. A sedentary
mode of life, the want of invigorating exercise, close and long con-
tinued application of mind, and, perhaps, an impaired state of health,
or a feeble constitution, prevent, in many instances, the free and
forcible use of those muscles on which voice is dependent. Hence
arises, to students of elocution, the necessity of practising physical
exercises, adapted to promote general muscular vigor, as a means of
attaining energy in vocal functions; the power of any class of
muscles, being dependent on the tone of the whole system.
The art of cultivating the voice, however, has, in addition to the
various forms of corporeal exercise, practised for the general purpose
of promoting health, its own specific prescriptions for securing the
vigor of the vocal organs, and modes of exercise adapted to the train-
ing of each class of organs separately.
The results of such practice are of indefinite extent : they are lim-
ited only by the energy and perseverance of the student, excepting,
perhaps, in some instances of imperfect organization. A few weeks
ef diligent cultivation, are usually sufficient to produce such an effect
en the vocal organs, that persons who commence practice, with a
feeble and ineffective utterance, attain, in that short period, the full
command of clear, forcible, and varied tone.
Gymnastic and calisthenic exercises are invaluable aids to the culture
and development of the voice, and should be sedulously practised, when
opportunity renders them accessible. But even a slight degree of
physical exercise, in any form adapted to the expansion of the chest,
and to the freedom and force of the circulation, will serve to impart
energy and glow to the muscular apparatus of voice, and clearness
to its sound.
'Flicre is, therefore, a great advantage in always pjactising some
preliminary muscular actions, as an immediate preparation fur vocal
exercise. These actions may be selected from the system of prepar-
tory movements, taught at gymnastic establishments ; or they may
oe made to consist in regulated walking, with a view to the acqrisi-
^ora description of the vocal organs, see Appendix
2
14 ORTHOFHONY
tion of a firm, easy, and graceful carriage of the body, with appro-
priate motion of the arms and limbs, — in the systematic practice of
gesture, in its various forms, for the purpose of obtaining a free, forc-
ible, and effective use of the srm, as a natural accompaniment to
speech, — or in the practice of attitude and action combined, in the
most vivid style of lyric and dramatic recitation, so as to attain a per-
fect control over the whole corporeal frame, for the purposes of visible
expression.
Some preliminary exercises, such as the preceding, having been
performed, and a sufficient period for rest and tranquil breathing
bavn.f elapsed, the next stage of preparatory action may be as in the
fcJlovinj directions :
1. Attitude of the Body, and Position of the Or gam.
Place yourself in a perfectly erect, but easy posture ; the
weight ot Oie body resting on one foot ; the feet at a moderate
distance, the one in advance of the other; 1 the arms akimbo:
the fingers passing on the abdominal muscles, in front, and
Ine thumbs on ihe dorsal muscles, on each side of the spine ;
the chest freely expanded and fully projected ; the shoulders
CteiiJ backward and downward ; the head perfectly veitical.
2. Exercises in Deep Breathing,
Having thus complied with the preliminary conditions of
a free and unembarrassed action of the organs, draw in and
give out the breath very fully, and very slowly, about a dozen
\imes in succession. Let the breathing be deep and tranquil,
Dut such as to cause the chest to rise fully, and fall freely, at
every effort.
3. Exercise in " Effusive" or tranquil Breathing.
Draw in a very full breath, and send it forth in a prolonged
sound of the letter h. In the act of inspiration, take in as
much breath as you can contain. In that of expiration, retain
sill you can, and give out as little as possible, — merely suffi-
cient to keep the sound of h audible. But keep it going on,
is long as you can sustain it. In this style of respiraticn, the
breath merely effuse* itself into the surrounding air.
The object in view, in this apparently minute direction, is, to secure
lounging posture, ia
voice, or the produc-
A lie uujcvi in i n. w i in kin.-? cij'j'iii k.u ii y iiuiiuiv uir
perfect freedom and repose of body. A constrained or a lounging posture, ia
utterly at variance with a free, unembarrassed use of the
tion of a clear and full sound.
RESPIRATION. 15
4. Exercise in "Expulsive" or forcible Breathing.
Draw in a very full breath, as before, and emit it, with a
lively expulsive force, in the sound of h, but little prolonged
— in the style of a moderate whispered cough. The breath,
m this style of expiration, is projected into the air. Eepeat
this exercise, as directed, in the statement preceding.
5. Exercise in "Explosive" or abrupt Breathing.
Draw in the breath, as already directed, and emit it with a
sudden and violent explosion, in a very brief sound of the let-
ter h, — in the style of an abrupt and forcible, but whispered
cough. The breath is, in this mode of expiration, thrown
out with abrupt violence. Eepeat this exercise, as before
directed.
Note to Adult Students and Teachers.
The habit of keeping the chest open and erect, is indispensable to the pro-
duction of a full, round tone of voice. Hut it is of still higher value, as one
of the main sources of health, animation, and activity.
Theellect,on the student, of the preceding exercises inbreathing, is usually
soon perceptible in an obvious enlargement of the chest, an habitually erect
attitude, an enlivened style of movement, a great accession of general bodily
vigor, an exhilarated state of feeling, and an augmented activity of mind.
To persons whose habits are studious and sedentary, and especially to
females, the vigorois exercise of tiiewrgans of respiration and of voice, is, in
every point of view, an invaluable discipline.
16 ORTHOPHONY.
FIRST TABLE OP ORTHOPHONY.
ORTHOEPY.
ELEMENTS OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE,
Classified by the Ear, as Sounds.
I. Tonic, 1 or Vocal and Diphthongal Elements.
Simple, — having one unchanging sound.
The element of sound, in every instance, is indicated by italic type, and
should be repeated, by itself, after the pronunciation of the whole word, in a
full, clear, exact, and distinct style.
1, -4-11; 2, A-xm; 3, A-n; 4, E-ve; 5, Oo-ze, (long;)
L-oo-k, (short;) 2 6, £-rr; 3 7, £-nd; 8, I-n; 9, Ai-x;* 10,
LT-p; 11, O-r; 5 12, O-n. 6
Compound, — beginning ivith one sound and ending in another.
13, A-le; 14, J-ce; 15, O-ld; 16, Oti-x; 17, Oi-1; 18, LT-se,
(verb, long ;) U-se, (noun, short.)
II. SUBTONIC, 7 SUEVOCAL, OR SEMIVOWEL 8 ELEMENTS.
Simple. — I, L-u-ZZ; 2, M-ai-m; 3, N~\i-n; 4, 22-ap, (/zari
but not rolled;) 5, Fa-?*, (sq/^, not«Ze?*£;) 6, Si-n^; 7,B-a-be;
8, D-wZ; 9, G-a-^; 10, F-al-sc; 11, Z-one; 12,A-2-ure;
13, F-e; 14, W-oe; 15, TIf-en. Compound. •— 16, J-oy.
III. Atonic, 9 Aspirate, 10 or Mute 11 Elements.
Simple.— 1, P-i-pe; 2, T-en-t; 3, C-a-£e; 4, F-i-/e; 5,
C-ea-.se; 6, H-e ; 7, TA-in; 8, Fa-sh. Compound. — 9,
Ck-ur-ch.
1 So called from their comparatively musical sound, and susceptibility of
tone. Seepages 19, 20.
2 The same In quality, but not in quantity, with the preceding.
3 Middle sound, between ur and air.
< Middle sound, between a-le and e-nd.
5 A sound closer than that of a in a-11.
6 Closer than o in o-r.
7 So called from their inferiority in tone, when contrasted witli tonics.
8 So called from their partial vocalily, when contrasted with atonies Of
mutes.
9 So called from their want of tone.
10 Formed by a process of breathing.
11 Deficient in sound
ORTHOEPY. 17
8EC0SD TABLE OF ORTHOPHONY
ORTHOEPY.
ELEMENTS OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE,
Classified according to the action of the Organs of Speech in
Articulation.
I. Oral and Laryngial Sounds.
[Formed by Llie mouth and larynx.]
In practising the sounds, the mouth should be freely opened, and fim;
held in the position proper for the formation of each sound, and every position
carefully observed.
1, ^4-11 ; 2, A-xm ; 3, A-n ; 4, E-ve ; 5, Oo-ze, L-oo-k ;
6, E-rr ; 7, £-nd ; 8, jf-n ; 9, Ai-r ; 10, Z7-p ; 11, O-r ; 12, O-n ;
13, ai-le"; 14, Lee; 15, O-ld; 16, Ou-v; 17, Oi-1; 18, U-se,
(verb, long ;) U-se, (noun, short.)
II. Labial, or Lip Sounds.
] , 2>-a-£e ; 2, P-i-^e ; 3, ilf-ai-m ; 4, PF-oe ; 5, F-al-t?e ,
6 ; E-i-/e.
III. Palatic, or Palate Sounds.
1, C-*-ke; 2, G-z-g; 3, Y-e.
IV. Aspirate, or Breathing Sounh
H-e.
V. Nasal, or Nostril Sounds.
1, N-u-n; 2, Si-ng.
VI. Lingual, or Tongue Sounds
I, L-u-ZZ; ?, jK-ap; 3, Fa-r.
Syllabic Combinations,
To be practised with great force, precision, and distinctness
I. Initial Syllables.
Bl cl, Jl, gl, pi, spl ; Br, cr, dr, fr, gr, pr, spr, tr, str* shr
Sm, sn, sp, sk, st.
II. Final Syllables.
Ld, If, Ik, hn, Ip, Ise, Is, (lz,) It, he ; vVd, nd, nee, ns, ("uz,)
nk, (ngk,) nt ; rb, rd, rk, rm, rn, rse, rs, (rz,) rt, rve ; rh d
rk\l, rvid, rrtd, rs'd, rv*d; sm, (zvi,) s'n, (zn,) sp, st ; ks, ct
k\l, (kt,) f'd, (ft,) p'd, (pt ;) d'n, k'n, p'n, v'n ; ble, (bl,) fle
(fi,) gle, (gl,) pie, (pi,) die, (dl,) tie, (tl,) rl ; 1st, nst, rst, dst
rdst rnulst, rndst ; bVd, pVd, rVd ; ngs, ngst, ng'dj bles
(biz,) clcs, (elz,) fles, (fiz,) gles, (glz ;) s??is (z?nz,) s'us (znz,)
sps, sts ; sties, (slz,) stens, (snz.)
2*
18 ORTHOPHONY
CHAPTER II.
ORTHOEPY.
The term orthoepy 1 comprehends all that pait of elocution which
pertains to the organic functions of articulation, and its audible result,
which ve term enunciation. It will be a matter of convenience, st
the same time, to take into view the subject of pronunciation, or, in
other words, enunciation as modified by the rules of sound and accent
which are drawn from the usage of a particular language. To 'pro-
nounce a word properly, implies that we enunciate correctly all its
syllables, and articulate distinctly the sounds of its letters.
We commence with the study ol articulation, as a function of the
smaller organs of voice, including the larynx and the circumjacent
parts, the mouth and its various portions and appurtenances. Our
preceding observations applied to the use of the larger organs, — the
cavity and muscles of the chest, &c, and referred to the act of respira-
tion, preparatory to the production of vocal sound, whether in speech
or in music. We are now occupied with the functions of speech.
Propriety of pronunciation is justly regarded as an inseparable
result of cultivation and taste. We recognize an educated person by
his mode of pronouncing words ; and we detect slovenliness in mental
habit, or the absence of culture, with no less certainty, in the same
way. Whatever thus holds true of pronunciation, — a thing subject
to the law of prevailing good custom, merely, and liable, therefore,
to various interpretations in detail, — is still more emphatically appli-
cable to distinct enunciation, the unfailing characteristic of correct
intellectual habits, and the only means of exact and intelligible com-
munication by speech.
But a distinct enunciation is wholly dependent on the action of the
organs, — on their positions and their movements, — on the force and
precision of their execution. The breath having been converted into
sound by the use of the component portions of the larynx, passes on
to be modified or articulated into definite forms by the various por-
tions of the mouth, and by the action of the tongue.
A person of perfect organization and in perfect health, — in an
undisturbed condition of feeling, and, consequently, with a clear state
of thought, — utters his ideas distinctly and impressively, without
special study. But defective organization, neglected habit, false
tendencies of feeling, and confused conceptions, are so prevalent, that
very few individuals in a community, can be selected as naturally
perfect in the function of articulation., With most persons, and
especially 111 youth, the negligence of unguarded habit impairs the
distinctness and clearness of oral expression. The comparatively
inactive life of the student, subjects him, usually, to imperfection in
this, as in most other active uses of the organic frame ; and every
individual, — whatever be his advantages, as such, — needs a tho-
1 A term derived from the Greek language, and compounded of two wordf
signifying correct speech.
ORTHOEPY.
19
l .^h organic training, before he can pass successfully to the com-
paratively forcible and exact mode of using the organs, which distin-
guishes public reading and speaking from private communication.
The latter occupies but little space, and needs but a slight effort of
attention or of will, to effect it : the former implies large space, and
correspondent voluntary exertion of the organs, with the due precision
which stamps, at once, every sound distinctly on the ear, and renders
unnecessary any repetition of an imperfectly understood word or
phrase, — a thing allowable in conversation, but impracticable in
public speaking.
The functions of the organs in articulation, must obvir,;sly be
determined by the character of the sound which, in any case> is to be
executed. We shall find advantage, therefore, in first considering
the character of the component elementary sounds of our language,
as a guide to the mode of exerting the organs in producing them.
Dr. Rush, in his Philosophy of the Voice, has adopted an arrange-
ment of the elementary sounds of our language, which differs from
that of grammarians, and is founded on a more strict regard to the
vocal properties of each element, — a classification which is more
convenient for the purposes of elocution, as well as more exact in
lelation to the facts of speech. Dr. Rush's arrangement we shall
follow in this branch of our subject ; as it is best adapted to the pur-
poses of instruction.
On a very few points of detail, however, we shall take the liberty
to vary from Dr. Rush's system, where precision and accuracy of in-
struction seem to require such variation.
Dr. Rush's mode of classifying the elementary sounds of our lan-
guage, presents, first, those which he has denominated u 2bfUC H
elements, as possessing the largest capacity for prolongation of
sound, and other modifications of tone. The following are the
' TONIC
I. Simple Sounds.
1. A,
2. A
3. A
4. E,
5. 00,
OO, 1
6. E,
7. E,
a j,
as in -4-11.
as in A-rm. .
as in A-n.
as in JE-ve.
as in Oo-ze.
as in L-oo-k.
as in E-rv.
as in .E-nd.
as in 7-n.
ELEMENTS.
9. JUi
10.
11.
12.
O,
as in Ai-r.
as in U"-p.
as in O-r.
as in O-n.
II. Compound Sounds.
13. A,
14. I,
15. O,
16. Ou
as in A-\e.
as in 7-ce.
as in O-ld.
as in Ou'X
The following elements of the same class, are omitted by Or,
Rush. But they seem to be indispensable in teaching, which
l A shorter quantity, but the sane in quality, wi'.h oo in ooze.
20 ORTHOPHONY.
requires exact and close discriminations, in order to obtain accuracy
in practice.
17 Oi 9 as in Oi-l. 18. U, as in Z7-se, sounding
long in the verb, short in the noun.
[The student's attention should be directed to the following obser-
vations, previous to practising the preceding sounds.]
The a, in such words as ale, Dr. Rush has very justly represented
as consisting of two elements : — 1. The " radical," or initial sound
with which the name of the letter a commences ; and 2. The deli
cate " vanish," or fina* sound, with which, in full pronunciation, and
in singing, it closes, — bordering on e, as in eve, — but barely per-
ceptible to the ear. This element obviously diners, in this respect,
from the acute e of the French language, which begins and ends
with precisely the same form of sound, and position of the organs of
speech ; while the English a, as in ale, requires a slight upward
movement of the tongue, to close it with propriety ; and hence its
" vanish," approaches to the sound of e.
The i of ice, in like manner, will, on attentive analysis, be found
to consist of two simple elements : — 1st, a, as in at ; 2d, i, as in in.
Walker, in his system of orthoepy, defines this element as commenc-
ing with' the a in father. But such breadth of sound, is, in our own
day, justly regarded as the mark of a drawling and rustic pronun-
ciation, while good taste always shrinks from the too flat sound,
which this element receives in the style of dialectic error in Scotland
<r Ireland, or in the style of fastidious and affected refinement, as if
"ayee."
The o of old, although not so commonly recognized as a com-
pound element, will be found, on analysis, to belong properly to that
class. Thus, if we observe closely the pronunciation of a native of
continental Europe, in speaking English, Ave shall find that the letter
o in such words as old, sounds a little too broad, and does not clos®
properly. The foreign pronunciation lacks the delicate " vanish,
approaching to oo, in ooze, although not dwelling on that form of
sound, but only, as it w r ere, approximating to it ; as the letter a, in
just and full utterance for public speaking, and for singing, closes
with a slight approach to e, in eve, but does not dwell on that
element.
That this compound form of the " tonic " o, in old, is a genuine
tendency of the organs, in the pronunciation of our language, maybe
observed in the current fault of the utterance which characterizes the
popular style of England, and in which the vanish of this element i»
protruded to such an extent as to justify American caricaturists in
Representing it by the spelling of " powst rowd" for post road.
The element ou, in our, is obviously a compound of o, as in done,
— the same with u, in up, — and a short, or " vanishing " quantity
of oo in ooze. The negligent style of popular error, makes tins
element commence with a, as in arm, or a in at ; and the local stvle
of rustic pronunciation in New England, makes it commence with e
in end.
Ai } as in the word air, though not recognized by Dr. Rush, nor by
"tonic" elements. 2j
many other arriters on elocution, as a separate element from a, in aie $
is obviously a distinct sound, approaching to that of e in end, but not
forming so close a sound to the ear, nor executed by so much muscu-
lar pressure in the organs. The literal flat sound, however, of a in
Je, if given in the class of words air, rare, care, &c, constitutes the
peculiarity of local usage in Ireland, as contradistinguished from that
jf England.
Popular usage, in England and America, inclines, no doubt, to the
opposite extreme, and makes a, in air too nearly like a prolonged
.sound of a, as in an. In the southern regions of the United States,
this sound is even rendered as broad as that of a in arm. But while
good taste avoids such breadth of sound, as coarse and uncouth, it .
.jtill preserves the peculiar form of this element, as differing both from
i in ale, and e in end, and lying, as it were, between them.
U, in up, seems to have been merged by Dr. Rush in the element
,, in err, which would imply that the latter word is pronounced
" urr." But this is obviously the error of negligent usage, whether
M the United States, or in England. In the latter country, it is the
characteristic local error of Wales.
In the usage of New England and of Scotland, there is, no doubt,
i too prevalent tendency to pronounce err, earth, mercy, &c, with a
jsound too rigidly close, like that of e in merit ; thus, ".Az'r," " airth,"
" maircy." But cultivated and correct pronunciation, while it avoids
this preciseness, draws a clear, though close distinction, between the
vowel sounds in urn and earn,
Mr. Smart, in his Practice of Elocution, describes the element in
question, with perfect exactness and just discrimination.
" Er and ir are pronounced by unpolished speakers just like ur, as
indeed, in some common words, such as her, sir, &c, they are pro-
nounced, even by the most cultivated : but in words of less common
occurrence, there is a medium between ur and air, which elegant
usage has established, as the just utterance of e and i joined to the
smooth r." 1
O, in or, and o, in on, arc apparently considered by Dr. Rush and
by Walker, as modifications of a in all. Admitting, however, the
identity of quality in these elements, — their obvious difference in
quantity, and in the position and pressure of the muscles by which,
as sounds, they are formed, together with the precision and correct-
ness of articulation, demand a separate place for them in elementary
exercises designed for the purposes of culture, which always implies
a definite, exact, and distinctive formation of sounds.
Oi, in oil, though omitted in the scheme of Dr. Rush, are evidently
entitled to a distinct place in the classification of the elements of our
language, on the same ground on which a separate designation is
assigned to ou in our.
This compound element, oi, is formed by commencing with the o
»n on, and terminating with the i in in. Popular and negligent
usage, inclines to t*»\, errors in this diphthong : — 1st, that cf com-
mencing with o, in o^n instead of o, in on; 2d, that of terminating
- Tne practka of locution. By B. H. Smart. London! 1826.
9.
G,
as in G-&-g.
10.
V,
as in F-al-i;e.
11.
z,
as in Z-one.
12.
z,
as in A-z-ure.
13.
y,
as in Y-e.
14.
w,
as in W~oe.
15.
Til
as in TIJ-en.
22 ORTHOPHONY.
with a short sound of a, as in «/e, instead of i, in in. The appropri*
ate sounds are as mentioned above.
The compound element u, as in use, although obviously formed
of a short quantity of e, in eve, and of oo, in ooze, is entitled to a
place in the classification of the elements of our language, not merely
as being a sound represented by a distinct character, as in the namo
of the letter u, but as constituting a peculiar diphthongal element.
" SUBTONIC " ELEMENTS.
These elements are so denominated by Dr. Rush M from their infe-
riority to the ' tonics,' in all the emphatic and elegant purposes of
Bpeech, while they admit of being * intonated,' or carried ' conciete-
.ty,' (continuously,) through the intervals of pitch."
1. L, as in L-ull. 1
2. M, as in M-ai-m.
3. N, as in JV-u-tt.
4. R, as in i?-ap.
5. iv, as in Fa-r. 2
6. Ng, as in Si-ng.
7. B, as in 2?-a-£e.
8. D, as in D-i-d.
Compound of 8. and 12.
16. J", as in J-oy.
The first six of the " subtonic " elements, 7, m, n, r (hard,)
r (soft,) and ng, have an unmixed " vocality " throughout: the
seventh, eighth and ninth, b, d, g, have a " vocality," terminating in
a sudden and explosive force of sound : the remaining " subtonics,"
v, z, zh, y, w, th,j, have an " aspiration," (whispering sound of the
breath,) joined with their vocality.
The fourth of these elements, — r, as in rap, — differs trom the
fifth, — r, as in far, in having a harder and clearer sound, executed
by a forcible but brief vibration of the tip of the tongue, against the
first projecting ridge of the interior gum, immediately over the upper
teeth ; while the latter has a soft murmuring sound, caused by a
slight vibration of the whole forepart of the tongue, directed towards
the middle part of the roof of the mouth.
The common errors of careless usage, substitute the " soft " for
the " hard " r, and omit the " soft" r, entirely; thus "/«/*," for
far. Another class of errors, consists in rolling, or unduly prolong
1 In arranging the " subtonics," words have, in as many cases as practica
ble, been selected for examples, which contain a repetition of the element
under consideration. The design of this slight deviation from Dr. Rush, is to
present each element as impressively as possible to the ear.
2 Added to Dr. Rush's arrangement, for the reasons mentioned in subsequent
jbservations on this element. — See last paragraph but one of this page.
"atonic" elements. 23
tog, the sound of the " hard " r, and substituting the hard, for the
" soft " sound.
The greater prolongation of sound, which takes place in the ave-
rage of singing notes, or in impassioned recitation, renders a slight
comparative " roll " of the " hard " r unavoidable, at the beginning
of a word. But it is a gross error of taste, to prolong this sound, in
the style of foreign accent, as in French and Italian pronunciation, or
to substitute the rough sound of the " hard " r, for the delicate mur-
mur of the " soft" r.
The " subtonic " elements numbered 13 and 14, — y, as in ye srd
iv as in woe, — are, it may be remarked, not properly separate ele-
ments from e, in eve, and oo in ooze, but only extremely short " quan-
tities " of the same " qualities " of vowel sound which are exhibited
in these words. They require, however, a closer position of the
organs for their execution ; and, hence, for the purposes of practical
instruction , they may be advantageously studied as distinct elemen-
tary sourds.
" ATONIC " ELEMENTS.
These elements are thus designated by Dr. Rush, from their want
of" tonic " property, — " their limited power of variation in pitch."
" They are all, properly, ' aspirations,' and have not the sort of
sound called 4 vocality.' They are produced by a current of the
whispering breath, through certain positions of parts, in the internal
and external mouth."
1. P, as in P-i-^e.
2. T, as in T-en-£.
3. C, " hard," and K, as in
C-a-Z:e.
4. F, as in F-i-fe.
5. C, " soft," and S, as in
C-ea-.se.
6. H, as in H-e.
7. Th, as in TA-in.
8. Sk, as in Ya-sk.
Compound of 2. and 8.
9. Ch, as in Ch-ux-ck. 1
To some persons the foregoing analysis may seem unnecessarily
minute. But exactness in articulation cannot exist without close dis-
ci imination and careful analysis. Many of the worst errors in the
enunciation of words, are owing to slight oversights about the truo
sound of a letter. Without strict attention to details, there can, in
this particular, be no security for accurate execution. The very
common error, for example, of reading or singing the word faith as
if it were written u fai-ccth," is merely an act of negligence regard-
ing the " vanish," or final portion of sound, in the diphthong, ai 9
1 Uli, which Dr. Rush has recognized as a distinct element, are but appa-
rently such. They difTer, in no respect, from the separate elements, w ana h
— only that, in the modern orthography of words, they are inverted, as to
their order. The ancient orthography of the language, placed vliem as they
ttaad in orthoepy, — Hw ; thus Hweai, Hwen, &c.
24 ORTHOPHONY.
which, — although it is unavoidably analyzed by the voice, in the
utterance of singing, to a greater extent than in that of reading, —
should never be dissected, in the unnatural style which has just been
mentioned.
We have omitted, — as will have been observed, — that part of
Dr. Rush's analysis which presents the " tonic " elements a, as in
awe, (identical with a, in all,) a in arm, and a in an, as diphthong?'
Correct reading and appropriate singing, alike forbid the " vanish '
of these sounds to be rendered apparent to the ear. It is one of the
acknowledged improprieties of enunciation, which permits the wt txl
awe to terminate in any form approaching, — even in the most distant
degree, — the negligent style of" awer."
Let it be admitted that the " vanish," or final portion of the s<und,
in such elements, is but an unavoidable, accidental " vocule," insepa-
rably attached to the " radical " or initial sound, when we utter it by
itself; and it becomes, from its very nature, a thing which judgment
and taste would alike require to be sunk out of notice to the ear, in
the enunciation of syllables, or words.
The preceding arrangement of the elementary sounds of the lan-
guage, as presented by Dr. Rush, exhibits them in a manner very
clear and distinct, as results of organic action, — or as sounds formed
by the voice. But to ascertain their character, with perfect accuracy
of knowledge, for the purposes of vocal practice and culture, it
becomes important to examine them closely, in connection w T ith the
exact position and movement of the organs, during the process of
execution.
Classified, in this light, the audible elements of our language may
be conveniently designated by the terms in use previous to Dr.
Rush's arrangement. We will commence with the
VOWELS AND DIPHTHONGS.
These elements, generally, are formed by the act of " expiration"
modified into vocality by the larynx, and the adjoining organs, aided
by the tongue, the palate, the lips, &c, which give definite and dis-
tinctive character to the sounds of the voice, as rudiments of speech.
The enunciation of vowels and diphthongs, demands attention ~-rin-
cipall f to the free and expansive opening of the mouth, together A'ith
a Btrbt attention to the action of the particular organ, or organs, by
whicl each element receives its peculiar character as a definite sound.
Much attention, in the execution of these sounds, is required to the
action of the organs at the moment of commencing and at that of
closing each sound. The sound of the voice in the utterance of the
first a'vlible portion of articulate sounds, Dr. Rush has termed the
" radical," (initial,) movement : the sound uttered in the concluding
portion cf an articulation he has termed the "vanishing," (final,)
movement. Each of these points of articulate sound, demands the
closest discrimination, as regards both the voice, and the motion ui
action of the organs. If the latter is not exact, the former will bf
VOCAL AND DIPHTHONGAL ELEMENTS.
25
more or less incorrect or vague, confused, and indefinite. The
" radical " movement always demands clearness, force, precision, and
spirit, in the execution: the " vanish" requires nice and delicate
finish, perfect exactness, but no undue marking or prominence. It
should resemble, in its effect on the ear, that of a light but definite
touch on the piano.
" In just articulation, the words are not to be hurried over, nor
precipitated, syllable over syllable ; nor, as it were, melted togethei
into a mass of confusion : they should be neither abridged, nor pro-
.onged, nor swallowed, nor forced, and, • — if I may so express my-
self, — shot from the mouth : they should not be trailed nor drawled,
nor let slip out carelessly, so as to drop unfinished. They are to be
delivered out from the lips, as beautiful coins newly issued from the
mint, deeply and accurately impressed, perfectly finished, neatly
struck by the proper organs, distinct, sharp, in due succession > and
of due weight." 1
The precision and force of the " radical " portion of a sound, are
gained by deep inspiration, and a preliminary rallying, or gathering
of impulse on the organs, — somewhat as we brace the muscles before
the exercise of jumping or diving, — and then causing an instantane-
ous explosion of the accumulated and compacted breath, in the form
of clear, cutting sound. In practising the following elements, this
explosive, radical movement should be carried up from the slightest
style of a suppressed cough to the most violent exertion, or the
loudest style of coughing. The preliminary practice of a repeated
actual cough is the best preparatory discipline for the species of
organic action which constitutes the " radical " portion of any articu
late sound.
VOCAL AND DIPHTHONGAL ELEMENTS,
corresponding to the " tonics " of Dr. Rush, and executed principally
by the action of the larynx, with the mouth more or less open.
I. Simple Sounds.
1.
A-\l;
2.
A-im;
3.
A.~tl ;
4.
£-ve;
5.
OO-ze ;
«<
L-oo-k ;
6
E-ir;
7.
£-nd;
8.
I-n;
9.
Ai-r;
10.
ET-pj
11.
12.
O-r;
O-n.
II. Compound Sounds.
13. A-\e ; (original element
and 4.)
14. I-ce ; (3. and 4.)
15. O-ld; (original element
and 5.)
16. Ou-r; (10. and 5.)
17. Oi-\; (12. and 8.)
18. U"-se ; (4. and 5.)
1 Austin's Chironomia, pp. 38, 39.
26 ORTHOPHONY.
CONSONANTAL ELEMENTS,
corresponding to the " subtonic " and " atonic " sounds in the c assi
fication of Dr. Rash.
I. Labial Sounds.
These are, — in consonance with their designation t ^- formed by
iho action of the lips. They may be enumerated as fallows :
1. B-dL-be ;
2. P-i-pe;
3. M-ai-m;
4. W-oe ;
5. 'V-al-ve;
6. F-i-fe.
The " subtonic," b, is formed by a firm compression of the lips,
which arrests the escape of the breath, and causes, by this occlusion
of the mouth, a murmuring resonance of the voice in the cavity of the
chest, and in the interior of the head and mouth. Th3 pressure of
the lips, in the formation of this sound, is increased to a maximum,
or chief point, at which the lips are suddenly opened, and a slight
explosive effect produced, which consummates the character of the
sound, and causes a " vocule," or slight and obscure vowe* lound,
resembling e, in err, to follow the effort of the organs.
The " atonic," p, is produced by an intense compression of the
lips, which prevents the possibility of any audible sound, till the forci-
ble " aspirated," or whispering, explosion, following the maximum
of the pressure, is heard, accompanied by the same " vocule " which
attends the sound of b, but, in p, is only an aspiration, or w T hisper.
The precision of those two elements jf speech, is dependent,
wholly, on the full force of the labial compression, and the intensity
of the following explosion, by which they <*re produced. In impas-
sioned utterance, the force of the organic action, in the articulation
of these sounds, must be carried to the utmost degree, and executed
with instantaneous precision, and the most vivid effect.
The " subtonic," m, is articulated by a very gentle compression
of the lips, attended by a murmur in the head and chest, resembling
somewhat^ that wh. ; ch forms tiie character of the " subtonic " b, but
differing from it in the sound being 1 SLecompanied by a free, steady,
equable "expiration" through the nostrils. In extremely empas-
sioned utterance, this gentle element is made to assume the character
of intensity, by increasing the force of the labial compression to a
maximum, and exploding the sound in a manner similar to that of f.
This element is not followed, as b or p, by a " vocule ;" its own
distinctive character of sound, throughout, being very nearly of the
" tonic," or purely vocal, nature.
The " subtonic " element, w, as in woe, is formed by rounding the
Jps, as in articulating 00, in 0020, but slightly compressing them, and
holding them closer to the teeth : a brief vocal murmur is formed by
1 This and the following element, being formed by means both of the lower
up and the upper teeth, are, on this account, sometimes called " labia
dentals "
ARTICULATION. 27
ine breath, — as modified by the larynx, — escaping through this par-
tial opening of the lips, and, at the same time, in»a very slight degree,
through the nostrils. This sound has not, from its nature, much
independent energy ; neither does it admit of prolongation. But it
becomes forcible and impassioned, to some extent, by increasing the
pressure of the lips, and exploding the sound, somewhat in the man-
ner of m and b, when rendered intense.
The " subtonic," v, is articulated by the sound of the voice being
modified by bringing the upper fore-teeth close upon the ridge of the
under lip, and, at the same time, slightly raising the upper lip, so as
to prevent its interfering with the contact of the upper fore-teeth and
the lower lip. A murmuring resonance, bordering on aspiration, is
thus produced in the head and chest, by the partial escape of breath
between the teeth and the lip. This element, — as mentioned before,
— has, on this account, been sometimes denominated " labio-dental,"
— from its dependence on both these organs.
The " atonic/' f, is executed as v, with the difference, only,
arising from a closer compression of the teeth and the lip, a more
forcible expulsion of the breath, and an aspirated or whispering char-
acter, in the sound. This element, also, is sometimes denominated
" labio-dental," being formed as the preceding.
II. "Dental" Sounds.
These are all modified, — as their name imports, — by the aid of
the teeth. But, like many other articulate sounds, they are founded
on, and imply, an action of the tongue ; although this circumstance is
not indicated in the designation of such elements.
I. D-i-d;
5. A-z-ure ;
2. T-en-t;
6. Fu-sk;
3. TA-in;
7. C-ea-se ;
4. TH-ine;
8. Z-one ;
Compound of 1.
and 5.
Compound of 2, and 6
9. J-oy ;
10. Ch-m-ch.
The " subtonic," d is articulated oy a partial vocal murmur, modi-
fied by pressing the tip of the tongue, with great energy, against the
interior ridge of gum, immediately over the upper fore-teeth. This
pressure is but an instantaneous effort ; yet it evidently comes to a
maximum, just before the explosion from which it takes its peculiar
character, is executed. This explosion necessarily produces the
" vocule," c, as in err
The " atonic " t, is executed in a similar manner, excepting the
absence of vocal murmur, an intense percussive pressure of the
tongue, and an aspirated explosion, which takes place in the act c.f
withdrawing the tongue from the gum.
The " atonic," th, as in thin, is executed by a forcible " aspira-
tion," modified by a slight horizontal parting of the lips, and a foici-
ble pressure of the end of the tongue against the upper fore- teeth.
28 ORTHOPHONY,
The " si.btonic," TH, as in thine, is executed by a similar position
of the organs, but a vocalized emission of the breath, forming a gentle
resonance.
The " subtonic," z, as in azure, is formed by a partially vocal
sound, modified by gently raising the whole fore-part of the tongue
towards the roof of the mouth, and allowing the breath to escape,
between it and the teeth.
The " atonic," sh, is formed in a similar manner, as regards the
position of the organs, but with more pressure, and by means of
* aspiration," not " vocality," in the emission of the breath.
The " atonic " sound of s, or the soft sound of c, as in the word
cease, is articulated by pressing, with intense force, the tip of the
tongue against the interior gum, immediately over the fore-teeth.
Through the extremely small aperture thus formed, aided by the
horizontal parting of the lips, and the cutting effect of the edges of
the teeth, the sibilation, or hiss, is formed, which gives the peculiar
character of this element.
The " subtonic," z, as in zone, is formed by nearly the same posi-
tion of the organs, as the preceding element, but with very slight
pressure, and by means of" vocalized," not " aspirated," sound.
III. "Palatic" Sounds.
These are so termed from their depending on the palate, for their
distinctive character. They are enumerated as follows :
1. C, "hard." and K, as in C-a-£e ; 2. G, as in G-a-g ; 3. Y,
as in Y-e.
The " atonic," c, " hard," or k, is executed by opening the mouth
retracting, and curving the tongue with great force, and exploding
an aspiration against the palate.
The " subtonic," g, as in gag, is formed by similar movements
and positions of the organs, but less forcible, and by means of " vo-
cality," instead of" aspiration."
The " subtonic," y, is articulated by a similar process, still less
forcible, and by means of" expulsion," not " explosion," as regards
the character of the function and the sound.
IV. "Aspirated" Element,
H, as in H-e.
This sound is formed by a forcible emission of the breath, in tho
style of a whisper, and a moderate opening of al) the organs f>f
speech.
V. "Nasal" Sounds.
1. JV, as in N-\i-n; 2. Ng, as in Si-rag-; or N, as in J-ra-k.
The " subtonic,' ' n, is articulated by a vocalized breathing through
the nose ; the lips parted freely ; and the end of the tongue pressing
vigorously against the interior ridge of gum, immediately above the
uppei fore-teeth.
ARTICULATION. 29
The ' subtonic," ng, is formed by a vocalized breathing directed
against the nasal passage and the back part of the veil of the palate,
and by a retracted and elevated position of the lower part of the
tongue, which partly shuts the nasal passage, and causes it, at the
same moment, to become resonant.
VI. "Lingual" Sounds,
These elements are so called from their special dependence on the
action of the tongue. They are the following :
1. X, as in L-u-ll; 2. jK, as in E-ap ; 3. R, as in Fa-r.
These are all " subtonic " elements.
The first is formed by a moderate opening of the mouth, and the
utterance of a vocalized sound, modified by raising the tongue
towards the roof of the mouth, and pressing the end of it, very
gently, against the interior ridge of gum, immediately above the
upper fore-teeth.
The " subtonic," r, as in rap, is an element formed by vivid and
energetic vibration of the tip of the tongue, against the interior ridge
of gum, immediately over the upper fore-teeth, forming a partially
vocalized sound, clear and forcible, but very brief. It should never
extend to a prolonged trill, or roll. This element is sometimes
designated as " initial" r, from its occurring at or near the begin-
ning of words and syllables ; and sometimes " hard," or " rough,"
r, from its comparative force, as contrasted with r at the end of a
word, which is always soft in sound. This element follows but
never precedes a consonant ; thus, Pray, brass, crape, green, dread,
tread, scream, spread, &c.
The " subtonic," r, as irvfar, is a softer sound, of longer duration,
modified by a slight and gentle vibration of the whole fore-part of the
tongue, retracted, and rising towards the roof of the mouth, but not
actually touching it. The just observance of the true character of
this and the preceding element, is, as was mentioned before, a point
of great moment in enunciation, and decides its style, as regards
taste and culture. The designation of " soft," or " smooth," r, is
sometimes given to the " final " r; as it is a more delicate and liquid
sound, than the " hard," or "initial," r. This element occurs at
the end of words, and before, but never after, a consonant ; thus,
War, star, fair, ire, ear, oar, farm, barn, card, harp, part merc$
servant, person, &c.
Note. — It is one of the great inconveniences of our language, that
we have so few letters or characters, by which to designate its
sounds ; and it is not less a defect in it, that we have the same ele-
ment sometimes represented by a great variety of letters, and combi-
nations of letters. Thus, the element a, in ale, is heard also in aid,
lay, weigh, survey, &c.
A, in arm, is heard, also, in aunt.
A, in all, is heard, in awe, laud, &c.
A, in what was, wash, &c, is used to represent the same sound
with o, as in on* or not.
A, as in rare, is heard, also, in air, prayer , &o.
3*
30 ORTHOPHONY.
E, as in eve, occurs, also, in the sound of ee in eel; ea, in eai; ie t
in field; ei, in seize.
E, in end, occurs in the form of en, in head.
E, in err* is the same sound which occurs in heard, and infirm.
Y, except its peculiar sound in ye, is but a repetition of i, long oi
short; thus rhyme, hymn, Sic.
O, in old, is repeated in oak, course, own, Sic.
Oo, in ooze, and oo, in foot, recur in the sounds of o, in move; u
in /rue; o, in wo/f ; u, in pw#; wz, in fruit, &c.
The diphthongal sound oi, as in oe7, is heard, always, in oy. The
sound of u, in wse, occurs also in the form of iew in view; eau, in
beauty.
The diphthong om, in our, is repeated in the sound of ow in down
Sic.
F, as a sound, recurs in the form of ph m&gh; as in phrase,
laugh, Sic.
J, and g " soft," are, on the other hand, but combinations of the
sounds of d, and of z, as in azure.
Ch, in church, are but repetitions of the sound of t and sh.
The sound of sh is found also in the words, nation, gracious,
ocean, Sic.
C, " soft," is identical with s.
S, is, in multitudes of instances, but a repetition of z, as, for exam-
ple, in houses, diseases, Sic.
The sound of k is repeated in the form of c, " hard ;" ch, as in
chorus ; and q, as in queen.
N, in ink, is identical with ng.
X, in either form, is but a repetition, in sound, of ks or gz; thus,
ox, example, Sic.
It is unnecessary, however, to enlarge on these inconsistencies in
the forms of our language. It is sufficient, perhaps, for our present
purpose, to suggest the fact, that the orthography of words may
sometimes afford no guidance to orthoepy, but, rather, may appar-
ently mislead. The ear should, in all cases, be trained to the
utmost exactness and precision, in detecting and seizing the true
element of sound, independently of the form or combination of let-
ters, by which it may be represented.
t3 be practised in the same style as the exercises on syllables, — each
component dement kept perfectly clear and distinct.
I. Tonic Elements. — Simple Sounds.
One error, often made in the following class of words, is to pro-
tour ce them nearly as if written oall, Sic. Sometimes, we hear the
coarse error of dividing the sound of a, in such words, into two parts
thus O'ull, fo-iill, Sic. To a cultivated ear, this sound is peculiarly
disr/ easing, as associated with low and slovenly habit.
ENUNCIATION OF WORDS. 31
1. A, as in A-W.
All War Law Awful Water
2. A, as in ^i-rm.
The two cuirent errors in this class of sounds, are, 1st, — as in the
local usage of New England, — flattening it down to a in an; — 2d,
as in the custom of the Middle States, making it as broad as a in ell.
The former style causes the pronunciation of "farm," "part,"
" father ;" the latter, that of " faiorm," " paiort," " farther."
Harm Bar Mart Balm Daunt
3. A, as in A-n.
Common errors : — 1, a flattened down to e, in end, nearly ; thus,
" Dence," " pess," — the local usage of the Middle States ; — 2d> a
made as broad as a, in arm; thus, " Dance," (as if darnee,) '* pass,"
— the customary fault of New England.
Add
Band
Mass
Last
Slant
Dance
had
hand
pass
mast
chant
lance
mad
land
/ grass
4. E,
past
as in E-ve.
grant
glance
There is seldom any error made in the enunciation of such words
as the following, except the slight one arising from not distinguishing
between the longer sound of ee before a " subtonic," as in feel, and
the shorter, before an " atonic," as in feet.
The explosive force of the organic action, in executing an
" atonic," compresses the preceding vowel : the gentle and gradual
sliding of the ee into a " subtonic," allows it a longer duration.
Theme Feel Heed Week Feet Deep
5. 00, as in Oo-ze ; 00, us in L-oo-k.
The sound of this element, needs attention to the same distinction
as in case of the ee. Before a " tonic " element, it is prolonged, —
before an " atonic," it is shortened. The difference is exemplified,
fcr the former, in tool, — for the latter, in took.
Cool Boom Moon | Hook Hoop Boot
Exceptions. Good, wood, stood,
which have the oo short, though before a " subtonic."
6. E, as in .E-rr.
The just, not overdone, distinction between urn and earn, is the
object to be kept in view, in practising on the following words. This
class of sounds is so liable to mispronunciation, that it needs close
and repeated attention. — See remarks on the " tonic " element, e iu
err, — in the discussion of elementary sounds.
32
ORTHOPHONY.
Err Serve
1 Earth ^irm
Mercy
Merciful
erst verse
hert stern
earl gird
pearl girl
7. E, as in .E-nd,
person
servant
terminate
perfectly
The common error in the following class of words, is that of allow
ing the vowel to approach the sound of a in ale; thus, " tailV fox
till. Other errors are such as " stiddy," foi steady • " may sure"
for measure.
Elk Hence Let Bell Den Bed
Ready steady
measure pleasure
general
genuine
8. I, as in J-n.
The common error of careless articulation, in this element, makes
it approach the a of ale; thus, " sainn," for sin. An opposite error,
in foreign style, or in bad taste, gives " seenn" for sin; " ceetee" for
city, &c.
Din Dim Bid 111 Lip Bit
9. A, as in Ai-r.
Sometimes carelessly enunciated as a in an, prolonged ; thus,
" aer," for air; — sometimes too fastidiously flattened, and reduced
to a in ale; thus, " acr " for air. The true sound lies between.
Bare Fare Hair Stare Barely Aware
10. U, as in U"-p.
The error in enunciating this element, is that of forming the sound
in a coarse, guttural style, which makes it approach the sound of o
in on. This fault is prevalent in the usage of the Middle States.
Up Bud Gum Dun But Done
11. O, as in O-r.
Three errors are extensively prevalent in the mode of enunciating
this element : — 1st, a local error of New England, which gives a
double sound for a single one, — commencing with o in old, and end-
ing with u in up, or a in an, thus " ndiir," or %t ribiir" for nor , 2d,
a local error of the Middle States, which makes the sound too broad,
and resembling the a in arm; thus, " nar," for nor; 3d, a lo.ig and
drawling sound, which has a coarse and slovenly character; thua
caiord, for cord.
Orb 2 Born Cork Sort Form
12. O, as in O-n.
A prevalent local error in Massachusetts, in the following class of
1 The same element with e in err, though difFerertly spelled.
* The r of these words is soft, but never silent % as in the style of fault}
usage.
ENUNCIATION OF WORDS, 33
Bounds, exists in the words, loss, lost, soft, &c, which are pro-
nounced nearly with o, as in old; thus " loass," " loast," (i soaft,"
&c, and sometimes with a double, instead of a single sound; thus
" lodst" &c., for lost. The local error of usage, in the state of
Connecticut, verges to the opposite extreme, in such words, and
gives, for o, a sound too nearly like that of a in an; thus " lass,"
&c, for loss. f
On
Mob
Bog Rod
Lop
Loss
odd
rob
dog god 1
13. A, as in A-\e.
sop
toss
The common error in the enunciation of this element, is that of
making its " vanish' ' too conspicuous; thus " aeel" for ale. An
opposite error is not uncommon, — that of omitting the delicate
"vanishing" sound entirely, which makes the style of enunciation
coarse and negligent.
Ace Day Hail Lade Make Came
14. I, as in I-ce.
The two errors to be avoided in enunciating this element, are, 1st,
that of commencing with too broad a sound ; thus, " aece," for ice
(dece;) 2d, that of commencing it with too flat a sound; thus,
" decc," for ice. — See remarks on " tonic " elements.
Dice
Bide
Life
Lime
Fight
Dive
rice
ride
rife
time
light
hive
vice
side
wife
15. 0,
prime
as in O-ld.
might
rive
A prevalent error in the local usage of New England, makes thia
o too short ; thus, " horn," for home. A common error of the Mid-
dle States makes the sound too broad ; thus "farce " fox force.
Oh
Go
Bold
Home
Lone
Hope
lo
wo
cold
loam
bone
mope
so
foe
hold
foam
stone
grope
both
ford
fort
course
gore
boat
oath
sword
port
force
more
coat
sloth
forge
sport
16.
Ou,
source
as in Ou-r.
pour
dote
The
prevailing
errors on
this element, are
" fat"
" dur" and
"cur" for our, (o sounding as in done.) The first two of these
Commonly mispronounced " gawd*' ''goad" "goud? or "gad.'''
34 ORTHOPHONY.
errors are current in the pronunciation of the Southern and Middle
States ; the last, in that oi New England.
Out
How
Loud
Cow
Fowl
Crown
ounce
now
cloud
count
howl
drown
owl
vow
proud
17. Oi,
gown
as in Oi'l.
growl
frown
The two errors usually exhibited in enunciating this element, are
1st, beginning the diphthong with the sound of o, in own, instead of
that of o, in on; 2d, closing with a sound resembling a, in ale, in-
stead of i, in in.
Boil
Toil
Joy
Coin
Bron
Eejoice
coil
soil
hoy
join
spoil
appoint
foil
coy
toy
loin
groin
avoid
Use
Tune
Feud
Cue
Human
cure
dupe
hew
due
useful
lure
fume
few
sue
humor
18. U, as in Z7-se, [long, as in the verb, — short, as in tne
noun.]
The common errors in articulating this compound element, consist
in, 1st, turning the whole sound into oo, as in ooze ; 2d, making the
diphthong commence with a, in ale, instead of e, in eve, shortened, or
the sound of y, in yet.
Student Constitution
stupid institution
stewing revolution
II. " Subtonic" Elements.
1. L, as in L-u-ll.
Loll Lie Lad All Weal Dull
2. M, as in ikf-ai-m.
Tha common error in the enunciation of this element, is f .hat of
sounding it too slightly, and in a slack and lagging style.
Mime May Move Am Him Hum
3. N, as in N-u-n.
The common fault of enunciation in this, as in the preceding ele-
ment, is a want of that force which belongs to energetic and animated
utterance.
Nine Nay Now An Den Dm
ENUNCIATION OF WORDS.
35
1 jR, as in E-ap.
[R initial, before a vowel, or after a
consonant. .]
The error to be avoided in articulating- this element, is that of pro-
longing it into a " roll," or that of substituting for it tbe soft sound
of r "final." A correct articulation, in this instance, always pre-
sents \d the ear a firm, clear, and distinct, but very brief sound.
Raw
Eed
Kid
Ream
Robe
Rude
Rub
rye
rent
rim
reel
rose
rule
rufF
ray
rest
rip
reap
roam
rue
rust
Brag
Brave
Grave
Crane
Pray
Trade
Stray
urass
brain
grim
crag
prate
track
stride
brad
braid
groan
cry
prone
tread
strut
5. R, as in Fa-r ; [r final, or before a consonant.]
The error most frequent in the articulation of this element, is that
of omitting it, through inadvertency. This fault is one of the con-
spicuous peculiarities of the style of pronunciation prevalent among
the uncultivated classes of the city of London. But it is not less so,
even among educated people, in the United States. The soft r, being
one of the few liquid consonants which our language possesses, should
never be omitted in enunciation. At the same time, it should never
be converted into the opposite r, as in rap, as it often is, in the style
of foreigners; neither should it ever be dwelt upon, or prolonged in
sound. It is properly but a " vanish," in its effect on the ear ; as its
vibrating and murmuring articulation prevents it from becoming forci-
ble or distinct. The tongue should execute it with a delicate motion
adapted to its slight and evanescent character.
Hare
Bar
Ear
Ire
Ore
Lure
Bur
dare
car
fear
hire
core
pure
cur
fare
mar
hear
mire
door
sure
pur
Orb
Arm
Earn
Dark
Pearl
Art
Burn
horn
harm
fern
hark
marl
dart
turn
form
farm
learn
lark
whirl
part
churn
Murmur former charmer warmer warbler burner forlorn
Exercise on words containing both sounds of R.
[The difference in the sounds of the luird and the soft *
should be exactly observed.]
Rare Rear Roar Reared Roared Rarely Drier
error horror terror brier prior truer crier
regulai barrier tenier merrier farrier barrier courier
36
ORTHOPHONY.
6. Ng, as ill Si-Tig ; [or n, before g hard or k.]
King Gong Hang Hung Bank Ink
ring wrong bang tongue rank sink
wing prong rang sprung drank wink
Hanging Ringing Lancing Mangling Haranguing
twanging winging glancing dangling prolonging
swinging bringing dancing wrangling besprinkling
7. B, as in B-a-be.
The forcible execution of this, and the two following elements, in
a very clear and compact form, is often indispensable to the full effeu*
of vivid emotion.
Babe
Ball
Mob
Curb
Did
Gag
Mad
Bed
Bead Blab
8. Dj as in D-i-d.
Dawn Den Laid
9. G, as in G-z-g,
Gave Gall Gull Hag Log
10. F, as in F-al-z;e.
Valve Vaunt Cave Leave Velvet Survive
11. Z, as in Z-one, [or s flat.]
Maze Has Daisies
12. Z, as in A-z-ure, [or s, as in measure.]
Zone
Dis
Seizure
Measure Vision Composure
13. Y, as in Y-e.
Derision
Ye
yea-
Yes 2 Young Yawn
you youth yell
Yearly
yellow
14. W, as in W-oe.
Way Was Ware Wed Wine
15. TH, as in TH-ine.
They Than Then Thee Bathe Beneach
1 Yay, not " y«." 2 Yes, not " yiss." In these and a few other words, the
•tyle recoBMJJeii«4 by Walker, is now obsolete
ENUNCIATION OF WORDS. 37
16. J", as in J-oy, [and G, soft.]
Jay Jar Jilt Page Giant Judge
III. "Atonic" Elements,
f All " atonies," from their utter want of vocality, need great
force and precision in their articulation.]
1. P, as in P-i-pe.
Pulp Pall Pile Pale Paper Pulpy
2. T, as in T-en-f.
Tight Tall Top Mat Tatter Total
3. C, hard, and K, as in C-a-Z-e ; and Q, as in Q-ueen.
Key Cane Queen Creak Deck Cork
4. F, as in F-i-fe.
Fade Fell File Off Hoof Fly
5. S, (sharp,) and C, soft, as in C-ea-se.
Say See Sauce Mass Source Ceaseless
6. H 9 as in H-e.
Hail Had Heel Hit What Whet
7. Th, as in TA-in.
Thank Through Thong Thrust Hath Breath
8. Sk, as in Fash.
Sham Shine Share Shroud Ash Hush
9. Ch, as in CA-ur-cA.
Chair Check March Chine Fetch
IV, Syllabic Combinations,
1. Initial Syllables.
The common faults in the enunciation of syllables, consist in a
slack, obscure articulation of the single elements of which they are
38 ORTHOPHONY.
composed, and, in addition, the fault of negligently allowing a vowel
sound to intervene between the consonants; thus, " bald, 11 for bid.
True taste will pever allow a slovenly style of articulation, but wil
always maintain a neat, clear, and exact sound of every element, in
whatever combination it may occur.
Bl, el, Jl, gl, pi, si, spl.
Blame, bleed, blow, blest. Claim, clean, clime, close, clot.
Flame, flee, fly, flit. Glare, gleam, glide, gloss. Place, plea,
p T y> please. Slay, sleep, slide, slew. Spleen, splice, splay.
Br, cr, dr, fr, gr, pr, spr, tr, str, shr.
[The following words need attention to a clear, distinct
enunciation of the hard r, — free, however, from prolongation
and roll.]
Brave, bread, brink. Crave, creep, cried, crust. Drain,
dream, dry, drop. Frame, free, fro, freeze. Grain, green,
grind, ground. Pray, preach, pry, proud. Spray, spring,
sprung, sprang. Trace, tree, try, trust, track, tread, trip, true.
Stray, street, strife, strength. Shrine, shroud, shrub, shriek
Sm, sn, sp, st.
Small, smite, smote. Snare, sneer, snow, snug. Space
speed, spike, spear. Stay, steer, stile, stop.
2. Final Syllables.
Ld, If, Ik, hn, Ip, Is, It, Ive.
Bold, hailed, tolled. Elf, wolf, gulf, sylph. Milk, silk,
bulk, hulk. Elm, helm, whelm, film. Help, gulp, Alp,
scalp. Falls, tells, toils. Fault, melt, bolt, hilt. E lve, delve,
revolve.
M 1 d, 7ns, nd, ns, nk, nee, nt.
Maim'd, claim'd, climb'd, gloom'd. Gleams, sti earns,
climes, stems. And, band, hand, land, lined, moaned. Gairs,
dens, gleans, suns. Bank, dank, drink, link. Dance, glance
hen:e, ounce. Ant, want, gaunt, point.
Rb, rd, rk, rm, rn, rse, rs (rz,) ri, rve, rVd, rlc'd, rm'd, rnd,
rst, rv'd.
Barb, orb. herb, curb, barb'd, orb'd, curb'd, disturb'd. Hard
ENUNCIATION OP WORDS. 39
herd, hir'd, board, lord, gourd, bar'd, barr'd. Haik, lark, jerk
stork, work, mark'd, jerk'd, work'd. Arm, harm, farm, alarm,
arm'd, harm'd, alarm'd. Earn, learn, scorn, thorn, burn, turn,
worn, shorn, earn'd, scorn'd, burn'd, turn'd. Hearse, verse,
force, horse, dar'st, burst, first, worst, hears'd, vers'd, forc'd,
hors'd. Bars, bears, hears, wears, pairs, tares, snares, repairs.
Mart, dart, start, hurt, pert, girt. Carve, curve, serve, starve,
carv'd, curv'd, serv'd, starv'd.
Sm, s'n, sp, st, ss'd, ks, ct, k'd, ft, ftd, pt, p'd, p'n tin, d'n,
tin, fn.
Chasm, schism, prism, criticism, witticism, patriotism.
1 Reas'n, seas'n, ris'n, chos'n. Asp, clasp, grasp, wasp, lisp,
crisp. Vast, mast, lest, dost, must, lost, mist ; pass'd, bless'd,
gloss'd, miss'd. Makes, quakes, likes, looks, streaks, rocks,
crooks. Act, fact, respect, reject ; wak'd, lik'd, look'd, rock'd.
Waft, oft, left, sift, quaff'd, scofT'd, laugh'd. Apt, wept,
crept; sipp'd, supp'd, slop'd, pip'd, popp'd. 'Op'n, rip'n,
weap'n, happ'n. Tak'n, wak'n, weak'n, tok'n, drunk'n.
Sadd'n, gladd'n, lad'n, burd'n, hard'n, gard'n. Grav'n,
heav'n, riv'n, ov'n, ev'n, giv'n, wov'n. Bright'n, tight'n
whit'n.
Lst, 771st, nst, rst, dst, rdst, rmdst, r?idst.
Call'st, heal'st, till'st, fill'st, roll'st, pull'st. Arm's!
charm'st, form'st, harm'st. Can'st, runn'st, gain'st, against,
(agenst.) Durst, worst, erst, first, bar'st, barr'st, hir'st
Midst, calPdst, fill'dst, roll'dst. Heard'st, guard'st, reward'st
discard'st. Arm'dst, harm'dst, form'dst, charm 'dst. Learn'dst
scorn'dst, burn'dst, turn'dst.
Ble, pie, die, rl, bVd, dVd, pVd, rid.
Able, feeble, bible, double; troubl'd, babbl'd, bubbl'd
doubl'd. Ample, steeple, triple, topple; tripl'd, toppFd,
dappl'd, crippl'd. Cradle, saddle, idle, bridle; cradl'd
saddl'd, idl'd, swaddl'd. Marl, hurl, whirl; world, huil'd,
whirl'd, furl'd.
1 O and E shoild never be heard, in these and similar words, unless in sing.
ing, and then only when a verse demands ihe syllable as a requisite to metre
40
ORTHOPHONY.
Ngs, ngst, ng'd, ngdst.
Rings, wrongs, hangs, songs ; hang'st, sing'st, wrong's^
bring'st; wrong'd, hang'd, clang'd ; wrong'dst, throng'dst.
V. Exercise in transition from one class of Elements to
another.
The design of tins exercise is to impress vividly on the mind the
distinctive quality of each species of sound, and the effect of each oa
the organic action. — The columns are to be read across the page
VI.
" Tonics:'
" Subtonics."
"Atonies."
AA\
B-€L-bo
P-i-pe
A-m
B-i-d
T-en-t
A-TL
®*-g
C-z-ke
E-ve
F-al-z?e
F-i-fe
Oo-Ze
Z-one
C-ea-se
E-VT
A-z-ure
Fu-sh
JE-nd
TH-en
Th-in
I-n
J"-ud-ge
Ch-ur-ch
Exercise in
transition from one
to another.
class of Organic Ac
Labials.
Dentals.
Aspirate.
B-z-be
B-i-d
H-e
P-i-pe
T-en-t
Nasals.
M-ai-m
Th-in
N-u-n
W-oe
TH-ine
Si-7ig
V-rI-vq
J-oy
Linguals.
F-i-fe
Ch-m-ch
L-VL-ll
Palatics*
A-z-ure
R-a-n
C-n-ke
Fn-sh
F-a-r
G-a-g
C-ea-se
F-e
Z-one
VII. Exercise in difficult Combinations of Elements.
1. Z7, as in Use.
Lwcibration Institution Accwmwlate Incalculably
lwg&brious constitution manipulate superiority
incalculable revolution deglutition supremacy
ENUNCIATION OF WORDS.
41
Words of many syllables
Absolute y
abstinently
accessory
accurately
agitated
adequately
angularly
antepenult
architecture
agriculture
Annihilate
antipathy
apocrypha
apostatize
appropriate
assiduous
assimilate
associate
auricular
Acquiescence
acquisition
alienation
Necessarily
ordinarily
momentarily
temporarily
voluntarily
Obediently
immediately
innumerable
intolerable
dishonorable
ambiguously
articulately
collaterally
colloquially
Affability
agricultural
allegorical
alimentary
astrological
atmospherical
Christianity
chronological
Coextensively
Annihilation
annunciation
appreciation
apologetic
association
circumlocution
apocalyptic
circumvolution
coagulation
colonization
commemoration
Congratulatory
authoritatively
disinterestedly
expostulatory
Die'.etically
disin^enuousness
Immutability
compatibility
ecclesiastical
spirituality
3. Repetition of Elements.
Hail ! heavenly /^armony.
Up the high, hill he Aeaved a huge round stone.
Heaven's first star alike ye see.
Let it wave proudly o'er the good and brave
The supply lasts still.
And gleaming arid streaming and steaming and learning
And rushing and flushing and brushing and gushing,
And flapping and rapping and clapping and slapping,
And curling and whirling and purling and! twirling,
Retreating and beating and meeting and sheeting,
Delaying and straying and playing and spraying,
Advancing and glancing and prancing and dancing,
4#
42 ORTHOPHONY.
Recoiling, turmoiling and toiling- and boiling,
And thumping mid flumping 1 and bumping and jumping,
And dashing and flashing- and splashing' and clashing-,
And so never ending, but alwaijs descending-,
Sounds and motions for ever and ever are blending, '
All at once and all o'er, with a mighty uproar ;
And this way the water comes down at Lodore.
It is the Hist sten that costs.
The deed was done in broad day.
No?ie now was left to tell the mournful tale.
Ta&e care that you be not deceived, — dear friends.
Lie Zightly on her, earth. ! her step was light on thee.
Thou wast struck dumb with amazement.
Can no one be found faithful enough to warn him of his
danger ? No one dared do it.
A good deal of disturbance ensued.
He gave him good advice which he did not take.
A dark cloud spread over the heavens.
Had he but heeded the counsel of his friend, he might have
been saved.
He came at last Zoo late to be of any service.
The magistrates stood on an elevated platform. 1
It is a fact familiar in the experience of most teachers, that, after
the utmost care in the systematic cultivation of the utterance of young
readers, by regular analytic exercises, such as the preceding, the
influence of colloquial negligence in habit, is so powerful, that the
same individual who has just articulated, with perfect exactness, the
elements on a column, — while he is kept mechanically on his guard
against error, by express attention to details, — will, immediately on
beginning to read a page of continuous expression of thought, relapse
into his wonted errors of enunciation. To correct this tendency , no
resoi t is so effectual as that of studying analytically a few lines, pre-
vious to commencing the usual practice of a reading lesson. The
attention must first be turned to the words as such, — as forms of
articulation, — then to their sounds in connection with their sense.
The following will be found useful modes of practising such exer-
1 These an 1 similar examples, as they occur in reading lessons, should be
repeated till they can be executed with perfect distinctness, and with rui easy
exertion of the organs. But a hard and labored style shculd be ca/efully
avoided as a very ba. fault.
PRONUNCIATION. 43
cijes as are now suggested. Begin at the end of a line 5 sentence, or
paragraph, so as to prevent the possibility of reading negligently :
then, 1st, articulate every clement in every word, separately and very
distinctly, throughout the line or sentence ; 2d, enunciate every syl-
lable of each word, throughout the line or sentence, clearly and
exactly ; 3d, pronounce every ivord, in the same style ; 4th, read the
line or sentence, from the beginning, forward, with strict attention to
the manner of pronouncing every word ; 5th, read the whole line or
sentence with an easy fluent enunciation, paying strict attention to the
expression of the meaning, but without losing correctness in tlie style
of pronunciation.
This is, apparently, a merely mechanical drill ; but its effects are
strikingly beneficial, in a very short time. The habits of classes of
young readers have thus been, in some instances, effectually changed,
within a very few weeks, from slovenliness and indistinctness to per-
fect precision and propriety, united to fluency and freedom of style.
To adults, also, the practice of such exercises as have been men-
tioned, proves, in the highest degree, useful, as an effectual means
of correcting erroneous habit, and of acquiring that distinctness of
utterance which is so important in the exercise of public speaking, or
in that of private reading, for social and literary purposes.
An exercise of great practical value, as regards the formation of
habit in enunciation, is, to select from every reading lesson, before
and after the regular consecutive reading of a piece, all words and
phrases which contain difficult combinations, and repeat them often
PRONUNCIATION.
A full statement of the rules of usage in pronunciation, as regards
the accent of polysyllables, does not properly fall within the scope of
this work, which is designed rather for the cultivation of the voice,
and the discipline of the organs, than as a manual of orthoepy. The
most important classes of errors in pronunciation, have been already
indicated. But this branch of the subject is discussed, at greater
length, in the " American Elocutionist," to which the present volume
is introductory. It occurs in a form adapted to the instruction of
young readers, in the " Introduction to the American Common-School
Reader and Speaker," and is presented for the use of professional
speakers, in the volume entitled " Pulpit Elocution." l
For the present purpose it may suffice to suggest the benefit arising
from the daily systematic study of a good standard dictionary of
orthoepy; such as Walker's, which, — with due allowance for a
very few points in which custom has slightly changed since that work
was written, — remains the most accurate report of authorized cus-
tom, in the vast majority of places where the English language is
spoken. If Dr. Webster's dictionary be preferred, the 8vo edition
of it, prepared by Mr. J. E. Worcester, will be found the most use-
ful ; as it contains, in the introduction, a full list of all words in
1 The works mentioned in the text, are prepared by the compiler of thii
•nanual
44 ORTHOPHONY.
which Dr. Webster's style is peculiar to himself, or merely to the
local custom of New England, which, as regards the standard of the
genuine pronunciation of the English language, is justly considered,
elsewhere, as liable to the same objections with the local peculiarities
of Scotland or of Ireland, — current, as sanctioned by respectable
authority, in their several regions, but, when referred to the standard
of general English usage, to be condemned as faults.
CHAPTER in.
"QUALITY" OF VOICE.
The learner, having acquired, by the exercises prescribed in the
preceding chapters, a free and forcible use of the breathing apparatus,
and of the organs of speech which are employed in articulation, has
thus laid the requisite foundation for the course of vocal training in
" expression," or the various qualities of utterance, which are the
appropriate language of emotion.
The word utterance, as a term in elocution, is used to designate the
mere act of forming and emitting voice : it does not necessarily imply
any of those functions of the organs by which articulate sound is pro-
duced ; thus we speak of a person uttering a cry, a groan, a sigh, a
moan, a sob, or a laugh. In a correspondent use of language, we
read that " the seven thunders uttered their voices."
The function of utterance is necessarily attended, however, with a
given degree of force in sound, — from that of whispering, or of any
of the intermediate stages, to that of shouting and calling. It implies,
also, a certain note of the scale, — high, low, or intermediate in pitch.
The utterance of successive sounds is, farther, slow, rapid, or mode-
rate, as regards the rate of movement. These properties, — force,
pitch, and rate, or movement, coexist in one strain of utterance, and
are, to the ear, independent of the process of articulation or the func-
tion of speech. An example of mere utterance is furnished in the
successive notes of a song hummed or sung without words, — or sung
at such a distance from us, that we cannot distinguish the words.
