fusion. Of the former voice, not the smallest vibration is wasted; every stroke is perceived at the utmost distance to which it reaches, and hence it may often appear to penetrate even further than one which is loud, but badly articulated. In just articulation," says Austin, "the words are not hurried over, nor precipitated syllable over syllable. They are delivered out from the lips, as beautiful coins, newly issued from the mint, deeply and accurately impressed, perfectly finished, neatly struck by the proper organs, distinct, sharp, in due succession, and of due weight."

Pronunciation points out the proper sounds of vowels and consonants, and the distribution of accent on syllables. Articulation has a reference to the positions and movements of the organs which are necessary to the production of those sounds with purity and distinctness; it also regulates the proportion of the sounds of letters in words, and of words in sentences. Articulation and

pronunciation may thus be said to form the basis of elocution. An incorrect or slovenly pronunciation of words should be carefully avoided. The most eloquent discourse may be marred by the mispronunciation of a word, or by a vicious or provincial accent. The dictionaries of Worcester or Webster, in which the pronunciation is based mainly on the accepted standard of Walker, should be carefully consulted by the pupil, wherever he is doubtful in regard to the pronunciation of a word, or the accent of a syllable. These dictionaries also contain ample rules for the guidance and practice of the reader in the attainment of a correct pronunciation of the rudimental sounds of the vowels and consonants. They should be carefully studied. A speaker who continually violates the ear of taste by his mispronunciation must never hope to make a favorable impression upon an educated audience.

DEFECTS IN PRONUNCIATION.

The omission to sound the final g in such words as moving, rising, — as if they were spelled movin, risin, is one of the most frequent defects which inattentive readers exhibit. A habit also prevails of slurring the full sound of the italicised letter in such words as belief, polite, political, whisper, which; several, every, deliverer, traveller; history, memorable, melody, philosophy; society, variety, &c.; also of muffling the r in such words as alarm, reform, arrest, warrior; omitting the e in the last syllable of sudden, mitten, &c.; corrupting the a in musical, social, whimsical, metal, &c.; the i in certainly, fountain, &c.; the last o in Boston, notion, &c.; giving e the sound of u in momentary, insolent, and the like; and a the same sound in jubilant, arrogant, &c.; giving the sound of er to the final termination of such words as fellow, potato, follow, hallow; giving to r in war, warlike, partial, &c., the sound of w; prolonging the sound of w in law, flaw, as if there were an r tacked on at the end of the words; in such words as nature, creature, legislature, &c., failing to give the full sound to the u and e of the last syllable, as they are sounded in pure, sure, &c.; giving to the a in scarce the sound of u in purse; slurring the final o in occasion, invention, condition, &c.; giving the sound of u to the a in Indian; giving the sound of um to the final m in chasm, patriotism, &c.; the sound of i to the e in goodness, matchless; the sound of fle to the ful of awful, beautiful, and the like. The e in the first syllable of such words as terminate, mercy, perpetrate, &c., ought, according to the stricter critics in elocution, to have the sound of e in merit, terror, &c. A habit of speaking through the nose, in the utterance of such words as now, cow, is prevalent in New England, and should be overcome by all who would not make themselves ridiculous in educated society.

Other common defects in pronunciation are thus satirized by Holmes :

"Learning condemns, beyond the reach of hope, The careless churl that speaks of soap for sōap; Her edict exiles from her fair abode

The clownish voice that utters road for road;

Less stern to him who calls his coat a coat,
And steers his boat, believing it a boat;
She pardoned one, our classic city's boast,-
Who said, at Cambridge, most instead of most;
But knit her brows, and stamped her angry foot,
To hear a teacher call a root a root.

"Once more; speak clearly, if you speak at all;
Carve every word before you let it fall;

Don't, like a lecturer or dramatic star,

Try over-hard to roll the British R;

Do put your accents in the proper spot;

Don't let me beg you-don't say "How?" for "What?"

And, when you stick on conversation's burs,

Don't strew your pathway with those dreadful urs!"

In the beginning of a course of elocution, it is necessary that a minute attention be paid to the producing of the exact sounds on the unaccented syllables; and though this may be censured by many, as affected and theatrical, it must, for a time, be encouraged. Most persons will give the sound of a in accessory distinctly and purely, as the accent is on it; but, if the accent is on the second syllable of a word beginning in the same way, as in accord, the greater number of people would give the ac an obscure sound, as if the word were uccord. The same remark holds with regard to the initial ab, ad, af, ag, al, am, an, ar, ap, as, at, av, az, con, col, &c.; e, de, re, i, in, o, ob, op, &c. Thus, the o in omen, the e in exact, will be sounded correctly by most persons; but, in opinion, proceed, and emit, as the accent is shifted, these vowels would be generally sounded upinion, pruceed, and imit. Through the same neglect, the second o in nobody is not sounded like the o in body, as it should be; and the a in circumstances is different from the a in circumstantial;· - the former words being sounded nob'dy, circumst'nces. The terminational syllables ment, ness, tion, ly, ture, our, ous, en, el, in, &c., are also generally given impurely, the attention being directed principally to the previous accented syllable; thus, the word compliments is erroneously given the sound of complimints; nation, that of nashn; only, onlé (the e as in met); nature, natchur; valor, valer; famous, famuss; novel, novl; chicken, chickn; Latin, Latn. Sometimes the concluding consonant is almost lost in the unaccented syllable, while it is preserved in the accented; thus, in the noun subject, in which the accent is on the first syllable, the t is scarcely sounded by many who would sound it in the verb to subject, in which the accent is on the last syllable. In d and t final, the articulation is not completed until the tongue comes off from the roof of the mouth. Distinctness is gained by this attention to the quality of unaccented vowels, and to the clear and precise utterance of the consonants in unaccented syllables. Care must be taken, however, that the pupil do not enunciate too slowly. The motions of the organs must frequently be rapid in their changes, that the due proportions of syllables may be preserved.

