Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2007 with funding from IVIicrosoft Corporation http://www.archive.org/details/choicereadingsfoOOcumnrich CHOICE READINGS CHOICE READINGS FOR PUBLIC AND PRIVATE ENTERTAINMENTS AND FOR THE USE OF SCHOOLS COLLEGES AND PUBLIC READERS WITH ELOCUTIONARY ADVICE EDITED BY ROBERT McLEAN CUMNOCK, L. H. D. PROFESSOR OF RHETORIC AND ELOCUTION, AND DIRECTOR OF THE SCHOOL, OF ORATORY NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY EVANSTON, ILLINOIS, U. S. A. NEW AND DEFINITIVE EDITION CHICAGO A. C. McCLURG & CO, 1922 CdPTRIGBT JANSEN, McCLURG & CO, 1878 .1883 COPYRIGHT A, G. McCLURG & CO. 1898 .1913 M. A. DONOHUE & CO., PRINTERS AND BINDERS, CHICAGO Printed in U. S. A. PREFACE The great wrong practiced upon our youth is that they are led to imitate an interpretation given to them by some person whom they admire, rather than to ascertain and apply the princi- ples which govern the vocal expression of all sentiments and emo- tions that are conveyed by words. The evil results of such a course of training might be averted, in a measure, if every teacher of Reading were an artist; but, unfortunately, few have the time or aptitude for such high attain- ments. The only safe course is to ascertain the principles of vocal expression by careful observation of nature in its best moods and manifestations, and to apply the rules thus obtained to such por- tions of our literature as may be easily classified with reference to the sentiment or passion they chiefly express. In this book are contained selections from a very wide range of English authorship, such as are thought to be the best suited to the purposes of elocutionary training, and public reading and declamation. An endeavor has also been made to give such specific directions as will aid the intelligent student to acquire a just conception of their sentiment. The variety of the selections, added to the fact that each has been chosen with reference to its effectiveness and availability, will furnish material for every possible exercise in the ordinary require- ments of school life, as well as in the more formal exercise of public reading and declamation. The elocutionary suggestions will appear as introductions to the various classes of selections in their respective orders: First. — Pathos. Second, — Solemnity. Third. — Serenity, Beauty, Love. Fourth. — Narrative, Descriptive, and Didactic Styles. Fifth, — Gayety. vi PREFACE Sixth, — KuMOR. Seventh, — Grand, Sublime, and Reverential Styles. Eighth. — Oratorical Styles. Ninth, — Abrupt and Startling Styles. Tenth, — Miscellaneous Selections. In each class of selections an endeavor has been made to secure just as pleasing and effective pieces as though the choice v^ere un- restricted, and, at the same time, to choose pieces that w^ould serve as tj^'pes of the sentiment or passion they are intended to illustrate. If, in some cases, selections do not sustain, from beginning to end, the sentiment that they are intended to illustrate, they are placed w^here the leading or most characteristic sentiment of the piece would require ; and it is thought that, in most cases, the selec- tions are nearly perfect specimens of the several classes in w^hich they are placed. The compiler acknowledges, with thanks, the kind permission of Messrs. J. R. Osgood & Co., Hurd & Houghton, and D, Apple- ton & Co., to use the poems of Longfellow, Whittier, Holmes, Cary, Bryant, and others, that are in this volume, and of which they hold the copyright. R. McL. C. Evanston, III., January, 1878. PREFACE TO THE REVISED EDITION The greatest change in this edition of " Choice Readings " is the introduction of the editor's discussions of the most important topics in Elocution. With this addition the volume can be used as a manual for instruction, as well as a book of selections. The chief difficulties that perplex the student of elocution are treated in language as simple as the technical nature of the subject per- mits. The main object in the introduction of this new material has been to furnish the student with practical working systems leading up to the certain acquisition of the fundamental excellences of good reading and good speaking. The original order of the chapters is slightly changed; the introductory remarks to each chapter are retained with unimportant modifications. About one-half of the old selections have been supplanted by new ones which, it is hoped, will prove as stimulating and attrac- tive as their predecessors. The exceptionally strong selections still hold their places in the volume. In the work of preparing this edition the editor received from his associates in the school of ora- tory valuable assistance, which he here gratefully acknowledges. This revised edition is sent forth with the confident belief that it IS a better and more serviceable book than the old one; and it is hoped that, by making the path to success in public speaking more clear and straight, it will meet with public favor and ap- proval. The editor is greatly indebted to the following publishers for permission to use the selections from works of which they hold the copyright, viz. : Harper and Brothers, " The Boy Orator of Zepata City,'* from The Exiles, and " Her First Appearance," vii viii PREFACE TO THE REVISED EDITION from Van Bibber and Others; American Publishers' Corporation, ^* Scene from * The Little Minister'"; The Century Company, ■"* The Two Runaways " and " The Trial of Ben Thomas," from Two Runaways and Other Stories; The Bowen-Merrill Company, " The South Wind and the Sun," and " Knee-Deep in June," from Afterwhiles, and H. S. Edwards' " Mammy's Li'l' Boy." R. McL. C. EvANSTON, III., June, 1898. CONTENTS Page .ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION i HOW CAN I BECOME A DISTINCT SPEAICER - - - 17 HOW CAN I BECOME A NATURAL SPEAKER ... 27 EXERCISES FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF VOCAL PURITY - 51 EXERCISES FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF VOCAL ENERGY 63 THE ELEVATED CONVERSATIONAL VOICE - - - 79 PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS ON EMPHASIS, INFLECTION AND CADENCE -------- 87 EXPRESSION 99 NARRATIVE, DESCRIPTIVE, AND DIDACTIC STYLES - 100 NARRATIVE, DESCRIPTIVE, AND DIDACTIC SELECTIONS - loi A Similar Case ------- Anonymons 29 , Old Chums - Alice Gary 30 The Brakeman at Church - - - - Robert J, Burdette 33 An Order for a Picture Alice Gary 38 John Burns of Gettysburg Bret Harte 41 Hannah Jane D. R. Locke 44 Hamlet's Instructions to the Players - William Shakespeare 101 Books --------- Francis Bacon xoz The Child- Wife Charles Dickens 103 George the Third - - - William Makepeace Thackeray 104 The Birth of Dombey Charles Dickens 108 Scene at Doctor BlIxMBEr's - - - - Charles Dickens m Death of Paul Dombey Charles Dickens 113 The Charcoal Man J, T, Trowbridge 116 Dick Swiveller and the Marchioness - - Charles Dickens 117 Tulkinghorn and Mademoiselle Hortense - Charles Dickens 123 Passage of the Reform Bill - - - Lord Macaulay 126 Interview Between Aaron Burr and Mary Scudder Harriet Beecher Stowe 128 GAYETY 131 GAY AND ANIMATED SELECTIONS 131 The Daffodils ----- William Wordsworth 131 Cupid Swallowed Leigh Hunt 132 The South Wind and the Sun - - James Whit^omb Riley 133 xi CONTENTS Page Song of the Brook Lord Tennyson 136 Fezziwig's Ball -.-._- Charles Dickens The Ballad of the Brook - - - Charles G, D. Roberts To A Skylark Percy Bysshe Shelley Come into the Garden, Maud . . - Lord Tennyson The Cheap Jack Charles Dickens K Hiding Down - Nora Perry HUMOR - - HUMOROUS SELECTIONS Henry V.'s Wooing - - - - William Shakespeare Widow Malone ------ Charles Lever The Ballad of the Oysterman - - Oliver Wendell Holmes The Low-Backed Car ----- Samuel Lover The Birth of Saint Patrick - - - - Samuel Lover The Courtin' James Russell Loivell Kitty of Coleraine - - - - Charles Dawson Shanly \ Our Guide in Genoa and Rome - - Samuel L. Clemens The Subscription List Samuel Lover A Frenchman on Macbeth Anonymous The White Squall - - William Makepeace Thackeray Larrie O'Dee W, W, Fink The Rationalistic Chicken Anonymous The Foxes* Tails Anonymous A Critical Situation _ - - . Samuel L. Clemens Imph-m --------- Anonymous The One-Hoss Shay - - - Oliver Wendell Holmes Chiquita Bret Harte The Birth of Ireland ----- Anonymous Lady Teazle and Sir Peter - - Richard Brinsley Sheridan An Encounter With An Interviewer - Samuel L. Clemens By Telephone Anonymous Saunders McGlashan's Courtship - - - Anonymous The Two Runaways - - - - . H. S, Edvuards A Study in Nerves Anonymous Pickwick in the Wrong Bedroom - - Charles Dickens PATHOS PATHETIC SELECTIONS Selection from Enoch Arden - - - - Lord Tennyson Longing for Home - - - - - - - jean Ingelow CONTENTS Page Connor --------- Anonymous 233 Break, Break, Break Lord Tennyson 239 The Empty Nest ----- Emily Huntington Miller 240 The Ballad of Babie Bell T. B, Aldrich 241 Edward Gray ------- Lord Tennyson 244 Pictures of Memory Alice Gary 245 The Banks o' Doon Robert Burns 246 Rock of Ages --- ^Anonymous 247 v^' The Volunteer's Wife M. A. Dennison 248 Our Folks ------ Mrs. Ethel Lynn Beers 249 AuLD Robin Gray Lady A. Lindsay 252 John Anderson, My Jo Robert Burns 2 si SOLEMNITY 254 SOLEMN SELECTIONS ------- - 254 The Old Clock on the Stairs - Henry Wads^orth Longfellow 254 Thanatopsis William Cull en Bryant 256 The Rainy Day - - - Henry Wadsiuorth Longfellow 258 The Blue and the Gray ----- f, M. Finch 259 The Death of the Flowers - - fVilliam Cullen Bryant 261 Carcassonne M. E, IV, Sherwood 262 >" Funeral Hymn ------ James Montgomery 263 Crossing the Bar ------ Lord Tennyson 264 SERENITY, BEAUTY, LOVE ------- 265 SELECTIONS OF SERENITY, BEAUTY, LOVE - - - 265 In an Atelier T. B. Aldrich 36 Song ------- sir Edward Lytton 54 DriipTING ------ Thomas Buchanan Read 55 Passing Away - John Pierpont 58 Extract from the Lotos-Eaters - - - - Lord Tennyson 60 Extract from Romeo and Juliet - - William Shakespeare 60 The Brookside - Lord Houghton 61 - Endymion - - - - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 26$ The Bells of Shandon . - - - Francis Mahony 266 Mary Donnelly ----- William Allingham 268 Evangeline on the Prairie - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 269 Mandalay ------- Rudyard Kipling 270 Brushwood ----- Thomas Buchanan Read 272 A Petition to Time - - - - Bryan Waller Procter 275 Annabel Lee ------- Edgar Allan Poe 275 Sandalphon - - . - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 277 When the Kye Come Hame - - - - James Hogg 278 XVI CONTENTS Page LoCHiNVAR Sir Walter Scoit 427 The Picket Guard - . . _ Mrs, Ethel Lynn Beers For a' That, and a' That - - - - - Robert Burns Magdalena, or the Spanish Duel - - - - J. F. Waller The Three Bells ----- John G. Whittier The Launching of the Ship - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Betsy and I Are Out ----- will M, Carleton Abou Ben Adhem Leigh Hunt The Wreck of the Hesperus - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow I' Amy Robsart and Richard Varney - - Sir Walter Scott The Countess Amy and Her Husband - - Sir Walter Scott Extract from Morituri Salutamus Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Shamus O'Brien - , J. S. Le Fanu The Glove and the Lions Leigh Hunt The Elf-Child and the Minister - - Nathaniel Hawthorne Aux Italiens ----- Robert Bulwer-Lytton Count Candespina's Standard - - - - George H. Boker Her Letter .----.-- Bret Harte The Bugle Song _--«.- Lord Tennyson The Green Gnome ----- Robert Buchanan * Rom OLA AND Savonarola ------ George Eliot The Forging of the Anchor - - - Samuel Ferguson The Voices at the Throne - - - - r. Westwood Lady Clare - Lord Tennyson The Romance of the Swan's Nest Elizabeth Barrett Browning Scene from Henry the Fourth - - William Shakespeare Boat Song Sir Walter Scott The Trial of Ben Thomas - - - - H. S. Edwards The Revolutionary Rising - - Thomas Buchanan Read William Tell among the Mountains - Sheridan Knowles The Dying Christian to His Soul - - Alexander Pope ' The Romance of a Rose Nora Perry The Revenge Lord Tennyson The Dream of Eugene Aram - - - - Thomas Hood Jean Valjean Victor Hugo The Boy Orator of Zepata City - - Richard Harding Davis Ye Mariners of England - - - - Thomas Campbell Battle Hymn of the Republic - - - Julia Ward Howe The Angel and the Shepherds - - - - Lew Wallace If I Were King ----- Justin Huntly McCarthy The Burgundian Defiance - - Justin Huntly McCarthy The Lion and the Mouse Charles Klein High-Tide on the Coast of Lincolnshire - - Jean Ingelow CONTENTS xvii Page Her First Appearance - - - Richard Harding Davis 544 Virginia -------- Lord Macaulay 552 Cuddle Doon ------ Alexander Anderson 555 FiTZ- James and Roderick Dhu - - - . Sir Walter Scott 557 The Bower Scene from Becket - - - Lord Tennyson 562 Columbus - Joaquin Miller 566 Lorraine -------- Charles Kings ley 567 Lady Clara Vere de Verb Lord Tennyson 568 The Raven Edgar Allan Poe 570 v Knee-Deep in June - - - - James IVhitcomb Riley 574 Ring Out, Wild Bells! - - - _ Lord Tennyson $77 The Resurrection - - - - " - - Ed^in Arnold 578 Richelieu Sir Edivard Buliver-Lyiion 581 The Utility of Booing Charles Macklin 585 Rhyme of the Duchess May - Elizabeth Barrett Browning 590 INDEX OF AUTHORS 597 CHOICE READINGS ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION A correct and refined pronunciation of words is one of the foundation stones upon which all elocutionary excellence must be built. However much we may deride the mechanics of speech, we shall be brought, as we grow older and wiser, to acknowledge their great impc rtance. All speaking, however melodious or expressive, that is marred by a careless or provincial pronunciation, must lose a large share of its effectiveness by offending an edu- cated and refined taste. Nothing is truer than the following state- ment of Alfred Ayres : " The manner in which one speaks his mother-tongue is looked upon as showing more clearly than any other one thing what his culture is, and what his associations have been." Perhaps on no subject in the whole range of educational work Is there so much variance and uncertainty as on the subject of English vowel sounds. This fault Is not to be laid at the door of the student altogether, but rather should be charged up to the halting and conflicting opinions of the dictionaries. A large share of the mischief has arisen from the use of the word obscure. This word, as used by orthoepists, is an extremely unfortunate one, because it destroys all standards of ascertainable truth In pronunciation. What Is obscure to one may not be so obscure to another; and hence all standards which should define the sound to be given to the vowel, are completely broken down. We see no higher motive in the use of the word obscure than an easy and comfortable way to get rid of difficulties. In the presentation of the subject of English phonatlon, two things are important. First: Simplicity and clearness of state- ment. Second: A keen and discriminating appreciation of sound. 2 CHOICE READINGS The following table is, in our opinion, the simplest form in which the vowel sounds of the English language can be presented. TABLE OF VOWEL SOUNDS SIMPLE DIPHTHONGAL I a as in all 7 e as in term 13 a as in ale=a+e ( a as in arm 8 1 as in pin 14 i as in ice=:a+e 2," [ a as in ask 1 6o as in ooze 15 as in old=:::o+6o 3 a as in at 9 66 as in look 16 oi as in oiI=a+e 4 a as in care lO 6 as in ox 17 ou as in our=i:a+oo 5 e as in eve II u as in up 18 uas in use^i+oo 6 e as in met 12 u as in urge or y+00 The student will see, by the table, that there are but twelve simple vowel sounds in the language, and six diphthongal sounds — the diphthongs being made by uniting two of the simple sounds. Long a, however, number thirteen in the table, and long 5, are made by uniting the name sound of the letter with one of the simple sounds; thus long a =: a (the name sound) plus long e; also long = (the name sound) plus 6b. In our dictionaries and School Readers the vowel sounds are taught as they appear to the eye, and not as they come to the ear; thus the u in bury is not a u sound, but a short e as in berry ; also the e in pretty is not an e sound, but a short 1 as pritty. Hence duplicate sounds enlarge the dictionary list of the vowels. The number of vowel sounds enumerated in dictionaries and School Readers varies from twenty to thirty-three. By reducing the number of vowels to twelve, we simplify the task of the pupil. It is a much easier matter to get acquainted with twelve sounds than with thirty-three. The following lists of equivalents will show, to some extent, the double and triple use of the simple vowel sounds, and will account for the long list of vowel sounds found in our dictionaries. Equivalents whose pronunciation is indicated without re- spelling : a as in all is the same sound as o in or and the 6 in cough, a as in care is the same sound as e in there. e as in eve is the same sound as 1 in pique and ee in eel. e as in fern is the same sound as 1 in sir and y in c^vrrh. I as in ill is the same sound as y in hymn. ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION 8 00 as in food is the same sound as o in do and u in true. 06 as in foot is the same sound as 9 in wolf and u in pull. 6 as in odd is the same sound as a in what. u as in up is the same sound as 6 in son. a as in ale is the same sound as e in eight. i as in ice is the same sound as y in fly. Words whose vowel sounds cannot be indicated without re- spelling : any pronounced eny. beau pronounced bo. boy pronounced boi- breeches pronounced britchez. bury pronounced berry. busy pronounced bizy. says pronounced sez. dew pronounced du. hautboy pronounced ho'boi. pretty pronounced pritty. quay pronounced ke. saith pronounced seth. owl pronounced oul. sewing pronounced so'-ing. sergeant pronounced sar'-gent. word pronounced wurd. cough pronounced kaf. In recent discussions of this subject, the larger share of atten- tion has been directed to the quantity of vowels, and the correct accentuation of words, rather than to the subtle distinctions of vowel sound which form the basis of refined and elegant speech. The chief reason for this is the ease with which quantity and accentuation may be determined ; while on the other hand the diflS- culty of making sensible and just discriminations, in the finer shades of vowel sound, has kept people from venturing an opinion in that direction. We will now, as briefly as possible, discuss the vowel sounds, giving special consideration to those that are most frequently mis- pronounced. In class work, place on the blackboard twenty-five words to illustrate each of the vowel sounds in the table, and prac- tice the pronunciation of these words in concert until the true sound of each vowel is fully appreciated. The first vowel is calkd 4 CHOICE READINGS broad a ; marked in the dictionaries with two dots below the letter, thus a as in all. We have little difficulty with this sound. Avoid, however, making broad a like short 6. Do not say woter for water, dotter for daughter. LIST OF WORDS FOR PRACTICE all bald fought balsam lawyer falconer appall balk form daughter awful albeit almost broad orb falchion quarter laudable awe brawl torpid gaudy water laudanum awl dawn vault wharf warrior laureate The second vowel in the table requires special attention. It is called the long Italian a, and is marked with two dots above, thus, a as in arm. This sound is correctly given when followed by t (as in far, charm) ; but there are forty or more words in our language in which the broad sound of a as in all, or the short sound of a as in hat, is frequently substituted for the sound of the long Italian a. Do not say laugh or laugh for laugh. Let the ear be trained to catch the correct vowel sound, as heard in arm, and then secure the same sound in the list of words given below. The only way to secure accuracy in the pronunciation of these doubt- ful words is frequent repetition, until it becomes a habit to speak them correctly at all times. LIST OF WORDS FOR PRACTICE alms flaunt launch almond daunt Nevada aunt gape lava laughter psalm Alabama calf gaunt salve laundry half cantata calm taunt suave saunter palm promenade The next vowel sound that suffers at the hands, or rather the tongues, of most people, even of those liberally educated, is the short Italian a. This vowel is the same sound in quality as the long Italian a, but less in quantity, i. e., the vowel in ask is sounded the same as the vowel in arm; the only difference is that the former is shorter than the latter. To acquire the correct vowel quality in the pronunciation of these words, a sustained sound of long Italian a should be made, until the ear catches the precise shade of sound, then a much ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION 5 shorter sound of the same quality should be made, and used in the pronunciation of the words. Strict attention to the quality of vowel sound used, and frequent comparisons with the long- drawn Italian a sound, and frequent repetition of the list of words giveii below are all the directions and cautions needed, to enable any one to pronounce these frequently used words correctly. Do not say ask or ask for ask. The short Italian a is found, chiefly, in monosyllabic words ending in if, ss, sk, sp, st, ft, nee, nt. LIST OF WORDS FOR PRACTICE after basket advantage command casket advancing demand enhance commander master masking passable slanting pastor taskmaster The third vowel in the table is short a as in cat, bad. We occasionally hear this sound pronounced like short e, thus, cet for cat. When short a is followed by rr (as in arrow) or by r and a vowel (as in charity), it is often incorrectly sounded like a, as in care. ask fast asp staff glance grant cast hasp grass class quaff pant shaft chant draught LIST OF WORDS FOR PRACT: ICE bat pad gas Harry passion marry romance larynx valentine jasper paramount caravan caricature aquatic barbaric cant thank sap dazzle gamut carriage arid cassock barrel dastard barrow harass cassimere classify comparison character carrion passenger palmistry Massachusetts The fourth vowel in the table is frequently mispronounced, and requires special attention. This vowel is marked with a caret over the letter, and is called by some orthoepists the caret a, by others the circumflex a, and by still others the medial a. In some of the northern sections of our country we hear the vowel pronounced like long a, while the colored population of the South, with rare exceptions, give it the sound of Italian a. Observe that it is neither parent, nor parent, but parent; neither hare nor har, but hair. CHOICE READINGS LIST OF WORDS FOR PRACTICE fair chair tear scarce fare air snare bare there spare scare rare stare fairy lair wear bear swear share parent hair square dare mare pair garish declare prepare ensnare parentage We seldom hear any error in the enunciation of the fifth vowel in the table, long e as in eve. When followed by r (as in ear, fear) some careless speakers give the vowel a sound that verges toward short i, while others pronounce the vowel with a sound resembling caret a. LIST OF WORDS FOR PRACTICE dreary appearing experience antique lenient inferior caprice careering material machine period Presbyterian marine retreating superior The sixth vowel in the table, short e as in met, is occasionally mispronounced like long a in such words as measure, pleasure. When short e is followed by r, it is frequently given a sound like caret a. Do not say paril for peril nor mary for merry. eke near believe feet peer receive fear queer ravine gleam rear query hear tear weary LIST OF .WORDS FOR PRACTICE €bb hedge rent measure merry clerical beck ken said pleasure peril celerity deU less saith treasure sterile herring fed met vest bury terror ker'osene gem west when ferry very severity The seventh vowel in the table is called the tilde e and i, or, perhaps a better name, the waved e and i. It is the most delicate vowel sound in the language, and is frequently mispronounced. The error in the pronunciation of this vowel is in making it like the \i in urge; thus, we are accustomed to pronounce term as though it were spelled turm. The not overdone difference be- I fir tween these two sets of words urn fur indicates the distinc- ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION 7 tion between the correct and incorrect sound of the element* The e in term is a more delicate and closer sound than the u in urge. The soft palate and root of the tongue are brought closer together, and the whole surface of the tongue is lifted nearer the roof of the mouth. Do not pronounce her like the first syllable of the word hurry, nor the word sir like the first syllable of surround. This vowel is always followed by the consonant r, and is usually found in words where the r is not followed by another r, or where the r is not followed by a vowel. Verbs having this sound almost always retain it when inflected or suffixed, even though the r be doubled, as confer, conferring. Examples where we have short e and i when the r is followed by another r — ferry, Jerry, merry, berry, mirror. Examples where we have short e and i when the r is followed by a vowel — peril, spirit^ merit, very, virulent. LIST OF WORDS FOR PRACTICE earn heard nerve sir thirteen alter'nately bird jerk pearl verge circle conferring dirge mirth quirk dirt certain deterring germ learn serge birch ermine earnestness fern myrrh term perch sirloin versatile birth verse gird first kernel virtuous The eighth vowel in the table, short i as in pin, is usually pronounced correctly. It is sometimes, however, carelessly pro^ noifnced like long e when followed by the sound of sh, as in dish, fish, wish. LIST OF WORDS FOR PRACTICE bib jig schism divan condition irritable did kick rhythm mirror sufficient gibberish fig live dish minute elysium virulent gill midge fish isthmus diploma lyrical him niche wish spirit didactic peninsula The ninth vowel in the table is a source of trouble to most people. I find that many speakers are at fault in pronouncing a few words that take the long oo as their vowel; for example. CHOICE READINGS boot, root, hoof. As a rule, we are apt to shorten the quantity of the long 6b; and as a corrective the following words ought to be pronounced frequently. LIST OF WORDS FOR PRACTICE hoof root roof food rood soon rumor rue gruel truce croup woof ruin routine true boot moon fool rural cruel prune brute woo smooth ruthless room ooze rule boom shoot What we have said about the long oo may be repeated with much more emphasis in the consideration of the short do. In the case of the long 65 there is a tendency in a few words, like hoof and roof, to give the vowel the sound of short u; but in words in which short 06 is the vowel we more frequently hear the words pronounced with the sound of short u than the proper vowel sound, thus, buk for book, cuk for cook. Pronounce frequently the following words, and give to the vowels the shortened form of 00 in food. LIST OF WORDS FOR PRACTICE book wolf brook pull hood bullion look shook could put good bulwark hook took would full stood butcher cook wool should push rook forsook nook wood crook bush foot willful The tenth vowel in the table, short 6 as in ox, is pronounced, by careless speakers like short u in such words as from, of, was. When short 6 is followed by rr, or by r and a vowel, there is a tendency to make it like the broad a. Avoid saying maurrow for morrow, aurigin for origin. LIST OF WORDS FOR PRACTICE odd from wash closet forest correct of doll product torrid foreign orator off gone possess borrow morals origin cloth was office morrow column coronet The eleventh vowel in the table, short ii as in up, is usually pronounced correctly. ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION LIST OF WORDS FOR PRACTICE bud hut wont onion hurry current hub jug under surrey scurry burrow fun muff nourish curry worry furrow gun numb flourish flurry courage turret The twelfth vowel in the table, caret u as in urge, is always followed by the consonant r. This sound gives us very little trouble. Occasionally we hear students straining for an over-nice pronunciation of this vowel, endeavoring to give it the sound of waved e, thus, erge for urge. LIST OF WORDS FOR PRACTICE burr urge lurch word burlesque attorney cur burn surge work journal bifurcate fur cfird turn worm purpose colonel purr furl durst worst purling objurgatory urn hurt curst purse turmoil pursuivant DIPHTHONGS The long a, No. 13 in the table, is made by uniting the orig- inal element, or name sound of the letter, with long e, thus a=a+e. LIST OF WORDS FOR PRACTICE babe break quake dairy facial a'eronaut cape lade rage Mary pathos barba'rian date main safe prairie heinous cana'ry fame nave bass vary Sarah vaga'ries «dght plague grimace wary waylay perora'tion The long i, No. 14 in the table, is made by uniting Italian a with long e, thus i= =a+e. LIST OF WORDS FOR PRACTICE Vide kine rhyme bias bicycle declinable dyke life scythe finite derisive deify fife mire gyves se'-nile dynamite diadem quite nice thrive syren inquiry eying height pipe wile cycle icicle guide 10 CHOICE READINGS The long 6, No. 15 in the table, is made by uniting the name sound of the letter with 06, thus 6^6+00. The vanish into 06 is slight. LIST OF WORDS FOR PRACTICE bode lobe board lore bovine ancho'vy coke note court roar brdoch hist5'rian dole trow door shore glory enco'mium foam won't f5ur sword Dora oppo'nent hose y5re hdard toward Ndrah zoology The diphthong oi is made by uniting broad a with e, thus oi=a-|-e. LIST OF WORDS FOR PRACTICE boy join buoyant cloister avoirdupois buoy Lloyd alloy poison hoidenish choice moist ointment noisome clairvoyance foU poise ' poignant oyster loyalty hoist void royal loiter reconnoiter The diphthong ou is made by uniting Italian a and oo, thus ou=a4-oo. LIST OF WORDS FOR PRACTICE bough mount tower drowsy counter countersign cowl now vouch fountain foundling counselor doubt pout hound vowel gouty cowardice fowl rouse blouse rowdy houseless dowager house sour drought resound mouthing lowering The diphthong long u has always been a stumbling block to the most of our public speakers. According to the best orthoepists, it is equivalent to the sound of the consonant y and oo; thus u=:y+oo. The only way to prove this is to make the sound of y and 00 in rapid succession and blend them ; or we may say that in pronunciation u=you. Here the y forms the initial part of the diphthong and ou the oo part. When the long u stands as a syllable by itself, we experience no difficulty in hearing the diph- thongal sound; thus, ed-yoo-cate, yoo-nite, etc. In such cases we iiever think of dropping the y part of the diphthong, and saying ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION 11 ed-oo-cate; also when long u does not form a syllable by itself, but is found in combination with certain consonants, we always hear the initial y and the sound of oo ; thus, mute — we never hear the y suppressed and the word pronounced moot; we never hear beauty pronounced booty, cute pronounced coot, or pure pronounced poor. The trouble in pronouncing this diphthong occurs when any of the following consonants, d, t, 1, n, s, or th happens to come before a long u; thus, we are apt to pronounce duty as though it were spelled dooty — i. e. we make the long u in such cases equal to oo ; but it is equal, as we have shown, to y+oo. The question then to be answered in this. Why do we suppress the y part of the diph- thong whenever d, t, 1, n, s, or th happens to come before a long u ? Simply because d, t, 1, n, s, and th are made in the fore part of the mouth by the tip of the tongue and teeth, and the y part of the diphthong is made by the palate. We see plainly that to pass from the front part of the mouth to the palate is the greatest possible distance in the articulative machinery, hence it is easier to pass from d, t, 1, n, s, and th to the oo sound than to take up the inter- mediate y. The rule then in all cases where d, t, 1, n, s, and th precedes the long u is this: always introduce the sound of y as the initial part of the diphthong, with this added caution that it be given with as slight a sound as possible, to avoid affectation, LIST OF WORDS FOR PRACTICE duke thews duty duet dubious indubitable tutor tiiberose maturity Tuesday lubricate illuminate nuisance numerous innumerable Matthew studious enthusiasm supine institute superiority The pupil must be impressed from the foregoing discussion that the vowels whose pronunciation requires the most careful attention are the long Italian a and short Italian a No. 2, the caret a No. 4, the waved e and, i No. 7, the long 60 and short 60 No. 9, and the diphthongal long u No. 18. In order that the life-long habits of mispronunciation may be amended, continuous daily practice of the lists of words, with special attention to the five difficult vowel sounds mentioned, is recommended as abso* tune dew tumult lute tube Lucy nude Luke neuter suit new - Susan due diide tulip 12 CHOICE READINGS lutely necessary. A knowledge of what is right does not always insure the practice of what is right. Unless this rigid and continuous practice be kept up for a long time, the student will find himself unconsciously slipping back to the old and incorrect pronunciation. The main thing is to keep the subject constantly before the student. This can be done in a very simple and practical way. Let each student procure a piece of cardboard 30x15 inches, and arrange the words for practice in vertical columns. It is not necessary to include all the lists of words in this chart, but simply those that illustrate the five vowel sounds that are the most difficult. The chart should be hung on the wall of the study room, and the words printed or written large enough to be seen at a considerable distance. The words should be repeated several times a day until ease and accu- racy in their pronunciation is attained. It will require patience and industry to break up long established habits of mispronuncia- tion, but the plan suggested is the simplest and surest method to accomplish the task. Outline of Chart for the Vowel Sounds. — Practice vowel sounds to secure accuracy in pronunciation. TABLE OF VOWEL SOUNDS SIMPLE DIPHTHONGAL I a as in all. 7 e as in term. 13 a as in ale=:a-|-e. 2 1 a as m arm. 8 lasm pin. 14 i as in ice=a-|-e. a as in ask. 9 &c. 15 &c. •-— • 3 &c. 10 16 ZZI 4 II 17 = 5 12 18 = 6 5 12 18 = Vowel sounds that give us the most trouble in pronunciation: Long Ital- ian a. Short Ital- ian a. Caret a. Waved e and T. Long GO. Short 06. Long u. alms ask fair earn hoof book duke aunt staff snare bird room look tune calf cast stare dirge ooze hook lute calm class share germ rumor cook nude etc etc etc etc etc etc etc The full the vertica table of vo J columns wel sounds f words for should appe practice sho ar on the c uld be filled ompleted ch out art, and ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION 13 Constant use of the table of vowel sounds is necessary in order that pupils may be trained to detect vowel sound as rapidly as they read words. EXAMPLES FOR ILLUSTRATION 4 8 IS 7 i8 8 17 2 3 3 6 8 8 18 8 9 13 There is no virtue without a characteristic beauty to make 8 2 8 18 X2 8 II 10 II 9 3 9 13 II 3 2 13 it particularly loved of the good, and to make the bad ashamed 10 4 6 6 10 8 of their neglect of it. The diacritical marks may be used in this exercise, although I prefer the numerals for two reasons. First : It is not necessary, in using the numerals, to respell words like bury, any, etc. Second: Students, w^ho are not sure of their knowledge of vowel sound, can make diacritical marks so ingeniously that no teacher can tell what they mean. EXAMPLES FOR PRACTICE Mark the vowels in the following sentences: The mourners went home in the morning. Honesty is the best policy. Blood, says the pride of life, is more honorable than money. In some of the recently published dictionaries, there is a strong tendency in the direction of current pronunciation. This is to be commended, provided the movement does not become so radical as to interfere seriously with the standards of good taste in pronunciation. We are yielding, I fear, too much to the easy way of pronouncing words, and allowing ourselves to hold in light esteem some of the delicate distinctions in vowel sound that have given to cultivated speech its distinctive charm. The duty of the conscientious student of elocution is to conserve all that adds to the grace and finish of human speech, and, at the same time, to avoid the weakness of over-nicety and oddness. We have endeavored in this discussion to present a positive and working system of English phonation. We have given to each vowel sound a definite existence, and have contended for a phonation clearly outlined and fixed in its quality and quantity. We have not driven the short Italian a into obscurity, nor have we seen our way clear to merge the pleasing sound of waved e U CHOICE READINGS and i into the sound of caret u. We are content to allow the long u and short 6 a continuance of their honorable existence, and, though strenuous for the nicest distinctions in phonation, we have not thought it wise to disturb the relationship of the long and the short oo. Although aware that the positions taken are in agreement with the majority of the ablest authorities, yet we are on the anxious seat of improvement, and will welcome any innovation that promises reform, or any change that will insure progress. It may be of service, in this connection, to offer a few words of advice in the management of Pronunciation Matches. A large proportion of the words that we have seen submitted for tests in pronunciation, have been those seldom or never used. The exercise, to be of the highest educational value, should include only words in current use. We must seek to lift pronunciation from the low level of the puzzle to the higher ground of useful knowledge. It is worse than a waste of time to ask any one to learn the pronunciation of words he never uses himself, and never saw before they were presented for pronunciation. Again, great care should be taken not to condemn a pronunciation because it is not the pronunciation in your dictionary. Perhaps on investi- gation you will find just as weighty authority approving it as you found condemning it. The only safe and useful thing that can be done in this matter is to prepare a list of common words usually mispronounced, and in the correct pronunciation of which the authorities are substantially agreed, LIST OF WORDS FOR PRONUNCIATION MATCHES accent ak'-sent (noun) accent ak-sen't (verb) address ad-dres' (both noun and verb) aforesaid a-for'-sed alias a'-li-as allege al-lej' amenable a-me'-na-bl apparatus ap-pa-ra'-tus ay or aye a (meaning always) ay or aye i (meaning yes) betrothal be-troth'-al (th asp) ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION £5 blatant bla'-tant breeches britch'ez brigand brig'-and * chasten cha'-s'n chastisement chas'-tiz-ment cleanly clen'-li (adverb) cleanly clen^-li (adj.) clique clek condolence c6n-d5'-lens demise de-miz' designate des'-ig-nat (hissing s) discourse dis-kors' (noun and verb) falcon fak'n flaccid flak'-sid forensic fo-ren'-sik (hissing s) hypocrisy hi-p6k'-ri-si idea i-de'-a impious im'-pi-us integral in'-te-gral intrinsic in-trin-sik (hissing s) inventory in'-ven-td-ri javelin jav'-lin legislature lej'-is-la-ture magazine mag-a-zen' patriotism pa'-tri-ot-ism preface pref-as (noun and verb) presentiment pre-sent'-i-ment (hissing s) primary pri'ma-ri program pro'-gram prosaic pro-za'-ik protestation prot-es-ta'-shiin quickening kwik'-ning recess re-ces' resource re-sors' sedative sed'-a-tiv sieve siv sinecure si'-ne-kur spectator spek-ta'-tor swarthy swarth'-i (th asp) thither thith'-er (both subvocal th) 16 CHOICE READINGS truths truths (th. asp) unfrequented un-fre-kwent'-ed version ver'-shun yours urz youths uths (th asp) HOW CAN 1 BECOME A DISTINCT SPEAKER? A satisfactory answer to this question must be of great prac- tical value to every lover of good reading and good speaking. As indistinctness is the prominent fault of public address, so the discovery of a remedy for indistinctness must be to the majority of speakers the most desirable and most useful knowledge. It is a very general belief that indistinctness is a personal disability which can be only partially removed, and that it will ever continue as a hindrance to the public success of the unfortunate individual. The truth is, however, that any person of even feeble and imper- fect articulation may become a distinct speaker. A notable casft came under my observation and care a few years since. A minister who had been relieved from work because of indistinctness, applied to me for instruction. I found that he had been tormented by his brethren with some such general advice as this: " Speak distinctly." " Do not run your words together," etc. The poor man was not able to profit by such indefinite criticism. He had never been trained to use his articulative organs, and, as is sometimes the case, had become more indistinct in his enunciation during the four years of his ministry. He was helpless, discouraged, broken- hearted ; but at the end of two months* practice in the correct and vigorous use of his tongue, teeth, and lips, he went back to work a moderately distinct speaker. He continued to improve, and is now one of the most distinct speakers and one of the most suc- cessful ministers in his denomination. I cite this case for the encouragement of all who may be similarly afflicted, and to add emphasis to what follows. It is not personal endowment that enables one man to speak more distinctly than another, but simply industry. Genius plays a very small part in the acquisition of a distinct utterance. It is work, intelligently directed and persistently pursued, that masters the difficulties and secures the desired results. The distinct pronunciation of words depends entirely on a 17 18 CHOICE READINGS nimble use of the tongue, teeth, lips, and palate. Sound is made in the glottis, and when it reaches the mouth, the tongue, teeth, and lips form it into syllables and words. Now, any exercise which will give the pupil an energetic and rapid use of these organs of articulation will certainly insure distinctness. Great care, time, and expense are lavished on the rudimentary training of the tyro in piano playing. Weeks, months, and years are given up to exercises to develop strength and dexterity in the use of the fingers, hands, and wrists of the young performer ; and yet in ordinary articulation we use our tongue, teeth, and lips as rapidly as the pianist uses his fingers, and expect distinctness in speaking without any preliminary practice. Careful and continued practice in articulation by all public speakers is as necessary as the constant and laborious practice of the piano player to secure perfect technique in playing. No one knows so well as the painstaking public speaker the truth of the above statement. The fear of indistinctness haunts him in every public effort, and keeps him keyed up to the most exacting demands of his audience. Since indistinctness may be overcome by industry, he can never forgive himself if he falls a victim to his own easy indifference. And it is well that this burden should be laid on all public speakers, for surely nothing is more irritating to an audience than a slipshod, mumbling utterance. Not only is the time of the hearers wasted while listening to such a speaker, but they are, through sympathy for the unfortunate man, subjected to a gratuitous persecution. I wish to indicate a system of practice which, if diligently pur- sued, will give the pupil such strength and dexterity in the use of the articulative organs that indistinctness will be impossible. TABLE OF CONSONANT SOUNDS Arranged with reference to the organs by which they are formed Lips. Lips and Teeth, Teeth and Tongtu. Tongue and Palate. Teeth, Tongue, and Palate. b as in babe m ** *' maim p •• " pipe w ** " woe wh '* ** when i as in fife V " " valve th as in thin th •* " thine ch as in church d " " did 1 ** •* judge k " " cake 1 " " lull n " " nun ng " " song t " " tent r as in rap r " *' war s *' ** cease sh *' ** push y .. .. yet z ** ** zone zh " ** azur M, n, and ng are somedsies called nasal consonants. HOW CAN I BECOME A DISTINCT SPEAKER? 19 The First Step in the practice is the mastery of the conso- nantal elements. The correct pronunciation of the vowel sounds secures elegance and refinement in speech, but distinctness in utter- ance depends entirely upon the rapid and energetic articulation of the consonants. A definite knowledge of the position of the tongue, teeth and lips is essential to the accurate production of these consonantal sounds. The subtonic b is made by a firm compression of the lips. The vocal resonance, which is heard in the interior of the head and mouth, reaches a maximum when the lips are suddenly opened. Pronounce the word babe and pronounce the final b until the sound of the consonant is distinctly apprehended. The subtonic m is made by a gentle compression of the lips which forces the vocal resonance through the nostrils. Prolong the final consonant in the word maim. The atonic p is formed with the organs in the same position as in making b. The lips are intensely compressed, and the maximum of pressure is followed by an aspirated explosion. Pronounce the word pipe and execute with special force the final consonant. The subtonic w is the sound of oo, with a slight breathing before the vowel. Let the lips be rounded as in pronouncing oo, and then draw the lips closer to the teeth, and contract the labial aperture as in whistling. The word woe is suggested for practice, woez=iw-\-o. Make the sound of w, then of o, and then blend them. The diagraph wh is regarded by Bell as a whispered form of «/. In forming it, the lips are closely approximated, and then rapidly separated. Pronounce the word when, and endeavor to get the initial sound. The subtonic v is made by placing the ridge of the under lip against the edges of the upper teeth, and forcing the vocalized breath between the teeth. Care should be taken to raise the upper lip In order to prevent its Interfering with the upper front teeth. The word valve is suggested for practice. The aspirate / is the cognate of v, and Is made in the same manner, with this difference only, that the lip and teeth are more closely compressed and the un vocalized breath Is more forcibly ex- pelled. Pronounce the word fife with special force on the final /. The subtonic th^ which is the occasion of so much trouble to 20 CHOICE READINGS foreigners learning our language, is in reality one of the easiest consonants to produce. The tip of the tongue is pressed forcibly under and against the upper front teeth, the lips are slightly parted, and the vocalized breath is expelled between the teeth. The word thine is suggested for practice. The atonic th is a forcible aspira- tion executed with the organs in a similar position, the only differ- ence being the absence of vocality. Practice the word thin with special reference to the initial sound. The atonic ch has generally been considered as a compound of /and sh. This analysis is questioned. The sound is made by placing the tip of the tongue with energy against the interior ridge of upper gum, with the teeth shut. The sudden break of this con- tact of the organs permits the breath to escape in the sound of the explosive ch. Prolong the final ch in the word church. The subtonic d is made by placing the tip of the tongue with great energy against the interior ridge of gum over the upper front teeth. The soft palate is raised to prevent the passage of air through the nose. The vocal resonance is by these acts of closure arrested until the maximum of pressure results in the explosive d. Pronounce did until the sound of the final d is fully appreciated. The subtonic^ is produced by carrying the tongue back in a curved position against the palate, thereby compressing the vocal- ized breath, which issues in the explosive ^ when the organs relax. Prolong for practice the final g in the word gag. The subtonic ; has generally been regarded as a compound of d and zh. There is some doubt as to the accuracy of this analysis. The sound is made by arching the fore part of the tongue against the roof of the mouth, forming a temporary contact, which is suddenly broken, allowing the sound to escape with a forcible ex- pulsion. Practice the word judge with special reference to the initial sound. The atonic k is made by a movement and position of the tongue and palate similar to that used in producing the subtonic g. The compression of breath, however, is much greater, and the conse-' quent explosion more abrupt and forcible. Pronounce the word cake, dwelling with special force upon the final consonant. The subtonic / is made by raising the tongue toward the roof of the mouth with the tip against the interior ridge of gum over the front teeth, allowing the vocalized breath to escape over the sides of the tongue. Prolong the final consonant in the word lull. HOW CAN I BECOME A DISTINCT SPEAKER? 