The case is similar, when we overhear a person reading, or talking,
in an adjoining room, but when we do not hear so distinctly as to
recognize the enunciation of letters or syllables. We perceive, in
such instances, that the voice of the reader or speaker, is soft or loud,
high or low, and that it moves fast or slow ; but we cannot tell what
is said: we hear the utterance, but not the articulation, of vocal
sound.
The formation of even a single sound of the human voice, is neces-
sarily attended by yet another property, its predominating quality as
WHISPERING. 45
• tone "--in the popular sense of that word. When we overhear,
as already supposed, a person reading or talking, but at such a dis-
tance from us, or with such objects intervening, that we cannot make
out the articulate character of the sounds which are uttered, we may
still be able to say, with confidence, that the voice of the reader or
speaker has a cheerful or a mournful tone, a lively or a solemn
sound. Farther, we say, perhaps with equal certainty, that the per-
son has a hollow, a guttural, a nasal, a sharp, a thin, a rough, a
round, a full, or a smooth voice.
The utterance of even a single exclamation of emotion, may, in
this way, enable us to define the feeling of a reader or speaker, and,
at the same time, to recognize the " quality," — as it is termed, —
of his voice.
WHISPERING.
The progressive discipline of the organs, for the purposes ot utter-
ance, comprises the practice of every stage of audible voice, from
whispering to shouting and calling. We proceed, now, to the first
stage of utterance, — that of whispering , which is the nearest, in
style and effect, to breathing, and forms the extreme of " aspirated,"
or breathing " quality."
The function of whispering lies, as it were, half way between
breathing and " vocality," or the actual production of vocal sound, in
the form termed by musicians " pure tone." Whispering differs
from even the '* explosive," or strongest form of the breathing exer-
cises, in being articulated as a mode of speech, and in taking on, to a
certain extent, the qualities of 4 ' expression ;" thus we no 1 only use
the whisper for secret communication, but for the utterance of exces-
sive fear, or of deep awe, suppressed anger, or any other naturally
violent emotion, when it is kept down by some overawing restraint.
Whispering, therefore, as a discipline of the organs of voice, car-
ries on, to a greater extent, and with more special effect, all the bene-
ficial results of the exercises in full, deep, and forcible breathing.
The whisper, even in its gentlest or "effusive" form, should, as a
vocal exercise, be practised on the scale of public speaking, — that is
to say, with a force sufficient to create full and distinct articulation,
and intelligible utterance, in a large hall, or any similar apartment.
The function of whispering, on this scale, it will be easily per-
ceived, demands the full expansion of the chest, a deep inspiration, a
'powerful expulsion of the breath, the practice of frequent pausing and
renewing the supply of breath, without which a forcible whisper can-
not be sustained.
This species of exercise combines, therefore, the discipline of full
and energetic respiration, with that of forcible utterance. It demands
a large and a frequent supply of breath, and trains the student to
close attention to his habit of breathing, and to the position of the
body and the action of the organs. It thus facilitates the acquisition
of a perfect control over the organs of speech, — the prime requisite
to easy and effective utterance.
A subsidiary advantage attending this process of powerful whiaf *r-
. 46 ORTHOPHONY.
ingy, consists in the greatly increased intensity which it produces in
the organic function of articulation. The whisper being performed
as if addressedUo a person at the distance of a hundred feet from the
speaker, compels a force of percussion in the tongue and the other
minor Organs of speech, sufficient to compensate for the absence of
the common round tone of the voice. The style of enunciation,
accordingly, becomes that of the most intense earnestness. The
exercise now prescribed, therefore, is of immense advantage, as a
preparatory discipline to the organs of speech, as well as a process of
training for full-toned and energetic use of the voice.
Whispering, — like breathing, and like resonant vocal utterance,
— has the three forms described under the head of Exercises in
Breathing, — " effusive," or tranquil ; " expulsive," or forcible ; and
" explosive," or abrupt and violent.
1. " Effusive " Whispering,
This mode of utterance belongs to tranquil emotion, wnen express-
ed in the language of deep-felt awe or profound repose, which repres-
ses, by an approach to fear, at the same time that it excites the voice
by its intensity.
The exercise in " effusive " whispering, should be practised with
strict attention to full, deliberate breathing, and the exact articulation
of every element, — 1st, on all the " tonic " L elements of the lan-
guage ; 2d, on the " subtonics ;" 3d, on the " atonies;" 4th, on
syllables ; 5th, on words, as arranged in the columns of Exercises
in Articulation ; 6th, on the following stanza, 2 which should be
often repeated.
Exercise.
Stillness of Night. — Byron
" All heaven and earth are still, — though not m steep,
But breathless, as we grow when feeling most ;
And silent, as we stand in thoughts too deep : —
All heaven and earth are still : From ;he high host
Of stars to the lulled lake, and mountain coast,
All is concentrated in a life intense,
Where not a beam, nor air, nor leaf is lost,
But hath a part of being, and a sense
Of that which is of all Creator and Defence." 2
*See Chapter on Orthoepy, and Tables of Orthophony.
2 It is not meant that the above stanza is necessarily and uniformly to he
whispered, in reading or reciting the passage from which it is takeq, Tlia
extract is here used as a convenient exercise, merely.
2. H ISgjpu
Thii- species of exercise, being riu
ceding, and corresponding, in energy,
tory utterance, when given forth with the
voice, has yet a more powerful influence on the
the vocal organs. It should be repeatedly pe*..
utmost force of the whisper, which the student can Co.
elements, syllables and words, and on the following e.»
tone of which implies the intensest force of earnest utterance,
pressed by apprehension approaching to fear.
Exercise.
Military Command . — Anonymous.
" Soldiers ! You are now within a few steps of the enemy's
outpost. Our scouts report them as slumbering in parties
around their watch-fires, and utterly unprepared for our ap-
proach. A swift and noiseless advance around that projecting
rock, and we are upon them, — we capture them without the
possibility of resistance. — One disorderly noise or motion
may leave us at the mercy of their advanced guard. Let
every man keep the strictest silence, under pain of instant
death!"
3. "Explosive" Whispering.
The " explosive" whisper, like the " explosive 5 ' Dreathing, imparts
a still greater power to the vocal organs, by the vivid, abrupt, and
instantaneous force, with which it bursts out. Tne explosive inten-
sity of articulation, which it produces, calls at the same time for the
utmost precision in the functions of the ton<r~ie, the lips, and all the
minor instruments of enunciation. The whisper should, in this form,
burst forth as suddenly as if the breath were fr-ced out by the instant
effect of a violent blow applied to the back. This style of whisper-
ing should be repeatedly practised on the elements, syllables, and
words, and on the following exercise, whicu exemplifies the utter-
ance of the most abrupt and intense alarm, at once exciting and sup-
pressing the voice.
Exercise.
Military Command . — Anon.
" Hark ! I hear the bugles of the enemy ! They are on
their march along the bank of the li'-cr. We must retreat
instantly, or be cut off from our boats. I see the head oi their
ONY.
ght. Our only safety is in
^eep close to it ; be silent ; and
j boats ! Forward ! "
.spering may now be repeated, on the prcced-
form of a half whisper, — which, as its name
*vay between a whisper and the ordinary " quality "
. *' pure tone."
PURE TONE.
One of the most important parts of vocal culture, is that which
defines the " qualities " of the voice, and prescribes appropriate
exercises for the formation of good, and the eradication of bad,
habits of utterance.
A deep, round, clear, full, and sweet voice, is too commonly
regarded as one of nature's rare gifts to her few favorites. This
popular impression, like many others of a similar nature, proceeds
upon the erroneous assumption, that what we observe as fact, is
necessarily such.
A good voice, — owing to our prevalent deficiency in cultivation,
— is a thing so rare, that we are apt to regard it as an original en-
dowment of constitution, — a grace not lying within the scope of
acquisition, a charm the absence of which, like that of personal
beauty, implies no fault.
Observation, however, will remind us of the fact that all children
in good health, and in cheerful or tranquil mood, have, naturally, in
their habit of utterance, a round, sweet, and clear tone. The fact
continues thus, with every child, in the earliest stage of life. It
ceases, when the voice ceases to utter the feelings of the heart, —
when the mechanical processes of spelling and syllabication com-
mence, and the voice becomes adapted to the routine of reading, as
commonly taught at school. — Judicious culture might evidently pre-
serve, and cherish, and confirm the beautiful tendency of habit, origi-
nally implanted in the human voice and ear.
We are familiar with the fact, that true musical cultivation pro-
ceeds upon the assumption, and insists, with inevitable authority, on
the primary rule, that every human voice can and must utter " pure "
tone. No failure, no remissness, in this respect, is ever tolerated in
appropriate training in vocal music. The result, — as might be
expected, — corresponds to the pains taken to regulate the position
and action of the organs, in elementary practice. All who are
recognized as even tolerable singers, utter every sound of the voice
in the form of pure tone, — entirely free from pectoral gruffness,
guttural suffocation, nasal twang, or oral thinness of quality ; and
among proficients in the art, whatever personal peculiarity of voice
is suffered to exist, is such only as keeps within the limits of perfect
purity, and serves rather to form a crowning grace from the hand of
nature, than in any sense, a defect. 1 — A similar result will always
1 We may refer, here, to familiar examples, in the occasionally rich, racy
FAULT OF " ASPIRATED TONE." 49
be found to attend the diligent cultivation of the voice, in the modea
of utterance appropriate in reading and conversation.
Faults in " Quality" which impair " Purity " of Tone.
The first point to which, in the training of the vocal organs, it
becomes important to direct the attention, with a view to render the
ear discriminating in relation to the qualities of the voice in utterance,
is the exemplification of the common faults in " quality," by which
purity of tone is prevented or impaired. These are the following :
1. A hollow and false pectoral murmur, arising from an
imperfect habit of breathing, in consequence of which, the
lungs are not furnished with a sufficient supply of air, to pro-
duce full and clear tone.
Another cause of this fault in utterance, usually is the feeble
action of the abdominal muscles, and, therefore, an inadequate
expulsion of the breath, and a smothered or muffled quality of voice,
which makes its sound appear buried within the frame or issuing
directly from the chest. This fault of utterance may, from the
character of its effect on the ear, be properly denominated pectoral
tone. It arises, in some instances, from ill health, or a feeble con-
dition of the bodily organs ; in others, from the oppressive influence
of diffidence and constraint. Students, and other persons of seden-
tary habit, and female readers, in particular, incline to this faulty
mode of utterance. The low note which always accompanies this
quality of voice, serves greatly to increase its false and hollow sound,
the prevalence of which gives to all reading, indiscriminately, the
tones of solemnity and awe. Full inspiration, the expulsive action
of the abdominal muscles, and the cultivation of the middle notes of
the voice, together with habits of healthful exercise and cheerful
emotions, are the best remedies for a tendency to hollow pectoral
one.
2. A fault which bears a resemblance to the preceding, is
that of aspirated quality, by which, a half- whispering effect
of fear is imparted to every sound of the voice.
This defect of utterance arises, in part, from the want of sufficiently
fj-l and deep inspiration, to produce pure and full tone; it arises,
sometimes, from organic weakness, or from embarrassment, which
causes a slight "rigor" of the organic parts, and consequently
allows more breath to escape from the trachea, than is converted into
sound by the larynx. The condition of pure tone is, that much
quality, which characterizes the vocalist, Mr. H. Russell ; the clear, crystal-
line points of sound, in that of Madame Caradori Allan ; the warm, breathing
flow of that of Mrs. Wood, or the exquisite, soft fulness of that of Mr. R.
'hillips.
50 ORTHOPHONY,
nreath should be drawn in, but little given out, and that the wliOie
of what is Buffered to escape, should be converted into sound ; while,
in " aspirated quality," little is drawn in, and much is given gut.
In this faulty style of utterance, the due action of the abdominal
muscles is neglected, and a forced and exhausting action of the tho-
racic and intercostal muscles, is substituted, causing an incessant
sinking and collapsing of the chest, and a tone of voice such as
belongs to sickness and pain. This mode of reading or speaking, is
very prevalent, and, especially among the weak and the sednntary :
yet no habit is more exhausting to the vocal organs, more injurious
to health, or more destructive of life. A due attention to the full
expansion of the chest, to deep inspiration, and to the vigorous
action of the abdominal muscles, is the chief preventive of the faulty
habit of aspirated utterance.
3. Another bad quality of voice consists in what is termed
guttural tone, — a mode of utterance which seems to make
the voice issue from an obstructed throat.
This fault is of a twofold character, — first, the soft, choked sound
not unusual in the utterance of persons inclined to fulness of habit
and corpulence, — second, the hard, dry, and barking voice, which
sometimes characterizes persons of an opposite habit and frame.
Both these forms of vocal sound, are disagreeable in their effect ; as
they indicate a want of ear, coarseness of feeling, or an undue
ascendancy of the animal nature. Such properties of tone are not
less repulsive and objectionable, in reading and speaking, than in
singing, in which they are universally regarded as intolerable to an
ear regulated by taste and feeling. The immediate organic cause
ri this bad quality of tone, is an improper pressure of the muscles
around the larynx, and the root of the tongue, — causing the voice,
in the one case, apparently to issue from the pharynx or swallow,
instead of the larynx, and, in the other, to originate in the upper part
of the throat only, cut off from all communication with either the
chest or the mouth. Defective taste or an inadvertent ear, rather
than organic necessity, is usually the origin of the guttural tone ;
and the free expansion of the chest, and the energetic action of the
abdominal muscles, with the habit of opening the mouth freely,
when reading or speaking, are the surest means of avoiding or
removing this great hindrance to purity of tone.
4. Another fault is that commonly termed nasal tone, —
which makes the voice sound as if it came only through the
no;je.
Of this fault it is unnecessary to say much. It is a habit of utter
ance which makes the reader or speaker ridiculous to most hearers,
and uncomfortable to all ; yet it is one which is very prevalent,
although not. always in its worst forms. The chief security against
it v consists in the habit of fully expanding the chest, which aida
FAULT OF "ORAL TONE." 51
depth of voice, and takes off the wiry sound that is otherwise im-
parted to the tone. Another preventive, of still greater efficacy, is,
the fiee opening of the mouth, not only in front, but in the back part,
by raising the veil of the palate, as is mechanically done in the act
of coughing, in consequence of which the voice escapes in its proper
direction, instead of being allowed to drift with force against the
nasal passages, while they remain partially shut. At the same time,
care must be taken not to raise the veil of the palate so high as to
stop the nasal passage entirely, in the style of obstruction caused by
a cold, producing the utterance of " Cub id," for " Come in." A
due degree of nasal ring is one of the component elements of a good
voice.
5. Both the guttural and the nasal tones are combined m
the utterance of some readers and speakers ; and the effect is,
of course, rendered, in such cases, doubly injurious. Some-
times the pectoral tone is blended with the other two, causing
the extreme of impure tone, in all its bad properties. The
effect of this species of voice, is a grunting utterance, resem-
bling that of the inferior animals, instead of the clear resonant
tone of the human being.
6. There is still another fault of utterance, which is yet
more prevalent than those which have been described. It
consists in what may be termed oral tone. It is the slight
ineffective voice of indifference, of feebleness, or fatigue, or
the mincing tone of false taste. It causes the vocal sound to
issue from the mouth, in a style which seems to make it lose
all connection with the throat and the chest, and consequently
to lose all its natural depth and fulness.
Without these last-mentioned properties, no voice can ever sound
earnest or sincere in utterance. Hence we observe "oral" tone
always ascribed to the languid beauty or the trifling fop. — Tr.e full
expansion of the chest, and the vigorous, appulsive action of the
abdominal muscles, which ensures the energetic expulsion of the
breath, — together with the cultivation of the lower notes of the
scale, in the habits of utterance, — are the chief correctives of the
tendency to the fault of the slender " oral " tone. The musician, it
is true, denominates purity of utterance by the phrase " head-tone."
But, in the usages of music, this phrase is not strict or exclusive, in
its application : it is used rather in contradistinction to the false and
impure tones of the throat and the chest, — the guttural and the
pectoral. It is meant to designate that species of tone which rings
clearly in the cavity of the head, by the head becoming, as it were,
a sounding-board to reflect the voice downward, and secure, at the
eame time, the resonance of the chest, blended with that of the head.
52 ORTHOPHONY.
False utterance, or impure tone, arises, in all instances,
from the exclusive or undue, or, it may be, the imperfect use
of one portion of the vocal organs, as is intimated in the
designation of " pectoral," " guttural," or " nasal " tone. l
True utterance and " pure tone," on the contrary, employ the
whole apparatus of voice, in one consentaneous act, combining
in one perfect sphere of sound, — if it may be so expressed, —
the depth of effect produced by the resonance of the chest, the
force -and firmness imparted by the due compression of the
throat, the clear, ringing property, caused by the due propor-
tion of nasal effect, and the softening and sweetening influ-
ence of the head and mouth.
All voices, trained to this appropriate union of qualities, become
pleasing to the ear, and produce dignity of effect. Genuine cultiva-
tion secures these properties, as habits of the voice, from childhood
upward, or restores them when, through inadvertency, they have
been lost. But to preserve, or recover them, much training and
much preparatory discipline become necessary. Exercises, such as
form the preliminary steps in the study of vocal music, are among
the readiest and surest means of attaining that skill in the manage-
ment and control of the organs and the breath, which is indispensa-
ble to purity of tone. See, for this purpose, the exercises and direc-
tions by Professor Webb, at the close of this volume.
" Pure tone " exists in two forms, " subdued," and " moderate "
force : the former implying the repressing power of an emotion
which quiets utterance ; the latter being, as its name implies, a
medium of style.
The elocutionary practice best adapted to the formation of pure
and smooth quality of voice, in the " subdued " form, consists prin-
cipally in careful repetition of the tabular exercises on the " tonic "
elements of the language, and the utterance of syllables and words,
containing long vowels, and in the Teading and recitation of passages
of poetry marked by the prevalence of the expressive tones of pathos,
solemnity, and tranquillity, as here exemplified.
The following exercises should be practised with the closest
attention to the perfect purity of vocal sound, as associated
with the spirit of deep-felt but gentle emotion. The perfect
tranquillity and regularity of the breathing, and the cautious
1 These terms are used not in strict propriety, — as the larynx is the imme-
diate source of all vocal sounds, but for the description of apparent effects.
Thy sound of the voice is made up of a note, or tone, and its resonance. The
former comes directly from the larynx ; the latter from the adjoining cavities
•i the chest, the pharynx, the mouth, the nostrils, and the interior of the head.
"pure tone." 63
and sparing emission of the breath, are points of the utmost
moment to the pure and perfectly liquid formation of voice.
The mode of utterance required in the following exercises is
" effuston," — not ." expulsion " or "explosion," — a gentle,
continuous emission of sound, articulate, but very soit ; as it
always is in the utterance of subdued and chastened emotion,
EXAMPLES OF " PURE TONE."
I. "SUBDUED," Or SOFTENED FORCE.
Example 1. — Pathos.
From the Burial of Arnold. — Willis*
" Tread lightly, comrades ! Ye have laid
His dark locks on his brow, —
Like life, save deeper light and shade,—
We '11 not disturb them now !
" Tread lightly ! for 't Is beautiful,
That blue-veined eyelid's sleep,
Hiding the eye death left so dull; —
Its slumber we will keep ! "
2. — Solemnity.
Soliloquy of Douglas. — Home.
44 This is the place, — the centre of the grove ;—
Here stands the oak, the monarch of the wood ?
How sweet and solemn is this midnight scene !
The silver moon unclouded holds her way
Through skies where I could count each little star;
The fanning west wind scarcely stirs the leaves ;
The river, rushing o'er its pebbled bed,
Imposes silence with a stilly sound.
In such a place as this, at such an hour,— -
If ancestry may be in aught believed, —
Descending spirits have conversed with man,
And told the secrets of the world unknown.*
5*
54 ORTHOPHONY.
3. — Tranquillity.
From Lines written in a Highland Glen. — Wilson.
*' Oh ! that this lovely vale were mine I
Then, from glad youth to calm decline, *
My years would gently glide ;
Hope would rejoice in endless dreams,
And Memory's oft-returning gleams
By peace be sanctified ! "
II. "MODERATE" FORCE.
Perfect purity of tone is indispensable not only to the effect of
" subdued" force, which corresponds to the gentle style of passages
marked "piano" in music, and has been exemplified in the preced-
ing exercises, but, likewise, to that degree of force which may be
termed moderate, in contradistinction to the energetic style of decla-
mation, the bold tones of impassioned recitation, or, on the other
hand, the suppressed or softened utterance of subdued emotion.
" Moderate force M is a convenient designation of the usual utterance
of didactic sentiment, in the form of essays or scientific and literary
discourses, doctrinal and practical sermons, and other forms of
address, not distinguished by vivid narration, graphic description, or
impassioned feeling.
The style of utterance in the " moderate " force of " pure
tone," is gentle " expulsion," with a clear " radical move-
ment," which keeps it from subsiding into mere "effusion,"
and yet does not extend to " explosion." The degree of
force implied in this technical use of the word " moderate," is
merely that which audible utterance, distinct articulation, and
intelligible expression, demand for the ordinary purposes of
public speaking, in those forms which address themselves to
the understanding rather than the heart, and in which the
speaker's great object in communication, is to be under'
stood, rather than to be felt. " Pure tone " is, in these cir-
cumstances, of the utmost value to easy, distinct, and appro-
priate utterance ; and any departure from it not only jars
upon the ear, but impairs the clearness of the speaker's artic-
ulation, and detracts from the proper dignity of public
address, — an exercise usually implying culture and taste on
the part of the speaker.
55
Another consideration of great moment, in connection with thia
branch of elocution, is the unspeakable advantage of " pure tone,"
as a relief to the organs of the reader or speaker. The voice which
obeys the laws of " pure tone," easily fills a vast space. The
organic act becomes, in such cases, a spontaneous emission of sound,
— like the act of singing, when appropriately performed, — free
from every jarring, agitating, irregular impulse, and therefore not
attended with labor or fatigue. The skilful public speaker, like the
skilful singer, gives forth his voice in those clear, smooth, and pure
tones which make the function of utterance a pleasure and not a
pain, and which make organic exertion a salutary instead of an un-
healthful process. It is as true of speech as of* any other muscular
process, that appropriate practice gives " the sleight " of execution,
in consequence of which, powerful and long-sustained exertion is
rendered an easy task.
" Moderate force," as a technical designation in elocution,
exhibits pure tone in the following gradations.
1. — "Grave" Style.
The "grave" style differs from the "solemn" in the fact
that the former is not marked by " effusive" or " subdued "
force, but on the contrary, assumes something of the " expul-
sive " tone of firmness and authority, although in a gentle and
moderate style. The " grave " style differs farther from the
* solemn," in not descending to so low a pitch, — as solemnity
is not so deep-toned in its utterance as aive, nor awe so deep
as horror.
The disturbing cause w T hich usually vitiates the purity of tone in
i ' grave " style, is a false, hollow, pectoral voice, which merely
murmurs in the chest, without coming forth impressively to the ear.
The deep effect of solemnity, or the sepulchral tone of horror, is, in
this way, sometimes produced instead of the moderate character of a
merely " grave " utterance.
The learner, after having practised the example of " grave "
style, should repeat, in that tone, all the "tonic" elements, —
then, a selection from the tabular exercises on words ; so as to
acquire a perfect command of the force and pitch of " grave "
style, as differing from the " solemn," on the one hand, and
from the " serious," on the other.
Example.
Eternity of God. — Greenwood.
" The Throne of Eternity is a throne of mercy and love
66 ORTHOPHONY.
God has permitted and invited us to repose ourselves and om
hopes on that which alone is everlasting and unchangeable.
We shall shortly finish our allotted time on earth, even if it
should be unusually prolonged. We shall leave behind us
aL which is now familiar and beloved ; and a world of other
days and other men will be entirely ignorant that once we
lived. But the same unalterable Being will still preside over
the universe, through all its changes ; and from his remem-
brance we shall never be blotted. We can never be where
He is not, nor where he sees and loves and upholds us not.
He is our Father and our God forever. He takes us from
earth, that He may lead us to heaven, that He may refine our
nature from all its principles of corruption, share with us His
own immortality, admit us to His everlasting habitation, and
crown us with His eternity. "
2.— "Serious" Style.
This form of utterance differs from the preceding, in not
possessing so low a pitch. It is a still milder form of the
same general effect. The fault usually exhibited in " seri-
ous " style, is nearly the same with that mentioned above : it
substitutes the deep and full-toned notes of the " grave " style
for the moderate and less-marked character of the merely
" serious." The purity of tone, in this style, is usually
marred by the same cause as in the preceding instance of the
11 grave " utterance. The beauty and gentleness of the tone
of serious feeling, are thus lost ; and the " expression " is
untrue to the intended effect.
The following example requires attention and careful practice, to
preserve its exact pitch and appropriate force.
When the " serious" tone has come fully under the stu-
dent's command, by practice on the exercise subjoined, the
-epetition of the elements, syllables, and words, will serve to
fix it definitely in the memory.
Example.
The Beauty of Virtue. — Blair.
"There is no virtue without a characteristic beauty to
fc< *CJRE tone": — cc animated" style. 57
make it particularly loved of the good, and to make the bad
ashamed of their neglect of it. To do what is right, argues
superior taste as well as morals ; and those whose practice is
evil, feel an inferiority of intellectual power and enjoyment,
even where they take no concern for a principle.
" Doing well has something more in it than the fulfilling
of a duty. It is the cause of a just sense of elevation of
character; it clears and strengthens the spirits; it gives
higher reaches of thought ; it widens our benevolence, and
makes the current of our peculiar affections swift and deep."
3. — "Animated" or Lively 9 Style.
This mode of voice differs, in three respects, from the
" serious :" it has more force, a higher pitch, and a quicker
movement ; and the comparatively greater force renders the
purity of the tone still more conspicuous.
The common fault, as regards this style, is a dull or deadened
tone, instead of that of animation. The dulness of the objectionable
tone, arises from keeping the pitch as low, perhaps, as that of the
" serious" tone, from withholding the due force of animated utter-
ance, and from allowing the voice to move too slowly. Along with
these faults usually goes an impure, husky quality of voice, instead
of the clear resonant sound which belongs to animation of manner.
It is unnecessary to expatiate on the effects, of a style so obviously
bad as that of dulness and monotony. In consequence of indulging
this habit, the school-boy reads with the tone of apparent reluctance,
indifference, or stupor, and the man speaks as if his intention w T ere
to lull his audience to sleep. The origin of this false tone is to be
found in the fact that elementary teachers too generally permit read-
ing to be dull work, and that reading-books abound in dull or unintel-
ligible lessons. The tones of life and interest, are not cultivated and
cherished at the period when the style of the voice is forming ; and
neglected habit is attended, here, as elsewhere, with every evil : the
voice is killed ; the spirits are quenched : and the reader or speaker
has apparently neither will nor*power to awaken his own soul to per-
ception and feeiing, nor to arouse the hearts of others.
The following example should be attentively practised with refer-
ence to lively and spirited effect.
The exercise in "animated" utterance should be ex-
tended, as a matter of practice, to the elementary sounds, and
to the repetition of the tables of words as far, and as often, as
individuals or classes may seem to require.
68 ORTHOPHONY.
Example.
Animal Happiness. — Paley.
" The air, the earth, the water, teem with delighted exist-
ence. In a spring noon, or a summer evening, on which-
ever side we turn our eyes, myriads of happy beings crowd
upon our view. * The insect youth are on the wing.
Swarms of new-born flies are trying their pinions in the air.
Their sportive motions, their gratuitous activity, their con-
tinual change of place, without use or purpose, testify their
joy, and the exultation which they feel in their lately discov-
ered faculties."
4. — "Gay" or Brisk, Style.
This mode of utterance has all the characteristics of the
"animated" style, carried to a greater extent. The tone to
which we now refer, being that of exhilarated feeling, its
pitch is higher, its force is greater, and its "movement"
quicker than that of an utterance, which, as in the preceding
instance, does not go beyond the style of animation or liveli-
ness, merely.
Gaiety and vividness of expression, are, in their proper sphere, as
important to appropriate effect in reading, as any of the opposite
qualities of seriousness and gravity are in theirs. We can never,
without these properties of voice, give natural expression to many
of the most pleasing forms of composition, — to such, in particular,
as derive their power over sympathy, from their presenting to us
what the poet has termed " the gayest, happiest attitude of things,"
or from the glowing and exhilarating colors in which language some-
times delights to invest the forms of thought. Dramatic scenes,
sketches of life and manners, vivid delineations of character, all
demand the utterance of exhilarated emotion. Unaided by the effect
of such expression, the finest compositions fall flat and dead upor the
ear, and leave our feelings unmoved or disappointed.
The lifeless routine of school habit, is too g-enerally the ear.y
cause of the formation of such tones ; and the chief expedient for
removing them, is to enter, with full life and spirit, into the senti-
ments and emotions which we utter in reading.
The practice of the following and similar examples, should be
carefully watched, with a view to this end ; and the exercise of brisk
and exhilarated utterance, should be repeatedly practised on the
elements, syllables, and words contained in the tables, as a means of
fixing definitely and permanently in the ear the requisite properties
of voice. The learner is imperfect in practice, as long as there
'pure tone": u humorous" style. 59
remains perceptible in his utterance, the least approach to the partial
impurity of tone arising from the languid drawling usually connected
with " nasal and guttural qualities," the feeble thinness of a mere
"oral" tone, or the hollow murmur of the "pectoral" style. A
clear and perfectly pure, ringing voice, corresponding to whai the
musician terms "head tone," is the standard of practice in this
branch of elocution.
v
Example.
Rural Holiday. — Milton.
1 Sometimes, with secure delight,
The upland hamlets will invite,
When the merry bells ring round,
And the jocund rebecs sound,
To many a youth and many a maid,
Dancing in the checkered shade,
When»young-and old come forth to play,
On a sunshine holiday,
Till the livelong daylight fail."
5. — "Humorous ," or Plaijful, Style.
Perfect purity of tone is indispensable to the utterance of fanciful
and humorous emotion, unless in the few instances in which, foi
mimetic or enhanced effect, a peculiar and characteristic voice is as-
sumed, on purpose. Humor, in its genuine expression, not only
enlivens and kindles tone, but seems as it were to melt it, and make
it flow into the ear and the heart, as the full, clear, sparkling stream
gushes into the reservoir. The playful and the mirthful style of
utterance, seems to be voice let loose from all restraints which would
impose upon it any rigidness, dryness, or hardness of sound.
Humor goes beyond mere gaiety or exhilaration, in the
unbounded scope which it gives to the voice : its tones are
higher, louder, and quicker in " movement."
Humor excels even gaiety, in effusive purity of tone, which seema
to come ringing and full from the heart, with all the resonance of
head and chest combined, — " flooding," as the poet says of the sky-
lark, " the very air with sound."
Destitute of such utterance, the reading of some of the finest pas-
sages of Shakspeare, of Scott, or of Irving, becomes cold and torpid,
or excites only aversion and disgust. The lighter strains of Cowper,
and innumerable passages in all the truest and best of our poets,
demand this highest form of mirthful utterance.
The faults usually exemplified in regard to this tone, are similar to
those which were mentioned in speaking of the gay and brisk style
60 ORTHOPHONY.
of expression, and are owing principally to the causes then indicate i,
The remedy must also be of the same description with that whK-k
was then suggested. Humor demands, however, not a mere fulne&i
but an actual exuberance and overflow of feeling, in order to give it
expression. An approach to the style of laughter, should be percep
tible in the quality with which it inspires the voice.
The following exercises should be practised with all the
playful, half-laughing style of voice, which naturally belongs
to this vivid effusion of blended humor and fancy. The
practice of the elements, in the same style, in sounds, and
words, will be of the greatest service for imparting the en-
tire and free command of the appropriate tone of humor ; and
even a frequent repetition of the act of laughter will be found
highly useful, as a preparative for this style of expression, by
suggesting and infusing the perfect purity of tone which
naturally belongs to hearty and joyous emotion.
Example.
Merctjtio's Description of Queen Mab. — ShaJcspeare.
" Oh ! then, I see queen Mab hath been with you.
She comes
In shape no bigger than an agate stone,
On the forefinger of an alderman,
Drawn by a team of little atomies
Athwart men's noses, as they lie asleep ;
Her wagon-spokes made of long spinners' legs }
The cover, of the wings of grasshoppers ;
The traces, of the smallest spider's web,
The collars, of the moonshine's watery beams :
Her whip of cricket's bone ; the lash of film ;
Her w r agoner, a small gray-coated gnat ;
Her chariot is an empty hazel-nut,
Made by the joiner squirrel, or old grub,
Time out of mind the fairies' coachmakers.
And in this state she gallops, night by night,
Through lovers' brains, and then they dream of love
O'er lawyers' fingers, who straight dream on fees;
O'ei ladies' lips, who straight on kisses dream :
61
Sometimes she gallops o'er a courtier's nose,
And then dreams he of smelling out a suit;
And sometimes comes she with a tithe-pig's tail,
Tickling a parson's nose, as 'a lies asleep,
Then dreams he of another benefice :
Sometimes she driveth o'er a soldier's neck,
And then dreams he of cutting foreign throats,
Of breaches, ambuscadoes, Spanish blades,
Of healths five fathom deep : and then anon
Drums in his ear ; at which he starts and wakes ;
And, being thus frighted, swears a prayer or two,
And sleeps again."
III. "sustained" force.
Calling.
A call is the highest and intensest form of " pure tone,"
and, when extended to a vast distance, becomes, it is univer-
sally known, similar to music, in the style of its utterance.
A high note is required, in order to reach to remote distance ; and
perfect purity of tone, is also indispensable, as a condition of the easy
emission of the prodigious force of voice which calling demands, and
which, in continuous effort, it must sustain. It is the " maximum"
or highest degree, of vocal force. But if unaccompanied by perfectly
pure quality of sound, it pains and injures the organs. Its true
mode is a long-sustained and exceedingly powerful singing tone. In
this form, its use in strengthening the organs, and giving firmness,
compactness, and clearness to the voice, is very great.
The student, in practising the call, as a vocal exercise,
must see to it that the utmost purity of tone is kept up ; as
the exercise will otherwise be injurious. The more attentive
he is to sing his words, in such exercises, the more easy is
the effort; and the more salutary the result. The style of
utterance, in this exercise, is that of vigorous, sustained, and
intense "effusion" but should never become abruptly " explo*
sive"
The following example should be practised on the scale indicated,
not on the stage, but in historical fact, as when the herald stood on
the plain, at such a distance as to be out of bow-shot, and called out
his message, so as to be fully audible and distinctly intelligible to the
listeners on the distant city-wall.
6
J
62 ORTHOPHONY.
The elementary tables of sounds, and words, should bo
repeatedly practised, in the form of calling, till the student
can command a full, clear, ringing, and musical call, or any
form of soutiI which admits this function of the voice.
Example,
The Herald's Call. — Skakspeare.
" .Rejoice, you men of Angiers ! ring your be^JS .
King John, your king and England's, doth approach'—
Open your gates, and give the victors way ! "
14 OROTUND QUALITY."
" Pure tone " is properly the perfection of vocal sound executed
by human organs, in the form of music or of speech, in unimpas-
sioned expression. Purity, as a quality of voice in utterance, is, so
to speak, the investing property of the sounds in which gentle
and moderate emotions are conveyed to the ear. But this quality
does not extend beyond the limits of solemnity, on the one
hand, or of gaiety and humor, on the other. Its boldest effect is
exhibited, as already mentioned, in the mechanical act of calling,
which, although, sometimes accompanied by intense emotion, is not,
by any means, necessarily so attended. The call may be uttered, as
among laborers at work, for a merely mechanical purpose of conven-
ience.
But when we advance in the gradations of feeling, and come to
the stage of impassioned utterance, and, more particularly, to that in
which deep and forcible emotions are combined, mere purity of tone
is not adequate to the effect which is to be produced on the ear. In
the utterance of contemplative repose, nothing beyond pure quality
of voice is needed, to give expression to feeling so gentle in its mood.
Energy would, in such circumstances, seem violence : it would dis-
turb the quiet of the scene.
Not so when passion rouses or inspires the soul. The intense
excitement of feeling then demands that volume and force should pre-
dominate in expression. Purity of tone must, indeed, even in such
cases, be preserved, to constitute that utterance which, while it
assumes an intense energy, still indicates, in the pure quality of the
vocal sound, the delight which the soul feels in the consciousness of
powerful action. But the properties of ^voice which, in these ciiCLin-
stances, predominate in the utterance, and fall most impressively on
the ear, are volume and energy, combined with ample resonance.
We have a striking example of the species of voice under consid-
eration, in the imagined rallying-shout of Satan to his fallen host,
while they lie weltering on the infernal lake, when, — in the colossal
image of the poet, — " he called so loud, that all the hollow deep of
helJ resounded :"
"orotund" quality. G3
" Princes ! potentates ! "
" Awake ! arise ! or be forever fallen ! '
Tlie human voice, here superadding" intense emotion to the mere
physical act of shouting and calling, becomes, as it were, translated
ro a sphere of superhuman force and grandeur.
In the "orotund quality'' of utterance, volume and purity
of tone, to the greatest extent of the one, and the highest per-
fection of the other, are blended in one vast sphere of sound,
expressive of the utmost depth, intensity, and sublimity of
emotion, and attended by the fullest resonance of the pharynx
and the chest, as well as the larynx.
The voice, in the above case, inspired, expanded, and impelled, by
the huge conception of the poet's imagination, becomes gigantic iri
its utterance. The force of the mental associations, imparts the im-
pulsive energy, — and their conscious sublimity the " pure tone," o*
the highest joy. Blend these two properties, and the result is what
Dr. Rush has so appropriately termed " orotund" 1 utterance.
The quality of voice to which we now refer, is mentioned
by Dr. Rush as the highest perfection of the cultivated utter-
ance of the public speaker. It is also justly regarded by him
as the natural language of the highest species of emotion. It
characterizes the vivid utterance of children, in their tones of
love, and joy, and ecstasy. It belongs to the audible expres-
sion of masculine courage, energy, delight, admiration, and to
the deliberate language of vengeance, as distinguished from
the aspirated and suffocated voice of anger and rage.
In the furious excitement of anger, however, which breathes a
fiendish delight in the very consciousness of the destructive passion,
the " orotund" will be found to return in the utterance, and predom-
inate even in the scream or yell of the wildest frenzy of excitement
The property of voice defined by the term " orotund *
exists, also, in certain physical and mechanical relations of
the corporeal organs. Thus, we hear it in the audible func-
tions of yawning, coughing, and laughing; all of which, when
forcibly performed, are attended with a sudden and powerful
> l From the Latin phrase " ore roiundo," used by the poet Horace, in al'u-
sion to the round and full utterance and flowing 1 - eloquence of the Greeks.
64 ORTHOPHONY.
expansion of the organic parts, and a ringing fulness, round
ness, and smoothness of sound. 1
"Orotund" quality may, in one of its forms, (the shout,) be
regarded as the maximum of " pure tone," united with the mos*
powerful resonance of the pharynx. Like the pure tone, however,
it admits of degrees ; and we find it existing, according to the greater
or less intensity of emotion, in the different forms of "effusive,"
"expulsive," and "explosive," force. In other cases, it partakes
of " aspiration,' ' being rendered " impure," by violence of emotion
and for^e of breath. We proceed to the exemplification of the first
of the above gradations.
I. " EFFUSIVE OROTUND."
This designation is applied to that species of utterance in
which the voice is not sent forth from the organs by any
obvious voluntary expulsion, but is rather suffered to effuse
itself from the mouth into the surrounding air. It resembles
the insensible and unconscious act of tranquil breathing, as
contrasted with the effort of panting. But though perfectly
gentle in its formation, and passing but little beyond the
limits of merely " pure tone," it still obviously extends beyond
that form of voice, and assumes a somewhat different charac-
ter. " Pure tone," in its " effusive" form, is executed princi-
pally by the full expansion of the chest, a large inhalation
but a very gentle and limited expiration ; whilst " effusive
orotund" gives a very free egress to the breath, and, by its
larger volume of sound, and greater emissive force, uses
more breath, in the production of sound. " Effusive pure
tone " is obtained chiefly by skilful withholding of the breath,
and using the larynx so gently and so skilfully, that
every particle of air passing through it, is converted into
sound. " Effusive orotund" demands a wider opening of tho
organs, and a freer and firmer use of them, so as to produce a
bolder and rounder tone. It resembles, however, in its style,
the " effusive" function of " pure tone," in its gentle and su3
lained swell of utterance, as contrasted with the " expulsive'
and " explosive" forms of the " orotund."
1 For a more minute description of" orotund " quality, we refer to the work
of Dr. Rush.
"effusive orotund." 65
Ihe n w odes of feeling or emotion which are expressed by
u effusive orotund voice," are pathos, — when mingled with
grandeur and sublimity, — and solemnity and reverence, when
expressed iu similar circumstances. — Pathos, divested of
grandeur, subsides into " pure tone," merely. The same
result takes place in the utterance of solemnity, if unaccom-
panied by sublimity. But reverence, always implying gran-
deur or elevation in its source, is uniformly uttered by the
"orotund" voice, though from the tranquillity, and the partial
awe, with which it is attended, its force does not go beyond
the " effusive" form, — as maybe observed in the appropriate
tone of adoration, uttered in the exercise of devotion.
Analysis thus shows us the value of the " orotund," as imparting
dignity of effect to utterance, even in its gentler moods. It teaches
us, moreover, the inefficacy or the inappropriateness of all utterance
which, in giving forth the language of noble and inspiring emotion,
falls short of " orotund " quality, and reduces the style of voice to
that of ordinary or common-place topics. Gray's Elegy, for exam-
ple, if read without " orotund," becomes feeble and trite, in its style ;
Milton's Paradise Lost, if so read, becomes dry and flat ; and the lan-
guage of devotion, uttered in the same defective style, in prayer, or
in psalms and hymns, becomes irreverent in its effect.
The mode of securing the advantages of " orotund " utterance, is,
in the first place, to give up the whole soul to the feeling of what is
read or spoken in the language of grave and sublime emotion. The
mere superficial impression of a sentiment, is not adequate to the
effects of genuine and inspiring expression. The reader or speaker
must be so deeply imbued with the spirit of what he utters, that his
heart overflows with it, and thus inspires and attunes his organs to
the full vividness of expressive action. The ample and noble effect
of " orotund" utterance, can never be acquired through the clearest
apprehension of a sentiment by the understanding merely : the heart
must swell with the feeling ; and the stream of emotion must gush
over the whole man. Nor is it sufficient that the reader's feeling bo
commensurate with the mere personal impression of a sentiment :
genuine expression demands such a surplus, as it were, of emotion
that it is sufficient to overflow the reader's own being, and impel and
cnrrv on with it the sympathies of his audience. The reader must
himself feel the inspiration of number enkindling his personal emo-
tion, and elevating and expanding his being, for the full outpouring
of expression.
But few readers seem fully to feel the difference between the quiet
and passive state in which we sit and give up our imagination to be
impressed by the language of an author, and the communicative and
active energy requisite to stamp even such an impression on the
minds of otheis. In the former case, we are but involuntary, or, at
66 ORTHOPHONY.
the most, consentaneous recipients: in the latter, we are tie positive
and voluntary creators of effect.
The deep and full feeling of an author's sentiment, then, is the
natural preliminary to expressive effect and consequent " orotund."
But, from the imperfections of early culture, attention is, in most
cases, demanded, at the same time, to the state and functions of the
organs.
The effect of " effusive orotund," on the voice, is identical in its
quality with the soft, but round and deep tone of a prolonged yawn,
— a form of voice which comes, obviously, from the peculiarly wide
and free position of the organs in that act. Hence arises the sugges-
tion to repeat voluntarily the effort of loud and prolonged yawning,
and watch its peculiar effect on the sound of the voice, and repeat
and prolong the sound in the form of the yawn, till it can be executed
at pleasure.
"Effusive orotund" is, in one view, nothing else than
" pure tone " rendered intense and ample in volume, by vigo-
rous emission of breath, and by laryngial quality, or the full
deep ringing effect of a free use of the larynx, and an ample
expansion of the pharynx. The same position and move-
ments of the organs, therefore, are used in the one, as in the
other.
The larynx operates in both with the consentaneous enlargement
of the pharynx, the elevation of the veil of the palate, and the exactly^
balanced use of the nasal passage, — a style in which it is neither too
much compressed, nor too widely opened, but exerted in the mode
required to produce what musicians term " head tone."
The cultivation of vocal music, in the form of singing bass, is one
of the most effectual means of securing the property of " effusive
orotund" utterance, in reading and speaking. The following, and
similar examples, together with the tabular elements, should be
attentively and repeatedly practised, till the full, clear, deep and
perfect resonance of the " orotund " quality of voice, is perfectly at
command.
I. Examples of "Effusive Orotund."
1. Pathos and Gloom> or Melancholy mingled with Gran*
deur. 1
From Gray's Elegy.
" The curfew tolls, — the knell of parting day;
The lowing herd winds slowly o'er the lea ;
1 Pathetic, tranquil, and solemn emotions, always pass from " pure tone *
to " orotund quality," when force or sublimity, in any degree, marks the lan-
guage in which these emotions are uttered.
"effusive orotund." 67
The ploughman homeward plods his weary way,
And leaves the world to darkness and to me.
" Now fades the glimmering landscape on the sight,
And all the air a solemn stillness holds ;
Save where the beetle wheels his drony flight,
And drowsy tinklings lull the distant folds.
" Save that, from yonder ivy-mantled tower,
The moping owl does to the moon complain
Of such as, wandering near her secret bower,
Molest her ancient, solitary reign.
' Beneath those rugged elms, that yew-tree's shade,
Where heaves the turf in many a mouldering heap ~«
Each in his narrow cell forever laid, —
The rude forefathers of the hamlet sleep.
For them no more the blazing hearth shall burn,
Or busy housewife ply her evening care ;
No children run to lisp their sire's return,
Or climb his knees, the envied kiss to share."
2. Solemnity and Sublimity combined.
Milton's Invocation of Light.
'Hail! holy Light, — offspring of Heaven, first-born,
Or of the Eternal coeternal beam
May I express 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 1
Or hear'st thou, rather, pure 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 deep,
Won from the void and formless infinite."
68 ORTHOPHONY.
3. Reverence
From the Book of Psalms.
' 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 with a garment ; who stretches t
out the heavens like a curtain : who layeth the beams of His
chambers in the waters : who maketh the clouds His chariot ,
who walketh upon the wings of the wind ; who laid the foun-
dations of the earth, that it should not be removed forever "
II. " EXPULSIVE OROTUND."
This form of the " orotund," or full utterance of public
reading and speaking, bears precisely the same relation to
the preceding, that " expulsive " bears to " effusive " " pure
tone."
It arises from the forcible action of the abdominal muscles,
added to full expansion of chest, and deep inspiration. It has
the same laryngial property which justifies the application of
the term " orotund" to the " effusive " style of that form of
utterance.
"Expulsive orotund" belongs appropriately to earnest or
vehement declamation, to impassioned and poetic excitement
of emotion, and consequently to whatever language is uttered
in the form of shouting.
The first-mentioned of these styles, — the declamatory, ia
exemplified in public address or debate, on exciting occasions.
The second is heard in the utterance of passion, when the
reader or speaker passes beyond the mere voluntary and con-
scious force of "declamatory" utterance, and, in pa it,
becomes himself, — in common with his audience, — an un-
conscious, involuntary subject of the impelling emotion which
he expresses. The third form of " expulsive orotund," is at
once the impassioned and the voluntary burst of emotion
which transcends the customary forms and effects of speech,
and, in the spirit of enthusiastic excitement, utters itself in
shouts and exclamations.
" EXPULSIVE OROTUND." C9
Thia form of utterance, — the "expulsive orotund," — is one of
the noblest functions of the human voice. It is this which gives to
the ear the full effect of the majesty of man, as a being of heart and
will and imagination. Without the full command of this property of
utterance, the public reader or speaker falls short of whatever effect
naturally belongs, in human speech, to the union of depth, force, and
grandeur of emotion. The language of the loftier feelings of the
soul, unaided by this natural advantage, becomes familiar, low, and
trivial.
The forcible and manly eloquence of Demosthenes or of Chatham,
divested of the full "expulsive" utterance of deep and powerful
emotion, would become ridiculous in its effect on the ear and the
imagination. The same would be true of the style of our own
eminent contemporary and countryman, Webster. Depth, weight,
and fulness of tone, form one powerful assemblage of effects, in all
his utterance on great and exciting occasions.
To form the voice to the extent of the full property of " expulsive
orotund," care should be taken to maintain a perfectly erect attitude
of body, the chest fully expanded, and projected, and the shoulders
depressed, — to maintain, also, a vigorous play of the abdominal mus-
cles, and to practise the organic act of prolonged coughing, in a mod-
erate form, which is the natural mechanical function most nearly
resembling " expulsive orotund." The elements of the language
should be practised in a similar style ; and to these exercises should
be added the repeated and energetic practice of the following exam-
ples.
Practice on the " crying " voice, or weeping utterance of sorrow,
is another expedient for rendering nature's processes conducive to
culture. The act of crying, being, in its mechanism, a perfect " ex
pulsive orotund."
Exairiples of "Expulsive Orotund" .
1. — "Declamatory " Style.
From Webster's Speech of John Adams.
" Sink or swim) live or die, survive or perish, I give my
Land and my heart to this vote ! "
" Sir, before God, I believe the hour is come. My judg
ment approves this measure ; and my whole heart is in it.
Al. that I have, and all that I am, and all that I hope, in this
life, I am now ready here to stake upon it ; and I leave off,
as I began, that, live or die, survive or perish, I am for the
declaration. It is my living sentiment ; and, by the blessing
of God, it shall be my dying sentiment : — independence now,
and INDEPENDENCE FOREVER ! "
70 ORTHOPHONY.
2. — " bnpassioned" Poetic Style,
From Carey's Ode on Eloquence.
* Where rests the sword ? — where sleep the brave?
Awake ! Cecropia's ally save
From the fury of the blast !
Burst the storm on Phocis' walls, —
Rise ! or Greece forever falls ;
Up . or Freedom breathes her last ! "
3. — Weeping Utterance. (" Crying" Voice.)
Prince Arthur, [to Hubert, whose attendants are binding the
PRINCE, FOR THE PURPOSE OF PUTTING OUT HIS EYES.] — ShdkspearC
" Alas ! what need you be so boisterous rough ?
I will not struggle, — I will stand stone still.
For Heaven's sake, Hubert, let me not be bound !
Nay, hear me, Hubert ! drive these men away,
And I will sit as quiet as a lamb :
I will not stir, nor wince, nor speak a word,
Nor look upon the irons angrily.
Thrust but these men away, and I '11 forgive you,
Whatever torment you do put me to ! "
f
4. — Shouting.
Richmond to his Troops. — Shafapeare.
" Advance your standards, draw your willing swords !
Sound drums and trumpets, boldly and cheerfully !
God, and Saint George ! Richmond and victory ! "
III. "EXPLOSIVE OROTUND."
The "explosive" form of the "orotund" utterance, bears
the same relation to " effusive " and " expulsive orotund," that
" explosion" in breathing or whispering, bears to " effusion w
and " expulsion," in those forms. It implies an instantane-
ous burst of voice with a quick, clear, sharp, and cutting
eflec* on the ear.
M EXPLOSIVE OROTUND." 71
fhis mode of voice proceeds from a violent and abrupt exertion of
the abdominal muscles, acting on the diaphragm, and thus discharg-
ing a large volume of air, previously inhaled. The breath, in this
process, is, as it were, dashed against the glottis or lips of the larynx,
causing a loud and instantaneous explosion. In the act of " explo-
sion " the chink of the glottis is, for a moment, closed, and a resist-
ance, at first, offered to the escape of the breath, by a firm compres-
sion of the lips of the larynx, and downward pressure of the epiglot-
tis. After this instant pressure and resistance, follows the explosion
caused by the appulsive act of the abdominal muscles and the dia-
phragm, propelling the breath, with powerful and irresistible volume,
on the glottis, and epiglottis, which at length give way, and suffer
the breath to escape, with a loud and sudden report, of a purely
explosive character.
The preceding and accompanying state of the organs, in the act of
"explosion," sufficiently indicates the propriety of this mode of
utterance being termed " orotund;" as it possesses all the depth,
roundness, and fulness of the other forms of that " quality," which
have been already discussed, and implies farther, that these are now
compacted and condensed, to an extraordinary degree, so as to make
the sound of the voice resemble, in its effect on the ear, that of a firm
and hard ball striking against the surface of the body.
"Explosive orotund" is the language of intense passion:
it is heard when the violence of emotion is beyond the control
of the will, and a sudden ecstasy of terror, anger, or any
other form of intensely excited feeling, causes the voice to
burst forth involuntarily from the organs, with all the sudden
and startling effect that would arise from its sound being
forced out, by a sudden blow, applied to the back of the
speaker. It exists only in the extremes of abrupt emotion, as
in the burst of anger, or the shout of courage, and admits of
no gradations.
This form of the human voice is one of the most impressive in it3
effect. By a law of our constitution, it acts with an instantaneous
shock on the sympathetic nerve, and rouses the sensibijty of tlio
whole frame ; it summons to instant action all the senses ; and in the
thrill which it sends from nerve to brain, we feelits awakening and
inciting power over the mind. With the rapidity of lightning it pen-
etrates every faculty, and sets it instinctively on the alert. It seems
designed by na.ure as the note of alarm to the whole citadel within
the soul.
We hear the "explosive orotund quality" exemplified in
the sudden alarm of fire, in the short and sharp cry of terror
or of warning, at the approach of instant and great danger
72 ORTHOPHONY
in the eruptive curse of furious anger, in the abrupt exclama-
tion of high-wrought courage, and in the burst of frantic
grief In reading and recitation, it belongs appropriately to
the highest ecstatic effects of lyric and dramatic poetry, as the
language of intense passion.
Without the full command of this element, emotion becomes lifeless
and ineffective in tone ; and the inspired language of the poet dies
upon the tongue.
To gain the full command of " explosive orotund " voice, the prac*
tice of the elements, of syllables, and words, in the tones of anger
and terror, should be frequently repeated, along with the following
and similar examples. A previous organic practice should also be
repeatedly made, on the mechanical exercise of abrupt and loud
coughing, which is the purest form of " explosive orotund." The
vocal elements and syllabic combinations should be repeated in the
form of a sudden cough, at the opening of each sound. Laughing,
— in its strongest and fullest style, — is another natural form of
" explosive orotund ;" and the mechanical practice of the act is one
of the most efficacious modes of imparting to the organs the power
of instantaneous " explosion," required in the vivid expression of
high-wrought feeling. These processes at once secure a vigorous
state of the organs of voice, and a round and compacted form of
sound. No exercise is so effectual for strengthening weak organs, or
imparting energy to tone, as the "explosive orotund " utterance.
Like all other powerful forms of exertion, it should not, at first, be
carried very far ; neither should it be practised without a due inter-
spersing of the gentler and softer exercises of voice. Pursued exclu-
sively, it would harden the voice, and render it dry and unpleasing
in its quality. Intermingled with the other modes of prsfctice, it
secures thorough- going force and clearness of voice, and permanent
vigor and elasticity of organs.
Examples of "Explosive Orotund"
1. Courage. (" Explosive " Shouting.)
Ode to the Greeks. — Anon.
" Strike for the sires who left you free !
Strike for their sakes who bore you !
Strike for your homes and liberty,
And the Heaven you worship, o'er you ! "
2. Anger.
Antony, [to the conspirators.] — Shakspeare.
" Villains ! you did not threat, when your vile daggers
Hacked one another in the sides of Csesar !
" EXPLOSIVE OROTUND." 73
You showed your teeth like apes, and fawned like hounds,
And bowed like bondmen, kissing Caesar's leet ;
Whilst damned Casca, like a cur, behind,
Struck Caesar on the neck. — Oh ! flatterers !"
3. Terror.
From Halleck's Marco Bozzaris.
" To arms ! — they come ! — the Greek, the Greek ! "
4. Hurry and Commotion.
Maceeth to his Officer. — ShaJcspeare.
" Send out more horses, — skirr the country round ;
Hang those that talk of fear ! — Give me mine armor."
" ASPIRATED QUALITY."
The " qualities" of voice which are most frequently exemplified
in reading and speaking, are those which have been defined and ex-
emplified, under the designations of "pure tone" and "orotund."
Deviations from purity of tone, are usually to be regarded as faults
of inadvertency or of personal habit. Still, there are some classes of
emotions, which, from their peculiar nature, require, as one element
in their "expression," an "aspirated quality," or that in which,
from the forcible character of the feeling, operating with a corre-
sponding effect on the organs, more breath is expelled from the tra-
chea, in the act of utterance, than is converted into sound by the
exertion of the larynx. The stream of air which the excited action
of the expulsory muscles, throws out, under the influence of certain
passions, becomes too wide and too powerful to be moulded by the
glottis and controlled by the vocal chords, which, for the moment,
become, as it were, either paralyzed or convulsed, and unable to act
with effect. Hence a rushing sound of the breath escaping, unvo-
calized, is heard along with the partially vocalized sounds by which
such passions are expressed. The half-whispering voice of fear, and
the harsh, breathing sound of anger, are examples in point, in the
extremes of" expression."
The agitating character of these and similar emotions, disturbs the
play of the organs, and not only prevents, in utterance, the effect of
purity of tone, : — which is always connected with comparative tran-
quillity of feeling, — but causes, by " aspirated quality," or redun-
dant breath superadded to vocal sound, a positive impurity of tone,
which has a grating effect on the ear, — somewhat as takes place
when we hear a person attempting to play on a wind instrument
which has been cracked, and which allows a hissing sound of the
breath to escape along with the musical notes.
74 ORTHOPHONY.
The emotions which are naturally expressed by the stiong-
est form of " aspirated quality," are principally of that class
which an eminent writer on the passions has denominated
" malignant," from their peculiar character and effect, as con-
trasted with those of others which he denominates " genial."
The former class includes fear, hatred, aversion, horror,
ange^, and all similar feelings : the latter, love, joy, serenity,
tenderness, pity, &c.
" Aspirated quality," like other forms of utterance, may
exist, according to the force of emotion, in the three grada-
tions of "effusive," "expulsive," and "explosive" voice.
The muscular action attending utterance in the form of " as-
pirated quality," is usually such as to blend with the "aspira-
tion" either a "pectoral" or a "guttural" resonance, very
strongly marked. Hence these properties of voice, which
would, in the expression of other emotions, be mere organic
faults, now become requisites to effect, and are, therefore,
comparative excellences. They require, accordingly, special
study and practice as modes of " expressive " utterance.
The "aspirated quality," in the "pectoral" form, belongs
usually to despair, deep-seated anger, revenge, excessive fear,
horror, and other deep and powerful emotions.
Other emotions, however, besides those which may be
designated as "malignant," partake of "aspirated quality."
Awe, may be mentioned as an example, which, when pro-
found, is always marked by a slight aspiration, and a " pec-
toral quality." Joy and grief too, become " aspirated" when
highly characterized. Ardor and intense earnestness of
emotion, are always " aspirated." The fervent expression of
love, and even of devotion, admits, accordingly, of " aspi-
rated " utterance. " Aspiration," like " tremor," thus becomes
a natural sign of extremes in feeling; and these two proper-
ties united, form the acme or highest point of " expression."
The ' aspirated quality," in the " guttural" form, belongs,
in various degrees, to all malignant emotions. In its
stronger expression, it gives a harsh, animal, and sometimes
even fiend-like character to human utterance, as in the malice
li ASPIRATED QUALITY." 75
and revenge of Shylock. In a reduced, though si_ highly
impassioned degree, it gives its peculiar choking effect to the
In 1he yell of rage and fury, " aspiration " is displaced by perfectly
" pure tone " of the loudest sound, — by a law of man's organize ion ,
which it is unnecessary here to analyze, but which seems to make
all the extremes, or utmost reaches of human feeling, musical in
their effect. Joy, and the extremes of both grief and anger, may bo
mentioned as illustrations.
Aversion, disgust, displeasure, impatience, dissatisfaction^
and discontent, all, in various degrees, combine "aspirated"
utterance and " guttural quality."
The due " aspiration " of the voice, in all the emotions which have
been enumerated as requiring that property, is a point indispensable
to the natural and appropriate " expression" of emotion, and conse-
quently an important accomplishment of good elocution, whether in
reading or speaking.
To learners who have practised the exercises in whispering, which
is the extreme of " aspiration " this quality will not prove difficult
of acquisition. It will be of great service, however, to power of
" expression," to render the command of " aspiration " easy by fre-
quent repetition on elements, syllables, and words, selected for the
purpose, and on the examples contained in the " exercises on aspi
rated quality," in the Appendix.
CHAPTER IV.
FORCE.
A primary characteristic of utterance, as expressive of emotion,
is the degree of its energy, or force. The effect of any feeling on
sympathy, is naturally inferred from the degree of force with which
the sound of voice, in the utterance of that feeling, falls upon the ear
of the hearer. The cause of this impression upon the mind, is, obvi-
ously, the law of organic sympathy, by which one part of the human
frame naturally responds to another. A powerful emotion not only
affects the heart and the lungs, and the other involuntary agents of
life and of expression, but starts the expulsory muscles into voluntary
action, and produces voice, the natural indication and language of
feeling. The degree of force, therefore, in a vocal sound, is intui-
tively taken as the measure of the emotion which causes it. Except,
on\y, those cases in which the force of feeling paralyzes, as it were,
the organs of the voice, and suggests the opposite measure of infer
76 ORTHOPHONY.
ence, by which a choked and struggling utterance, a supprtssed 01
inarticulate voice, or even absolute silence, becomes the index to tho
heart.
The command of all degrees of force of voice, must evidently be
essential to true and natural expression, whether in reading or
speaking. Appropriate utterance ranges through all stages of vocal
sound, from the whisper of fear and the murmur of repose, to the
boldest swell of vehement declamation, and the shout of triumphant
courage. But to give forth any one of these or the intermediate
tones, with just and impressive effect, the organs must be disciplined
by appropriate exercise and frequent practice. For every day's
observation proves to us, that mere natural instinct and animal
health, with all the aids of informing intellect, and inspiring emotion,
and exciting circumstances, are not sufficient to produce the effects
of eloquence, or even of adequate utterance.
The overwhelming power of undisciplined feeling, may not only
impede but actually prevent the right action of the instruments of
speech ; and the novice who has fondly dreamed, in his closet, that
nothing more is required for effective expression, than a genuine
feeling, finds, to his discomfiture, that it is, perhaps, the very
intensity of his feeling that hinders his utterance ; and it is not till
expedience and practice have done their work, that he learns the pri-
mary lesson, that force of emotion needs a practised force of will, to
balance and regulate it, and a disciplined control over the organs, to
give it appropriate utterance.
The want of due training for the exercise of public reading or
speaking, is evinced in the habitual undue loudness of some speak-
ers, and the inadequate force of others the former subjecting their
hearers to unnecessary pain, and the latter to disappointment and
uneasiness.
Force of utterance, however, has other claims on the attention of
students of elocution, besides those which are involved in correct ex
pression. It is, in its various gradations, the chief means of impart-
ing strength to the vocal organs, and power to the voice itself. The
due practice of exercises in force of utterance, does for the voice
what athletic exercise does for the muscles of the body : it imparts
the two great conditions of power, — vigor and pliancy.
"Vocal gymnastics" afford no discipline more useful than that
which accompanies the daily practice of the various gradations of
force. Exercises of this description, enable the public speaker to
retain perpetually at command the main element of vivid and impres-
sive utterance ; and they furnish to young persons of studious and
sedentary habit the means of thorough invigoration for the energetic
use of the voice, required in professional exertions.
Vocal exercises of the kind now suggested, are also invaluable
aids to health, and cheerfulness, and mental activity, in all who prac-
tise them, and are not less useful in training the voice for the gentle
utterance required in the practice of reading in the domestic or tho
social circle, than in invigorating it for public performances.
The effect of vocal training in the department of force, is greatly
augmented* when the bolder exercises are performed in the open ail
FORCE. 77
or in a large hall. A voice trained on this scale of practice, easily
rocommodates itself to a more limited space ; while it is equally true,
that a voice habituated to parlor reading only, usually fails in the
attempt to practise in a room more spacious. Farther, the fact is
familiar to instructors in elocution, that persons commencing practice
with a very weak and inadequate voice, attain, in a few weeks, a
perfect command of the utmost degrees of force, by performing their
exercises out of doors, or in a hall of ample dimensions.
It is a matter of great moment, in practising the exercises in force,
to observe, at first, with the utmost strictness, the rule of commenc-
ing with the slightest and advancing to the most energetic forms of
utterance. When practice has imparted due vigor and facility, it
will be a useful variation of order, to commence with the more
powerful exertions of the voice, and descend to the more gentle. It
is a valuable attainment, also, to be able to strike at once, and with
perfect ease and precision, into any degree of force, from whispering
to shouting.
As the exercises in the various " qualities" of the voice, have
already led us over the ground of " force," in all its gradations, it
will be sufficient to present them once in succession, without farther
explanation. CSee " exercises on force," in the appendix.)
DEGREES OF FORCE.
The perfect command of every degree of force, and an exact dis-
crimination of its stages, as classified by degree and character of
emotion, are indispensable to correct and impressive elocution.
Extensive and varied practice on force, in all its gradations, becomes,
therefore, an important point, in the vocal culture connected with
elocution. Nor is it less valuable as the chief means of imparting
power of voice and vigor of organ, — as was formerly intimated.
The student's attention is again directed to the importance of this
element, for the purpose of securing a patient and persevering prac-
tice on elementary sounds, with an exclusive view, at present, to the
mechanical exertion of the organs in the successive stages of mere
loudness of voice. It will be found a useful practice to repeat the
first line of each example in succession.
After having completed the practice on force, as prescribed in the
preceding exercises, — in which its degrees are indicated by the feel-
ing expressed in each example, — the various component elements
of the language, the "tonics," " subtonics," and "atonies," and
examples of their combination in syllables and wcrds, may be
repeated successively, (1.) in forms corresponding to the style of
each exercise ; (2.) in the musical gradations of" pianissimo," (very
soft;) "piano," (soft;) "mezzo piano," (moderately soft ;) "mez-
zo," (moderate;) "mezzo forte," (moderately loud;) "forte,*
(loud;) and " fortissimo," (very loud ;") (3.) in successive stages,
commmencing with the slightest and most delicate sound that can be
uttered in " pure tone," and extending to the most vehement force
of shouting and calling in the open air, and with all the power that
the voice can yield.
7*
78 ORTHOPHONY.
Persons who practise such exercises several times a day, 1 for ten
or fifteen minutes at a time, will find a daily gain in vocal power ana
organic vigor to be the invariable result : every day will enable them
to add a degree to their scale of force. To young persons whose
organs are yet fully susceptible of the benefits of training, to students
and sedentary individuals, in general, whose mode of life is deficient
in muscular exercise, and consequently in power of voice, and tc
professional men whose exercises in public speaking are at compara-
tively distant intervals, (in which case, the organs need the aid of
invigorating daily practice more than in any other,) the mechanical
practice of graduated force, is the most effective aid that can be
found.
The kind of exercise now recommended, if presented in a form
addressed to the eye, might be marked thus :
Each dot represents, in this scale, one and thi ui, j sound, or word,
repeated with a gradually increasing force. The' repetition of the
same sound, for at least a dozen times, is preferred to a change of
elements, because, by repetition, the ear becomes, as it were, a more
exact judge of the successive degrees of force, when not distracted
by attention to anything else than the one point of mere loudness.
This exercise can never injure, but will always strengthen, even
weak organs, if the gradation of voice be duly observed, and the note
of the scale kept rigorously the same, throughout, and not pitched,
— at first, — either very high or very low on the scale.
CHAPTER V.
"STRESS."