As emphasis is to a sentence what accent is to words, the remarks which have been made on accented and unaccented syllables apply to words emphatic and unemphatic. The unemphatic words are also apt to become inarticulate from the insufficient force which is put upon them, and the vowel-sounds, as in can, as, and the consonant d in and, &c., are changed or lost. In certain words, such as my, mine, thy, thine, you, your, the unemphatic pronunciation is different from the emphatic, being sounded me, min, the, thin, ye, yur; as, this is min own, this is yur own. In solemn reading, this abbreviated pronunciation is avoided, and the words are pronounced as they are when single.

MODULATION OR MANAGEMENT OF THE VOICE.

The modulation of the voice is one of the most important requisites in a public speaker. Even to the private reader, who wishes to execute his task

with pleasure to others, it is a necessary accomplishment. A voice which keeps long in one key, however correct the pronunciation, delicate the inflection, and just the emphasis, will soon tire the hearer. The voice has been considered as capable of assuming three keys, the low, the high, and the middle. This variety is undoubtedly too limited; but, for the first lessons of a student, it may be useful to regard the classification. A well-trained voice is capable of ranging in these with various degrees of loudness, softness, stress, continuity, and rapidity.

These different states of the voice, properly managed, give rise to that striking and beautiful variety which is essential to eloquent delivery. The difference between loud and soft, and high and low tones, should be well understood. Piano and forte have no relation to pitch or key, but to force and quantity; and, when applied to the voice, they relate to the body or volume which the speaker or singer gives out. We can, therefore, be very soft in a high note, and very loud in a low one; just as a smart stroke on a bell may have exactly the same note as a slight one, though it is considerably louder. It ought to be a first principle, with all public readers and speakers, rather to begin below the common level of the voice than above it. A good practical rule for the speaker, in commencing, is to speak as if he would have his voice reach those in the centre of the hall. He thus will begin on a level tone, from which he may easily rise. Some abrupt forms of speech require, however, a loud tone of voice, even at the commencement, to give them their due effect; as, for instance: "How long, O Catiline! wilt thou abuse our patience?"

The right assumption of the keys constitutes what may be termed the feeling of a composition; without it, acting is lifeless, and argument tiresome. It is a want of this variety which distinguishes the inanimate speaker. His inflection may be correct, and have even what has been termed a musical cadence; but, without this variety of key, he must tire his audience. The effect of a transition from the major to the minor key in music is not more striking than the variety which the voice will occasionally assume. A change of key is generally necessary at the commencement of a new sentence. When, in the preceding sentence, the voice has sunk down towards the close, in the new sentence it sometimes recovers its elasticity, and sometimes it continues in the depressednote on which the preceding sentence terminates.

In common conversation, our tone is light, and appears to come from the lip; in serious and impressive speaking, it appears to be formed further back, and is accompanied by a greater tension of the muscles of the throat. The deeper formation of the voice is the secret of that peculiar tone which is found in actors and orators of celebrity. Some have this voice naturally; but the greater number must acquire it by assiduous practice. The pupil must be required to speak "further down in the throat." This peculiar voice, which is adapted to the expression of what is solemn, grand and exciting, "is formed in those parts of the mouth posterior to the palate, bounded below by the root of the tongue, above by the commencement of the palate, behind by the most posterior part of the throat, and on the sides by the angles of the jaw. The tongue, in the mean time, is hollowed and drawn back; and the mouth is opened in such a manner as to favor, as much as possible, the enlargement of the cavity described."

LOW KEY.

To acquire strength and distinctness in this key, the remarks in the last paragraph will be found useful. Nothing more unequivocally marks the finished speaker than a command over the low notes of his voice; it is a rare accomplishment, but one which is a most valuable principle in Oratory. Strengthening the low notes, after forming them, should be a great object with the master in Elocution; but it too often happens that the acquisition of a screaming high note is reckoned the desideratum in speaking. The difficulty of being distinct and audible in the low key is at first discouraging; but prac

tice will, in most cases, attain the object. Similes in poetry form proper examples for gaining a habit of lowering the voice.