21 The subtonic n is produced by placing the tip of the tongue against the interior ridge of gum immediately above the upper front teeth, thereby obstructing the oral passage, and forcing the vocalized sound through the nose. Prolong the final n in the w^ord nun. The subtonic ng is made by bringing the root of the tongue into contact with the soft palate, compelling the sound to escape through the nose. The nostrils are partially closed, so that a marked resonance is produced in the nasal cavities. Prolong the ng in song. The atonic / is made in the same way as the letter d, with this difference; in the case of the / there is an absence of vocality, and the explosive / is heard when the forcible contact of the tip of the tongue with the interior ridge of upper gum is suddenly broken^ Pronounce the word tent with special reference to the final con- sonant. The vibrant r is made by placing the tongue with the slightest pressure against the interior ridge of gum over the front teeth, and allowing the vocalized sound to pass over the extreme tip, thereby causing it to vibrate. The trill should never be prolonged. The word rap is suggested for practice. The smooth r is made by a gentle vibration of the entire tongue,. which is slightly drawn back and lifted near the roof of the mouth. Prolong the final consonant in the word war. The atonic s is made by rounding up the tip of the tongue against the interior gum immediately over the front teeth, forming a small aperture for the escape of the breath. The forcible aspira- tion produced by this partial closure resembles the sound of water under pressure as it escapes from the nozzle of a pipe. Prolong the final consonant in the word cease until the true sound of s Is appreciated. The atonic sh is formed in a manner similar to the subtonic zh, the blade of the tongue being well rounded toward the roof of the mouth, and the breath expelled with great force, giving a highly aspirated sound. Prolong the final sh in the word push. The consonant y, like the w, is a vowel with a breathing. The organs are placed in very much the same position in making the y as in making long e. The palate and the root of the tongue, how- ever, are brought more closely together, so that the initial sound IS a mere buzz or breathing. The pressure of the tongue against 22 CHOICE READINGS the teeth is also much greater than in the production of the vowel. Let special attention be paid to the initial sound of the word yes* The subtonic z is made with the organs in the same general position as in making the atonic s. The pressure, however, is very much less, and the breath is vocalized, not aspirated, sound. Pro- long the initial consonant sound in the word zone. The subtonic zh is produced by raising the whole fore part of the tongue close to the roof of the mouth, with the teeth nearly shut, and allowing a partially vocal sound to escape between the tongue and the teeth. Prolong the final sound in the first syllable of the word azure. To some the foregoing analysis may seem unnecessarily minute, but exactness in articulation cannot be secured without the closest attention to details in the formation and execution of these conso- nantal elements. Practice these sounds until they can be made with precision, rapidity, and energy. The Second Step is the mastery of final combinations. This is the most important step in the practice, for it is the final conso- nants that we fail to articulate. The method of practice is as follows : take for example the final combination Id. ( 1 ) Articulate the I, then the d, (2) Articulate the combination Id. (3) Pronounce the word hold. The order of practice suggested above should be strictly pur* sued, in order that accuracy may be secured, not only in the articu- lation of each element, but also in the blending of two or more consonants. The pronunciation of the word is also important in practice, as it constantly calls attention to the measure of energy needed in uttering distinctly the closing sounds of words. Practice the final combinations below in the manner indicated above* Id — bold, hailed, tolled. If — elf, wolf, gulf, sylph. Ik — milk, silk, bulk, hulk. Im — elm, helm, whelm, film. Ip — help, gulp, alp, scalp. Is — falls, tells, toils, halls. It — fault, melt, bolt, hilt. Ive — elve, delve, revolve. md — maim*d, claimed, gloom'd. ms — streams, gleams, climes. HOW CAN I BECOME A DISTINCT SPEAKER? 28 ^ nd — land, band, and, hand. ns — dens, runs, gains, gleans. nk — bank, dank, sank, link. nee — dance, glance, hence. nt — ant, want, gaunt, point. sm — chasm, schism, prism. sp — asp, clasp, grasp. St — vast, mast, lest. ct — act, fact, reject. pn — op'n, rip^n, weap'n. kn — tak'n, wak'n, tok*n. tn — bright'n, tighten, whit'n, ble — able, Bible, double. pie — ample, triple, topple. brd — troubrd, bubbl'd, doublU drd — cradrd,saddl'd, idlU mst — arm'st, charm'st. 1st — cairst, heal'st, till'st. nst — canst, runn'st, gain'st. dst — midst, call'dst, roll'dst. rdst — hcard^st, guard'st, reward'st. ngdst — wrong^dst, throng'dst. rmdst — arm'dst, form'dst. rndst — learn^st, scorn'dst. The Third Step is the pronunciation of words of many sylla- bles. The object of this step is to distribute the articulative energy so that all the syllables of a long word shall be brought out evenly. Frequently we apply so much force to the accented syllable that the syllables immediately preceding and following are imperfectly enunciated. The final syllables also frequently suffer. Method of practice: pronounce each of the following words five times in rapid succession and with vigorous force. It may be necessary to begin the pronunciation at a slow rate of utterance, and to increase the rate as the pupil gains in articulative energy, absolutely antipathy constitution multiplication accessory apocrypha lucubration articulately accurately affability colloquially disinterestedly agitated chronological indissolubly congratulatory adequately annihilate temporarily circumlocution angularly apostatize mythological disingenuousness 24 CHOICE READINGS antepenult revolution institution deglutition lugubrious necessarily generally abominably innumerable intolerable dishonorable collaterally apologetic dietetically apocalyptic coagulation appropriate assimilate acquiescence momentarily ambiguously atmospherical allegorical inexplicable ecclesiastically authoritatively superiority incalculable indisputable immediately justificatory The Fourth Step is the mastery of difficult combinations in sentences. Rigid personal criticism is necessary at each stop. Difficult v^^ords and combinations of vi^ords should not be passed over or avoided because of inability to master them. It is much better to slacken the speed of utterance and gradually acquire the power of conquering the difficulties. Pronounce the follow- ing sentences, increasing the rate of utterance as strength and facility in articulation are required. Amos Ames, the amiable aeronaut, aided in an aerial enter- prise at the age of eighty-eight. Some shun sunshine. Do you shun sunshine? Fine white wine vinegar with veal. Bring a bit of buttered brown bran bread. Geese cackle, cattle low, crows caw, cocks crow. Eight gray geese in a green field grazing. Six thick thistle sticks. Lucy likes light literature. A big black bug bit a big black bear. Peter Prangle, the prickly prangly pear picker, picked three /)Ccks of prickly prangly pears from the prickly prangly pear trees on the pleasant prairies. Theophilus Thistle, the successful thistle sifter, in sifting a tieve full of unsifted thistles, thrust three thousand thistles through the thick of his thumb; now if Theophilus Thistle, the successful thistle sifter, in sifting a sieve full of unsifted thistles, thrust three thousand thistles through the thick of his thumb, see that thou, in sifting a sieve full of unsifted thistles, thrust not three thou- sand thistles through the thick of thy thumb. Success to the successful thistle sifter! She sells sea-shells. Shall Susan sell sea-shells? What whim led White Whitney to whittle, whistle, whisper, HOW CAN I BECOME A DISTINCT SPEAKER? 25 and whimper, near the wharf where a floundering whale might wheel and whirl? He sawed six, long, slim, sleek, slender saplings. Swan swam over the sea. Swan swam back again. Well uvam, swan. Amidst the mists and coldest frosts, With stoutest wrists and loudest boasts, He thrusts his fists against the posts And still insists he sees the ghosts. The Fifth Step is reading. Narrative, descriptive, and didactic styles are recommended for practice at first. Newspaper articles, essays, conversations, and biographical sketches should be frequently read aloud, and at sight. Pursue these directions with patience and diligence, and with- out a question of doubt your articulation will be improved, and will finally become as distinct and perfect as public speaking and reading demand. A chart may be made for the consonants similar in size to the one suggested on page 12 for the vowels. It should be hung on the wall of the study-room, and the various exercises in articu- lation should be practiced frequently and persistently. OUTLINE OF CHART FOR THE CONSONANTAL SOUNDS First Step. — Master consonantal elements. TABLE OF CONSONANTAL SOUNDS Lips. Lips and Teeth. Teeth and Tongtie. Tongue and Palate. Teeth, Tongue, and Palate. b as in babe m " * maim I as in fife V " " valve th as in thin th " " thine ch as in church d *' " did r as in rap r " *' war p - " pipe \j " •' woe wh •* '* when f « " fudge k ** " cake 1 *• " lull n '* ** nun s *' " cease sh " " push y •• " yet z " " zone zh ** " a^ur ng •* " song t •- *• tent 26 CHOICE READINGS Second Step. — Master final combinations of consonants. Id — bold, fold; Ik — milk, silk; Ip — help, gulp; nd — land, band. If — elf, wolf; Im — elm, helm; Is — falls, tells; nk — bank, dank, etc. Third Step. — Master the pronunciation of words of many syllables : Absolutely, accessory, accurately, agitated, etc. Fourth Step. — Master difficult combinations in sentences. Some shun sunshine, etc. Fifth Step. — Common reading. Students in making this chart will fill in all vacant spaces under the several steps with material for practice. HOW CAN I BECOME A NATURAL SPEAKER? Before we attempt to answer this question it would not be irrelevant to investigate certain charges of eccentric and unnatural speaking brought against the ministerial profession, and to enter a protest against the unwise and ferocious methods of criticism prevalent in our day. There always has been a certain piquant pleasure in criticis- ing the clergy. No opportunity has been allowed to pass unim- proved, and advice has been offered ad nauseam. If this advice, in all cases, had been discriminating and ju^t, good results might have followed; but alas! the criticism of the elocution of the pulpit has so frequently taken the form of ridicule or indis- criminate condemnation, that nothing has come of it save a prejudiced notion in the public mind that ministers, as a class, are the poorest speakers we have. However general this belief may be, it is very certain that many of our best speakers are in the ranks of the ministry, and must, of necessity, be there as long as the present order of things continues. The minister has alto- gether the best field for the cultivation of elegant and eflEective public address; the orderly audience, the church constructed with special reference to speaking, the wide range of topics to be dis- cussed, the important interests involved in the discussion, furnish conditions that no other profession can offer. So far then from believing ministers to be the poorest speakers, we are inclined to believe that they are the best. Whatever opinion may be entertained with reference to this matter, it is very evident that a fierce and dangerous spirit of fault-finding is prevalent and popular in our day. "We live in an age of such large freedom that nobody hesitates to criticise or rather to find fault, forgetting that the rarest and highest ability IS required for useful and safe criticism. The true province of the critics is to construct and build up, not to destroy and pull down. However beneficent and helpful constructive criticism might be to society, it is nevertheless true that modern criticism 27 28 CHOICE READINGS has become essentially destructive. It is popular, in our day, to use the knife, to cut deep, to parade the weakness of public men rather than to construct better men out of what we have. And, although ministers are the targets at which the public especially delight to aim their shafts, it must be confessed that the clergy themselves are often as fierce and heartless in their criticism of one another as are the outsiders. It is not our purpose to stand sponsor for any of the eccentricities or improprieties of pulpit address, nor do we think it wise to allow an indifferent standard, of excellence to be set up and go unchallenged ; we simply wish to condemn, as dangerous and wicked, the careless, jocose, and irre- sponsible style of criticism that prevails. This habit of fault-finding has grown to such an extent that ministers expect it, and indeed frequently invite it, and often act as though they were disappointed if they do not get more than they deserve. How often do we hear ministers using these inviting words — " Now do not spare me " — " Cut me to pieces '' — not knowing that this is the worst kind of criticism. Is it ever helpful to beat a man to pieces, and leave him in weakness to struggle back to his former health and strength ? Is it ever cheering or strengthening to tell a man that he is greatly at fault in his reading and speak- ing, and that he ought to desist from public work until he can acquire a better form, and then to leave him in his discouragement to improve under the gracious and good advice he has received? To all such reformers we have but one word: never criticise any man's reading or speaking unless you can suggest a better method, and can outline a course of training that will lead to that end. Keeping this principle in view, we will endeavor to discuss our theme: "How can I become a natural speaker?" An unpleasant melody or intonation of voice has given rise to the phrase — the " ministerial tone." So very few speakers use a melody entirely free from unpleasant tones, that it would be just as proper to speak of the actor's tone, or the lawyer's tone, as to speak of the ministerial tone. It must be remembered that a sentence may be written out in musical form as well as a song or any other musical composition^ the chief difference being this : in the melody of song everything is arbitrary; in the melody of speech everything is voluntary. In other words, when you sing a song you must sing the notes as HOW CAN I BECOME A NATURAL SPEAKER? 29 they are written on the musical staff; In reading an essay you make your own music. Now it must be very evident that those people who are unable to sing, because of their lack of appreciation of musical sound, must be under great disadvantage in making good music when they speak. It is not necessary, however, that a person should be a good musician or singer in order to be a good speaker. It is only necessary that the speaker should have such an appreciation of musical sound that the variety of intonation employed may be pleasing to the ear. Let it not be imagined, however, that an agreeable melody can be acquired by a few weeks* practice. It may take months and years, and never be thoroughly mastered; but any Improvement in this direction Is a substantial gain. The attainment of a pleasing variety of intonation secures two things that are essential to the successful public speaker: first, a well modulated voice, which renders all speech agreeable; second, inflection, which renders all speech effective and intelligent. A careful and continuous study and practice of the following suggea ^ tlons is recommended for the improvement of the melody of thw voice. The First Step : Practice Colloquial Reading, — A number* of colloquial selections should be secured. The following at'r; admirable specimens of colloquial style: A SIMILAR CASE Jack, I hear you Ve gone and done it, — Yes, I know; most fellows will; Went and tried it once myself, sir, Though you see I *m single still. And you met her — did you tell me — Down at Newport, last July, And resolved to ask the question At a soiree? So did I. I suppose you left the ball-room, With its music and Its light; For they say love's flame is brightest In the darkness of the night. 30 CHOICE READINGS Well, you walked along together, Overhead the starlit sky; And I '11 bet — old man, confess it — You were frightened. So was I. So you strolled along the terrace, Saw the summer moonlight pour All its radiance on the waters. As they rippled on the shore, Till at length you gathered courage, When you saw that none was nigh — Did you draw her close and tell her That you loved her? So did I. Well, I need n't ask you further, And I 'm sure I wish you joy. Think I '11 wander down and see you When you're married — eh, my boy? When the honeymoon is over And you 're settled down, we '11 try — What? the deuce you say! Rejected — You rejected? So was I. — Anonymous. This selection and the following one should be read and re-read until the intonations seem as natural as though you were engaged in a conversation with an old friend. OLD CHUMS Is It you. Jack? Old boy, is it really you? I should n't have known you but that I was told You might be expected; — pray, how do you do? But what, under heavens, has made you so old ? Your hair ! why, you 've only a little gray fuzz ! And your beard 's white ! but that can be beautifully dyed ; And your legs are n't but just half as long as they was; And then — stars and garters! your vest is so wide. HOW CAN I BECOME A NATURAL SPEAKER? 31 Is this your hand ? Lord, how I envied you that In the time of our courting, — so soft, and so small, And now it is callous inside, and so fat, — Well, you beat the very old deuce, that is all. Turn around ! let me look at you ! is n't it odd How strange in a few years a fellow 's cbum grows ! Your eye is shrunk up like a bean in a pod, And what are these lines branching out from your nose? Your back has gone up and your shoulders gone down, And all the old roses are under the plough; Why, Jack, if we 'd happened to meet about town, I would n't have known you from Adam, I vow ! You Ve had trouble, have you ? I 'm sorry ; but, John, All trouble sits lightly at your time of life. How's Billy, my namesake? You don't say he's gone To the war, John, and that you have buried your wife? Poor Katherine ! so she has left you — ah me ! I thought she would live to be fifty, or more. What is it you tell me? She was fifty-three! no, Jack ! she was n't so much by a score. Well, there 's little Katy, — was that her name, John ? She '11 rule your house one of these days like a queen. That baby! good lord! is she married and gone? With a Jack ten years old ! and a Katy fourteen ! Then I give it up ! Why, you 're younger than I By ten or twelve years, and to think you 've come back A sober old greybeard, just ready to die! 1 do n't understand how it is, — do you. Jack ? I 've got all my faculties yet, sound and bright; Slight failure my eyes are beginning to hint; But still, with my spectacles on, and a light *Twixt them and the paee, I can read any print. 82 ^ CHOICE READINGS My hearing is dull, and my leg is more spare, Perhaps, than it was when I beat you at ball ; My breath gives out, too, if I go up a stair, — But nothing worth mentioning, nothing at all! My hair is just turning a little you see. And lately I Ve put on a broader-brimmed hat Than I wore at your wedding, but you will agree, Old fellow, I look all the better for that. I *m sometimes a little rheumatic, 't is true. And my nose is n't quite on a straight line, they say ; For all that, I do n't think I Ve changed much, do you ? And I do n't feel a day older, Jack — not a day. — Alice Gary, THE BRAKEMAN AT CHURCH On the road once more, with Lebanon fading away in the distance, the fat passenger drumming idly on the window-pane, the cross passenger sound asleep, and the tall, thin passenger reading " General Grant's Tour Around the World," and won- dering why ** Green's August Flower " should be printed above the doors of " A Buddhist Temple at Benares." To me comes the brakeman, and seating himself on the arm of the seat, says, " I went to church yesterday." "Yes?" I said, with that interested inflection that asks for more. " And what church did you attend ? " "Which do you guess?" he asked. " Some union mission church," I hazarded. " No," said he ; " I do n't like to run on these branch roads very much. I do n't often go to church, and when I do, I want to run on the main line, where your run is regular, and you go on schedule time and do n't have to wait on connections. I do n't like to run on a branch. Good enough, but I do n't like it." " Episcopal? " I guessed. " Limited express," he said ; " all palace cars and two dollars extra for seat, fast time, and only stop at big stations. Nice line, but too exhaustive for a br*»keman. All train-men in uniform, I HOW CAN I BECOME A NATURAL SPEAKER? 3& conductor's punch and lantern silver-plated, and no train-boys allowed. Then the passengers are allowed to talk back at the conductor, and it makes them too free and easy. No, I could n*t stand the palace cars. Rich road, though. Do n't often hear of a receiver being appointed for that line. Some mighty nice people travel on it, too." " Universalist ? " I suggested. " Broad gauge," said the brakeman ; " does too much compli* mentary business. Everybody travels on a pass. Conductor does n't get a fare once in fifty miles. Stops at flag-stations, and won't run into anything but a union depot. No smoking car on the train. Train ordfers are rather vague, though, and the train- men do n't get along well with the passengers. No, I do n't go to the Universalist, but I know some good men who run on that road." " Presbyterian ? " I asked. " Narrow gauge, eh ? " said the brakeman ; " pretty track, straight as a rule; tunnel right through a mountain rather than go around it; spirit-level grade; passengers have to show their tickets before they get on the train. Mighty strict road, but the cars are a little narrow; have to sit one in a seat, and no room in the aisle to dance. Then there is no stop-over tickets allowed; got to go straight through to the station you 're ticketed for, or you can't get on at all. When the car is full, no extra coaches; cars built at the shop to hold just so many, and nobody else allowed on. But you do n't often hear of an accident on that road. It 's run right up to the rules." " Maybe you joined the Free Thinkers? " said I. "Scrub road," said the brakeman; "dirt road-bed and no ballast ; no time-card and no train dispatcher. All trains run wild, and every engineer makes his own time, just as he pleases. Smoke if you want to; kind of go-as-you-please road. Too many side- tracks, and every switch wide open all the time, with the switch- man sound asleep and the target lamp dead out. Get on as you please and get off when you want to. Do n't have to show your tickets, and the conductor is n't expected to do anything but amuse the passengers. No, sir. I was offered a pass, but I do n't like the line. I do n't like to travel on a road that has no terminus. Do you know, sir, I asked a division superintendent where that road run to, and he said he hoped to die if he knew. I asked him if the general superintendent could tell me, and he said he did n't 34 CHOICE READINGS believe they had a general superintendent, and if they had he did n't know anything more about the road than the passengers. I asked him who he reported to, and he said ' nobody.' I asked a conductor who he got his orders from, and he said he did n't takt orders from any living man or dead ghost. And when I asked the engineer who he got his orders from, he said he 'd like to see anybody give him orders ; he 'd run the train to suit himself, or he 'd run it into the ditch. Now you see, sir, I 'm a railroad man, and I do n't care to run on a road that has no time, makes no connections, runs nowhere, and has no superintendent. It may be all right, but I 've railroaded too long to understand it." " Maybe you went to the Congregational church?" " Popular road," said the brakeman ; '* an old road, too — one of the very oldest in the country. Good road-bed and comfortable cars. Well-managed road, too; directors don't interfere with division superintendents and train orders. Road 's mighty pop- ular, but it 's pretty independent, too. Yes, did n't one of the division superintendents down east discontinue one of the oldest stations on this line two or three years ago? But it's a mighty pleasant road to travel on — always has such a pleasant class of passengers." " Did you try the Methodist? " I said. "Now you're shouting!" he said with some enthusiasm. "Nice road, eh? Fast time and plenty of passengers. Engines carry a power of steam, and do n't you forget it; steam-gauge shows a hundred and enough all the time. Lively road ; when the conductor shouts ' all aboard,' you can hear him at the next sta- tion. Every train-light shines like a head-light. Stop-over checks are given on all through tickets; passenger can drop oS the train as often as he likes, do the station two or three days, and hop on the next revival train that comes thundering along. Good, whole-souled, companionable conductors ; ain't a road in the country where the passengers feel more at home. No passes; every pas- senger pays full traffic rates for his ticket. Wesleyanhouse air- breaks on all trains, too; pretty safe road, but I did n't ride over it yesterday." " Perhaps you tried the Baptist? " I guessed once more. "Ah, ha!" said the brakeman; "she's a daisy; isn't she? River-road ; beautiful curves, sweep around anything to keep close to the river ; but it 's all steel rail and rock ballast ; single track HOW CAN I BECOME A NATURAL SPEAKER? 