Force, as a property of voice, may be regarded either as it exists
in consecutive or in single sounds. Thus, the force of utterance, in
a sentence or a clause, may be on one phrase, or even on a single
word. In the pronunciation of a word, it may be exclusively on one
1 It may not be improper to remark here, that vocal exercise should be prac-
tised at a point of time as nearly as may be intermediate to the hours as-
signed/or meal-times ; as the organs are then in their best condition, — neit .: er
embarrassed nor exhausted, as regards the state of the circulation. The rule
of the Italian vocal training, which prescribes powerful and continued exer-
tion of voice, before breakfast, with a view to deepen the " register," implies
& state of organs already inured to fatigue ; and the stereotype direction of the
old physicians, to declaim after dinner, with a view to promole digestion,
implies either a meal in the poet's style of " spare fast, that oft with gods
doth diet," or a strength of the digestive organ, that can render it callous to
the powerful shocks which energetic declamation always irr parts by impas-
sioned emotion, to that chief "local habitation" of the "sympathetic
norve.
STRESS." 79
sy!lable In the enunciation of a syllable, the organic force may lie
chiefly on a single letter. In the sound of a letter, the force of the
voice may lie conspicuously on the first, or on the last part of the
sound, on the middle, or on both extremes ; or it may be distributed,
with an approach to equalizing force, over all parts of the sound.
The term " stress," as used by Dr. Eush, is applied to the
mode in which force is rendered perceptible or impressive, in
single sounds. Stress includes two elements of vocal effect :
— 1st, mere force of sound; 2d, the time which it occupies.
To these may be added, not improperly, a third element,
which is the result of the union or combination of the other
two, viz., abrupt or gradual emission.
The classification of the forms of stress is as follows :
1st, " Radical stress" or that in which the force of utter-
ance is, usually, more or less " explosive," and falls on the
" radical " (initial, or first) part of a sound.
2d, "Median stress" that in which the force is "expulsive"
or " effusive," and swells out whether slowly or rapidly, at
the middle of a sound.
3d, " Vanishing stress" or that which withholds the " ex-
pulsive" or "explosive" force till the "vanish," or last
moment of the sound.
4th, " Compound stress" or that in which the voice, with
more or less of " explosive" force, touches forcefully and dis-
tinctly on both the initial and the final points of a sound, but
passes slightly and almost imperceptibly over the middle part.
5th, "Thorough stress" in which the initial, middle, and
final portions of a sound, are all distinctively and impres-
sively marked by special " expulsive force" of voice.
6th, " Tremor" tremulous, or intermittent " stress."
1. " RADICAL STRESS."
This form of vocal force is exemplified in the mechanical
act of abrupt coughing. 1 In speech, its highest form exists
lu There are so few speakers able to give a radical stress to syllabic utter-
ance, with this momentary burst, which I here mean to describe, that I must
draw an illustration from the effort of coughing. It will be perceived that a
single impulse of coughing, is not, in all points, exactly like the abrupt voice
on syllables : for that single impulse is a forcing out ofalmost all the breath ;
yet i.i the tonic element ' a- we ' be employed as me vocality of coughing, its
80 ORTHOPHONY.
in the utterance of all sounds which embody starting and
abrupt emotions ; as fear, anger , &c. It exists, also, although
m a reduced form, in the tones of deter?nined will, earnest
argument, emphatic and distinct or exact communication, ana
other unimpassioned modes of expression.
In the latter shape, " radical " stress does little more than impart
to speech an additional degree of that clear, distinct, and energetic
character of utterance, which is marked by the decision of its " radi-
cal movement," — the phrase, (it will be recollected,) by which Dr.
Rush has designated the opening, or initial part, of articulate sounds.
But, even in this reduced degree, it forms one of the most valuable
accomplishments of elocution ; for, although it does not, in this mode,
aim at a sympathetic effect on passion or imagination, it subserves the
substantially useful purpose of addressing, in clear, distinct style, the
ear and the understanding. The definiteness and decision of the
speaker's intention, the clear conviction of his judgment, the dis-
tinctness of his perceptions, and the energy of his will, are all indi-
cated in this natural language of voice.
A due " radical stress," farther, imparts point and spirit to
articulation : it gives an edge and a life to utterance, and hin-
ders emotion from rendering the voice confused and indis-
tinct. Vehemence, without " radical stress," becomes vocif-
eration and bawling.
The energy of the "radical movement," may, indeed, be justly
termed the salt and the relish of oral communication, as it preserves
the pungency and penetrating effect of articulate utterance. With-
out due "radical stress," reading or speaking becomes insipid and
ineffective. The argumentative speaker who has not this quality at
command, seems to strike with the flat rather than the edge of the
rhetorical weapon. 1 Carried to excess, it becomes, of course, a fault :
it savors of dogmatical arrogance and assumption, of selfish wilful-
aorui>; Tiening will truly represent the function of radical stress when used
in aisccurse.
" The clear and forcible radical stress can take place only after an intei rup-
tion of the voice. It would seem as if there is some momentary occlusion in
the larynx, by which the breath is barred and accumulated for the purpose of
a full and sudden discharge. This occlusion is most under command, and the
explosion is most powerful, on syllables beginning with a tonic element, cr
with an abrupt one preceding a tonic ; for, in this last case, an obstruction in
the organs of articulation, is combined with the function of the larynx, above
supposed." — Dr. Rush.
i " It is this," (radical stress,) " which draws the cutting edge of words
across the ear, and startles even stupor into attention: — this which lessens
the fatigue of listening, and outvoices the stir and rustle of an assembly: —
arm it is the sensibility to this, through a general instinct of the animal ear,
which gives authority to the groom- «md makes the horse submissive to hif
angry accent." — Id
EXAMPLES OF "STRESS." 81
nes«, and self-conceit. Persuasion, not intimidation, is the soul of
eloquence ; argument, not assertion, the instrument of conviction ;
sympathy, not opposition, the avenue to the heart. A uniform, hard
"radical stress," therefore, can effect none of the best purposes of
speech, and must ever be regarded as allied to violence and vulgarity,
or the slang of party invective.
The utter absence, however, of " radical stress," bespeaks timid-
ity and indecision, confusion of thought, and feebleness of purpose.
The speaker who fails in regard to the effect of the property of
" radical stress," solicits our pity, rather than commands our respect.
The right degree of this function indicates the manly, self-possessed,
and impressive speaker. These remarks all apply, with correspond-
ing force, to the exercise of reading. A feeble, vacillating, inex-
pressive utterance, kills, as it were, by a slow but sure death, the
sentiments of the most impressive writer ; and the hacking edge of a
uniform, unmodified, "radical stress," turns the parlor or the class-
room into the arena of a debating-club.
False taste and style in the practice of elocution, sometimes lead
to the cultivation of an exclusive habit of "radical stress," in the
utterance of young readers and speakers. The effect of this fault is
very unfavorable. The decision of tone which it implies, belongs
properly to years and to experience, on special occasions, or to the
language of vehement excitement. It is utterly incompatible with
the just diffidence and respectful tone appropriate in youth, and for-
ever prevents the winning effect of nature's genuine eloquence, in
the tones of feeling chastened and subdued by reverence for truth
and respect for man.
The orator, however, and the reader, must still be regarded as,
in their function, representing, for the moment, the sentiments of
humanity, not merely the opinion or feeling of the individual.
Hence, a just degree of firmness and force, (and the " radical
stress " is the exponent of these qualities,) is a point indispensable to
eloquent speaking and impressive reading.
The practice of the following examples should be accompanied by
an extensive and thorough course of discipline on all degrees of ' ' ex-
plosion," in elements, syllables, and words, — advancing from the
very slightest to the intensest form, and occasionally reversing the
order, so as to reduce the function of explosion from its most impas-
sioned to its nerely intellectual character and expression.
EXAMPLES OF " RADICAL STRESS."
I. "Impassioned Radical"
Example 1. Fear.
(" Explosive " Utterance : " Aspirated Guttural Quality.")
From Byron's Lines on the Eve of Waterloo.
["While throng the citizens with terror dumb,
Or whispering with white lips,] ' The foe !—- they come, they
come ! ' "
82 ORTHOPHONY.
2. Anger and Scorn.
(" Explosive " Utterance : "Aspirated Pectoral Quality/')
Coriolanus, [to the People.] — Shakspeare.
" You common cry of curs ! whose breath I hate
As reek o* the rotten fens, — whose loves I prize
As the dead carcasses of unburied men,
That do corrupt my air, — J banish you!"
3. Courage.
(" Explosive " Utterance : "Pure Tone.")
" Up ! comrades, up ! — in Rokeby's halls
Ne'er be it said our courage falls ! "
II. "U?iimpassioned Radical."
Example 1. Didactic Composition : Grave Style. 1
("Pare Tone:" "Moderate Force," "Grave" Style. — Usual
Style of a Sermon , or of a Moral or Political Discourse.)
Immortality of the Soul. — Addison.
" How can it enter into the thoughts of man, that the soul,
which is capable of such immense perfections, and of receiving
new improvements to all eternity, shall fall away into nothing
almost as soon as it is created? Are such abilities made for
no purpose ? A brute arives at a point of perfection that he
can never pass : in a few years he has all the endowments he
is capable of; and were he to live ten thousand more, would
be the same thing he is at present. Were a human soul thus
at a stand in her accomplishments, were her faculties to be
full blown, and incapable of farther enlargement, I could
imagine it might fall away insensibly, and drop at once into
a state of annihilation. But can we believe that a thinking
being, which is in a perpetual progress of improvements, and
travelling on from perfection to perfection, — after having just
looked abroad into the works of its Creator, and made a few
discoveries of His infinite goodness, wisdom, and power,—
L See foot note on next page.
EXAMPLES OF U STRESS." 83
must perish at her first setting out, and in the very beginning*
of her inquiries ? '
2. Didactic Composition: Serious Style. 1
("Pure Tone:" "Moderate" Force, "Serious" Style. — The
usual form of utterance, in the reading of an Essay, or of x Lit
erary or Scientific Discourse.)
Moral Influence of Literature. — Fnsbie.
:t The essay, the drama, the novel, have a most extensive
and powerful influence upon the moral feelings and character
of the age. Even descriptions of natural scenery owe much
of their beauty and interest to the moral associations which
they awaken.
" In like manner, fine turns of expression or thought, often
operate more by suggestion than enumeration. But w T hen
feelings and passions are directly described, or imbodied in
the hero, and called forth by the incidents of a. story, it is
then that the magic of fiction and poetry is complete, — that
they enter in and dwell in the secret chambers of the soul,
moulding it at will. In these moments of deep excitement,
must not a bias be given to the character, — and much be
done to elevate and refine, or degrade and pollute, those sym-
pathies and sentiments which are the sources of much of our
virtue and happiness, or of our guilt and misery ? "
3. Poetic Composition: Animated Style}
(< Pure Tone :" " Moderate " Force, " Lively " Style.)
Spring. — Bryant.
" Is this a time to be gloomy and sad,
When our mother Nature laughs around ;
When even the deep blue heavens look glad,
Ana gladness breathes from the blossoming ground ?
i Ir these examples the " radical stress " is merely of that gentle kind
which gives distinctness and life to articulation, by a firm and clear " rad-fca*
movement," and preserves the serious style from verging on the solemn, l.y
"swell" and prolongation, or by drawling. The slightest form of a Ci^ar
cough, is the mechanical standard of organic action, in this degree of
"stress ;" and this distinction should be carefully observed ; for, when strong
feeling is expressed in " grave," or in " serious," or in " animated " style,
especially in poetry, the " stress " changes to " median," for greater " expres-
sive effect."
84 ORTHOPHONY.
" The clouds are at play, :n the azure space,
And their shadows at play on the bright green v«*i
And here they stretch to the frolic chase,
And there they roll on the easy gale.
" And look at the broad- faced sun how he smiles
On the dewy earth that smiles on his ray,
On the leaping waters and gay young isles, —
Ay. look, and he '11 smile thy gloom away."
4. Poetic Composition: Gay Style.
( * Pure Tone :" Moderately Strong Force, " Brisk" Style.)
Voice of Spring. — Mrs. Hemans.
" Y e of the rose lip and the dew-bright eye
And the bounding footstep, to meet me fly !
With the lyre and the wreath and the joyous lay,
Come forth to the sunshine, — I may not stay."
Spring. — Bryant.
" There 's a dance of leaves in that aspen bower,
There 's a titter of winds in that beechen tree,
There 's a smile on the fruit, and a smile on the flower
And a laugh from the brook that runs to the sea ! "
II. " MEDIAN STRESS."
This form of " stress " Dr. Eush describes as " a gradual
strengthening and subsequent reduction of the voice, similar
to what is called a swell, (swell and diminish,) in the Ian
guage of musical expression."
" Radical stress," with its abrupt explosion, is the irrepressible
burst of forcible utterance, in the language of unconscious and invol-
untary emotion. It is the expression of passion rather than of will.
" Median stress," on the contrary, is more or less a conscious and
intentional effect, prompted and sustained and enforced by the will.
It is the natural utterance of those emotions which allow the inter-
mingling of reflection and sentiment with expression, and which pur-
posely dwell on sound, as a means of enhancing their effect. The
swell of " median stress "is, accordingly, more or less ample and
prolonged, as the feeling which it utters is moderate, or deep and
fell, lofty and awful.
" STRESS." 85
"Median stress" has the form of "effusive" utterance in
sublime, solemn, and pathetic emotions : it becomes " expul-
sive," in those which combine force with grandeur, as in
admiration, ^courage, authoritative command, indignation,
and similar feelings. But its effect is utterly incompatible
with the abruptness of " explosion." Its comparatively mu«
STca.. character adapts it, with special felicity of effect, to the
mebdy of verse, and the natural " swell " of poetic expres-
sion.
This mode of " stress," is one of the most important in its effects
on language, whether in tlje form of speaking or of reading. Desti-
tute of its ennobling and expansive sound, the recitation of poetry
sinks into the style of dry prose, the language of devotion loses its
sacredness, the tones of oratory lose their power over the heart.
There is great danger, however, of this natural beauty of vocal ex-
pression being converted into a fault by being overdone. The habit
recognized under the name of "mouthing," has an excessively
increased and prolonged " median swell " for one of its chief charac-
teristics. In this shape, it becomes a great deformity in utterance,
— particularly when combined with what is no infrequent concomi
tant, the faulty mode of voice, known as " chanting " or " singing.'
Like sweetness among savors, this truly agreeably quality of sound,
becomes distasteful or disgusting, when in the least degree excessive.
The practice of " median stress," therefore, requires very close
attention. The spirit of poetry and the language of eloquence,—
the highest effects of human utterance, — render it indispensable as
an accomplishment in elocution. But a chaste and discriminating
ear is requisite to decide the just degree of its extent.
" Median stress" is found in conjunction with most of the
emotions which are uttered in the forms of " pure tone" and
" orotund :" it exists also, though less perceptible in its effect,
in union with " aspirated quality." It accompanies, likewise,
all stages of force, from the slightest to the most vehement.
EXAMPLES OF " MEDIAN STRESS."
I. "Effusive" Utterance.
"Pure Tone:" "Subdued" Force.
., Patios. (Gentlest form of "median stress,"— a barely
perceptible " swell.")
Death of the Infant. — Mrs. Hemans.
" Calm on its leaf-strewn bier,
Unlike a gift of Nature to Decay, —
86 ORTHOPHONY.
Too rose-like still, too beautiful, too dear, —
The child at rest before its mother lay : ~
Even so to pass away,
With its bright smile ! — Elysium what wert thou
To her that wept o'er that young slumberer's brow ?
2. Solemnity, (" Swell" moderately increased.)
The Past. — Bryant.
" Thou unrelenting Past !
Strong are the barriers round thy dark domain ;
And fetters, sure and fast,
Hold all that enter thy unbreathing reign,
" Far in thy realm withdrawn
Old empires sit in sullenness and gloom ;
And glorious ages gone
Lie deep within the shadow of thy womb.
" Childhood, with all its mirth,
Youth, Manhood, Age, that draws us to the grouna,
And last, Man's Life on earth,
Glide to thy dim dominions, and are bound."
3. Tranquillity.
Death of the Good Man. — Bryant.
1 Why weep ye, then, for him, who, having won
The bound of man's appointed years, — at last,
Life's blessings all enjoyed, life's labors done,
Serenely to his final rest has passed ;
While the soft memory of his virtues, yet,
Lagers like twilight hues, when the bright sun is set ?
u His youth was innocent ; his riper age,
Marked with some act of goodness, every day;
And, watched by eyes that loveu him, calm and sage
Faded his late declining years away.
Cheerful he gave his being up, and went
To share the holy rest that waits a life well spent. "
u STRESS." 87
4. Reverence. (Fuller " swell.' )
" Effusive orotund qiMlity."
From the Forest Hymn. — Bryant.
" 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 humble worshipper to hold
Communion with his Maker ! "
6 Pathos and Sublimity. (Full and prolonged " swell.")
From David's Lamentation over Saul and Jonathan.
" How are the mighty fallen ! — Saul and Jonathan
were lovely and pleasant in their lives ; and in their death
ihey were not divided ; they were swifter than eagles, they
were stronger than lions. — Ye daughters of Israel, weep over
Saul, who clothed you in scarlet, with other delights ; who
put on ornaments of gold upon your apparel ! — How are the
mighty fallen in the midst of the battle ! O Jonathan ! thou
wast slain in thy high places ! — How are the mighty fallen,
and the weapons of war perished ! "
^ 6 Solemnity y Sublimity, and Fervor. (" Fullest swell n \
From the Book of Psalms.
" Oh ! sing unto the Lord a new song ; for he hath done
marvellous things : his right hand and his holy arm hath got-
ten him the victory. — Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all
the earth : make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise.
Sing unto the Lord with the harp ; with the haj-p, and the
voice of a psalm. With trumpets and sound of cornet, make
88 ORTHOPHONY.
a joyful noise before the Lord the King. Let the sea roar,
and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell
therein. Let the floods clap their hands : let the hills be
'oyful together."
II. "Expulsive" Utterance.
"Pure Tone :" "Moderate" Force.
1. Grave Style. 1
(Gentle and pure " median stress," without prolongation.)
The Neglect of Religion. — Alison.
" The excuses of youth, for the neglect of religion, are
those which are most frequently offered, and most easily
admitted. The restrictions of religion, though proper enough
for maturer age, are too severe, it is said, for this frolicsome
and gladsome period. Its consolations, too, they do not want,
Leave these to prop the feeble limbs of old age, or to cheer
the sinking spirits of adversity. — False and pernicious
maxim ! As if, at the end of a stated number of years, a man
could become religious in a moment! As if the husband-
man, at the end of a summer, could call up a harvest from
the soil which he had never tilled ! As if manhood, too,
would have no excuses ! And what are they ? That he has
grown too old to amend. That his parents took no pains
with his religious education, and therefore his ignorance is
not his own fault. That he must be making provision for
old age ; and the pressure of cares will allow him no time
to attend to the evidences, or learn the rules of religion.
Thus life is spent in framing apologies, in making and
breaking resolutions, and deferring amendment, till death
places his cold hand on the mouth open to make its last
excuse, and one more is added to the crowded congregation of
the dead."
i This example furnishes an instance of the •'•"grave " style assurn'og the
" median stress," for impressive effect, as formerly mentioned.
" STRESS." 89
2. Serious Style. 1
A Median stress," still shorter in duration, but increased in force )
Pleasures of the Naturalist. — Wood.
*' Whether the naturalist be at home or abroad, in every
different clime, and in every season of the year, universal
riture is before him, and invites to a banquet richly icplen-
\shed with whatever can invigorate his understanding, or
gratify his mental taste. The earth on which he treads, the
air in which he moves, the sea along the margin of which he
walks, all teem with objects that keep his attention perpet-
ually awake, excite him to healthful activity, and charm him
with an ever-varying succession of the beautiful, the wonder-
ful, the useful, and the new."
3. Animated Style}
(The approach to poetic description renders the "swell"
still more forcible and full, but also allows the voice to dwell
comparatively longer upon it.)
Early Rising. — Robinson.
%l He who rises early, is met by the domestic animals, with
peculiar pleasure : one winds and purs about him, another
frisks and capers, and does everything but speak. The stern
mastiff, the plodding ox, the noble horse, the harmless sheep,
the prating poultry, each in its own way expresses joy when
he first appears. Then how incomparably fine is the dawn-
ing of the day, when the soft light comes stealing on, at first
glimmers with the stars, but gradually outshines them all
How beautiful are the folding and parting of the gray clouds,
drawn back like a curtain, to give us a sight of the most
magnificent of all appearances, the rising of the sun ! Haw
rich is the dew, decking every spire of grass with colored
1 These examples illustrate the application of the "median stress" to "se-
rious" and : animated" style, from fulness of feeling and effect. Had the
composition been of a lower tone, the utterance would have exemplified the
application of the " un impassioned radical."
8*
90 ORTHOPHONY.
spa lgles of endless variety, and of inexpressible beauty !
Larks mount, and fill the air with a cheap and perfect music ;
and every tree, every steeple, and every hovel, emits a coo-
ing or a twittering, a warbling or a chirping, — a hailing of
the returning day.'
4. Declamatory Force.
Resistance to Oppression. — Sheridan.
" Shall we be told that the exasperated feelings of a whole
people, goaded and spurred on to clamor and resistance, were
excited by the poor and feeble influence of their secluded
princesses ? or that they could inspire this enthusiasm and
this despair into the breasts of a people who felt no griev-
ance, and had suffered no torture? — What motive, then,
could have such influence in their bosoms ? What motive !
— That which Nature, the common parent, plants in the
bosom of man, and which is congenial with, and makes part
of his being, — that feeling which tells him that man was
never made to be the property of man; but that, when
through pride and insolence of power, one human creature
dares to tyrannize over another, it is a power usurped, and
resistance is a duty, — that principle which tells him, that
resistance to power usurped is not merely a duty which he
owes to himself and to his neighbor, but a duty which he
owes to his God, in asserting and maintaining the rank
which He gave him in the creation ! — to that common God,
who, where he gives the form of man, whatever may be the
complexion, gives also the feelings and the rights of man, —
that principle which neither the rudeness of ignorance can
stifle, nor the enervation of refinement extinguish, — that
principle which makes it base for a man to suffer when he
ought to act ; which, tending to preserve to the spec'ies the
original designations of Providence, spurns at the arrogant
distinctions of man, and vindicates the independent quality
of his race."
11 STRESS." 91
5. Impassioned Force.
(A full and gushing " swell" of grief.)
Antony, [before the Conspirators.] — Shakspeare
" That I did love thee, Caesar, oh ! 'tis true .
If then thy spirit look upon us now,
Shall it not grieve thee, dearer than thy death,
To see thy Antony making his peace,
Shaking the bloody fingers of thy foes,
Most noble ! in the presence of thy corse ?
Had I as many eyes as thou hast wounds,
Weeping as fast as they stream forth thy blood,
It would become me better, than to close
In terms of friendship with thine enemies.
Pardon me, Julius ! — Here wast thou bayed, brave hart,
Here didst thou fall ; and here thy hunters stand,
Signed in thy spoil, and crimsoned in thy lethe.
O world ! thou wast the forest to this hart ;
And this, indeed, O world, the heart of thee !
How like a deer, stricken by many princes,
Dost thou here lie ! "
6. Shouti7ig and Calling. #
£The strongest " swell " of which the voice is capable, the note pro*
longed.)
Cinna, [after the assassination of Cjesar.] — ShaJcspeare.
"Liberty! Freedom! Tyranny is dead ! —
Run hence ! proclaim, cry it about the streets ! "
Cassius. " Some to the common pulpits ! and cry out,
Liberty, freedom, and enfranchisement !"
III. " VANISHING STRESS."
The word " vanishing," in this use of it, is divested entirely
of its usual meaning. It has no reference whatever to an
effect corresponding to the gradual disappearing of a visible
object, withdrawing from the eye. It refers, as a technical
teim, .nerely to the last audible moment of a vocal sound, — as
92 ORTHOPHONY
the word " vanish " was technically used in speaking of the
"vanishing movement" in the utterance of a sound or the
enunciation of a letter. The terms " radical" and " vanish,"
used in elocution, with reference to the property of " stress,"
are always to be understood as exactly synonymous, the
former, with the word initial, and the latter, with the worti
final.
We hare observed, thus far, that some emotions, in their utter
ance, throw the " stress," or force of vocal sound, upon theirs/ por-
tion of an element, as in the " explosive radical " of anger, of fear ,
of scorn, and similar passions ; while others retain the " stress " foe
the effect of a " swell," or expulsive force, on the middle of a note*
as in the " median" style of the shout of triumph, or the gentle, but
full- swelling tone of reverence, or adoration. We proceed now tc
those emotions which express themselves by a jerking furce, 01
" stress," thrown out at the " vanish " or close of a sound.
The force of utterance in the expression of emotions marked
by " vanishing stress," begins with a light and gentle, audi
ends with a- heavy and violent sound, which leaves off
instantly and abruptly. But although the sound, in such
cases, is obviously slight at its commencement, and powerful
at its close, it is by no means a gradual formation and
increase of force, easily followed by the ear or analyzed by
the mind. On the contrary, the whole duration of such
sounds is very brief and transient, and their effect on the ear
excessively abrupt, as well as violent.
This form of " stress," being the natural expression of
extreme emotion, does not admit of the gradations which
may not unfrequently be traced in the " radical " and " me-
dian " modes. It exists only in the shape of a protracted or
deferred " explosion." Its nature is incompatible with " ex-
pulsion," or any inferior force.
A pretty accurate impression of the character of the " vanishing
stress," may be obtained by listening to the sound of a musket, when,
through negligent loading, or from damp powder, it "hangs fire,"
and a partially hissing, but gTOwing sound precedes the final explo-
sion. It is exhibited in the mechanical functions of the human
organs of respiration and of voice, when the workman who is using
a heavy sledge-hammer brings it down in coincidence with a groan-
ing expiration, terminating at the moment of the blow, in the form
" STRESS " 93
faLiiliarly termed a grunt. It is exemplified, in its moral effect, 10
the language of a child stung to a high pitch of impatient or peevish
feeling, and uttering, in the tone of the most violent ill-temper, its
appropriate " I won't!" or " You shan't !" In such circumstances
the " explosion " of passion is deferred, or hangs, for a moment, on
the ear, till the " vanish " or final part of the sound bursts out from
the chest, throat, and mouth, with furious vehemence ; leaving, in its
abrupt termination, an effect directly contrary to the dying wail of
grief, or the gentle vanish of the tone of love.
The obvious preparation of the organs for the vocal effect,
in the expression of " vanishing stress," implies its compara-
tive dependence on volition. Hence it is the natural utter-
ance of determined purpose, of earnest resolve, of stern rebuke,
of contempt, of astonishment and horror, of fierce and obsti-
nate will, of dogged sullenness of temper, of stubborn passion,
and all similar moods. It is the language, also, of peevish-
?>sss and impatience, and, sometimes, of excessive grief
Like all other forms of impassioned utterance which are strongly
narked in the usages of natural habit, this property of voice is indis-
pensable to appropriate elocution, whether in speaking or reading.
VVithout " vanishing stress," declamation will sometimes lose its
manly energy of determined will, and become feeble song to the ear.
High-wrought resolution can never be expressed without it. Even
the language of protest, though respectful in its form, needs the
aid of the right degree of " vanishing stress," to intimate its sin-
cerity and its firmness of determination, as well as its depth of con
viction.
But when we extend our view to the demands of lyric and dra-
matic poetry, in which high-wrought emotion is so abundant an
element of effect, the full command of this property of voice, as the
natural uttesance of extreme passion, becomes indispensable to true
natural, and appropriate style.
EXAMPLES OF " VANISHING STRESS."
Determined Purpose and Earnest Resolve,
Example 1. — [Webster, on Freedom of Debate.]
I" Pectoral quality :" " Declamatory " force : Bold " stress.")
" On such occasions, I will place myself on the extreme
boundary of my right, and bid defiance to the arm that
would push me from it."
94 ORTHOPHONY.
2. [Otis, against "Writs of Assistance."]
("Quality" and force, as in Example 1: "Stress" more dtlio
erate.)
" Let the consequences be what they will, I am determined
to proceed. The only principles of public conduct which are
worthy of a gentleman or a man, are, to sacrifice estate,
health, ease, applause, and even life, at the sacred call of his
country."
3. [Swiss Deputy's reply to Charles of Burgundy.]
("Aspirated Pectoral Quality;" "Impassioned" force: Increased
" stress.")
" You may, if it be God's will, gain our barren and rugged
mountains. But, like our ancestors of old, we will seek
refuge in wilder and more distant solitudes ; and when we
have resisted to the last, we will starve in the icy wastes of
the glaciers. Ay, men, women, and children, we will be
frozen into annihilation together, ere one free Switzer will
acknowledge a foreign master ! "
4. [Campbell's war-song of the Greeks.]
^" Orotund Quality:" "Impassioned" force: "Stress" still more
vehement.)
" We Ve sworn, by our country's assaulters,
By the virgins they Ve dragged from our altars,
By our massacred patriots, our children in chains,,
By our heroes of old, and their blood in our veins,
That living, we will be victorious,
Or that dying, our deaths shall be glorious. "
Stern Rebuke.
Itaa Henry V. [to Lord Scroop, on the detection of his Treason.]
— Shakspearc.
('Aspirated Pectoral Quality:" "Impassioned" force: Vehemen*
"stress.")
" But oh \
What shall I say to thee, Lord Scroop, thou cruel
Ungrateful, savage, and inhuman creature 1
STRESS. 05
Thou that didst bear the keys of all my counsels,
That knew'st the very bottom of my soul,
That almost might'st have coined me into gold,
Wouldst thou have practised on me for thy use ? "
Contempt and Mockery.
Qteen Constance, [to the Arch-duke of Austria.] — Shakspcars.
("Aspirated oral, and guttural Quality :" "Impassioned" force:
Violent " stress.") \S
" Thou slave ! thou wretch ! thou coward !
Thou little valiant, great in villany I >
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 ! "
Astonishment and Horror.
Macduff, [on discovering the murder of Duncan.] — Shalcspcare.
(Extremely " Aspirated pectoral Quality :" " Impassioned " force ;
Excessive " stress")
" Oh ! horror ! horror ! horror ! — Tongue nor heart,
Cannot conceive, nor name thee !
" Confusion now hath made his masterpiece !
Most 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
With a new Gorgon ! "
Fierce and Stubborn Will.
Siiylock, [refusing to listen to Antonio.] — Shakspcare.
(" Aspirated, pectoral and guttural Q \ality :" " Impassioned " vehe*
mence : Excessive '' stress.")
" I '11 have my bond ; I will nDt hear thee speak:
I '11 have my bond ; and therefore speak no more.
96 ORTHOPHONY.
I '11 not be made a soft and dull-eyed fool,
To shake the head, relent, and sigh, and yieM
To Christian intercessors. Follow not ;
I '11 have no speajdng ! I will have my bond *
Peevish Impatience.
HoTsruR, [irritated against Henry IV.] — Shakspsare.
" Why, look you, I am whipped and scourged witn rods,
Nettled, and stung with pismires, when I hear
Of this vile politician Bolingbroke ! "
IV. " COMPOUND STRESS."
This designation is applied to that form of " stress " which
throws out the voice forcibly on the first and the last part of
a sound, but slights, comparatively, the intermediate portion.
It is, then, the application of a " radical" and a " vanishing"
stress on the same sound, without an intervening " median.''
It is the natural mode of " expression," in the utterance of
surprise, and sometimes, though less frequently, of othei
emotions, as contempt and mockery, sarcasm and raillery.
In the instinctive uses of the voice, this function seems specially
designed to give point and pungency to the " radical" and " vanish,"
or opening and closing portions of sounds which occupy a large space
of time, and traverse a wide interval of the " scale." The " explo-
sive" force at the commencement of such sounds, and the partial repe-
tition of " explosive " utterance at their termination, seems to mark
distinctly to the ear the space which they occupy, and thus intimate
their significant value in feeling. We see an analogous proceeding
which addresses itself to the eye, when the workman, desirous of
obtaining a perfectly exact measure, makes a deep indentation with
the end of his rule, at each end of a given line, or distance, upon the
object which he is measuring. Such indentations may illustrate the
design or the effect, of the pungent points of sound, in " compound
•stress :" they are distinct and impressive marks, and utter an impor-
sant meaning.
The use of this form of " stress " belongs appropriately to feelings
of peculiar force or acuteness. But on this very account, it becomes
an indispensable means of natural expression and true effect, in many
passage.- of reading and speaking. The difference between vivid and
dull or flat utterance, will often turn on the exactness with which this
expressive function of voice is exerted.
The careful and repeated practice of " compound stress," on ele-
ments, syllables, and words, should accompany the repetition of the
"STRESS." 97
following- examples. To give these last, however, their true char-
acter and full effect, the imagination must be wholly given up to the
supposed situation of the speaker; so as to receive a full sympathetic
impression of the feeling to be uttered. Vivid emotion only, can
prompt true expressive tone.
EXAMPLES OF " COMPOUND STRESS."
1. Extreme Surprise.
Q hen Constance, [when confounded with the intelligence of tub
union of Lewis and Blanche, and the consequent injury to her
son, Arthur.] — Shakspeare.
("Aspirated, guttural, and oral Quality:" "Impassioned" force.)
" Gone to be married ! Gone to swear a peace !
False blood to false blood joined ! Gone to be friends !
Shall Lewis have Blanche, and Blanche these provinces ?
" It is not so ; thou hast misspoke, misheard, —
Be well advised, tell o'er thy tale again :
It cannot be ; — thou dost but say 't is so."
2. Surprise , Perplexity, and Contempt.
[The examples of "compound stress" occur in the words which
the servant repeats after Coriolanus. He has entered, poorly
clad, and unrecognized, the mansion of aufidius, and is ill received
ey the domestics, whom he treats with harshness and disdain 1
Shakspeare.
Servant. " Where dwellest thou ?
Coriolanus. * Under the canopy.
Serv. Under the canopy !
Cor. Ay!
Serv. Where 's that ?
Cor. V the city of kites and crows.
Serv, V the city of kites and crows ! — (WTiat an ass it is !)
- - Then thou dwellest with daws too ?
Cor. No : I serve not thy master."
1 The disdainful and repulsive manner of Coriolanus, causes all his replies
to become striking examples of the most abrupt " radical stress." The short
and snappish reply of petulance, always takes this form. It is not till provo-
cation or irritation has stung its subject to the pitch of intolerable excite-
ment, that utterance assumes the " vanishing stress."
a
98 ORTHOPHONY.
V. " THOROUGH STRESS."
This species of " stress " is produced by a marked force of
utterance, placed distinctively on each part of a sound to
which the "radical," "median," and "vanishing" forms of
stress, would apply separately. It exhibits all of these, in
succession, on one and the same sound.
The "thorough stress" is the natural mode of utterance
in powerful emotion of that kind which seems as it -were, to
delight in full and swelling expression, and to dwell upon
and amplify the sounds of the voice.
As far as vocal effect can be an exponent of feeling, this peculiarly
characterized force, which omits no prominent portion of a sound, but
pervades and obtrudes each one, would seem the appropriate lan-
guage of all emotions which, in poetic phraseology, are said to " fill
the soul," "swell the bosom," "fire the heart," or "delight and
charm the fancy."
" Thorough stress," is accordingly, the characteristic mode
of " expression" in the utterance of rapture, joy, triumph, and
exultation, lofty command, indignant emotion, disdain, exces-
sive grief, or whatever high-wrought feeling seems for the
time to wreak itself on expressive sound. It is obviously the
language of extreme or impassioned feeling only. It abounds,
accordingly, m lyric and dramatic poetry. It is found, how-
ever, in all vehement declamation in which the emotion is sus-
tained by reflective sentiment, as in the excitement of virtu-
ous indignation and high-souled contempt.
" Thorough stress " is one of the most powerful weapons of ora-
tory, as well as one of the most vivid effects of natural feeling. If
indiscriminately used, it becomes ineffective, as savoring of the habit
and mannerism of the individual, rather than of just and appropriate
Mioigy. In such circumstances, it becomes rant ; and when joined,
as it sometimes is, to the habit of " mouthing," it can excite nothing
but disgust in a hearer of well-regulated taste.
Juvenile readers, however, in some instances, from diffidence, and
students, from their enfeebling mode of life, are apt to fall far short
of the requisite decree of this expressive function of the voice. To
obtain the full command of it in all its applications, and to preserve
K a!\vcys from excess, much careful practice on appropriate exam-
ines, n.nd on letters, syllables, and words, becomes indispensable, aa
t« yr^parau xy discipline in elocution
"stress.'''' 99
EXAMPLES OF " THOROUGH STRESS."
Rapture, Joy, Triumph, Exultation.
(" Expulsive orotund :" " Impassioned " force : Powerful " stress.")
1.
From the Dying Christian. — Pope*
" Lend, lend your wings ! I mount, I fly !
O Grave ! where is thy victory ?
O Death ! where is thy sting ! "
("Expulsive orotund:" Force of shouting: Vehement " stress' \
2.
From Moore's Lines on the Fate of Naples.
" Shout, Tyranny, shout
Through your dungeons and palaces, ' Freedom is o'er ! ' "
Lofty Command. '
(" Expulsive orotund," and " sustained " force of calling, combined :
Powerful and prolonged " stress.")
From Satan's Call to his Legions. — Milton.
" Princes ! potentates !
Warriors, the flower of heaven ! once yours, now lost.
If such astonishment as this can seize
Eternal spirits,
Awake ! arise ! or be forever fallen ! "
Yehement Indignation.
("Expulsive orotund :"" Declamatory" force : Vehement" stress.")
From Chatham's Rebuke of Lord Suffolk.
" These abominable principles, and this more abominable
avowal of them, demand the most decisive indignation. I
call upon that right reverend and this most learned Bench to
vindicate the religion of their God, to defend and support the
justice of their country. I call upon the bishops to interpose
the unsullied sanctity of their lawn, upon the judges to intei«
pose the purity of their ermine, to save us from this pollution.
.100 , . < « " ORTHOPHONY.
I call upon the honor of your lordships, to reverence the
dignity of your ancestors, and to maintain your own. I call
upon the spirit and humanity of my country, to vindicate the
national character."
Disdain,
Satan, [to Ithuriel and Zephon.] — Milton,
(" Expulsive orotund :" " Impassioned" force : Powerful " stress.")
" Know ye not then," said Satan, filled w r ith 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 yourselves unknown, —
The lowest of your throng."
Violent Grief,
Lady Gapulet, [on the apparent death of Juliet.] — Shakspeare.
("Aspirated pectoral and oral Quality:" "Explosive" utterance:
"Impassioned " force : Violent " stress.")
M Accurs'd, unhappy, wretched, hateful day !
Most miserable hour that e'er time saw,
In lasting labor of his pilgrimage ! "
TREMOR, OR " INTERMITTENT STRESS."
When, by the hysterical or excessive force of impassioned
feeling, the breath is agitated into brief successive jets, in*
stead of gushing forth in a continuous stream of unbroken
sound, a tremor, or tremulous effect of voice, is produced,
which breaks its "stress" into tittles or points; — much in
the same way that a row of dots may be substituted to the
eye, for one continuous line. The human voice, in the case
now in view, is as appropriately said to " tremble," as when
we apply the term to the shivering motion of the muscular
frame.
The " tremor" of the voice is the natural expression of all
emotions which, from their peculiar nature, are attended
with a weakened condition of the bodily organs ; such aa
"stress.*' 10)
extreme feebleness from age, exhaustion, sickness, fatigue
grief and even joy, and other feelings, in which ardor or
extreme tenderness predominates.
In the reading or the recitation of lyric and dramatic poetry, this
function of voice is often required for full, vivid, and touching expres-
sion. Without its appeals to sympathy, and its peculiar power over
the heart, many of the most beautiful anl touching passages of
Shakspeare and Milton become dry and cold. Like the tremula of
the accomplished vocalist, in operatic music, it has a charm, for the
absence of which nothing can atone ; since nature suggests it as the
genuine utterance of the most delicate and thrilling emotion.
The perfect command of " tremor," requires often-repeated prac-
tice on elements, syllables, and words, as well as on appropriate pas-
sages of impassioned language.
EXABIPLES OF " TREBIOR."
1. The Tremor of Age and Feebleness,
(" Pure Tone i" " Subdued " force of Pathos : Tremulous utterance,
throughout.)
Stanza from a popular Ballad.
" 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 ! '
2. Exhaustion and Fatigue.
("Aspirated pectoral and oral Quality:" "Suppressed" force:
* ' Tremor ' p throughout. )
From " As you like it." — Shakspeare,
Adam, [to Orlando.] " Dear master, I can go no farther:
Oh ! I die for food ! Here lie I down, and measure out my
grave. Farewell ! kind master."
(" Pure Tone :" " Subdued " force of Pathos : Occasional " tremor *
of Tenderness.)
Orlando, [to Adam.] "Why, how now, Adam! — no
greater heart in thee ? Live a little; comfort a little; cheer
thyself a little. For my sake be comfortable ; hold death
awhiie at the arm's end: I will here be with the 3 presently
9*
102 ORTHOPHONY.
Well said ! thou look'st cheerily : and I '11 be with thee
quickly. — Yet thou liest in the bleak air: Come, I will beai
thee to some shelter. Cheerly, good Adam ! "
3. Sickness.
King John, [on the eve of his death, to Faulconbridge.] — Shatepca-e.
(" Aspirated pectoral Quality :" " Suppressed " force : Gasping ana
tremulous utterance.)
" cousin, thou art come to set mine eye :
My heart hath one poor string to stay it by,
Which holds but till thy news be uttered ;
And then all this thou seest, is but a clod
And module of confounded royalty. "
4. Excessive Grief.
Jwe, [to Adam, after their fall and doom.] — Milton.
( u Aspirated pectoral and oral Quality:" " Impassioned" force:
Weeping utterance : " Tremor," throughout.)
" Forsake me not thus, Adam : witness heaven
What love sincere, and reverence in my heart
I bear thee, and unweeting have offended,
Unhappily deceived : thy suppliant,
I beg, and clasp thy knees ; bereave me not,
Whereon I live, thy gentle looks, thy aid,
Thy counsel in this uttermost distress,
My only strength and stay : forlorn of thee
Whither shall I betake me, where subsist ? "
5. Extreme Pity.
("Pure Tone:" "Impassioned" force: Weeping and tremuluai
utterance.)
From the Tempest. — Shakspeare.
Miranda, [to her father.] " Oh ! I have suffered
With those that I saw suffer ! a brave vessel,
Who had, no doubt, some noble creatures in her,
Dashed al to pieces. Oh ! the cry did knock
"stress." 103
Against my very heart ! Poor souls ! they perished.
Had I been any god of power, I would
Have sunk the sea within the earth, or ere
It should the good ship so have swallowed, and
The freighting souls within her ! "
6. Joy and Admiration.
[Alonzo's exclamation, on beholding his son Ferdinand, whom he had
supposed drowned.] — Shakspeare.
("Pure Tone:" "Impassioned expulsive" force: "Tremor" of
joy, throughout.)
" Now all the blessings
Of a glad father compass thee about ! "
("Pure Tone:" "Impassioned expulsive" force: Ecstatic "tre-
mor " of joy, wonder, and love.)
Miranda. " Oh ! wonder !
How many goodly creatures are there here !
How beauteous mankind is ! Oh ! brave new world,
That has such people in 't ! "
The various modes of " stress " have been so copiously illustrated,
that it seems unnecessary to add special exercises, at the close of this
chapter. Before proceeding to the next subject, however, the stu-
dent will derive much benefit from reviewing the examples of the
different forms of " stress," and practising them in conjunction with
the elementary sounds and combinations, and with the addition of the
following words, as classified for this purpose.
"Tonic Elements"
Av?e Arm An Eve Ooze En End
all
ah!
add
eel
fool
erst
ebb
awtu)
art
as
ear
POCT
earth
else
In
Air
Dp
Or
On
Ah
Zee
ill
hair
as
orb
odd
ace
esle
is
hvt
aghl
order
off
aim
ides
Old
Out
Oil
Use
own
owl
oyster
Ural
ore owt oily your
104
ORTHOPHONY.
" Subtonics."
Sing Babe Did
ha?ig bulb died
Gag
on rr
Maim Nun Ray Far
madam nine rip bear
mime noun rock hear tongue bib dared Gog
Valve Zone Azure Ye Woe Lull TH'me Joy
revolve zeal measure yon way loll THey judgi
relpet zest pleasure you wax lily THan jar
"Atonies."
Pipe Tent Cake Fife Cease He Thin Fush Church
pulp tat cark fief assess hail thank hush chaste
pop tut casque fitful stocks hand thaw harsh chat
Words comprising elements of opposite character and forma-
tion.
Awe An Arm End jEve In Ooze Up 7ce In Old On
ahl
art
all add
always at
Lull Cake
loll cark
lily kick
Nun Cease
nine assess
noun stocks
ebb
ell
eel it
ear it
fool us
poor ugh !
Maim Tent
madam tat
mime
Zone
disease
tut
Thin
thinketh
isle H
ides it
Ran
own odd
ore off
rip
rock
disowns thanketh
Far
hear
hear
Azure Fife
measure fief
pleasure fitful
Teachers who are instructing classes will find great aid in the use
of the black board, for the purpose of visible illustration, in regard to
the character and effect of the different species of " stress." Exer-
cises such as the following, may be prescribed for simultaneous prac-
tice in classes.
(Repeat six times in sue-
("Radical Stress") £> -411, cession, with constantly
increasing force.)
("Vanishing Stress.") <| " " " " " "
("Median Stress.") <> " " " " " "
('"Compound Stress.") [X] " " " " " "
("Thorough Stress.") O " " " " " "
("Tremor") " " " " * "
"melody." 105
To commence with a definite idea of the mode of stress in each
instance, set out from the standard of a given emotion decidedly
marked, and let the degree of emotion and the force of utterance be
increased at every stage. Thus, let [> represent the " radical
stress " on the sound of 0, in the word all, in the following example
of authoritative command: "Attend all!" — <^] the "vanishing
stress " on the same element, in the following example of impatience
and displeasure : " I said all, — not one or two." — <3> the " me-
dian stress" on the same element, in reverence and adoration: " Join
all ye creatures in His praise ' " — {^><d tne " compound stress,"
in astonishment and surprise: " What ! all? did they all fail? " —
C^ tne " thorough stress," in defiance : u Come one — come all !"
— the " tremor" of sorrow : " Oh ! I have lost you all ! "—
The practice of the examples and the elements should extend to the
utmost excitement of emotion and force of voice. Ocular references
may seem, at first sight, to have little value in a subject which
relates to the ear. But notes and characters, as used in music % serve
to show how exactly the car may be taught through the eye ; and
even if we admit the comparatively indefinite nature of all such rela-
tions, when transferred to the forms of speech and of reading, the
suggestive power of visible forms has a great influence on the faculty
of association, and aids clearness and precision of thought, and a cor-
responding defmiteness and exactness in sound.
CHAPTER VI.
"MELODY."
The word " melody " may be applied to speech m the
same general sense as in the technical language of music, to
designate the effect produced on the ear, by the successive
vMes of the voice, in a passage of music or of discourse.
The use of this term presupposes, both in music and in
speech, a certain " pitch," or initial note, whether predomi-
nating in a passage, or merely commencing it, and to which
the subsequent sounds stand in the relation of higher or lower
or identical.
The term " melody," used as above, does not necessarily imply a
melodious or pleasing succession of sounds, or the reverse: It has
regard merely to the fact just mentioned, that the successive sounds
to which this term is applied, are comparatively higher or lower on
the musical scale, or in strict unison with the first sound of a series.
In this technical sense, the word " melody " applies to speech as
well as to music.
106 ORTHOPHONY.
Regarded in connection with the sense of beauty or of r. leasnre
however, we perceive at once a marked difference between th*
" melody " of music and that of speech. The former, has, compar-
atively, the effect of poetry : beauty is its chief element ; and it yields
to the ear an exquisite sense of pleasure. The latter may, as in the
recitation or the reading of verse, possess a degree of this charm,
though comparatively an imperfect one. But it may, on the con-
trary, possess no such beauty : it may exhibit a succession ol the
most harsh and grating sounds, intended to jar and pain the ear, by
the violence of discordant and disturbing passion ; or it may, at least,
be but a tame and insipid succession of articulation, in the utterance
of a fact addressed exclusively to the understanding, as in the com-
mon relations of magnitude, shape, or number. The melody of
speech, in such cases, intentionally divests itself of whatever quality
in tone is adapted, whether to pleasure or to pain, and adheres to the
customary intonation of dry fact and plain prose.
In the latter case, however, not less than in the former, the rela-
tions of sounds to each other, as measured by the musical scale, can
be distinctly traced ; and, on this account, the " melody of speech,"
or of " reading," is a phrase as truly significant as that of the " mel-
ody of a strain of music."
PITCH.
The word " melody," used in its technical sense, occupies,
then, the same ground in elocution as in music, and refers us,
in the first instance, to an initial or commencing sound to
which others in a series may be compared as high or low or
neither. ,To this sound the term "pitch" is [applied, as
designating' the particular point of the scale, as high or low,
on which the voice is thrown out. Thus, we speak of the
deep tones or low notes of an organ, as contrasted with the
shrill sound of a fife, of the grave tone of the voice of a man,
or of the comparatively high pitch of that of a woman ; or of
the low voice of devotion, as contrasted with the high, shrill
scream of excessive fear, or the piercing shriek of terroi.
The correct practice of elocution, as in appropriate speaking, reci-
tation, or reading, implies the power of easily and instantly shifting
the 4 ' pitch " of the voice, according to the natural note of emotion
required for every shade of expression depicted in the composition
which is spoken, recited, or read. Nature, or, — more properly
speaking, — the Author of the human constitution, has so contrived
the organization of the corporeal frame, in conjunction with the sen-
sibility of the soul, that certain notes of the voice are necessarily
associated with certain emotions. Thus a repetition of low and sub-
dued tones overheard from an adjoining apartment, suggests to us
PITCH. 107
the thought that its occupant is employed in the exercise of devotion ;
because solemn and reverential feeling is uniformly asscciated in
voice with low notes of the scale. A succession of high and vivid
tones, overheard, might suggest the idea of a lively conversation, or
an earnest debate, or a fierce dispute, as the case might be ; for the
emotions implied in such communication, are all associated with high
notes of the scale.
The study of " pitch," as an element of "melody," leads ua
accordingly ti a classification of emotions as characterized by com-
paratively " high " or "low" notes. The science of music pos-
sesses, in the department of" pitch," a great advantage over that of
elocution ; as it refers, in all cases, to a perfectly exact measure of
sound, as ascertained by reference to the invariable standard of cer-
tain notes, at given points of the scale, executed by musical instru-
ments not liable to variation. The musician can thus apply, as his
rule, a definite scale of vast extent, and of perfect precision in
admeasurement. The elocutionist, on the contrary, derives his scale
from feeling rather than from science or external rule. The natural
pitch of human voices, varies immensely, not only with sex and age,
but in the accustomed notes of one individual, as differing from those
of another.
The musician, when speaking of a low strain of melody, can con-
veniently refer to a precise note of the scale, by the exact letter
which designates it. The elocutionist, when referring to the low
tone of awe, has no more definite measure in view than a note which
lies low, in comparison even with the customary low notes of the
voice of the reader or speaker.
Due attention, may, no doubt, enable the elocutionist to ascertain,
in a given case, the precise note of the scale required according to
the organic formation and the vocal habit of an individual. But such
a note might prove too low for the compass of voice, in another per-
son, or quite too high to be appropriate or impressive, in another
still, whose voice is naturally low-pitched.
The language of elocution is accordingly limited to the familiar
designations of " low," and " very low," " high," and " very high,"
when the scale is traced to any great extent beyond the " middle "
or average pitch of utterance. This indefinite reference, however,
is usually sufficient for the purposes of reading and speaking, which
regard a general sympathetic effect, or feeling, rather than any
which requires the precise measure of science.
I. "Middle" Pitch.
The "middle" pitch of the voice is that of our habitual
utterance, on all occasions of ordinary communication in con-
rcrsation or address. It implies a medium or average state
of feeling, or a condition of mind free from every strong or
marked emotion. It is the natural note of unimpassioned
utterance, seeking to find its way to the understanding rather
108 ORTHOPHONY.
than to the heart, and hence avoiding high or low pitch, as
belonging to the language of feeling or of fancy. Common
conversation, a literary or a scientific essay, a doctrinal ser-
mon, or a plain practical discourse on any subject limited to
purposes of mere utility, and demanding the action of judg-
ment and reason, principally, may be mentioned as examples
of" middle" pitch.
This form of " pitch " being that which is habitual, in comparison
with others, becomes, in popular usage, the criterion of what is
termed " natural " reading or speaking. It is, indeed, justly adopted
as the standard of ordinary communication. The habit of observing
this pitch on all common occasions of speech and of reading, becomes
an important means of natural and true effect in elocution. Falling
below this average of utterance, we drop necessarily into tones asso-
ciated with grave and solemn effect ; and, rising above it, we approach
the style of light, gay, or humorous expression. Either of these
extremes becomes not merely an error of taste in elocution, but of
judgment and ear : .it sets the voice at variance with the nature of the
subject of communication, and defeats its proper effect.
Both of the extremes which have been mentioned, however, are
current faults of usage. Some juvenile readers, in consequence of
the effort which they usually make in their exercises, cause a slight
overstrain of voice, which becomes apparent in the pitch rising above
its appropriate level : others, from embarrassment, let the voice sink,
as it were into the chest, with a partially hollow sound, and a note
too grave. Students and sedentary persons, from their exhausting
mode of life, incline habitually to the latter fault ; and, when excited
by unusual interest in public communication, perhaps unconsciously
assume the opposite extreme, of a pitch too high for the free use of
the voice.
The proper standard of middle pitch, for the purpose of
vocal practice, is that of serious and earnest conversation in a
numerous circle.
In selecting examples according to the rhetorical characteristics of
sty.e, the choice should be made from intermediate modes of writing,
which are neither so deep-toned in their language, as those whHi
are denominated " grave " or " solemn," nor yet so high-pitcheo as
the " gay," or brisk, and the " humorous " or playful. The rheto-
rical styles intermediate to these, are the " serious " and the " ani-
mated." These are the fairest average representatives of plain
expression, as it usually occurs in conversation and discourse : they
serve also to exemplify the common forms of narrative and descrip-
tive writing.
Close attention and a discriminating ear, are required, to keep the
pitch exactly true, in such examples as the following. The least
eviafcwr of voice, downward or upward on the scale, interferes with
PITCH. 109
the appropriate utterance of sentiment ; making the expression either
too grave or too light. The practice of these examples should be
accompanied by frequent repetition of the elements and of detached
col nmns of words, with a view to fix permanently in the ear, tho
proper note of middle pitch, whether in " serious" or in " animated"
utterance. The former is, of course, somewhat lower on the scale
than the latter : the exact degree depends on the shades of expression
in particular passages.
EXAMPLES OF " MIDDLE " PITCH.
Serious Didactic Style.
(*• Pine Tone :" " Moderate " force : " Unimpassioned radical," and
gentle " median stress."
Pleasures of Knowledge. — Alison.
" How different is the view of past life, in the man who is
grown old in knowledge and wisdom, from that of him-who
is grown old in ignorance and folly ! The latter is like the
owner of a barren country, that fills his eye with the prospect
of naked hills and plains, which produce nothing^-either
profitable or ornamental : the former- beholds a beautiful ana
spacious landscape, divided into delightful gardens, green
meadows, x and fruitful fields, and can scarce cast his eye on a
single spot of his possessions, that is not covered w:th some
beautiful plant or flower."
Serious Narrative.
(" Quality," " force," and " stress," as in the preceding example.)
Anecdote.
" Raleigh's cheerfulness, during his last days, was so
great, and his fearlessness of death-so marked, that the dean
of Westminster-^vho attended him, wondering at his deport-
ment, reprehended the lightness of his manner. But Raleigh
gave God thanks-that he had never feared death ; for it was
but an opinion and an imagination ; and, as for the manner
of death, he had rather die so- than in a burning fever ; that
some might have made shows outwardly ; but he felt the joy
within."
10
110 ORTHOPHONY.
Serious Description.
(" Quality," &c, as before.)
A Scene of Arab Life. — Anonymous.
tf All that has been related-concerning the passion for tales,
which distinguishes the Arabs, is literally true. During the
night which we passed on the shore of the Dead Sea, we
observed our Bethlehemites-scated around a large fire^-with
their guns laid near them on the ground, while their horses,
fastened to stakes, formed a kind of circle about them.
These Arabs, after having taken their coffee, and conversed
for some time with great earnestness, and with their usual
loquacity, observed a strict silence when the sheik began his
tale. We could, by the light of the fire, distinguish his sig-
nificant gestures, his black beard, his white teetrT, and the
various plaits and positions which he gave to his tunic,
during the recital. His companions-listened to him with th&
most profound attention; all of them with their bodies bent
forward, and their faces over the flame, alternately sending
forth shouts of admiration, and repeating, with great empha-
sis, the gestures of the historian. The heads of some few of
their horses and camels, w r ere occasionally seen elevated
above the group, and shadowing, as it were, the picture.
When to these was added a glimpse of the scenery about the
Dead Sea and the mountains of Judea, the whole effect wa?
striking and fanciful, in the highest degree."
Serious Conversational Style.
Idleness. — Addison.
" An idle man is a kind of monster in the creation. AH
nature is busy about him : every animal he sees, reproacnes
him. Let such a man, who lies as a burden or dead weight
upon the species, and contributes nothing either to the riches
of the commonwealth, or to the maintenance of himself and
family, consider that instinct with which Providence haa
endowed the ant, and by which is exhibitei an example of
industry to rational creatures."
PITCH. Ill
1 Animated Narrative Style.
(' Pure Tone:" "Moderate" force: Vivid " radical stress.")
Julius Cjesaii. — J. S. Knoroh*.
k To forrri an idea of Caesar's energy and activity, observe
him when he is surprised by the Nervii. His soldiers are
employed in pitching their camp. — The ferocious enemy
sallies from his concealment, puts the Roman cavalry to the
rou% and falls upon the foot. Everything is alarm, confu-
sion, and disorder. Every one is doubtful what course to
take, — everyone but Caesar! He causes the banner to be
erected, — the charge to be sounded, — the soldiers at a dis-
tance to be recalled, — all in a moment. He runs from place
to place; — his whole frame is in action; — his words, his
looks, his motions, his gestures, exhort his men to remember
their former valor. He draws them up, and causes the sig-
nal to be given, — all in a moment. The contest is doubtful
and dreadful : two of his legions are entirely surrounded.
He seizes a buckler from one of the private men, — puts him-
self at the head of his broken troops, — darts into the thick
of the battle, — rescues his legions, and overthrows the
enemy ! "
Animated "Description.
(" Pure Tone :" " Moderate " force : Vivid " median stress.")
Phenomena of the Universe. — Anonymous.
u The physical universe may be regarded as exhibiting, at
once, all its splendid varieties of events, and uniting, as it
were, in a single moment, the wonders of eternity. Com-
bine, by your imagination, all the fairest appearances of
things. Suppose that you see, at once, all the hours of the
day, and all the seasons of the year, a morning of spring and
a morning of autumn, a night brilliant with stars, and a night
obscure with clouds, — meadows, enamelled with flowers, —
fields, waving with harvests, — woods, heavy with the frosts
1 The vividness of effect in this style, raises the pitch obove that of
"serious" narrative: the prevailing note, however, is still as ir conversatioa
near the middle of the scale.
112 ORTHOPHONY.
of winter; — you will then have a just notion of the spectacle
of the universe. Is it not wondrous> that while you are
admiring the sun plunging beneath the vault of the west,
another observer is beholding him as he quits the region of
the east, — in the same instant reposing, weary, from the dust
of the evening, and awaking, fresh and youthful, in the dews
of morn ! There is not a moment of the day in which the
same sun is not rising, shining in his zenith, and setting on
the world ! Or, rather, our senses abuse us : and there is no
rising, nor setting, nor zenith, nor east, nor west ; but all is
one fixed point, at which every species of light is beaming, at
once, from the unalterable orb of day."
Animated Didactic Style, in Conversation.
(" Pure Tone :" " Moderate " force : " Unimpassioned radical," and
lively "median stress.")
Imaginary Happiness. — I
" People imagine they should be happy in circumstances
which they would find insupportably burdensome in less
than a week. A man that has been clothed in fine linen,
and fared sumptuously every day, envies the peasant under
a thatched hovel ; who, in return, envies him as much his
palace and his pleasure-grounds. Could they exchange situ-
ations, the fine gentleman would find his ceilings were too
low, and that his casements admitted too much wind ; that
he had no cellar for his wine, and no wine to put in his cel-
lar. These with a thousand other mortifying deficiencies
woud shatter his romantic project into innumerable frag
ments in a moment.' '
Animated Didactic Style, in Public Discourse.
("Expulsive Orotund:" " Moderate " force : Energetic " radical '
and " median stress.")
Virtue. — Fawcett.
" Blood, says the pride of life, is more honorable thai<
money. Indigent nobility looks down upon untitled opu
PITCH. 113
»ence. This sentiment, pushed a little farther, leads to the
point I am pursuing. Mind is the noblest part of man ; and
of mind, virtue is the noblest distinction.
"Ho?iest man, in the ear of Wisdom, is a grander name, is
a more high-sounding title, than peer of the realm, or prince
of the blood. According to the eternal rules of celestial pre-
cedency, in the immortal heraldry of Nature and of Heaven,
Virtue takes place of all things. It is the nobility of angels !
It is the majesty of God ! "
11. "Low" Pitch.
This designation applies to the utterance of those feelings
which we are accustomed to speak of as " deeper " than ordi-
nary. Low notes seem the only natural language of grave
emotions, such as accompany deeply serious and impressive
thoughts, grave authority, or austere manner.
The transition in the voice, from " middle " to " low " pitch would
be exemplified in passing from the utterance of a thought which is
merely serious, — and so termed in contradistinction, rather to one of
an animated and sprightly character, — to that of one still deeper in
its shade of feeling, and which would be appropriately termed grave.
At the stage of voice expressive of the latter, we should perceive an
obvious though not very strikingly marked deepening of tone, or
descent on the scale.
It is to this degree of depression of voice, properly, that the word
Mow," in its connection with pitch, is applied, in elocution, as a
technical designation ; there being still lower notes of the scale
implied in the expression of those emotions which are still deeper in
character and deeper in utterance.
The full and impressive effect of a sentiment, particularly in cir-
cumstances of a grave character, as on the occasion of an address on
topics of politics, morals, or religion, must often be dependent on
appropriate gravity of tone. A uniformly grave tone, even in public
reading or speaking, becomes, it is true, dull and uninteresting. But
the absence of a due degree and application of it, divests public
speaking of dignity and authoritative effect, and deprives deep senti-
ment of its impressive power over the mind. The " grave " sty .-a
carried too low, becomes "solemn," — a fault in consequence of
which the lawyer and the popular orator sometimes seem to usurp
the tone of the pulpit, and the preacher to lose the vocal and the
moral power which comes from touching distinctly all the chords of
sacred eloquence, and not dwelling exclusively upon one. There ia
more than a mere music to the ear, in the skill with which a prac-
tised elocutionist leads his own voice and the svmpathies of his
10*
114 ORTHOPHONY.
audience, as they glide gradually but perceptibly down the succes
sive stages of emotion, from serious attention, to grave listening, and
solemn impression.
The attainment of a perfect control over " pitch," renders the prac-
tice of all its gradations highly important, ^The following examples
require attentive practice in conjunction with the repetition of the
elements and of words selected from the exercises in enunciation.
EXAMPLES OF " LOW " PITCH.
Grave and Impressive Thought.
(" Pure tone :" " Moderate" force : " Unimpassioned radical" and
moderate "median stress.")
Age. — Godman.
44 Now comes the autumn of life, — the season of * the sere
and yellow leaf/ The suppleness and mobility of the limbs
diminish ; the senses are less acute ; and the impressions of
external objects are less remarked. The fibres of the body
grow more rigid ; the emotions of the mind are more calm
and uniform ; the eye loses its lustrous keenness of expres-
sion. The mind no longer roams abroad with its original
excursiveness : the power of imagination is, in great degree,
lost. Experience has robbed external objects of their illusive-
ness : the thoughts come home : it is the age of reflection. —
It is the period in which we receive the just tribute of venera-
tion and confidence from our fellow-men, if we have so lived
as to deserve it, and are entitled to the respect and confidence
of the younger part of mankind, in exact proportion to the
manner in which our own youth has been spent, and our
maturity improved."
Grave, Austere, Authoritative Manner.
("Expulsive orotund:" "Declamatory" force: Firm "median
stress.")
Cato [in reply to Cjesar's Message through Decius.] — Addison.
" My life is grafted on the fate of Rome.
Would he save Cato, bid him spare his country
Bid him disband his legions,
PITCH. 115
Restore the commonwealth to liberty,
Submit his actions to the public censure,
And stand the judgment of a Roman senate. —
Bid him do this, and Cato is his friend."
III. "Very Low" Pitch.
This designation applies to the notes of those emotions
which are of the deepest character, and which are accord-
ingly associated with the deepest utterance. These are,
chiefly, the following: deep solemnity, awe, amazement,
horror, despair, melancholy, and deep grief.
The exceedingly " low pitch " of these and similar states of feel
ing, is one of those universal facts which necessarily become laws of
vocal expression, and, consequently, indispensable rules of elocution.
Any passage, strongly marked by the language of one of these emo-
tions, becomes utterly inexpressive without its appropriate deep
notes. Yet this fault is one of the most prevalent in reading,
especially with youth. That absence of deep and powerful emotion
of an expressive character and active tendency, which usually char-
acterizes the habits of the student's life, often leaves a great defi-
ciency in this element of vocal effect, even in individuals who habit-
ually drop into the fault of a slackness of organic action which
causes too low a pitch in serious or in grave style. The "very
low " pitch is not a mere accidental or mechanical result : it requires
the aid of the will, and a special exertion of organ, to produce it.
This lowest form of pitch is one of the most impressive means of
powerful natural effect, in the utterance of all deep and impressive
emotions. The pervading and absorbing effect of awe, amazement,
horror, or any similar feeling, can never be produced without low
pitch and deep successive notes ; and the depth and reality of such
emotions are always in proportion to the depth of voice with which
they are uttered. The grandest descriptions in the Paradise Lost,
and the profoundest meditations in the Night Thoughts, become
trivial in their effect on the ear, when read with the ineffectual
expression inseparable from the pitch of ordinary conversation or dis-
course.
The vocal deficiency which limits the range of expression to the
middle and higher notes of the scale, is not, by any means, the
unavoidable and necessary fault of organization, as it is so generally
supposed to be. Habit is in this, as in so many other things, the
cause of defect. There is truth, no doubt, in the remark so often
made in defence of a high and feeble voice, that it is natural to the
individual, or that it is difficult for some readers to attain to depth of
voice witbout incurring a false and forced style of utterance. But,
in most cases, it is habit, not organization, that has made certain
notes natural or unnatural, — in other words, familiar to the ear, 01
116 ORTHOPHONY.
the reverse. The neglect of the lower notes of the scale, and, con-
sequently, of the organic action by which they are produced, maj
render a deep-toned utterance less easy than it would otherwise be.
But most teachers of elocution are, from day to day, witnesses to the
fact, that students, from the neglect of muscular action, and from all
the other enfeebling causes involved in sedentary habits and intellec-
tual application, sometimes commence a course of practice, with a
high-pitched, thin, and feminine voice, which seems at first incapable
of expressing a grave or manly sentiment, and, in some instances,
appears to forbid the individual from ever attempting the utterance
of a solemn thought, lest his treble tone should make the effect
ridiculous ; but that a few weeks' practice of vocal exercise on bass
notes and deep emotions, as embodied in rightly selected exercises,
often enables such readers to acquire a round and deep-toned utter-
ance, adequate to the fullest effects of impressive eloquence.
The exercise of singing bass, if cultivated as an habitual practice,
has a great, effect in imparting command of deep-toned expression, in
reading and speaking. Reading and reciting passages from Milton
and from Young, and particularly from the Book of Psalms, or from
hymns of a deeply solemn character, are exercises of great value for
securing the command of the lower notes of the voice.