He above the rest,

In shape and gesture proudly eminent,

Stood like a tower. His form had yet not lost
All her original brightness, nor appeared
Less than archangel ruined, and the excess
Of glory obscured: as when the sun new-risen
Looks through the horizontal misty air
Shorn of his beams; or from behind the moon,
In dim eclipse, disastrous twilight sheds

On half the Nations, and with fear of change
Perplexes Monarchs.

The following passage, in which King John takes Hubert aside, and tempts him to undertake the death of Arthur, requires, in the enunciation, a full, audible tone of voice, in a low key:

K. John. I had a thing to say,
- but let it go;
The sun is in the Heaven, and the proud day,
Attended with the pleasures of the world,
Is all too wanton and too full of gauds
To give me audience. If the midnight bell
Did, with his iron tongue and brazen mouth,
Sound one unto the drowsy race of night:
If this same were a church-yard where we stand,
And thou possessed with a thousand wrongs;
- Or if that thou couldst see me without eyes,
Hear me without thine ears, and make reply
Without a tongue, using conceit alone, -
Without eyes, ears, and harmful sound of words, -
Then, in despite of broad-eyed watchful day,
I would into thy bosom pour my thoughts.
But, ah! I will not,

yet I love thee well;

And, by my troth, I think thou lov'st me well!
Hub. So well, that what you bid me undertake,
Though that my death were adjunct to my act,
By Heaven, I'd do 't!

K. John. Do I not know thou wouldst ?

Good Hubert, Hubert, Hubert, throw thine eye
On that young boy: I'll tell thee what, my friend,

He is a very serpent in my way,

And wheresoe'er this foot of mine doth tread,

He lies before me! Dost thou understand me?

This is the key of common discourse, and the key in which a speaker must usually deliver the greater part of his speech. Sheridan points out a simple method of acquiring loudness in this key. "Any one, who, through habit, has fallen into a weak utterance, cannot hope suddenly to change it; he must

do it by degrees, and constant practice. I would therefore recommend it to him that he should daily exercise himself in reading or repeating, in the hearing of a friend; and that, too, in a large room. At first, his friend should stand at such a distance only as the speaker can easily reach, in his usual manner of delivering himself. Afterwards, let him gradually increase his distance, and the speaker will in the same gradual proportion increase the force of his voice." In doing this, the speaker still keeps on the same tone of voice, but gives it with greater power. It is material to notice, that a well-formed middle tone, and even a low one, is capable of filling any room; and that the neglect of strengthening the voice in these leads a speaker to adopt the high, shouting note which is often heard in our pulpits. Hamlet's address to the players should be mostly delivered in this middle key.

HIGH KEY.

This key of the voice, though very uncommon in level speaking or reading, ought to be practised, as it tends to give strength to the voice generally, and as it is frequently employed in public speaking and declamation. Every one can speak in a high key, but few do it pleasingly. There is a compression necessary in the high notes, as well as the middle and low; this compression distinguishes the vociferous passion of the peasant from that of the accomplished actor or orator. The following passage will bear the most vigorous exercise of the high key:

Fight, gentlemen of England! fight, bold Yeomen!
Draw, archers, draw your arrows to the head;
Spur your proud horses hard, and ride in blood:
Amaze the welkin with your broken staves!
A thousand hearts are great within my bosom;
Advance our standards, set upon our foes;
Our ancient word of courage, fair St. George,
Inspire us with the spleen of fiery dragons!
Upon them! Victory sits on our helms !

It should be borne in mind, that it is not he who speaks the loudest who can be heard the furthest. "It is a curious fact in the history of sound," says a scientific observer, "that the loudest noises always perish on the spot where they are produced, whereas musical notes will be heard at a great distance. Thus, if we approach within a mile or two of a town or village in which a fair is held, we may hear very faintly the clamor of the multitude, but more distinctly the organs, and other musical instruments, which are played for their amusement. If a Cremona violin, a real Amati, be played by the side of a modern fiddle, the latter will sound much louder than the former; but the sweet, brilliant tone of the Amati will be heard at a distance the other cannot reach. Dr. Young, on the authority of Durham, states that at Gibraltar the human voice may be heard at a greater distance than that of any other animal; thus, when the cottager in the woods, or the open plain, wishes to call her husband, who is working at a distance, she does not shout, but pitches her voice to a musical key, which she knows from habit, and by that means reaches his ear. The loudest roar of the largest lion could not penetrate so far. Loud speakers are seldom heard to advantage. Burke's voice is said to have been a sort of lofty cry, which tended as much as the formality of his discourse in the House of Commons to send the members to their dinner. Chatham's lowest whisper was distinctly heard. His middle tones were sweet, rich and beautifully varied,' says a writer, describing the orator; when he raised his voice to the highest pitch, the House was completely filled with the volume of sound; and the effect was awful, except when he wished to cheer or animate-and then he had spirit-stirring notes which were perfectly irresistible. The terrible, however, was his peculiar power. Then the House sank before him; still, he was dignified, and, wonder