35 all the way; and not a side-track from the round-house to the terminus. Takes a heap of water to run ft, though; double tanks at every station, and there is n't an engine in the shops that can pull a pound or run a mile with less than two gauges. But it runs through a lovely country; those river-roads always do; river on one side and hills on the other, and it 's a steady climb up the grade all the way till the run ends where the fountain- head of the river begins. Yes, sir ; I 11 take the river-road every time for a lovely trip ; sure connections and a good time, and no prairie dust blowing in at the windows. And yesterday, when the conductor came around for the tickets with a little basket-punch, I did n't ask him to pass me, but I paid my fare like a little man — twenty-five cents for an hour's run and a little concert by the passengers thrown in. I tell you, pilgrim, you take the river- road when you want — " But just here the long whistle from the engine announced a station, and the brakeman hurried to the door, shouting: " Zionsville ! the train makes no stops between here and Indianapolis ! " — Robert J. Burdette, Additional selections for practice: "The One-Horse Shay,"' Oliver Wendell Holmes; " Her Letter," Bret Harte. The conversational character of these selections will assist the reader to a natural and melodious use of the voice. They will induce him to read as he talks, and will help him to acquire a variety that is free from false and affected intonations. No instruction or advice is valuable just at this point, save that which inspires patient endeavor, constantly directs the atten- tion of the pupil to the melody of simple conversation, and stimu- lates a desire for perfect freedom from all that is artificial. After a fair degree of success is attained in reading these selections, a more difficult list of pieces should be tried — tlK)ee involving senti- mental and colloquial qualities. The Second Step : Colloquial Selections Involving Sentiment.. ^36 CHOICE READINGS IN AN ATELIER I pray you, do not turn your head ; and let your hands He folded — so. It was a dress like this, blood-red, that Dante liked so, long ago. You do n't know Dante? Never mind. He loved a lady won- drous fair — His model? Something of the kind. I wonder if she had your hair! I wonder if she looked so meek, and was not meek at all, — my dear I want that side-light on your cheek. He loved her, it is very clear. And painted her, as I paint you ; but rather bettef on the whole. Depress your chin, yes, that will do: he was a painter of the soul! And painted portraits, too, I think, in the Inferno — rather good ! I 'd make some certain critics blink if I 'd his method and his mood. Her name was — Jennie, let your glance rest there by that Majolica tray — Was Beatrice; they met by chance — they met by chance, the usual way. As you and I met, months ago, do you remember ? How your feet Went crinkle-crinkle on the snow adown the long gas-lighted street ! An instant in the drug store's glare you stood as in a golden frame ! And then I swore it — then and there — to hand your sweetness down to fame. They met, and loved, and never wed — all this was long before our time; And though they died, they are not dead — such endless youth gives 'mortal rhyme! Still walks the earth, with haughty mien, great Dante, in his soul's distress; -And still the lovely Florentine goes lovely in her blood-red dress. HOW CAN I BECOME A NATURAL SPEAKER? 37 You do not understand at all? He was a poet; on his page He drew her; and though kingdoms fall, this lady lives from age- to age: A poet -— that means painter too, for words are colors, rightly laid ; And they outlast our brightest hue, for ochers crack and crimsons fade. The poets — they are lucky ones ! when we are thrust upon the shelves. Our works turn into skeletons almost as quickly as ourselves ; For our poor canvas peels at length, at length is prized when all is bare: " What grace ! " the critics cry, " what strength ! " when neither strength nor grace is there. Ah, Jennie, I am sick at heart, it is so little one can do, We talk our jargon — live for art! I 'd much prefer to live for you. How dull and lifeless colors are: you smile, and all my picture lies: I wish that I could crush a star to make a pigment for your eyes. Yes, child, I know I *m out of tune ; the light is bad ; the sky is . gray: I *11 work no more this afternoon, so lay your royal robes away. Besides, you 're dreamy — hand on chin — I know not what not in the vein: While I would paint Anne Boleyn, you sit there looking like Elaine. Not like the youthful, radiant Queen, unconscious of the coming woe, But rather as she might have been, preparing for the headsman's blow. I see ! I Ve put you in a miff — sitting bolt upright, wrist on wrist. How should you look? Why, dear as if — somehow — as if you 'd just been kissed. — T. B. Aldrich. ;38 CHOICE READINGS AN ORDER FOR A PICTURE O good painter, tell me true, Has your hand the cunning to draw Shapes of things you never saw ? Ay? Well, here is an order for you. Woods and cornfields a little brown, — The picture must not be over-bright. Yet all in the golden and gracious light Of a cloud, when the summer sun is down. Alway and alway, night and morn. Woods upon woods, with fields of corn Lying between them, not quite sere, And not in the full, thick, leafy bloom. When the wind can hardly find breathing-room Under their tassels, — cattle near, Biting shorter the short green grass. And a hedge of sumach and sassafras. With bluebirds twittering all around — (Ah, good painter, you can't paint sound!) These, and the house where I was born, Low and little, and black and old. With children, many as it can hold, All at the windows open wide, Heads and shoulders clear outside, And fair young faces all ablush: Perhaps you may have seen, some day, Roses crowding the self-same way, Out of a wilding, wayside bush. Listen closer. When you have done With woods and cornfields and grazing herds, A lady, the loveliest ever the sun Looked down upon, you must paint for me ; O, if I only could make you see The clear blue eyes, the tender smile, The sovereign sweetness, the gentle grace, HOW CAN I BECOME A NATURAL SPEAKER? 39 The woman's soul, and the angel's face That are beaming on me all the while ! — I need not speak these foolish words; Yet one word tells you all I would say, — She is my mother: you will agree That all the rest may be thrown away. Two little urchins at her knee You must paint, sir: one like me, — The other with a clearer brow, And the light of his adventurous eyes Flashing with boldest enterprise: At ten years old he went to sea, — God knoweth if he be living now, — He sailed in the good ship Commodore, — Nobody ever crossed her track To bring us news, and she never came back. Ah, 't is twenty long years and more Since that old ship went out of the bay With my great-hearted brother on her deck; I watched him till he shrank to a speck, And his face was toward me all the way. Bright his hair was, a golden brown, The time we stood at our mother's knee : That beauteous head, if it did go down. Carried sunshine into the sea! Out in the fields one summer night We were together, half afraid Of the corn-leaves' rustling, and of the shade Of the high hills, stretching so still and far, — Loitering till after the low little light Of the candle shone through the open door, And over the haystack's pointed top. All of a tremble, and ready to drop. The first half-hour, the great yellow star That we with staring, ignorant eyes, Had often and often watched to see Propped and held in its place in the skies By the fork of a tall, red mulberry- tree. Which close in the edge of our flax-field grew,-— 40 CHOICE READINGS Dead at the top, — just one branch full Of leaves, notched round, and lined with wool, From which it tenderly shook the dew Over our heads, when we came to play In its handbreadth of shadow, day after day: — Afraid to go home, sir; for one of us bore A nest full of speckled and thin-shelled eggs, — The other a bird, held fast by the legs Not so big as a straw of wheat: The berries we gave her she would n't eat. But cried and cried, till we held her bill, So slim and shining, to keep her still. At last we stood at our mother's knee. Do you think, sir, if you try. You can paint the look of a lie? If you can, pray have the grace To put it solely in the face Of the urchin that is likest me: I think 'twas solely mine, indeed: But that 's no matter, — paint it so ; The eyes of our mother — (take good heed) — Looking not on the nestful of eggs. Nor the fluttering bird, held so fast by the legs, But straight through our faces down to our lies, ^nd O, with such injured, reproachful surprise! I felt my heart bleed where that glance went, as though A sharp blade struck through it. You, sir, know, That you on the canvas are to repeat 'Things that are fairest, things most sweet, — Woods and cornfields and mulberry tree, — ^The mother, — the lads, with their bird, at her knee: But, O, that look of reproachful woe! .High as the heavens your name I 11 shout. If you paint me the picture, and leave that out. — Alice Gary, I HOW CAN I BECOME A NATURAL SPEAKER? 41 JOHN BURNS OF GETTYSBURG Have you heard the story the gossips tell Of Burns of Gettysburg? — No? Ah, well Brief is the glory that hero earns, Briefer the story of poor John Burns; He was the fellow who won renown — The only man who did n't back down When the rebels rode through his native town; But held his own in the fight next day. When all his townsfolk ran away. That was in July, sixty-three, — The very day that General Lee, The flower of Southern chivalry, Baffled and beaten, backward reeled From a stubborn Meade and a barren field. I might tell how, but the day before, John Burns stood at his cottage-door, Looking down the village street, Where, in the shade of his peaceful vine. He heard the low of his gathered kine. And felt their breath with incense sweet; Or, I might say, when the sunset burned The old farm gable, he thought it turned The milk that fell in a babbling flood Into the milk-pail, red as blood; Or, how he fancied the hum of bees -^ Were bullets buzzing among the trees. But all such fanciful thoughts as these Were strange to a practical man like Burns, Who minded only his own concerns, Troubled no more by fancies fine Than one of his calm-eyed, long-tailed kine — Quite old-fashioned, and matter-of-fact. Slow to argue, but quick to act. That was the reason, as some folks say. He fought so well on that terrible day. And it was terrible. On the right Raged for hours the heavy fight, 4^ CHOICE READINGS Thundered the battery's double bass — Difficult music for men to face ; While on the left — where now the graves Undulate like the living waves That all the day unceasing swept Up to the pits the rebels kept — Round shot plowed the upland glades, Sown with bullets, reaped with blades; Shattered fences here and there Tossed their splinters in the air, The very trees were stripped and bare; The barns that once held yellow grain ■Were heaped with harvests of the slain; The cattle bellowed on the plain, The turkeys screamed with might and main, And brooding barn-fowl left their rest .With strange shells bursting in each nest. Just where the tide of battle turns, Erect and lonely, stood old John Burns, How do you think the man was dressed? He wore an ancient, long buff vest, Yellow as saffron — but his best; And, buttoned over his manly breast Was a bright blue coat with a rolling collar. And large gilt buttons — size of a dollar — With tails that country-folk called " swaller.** He wore a broad-brimmed, bell-crowned hat, White as the locks on which it sat. Never had such a sight been seen For forty years on the village-green, Since old John Burns was a country beau, And went to the *' quilting *' long ago. Close at his elbows, all that day Veterans of the Peninsula, Sunburnt and bearded, charged away, And striplings, downy of lip and chin, — Clerks that the Home Guard mustered in-» HOW CAN I BECOME A NATURAL SPEAKER? 43 Glanced as they passed at the hat he wore, Then at the rifle his right hand bore, And hailed him from out their youthful lore, With scraps of a slangy repertoire: " How are you, White Hat? '' '' Put her through! '' "Your head's level!'' and, "Bully for you!" Called him " Daddy " — and begged he 'd disclose The name of the tailor who made his clothes, And what was the value he set on those; While Burns, unmindful of jeers and scoff. Stood there picking the rebels off — With his long, brown rifle and bell-crown hat. And the swallow-tails they were laughing at. 'Twas but a moment, for that respect Which clothes all courage their voices checked; And something the wildest could understand Spake in the old man's strong right hand. And his corded throat, and the lurking frown Of his eyebrows under his old bell-crown ; Until, as they gazed, there crept an awe Through the ranks in whispers, and some men saw, In the antique vestments and long white hair The Past of the Nation in battle there. And some of the soldiers since declare That the gleam of his old white hat afar, Like the crested plume of the brave Navarre, That day was their oriflamme of war. Thus raged the battle. You know the rest: How the rebels beaten, and backward pressed, Broke at the final charge and ran. At which John Burns — a practical man, Shouldered his rifle, unbent his brows. And then went back to his bees and cows. That IS the story of old John Burns; This is the moral the reader learns: In fighting the battle, the question 's whether You '11 show a hat that 's white, or a feather. — Bret Harte- 44 CHOICE READINGS HANNAH JANE She IS n't half so handsome as when twenty years agone, At her old home in Piketon, Parson Avery made us one : The great house crowded full of guests of every degree, The girls all envying Hannah Jane, the boys all envying me. Her fingers then were taper, and her skin as white as milk, Her brown hair — what a mess it was! and soft and fine as silk; No wind-moved willow by a brook had ever such a grace. The form of Aphrodite, with a pure Madonna face. She had but meager schooling ; her little notes to me, Were full of crooked pothooks, and the worst orthography: Her " dear " she spelled with double e and " kiss " with but one s: But when one 's crazed with passion, what 's a letter more or less? She blundered in her writing, and she blundered when she spoke, And every rule of syntax that old Murray made, she broke; But she was beautiful and fresh, and I — well, I was young; Her form and face overbalanced all the blunders of her tongue. I was but little better. True, I 'd longer been at school ; My tongue and pen were run, perhaps, a little more by rule; But that was all. The neighbors round, who both of us well knew. Said — which I believed — she was the better of the two. All 's changed ; the light of seventeen 's no longer in her eyes ; Her wavy hair is gone — that loss the coiffeur's art supplies ; Her form is thin and angular ; she slightly forward bends ; Her fingers once so shapely, now are stumpy at the ends. She knows but very little, and in little are we one ; The beauty rare, that more than hid that great defect, is gone. My parvenu relations now deride my homely wife. And pity me that I am tied to such a clod for life. HOW CAN I BECOME A NATURAL SPEAKER? 45 I know there is a difference; at reception and levee, The brightest, wittiest, and most famed of women smile on me; And everywhere I hold my place among the greatest men; And sometimes sigh, with Whittier^s judge, " Alas! it might have been." iWhen they all crowd around me, stately dames and brilliant belles. And yield to me the homage that all great success compels, Discussing art and statecraft, and literature as well. From Homer down to Thackeray, and Swedenborg on *' Hell.*' I can^t forget that from these streams my wife has never quaffed, Has never with Ophelia wept, nor with Jack Falstaff laughed; Of authors, actors, artists — why, she hardly knows the names; She slept while I was speaking on the Alabama claims. I can^t forget — just at this point another form appears — The wife I wedded as she was before my prosperous years; I travel o'er the dreary road we traveled side by side. And wonder what my share would be, if Justice should decide. She had four hundred dollars left her from the old estate; On that we married, and, thus poorly armored, faced our fate. I wrestled with my books; her task was harder far than mine — 'T was how to make two hundred dollars do the work of nine. At last I was admitted ; then I had my legal lore, An office with a stove and desk, of books perhaps a score ; She had her beauty and her youth, and some housewifely skill, And love for me, and faith in me, and back of that a will. Ah! how she cried for joy when my first legal fight was won, When our eclipse passed partly by, and we stood in the sun ! The fee was fifty dollars — 't was the work of half a year — First captive, lean and scraggy, of my legal bow and spear. I well remember when my coat (the only one I had) fWfts seedy grown and threadbare, and, in fact, most " shocking bad.'' 46 CHOICE READINGS The tailor^s stern remark when I a modest order made: " Cash is the basis, sir, on which we tailors do our trade." Her winter cloak was in his shop by noon that very day; She wrought on hickory shirts at night that tailor's skill to pay ; I got a coat and wore it ; but, alas, poor Hannah Jane Ne'er went to church or lecture, till warm weather came again. Our second season she refused a cloak of any sort. That I might have a decent suit in which t' appear in court; She made her last year's bonnet do, that I might have a hat; — Talk of the old-time flame-enveloped martyrs after that ! No negro ever worked so hard; a servant's pay to save. She made herself most willingly a household drudge and slave. What wonder that she never read a magazine or book. Combining as she did in one, nurse, housemaid, seamstress, cook! What wonder that the beauty fled that I once so adored! Her beautiful complexion my fierce kitchen fire devoured; ^ Her plump, soft, rounded arm, was once too fair to be concealed ; Hard work for me that softness into sinewy strength congealed. I was her altar, and her love the sacrificial flame ; Ah! with what pure devotion she to that altar came. And, tearful, flung thereon — alas! I did not know it then — All that she was, and, more than that, all that she might have been! At last I won success. Ah ! then our lives were wider parted ; I was far up the rising road; she, poor girl, where we started. I had tried my speed and mettle, and gained strength in every race ; I was far up the heights of life — '■ she drudging at the base. She made me take each fall the stump ; she said 't was my career, The wild applause of listening crowds was music to my ear. What stimulus had she to cheer her dreary solitude? For me she lived on gladly, in unnatural widowhood. HOW CAN I BECOME A NATURAL SPEAKER? 47 She could n*t read my speech ; but when the papers all agreed 'T was the best one of the session, those comments she could read ; And with a gush of pride thereat, which I had never felt. She sent them to me in a note with half the words misspelt At twenty-eight the State-house; on the Bench at thirty-three; At forty every gate in life was opened wide to me. I nursed my powers and grew, and made my point in life; but she — Bearing such pack-horse weary loads, what could a woman be ? What could she be! Oh, shame! I blush to think what she has been — The most unselfish of all wives to the selfishest of men. Yes, plain and homely now she is ; she *s ignorant, *t is true ; For me she rubbed herself quite out — I represent the two. Well, I suppose that I might do as other men have done — First break her heart with cold neglect, then shove her out alone. The world would say 't was well, and more, would give great praise to me. For having borne with " such a wife *' so uncomplainingly. And shall I? No! The contract *twixt Hannah, God, and me, Was not for one or twenty years, but for eternity. No matter what the world may think; I know, down in my heart. That, if either, I *m delinquent; she has bravely done her part. There 's another world beyond this ; and, on the final day. Will intellect and learning 'gainst such devotion weigh? When the great one, made of us two, is torn apart again, I *11 yield the palm, for God is just, and He knows Hannah Jane. — D. R. Locke. In these selections an occasional passage of sentiment occurs that requires a change from a conversational or staccato to an effusive or flowing form of utterance. To preserve this smooth utterance and, at the same time, secure perfect naturalness in the intonations of the voice, demands a greater degree of skill than the reading of the purely colloquial styles. The proximity of the 48 CHOICE READINGS colloquial passage to the sentimental will serve as a guide and help to a natural melody. The Third Step: Common Reading, — We are now pre- pared to enter upon the practice of narrative, descriptive, and didactic styles, or what is generally called common reading. Here the difficulties in securing pleasing variety are greatly increased. The dignified diction and elaborate structure of the sentence i furnish opportunities for the display of great taste and skill in ! the melodious management of the voice. Nothing is more to be prized as an achievement in elocutionary work than a skillful and melodious reading of a piece of common English. Such an acquirement so thoroughly commends itself, because of its use- fulness, that many people wonder why we do not hear more of it. But like all other good and desirable things it is not easily secured. It requires patient and laborious practice to acquire perfect melody in the reading of an essay or a newspaper article. So difficult is it, that all this preliminary practice of colloquial selections is needful as a preparatory training. I cannot suggest a bietter text-book for common reading than the New Testament. A few chapters are suggested for practice. The Sermon on the Mount, Matt, v, vi, vii ; The Parable of the Pharisee and the Publican, Luke xviiirg; The Parable of the Prodigal Son, Luke xv:ii ; Regeneration, John iii; The Blind Man Restored to Sight, John ix; Duties Enjoined, Rom. xii; Charity, ist Cor. xiii; The Resurrection, ist Cor. xv; Faith, Heb. xi; Love, ist John iv. Some teachers (whose judgment I greatly respect) insist that an elaborate system of rules for inflection and emphasis is the surest way to lead to a natural and pleasing variety of intonation. I admit that success has been secured by this system of training, but I seriously question the propriety of beginning with rules before the pupil has been trained to a certain appreciation of musical variety. The teacher may find an occasional pupil who will yield to no other treatment than the application of fixed rules; but such are very rare exceptions. As a matter of fact, the current melody of a sentence should not be subjected to rules; for, if it were, you would absolutely fix the intonations of every person, and thereby destroy all individuality. I much prefer that the pupil at first should secure a natural use of his voice^ without thought of rules. After the ear has been HOW CAN I BECOME A NATURAL SPEAKER? 