The practice of the following examples should be accompanied by
copious exercises on the elements, and on words selected for the pur-
pose. These exercises shouR be repeated till the student can, at
any moment, strike the appropriate note of awe or solemnity, with as
much certainty as the vocalist can execute any note of the scale
EXAMPLES OF "VERY LOW" PITCH.
Deep Solemnity, Sublimity, and Awe
Cato, [in Soliloquy.] — Addison,
( (t Effusive and Expulsive orotund :" "Subdued and Suppressec
force : " Median stress.")
" It must be so ; — Plato, thou reasonest well !
Else, whence this pleasing hope, this fond desire
This longing after immortality ?
Or whence this secret dread, and inward horror,
Of falling into nought ? Why shrinks the soul
Back on herself, and startles at destruction ?
*T is the Divinity that stirs within us :
'T is Heaven itself that points out an hereafter,
And intimates Eternity to man.
Eternity! — thou pleasing, — dreadful thought!
Through what variety of untried being,
PITCH. 117
Thiough what new scenes and changes must wc pass !
The wide, the unbounded prospect lies before me ;
But shadows, clouds, and darkness, rest upon it."
Awe, Dismay, and Despair,
("Aspirated pectoral Quality :" " Suppressed' ' force: "Median
stress.")
The Pestilence. — Porteou*
" At dead of night,
In sullen silence stalks forth Pestilence :
Contagion, close behind, taints all her steps
With poisonous dew : no smiting hand is seen ;
No sound is heard ; but soon her secret path
Is marked with desolation : heaps on heaps
Promiscuous drop. No friend, no refuge, near :
All, all is false and treacherous around,
All that they touch, or taste, or breathe, is Death f "
Deep Grief.
Affliction and Desolation. — Young.
("Effusive and expulsive orotund:" "Impassioned" and "sub-
dued" force : " Vanishing " and " median stress.")
" In every varied posture, place, and hour,
How widowed every thought of every joy !
Thought, busy thought ! too busy for my peace !
Through the dark postern of time long elapsed.
Led softly, by the stillness of the night,
Led like a murderer, (and such it proves !) ]
Strays, (wretched rover !) o'er the pleasing past :
In quest of wretchedness perversely strays,
And finds all desert now ! "
IV. "High" Pitch.
The analysis of vocal expression, as regards the effect of "pitch,"
leads us now to the study of those modes of utterance which lie above
the middle, or ordinary, level of the voice.
The higher portion of the musical scale is associated with
1 18 ORTHOPHONY.
the notes of brisk, gay, and joyous emotions, with the excep-
tion of the extremes of pain, grief, and fear, which, from their
preternaturally exciting power, compress and render rigid
the organic parts that produce vocal sound, and cause the
peculiarly shrill, convulsive cries and shrieks which express
those passions.
Tracing the voice upward, as it ascends from the usual pitch of
"serious" or of " animated expression," we observe it obviously
rise, when it passes from the " animated," or lively, to the " gay"
or brisk style, which implies a positive exhilaration, or vivid excite-
ment of the animal spirits. Cheerfulness will suffice to produce
" animation;" but joy is requisite to cause " gaiety." THe proper-
ties of voice, in the utterance of these feelings, are correspondent to
their gradations of sensibility. " Animation" is expressed by " pure
tone," " unimpassioned radical stress," and " middle pitch :" gaiety,
by ''expulsive orotund," vivid "radical and median stress," and
"high pitch."
The command over " pitch," in its application to joyous emotions
is not, it is true, of so much importance to the public speaker, as the
power of adopting the appropriate tone of serious, grave, and solemn
feeling. It is, however, an indispensable accomplishment in elocu-
tion, for the purposes of private and social reading ; as much of the
pleasure, as well as the true effect, of expression, in the reading of
pieces adapted to the parlor, and the family or the social circle,
depends on the vivid utterance and comparatively high pitch which
occasionally prevail in the appropriate style of such reading ; since it
is not unfrequently marked by gay delineation and high-wrought
graphic effect of incident, description, and sentiment.
A " pitch " too low for the natural effect of gay and exhilarated
feeling deadens the effect of wit and vivacity, and renders, perhaps, a
most expressive strain of composition, tame and dull, when it should
abound in the tones of life and brilliancy.
Juvenile readers, from diffidence, often withhold the true effect of
the voice in the reading of scenes of gaiety and joyousness, by allow
ing the pitch to remain too low. The gravity and austerity of the
student's life, incline him to the same mode of utterance, as a habit,
and hence impair that freshness of effect, even in serious communi-
cation which comes from the frequent practice of utterance in strains
of joy and gaiety. The proverbial dulness arising from " all work
and no play," is felt nowhere more deeply than in the habits of the
voice. Long-continued, intense mental application, betrays itself
uniformly, in a tendency to hollow, "pectoral" tone; and the
uniform " drowsy bass " of some public speakers, is but the uncon-
scious yielding to this natural effect.
To give the voice suppleness, pliancy, and mobility, much atten-
tion must be bestowed on practice for the regulation of pitch. The
following examples should be carefully repeated in conjunction with
the elements and detached words, till the " high pitch " of joy is per-
fectly at command.
PITCH. J 1 9
EXAMPLES OF "HIGH" PITCH.
Gay, or brisk, style,
Joy.
From the Voice of Spring. — Mrs. Hemans.
\ %t Expulsive orotund :" " Impassioned " force : " Median stress, *\
* I come ! I come ! — ye have called me long :
I come o'er the mountains with light and song!
Ye may trace my step o'er the wakening earth,
By the winds which tell of the violet's birth,
By the primrose stars in the shadowy grass,
By the green leaves opening as I pass.
" From the streams and founts I have loosed the chain '
They are sweeping on to the silvery main, —
They are flashing down from the mountain brows, —
They are flinging spray o'er the forest-boughs, —
They are bursting fresh from their sparry caves ;—
And the earth resounds with the joy of waves !"
Exultation.
From the Hymn of the Stars. — Bryani.
( a Quality," force, and " stress," as before, but more fully given.)
" Away, away ! through the wide, wide sky, —
The fair blue fields that before us lie, —
Each sun with the worlds that round him roll,
Each planet, poised on her turning pole,
With her isles of green, and her clouds of whitei
And her waters that lie like fluid light !
" For the source of glory uncovers his face,
And the brightness o'erflows unbounded space ;
And we drink, as we go, the luminous tides
In our ruddy air and our blooming sides :
Lo ! yonder the living splendors play !
Away ! on our joyous path away !
1 20 ORTHOPHONY.
V.
" Away, away ! — In our blossoming bowers,
In the soft air wrapping these spheres of ours,
In the seas and fountains that shine with morn,
See Love is brooding, and Life is born ;
And breathing myriads are breaking from night,
To rejoice like us, in motion and light!"
V. "Very High" Pitch.
The extreme of the upper part of the musical scale, as far
as it is practicable to individuals, in the management of the
voice, is the natural range of pitch for the utterance of ecstatic
and rapturous or uncontrollable emotion. It belongs, accord-
ingly, to high-wrought lyric and dramatic passages, in strains
oi joy, grief, astonishment, delight, tenderness, and the hyster-
ical extremes of passionate emotion generally.
As the appropriate utterance of excessive feeling, the " extremely
high pitch " is not so important for the general purposes of elocu-
tion, as the "middle" or the "high." Passages requiring this
mode of expression must obviously be of comparatively rare occur-
rence. It is not less true, however, that the peculiar beauty, or
power, or natural effect, of a strain of poetry, may depend, for its
true expression, on the command which the reader or reciter pos-
sesses over this element of voice. It is equally certain that practice
and discipline on the uppermost notes of the scale, give the voice
great pliancy, on the range immediately below ; and that the frequent
repetition of the highest note which the student can command, is one
of the most efficacious means of imparting firm, clear, and well-
compacted tone.
The following examples, together with the elements and selected
words, should be repeated, as daily exercises, for the purpose of
training the organs to easy execution on high notes.
EXAMPLES OF "VERY HIGH" PITCH.
Ecstatic Joy.
[SONO OP THE VaLKYRIUR, OR FATAL SlSTERS, TO THE DOOMED WAR
rior.] — Mrs. Hemans.
(" Expulsive Orotund :" " Sustained " force of calling and shouting
" Median stress.")
" Lo ! the mighty sun looks forth ! —
Aim ! thou leader of the north !
PITCH. 121
Lo ! the mists of twilight fly —
We must vanish, thou must die !
" By the sword, and by the spear,
By the hand that knows not fear,
Sea-king ! nobly shalt thou fall !
There is joy in Odin's hall ! "
Astonishment.
Dromio of Syracuse, [on his being mistaken for his brother.] —
Shdkspeare.
("Expulsive Orotund:" "Impassioned" force: "Thorough
< stress.")
" This drudge laid claim to me ; called me Dromio ; swore
I was assured to her ; told me what private marks I had about
me, as the mark of my shoulder, the mole in my neck, the
great wart on my left arm, — that I, amazed, ran from her as
a witch ; and I think, if my breast had not been made of faith,
and my heart of steel, she had transformed me to a curtail-
dog, and made me turn i' the wheel."
To attain a perfect command of " pitch," as an element of expres-
sion, it will be a useful exercise, to review, in close succession, all
the examples of " pitch," and to add, at each stage, a repetition
of the elements and of words. The student who can borrow the aid
of the musical scale, will derive great benefit from the exactness
which it will impart to his practice ; as it will enable him to observe
and to remember certain notes as the appropriate pitch for natural
and impressive reading, in passages characterized by given emotions.
The habit of analyzing passages, so as to recognize readily their pre-
dominating feeling, and, consequently, their " pitch," is one which
every earnest student of elocution will cultivate with persevering dil-
igence, till he finds himself able, from a single glance at the first line
of a piece, to determine its gradation of feeling, and its true note in
utterance.
Besides practising the examples of" pitch," in the order in which
they occur in the preceding pages, it will contribute much to facility
in changing the " pitch" of the voice, if the student will vary the
order of the examples, so as to become accustomed to pass easily
from one point of the scale to another, — as from highest to lowest,
and the reverse. The practice of the elements and of words, should
always be added to the repetition of the examples.
11
122 ORTHOPHONY.
"TRANSITION" IN PITCH.
The paucity of terms in our language, fcr the various phenomena
of voice, has laid writers on elocution under an imagined necessity
of using some words, borrowed from other sciences or arts, in a
manner not consistent with scientific accuracy of expression. Thus,
the word " modulation," which has an exact meaning in music, has
been used in elocution, in an irregular manner, to designate the observ-
ance of the difference of pilch, in the utterance of emotions, as they
occur successively in reading or speaking. Popular, and even repu-
table usage, has sanctioned this application of the term. But as it
tends to create confusion of ideas, when it is used in certain relations
to elocution which regard the " melody " of the component parts of
sentences, it would be better, perhaps, to regard the transitions of
the voice from one strain to another, in consecutive reading, as
merely the necessary assumption of a new " pitch," adapted to each
successive emotion, and being nothing else, as* a vocal accomplish-
ment, than skill in instancy striking a given note of the scale.
A passage of composition, in prose or verse, used as an exercise
in reading, may be marked to the ear by one prevalent tone of feel-
ing, which allows or requires little or no variation of voice, and, con-
sequently, as little transition from one note of the scale to another
We find one piece, as Milton's Allegro, for example, pervaded by
the expressive tones, and "high" notes, and consequent "high
pitch," of Joy throughout, — another, as the same author's Pense-
roso, marked by the prevalence of the style of grave musing and
poetic melancholy, with their appropriate expression in " low " notes,
and, therefore, " low pitch."
Other compositions are characterized by great and frequent transi
tions of feeling and of utterance, and consequently by corresponding
high or low notes, and the frequent transition from one to the other.
It is to these changes of voice that the term "modulation" has
sometimes been arbitrarily applied ; and it is to the department of
elocution sometimes designated by this term, that we now proceed in
our analysis.
This branch of our subject is one of the utmost importance to the
student. Without the power of easy and exact accommodation of
voice to the natural " pitch " of every successive emotion in a piece,
there can be no such thing as natural or impressive reading. But
variation of " pitch " is a topic on which we need not dwell ; as it is>
practically, but the consecutive application of the same functions of
voice to which we have just 'been attending in detached and separate
instances. Let the student read in close sequence, and with perfect
exactness of " pitch," all the examples given under that head, and
he will have necessarily executed, at the same time, an extensive
practice in " transition " from one portion of the scale to another, as
he shifted the pitch of his voice in passing from one example to
another.
A piece of varied topics and style, in prose writing, or what has
been termed a Pindaiic ode, in lyric poetry, will furnish, by its
changing character of thought and expression, appropriate occasiora
PITCH. 123
fb^ frequcr.t and great transitions on the scale, as \he voice passes
from the utterance of one strain of emotion to that of another.
EXAMPLES OF " TRANSITION " IN PITCH.
1. From Joy to Grave and Pailxtic Emotion.
(From " High " to " Low Pitch.")
The Voice of Spring. — Mrs. Hemans.
"High."
" Away from the dwellings of care-worn men,
The waters are sparkling in grove and glen !
Away from the chamber and sullen hearth,
The young leaves are dancing in breezy mirth !
Their light stems thrill to the wild- wood strains ;
And youth is abroad in my green domains ! —
"Low."
" But ye — ye are changed since ye met me last !
There is something bright from your features passed !
There is that come over your brow and eye,
Which speaks of a world where the flowers must die ! -•
Ye smile ! but your smile hath a dimness yet : —
Oh ! what have ye looked on since last we met ? "
2. From Horror to Tranquillity,
(From " Very Low " to " Middle Pitch.")
Stanzas from a Russian Poet. — Bomring.
" Very Low"
" How frightful the grave ! how deserted and drear !
With the howls of the storm-wind, the creaks of the bier,
And *he white bones all clattering together !
"Middle Pitch."
" How peaceful the grave ! its quiet how deep :
Its zephyrs breathe calmly ; and soft is its sleep ;
And flowrets perfume it with ether."
124 ORTHOPHONY ,
3. From Rapture to Grief.
(From " Very High " to " Low Pitch.")
Stanzas from Mrs. Hemans.
M Very ITigh."
* Ring joyous chords ! — ring out again !
A swifter still and a wilder strain !
And bring fresh wreaths ! — we will banish all
Save the free in heart from our festive hall.
On through the maze of the fleet dance, on ! " —
"Lew."
11 But where are the young and the lovely? — gor.e r
Where are the brows with the red rose crowned,
And the floating forms with the bright zone bound ?
And the waving locks and the flying feet,
That still should be where the mirthful meet? —
They are gone ! — they are fled, they are parted all : —
Alas ! the forsaken hall ! "
4 From Triumph and Exultation, to Grave, Pathetic, ana
Solemn feeling, and thence returning to Triumph and
Exultation.
(From " High" to " Low," and thence to " High Pitch.")
" Mark ye the flashing oars,
And the spears that light the deep ?
How the festal sunshine pours
Where the lords of battle sweep !
" Each hath brought back his shield ; —
Maid, greet thy lover home !
Mother, from that proud field,
Io ! thy son is come ! "
"Low."
" Who murmured of the dead ?
Hush ! boding voice. We know
PITCH. 125
That many a shining head
Lies in its glory low.
" Breathe not those names to-day .
They shall have their praise ere long,
And a power all hearts to sway,
In ever-burning song."
"High:'
" But now shed flowers, pour wine,
To hail the conquerors home !
Bring wreaths for every shrine ! —
Io ! they come, they come ! "
5. From Tranquillity to Joy and Triumph, Awe, Scorn, Awe,
Horror, Exultation, Defiance, Awe, — successively.
[Israel's Triumph over the King of Babylon.] — Isaiah.
[Tranquillity: "Middle Pitch:"] "The whole earth is
at rest, and is quiet: — [Joy and Triumph: "High Pitch:"]
they break forth into singing. Yea, the fir-trees rejoice at
thee, and the cedars of Lebanon, saying, * Since thou art laid
down, no feller is come up against us.' — [Awe: "Law
Pitch ;"] Hell from beneath is moved for thee, to meet thee
at thy coming : it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the
chief ones of the earth : it hath raised up from their thrones
all the kings of the nations. — [Narrative: "Middle Pitch :"]
All they shall speak, and say unto thee, — [Scorn: "High
Pitch :"] * Art thou also become weak as we ? Art thou
become like unto us V — [Awe : "Low Pitch :"] Thy pomp
is brought down to the grave, and the noise of thy viols :' —
[Horror : " Very Low Pitch :"] * the worm is spread under
thee, and the worms cover thee.' — [Exultation: "Middle
Pitch :"] * How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son
of the morning ! how art thou cut down to the ground, which
didst weaken the nations !' — [Defiance: "High Pitch:"]
i For thou hast said in thy heart, u I will ascend info heaven, I
will exalt my throne above the stars c" God. I will ascend
11*
126 ORTHOPHONY.
above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most
High."— [Awe : "Low Pitch:"] ' Yet thou shalt be brought
down to hell, to the sides of the pit.' "
11:3 same " transitions " of " pitch M which occur in passing from
one paragraph or stanza to another, may also take place within the
limits of a single sentence, if the feeling obviously changes from clause
*o clause, — as in the following extract.
Reverence and Awe.
(" Low pitch :" rising gradually to " middle," in the fourth lu.e.)
Adoration. — Porteous.
" O Thou ! whose balance does the mountains weigh,
Whose will the wild tumultuous seas obey,
Whose breath can turn those watery worlds to flame,
That flame to tempest, and that tempest tame," —
Deepest Reverence and Awe.
("Very low pitch.")
" Earth's meanest son, all trembling, prostrate falls, '
Reverence and Adoration.
(" Low pitch.")
" And on the boundless of Thy goodness calls."
Solemnity.
(Pitch still lower.)
" May sea and land, and earth and heaven be joined,
To bring the eternal Author to my mind ! "
Awe.
("Very low pitch.")
" When oceans roar, or thunders roll,
May thoughts of Thy dread vengeance shake my soul!'
THE "PHRASES" OF "SENTENTIAL MELODY."
If we bring our analysis of a sentence into still closer distinctions
of melody and pitch, we pass from clauses to phrases. The " melody
PITCH. 12?
A phrases and their relative " pitch," involve topics too numerous
and too intricate for discussion in an elementary work. These sub-
jects will be found fully explained in the work of Dr. Rush. We
will select a few points of practical application and of primary impor-
tance. The " phrases of melody," in a sentence, admit of being
arranged in two classes : — 1st, those which prevail in the body of a
sentence ; 2d, that which occupies the last three syllables of a sen-
tence, and forms the cadence. The former is termed the " current
melody ;" the latter, the " melody of the cadence."
The investigation of melody and pitch, in phrases, requires atten-
tion to the important distinction of "discrete" and "concrete"
sounds. " Discrete " sounds consist of notes produced at intervals,
or in close succession, but in detached and distinct forms, as in run-
ning up or down the keys of a piano, or the chords of a harp ; or
producing similar sounds on a violin, by twitching the strings with
the finger, instead of gliding over them with the bow ; or in the
laughing utterance of delighted surprise, as when we laugh a
" fifth " or an " octave " up the scale, on the interrogatory interjec-
tion "eh?" or when, in the laughing utterance of derision, we run
down the scale, in the same way, in the long-drawn sound of the
word "no!" In these last-mentioned instances, every note is
executed by a distinct and separate little jet, or tittle, of voice. To
such sounds, then, the word " discrete" in its proper etymological
sense, may be justly applied, as intimating that they exist apart.
" Concrete " sounds, on the other hand, are produced by a succes-
sion of notes gliding into each other so imperceptibly to the ear, that
they cannot be detached from each other ; as when the violinist, in
playful execution, sometimes makes his instrument seem to hold dia-
logue, in the tones of question and answer, by drawing the bow
across the strings, while he slips his left hand, upward and down-
ward, so as to shorten or lengthen the strings, and thus cause the
sounds to glide up or down the scale, in one continuous stream of
" mewing" sound. A parallel illustration may be drawn from the
natural use of the voice, when we pronounce the interrogatory "eh?"
of surprise, in a serious mood, but with great earnestness, — merely
causing the voice to slide smoothly up the scale, through the interval
of a " fifth " or an " octave," or when we utter the word "no!" in
the tone of full and bold denial, and make the voice sweep continu-
ously down the scale, through a similar interval.
In the " current melody " of a sentence, every syllable includes a
"radical" and a "vanishing movement," united, which, in unim-
passioned expression, occupy the space, on the scale, of one tone, or
pa*s from one note to the next above it on the scale. The succes-
sion of" concrete " tones, is uniformly at the interval of a tone, up-
ward or downward on the scale, as the case may be. The rise of
voice within each syllable may therefore be called its "concrete
pit^h;" and the place that each syllable takes above or behw
another, the " radical pitch."
The " melody of phrases," prescribes no fixed succession of rad-
ical pitch, although it usually avoids a repetition of the same " radi-
cal pitch," unless for special effect; in extreme cases ; and it foibida
128 ORTHOPHONY.
the see -saw tone of exact alternation, or measured recurrence, of
11 radical pitch."
The convenience of using specific and exact term; 5, in relation to
" melody " and " pitch," as they exist in speech, renders the follow
ing distinctions important to the student of elocution.
When two or more " concretes " occur in succession, on the same
" radical pitch," they form a " monotone," or produce upon the ear
the effect of unity or sameness of sound or tone. This concrete
pitch is often used in conjunction with the low notes of awe, sub*
limit]/, and solemnity, for impressive effect, resembling that of th(j
deep tolling of a large bell. " Monotone," however, is not to b(*
confounded with monotony, the besetting fault of school reading, anj
which consists chieily in omitting or slighting the " radical stress,'
and sometimes abolishing even the " radical movement " of elements
" Monotone " is the sublimest poetic effect of elocution: monotony
one of the worst defects.
When the "radical pitch" is one note above or below that of
the preceding tone, it is termed a " Rising " or a " Falling Ditone.'
— When the radicals of three successive " concretes," rise or fall
they become a " Rising " or a " Falling Tritone." — When there
is a series of three or more, alternately a tone above and below each
other, they form an " Alternate Phrase."
When three "concretes" gradually descend in their "radical
pitch " at the close of a sentence, the " vanish " of the last, instead
of ascending, descends ; so as to give the peculiar closing effect to
the cadence. This descent is, accordingly, for distinction's sake,
termed the " Triad of the Cadence."
It is in this peculiar " phrase " of " sentential melody," that the
very general fault, popularly called " a tone," exists. The common
style of cadence, instead of being spoken, is usually such as causes it
to be sung, more or less, by deviating from the melody of the
"triad," and, at the same time, losing "radical," and assuming
" median stress," accompanied by a half-musical wave or undulation
of voice. A clear, distinct, and exact succession of " radical {itch,"
in the form of the " triad," would, in most cases, destroy the false
tone, and impart to reading more resemblance than it often possesses
to speech or to conversation.
The student will derive much assistance, in this branch of elocu-
tion, from repeating the " tonic elements," and appropriate words
selected from the exercises in the chapter on enunciation, wilh a
view, first, to observe the " concrete" character of the elementary
sounds of speech in their initial "radical" and rising "vanish."
Let letters, syllables, and words, then be practised, successively
in the forms of the phrases of the "monotone," "falling" am 4
" rising " " ditone," and " tritone," and the " triad of the cadence.'
The following illustration, selected from the work of Dr. Rush
will suggest the idea how the exercises in this department may h(
practised in classes, by the use of the chart of exercises, or of the
black-board.
The object in view, in the use of such diagrams as the following
is not to exhibit the strict application of any rule or priaciple of eio*
PITCH. 129
c idon, but merely to aid the mind in attaining an exact apprehension
of the nature and character of the elements of vocal sound, in certain
relations. It is not meant that either the couplet from Pope's Homer,
which is introduced in the following illustration, or the lines which
follow it, must be read with the precise melody exhibited in the dia-
gram, or that they cannot be appropriately read with any other. The
design of this exemplification, is merely to show the different forms
of " radical pitch," as they occur in the actual use of the voice, and
to render the practice of them definite and exact. The repetition of
the exercise will render the ear accurate and discriminating, and will
preserve the student from inadvertently contracting the false intona-
tion arising from the general neglect of this part of elocution,
and from the impossibility of discussing or explaining its peculiari-
ties till the means of instruction were furnished by exact analysis
and precise nomenclature, — benefits for which science and education
stand equally indebted to the discriminating genius and philosophic
investigation of Dr. Rush.
" That quarter most the skilful Greeks annoy,
E
-&-**-
_®L
<£-&-
Monotone, Falling Ditone. Rising Tritone. Rising Ditone.
Where yon wild
fig trees join the
walls of
Troy.'
* iJ
d •* d —
** <w
* V
* as
Falling Tritone, Alternation. Triad of the Cadence.
To secure the full benefit of discrimination and of exact practice,
it will be a useful exercise to repeat the phrases of melody in the
diagram, on the " tonic" and other elements, on syllables, and on
(he following couplets.
1. — " Lo ! the poor Indian, whose untutored mind
Sees God in tempests, hears him m the wind." l
2, — " There, where a few torn shrubs the place disclose,
The village preacher's modest mansion rose."
3. — " Thus every good his native wilds impart,
Imprints the patriot passion on his heart."
1 The above example is intentionally introduced as one of cadmce, for the
Bake of contrast with the tone of continuance, which belongs to it in the
original text.
13U ORTHOPHONY.
4.—" The conscious swains, rejoicing in the sight,
Eye the blue vault, and bless the useful light"
THE "SLIDE."
We proceed to the examination of another function ci the
voice, connected with " melody," or the transition of vocal
sound from one note to another of the musical scale. — The
transit from the " radical " to the " vanish " of a sound, is, it will
be recollected, limited, in " concrete pitch," to a single tone, or
the distance measured to the ear, in passing from one note to
the next above, on the scale. We should hear this transition
exemplified in the sound of a in the word arm, in the follow-
ing unimpassioned and incomplete phrase, if read as it would
be in the case of a person suddenly interrupted, at the
moment of uttering that word, in the act of reading a sen-
tence; thus, " He raised his arm" — The broken or inter-
rupted, progress of the voice, is here indicated by the fact
that the sound of a in the word arm does not descend,
but remains suspended by the effect of " concrete pitch," or
the common difference between the " radical " and the " van-
ishing movement," in an unimpassioned or inexpressive
sound.
But let us suppose the case of a person uttering the same
element, in the vivid language of real or affected surprise, in
the interjection " ah I " We shall now perceive, that the
interval between the "radical" and the "vanish," is greatly
enlarged, and that the voice has run up three, five, or per-
haps, eight notes, according to the depth and earnestness of
the feeling expressed in the utterance of the sound. The
more slow and drawling the style of voice is made, in the
repetition of the supposed example, the more distinct will be
our perception of the transition of sound from note to note, as
it glides up the scale. This vocal function is what, in elocu-
tion, is termed an " upward slide," or in the language of
some elocutionists, a " rising inflection."
Let us suppose, once more, the sound of the same element
felling on the ear, m the tone of the bold military command,
THE "SLIDE." 131
Arm!" We shall now perceive that, in the time which
transpires from the first to the last moment cf the souud, the
voice glides down the scale, through an interval, greater or
less, according to the boldness and fulness of the utterance.
We have here an example of the " downward slide," or
u falling inflection."
The extent of the " slide" depends, usually, on the intensity of a
prompting emotion, as in the case of surprise, mentioned before. Let
the student who has not yet trained his ear to discriminate the de-
grees of the " slide," and who wishes to attain a clear perception of
its different forms, imagine a conversation going on between two per-
sons, one of whom is relating to the other a series of events, each
one successively more striking and more surprising than the preced-
ing. Let the hearer be supposed to utter," at each stage in the narra-
tive, the expressive interrogatory interjection of surprise, " indeed!"
and with that marked increase of effect, which arises not only from
the augmented intensity of force, but also from the wider interval of
the scale, or the larger number of notes, which the voice traverses,
in the " expressive melody " of speech-.
The progressive change of feeling, which causes the progressive
change of expression in the voice, may, for the sake of illustration,
be supposed to rise from surprise to wonder, and from wonder to
astonishment. In such circumstances, may be heard, 1st, the ordi-
nary " slide " of surprise, — the interval occupied by the voice, f. >n
the moment of uttering the "radical " of the expressive soured to
that of uttering its " vanish," being a rising " third ;" the voice glid-
ing upward, with a continuous sound, terminating in the note v»Kch
lies on the third degree of the scale above the " radical :" — 2d, the
more expressive " slide " of greater surprise, or of wonder, — occu-
pying the interval of an upward " fifth ;" the gliding sound terminat
ing on the note which is on the fifth degree of the scale ^bove the
" radical :" — 3d, extreme surprise, excessive wonder, or astonishment,
whether real or affected, (and, particularly, if the latter,) will impel
the voice with a slide which glides through a whole " octave," or
interval of eight notes, from the " radical " to the " v&iish."
Again, let it be supposed that the person who is listening to the
narrator, is answering in the derisive tone of mockery. The voice, in
tlds case, will utter the word " indeed!" in the downward " slide ;"
and if we suppose, farther, the tone of emotion increased in intensity
of expression, at each stage, the effect may be to produce the fame
thiee intervals of the scale as before, but in the opposite direction :
— 1st, the downward " third," — 2d, the downward " fifth," — 3d,
the downward " octave ;" the voice gliding down with a continuous
sound, through each of these intervals, in succession, //hde uttering
the last syllable of the expressive word " indeed!"
Similar illustrations might be drawn from the natural " expres-
sion " of other strong or distinctly marked emotions. But these wil.
occur in subsequent examples. A clear and broad definition is all
that is now requisite.
132 ORTHOPHONY.
The " slides " of the voice have three important and dis
rinct offices ; and these produce the three principal forms of
the ' slide :" 1st, the " slide of passion or emotion" — 2d, the
" distinctive slide," or that which is addressed to the under-
standing and the judgment, as in designation, comparison, and
contrast, — 3d, the "mechanical slide," which belongs to the
mechanism of a sentence, and the local position of phrases;
as in the special instance of the partial cadence, which takes
place when a distinct portion of the sense is completed,
although the whole sentence is not finished; as in this
instance : " Let your companions be select ; let them be such
as you can esteem for their good qualities, and whose virtu-
ous example you may emulate." We have another example
in the " triad " of the full and final cadence falling en^liely
within one syllable, as in the following emphatic negation :
" No ; by the rood, not so I "
Another " slide " which serves a mechanical puipose,
rather than one of thought or feeling, is the " penuhimate
slide " of most sentences, which serves the purpose of raising
the voice deliberately and distinctly, previous to its final
descent at the close of the sentence, and thus renders the
cadence more perceptible and more impressive ; as in the fol-
lowing example : " Let the young go out, under the descend-
ing sun of the year, into the fields of nature."
Few parts of elocution are more important to the practical teacher
or to the earnest student, than the discrimination of the " partial "
and the " final " cadence. The confounding of these two descents of
voice, causes the two prevalent errors of school reading and popular
oratory, as contradistinguished "from true, natural, and appropriate
expression. The school-boy, in attempting to give the " partial "
cadence, when endeavoring to comply with his teacher's injunction.
to " use a falling inflection," gives the full " trjad " of the cadence,
on the last three syllables, in the phrase of the preceding example^
u be select:" which of course produces, at the colon, the proper effect
of a period. The habitual tone of school reading, inclining, in didac-
tic style, to a declamatory chant, the young reader, when he comes
to the proper place of the cadence, at the close of the sentence, sub-
stitutes, for the proper " triad," — on the last three syllables, — the
<; rising ditone," on the first and second, and a "concrete third "
with a downward " vanish," on the third ; and these are commonly
eaiercd still more conspicuous by the unhappy effect, (intended,
THE l( SLIDE." 133
apparently, as a compensation for the want of true cadence,) of a
superadded "wave." This " drift," or prevailing effect of false
intonation, in the " melody of sentences," pervades the style of voice
current in school reading, in academic declamation, and in public
addresses, and substitutes something like the effects of song for those
of speech.
The "triad" of the cadence derives its closing effect of repose
and approaching cessation of voice, partly from its contrasting with
the previous "penultimate upward slide," which usually occurs at
the last comma, or similar pause, of a sentence, and terminates the
penultimate clause ; sometimes from a previous " falling tritono "
preceding the penultimate rise ; and always from its own regular
descent, which reseir bles the effect of a gradual but distinct succes-
sion of downward steps. The " partial " cadence of complete sense,
but incomplete period, on the contrary, preserves its more abrupt effect
of imperfectly finished succession of sounds, by adopting, in the last
three syllables of the clause to which it is applied, the " rising
ditone " on the first and second, and the " concrete of the second,"
with downward " vanish," on the third. The effect of full cadence
is thus entirely avoided, and yet that of partial completeness of sense,
secured ; the voice ending on a strain too high for the one, and yet,
by the " concrete of the second " with the downward " vanish," pre-
serving the indication of temporary cessation and slight repose.
I. THE SLIDE OF EMOTION.
The "slide of emotion " extends through an interval corre-
sponding, in every instance, to the intensity of feeling implied
in "expressive" words, and may, accordingly, be measured,
in most instances, by the " third," the " fifth," or the
" octave."
Strong emotions are expressed by the " downward slide ;"
except surprise, and earnest, or impassioned interrogation,
which usually adopt the " upward slide" of the " fifth" or the
" octave."
EXAMPLES.
1. Impetuous Courage and Fierce Determination.
Richmond to his Troofs. — ShaJcspeare.
(" Orotund " and " aspirated pectoral quality :" Shouting : " Explo-
sive radical" and "expulsive median stress:" "High pitch."
The "downward slide" of the "third," takes place on every
emphatic word in the first four lines, and 'he " downward fifth "
on the remainder, as indicated by the grave accent, the usual mark
for this " slide.")
12
134 ORTHOPHONY.
" Fight, gentlemen of England ! fight, bold yedmen f
Draw, archers, draw your arrows to the head :
Spur your proud horses hard, and ride in blood ,
Amaze the welkin with your broken staves. —
A thousand hearts are great within my bosom :
Advance our standards, ;set upon our foes !
Our ancient word of courage, fair Saint George,
Inspire us with the spleen of fiery dragons !
Upon them ! Victory sits on our helms."
2. Impassioned burst of Scorn.
From Cokiolanus. — Shakspeare.
("Aspirated pectoral and guttural quality :" Violent force : " Explo-
sive radical stress :" " High pitch.' ' The exemplification occurs
in the reply of Coriolanus, which contains the " downward slide '
of the " octave," in the words " Measureless liar !" and " Boy!"
and the " downward fifth " on the other emphatic words.)
Aufidius. " Name not the god,
Thou boy of tears.
Coriolanus. Measureless liar ! thou hast made my heart
Too great for what contains it.
Boy ! Cut me to pieces, Volscians : men and lads,
Stain all your edges on me. Boy ! —
If you have writ your annals true, 't is there
That, like an eagle in a dovecot, I
Fluttered your Volscians in Corioli :
Alone I did it.— Boy!"
3. Indignant Rebuke.
Marullus to the People. — Shakspeare.
("Orotund and aspirated pectoral quality :" "Impassioned" force:
" Explosive radical stress :" " Low pitch :" " Downward slide *
of the "fifth."
" Begone ! run to your houses, fall upon your kneas,
Pray to the gods to intermit the plagues
That needs must light on this ingratitude ! "
THE "SLIDE." 135
4. Excessive Grief.
(< Aspirated pectoral quality :" Weeping utterance : " Impassioned *
force : Violent " vanishing stress :" " High pitch : ,,(|1 Downward
slide "of the "fifth.")
David, [bewailing the death of Absalom.]
" my son Absalom ! my son, my son Absalom !
Would God I had died for thee, Absalom, my son, my
son!" 1
5. Exception. — Surprise, Earnest and Impassioned Interro-
gation.
Extract from Chatham.
("Aspirated pectoral quality :" " Declamatory " force : " Compoui d
stress :" " High pitch :" " Upward fifth.")
"Can ministers still presume to expect support 2 in their
infatuation ? Can parliament be so dead to its dignity and
its duty, as to give its support to measures thus obtruded and
forced upon it ? "
From Cicero's Accusation of Verres.
" Is it come to this ? Shall an inferior magistrate, a gov-
ernor, who holds his whole power of the Roman people, in a
Roman province, within sight of Italy, bind, scourge, torture
with fire and red hot plates of iron, and at last put to the
infamous death of the cross, a Roman citizen ? "
Marullus to the People. — Shakspeare.
" O you hard hearts, you cruel men of Rome,
Knew ye not Pompey ? Many a time and oft
Have you climbed up to walls and battlements,
To towers and windows, yea, to chimney-tops,
1 For fuller exemplification of the "slide," see "American Elocutionist," in
which this and the other departments of sentential and rhetorical elocution,
are fully discussed. The present volume, being designed merely as a manual
for training in orthophony, and as an introduction to the Elocutionist, is lim-
ited to sued an outline of the subject as might afford sufficient ground for the
intelligent practice of a course of elementary exercises.
2 Tlie acute accent is the usual mark of the " upvvarl slide," or "rising
inflection."
13b ORTHOPHONY.
Your infants m your arms, and there nave sat
The live-long day, with patient expectation,
To see great Pompey pass the streets of Rome :
And when you saw his chariot but appear,
Have you not made a universal shout,
That Tiber trembled underneath her banks
To hear the replication of your sounds,
Made in her concave shores ? l
And do you now put on your best attire ?
And do you now cull out a holiday?
And do you now strew flowers in his way,
That comes in triumph over Pompey's blood ? n
II. THE " DISTINCTIVE " SLIDE.
This slide, it will be recollected, is used not for purposes of pas-
sion or emotion, but for suggestions connected with the understand-
ing and judgment, — that which may be termed intellectual, not im~
passioned, expression.
The " downward distinctive slide " extends, usually,
through the interval of a " third." It is used, first, for mere
designation, as in announcing a subject or topic, in didactic
style, in introducing a person or an event in narrative, or an
object, in descriptive style ; as in the following examples :
" The duties of the citizens of a republic formed the subject
of the orator's address." " Among the eminent men of the
period of the American Revolution, Benjamin Franklin held
a conspicuous place." " From the date of the American
Revolution, commenced a new era in the history of man."
" The dazzling summits of the snow-capt mountains in the
distance, threw an air of enchantment over the scene."
This slide is used also, for distinction in contrasts, as in the
latter )f two correspondent or antithetic words or phrases, in
which the contrast is exactly balanced; thus, "I would
neither be rich nor poor," or when the antithesis is unequal,
and one word or phrase is intentionally made more expressive
1 An interrogation of peculiar emphasis, or of great length, takes the down
ward slide; as, in sudi cases, the effect of interrogation is lost in chat of
THE " SLIDE." 137
than the other, in which case the more emphatic word or
phrase takes the downward slide : thus, " I would rather be
rich than poor." — The " distinctive upward slide" occurs in
the word " rich" in the former of these examples; and it may
be given also in the word "poor" in the latter, if pronounced
with peculiar distinctive force, so as to authorize, in the sound
of the word "poor" an upward slide, instead of a cadence, at
the close of the sentence, — an effect which often takes place
in the unstudied and natural use of the voice, and which cor-
responds somewhat to the rebound of the ball, when it is
thrown against the wall with sufficient force to produce that
effect.
EXAMPLES OF " DISTINCTIVE SLIDES."
I. Simple Designation.
1. Didactic Style.
" The progress of the Italian opera, in this country, will
form the subject of this essay."
" The downfall of the Roman empire was the next great
theme chosen by that eminent historian."
" The origin of the distinctions of rank in society, forms
one of the most interesting topics of historical investigation."
2. Narrative Style.
" The conspiracy of Catiline, as related by Sallust, was
one of the most atrocious designs ever plotted by desperate
and heartless villany."
" From the time when the people enjoyed the right of
electing their tribunes, they fondly deemed their libeity
secure! against future encroachments."
" The usurpation, as it has been termed, of Oliver Crom-
well, rightly interpreted, is one of the most memoralle of
lessons to monarchy, ever taught in the great school of
history."
3. Descriptive Style.
M A sudden shower puts an end to the gaiety of the revel-
12*
138 ORTHOPHONY.
lers, and sends them scampering in all directions for shel-
ter."
H The spots on the disc of the sun, which, in some
instances, are larger than a continent or an ocean, with us,
are, it is believed, openings in the luminous atmosphere of
that body, exhibiting the dark surface beneath."
" The first primrose of the spring, was peeping through the
shrivelled herbage at the roots of the hedge, along the side of
the lane."
II. Comparison and Antithesis, or Contrast.
1. Comparison of Single Objects.
" As is the beginning, so is the end."
2. Double Comparison.
" As we cannot discern the moving of the shadow over the
Mial-plate ; so we cannot trace the progress of the mind in
knowledge."
3. Contrast of Single Objects.
" I mingled freely with all classes of society, and narrowly
observed the life of the peasant, as well as that of the
prince."
4. Double Contrast, or Antithesis.
" As it is the part of justice never to do violence, it is thaf
of modesty never to commit offence. "
III. THE " MECHANICAL SLIDE."
This form of the " slide" was defined as either " upward '
or " downward ;" the former occurring at the close of the
penultimate clause of a sentence, in preparation for its
cadence ; the latter, when the cadence, from the absence of
accent on preceding syllables, descends in the form of a
1 In double contrasts, the full " distinctive slide of the third," falls only on
the prominent parts of the contrast, the leading and determining words at the
middle and the end of the sentence : the other pair of contrasted words are
usually restricted to " falling " and " rising ditone," in their " radical pitch.'
THE M SLIDE." 139
u concrete downward slide" on a single sound, which in-
eludes, within itself, the whole interval otherwise occupied by
a " discrete triad." Another form of the " mechanical slide,"
is used to indicate, as mentioned before, complete sense, or
the finishing of an independent part of a sentence. Its effect,
as a descent of voice, differs to the ear from that of the
cadence, in the fact formerly stated, of its commencing ana
ceasing at a higher point of the scale, and from its not being
preceded by the "penultimate slide," nor by a previous
descent of voice which prepares the ear for the deliberate and
full effect of cadence. It may be termed the " downward
slide of complete sense" or "partial" cadence, as contrasted
with its opposite, the " upward slide " of the " third," in incom-
plete sense, assumed, on purpose, in the middle of a sentence,
to create expectation of farther expression, for the completion
of a thought ; or the " upward third " of unimpassioned inter-
rogation, which also implies incomplete or undetermined
sense. The M downward slide of complete sense," may be so
denominated also, as contrasted with the mere effect of " con-
crete pitch," when a reader, as was formerly supposed, for the
purpose of illustration, is suddenly interrupted in the act of
reading, and breaks off at an incomplete phrase.
EXAMPLES.
1 . — " Penultimate Slide,"
" The signification of our sentiments, made by tones and
gestures, has this advantage above that made by words, that
it is the language of nature."
" In epic poetry, the English have only to boast of Spenser
and Milton, who neither of them wanted either genius or
learning to have been perfect poets ; and yet both of them are
liable to many censures."
2. — "Partial Cadence" at the close of a clause which forms
complete sense,
" Greatness confers no exemption from the cares ajid sor-
rows of life : its share of them frequently bears a melancholy
proportion to its exaltation."
140 ORTHOPHONY.
" In man, we see a creature whose thoughts are not limited
Dy any narrow bounds either of place or time, who carries his
researches into the most distant regions of this globe, and
beyond this globe, to the planets and heavenly bodies ; looks
backward to consider the first origin of the human race; casts
his eyes forward to see the influence of his actions upon pos-
terity, and the judgments which will be formed of his char-
acter a thousand years hence : a creature who traces causes
and effects to great lengths and intricacy ; extracts general
principles from particular appearances; improves upon his
discoveries, corrects his mistakes, 1 and makes his very errors
profitable."
3. — -"Upward Slide of incomplete or suspended sense"
"Were men entirely free from vice, all would be uni-
formity, harmony, and order."
" The idea of that Divine Being, whose benevolence and
wisdom have, from all eternity, contrived and conducted the
immense machine of the universe, so as at all times to pro-
duce the greatest possible quantity of 2 happiness, is certainly,
of all objects of human contemplation, by far the most sub-
lime."
" If a man is deeply impressed with the habitual and
thorough conviction, that a benevolent and all-wise Being can
admit into the system of His government no partial evil which
is not necessary for the universal good, he must consider all
the misfortunes which may befall himself, his friends, his
society, or his country, as necessary for the prosperity of the
universe, and therefore as what he ought, not only to submit
to with resignation, but as what he himself, if he had known
all the connexions and dependences of things, ought sincerely
and devoutly to have wished for."
4. — "Upward Slide" of " unimpassioned interrogation"
" Have you heard the news ? Can we place any depen-
1 " Penultimate upward slide."
* A " rising tritone" is sometimes the equivalent of the upward slide at
the third."
THE M SLIDE.'*' 141
dcnce on the report ? Is it probable that such an event could
have been kept so long concealed ? "
" Shall we adopt the measures proposed by this speaker?
Are the arguments which he has advanced sufficient to pro-
duce conviction? Can we proceed with perfect confidence
that we shall not have to retrace our steps ? "
" Does the work relate to the interests of mankind ? Is its
object useful, and its end moral ? Will it inform the under-
standing, and amend the heart ? Is it written with freedom
and impartiality? Does it bear the marks of honesty and
sincerity ? Does it attempt to ridicule anything that is good
or great ? Does a manly style of thinking predominate in it ?
Do reason, wit, humor, and pleasantry, prevail in it ? Does
it contain new and useful truths?"
CHAPTER VIL
"TIME."
The chief characteristics of utterance, which are subjects of atten-
tion in vocal culture, are the " quality" of the voice, as sound,
merely, and its "expression," as produced by " force," " stress,"
"melody," or "pitch," and "time," — properties equivalent to
those which are comprehended, in music, under the heads of" qual-
ity," "dynamics," (force,) "melody," and "rhythm," (the effect
of the union of" accent," or comparative force, and " time," on the
sequence of sounds.)
The subject of " time " is that which remains to be discussed, as
the ground of practical exercises in elocution,
" QUANTITY."
The study of time, as a measure of speech, will lead to the
primary classification of single vowel sounds, as long or short,
in duration, according to their character and expression, as
elements of language. The contrast, in the duration of the
" tonic element," or vowel sound, <z, in the words male and
female, will furnish examples ; the a in the former being
much longer, or, in other words, occupying a much larger
space of time, in utterance, than the a Vi the latter. The
142 ORTHOPHONY.
technical designation of this property of vocal sounds, is
" quantity," — implying quantity of time, or duration. The
a of male, is accordingly termed a " long" the a in female, a
"short quantity" — Such is the usual distinction recognized
II) prosody, and applied to versification.
Syllables, when regarded in connexion with the " quantities" of
their component elements, and classified for the purposes of elocu-
tion, have been arranged by Dr Rush, under the following denomi-
nations :
1st. " Immutable," or such as are, from the nature of their con-
stituent sounds, incapable of prolongation. These are immutably
fixed to the shortest " quantity" exhibited in an elementary sound,
and cannot, even when accented, and uttered in solemn or in poetic
expression, be prolonged, in any degree, without positive mispronun-
ciation or destruction of the peculiar accent of the language ; as
the i, for example, in the word sick, or in the verb convict. " Im-
mutable " syllables terminate with an abrupt, or " atonic " element,
preceded by a short " tonic," as in the above examples.
The propriety of the designation " immutable " will be apparent,
on referring to the following examples, in the utterance of which,
although there is the utmost intensity of emotion, the elements ic
oppose an insuperable resistance to any attempt to heighten the ex-
pression of passion by prolonging the sound of the syllable or word
in which they predominate.
Hotspur, [exclaiming on his father's illness, and consequent
ABSENCE FROM THE CAMP AT SHREWSBURY.] — Shcikspeare.
" Sick now ! droop now ! This sickness doth infect
The very life-blood of our enterprise."
Catiline, [indignantly defying the Roman Senate.] — Croly.
" Tried and convicted traitor ! — Who says this?
Who '11 prove it, at his peril, on my head ? "
2d. " Mutable " syllables are such as are constituted like the pre-
ceding, but are capable of a slight degree of prolongation. Their
" time," therefore, is mutable, or admits of gradation, according to
the length or shortness of sound, in iheir constituent elements, as
pronounced with more or less emotion of a nature which requires
slow, rapid, or moderate utterance of the words or phrases in which
they occur. The monosyllable yet, or the accented syllable of the
word beset, uttered in the tone of any vivid emotion, will furnish an
example. An instance occurs in the scene of the combat between
Fits James and Roderic Dim, when the latter makes the taunting
exclamation, "Not yet prepared?" — and another in Blanche's
dying warning.
"quantity. 143
" The path 's beset, by flood and fell !"
3d. " Indefinite " syllables, or those which contain, or terminate
with, a " tonic " element, or with any " subtonic " but b, d, or g.
The "quantity" of the predominating element in such syllables,
even when it is not positively long, admits, without offence to the
ear, of a comparatively indefinite prolongation ; as the a in the words
mi?:, unmannerly, pronounced with emotion. The time occupied in
the enunciation of such sounds, is properly determined by the degree
of feeling which they are, for the moment, used to express ; as we
perceive in the different tones of the following examples : the first in
Hamlet's admiring exclamation, " What a piece of work is a man ! "
and Lady Macbeth's indignant and reproachful interrogation addressed
to her husband, when he stands horror-stricken at the vision of the
ghost of Banquo, " Are you a man? "
The power and beauty of vocal " expression," are necessarily
dependent, to a great extent, on the command which a reader or
speaker possesses over the element of ' ' quantity. ' ' Poetry and elo-
quence derive their audible character from this source, more than
from any other. The music of verse is sacrificed, unless the nicest
regard be paid to " quantity," as the basis of rhythm and of metre ;
and, with the exception of the most exquisite strains of well-executed
music, the ear receives no pleasure comparable to that arising from
poetic feeling, imbodied in the genuine melody of the heart, as it
gushes from the expressive voice which has the power of
" Untwisting all the chains that tie
The hidden soul of harmony."
Milton, in his Paradise Lost, affords innumerable examples of the
majestic grandeur of long " quantities " in epic verse ; and without
the just observance of these, the reading of the noblest passages in
that poem, becomes fiat and dry. The same is true, still more em-
phatically, of the magnificent language of the poetic passages of
Scripture, in those strains of triumph and of adoration, which
abound in the book of Psalms, and in the prophets.
The necessity, on the other hand, of obeying the law of " immuta-
ble quantity," even in the grandest and most emphatic expression, is
an imperative rule of elocution. A false, bombastic swell of voice,
never sounds so ridiculous as when the injudicious and unskilful
reader or speaker attempts to interfere with the conditions of speech,
and to prolong, under a false excitement of utterance, those sounds
which nature has irrevocably determined short. We have this fault
exemplified in the compound of bawling, drawling, and redoubled
" wave," which some reciters contrive to crowd into the small space
of the syllable vie, in the conclusion of Moloch's war-speech,
" Which if not victory is yet revenge."
The fierce intensity of emotion, in the true utterance of this syllable,
brings it on the ear with an instantaneous ictus, and tingling effect,
resembling that of the lash of a whip applied to the organ A simi-
114 ORTHOPHONY.
lar case occurs in Shylock's fiendish half-shriek, on the word hip t in
his exclamation referring to Antonio,
" If I do catch him once upon the hip,
I will feed fat the ancient grudge I bear him ! "
The sprawling, expanded utterance, which the style of rant prepos-
terously endeavors to indulge, on this word, causes the voice, as it
were, to fall in pieces in the attempt, and to betray the falsity of the
style which it affects.
But it is in the chaste yet generous effect of the judicious prolon-
gation and indulgence of " mutable quantities, " that the skill of the
elocutionist, and the power and truth of expression, are peculiarly
felt. It is in these, that the watchful analyst can trace, at once, the
full soul and the swelling heart, which would impel the speaker to
prolong indefinitely the tones of passion, to give u ample scope and
verge enough" to overflowing feeling, — but, not less surely, the
manly force of judgment, and the disciplined good taste, which forbid
any display of mere sound, in the utterance of earnest emotion.
A long-continued practice on the elements of the language, on sy 1 -
lables, words, and phrases, will be well bestowed in the endeavor to
acquire a perfect command of " quantity."
EXERCISES IN " QUANTITY."
The following exercises need close attention to the firmness, clear-
ness, decision, and purity of the opening " radical," and the deli-
cacy and distinctness of the " vanish." The latter should be occa-
sionally practised in that long-protracted form, which, as Dr. Rush
has expressively said, " knits sound to silence." 1 The elements may
be practised in " effusive," " expulsive," and "explosive" utter-
ance, on all the chief intervals of " slide " and u wave," commencing
with the " second," and extending to the octave, both upward and
downward, — and on the various degrees of " force " and modes of
" stress," together with the distinctions of " pitch," and the " ex-
pression " of the chief characteristic emotions; as awe, reverence,
fear, horror, despair, anger, grief, joy, love, &c.
1. Examples of Long "Quantities," and "Indefinite" sylla-
bles,
-4-11 A-rm Ai-r .E-ve Oo-zq O-t
ffl-we a-\\\ Jh-ai-T ee-\ f-oo-1 * m-orn
b-a-\\ t-0-rn d-a-re ea-x p-00-r f-o-rm
aw4\x\ b-tf-lmy c-fl-reless e-vil m-00-nless o-rder
1 The same thought is expressed, with inimitable beauty, in the lines of
Sheridan Knowles :
" I hear a sound so fine, there 's nothing lives
'Twixt it and silence I "
' QUANTITY.'
145
oZ-ways
h-a-rmless
w-a-
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t-a-rnish
r-a-rely fee-ble c-00-ling 0-rgan
app-a-11
af-<z-r
bew-
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bef-a-11
dis-#-rin
ensn-a-re conc-m-1 unm-00-r acc-o-rd
rec-0-11
bec-a-lm
decl
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ai-m
d-ie
o-de
v-020 b-oy d-ew
b-#- eful
z-vy
0-ver
h-ow-ling v-oz'-celess d-w-ly
h-oi-ling
dz/-ing
0-nly
d-ow-nward n-oi-sy p-w-rer
\v-ai-\ing h-i-ghly
h-o-ly b-ow-ndless p-oi-son m-w-ral
unv-ef-1
repl-2/
bel-ow? reb-ow-nd enj-oy ref-w-se
recl-#c-m
l def-?/
foreg
-0 res-ow-nd rej-02-ce am-z^-se
lisd-02-n
den-?/
beh-o-ld unh-ow-sed empl-o?/ den-w-de
2.—
Short "Quantities," and "Immutable" Syllables}
B-a-ck
b-e-ck
p-2-ck d-0-ck d-w-ck
h-a-ck
n-e-cl*
s-2-ck m-o-ck t-w-ck
b-a-ckward b-e-ckon
w-z-cked s-o-cket 1-w-ckless
1-a-ckey
sp-e-ckled
f-z-ckle kn-0-cking b-w-cket
att-c-ck
bed-e-
ck
unp-z'-cked bem-0-ck rel-w-et
M-a-p
D-z-p 17-p
r-a-p
t-z-p c-tt-p
t-a-p
1-z-p s-w-p
t-#-pster
s-z-pping w-pper
str-<2-pping
tr-z-pping c-ft-pful
B-a-t
B-z-t B-^-t
c-a-t
p-z'-t c-w-t
p-a-t
f-z-t n-w-t
b-a-tten
b-z'-tter m-zz-tter
t-a-tter
f-z'-ttest c-u-ttmg
3, — Variable "Quantities " and "Mutable" Syllables.
-d-pe Wh-fl-t B-e-t 4-dd B-z-g O-dd C-zz-b
1 " Immutable " syllables do not admit of" effusive " utterance. They are
Dest adapted to the display of" explosive " style, although they occur also in
M expulsive" and "declamatory expression."
1Q
1 46 ORTHOPHONY.
g-ai-t n-o-t d-e-bt b-a-d &-i-g g-od d-«-D
f-a-te g-o-t p-e-t m-a-d f-z-g n-o-d t-w-b
b-a-sely d-o-tted b-e-tter s-a-dden g-i-ggle b-o-dy b-w-bble
w-a-keful c-o-ttage p-e-ttish m-a-ddest d-i-gger s-o-dden d-o-uble
EXAMPLES OF "QUANTITY," IN PHRASES AND SENTENCES.
1. — JiOng "Quantities " and "Indefinite" Syllables.
[The object in view in these exercises, is, to enable the studer.1 to
trace distinctly the wide scope of " expression " afforded by ' indefi-
nite " syllables, for the full prolongation of all elements which imbody
the sounds of passion and emotion. " Time," in elocution, is the
opportunity of effect, which inattention and rapidity throw away.
Young readers, in particular, need much practice in this department ;
as they incline to haste and slight " expression." The mode of per-
forming these exercises, should be regulated with a view, at first, to
the fullest effect of expressive sound. Afterwards, the style may be
reduced in effect, as the consecutive reading of whole pieces may
require. In vocal training, as in athletic exercise, the object of
practice is, sometimes, to execute a given feat, with a view to its
effect on habit, — to gain the power of putting forth, on requisite
occasions, a maximum of effort, in an easy, graceful, and appropriate
manner.]
Grief;— "Oh ! I have lost you ail !
Parents, and home, an4 friends."
Courage : — " Come one, come all ! — this rock shall fly
From its firm base as soon as I."
Awe : — " My heart is awed, within me, when I think
Of the great miracle that still goes on
In silence round me."
Sublimity : — " Hail ! holy Light ! offspring of Heaven first-
born."
Disdain : — " None left but by submission ; and that word
Disdain forbids me."
Shouting : — *' * To arms ! to arms ! to arms ! ' they cry."
Regret : — "Ah! why will kings forget that they are men,
And men that they are brethren?"
Delight : — " The balmy breath of incense-breathing morn" —
"O my soul's joy !"
Fear : — " While the deep thunder, peal on peal, afar" —
Triumph : "Jo ! they come, they come 1"
QUANTITY." 147
Misery: — M "Wailing and woe, and grief, and fear, and pain."
Horror: -" He woke — to die — midst flame and smoke
And shout and groan and sabre stroke"—
Calling : ~> Awake ! arise ! or be forever fallen ! "
Defiance :- " Thy threats, thy mercy, I defy / "
' I give thee, in thy teeth, the lie/"
Denial: — " The truth of his whole statement I do most per-
emptorily deny."
Challenge: — "Pal&, trembling coward! there I throw my
gage."
" Draw?, villain, draw, and defend thy life !"
Exultation: — "Poison, and Plague, and yelling Rage are
fed!"
Adoration: — "Air, earth, and sea, resound His praise
abroad ! "
Melancholy: — "Old Ocean's gray and melancholy waste" —
Grandeur : — " Roll on, thou deep and .dark blue ocean, roll f
Ten thozjsand fleets sweep over thee in
vain!''
Anger : " And dar'st thou, then,
To beard the lion in his den,
The Douglas in his hall ?
And hop'st thou hence unscathed to go ?—
No/ by Saint Bride of Both well, no/"
Pathos: " For I am poor and miserably old!"
Command : " Chieftains forego /
The man who strikes makes me his foe.
" Hold, hold ! for your 'ives ! "
" Hold, hold! the general speak, to you;-
hold, for shame ! " t
Earnest Entreaty : — " Hear me ! oh ! hear me ! "
Despair : " Farewell fear !
Farewell remorse ! "
Madness : "jEvil ! be thou my good ! "
Pity: — " Sickness, and want, and feeble, trembling
age"—
Distraction : — " Bl )iv, wind, and crack your cheeks ! rage!
bW/"
148 ORTHOPHONY.
Gloom : — * Thou drear and howling wilderness ! "
Vastness and Sublimity: — "Boundless, ercdless, and sub-
lime ! "
Self-reproach :— " O fool ! fool ! fool ! "
Commiseration: — " Poor fool and knave, I have one part in
my heart
That 's sorry yet for thee i "
Imprecation: " Strike her young bones,
You taking airs, with lameness !
You nimble lightnings, dart your blending
flames
Into her scornful eyes ! "
Accusation: — "Nathan said unto David, * Thou art the
man!"'
" AH the treasons, for these eighteen years,
Complotted and concocted in this land,
Fetch from false Mowbray their chief spring
and head."
Joy : " Joy, \oy I shout, shout aloud for \oy I "
Fear : — " With noiseless foot she treads the marble floor."
Grief: — " The Niobe of nations ! there she stands
Childless and crownless, in her voiceless woe/"
" Oh ! pardon me, thou bleeding piece of earth,
That I am meek and gentle with these butchers !"
Sorrow : " Ah ! lady, now full well I know
What 't is to be an orphan hoy ! "
Delight : "Of rjure now pwrer air
Meets his approach,"
" Of bloom ethereal the light-footed Dews."— -
2. — Short "Quantities " and "Immutable" Syllables.
[The object in view, in the following examples, is to exhibit tin
" explosive " mode of utterance, and to impart the power of concen
trating and condensing expression into the shortest sounds. Instan
tancous execution is, in these examples, the point to be aimed at ; —
the voice to be charged with the utmost impetuous force of utter
ance, on every expressive syllable ; and any approach to prolonga
tion to be carefully avoided, as tending to weaken the proper effect
The u explosion," in many of these instances, should resemble tilt
startling abruptness of a sudden and violent blow.]
1 QUANTITY,
149
iftrath:— 1 Back to thy punishment! false fugitive."
Maddened Resolve:— "I'll fight till from my bones my
flesh be hacked!"
Reproach : " Up ! sluggards, up ! "
" Wicked, remorseless wretch ! "
"Ofzoklefool!"
Indignation: — " Thou impious mocker, hence!"
" Be ready, gods, with all your thunder*
bolts !
Dash him in pieces ! "
Terror: " Whence is that knocking?"
Command : — " Sound, tickets ! "
Scorn: — " You, wretch ! you could enjoy yourself, like a
batcher's dog in the shambles, battening on garbage, while
the slaughter of the brave went on around you."
Contempt : — " Thou tattered starveling!"
" The swaggering upstart reels !"
Mirth: — " Come, and trzp it, as ye go,
On the light fantastic toe !"
Boasting: — "I have seen the day, with my good biting
falchion
1 would have made them skip ! "
Threatening: — "This day's the birth of sorrows: this
hour's work
Will breed proscriptions ! "
Scorn : — " Faithful to whom ? to thy rebellious crew !
Army of fiends ! — fit body to fit head !
Amazement : — " What ! fifty of my followers at a clap ! '
Revenge: — "Batter their walls down, raze them 4 o the
ground ! "
Shouting : — " Victory ! victory ! Their columns givo
way ! press them while they waver ; and the day is ours ! "
Anger : — "Thou mattering, malapert knave !"
Derision: — "Ay! splatter away, thou roasting apple
Spit forth thy spleen ! 'twill ease thy heart."
Horror : " I could not say, Amen,
When they did say, G od bless us !
13*
150 ORTHOPHONY.
" Amen
St?*ck in my throat ! "
Warning : •" Bitterly shall ye rue your folly ! "
Indignation: " But this very day,
An honest man, my neighbor, — there he
stands, —
Was struck, — struck like a dog, — by one
^ who wore
The badge of Ursini," —
Remorse : — — — " Whip me, ye devils !
From the possession of a sight like this."
3. — Variable "Quantities " and "Mutable" Syllables.
[The design of the following exercises, is to attract the student's
attention to the partial change of " quantity," which emotion pro-
duces on " mutable " syllables, according to the characteristic tone,
in each instance. True, natural, and full " expression," requires, for
example, that awe, solemnity, reverence, and similar feelings, should
be uttered with a comparative prolongation of " quantity," when tho
structure of syllables will admit the change, and that hurry, agita-
lion, alarm, and other moods of mind tending to the same effects,
should be expressed with a rapid enunciation, and " quantities" ren
dered as brief as possible.]
1. — Impatience, and Revenge.
[Macduff, after hearing of the massacre of his family by tbi
order of Macbeth.] — Shakspeare.
" But gentle Heaven,
Impatience: (S. q. 1 )
" Cut short all intermission : front to front,
Bring thou this fiend of Scotland and myself;
Revenge: (L. q. 2 )
" Within my sword's length set him ; — if he 'scarpc,
Heaven forgive him too ! "
1 Shorter quantity. 2 Longer quantity.
"quantity." 151
2. — Cheerfulness, and Scorn.
Cheerfulness: (S. q.)
[The banished Duke, in the forest, to nis friends.] — Shakspecre
" Now my co-mates, and brothers in exile,
Hath not old custom made this life more sweet
Than that of painted pomp ? "
Scorn: (L. q.)
£Satan to' Ithuriel and Zepiion.] — Milton.
" Know ye not me ? Ye knew me once no mate
For you ; there sitting where ye durst not soar."
3 — Reproachful Interrogation, and Indignant Surprise.
Reproachful Interrogation : (S. q.)
[Demosthenes to the Athenians.]
" Will you forever, Athenians, do nothing but walk up and
down the city, asking one another ' What news ? '
Indignant Surprise: (L. q.)
" ' What news ! ' — Can anything be more new than that a
man of Macedonia should lord it over Athens, and give laws
to all Greece ? "
4. — Surprise, and Contempt.
Surprise: (S. q.)
[lUn^ro, to Macbeth, on the vanishing of the Witches.] — Shahs*
peare.
" The earth hath b2*bbles, as the water has ,
And these are of them."
Contempt: (L. q.)
[From Dryden's Ode for Saint Cecilia's Dat.J
" War, he sung, was toil and trouble, — -
Honor, but an empty bz^bble."
152 ORTHOPHONY.
5. — Impatience, and Awe.
Impatience: (S. q.)
[Cassius, in the quarrel with Brutus.] — Shakspean*
" Ye gods ! ye gods ' must I endure all this ? "
Awe : (L. q.)
[Lear, in the thunder-storm.] — Ibid,
" Let the great gods,
That keep this dreadful pother o'er our heads
Find out their enemies now."
6. — Tranquillity, and Despair.
Tranquillity : (M. q. 1 ) .
Anonymous Lines.
" He in his robe of virtue wraps himself,
And smiles at Fate's caprice ! "
Despair: (L. q.)
" Fate ! do thy worst ! "
PAUSES.
Time, when applied as a measure of speech, prescribes not only
the length, or " quantity," of sounds, but also that of the pauses, or
cessations of voice, which intervene between sentences and between
their parts ; as the intermissions of the voice are, virtually, though
rot nominally, constituents of " expression," whether we regarc
thought or feeling. Without distinct and appropriate pauses, wo
cannot understand oral communication ; and without occasional im-
pressive cessations of voice, there can be no true sympathy between
speaker and hearer.
Pauses, as classified in elocution, are of two kinds : 1st,
those which express emotion; 2d, those which modify sense,
or meaning. Pausing, like utterance, is regulated by the
character of the emotion, or the thought which is the subject
of expression. The pauses used in the "expression" of all
grave, deep, and solemn emotions, which incline to prolonged
1 Moderate quantity.
153
" quantities," are comparatively long, and thus correspond, in
character, to the vocal sounds between which they occur, and
which they aid by their harmonious effect, as in the follow-
ing instances :
Night, 1 II sable goddess, II from her ebon throne |
In ray less majesty | now stretches forth I
Her leaden sceptre | o'er a slumbering world.
Silence II how dead! (Ill and darkness 11 how profound!'
Brisk, gay, and lively feelings, are distinguished by brief
u quantities," and corresponding short pauses, as in the fol-
lowing example :
" Haste thee I Nymph, | and bring with thee I
Mirth I and youthful jollity, |
Quips and cranks I and wanton wiles, |
Nods and becks I and wreathed smiles."
The pauses of sense or meaning, are of various lengths,
according to the portions of speech which they are employed
to separate ; thus, we observe the long pauses between the
principal parts of a discourse, the somewhat shorter pauses at
its subdivisions, the shorter still at paragraphs, and the
shorter than even these, at periods. Within a sentence
itself, we can trace distinctly, in some instances, a principal
pause at the middle, or the pause of compound clauses ; and
perhaps an inferior one, at or near the middle of each half, or
the pause of simple clauses; and, on still closer examination,
we find occasional shorter pauses in these subordinate por-
tions, or the pause of phrases ; and slight pauses even between
words. The following sentence will exemplify these grada-
tions of pausing.
