Speaking, Drawling and Monotony.—Radical and Vanishing GROUPING OF SPEECH AND EMPHASIS.-Syllables.................... 105 INTONATION-Expressive Intonation............ ACTION AND GESTURE.-Six Gestures.-The Fingers, Palm, Arms, Perseverance.-Bonaparte.-Self-Culture.................. Heroism.-Moral Taste.-Sketch of Webster.. Allegiance.-Literary Men.-National Greatness..... The Wise and Good.-Writers.................................. Perpetuity of the Union.-Our Heroic Dead.-Our Heroes........ Political Morality.-Greatest Glory.-Love of Country.............. 234 UNIV. OF CULTURE OF THE VOICE. To one who has paid but little attention to the subject the study of Elocution seems to be a great undertaking. Much has been said, and many panegyrics have been pronounced upon the art; indeed a vast amount has been written also upon the necessity of study and practice of elementary elocution in order to become a good reader or speaker; and yet all that has been said and written, in both ancient and modern times, can be condensed into the very concise and limited expression— BE NATURAL. Nature is harmonious, and, being governed by immutable laws, produces only sweet concords of sound and motion. When these laws are violated, discord is the inevitable result. This holds good-particularly so-in human speech. Man, when closeted from active life, engaged in the depths of philosophic pursuits and studies, becomes a passive receptacle of thought. He thus perverts and violates Nature's laws by the expansion of his mental, at the sacrifice of his vocal and physical powers. Public speaking should be energetic in its character. The larger public spaces are to be filled with a fulness and strength of voice that comes from a more than mere every-day conversational power of expression; and unless persons have already this character of voice, they must of necessity, by an elementary and persistent thorough practice, tone up their vocal organs requisite to the demand, prior to any considerable effort in the use of them, or failure will be inevitable. Articulate words, to be heard agreeably by an audience, must be well filled and made round, with air expelled from strong, active lungs. It behooves us, therefore, in the first place, to see that the breathing apparatus is in good working order. To regulate this portion, and to see that it works easily and appropriately, should be our first effort toward improvement in this noble art. By training our lungs so that we can breathe deeply and thoroughly, and fill the very lowest air-cells in them, and thus speak with the whole, as it were, of ourselves and not simply with the lips and throat, we shall experience none of those distressing feelings which so harass the larger portion of our public speakers, in the shape of bronchitis and other annoying throat-diseases. The throat should very rarely be used other than as an extended or widened passage, straight in its direction, for breath to come up from the lungs, and thus be made a secondary instrument in forming articulate expression of our thoughts. All irritation of the throat, as far as regards its use in public speaking, arises from the comparative exclusiveness of its employment, and thus making it do nearly all the work, when it should be used merely as an assistant. This straining the throat, instead of energizing the voice, proves the ruin and misery of many who might, under proper cultivation, become celebrated among the gifted. The lungs are the great means; the throat, mouth, tongue, teeth, lips, and even the nose, only assist in forming that wonderful feature, the human voice. They would all work with comparative ease and comfort to their individual owners, from the first beam of intelli gence upon infantile mind, even into advanced age, were they not cramped by enervating, artificial habits. The atmosphere of ill-ventilated, over-heated school-rooms, dwellings, churches, places of business, public halls, colleges, and, in short, all sedentary pursuits, have the strongest tendency to weaken the lungs and prevent their proper action. The air breathed in such places, and under such circumstances, becomes greatly insufficient and impure; the lack of exercise also lessens the animal heat of the body, and artificial heat is supplied and kept in the rooms with closed doors and windows, till it is breathed over and over again, and rendered fearfully poisonous and totally unfit for further use. This weakens all parts of the system, but chiefly the lungs, and the muscles, membranes, and delicate linings of the throat. These lose their vigor, and become doubly susceptible to the slightest chafing. Now the sooner a person learns to breathe, and learns that the air must be fresh and pure, the sooner he will feel what it is to have sound lungs and throat, and furthermore, what it is to speak at least with ease and comfort, if not with skill and elegance. In order that the lungs and vocal apparatus may be strengthened correctly, they should first be exercised independently of language, by a series of vocal gymnastic exercises. But, even with healthy lungs and a strong voice, there is great liability to mismanagement of the vocal powers in loud speaking; for, when uncultivated, the voice seems inclined naturally, when energetically used, to rise to a high and piercing pitch in vociferation, making the effort extremely painful to the speaker and unpleasant to the hearer. This manner of speaking tears the sides of the throat, producing inflammation and bronchitis. In the immediate exercise it over-exhausts |