49 trained to a just appreciation of musical intonations, it will then be time to assist and strengthen the reader by fixed rules for inflection, cadence, and emphasis. You will by this method avoid a peculiar mechanical stiffness, that frequently appears in those who train themselves by rules without any previously acquired power to execute what the rule requires. Bear in mind constantly this general direction — read the above chapters as though you were talking in the most direct way to your hearers, and endeavor to impress the truth in as earnest and natural tones as you would use in uttering the same precepts to your personal friends. The Fourth Step: Oratorical Expression, — Oratory is simply elevated talk, and the same intonations that are used in common reading or conversation should be carried into this style of address. The increase of force, or volume of voice, greatly adds to the difficulty of securing a pleasing variety. It is in this style of composition that speakers are chiefly found guilty of using " tones " or " false notes " or more properly, bad melody. The safest and best advice we can offer to all those who have acquired unfortunate habits of intonation in their public address is this — pursue the system of practice outlined in this discussion until an appreciation of natural melody such as is heard in the ordinary conversation of good speakers is established in your public speak- ing. A study and practice of the simple and direct form of address found in the orations of Wendell Phillips is recom- mended; then the more ornate and elaborate styles of Burke and Webster may be attempted. The Fifth Step: Grand, Sublime, and Reverential Read- ings, — These are probably the most difficult styles in which to secure good melody. In none of the foregoing selections have we used, to any great extent, an effusive utterance; but here it is essential to the expression of the sentiment. The deep orotund voice, rendered with a flowing utterance, offers such opportunities for unpleasant intonations, that very few attain a perfectly musi- cal modulation. An easy way out of the difficulty would be to drop the effusion; but if we do this we sacrifice the sentiment which is the very life of the thought. The only way is to be patient and thorough in the preliminary practice, and to rely upon the cultivated sense of musical sounds thus acquired. To 50 CHOICE READINGS be sure, a less varied melody is required in these styles, but the need of suitable variety is just as imperative here as elsewhere-. Because this style of reading is sometimes called monotone, do not conclude that the reader should be monotonous. The read- ing is made melodious and pleasing by a skillful use of the vanish of the tones in the form of waves. The reading of a large portion of the Old Testament, of the Revelation in the New Testament, the reading of most hymns and of the Liturgy falls under this division. I have often thought that many of the bad tones used by ministers in the delivery of their sermons could be traced to the frequent use of the reverential style. The remedy for all this is to begin with the simplest forms of reading and lead up to the most difficult; not to reverse the order. EXERCISES FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF VOCAL PURITY As the body is the instrument used for the production of sound, it is necessary that those parts or muscles of the body which are employed for that purpose should be carefully strength- ened and developed, and made subject to the constant control of the will. A physical basis must be laid before the pupil can acquire a voice suitable for public speaking; and therefore the mastery of exercises in physical culture is an absolute prerequisite to the attainment of a good voice. It is not our purpose to discuss scientifically the laws of sound, or the anatomy of the organs of speech, but to suggest a few practical exercises for students who wish to secure a free and full use of their vocal powers. One of the first and most imperative demands made upon the public speaker is that his voice shall be pleasing. This involves the acquirement of the purest musical quality of tone united with perfect freedom from apparent effort in vocalization. The first step in securing pure tone is to gain control of the breath, so that it may flow from the mouth in a perfectly equable stream. This control must be certain and free, and the whole breathing apparatus must be brought, by physical training, under such perfect obedience to the will of the speaker that its action will eventually become largely automatic. The First Step: Exercises in Physical Culture and Breathing. Poise, — The head and shoulders should be m such relation to poise that ear, shoulder, hip, and instep shall fall in the same line. An easily balanced position of the parts of the body is essential to free chest expansion and the correct and forcible use of throat and abdominal muscles. RELAXATION FOR ELASTICITY Jaw, — Relax the muscles of the face, beginning with ej^elids aiid eyebrows. Let go all tension until the expression is that 51 52 CHOICE READINGS ^ of a sleeper, with jaws relaxed and mouth falling open. Move the jaw with the fingers in all directions until it is flexible in joint. Shake relaxed jaws by movement of head sideways and up and down. Throat, — With the jaw relaxed, open the throat and breathe through it as in snoring. Let head drop forward, throat and neck muscles relaxed. Practice the preceding, letting head fall backward, to right, left, and in oblique directions, until its full weight can be felt. Tongue, — Let the tongue lie flat in bottom of mouth, tip lightly touching lower teeth; from that position, without arch- ing it, thrust it straight forward and draw it back as far as pos- sible several times. Open the mouth wide, and move the tongue in circular direction, following outline of lips and stretching the muscles at the base of the tongue. Breathing. — Inhale normal breath slowly, using abdominal, dorsal, and chest muscles in filling the lungs from the lower part to top. Exhale slowly in reverse order. Increase the length of inspirations and expirations, until twenty-five or thirty seconds for each may be easily reached. Inhale slowly through the nostrils for ten, twenty, or thirty seconds. Exhale for the same length of time, using the syllable hah, which may be uttered with a gentle aspiration. Repeat this exercise several times, and notice particularly that the stream of air escaping from the mouth is delivered with a smooth and even flow. The Second Step is to vocalize this stream or column of air. The steady management of the air column producing per- fect musical vibrations, determines largely the beauty and vocal purity of the tone. It follows then that a regulated emission of the breath becomes an important factor in the production of pure tone. Sound the tonics a, e, i, o, u, oo, a. Inhale freely, and prolong each one of these vowel sounds for ten or twenty seconds. This exercise should be repeated frequently, for it constitutes the beginning and end of training for vocal purity. All other exercises are, at best, but slight variations of the above. Bear in mind that it is not multiplicity of exercises that is desirable, but a few well-chosen ones in which the principles of correct vocalization are applied. The ability to sound the tonic a for ten or twenty seconds, and from the initiation of DEVELOPMENT OF VOCAL PURITY 53 the tone to its close to produce perfect musical vibrations, is the surest sign that the pupil is pursuing the most rational and direct course to secure vocal purity. The skillful teacher may assist in relaxing the muscles of the throat, and in placing the tongue and mouth in their proper positions to secure pure tone; but after all is said and done, the instructor cannot, by any physical adjustment of the organs, do more than assist the student in his efforts in vocalization. The mechanism of the human voice is so delicate, and its adjustments are so varied and difficult, that any clumsy attempt to regulate it, as one would tune a piano or a harp, w^ill utterly fail. It v^^ill require months and years of practice before the speaker gains free and absolute control of the delicate machinery. Nothing less than untiring patience and industry, united v^ith skillful and careful advice, can master the difficulties. In beginning this exercise, all that the student is required to know is the difference between a harsh and unpleas- ant sound and a comparatively pure and musical tone. His musical sense, however deficient, can surely detect such a differ- ence. The Third Step is a slight variation of the preceding exer- cise, for the purpose of bringing the sound column to the front part of the mouth. If the column of sound is directed against the soft palate and the soft walls of the air-chamber above the larynx, a dull, hollow quality of tone will be produced. This is due to the character of the resonating surface against which the column is directed. For clearness, brilliancy, and purity of tone the column should be directed against the hard palate, or sound- ing-board, in the roof of the mouth. Select a list of words whose initial consonants are made by the lips and teeth. The conso- nantal combination will aid in bringing the voice forward, and in locating the resonance in its proper place. Pronounce the following words, prolonging the tonic element four or fiwt sec- onds, constantly endeavoring in your efforts to get the tone more pure and to locate the resonance in the front oral cavity. main, tame, fame, pain — pay, bay, may, day. peel, meal, feel, deal — pile, mile, file, tile, pa, fa, ma, da — pooh, boo, moo, do. 54 CHOICE READINGS The Fourth Step is Reading. Selections involving the senti- ments of serenity, beauty, and love, are best suited for exercises in vocal purity. The effusive form of utterance, and the long vowel quantities required for the proper expression of these senti- ments, will enable the student to detect harshness or impurity in the tones of his voice. Singing or chanting exercises may be introduced here, but it is better to use only a few exercises, inasmuch as the same vocal principle enunciated in the second step will be repeated with slight variations in all these exercises. As soon as the pupil is aware of the impurity of the tones he is using, and has a clear notion of how to improve the quality of his voice in the use of a few well-chosen exercises, he should be put to the reading of selections. The stimulus of thought and sentiment, and the awakened powers of appreciation, will encourage him in his work, and at the same time furnish as good opportunities for vocal practice as the abstr?«t exercises. EXAMPLES FOR PRACTICE SONG When stars are in the quiet skies, Then most I pine for thee ; Bend on me, then, thy tender eyes, As stars look on the sea. For thoughts, like waves that glide by night, Are stillest when they shine; Mine earthly love lies hushed in light Beneath the heaven of thine. There is an hour when angels keep Familiar watch o*er men. When coarser souls are wrapt in sleep — • Sweet spirit, meet me then. There is an hour when holy dreams Through slumber fairest glide, And in that mystic hour it seems Thou shouldst be by my side. DEVELOPMENT OF VOCAL PURITY 55 The thoughts of thee too sacred are For daylight's common beam; I can but know thee as my star, My angel, and my dream! When stars are in the silent skies. Then most I pine for thee; Bend on me, then, thy tender eyes, As stars look on the sea. — Sir Edward Lytton. Frequently test the purity of the tone you are asmg by pro- longing the vowel quantity in certain words, and then use the same pure quality in shortened form for reading — thus, in the first line of the song the words stars and skies whose vowels are long, may be so used; also in the second line the words pine and thee, etc. DRIFTING My soul to-day Is far away. Sailing the Vesuvian Bay; My winged boat, A bird afloat. Swims round the purple peaks remote : — Round purple peaks It sails and seeks Blue inlets, and their crystal creeks. Where high rocks throw. Through deeps below, A duplicated golden glow. Far, vague and dim, The mountains swim: While on Vesuvius' misty brim, With outstretched hands, The gray smoke stands, Overlooking the volcanic lands. 56 CHOICE READINGS Here Ischia smiles O'er liquid miles; And yonder, bluest of the isles, Calm Capri waits, Her sapphire gates Beguiling to her bright estates. I heed not if My rippling skiff Float swift or slow from cliff to cliff; — With dreamful eyes My spirit lies Under the walls of Paradise. Under the walls Where swells and falls The Bay's deep breast at intervals, At peace I lie, Blown softly by, A cloud upon this liquid sky. The day, so mild. Is Heaven's own child, With Earth and Ocean reconciled; — The airs I feel Around me steal Are murmuring to the murmuring keel. Over the rail My hand I trail Within the shadow of the sail, A joy intense, The cooling sense. Glides down my drowsy indolence. With dreamful eyes My spirit lies Where Summer sings and never dies, — O'erveiled with vines, She glows and shines Amone her future oil and wines. DEVELOPMENT OF VOCAL PURITY 5? Her children hid The cliffs amid, Are gamboling with the gamboling kid; Or down the walls, With tipsy calls. Laugh on the rocks like waterfalls. The fisher's child, With tresses wild, Unto the smooth, bright sand beguiled, With glowing lips Sings as she skips, Or gazes at the far-off ships. Yon deep bark goes Where traffic blows, From lands of sun to lands of snows; — This happier one, Its course is run From lands of snow to lands of sun. Oh, happy ship, To rise and dip, With the blue crystal at your lip ! Oh, happy crew. My heart with you Sails, and sails, and sings anew! No more, no more The worldly shore Upbraids me with its loud uproar. With dreamful eyes My spirit lies Under the walls of Paradise. — Thomas Buchanan Read. 58 CHOICE READINGS PASSING AWAY Was it the chime of a tiny bell That came so sweet to my dreaming ear, Like the silvery tones of a fairy's shell, That he winds on the beach so mellow and clear, When the winds and the waves lie together asleep. And the moon and the fairy are v/atching the deep, She dispensing her silvery light. And he his notes as silvery quite, While the boatman listens and ships his oar, To catch the music that comes from the shore ? ~ Hark ! the notes on my ear that play, Are set to words : as they float, they say, " Passing away! passing away! " But, no ; it was not a f airy*s shell. Blown on the beach, so mellow and clear: Nor was it the tongue of a silver bell Striking the hours that fell on my ear, As I lay in my dream : yet was it a chime That told of the flow of the stream of Time ; For a beautiful clock from the ceiling hung, And a plump little girl for a pendulum, swung; (As you Ve sometimes seen, in a little ring That hangs in his cage, a canary bird swing;) And she held to her bosom a budding bouquet, And as she enjoyed it, she seemed to say, " Passing away! passing away! " Oh, how bright were the wheels, that told Of the lapse of time as they moved round slow! And the hands, as they swept o'er the dial of gold, Seemed to point to the girl below. And lo ! she had changed ; — in a few short hours, Her bouquet had become a garland of flowers. That she held in her outstretched hands, and flung This way and that, as she, dancing, swung DEVELOPMENT OF VOCAL PURITY 59 In the fullness of grace and womanly pride, That told me she soon was to be a bride; Yet then, when expecting her happiest day, In the same sweet voice I heard her say, " Passing away! passing away! " While I gazed on that fair one's cheek, a shade Of thought, or care, stole softly over, Like that by a cloud in a summer's day made, Looking down on a field of blossoming clover. The rose yet lay on her cheek, but its flush Had something lost of its brilliant blush ; And the light in her eye, and the light on the wheels, That marched so calmly round above her, Was a little dimmed — as when evening steals Upon noon's hot face: — yet one could n't but love her; For she looked like a mother whose first babe lay Rocked on her breast, as she swung all day ; And she seemed in the same silver tone to say, "Passing away! passing away!" While yet I looked, what a change there came ! Her eye was quenched and her cheek was wan; Stooping and staffed was her withered frame. Yet just as busily swung she on: The garland beneath her had fallen to dust ; The wheels above her were eaten with rust ; The hands, that over the dial swept. Grew crook'd and tarnished, but on they kept; And still there came that silver tone From the shriveled lips of the toothless crone, (Let me never forget, to my dying day, The tone or the burden of that lay) — " Passing away! passing away! " — John PierponU 60 CHOICE READINGS FROM THE LOTOS-EATERS How sweet it were, hearing the downward stream With half-shut eyes ever to seem Falling asleep in a half-dream! To dream and dream, like yonder amber light, Which will not leave the myrrh-bush on the height ; To hear each other's whispered speech ; Eating the Lotos day by day, To watch the crisping ripples on the beach. And tender curving lines of creamy spray; To lend our hearts and spirits wholly To the influence of mild-minded melancholy; To muse and brood and live again in memory, With those old faces of our infancy Heaped over with a mound of grass, Two handfuls of white dust, shut in an urn of brass! — Lord Tennyson. FROM ROMEO AND JULIET Rom. It is my lady; O, it is my love! O, that she knew she were ! — She speaks, yet she says nothing; what of that? Her eye discourses, I will answer it. I am too bold, 't is not to me she speaks : Two of the fairest stars in all the heaven, Having some business, do entreat her eyes To twinkle in their spheres till they return. What if her eyes were there, they in her head? The brightness of her cheek would shame those stars. As daylight doth a lamp; her eyes in heaven Would through the airy region stream so bright. That birds would sing, and think it were not night. Jul. Wilt thou be gone ? it is not yet near day : It was the nightingale, and not the lark, That pierced the fearful hollow of thine ear; Nightly she sings on yon pomegranate-tree: Believe me, love, it was the nighting;ale. DEVELOPMENT OF VOCAL PURITY 61 Rom. It was the lark, the herald of the morn, No nightingale: look, love, what envious streaks Do lace the severing clouds in yonder east; Night's candles are burnt out, and jocund day Stands tiptoe on the misty mountain-tops. I must be gone and live, or stay and die. — William Shakespeare* THE BROOKSIDE I wandered by the brookside, I wandered by the mill; I could not hear the brook flow, — The noisy wheel was still; There was no burr of grasshopper, No chirp of any bird, But the beating of my own heart Was all the sound I heard. I sat beneath the elm tree; I watched the long, long shade, And, as it grew still longer, I did not feel afraid; For I listened for a footfall, I listened for a word, — But the beating of my own heart Was all the sound I heard. He came not, — no, he came not, — The night came on alone, — The little stars sat one by one. Each on his golden throne; The evening wind passed by my cheek, The leaves above were stirred, But the beating of my own heart Was all the sound I heard. Fast, silent tears were flowing, When something stood behind ; A hand was on my shoulder, — I knew its touch was kind ; 62 CHOICE READINGS It drew me nearer, — nearer, — We did not speak one word, For the beating of our own hearts Was all the sound we heard. — Lord Houghton, EXERCISES FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF VOCAL ENERGY In the discussion of purity of tone, we confined ourselves to selections that required subdued or moderate volumes of voice, for two reasons: first, because we seldom use, in the ordinary affairs of life, anything more than moderate force; second, because it is easier to secure purity of tone with the moderate forces of voice than with the louder or more impassioned. Nevertheless, it is necessary to cultivate the louder forces of voice, and though the much greater portion of our literature is rendered with moderate volumes, yet the louder forces are needed for public address and for the expression of the more elevated forms of thought. The First Step in securing vocal energy is the mastery of those physical exercises that relate to the development of strength in the action of the diaphragm and the muscular walls of the abdomen; the development of the muscles of the chest, and the expansion of the lungs ; the development of elasticity in the muscles of the trunk, and flexibility in the muscles of the thorax and the throat. PHYSICAL EXERCISES To develop upper chest muscles. — Raise arms sideways, shoul- ders high, elbows straight, hands clenched, knuckles toward floor. Make as many small circles with arms from shoulder as possible, while inhaling one full deep breath slowly. Inhale full deep breath while raising arms slowly sideways to meet overhead. Keep hips back, head up, weight forward, and elbows perfectly straight. Exhale while arms come down slowly to position. This exercise fills the lungs completely, and gives the greatest strength and freedom to the respiratory muscles. Repeat the same lying with the back flat on the floor. Abdominal muscles, — Inhale and hold breath while bending at the waist line, first to the right, then to the left. Repeat, bending to the front and back at the waist. Lying flat on the 63 64 CHOICE READINGS back, keep the heels together on the floor, fold arms across chest, and rise to sitting position. Use the abdominal muscles in the exercise' of panting like a dog, closing the exercise by one quick expulsion of the remaining breath. Let the throat muscles be free. Whisper the following commands with free, open position of throat, and strong, quick action of abdominal muscles: Forward, the Light Brigade! Charge for the guns ! " My bannerman, advance ! I see,'^ he cried, ^* their column shake; Now, gallants! for your ladies' sake, Upon them with the lance ! '* Not a minute more to wait ! Let the captains all and each Shove ashore, then blow up, burn the vessels on the beach! In the exercises for purity of tone, the resonance was confined to the cavities of the mouth, nose, and pharynx, and hence it is called head tone. In the following exercises, the resonance will be felt in all the air-chambers of the body, especially in the large cavity of the chest, and this is known by the term chest tone. The Second Step is to vocalize the vowels or numerals ex- pulsively and explosively. An expulsive sound is a short shout, having a very appreciable vanish; an explosive sound is a pistol- like report, having little appreciable vanish. EXERCISES FOR PRACTICE 1. Repeat the word up five times expulsively. 2. Repeat the word up five times explosively. 3. Repeat each one of the vowels a, e, i, o, u, and the numerals up to ten, five time expulsively, and then as often explosively. 4. Repeat the vowels and numerals and the word up expul- sively and explosively as many times as you can with one breath. Avoid all severe strain upon the muscles or lungs in continuing the repetitions. DEVELOPMENT OF VOCAL ENERGY 65 5. Join the word up with the combinations pa, fa, ma, da, ba, thus: up-fo, up-pe, up-pi, up-po, iip-pu — up-fa, iip-fe, up-fi, up-fo, up-fu, etc. Repeat these combinations expulsively and ex- plosively. 6. Join the word up with the first ten numerals, thus: up-one, lip-two, up-three, etc. Repeat expulsively and explosively. 7. Alternate this exercise, first vowels, then numerals. 8. Shout with sustained force or the calling voice the vowels a, e, i, o, u. Prolong each vowel five or ten seconds. 9. Shout with sustained force the numerals up to ten. 10. Read in the calling voice the following sentences: Ho! Ship ahoy! Katherine, Queen of England, come into the court! Awake, arise, or be forever fallen! Thou, too, sail on, O Ship of State! Jove with us, Jove with us! Foward, the Light Brigade! Blow on ! This is the land of liberty ! Olea! for Castile! Charge, Chester, charge! On, Stanley, on! The Third Step is to secure variety in force. Next to indis tinctness, which must be acknowledged the cardinal fault in public speaking, comes the lack of variety in force. Most speakers, to put it in the language of the people, have a big voice and a little one. Very few intermediate volumes are cultivated, and the consequence is that the speaking is all of the same strength and thickness — like a rope. As well expect an orchestra to render a great musical composition without reading between the lines and observing the moderate, forte, and fortissimo directions, as to expect a great masterpiece of oratory to be successfully delivered without regard to the lights and shades of varying force. Variety in the speaking voice is secured: first, by melodious intonations, or using different notes on the musical scale in uttering the various words of a sen- tence; second, by increasing or decreasing the volume of voice, as the impassioned or the didactic portions of the selection demand. The latter form of variety is the one most sadly neglected, and for the cultivation of which we offer a few simple and practical sug- gestions. The following diagram will give the pupil some idea of the wide range of force that should be cultivated. «6 CHOICE READINGS f H •)(• •](••••••){•«••) Very soft Soft. Moderate. Loud. Very loud. It is quite possible, by beginning v^ith the group of moderate forces and increasing the volume until you reach the loudest, to produce thirty different degrees, which can be clearly appreciated by the ear. EXERCISES FOR PRACTICE Sound the vowels, numerals, or single words, beginning with the moderate volumes, and increasing in force until you reach the maximum of your power. Thus: 1. Sound the vowel a or the numeral one, or the word louder, as many times as you can, increasing in power with each successive effort. 2. Pronounce the following sentences or phrases in the same way. Begin with moderate force, and increase in volume of voice as you proceed : EXAMPLES I impeach him! The war must go on. The love of liberty. The living love of liberty. Independence now, and Independence forever. Our native land. Our home, and native land. The student should be careful not to be over-ambitious in the use of this exercise. It is best to begin with five repetitions of each phrase or sentence, and to increase the number of repetitions as he acquires power of voice. Never continue the exercise for more than two minutes at any one time. Practice frequently, but for short periods. This caution is necessary, that the student may avoid straining the vocal organs or the lungs. 