" As we perceive the shadow ' to have moved along the dial-
plate, | but did not perceive its moving ; II and it appears ' that
the grass has grown, | though nobody I ever saw it grow: II II
so the advances we make in knowledge, | consist of minute
1 The marks indicate the ;alue or length of the pauses, fr»m |||| the
within a sentence, t;o ' the shortest.
154 ORTHOPHONY.
successive steps ; II and we are unconscious of them 1 until we
look back, | and thus become aware I of the distance I to
which we have attained. "
Pauses have sometimes been classified as follows : 1st, Poetic and
oratorical pauses, or those which express emotion, and which are
sometimes termed " impassioned " or " impressive ;" 2d, u Rhetorical
pauses," or those which divide a discourse into its heads and subdi'
visions, and those which the sense and structure of a, sentence demand,
when taken in conjunction, as in the prose example preceding.
These pauses are addressed to the ear, and, when they occur in a
sentence, may, or may not, be indicated to the eye, by the ordinary
punctuation ; 3d, Grammatical pauses, — the comma, semicolon, colon,
and period, — which are founded on the syntactical structure and sub'
division of sentences. These pauses are addressed to the eye ) and
are always indicated by the usual points ; 4th, Prosodial pauses,
which are used only in verse.
I. rOETIC AND ORATORICAL PAUSES.
These pauses of emotion, — as they are sometimes termed,
— are produced, for the most part, by feelings of solemnity
and pathos, or by the affectation of these,— as in the style of
intentional exaggeration and bombast, for the effect of bur*
lesque.
Pauses of this description are sometimes superadded to the
usual grammatical points, and sometimes are thrown in
before or after, (sometimes both before and after,) an impas-
sioned expression or emphatic word, in vivid passages of
poetry or of declamatory prose, — without regard to the gram-
matical punctuation ; and their length depends entirely on the
feeling expressed in the passage in which they occur ; they
are long in solemn, and short in lively style.
Young readers, in particular, are often deficient in this most strik-
L* y and impressive of all the effects of appropriate reading and reci
tation. It becomes, therefore, a matter of great moment, in practice,
to cultivate the habit of watching the effect of full and long pauses,
introduced at appropriate places. Without these the most solemn
passages of Scripture, and the poetry of Milton and of Young, produce
no effect, comparatively, on the mind ; while reading, aided by their
" expressive silence," seems to be inspired with an unlimited power
ever the sympathies of the soul.
It will be useful, here, to review, once, on purpose, the examples
prescribed for practice on long " quantities " and " indefinite " sylla
bles, so as to trace the inseparable connection between the effect of
PAUSES. 155
these and of long pauses. The repetition of columns of words from
the chapter on enunciation, will also be of great service, if the prac-
tice is varied occasionally, so as to produce the pauses of various
moods of emotion, from the ordinary rate of " expression" to the
most solemn and impressive.
EXAMPLES OF POETIC AND ORATORICAL PAUSES
(Impassioned and Impressive Style.)
1. — Alarm, and Fear.
| The Ball at Brussels, on the eve of Waterloo.] — Byron,
•* And ah went merry as a marriage bell :
But hush ! || || hark ! || || a deep sound || strikes like a rising knell ! n
2. — Awe, and Terror.
[Shipwreck.] — Wilson.
11 Many ports will exult at the gleam of her mast :
Hush ! 1| hush ! || thou vain dreamer ! || this hour || || is her last. H {|
Her keel hath struck on a hidden rock ; I l
And her planks are torn asunder ; I
And down come her masts with a reeling shock, I
And a hideous crash|| like thunder! "
3. — Horror.
[Bernardo del Carpio, discovering that king Alphonso has led him
forth to salute, not the living person, rut the lifeless body,
of his father.] — Mrs. Hemans.
n A lowly knee to earth he bent, — his father's hand he took — || j|
"What was there in its touch, that all his fiery spirit shook ? || ||
That hand was cold ! || || a frozen thing : — || || it dropped from his like
lead! || ||
He looked up to the face above — 1| the face was of the dead : || ||
A ptume waved o'er the noble brow — 1| that brow was fixed and
white : || ||
He met, at last, his father's eyes — 1| || but in them was no sight ! [('J
Up from the ground he sprang, and gazed — 1| j| but who could painl
that gaze ? ||
They husned their very hearts, || that saw its horror and amaze "
1 Agitating emotions, sucn as those ot alarm, hurry, terror, and confusion.
reduce the usual pauses to ihe shortest possible duration ; so as to correspond
to the xapid and breathless utterance inseparable from such feelings.
156 ORTHOPHONY.
4. — Stillness, and Awe.
[Night, from the "Night Thoughts."] — Young
"Creation sleeps : |||| 'tis as the general pulse of life | stood still {]
And nature made a pause, || an awful pause, || ||
Prophetic :>f her end ! w
5. — Solemnity, and Triumph.
[Cato, exulting in the contemplation of the immortality of trx
Soul.] — Addison.
" The stars | shall fade away, II 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."
Q.— Grief.
[Adam's Lamentation over the fall of Eve.] — Milton,
" fairest of creation ! || last | and best |
Of all God's works, || creature in whom excelled
Whatever can to sight or thought be formed,
Holy, | divine, | good, | amiable, | or sweet! ||
How art thou lost, || || how on a sudden ' lost, ||
Defaced, || deflowered, || and how to death | devote!"
7. — Contrition.
[Eve imploring forgiveness of Adam.] — Ibid,
" On me | exercise not
Thy hatred | for this misery befallen,
On me | already lost, 1 1 me than thyself
More miserable ! || || both | have sinned, || but thou |
Against God | only, I || against God | and thee; ||
And to the place of judgment ' will return, ||
There | with my cries • importune Heaven, that all
The sentence | from thy head removed, may light
On me, || sole cause ! to thee | of all this woe, |]
Ms, -Tie only, || just object of His ire ! "
PAUSES. 157
8 — Remorse, and Despair.
Satan recalling the boast with which he arrayed his legions, in
REBELLION.] Ibid.
" Ay me ! || they little know '
How dearly I abide that boast so vain, |
Under what torments | inwardly I groan, ||
While they adore me on the throne of hell ! ||
With diadem ! and sceptre ' high advanced |
The lower still I fall, || only supreme
In misery! || || Such joy | ambition finds."
9. — Horror.
[Burke s description of the desolation effected by Hyder Ali
and his son.] — Burke.
" So completely did these masters in their art, Hyder Ali,
and his more ferocious son, absolve themselves of their impi-
ous vow, that when the British armies traversed, as they did,
the Carnatic, for hundreds of miles, in all directions, —
through the whole line of their march, | they did not see one
man, | not one woman, || not one child, || || not one four-footed
beast || of any description whatever. One | dead | uniform |
silence || reigned | over the whole region."
\ 10. — Oratorical Interrogation.
[Brutus's harangue to the people, after the assassination of
Cesar.] — Shakspeare.
" Who 's here so base that would be a bondman ? — 1| If
any, speak; || for him have I offended. || Who 's here so
rude, that would not be a Roman? — 1| If any, speak; |[ for
him have I offended. || | Who's here so vile, that will not
love his country? — 1| If any, speak; || for him have I
offended. — || || I pause for a reply."
II. -
RHETORICAL" PAUSES.
These are of great practical utility in reading ; as, besides
prescribing the indispensable long pauses at heads of dis-
course and paragraphs, they direct the voice to many cessa-
14
1 58 ORTHOPHONY.
tions of utterance, which are not indicated by the usual
punctuation of sentences. Their chief use is to supply the
deficiency arising from the inadequacy of points, or gram-
matical punctuation, to mark all the places at which a pause
necessarily occurs in reading.
The " rhetorical " pauses often coincide with the usual points ; but
they apply, also, in many cases in which no point is used. The
common grammatical punctuation, (indicated by the comma, semi-
colon, colon, and period,) coincides, in most instances, with the ces-
sations of voice which meaning requires. But this is not always the
case ; as they sometimes occur where the syntax of a sentence is
interrupted or terminated, for the time, but where the sense requires
no pause. " Rhetorical " pauses regard the sense of a sentence, and
are intended for the ear : grammatical punctuation refers to the syn-
tactical structure of a sentence, and is addressed to the eye. The
" rhetorical " pauses are of indefinite length, and always vary, as to
their duration, with the sentiment and the utterance, as brisk and
animated, or slow and grave. Grammatical pauses have a fixed and
uniform value, as representing the component parts of a sentence as
such, and, in reading aloud, can seldom be appropriately used, as
sometimes directed, by a process of counting, — " one, at a comma ;
two, at a semicolon;" &c, since the feelings which are expressed
by the sentence, may, in one part of it, be lively and rapid, and in
another solemn and slow ; as in the following instance.
" Your house ' is finished, ' sir, | at last ;
A narrower house, || || a house of clay."
" Rhetorical" pauses may be briefly classed in the manner
before exemplified, in application to long and compound sen-
tences, as dividing the whole, first, into two main parts, or
compound clauses, — then, these into two minor portions, 01
simple clauses, — these again into phrases, — last of all, these
phrases into words.
It is not meant that in every compound sentence all these division*
or subdivisions are invariably found, or that there may not be several
successive principal and subordinate parts in one sentence. But in
most compound sentences, and in many simple sentences, several of
ihem will be found, and particularly the last two, — the rhetorics.
pause between clauses and words, — as in the following instances :
"In a few days | the country was overrun." "They fled ' in
haste." " The enemy ' approached."
The careful observance of the " rhetorical " pause, is one of the
chief means of distinctness in the expression of thought. In narra-
tion and description, and in plain didactic style, it is equally impor-
tant that the successive sour.ds of the voice should be relieved from
PAUSES. 159
each other, in portions best adapted to present the component parts
of the whole in a clear, distinct, impressive manner, according to
their comparative length and importance. The thought or sentiment
which is thus communicated, falls on the ear with a definite and sat-
isfactory succession of sounds, which the mind easily receives and
appreciates. The parts being thus exactly given, each takes its
own due weight, and at the same time, enhances the effect of the
whole. The result is that the communication is fully understood and
makes its just impression.
But young readers, especially, are apt to hasten on, in the art of
reading till they come to a full stop ; and even then to slight the due
pause. This hurried mode of reading, renders it impossible to give
a sentiment force or weight to the ear. Much time, therefore, should
be spent in reading sentences of an unimpassioned character, such as
usually require the most frequent application of the " rhetorical "
pause. The following examples will serve to suggest the most im-
portant applications of this pause.
EXAMPLES OF THE " RHETORICAL " PAUSE.
I. — Between Phrases.
Phrases commencing with a Preposition.
1. " Depart to the house which has ' in this city ! been
prepared • for thy residence."
2. " My heart was wounded ' with the arrow of affliction,
and my eyes became dim ' with sorrow."
3. " To increase the austerity of my life, I frequently
watched all night, sitting at the entrance of the cave ' with
my face to the east, resigning myself ' to the secret influences
of the Prophet."
4. " When I awaked, I laid my forehead upon the ground,
and blessed the Prophet | for the instruction of the morning."
5. " The king, whose doubts were now removed, looked
up | with a smile that communicated the joy of his mind."
Phrases commencing with an Adverb.
1. "He has passed to that world | where the weary are at
rest."
2. " The voice of Heaven summons you in these hours |
when the leaves fall, and the winter is gathering."
3. " Be entreated to make the decisive effort | ere it be too
Ute."
160 ORTHOPHONY.
4. " He continued steadfast in his purpose | while others
wavered."
Phrases commencing with a Conjunction.
1. " It is more blessed to give | than to receive."
2. " Yet I know not | whether my danger is a reality | cr
a dream."
3. "In the spirit of sympathy, we call on rocks ' and
streams ' and forests || to witness | and share our emotions."
4. " The same sun which now marks the autumn of the
year, will again arise in his brightness, and bring along with
him the promise of the spring | and all the magnificence of
summer."
5. " The voice of despair now whispers | that all exertion
is in vain."
6. " We are often deceived * because we are willing to be
deceived."
II. — Between Words.
The Nominative and the Verb.
1. " The breeze | died away, as the sun | sank behind tho
hills."
2. " The smoke | rises not through the trees : for the
honors of the grove | are fallen."
3. " Weeping | may endure for a night ; but joy | cometh
in the morning."
Ellipsis.
c< Add to your faith virtue ; and to virtue | knowledge ; and
to knowledge | temperance ; and to temperance | patience. 1
III. GRAMMATICAL PAUSES.
'Die due observance of the pauses indicated by grammatical punc-
tuation, is one of the useful and effectual means of arresting the
attention of young learners, and accustoming them to mark distinctly
the component portions of a sentence. But the common fault or
school reading, and, sometimes, of professional exercises, — a uniform
i For farther statement and illustration of " rhetorical " pauses, see
" American Elocutionist." The " prosodial pauses " will be found on a sub-
sequent page of this manual, and, at greater length, in the "Elocutionist."
PAUSES. 161
and mechanical style, -^ is, in part, owing to exact compliance with
the direction to pause, invariably, for a given time at each point. A
change of feeling, or a shade of meaning, may lengthen, shorten, or
destroy the usual pause at a comma. The syntax of a sentence may
demand a separating point, where oral expression glides on contin-
uously, and allows no break. The converse is as true. The rule
of syntax may forbid a comma where a sudden change of feeling may
produce a pause longer than that usually made at a period. — A most
instructive lesson in elocution is given by Sterne, in his satirical
sketch of the literal critic, with stop-watch in his hand, taking note
of Garrick's " ungrammatical " pause between the nominative and
the verb.
The mistake, however, is too generally sanctioned by books and
teachers, that the comma, semicolon, &c, are intended as guides to
the ear. They do, no doubt, incidentally, serve this purpose, — but
by no means uniformly. The design of grammatical punctuation is
to aid the eye of the reader, in resolving a sentence into its syntactical
portions. These often coincide, in phrases and clauses, with the
natural cessations of voice, which mark the divisions and subdivisions
of utterance that constitute the portions of the oral expression of a
thought : they enable the reader to refer a given word or clause to
another at a distance from it in place, but connected with it in sense,
and thus aid his apprehension of its meaning. But, in many cases,
this coincidence of grammatical and rhetorical pausing does not take
place. Even the close punctuation adopted in modern typography,
does not present all the pauses which feeling and sentiment, or
abstract thought itself, require ; as may be seen by running the eye
over the rhetorical and other pauses marked in the exercises occurring
in preceding pages. Nor is it possible to read correctly, in many
instances, without omitting a pause at the grammatical points ; as
may be observed even in the familiar phrases, " Yes, sir," — " no,
sir." The comma, if followed as a guide, would here produce an
awkward, limping gait of voice, — resembling that of a young child
in its first lessons.
The exercise of reading aloud has but one true, safe, and uniform
standard, — the ear, — or, rather the intuitive perception of the mind.
The comma and other ocular points are, at best, but collateral and
incidental aids, — not always to be depended on ; and, sometimes,
they are to be regarded as impediments which emotion is to put down
in order to attain true expression.
The general rule of elocution, then, as regards tht comma,
semico.on, and colon, if we use them as guides to the voice,
— must be, to follow them only so far as they coincide with
tha meaning, and to lengthen or shorten, or omit the pauses
corresponding to them, as the sentiment or emotion expressed
in a sentence may require, in slow or in lively utterance; —
but especially to remember that there may be a lcng pause
of feeling, where no grammatical point occurs.
14*
162 ORTHOPHONY.
" MOVEMENT."
The application of " time " to speech, includes, in addition fo
points already discussed, the consideration of the rate of voice in suc-
cessive sounds, — sometimes regulated by the predominating " quan-
tities " of a passage, whether these be long, as in the solemn and
slow utterance of" indefinite" syllables, or short, as in the brisk and
rapid utterance of "immutable" syllables. "Movement," how-
ever, has its primary foundation on emotion; and although, in poetry,
the " quantities " are often beautifully adapted, by the poet's natural
ear and prosodial skill, to the expression of emotion, they are not
uniformly so ; and in prose, — which exhibits the effect of " move-
ment " as distinctly as poetry, — less regard is usually paid to the
effect of mere " quantity." " Movement," therefore, requires a dis-
tinct attention, as a separate element of expression in the voice, and
of effect in elocution.
The term " movement," for which the word "rate" is
sometimes substituted, has the same application in elocutioa
as in music ; and while " quantity " regards single sounds as
long or short, "movement" regards successive or consecutive
sounds as fast or slow. It unites, too, with "quantity" in
regulating the length of , pauses ; as we find that slow " move-
ment," as well as long " quantity," requires long pauses ; and
that brisk, or rapid " movement," and brief " quantity,"
equally require short pauses.
" Movement," in elocution, is not measured with the com-
parative exactness implied in the musical terms, adagio, an-
dante, mezzo, vivace, allegro, presto, &c. It approaches,
however, to a considerable degree of definiteness in its use
of the designations "slowest," or "very slow;" "slow;"
" moderate ;" " lively ;" " brisk," or " quick ;" and " rapid,'
" quickest," or " very quick."
The " slowest," or " very slow movement," is exemplified
in the expression of the deepest emotions of ;he soul ; as hor-
ror, awe, profound reverence and solemnity, and adoration.
— The "slow movement" characterizes the utterance cf
gloom, 'melancholy, grief, pathos, sublimity, solemnity and
reverence, in their usual form, profound repose, grandeur
majesty, vastness, power, and splendor. — "Moderate move-
ment" is the usual rate of utterance in unimpassioned lan-
guage. It belongs to common narration and description, and
14 MOVEMENT.' 163
W) didactic thought. The rhetorical modes of style to which
it is applicable, are those which are denominated the " dry/'
the " plain," and the " neat." — " Lively movement" implies
emotion in that gentle form which does not exceed liveliness,
or animation. The lower degrees of all vivid feeling, are
expressed by this style of " movement." A slight degree of
joy is usually the under current of its effect. — " Quick" or
u brisk movement," is characteristic of gay, exhilarated, and
glad emotion : the full feeling of joy is implied in its " ex-
pression." It gives utterance to all playful, humorous, and
mirthful moods. It sometimes, on the other hand, gives its
characteristic effect to fear. — The "movement" designated as
" quickest," " very quick," or " rapid," is that of haste, hurry,
alarm, confusion, and fear, when rising to terror.
It is evident from the very nature of " movement,' ' that it must be
an element of immense power, in expression. The funeral march
suggests to the ear its effect, in music, as associated with awe, gloom,
and grief-; and the music of the dance reminds us of its power over
the feelings of gladness and exhilaration. The grave psalm, and the
song of serious sentiment, express, in their measured regularity, the
adaptation of gentle and " moderate movement " to tranquil and sedate
feeling.
Similar effects, in degree, characterize the use of the voice, in
recitation and in reading. Appropriate elocution accommodates the
movement of the voice to every mood of thought, — from the slowest,
prolonged, and lingering utterance of deep contemplation, and pro"
found awe, to the swift and rapid strains of lyric rapture and ecstasy.
Every mood of mind has its appropriate " movement," or " rate " of
utterance, as definitely expressed as its " quality " of voice, its char-
acteristic "force," or its peculiar "pitch," "slide," or "wave."
Utterance, to be natural and effective, must have the genuine expres-
sion of its appropriate " movement." Solemnity cannot exist, to the
ear, without slowness, nor gaiety without briskness of utterance,
gravity without sedate style, nor animation without a lively " move-
ment."
The power of" movement," in the elocution of a skilful reader 01
speaker, is indefinite ; as we may observe in the difference between a
schooIi)oy gabbling through his task, in haste to get rid of it, and a
great tragedian, whose whole soul is rapt in the part of Cato utter-
ing the soliloquy on immortality, or Hamlet musing on the great
themes of duty, life, and death.
A command over the "lively" and "brisk movements" of the
voice, is not less important than the power of slow and solemn
utterance. The style of reading which is most frequently intro-
duced to enliven the evening circle at home, requires of the reader
164 ORTHOPHONY.
the power to " trip it as he goes," in the mood of gay description,
light satire, vivid dialogue, and droll humor.
The three principal faults of" movement," which are exemplified
in the common practice of reading - , are uniform slowness, or, perhaps
a drawling style ; habitual rapidity, which prevents all deep and im-
pressive effect, and, perhaps, causes indistinctness of enunciation; a
uniform u moderate'''' " movement, " which never yields to ary
natural influence of emotion, — so as to become appropriately
expressive, and pass from grave to gay, or the reverse, by a change
in the gait of the voice, — but utters, automaton-like, all feelings in
the same unmeaning and mechanical style ; the voice marching on,
with one uniform measured step, over all varieties of surface, a&
regards the tenor of language and the subject.
The following examples of "movement" should be assiduously
practised, in conjunction with the elements and with tables of words,
selected as exercises for this purpose, from the chapter on enuncia-
tion. The repetition of such exercises should be continued till the
student can execute with perfect precision, and with the utmost read
iness, all the " movements " enumerated in the classification.
EXAMPLES OF " MOVEMENT."
I. — "Slowest Movement"
Amazement, Awe, and Horror.
[From Byron's Dream of Darkness.]
(•'Aspirated pectoral quality:" " Suppressed " force : "Median
stress:" "Lowest pitch:" Prevalent "monotone:" Extremely
long pauses.)
" 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,
Kayless, and pathless ; and the icy earth
Swung 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;
And nothing stirred within their silent depths :
Ships, sailorless, lay rotting on the sea ;
And their masts fell down piecemeal : as they dropped
"MOVEMENT." 165
Thay slept on 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."
2. — Profound Reverence, Solemnity, and Adoration.
[Derzhavin's Hymn.] — Bowring.
4 * Effusive and expulsive orotund:" "Pectoral quality:" "Sub-
dued " force: "Median stress:" "Low pitch:" Prevalent
"downward slide," occasional "monotone:" Pauses extremely
Jong.)
" 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 ! great !
Light-giving, life-sustaining Potentate ! "
II. — " Slow Movement.'
1. — Reverence, Gratitude, and Praise.
[From the Book of Psalms.]
(" Effusive orotund quality :" " Subdued " force : " Median stress : w
" Low pitch :" Prevalent " downward slide :" Long pauses.)
lt 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 ? 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 honor. Thou madest
1 66 ORTHOPHONY.
him to have dominion over the works of T hy hands : Thou
hast put all things under his feet.
" O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is Thy name in all the
earth !"
2. — Sublimity, Majesty, and Power.
[From David's Psalm of Praise, on his deliverance from ms
ENEMIES.]
ta Expulsive orotund:" "Impassioned" force : " Radical and Me-
dian stress :" " Low pitch :" Prevalent " downward slide," occa-
sional " monotone :" Long pauses.)
" Then the earth shook and trembled : the foundations of
heaven moved and shook, because he was wroth. There
went up a smoke out of his nostrils; and fire out of his
mouth devoured : coals were kindled by it. He bowed the
heavens, also, and came down ; and darkness was under his
feet ; and he rode upon a cherub, and did fly ; and he was
seen upon the wings of the wind ; and he made darkness
pavilions round about him, dark waters, and thick clouds of
the skies. The Lord thundered from heaven, and the Most
High uttered his voice ; and he sent out arrows and scattered
them ; lightning, and discomfited them. And the channels
of the sea appeared ; the foundations of the world were dis-
covered at the rebuking of the Lord, at the blast of the breath
of his nostrils."
3. — Splendor.
[The Palace of Pandemonium.] — "Milton.
( * Effusive and expulsive orotund :" " Moderate " force : " Median
stress :" " Low pitch :" Prevalent " monotone :" Pauses of mod-
erate length.)
" Anon out of the earth a fabric huge
Kose like an exhalation, with the sound
Of dulcet symphonies, and voices sweet,
Built like a temple, where pilasters round
Were set, and Doric pillars, overlaid
With golden architrave ; nor did there want
167
Cornice, or frieze, with bossy sculptures graven;
The roof was fretted gold. Not Babylon,
Nor great Alcairo, such magnificence
Equalled in all their glories, to enshrine
Belus, or Serapis, their gods ; or seat
Their kings, when Egypt with Assyria strove
In wealth and luxury. The ascending pile
Stood fixed her stately height : and straight the doors
Opening their brazen folds, discover wide
Within, her ample spaces, o'er the smooth
And level pavement : from the arched roof,
Pendent by subtle magic, many a row
Of starry lamps, and blazing cressets, fed
With naptha and asphaltus, yielded light
As from a sky."
III.— "Moderate Movement."
1. — Narrative Style.
[Destruction of Carthage.] — Anonymous.
("Pure tone:" "Moderate" force: " Unimpassioned radical
stress :" " Middle pitch :" Varied " slides :" Moderate paises.)
" The city and republic of Carthage were destroyed by the
termination of the third Punic war, about one hundred and
fifty years before Christ. The city was in flames during
seventeen days ; and the news of its destruction caused the
greatest joy at Rome. The Roman senate immediately
appointed commissioners, not only to raze the walls of Car-
thage, but even to demolish and burn the very materials of
which they were made ; and, in a few days, that city, which
had once been the seat of commerce, the model of magnifi-
cence, the common storehouse of the wealth of nations, and
one of the most powerful states in the world, left behind no
trace of its splendor, of its power, or even of its existence. —
The history of Carthage is one of the many proofs that we
have of the transient nature of worldly glory ; for, of nil her
grandeur, not a wreck remains. Her own walls, like the
168 ORTHOPHONY.
calm ocean, that conceals forever the riches hid in its un-
searchable abyss, now obscure all her magnificence."
2. — Descriptive Style.
[Aspect of Egypt.] — Addison.
(" Pure tone :" " Moderate " force : " Unimpassioned radical " and
gentle "median stress:" "Middle pitch:" Varied "slides:"
Moderate pauses.)
" There cannot be a finer sight than Egypt, at two seasons
of the year. For, if we ascend one of the pyramids, in the
months of July and August, we behold, in the swollen waters
of the Nile, a vast sea, in which numberless towns and vil-
lages appear, with several causeways leading from place to
place ; the whole interspersed with groves and fruit-trees,
whose tops only are visible; — all which forms a delightful
prospect. This view is bounded by mountains and woods,
which terminate, — at the utmost distance the eye can dis-
cover, — the most beautiful horizon that can be imagined. —
In winter, on the contrary, that is to say, in the months of
January and February, the whole country is like one contin-
uous scene of beautiful meadows, whose verdure, enamelled
with flowers, charms the eye. The spectator beholds, on
every side, flocks and herds dispersed over all the plains,
with infinite numbers of husbandmen and gardeners. The
air is then perfumed by the great quantity of blossoms on the
orange, lemon, and other trees, and is so pure that a whole-
somer or more agreeable is not to be found in the world ; so
that nature being then dead, as it were, in all other climates,
seems to be alive only for so delightful an abode."
3. — Didactic Style.
[Reason and Instinct.] — Addison.
("Pure tone:" "Moderate" force: "Unimpassioned radical
stress :" " Middle pitch :" " Varied slides :" Moderate pauses.)
" One would wonder to hear skeptical men disputing for
the reason of animals, and telling us it is only our pride and
prejudices that will not allow them the use of that faculty.
11 MOVEMENT.'' 109
'< Reason shows itself m all occurrences of life ; whereas
the brute makes no discovery of such a talent but in what
immediately regards his own preservation, or the continuance
of his species. Animals, in their generation, are wiser than
die sons of men ; but their wisdom is confined to a few par-
ticulars, and lies in a very narrow compass. Take a brute
out of his instinct, and you find him wholly deprived of
understanding. — There is not, in my opinion, anything more
mysterious in nature, than this instinct in animals, which
thus rises above reason, and falls infinitely short of it. It
cannot be accounted for by any properties in matter, and, at
the same time, works after so odd a manner, that one cannot
think it the faculty of an intellectual being. For my own
part, I look upon it as upon the principle of gravitation in
bodies, which is not to be explained by any known qualities
inherent in the bodies themselves, nor from any laws of
mechanism, but according to the best notions of the greatest
philosophers, is an immediate impression from the First
Mover, and the Divine energy acting in the creatures."
IV. — "Animated, or Lively Movement"
1. — Narrative Style.
[Successive decline of Popular Fallacies.] — Goldsmith.
("Pure tone:" "Moderate" force: " Unimpassioned radical
stress :" " Middle pitch :" Varied " slides :" Short pauses.)
" I have lived to see generals who once had crowds halloo-
ing after them wherever they went, who were bepraised by
newspapers and magazines, — those echoes of the voice of
ihe vulgar; and yet they have long sunk into merited
obscurity, with scarce even an epitaph left to flatter. — A few
years ago, the herring-fishery employed all Grub street : it
was the topic in every coffee-house, and the burden of every
ballad. , We were to drag up oceans of gold from the bottom
of the sea: we were to supply all Europe with herrings,
upon our own terms. At present, we hear no more of all
this. We have fished up very little gold tha*. J can learn ,
170 ORTHOPHONY.
nor do we furnish the world with herrings, as was expected
« — Let us wait but a few years longer, and we shall find all
our expectations a herring-fishery. "
2. — Descriptive Style.
[Ridiculousness of Self-importance.] — Goldsmith.
(*' Pure tone :" " Moderate " force : " Expulsive median stress :"
" Middle pitch :" Varied " slides :" Varied pauses.)
11 There is scarce a village in Europe, and not one univer-
sity, that is not furnished with its little great men. The
head of a petty corporation, who opposes the designs of a
prince who would tyrannically force his subjects to save their
best clothes for Sundays; the puny pedant, who finds one
undiscovered quality in the polypus, or describes an unheeded
process in the skeleton of a mole, and whose mind, like his
microscope, perceives nature only in detail ; the rhymer, who
makes smooth verses, and paints to our imagination, when he
should only speak to our hearts ; all equally fancy themselves
walking forward to immortality, and desire the crowd behind
them to look on. The crowd takes them at their word!
1 Patriot philosopher, and poet!' are shouted in their train.
1 Where was there ever so much merit seen ? no times so
important as our own ! ages, yet unborn, shall gaze with
wonder and applause ! ' To such music the important pigmy
moves forward, bustling and swelling, and aptly compared to
a puddle in a storm.' ,
3. — Didactic Style,
[Absurdity and Impudence.] — Addison.
("Pure tone:" "Moderate" force: " Unimpassioned radicai
stress ." " Middle pitch :" Varied " slides :" Short pauses,)
" If we would examine into the secret springs of action, in
the impudent and the absurd, we shall find, though they
. bear a groat resemblance in their behavior, that they move
upon very different principles. The impudent are pressing,
though they know they are disagreeable ; the absurd are im-
portunate, because they think they are acceptable : impudence
'movement" 171
is a vice, ami absurdity a folly. Sir Francis Bacon talks
very agreeably upon the subject of impudence. He takes
notice, that the Orator being asked, what was the first,
second, and third requisite to make a fine speaker? still
answered, Action. This, said he, is the very outward form
of speaking; and yet it is what, with the generality, has
more force than the most consummate abilities. Impudence
is, to the rest of mankind, of the same use which action is to
orators "
V. — "Brisk, Gay, or Quick Movement.' 9
1. — Narrative Style.
[Lochinvar's Exploit of carrying off Ellen of Netherby.] — Scott.
(Haste, Joy, Hurry. — " Expulsive and explosive orotund:" " Im-
passioned' ' and shouting force : " Impassioned radical and median
stress :*' "High pitch:" Varied "slides:" Extremely short
pauses.)
" One touch to her hand, and one word in her ear, —
When they reached the hall door, and the charger stood near ;
So light to the croupe the fair lady he swung, —
So light to the saddle before her he sprung !
1 She is won ! — we are gone, over bank, bush, and scaur ;
They '11 have fleet steeds that follow, ' quoth young Lochinvar.
" There was mounting 'mong Graemes of the Netherby clan ;
Forsters, Fenwicks, and Musgraves, they rode and they ran : —
There was racing, and chasing, on Cannobie Lee ;
But the lost bride of Netherby ne'er did they see. —
So daring in love, and so dauntless in war,
Have ye e'er heard of gallant like young Lochinvar? "
2. — Descriptive Style.
[Repulse of the Archers: — Battle of Beal an Dhuine.] — Scott.
(Haste, Fear, Alarm. — "Explosive orotund:" "Impassioned"
force: "Radical stress:" "High pitch:" Extremely short
pauses.)
" Forth from the pass in tumult driven,
Like chaff before the winds of heaven.
The archery appear ;
1 72 ORTHOPHONY.
For life, for life their flight they ply ;
While shriek and shout and battle cry,
And plaids and bonnets waving high,
And broadswords flashing to the sky,-
Are maddening in their rear."
3. — Bold Address.
[The Gheber to his followers.] — Moore.
^enrage, Revenge. — " Explosive orotund, aspirated quaky: 1
" Impassioned " force : " Radical stress :" " High pitch :" Varied
1 slides :" Short pauses.)
" What ! while our arms can wield these blades
Shall we die tamely ? die alone ?
Without one victim to our shades,
One Moslem heart, where, buried deep,
The sabre from its toil may sleep ?
No — God of Iran's burning skies !
Thou scorn's t the inglorious sacrifice.
No — though of all earth's hope bereft,
Life, swords, and vengeance still are left. —
We '11 make yon valley's reeking caves
Live in the awe-struck minds of men,
Till tyrants shudder, when their slaves
Tell of the Ghebers' bloody glen.
Follow, brave hearts ! — this pile remains
Our refuge still from life and chains."
4. — Playful and Humorous Description^
[Carnival Scenes in Venice.] — Byron.
(Mirth *id Exhilaration. — "Pure tone:" " Moderate" force
" Racn(*i. fcirecs:" "High pitch:" "Monotone:" Extremely
short pauses*.)
" And gaiety on restless tiptoe hovers,
Giggling with all the gallants who beset her ;
And there are songs and quavers, roaring, humming
Guitars, and every other sort of strumming.
11 MOVEMENT. 173
And theie are dresses, splendid, but fantastical,
Masks of all times and nations, Turks and Jews,
And harlequins and clowns, with feats gymnastical,
Greeks, Komans, Yankee-doodles, and Hindoos."
5. — Anger, Fierce and Stubborn Resolve.
[rOEIOLANUS, MADDENED AGAINST THE ROMAN POPULACE.] Shdkspeart.
("Aspirated quality:" Intensely " impassioned " force: " Exj o-
sive radical and vanishing stress:" "High pitch:" Downward
11 slide " of " fifth " and " octave." Extremely short pauses.)
" Let them pull all about mine ears ; present me
Death on the wheel, or at wild horses' heels ;
Or pile ten hills on the Tarpeian rock,
That the precipitation might down stretch
Below the beam of sight } yet will I still
Be thus to them."
•VI. — "Rapid, or Quickest Movement"
Lyric Style.
[MAZErPA, BOUND ON THE WILD HORSE.] BljrOTl.
(" Aspirated quality:" "Impassioned" force: "Radical stress:"
11 High pitch :" Prevalent " monotone :" Extremely short pauses.)
" Away ! — away ! — and on we dash !-
Torrents less rapid and less rash.
" Away, away, my steed and I,
Upon the pinions of the wind,
AH human dwellings left behind :
We sped like meteors through the sky,
When with its crackling sound the night
Is chequered with the northern light : —
" From out the forest prance
A trampling troop, — I see them come !
A thousand horse — and none to ride ! —
With flowing tail, and flying mane,
Wide nostrils, never stretched by pain,
Mouths bloodless to the bit or rein,
15*
174 ORTHOPHONY.
And feet that iron never shod,
And flanks unscarred by spur or rod, —
A thousand horse, — the wild, the free, —
Like waves that follow o'er the sea,
Came thickly thundering on : —
They stop, — they start — they snuff the air,
Gallop a moment here and there,
Approach, retire, wheel round and round,
Then plunging back with sudden bound, —
They snort, — they foam — neigh- — swerve aside,
And backward to the forest fly,
By instinct, from a human eye."
ACCENT.
I. — " Syllabic " Accent.
The word " accent " has been usually considered as restricted to
ihe designation of the comparative force of syllables, as they occur in
the pronunciation of words. Dr. Rash, however, has, by the accus-
tomed closeness and fidelity of his analysis, distinctly shown, that
force is but one constituent, or form of accent ; and that besides this
mere comparative loudness, there are two other constituents of
accent.
The modes of accent are determined as follows : 1st, '* Im-
mutable '* syllables, — those which are constituted by fixed
" short quantities," — are accented by " radical stress," " im-
passioned," " explosive,' or " unimpassioned," as the case
may be, from the character of the utterance which marks the
passage or the word in which such a syllable occurs. Thus,
the word " victory" although consisting of three short sylla-
bles, has a decided and distinct accent on its first syllable, by
means of " radical stress," whether we pronounce the woid
with impassioned " expression," or merely according to the
rule of orthoepical accent.
2d, " Mutable" syllables, — those which consist of M varia-
ble quantities," or such as admit of comparative prolongation,
— may be accented by merely a louder sound, or greater
force, pervading the given syllable, as compared with the
others of the same word. Thus die word " adjutant " having
ACCENT. 175
a suffi ;ient prolongation on its first a, to render the " radical
stress ' unnecessary, as a distinction, — may have its accent
marked merely by comparative loudness of the "concrete"
ad-, although in impassioned utterance, it may be marked,
also, in part, by " radical stress," and a degree of prolonga-
tion. 3d, " Indefinite" syllables, or those which are consti-
tuted by prolonged " quantity," may be accented by their
comparative long duration.
The distinctive element of such syllables being "time," Dr. Hush
has designated them as possessing " temporal " accent. The o, in
the word " holy" is an instance. Syllables of this description may
of course be executed with the additional accent arising from " loud
concrete ;" and, in impassioned utterance, they may be farther dis-
tinguished by abrupt " radical stress." But the "loud concrete,"
and " temporal accent," cannot be exhibited on " immutable " sylla-
bles.
The effect of all these modes of accent, is to impart prominence
and impressiveness of sound to one syllable in most words, though,
in some, to two syllables.
A syllable, in orthoepy, consists, properly, of an entire
" concrete," or the constituent radical and vanishing move-
ment, requisite to constitute a sound in speech, as distin-
guished from one in music. Instances may be found in the
simple element a, in at ; in the compound a, in ale ; in the
consecutive " tonic" and " subtonic" a and 11 in all ; in the
consecutive " tonic and subtonics" of the word old; or in the
sequence of M aspiration," " tonic " " subtonic," and " atonic."
in the word halt.
Correct accent is indispensable in reading and speaking,—
nDt merely as a convenience of intelligible expression, and as
a result of competent education, but as an indication of intel-
ligence and of taste, in regard to language, and as an element
of all distinct and spirited expression. The accented syllable
of every expressive word, becomes the seat of life in utter-
ance ; and there can be no surer way to render the exercise
of reading unmeaning and uninteresting, than to indulge the
three prevalent faults of slighting the accent of words, unduly
prolonging and forcing it, and distributing its effect over
several syllables of a word, instead of confining it to on* 1
176 ORTHOPHONY.
The singie word "promotion " may suffice as an example of these
faults. In the characteristic local accent of New England, the fre-
quent use of the " wave," or " circumflex," and of consequent pro-
longation of sound, presents the word to the ear in the form of two
separate words, or of systematic and formal syllabication in one ; thus,
"pro motion" or " pro-motion" The current usage of the Middle
States, on the other hand, obscures the first o of the word, so as to
reduce it nearly to a short u, and sinks the last o entirely. In thia
case, the word is pronounced priimoshn.
Few exercises would prove more useful for the purposes of educa
tion, in schools, or more serviceable to adult students, than the prac-
tice of reading aloud, daily, from the columns of a dictionary.
Woids, when contemplated in this detached state, make a more dis-
inct impression, both on the eye and the ear, — as far as regards
their component elements of letters and sounds, than when they aro
read in connexion in sentences, in which case the attention is always
prone to slight the sound, and dwell upon the sense. Preparatory
training, and remedial discipline, require, first, a thorough course of
enunciation for the definite and exact execution of every sound and
syllable, and, subsequently, a special series of exercises including
the union of sound and sense, in connected and consecutive expres-
sion.
The exercises which were prescribed under the head of " quan-
tity," are so arranged as to admit of being converted into a syste-
matic course of practice in accent, with a view to trace the constitu-
ent elements of syllables, in relation to accent, as always necessarily
decided by the distinctions of* indefinite," " mutable," and " immu-
table." It is unnecessary, therefore, to repeat the syllabic exercises
in the pages of the book. The teacher and the student can accom-
plish the object of practice, by reverting to them, and repeating such
as best exemplify the different species of accent, — " radical," " con-
crate," and " temporal."
II. — "Rhythmical " Accent.
The subject of accent is now to be considered in connexion
not with single words, but the sequence of phrases, in the titter'
ance of successive sentences, and as constituting an important
part of the study of " time " applied to the current of the
voice, in the continuous exercises of speech, reading, or reci-
tation.
Tiie first or lowest degree of musical accent, is called
" rhythm ;" the term, by its derivation, implying a comparison
between the continuous flow of the voice in speech, and the
motion of a stream, as contrasted with the still water of a lake.
The voice, in the enunciation of a single sound or word, is
comparatively stationary • in the utterance of successive
" rhythm/' 177
sounds, it has something like progressive motion. Thia
motion may be varied and irregular ; or it may be uniform
and measured ; as the stream, when flowing over an uneven
and rocky bed, may exhibit all varieties of motion, but when
gliding a'ong a smooth channel, may keep a regular rate of
time, that may be exactly defined.
The " movement " of the voice in conversation, on light or ordi-
nary subjects, is variable and irregular ; on subjects of greater
moment, it is more even and sedate ; and, in the expression of deep
and energetic sentiment, it becomes still more regular, and, perhaps
to a certain degree, measured, in its rate of " movement." Reading
is a mode of voice yet more distinctly marked in " movement," by
its partial uniformity of utterance ; and declamation advances another
degree, still, in " rhythm," by its deliberate and formal succession of
sound. The reading or recitation of poetry, carries the " move-
ment " to its highest degree of fixed and well marked " rhythm," as
determined by the structure of verse, which derives its pleasing effect
to the ear from the exact observance of a continued uniform, or cor
respondent "rhythm." The word "metre," or "measure," has
accordingly its appropriate application to this species of " move-
ment."
As M time " includes the duration of pauses as well as of
" quantities," and of " movement," it necessarily comprehends
under " rhythm" the exact proportion of pauses to sound, in
the rate of utterance, when regulated by " rhythmical "
accent. A part of the effect of " rhythm " on the ear, must
arise, therefore, from the "time" of regularly recurring and
exactly proportioned pauses. The full definition of " rhythm "
would, accordingly, be, the effect of " time," in regularly re-
turning " quantity," accent, and pause, in the successivp
s >unds of the voice.
In the usual forms of familiar prose writing, little regard is paid to
he placing of words, as respects the effect of accent Words, in
plain, unpretending composition, follow each other, with but slight
reference to the result in mere sound. Some writers, however, are
distinguished by a style which is more or less measured and rhyth-
mical to the ear. The stately and formal style of oratorical declama-
tion, sometimes assumes this shape, as does also the language of
sublime, pathetic, and beautiful description. Some writers, by high
excellence of natural or of cultivated ear, succeed in imparting an
exquisite but unobtrusive melody to their sentences, which forms one
01 the principal attractions of their style. We have instances of
these various effects of the selection and arrangement of words, in the
178 ORTHOPHONY.
majestic and measured declamation of Chatham, or in the lofty and
magnificent strains of Scripture. The cadences of Ossian exemplify,
sometimes, the power and beauty of metrical arrangement, and,
sometimes, the cloying effect of its too frequent and uniform recur-
rence. Every cultivated ear is familiar with the chaste and pleasing
turn of the sentences of Addison, the easy flow o^ Goldsmith's, the
ambitious swell of those of Johnson, the broken and capricious
phrases of Sterne, the noble harmony of Burke, the abruptness of
Swift, and the graceful smoothness of Irving.
The characteristic melody of each of these authors, is owing, as
we find, on analysis, to more or less attention paid to the effect of
" rhythmical " accent : it is, in fact, a species even of " metre "
itself, or, at least, a close approach to it. Examined in detail, it will
usually be found to consist in a skilful avoiding of " abrupt ele-
ments," in securing the coincidence of emphasis with "mutable"
and " indefinite quantities," but, more particularly, an exact timing
of the recurrence of accents at the end of clauses, and in the cadence
of sentences ; as these places are peculiarly adapted to sounds
intended for effect on the ear, whether the design of the writer is to
render them prominent and striking, or subdued and quiet. Such
results tell, with equal power, on the hearer, whether they are
studied or unconscious, on the part of the writer ; and they demand
equal attention on the part of the reader.
" Rhythm," then, the lowest gradation of " metrical move-
ment," exists in prose as well as poetry ; and good reading
preserves it distinctly to the ear.
It is a useful exercise, therefore, to study th3 styles of different
authors, with reference to this point, and to read aloud, from charac-
teristic passages, so as to become familiar with their peculiarities of
" rhythm," and to gain the power of giving these a distinct and per-
ceptible existence in the voice, without carrying the effect so far that
sense is in danger of being merged in sound, or the thought, of being
lost in the language. Everything mechanical, in reading, is an
offence to sound judgment and true taste.
The following examples of the notation of " rhythmical" accent
will serve to suggest to the student the exercise of marking with a
pencil the " rhythm," in passages of his own selection. The teacher
may prescribe exercises of this sort to his pupils, by the use of the
black board. The system of notation needs attention to the follow-
ing explanatory statement.
The notation of "rhythm" is founded on the theory of Steele,
that utterance, in speech and in reading, may, like music, be divided
into legular portions by accent, and indicated by "bars," as in
music, when written or printed; each "bar" commencing with an
accented syllable, or an equivalent pause.
" Rhythm," however, it must be remembered, in the practice of
all sich exercises as the following, is like every other requisite of
elocution, — an aid and an ornament, within due limits of effect, but
a deformity when rendered prominent and obtrusive. The **averrig
u RHYTHM." 179
and unsteady voi(.-e of juvenile readers, and the unsatisfactory current
of utterance in the style of some professional speakers, is owing to
t\p want of a firmly marked " rhythm," — a fault which necessarily
produces to the ear of the hearer a wandering uncertainty of effect.
"•Time," to which "rhythm," is subordinate, demands precision
and exactness, when applied as a measure of speech. Some readers,
novvrer, err on the extreme of marking time too prominently, and
with a jerking accent, which offends the ear by causing reading to
resemble a music lesson in " accent," accompanied with a heavy
' beat," for the sake of awakening the attention of a learner whose
* organ of time " is dull.
The style of practice in the first stages, must, of course, be char-
acterized by full and distinct effect, even at the hazard of seeming
labored and forced, — if the reader's ear is not naturally susceptible,
and requires powerful impressions. But much practice should be
added, with a view to produce smoothness and delicacy ; as the
painter does not rest satisfied with the mere blocking out of light and
shadow in his picture, but labors till he has secured that exquisite
finish, which is the crowning grace, in every successful attempt of
art ; and art fails in its endeavors, if it does not present nature in the
union of beauty and truth.
EXAMPLES OF " RHYTHM."
1 . — Declamatory Style,
[From a Sermon of Robert Hall.]
" It re- | mains with | you then | ^1 ' to de- | cide | whether
that | freedom | M at | whose | voice | ^ the | kingdoms of j
Europe | ^ a- | woke from the | sleep of | ages, | *i to | run a
ca- | reer }f | virtuous | 2 emu- | lation | *l in | everything |
great and | good ; [ M M | M the ' | freedom | *i which dis- |
pelled the | mists of | 2 super- 1 stition, | *i and in- | vited the
| nations ! *l to be- | hold their | God ; | ***l|*1 whose | magic
| touch ^ | kindled the | rays of | genius, | *i the en- | thusi-
usm of | poetry, | **i and the | flame of | eloquence ; | *fl *i | *i
the | freedom j **i which | poured into our | lap ^ | opulence j
*1 and | arts, j *1**1 1 *l and em- j bellished | life | *l with in- j
numerable | 2 insti- | tutions | *i and im- | provements, | *?|*1
| *l till it be- | came a | theatre of | wonders ; | *i **! j *i it is for
\ you | ^ to de- | cide ^i | **i whether | this | freedom | *1 shall
| yet sur- | vive, | ^i or | perish | *i for- | ever."
1 " Rhythmical " pause.
8 A "secondary" instead of the usual '•'primary," accent*
180 ORTHOPHONY.
2.- — Poetic expression in Prose.
[Passages of Scripture introduced in the Burial Service. »
| M I | M am the | l Resur- | rection | ^ and the | life, | *1*
| *i saith the | Lord ; | n *i | he that be- | lieveth in | mn, j
w . ^i | ^ though he were | dead, | ^i M | yet shail he | *ive : |
*i *i I *i and | whose- | ever | liveth. j *! and be- j lieveth in j
me, | *"i shall | never | die. j *yi | ^ ^ |
*l I | know | *i that my Re- | deemer | liveth, | ^ ^ | and
that he shall j stand | *l at the | latter | day j ^ upon tne [
earth, | ^^1 | *i and though | worms de- | stroy this | body, |
^^i | yet in my | flesh | *i shall I | see | God." | *i*i I *!*i |
3. — Sentiment, in Didactic Style. [Goldsmith.]
" Writers | *i of | every | age | *l have en- | deavored to |
show | ^1 that | pleasure | ^ is in | us, | *i and | not in the |
objects | ^^ | offered | ** for our a- | musement. | ^i^i | ^l^i | ^1
If the | soul be | happily dis- | posed, | ^^ | everything | *l
be- | comes | capable | ^ of af- | fording | enter- j tamment;
| *i *i | ^i and dis- | tress | ^ will almost | want a | name. |
w]^ | ^w] | Every oc- | currence | ^^ | passes in re- | view
| ^1 like the | figures | *1 of a pro- | cession ; | *i **i | some | *■*
may be J awkward, | ^ ^ | others | ^i ill | dressed ; | *< but |
none but a | fool | ^ is, for | this, | ^ en- | raged with the |
master of the | ceremonies. | *i*i | ^l^ |
4. — Splendor and Pathos.
[Burke's Description of Marie Antoinette.]
" It is | now, *1 | sixteen or | seventeen | years | ^ since
| saw the | Queen of | France, *1 | then the | Dauphiness, | *i
at Ver- | sailles : *1 | ^M | ^ and | surely | never | lighted ou
this | orb, **i | ^ which she | hardly | seemed to | touch, *< | **
a | more de- | lightful | vision. | **M | "I**! | *1 1 | saw her | just
a- | hove the ho- | rizon, | ^ 1 ^ 1 | decorating | ^ and | cheering
| <*! the | elevated | sphere | *1 she | just be- | gan to | move
l A u secondary,' ' instead of the usual " primary," ascent.
" RHYTHM." 181
in : | *1 -M | glittering, | *l like the | morning | star : | <"M 1 full
of | life, | *i and | splendor, | *i and | joy. m | *i*i | <*m |
Oh ! | what a | revo- | lution ! | *M | M and | what a | heart
| *i must I | have, | *» to con- | template | *1 with- | out e- |
motion, ' **i *l | that ele- | vation | ^ and | that | fall." *» | *l
5. — Oratorical Declamation. [Lord Chatham.]
"I | cannot, | ^my | Lords, *i | ^1 | will not, | join | ^lin
con- | gratu- | lation | *ion mis- 1 fortune | ^land dis- | grace.
| m*i | ^1^1 | This, | ^my | lords, ^ | ^ is a | perilous | ^.and
tre- | mendous | moment ; | ^ ^i | ^ it is | not a | time for I
adu- | lation: | ^1*1 | *i the | smoothness of | flattery | ^^ |
cannot | save us | ^l in this | rugged and | awful | crisis. | H
*i I *i ^l | *n It is | now | necessary | ^ to in- | struct the |
throne | ~i in the | language of | truth. | ^im | ^i^i | ^l We |
must, ^ | M if | possible, | ^ dis- | pel the de- | lusion and |
darkness | *1 which en- | velope it; | ^iH | *i and dis- | play,
*i | *l in its | full | danger | *i and | genuine | colors, | *•> the
| ruin | H which is | brought to our | doors." | ^i^i | **i*l |
6. — Sentiment, in Didactic Style. [Addison.]
" I | know but | one | way | H of | forti- | fyingmy | soui
| *l a- | gainst | gloomy | presages and | terrors of | mind ; |
M ^i | ^l and | that is, | *i by se- | curing to my- | self *i | *1
the | friendship and pro- | tection | *J of | that | Being | H
who dis- | poses of e- | vents, | *1 and | governs fu- | turity.
] M ^i | ^ ^l | He ^ | sees, ^ | ^ at | one | view, | ^ the |
whole | thread of my ex- | istence, | ^i *i | *i not | only | that
| part of it j which I have al- | ready | passed | through, | *4
but | that | ^ which runs | forward | **1 into | all the | depths
| ^ of e- | ternity. | ^^ | ^l^i | ^ When I | lay me | down to
| sleep, | ^ I recom- | mend myself | ^ to | his | care ; | *i ^ |
*i when I a- | wake, | ^ I | give myself | up to | his di- | rec-
tion. | *1*I | ^*i | ^ Amidst | all the | evils that | threaten me,
| I will look | up to | him for | help ; | m **i | *i and | question
not | ** but he will | either a- 1 vert them, | ^ or | turn them | t*
16
182 ORTHOPHONY.
my ad- | vantage. | ^1*1 | ^i^i | ^i Though 1 | know | neithei
the | time nor the | manner | *i of the | death | I am to | die, |
*i I | am not at | all so- | licitous a- | bout it ; | *l *» | ^ be- |
cause I am | sure | *i that | he | knows them | both, | ^**i | *1
and that he | will not | fail to | comfort | *i and sup- | port
me *1 1 under them." | **i *i | *i *• |
7. — Sentiment, in Didactic Style. [Johnson.]
" Kindness | *1 is pre- | served by a | constant re- | Cip-
ro- [ cation of | benefits | ^ or | interchange of | pleasures ; |
^ ^i | ^i but | such | benefits | only | can be be- | stowed, | M
as | others | ^ are | capable of re- | ceiving, | *i and | such |
pleasures im- | parted, | *i as | others j *i are | qualified to
en- | joy. | *i*i | ^ |
^ By | this de- | scent from the | pinnacles of | art | ^ no
( honor | *i will be | lost ; | ^**1 | *i for the | conde- | scensions
of | learning | ^ are | always | over- | paid | *i by | gratitude.
| m *! | *i ^i | *i An | elevated | genius | **i em- | ployed in |
little | things, | *i ap- | pears, | ^i to | use the | simile of Lon- 1
ginus, | ^ like the | sun | **) in his | evening | decli- | nation :
| **i *i | ^l he re- | mits his | splendor, | *i but re- | tains his (
magnitude ; | ^ ^ | ~i and | pleases | more, | ^ though he |
dazzles ] less." | ^^ | ^i^i
The difference of effect in " rhythmical accent,'' it will be per-
ceived, on closely examining the style of the preceding passages, ia
greatly dependent on the number of syllables included within each
" bar," and, not less, on the pauses, which are also included in the
" rhythm," and therefore enclosed within the bars ; since the " time"
of the voice necessarily includes its rests and intermissions, as well as
its sounds. " Rhythm " depends, farther, on the position cf the ac-
cented syllable which takes on the emphasis of a phrase, as well as
on the different species of accent, as "radical," "concrete," or
" temporal." Compare, particularly, the contents of the " bars " in
the last few lines of the last two examples. They will bo found to
imbody the expressive genius of each author, and " clothe his
thought in fitting sound." The meek and quiet spirit of Addison,
breathes in the plain, conversational, and comparatively uniform style
of " rhythm," in the close of the paragraph quoted from him ; and
the noble soul, but mechanical ear, of Johnson, are equally expressed
in the sweeping " rhythm " of " quantity " and pause, and measured
ftiitipkony in the cadence of the last sentence extracted from the
"METRE." 183
Hanibler. The limits of an elementary work like the prestnt, will not
admit the details of analysis hy which the peculiar character of each of
the authors quoted might be verified by his peculiar " rhythm." But
in the statements already made on "quantity," "pause," "move-
ment," " accent," and " rhythm," the implements of analysis have
been furnished ; and the exercise of applying them may be left to the
teacher and the student.
III. — Prosodial Accent, or "Metre."
The term " metre," or " measure," is applied, in prosody and in
elocution, to that exact gauge of " rhythm," which is furnished in
the process of prosodial analysis termed " scanning," by which a
" verse," or line of poetry, is resolved into its constituent " quanti-
ties " and " accents."
11 Metre," as a branch of prosody, comprehends, in our language,
both "quantity" and "accent." The ancient languages, and those
of modern Europe, generally, are less favorable than ours, to this
union. The Greek and the Latin seem to have leaned chiefly on
'* quantity ;" and we discern a similar tendency, though in an inferior
degree, in the European continental languages, — particularly those
of the South. A language abounding in long " quantities " of vari-
ous sound, needs less aid from " accent," whether for distinctive
enunciation or expression of feeling, than one redundant, like the
English, in the number and force of its consonants. The racy energy
of English enunciation, is owing to the comparative force, spirit, and
brilliancy of its accent, which strikes so instantaneously on the ear,
with a bold " radical movement" and absorbing power, that compel
the attention to the determining syllable of every word. It bespeaks
at once the practical and energetic character of the people with whom
it originated. — Other modern languages seem to distribute the accent
among all the syllables of a word, and to leave the ear doubtful to
which it is meant to apply, — unless in the case of long vowels, in
which they greatly excel, as regards the uses of music and of " ex-
pressive" speech, or impassioned modes of voice.
In emphatic utterance, however, the firm grasp which our numer-
ous hard consonants allow to the organs, in the act of articulation,
gives a peculiar percussive force of explosion to the vowels that fol-
low them in accented syllables ; and the comparatively short duration
of our unaccented sounds, causes those which are accented, when
they possess long "quantity," to display it with powerful effect in
the utterance of " expressive " emotion. Our poets sometimes turn
this capability of the language to great account ; and none abounds
more in examples than Milton, whose ear seems to have detected and
explored every element of expressive effect which his native tongue
could furnish.
Syllables have been classed, in prosody, as long or short, accented
cr unaccented ; and the prosodial characters, " (long,) and " (short,)
have been used to designate them to the eye. The same marks have
been arbitrarily used to denote accented and unaccented syllables.
The " rhythm " of verse, as measured by " long " and " short u
184 ORTHOPHONY.
or by "heavy/' (accented,) and "light," (unaccented,) syllable*,
has the following metrical designations :
I. — "Iambic Metre."
This form of verse takes its name from the circumstance of its
being constituted by the " foot," or sequence of syllables, called an
" iambus." The words " foot " and " feet " are arbitrarily used in
prosody, to express a group of syllables constituting a distinct and
separable portion of verse. The " iambus " is a " foot " consisting
of two syllables : the first, short, or unaccented, or both; the second
long, or accented, or both ; as in the word repeal.
" Iambic" metre is exemplified in " epic "or " heroic " poetry,
whether in the form of " blank verse," — so called from its not fur-
nishing rhymes, and its consequent blank effect on the ear, as in Mil
ton's Paradise Lost, or of rhyming " couplets," — so called from the
lines rhyming in couples, — as in Pope's translation of Homer. Each
line, in "blank verse" and the "heroic couplet," contains five
" iambuses," or ten syllables, alternating from short to long, or from
unaccented to accented ; as in the following examples.
"Blank" Verse.
4 j Advanced | in view,| they stand, | a hor- | rid front |
Of dread- | ful length, | and daz- | zling arms, | in guise |
Of war- | riors old, | with or- | dered spear | and shield. |
"Heroic Couplet."
• 4 Like leaves | on trees |the* life | of man | is found ; |
( l 1.) Now green | in youth, | ( l 2.) now with- | ( l 3.) enng tfn |
the ground ; |
Anoth- | er race |the fol- | ( l 4.) lowing spring | supplies :
They fall | succes- 1 ( l 5.) sive, and | succes- | sive rise."
"Iambic" verse is exemplified, also, in octosyllabic lines, in
rhyming " couplets," and in quatrain, or four-line " stanzas." The
following are examples.
Octosyllabic Couplet
" The way | was long, | the wind | was cold ; |
The mln- | strel was | infirm | and old :"
Quatrain Stanza: Octosyllabic Couplets.
" The spa- | cious fir- | mament | on high |
With all I the blue | ethe- | real sky, |
1 Irregular feet used as substitutes for the " iambus," according to tint
" license " of versification. These feet are called, (1. and 2.) the " spondee,
— two long syllables ; (3.) the " tribrach," three short syllables ; (4.) the " ana-
paBst," two short syllabus, and one long; (5.) the "pyrrhic," two short sylia
bl«s.
*' METRE." 185
And spaA- | gled heavens, | a shin- | ing frame, [
Their great | Orig- | Inal | proclaim." |
Quatrain Stanza : Octosyllabic Lines, rhyming alternately*
" The heavens | declare | thy glo- | ry, Lord, |
In ev- | ery star | thy wis- | dom shines ; |
But when | our eyes | behold | thy word, |
We read | thy name | In fair- | er lines." |
Common Metre" Stanza: Alternate Lines of Eight and Six
Syllables.
" Thy love | the power | of thought | bestowed; |
To Thee | my thoughts | would soar : |
Thy mer- | cy o'er | my life | has flowed ; |
That mer- | cy I | adore." j
"Short Metre" Stanza: Two Lines of Six, one of Eight, and ont
of Six Syllables.
" To ev- | er fra- | grant meads, |
Where rich | ahun- | dance grows, |
is gra- | cious hand | indul- | gent leads, |
And guards | my sweet | repose."
His
"Iambic" verse occurs, likewise, in the form of the "elegiac"
stanza, — so called from the circumstance of its having been employed
for the purposes of elegy.
Elegiac Stanza : Lines of Ten Syllables, rhyming alternately.
" Full man- | y a. gem, | of pur- | est ray | serene, |
The dark, | unfath- | omed caves | of 6- | cean bear. |
Full man- | y a flower | is born | to blush | unseen, |
And waste | its sweet- | ness on | the des- | ert air." I
Another form of the "iambic" verse, of frequent occurrence in
reading, is that of the " Spenserian" stanza, — so called from the
poet Spenser, who was the first to use it, in a continuous poem o
considerable length.
1 Spenserian" Stanza: Eight Lines of Ten Syllables and ens of
Twelve: the Rhymes occurring as follows: on the 1st and 3d, — on
the 2d, 4/A, 5/ h, and 1th, — and on the 6th, 8th, and l Jth.
" Where'er | we tread, | 'tis haunt- | ed ho- | ly ground: |
No earth | of thine | Is lost | in vul- | gar mould ! |
Biit one | vast realm | of won- | der spreads | around ; |
And all | the Mus- | es' tales | seem tru- | ly told, I
Till the | sense aches | with gaz- | ing, to j behold j
16*
186
ORTHOPHONY.
The scenes | our ear- | lfest dreams | have dwelt | upon. |
Kach lull | and dale, | each deep- | enlng glen | and wold, |
Defies | dig power | which crushed | thf tern- | pies gone: |
Age shakes | A the- | na's tower, | but sparer | gray Mar- | athon.
There are many other forms of " iambic " verse ; but they occui
less frequently ; and most of them can be easily analyzed after scan-
ning the preceding specimens. 1
II. — "Trochaic" Metre.
This species of verse derives its name from its predominating foot
(lie " trochee," which consists, as mentioned before, of a long sylla-
ole followed by a short, as in the word fatal.
" Trochaic " verse is exemplified in the following lines from Diy-
den's Ode for St. Cecilia's Day.
" Softly | sweet, in | Lydian | measures,
Soon he | soothed his | soul to | pleasures. — |
War, he | sung, Is | toil and | trouble,
Honor, | but an | empty j bubble."
This species of verse is seldom used in long or continuous poems
but principally in occasional passages, for variety of effect. It is
found usually in octosyllabic lines of rhyming " couplets," as above.
III. — A napcestic Metre.
This form of verse takes its name from its prevalent foot, the
" anapaest," consisting of two short syllables followed by one long, as
in the word intervene.
" Anapaestic " verse is found usually in the two following forms :
1.
Stanza of Four or Eight Lines of Tlirce " anapasts," or equivalent
s of 1
feet.
" How fleet 2 | is a glance | of the mind !
Compared | with the speed | of its flight, |
The temp- | est itself) lags behind, |
And the swift | winged ar- | rows of light."
2.
Stanza of Four Lines of Four " anapaests" or equivalent feet.
" The even- 5 | ing was glo- | rious ; and light | through the trees |
Played the sun- | shine and rain- 1 drops, the birds | and the breeze; J
The land- | scape, outstretch- | Inn; fn love- | li'ness, lay |
On the lap | of the year, | In the beau- | ty of May." |
1 For farther examples, and a more extended statement, regarding thfl
"reading of poetry," see " American Elocutionist."
* An " iambus " sometimes occurs as the first foot in an " anapaestic" line
M METRE." 187
IV. —Rhythmical and Prosodial Accent combined.
The preceding examples of verse have all, it mny now be per-
ceived, been marked with the characters used in prosody Hut, fin
the purposes of elocution, it is important to the control of the voice,
in the reading of verse, that the student should accustom himself to
the practice of marking the accentuation of verse to the ear, — a pro-
cess in which the actual " rhythm " of the voice is decided, as in
prose, by the position of accent. The mere prosodial "quantities "
must, in elocution, be regarded as but subordinate and tributary
means of effect to " rhythmical accent," and as contributing to secure
its perfect ascendency.
Metre, then, in reading, is to be considered as but precision of
" rhythm " by which utterance is brought more perceptibly under the
control of " time," than in prose. Verse, accordingly, is scored for
accent, exactly as prose is. Here, also, the student may be reminded
that, in practising on metre, whilst, for the sake of distinct impres-
sion, he indulges its effect to the full extent, at first, he must accus-
tom himself to reduce it gradually within those limits which shall
render it chaste and delicate. The peculiar effects of " measure " in
music, do not exceed those of metre, in good reading and recitation ;
and they are indispensable in the reading of all forms of verse, but,
particularly, in lyric strains. In these, — as even a slight attention
will suffice to prove, — the poet often changes the mood of his metre
along with that of his theme. The Ode on the Passions, and all sim-
ilar pieces, require numerous changes of "rhythm" and prosodial
effect, as the descriptive or expressive strain shifts from passion to
passion, — and from measure to measure. — It is by no means desira-
ble, however, that the metre should be marked in that overdone style
of chanting excess, which offends the ear, by obtruding the syllabic
structure of the verse, and forcing upon our notice the machinery of
prosodial effect.
The subjoined example may serve to suggest, to the teacher and
the student, the mode of marking on the black board, or with a pen-
cil, similar exercises selected from the pages of this volume, or any
other, at choice.
It was deemed preferable to use, for our present purpose, the same
examples which have been analyzed for the study of the prosodial
structure of verse, so as to show, as impressively as possible, the dif-
ference between the literal accent of the mere mechanism of verse as
such, and the free, varied, and noble " rhythm," which it acquires
when, in reading and recitation, the object in view is to render verse
tributary to meaning and sentiment, or to vivid emotion. The servile
style of reading verse which follows its sound rather than its sense, is
no worse fault than a literal practising of prosody, a fair and honest
but most gratuitous scanning, of the lines, rather than the reading of
them. The strict metrical marking, however, and due practice on it,
may be very useful to those students whose habit, in reading, is ti
turn verse into prose, through want of ear for metre
188 ORTHOPHONY.
NOTATION OF RHYTHMICAL AND PROSODIAL ACCENT COMBINE A
I.— "Iambic" Metre.
"Blank" Verse.
*1 "Ad- 1 vanced in | view, | *l l they J stand, | *1 l a | horrid | front *1
*1 Of | dreadful | length, j l *1 and dazzling | arms, | *1 l in | guise |
*1 Of | warriors | old | *1 3 with | ordered | spear and | shield." | **
*1 | *1*1 1
"Heroic Couplet."
■H M Like | leaves on | trees.| *i the | life of | man | M is | found : | *1*1
| Now *1 | green | *1 in | youth, | *1 *1 | now *1 | withering | *1 on
the | ground ; | *1 *1 |
*1 An- | other | race | *1 the | following | spring | *1 sup- 1 plies : | *1 *1|
**.They | fall sue- | cessive, | ^1 and sue- | cessive | rise." | *1 M |
*i*l |
"Octosyllabic Couplet."
~\ " The | way | *1 was | long, | *J*1 | *J the | wind | *1 was | cold ;
*lThe | minstrel | *1 was in- | firm | *1 and old." | *1*1 | *1*1 1
"Quatrain" Stanza: "Octosyllabic Couplets."
vj " The | spacious | firmament | M on high, | *1 *1 |
•1 With | all the | blue e- | thereal | sky, | *1*i |
M And | spangled | heavens, | ^1 a | shining | frame, | *1*1
*i Their | great 0- | riginal | *1 pro- | claim." | *1*1 | *1*1 |
Quatrain Stanza : Octosyllabic Lines, rhyming alternately.
*1« The | heavens | ^ de- | clare |- ^ thy | glory, | Lord, | *1M |
**» In | evexv | star | *i thy | wisdom | shines ; | *1 *1 |
*4 But | *1 wnen our | eyes be- | hold thy | word, 1*1*11
^1 We | read thy | name | *1 in | fairer | lines." | *»i*1 1 *1**
1 " Demi-ccesural " pause. 2 " Final " pause. 3 " Caesural " pause. — The
pauses marked with the figure 1, &c, are founded primarily and necessarily
on the sense; but the prosodial pauses, indispensable to the "rhythm" of
every well-constructed verse, happen, in the present instance, to coincide with
the pauses of the meaning. Every Jine of verse has a " final pause," which
detaches it from the following line, and a " cresural " pause, which divides it
into two parts, equal or unequal, or two "demi-caesural" pauses, which
divide it into three parts. The " demi-ccesural " pauses are sometimes u.«id
in addition to the " ccesural," to subdivide the two parts which it separate*.
CJ RHYTHM " AND "METRE." 189
"Common Metre" Stanza.
( " Thy | love | M the | power of | thought | M be- | stowed ; | MM |
MTo | Thee | M my | thoughts | M would | soar : MM |
M Thy | mercy | M o'er my | life | M has | flowed ; | M M 1
MThat | mercy | M I a- | dore." | MM | MM |
"Short Metre" Stanza.
M" To | ever | fragrant | meads, | MM |
H Where | rich a- | bundance | grows, | MM |
M His | gracious | hand | M in- | dulgent | leads, | M M |
M And | guards my | sweet re- | pose." | MM J MM|
Elegiac Stanza.
M " Full | many a | gem, | M of | purest | ray j Mse- | rene, | MM j
M The | dark | M un- | fathomed | caves of | ocean | M M | bear :
| MM | mm |
M Full | many a | flower | M is | born to | blush un- | seen, | m m |
M And | waste | Mits | sweetness | Mon the | desert | air." | M**
"Spenserian" Stanza.
M " Wher- | e'er we | tread, | M 'tis | haunted, | MM | holy M j
ground : | M M | M M |
| No | earth | M of | thine | M M | M is | lost | M in | vulgar |
mould ! | m M |
M But | one | vast | realm | M of | wonder | M M | spreads a- |
round ; | M M |
M And | all the | Muse's | tales | M seem | truly | told, | MM |
Till the | sense | aches with | gazing | M to be- | hold |
M The | scenes | M our | earliest | dreams | M have | dwelt upon,
| MM | mm |
| Each | hill | M and | dale, | MM | M each | deepening | glen | M
and | wold, | MM |
^ De- | Acs the | power | M which | crushed thy | temples | gone :
| M^i | MM
| Age | shakes A- | thena's | tower, | Mbut | spares | M gray | Mar«
, athon." | MM | mm |
II.—" Trochaic " Metre.
" Softly | sweet, | m in | Lydian | measures, J MM |
Soon | M he | soothed his | soul | M to | pleasures. — | M M |
190 ORTHOPHONY.
War | *l he | sung | H is | toil | ** and | trouble | ^*! (
Honor, | *1 but an | empty | bubble." | *»*i | *t*1 1
III. — "Anapcsstic" Metre.
1. Lines of Three "Anapasis."
H " How | fleet | *1 is a | glance of tbe | mind ! | *!*1 1 **l*1 1
*1 Com- | pared with the | speed of its | flight, | ^i^i |
^1 The | tempest | ^ it- | self j ^i^l | lags be- | hind, | *1 ^1 1
^ And the | swift- winged | arrows of | light.' | *l*i | *l^1 1
2. Lines of Four u Anapaests."
*l " The | evening | ** was | glorious ; | *1 and | light | **l through the
| trees | *l^l |
H Played the | sunshine | *1 and | raindrops, | *l the birds | *1 and the
| breeze ; | **l *1 1 ^ M |
*1 The | landscape | ^J out- | stretching | *1 in | loveliness, | lay | **
*l
*i On the | lap | ^1 of the | year, | *l in the | beauty | *1 of | May." |
*l*J I ^1^1 I
CHAPTER VIII.
EMPHASIS AND "EXPRESSION."
The analysis of elocution has, in the preceding chapters, been ex-
truded so far as to comprehend all the chief topics of practical elocu
tion. The subjects of emphasis and " expression," have been reserved
for the conclusion of this manual, as they properly comprise a virtual
review of the whole subject.
I. — Impassioned Emphasis.
Emphasis, in its usual acceptation, is limited to mere com-
parative force of utterance on an accented syllable. The
term, properly denned, extends to whatever expedient the
voice uses to render a sound specially significant or expres-
sive. Thus, in the scornful challenge which Bolingbroke
addresses to Mowbray.
li Pale, trembling coward ! there I throw my gage :" —
The emphasis lies, doubtless, on the word coward* and ii
EMPHASIS AND hi EXPRESSION. 7 ' 191
concentrated in the syllable cow-, by peculiar force of utter-
ance. But the mere force or loudness used, is only one of
the many elements of expression, which the syllable is made
to comprise, in the intensely excited passion implied in the
words.
Attentive analysis will show that, in what is termed " emphasis,"
in this instance, there are included all of the following elements of
vocal effect : 1st, the mere force or energy of the utterance, which
produces the loudness of voice, that accompanies violent or vehement
excitement of feeling ; 2d, the abrupt and explosive articulation with
which the accented syllable is shot from the mouth, in the expres-
sion of anger and scorn ; 3d, the comparatively low pitch on which
the syllable cow- is uttered, as contrasted with the high note on the
opening word "pale" and which indicates the deep-seated contempt
and indignation of the speaker; 4th, the comparatively long duration
of the accented syllable, and the consequent effect of deliberate and
voluntary emotion, as contrasted with the rapid rate of hasty and rash
excitement; 5th, the downward 1 '' slide ," the inseparable character-
istic of all impetuous, violent, and angry emotion ; 6th, the "pecto-
ral," "guttural," and strongly "aspirated quality" of voice, with
which the utterance seems to burst from the chest and throat, with a
half suffocated and hissing sound, peculiarly characteristic of fierce
and contemptuous emotion.
It may appear, at first view, that this analysis extends beyond em-
phasis into " expression." But emphasis is, in fact, nothing else
than " expression," concentrated and condensed into an accented syl-
lable. For confirmation of this assertion we may refer to the result,
in cases of acknowledged imperfect emphasis, that a failure, as
regards the full effect of any one of the above elements, produces the
fault. Let. the student himself bring the matter to the test of his own
observation, by uttering the word " coward," six times in succession,
dropping, each time, one of the elements of " expression," enumer-
ated in the preceding analysis ; and he will perceive that lie loses, in
every instance, the emphasis of impassioned accent. — Similar illus-
trations might be drawn from all emotions, in turn. But the verifi-
cation may be left for the practice of oral illustration, by the student,
cr the teacher.
II. — Unimpassioned Emphasis.
It may be thought, however, that, although the emphasis
of passion does include many elements, the common emphasis
of meaning, in unimpassioned intellectual communication,
may be sufficiently expressed by mere comparative force of
accent. This impression, too, will, on examination, be found
erroneous. The simplest distinctive emphasis that can bo
1 92 ORTHOPHONY.
given, comprises several points ol effect, which are easily
detected by analysis.
We may take, for an example of unimpassioned emphasis, the ex-
pressions in the moral of the fable of the Discontented Pendulum,
" Let any man resolve always to do right now, leaving then to do as
it can ; and if he were to live to the age of Methuselah, he would
never do wrong."
The words " now " and " then" in this passage , are instances of
distinctive emphasis : they are marked, 1st, by the usual superior force
of utterance, which belongs to important and significant words; 2d,
by a jerking stress, repeated at the beginning and end of each
" tonic " element of sound in the two words, and constituting what,
in elocution, is technically termed "compound stress;" 3d, by the
comparatively high pitch on which each of these two word? is set,
relatively to the rest of the sentence ; 4th, by a significant turn or
" double slide " of voice, termed the " wave," or, perhaps, — in the
spirit of very keen and peculiarly marked distinction, — by a double
turn, constituting a quadruple " slide " and a " double wave," in the
style peculiar to the prolonged utterance of acute verbal distinctions ;
5th, by the protracted sound of the words, which is inseparable from
the enunciation of significant expressions, in general, but particularly,
as just mentioned, from the style of verbal distinctions and subtle dis-
criminations ; 6th, by the " oral quality" of voice, with which the
words are uttered. — By " oral quality " is not meant that " pure "
or " head tone," which always accompanies unimpassioned and
merely intellectual communication, — an utterance addressed to the
understanding, and not to the passions, and hence divested of deep
"pectoral" or harsh "guttural" quality, — but that distinctly
marked and exclusively oral tone, which causes the voice to sound as
if it emanated from, or originated in, the mouth alone, and design-
edly threw the utterance into the shape of a mere process of articula-
tion, dependent, for its whole effect, on the tongue, the palate, the
teeth or the lips. All nice distinctions in grammar, in logic, and
even in ethics, are given in this purely " oral " form. This mode of
voice, is, as it were, the opposite pole to that of deep passioi, which
is not merely low-pitched, but designedly resounds in the thoracic
cavity, and by its hollow " pectoral " effect, seems to emanate from
the chest. It indicates, thus, to the ear the presence, as the " oral
quality " does the absence, of a deep inward movement of feeling. —
The effect of the " oral quality," as a part of the emphasis of intel-
lectual distinctions, may be ascertained by the student for himself, if
he will utter the words " now " and " then " in the preceding pas-
sage, first, with "low pitch," and deep "pectoral" murmur, and,
afterwards, with " high pitch," and thin " oral " enunciation. A
similar analysis may be made on all the constituent elements of
unimpassioned emphasis, as enumerated in this paragraph.
The reason why, in our analysis of elocution, the consideration of
emphasis was postponed to other topics, will now be distinctly per-
ceived. The appropriate study of emphasis, requires a knowledge
of it» various constituents. But the previous discussion and exempli-
EMPHASIS AND " EXPRESSION." 193
ficatioiv of these, renders the separate practice of each, under tho
denomination of emphasis, unnecessary. It will be sufficient, here,
to present a few examples of emphasis, for practical analysis, classi-
fied in such a manner as to suggest to the student and the teacher
the modes of practice best adapted to produce a distinct, impressive,
and discriminating emphasis.
It will give additional value to all exercises in emphasis, if the
examples are thoroughly analyzed, so as to exhibit all the properties
of elocution comprised in each. It becomes necessary, once more, to
drop, here, a suggestion on the effect of practice, — that, in the first
course of exercise, the full force of emphasis, in all its characteristics,
is the object to be kept in view, so as to gain the power of throwing
out the utmost expressive force, when impassioned utterance requires
it; but that a subsequent course should be carefully added, so as to
bring down and soften the emphasis of unimpassioned language into
a quiet and moderate style of expression, marked by chaste and
manly reserve. — Our current style of professional reading is justly
complained of by foreigners, as being mechanical and studied in its
emphasis ; and our popular oratory, as characterized by violence
rather than genuine force. Earnestness, it is true, is the soul of elo-
quence ; but it rarely authorizes vehemence, and never vociferation,
— a habit which, for the time, degrades man from his rational eleva-
tion of humanity to the level of animal life. Emotion, the true source
of impassioned emphasis, may be, in the highest degree, vivid, with-
out being turbulent.
EXAMPLES OF EMPHASIS.
I. — Impassioned Emphasis.
Fierce Anger and Defiance.
[CORIOLANUS, ENRAGED BY THE ACCUSATION OF THE TRIBUNES.] Skaks-
2)eare.
( f< Aspirated guttural quality:" "Impassioned" and increasing
" expulsive " force : " Compound and thorough stress :" " High "
and progressively rising " pitch :" Downward " third," " fifth,"
and " octave " in the " slide :" " Emphatically slow movement.")
" Call me their traitor ! — Thou injurious tribune ]
Within thine eyes sat twenty thousand deaths.
In thine hands clutched as many bullions, in
Thy lying tongue BOTH numbers, I would say,
Thou LIE ST, unto thee, with a voice as free
A.s I do pray the gods."
i?
194 ORTHOPHONY.
Revenge.
[Othello, instigated by Iago, against Cassio.] — Shakspcart.
("Aspirated pectoral quality :" Intensely " impassioned" "Expul-
sive " force: "Thorough stress:" "Low pitch:" Downward
"slide," of the "fifth" and "third:" Emphatically deliberate
and slow " movement.")
« Oh ! that the slave had FORTY THOUSAND lives
My great revenge had stomach for them all ! "
Anger and Threatening.
[CORIOLANUS, TO THE ROMAN SOLDIERS WHEN REPULSED.] — ShaJc$peare
("Aspirated guttural quality:" "Impassioned" force: "Vanish
ing," " radical," and " median stress :" " High pitch :" " Down-
ward " "slide" of the fifth: "Movement" first "slow," thee
"quick."
" You souls of geese,
That bear the shapes of men, how have you run
From slaves that apes would beat! — Pluto and hell!
All hurt behind; backs red, and faces pale
With flight and aguedfear! — Mend, and charge home
Or by the fires of heaven, I '11 leave the foe,
And make my wars on YOU : look to H : Come on !"
Defiance.
[Edmund, in Reply to Albany.] — Shalspeare.
(" Orotund quality :" " Impassioned " force : " Thorough stress :'
" Middle pitch :" Downward " fifths :" Deliberate " movement.'")
" What in the world he is,
That names me traitor, villain-like he lies :
Call by thy trumpet : he that dares approach,
On him, on you,— WHO NOT?— I will maintain
My truth and honor firmly "
II. — TJnim passioned Emphasis.
Emphasis of Designation.
[Description of a Bookseller's Literary Dinner.]— Irving.
"The host seemed to have adopted Addison's idea as to
195
i he literary precedence of his guests. — A popular l poet had"
the post of honor ; opposite to whom was a hot-pressed travel'
ler in quarto, with plates. A grace-looking antiquary, who
had produced several solid works, that were much quoted and
little read, was treated with great respect, and seated next to a
neat, dressy gentleman in black, who had written a thin, gen-
teel, hot-pressed octavo on political economy, that w T as getting
into fashion. Several three-volume-duodtcimo men of fair
currency, were placed ahout the centre of the table ; while the
lower end was taken up with small poets, translators, and
authors who had not as yet risen with much notoriety.'' 9
Emphasis of Comparison and Contrast in Equal and Single
Farts.
[EXTRACT FROM A SERMON.]
" The 2 high and the Uiu, the rich and the poor, approach,
in point of real enjoyment, much nearer to each other, than is
commonly imagined. Providence never intended that any
state here should be either completely happy, or entirely mis-
erable. If the feelings of pleasure are more numerous and
more lively in the higher departments of life, such also are
those of pain. If greatness flatters our vanity, it multiplies
our dangers. If opulence increases our gratifications, it
increases, in the same proportion, our desires and demands.
If the poor are confined to a more narrow circle, yet w T ithin
that circle lie most of those natural satisfactions, which, after
all the refinements of art, are xound to be the most genui?ie
and trive. y
Comparison and Contrast in Equal and Double Parts.
[Homer and Virgil.] — Blair.
" In 2 H6?ner, we discern all the Greek vivacity ; in Virgil^
1 Usually, a downward slide of the second accompanies the "emphasis of
designation."
2 In the parallel or antithesis of equal and single parts, the slides exhibit
he intervals of the upward and downward " third."
8 In contrasts of double parts, the primary members ha* 7 3 the " sJi.ie " oi th#
fc third j" b;t the inferior ones that of the " second."
196 ORTHOPHONY
all the Roman staieliness. Homer's imagination is by much
the most rich and copious ; Virgil's the most chaste and cor*
rkt. The strength of ihe former lies, in his power of wann-
ing the fancy ; that of the latter, in his power of touching the
heart. Homer's style is more simple and animated ; Virgil s
more elegant and uniform. The first has, on many occa-
sions, a sublimity to which the latter never attains ; but the
latter, in return, never sinks below a certain degree of epic
dignity, which cannot so clearly be pronounced of the former"
Comparison and Contrast in Unequal Parts.
" Better be
Where the extinguished Spartans still are free,
In their proud charnel of * Thermopylae.
Than stagnate in our marsh."
Phrases of Successive Emphatic Words.
" The British army, traversing the Carnatic, after the deso-
lation effected by Hyder Ali, beheld 2 not one living thing, not
one mmi, not one woman, not one child, not one four-footed
beast, of any description whatever." 3
III. — "Arbitrary Emphasis."
The form of utterance to which this designation may be applied
is that "expression," or significance, whether of loudness, pitch
" time," " melody," or other property of vocal efFect, in consequence
of which the sense, or the connexion and structure of the parts of a
sentence, may he rendered apparent by modification of voice, applied
extemporaneously, daring the moment of reading, at the discretion
and by the will of the reader, rather than in compliance with any gen-
eral rule of feeling or of elocution. This " arbitrary emphasis" is
greatly aided in its effect by a corresponding abatement or depres-
sion of voice, in clauses which precede or follow the word or phrase
of " arbitrary emphasis," or which occur between two such words or
1 The preponderant member lias the downward, — the weaker, the upward
"slide."
2 In emphatic phrases, every word takes a distinct and opposite "slide."
^ The subjects of "slide," (" inflection,") "rhetorical" pause, emphasis,
and the other grammatical and sentential parts of elocution, are discussed at
greater length in the " Elocutionist." The present work is designed as ;i
manual of elementary practice in orthophony, and is limited, chiefly, to ex
anipJes and exercises.
EMPHASIS ANfc ' EXPRESSION. 197
phrases This "discharging 1 " of " expression," as it mny be
termed, — in reference to the analogous process of discharging ink or
color from the surface of an object, will, of course, take place by a
reduction, abatement, or depression, of one or all the elements of
vocal effect. The " arbitrary emphasis " may, at the pleasure of the
reader, heighten the "expression" arising from "quality," force,
pitch, "slide," " melodial phrase," "time," "quantity," "move-
ment," &c. ; so may the " reduction " of emphasis, diminish or sub-
due, or destroy any or all of these.
" Arbitrary emphasis," and " reduction " may be employed w r here
but a single parenthetic word intervenes to break the current of lan-
guage ; as in the sentence, " The sprout was carefully protected by
a stratum, or layer, of leaves." The words " stratum " and " leaves "
are in this instance, pronounced with a slight additional force, an
enlarged interval of " slide " and prolonged " quantity ;" while the
words " or layer" are reduced in force, shortened in "quantity,"
and levelled into " monotone," m the manner of parenthesis
The following example will exhibit the same effects more dis-
tinctly ; as poetic language is naturally more expressive than pros«
" On the other side,
Incensed with indignation, Satan stood
Unterrified, and like a comet ( l burned,)
That fires the length of Ophiuchus huge,
In the arctic sky."
The arrangement of the words, in this sentence, throws the word
"burned" into a parenthetic situation, in consequence of the gram-
matical connexion between the words "comet" and " that." To
atone to the ear for this verbal dislocation, the word " comet " takes
on an additional force, a lower " slide," a longer " quantity " in its
accented syllable, and a more descriptive swell of " stress," than it
would otherwise have. The line, "That fires" &c, is also read
with a resuming force of expression, borrowed, as it were, from the
style of voice in the word "comet;" while the word "burned,"
(which, as being a descriptive verb, must possess a degree of accent,)
is rendered parenthetic in effect, by being thrown into " monotone,"
instead of a downward " slide," and by being somewhat reduced in
force, and raised in pitch ; while its descriptive power is retained by
prolonged " quantity " and " median swell."
The following examples will illustrate the effect of " arbitrary
emphasis " and " reduction," where a clause is to be partially paren-
thesized, so as to preserve the connexion of sense, on each side of it.
" Say first, for Heaven, (hides nothing from thy view,)
Nor the deep tract of hell."
1 The crotchets of parenthesis are introduced here, not as belonging to th«
test but as an ocular aid, with a view to sugsr Q «t the proper style of reading
i£ th* ear.
17*
198 ORTHOPHONY.
" Thus while he spake, each passion (dimmed his faco
Thrice changed with pale,) ire, envy, and despair:"
H There was a Brutus once that would have brooked
(The eternal Devil to keep his state in Rome)
As easily \ as a king."
The student may analyze for himself the effect of the " arbifaiy
emphasis " and " reduced expression," as indicated by the italics and
the parenthesis.
The slight, level, and rapid " expression," which takes place on
cla lses such as that included within crotchets, Dr. Rush has termed
the "flight" of the voice, and the emphatic connecting "expres-
sion," the " emphatic tie."
The effect of these modifications of voice will be rendered still more
apparent by longer examples.
" He stood, and called
His legions, angel forms, who lay entranced
Thick as autumnal leaves (that strow the brooks
In Vallambrosa, where the Etrurian shades,
High over-arched, embower ;) or scattered sedge
Afloat, when with fierce winds Orion armed
Hath vexed the Red-sea coast."
The same mode of reading applies to all actual parentheses, or
similar qualifying phrases, and their context ; as in the following in-
stances, from Scripture.
" Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace ; to the
end the promise might be sure to all the seed : not to that only
which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of
Abraham, who is the father of us all, (as it is written, * I have
made thee a father of many nations,') before him whom ho
believed, even God,. who quickeneth the dead, and calieth
those things which be not, as though they were."
" For as many as have sinned without law, shall aiso
perish without law ; and as many as have sinned in the h v,
shall be judged by the law, (for not the hearers of the law are
just before God,. but the doers of the law shall be justified;
for when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature
the things contained in the law, these, having not the law
are a law unto themselves : which show the work of the iavf
EMPHASIS AND li EXPRESSION." 199
written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness,
<md their thoughts, the meanwhile, accusing, or else excusing
one another ;) in the day when God shall judge the secret3
of men by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel.' ,
[Zanga, relating the origin of his hatred of Alonzo.] — Young.
" 'T is twice three years since that great man,
(Great let me call him, for he conquered me,)
Made me the captive of his arm in fight.
" One day, (may that returning day be night,
The stain, the curse, of each succeeding year !)
For something, or for nothing, in his pride
He struck me. (While I tell it do I live ? )
He smote me on the cheek."
[Corporal Trim's Eloquence.] — Sterne
— — " My young master in London is dead," said Oba-
iiah.—
'* Here is sad news, Trim," — l cried Susannah, wiping her
eyes as Trim stepped into the kitchen, — "master Bobby is
dead."
" I lament for him from my heart and my soul," — l said
Trim, fetching a sigh, — " Poor creature ! — poor boy ! — poor
gentleman ! "
" He was alive last Whitsuntide," said the coachman. —
* Whitsuntide ! alas !" 2 cried Trim, extending his right arm,
and falling instantly into the same attitude in which he read
the sermon, " What is Whitsuntide, Jonathan," (for that was
the coachman's name,) " or Shrovetide, or any tide or time
past, to this ? Are we not here now ?" Continued the corpo-
ral, (striking the end of his stick perpendicularly upon the
floor, so as to give an idea of health and stability,) " and are
we not" (dropping his hat upon the ground) "gone! in a
moment ! " — It was infinitely striking ! Susannah burst into
1 Phrases occurring between two dashes, are sometimes equivalent to a
parenthesis in effect.
2 All intervening clauses and phrases, of whatever length are read is th«
Style ol parenthesis.
200 ORTHOPHONY.
a flood of tears. — We are not stocks arid stones : — Jonathan,
Obadiah, the cookmaid, all melted. — The foolish fat scullior
herself, who was scouring a fish-kettle upon her knees, was
roused with it. — The whole kitchen crowded about the cor-
poral.
"Are wc net here now, — and gone in a moment?" —
There was nothing in the sentence: — it was one of your
self-evident truths we have the advantage of hearing every
day ; and if Trim had not trusted more to his hat than his
head, he had made nothing at all of it.
" Are we not here now ? " continued the corporal, " and are
we not" (dropping his hat plump upon the ground, — and
pausing before he pronounced the word) " gone ! in a mo-
ment!" — The descent of the hat was as if a heavy lump of
clay had been kneaded into the crown of it. — Nothing could
have expressed the sentiment of mortality, — of which it was
the type and forerunner, — like it: his hand seemed to vanish
from under it ; it fell dead ; the corporal's eye fixed upon it,
as upon a corpse; — and Susannah burst into a flood of
tears."
" EXPRESSION."
Emphasis, fully defined for the purposes of elocution, is
prominent " expression," embodied in an accented syllable.
It bears the same relation to " expression," in its full sense,
that " syllabic accent" bears to " rhythmical accent." It may
be restricted to a single word : " expression " applies, as in
music, to the sequence of sounds, in connected and consecutive
utterance, designed for the communication of feeling.
" Expression," however, while it contains the same ele-
ments with emphasis, comprises a few more. It includes the
effects arising from " quality," in all its forms, " pure," " aspi-
rated," &c, and from the " effusive," " expulsive," and " ex-
plosive" modes of utterance; from force in all its gradations
from whispering to shouting; "stress," in its "radical,*
" median," " vanishing," " compound," and " thorough '
forms ; " tremor ;" " melody," " pitch," " slide " and " wave *
u EXPRESSION." 201
in all their fo/ms; M time," in all its influence over " move-
ment," " rhythm," and metre. These modifications of voice
have all been discussed and exemplified. But to all these,
" expression" adds the effect of " drift," as it has been termed
by Dr. Eush, — or, in other words, the impression produced
on the ear by the frequent or successive recurrence of any
mode or element of " expression."
" Drift,' ' accordingly, is either an excellence or a fault, according
t? the circumstances in which it is adopted as a mode of elfect.
When a passage is so pervaded by one mood of feeling, and by one
style of language and of structure, and even by one form of phrase,
that a special unity of effect is obviously designed, as a result in audi-
ble expression, — a frequent trait of declamatory eloquence and even
of poetic emotion, to which metre still farther contributes, — the
"drift," — or frequently recurring "quality," force, "stress,"
" melody," pitch, " slide," " wave," " movement," or "rhythm,"
— for a "drift" maybe constituted by the frequent recurrence of
one, or of several, or of all of these accidents of voice, — has the
effect of deepening the impression arising from the sentiment as a
whole. Hence we may observe that the "drift," of recurring
" melody," or what, in popular language, is termed a " lone," is
often a means of powerful and deep impression on the ear and on the
external sympathies of an audience, when there is little of unity,
force, or weight, in the sentiment which the speaker utters.
The ear of discerning judgment and of true taste, however, is
always offended, rather than pleased, by any perceptible drift not
authorized by a predominating emotion associated with the language
of a speaker, or the composition in the hands of a reader. Still, a
gentle and chaste ' ' drift ' ' is one of the natural secrets of effect, in
elocution, and should be carefully observed and closely analyzed, by
every student who is desirous of securing a master-key to the human
heart.
It is unnecessary to dwell on this subject after the discussion and
exemplification of emphasis. We will conclude with referring to two
examples which will fully illustrate the effect of " drift." Let the
student read aloud, with well-marked " expression," the first exam-
ple of " impassioned emphasis," (the reply of Coriolanus to the tri-
bunes,) and watch the impression produced on the ear by the recur
jence of those vehement and infuriated downward "slides," which
occur in the words marked by italics and capitals : and he will obtain
a clear idea of the effect arising from the " drift " of that " slide."
The student may then turn to the Appendix, and read aloud, for the
sake of a wide -contrast in " drift," the tender, pathetic, and " chro-
matic " lines illustrative of " feminine grief and sorrow," under the
head of " semitone," in which will be found the opposite " drift"
of recurring " semitone," and other prevailing properties of kindred
character.
THIRD TABLE OB ORTII OPIION I,
EXERCISES ON THE ELEME>TS OF " EXPE ESSION.'
WHISPERING.
11 All 's hushed as midnight, yet !
1 No noise ! and enter." l
HALF- WHIS PER.
" Step softly, and speak low,
For the old year lies a dying ! "
s " PURE TONE."
" Pale mourned the lily where the rose had die^ ! M
" Oh ! that this lovely vale were mine ! "
' " Joy ! joy forever ! My task is done ! "
" OROTUND."
" Farewell ! a long farewell to all my greatness ! "
•' Hail ! holy Light, — offspring of heaven, first-born ! "
" Sound drums and trumpets, boldly and cheerfully ! "
FORCE.
Very soft :— " Oh ! lightly, lightly tread ! "
Soft: — " Take, holy Earth, all that my soul holds dear !"
Moderate: — " The breath of spring awakens the flowers."
Loud : — " Up ! let us to the fields away ! "
Yery loud : — " Liberty ! Freedom ! Tyranny is dead ! "
STRESS.
Impassioned Explosive Radical : — " Up ! comrades, up ! In
Rokeby's halls
Ne'er be it said our courage falls ! "
Unimpassioned Radical: — "A clear, distinct articulation is
an invaluable accomplishment."
Median Stress: — " Oh ! I have lost you all, parents, and home
and friends ! "
" O Lord, my God, Thou art very great ! "
" The shades of eve came slowly down."
Vanishing Stress : — " For Heaven's sake, Hubert, let me not
be bound !"
" While a single foreign troop remained on my native
shore, I would never lay down my arms. Never
never, NEVER!"
1 Repeat, after every example, in its peculiar tone, the elements and a selec •
don from the syllables and words in the first and second tables of Orthophony
ORTHOPHONY. 203
Compound Stress: — "What! to attribute the sacred sanc-
tions of God and nature to the massacres of the
Indian scalping-knife ! "
Thorough Sfrcss: — "Awake! arise! or be forever fallen ! "
riTcn.
Lowest: — "Silence how dead! and darkness how pro-
found!"
Low: — " Dark flow thy tides o'er manhood's noble head."
Middle: — "Lovely art thou, Peace, and lovely are thy
children."
" lie leadeth me by the still waters."
High : — " Now even now, my joys run high ! "
Highest : — " Wheel the wild dance, till the morning break !"
MOVEMENT.
Slowest: — " Creation sleeps: — 'Tis as the general pulse
Of life stood still, and Nature made a pause, —
An awful pause, — prophetic of her end!"
SZoio: — "Now fades the glimmering landscape from the
sight,
And all the air a solemn stillness holds."
Moderate: — " One great end to which all knowledge ought
to be employed, is the welfare of humanity."
Lively: — "Crowned with her pail, the tripping milkmaid
sings ! "
Brisk: — " Haste thee, Nymph, and bring with thee
Mirth and youthful jollity ! "
Rapid: — "And rushing and flushing and brushing and
gushing,
And flapping and rapping and clapping and slap«
And curling and whirling and purling and twirl
Advancing and glancing and prancing and da no
ing,—
T is this way the water comes down at Lodor& *
FOURTH TABLE OF RT II OPJION T.
COMBINATIONS OF EXPRESSION, IN TONES OF EMOI ON
COURAGE.
Orotuni Quality, Loud Utterance, Thorough Stress, High
Pitch, Brisk Movement.
Come one, come all, — this rock shall fly
From its firm base as soon as I. 1
FEAR.
Half Wliisper, Suppressed Farce, Explosive Radical Stress,
Highest Pitch, Rapid Movement.
<; While thronged the citizens, with terror dumb,
Or whispering with white lips, * The foe ! they come, they
come ! "
JOY.
Orotund Quality, Loudest Utterance, Thorough Stress, High
Pitch, Lively Movement.
" J°y> j°y • shout, shout aloud for joy ! "
GRIEF.
Orotund Quality, Subdued Force, Vanishing Stress and
Tre^ior, Middle Pitch, Sloiv Movement.
" Oh ! pardon me, thou bleeding piece of earth ! "
AWE.
Orotund, slightly aspirated, Suppressed Force, Median Stress,
Lowest Pitch, Slowest Movement.
" It thunders ! — sons of dust in reverence bow ! "
ANGER.
Aspirated Orotund, Loudest Utterance, Explosive Radical
Stress, Middle Pitch, Rapid Movement.
" Back to thy punishment, false fugitive ' "
ADMIRATION.
Pure Tone, Earnest Utterance, Median Stress, High Pitch,
Lively Movement.
" Oh ! speak again, bright angel ! "
HURRY.
Aspirated Orotund, Loudest Utterance, Explosive Radical
St7 m ess, Middle Pitch, Rapid Movement.
" Send out more horses ! skirr the country round ' "
TRANQUILLITY.
Orotund Quality, Gentle Utterance, Median Stress, Middli
Pitch. Slow Movement.
14 O'er all the peaceful world the smile of heaven shall lie ! "
1 After practising each example, repeat the elemeuts and the words contain
IligliieiR.. .1 ifaj peculiar style of the example.
FIFTH TABLE OF ORTHOPHOHI.
EXERCISES IN THE DIFFERENT FORMS OF VERSE.
IAMBIC METRE.
Blank Versfe: — "And earthly pride 1 | is like the pausing
flower,
That springs | to fall, and blossoms | but to die, *
Heroic Verse: — " Like leaves on trees | the race of man | is
found ;
Now | green in youth, now | withering on the ground."
Octosyllabic Verse: — " The spacious firmament | on high,
With all the blue ethereal sky,
And spangled heavens, a shining frame,
Their great Original proclaim."
Common Metre: — " Thy love | the power of thought bestowed ;
To Thee J my thoughts would soar :
Thy mercy | o'er my life has flowed.
That mercy 1 1 adore."
TROCHAIC METRE.
" Softly sweet, in Lydian measures,
Soon he soothed his soul to pleasures :
War, he sung, is toil and trouble, —
Honor | but an empty bubble. "
ANAPJSSTIC METRE.
" How fleet | is a glance of the mind !
Compared with the speed of its flight,
The tempest itself J lags behind,
And the swift-winged arrows of light."
" The evening was glorious, and light, through the trees,
Played the sunshine | and raindrops, the birds | and the breeze ;
The landscape, outstretching in loveliness, lay |
On the lap of the year, in the beauty of May."
1 The carefui observance of these shorter pauses, is the surest means of
avoiding the tendency to a jingling style in reading verse.
18
18*
APPENDIX.
THE ORGANS OF VOICE. i
A labored and minute uescription of the organs of the hitman
voice, would be incompatible with the design of a brief and practical
work, such as this. Nor is an exact anatomical knowledge of these
parts of the human frame, or a profound investigation of the physi-
ology of their functions, essential to the purposes of culture. Ail
that is aimed at, in the following observations, is, to impart such an
idea of organic structure and action, as is indispensable to an intelli-
gent, voluntary use of the vocal organs.
To examine the corporeal mechanism of speech, we commence
with a survey of the trunk of the body, the great cavity, or mam
pipe, of vocal sound, and the seat of the principal apparatus whoso
motions give origin to voice. As the first step in our investigation,
then, we wish to withdraw the student's attention entirely from the
tongue, the mouth, and the throat, — the immediate, and, as it were,
conscious instruments of utterance, and to fasten the thoughts on the
sources of voice, — the unconscious, and, in part, the involuntary,
action of the muscles which enlarge and compress the cavity of the
organic frame, and render it a resonant body.
The production of vocal sound, is, to a certain extent, identical
with the function of breathing. A person in health, and free from
pain, breathes without any perceptible sound, but that gentle whis-
pering effect which is produced by inspiration and expiration,-—
drawing in and giving forth the breath. We observe this process
exemplified in the tranquil breathing of one who is reading silently.
JJut let the reader come to a passage of intense interest and exciting
1 To facilitate the use of this manual in practical instruction, subjects
which demand the attention of adult students principally, are transferred to
the appendix of this edition. Individuals who can command the requisite op-
portunities of acquiring actual information concerning the structure of the vocal
organs, would do well to attend anatomical dissections, and particularly post
mortem examinations of the parts; as the tendency of the membranous lining
of the organic apparatus to shrink, when cold, and to shrivel, when dry, does
not easily admit of a true exhibition, — either in mannikin models, anatomi-
cal preparations, or engraved illustrations, — of the most important of all the
instruments of phonation, — the surface of the vocal ligaments. M. Colom-
bo! de 1' I sere, in his work on the hygiene and diseases of the voice, indxatef
the not Uncommon errors, even of professional men, "on this point.
212 APPENDIX.
emotion ; and the breathing becomes, in consequence of the heighfr
ened organic action, caused by excessive feeling, hard and laborious:
its force renders it plainly audible. A sigh, a sob, or a partial
groan, perhaps, follows as the result of the over-excited action of the
breathing apparatus. Breath thus becomes sound. We have hero
the history of involuntary voice.
A parallel illustration might be drawn from the hard breathing, tho
suppressed or loud groans, and the articulate exclamations, of a per-
son suffering through the various stages of pain, from uneasiness to
agony. But it is unnecessary to pursue examples of the fact that
the function of breathing, when rendered intense, becomes vocal. To
analyze the human voice, therefore, or to trace the organic mechan-
ism of speech, we must examine the apparatus employed in the act
of bteathing.
We commence our investigation with the primary action of inspira-
tion, or inhaling breath. A person in good health, draws in breath
by an exertion, partly involuntary, partly voluntary, of those muscles
which, by a combined act, expand, and, at the same time, raise the
chest, and vonsequently enlarge the cavity called the thorax, — the
region between the neck and the stomach. The degree of freedom
and energy, in this muscular action, decides, of course, the extent to
which the thoracic cavity is enlarged, and the volume of air which is
inhaled : it decides also, as a natural consequence, the capacity of
resonance in the chest, and the fulness of the supply of breath, — the
material of sound.
These preliminary facts teach us the first practical lesson in tho
cultivation of the voice, — the necessity of maintaining an erect, free
expansive, unembarrassed, posture of the chest, as an indispensable
condition of full, clear, distinct, effective, and appropriate utterance
Continuing our investigation of voice, we return, for a moment, tr
the case of a person in the act of silent reading. Let the reader
come to a passage, not of exciting effect or vivid emotion, but of pro-
found and absorbing thought, which fixes the attention, with extreme
earnestness, on an abstruse subject, rivets the mind on a single point,
requiring the closest discrimination, or leads it away in a train of
abstract, thought : let there be, in one word, what we term a " breath-
less " attention ; and we observe the person at once in the situation
which we designate by the common phrase, " holding the breath."
The reader, so situated, neither attempts to inhale a fresh breaih, noi
to let go that which he has inhaled ; his chest becomes, as it were,
fixed and immovable ; in the intensity of his attention to a mental
object, he forgets and neglects the organic demands of the vital pro-
cesses ; he unconsciously sympathizes with the stimulated condition
of his brain; and his nervous energy takes that direction, — to the
suspension, almost, of the functions of breathing, and even of circu-
lation, and digestion, — hence the enfeebled state of the lungs, the
paleness of the countenance, and the coldness of the extremities,
which attend close mental application, when inter.se or long contin-
ued. Such is the condition of the human being, under the spell of
PRODUCTION OF VOICE. 213
the intellectual instincts, when nature is absorbing the powers o/life,
for the purposes of fixed thought, and is forbidding utterance, or ex-
pression, or any external manifestation of mind. Voice is, in such
circumstances, silenced ; and the organs are, for the time, irrevocably
closed, by the stricture which is thrown over them.
But let us continue our observation of this silent reader; and we
may perceive, perhaps, an immediate and entire change of phenom-
ena. The spell of irresistible attraction in the page of the book, has
ceased ; the cloud of perplexity has passed away ; the difficulty is
solved ; the discrimination is made ; the doubt is cleared up ; or the
train of thought is come to an issue. As a consequence, the rigor of
the brow relaxes ; a radiant smile takes its place ; the suspended
breathing is resumed, with a deep and full expiration, which seems
to let go the imprisoned function ; the returning blood restores its
hue to the cheek and the lip; animation once more sparkles in the
eye ; the heart resumes the throb of life ; and a genial glow is dif-
fused over the whole frame ; an exclamation of joy, perhaps, suc-
ceeds ; and a friend standing near, is invited, in cheerful accents, to
partake the intellectual pleasure of the reader. The effect on the
organs of speech, in such circumstances, is, then, that the breath is
no longer held : the struggling prisoner escapes in a sigh of instinc-
tive, reactive effort, or in an exclamation of delight.
The practical lesson here taught, is, that utterance demands a free
expulsion, not less than a deep inhalation of breath; — that there
must be a vigorous consentaneous action of the will, along with the
silent involuntary process of nature
The full function of expiration, when carried to the extent of ex-
clamation, as in the case supposed, implies an energetic use of the
lower muscles of the trunk, — those which are termed the abdomi-
nal, 1 — to impart, by upward and inward impulse, a powerful percus-
sion to the diaphragm, by which the breath contained in the air-cells
of the lungs, is forced through the bronchial tubes and the trachea,
towards the glottis and the larynx, where it is converted into sound,
and thence into and through the mouth, and the cavity of the head,
where it is modified into speech, by the action of the nasal passage,
the tongue, the palate, the teeth, and the lips, in the various func-
tions of articulate utterance.
The engraved figures will serve to impart a clearer idea than can
be conveyed by words, of the place and form of the vocal organs,
together with their action in the production of sound.
Figure 1 represents the principal abdominal muscle, by which the
first expulsory movement terminating in sound, is produced. The
action of this muscle, in energetic and abrupt forms of utterance, is
nearly the same in kind, though not in degree, with that which takes
place in the sudden shrinking from a blow, aimed at or below the
- In shouting and calling, and other violent exertions of voice, the dorsal
muscles, — those of the lower part of the back, — partake hi the expulsory
(tot
214 APPENDIX.
sto nach, In vigorous utterance of a steady and sustained character,
or in the energetic singing of long notes, a powerful and continued
upward and inward pressure of the abdominal muscles, takes place,
as in the attitude observed in swift riding on horseback.
2. The diaphragm, which by an upward impulse, consentaneous
with that of the abdominal muscles, and imparted to the pleura, or
enveloping membrane of the lungs, forces the breath from the air-
cells into the bronchi, and thence into the trachea and the larynx.
3. The thorax, the great cavity of the chest. By the expansion
and compression of this capacious organ, the process of breathing
is conducted ; and by its resonance, the voice receives depth and
vclume.
4. The intercostal muscles at the lower, and
5. The thoracic and pectoral muscles, at the upper part of the
chest, serve to dilate and compress it, in the acts of breathing and of
utterance.
6. The pleura, a membrane which envelopes the lungs, and pro
pagates to their cells the impulse by which these are emptied of their
successive supplies of air inhaled at the intervals of speaking or
singing.
7. The lungs* a spongy body, in the form of lobes, into the cells,
or little cavities, of which, the air inhaled in breathing, is drawn, and
from which it is expelled by the impulse communicated, as mentioned
before, by the pleura, and derived from the diaphragm and the abdom-
inal muscles.
8. The bronchi, or tw r o main branches of the trachea, or wind-
pipe. These two tubes are themselves subdivided into many subor-
dinate and minute ramifications, which serve to distribute to the
air-cells of the lungs, — in which they terminate, — the breath
inhaled through the trachea, and to convey that which is expelled
from the lungs, by the impulsive action of the diaphragm, into the
trachea, the larynx and the mouth. One important office of the bron-
chial ramifications, is to vibrate, and thereby aid in rendering vocal
the column of air which is emitted from the cells of the lungs.
9. The trachea, or wind-pipe, a series of connected cartilaginous,
or gristly, rings, forming the great air-tube, which receives and con-
ducts the breath to and from the lungs, in the acts of inspiration and
expiration, and in the function of utterance.
10. The larynx, a cartilaginous box, on the top of the trachea, the
exterior projection of which is familiarly called the Adam's apple, in
allusion to the fabled origin of this part, which was anciently said to
have owed its existence to Adam's fatal offence in swallowing the
forbidden fruit. The whole larynx is the immediate seat and general
instrument of vocal sound. The portions of this organ, which aro
immediately concerned in the production of sound, are,
11. The cricoid cartilage, situated immediately over the uppermost
ring of the trachea, resembling, in form, a seal-ring, from which it
takes its name, but having the broad part at the back, and the narrow
in front. The form and position of this portion of the larynx, admit
of the elevation and depression of its parts, — one step in the process
by which tone is rendered grave or acute.
ORGANS OF VOICE. 215
1*2. The arytenoid cartilages, so called, from their fancied resem-
blance in shape, to a ladle, funnel, or pitcher. These fill up the
space at the back of the thyroid and cricoid cartilages, and are con-
nected with both ; while they serve also as points of support and of
tension, for the vocal ligaments.
13. The thyroid cari'age, which has its name from its partial
resemblance to the form of a buckler, or shield, but much bent. Its
two main plates form the walls, or sides, of the larynx ; and their size
usually determines the capacity of the voice, as we observe, in their
comparative smallness in females and children, and their great expan-
sion and projection in men.
The comparative solidity of texture, in all these component por-
tions of the larynx, and in the gristly rings of which the trachea is
itself composed, give them the power of rendering the voice compact
and sonorous.
14. The vocal ligaments extend across the upper part of the
larynx, and form the lips of the glottis, and by their vibration, to-
gether with the action of the current of air expelled through the tra-
chea and larynx, produce the phenomena of vocal sound or voice
and, by their tension or remission, the effect of high or low pitch.
15. The glottis, so denominated from the partial resemblance of
its shape to that of the tongue, is a small chink, or opening, which
forms the mouth of the larynx. The opening and the contraction of
this portion of the vocal apparatus, decide, in part, the gravity or the
shrillness of tone.
All the parts of the larynx are interconnected by ligaments, and
by muscles which move in concerted action, so as to expand or con-
tract, raise or lower the whole larynx, and thus enlarge or diminish
its capacity, and elevate or depress the pitch of the voice, and increase
or diminish its force. The whole interior of the larynx is lined with
a continuation of the mucous membrane of the mouth, which imparts
to it a vivid sensibility and a unity of action. Hoarseness is the
result of the embarrassment or obstruction of this membrane, by the
mucous accumulations arising from colds or catarrh, or the injudi-
cious habit of using cold water too freely, during the exercise of
speaking.
10. The epiglottis, the valve, or lid, which, when the larynx is
elevated, as in the act of swallowing, covers the glottis, or orifice of
the windpipe, and prevents strangulation. Its usual erect position
allows free ingress and egress to the breath. But, in some instances
of intensely impassioned utterance, its pressure, against the glottis,
becomes an additional preparative for the ultimate explosive eruption
of voice.
17. At the root of the tongue, lies a small crescent-shaped or
hoiseshoe-formed bone, called, from its resemblance to the Greek y,
the hyoid, or u-Uke bone. This member serves, by its firm texture,
as a gateway from the trachea and larynx to the mouth, or from the
latter to the former. It forms a point of tension for the muscles
which connect the larynx with the mouth. Its hard texture enables
it to perform this office effectually, and thus to aid in giving pitch to
rcxial sounds.
21G APPENDIX.
18. The tliyro-hyo'idean membrane connects the thyroid cartilage
with the instrument just described, and facilitates the functions of
both, in elevating or depressing the pitch of the voice.
19. The cricothyroid ligament, attaches, as its name implies, the
cricoid to the thyroid cartilage ; and (20.) the crico-thyroid muscle
facilitates their consentaneous movement, in the production of vocal
sound, acute or grave.
21. The pharynx, or swallow, situated immediately behind and
above the larynx, although not directly concerned in the production
of sound, has, — by resonant space, — a great effect on its character.
Persons in whom this organ is large, have usually a deep-toned
voice ; those in whom it is small, have comparatively a high pitch.
When it is allowed to interfere with the sound of the voice, through
negligence of habit, or bad taste, it causes a false 'and disagreeable
guttural swell in the quality of the voice. 1
22. The nasal passages. Through these channels the breath is
inhaled in the usual tranquil function of breathing. The innermost
part of the nostrils is united into one resonant channel, and opens
into the back part of the mouth, behind the " veil," or pendent and
movable part, of the palate, which serves as a curtain to part the
nasal arch from the anterior portion of the mouth.
23. The internal lubes of the ears. Above the valve of the orifice
of the windpipe, on each side of the root of the tongue, is a small
opening, leading to a tube which communicates with the ear, and
whose orifice is always opened, in the act of opening the mouth.
These tubes have a great effect in rendering vocal tone clear and
free ; as is perceived in the case of obstructions arising from disease,
from accident, or from cold, which impart a dull and muffled sound
to the voice. " The ear," says an eminent writer on this subject,
" being formed of very hard bone, and containing the sonorous mem-
brane of the drum, the sound of the voice entering it, through the air-
tubes, must necessarily be increased by its passage along what may
be termed the whispering galleries of the ear."
The effect of these passages, as conductors of vocal sound, may
be traced in the fact, that the middle and innermost parts of the nos-
trils, open into several hollows, or cells, in the adjacent bones of the
face and forehead. By this arrangement, the whole cavity of the
head is rendered subservient to the resonance of the voice. That
degree of clear, ringing, bell-like sound, which is so obvious a beauty
of the human voice, seems to be dependent on this circumstance.
Hence, too, the stifled tone caused by obstruction arising from cold,
from accident, from the deleterious effect of snuff-taking, or from mal-
formation of organic parts.
The fault of utterance which is termed nasal tone, arises from low-
ering too far the veil of the palate, — the membrane which separates
the mouth from the nasal passages, and raising too high the root of
the tongue, in producing a vocal sound. The consequence of these
i For a full and highly instructive statement of the effect of the pharynx on
utterance, sec a "Treatise on the Diseases and Hygiene of the Organs of the
Voice, by Colombat de Tlsere." Translated by Dr. J. F. W. Lane, and pub-
lished by Otis, Broaders, & Co., Boston.
ORGANS OF VOICE. 217
errors, is that an undue proportion of breath is forced against the
nasal passages, and that these organs are at once overcharged, and
obstructed. Hence, the twanging and false resonance which consti-
tutes " nasal " tone.
24. The cavity, and, more particularly (25) the roof, or ridgy
arch, of the mouth, — in the anterior part of it, — together with (26)
the palate, and (27) the veil, or pendent and movable part of the
palate, and (28) the uvula, or the terminating tag of the veil of th3
palate, in the back part of the mouth, as well as (29) the upper gunr.
and (30) the teeth, in the fore part of it, all serve important purposes
in modifying the sound of the voice, and aiding the function of
speech.
The most satisfactory mode of forming a correct idea of these
organs, is, to inspect the interior of the mouth, by the use of a look-
ing-glass. In this way, the position and action of all these parts, in
the function of speech, may be distinctly observed.
The mouth, by its arched structure, exerts a great influence in
moulding the sound of the voice. It serves at once to give it scope,
and partial reverberation. It gives sweetness and smoothness to
tone ; as we perceive in contrasting the voice duly modified by it,
with that which loses its softening effect, in undue nasal ring, or gut-
tural suffocation.
To give the voice the full effect of round, smooth, and agreeable
tone, the free use of the cavity of the mouth, is indispensable : the
whole mouth must be thrown open, by the unimpeded action and
movement of the lower jaw. A smothered, imperfect, and lifeless
utterance, is the necessary consequence of restraint in the play of this
most effective implement of speech. A liberal opening of the mouth,
is the only condition on which a free and effective utterance can be
produced.
30. The teeth. These instruments, by their hard and sonorous
texture, serve to compact and define the volume of the voice, while
they aid one of the important purposes of distinct articulation, in the
function of speech. Used with exact adaptation to their office, they
give a clear and distinct character to enunciation ; but remissly
exerted, they cause a coarse hissing, resembling the sibilation of the
Inferior animals.
31. The tongue. The various positions and movements of this
wgan, are the chief means of reudering vocal sound articulate, and
thus converting it into speech. They exert, at the same time, a
powerful influence on the quality of the voice, by contracting or
enlarging the cavity of the mouth, and giving direction to voca.
scund : it is the position and action of the root of the tongue, which
render the voice guttural, nasal, or oral, in its effect on the ear.
S2. The lips. These important aids to articulation, not only give
distinctness to utterance, but fulness of effect to the sounds of the
voice. Imperfectly used, they produce an obscure mumbling, instead
of definite enunciation ; and, too slightly parted, they confine the voice
within the mouth and throat, instead of giving it free egress and
emissive force. In vigorous speech, rightly executed, the lips are
slightly rounaed, and even partially, though not boldly, projected.
JL «/
218 APPENDIX.
They thus hecome most effective aids to the definite piojectiort and
conveyance of vocal sound : they emit the voice well moulded, and
as it were, exactly aimed at the ear.
Figures 33 and 34 are intended to exhibit the effect of the epiglot-
tis on the character of vocal sound. — When the voice is thrown out
with abruptness, or even with a clear, decided force and character of
sound, there is first a momentary occlusion of the glottis, attended, in
impassioned utterance, by the downward pressure of the epiglottis,
(the lid of the glottis,) as in the act of swallowing : see figure 33. To
this preparatory rallying of the muscular apparatus, and its accom-
panying effect of resistance, — the natural preliminary to a powerful
and sudden effort, — succeeds an abrupt and instantaneous explosion
of breath and sound, produced by the sudden upward impulse of the
abdominal muscles and the diaphragm, acting on the pleura, and the
air-cells of the lungs, and forcing the breath upward, through the
Dronchi and the trachea, to the larynx. The breath, thus impelled,
bursts forth, parting, in the act, the glottis from the epiglottis, (34,)
and issues from the mouth, in the form of vocal sound.
Such is the history of the function of vocal explosion, — the insep-
arable characteristic of all impassioned utterance, and, in greater or
less degree, accompanying all vivid expression, and all distinct artic-
ulation.
ADDITIONAL BREATHING EXERCISES.
Sighing.
The following exercises may be practised in addition to those
which are prescribed at the beginning of this volume.
Sighing, as a natural effort, designed to relieve the lungs and
accelerate the circulation, when depressing emotions or organic im-
pediments cause a feeling as if the breath were pent up, consists in a
sudden and large inspiration and a full, strong, effusive expiration.
In vocal training, it becomes a most efficacious means of free, unem
barrassed respiration, and, consequently of organic energy and of full
voice. It should be repeated as the other exercises, and practised
both through the nostrils and the mouth ; the former being its gentler,
— the latter, its more forcible form. It should be practised, also, in
the tremulous style of inspiration, in which the sigh resembles a
series of prolonged and subdued sobs.
Sobbing.
Sobbing, as an instinctive act, consists in a slightly convulsive, sub*
duod and whispering gasp, by which an instantaneous supply of
breath is obtained, when the stricture caused by the suffocating effect
of grief, would otherwise obstruct or suspend too long the function
of inspiration. The practice of the sob facilitates the habit of easy
and rapid inspiration, and the expression of pathetic emotion-
Gasping.
Gasping is an organic act corresponding somewhat to sobbing, bu
much more violent, as belonging to the expression of fierce emotions.
THE " SLIDE.' 219
Its effects as an exercise, in disciplining the organs, are ^ery power-
ful, and its use in vehement expression in dramatic passages, highly
effective, and, indeed, indispensable to natural effect.
Panting.
Panting, as a natural act, in a highly excited state of circulation,
whether caused by extreme muscular exertion, or by intense emotion,
consists in sudden and violent inspiration and expiration, the latter
process predominating in force and sound. It is the only form of
respiration practicable in high organic excitement. The practice of
panting as an exercise, imparts energy to the function of respiration,
and vigor to the organs. Its effect is inseparable from the expression
of ardor and intense earnestness in emotion.
ANALYSIS OF "SLIDES."
Before proceeding to the study of the other forms of the " slide,"
it will be an important aid to definite ideas and appropriate applica-
tions of those which have been exemplified, to pause here, and
review the practice of the forms of " concrete " and " radical pitch,"
on elementary sounds, on syllables, and words, and to add a thorough
and extensive course of practice on all gradations of the " slide," but
especially its three chief forms, — the " third," " fifth," and " oc-
tave," both upward and downward.
The following diagram may be used as an ocular suggestion, to
prompt and regulate the ear ; each character being intended to repre-
sent the sound of an element, syllable, or word. The exercise com-
mences with a slide of the " second," the usual interval, in " con-
crete pitch," between the "radical" and the " vanish" of an
element, — as uttered in the common progression of the unemphatic
and inexpressive "melody" of speech or reading, — and extends
through all other intervals to that of the " n ctave." The forms
which are of most frequent occurrence in reading, are repeated sep-
arately.
The bulb of each character in the diagram, represents the " radi-
cal," — the stem, the " vanish."
But it will be of great use, as a matter of practice, with a view to
facility in the command of the voice, to add to the sound of the
" slide," the effects of " effusion," " expulsion," and " explosion ;"
"radical," "median," "vanishing," "compound," "thorough
Btress," and " tremor ;" together with those of " pure tone," " oro-
tund," and "aspiration;" and all stages of force from the softest
" subdued," to that of" shouting."
The "slide" being, in speech and reading, the only means of
marking to the ear the peculiar character of many emcitions, and the
distinctions of thought and language, as well as the relative port ons
of sentences ; the frequent practice of this element of vocal expres
sion, becomes exceedingly important. Equally so is a discriminating
and appropriate use of the " slide." Speech or reading, divested of
its aid, becomes merely mechanical, unmeaning articulation ; as we
observe the fact in the syllabic reading of little children.
220 APPENDIX.
I. Scale of Progressive " Upward and Downward Slides:" from Ihk
"Second" to the " Octave." l
II. " Upward Slide " of the "Second."
» . ^ & ^ ^ ^ cy ^ • * •
III. " Upward Slide " o/*Ae " Tliird."
1 J ^ / ^ J — ®/ c^ f? « /
IV. " Upward S/irfe " of the "Fifth."
Z J J J J J J » J
V. " Upward Slide " of the " Octave."
- y —$ / & $ m & w m —
VI. Alternate "Slides " of the " Tliird."
YII. Alternate "Slides " of the "Fifth."
: J 5 J V i / °\ J V =
VIII. Alternate "Slides " of the " Octave."
^V "\ ,/ \^ ^
* The lowest "radical" on these diagrams, is set, for convenience' sake,
m E cu the '« first line " of the tenor clef. But, to avoid the disagrecabl*
THE "WAVE." 221
The unmeaning style so often and justly complained of in school
reading-, and, sometimes, in professional performances, is, to a great
extent, owing to want of perception in regard to the nature and effect
of the " slide "
Persons who know what an expenditure of time and labor is requi-
site, to train the organs to clear and just execution, and even to cor-
rect intonation, in vocal music, will not be surprised at the extent of
piactice suggested in this department of elocution. Nor is there any
branch of the subject in which close application and persevering prac-
tice are more sure of an ample reward. The ability to read arigiit
the plainest passage of narrative, descriptive, or didactic writing, is
wholly dependent on the just and discriminating use of the " slide."
THE "WAVE," OR " CIRCUMFLEX."
One of the natural modes of " expression," in the " melody of
speech," is, in the language of peculiar emotion, or marked distinc-
tion, the use of a double " slide," the upward and the downward oft
the same sound. This mode of voice, called the " wave," is the
characteristic utterance of sarcasm, mockery, raillery, and other
intense and keen emotions : it marks, likewise, the expression of
humor, irony, and wit, and pungent antithesis, whether serious or
humorous. In its lowest perceptible form, it aids the " swell " or
" median stress" of solemn and sublime feeling. The " wave," like
the single " slide," exists in all varieties of effect, from the slightest
undulation of solemnity, in the interval of the "second," (01 the
"concrete" downward transition from one note of the scale tc the
next below,) to the " third," " fifth," and " octave." The " wave "
is termed " direct," when it slides first upward and then downward ;
" inverted," when the " downward slide " precedes, and the " up-
ward " follows. It is termed " equal," when the " slides " are of
equal height and depth ; the upward and the downward being each a
" third," " fifth," or " octave :" " unequal," when the one " slide "
traverses a wider interval of the scale than the other ; the upward,
for example, being a " third," and the downward, an " octave." —
Grave and sedate feeling, or the affectation of such feeling,
inclines to the use of the " equal wave ;" keen and sarcastic expres-
sion prefers the " unequal wave," from its greater pungency to the
ear.
This element of expression, is one of the most impressive in the
whole range of vocal effect. It gives, in its subdued form, a sus-
tained dignity and grandeur to utterance, without which the long-
drawn sounds of solemnity, would sink into monotony and feebleness.
Sarcastic and ironical expression cannot be given without it. Close
distinctions of sense and meajiing, lose their point and discrimination,
falsetto of E in the " fourth space," in some male voices, it may he arl visa-
hie to pitch the lowest radical, in execution, on C on the fc first leger line
below. : » This change will cause no hiuderance in practice ; as the inlet vals
are not aflected by it, and the slides, consequently, remain the same rela
tirely.
19*
222 APPENDIX.
when deprived of it. Wit and humor cease to exist to tne ear, if tb
ambiguous and equivocal, or graphic effect of the " wave," la
dropped.
An intelligent and discriminating use of this element, is indispen-
sable, however, to its right effect. Adopted too frequently, and
expressed too pointedly, it offends the ear ; as it implies a want of
skill on the part of the reader or speaker, and a want of perception
on that of the hearer. It forms, when given in excess, the striking
feature in overdone emphasis, or that which seems, by its obtrusive-
ness, to forestall the judgment of the person who is addressed, and
compel his perceptions. It is the usual resort of the author of a pun
so poor, that, without his syllabic and waving enunciation, you could
not have surmised its existence.
The " wave " exists sometimes, as a mere local accident of usage,
in what is termed national accent. The dialects of Scotland and of
New England, furnish striking examples of the unmeaning preva-
lence of the "wave." The popular "Yankee story," and, not
unfrequently, the emphasis of well-educated people, abound in
instances of this local intonation.
The use of the "wave" should be carefully practised, in the spirit
of the closest analysis, on the following examples, and, in its princi-
pal forms, applied to " tonic " elements, long syllables, and expres-
sive words and phrases.
EXAMPLES.
1. — The "Equal Wave."
Solemnity and Sublimity.
(".bffusive orotund :" " Subdued " force : Full and prolonged •* medial
swell:" "Low pitch:" "Equal wave of the second." The "wave"
so slight as barely to be discernible.)
1. — From the Morning Hymn. — Milton,
" His l praise, ye winds that from four quarters blow,
Breathe soft or loud ; and wove your tops, ye pines,
With every plant, in sign of worship wave ! "
2. — From ax Evening Hymn. — H. 31. Williams.
" While Thee I seek, protecting Power !
Be my vain wishes stilled ;
And may this consecrated hour
With better hopes be filled ! "
l The " wave " occurs on the letters denoted by italic type.
THE "WAVE." 223
Pointed Antithesis. Serious Expression.
1.
I 'Pure tone:" "Animated" force: "Radical and median stress •■
"Middle Pitch:" "Equal wave of the third.")
Moral to a Fable. — Jane Taylor.
" Let any man resolve to do right l now leaving l then to
do as it can . and if he were to live to the age of Methuselah,
he would never do wrong. — But the common error is to re-
solve to act right after breakfast, or after dinner, or to-m6rrow
morning, or next time. But now, just now, this once, we
must go on the same as ever."
2.
(" Pure tone :" " Moderate " force, " grave " style : " Median stress :"
"Middle pitch:" "Equal wave of the third.")
Chance. — Shakspeare.
" Alas ! the while !
If Hercules, and Lichias, play at dice
Which is the better man, the greater thrSw
May turn by fortune from the weaker hand."
Pointed Antithesis. Half-humorous Style.
3.
(" P ire tone :" " Animated " force : " Median stress :" " Middle pitch :"
" Equal wave of the third.")
Roman citizen, murmuring against the Patricians. — Shakspeare.
" We are accounted poor citizens ; the patricians good
What authority surfeits on, would relieve us. If they would
yield us but the superfluity, while it were wh51esome, we
might guess they relieved us humanely ; but they think we
are too dear: the leanness that afflicts vis, the object of our
misery, is an inventory to particularize their abundance : our
sufferance is a gain to them. — Let us revenge this with our
pikes, ere we become rakes : for the gods know I speak this
in hunger for bread, not in thirst for revenge.
1 The "direct wave" is marked by the usual circumflex accent, ths "i»
verted wave," by an inverted circumflex.
224 APPENDIX.
Wit.
("Pare tone," laughing voice : "Radical and median stres* " U'go
pitch:" "Equal wave i€ ±e thirov')
Beatrice, speaking of Benedick. — Shakspeare.
" In our last conflict, four of his five wits went halting of! ;
and now is the whole man governed with one : so that if
he have wit enough to keep himself warm, let him bear it for
a difference between himself and his horse ; for it is all the
wit that he hath left, to be known a reasonable creature. 1 '
Raillery.
("Pure tone:" "Animated" force : "Median stress:" "High pitch:
"Equal wave of the third.")
Menenius, to TnE Tribunes Brutus and Sicinius. — Shakspeare
" You blame Marcius for being proud ?
Brutus. We do it not alone, sir.
Men. I know you can do very little alone ; for your helps
are many ; or else your actions would grow wondrous sin-
gle : your abilities are too infant-like for doing much alone.
You talk of pride : Oh ! that you could turn your eyes
towards the napes of your necks, and make but an inteiior
survey of your good selves ! "
II.— -The Unequal Wave.
Irony and Derision,
(" Pure tone :" " Animated " force : " Stress " varying from " radical "
to "median:" "High pitch:" Unequal wave of the "third" and
"fifth.")
The Critic. — Sterne.
"How did Garrick speak the soliloquy, last night?" — "Oh!
against all rule, my lord, most ungrammatically ! Betwixt the sub-
stantive and the adjective, which should agree together in number,
case, and gender, he made a breach thus — stopping, as if the point
wanted settling ; and betwixt the nominative ease, which, your lord-
ship knows, should govern the verb, he suspended his voice in the
epilogue, a dozen times, three seconds and three fifths by a stop-
watch, my lord, each time." " Admr dale grammarian ! — Bat, in
THE "WAVE." 225
susr>3itding his voics, — was the sense suspended ?— Did no expres-
sion ci attitude or countenance fill up tlie chasm ? — Was the eye
silent? Did you narrowly look?" — "I looked only at the stop-
watch, my lord ! " — " Excellent observer ! "
Contempt and Derision,
( Aspirated quality :" " Impassioned " force: "Median stress
" High pitch :" u Unequal waves.")
KlRVAL, IN THE OUARKEL WITH GLENALVON. — Home.
" And who is Norval in Glenalvon's eyes ?
Glenalvon. A peasant's son, [3. & 5.] l a wandering leg gar
hoy ! [3. & 8.]
[3. & 5.] At best no more, — even if he speaks the truth.
[3. & 5.]
[5. & 3.] " Hear him, my lord : he 's wondrous condescend-
ing! [5. &3.]
Mark the humility of shepherd Norval!" [3. &
8.]
Scorn and Derision.
r" Aspirated pectoral and guttural quality:" "Impassioned" force:
" Vanishing stress :" u High pitch :" " Unequal wave.")
CORIOLANUS, TO THE SENATORS, WHEN HIS ELECTION TO THE CONSULATE
IS CONTRAVENED BY THE TRIBUNES BRUTUS AND SlCINIUS ; THE LAT-
TER HAVING USED THE WORD " SHALL " IN HIS VETO. — ShakspearC.
" Shall ! [" semitone and octave."]
They chose their magistrate ;
And such a one as he, who puts his shall, [as before.]
His popular shall, against a graver bench, [as before.]