3. Having mastered the previous exercises, the student is now prepared to render the climactic paragraph. DEVELOPMENT OF VOCAL ENERGY 67 I EXAMPLES FOR PRACTICE FROM ORATION ON THE IMPEACHMENT OF WARREN HASTINGS f Therefore, it is with confidence that, ordered by the Commons of Great Britain, I impeach 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 prop- erty he has destroyed, whose country he has laid waste and desolate. I impeach him in the name of human nature itself, which he has cruelly outraged, injured, and oppressed, in both sexes. And I impeach him in the name and by the virtue of those eternal laws of justice, which ought equally to pervade every age, condition, rank, and situation in the world. — Edmund Burke, •FROM ORATION ON WASHINGTON But the same impartial history will record more than one ineffaceable stain upon his character, and never, to the end of time, never on the page of historian, poet, or philosopher; never till a taste for true moral greatness is eaten out of the hearts of men by a mean admiration of success and power ; never in the exhortations of the prudent magistrate counseling his fellow-citizens for their good; never in the dark ages of national fortune, when anxious patriots explore the annals of the past for examples of public virtue ; never in the admonition of the parent forming the minds of his children by lessons of fireside wisdom; never, O never, will the name of Napoleon, nor of any of the other of the famous con- querors of ancient and modern days, be placed upon a level with Washington's. — Edward Everett, 68 CHOICE READINGS FROM ORATION ON IDOLS Nothing of this now; nothing but incessant eulogy. But not a word of one effort to lift the yoke of cruel or unequal legisla- tion from the neck of its victim ; not one attempt to make the code of his country wiser, purer, better ; not one effort to bless his times or breathe a higher moral purpose into the community. Not one blow struck for right or for liberty, while the battle of the giants was going on about him ; not one patriotic act to stir the hearts of his idolaters ; not one public act of any kind whatever about whose merit friend or foe could even quarrel, unless when he scouted our ^reat charter as a glittering generality, or jeered at the philan- thropy which tried to practice the sermon on the mount. — Wendell Phillips. FROM ORATION ON LAFAYETTE And what was it, fellow-citizens, which gave to our Lafayette his spotless fame? The love of liberty. What has consecrated his memory in the hearts of good men? The love of liberty. What nerved his youthful arm with strength, and inspired him, in the morning of his days, with sagacity and counsel? The living love of liberty. To what did he sacrifice power, and rank, and country, and freedom itself ? To the horror of licentiousness, — to the sanctity of plighted faith, — to the love of liberty protected by law. Thus the great principle of your Revolutionary fathers, and of your Pilgrim sires, was the rule of his life — the love of liberty protected by law. — Edward Everett. THE CURSE OF MARINO FALIERO Ye elements ! in which to be resolved I hasten, let my voice be as a spirit L^pon you ! — Ye blue waves ! which bore my banner. Ye winds ! which fluttered o*er as if ye loved it, And filled my swelling sails, as they were wafted To many a triumph ! Thou, my native earth. Which I have bled for! and thou foreign earth, Which drank this willing blood from many a wound! Ye stones, in which my gore will not sink, but DEVELOPMENT OF VOCAL ENERGY 69 Reek up to heaven ! Ye skies, which will receive it ! Thou sun! which shinest on these things, and Thou! Who kindlest and who quenchest suns ! — attest ! I am not innocent, but are these guiltless? I perish, but not unavenged ; far ages Float up from the abyss of time to be. And show these eyes, before they close, the doom Of this proud city; and I leave my curse On her and hers forever. — Lord Byron. Be careful to economize the voice so as to reserve sufficient force for the closing sentence of the period. Gradually increase the volume as the thought and language become more intense and fervid. SHORT DAILY DRILL TO SECURE VOCAL ENERGY First step — two minutes in deep breathing. Second step — two minutes in deep reading. Third step — two minutes in shouting. Fourth step — two minutes in oratorical speaking. This drill requires but ten minutes of time, and should be repeated three times a day by those who desire to cultivate a voice for public speaking. The time given, or which should be given, by every student to physical exercise exceeds the time required for this drill, and as speaking is one of the very best kinds of bodily exercise, this drill may be made to serve as a physical, as well as a vocal exercise. The First Step is two minutes in deep breathing. The object is to get into the habit of filling all the cells of the lungs with air, People, as a rule, breathe superficially, using the air-cells in the upper part of the lungs, and seldom making use of the cells in th^ lower part. Exercises in deep breathing, covering a considerably period of time, so accustom the lungs to full inspiration, that they in time adapt themselves to the new condition of things, and be^ come practically automatic in their action. This result is of great practical value to the speaker, as it insures a sufficient supply of breath for all the requirements of long clauses and sentences, with- out taxing the mind in the operation. In short, it becomes a fixed habit of the lungs to keep themselves well filled. 70 CHOICE READINGS BREATHING EXERCISE Inhale slowly for ten, twenty, or thirty seconds; exhale for the same length of time. If thirty seconds of time are used for inhalation, it will be a quite sure test that the lungs are being well filled. An equal amount of time for exhalation will give the stu- dent excellent practice in the management of the breath. The Second Step is two minutes in deep reading. The object of this step is to get easy control of the lower notes of the scale, and thereby secure body or fullness of voice by amplitude of reso- nance in the large cavity of the chest. EXAMPLES FOR PRACTICE FROM CHILDE HAROLD Roll on, thou deep and dark blue Ocean — roll 1 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. Thou glorious mirror, where the Almighty's form Glasses itself in tempests; in all time. Calm or convulsed -7- 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 goest forth, dread, fathomless, alone. — Lord Byron. FROM THE BURIAL OF MOSES O, lonely tomb in Moab's land, O, dark Beth-peor's hill. Speak to these curious hearts of ours. And teach them to be still. DEVELOPMENT OF VOCAL ENERGY 71 God hath His mysteries of Grace — Ways that we t:annot tell ; He hides them deep, like the secret sleep Of him He loved so well. — Mrs, Cecil Frances Alexander^ FROM HYMN TO MONT BLANC Thou, too, hoar Mount! with thy sky-pointing peaks, Oft from whose feet the avalanche, unheard. Shoots downward, glittering through the pure serene, Into the depth of clouds that veil thy breast — Thou, too, again, stupendous^ Mountain 1 thou That as I raise my head, awhile bowed low In adoration, upward from thy base Slow traveling with dim eyes suffused with tears, Solemnly seemest, like a vapory cloud, To rise before me — Rise, O ever rise ! 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 yon rising sun, Earth, with her thousand voices, praises God. — Samuel Taylor Coleridge, FROM ADDRESS TO THE SUN O thou that rollest above, round as the shield of my fathers! Whence are thy beams, O Sun! thy everlasting light! — Ossian. FROM HYMN TO THE NIGHT Peace! Peace! Orestes-like I breathe this prayer! Descend with broad-winged flight. The welcome, the thrice-prayed for, the most fair. The best-beloved Night! — Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. 72 CHOICE READINGS FROM THE BUILDING OF THE SHIP The ocean old, Centuries old, Strong as youth, and as uncontrolled, Paces restless to and fro, Up and down the sands of gold. His beating heaft is not at rest; And far and wide, With ceaseless flow, His beard of snow Heaves with the heaving of his breast. — Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, The Third Step is two minutes in shouting. The object of this step is to secure the maximum of power in vibration and reso- nance. EXAMPLES FOR PRACTICE FROM THE BUILDING OF THE SHIP Thou, too, sail on, O Ship of State! Sail on, O Union, strong and great! Humanity, with all its fears, With all the hopes of future years, Is hanging breathless on thy fate ! We know what Master laid thy keel, What workmen wrought thy ribs of steel, Who made each mast, and sail, and rope, What anvils rang, what hammers beat, In what a forge, and what a heat, Were shaped the anchors of thy hope! Fear not each sudden sound and shock; *T is of the wave, and not the rock ; 'T is but the flapping of the sail. And not a rent made by the gale! In spite of rock and tempest's roar, In spite of false lights on the shore, DEVELOPMENT OF VOCAL ENERGY 72 Sail on, nor fear to breast the sea ! Our hearts, our hopes, are all with thee : Our hearts, our hopes, our prayers, our tears, Our faith triumphant o'er our fears, Are all with thee, — are all with thee ! — Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The Fourth Step is four minutes in oratorical speaking. As the chief aim in all this training for vocal energy has been to pre- pare students for the exacting demands of public speaking, we select, as our last exercise in this drill, the oration. (See intro- ductory remarks to the chapter '' Oratorical Styles," page 294.) EXAMPLES FOR PRACTICE FROM THE ORATION INCENTIVES TO DUTY Go forth into the many mansions of the house of life : scholars ! store them with learning; jurists! build them with justice; artists! adorn them with beauty^; philanthropists! let them resound with love. Be servants of truth, each in his vocation; doers of the word and not hearers only. Be sincere, pure in heart, earnest, enthusiastic. A virtuous enthusiasm is always self-forgetful and noble. It is the only inspiration now vouchsafed to man. Like Pickering, blend humanity with learning. Like Story, ascend above the Present, in place and time. Like Allston, regard fame only as the eternal shadow of excellence. Like Channing, bend in adoration before the right. Cultivate alike the wisdom of expe- rience and the wisdom of hope. Mindful of the Future, do not neglect the Past : awed by the majesty of Antiquity, turn not with indifference from the Future. True wisdom looks to the ages before us, as well as behind us. Like the Janus of the Capitol, one front thoughtfully regards the Past, rich with experience, with memories, with the priceless traditions of virtue; the other is earnestly directed to the All Hail Hereafter, richer still with its transcendent hopes and unfulfilled prophecies. We stand on the threshold of a new age, which is preparing to recognize new influences. The ancient divinities of Violence and Wrong are retreating to their kindred darkness. CHOICE READINGS There 's a fount about to stream, There 's a light about to beam, There 's a warmth about to glow, There 's a flower about to blow ; There' s a midnight blackness changing Into gray; Men of thought, and men of action, Clear the way. Aid the dawning, tongue and pen; Aid It, hopes of honest men ; Aid it, paper; aid it, type; Aid it, for the hour is ripe, And our earnest must not slacken, ^ Into play; Men of thought, and men of action. Clear the way. The age of Chivalry has gone. An age of Humanity has come* The Horse, whose importance, more than human, gave the name to that early period of gallantry and war, now yields his foremost place to Man. In serving him, in promoting his elevation, in con- tributing to his welfare, in doing him good, there are fields of bloodless triumph, nobler far than any in which the bravest knight ever conquered. Here are spaces of labor, wide as the world, lofty as heaven. Let me say, then, in the benlson once bestowed upon the youthful knight, — Scholars! jurists! artists! philanthropists! heroes of a Christian age, companions of a celestial knighthood, " Go forth, be brave, loyal, and successful ! " And may It be our office to-day to light a fresh beacon-fire on the venerable walls of Harvard, sacred to Truth, to Christ, and the Church, — to Truth Immortal, to Christ the Comforter, to the Holy Church Universal. Let the flame spread from steeple to steeple, from hill to hill, from island to island, from continent to continent, till the long lineage of fires shall illumine all the nations of the earth ; animating them to the holy contests of Knowledge, Justice, Beauty, Love. — Charles Sumner, DEVELOPMENT OF VOCAL ENERGY 75 ADDRESS AT THE DEDICATION OF GETTYSBURG CEMETERY Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth upon this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are en- gaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation, so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We are met to dedicate a portion of it as the final resting-place of those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. But in a larger sense we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we can- not hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it far above our power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember, what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us, the living, rather to be dedicated here to the un- finished work they have thus far so nobly carried on. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us, that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to the cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion; that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have ditd in vain, that the nation shall, under God, have a new birth of freedom, and that the government of the people, by the people, and for the people, shall not perish from the earth. — Abraham Lincoln, SOUTH CAROLINA AND MASSACHUSETTS [From a speech in defence of the Union and the Constitution, delivered in the Senate of the United States, January 26, 1830.J The eulogium pronounced by the honorable gentleman on the character of the State of South Carolina, for her Revolutionary and other merits, meets my hearty concurrence. I shall not acknowledge that the honorable member goes before me in regard for whatever of distinguished talent or distinguished character South Carolina has produced. I claim part of the honor; I par- take in the pride of her great names. I claim them for country- men, one and all, — the Laurenses, the Rutledges, the Pinckneys, the Sumters, the Marions, — Americans all, whose fame is no 76 CHOICE READINGS more to be hemmed in by State lines, than their talents and patriotism were capable of being circumscribed within the same narrow limits. In their day and generation, they served and honored the country, and the whole country ; and their renown is of the treas- ures of the whole country. Him whose honored name the gentle- man himself bears, — does he esteem me less capable of gratitude for his patriotism, or sympathy for his sufFerings, than if his eyes had first opened upon the light of Massachusetts, instead of South Carolina? Sir, does he suppose it in his power to exhibit a Car- olina name so bright as to produce envy in my bosom? No, sir; increased gratification and delight, rather. I thank God, that, if I am gifted with little of the spirit which is able to raise mortals to the skies, I have yet none, as I trust, of that other spirit which would drag angels down. When I shall be found, sir, in my place here in the Senate, or elsewhere, to sneer at public merit because it happens to spring up beyond the limits of my own State or neighborhood; when I refuse, for any such cause, or for any cause, the homage due to American talent, to elevated patriotism, to sincere devotion to liberty and the country; or, if I see an uncommon endowment of heaven, — if I see extraordinary capacity and virtue in any son of the South, and if, moved by local prejudice or gangrened by State jealousy, I get up here to abate the tithe of a hair from his just character and just fame, — may my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth! Sir, let me recur to pleasing recollections; let me indulge in refreshing remembrances of the past; let me remind you that, in early times, no States cherished greater harmony, both of principle and feeling, than Massachusetts and South Carolina. Would to God that harmony might again return ! Shoulder to shoulder they went through the Revolution; hand in hand they stood round the administration of Washington, and felt his own great arm lean on them for support. Unkind feeling, if it exists, alienation and distrust, are the growth, unnatural to such soils, of false principles since sown. They are weeds, the seeds of which that same great arm never scattered. Mr. President, I shall enter on no encomium upon Massa- chusetts; she needs none. There she is. Behold her, and judjje for yourselves. There is her history ; the world knows It by liPSTt. DEVELOPMENT OF VOCAL ENERGY 77 The past, at least, is secure. There Is Boston, and Concord, and Lexington, and Bunker Hill; and there they will remain forever. The bones of her sons, fallen in the great struggle for Independ- ence, now lie mingled with the soil of every State, from New England to Georgia; and there they will lie forever. And, sir, where American Liberty raised its first voice, and where its youth was nurtured and sustained, there it still lives, in the strength of its manhood, and full of its original spirit. If discord and disunion shall wound it; if party strife and blind ambition shall hawk at and tear it; if folly and madness, if un- easiness under salutary and necessary restraint, shall succeed in separating it from that Union by which alone its existence is made sure, — it will stand, in the end, by the side of that cradle in which its infancy was rocked; it will stretch forth its arm, with whatever of vigor it may still retain, over the friends who gather round it, and it will fall at last, if fall it must, amid the proudest monu- ments of its own glory, and on the very spot of its origin. — Daniel Webster. FROM ORATION ON TOUSSAINT UOUVERTURE If I were to tell you the story of Napoleon, I should take it from the lips of Frenchmen, who find no language rich enough to paint the great captain of the nineteenth century. Were I to tell you the story of Washington, I should take it from your hearts, — you, who think no marble white enough on which to carve the name of the Father of his country. But I am to tell you the story of a negro, Tousslant L'Ouverture, who has left hardly one writ- ten line. I am to glean it from the reluctant testimony of his enemies, men who despised him because he was a negro and a slave, hated him because he had beaten them In battle. Cromwell manufactured his own army. Napoleon, at the age of twenty-seven, was placed at the head of the best troops Europe ever saw. Cromwell never saw an army till he was forty; this man never saw a soldier till he was fifty. Cromwell manufactured his own army — out of what? Englishmen, — the best blood in Europe. Out of the middle class of Englishmen, — the best blood of the island. And with it he conquered what? Englishmen, — their equals. This man manufactured his army out of what ? Out of what you call the despicable race of negroes, debased, demor- 78 CHOICE READINGS alized by two hundred years of slavery, one hundred thousand of them imported into the island within four years, unable to speak a dialect intelligible even to each other. Yet out of this mixed, and, as you say, despicable mass, he forged a thunderbolt and hurled it at what? At the proudest blood in Europe, the Span- iard, and sent him home conquered; at the most warlike blood in Europe, the French, and put them under his feet; at the pluckiest blood in Europe, the English, and they skulked home to Jamaica. Now, if Cromwell was a general, at least this man was a soldier. — Wendell Phillips. THE ELEVATED CONVERSATIONAL VOICE It frequently happens that a speaker is put at a large disad- vantage in being compelled to speak in a large auditorium on a purely didactic subject. The nature of the theme requires that the speaker should talk. In fact, the great majority of addresses, sermons, arguments, etc., in their inception, and well on to the first third of their contents, are largely didactic, and must be delivered with a conversational voice, or at least with conversa- tional intonations and inflections. If an attempt be made to employ an impassioned utterance, suitable to the expression of the loftiest patriotism, for the conveyance of purely mechanical or scientific information, it will prove such a ridiculous misfit that its repetition will be improbable. If your theme is unemotional, you must be content to use the conversational voice, even if the people in the back seats are unable to hear your words. If, then, a large share of public speaking is upon subjects that appeal to the understanding, and not to the emotions, and in consequence must be delivered in the conversational voice, it follows that any system of practice that will strengthen or increase the body of this voice, so that the speaker can be easily heard in large audience rooms, must be of vital importance. The result desired is not a distinct quality of voice like the conversational or the orotund, but rather a blend of these two qualities, like the blending of the flute and the reed tones of an orchestra or organ. The elevated conversa- tional voice, then, is a blending of the head and chest resonance. That this can be done, and still preserve the essential characteristics of the conversational quality is true, because the conversational quality predominates in the blend, while the orotund quality is simply used to give greater fullness and body to the predominant quality. SUGGESTIONS FOR THE ACQUIREMENT OF THE ELEVATED CONVERSATIONAL VOICE A full and free use of orotund quality should be acquired so that the student can produce the resonant chest tones as easily as 79 80 CHOICE READINGS the lighter head tones. Then, selecting those passages in addresses or orations that are conversational or didactic, he should aim to deliver them as If he were conversing vv^Ith a large audience, rather than with a few friends. The effort to make his voice carry to the distant portions of the auditorium will call Into use occa- wonally the orotund quality to give fullness and carrying power to the voice, while the character of the thought he Is expressing will keep him steadily in a conversational relation to his audience. EXAMPLES FOR PRACTICE CRIME ITS OWN DETECTER Against the prisoner at the bar, as an Individual, I cannot have the sh'ghtest prejudice; I would not do him the smallest injury or injustice. But 1 do not affect to be indifferent to the discovery and the punishment of this deep guilt. I cheerfully share in the opprobrium, how much soever it may be, which is cast on those who feel and manifest an anxious concern, that all who had a part in planning, or a hand in executing, this deed of midnight assassination, may be brought to answer for their enor- mous crime at the bar of public justice. Gentlemen, this is a most extraordinary case. In some re- spects it has hardly a precedent anywhere — certainly none in our New England history. This bloody drama exhibited no suddenly excited, ungovernable rage. The actors in it were not surprised by any lion-like temptation springing upon their virtue, and over- coming it before resistance could begin. Nor did they do the deed to glut savage vengeance, or satiate long-settled and deadly hate. It was a cool, calculating, money-making murder. It was all " hire and salary, not revenge." It was the weighing of money against life; the counting out of so many pieces of silver against to many ounces of blood. — Daniel Webster. FROM ORATION ON THE CENTENNIAL OF THE BIRTH OF O^CONNELL L> I think I do not exaggerate when I say that never since God made Demosthenes has He made a man better fitted for a great work than O'Connell. THE ELEVATED CONVERSATIONAL VOICE 81 You may say that I am partial to my hero ; but John Randolph of Roanoke, who hated an Irishman almost as much as he did a Yankee, when he got to London and heard O'Connell, the old slaveholder threw up his hands and exclaimed, ** This is the man, those are the lips, the most eloquent that speak English in my day ! " and I think he was right. ^ „„Webster could address a bench of judges; Everett could charm a college; Choate could delude a jury; Clay could magnetize a senate, and Tom Corwin could hold the mob in his right hand; but no one of these men could do m.ore than this one thing. The wonder about O^Connell was that he could out-talk Corwin, he could charm a college better than Everett, and leave Henry Clay himself far behind in magnetizing a senate. It has been my privilege to hear all the great orators of Amer- ica who have become singularly famed about the world's circum- ference. I know what was the majesty of Webster; I know what it was to melt under the magnetism of Henry Clay; I have seen eloquence in the iron logic of Calhoun ; but all three of these men never surpassed and no one of them ever equaled the great Irish- man. I have hitherto been speaking of his ability and success, I will now consider his character. To show you that he never took a leaf from our American gospel of compromise, that he never filed his tongue to silence on one truth fancying so to help another, let me compare him to Kossuth, whose only merits were his eloquence and his patriotism. When Kossuth was in Faneuil Hall, he exclaimed, " Here is a flag without a stain, a nation without a crime! " We abolitionists appealed to him, *' O, eloquent son of the Magyar, come to break chains, have you no word, no pulse-beat for four millions of negroes bending under a yoke ten times heavier than that of Hungary?" He exclaimed, "I would forget anybody, I would praise anything, to help Hungary!" O'Connell never said any- thing like that. When I was in Naples I asked Sir Thoinris Fowell Buxtoc^ "Is Daniel O'Connell an honest man?" "As honest a man as ever breathed," said he, and then he told me the following story: "When, in 1830, O'Connell first entered Parliament, the anti- slavery cause was so weak that it had only Lushington and myself to speak for it, and we agreed that when he spoke I should cheer him up, and when I spoke he should cheer me, and these were ^ 82 CHOICE READINGS the only cheers we ever got. O'Connell came with one Irish member to support him. A large party of members (I think Buxton said twenty-seven) whom we called the West India inter- est, the