Than ever frowned in Greece ! "
THE " MONOTONE. "
This designation, like many others used in the technical language
cf elocution, is not strictly applicable to the fact of voice which it ia
i The figures indicate the "unequal wave of the "third" and "fifth," &c
In these exemplifications it is not intended that either a weaker or a strongei
* { expression," an inferor or a greater " wave," may not be appropriately used
if it be not out of proportion to the context. In the strongei expressions
there mi°ht even be a prolonged and repeated, or " double " "wave," ii
highly animated reading.
226 APPENDIX.
used to denote. The word " monotone " should impoit a a.ria mv*
sical sameness of sound ; but, in actual usage, it applies, rather, to
successive repetitions of the same " radical " and " concrete pitch, "
in the common form of the latter, as in the " radical " and " vanish "
of unimpassioned or inexpressive utterance.
Two causes have contributed to the license of language, in tl e
vague use of this term : first, the fact that what is termed monotone,
as differing from mere monotony, (the one being an intentional and
impressive effect ; the other, an accidental fault of the ear and habit,)
is, usually, the utterance of a long, and even protracted, vowel sound,
with a peculiarly full " median stress," which absorbs the attention,
and occupies the ear, to the exclusion of the differential sounds of the
" radical " and the " vanish." The style in " monotone " approaches
comparatively near to that of music, as contradistinguished from
speech by more or less of the " swell." Hence the middle point of
each sound will be most impressive to the ear, and obliterate the
effect of the extremes. An apparent absolute monotone, is thus pro-
duced. — Another cause of error in the designation of " monotone,"
is the effect of the close and frequent recurrence of apparently the
same note, in the repetition of the same "radical" and "concrete
pitch," on successive words; as what is termed "monotone'' is
usually a partial sameness of voice on several, or on many words, in
succession.
The term " monotone," then, when used in the language of elocu-
tion, must be understood as conventional, and employed merely to
avoid circumlocution. It implies the successive repetition of the
same "radical" and "concrete" pitch, with the addition of a full
and prolonged " median stress," so executed as to occupy the ear to
the exclusion, nearly, of the " radical " and " vanish " of the sounds
to which it is applied. The partial sameness of voice, thus produced,
has been, not inaptly compared, as mentioned before, to the repeated
sounds of a deep-toned bell; as the "monotone" is usually the
expression of low-pitched, solemn utterance, analogous in effect, to
the bell's perpetually recurring low note. The " monotone " is, in
the true, natural, and unstudied use of the voice, — the invariable
standard of elocution, — the style of awe, reverence, solemnity, sub-
limity, grandeur, majesty, power, splendor, and all other modes of
feeling which imply vastness and force, particularly when associated
with the idea of supernatural influence or agency. It expresses,
also, the feelings of amazement, terror, and horror, or whatevei
emotion arises from the contemplation of preternatural effects.
The reason why this peculiar form of utterance is associated with
the extremes of emotion, seems to be the same that we observe when
we hear a person who has been an eye-witness of an awful event,
relating what he has seen : the excess of feeling denies him the
power of varied utterance; and his perpetually low, husky cote*
THE " MONOTONE." 227
which seenjs to come from the depths of his inmost frame, thrills
the hearer with a feeling from which a varied intonation would
be an instantaneous relief. The same principle divested of the
associations of horror, applies, in degree, to scenes and objects
of overpowering majesty and splendor. The impression is, in such
instances, too powerful to allow the varied and free play of ordinary
utterance.
The " monotone," therefore, as the indication of vastness and
pa v^er, pervades the style of all the noblest and most impressive
forms of human language in poetry, and, not unfrequently, in prose
of a high-wrought style. It abounds, particularly, in the reading of
the sacred Scriptures ; and it is indispensable in the devotional lan-
guage of hymns. It is used likewise in verse, and in poetic prose,
for melody of effect, instead of the " downward slide of complete
The " monotone " does not, it is true, occur so frequently as most
other modifications of voice. But, from its special office, it acquires
peculiar importance. Without it, the tones of a devotional exercise,
or the reading of many parts of the Scriptures, are unavoidably asso-
ciated with irreverence, or utter absence of appropriate feeling. The
language of Milton or of Young,, becomes parody to the ear, when
divested of the due effect of this impressive element of voice.
A great error, however, to be carefully avoided in actual reading
and speaking, is the prevalent use of this mode of voice, without dis-
tinction of circumstances. The wearisome sameness of school read-
ing, and of the style of many professional speakers, arises from the
habitual unintentional use of this element. The monotony thus pro-
duced can be tolerated only in a law paper, a state document, a bill
of lading, or an invoice, in the reading of which, the mere distinct
enunciation of the words, is deemed sufficient. In other circum-
stances it kills, with inevitable certainty, everything like feeling or
expression.
The student of elocution will derive great benefit, in his practice
on " monotone," from a repetition of the elements and of woids, on
the recurring identical successive "radical and concrete," with full
prolongation and ample " median stress."
The following examples will serve to suggest others of similar
character.
EXAMPLES OF " MONOTONE."
Devotional Awe and Reverence.
("Effusive orotund quality:" " Subdued" force: "Median stress: 7
"Very low pitch.")
[Extracts from the Scriptures.]
4 " Holy ! holy ! holy ! Lord God of Sabaoth ! "
* The " monotone " is usually distinguished by this horizontal mari.
228 APPENDIX.
" Bless the Lord, my soul ; and all that is within roe, bless his
holy name ! "
11 Unti Thee 1 lift up mine eyes, 6 Thou that dwellest in the
heaiens! "
Awe, Sublimity, Majesty, Power, Horror.
{" Quality," force, " stress," and pitch, as before.)
*' And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and lo ! ther^
was a great earthquake. And the sun became black as sackcloth u
hair, and the moon became as blood; and the stars of heaven fT.i
unto die earth, even as a fig-tree casteth her untimely flgy, whei
she n shaken of a mighty wind. *And the heaven departed as a
scroll when it is rolled together ; and every mountain and island were
moved out of their places. *And the kings of the ea~th, and the
great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty
men, and every bond-man, and every free-man, hid themselves in Ce
Jens and in the rocks of the mountains ; and said to the mountain
and rocks, l ' Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that slt-
teth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb : 1 for the ^real
day of his wrath is come ; and who shall be able to stand? ' "
Amazement and Terror.
("Aspirated pectoral quality :" " Suppressed force :" "Median stiuss •"
"Very low pitch.")
" In thoughts from the visions of the night, when deep sleep fTIl
eth on m£n, l fear came upon me and trembling, which made Jul ray
bones to shake. x Then a spirit passed before my face ; ! the hidr of
my flesh stood up. — It stood still ; but I could not discern thu form
thereof. An Image was before mine eyes ; l there was faience ; and
I heard a voice saying, J ' Shall mortal man be more just than GCd?
Shall a man be more pure than his Maker? ' "
Majesty and Grandeur
(" Orotund quality :" " Moderate " force : " Median stress :" < Low
pitch.")
[Description of Satan.] — Milton.
" His form had not yet lost
All her original brightness, nor appeared
' A deeper note commences at each of the places thus marked. Th *hol#
passage is a sraesession of " monotones."
THE "monotone." 229
Less than archangel ruined, and the excess
Of glory obscured ; as when the sun new ris«n
Looks through the horizontal misty air,
Shorn of his beams, or from behind the moon
In dim eclipse, disastrous twilight sheds
On half the nations, and with fear of change
Perplexes monarchs."
Sublimity and Splendor.
(' Orotund quality :" "Moderate" force: "Median stress:" "Lew
pitch.")
[Summer.] — Thomson.
11 But yonder comes the powerful King of Day,
Rejoicing in the east. The lessening cloud,
The kindling azure, and the mountain's brow,
Illumed with fluid gold, his near approach
Betoken glad. Lo ! now, apparent all,
Aslant the dew-bright earth, and colored air,
He looks in boundless majesty abroad,
And sheds the shining day, that burnished plays
On rocks, and hills, and towers, and wandering streams,
High gleaming from afar."
Vaslncss, Sublimity, and Solemnity,
|' c Orotund quality:" "Impassioned" force: "Median stress:" "Lot*
pitch.")
[The Ocean.J — Byron,
" Thou glorious mirror ! where the Almighty's form
Classes itself in tempests ; in all time,
Calm or convulsed, — in breeze, or gale, or storm,-—
Icing the pole, or in the torrid clime
Dark heaving; — boundless, endless, and sublime,-
The image of Eternity, — the throne
Of the Invisible ; even from out thy slime
The monsters of the deep are made ; each zone
Obeys thee, — thou go'st forth, dread, fathomless, alone ! n
"Poetic Monotone."
[The "poetic monotone" is properly, the distinctive "second"
which gives to the language of verse or of poetic prose, when not
20
230 APPENDIX.
marked by emphatic or impassioned force, its peculiar melody, as
sontrasted with the " partial cadence " of " complete sense in
clauses. " The two faults commonly exemplified in passages such
as the following, are, 1st, that of terminating a clause which forms
complete sense, with a " partial cadence," — 2d, that of terminating
it with the upward " slide " of the " third." Both these errors turn
verse into prose, or render poetic language in prose, dry and inex-
pressive ; as both these modes of voice are the appropriate language
of fact, and not of feeling or melody.']
('•Turc tone:" " Subdued " force : "Median stress:" "Higr. pitch.")
1. — [Music] —Moore.
" For mine is the lay that lightly floats,
And mine are the murmuring dying notes,
That fall as soft as snow on the sea,
And melt in the heart as instantly."
(/Ture tone:" "Subdued" fcrx: " Median stress:' < low pitch.")
2. — [Autumn Scene.] — Mellen.
" The winds of autumn came over the woods.
As the sun stole out from their solitudes ;
The moss was white on the maple's trunk ;
And dead from its arms the pale vine shrunk ;
And ripened the mellow fruit hung ; and red
Were the tree's withered leaves round it shed."
i < Pure tone :" " Moderate " force : " Median stress :" " Low pitch ")
3. — [The Ocean Depths.] — Percival.
" Deep in the wave is a coral grove,
Where the purple mullet and gold-fish rove,
Where the sea-flower spreads its leaves of blue,
That never are wet with falling dew,
But in bright and changeful beauty shine
Far down in the green and glassy brine."
(" Quality," force, " stress," and pitch, as before.)
4. — [Nature.] — Bryant.
M Still shall sweet summer, smiling, linger here,
And wasteful winter lightly o'er thee pass ;
Bright dews of morning jewel thee, and all
The silent stars watch over thee at night j
THE "semitone." 231
The mountains clasp thee lovingly within
Their giant arms, and ever round thee bow
The everlasting forests."
"Poetic Monotone," in Descriptive Prose.
(" Quality/' &c, as before.)
1. — [Spring.] — Anonymous.
•* In the calm spring evenings, what, delightful hours the cottager
spends in his little garden! — He is not without a feeling — unut-
tered though it be — of the sweetness of spring, and the delights of
the passing hour ; for, as the shades of night fall darkly on the scene,
he leans upon his spade, and lingers to breathe the odorous air, to
hear the faint murmur of his wearied bees, now settling peaceably in
their hive for the night, and the glad notes of birds, dying melodi-
ously away in the inner woods.' '
(" Quality," &c, as before.)
2. — [The Chosen Grave.] — Anonymous.
" The thought is sweet to lay our bones within the bosom of our
native soil. The verdure and the flowers I love, will brighten around
my grave; — the same trees whose pleasant murmurs cheered my
living ears, will hang their cool shadows over my dust ; — and the
eyes that met mine in the light of affection, will shed tears over the
sod that covers me, keeping my memory green within their spirits."
11 SEMITONIC OR CHROMATIC MELODY."
The uses of the musical scale, which occur, either in the natural
and accustomed forms of speech, or the exercise of reading, have
been, thus far in our analysis, of the character termed " diatonic."
That is to say, the intervals, or the transitions, of voice, hitherto dis-
cussed in this volume, have all been such as extend to at least the
interval of a full tone, or occupy the entire space necessarily trav-
ersed, in passing from one note to another, at the relative distance of
a whole tone. The term " diatonic " may therefore be applied to all
the melodial functions of voice to which we have been attending ; and
the " diatonic melody " of a sentence may be briefly thus reviewed.
— In the simple statement of fact or of thought, in unimpassioned
narration, and in plain definition or description, the " current mel-
ody" of a sen te ice will consist of, 1st, the usual upward "con-
crete " produced by the " radical " and " vanish " of the elements of
speech, traversing a tone, or occupying the interval of a " second ;"
2d, an occasional downward " concrete " of the " second ;" 3d, the
differential " radical pitch," in the forms of upward and downward
232 APPENDIX.
ditone," " tritone," and " alternate phrase ;" 4th, the termination
of the " sentential melody " by the " triad of the cadence." In im
passioned narration, description, or statement, ''expression" may
demand, instead of the sedate and reserved effect of such " melody,"
the vivid style of the upward and downward " slides " of the " third,"
the " fifth," the " octave ;" and, in extreme emotion, even a wider
interval. In a still higher stage of excitement, the "wave," or
double slide, of the same intervals, may be requisite ; and, in ex-
tremely deep and solemn feeling, the prolonged " second," called
" monotone."
This enumeration would exhaust the chief forms of " diatonic mel-
ody;" as the intervals of the "fourth," "sixth," and "seventh,"
are rarely found in the regulated functions of speech or in reading.
Conscious guilt, shame, and cowardice, will be found, in consequence
of their agitated, suppressed, and unhinged utterance, to substitute,
sometimes, the imperfect effect of the downward " second " for the
downward "third," a struggling and choking upward " second " for
an upward "third," — the " fourth," in the same style, when the
voice seems aiming at a "fifth," — and a " seventh " for an "oc-
tave." The ungovernable voice of inebriety sometimes shoots over
the " third " into the " fourth," and so of the other intervals, or falls
a tone short of its aim, through untuned ear, and organic paralysis,
so as to give the peculiarly dissonant and inharmonious effect of its
characteristic utterance. Boyhood, in its wild freaks of ungoverned
feeling, sometimes delights to execute these anomalies of voice, for
sportive effect.
But the next practically important stage of voice, connected with
the study of melody as a branch of elocution, is that which is exhib-
ited in the use of the "semitone," or half tone. To persons to
whom the technical nomenclature of music is familiar, it would be
sufficient to say that we have now to do with the " chromatic " scale,
or that which ascends and descends by half instead of whole tones.
Students of elocution who have not paid attention to musical terms,
may be directed to the interval under consideration by the general
statement that it is that which gives to any sound, vocal, or instru-
mental, or accidental, (as in the occasional tones of the wind, or of
the iEolian harp,) the effect which is universally termed " plaintive."
An exact idea of the " semitone," would be formed by thinking
of it as occupying precisely half the interval of the usual :< concrete "
of the " radical " and " vanish " of the " second " upward or down*
ward. The student may be able to give it correct exemplification by
attempting to utter a common " concrete," with a whining or plain-
tive tone. He will find that, in this case, his voice glides upward or
downward in a style barely perceptible, and falling obviously short
of that of the " diatonic concrete."
The voice of the mother condoling with her grieving child, is a
vivid natural exemplification of the effect of" semitone ;" as is, also,
the tone of sorrow or regret, in the utterance of childhood. Even the
manly expression of grief, takes this mode of utteiance, especially in
the language of dramatic poetry, in passages in which grief is not
violent, but subdued, in its tone. The excess and caricature of chif
THE "semitone." 233
mode of voice, occurs in the whine of the dispirited child, of tho
exhausted invalid, of the languishing hypochondriac, or of the
pathetic sentimentalist. It is thrown out still more perceptibly on
the ear, in the child's whimpering approach to crying, when lie is
overcome by pain or apprehension. The extensive range of circum-
stances which require or produce the " semitone," may he distinctly
apprehended, if we pass, at once, to the example afforded in the deep
and pecuJ ; /3r tones of penitence or contrition, and of supplication, —
feelings in the true and just utterance of which, it always predomi-
nates, and which cannot be expressed to the ear without it
The " semitone," or " chromatic " interval, is the appropriate ex-
pressive note of all pathetic and tender emotion. It gives utterance
to affectionate sympathy, commiseration, compassion, pity, and tender*
ness. It is, also, the characteristic of grief and sorrow in their sub-
dued forms, of regret, penitence, contrition, complaint, condolence
supplication, and entreaty.
" Chromatic" is a term borrowed from the art of painting, and
transferred to that of music, by one of those customary licenses of
speech, by which the terms of one art, addressed to one sense, are
transferred to another art, addressed to a different sense. This pro-
ceeding in language is owing, in most instances, to comparative pau-
city of appropriate terms, in the art which borrows the use of words.
But it sometimes, though not always, produces a happy effect, in the
form of figurative illustration, and facilitates a vivid apprehension of
the idea to which a borrowed term is applied. Thus, the word
" chromatic " was originally applied to the painter's scale of grada-
tion in colors, when these are arranged not for contrast but gradual
approximation to each other. Suppose, for example, a colored scale
of degrees, in which one degree should be yellow ; the next, red ;
the next, black. The colors would, in this case, stand forth perfectly
distinct from each other ; as the tones of the " diatonic " scale exist
to the ear. Suppose, again, a scale of colors divided into successive
hall degrees, thus ; passing gradually from the bright to the dark
tint, through intervening hues, — yellow, orange, red, brown, black.
We should now have a softened or mitigated transition of approxi-
mated, or half-blended, tints ; the effect corresponding, as regards the
eye. to that of " chromatic " or " semitonic " progression of note3 to
the ear.
The effect of the "semitone" extends over all the intervals,
" concrete " and " discrete," from the mere " radical " and " vanish "
up to the " octave," and so downward, as designated in the " diatonic "
scale. But the " octave " is comparatively seldom used in the semi-
tonic form. The principal applications of the " semitone " are found
in the " monotone," the " semitone" proper, the " third," and the
" fifth." The " chromatic melody," takes effect, likewise, in all the
"phrases of sentential melody," both in the "current" and the
closing strains, with this peculiar exception, that the change by
radical pitch" in the "chromatic current," although it is hi
20=*
234 APPENDIX.
" semitone," when upward, is through the interval of a " tone, >
when it descends.
The importance of " chromatic melody," as an element of elocu-
tion, will be at once perceived, when we advert to the fact of it*
great power over sympathy, and its value, as an instrument of effect,
in the hands of the orator, the reciter, and the reader. The speaker
who relies wholly on his power to overawe, to arouse, or to impel,
will always be found unfit for the treatment of all subjects which
appeal to human sympathy and tenderness. The orator is deficient
in power, who cannot touch and soften, and melt and subdue : ne is
incapable of exerting the easiest and surest sway over the heait.
Genuine pathos is " the gentle hand, that leads the elephant by a
hair."
The application of the semitone, as an implement ol vocal effect,
needs peculiar skill ; as the least approach to excess in its use, or to
artificial aiming at its object, renders a reader or speaker ridiculous.
Some readers, however, (and the number is large among young
ladies,) through habitual languor or feebleness, allow themselves to
fall into " semitone,' 1 as a habit of the voice, and consequently read,
on all occasions, with a gratuitous pathos of tone throughout, and in
cadences, more particularly, with what the poet terms " a dying,
dying fall."
A thorough command of pathetic utterance, needs a close and dis-
criminating application to the different effects of" tone " and " semi-
tone;" and every student of elocution, who is not master of these
distinctions, should practise carefully with a musician, till he can
execute, with perfect and instantaneous precision, all the applications
of the "semitone" as it affects the intervals of the "semitone
proper," and of the " third," and " fifth," — the forms in which it
most frequently occurs in " expression."
The practice of the following examples, should be accompanied by
frequent and extensive exercises on the elements, and on words and
phrases, as well as lines and sentences of appropriate character. Ad-
ditional examples may be found by referring to passages quoted under
other heads, in various parts of this manual, for the purpose of
exemplifying pathetic and tender emotions, in the various particulars
of" quality," " force," " stress," " pitch," &c.
EXAMPLES OF " SEMITONE."
Affectionate Sympathy.
("Pure tone:" "Impassioned" force: "Vanishing stress," md l ;re-
mor :" "High pitch:" "Semitone," throughout, — interval cf the
"fifth.")
Adam, [to Orlando.] — Shckspeare.
" What ! my young master? — O my gentle master!
O my sweet master ! O you memory
Of old Sir Rowland ! — why, what make you here ?
Why are you virtuous ? Why do people love you I
THE "semitone." 235
And wherefore are you gentle, strong, and valian ?
Your praise is come too swiftly home before you.
Oh ! what a world is this, when what is comely
Envenoms him that bears it ! "
Pure tone:" "Moderate" force: "Median stress:" "Middle pitch:"
" Semitone," throughout, — interval of the " third.")
Orlando, [to Adam.] — Shakspeare.
" O good old man ! how well in thee appears
The constant service of the antique world,
When service sweat for duty, not for meed ! —
11 But poor old man ! thou prun'st a rotten tree,
That cannot so much as a blossom yield,
In lieu of all thy pains and husbandry ! "
Commiseration,
(" Pure tone :" " Impassioned " force : " Vanishing stress," and " trc~
mor :" Weeping utterance : " Semitone proper," throughout ; and
occasional " chromatic thirds " and " fifths.")
CoBDELIA, [WATCHING OVER nER FATHER, AFTER HIS EXPOSURE TO TH1
tempest.] — Shakspeare.
" my dear father ! — Restoration, hang
Thy medicine on my lips ; and let this kiss
Repair those violent harms, that my two sisters
Have in thy reverence made !
" Had you not been their father, these white flakes
Had challenged pity of them. Was this a face
To be exposed against the warring winds 1
To stand against the deep, dread-bolted thunder?
In the most terrible and nimble stroke
Of quick, cross lightning? — to watch, (poor perdu,)
With this thin helm ! Mine enemy's dog,
Though he had bit me, should have stood that night
Against my fire ; And wast thou fain, poor father,
To hovel thee with swine, and rogues forlorn,
In short and musty straw 1 Alack, alack !
*T is wonder that thy life and wits, at once,
Had not concluded all ! "
236 APPENDIX.
Compassion.
(" Pure one :" " Subdued " force : " Median stress : « Middle luVh
' Semitone proper,'' and "chromatic third," prevalent.
Brutus [on the night befoee the battle of PniLirri, to the bo?
Lucius, his attendant.] — Shakspeare.
" Bear with me, good boy, I am much forgetful.
Canst thou hold up thy heavy eyes awhile,
And touch thy instrument a strain or two 1
I trouble thee too much ; but thou art willing.
I should not urge thy duty past thy might,
I know young bloods lack for a time of rest.
1 will not hold thee long : if I do live,
1 will be good to thee. [Lucius plays and sings.]
" This is a sleepy tune : — O muiderous Slumber!
Lay'st thou thy leaden mace upon my boy,
That plays thee music ? — Gentle knave, good night!
I will not do thee so much wrong to wake thee.
If thou dost nod, thou break'st thy instrument :
I '11 take it from thee ; and, good boy, good night ! "
Pity and Tenderness,
f " Pure tone :" " Subdued " force : " Median " and " Vanishing stress :
" High pitch :" " Semitone proper," and " chromatic fifth," through
out.)
Miranda, [to Ferdinand, when he is undergoing the task of car-
rying AND PILING LOGS, AT THE COMMAND OF HER FATHER.] Shttkt
pe ire.
" Alas! now, pray you,
Work not sc hard : I would the lightning had
Burned up those logs, that you are enjoined to pile !
Pray, set it down and rest you : when this burns,
*T will weep for having wearied you. My father
Is hard at study, — pray now, rest yourself:
lie 's safe for these three hours.
" If you'll sit down,
I '11 bear your logs the while : pray, give me that,—
I '11 carry it to the pile ' M
THE i( SEMITONE." 237
Feminine Grief and Sorrow.
(**£ttre ione :" "Subdued" force : "Median stress:" "High pitch :"
"Semitone," throughout, and occasional "chromatic third "
[Death of a child at sea.] — Anonymous.
My boy refused his food, forgot to play,
And sickened on the water, day by day ;
lie smiled more seldom on his mother's smile ;
He prattled less, in accents void of guile,
Of that wild land, beyond the golden wave.
Where I, not he, was doomed to be a slave ;
Cold o'er his limbs the listless languor grew ; ,
Paleness came o'er his eye of placid blue, —
Pale mourned the lily where the rose had died ;
And timid, trembling, came he to my side. —
He was my all on earth. Oh ! who can speak
The anxious mother's too prophetic woe,
Who sees death feeding on her dear child's cheek,
And strives, in vain, to think it is not so?
Ah ! many a sad and sleepless night I passed,
O'er his couch, listening in the pausing blast,
While on his brow, more sad from hour to hour,
Drooped wan dejection like a fading flower! "
Manly Grief and Sadness.
("Effusive orotund:" "Subdued" force: "Median stress:' "Low
pitch:" "Semitone" prevalent, with occasional "chromatic third.")
[The exile of the " Forest Saxctuakv," recalling his wife's ves-
per nvMN at sea.] — Mrs. Ilemans.
" Thy sad, sweet hymn, at eve, the seas along,—
Oh ! the deep soul it breathed ! — the love, the woe,
The fervor, poured in that full gush of song,
As it went floating through the fiery glow
Of the rich sunset ! — bringing thoughts of Spain,
With all her vesper voices, o'er the main,
Which seemed responsive in its murmuring flow. —
l Ave sanctissima ! ' — how oft that lay
Hath melted from my heart the martyr strength away !
f Ora pro nobis, mater ! ' — What a spell
Was in those uotes, with day's last glory dying
238 APPENDIX.
On the flushed waters . — seemed they not to swell
From the far dust wherein my sires were lying,
With crucifix and sword? — Oh ! yet how clear
Comes their reproachful sweetness to mine ear ! —
1 Ora ! ' — with all the purple waves replying, —
All my youth's visions rising in the strain ; —
And I had thought it much to bear the rack and chain ! "
Regret, Penitence, Contrition.
;"I*ure tone:" "Subdued" force: "Vanishing" stress: "Low pitch:
" Semitone," throughout, with occasional " chromatic third.")
[Reflections and resolve of the Prodigal Son.]
1 How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and
to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my
father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven
and before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy son : make
me as one of thy hired servants ! "
Complaint,
("Aspirated pectoral quality:" "Impassioned" force: "Vanishing
stress:" "Low pitch:" "Semitone" throughout, with occasional
"chromatic third" and "fifth.")
[Lamentation of Job.]
M And now my soul is poured out upon me ; the days of affliction
have taken hold upon me. My bones are pierced in me, in the night
season : and my sinews take no rest. — He hath cast me into the
mire ; and I am become like dust and ashes. I cry unto thee, and
thou dost not hear me : I stand up, and thou regardest me not.
Thou art become cruel to me : with thy strong hand thou opposest
thvself against me. Thou liftest me up to the wind ; thou causest
me to ride upon it, and dissolvest my substance. For I know that
thou wilt bring me to death, and to the house appointed for all
living ! "
Condolence.
("Pure tone:" "Subdued" force: Gentle "vanishing stress:" "Mid-
dle pitch:" "Semitone," throughout, with occasional "chromatic
third" and "f*Lh."
[Cromwell, to Wolsey on his downfall.] — Shakspcan.
" O my lord,
Must I then leave you ? must I needs forego
THE •'SEMITONE." 239
So good, so noble, and so true a master?
Bear witness, all that have not hearts of iron,
With what a sorrow Cromwell leaves his lord. —
The king shall have my service ; but my prayers
Forever and forever shall be yours ! "
Pathetic Supplication and Intercession.
f Effusive orotund:" "Subdued" force: " Median stress :" "Low
pitch :" " Semitone," throughout, with occasional "chromatic third.")
i — [Kmo Henry VI. at the death-bed of Cardinal Beaufort. | —
Shakspeare.
•• O Thou eternal mover of the heavens,
Look with a gentle eye upon this wretch !
Oh ! beat away the busy, meddling fiend, r
That lays strong siege unto this wretch's soul ;
And from his bosom purge this black despair ! "
Penitential Supplication and Entreaty.
;"Pure tone, pectoral quality:" "Subdued" force: Soft, but earnest
"vanishing stress:" "Very low pitch:" "Semitone," throughout,
with occasional " chromatic third " and " fifth.")
[The Psalmist's self-humiliation and contrition.]
" Have mercy upon me, God, according to thy loving kindness :
according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies, blot out my
transgressions ! Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity and cleanse
me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions ; and my
sin is ever before me. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and
done this evil in thy sight. Hide thy face from my sbs, and blot
out all mine iniquities ! Deliver me from blood-guiltiness, O God
thou God of my salvation ! "
CULTIVATION OF PURE TONE.
[Our desire to render this manual conducive, as far as possible, to
perfect development of the voice, induced us to solicit the aid aiia
jng from the perfect discipline to which the organs are subjected, in
the elementary practice of the art of music. Professor G. J. Webb,
of the Boston Academy of Music, has, in compliance with oui
request, furnished the following directions for the cultivation ef per
240
APPENDIX.
feet purity of tone, the want of which, in elocution, is a prevalent
fault, both in public speaking and private reading.]
It is important that the pupil, at the very outset of vocal study,
should have the ability of appreciating purity of tone. Unless he
has some distinct perception of it ; in other words, unless a model of
pure tone has been formed in his own mind, all merely physical
effort to acquire it will be likely to fail.
The practice of the scale in swelling tones, is chiefly relied upon
by teachers of vocal music, for developing the voice, and for acquir-
ing- purity, mellowness, flexibility, and an adequate breadth of tone.
Immediately before singing each sound, breath should be taken so
as completely to inflate the lungs ; and after pausing an instant with
the chest well expanded, the sound should commence with firmness,
but with great softness, then gradually augmented to the loudest
degree, succeeded by being as gradually diminished to the degree
of force with which it began. Each tone should be prolonged from
eighteen to twenty seconds.
This exercise, as a general rule, should be continued for about tw©
months ; singing the scale daily about four times.
In the delivery of the tones of the " chest register,'' the air ought
to escape without touching the surfaces of the mouth ; the tones of
the " medium register," are best acquired by directing the air a little
above the upper front teeth : — in those of the " head register," the
air is directed vertically
ETz
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CULTIVATION OF PURE TONE.
241
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To adapt the above exercise to the Contralto and Bass voice, it
must be transposed a third or fourth lower.
This mark _^?L is designed to indicate the swelling
pp-^zzzz^^-pp
tone ; the double comma before each note, the place ior breathing
21
242 APPENDIX.
EXTRACTS FOR PRACTICE.
EXERCISES IN "PURE TONE."
(" Subdued M force, or softened utterance.)
L — Pathos.
1. — [The Grave of a Family.] — Gray.
41 I wandered on, scarce knowing where I went,
Till I was seated on an infant's grave.
Alas ! I knew the little tenant well :
She was one of a lovely family,
That oft had clung around me like a wreath
Of flowers, the fairest of the maiden spring : —
It was a new-made grave, and the green sod
Lay loosely on it ; yet affection there
Had reared the stone, her monument of fame.
I read the name I loved to hear her lisp : —
'T was not alone ; but every name was there,
That lately echoed through that happy dome.
" I had been three weeks absent : — in that time
The merciless destroyer was at work,
And spared not one of all the infant group.
The last of all I read the grandsire's name,
On whose white locks I oft had seen her cheek,
Like a bright sunbeam on a fleecy cloud,
Rekindling in his eye the fading lustre,
Breathing into his heart the glow of youth, —
He died, at eighty, of a broken heart,
Bereft of all for whom he wished to live."
2. — [Heroism of the Pilgrims.] — Ckoate.
[" I acknowledge the splendor of the scene of Thermopylae in all
its aspects. I admit its morality, too, and its useful influence on
every Grecian heart, in that greatest crisis of Greece.]
" And yet, do you not think, that whoso could, by adequate
description, bring before you that winter of the Pilgrims, its brief
sunshine, the nights of storm slow waning ; the damp and icy breath,
felt to the pillow of the dying ; its destitutions, its contrasts with all
their former experience in life ; its insulation and loneliness ; its
death-beds and burials ; its memories ; its apprehensions ; its hopes •
the consultations of the prudent ; the prayers of the pious ; the occa-
EXERCISES IN " PURE TONE :" SOLEMNITY 243
sional cheerful hymn, in which the strong heart threw off its bur-
then, and, asserting its unvanquished nature, went up like a bird of
dawn, to the skies ; — do ye not think that whoso could describe
them calmly waiting in that defile, lonelier and darker than Thermo-
pylae, for a morning that might never dawn, or might show them,
when it did, a mightier arm than the Persian, * raised as in act to
strike,' would sketch a scene of more difficult and rarer heroism? "
11. — Solemnity.
(" Subdued" force, — soft and deep tone.)
1. — [Stanza of a Russian Hymn.] — Bowring,
" 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 through Thy eternity,
Less than the mote of morning's golden beam."
2. — [Midnight Musings.] — Irving.
44 I am now alone in my chamber. The family have long since
retired. I have heard their steps die away, and the doors clap to
after them. The murmur of voices, and the peal of remote laughter,
no longer reach the ear. The clock from the church in which so
many of the former inhabitants of this house lie buried, has chimed
the awful hour of midnight.
14 1 have sat by the window, and mused upon the dusky landscape,
watching the lights disappearing, one by one, from the distant village ;
and the moon rising in her silent majesty, and leading up all the silver
pomp of heaven. As I have gazed upon these quiet groves and shad-
owing lawns, silvered over and imperfectly lighted by streaks cf
dewy moonshine, my mind has been crowded by i thick-coming fan-
cies ' concerning those spiritual beings which
1 Walk the earth,
Unseen, both when we wake and when we sleep.' "
3. — [From the Thanatopsis.] — Bryant.
44 Go forth under the open sky, and list
To Nature's teachings, while from all arouni, —
244 APPENDIX.
Earth and her waters, and the depths of air, —
Comes a still voice, — * Yet a few days, and thee
The all-beholding sun shall see no more
In all his course ; nor yet in the cold ground,
Where thy pale form was laid, with many tears,
Nor in the embrace of ocean shall exist
Thy image. Earth, that nourished thee shall claim
Thy growth, to be resolved to earth again ;
And, lost each human trace, surrendering up
Thine individual being, shalt thou go
To mix forever with the elements,
To be a brother to the insensible rock,
And to the sluggish clod, which the rude swain
Turns with his share, and treads upon.
4 Thou shalt lie down
With patriarchs of the infant world, — with kings,
The powerful of the earth, — the wise, the good,
Fair forms and hoary seers of ages past,
All in one mighty sepulchre. — The hills,
Rock-ribbed and ancient as the sun, — the vales,
Stretching in pensive quietness between ;
The venerable woods, — rivers that move
In majesty, and the complaining brooks
That make the meadows green ; and poured round all,
Old ocean's gray and melancholy waste, —
Are but the solemn decorations all
Of the great tomb of man.' "
III. — Tranquillity.
("Subdued" force, — gentle and level utterance.)
1. — [Constantinople, on the eve of the last assault.] — 3/m,
Hemans.
" The streets grow still and lonely ; and the star,
The last bright lingerer in the path of morn,
Gleams faint ; and in the very lap of war,
As if young Hope with Twilight's ray were born,
Awhile the city sleeps : — her throngs, o'erworn
With fears and watchings, to their homes retire ;
Nor is the balmy air of day-spring torn
With battle sounds ; the winds in sighs expire ;
And Quiet broods in mists, that veil the sunbeam's fire."
EXERCISES IN "PURE TONE ? J — TRANQUILLITY. 215
2. — [Contemplation.] — Moir.
" The sea is waveless as a lake ingulfed
'Mid sheltering hills, — without a ripple spreads
Its bosom, silent, and immense, — the hues
Of flickering day have from its surface died,
Leaving it garbed in sunless majesty.
With bosoming branches round, yon village hang?
Its rows of lofty elm trees ; silently
Towering in spiral wreaths to the soft sky,
The smoke from many a cheerful hearth ascends
Melting in ether.
"As I gaze, behold
The evening star illumines the blue south
Twinkling in loveliness. O holy star,
Thou bright dispenser of the twilight dews,
Thou herald of Night's glowing galaxy,
And harbinger of social bliss ! how oft,
Amid the twilights of departed years,
Resting beside the river's mirror clear,
On trunk of mossy oak, with eyes upturned
To thee in admiration, have I sat
Dreaming sweet dreams, till earth-born turbulence
Was all forgot, and thinking that in thee,
Far from the rudeness of this jarring world,
There might be realms of quiet happiness ! "
3. — [Peace.] — Anonymous.
"Lovely art thou, O Peace! and lovely are thy children; and
lovely are the prints of thy footsteps in the green valleys.
" Blue wreaths of smoke ascend through the trees, and betray the
half-hidden cottage : the eye contemplates well-thatched ricks and
barns bursting with plenty : the peasant laughs at the approach of
winter.
" White houses peep through the trees ; cattle stand cooling in the
pool ; the casement of the farm-house is covered with jessamine and
honeysuckle ; the stately green-house exhales the perfume of sum-
mer climates.
" Children climb the green mound of the rampart ; and ivy hold*
together the halt-demolished buttress
21*
246 APPENDIX.
The lame, the blind, and the aged, repose in hospitals.
" Justice is dispensed to all : law sits steady on her throne,"
4. — [Sabbath Morning.] — Grahame.
" How still the morning of the hallowed day !
Mute is the voice of rural labor, hushed
The ploughboy's whistle, and the milkmaid's song.
The scythe lies glittering in the dewy wreath
Of tedded grass, mingled with faded flowers,
That yestermorn bloomed waving in the breeze.
Sounds the most faint attract the ear, — the hum
Of early bee, the trickling of the dew,
The distant bleating midway up the hill.
Calmness sits throned on yon unmoving cloud.
To him who wonders o'er the upland leas,
The blackbird's note comes mellower from the dale
And sweeter from the sky the gladsome lark
Warbles his heaven-tuned song ; the lulling brook
Murmurs more gently down the deep-worn glen ;
While from yon cottage-roof whose curling smoke
O'ermounts the mist, is heard, at intervals,
The voice of psalms, — the simple song of praise."
" MODERATE FORCE."
I. — "Grave" Style.
(Tone smooth, but inclining to deep.)
1. -— XAd monition.] — Anonymous.
" T is not in man
To look unmoved upon that heaving waste,
Which, from horizon to horizon spread,
Meets the o'erarching heavens on every side,
Blending their hues in distant faintness there.
" 'T is wonderful ! — and yet, my boy, just such
Is life. Life is a sea as fathomless,
As wide, as terrible, and yet sometimes
As calm and beautiful. The light of heaven
Smiles on it ; and 't is decked with every hue
Of glory and of joy. Anon dark clouds
Arise ; contending winds of fate go forth ; —
And Hope sits weeping o'er a general wreck.
" And thou must sail upon this sea, a long
EXERCISES IN "PURE TONE*." " GRAVE " STYLE. 24?
Eventful voyage. The wise may suffer wreck, —
The foolish must. Oh ! then be early wise !
Learn from the mariner his skilful art
To ride upon the waves, and catch the breeze,
And dare the threatening storm, and trace a path
'Mid countless dangers, to the destined port
Unerringly secure. Oh ! learn from him
To station quick-eyed Prudence at the helm,
To guard thy sail from Passion's sudden blasts,
And make Religion thy magnetic guide,
Which, though it trembles as it lowly lies,
Points to the light that changes not, — in heaven ."
2. — [Cosrou's Address to Mirza.] — Hawksworth.
" Be not offended : I boast of no knowledge that I have not
received. As the sands of the desert drink up the drops of the rain,
or the dew of the morning, so do I also, who am but dust, imbibe the
instructions of the Prophet. Believe, then, it is he who tells thee, all
knowledge is profane which terminates in thyself; and by a life
wasted in speculation, little even of this can be gained. When the
gates of paradise are thrown open before thee, thy mind shall be
irradiated in a moment : here, thou canst do little more than pile error
upon error, — there thou shalt build truth upon truth. Wait, there-
fore, for the glorious vision.
" Much is in thy power ; and therefore much is expected of thee.
Though the Almighty only can give virtue, yet, as a prince, thou
may est stimulate those to beneficence, who act from no higher motive
than immediate interest : thou canst not produce the principle, but
mayst enforce the practice. Let thy virtue be thus diffused ; and if
thou believest with reverence, thou shalt be accepted above.
u Farewell ' May the smile of Him who resides in the heaven of
heavens, be upon thee ; and against thy name, in the volume of Hi*
will, may happiness be written ! "
n. — "Serious" Style.
(Tone, smooth and level, but spirited.)
1. — [Uses of Knowledge.] — Alison.
44 One great end to which all knowledge ought to be employed, 19
the welfare of humanity. Every science is the foundation of some
■rt benefaial to men ; and while the study of it leads us to see tho
248
APPENDIX.
beneficence of the laws of nature, it calls upon us also to follow the
great end of the Father of nature, in their employment and applica-
tion.
" I need not say what a field is thus opened to the benevolence of
knowledge ; I need not tell you, that, in every department of learn
ing, there is good to be done to mankind. I need not remind you,
that the ag3 in which we live has given us the noblest examples in
this kind, and that science now finds its highest glory in improving
the condition, or in allaying the miseries of humanity."
2. — [Early Rising.] — Hurd.
" Rise with the lark, and with the lark to bed.
The breath of night 's destructive to the hue
Of every flower that blows. Go to the field,
And ask the humble daisy why it sleeps
Soon as the sun departs : Why close the eyes
Of blossoms infinite, ere the still moon
Her oriental veil puts off? Think why,
Nor let the sweetest blossom be exposed
That nature boasts, to night's unkindly damp.
Well may it droop, and all its freshness lose,
Compelled to taste the rank and poisonous steam
Of midnight theatre, and morning ball.
Give to repose the solemn hour she claims ;
And, from the forehead of the morning, steal
The sweet occasion. Oh ! there is a charm
That morning has, that gives the brow of age
A smack of youth, and makes the lip of youth
Breathe perfumes exquisite. Expect it not,
Ye who till noon upon a down bed lie,
Indulging feverish sleep, or, wakeful, dream
Of happiness no mortal heart has felt,
But in the regions of romance.' '
3 — [Counsels of Polonius to Laertes.] — Shakspeare.
" These few precepts in thy memory
Look thou character. Give thy thoughts no tongue
Nor any unproportioned thought his act.
Be thou familiar, but by no means vulgar.
The friends thou hast, and their adoption tried,
Grapple them to thy soul with hooks of steeJ;
EXERCISES IN "PURE TONE:" — " SERIOUS " ST¥LE. 249
But do not dull thy palm with entertainment
Of each new-hatched unfledged comrade. Beware
Of entrance to a quarrel ; but, being in,
Bear it that the opposer may beware of thee.
Give every man thine ear, but few thy voice :
Take each man's censure but reserve thy judgment.
Costly thy habit as thy purse can buy,
But not expressed in fancy ; rich, not gaudy ;
For the apparel oft proclaims the man :
Neither a borrower nor a lender be ;
For loan oft loses both itself and friend ;
And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry.
This above all, — To thine own self be true;
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man."
III. — "Animated," or Lively Style.
(Tone smooth, but inclining to high.)
1. — [Morning.] — Beattie.
" The cottage curs at early pilgrim bark ;
Crowned with her pail the tripping milkmaid sings 5
The whistling ploughman stalks afield ; and hark !
Down the rough slope the ponderous wagon rings j
Through rustling corn the hare astonished springs ;
Slow tolls the village clock the drowsy hour ;
The partridge bursts away on whirring wings ;
Deep mourns the turtle in sequestered bower,
And shrill lark carols clear from her aerial tower. n
2. — [Morning.] — Thomson.
11 With quickened step,
Brown Night retires : young Day pours in apace,
And opens all the lawny prospect wide.
The dripping rock, the mountain's misty top,
Swell on the sight, and brighten with the dawn.
Blue, through the dusk, the smoking currents shine ;
And from the bladed field the fearful hare
Limps awkward ; while along the forest glade
The wild deer trip, and often, turning, gaze
At early passenger. Music awakes
The native voice of undissembled joy j
250 APPSNDIX.
And thick around the woodland hymns arise.
Rovsed by the cock, the soon clad shepherd leaves
His mossy cottage where with Peace he dweUs I
And from the crowded fold, in order drives
His flock, to taste the verdure of the morn."
3. — [Animal Happiness.] — Paley.
*'The atmosphere is not the only scene of animal enjoyment
riants are covered with insects, greedily sucking theii juices, and
constantly, as it should seem, in the act of sucking. It cannot bo
doubted that this is a state of gratification. What else should fix
them so closely to the operation and so long? Other species are
running about, with an alacrity in their motions, w 7 hich carries with
it every mark of pleasure. Large patches of ground are sometimea
half covered with these brisk and sprightly natures.
" If we look to what the waters produce, shoals of the fry of fish
frequent the margins of rivers, of lakes, and of the sea itself. These
are so happy, that they know not what to do with themselves.
Their attitudes, their vivacity, their leaps out of the water, their
frolics in it, all conduce to show their excess of spirits, and are sira
ply the effects of that excess.' i
IV. — "Gay," or Brisk, Style.
(Tone, smooth and high.)
1. — [Rustic Superstitions.] — Milton
M Then to the spicy nut brown ale,
With stories told of many a feat,
How fairy Mab the junkets eat :
She was pinched and pmled, she said ;
And he by friar's lantern led,
Tells how the drudging goblin sweat,
To earn his cream bowl duly set,
When in one night, ere glimpse of mor*
His shadowy flail hath threshed the con.,
That ten day-laborers could not end ;
Then lies him down, the lubber fiend,
And, stretched out all the chimney's length
Basks at the fire his hairy strength ;
» And crop-full, out of doors he flings,
Ere the first cock his matin rings."
"pure tone:" — "gay" style. 251
(Tone smooth, high, and loud.)
2. — [From the Ode on the Passions.] — Collina.
" But oh ! how altered was its sprightlier tone,
When Cheerfulness, a nymph of healthiest hue, —
Her bow against her shoulder flung,
Her buskins gemmed with morning dew, —
Blow an inspiring air, that dale and thicket rung,
The hunter's call, to Faun and Dryad known.
The oak-crowned Sisters, and their chaste-eyed Queen,
Satyrs and Sylvan boys, were seen
Peeping from forth their alleys green :
Brown Exercise rejoiced to hear,
And Sport leaped up, and seized his beechen spear
" Last came Joy's ecstatic trial : —
He, with viny crown advancing,
First to the lively pipe his hand addressed ; —
But soon he saw the brisk awakening viol,
Whose sweet entrancing voice he loved the best.
They would have thought, who heard the strain,
They saw in Tempe's vale her native maids,
Amidst the festal sounding shades
To some unwearied minstrel dancing ;
While, as his flying fingers kissed the strings,
Love framed with Mirth a gay fantastic round ; —
Loose were her tresses seen, her zone unbound;
And he, amid his frolic play,
As if he would the charming air repay,
Shook thousand odors from his dewy wings.' '
3. — [The Fall of Lodore.] — Southey.
u How does the water come down at Lodore?
Receding and speeding,
And shocking and rocking
And darting and parting,
And dripping and skipping,
And whitening and brightening,
And quivering and shivering,
And hitting and splitting,
And rattling and battling,
And running and stunning,
252 APPENDIX.
And hurrying and slurrying',
And glittering" and frittering,
And gathering and feathering ;
And Clattering and battering and shattering,
And rushing and flushing and brushing and gushing,
A nd flapping and rapping and clapping and slapping,
Advancing and prancing and glancing and dancii g ,
And so never ending but always descending,
Sounds and motions forever and ever are blending."
V. — "Humorous," or Playful, Style,
Exercise.
[In the reading of the following scene, the tone of humor is excm
plified in the laughing and bantering utterance in which the audience
make their remarks on the absurd attempts at sublimity, solemnity,
and pathos, which are made by the clownish amateur actors. These
worthies have, it may be recollected, volunteered a play on the story
of Pyramus and Thisbe, for the entertainment of the court of The-
seus, " duke " of Athens, during a season of festivity.]
(Tone smooth, but in laughing utterance, in the italic passages.)
[Scene from the Midsummer Night's Dream.] — Shakspeare,
"Enter Lion and Moonshine.
"Lion, You ladies, you whose gentle hearts do feai
The smallest monstrous mouse that creeps on floor,
May now, perchance, both quake and tremble here,
When lion rough in wildest rage doth roar.
Then know, that I, one Snug, the joiner, am, —
No lion fell, nor else no lion's dam ;
For if I should as lion come in strife
Into this place, 't were pity of my life.
Tliescus. A very gentle beast, and of good conscience.
Demetrius. The very best at a beast, my lord, that e'e * 1 saw.
Lysander. This lion is a very fox for his valor.
TJies. Time; and a goose for his discretion.
Dem. Not so, my lord: for his valor cannot carry his discretion
and the fox carries the goose.
1 The remarks w'lich exemplify the mode of utterance mentioned above
t dtewtftidyvi ay italics.
EXERCISES IN tc OROTUND " UTTERANCE. 253
'Dies. His discretion, I am sure, cannot carry his valor ; for the
goose carries not the fox. It is well : leave it to his discretion ; and
let us listen to the moon.
Moon. l This lantern doth the horned moon present :
1 Myself the man i' the moon do seem to be. ?
Thes. This is the greatest error of all the rest : the man shoula be
pat into the lantern. How is it else the man i' the moon ?
Dem. He dares not come there fo? the candle; for, you see, it is
already in snuff.
Hippolyta. I am aweary of this moon : would he would change !
Thes. It appears, by his small light of discretion, that he is in the
wane : but yet, in courtesy, in all reason, we must stay the time.
Lys, Proceed, moon
Moon. i All that I have to say, is, to tell you that the lantern is
the moon ; I, the man in the moon ; this thorn-bush my thorn-bush ;
and this dog, my dog.'
Dem. Why, all these should be in the lantern : for they are in the
moon. — But silence! — here comes Thisbe."
EXERCISES IN " OROTUND " UTTERANCE.
To young persons whose organs are yet pliant, and susceptible of
the full effects of cultivation, and to students who are desirous of
acquiring a perfect command over the vocal organs, for the purposes
of effective public speaking, as well as to persons who wish to attain
facility in the strong impassioned expression of vocal music, as exem-
plified in occasional passages of the oratorio and the opera, the power
of orotund utterance, in all its extent, is indispensable as an accom-
plishment. Capacious and vigorous organs, a high state of health,
an energetic will, a deep and quick susceptibility of the inspiration
of poetic passion, enable some individuals to become powerful vocal-
ists and speakers, with comparatively little training or express prac-~
tice. But the vast majority of human beings cannot attain the effect-
ive expression of intense emotion, without the aid of systematic cul-
ture and persevering application ; and, to all classes of students, such
assistance is of immense advantage : the more regular and extensive
iLe discipline, the greater is always the result in power of voice.
For these reasons, it will be of the utmost service, as an efficacious
mode of training, to repeat, with due frequency, previous to com-
mencing the following exercises, the organic functions of breathing
in its different forms, as before suggested, and the yawning, cough
ing, crying, and laughing modes of utterance, on the " tonic
elements," and on words selected from the " exercises in enuncia-
tion, "
22
254 « APPENDIX.
I. — "effusive orotund."
{.--Pathos and Gloom, or Melancholy, united with Grandeur.
1. — [Ossian's Apostrophe to the Sun.| — Macpherson.
" O thou that rollest above, round as the shield of my father* !
whence are thy beams, O sun ! thy everlasting- light? Thou comest
forth in thy awful beauty : the stars hide themselves in the sky ; the
moon, cold and pale, sinks in the western wave. But thou thyself
movest alone : who can be a companion of* thy course 1 The oaks of
the mountains fall ; the mountains themselves decay with years ; the
ocean shrinks and grows again ; the moon herself is lost in the
heavens ; but thou art forever the same, rejoicing in the brightness
of thy course. When the world is dark with tempests, when thun-
ders roll and lightnings fly, thou lookest in thy beauty from tho
clouds, and laughest at the storm. — - But to Ossian thou lookest in
vain ; for he beholds thy beams no more ; whether thy yellow haif
floats on the eastern clouds, or thou tremblest at the gates of the
west. But thou art, perhaps, like me, — for a season: thy years
will have an end. Thou wilt sleep in thy clouds, careless of the
voice of the morning."
2. — [Milton's Allusion to his loss of Sight.]
" Seasons return : But not to me returns
Day, or the sweet approach of even or morn,
Or sight of vernal bloom, or summer's rose,
Or flocks or herds or human face divine ;
But cloud, instead, and ever-during dark
Surround me, from the cheerful ways of men
Cut off, and, for the book of knowledge fair,
Presented with a universal blank
Of nature's works, to me expunged and razed,
And wisdom at one entrance quite shut out ! n
3. — [From the Ode on the Passions.] — Collins.
" With eyes upraised as one inspired,
Pale Melancholy sat retired,
And fiom her wild, sequestered seat,
In notes by distance made more sweet,
Poured through the mellow horn her pensive soul ;
And, dashing soft from rocks around,
Bubbling runnels joined the sound :
Through glades and glooms the mingled measure stole ;
EXERf/SES IN "OROTUND" UTTERANCE* 255
Or, o'er ?ome haunted stream, with fond delay
Rovj d a holy calm diffusing,
J./vti of peace and lonely musing",
*i fallow murmurs died away."
Jl Solemnity and Sublimity, combined with Tranquillity,
[From the Thanatofsis.] — Bryant.
1 Yet not to thy eternal resting place
Shalt thou retire alone, nor couldst thou wish
Couch more magnificent. Thou shalt lie down
With patriarchs of the infant world, — with kings
The powerful of the earth, — the wise, the good,
Fair forms and hoary seers of ages past, —
All in one mighty sepulchre. — The hills,
Rock-ribbed, and ancient as the sun, — the vales,
Stretching in pensive quietness between ;
The venerable woods, — rivers that move
In majesty, and the complaining brooks
That make the meadows green ; and, poured round all ,
Old ocean's gray and melancholy waste, —
Are but the solemn decorations all
Of the great tomb of man. The golden sun,
The planets, all the infinite host of heaven,
Are shining on the sad abodes of death,
Through the still lapse of ages. All that tread
The globe are but a handful to the tribes
That slumber in its bosom. — Take the wings
Of morning, — and the Barcan desert pierce,
Or lose thyselt in the continuous woods
Where rolls the Oregon, and hears no sound
Save his own dashings, — yet the dead are there ;
And millions, in those solitudes, since first
The flight of years began, have laid them down
In their last sleep : — the dead reign there alone."
III. — Reverence, and Adoration. 1
1. — -[From the Morning Hymn in Paradise.] — 3Iilton.
" These are Thy glorious works, Parent of Good,
1 The appropriate tone of devotion is uniformly characterized by " effusivo
ootund ' utterance.
250 APPENDIX.
Almigrty ! Thine this universal frame
Thus wondrous fair, — Thyself how wondrous then J
Unspeakable ! who sitt'st above these heavens
To us invisible, or dimly seen
'Midst these thy lowest works.
"$et these declare Thy goodness beyond thought
And power divine ! "
2. — [Adoration offered by the Angels.] — Milton.
" Thee, Father, first they sung, omnipotent,
Immutable, immortal, infinite,
Eternal King : Thee Author of all being,
Fountain of light, thyself invisible
Amidst the glorious brightness where Thou sitt'st
Throned inaccessible, but when Thou shad'st
The full blaze of thy beams, and, through a cloud
Drawn round about Thee, like a radiant shrine,
Dark with excessive bright, thy skirts appear,
Yet dazzle Heaven that brightest seraphim
Approach not, but with both wings veil their eyes."
JI. — "expulsive orotund."
I. — " Declamatory ' ' Style.
1. — Oratorical Invective.
[Against "Warren Hastings.] — Burke.
" By the order of the House of Commons of Great Britain, 1 im
peach Warren Hastings of high crimes and misdemeanors.
* I impeach him in the name of the Commons of Great Britain in
Parliament assembled, whose parliamentary trust he has abused.
" I impeach him in the name of the Commons of Great Britain,
whose national character he has dishonored.
" I impeach him in the name of the people of India, whose laws,
rights > and liberties he has subverted.
" I impeach him in the name of the people of India, whose property
he has destroyed, whose countrv he has k'd waste and desolate.
" 1 impeach him in the nam?, of human nature itself, which he has
cruelly outraged, injured, and oppressed, in both sexes. And I im
peach him in the name and by the virtue of those eternal li.<vs of
Justice, which ought equally to pervade every age, condition, rank
and situation, in the world."
EXERCISES IN " OROTUND 7 ' UTTERANCE. 257
2. — Oratorical Apostrophe and Interrogation*
[From Cicero's Accusation of Verres.]
* O Liberty ! — sound once delightful to every Roman ear ! —
O sacred privilege of Roman citizenship ! — Once sacred, now tram-
pled upon. But what then? Is it come to this ? Shall an inferior
magistrate, a governor, who holds his whole power of the Roman
people, in a Roman province, within sight of Italy, bir<d, scourge,
torture with fire and red hot plates of iron, and at la^t jut to the
infamous death of the cross, a Roman citizen? Shall neither tho
ciies of innocence expiring in agony, nor the tears of pitying specta-
tors, nor the majesty of the Roman commonwealth, nor the fear of
the justice of his country, restrain the licentious and wanton cruelty
of a monster, who, in confidence of his riches, strikes at the root of
liberty, and sets mankind at defiance? "
3. — Vehement Oratorical Address,
[From Patrick Henry's War Speech.]
14 They tell us, sir, that we are weak, unable to cope with so for-
midable an adversary. Sir, we are not weak, if we make a proper use
of those means which the God of nature hath placed in our power.
Three millions of people, armed in the holy cause of liberty, and in
such a country as that which we possess, are invincible by any force
which our enemy can send against us.
"But, sir, we shall not fight our battles alone. There is a just
God, who presides over the destinies of nations, and who will raise
up friends to fight our battles for us. The battle, sir, is not to the
strong alone : it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave.
" Besides, sir, we have no election. If we were base enough to
desire it, it is now too late to retire from the contest. There is no
retreat but in submission and slavery. Our chains are forged. Their
cla iking may be heard on the plains of Boston. The war is inevita-
ble ; and let it come ! I repeat it, sir, let it come !
" It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may ory
* Tcace, peace ! ' — but there is no peace : the war is actually begun
— The next gale that sweeps from the north, will bring to our ears
the clash or resounding arms ! Our brethren are already in the field !
Why stand we here idle 1 What is it that gentlemen wish ? What
would they have ? — Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be pur-
chased at the price of chains and slavery? — Forbid it, Ajnighty
God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me,
give me liberty or give me death ! "
22*
258 APPENDIX.
II. — "Impassioned Expression."
1. — Poetic Invective: Epic Style.
[Moloch's Address.] — Milton.
" My sentence is for open war : of wiles,
More unexpert, I boast not : them let those
Contrive who need, or when they need, — not now
For, while they sit contriving, shall the rest,
Millions that stand in arms, and, longing, wait
The signal to ascend, sit lingering here,
Heaven's fugitives, and for their dwelling-place
Accept this dark opprobrious den of shame,
The prison of his tyranny who reigns
By our delay ? No ! let us rather choose,
Armed with hell flames and fury, all at once
O'er heaven's high towers to force resistless way,
Turning our tortures into horrid arms
Against the Torturer ; when, to meet the noise
Of his almighty engine, he shall hear
Infernal thunder, and, for lightning, see
Black fire and horror shot, with equal rage,
Among his angels, and his throne itself
Mixed with Tartarean sulphur and strange fire, —
His own invented torments.' '
2. — Poetic Apostrophe.
[From Coleridge's Hymn to Mont Blanc.J
" Ye ice-falls ! ye that from the mountain's brow
Adown enormous ravines slope amain, —
Torrents, methinks, that heard a mighty voice,
.And stopped at once amid their maddest plunge !
Motionless torrents ! silent cataracts !
Who made you glorious as the gates of heaven
Beneath the keen full moon? Who bade the sun
Clothe you with rainbows 1 Who with living flowen
Of loveliest blue, spread garlands at your feet? —
God ! let the torrents, like a shout of nations,
Answer ! and let the ice-plains echo, God ! —
And they, too, have a voice, — yon piles of snow
And in their perilous fall shall thunder, God !
EXERCISES IN "OROTUND" UTTERANCE. 259
" Ye living flowers that skirt the eternal frost !
Ye wild goats sporting round the eagle's nest !
Ye eagles, playmates of the mountain storm !
Ye lightnings, the dread arrows of the clouds !
Ye signs and wonders of the elements !
Utter forth God, and fill the hills with praise ! w
3. — Poetic Invective: Lyric Style.
[Lochiel's reply to the Seer.] — Campbell.
" False wizard, avaunt ! I have marshalled my clan :
Their swords are a thousand, — their bosoms are one !
They are true to the last of their blood and their breath,
And like reapers descend to the harvest of death.
Then welcome be Cumberland's steed to the shock !
Let him dash his proud foam like a wave on the rock.
But woe to his kindred, and woe to his cause,
When Albyn her claymore indignantly draws ;
When her bonneted chieftains to victory crowd,
Clan Ranald, the dauntless, and Moray the proud ;
All plaided and plumed in their tartan array I "
4. — Ecstatic Poetic Apostrophe.
[The Resurrection of Christ.] — Young.
" Hear, ye nations ! hear it, O ye dead !
He rose, He rose, — he burst the bars of death.
The theme, the joy, how then shall men sustain ?
Oh ! the burst gates ! crushed sting ! demolished throne !
Last gasp of vanquished Death ! Shout, earth and heaven,
That sum of good to man ! whose nature then
Took wing, and mounted with him from the tomb.
" Man, all immortal, hail !
Hail, Heaven, all lavish of strange gifts to man!
Thine all the glory ! man's the boundless bliss ! "
Shouting.
Cxtisens, [after Antony's Okation over the body of Cjesar.] —
Shakspeare.
li Come, brands, ho ! fire-brands ! — To Brutus' ! to Cassias' ! — •
burn all ! Some to Deems' house, and some to Casca's ; some to
Ligarius' : — away ! o ! "
260 APPENDIX.
William Tell, [to the mountains, on regaining his liberty.]-
/. S. Knowles.
" Ye crags and peaks, I 'm with you once again f
I hold to you the hands you first beheld,
To show they still are free.
11 Ye guards of liberty,
I 'm with you, once again ! I call to you
With all my voice ! — I hold my hands to you
To show they still are free ! "
ILL — "explosive orotund."
1. — Anger, excited to Rage.
[From the Lord of the Isles.] — Scott.
Lorn, [about to assault Bruce.] " Talk not to ma
Of odds or match ! — When Comyn died,
Three daggers clashed within his side !
Talk not to me of sheltering hall ! —
The Church of God saw Comyn fall !
On God's own altar streamed his blood ;
While o'er my prostrate kinsman stood
The ruthless murderer, even as now, —
With armed hand and scornful brow. —
Up ! all who love me ! — blow on blow !
And lay the outlawed felons low ! "
2. — Wrath and Scorn.
[From the Lady of the Lake.] — Satt.
Roderick Dhu, [to Malcom Grame.] " Back! beardless boy'
Back ! minion ! — Holdst thou thus at naught
The lesson I so lately taught 1 —
This roof, the Douglas, and that maid,
Thank thou for punishment delayed !
Anger and Defiance.
Malcom. Perish my name, if aught afford
Its chieftain safety, save his sword !
Indignant Rebuke
Douglas. Chieftains, forego !
EXEKCiSES IN " OROTUND ?5 UTTERANCE. 261
I hold the first who strikes, my foe. —
Madmen ! forbear your frantic jars ! "
3. — /Scorn and Defiance, 1
[From Paradise Lost.] — Milton,
Satan, [to Death.] " Whence and what art thou, execrable shape I
That dar'st, though grim and terrible, advance
Thy miscreated front athwart my way
To yonder gates ? Through them I mean to pass, —
That be assured, — without leave asked of thee :
Retire ! or taste thy folly ; and learn by proof,
Hell-born ! not to contend with spirits of heaven."
Wrath and Threatening, 1
Death, [in reply.] " Back to thy punishment,
False fugitive ! and to thy speed add wings ;
Lest with a whip of scorpions I pursue
Thy lingering, or, with one stroke of this dart,
Strange horror seize thee, and pangs unfelt before ! ,?
4. — Infuriate Anger.
TnE Doge of Venice, [on the eve of nis execution, in the con-
cluding words of his curse on the city.] — Byron 's Marino Fa*
litri.
" Thou den of drunkards with the blood of princes !
Gehenna of the waters ! thou sea Sodom !
Thus I devote thee to the infernal gods !
Thee and thy serpent seed !
[To the executioner.] Slave, do thine office !
Strike as I struck the foe ! Strike as I would
Have struck those tyrants ! Strike deep as my curae •
Strike — and but once ! "
5. — Coirage.
[BOZZARIS, TO HIS BAND OF SULIOTES.] — IMhck.
" 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 fierceness of emotion, in some instances* adds ; aspirated quality n to
orotund."
262 APPENDIX.
EXERCISES IN "ASPIRATED QUALITY."
I. " EFFUSIVE " UTTERANCE.
1. — Awe, in its gentlest form, with moderate " Aspiration. 7
(" Pectoral Quality.")
Note. The effect intended here is but the slightest approach to a
whisper, — a barely perceptible breathing sound accompanying the
utterance, — not unlike, in its effect, to a slight hoarseness.
[Jacob's Exclamation after his Dream.]
•' How dreadful is this place ! This is none other than the house
of God, and the gate of heaven ! "
2. — The same emotion deepened.
[From the Book of Psalms.]
** Of old hast Thou laid the foundation of the earth ; and the
heavens are the work of Thy hands. They shall perish, but Thou
shalt endure ; yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment ; as a
vesture shalt Thou change them, and they shall be changed : but
Thou art the same ; and Thy years shall have no end.
" Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever Thou hadst
formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting,
Thou art God.
" Thou turnest man to destruction ; and sayest, * Return, ye chil-
dren of men.' For a thousand years, in Thy sight, are but as yes-
terday, when it is past, and as a watch in the night.
" Thou carriest them away as with a flood ; they are as a sleep :
in the morning, they are like grass which groweth up. In the morn-
ing it flourisheth and groweth up : in the evening, it is cut down, and
withereth."
3. —Awe, still deeper in " expression" and stronger in M aspiration
[Nature, shrinking from Death.] — Campbell
" Yet half I hear the parting spirit sigh,
* It is a dread and awful thing to die ! ' —
Mysterious worlds, untravelled by the sun, —
Where Time's far-w T andering tide has never run,—
From your unfathomed shades, and viewless spheres,
A warning comes, unheard by other ears.
'T is Heaven's commanding trumpet, long and loud,
EXERCISES IN U ASPIRATED QUALITY. 263
Like Sinai's thunder pealing from the cloud !
While Nature hears, with terror-mingled trust,
The shock that hurls her fabric to the dust ,
And, like the trembling Hebrew, when he trod
The roaring waves, and called upon his God,
With mortal terrors clouds immortal bliss,
And shrieks, and hovers, o'er the dark abyss ! "
4. — Awe, extending to Fear: with still stronger " aspiration
[From a Russian Hymn.] — Bowring.
" It thunders ! Sons of dust, in reverence bow \
Ancient of days ! thou speakest from above :
Thy right hand wields the bolt of terror now ;
That hand which scatters peace and joy and love.
Almighty ! trembling like a timid child,
I hear Thy awful voice, — alarmed, afraid,
I see the flashes of Thy lightning wild,
And in the very grave would hide my head ! "
6,— Horror and Fear: the effect transcending that of Awe; (hi
" aspiration " nearly a whisper,
Macbeth, [meditating the murder of Duncan.] — SJiakspearc,
" Now o'er the one half world
Nature seems dead ; and wicked dreams abuse
The curtained sleep ; now witchcraft celebrates
Pale Hecate's offerings ; and withered murder,
Alarumed by his sentinel, the wolf,
Whose howl 's his watch, thus with his stealthy pace,
Towards 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."
II. — " expulsive " utterance.
1 .—-Horror and Amazement : " aspiration" increased by " expulsion u
(" Pectoral Quality.")
Hamlet, [to the ghost of his Father.] — Shakspcart.
" What may this mean,
That thou, dead corse, again, in complete steel,
264 APPENDIX.
Revisitst thus the glimpses of the moon,
Making night hideous ; and we fools of nature
So horridly to shake our disposition
With thoughts beyond the reaches of our souls? "
2. — Horror and Terror : effect still farther increasea
Clarence, [relating his dream.] — Shakspeare
" Oh ! I have passed a miserable night,
So full of fearful dreams, of ugly 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 happy days
So full of dismal terror was the time !
" My dream was lengthened after life :—»
Oh ! then began the tempest to my soul !
" With that, methought, a legion of foul f.ends
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 ! "
3. — Fear.
(Whispering Voice : " Guttural Quality .")
Caliban, [conducting Stephano and Trinculo to the cell of Peo»
pero.] — Shakspeare.
" 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
4. — Fear and Alarm.
(Forcible Half- Whisper : "Pectoral Quality.")
Alonzo, [wno, WITH Gonzalo, IS suddenly awarened by the inter-
vention of Ariel, and finds the conspirators, Sebastian an*
Antonio, with their swords drawn.] — Shakspeare.
u Why, how now, ho ! — awake ? — Why are you drawn *
EXERCISES IN " ASPIRATED QUALITY." 265
Wherefore this ghastly looking ?
Gonzalo. What's the matter!
Sebastian. Whiles we stood here, securing your repose*
Even now, we heard a hollow burst of bellowing
Like bulls or rather lions : did it not wake you?
It struck mine ear most terribly.
Antonio. Oh ! 't was a din to fright a monster's ear :
To make an earthquake ! — sure, it was the roar
Of a whule herd of lions ! " ,
III. — " EXPLOSIVE " UTTERANCE.
(" Guttural and Pectoral Quality.")
1 . — Hatred.
Shylock, [regarding Antonio.]
" How like a fawning publican he looks !
I hate him for he is a Christian ;
But more, for that, in low simplicity,
He lends out money gratis, and brings down
The rate of usuance with us here 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 thrift,
Which he calls interest. — Cursed be my tribe,
If I forgive him! "
2. — Scorn and Abhorrence.
(" Guttural and Pectoral Quality.")
Masaniello, [in reply to the base suggestions of Genutno."
" I would that now
I could forget the monk who stands before me ;
For he is like the accursed and crafty snake !
Hence ! from my sight ! — Thou Satan, get behind me
Go from my sight ! — I hate and I despise thee !
These were thy pious hopes ; and I, forsooth,
W as in thy hands a pipe to play upon ;
And at thy music my poor soul to death
Should dance before thee !
23
266 APPENDIX.
Thou standst at length hefore me undisguised, —
Of all earth's grovelling crew the most accursed.
Thou worm ! thou viper ! — to thy native earth
Return ! — Away ! — Thou art too base for man
To tread upon. — Thou scum ! thou reptile ! "
3. — Revenge.
(" Guttural and Pectoral Quality .")
Shy'-ock, [referring to the pound of flesh, the penalty attached
to Antonio's bond.] — Shakspeare.
1 ( If it will feed nothing else it will feed my revenge. He hath dis-
graced me, and hindered me of half a million ; laughed at my losses,
mocked at my gains, scorned my nation, thwarted my bhrgams,
cooled my friends, heated my enemies. And what 's his reason? I
am a Jew ! Hath not a Jew eyes ? Hath not a Jew hands, organ's,
dimensions, senses, affections, passions? Is he not fed with the
same food, hurt with the same weapons, subject to the same diseases,
healed by the same means, warmed and cooled by the same summer
and winter, as a Christian" is? If you stab us, do we not bleed? If
you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you poison us, do we not die?
And if you wrong us, shall we not revenge ? If we are like you in
the rest, we will resemble you in that. If a Jew wrong a Christian,
what is his humility ? Revenge. If a Christian wrong a Jew, what
should his sufferance be by Christian example? Why, revenge.
The villany you teach me, I will execute ; and it shall go hard, but I
will better the instruction."
4 — Hatred, Rage, Horror.
(" Guttural and Pectoral Quality :" fierce " aspiration.")
Satan, [in Soliloquy.] — Milton.
" Be then his love accursed ! since love or hate,
To me alike, it deals eternal woe.
Nay, cursed be thou ! since against his thy will
Chose freely what it now so justly rues.
Me miserable ! which way shall I fly
Infinite wrath and infinite despair ?
Which way I fly is Hell, — myself am Hell ;
And in the lowest deep, a lower deep,
Still threatening to devour me, opens wide,
To which the Hell I suffer seems a Heaven '
EXERCISES IN FORCE. 267
5. — Horror, Terror, and Alarm.
("Pectoral Quality.")
Macbeth, [to the giiost of Banquo.] — Shakspeare.
" 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
Wliich thou dost glare with !
" Hence, horrible shadow !
Unreal mockery, hence ! "
EXERCISES IN FORCE.
I. — * M SUPPRESSED " FORCE.
1. — Whispering.
("Effusive" Utterance.)
Pathos.
pyiNG Request.] — Mrs. Hemans.
u Leave me ! — thy footstep with its lightest sound,
The very shadow of thy waving hair,
Wakes in my soul a feeling too profound,
Too strong for aught that lives and dies, to bear : —
Oh ! bid the conflict cease ! "
(" Expulsive " utterance.)
Rapture.
[From the Dying Christian.] — Pope.
•' Hark ! they whisper, — angels say,
4 Sister spirit ! come away ! ' ' '
(" Explosive " utterance.)
Terror.
[From Byron's lines on the eve of "Waterloo]
— " The foe ! they come, they come ! "
u Siivp~essed torce is not limited exclusively to the forms of the whisper
or the half-whisper. Still, it is usually found in one or other of these ; and,
on this account, although sometimes intensely earnest and energetic in the
expression of feeling, it is a gradation of utterance which, in point of " vo-
cnlity," ranks below even the : moderate" and "subdued" forms of "pure
tone." We regard, at present, its value in vocal force, — not in "expres-
268 APPENDIX
Half-whisper.
f« Effusive " utterance.)
Awe.
[From the Fate of Macgregor.] — Hogg.
M They oared the broad Lomond, so still and serene ;
And deep in her bosom how awful the scene !
Over mountains inverted the blue water curled,
And rocked them o'er skies of a far nether world ! "
(" Expulsive " utterance.)
Fear.
M Jbew minutes had passed, "ere they spied on the stream
A skiff sailing light, where a lady did seem :
Her sail was a web of the gossamer's loom, —
The glow-worm her wake-light, the rainbow her boom ;
A dim rayless beam was her prow, and her mast
Like wold-fire at midnight, that glares o'er the waste ! "
(" Explosive " utterance.)
Terror.
" The fox fled in terror ; the eagle awoke,
As slumbering he dozed in the shelve of the rock ; —
Astonished, to hide in the moonbeam he flew,
And screwed the night-heaven, till lost in the blue ! "
* II. -— * " SUBDUED " FORCE
("Pure tone:" "Effusive" utterance.)
1. — Pathos.
[From the Death of Korner.] — Mrs. Hemans.
* It was thy spirit, brother ! which had made
The bright world glorious to her youthful eye,
Since first, in childhood, 'midst the vines ye played,
And sent glad singing through the free blue sky.
1 The degree of force implied in the epithet "subdued," is equivalent, in
general, to that which, in music, would be indicated by the term "piano,"
and which suggests an obvious softening- of the voice from even its moderate
or ordinary energy. Pathos, solemnity, and tranquillity, when so arranged
in succession, imply a slight increase of energy at every stage. But all three
lie still inferior to " moderate " or ordinary force.
EXERCISES IN FORCE. 269
Ye were but two, — and when that spirit passed.
Woe to the one, the last !
" Woe, yet not long ; — she lingered but to trace
Thine image from the image in her breast,
Once, once again to see that buried face
But smile upon her, ere she went to rest.
Too sad a smile ! its living light was o'er,—
It answered hers no more.
*' The earth grew silent when thy voice departed,
The home too lonely whence thy step had fled ; —
What then was left for her, the faithful-hearted ! —
Death, death, — to still the yearning for the dead.
Softly she perished : — be the Flower deplored
Here with the Lyre and Sword! "
2. — Solemnity.
[Death.] — Bryant.
" Leaves have their time to fall,
And flowers to wither at the north wind's breath,
And stars to set ; — but all,
Thou hast all seasons for thine own, O Death !
" We know when moons shall wane,
When summer birds from far shall cross the sea,
When autumn's hue shall tinge the golden grain : —
But who shall teach us when to look for thee? "
3. — Tranquillity.
[E vening .] — Moir.
" 'Tis twilight now:
How deep is the tranquillity ! — The trees
Are slumbering through their multitude of boughs,
Even to the leaflet on the frailest twig !
A twilight gloom pervades the distant hills ,
An azure softness mingling with the sky "
4. — Profound Repose.
[Aspect of Death: From Byron's description of G&bkck.J
" He who hath bent him o'er the dead,
Ere the first day of death is fled* —
23*
270 APPENDIX.
The first dark da) jf nothingness,
The last of danger and distress, —
(Before Decay's effacing fingers
Have swept the lines where Beauty lingers,)
And marked the mild angelic air, —
The rapture of repose that 's there, —
The fixed yet tender traits that streak
The languor of the placid cheek,
And, — but for that sad, shrouded eye,
That fires not, — wins not, — weeps not, — now, —
And but for that chill, changeless brow
Whose touch thrills with mortality,
And curdles to the gazer's heart,
As if to him it could impart
The doom he dreads, yet dwells upon, —
Yes, — but for these and these alone,
Some moments, — ay, — one treacherous hour,
He still might doubt the tyrant's power :
So fair, — so calm, so softly sealed,
The first — last look — by death revealed ! "
( l "Orotund quality:" "Effusive" utterance .)
1. — Pathos and Sublimity.
"VVolsey, [on his downfall.] — Shakspeare.
" Farewell, a long farewell, to all my greatness !
This is the state of man : To-day he puts forth
The tender leaves of hope, to-morrow blossoms,
And bears his blushing honors thick upon him :
The third day comes a frost, a killing frost ;
And, — when he thinks, good easy man, fuD surety
His greatness is a ripening, — nips his roo* •
And then he falls as I do. I have ventured, —
Like little wanton boys that swim on bladdeis, —
This many summers, in a sea of glory,
But far beyond my depth : my high-blown pride
At length broke under me, and now has left mo.
i The effect of" orotund quality," as transcending " pure tone," is that cf a
deeper, filler, rounder, and more resonant utterance, — implying, therefore, an
increase of force, although still a "subdued," or softened force, when com-
pared with even an ordinary x?gree. In music, the distinction would still be
that of "piano."
EXERCISES IN FORCE. 271
Weary and old with service, to the mercy
Of a rude stream that must forever hide me ! n
2. — Solemnity and Sublimity.
[Immortality.] — Dana.
"Oh! listen, man!
A voice within us speaks that startling word,
' Man, thou shall never die ! ' Celestial voices
Hymn it unto our souls ; according harps,
By angel fingers touched, when the mild stars
Of morning sang together, sound forth still
The song of our great immortality :
Thick-clustering orbs, and this our fair domain,
The tall, dark mountains, and the deep-toned seas,
Join in this solemn, universal song.
Oh ! listen ye, our spirits ; drink it in
From all the air. 'T is in the gentle moonlight ;
'T is floating midst Day's setting glories ; Night,
Wrapped in her sable robe, with silent step
Comes to our bed, and breathes it in our ears :
Night, and the dawn, bright day, and thoughtful eve,
All time, all bounds, the limitless expanse,
As one vast mystic instrument, are touched
By an unseen, living Hand ; and conscious chords
Quiver with joy in this great jubilee.
The dying hear it ; and, as sounds of earth
Grow dull and distant, wake their passing souls
To mingle in this heavenly harmony.' '
3. — Tranquillity and Sublimity.
[Night.] — Byrorts Marino Fahen.
" Around me are the stars and waters,—
Worlds mirrored in the ocean ; —
And the great element, which is to space
What ocean is to earth, spreads its blue depths,
Softened with the first breathings of the spring ;
The high moon sails upon her beauteous way,
Serenely smoothing o'er the lofty walls
Of those tall piles and sea-girt palaces,
Whose porphyry pillars and whose costly fronts,
272 APPENDIX
Fraught with the orient spoils of many marbles,
Like altars ranged along the broad canal,
Seem each a trophy of some mighty deed ;
Reared up from out the waters, scarce less strangely
Than those more massy and mysterious giants
Of architecture, those Titanian fabrics,
Which point in Egypt's plains to times that have
Nc other record."
4. — Reverence.
[From the Hymn of the Seasons.] — Thomson
" These, as they change, Almighty Father ! these
Are but the varied God. The rolling year
Is full of Thee.
And oft Thy voice in dreadful thunder speaks ;
And oft at dawn, deep noon, or falling eve,
By brooks and groves, in hollow- whispering gales. —
In Winter, awful Thou ! with clouds and storms
Around Thee thrown, tempest o'er tempest rolled,—
Majestic darkness ! On the whirlwind's wing,
Riding sublime, Thou bidd'st the world adore,
And humblest Nature, with Thy northern blast.''
III. l " MODERATE " FORCE.
(" Pure tone :" " Expulsive " utterance.)
"Grave" Style.
[Undue Indulge nce .] — Alison
11 The inordinate love of pleasure is equally fatal to happiness as to
virtue. To the wise and virtuous, to those who use the pleasures
of life only as a temporary relaxation, as a resting-place to animate
them on the great journey on which they are travelling, the hours of
amusement bring real pleasure : to them the well of joy is ever full ;
while to those who linger by its side, its waters are soon dried and
exhausted.
" I speak not now of those bitter waters which must mingle them-
selves with the well of unhallowed pleasure, — of the secret re-
1 The term " moderate " is generally equivalent to " mezzo," in music. It
has many gradations, however ; of which "grave " is the softest. The suc-
cessive steps are intimated in the arrangement of th? exercises.
EXERCISES IN FORCE. 273
proachcs of Accusing" conscience, — of the sad sense of shame and
dishonor, — and of that degraded spirit, which must bend itself
beneath the scorn of the world : I speak only of the simple and natu-
ral effect of unwise indulgence ; — that it renders the mind callous to
enjoyment ; and that even though the * fountain were full of water,'
the feverish lip is incapable of satiating its thirst. Alas ! here, too,
we may see the examples of human folly : we may see around us,
everywhere, the fatal effects of unrestrained pleasure; — the young,
sickening in the midst of every pure and genuine enjoyment ; the
mature hastening, with hopeless step, to fill up the hours of a vitiated
being ; and, what is still more wretched, the hoary head wandering
in the way of folly, and, with an unhallowed dotage, returning again
tj the trifles and the amusements of childhood."
"Serious" Style.
[Influence of Learning.] — Moodie.
" If learned men are to be esteemed for the assistance they give to
active minds in their schemes, they are not less to be valued for their
endeavors to give them a right direction, and moderate their too great
ardor. The study of history will teach the legislator by what means
states have become powerful ; and in the private citizen it will incul-
cate the love of liberty and order. The writings of sages point out
a private path of virtue, and show that the best empire is self-govern-
ment, and that subduing our passions is the noblest of conquests.''
"Animated," or Lively, Styie.
[Cheerfulness.] — Addison.
" The cheerful man is not only easy in his thoughts, but a perfect
master of all the powers and faculties of the soul : his imagination is
always clear, and his judgment undisturbed ; his temper is even and
unruffled, whether in action or solitude. He comes with a relish to
all those goods which Nature has provided for him, tastes all the
pleasures of the creation which are poured about him, and does not
feel the full weight of those accidental evils which may befall him.
" A cheerful mind is not only disposed to be affable and obliging,
but raises the same good humor in those who come within its influ-
ence. A man finds himself pleased, he knows not why, with the
cheerfulness of his companion : it is like a sudden sunshine, that
awakens a secret delight in the mind, without her attending to it.
The heart rejoices of its own accord, and naturally flows out into
274 APPENDIX.
friendship and benevolence towards the person who has su kin 11 j
an effect upon it."
"Gay," or Brisk, Style.
[Habits of Expression.] — Spectator.
* Next to those whose elocution is absorbed in action, and who
converse chiefly with their arms and legs, we may consider the pro-
fessed speakers, — and, first, the emphatical, — who squeeze and
press and ram down every syllable with excessive vehemence and
energy. These orators are remarkable for their distinct elocution
and force of expression : they dwell on the important particles of and
the, and the significant conjunction and, — which they seem to hawk
up, wit! mitch difficulty, out of their own throats, and to cram, —
with no ess pain, — into the ears of their auditors. — These should
be suffered only to syringe, (as it were,) the ears of a deaf man,
through a hearing trumpet ; though I must confess that I am equally
offended with the whisperers, or low speakers, who seem to fancy all
their acquaintance deaf, and come up so close to you, that they may
be said to measure noses with you. — I would have these oracular
gentry obliged to talk at a distance, through a speaking trumpet, or
apply their lips to the walls of a whispering gallery. — The wits )
who will not condescend to utter anything but a bon mot, and the
whistlers, or tune-hummers, who never talk at all, may be joined
very agreeably together in a concert ; and to these ' tinkling cym-
bals • I would also add the ' sounding brass,' the bawler, who
inquires after your health with the bellowing of a town-crier."
"Humorous" Style.
[The Critic] — Sterne.
"And what of this new book the whole world makes such a noise
Ebout? " — " Oh ! 't is out of all plumb, my lord, — quite an irregdar
thing ! — not one of the angles at the four corners was a right angle.
I had my rule and compasses, my lord, in my pocket ! " — " Excel-
lent critic! "
"And for the epic poem your lordship bid me look at — upon tak-
ing the length, breadth, height, and depth of it, and trying them at
home upon an exact scale of Bossu's — 'tis out, my lord, in every
one of its dimensions." — "Admirable connoisseur! — And did you
•tep in to take a look at the great picture, on your way back? " —
♦'Tia a melancholy daub, my lord! — not one principle of the
EXERCISES IN FORCE. 275
• pyramid,' fn anyone group ! — and what a price! — for there is
nothing of the coloring of Titian, — the expression of Rubens, — the
grace ot Raphael, — the purity of Domenichino, — the corrcgiesciiy
of Corregio, — the learning of Poussin, — the airs of Guido, — the
taste of Caracci, — or the grand contour of Angelo ! "
IV. — " DECLAMATORY " FORCE.
[The American Union.] — Webster.
4 While tne Union lasts, we have high, exciting, gratifying pros-
pects spread out before us, for us and for our children. Beyond that
I seek not to penetrate the veil. God grant that, in my day, at least,
that curtain may not rise ! God grant that on my vision never may
be opened what lies behind ! — When my eyes shall be turned to
oehold, for the last time, the sun in the heaven, may I not see him
shining on the broken and dishonored fragments of a once glorious
Union; on States dissevered, discordant, belligerent; — on a land
rent with civil feuds, or drenched, it may be, in fraternal blood ! Let
their last feeble and lingering glance rather behold the gorgeous
ensign of the republic, now known and honored throughout the
earth, and still ' full high advanced,' — its arms and trophies stream-
ing in their original lustre, — not a stripe erased or polluted, nor a
single star obscured ; — bearing, for its motto, no such miserable
interrogatory as, ' What is all this worth 1 ' nor those other words of
delusion and folly, ' Liberty first, and Union afterwards,' — but
everywhere spread all over, in characters of living light, blazing on
all its ample folds, as they float over the sea and over the land, and
in every wind under the whole heavens, that other sentiment, dear to
every true American heart, — * Liberty and Union, now and forever,
one and inseparable ! ' "
Scorn, Abhorrence, and Detestation,
[Helen Macgregor, to the spy, Morris.] — Scott.
<; 1 could have bid you live, had life been to you the same weary
and wasting burden that it is to me, — that it is to every noble and
generous mind. — But you, wretch ! you could creep through the
world unaffected by its various disgraces, its ineffable miseries, its
constantly accumulating masses of crime and sorrow; — you could
live and enjoy yourself, while the noble-minded are betrayed,-—
while nameless and birthless villains tread on the neck of the brave
and long-descended : — you could enjoy yourself, like a butcher's dog
276 APPENDIX.
in the shambles, battening on garbage, while the slaughter *f *fe *
brave went on around you! This enjoyment you shall not liv*to
partake of: you shall die, base dog ! — and that before yon cloud hi»
passed over the sun ! "
V. " IMPASSIONED n FORCE.
(" Aspirated pectoral quality :" ft Explosive orotund' }
Anger and Threatening.
Catii;:ne ; [addressing the Senate.] — Croly.
* 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 proscriptions. — Look to your hearths my lord \
For there henceforth shall sit, for household gocU,
Shapes hot from Tartarus ! — all shames and crimes ; —
Wan Treachery, with his thirsty dagger drawn ;
Suspicion, poisoning his brother's cup ;
Naked Rebellion, with the torch and axe,
Making his wild sport of your blazing thrones ;
Till Anarchy come down on you like Night,
And Massacre seal Rome's eternal grave ! "
Indignant and Enthusiastic Address,
("Expulsive orotund.")
Rienzi, [to the People.] — Miss Mitford.
" 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 call for justice,
Be answered by the lash. Yet, this is Rome,
That sat on her seven hills, and from her throne
Of beauty ruled the world ! Yet, we are Romans,
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,
MISCELLANEOUS EXERCISES. 277
The eternal city shall he free ! her sons
Shall walk with princes ! "
VI. — Shouting.
("Expulsive orotund:" intense force.;
Rjenzi, [to the Conspirators.] — Ibid.
" Hark ! — the bell, the bell !
The knell of tyranny, — the mighty voice
That to the city and the plain, to earth
And listening heaven, proclaims the glorious tale
Of Rome re-born, and freedom ! "
VII. — Shouting and Calling.
("Expulsive orotund," "pure tone," intense "sustained" force.
[Macduff's Outcry on the murder of Duncan.] — Shakspeare
" Awake ! awake!
Ring the alarm-bell : — Murder ! and treason ! —
Banquo, and Donalbain ! Malcolm ! awake ! "
MISCELLANEOUS PIECES.
EXTRACTS FOR GENERAL PRACTICE.
Exercise I. — A Sea-voyage. — Irving.
[This extract exemplifies, in its diction, the forms of narrative, de+
scriptive, and didactic style. The emotions arising from the subject
and the language, are those of tranquillity, wonder, admiration t
pathos, and awe.
The first ef these emotions prevails through the first two para-
graphs, and produces, in the vocal " expression," " pure tone,"
decreasing f, .'. ad u ally from gentle " expulsion " to "effusion:" the
" force " is " moderate :" the stress, at first, " unimpassioned radi-
cal, " gradually changing to a soft "median:" the "pitch" is on
" middle notes," — the " melody," " diatonic," in prevalent " inter-
vals of the second," varying from the " simple concrete " to the
"wave:" the "movement" is "slow," — the pauses moderately
long, — the " rhythm " requires an attentive but delicate marking.
Wonder is the predominating emotion expressed in the third para-
b »h. It produces a slight deviation from perfect " purity of tone "
towards " aspiration :" the " force " increases gently, after the first
sentence : a slight tinge of " vanishing stress " pervades the first sen-
24
278 APPENDIX.
tence; an ample " median " prevails in the first two clauses of the
second, and a vivid " radical " in the third clause ; and, in the third
sentence, a stronger "vanishing stress" than before, becomes dis-
tinctly audible, in proportion to the increasing emphasis : the " pitch
of this paragraph is moderately M low," at first, and gradually de-
scends, throughout, as far as to the last semicolon of the paragraph ;
— the " slides " are principally downward " seconds and thirds :" the
" movement " is " slow," excepting in the last clause of the second
sentence, in which it is "lively;" the pauses are long; and the
" rhythm" still requires perceptible marking.
Admiration is the prompting emotion in the " expression" of the
fourth paragraph. — After the first sentence, which is neutral in
effect, the voice passes from "pure tone" to "orotund," as the
" quality" required in the union of beauty and grandeur: the force
passes from " moderate " to " declamatory :" the " stress" becomes
bold " median expulsion :" the " middle pitch," inclining to " low,"
for dignity of effect; and downward "thirds" in emphasis: the
"movement" is "moderate;" the pauses correspondent; and the
" rhythm" somewhat strongly marked.
The fifth and sixth paragraphs are characterized, in " expression,"
by pathos and awe. The first two sentences of the fifth paiagraph,
are in the neutral or unirnpassioned utterance of common rarrative
and remark ; the next three sentences introduce an increasing effect
of the " pure tone " of pathos; the last three of the paragraph aro
characterized by the expression of awe carried to its deepest effect ;
and the preceding pure tone, therefore, gives way to " aspiration,"
progressively, to the end of the paragraph. The " force," in the
first part of the paragraph, is " subdued ;" — in the latter, it is " sup-
pressed :" the " stress " is " median," throughout, — gently marked
in the pathetic part, and fully, in that expressive of awe. The
" pitch " is on " middle " notes, inclining high in the pathetic expres-
sion, and " low," descending to " lowest," in the utterance of awe;
the " melody " contains a few slight effects of " semitone," on the
emphatic words in the pathetic strain, and full downward IC slides "
of " third " and " fifth," in the language of awe. The " movement "
is "slow" in the pathetic part, and "very slow" in the utterance
of awe; the pauses correspond ; and the " rhythm " is to be exactly
kept in the pauses of the latter, as they are the chief source of effect.
The first two sentences of the sixth paragraph, are characterized
by the expression of deep pathos, differing from that of the first part
of the preceding paragraph, by greater force, lower notes, fuller
"stress," slower " movement," and longer pauses. The " expres-
sion" of the third sentence, passes through the successive stages of
apprehension, ox fear, awe and horror, — marked by increasing " as-
piration" and force, deepening notes, slower "movement," and
longer pause, so as, at last, to reach the extreme of these elements
of effect. The fourth sentence expresses still deeper pathos than
before, and by the increased effect of the same modes of utterance
In the last sentence, in which awe combines with pathos, the " ex
pression " becomes yet deeper and slowei but without increase of
4< fores."
MISCELLANEOUS EXERCISES. 279
A similar analj sis should be performed on all the following pieces
previous to the exercise of reading them. The analogy of emotion
exemplified in the numerous examples contained in the body of the
book, will be found a sufficiently definite guide for this purpose.]
To an American visiting Europe, the long voyage he has to make
is an excellent preparative. From the moment you lose sight of the
land you have left, all is vacancy, until you step on the opposite
shore, and are launched at once into the bustle and novelties of
another world.
I have said that at sea all is vacancy. I should correct the expres-
sion. To one given up to day-dreaming, and fond of losing himself
in reveries, a sea-voyage is full of subjects for meditation ; but then
they are the wonders of the deep, and of the air, and rather tend to
abstract the mind from worldly themes. I delighted to loll over the
quarter-railing, or climb to the main-top on a calm day, and muse for
hours together on the tranquil bosom of a summer's sea ; or to gaze
upon the piles of golden clouds just peering above the horizon, fancy
them some fairy realms, and people them with a creation of my own ;
or to watch the gentle undulating billows rolling their silver volumes,
as if to die away on those happy shores.
There was a delicious sensation of mingled security and awe, with
which I looked down from my giddy height on the monsters of the
deep at their uncouth gambols : shoals of porpoises tumbling about
the bow of the ship ; the grampus slowly heaving his hilfre form
above the surface ; or the rave im us shark, darting like a spectre
through the blue waters. My imagination would conjure up all thai
I had heard or read of the watdry world beneath me ; of the finny
herds that roam its fathomless valleys ; of shapeless monsters that
lurk among the very foundations of the earth ; and those wild phan-
tasms that swell the tales of fishermen and sailors.
Sometimes a distant sail gliding along the edge of the ocean would
be another theme of idle speculation. How interesting this fragment
of a world hastening to rejoin the great mass of existence ! What a
glorious monument of human invention, that has thus triumphed over
wind and wave ; has brought the ends of the earth in communion ;
has established an interchange of blessings, pouring into the sterile
regions of the north all the luxuries of the south ; diffused the light
of knowledge and the charities of cultivated life ; and has thus bound
togetiier those scattered portions of the human race, between which
nature seemed to have thrown an insurmountable barrier !
We one day descried some shapeless object drifting at a distance.
At sea, everything that breaks the monotony of the surrounding
280 APPENDIX.
expanse, attracts attention. It proved to be the mast of a dhip tha
must have been completely wrecked ; for there were the lemains of
handkerchiefs, by which some of the crew had fastened themselves te
this spar, to prevent their being washed off by the waves. There
was no trace by which the name of the ship could be ascertained.
The wreck had evidently drifted about for many months ; clusters of
shell-fish had fastened about it, and long sea-weeds flaunted at it*
Biles. But where, thought I, is the crew? Their struggle has long
been over ; — they have gone down amidst the roar of the tempest ;
— their bones lie whitening in the caverns of the deep. Silence —
oblivion, — like the waves, have closed over them; and no one can
tell the story of their end.
What sighs have been wafted after that ship ! what prayers offered
up at the deserted fire-side of home ! How often has the mistress,
the wife, and the mother, pored over the daily news, to catch some
casual intelligence of this rover of the deep ! How has expectation
darkened into anxiety — anxiety into dread — and dread into despair !
Alas ! not one memento shall ever return for love to cherish. All
that shall ever be known is, that she sailed from her port, " and was
never heard of more ."
II. — Death of Morris. — Scott.
(Vivid Narrative, exemplifying, after the introductory sentence, Sym-
pathetic Horror, then successively, Terror, Scorn, Revenge, Horror,
and Awe.)
It was under the burning influence of revenge that the wife of
Macgregor commanded that the hostage, exchanged for her hus-
band's safety, should be brought into her presence. I believe her
sons had kept this unfortunate wretch out of her sight, for fear of the
consequences ; but if it was so, their humane precaution only post-
poned his fate. They dragged forward, at her summons, a wretch,
already half dead with terror, in whose agonized features, I recog-
nized, to my horror and astonishment, my old acquaintance Morcis.
He fell prostrate before the female chief with an effort to clasp her
knees, from which she drew back, as if his touch had been pollution,
so that all he could do in token of the extremity of his humiliation,
was to kiss the hem of her plaid. I never heard entreaties for life
poured forth with such agony of spirit. The ecstasy of fear was
such, that, instead of paralyzing his tongue, as on ordinary occasions
it even rendered him eloquent ; and, with cheeks as pale as ashes
hands compressed in agony, eyes that seemed to be taking their last
MISCELLANEOUS EXERCISES. ' 281
»ook of all mortal objects, he protested, with the deepest oaths, his
total ignorance of any design on the life of Rob Roy, whom he swore
he loved and honored as his own soul. — In the inconsistency of his
terror, he said, lie was but the agent of others, and he muttered the
name of Rashleigh. — He prayed but for life — for life he would give
all he had in the world ; — it was but life he asked — life, if it were
to be prolonged under tortures and privations; — he asked only
breath though it should be drawn in the damps of the lowest caverns
of their hills. *
It is impossible to describe the scorn, the loathing, and contempt,
with which the wife of Macgregor regarded this wretched petitioner
for the poor boon of existence.
' I could have bid you live," she said, " had life been to you the
same weary and wasting burden that it is to me — that it is to every
noble and generous mind. — But you — wretch! you could creep
through the world unaffected by its various disgraces, its ineffable
miseries, its constantly accumulating masses of crime and sorrow, -—
you could live and enjoy yourself, while the noble-minded are
betrayed, — while nameless and birthless villains tread on the neck
of the brave and long-descended, — you could enjoy yourself, like a
butcher's dog in the shambles, battening on garbage, while the
slaughter of the brave went on around you ! This enjoyment you
shall not live to partake of; you shall die, base dog, and that before
yon cloud has passed over the sun."
She gave a brief command, in Gaelic, to her attendants, two of
whom seized upon the prostrate suppliant, and hurried him to the
brink of a cliff which overhung the flood. He set up the most pierc-
ing and dreadful cries that fear ever uttered — I may well term them
dreadful ; for they haunted my sleep for years afterwards. As the
murderers, or executioners, call them as you will, dragged him along,
he recognized me even in that moment of horror, and exclaimed, in
the last articulate words I ever heard him utter, " 0, Mr. Osbaldis-
tme, save me ! — save rne ! "
I was so much moved by this horrid spectacle, that, although in
momentary expectation of sharing his fate, I did attempt to speak in
his behalf, but, as might have been expected, my interference wa«
sternly disregarded. The victim was held fast by some, while
others, binding a large heavy stone in a plaid, tied it round his neck
and others again eagerly stripped him of some part of his d/css.
Half naked, and thus manacled, they hurried him into the lake, theie
about twelve feet deep, drowning his last death-shriek with a loud
24*
282 APPENDIX.
halloo of vindictive triumph, over which, however, the yell of mortal
agony was distinctly heard. The heavy hurden splashed in the dark-
blue waters of the lake ; and the Highlanders, with their pole-axes
and swords, watched an instant, to guard, lest, extricating himself
from the load to which he was attached, he might have struggled to
regain the shore. But the knot had been securely bound ; the victim
sunk without effort ; the waters, which his fall had disturbed, settled
calmly over him ; and the unit of that life for which he had pleaded
bo strongly, was forever withdrawn from the sum of human
existence.
III. — The Planetary Systems. — Ilervty.
(Serious, Descriptive, and Didactic Style.)
To us, who dwell on its surface, the earth is by far the most ex-
tensive orb that our eyes can anywhere behold : it is also clothed
with verdure, distinguished by trees, and adorned with a variety of
beautiful decorations ; whereas, to a spectator placed on one of the
planets, it wears a uniform aspect, looks all luminous, and no larger
than a spot. To beings who dwell at still greater distances, it
entirely disappears. That which we call alternately the morning and
the evening star, — as in one part of her orbit she rides foremost in
the procession of night, in the other ushers in and anticipates the
dawn, — is a planetary world, which, and the four others, that so
wonderfully vary their mystic dance, are in themselves dark bodies,
and shine only by reflection ; have fields, and seas, and skies of their
own, are furnished with all accommodations for animal subsistence,
and are supposed to be the abodes of intellectual life ; all which,
together with our earthly habitation, are dependent on that grand
dispenser of divine munificence, the sun ; receive their light from the
distribution of his rays, and derive their comfort from his benign
agency.
This sun, however, with all its attendant planets, is but a very
little part of the grand machine of the universe : every star, though
in appearance no bigger than the diamond that glitters upon a lady's
ring, is really a vast globe, like the sun in size and in glory ; no less
spacious, no less luminous, than the radiant source of the day : so
that every star is not barely a world, but the centre of a magnificent
system ; has a retinue of worlds, irradiated by its beams, and revolv-
ing round its attractive influence, all which are lost to our sight in
immeasurable wilds of ether.
It is observed by a very judicious writer, that if the sun himself,
MISCELLANEOUS PIECES. 283
which enlightens this part of the creation, were extinguished, and all
the host of planetary worlds, which move about him, were annihi-
lated, they would not be missed by an eye that can take in the whole
compass of nature, anymore than a grain of sand upon the sea-shore.
The bulk of which they consist, and the space which they occupy,
are so exceeding lktle in comparison of the whole, that their loss
would scarce leave a blank in the immensity of God's works.
IV. — Chatham's Rebuke of Lord Suffolk.
(Declamatory Interrogation, Detestation, and Abhorrence.)
Who is the man, that, in addition to the disgraces and mischiefs of
the war, has dared to authorize and associate to our arms the toma-
hawk and scalping-knife of the savage 1 — to call into civilized alli-
ance, the wild and inhuman inhabitant of the woods? — to delegate
to the merciless Indian, the defence of disputed rights, and to wage
the horrors of his barbarous war against our brethren ? My lords,
these enormities cry aloud for redress and punishment. But, my
lords, this barbarous measure has been defended, not only on the
principles of policy and necessity, but also, on those of morality ; " for
it is perfectly allowable," says Lord Suffolk, "to use all the means,
which God and nature have put into our hands. " I am astonished,
I am shocked, to hear such principles confessed; to hear them
avowed in this house, or in this country !
My lords, I did not intend to encroach so much on your attention ;
but I cannot repress my indignation — I feel myself impelled to
speak. My lords, we are called upon as members of this house, as
men, as Christians, to protest against such horrible barbarity! —
M That God and nature have put into our hands ! " What ideas of
God and nature, that noble lord may entertain, I know not ; but I
know r , that such detestable principles are equally abhorrent to religion
and humanity. What ! to attribute the sacred sanction of God and
nature, to the massacres of the Indian scalping-knife ! to the carmbaj
savage, torturing, murdering, devouring, drinking the blood of his
mangled victims! Such notions shock every precept of morality
every feeling of humanity, every sentiment of honor. These abomi-
caUta principles, and this more abominable avowal of them, demand
the most decisive indignation.
I call upon that right reverend, and this most learned bench, to
vindicate the religion of their God, to support the justice of their
co-intry. I ''all upon the bishops, to interpose the unsullied sanctity
of their lawn; — upon the judges, to interpose the purity of their
284 APPENDIX.
ermine, to save us from this pollution. I call upon the honor of you!
lordships to reverence the dignity of your ancestors, and to maintain
your own. I call upon the spirit and humanity of my country, to
vindicate the national character. I solemnly call upon your lord
ships, and upon every order of men in the state, to stamp upon
this infamous procedure, the indelible stigma of the public abhor-
rence. More particularly, I call upon the holy prelates of our
religion, to do away this iniquity ; let them perform a lustration, to
purify the country from this deep and deadly sin.
V. — Extract from Patrick Henry's Speech in favor of the War
or Independence.
(Declamatory Expostulation, Courage, Confidence, Resolute Defiance,
Rousing Appeal, Deep Determination.)
They tell us, sir, that we are weak — unable to cope with so for*
midable an adversary. But when shall we be stronger? Will it be
the next week, or tHe next year? Will it be when we are totally
disarmed ; and when a British guard shall be stationed in e\ery
house? Shall we gather strength by irresolution and inaction?
Shall we acquire the means of effectual resistance, by lying supinely
on our backs, and hugging the delusive phantom of hope, until our
enemies shall have bound us hand and foot ?
Sir, we are not weak, if we make a proper use of those means,
which the God of nature hath placed in our power. Three millions
of people, armed in the holy cause of liberty, and in such a country
as that which we possess, are invincible by any force which our
enemy can send against us. Besides, sir, we shall not fight alone.
There is a just God, who presides over the destinies of nations, and
who will raise up friends to fight our battles for us.
The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone : it is to the vigilant, the
active, the brave. — Besides, sir, we have no election. If we were
base enough to desire it, it is now too late to retire from the contest.
There is no retreat, but in submission and slavery ! Our chains are
forg id. Their clanking may be heard on the plains of Boston !
The war is inevitable — and let it come! I repeat it, sir, let it
come !
It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry
peace, peace, — but there is no peace. The war is actually begun .
The next gale, tha; sweeps from the north, will bring to our ears
the clash of resounding arms ! Our brethren are already in the field .
Why stand we here idle ? What is it that gentlemen wish? Whal
MISCELLANEOUS PIECES. 285
fiould they have ? — Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be pur-
chased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty
God! — I know not what course others may take; but as for me
— give me liberty, or give me death !
VI. — The Ocean. — Byron.
Roll on, thou deep and dark blue ocean — roll !
Ten thousand fleets sweep over thee in vain ;
Man marks the earth with ruin — his control
Stops with the shore ; — upon the watery plain
The wrecks are all thy deed ; nor doth remain
A shadow of man's ravage, save his own,
When, for a moment, like a drop of rain,
He sinks into thy depths with bubbling groan,
Without a grave, unknelled, uncoffined, and unknown !
The armaments, which thunderstrike the walls
Of rock-built cities, bidding nations quake,
And monarchs tremble in their capitals —
The oak leviathans, whose huge ribs make
Their clay Creator the vain title take
Of lord of thee, and arbiter of war —
These are thy toys ; and, as the snowy flake
They melt into thy yeast of waves, which mar
Alike the Armada's pride, or spoils of Trafalgar.
Thy shores are empires, changed in all save thee —
Assyria, Greece, Rome, Carthage, what are they?
Thy waters wasted them while they were free,
And many a tyrant since ; their shores obey
The stranger, slave, or savage ; their decay
Has dried up realms to deserts — not so thou,
Unchangeable save to thy wild waves' play —
Time writes no wrinkle on thy azure brow —
Such as Creation's dawn beheld, thou rollest now !
Thou glorious mirror, where the Almighty's form
Glasses itself in tempests! — in all time —
Calm or convulsed, in breeze or gale or storm,
Icing the pole, or in the torrid clime
Dark heaving — boundless, endless, and sublime '
APPENDIX.
The image of Eternity ! — the throne
Of the Invisible. — Even from out thy slime
The monsters of the deep are made ! Each zone
Obeys Thee ! Thou go'st forth ; dread ! fathomless ! alona
VII. — Battle of Waterloo. — Byron.
There was a sound of revelry by night ; s
And Belgium's capita^ had gathered then )
Her Beauty and her Chivalry ; and bright
The lamps shone o'er fair women' and brave men :
A thousand hearts beat happily ; and when
Music arose/ with its voluptuous swell,
Soft eyes looked love to eyes which spake again,
And all went merry as a marriage bell ; —
But hush ! hark ! a deep sound strikes like a rising knell!
Did ye not hear it ? — No ; 't was but the wind,
Or the car prattling o'er the stony street :
On with the dance ! let joy be unconfined ;
No sleep till morn, when Youth and Pleasure meet
To chase the glowing Hours with flying feet; —
But, hark!' — that heavy sound breaks in once more,/
As if the clouds its echo would repeat ;
And nearer^ clearer, deadlier than before !
Arm ! Arm ! it is ! — it is ! — the cannon's opening roar
Ah ! then and there was hurrying to and fro,
And gathering tears, and tremblings of distress,
And cheeks all pale, which but an hour ago
Blushed at the praise of their own loveliness ;
And there were sudden partings, such as press
The life from out young hearts, and choking sighs I
Which ne'er might be repeated^ who could guess
If ever more should meetjthose mutual eyes,^
Since upon nigh^so sweet /such awful morn could rise?
\ \
And there was mounting in hot haste : the steed,
The mustering squadron} and the clattering car^
Went pouring forward with impetuous speedy
Ami swiftly forming in the ranks of war ;N
And the deep thunder, peal on peal, afar/
MISCELLANEOUS PIECES. 287
And near, the beat of the alarming drum,
Roused up the soldier/ere the morning star; —
While thronged the citizens with terror dumb,
Or whispering, with white lips — " The foe! they come! they
come ! v
And wild and high the " Cameron's gathering " rose !
The war-note of LochieL/ which Albyn's hills .
Have heard ; — and heard,- too, have her Saxon foes : —
How in the noon of night ! that pibroch thrills,
Savage and shrill ! But with the breath which fills
Their mountain-pipe, so fill the mountaineers
With the fierce native daring, which instils
The stirring memory of a thousand years ;
And Evan's, Donald's fame rings in each clansman's ears !
And Ardennes waves above them her green leaves,
Dewy with nature's tear-drops, as they pass,
Grieving, — if aught inanimate e'er grieves, —
Over the unreturning brave, — alas !
Ere evening to be trodden like the grass
Which now beneath' them, but above shall grow /
In its next verdure ; when this fiery mass
Of living valor, rolling on the foe,'
And burning with high hope, shall moulder cold and low !
Last noon/beheld them full of lusty life,
Last eve/in Beauty's circle proudly gay,
The midnight/brought the signal-sound of strife,
The morn, the marshalling in arms. — the day |
Battle's magnificently-stern array ! ^ .
The thunder-clouds close o'er'it, which when rent '
The earth! is covered thick jwith otjier clay, v
Which her ownVlay shall coverf- — heaped and pent,
Rider and horsey — friend^ foe", — in one\red/ buriall blent !
VIII. — Satan rallying the Fallen Angels. — Milton.
lie scarce had ceased when the superior fiend
Was moving toward the shore ; his ponderous shield
Ethereal temper, massy, large, and round,
Behind him cast, the broad circumference
Hung on his shoulders, like the moon, whose orb,
288 APPENDIX.
Thro' optic glass, the Tuscan artist views,
At evening, from the top of Fiesole,
Or in Valdarno, to descry new lands,
Rivers, or mountains, on her spotty globe.
His spear, to equal which the tallest pine
Hewn on Norwegian hills to be the mast
Of some great admiral, were b ut a wand,
He walked with to support uneasy steps
Over the burning marl : (not like those steps
On Heaven's azure !) and the torrid clime
Smote on him sore besides, v aulted with fire.
Nathless he so endured till on the beach
Of that inflamed sea he stood, and called
His legions, angel forms, who lay, entranced,
Thick as autumnal leaves that strew the brooks
In Vallombrosa, where the Etrurian shades,
High over-arched embower ; or scattered sedge
Afloat, when with fierce winds, Orion ajmied,
Hath vexed the Red Sea coast, whose waves o'erthrew
Busiris and his Memphian chivalry,
While with perfidious hatred they pursued
The sojourners of Goshen, who beheld
From .the safe shore, their floating carcases
And broken chariot wheels : so thick bestrown,
Abject and lost, lay these, covering the flood,
Under. amazement of their hideous change.
He called so loud, that all the hollow deep
Of hell resounded.
" Princes ! Potentates !
Warriors ! the flower of heaven, once yours, now lost^
If such astonishment as this can seize
Eternal spirits : or have ye chosen this place,
To rest your wearied virtue, for the ease ye find
To slumber here, as in the vales of heaven?
Or in this abject posture have you sworn
To adore the Conqueror, who now beholds
Cherub and seraph rolling in the flood,
With scattered arms and ensigns ; till, anon,
His swift pursuers, from heaven gates discern
The advantage, and descending, tread us down
Thus drooping ; or with linked thunderbolts
MISCELLANEOUS PIECES. 289
Transfix us to the bottom of this gulf?
4. wake ! arise ! or be forever fallen ! "
IX. — Hymn to Mont Blanc. — Coleridge.
Hast thou a charm to stay the morning star
In his s*eep course 1 so long he seems to pause
On thy bald awful head, O sovran Blanc !
The Arve" and Arveiron at thy base
Rave ceaselessly, while thou, dread mountain form,
Risest from forth thy silent sea of pines
How silently ! Around thee and above
Deep is the sky and black : transpicuous deep
An ebon mass ! methinks thou piercest it
As with a wedge ! But when I look again
It seems thine own calm home, thy crystal shrine,
Thy habitation from eternity.
dread and silent form ! I gazed on thee
Till thou, still present to my bodily eye,
Didst vanish from my thought. — Entranced in prayex
1 worshipped the Invisible alone,
"Yet thou, methinks, wast working on my soul,
E'en like some deep enchanting melody,
So sweet we know not we are listening to it.
But I awake, and with a busier mind
And active will, self-conscious, offer now,
Not, as before, involuntary prayer
And passive adoration.
Hand and voice
Awake, awake ! and thou, my heart, awake!
Green fields and icy cliffs ! all join my hymn !
And thou, O silent mountain, sole and bare,
O blacker than the darkness, all the night, ,
And visited all night 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 !
Who sank thy sunless pillars in the earth ?
Who filled thy countenance with rosy light?
Who made thee father of perpetual streams ?
And you, ye five wild torrents, fiercely glad,
290 APPENDIX.
Who called you forth from night and utter deatM
From darkness let you loose, and icy dens,
Down those precipitous, black, jagged rocks,
Forever shattered, and the same forever?
Who gave you your invulnerable life,
Your strength, your speed, your fury, and your jcy,
Unceasing thunder and eternal foam? —
And who commanded — and the silence came,
" Here shall the billows stiffen and have rest? "
Ye ice-falls ! ye that from your dizzy heights
Adown enormous ravines steeply slope, —
Torrents, methinks, that heard a mighty noise,
And stopped at once amidst their maddest plunge, —
Motionless torrents ! silent cataracts !
Who made you glorious as the gates of heaven,
Beneath the keen full moon? Who bade the Sun
Clothe you with rainbows? Who with lovely flowers
Of living blue spread garlands at your feet ? —
God ! God ! the torrents like a shout of nations
Utter : the ice-plain bursts, and answers, God ! —
God ! sing the meadow streams with gladsome voice,
And pine-groves with their soft and soul-like sound.
The silent snow-mass, loosening, thunders, God !
Ye dreadless flowers, that fringe the eternal frost !
Ye wild goats bounding by the eagle's nest !
Ye eagles, playmates of the mountain blast !
Ye lightnings, the dread arrows of the clouds !
Ye signs and wonders of the elements,
Utter forth God ! and fill the hills with praise !
And thou, O silent form, alone and bare, —
Whom as I lift again my head, bowed low
In silent adoration, I again behold,
And to thy summit upward from thy base
Sweep slowly, with dim eyes suffused with tears,—
Awake thou mountain form ! Rise like a cloud,
Rise, like a cloud of incense, from the earth !
Thou kingly spirit throned among the hills,
Thou dread Ambassador from earth to heaven,
Great Hierarch, tell thou the silent sky,
And tell the stars, and tell the rising sun,
Earth with her thousand voices calls en God.
MISCELLANEOUS PIECES. 291
X.— Ode on the Passions. — Collins.
When Music, heavenly maid, was young",
While yet in early Greece she sung-,
The Passions oft, to hear her shell,
Thronged around her magic cell,
Exulting, trembling, raging, fainting,-—
Possessed beyond the Muse's painting.
By turns they felt the glowing mind
Disturbed, delighted, raised, refined:
Till once, 'tis said, when all were fired,
Filled with fury, rapt, inspired,
From the supporting myrtles round
They snatched her instruments of sound ;
And, as they oft had heard apart
Sweet lessons of her forceful art,
Each, (for madness ruled the hour,)
Would prove his own expressive power.
First, Fear, his hand, its skill to try,
Amid the chords bewildered laid ; —
And back recoiled, he knew not why,
Even at the sound himself had made.
Next, Anger rushed : his eyes on fire,
In lightnings owned his secret stings . —
"With one rude clash he struck the lyre,
And swept with hurried hands the strings.
With woful measures, wan Despair —
Low sullen sounds his grief beguiled ;
A solemn, strange, and mingled air :
'Twas sad, by fits ; — by starts, 'twas wild.
But thou, O Hope ! with eyes so fair,
What was thy delighted 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 her song :
And, where her sweetest theme she chose,
A soft responsive voice was heard at every close ;
And Hope, enchanted, smiled, and waved her golden hair :
292 APPENDIX.
And longer had she sung- — but, with a frown,
Revenge impatient rose.
He threw his blood-stained sword in thunder down '
And, with a withering look,
The war-denouncing trumpet took,
And blew a blast, so loud and dread,
Were ne'er prophetic sounds so full of woe :
And ever and anon, he beat
The doubling drum with furious heat.
And though sometimes, each dreary pause between,
Dejected Pity at his side,
Her soul-subduing voice applied,
Yet still he kept his wild unaltered mien ;
While each strained ball of sight seemed bursting from his head
Thy numbers, Jealousy, to nought were fixed ;
Sad proof of thy distressful state !
Of differing themes the veering song was mixed :
And, now, it courted Love ;* now, raving, called en Hate
With eyes upraised, as one inspired,
Pale Melancholy sat retired ;
And from her wild sequestered seat,
In notes by distance made more sweet,
Poured through the mellow horn her pensive soul ;
And, dashing soft from rocks around,
Bubbling runnels joined the sound.
Through glades and glooms the mingled measure stole,
Or o'er some haunted stream, with fond delay,
(Round a holy calm diffusing,
Love of peace and lonely musing,)
In hollow murmurs died away.
But, oh ! how altered was its sprightlier tone,
When Cheerfulness, a nymph of healthiest hue,
Her bow across her shoulder flung,
Her buskins gemmed with morning dew,
Blew an inspiring air, that dale and thicket rung,
The hunter's call, to Faun and Dryad known !
The oak-crowned Sisters, and their chaste-eyed Jueen,
Satyrs and sylvan boys were seen,
Peeping from forth their alleys green ;
MISCELLANEOUS PIECES. 293
Brown Exercise rejoiced to hear,
Ana Sport leaped up, and seized his beechcn spear t
Last, came Joy's ecstatic trial.
lie, with viay crown advancing,
First to the lively pipe his hand addressed ;
Pat soon lie saw the brisk awakening viol,
Whose sweet entrancing voice he loved the best.
They would have thought, who heard the strain,
They saw, in Tempo's vale, her native maids,
Amid the fatal-sounding shades,
To some unwearied minstrel dancing ;
While, as his flying ringers kissed the strings,
Love framed with Mirth a gay fantastic round :
(Loose were her tresses seen, her zone unbound ;)
And he amidst his frolic play, —
As if he would the charming air repay,—
Shook thousand odors from his dewy wings.
1 XI. — The uses of Knowledge. — Alison,
llio first end to which all wisdom or knowledge ought to be cm-
ployed, is to illustrate the wisdom or goodness of the Father of
Nature. Every science that is cultivated by men, leads naturally to
religious thought, from the study of the plant that grows beneath our
feet, to that of the Host of Heaven above us, who perform their
stated revolutions in majestic silence, amid the expanse of infinity.
When, in the youth of Moses, " the Lord appeared to him in
Horeb," a voice was heard, saying, " draw nigh hither, and put off
thy shoes from off thy feet ; for the place where thou standest is holy
ground." It is with such a reverential awe that every great or
elevated mind will approach to the study of nature, and with such
'eolings of adoration and gratitude, that he will receive the illumina-
tion that gradually opens upon his soul.
It is not the lifeless mass of matter, he will then feel, that he is
.examining, — it is the mighty machine of Eternal Wisdom: the
workmanship of Him, " in whom everything li /es, and moves, and
has its being." Under an aspect of this kind, it is impossible to pur-
1 A few of the concluding pieces in the first edition, which were designed
for the use of theological students, are now displaced by others of a more gen
eral character; as the author's new work, Pulpit Elocut on, has since been
prepared for the purpose of furnishing appropriate profes; ional txerci*e».
25*
294 APPENDIX
sue kn 3wledge without mmgling with it the most elevated sentiments
of devotion ; — it is impossible to perceive the laws of nature without
perceiving, at the same time, the presence and the Providence of the
Lawgiver; — and thus it is, that, in every age, the evidences of
religion have advanced with the progress of true philosophy ; and
that science, in erecting a monument to herself, has, at the same
time, erected an altar to the Deity.
The second great end to which all knowledge ought to be
employed, is the welfare of humanity. Every science is the foun-
dation of seme art, beneficial to men ; and while the study of it
leads us to see the beneficence of the laws of nature, it calls upon us
also to follow the great end of the Father of Nature in their employ-
ment and application. I need not say what a field is thus opened to
the benevolence of knowledge : I need not tell you, that in every
department of learning there is good to be done to mankind : I need
not remind you, that the age in which we live has given us the
noblest examples of this kind, and that science now finds its highest
glory in improving the condition, or in allaying the miseries of
humanity. But there is one thing of which it is proper ever to
remind you, because the modesty of knowledge often leads us to for-
get it, — and that is, that the power of scientific benevolence is far
greater than that of all others, to the welfare of society.
The benevolence of the great, or the opulent, however eminent it
may be, perishes with themselves. The benevolence even of sove-
reigns is limited to the narrow boundary of human life ; and, not
unfrequently, is succeeded by different and discordant counsels. But
the benevolence of knowledge is of a kind as extensive as the race
of man, and as permanent as the existence of society. He, in what-
ever situation he may be, who, in the study of science, has discov-
ered a new means of alleviating pain, or of remedying disease ; who
has described a wiser method of preventing poverty, or of shielding
misfortune; who has suggested additional means of increasing or
improving the beneficent productions of nature, has left a memorial
of himself, which can never be forgotten ; which will communicate
happiness to ages yet unborn ; and which, in the emphatic language
of Scripture, renders him a " fellow-worker" with God himself, in
the improvement of his Creation.
XIL — Scene from the Lights and Shadows of Scottish Life.—
Wilson.
The rite of baptism had not been performed for several months in
the kirk of Lanark. It was now the hottest time of persecution ;
MISCELLANEOUS PIECES. 295
and the infcabitan ts of that parish found other places in which to wor-
ship God and celebrate the ordinances of religion. It was the Sab-
bath day, — and a small congregation, of about a hundred souls, had
met for divine service in a place of worship more magnificent than
any temple that human hands had ever built to Deity. Here, too,
were three children about to be baptized. The congregation had not
assembled to the toll of the bell, — but each heart knew the hour and
observed it ; for there are a hundred sun-dials among the hills, woods,
mocrs, and fields, and the shepherds and the peasants see the hours
passing by them in sunshine and shadow.
The church in which they were assembled, was hewn by God's
hand, out of the eternal rocks. A river rolled its way through a
mighty chasm of cliffs, several hundred feet high, of which the cne
side presented enormous masses, and the other corresponding re-
cesses, as if the great stone girdle had been rent by a convulsion.
The channel was overspread with prodigious fragments of rocks or
large loose stones, some of them smooth and bare, others containing
soil and verdure in their rents and fissures, and here and there
crowned with shrubs and trees. The eye could at once command a
long stretching vista, seemingly closed and shut up at both extremi-
ties, by the coalescing cliffs.
This majestic reach of river contained pools, streams, rushing
shelves, and waterfalls innumerable ; and when the water was low,
which it now was in the common drought, it was easy to walk up
this scene with the calm blue sky overhead, an utter and sublime sol-
itude. On looking up, the soul was bowed down by the feeling of
that prodigious height of unscalable and often overhanging cliff.
Between the channel and the summit of the far-extended precipices,
were perpetually flying rooks and wood-pigeons, and now and then a
hawk, filling the profound abyss with their wild cawing, deep mur-
mur, or shrilly shriek.
Sometimes a heron would stand erect and still on some little stone
island, or rise up like a white cloud along the black walls of the
chasm, and disappear. Winged creatures alone could inhabit this
region. The fox and wild-cat chose more accessible haunts. Yet
here came the persecuted Christians, and worshipped God, whoso
hand hung over their heads those magnificent pillars and arches,
scooped out those galleries from the solid rock, and laid at their feet
the calm water in its transparent beauty, in which they could see
themselves sitting in reflected groups, with their Bibles in theii
hands.
296 APPENDIX.
The lite of baptism was over, and the religious service of the day
closed by a Psalm. The mighty rocks hemmed in the holy sound
and sent it, in a more compacted volume, clear, sweet, and strong,
up to heaven. When the Psalm ceased, an echo, like a spirit's
voice, was heard dying away high up among the magnificent archi-
tecture of the cliffs, and once more might be noticed in the silence
\}**> reviving voice of the waterfall.
Just then a large stone fell from the top of the cliff into the pool, a
loud voice was heard, and a plaid hung over on the point of a shep-
herd's staff. Their watchful sentinel had descried danger, and this
was his warning. Forthwith the congregation rose. There were
paths dangerous to unpractised feet, along the ledges of the rocks,
leading up to several caves and places of concealment. The more
active and young assisted the elder — more especially the old pastor,
and the women with the infants ; and many minutes had not elapsed,
till not a living creature was visible in the channel of the stream, but
all of them hidden, or nearly so, in the clefts and caverns.
The shepherd who had given the alarm had lain down again in his
plaid instantly on the green sward upon the summit of these preci-
pices. A party of soldiers were immediately upon him, and de-
manded what signals he had been making, and to whom ; when one
of them, looking over the edge of the cliff, exclaimed, " See, see!
Humphrey, we have caught the whole tabernacle of the Lord in a
net at last. There they are, praising God among the stones of the
river Mouss. These are the Cartland Craigs. By my soul's salva-
tion, a noble cathedral ! " " Fling the lying sentinel over the cliffs.
Here is a canting covenanter for you, deceiving honest soldiers on the
very Sabbath day. Over with him, over with him — out of the gal-
lery into the pit."
But the shepherd had vanished like a shadow ; and mixing with
the tall green broom and bushes, was making his unseen way
towards a wood. " Satan has saved his servant ; but come, my lads
— follow me ; I know the way down into the bed of the stream — and
the steps up to Wallace's Cave. They are called the * Kittle Nine
Stancs.' The hunt 's up. We '11 be all in at the death. IIa.loo — -
my boys — halloo ! "
The soldiers dashed down a less precipitous part of the wooded
banks, a little below the " craigs," and hurried up the channel.
But when they reached the altar where the old gray-haired minister
had been seen standing, and the rocks that had been covered with
people, all was silent and solitary; not a creature to be seen
MISCELLANEOUS PIECES. 297
Here is a Bible dropt by some of them," cried a soldier, and, with
his foot, spun it away into the pool. " A bonnet, a bonnet," cried
another, — now for the pretty sanctified face that rolled its demure
eyes below it."
But, after a few jests and oaths, the soldiers stood still, eyeing
with a kind of mysterious dread the black and silent walls of the rock
that hemmed them in, and hearing only the small voice of the stream
that sent a profounder stillness through the heart of that majestic so
itude. " Curse these cowardly covenanters — what, if they tumble
down upon our heads pieces of rock from their hiding-places ] Ad
vance 1 Or retreat 1 ' '
There was no reply. For a slight fear was upon every man;
musket or bayonet could be of little use to men obliged to clambei
up rocks, along slender paths, leading, they knew not where ; and
they were aware that armed men now-a-days, worshipped God,—-
men of iron hearts, who feared not the glitter of the soldier's arms
— neither barrel nor bayonet — men of long stride, firm step, and
broad breast, who, on the open field, would have overthrown the
marshalled line, and gone first and foremost, if a city had to be taken
by storm.
As the soldiers were standing together irresolute, a noise came
upon their ears like distant thunder, but even more appalling ; and a
slight current of air, as if propelled by it, passed whispering along
the sweet-briers, and the broom, and the tresses of the birch trees
It came deepening, and rolling, and roaring on, and the very Cast
land Craigs shook to their foundation as if in an earthquake. " The
Lord have mercy upon us — what is this? " And down fell many
of the miserable wretches on their knees, and some on their faces,
upon the sharp-pointed rocks. Now, it was like the sound of many
myriads of chariots rolling on their iron axles down the stony channel
of the torrent.
The old gray-haired minister issued from the mouth of Wallace's
Cave, and said, with a loud voice, " The Lord Cod terrible reign-
eth." A water-spout had burst up among the moorlands, and tho
river in its power, was at hand. There it came, tumbling along into
that long reach of ciilTs, and in a moment filled it with one mass of
waves. Huge, agitated clouds of foam rode on the surface of a
blood-red torrent. An army must have been swept off by that floud.
The soldiers perished in a moment ; but high up in the cliifs, above
the sweep of destruction, were the covenanters — men, women, ami
children, uttering prayers to God unheard hy themselves in thai
raging thunder.
298 APPENDIX.
XYII. — Specimen of the Eloquence of John Adams. — Webster
The war must go on. We must fight it through. And if the
war nrist go on, why put off longer the Declaration of Indepen-
dence ? That measure will strengthen us. It will give us character
abroad. ,
Why then, sir, do we not, as soon as possible, change this from a
civil to a national war? And since we must fight it through, why
not put ourselves in a state to enjoy all the benefits of victory, if wa
gain the victory ?
If we fail, it can be no worse for us. But we shall not fail. Tho
cause will raise up armies ; the cause will create navies. The
people, the people, if we are true to them, will carry us, and will
carry themselves, gloriously, through this struggle.
I care not how fickle other people have been found. I know the
people of these colonics ; and I know that resistance to British
aggression is deep and settled in their hearts and cannot be eradi-
cated. Every colony, indeed, has expressed its willingness to fol-
low, if we but take the lead. Sir, the declaration will inspire the
people with increased courage. Instead of a long and bloody war
for restoration of privileges, for redress of grievances, for chartered
immunities, held under a British king, set before them the glorious
object of entire independence, and it will breathe into them anew the
breath of life.
Read this declaration at the head of the army ;• every sword will
be drawn from its scabbard, and the solemn vow uttered, to maintain
it, or to perish on the bed of honor. Publish it from the pulpit ;
religion will approve it, and the love of religious liberty will cling
round it, resolved to stand with it or fall with it. Send it to the
public halls ; proclaim it there ; let them hear it, who heard the first
roar of the enemy's cannon ; let them see it, who saw their brothers
and their sons fall on the field of Bunker Hill, and in the streets of
Lexington and Concord, and the very walls will cry out in its sup-
port.
Sir, I know the uncertainty of human affairs, but I see, I see
clearly through this day's business. You and I, indeed, may rue it.
We may not live to the time, when this declaration shall be made
good. We may die ; die, colonists ; die, slaves ; die, it may be
ignominiously and on the scaffold. Be it so. Be it so. If it be the
pleasure of Heaven that my country shall require the poor offering
of my life, the victim shall be ready, at the appointed hour of
•acrifice, come when that hour may. But while I do live, let mo
MISCELLANEOUS PIECES. 299
nave a ccuntry, or at least the nope of a country, and that a free
country.
But whatever may be our fate, he assured, he assured, that this
declaration will stand. It may cost treasure, and it may cost blood ;
but it will stand, and it will richly compensate for both. Thro-igh
the thick gloom of the present, I see the brightness of the future, as
the sun in heaven. We shall make this a glorious, an immortal
day. When we are in our graves, our children will honor it. They
will celebrate it with thanksgiving, with festivity, with bonfires, and
iLuminations. On its annual return they will shed tears, copious,
gushing tears, not of subjection and slavery, not of agony and dis-
tress, but of exultation, of gratitude, and of joy.
Sir, before God, I believe the hour is come. My judgment
approves this measure, and my whole heart is in it. All that I have,
and all that I am, and all that I hope, in this life, I am now ready
here to stake upon it; and I leave off, as I began, that live or die, '
survive or perish, I am for the declaration. It is my living senti-
ment, and by the blessing of God it shall be my dying sentiment :
independence, now; and independence forever.
XIV. — Results of the Heroism of the Pilgrims. — E. Everett.
Methinks I see it now, that one solitary, adventurous vessel, the
Mayflower of a forlorn hope, freighted with the prospects of a future
state, and bound across the unknown sea. I behold it pursuing, with
a thousand misgivings, the uncertain, the tedious voyage. Suns rise
and set, and weeks and months pass, and winter surprises them on
the deep, but brings them not the sight of the wished-for shore. I
see them now, scantily supplied with provisions, crowded almost to
suffocation in their ill-stored prison; — delayed by calms, pursuing a
circuitous route, — and now driven in fjry before the raging tempest^
on the high and giddy waves. The awful voice of the storm howls
tVrough the rigging. The laboring masts seem straining from their
base ; — the dismal sound of the pumps is heard; — the ship leaps,
as it were, madly, from billow to billow; — the ocean breaks, and
settles with ingulphing floods over the floating deck, and beats with
deadening, shivering weight, against the staggered vessel. — I see
them, escaped from these perils, pursuing their all but desperate
undertaking, and landed at last, after a five months' passage, on the
ice-clad rocks of Plymouth, — weak and weary from the voyage,—
poorly armed, scantily provisioned, depending on the charity of their
ship-master for a draught of beer on board, drirking nothing but
300 APPENDIX.
water on shore, — without shelter, — without means, — surrounded
by hostile tribes.
Shut now the volume of history, and tell me, on any principle of
human probability, what shall be the fate of this handful of adventur-
ers. — Tell me, man of military science, in how mooy months were
they all swept off by the thirty savage tribes, enumerated within the
early limits of New England? Tell me, politician, how long did this
shadow of a colony, on which your conventions and treaties had not
smiled, languish on the distant coast? Student of history, compare
for me the baffled projects, the deserted settlements, the abandoned
adventures of other times, and find the parallel of this. Was it the
winter's storm, beating upon the houseless heads of women and chil-
dren ; was it hard labor and spare meals ; — was it disease, — was it
the tomahawk, — was it the deep malady of a blighted hope, a ruined
enterprise, and a broken heart, aching in its last moments at the re-
collection of the loved and left beyond the sea ; was it some, or all
of these united, that hurried this forsaken company to their melan-
choly fate? — And is it possible that neither of these causes, that not
all combined, were able to blast this bud of hope ? — Is it possible,
that from a beginning so feeble, so frail, so worthy, not so much of
admiration as of pity, there has gone forth a progress so steady, a
growth so wonderful, an expansion so ample, a reality so important,
a promise, yet to be fulfilled, so glorious ?
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