Bristol party, the slave party, went to him, saying, 'O'Connell, at last you are in the House with one helper — if you will never go down to Freemason's Hall with Buxton and Brougham, here are twenty-seven votes for you on every Irish ques- tion. If you work with those abolitionists, count us always against you.' j| " It was a terrible temptation. How many a so-called states^ man would have yielded ! O'Connell said, * Gentlemen, God knows I speak for the saddest people the sun sees; but may my right hand forget its cunning and my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth, if to help Ireland — even Ireland — I forget the negro one single hour.' " From that day," said Buxton, " Lushington and I never went into the lobby that O'Connell did not follow us." And then besides his irreproachable character, he had what is half the power of a popular orator, he had a majestic presence. In youth he had the brow of a Jupiter, and the stature of Apollo. A little O'Confiell would have been no O'Connell at all. Sydney Smith says of Lord John Russell's five feet, when he went down to Yorkshire after the Reform Bill had passed, the stalwart hunters of Yorkshire exclaimed, " What, that little shrimp, he carry the Reform Bill! " " No, no," said Smith, " he was a large man, but the labors of the bill shrunk him." You remember the story that Russell Lowell tells of Webster when we in Massa- chusetts were about to break up the Whig party. Webster came home to Faneuil Hall to protest, and four thousand Whigs came out to meet him. He lifted up his majestic presence before that sea of human faces, his brow charged with thunder, and said, "Gentlemen, I am a Whig; a Massachusetts Whig; a Revolu- tionary Whig; a Constitutional Whig; a Faneuil Hall Whig; and if you break up the Whig party, where am / to go?" "And," says Lowell, "we all held our breath, thinking where he could ga" " But," says Lowell, " if he had been five feet three, we should have said, confound you, who do you suppose cares where you go?" Well, O'Connell had all that, and then he had what Webster never had, and what Clay had, the magnetism and grace that melt a million souls into his. THE ELEVATED CONVERSATIONAL VOICE 83 ^-When I saw him he was sixty-five, lithe as a boy. His every attitude was beauty, his every gesture grace. W-hy; Macready or Booth never equaled him. ^ It would have been a pleasure even to look at him if he had not spoken at all, and all you thought of was a grey-hound. And then he had, what so few American speakers have, a voice that sounded the gamut. I heard him once in Exeter Hall say, " Americans, I send my voice careering like the thunderstorm across the Atlantic, to tell South Carolina that God's thunder- bolts are hot, and to remind the negro that the dawn of his redemption is drawing near ; " and I seemed to hear his voice reverberating and re-echoing back to London from the Rocky Mountains. — -^ And then, with the slightest possible flavor of an Irish brogue, he would tell a story that would make all Exeter Hall laugh, and the next moment there were tears in his voice, like an old song, and Rvc thousand men would be in tears. And all the while no effort — he seemed only breathing. "As effortless as woodland nooks Send violets up and paint them blue." — Wendell Phillips. DESCRIPTION OF WEBSTER'S SPEECH IN REPLY TO HAYNE It was Tuesday, January the 26th, 1830, — a day to be here- after forever memorable in Senatorial annals, that the Senate resumed the consideration of Foote's resolution. There never was before, in the city, an occasion of so much excitement. Multitudes of strangers had for two or three days previous been rushing into the city, and the hotels overflowed. As early as nine o'clock of this morning, crowds poured into the Capitol in hot haste; at twelve o'clock, the hour of meeting, the Senate chamber — its galleries, floor, and even lobbies — was filled to its utmost capacity. The very stairways were dark with men, who clung to one another like bees in a swarm. The House of Representatives was early deserted, an adjournment could hardly have made it emptier. Seldom, if ever, has speaker in this or any other country had more powerful incentives to exertion. A subject, the determma- 84 CHOICE READINGS tion of which involved the most important interests; even the duration of the Republic. Competitors unequaled in reputation, ability, or position; a name to make still more glorious or lose iorever; and an audience comprising not only persons of this coun- try, most eminent in intellectual greatness, but representatives of other nations where the art of eloquence had flourished for ages. J II the soldier seeks in opportunity was here. Mr. Webster perceived and felt equal to the destinies of the moment. The very greatness of the hazard exhilarated him. His spirits rose with the occasion. He awaited the time of onset with JSL stern, impatient joy. A confidence in his own resources spring- ing from no vain estimate of his power, but the legitimate off- spring of previous severe mental discipline, sustained and excited him. He had gauged his opponent, his subject, and himself. He never rose on an ordinary occasion to address an ordinary audience more self-possessed. There was no tremulousness in his voice nor manner; nothing hurried, nothing simulated. The calmness of superior strength was visible everywhere; in countenance, voice, and bearing. Mr. Webster rose and addressed the Senate. His exordium is known by heart everywhere: "Mr. President, when the mariner has been tossed, for many days in thick weather and on an unknown sea, he naturally avails himself of the first pause in the storm, the earliest glance of the sun, to take his latitude and ascertain how far the elements have driven him from his true course. Let us imitate this prudence, and, before we float farther on the waves of this debate, refer to the point from which we departed, that we may, at least, be able to conjecture where wcji now are. I ask for the reading of the resolution before the" Senate." There wanted no more to enchain the attention. There was a spontaneous, though silent, expression of eager approbation, as the orator concluded these opening remarks, and while the clerk read the resolution many attempted the impossibility of getting nearer the speaker. Every head was inclined toward him, every €ar turned in the direction of his voice, and that deep sudden, mysterious silence followed, which always attends fullness of emotion. From the sea of upturned faces before him, the orator beheld his thoughts reflected as from a mirror. The varying countenance, the suffused eye, the earnest smile, the ever attentive THE ELEVATED CONVERSATIONAL VOICE 85 look, assured him of his audience's entire sympathy. If among his hearers there were those who affected at first an indifference to his glowing thoughts and fervent words, the difficult mask was soon laid aside, and profound, undisguised, devoted attention fol- lowed. Those who had doubted Mr. Webster's ability to cope with and overcome his opponents were fully satisfied of their error before he had proceeded far in his speech. Their fears soon took another direction. When they heard his sentences of powerful thought, towering in accumulative grandeur, one above the other, as if the orator strove. Titan-like, to reach the very Heavens themselves ; they were giddy with an apprehension that he would break down in his flight ; they dared not believe that genius, learn- ing, and intellectual endowment, however uncommon, that was simply mortal, could sustain itself long in a career seemingly sa perilous; they feared an Icarian fall. What New England heart was there but throbbed with vehement, tumultuous, irrepressible emotions as he dwelt upon New England struggles and New England triumphs during the war of the Revolution? There was scarcely a dry eye in the Senate; all hearts were overcome; grave judges and men grown old in dignified life turned aside their heads to conceal the evidences of their emotion. In one corner of the gallery was clustered a group of Massachusetts men ; they had hung from the first moment upon the words of the speaker, with feelings variously but always warmly excited, deep- ening in intensity as he proceeded. At first, while the orator was going through his exordium, they held their breath and hid their faces, mindful of the savage attack upon him and New England, and the fearful odds against him, her champion: — as he went deeper in to his speech they felt easier; when he turned Hayne's flank on Banquo's ghost they breathed freer and deeper. But now as he alluded to Massachusetts, their feelings were strained to their highest tension, and when the orator, concluding this encomium of the land of his birth, turned, unintentionally, or otherwise, his burning eye full upon them, they shed tears like girls. The exulting rush of feeling with which he went through the peroration threw a glow over his countenance, like inspira- tion — eye, brow, each feature, every line of his face seemed touched as with a celestial fire. The swell and roll of his voice struck upon the ears of the spell-bound audience, in deep and melodious cadence, as waves upon the shore of the far-resoundmg 86 CHOICE READINGS sea. The Miltonic grandeur of his words was the fit expression of his thought, and raised his hearers up to his theme. His voice, exerted to its utmost power, penetrated every recess and corner of the Senate — penetrated even the ante-rooms and stairways, as he pronounced in the deepest tones of pathos these words of solemn significance : *' When my eyes turn to behold for the last time the sun in heaven, may they not see him shining on the broken and dis- honored 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 Repub- lic, now known and honored throughout the earth, still full high advanced; its arms and trophies streaming in all their original luster ; not a stripe erased or polluted ; not a single star obscured ; bearing for its motto no such miserable interrogatory as * What is all this worth ? * nor those other words of delusion and folly, of Liberty first, and Union afterwards, but everywhere, spread all over in characters of living light, and blazing on all its ample folds, as they float over the sea and over the land, and in every n^'ind under the whole heavens, that other sentiment dear to every American heart, — Liberty and Union, — now and forever, — one and inseparable." The speech was over, but the tones of the orator still lingered upon the ear, and the audience, unconscious of the close, remained in their positions. The agitated countenance, the heaving breast, the suffused eye, attested the continued influence of the spell upon them. Hands that in the excitement of the moment had sought each other still remained closed in an unconscious grasp. Eye still turned to eye, to receive and repay mutual sympathy, and cvcrywliere around seemed forgetfulness of all but the orator's presence and words. — Charles W. March. The last two selections, in the main, are good illustrations of dcvated conversational address. A few passages requiring the fullest orotund quality are retained to preserve the symmetry and completeness of the selections. PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS ON EMPHA- SIS, INFLECTION AND CADENCE General treatises and lectures on elocution are of no greM value to anybody. They may entertain popular audiences, and excite interest in good reading and speaking; but they do not, as a rule, touch upon the difficulties that perplex public speakers, nor do they offer specific directions for the attainment of desirable results. On the other hand, there is danger in following implicitly a highly-elaborated system. The enthusiastic student of elocution- ary science may so expand his theories as to invade clearly the domain of individual taste, w^here no ipse dixit should be tolerated. Knowledge with discretion is needed that the pretension of Ignorance and the folly of empiricism may be avoided. These cautions are called forth by the difficulties that surround the sub- ject under discussion. It is one that requires all the knowledge and skill of the experienced teacher, who appreciates the limita- tions of elocutionary science. It is not our purpose to discuss, at great length, the topics of emphasis, inflection, and cadence, but simply to make a few prac- tical suggestions, as we have previously intimated. EMPHASIS Correct emphasis in reading and speaking cannot be too highly tommended. It demonstrates, at once, the intelligence of the speaker, and gives certainty of meaning to the thought expressed. It would be a questionable use of time to endeavor, by any set of rules, to indicate to students the emphatic words of a sentence. In every sentence there are one or more words upon which the meaning of the sentence turns. If the student has not sufficient intelligence to discover these words, it is very evident that he should continue his preparatory education. But when the mean- ing of the author is clearly apprehended, and the important words are made to stand out by the application of emphasis, then the significance of this agent of expression is seen and felt. It fre- 87 88 CHOICE READINGS quendy happens that two speakers of equal intelligence and skill will emphasize a sentence or a verse from the Bible diiferently. This is not to be discouraged. It is rather to be encouraged, for truth is many-sided, and in this way we may see it from different intellectual standpoints. The main thing for the student, how- ever, is to get a clear idea of the meaning of the text, and then to emphasize those words that will set forth with certainty the thought he wishes to express. Important as is the suggestion in the last sentence, it is nevertheless true that there is more prac- tical difficulty in getting students to apply emphasis correctly, than in getting them to think the sentence clearly. This is due, in large measure, to two causes: first, lack of knowledge; second, complicated elocutionary requirements. How, then, is the appli- cation of emphasis retarded by lack of knowledge? In that stu- dents are ignorant of the vocal instrumentalities by which words are emphasized. The vocal agencies used for emphasis are: first, slide; second, pause; third, pitch; fourth, force; fifth, time; sixth, quality. First. — The emphasis of the slide is a downward or an up- ward stroke of the voice, passing through the interval of a third, fifth, or octave on the musical scale, the length of the slide being determined by the intensity of the thought or emotion. Second. — The emphasis of pause is a sudden stop in speech, thereby exciting attention and giving weight or emphasis to the word, momentarily withheld. Third. — The emphasis of pitch is a sudden change from the general pitch to a much higher or lower pitch, thereby arresting the attention, and giving significance to the words thus uttered. Fourth. — The emphasis of force is the utterance of certain words with greater loudness, thereby calling attention to their importance. Fifth. — The emphasis of time is the retardation of the gen- eral rate of utterance, thereby calling attention to the words drawn out or retarded. Sixth. — The emphasis of quality is the change from a com- paratively smooth and pleasant quality of the voice to a harsh or aspirated quality. The abrupt change makes the word thus rough- ened or aspirated distinctively emphatic. These are the chief instrumentalities used to give significance EMPHASIS, INFLECTION AND CADENCE 89 to the utterance of words, and the effective use of them should be more frequently taught and illustrated. The second cause interfering with the application of emphasis, IS complicated elocutionary requirements. It has always been a source of regret that certain writers on elocution have insisted that several vocal elements must enter Into every effort In emphasis. To require a student to combine three or four of the different kinds of emphasis previously enumerated in every attempt to designate an important word, is as unnecessary as It is unwar- ranted, and must result either In making the student tired, or in producing a combination or blend of vocal elements that nobody wants to hear. It is not denied that several of these forms of emphasis frequently combine to produce an emphatic result; but one of the forms so predominates in the vocal effect, that the others require no very serious consideration. If we give attention to the leading form we employ, and make that the chief vocal agent of emphasis, we greatly simplify the requirements, and release the student from a system too elaborate for practical use. It Is not improbable that this combination plan of emphasis has so weak- ened our interest in the study of any one kind, that we have become Ignorant of the powers that lie hidden In the emphasis of the slide and the pause. INFLECTION, OR THE EMPHASIS OF THE SLIDE Inflection, or slide. Is an uninterrupted upward or downward stroke of the voice on the musical scale. The emphasis of the slide Is the most Important form because It is the most frequently used. In all oral communications in the everyday affairs of life, as well as In all common reading, this Is the form of emphasis usr4 to designate the words that give definiteness and certainty to our thought. In unimpassioned speech, or In common reading, the slide is three notes in length, and Is called the slide of the third. In elevated or impassioned styles, the length of the slide is five or eight notes, called respectively the slide of the fifth and octave. Any word receiving this stroke or slide of the voice is so distinguished or made prominent by the vocal effect, that we call it an emphatic word. When we speak of sending a word home, the sending power is the emphatic stroke or slide. 90 CHOICE READINGS ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES But \ man will say, ^^ are the dead raised up, and with what ?^ do they come? But if our gospel be ^ and drive the trembling rebels '^ o'er the stormy ^ Let them tell their pale Convention How they ^ v^ithin the North. Let them tell that Highland 9> Is not to be %^ nor ^ That we t Stain "^ of your edges on me. -^ If you have writ your annals true, 't is there That, like an eagle in a dovecot, I "^ n ^ your Volscians in o^ % % "a I did it. — ^ — William Shakespeare. % CADENCE Cadence is the name given to the closing melody of sentences. There are two kinds of cadence — partial and complete. Com- plete cadence is used at periods where the whole thought has been expressed. Partial cadence is used at semicolons and colons, where complete thought has been expressed, but not the whole thought of the paragraph. It may be well to inquire why we use a falling Inflection or 94 CHOICE READINGS complete cadence at a period. Usually at a period complete thought has been expressed, and the utmost closing musical effect is required to indicate that completion. If then, at a period, the falling inflection is required because complete thought has been expressed, we might expect that, at a comma, which indicates simply a grammatical division, the opposite or rising inflection would be required; which is really the case. The rise, however, is so slight that it may be indicated by a horizontal line, thus ; signifying that the voice is suspended. If then a suspension of voice is used at a comma, and a full cadence at a period, what form of closing melody should be used at semicolons and colons? The answer is a Partial Cadence. It must be distinctly under- stood that we make use of the punctuation marks here simply to make the discussion more definite. If a comma were used to indicate a grammatical division simply, and a semicolon or a colon to indicate complete thought and yet not the whole thought, and a period to indicate fully completed thought, we should get on with the marks without trouble; but the laws for punctuation, unfortunately, are not yet fixed, or universally observed, and hence the only safe guide in reading is to follow the sense. The partial cadence is used so frequently in paragraphic writing, that it would be well briefly to investigate the structure of the par- agraphic sentence. It is a series of simple sentences, each making complete sense in itself, bound together for the cumulative effect of the whole series. EXAMPLE " Doing well is the cause of a just sense of elevation of char- acter; 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." Take the first sentence in the paragraph " Doing well is the cause of a just sense of elevation of character." Here is a com- plete thought which might be severed from its connections, and made to terminate with a full cadence; yet it is not the whole thought contained in the paragraph. The elocutionary require- ments, then, are that a closing vocal effect must be employed here to indicate completed thought, and a rising effect to anticipate the sentences that are to follow. The partial cadence, then, is a clos- ing and a rising vocal effect combined — a melody that closes up EMPHASIS, INFLECTION AND CADENCE 95 what has been said, and suspends the mind in anticipation of what is to follow. The form of musical notation indicating the partial cadence may be usually written thus, ■ ^ ^\ •F- Sometimes ^ we hear a melody that may be written thus, ^ ^ Mjzz or thus, ^ • > -^— It is well, however, to leave the whole matter o^ melody, as well as the number of words or syllables re- quired for its execution, to the individual taste of the speaker. The thing of importance is the general principle, which is clear, viz., that a closing and a suspensive inflection must be secured. By turning the concrete or stem of the last note down, we secure a closing effect or falling inflection; and by placing the radical or bulb of the last note higher on the musical scale than the previous note, we secure a suspensive inflection. ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES Doing well is the cause of a just sense of elevation \ of %^ %• . • ^ '■ it clears and strengthens ^- it gives higher reaches % the t of % . . % . ." it widens "©^ and makes the current of our peculiar affections our % \ swift and deep. I have roamed through the world to find hearts nowhere warmer ^ soldiers ^ than % nowhere ^ <^ "% <^ patriots ^ wives and mothers <^ nowhere -'• nowhere -»• maidens y^ nowhere \, green valleys and bright rivers nowhere greener or brighter. 96 CHOICE READINGS It is important to note that, as the thought and language be^ come more intense and fervid, there is a change or variety in the melody of the cadence. In the natural rise of climactic intensity, as in the last illustrative example, the Partial Cadence might be w^ritten in musical form, thus, jk maidens <^^ ^ ^ £l nowhere "^ The same principle evidently obtains, but, in its application, the musical form is changed. This is an important fact, and relieve^ the ear from the constant recurrence of the same musical effect, which is extremely annoying to people of cultivated taste. It now remains for us to discuss the complete cadence. This occurs at the close of sentences and paragraphs, and is preceded by the penultimate slide. The penultimate slide is an upward movement of the voice, and occurs generally on the last word or w^ords of the penultimate clause. The special function of the penultimate slide is to lift the voice up on the musical scale so that the descent on the last clause may be more impressive and per- ceptible to the ear. If, in the delivery of a climactic paragraph, the voice be allowed to move on to the end without any special rise, and the closing cadence be immediately applied, the sudden- ness and abruptness of the descent will fail to produce the pleas- ing impression of repose and completion. In order to secure the most satisfactory results, the voice must reach the line of full repose by successive descents at the longest possible intervals. The penultimate slide has been aptly called " the flourish of the period." ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLE But the same impartial history will record more than one ^^ ^ ^. ineffaceable stain upon ^^^ and ^ to the end V) his % ^ of <^ %_ on the page of historian, poet "<:' t^ till a taste for or % <^ is" EMPHASIS, INFLECTION AND CADENCE 97 true moral greatness Is eaten out of the hearts of men by a mean admiration of success ex "^ in the exhortations of and <^ <^ the prudent magistrate counseling his fellow- citizens for V <$^ their in the dark ages of national fortune, when anxious patriots explore the annals of the past for examples of ^' ^ in the admoni- publlc % \ tlon of the parent forming the minds of his children by lessons of '^ ^ O ^ will the name of ^ fireside % ^ % \ nor of any of the *^ of the famous conquerors of ancient and ^e?- be placed upon a <$^'' «level ^wlth •Washington's. The recurring word never receives the emphatic slide of the fifth, increasing to the octave on the last repetition of never; the words Tslapoleon and other receive the stroke of the fifth, while the sentences of the paragraph are closed with partial cadences; and the penultimate slide, preparatory to the complete cadence occurs on the words modern days. The penultimate slide is not confined to oratorical selections, but occurs in all common reading, though applied in a more sub- dued form and with a shortened upward stroke. In grand, sublime and reverential styles, its use is indispensable. The fullest cadentlal melody is the '' Triad of the Cadence,'' or three successive downward steps on the musical scale, thus: 98 CHOICE READINGS " Doing well makes the current of our peculiar #swift #and ^deep." In the best manuals of elocution may be found a full discus- sion of the various forms of complete cadence : the Monad, Duad, Triad, Tetrad and Pentad forms. However, the triad form is recommended for general use as the most pleasing and satisfactory, even if we are obliged to use words instead of syllables in executing the successive downward steps, and sometimes are obliged to sacrifice a trifle in strength for the sake of melodious closing effects. If the question is asked. Would you ever use a monad or duad form of cadence? I should answer. Yes; but for general practical use the triad is preferred for reasons stated. This, like all ot/her ideas in this discussion, is offered as a suggestion rather than as a general law, and for the following reason: in all matters of melody, whether current or closing, the student must be allowed the largest possible liberty consistent with a cultivated musical taste. EXPRESSION By Expression we mean the utterance of words with theii accompanying emotions. We do not develop the full thought ot an emotional selection by the mere repetition of the words. If we did, the tenderest pathos and the sublimest passion would alike sink to the level of the most common talk. The temper or emotion which is the life of the thought, and which seeks convey- ance in the words, must be expressed before the meaning of the author can be made known. A knowledge, then, of the laws of Expression is necessary to the proper interpretation of thought. The method proposed in this book for the attainment of such knowledge has taken shape in my daily experience as a teacher, and has no greater merit than its practicability. No merely arbitrary rules are of value here. Nature must ever be the great teacher, and he who observes most clearly her best manifestations must be, of necessity, the best fitted to deduce the laws that underlie and control those manifestations. It is, however, of great importance to the student of Elocu- tion to remember that there is a certain best way to render every emotion, and having mastered one selection of a great class, the power has been acquired to render all selections of that type. By pursuing such a method, the reader will be lifted from the con- templation of a single piece to the class of which it is a specimen, and eventually to a classified knowledge of the laws that develop^ every sentiment and passion of the human soul. 99 NARRATIVE, DESCRIPTIVE, AND DIDACTIC STYLES This class of selections includes all that is generally designated as common reading, viz.: conversations, essays, newspaper compo- sition, or any selection which is intended simply to convey infor- mation to the mind. So frequent is the use of this style of address that more than two-thirds of everything the professional man has to utter falls under this head, and in non-professional life nearly everything that is spoken. The excellences of common reading may be compassed by observing the following* suggestions: First — Purity of tone. Second — Variety of tone. Third — Distinctness of enunciation. Purity of tone is of as much importance m common reading as in the rendering of sentiment. Every tone should fall from the lips like the tinkle of a coin upon the table. A clear, musical and crystalline articulation is the highest charm of common reading. Variety of tone is an element not to be overlooked. An essay can be written out in musical forms as well as an oratorio, and he who makes the best music is, other things being equal, the best reader. A well-modulated voice traversing the musical scale with happy intonations renders common reading not only interesting, but highly artistic and charming. The only caution necessary is that over-much variety may render the reading fantastic and flippant. Distinctness of enunciation must always be stricty demxanded. As a rule, we enunciate the first parts of our words distinctly, but the last parts are frequently blurred, or left untouched. The only relief in such cases is a thorough drill in the consonantal elements, until firmness, accuracy and force are developed in enunciation. The last syllable in a word should be brought out as distinctly as the first, and the middle syllables as distinctly as the last. The question may be raised, are Narrative, Descriptive, and Didactic styles all read in the same manner? Narrative and De- scriptive Readings, appealing in many instances to feeling and 100 NARRATIVE, DESCRIPTIVE, AND DIDACnC 101 imagination for their chief effects, abound in vivid and varied tones associated w^ith the different moods of sympathy and emotion; w^hile Didactic subjects, being usually directed to the reason and judgment through the understanding, hold a more steady, uniform and regulated course of utterance, adapted to a clear, distinct, and pointed conveyance of thought to the intellect. NARRATIVE, DESCRIPTIVE, AND DIDACTIC SELECTIONS HAMLET'S INSTRUCTIONS TO THE PLAYERS Speak the speech I pray you, as I pronounced it to you, — trippingly on the tongue ; but if you mouth it, as many of our players do, I had as lief the town-crier spake my lines. Nor do not savv^ the air too much with your hand thus, but use all gently ; for in the very torrent, tempest, and, as I may say, whirlwind of your passion, you must acquire and beget a temperance, that may give it smoothness. Oh! it offends me to the soul to hear a ro- bustious periwig-pated fellow tear a passion to tatters, — to very rags, — to split the ears of the groundlings ; who, for the most part, are capable of nothing but inexplicable dumb show and noise. I would have such ^ fellow whipped for o'erdoing Termagant: it out-herods Herod. Pray you, avoid it. Be not too tame, ^neither, but let your own discretion be your tutor. Suit the action to the word ; the word to the action ; with this special observance — that you o'erstep not the modesty of nature: for anything so overdone is from the purpose of playing ;| whose end, both at the first and now, was, and is, to hold, as 't^wcre, the mirror up to nature ; — to show virtue her own feature ; scorn her own image ; and the very age and body of the time, his form and pressure. Now this, overdone or come tardy off, though it make the unskillful laugh, can not but make the judicious grieve; the censure of which one, must, in your allowance, o'erweigh a whole theater of others. Oh! there be players, that I have seen play, and heard others praise, and that highly, not to speak it pro- fanely, that, neither having the accent of Christians, nor the gait of Christian, pagan, or man, have so strutted and bellowed, that 102 CHOtap READINGS I have thought some of nature's journeymen had made men, and not made them well, — they imitated humanity so abominably ! — William Shakespeare, BOOKS Studies serve for delight, for ornament, and for ability. Their chief use for delight is in privateness, and retiring; for ornament, is in discourse; and for ability, is in the judgment and disposition of business; for expert men can execute, and perhaps judge of par- ticulars, one by one; but the general counsels, and the plots and marshalling of affairs, come best from those that are learned. To spend too much time in studies, is sloth; to use them too much for ornament, is affectation; to make judgment wholly by their rules, is the humor of a scholar; they perfect nature, and are perfected by experience — for natural abilities are like natural plants, that need pruning by study; and studies themselves do give forth directions too much at large, except they be bounded in by experience. Crafty men contemn studies, simple men admire them, and wise men use them, for they teach not their own use ; but that is ^wisdom without them, and above them, won by observation. Read not to contradict and confute, nor to believe and take for granted, nor to find talk and discourse, but to weigh and consider. Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested : that is, some books are to be read only in parts; others to be read, but not curiously; and some few to be read wholly, and with diligence and attention. Some books also may be read by deputy and extracts made of them by others; but that would be only in the less important arguments, and the meaner sort of books; else distilled books are, like common distilled waters, flashy things. Reading maketh a full man, conference a ready man, and writing an exact man; and, therefore, if a man write little, he had need have a great memory; if he confer little, he had need have a present wit ; and if he read little, he had need have much cunning, to seem to know that he doth not. Histories make men wise; poets witty; the mathematics subtle; natural philosophy deep; moral grave; logic and rhetoric, able to contend. — Francis Bacon. NARRATIVE, DESCRIPTIVE, AND DIDACTIC 103 THE CHILD-WIFE All this time I had gone on loving Dora harder than ever. If I may so express it, I was steeped in Dora. I was not merely over head and ears in love with her, I was saturated through and through. I took night walks to Norwood where she lived, and perambulated round and round the house and garden for hours together, looking through crevices in the palings, using violent exertions to get my chin above the rusty nails on the top, blowing kisses at the lights in the windows, and romantically calling on the night to shield my Dora, — I do n't exactly know from what, — I suppose from fire, perhaps from mice, to which she had a great objection. Dora had a discreet friend, comparatively stricken in years, almost of the ripe age of twenty, I should say, whose name was Miss Mills. Dora called her Julia. She was the bosom friend of Dora. Happy Miss Mills! One day Miss Mills said: " Dora is coming to stay with me. She is com.ing the day after to-morrow. If you would like to call. I am sure papa would be happy to see you.'' I passed three days in a luxury of wretchedness. At last, ar- rayed for the purpose at a vast expense, I went to Miss M^s's, fraught with a declaration. Mr. Mills was not at home. I did n't expect he w^ould be. Nobody wanted him. Miss Mills was at home. Miss Mills would do. I was shown into a room upstairs, where Miss Mills and Dora were. Dora's little dog Jip was there. Miss Mills was copying music, and Dora was painting flowers. What were my feelings when I recognized flowers I had given her! Miss Mills was very glad to see me, and very sorry her papa was not at home, though I thought we all bore that with fortitude. Miss Mills w^as conversational for a few minutes, and then laying down her pen, got up and left the room. I began to think I would put it ofF till to-morrow. *' I hope your poor horse was not tired when he got home at night from that picnic," said Dora, lifting up her beautiful eyes. " It was a long way for him." I began to think I would do it to-day. " It was a long way for him, for he had nothing to uphold him on his journey." 104 CHOICE READINGS "Wasn't he fed, poor thing?" asked Dora. I began to think I would put it off till to-morrow. "Ye — yes, he was well taken care of. I mean he had not the unutterable happiness that I had in being so near to you." I saw now that I was in for it, and it must be done on the spot. " I do n't know why you should care for being near me," said Dora, " or why you should call it a happiness. But, of course, you do n't mean what you say. Jip, you naughty boy, come here ! " I do n't know how I did it, but I did it in a moment. I intercepted Jip. I had Dora in my arms. I was full of elo- quence. I never stopped for a word. I told her how I loved her. I told her I should die without her. I told her that I idolized and worshiped her. Jip barked madly all the time. My eloquence increased, and I said, if she would like me to die for her, she had but to say the word, and I was ready. I had loved her to dis- traction every minute, day and night, since I first set eyes upon her. I loved her at that moment to distraction. I should always love her, every minute, to distraction. Lovers had loved before, and lovers would love again ; but no lover had ever loved, might, could, would, or should ever love, as I loved Dora. The more I raved, the more Jip barked. Each of us in his own way got more mad every moment. Well, well: Dora and I were sitting on the sofa, by and by, quiet enough, and Jip was lying in her lap winking peacefully at me. It was off my mind. I was in a state of perfect rapture. Dora and I were engaged. — Charles Dickens. GEORGE THE THIRD We have to glance over sixty years in as many minutes. To read the mere catalogue of characters who figured during that long period, would occupy our allotted time, and we should have all text and no sermon. England has to undergo the revolt of the American colonies; to submit to defeat and separation; to shake under the volcano of the French Revolution ; to grapple and fight for the life with her gigantic enemy Napoleon ; to gasp and rally after that tremendous struggle. The old society, with its courtly splendors, has to pass away; generations of statesmen to rise and NARRATIVE, DESCRIPTIVE, AND DIDACTIC 105 disappear; Pitt to follow Chatham to the tomb; the memory of Rodney and Wolfe to be superseded by Nelson's and Wellington's glory ; the old poets who unite us to Queen Anne's time to sink into their graves ; Johnson to die, and Scott and Byron to arise, Garrick to delight the world with his dazzling dramatic genius, and Kean to leap on the stage and take possession of the astonished theater. Steam has to be invented ; kings to be beheaded, banished, deposed, restored; Napoleon to be but an episode, and George III. is to be alive through all these varied changes, to accompany his people through all these revolutions of thought, government, society, — to survive out of the old world into ours. His mother's bigotry and hatred George inherited with the courageous obstinacy of his own race; but he was a firm believer where his fathers had been free-thinkers, and a true and fond sup- porter of the Church, of which he was the titular defender. Like other dull men, the king was all his life suspicious of superior peo- ple. He did not like Fox; he did not like Reynolds; he did not like Nelson, Chatham, Burke: he was testy at the idea of all inno- vations, and suspicious of all innovators. He loved m.ediocrities ; Benjamin West was his favorite painter; Beattie was his poet. The king lamented, not without pathos, in his after life, that his educa- tion had been neglected. He was a dull lad, brought up by narrow- minded people. The cleverest tutors in the world could have done little probably to expand that small intellect, though they might have improved his tastes and taught his perceptions some generosity. George married the Princess Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, and for years they led the happiest, simplest lives, sure, ever led by married couple. It is said the king winced when he first saw his homely little bride; but, however that may be, he was a true and faithful husband to her, as she was a faithful and loving wife. They had the simplest pleasures, — the very mildest and simplest, — little country dances, to which a dozen couple were invited, and where the honest king would stand up and dance for three hours at a time to one tune ; after which delicious excitement they would go to bed without any supper (the Court people grumbling sadly at that absence of supper), and get up quite early the next morn- ing, and perhaps the next night have another dance ; or the queen would play on the spinnet,— she played pretty well, Haydn said ; or the king would read to her a paper out of the Spectator, or per- 106 CHOICE READINGS haps one of Ogden's sermons. O Arcadia! what a life it must have been I The theater was always his delight. His bishops and clergy used to attend it, thinking it no shame to appear where that good man was seen. He is said not to have cared for Shakespeare or tragedy much; farces and pantomimes were his joy; and especially when clown swallowed a carrot or a string of sausages, he would laugh so outrageously that the lovely princess by his side would have to say, ** My gracious monarch, do compose yourself.'' But he continued to laugh, and at the very smallest farces, as long as his poor wits were left him. '' George, be a king! " were the words which his mother was forever croaking in the ears of her son; and a king the simple, stubborn, affectionate, bigoted man tried to be. He did his best, — worked according to his lights: what virtue he knew, he tried to practice; what knowledge he could master, he strove to acquire. But, as one thinks of an office almost divine, performed by any mortal man, — of any single being pretending to control the thoughts, to direct the faith, to order implicit obedience of brother millions; to compel them Into war at his offense or quarrel ; to command, " In this way you shall trade, in this way you shall think; these neighbors shall be your allies, whom you shall help, — these others your enemies, whom you shall slay at my orders; in this way you shall worship God; " — who can wonder that, when such a man as George took such an office on himself, punishment and humiliation should fall upon people and chief? Yet there Is something grand about his courage. The battle of the king with his aristocracy remains yet to be told by the his- torian who shall view the reign of George more justly than the trumpery panegyrists who wrote Immediately after his decease. It was he, with the people to back him, that made the war with America; It was he and the people who refused justice to the Roman Catholics ; and on both questions he beat the patricians. He bribed, he bullied, he darkly dissembled on occasion; he exer- cised a slippery perseverance, and a vindictive resolution, which one almost admires as one thinks his character over. His courage was never to be beat. It trampled North underfoot; it bent the stiff neck of the younger Pitt; even his Illness never conquered that Indomitable spirit. As soon as his brain was clear, it resumed the scheme, only laid aside when his reason left him: as soon as NARRATIVE, DESCRIPTIVE, AND DIDACTIC 107 his hands were out of the strait-waistcoat, they took up the pen and the plan which had engaged him up to the moment of his malady. I believe it is by persons believing themselves in the right, that nine-tenths of the tyranny of this world has been perpetrated. Arguing on that convenient premise, the Dey of Algiers would cut off twenty heads of a morning; Father Dominic would burn a score of Jews in the presence of the Most Catholic King, and the Archbishops of Toledo and Salamanca sing Amen. Protestants were roasted, Jesuits hung and quartered at Smithfield, and witches burned at Salem; and all by worthy people, who believed they had the best authority for their actions. And so with respect to old George, even Americans whom he hated and who conquered him, may give him credit for having quite honest reasons for op- pressing them. Of little comfort were the king's sons to the king. But the pretty Amelia was his darling; and the little maiden, prattling and smiling in the fond arms of that old father, is a sweet image to look on. From November, 1810, George III. ceased to reign. All the world knows the story of his malady ; all history presents no sadder figure than that of the old man, blind and deprived of reason, wandering through the rooms of his palace, addressing imaginary parliaments, reviewing fancied troops, holding ghostly courts. I have seen his picture as it was taken at this time, hanging in the apartment of his daughter, the Landgravine of Hesse Homburg, — amidst books and Windsor furniture, and a hundred fond remi- niscences of her English home. The poor old father is represented in a purple gown, his snowy beard falling over his breast, — the star of his famous Order still idly shining on it. He was not only sightless, — he became utterly deaf. All light, all reason, all sound of human voices, all the pleasures of this world of God, were taken from him. Some slight lucid moments he had; in one of which, the queen, desiring to see him, entered the room, and found him singing a hymn, and accompanying himself at the harpsichord. When he had finished, he knelt down and prayed aloud for her, and then for his family, and then for the nation, concluding with a prayer for himself, that it might please God to avert His heavy calamity from him, but if not, to give him resignation to submit. He then burst into tears, and his reason again fled. What preacher need moralize on this story; what words save 108 CHOICE READINGS the simplest are requisite to tell it? It Is too terrible for tears. The thought of such a misery smites me down in submission before the Ruler of kings and men, the Monarch Supreme over empires and republics, the inscrutable Dispenser of life, death, happiness, vic- tory. " O brothers," I said to those who heard me first in America, "O brothers! speaking the same dear mother tongue,— O com- rades! enemies no more, let us take a mournful hand together as we stand by this royal corpse, and call a truce to battle! Low he lies to whom the proudest used to kneel once, and who was cast lower than the poorest; dead, whom millions prayed for in vain. Driven off his throne, buffeted by rude hands; with his children In revolt; the darling of his old age killed before him untimely; our Lear hangs over her breathless lips and cries, ' Cor- delia, Cordelia, stay a little ! ' * Vex not his ghost — oh ! let him pass — he hates him That would upon the rack of this tough world Stretch him out longer ! * " Hush! Strife and Quarrel, over the solemn grave! Sound, Trumpets, a mournful march. Fall, Dark Curtain, upon his pageant, his pride, his grief, his awful tragedy ! " — JVilliam Makepeace Thackeray, THE BIRTH OF DOMBEY Rich Mr. Dombey sat in the corner of his wife's darkened bedchamber In the great arm-chair by the bedside, and rich Mr. Dombey 's Son lay tucked up warm in a little basket, carefully placed on a low settee In front of the fire and close to It, as if his constitution were analogous to that of a muffin, and it was essential te toast him brown while he was very new. Rich Mr. Dombey was about eight-and-forty years of age. Rich Mr. Dombey's Son, about eight-and-forty minutes. Mr. Dombey, exulting in the long-looked-for event, — the birth of a son, — jingled his heavy gold watch-chain as he sat in his blue coat and bright buttons by the side of the bed, and said: — " Our house of business will once again be not only in name but In fact Dombey and Son ; Dombey and Son ! He will be chris- tened Paul, of course. His father's came, Mrs. Dombey, and his NARRATIVE, DESCRIPTIVE, AND DIDACTIC 109 grandfather's! I wish his grandfather were alive this day! " And again he said, " Dombey and Son/' Those three words conveyed the one idea of Mr. Dombey 's life. The earth was made for Dombey and Son to trade in, and the sun and moon were made to give them light. Common abbre- viations took new meanings in his eyes, and had sole reference to them. A. D. had no concern with anno Domini, but stood for anno Dombei — and Son. He had been married ten years, and, until this present day on which he sat jingling his gold watch-chain in the great arm-chair by the side of the bed, had had no issue. — To speak of. There had been a girl some six years before, and she, who had stolen into the chamber unobserved, was now crouching in a corner whence she could see her mother's face. But what was a girl to Dombey and Son! Mr. Dombey's cup of satisfaction was so full, however, that he said : " Florence, you may go and look at your pretty brother, if you like. Do n't touch him ! " Next moment the sick lady had opened her eyes and seen the little girl; and the little girl had run towards her; and, standing on tiptoe, to hide her face in her embrace, had clung about her with a desperate affection very much at variance with her years. The lady herself seemed to faint. " O Lord bless me! " said Mr. Dombey, " I do n't like the look of this. A very ill-advised and feverish proceeding having this child here. I had better ask Doctor if he '11 have the goodness to step up stairs again," which he did, returning with the Doctor him- self, and closely followed by his sister, Mrs. Chick, a lady rather past the middle age than otherwise, but dressed in a very juvenile manner, who flung her arms around his neck, and said : — " My dear Paul! This last child is quite a Dombey! He 's such a perfect Dombey ! " " Well, well ! I think he is like the family. But what is this they have told me, since the child was born, about Fanny herself? How is Fanny ? " " My dear Paul, there 's nothing whatever wrong with Fanny. Take my word, nothing whatever. An effort is necessary. That 's all. Ah! if dear Fanny were a Dombey! But I dare say, although she is not a born Dombey herself, she '11 make an effort ; I have no doubt she '11 make an effort. Knowing it to be required of her, 110 CHOICE READINGS as a duty, of course she '11 make an effort. And that effort she must be encouraged, and really, if ne